beyng the true Graniers of Otes but common Hennes of our Countrie and Housebande or employe them in suche sort as I will shewe hereafter And be 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 men if there be any other vnder the Sunne There consider the situation of some commodious place well builded hauyng good roomes and Stabies with a Court 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 we will speake hereafter Of these are enow to be founde in the old rurall buildynges about the Citie of Paris So then can you not saie that you are straightly lodged For Quintus Cincinnatus Citezine of Rome so named for wearyng his heire combed and breaded possessed no more when he was called to the dignitie of Dictator as writeth Valerius Maximus in his fowerth booke The aforesaid Mannour place or Ferme with Yard or Courte inclosed you shall take by Lease for certaine yeres paiyng yerely rent for the dwelling of you and your familie You shall dispose your Stables commodiouslie for your Hennes and Chickins with the vewe or prospecte toward the Winter Driente that the Sunne maie giue the good morrowe to your Hēnes whiche greatly delite at the Mornyng Sunne as noteth Columella in his nineth booke of Housebandrie also Varro in his third booke The Henne houses shal be 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 bodrdes or plaister are not conuenient to this purpose The Lathers or Perches must be from the ground two foote high Also flat and not round because the Hennes doe not bende or crooke their clawes or Talantes as doe other graspelyng foules The said Henne houses also in the daie tyme must be open that thei maie bee euented with winde and Aire And that the night aire maie more easely trāspire and breath out that it maie cause no disease by close ayre whiche in shorte time causeth putrefaction and diseases thereof procedyng Vnder the Henne houses and all about the stables shall he hanged many Panyers of conuement bignesse stuft with Haye to receiue the Hennes when thei laye For Haye in this case is mutche better then Strawe because it is softer and warmer and is not so apt to engender Lice or Woormes I doe not meane that it should be so deare as was that whiche was sold for fower Attiques the handfull for men to eate at the tyme of the greate Famine in Ierusalem as writeth Iosephus in his seuenth booke of the warre of the Iewes the fower Attiques amountyng to xiiij Frenche Souses after three Souses and sixe Frenche pence for a Souse as muche as the Romaine penie as writeth learned Budaeus in his booke De Asse When you haue thus disposed your Henne houses and made them sure and saffe againste all hurtfull beastes and vermine that maie enter by Daie or Night and haue well placed the Panyars to receiue and harbour theim you shall bestowe the somme of three hundreth Frankes in buiyng of good Hennes whiche maie coste you after the rate of fiue Souses whiche is sixe pence and twoo thirdes the peece by reason of the dearth whiche is now xxv Frāks iv s̄ vj. d. ij thirdes of j. d. by occasion of warres Whiche shal be twelue hundreth Hennes after fiue and twentic Frankes the hundred The Countries of Angeou Touraine and Lodunoys haue been the countries with Britaigne lesse troubled with the said Ciuill warres and therefore Hennes are there better cheape Also verie good strong well membred and of the beste race to make your emploite You shall choose the yongest whiche are apter to laye then the old And the cammō more then thei of kinde or the Blacke Redde and Taunie whiche are more fruitfull then the Graie or White as Aristotle affirmeth in his Historie of beastes in the first booke the firste Chapiter And also thei whiche haue their creaste or combe double and vpright as witnesseth Plinie in his naturall Historie Also Palladius and Petrus Crescencis in his booke of Housebandrie Likewise Carolus Stephanus a man of our tyme and a diligent gatherer of thynges Economike parteinyng to Housholde and Housebandrie Thei of a meane bignesse are the beste hauyng their breast large their bodie well fleshed not with long spurres like vnto Cockes for thei commonly breake their Egges Take heede also that thei be not to fatte Witnesse the good wife whiche beyng in loue with her Henne fed her so well and made her so fat that she left laiyng as rehearseth Esope in his Fables You ought to thinke that the good woman loued her Henne no lesse then the Emperour Honorius Soonne of Theodosius loued his named Rome Who vnderstandyng that Alaricus kyng of the Gothes had takē Rome whiche was the auncient Citie of Rome was verie sad supposyng that Alaricus had taken his Henne whiche he so mutche loued as Zonar the Greeke Historiographer hath written in the life of Honorius I saie the aunciente Rome because the Emperours of the East partes called Constantinople newe Roome In like maner you shall buye Cockes to sort or