but oftentimes go barren And if he shall rear a Calf that cometh after Michaelmas it will be costly to keep the Calf all the Winter-season at Hay and the Dam at hard meat in the House as they use in the plain Champion Countries And a Cow shall give more Milk with a little grass and straw lying without in a Close then she shall do with Hay and Straw lying in a House for the hard meat dryeth up the Milk But he that hath no Pasture must do as he may but yet it is better for the Husbandman to sell those Calves then to rear them because of the cost and also for the profit of the Milk to his House and the rather the Cow will take the Bull. If the Husbandman go with an Ox-plough it is convenient that he rear two Ox-calves and two Cow-calves at the least to uphold his stock and if he rear more it will be the more profitable for him It is better for the Husbandman to wean his Calves at Grass then at hard meat if they went to Grass before And that man that may have a Pasture for his Kine and another for his Calves and water in them both may rear and breed good Beasts with little cost And if the Husbandman wean his Calves with Hay it will make them big-bellied and they are the likelier to rot when they go to grass In Winter they should be put in a House by themselves and given Hay over night and put in a good pasture in the day time which will render them much the better to handle when they shall be Kine or Oxen. To geld Calves IT will be a fit time to geld Calves in the old of the Moon when they are ten or twenty days old for then is least danger and the Ox shall be the higher and the longer of body and the longer horned And that may be thus proved Take two Ox-calves both of them of one kind one making and both of one age geld one of them and let the other go forth and be a Bull. And put them both in one pasture until they are four or five years old and then shall you see the Ox-calf far greater every way then the Bull. There is no other cause of this but the gelding And if he geld them not till they are a year old there will be the more danger and he will be less of body and shorter horned Of which is the greatest loss a Lamb a Calf or Foal IT is less damage to a Husbandman to have his Cow to cast her Calf then an Ew to cast her Lamb for the Calf will suck as much milk ere it be fit to be killed as it is worth and of the Ew cometh no profit of the milk but the Lamb. Howsoever they use in some places to milk their Ews when they have weaned their Lambs but that is a great hurt to the Ews insomuch that it will cause them that they will not take the Ram at the time of the year because of their leanness but grow barren And if a Mare cast her Foal that is thrice so much loss For if the Foal come of a good Breed the loss is so much the greater and in a short time the Foal may be sold for as much money as would buy many Calves and Lambs What Cattel should go together in one Pasture BEasts alone nor Horses alone nor Sheep alone except it be Sheep upon a very high Ground will not eat pasture even but leave many in Fees and high Grass in divers places except it be over-laid with Cattel Therefore we may the better take notice that Horses and Beasts will agree well in one Pasture for there is some manner of Grass that a Horse will eat that a Beast will not as the Fitches Flashes and low places and all the hollow Bundes and Pipes grow therein But Horses and Sheep will not so well agree except it be Sheep to feed for a Sheep will go on a bare Pasture and will eat the sweetest Grass and so will a