matche them sixe score Cockes shall suffice for the twelue hundreth Hennes v. li. vi s̄ viij d. For one Cocke maie suffice for ten Hennes Thei maie coste you tenne Souses the peece ouer and aboue the price of the Hennes whiche amounteth to xlviij 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 Red and Taunie are the beste Also thei that haue their Combe or Creaste vpright and double or diuided Their eyes redde and glisteryng Their becke shorte and hooked well spurred their goyng hautie and proude Their voice strong and soundyng and sutche as crowe mutche representyng sutche a Maiestie as did the Cocke of the Persians whiche emong them was reuerenced and honoured for a kyng as reciteth Aristophanes At the least that thei shewe a certaine hardinesse as thei which the Carians people of the lesse Asia bore vppon their Morion or Helmet goyng to battaill as Alexander de Alexandro hath written in the xx Chapiter of his first booke And if you will take pleasure in Diuination of thynges to come by Cockes Alectoromantia whiche Diuination is named Alectoromantia as did Iamblicus maister of Proclus as Libanius his companion great and learned Philosophers in the tyme of the Emperour Valens you maie make experimente of sutche predictions and therewith dooe pleasure to your freendes And to the ende that you shall not bee ignoraunte in the Theorike or
¶ A DISCOVRSE Of Housebandrie No lesse profitable then delectable declaryng how by the Housebandrie or rather Housewiferie of Hennes for fiue hundred Frankes or Frenche poundes makyng Englishe money lv li. xj s̄ i.d. once emploied one maie gaine in the yere fower thousande and fiue hundreth Frankes whiche in Englishe money maketh fiue hundreth poundes of honest profite all costes and charges deducted Written in the Frenche tongue by Maister Prudens Choiselat And lately traslated into Englishe by R. E. ¶ Jmprinted at London by Jhon Kyngston for Myles Jennynges dwellyng in S. Paules Church-yard at the signe of the Bible 1580. A Souse if twelue Frenche pence Xij. Souse maketh a Frenche Teston whiche is fower grotes Englishe Three Souses make a grote A Franke or Frenche pounde is twentie Souses xviij Souses make twoo shillynges after nine Souses to a shillyng So remaineth of the Franke twoo Souses to make vp the Franke of twentie Souses Nine Frenche pence make one Englishe penie nine Souses one shillyng nine Frankes one Englishe pounde nine hundreth one hundreth nine thousande one thousande To the right honorable the Countie Rotchfort knight of the order of the Kyng and capitainc of fiue hundred menne of Armes of his Ordinaunces MY lorde hauyng frō my youth in memorie the precepte of Apelles moste excellent Painter of his tyme who commaunded his Prentices not to passe one daie without drawyng of a line to the ende to keepe them in breath and continuance as doth the Hunter his Greybound he semeth by that precept to shewe how greate idlenesse is to bee auoided and how greate is the losse of tyme to leaue the exercise of trauaill And therefore not to transgresse this precepte in these tumultuous and turbulente tymes composed of more then ciuill warres in the bowells of Fraunce J haue addressed my self for the auoidyng of Jdlenesse to drawe my line vpon an humble and lowe subiect to make a discourse of domesticall Housbandrie and to she we how a diligent man maie of one little somme drawe greate gaines by honest meanes VVhich doyng J greately recreate my spirites emong my bookes and forget a greate part of my sorrowfull thoughtes of these troublous tymes And for asmuche as J knowe that after long practise of Armes and the greate trauaile whiche you haue had therein the trauaill of letters shal bee greatly delectable vnto you whē with equall pase you ioyne wisedome with magnanimitie I haue taken vpon me the boldnesse to present vnto you this my little labour by the readyng whereof you maie take one hower of recreation I haue addressed this little Housbandrie in sutche order that the practise beyng therein well instructed in buiyng and conseruatiō of thynges bought with discrete distribution of the same maie assure hymself to lacke no merchantes This little discourse is of the tyme of the troubles of the yere 1567. before that the winde Caecias drew the Cloude of troubles into the Countries of Poictu and Lodunoys where I appoincted the marchant to make his emploit as shal be seen in the readyng Yours moste obeisant Prudent Choyselat The Aucthour to his freende afflicted with the troubles of the Ciuill warres in Fraunce in the yere of our Lorde M.D.LXVII THe calamities and encombrances the miseries and sorrowes whiche proceede of the insolencie into the which the people of this time is plonged in this age of Irō of Irō I maie saie hardened to misfortune hath well witnessed vnto vs how true is the auncient Prouerbe whiche saith That Iupiter is slowe to visite the skinne of the Gote Yet that in fine he permitteth not an euill facte vnpunished Wee haue seen with our eyes and felte by effecte in our Fraunce at the risyng of these Iaste troubles fallyng vpon vs like tempest of Haile vnlooked for The whiche as commyng out of the Boxe of Pandora or out of the brosten infected prison was so spred emong men and hath made such ouerture of vice and mischeef that all sortes of euill are sette at libertie Mars the Executor of the wrathe of the goddes hath vomited his Eholour without measure that the burnyng thereof hath chafed them not onely to sociall warres but to all Deuilishe attemptes more then Megariqu to Robberies and Murthers and as saieth Cicero to Phalarismes and moste cruell inhumanities Vulcan leauyng his proper Region hath followed these miseries and searched these habitations to exercise these operations In suche sorte that it is easie to Iudge that these mishappes are fallen emong menne to put them in memorie of their synnes founde in the saied Goates skinne of the whiche you haue paied your lotte as I haue knowne by the complaintes whiche you haue made for your greate losses of money and menage spoiled and destroied by sackcage and pillage also of your Nobles In the whiche I lament your fortune as a common Shipwracke but pacience must surmount And to help you I haue none other meane then by aduise and counsaile you knowe that all my life I haue spent little tyme in hourdyng of richesse and thynges caduke And that rather I tooke pleasure to contente my Spirites in readyng and searchyng of sutche thinges as fewe men haue founde Yet not to refuse the help of a freend in necessitie and vnderstandyng that there yet remaineth vnto you fiue or sixe hundred Frankes whiche you haue hidden forseyng so greate a mischance it seemeth vnto me to the ende that you in nothyng diminishe your state of liuyng so to redresse the same that you maie easely in shorte tyme reenter into as greate and ample reuenewes as you had before the saied troubles Your reuenewe doubtlesse consisteth in Housbandrie of all sortes of cattell as Beeues Kine Mares Shepe foule and sutche other thinges as reioyseth them whiche are giuē to the countrey life I can be a witnesse how your table was euer readie for your familiar freendes And your wife and daughter were of worshipfull estimatiō and of carefull prouision for your familie entertained by honeste sparyng and frugalitie requisite in due tyme and season At whiche time also you were well estemed for your liberalitie toward your neighbours and freendes But seeyng that Fortune hath courned her visage as she is accustomed to dooe when the tyme agreeth with her you must needes retire and not suffer her to remaine with you in like regarde as before And therefore you must forget those losses and thinke of a gaine to come to the whiche you shall attaine easely with this little somme remainyng if you will emploie it as I will aduertise you And this without spott of villanie or filthie and excessiue gaines Furthermore your Housebandrie shall florishe and your name shal bee more knowne in Fraunce then was emong the Greekes the name of hym that burnte the Temple of Diana in Ephesus And to make no longer discourse aduise your self to bestowe your somme of money in buiyng of Hennes not Meleagrides the whiche Bellonius in his Peregrination affirmeth to be our Hennes of the Indies
in Aethiope I will write vnto you more ample of the other profites whiche concerne the nouriture of Hennes as 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 somme of money and little trauaile you maie get greate profite to the ende that you maie the more easily forgette your losses and accustome your self to the noyse and cluckyng of your Hennes and not to seeme more delicate then was the good Philosopher Socrates who bore it easily 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 se your menage or housebandrie And as did the Peripatici walke aboute the closes and other places and consider the endeuour of your seruauntes Whom also by this meanes you shall make more carefull and diligent and your Hennes better entreated 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 first booke of Oeconomikes But how so euer it bee directe your Housebandrie in suche order that bones be not giuen to Asses and Thistles to Dogges The Maid seruaunt or Chamberlaine of Promotheus named Experience who serued hym after that he had brought from Heauen the liberall Sciences and to whom when he drue nere to death he gaue them by Testament maie in short tyme assure you either to continue this Marchandize and traffique or to leaue it For she Experience I meane is one of the cheef seruauntes whiche you muste haue with other diligent companie You ought not to take it greeuousstie to leaue youre dwellyng place and accustomed pleasaunte Aire or your neighbours cousins or freendes For you knowe well the incommodities whiche Ciuill warre bryngeth the whiche as writeth Cicero to Marcus Marcellus in the fourthe booke of his familier Epistles is no lesse lamentable then the victorie gotten by sheadyng of domesticall blood 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 manne in all kinde of learnyng hath in his Chiliades dilated by many examples as you maie also easily iudge at this present You knowe also that the Marchaunte to flie pouertie hazardeth hym self by lande and sea and leaueth his natiue aire and countrey And for the doubt that you maie haue not to be assured in peaceable possession of your inclosed ground against the violence of Theeues and soldiours I would wishe you for the gard thereof either the wakyng Serpent whiche kept the gardeÌ„s of Hespides famous for the golden apples slain by Hercules of Thebes or the furious Bulles whiche kept the golden fleese in the I le of Colchos vnder the king Aoetas the father of Meda whiche wer ouercome and taken by â—aâ—oâ— of Thessalia at the voiage of the Argonautae Haue recourse to the Metamorphoses of Ouid in the fowerth and seuenth Booke But better then all this shall serue for your securitie a tablet of three or fower flower de Lice the kynges Seale authorized by the kyng whiche shal be of greater efficacie then any other sauegard that you can desire For finall counsaill I praie you continewe in the loue and feare of God obeisaunce to your Prince and his Magistrates reuerence to all superiours with pacience of youre losses to occupie your trade without fraude and you shall finde multiplication of all your gooddes And then as saith Iuuenall in his thirde Satyre you maie saie that you are sonne of a white Henne But when you shal be knowne to doe seruice to so excellent a Common wealthe as is the Citee 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 Ice to others I suppose your enemies shal be repulsed as were thei of Furius Cressinus Citezin of Roome enueighed of his neighbours because that of a little he raised more gaine then thei did of muche tillage For the whiche thei imputed vnto hym that he vsed Witchcrafte and Enchauntment Who bryngyng for the his instrumentes of Housebandrie his diligente seruauntes was discharged of all sutche suspicions and of all menne greatly commended as writeth Titus Liuius And furthermore your felicitie and prosperitie shal bee a passion to your enemies as chaunceth to all enuious persones I knowe other experiences verie prompte But of no greater gain then sixe frankes the daie all charges deducted Therefore if my first 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 Counsaile verie straunge and ridiculous and perhaps of difficult execution To thinke it straunge there is no greater reason consideryng the nourishyng of Hennes for honeste gaines is no newe or straunge thyng if we beleue that whiche Celius Rhodoginus a worthie Authour hath written in his fowertene booke of Antiquities That in the I le of Delos otherwise called Ortygia for the boundance of Quailes beeyng one of the moste famous of the Cyclades in the sea Aegaeum were found many that made estate and traffike in the nourishement of Hennes for gaine and profite Who were so well exercised herein and in the knowledge of their HeÌ„nes that onely vpoÌ„ the sight of an Egge thei could easily iudge what Henne it came from Therefore that sellyng of Egges hath euer been a thyng commonly vsed haue recourse to the Impost whiche was in the tyme of the Emperour Honorius as is saied heretofore As touching mockers no man can establishe any thing so good or well ordered that the mocker shall not bite wheÌ„ Enuie hath made impression in his foolishe brain and hath there taken vp his lodgyng to torment his hoste And to resolue you of suche difficulties let vs take hold of the saiyng of Agathon a yonge gentle man 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 wisemen then of many ignorant fooles and mockers For wisemenne slowlie giue the loose bridle to their congues but vse their wordes with iudgement as also writeth Cicero in his Oration for Plancius saiyng That the iudgement of tenne wise and graue men in one Citee importeth more then the iudgemente of all the common people who for the moste part iudge without counsaile or reason If any man shall saie that the inuention of this counsell is olde I confesse vnto you that I am not the firste teacher hereof as was Carbilius of the firste letters at Rome or the firste Schoolemaister yet hath it not been practized in our tyme. And as writeth the Poet Horatius Many thynges are renued whiche tyme hath deuoured and buried as dedde the whiche againe in tyme shal be drouned in the Riuer of Obliuion and shall againe retourne to their estate by course as dooâ— in maner all worldly thynges as wise Salomon also witnesseth Assure your self my deare freede that Magnifico Megret or any other Alchemiste haue not with their Fornaces and Alembikes drawne more profite by the Philosophers stone then you shall drawe out of the beally of your Hennes if you will ioyne pleasure with paine And so shall you bee out of daunger 〈◊〉 whiche sutche Alchemistes 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 freend 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 heâ—â—e before that it scape not from you Now therefore for the ende of this accompte you must arme your self with patience when affliction is sent and anoide pouertie the enemie of all good maners by exercise of honeste and profitable frugalitie in â—â—yng the thynges whiche you haue gotten by your labour and therewith also a reputation not bulgare whiche shal be bruted through all Fraunce for the noueltie of your enterprise Whereof some will take suche pleasure as 〈◊〉 moue the seuere Catoes to laughyng and raise the Melancholike Miâ—â— of weepyng Democrites And finally you shall herewith receiue the contentation of your louyng freende with this pleasaunt present to mitigate the forrowes of these cloudie tymes and to putt you in good comfort of better hope in tyme to come ¶ Hatchyng of Egges without Hennes as writeth Ioannes Porta in his second booke of Magike Naturall TAke the dounge of Pigeons or Hennes beaten into pouder and finely sifted Then laye the Egges in sutche sorte that one touche not an other for breakyng And see thei bee well couered with the saied dounge bothe vnder and aboue in close Panyers or Coopes commodious for the purpose so that the rounder or bigger ende of the Egges bee dounwarde But firste you muste laye a bedde of Hennes feathers and thereon the dounge and likewise an other ranke or bedde of Feathers vpon the dounge that couereth the Egges This doen you shall euery fower and twentie howers tourne the Egges that thei maie equally receiue the heate Thei maie thus bee kepte in a place of temperate heate And when twentie daies are past if you shall perceiue that the chickens strike the shell with their billes harken if thei peepe For often it chaunceth that for the thicknesse of the skinne or filme thei can not breake forth Then helpe them with takyng of the Shell And immediatly bryng the Henne vnto theim The like maie be doen in a warme Quen tempered to the measure and proportion of Natural heate Likewise also in hotte Horse dounge with like diligence of measuryng and conseruyng of heate with addyng of newe and pure doung euery seuenth daie Cardanus in his twelueth booke De Subtilitate writeth mutche 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 Hennes Feathers bothe greate 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 Egipt thei vse thus to hatche Egges in greate multitude FINIS
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 sect of the Arrians praiyng thesaid Philosophers to giue aunswere accordyng to their Arte and experience whiche thei had of sutche thinges Who were verie diligent to saâ—iâ—fie their request as commonly men of letters are not ingrate to coÌ„municate to others the fruites of their garden Therefore Iamblicus and Libanius chose a place verie plaine and equall of conueniente largenesse and caused fine pouder or ashes to bee sifted therein In the whiche pouder thei wrote the xxiiij letters of the Alphabet equally distante the one from the other one little cubite a soâ—der whiche is a foote and a halfe The xxiiij Letters so written and ordered made a Figure pentagon or of fiue angles hauyng fiue equall distances Vpon euery of the whiche letters thei laied tenne graines one of Wheate and an other of Barley The Figure beyng set in order thei tooke a Cocke and saied to hym these woordes Cocke enuious Cocke ielous Cocke proude Eate the graine and leaue the letter Then makyng a greate whisperyng in maner of a Charme thei lett the Cocke so Charmed eate certaine of the graines liyng vpoÌ„ the letters The which letters theÌ„ ioyned together and sette in order accordyng to the graines whiche laye on them these letters were founde T H E O D. Theod. 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 be one Theodosius or Theodorus or Theodotus wher of Valens beyng aduertised was greatly displeased fearyng least his children should bee depriued of the Empire And therefore putte to death all the greate Lordes whiche were so named Iamblicus had euill fortune and shortly after was poisoned Vopiscus Lampridius and Zonare whiche haue written the liues of the Emperours of the East and West will make you wise in this Prognostication Not without reason I haue rehearsed vnto you this little Cubite For if your figure Pentagon were directed by the greate Cubite whiche is of nine foote accordyng to the whiche the Arke of Noe was measured as some Speculatours haue affirmed you might faile in your Diuination and shall not come to the knowledge of that your desire Neuerthelesse for asmuche as sutche Diuinations bee deceiptes and enchauntmentes 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 truthe as by example allegorike Iosephus in his Historie of the Antiquitie of the Iewes in the second booke and fifte Chapiter declareth As also is written in Exodus Chapiter seuen Where the rodde of Moises was by the finger of God tourned into a very Serpent and deuoured the phantastike Serpentes of the Magicians of Pharaa And the Aucthours of the saied Magique finally receiued their rewarde as did Iamblicus and as did Arphaxat the Magician of Persia who was striken with a Thunderbolte As was also the Bailife of Mascon whom the Deuill carried awaie as our Chronicles witnesseth And also as wer Mathetin and Hollere Magicians of the Gothes whiche were ouerwhelmed as writeth Olaus Magnus in his Historie of the North Regions in the third booke Likewise Oddo a Magician of Demnarke who was drouned And infinite others came to the like euill ende But now to retourne to our HeÌ„nes To entreate theÌ„ and gouerne them well you must haue fower seruauÌ„tes or maides with large eares well to coÌ„ceiue and vnderstande your commaundementes and the feete of Hartes with diligente expeditioÌ„ to execute the same and a trustie right hande to be faithfull loiall obedient and of fewe wordes For as saieth the Terentian Parmenio it is a greate faulte in seruauntes to bee babbelers and not to keepe their Maisters counsaill Their office shal be to bryng the Hennes into their houses euery daie at fiue of the clocke in the Euenyng in Sommer and at three of the clocke in Winter Also that thei bee diligent to close the entries and windowes of the Hen houses that in the night the Foxe naturall enemie to Hennes Weaselles or Polecattes maie haue no accesse And in the mornyng to open the entries and windowes that thei may come forthe And then to make cleane the Pearches and lathers Also to refreashe their Pottes and Troughes with cleane water For filthie and corrupt water engendreth the pippe and other sicknesses In the daie also the saied seruauntes must be myndfull to visite the Panyers if thei be furnishe with Haye and to refreshe them if neede bee The whiche must be doen euery weeke for engenderyng of Lise Wormes and Vermine whiche make the Hennes leane and cause them to scratche In like maner thei must hee diligente in gatheryng the Egges And by accompt to deliuer theÌ„ to a woman whiche shall lay them in order vpon faire wheate strawe in a place of large and free ayre to be kept freashe and cold The same seruantes after that in the Mornyng thei haue giuen them their feedyng of Barly and Otes and sometymes also Fetches or Tares shall caste emong them some drie Horse-dounge to the ende that the Hennes maie labour the more to searche their meate with scrapyng For sutche exercise is wholsome for them Then aboute Noone thei shall feede them againe callyng them with loude voice that thei maie be acquainted with the call of their keepers whom thei will sone knowe as did the Sparrowe of Lesbia Catullma The Parrat of Corinna Ouidiana The Thrustle of Agrippina the wife of the Emperoure Claudius The Rauen of the Shoomaker of Romme whiche gaue the good morowe to the Emperours Liberius Germanicus and Drusus And was bought for twentie Sesterns amounting to the somme of fiue hundred crounes of our money by the supputation of Budaeus after the rate of fiue and twentie Crounes one Sesterne And in like maner shall thei dooe 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 ground and toÌ„ble them selues in the duste or sande wherein thei take great pleasure You shall Plowe or hardell the saied lande once in the Moneth that it become not too harde that the Hennes maie easily raise it without hurtyng their clawes You maie also caste certaine seedes vppon the Plowed ground and couer it with the hardell that the Hennes maie take bothe more pleasure and labour in discoueryng it For the Hennes through idelnesse become grosse and heauie and will cease from laiyng When your Housbandrie shal be thus well ordered you must practise in the Citie of Paris with ten or twelue Phisitions dwellyng in sondrie places of the saied Citie Not of the beardlesse and delicate Apollinaries whiche care for nothyng but glorie and ciuill
flatterie to gett riche wiues But of the bearded Aesculapians suche as was the famous Florentine a man of singuler knowledge and experience in his art and famous for the wise counsaill whiche he gaue to his daughter pursued by the vnchaste loue of Ladislaus kyng of Naples and Hungarie Sutche auncient Phisitions will easily permitt the necessitie of Nature and confirme the wholesome Edicte of the Emperour Claudius who as witnesseth Suetonius permitted in banquettes and companies freely and without shame to let scape the winde of the beallie knowyng that certaine shamefaste 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 Pacientes with newe 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 Phisitions whiche haue nought els to doe theim 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 pacientes of impaciētes 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 must bee acquainted with xv or xx Gainsellers or Regraters suche as can chatte and babble beste and walke aboute all the streates and 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 which thei shall sell and distribute to your profite agreeyng with theim for reasonable price and wages as shal be saied hereafter Hauyng kepe this order you shall bee carefull and diligent to cause your Egges daiely to bee caried to the Gainsesters or women that shall sell them againe in the morning of the daie followyng You maie carie thē beste vpon Asses For whiche purpose that Beaste is very proper because of his slowe goyng that he breake not the Egges But take heede 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 chaunced 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 rent of your house paied the wages of your seruauntes the Gainsellers contēted the charges of the Asse his keeper compted and also the graine or corne wherewith your Hennes are fedde For of the sale of Egges is taken no custome or imposition as was in the tyme of Ihon Ducas Emperour of Constantinople and successour of Theodosius Lascaris who was so excessiue that in a few daies the Croune of Irene the Empresse was thereby marueilously enriched in precious stones and iewelles as Nephorius hath left in writing in the third booke of the Historie Bizantine in the chapiter of the famine of the Turkes You shall sell or cause to be solde euery new laied egge easely for sixe Frenche pence the peece For I assure you that within the Citee of Paris are a thousande yea rather twoo thousande that will gladly giue a Carolus whiche is nyne Frenche pence for euery newe laied Egge beyng thereof assured wherein see you faile not Howe many Gentlemen 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 olde folkes wearie of Fleshe could for their Dinner bee 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 a man 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 Citee will daiely surmounte a thousande persones without speakyng of them that keepe 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 be 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 keepe thē in naturall heate and cause them to laye L. Souses v. s̄ vi d. and ii third partes of a peny xliiij s̄ v. d. ij thirdes Eight hundreth Egges by supputation Arithemeticall at sixe Frenche pence the peece will yeld L. Souses for the hundreth Which in number producte maketh xx Frankes or Frenche poundes a daie Whiche is for the saied eight hundreth seuen score Frankes the weeke and seuen thousande three hundreth Frankes the yeare of honest profite Let vs diuise the charges And that whiche then remaineth wee will call the gaines and profite For the Lawiers saie that wee call nothyng profite sauyug what remaineth after the charges deducted as the famous Lawier Papiniā hath well defined in the xxiiij booke of the Pandectes vnder the title of repetition of dowrie after the mariage dissolued Firste for the pension of the woorke man ij s̄ ii d. and ii thirdes and his House for euery daie twentie Souse whiche by the yere commeth to three hundreth three score and fiue Frankes I here vnderstande yeres of the Sunne consisting of three hundreth three score and fiue daies For fower Seruauntes or maides twentie Souses the daie which is
s̄ iiii d. and ix pence all charges deducted whiche amounteth to three hundreth fower score and three li. v. d. Which seemeth to me an honest gaine and profite vpon the emploiyng of so little a summe and that without all filthie Vsurie By the meanes also whereof your maie feaste your freendes and leade a ioyfull life I saie not prodigall as of Asope the Tragike with his platter of small birdes whereof Plinie maketh mention in the tenth booke of his Naturall Historie Neither so daintie or gluttonous as of Apitius that was in the tyme of the Emperour Tiberius Neither yet so sumptuous and magnificent as that of Lucullus noted of Plutarche in his booke of the liues of famous men for the banket whiche he made vpon the sodain for Pompeius and Cicero the expense whereof was no lesse then twelue hundred and fiftie Crounes commyng to fiftie Sesternes Romaine Or that of Pomponius Atticus Again on the other parte I meane not that your liuyng shal bee so streight in frugalitie or sparyng as was that of Curius Dentatus who liued with Radishe rootes Or of Pertinax who would bee serued tenne tymes with one Salet Neither so vile or sparyng as was Epaminondas a greate Lorde of Thebes who kept 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 too their meate disputed of modestie and sobrietie takyng pleasure in bankettes more ioyfull then sumptuous or exquisite And so shall you not fall into the penaltie of the Lawe Numerall of Iulius who prefined a Taxe to bee paied of the charges made in greate feastes and bankettes And for as muche as it maie seme a thyng vndecente that a man should make profession of an Arte or trafique of Marchandize whereof he hath no knowledge beyng ignorant of the natures and temperatures of the thinges which he hath in hande I will not faile to aduertise you of the diseases whiche come to Hennes and Cockes and of their remedies and when it shal bee needefull to chaunge them and put others in their places to the ende that your number doe not diminishe as you knowe that by surrogation the kindes of all thynges are preserued in their beyng and so remaine perpetually as diuine Diotimus taught Socrates in the second 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 tast bothe in eatyng and drinkyng and infecteth also the other Hennes specially within the house and the place of their feedyng This disease proceedeth either of beeyng long without drinckyng of cleane and freashe water or by drinckyng of foule and stinckyng water And to heale it you muste take the Henne and take awaie the superfluitie whiche groweth on the tong hardened at the ende And then washe the tong and beake with oyle in the whiche shal be tempered a hedde of Garlike And put emong their meate Staphesacre and to rubbe the tong well with Spettle or Vineger first tempered in the mouthe of the seruaunt An other disease is the Catare or Rheume whiche is a fluxion of cold humours in the hed of the Heaues making them to hang their winges and their Creastes or combes The remedie is to trauerse or ouerthwart their nosethrells with a Feather putte through them to open the Fluxion or Rheume that is stopped and maketh them blinde It shall also be good to warme their drinke in Winter because such diseases proceede of cold or drinkyng of Frosen water or liyng vnder the Moone the mother of all moistuesse Against the Lice and Vermine whiche maketh them leane feeble and vnfruitfull I haue shewed you the remedie But when the disease is now come the remedie is too bathe them with a little wine or drinke in the whiche shall be sodden some Comine or Staphisacre commonly called the death of Lice appliyng it to the heddes of little children with ointmentes If you doubte 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 wisemen emong the Hebrues named Cabalistae and the like emong the Gaules named Druydes learned their Sciences by Tradition from mouthe to mouthe and from hande to hande without letters Wherby is come to passe that in our Fraunce the gouernment is more by customes not written then by written lawes as Iulius Caesar hath written in his Commentaries of the conquest of the Gaules or Frenchemen in his sixt Booke The auncientes haue written certaine remeadies to keepe the Hennes from the Foxe as Palladius in his booke of Housebandrie teacheth how to rubbe the walles of the Henne 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 meate to cause the Foxe to abhorre to come neare it by feelyng the death of his proper kinde whiche nature can not abide as Plinie writeth in his nine and twentie booke of his Naturall Historie But the moste soueraigne remeadie is to keepe fast and close the dores and windowes in the night And that in the daie your seruauntes often tymes come and go in all places and corners of your close And that nere vnto it or the Henne house bee no heapes of wood bushes or stones where suche beastes maie be hidde or harboured For the beastes whiche liue by rapte haue euer a certaine feare ioyned with their craftinesse and desire of rauenyng About 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 sort or qualitie As I haue before described If peraduenture you bee of opinion to keepe your Egges of one season for an other you must laye them in order vpon sheaues of strawe verie freashe with the sharpe ende vpwarde or to laye theim in Panyers in like maner And that thei be well couered with strawe that thei be not tourned by too muche heate or colde And if you will choose the best for your frendes take Candida Longa Noua that is white long and new followyng the opinion of the schoole of Salerne The other twoo Acres whiche remaine aboute youre Yarde Courte or place enclosed shall bee commodious to sowe Barlie whiche is a graine verie proper for the nouriture of Hennes And if you can recouer Barlie of the seede of Aethiope whereas dwell the Iewes of the ligne of Dan Nepthalin Gad and Asser nere to the riuer of Sabbatique whiche Moises affirmeth to be the riuer in the holy scripture called Gosan it shal be singuler good because one graūt thereof bryngeth foorthe an hundred as Eldad Damus the Hebrue hath written in his breef Historie of the Empire of the Iewes inclosed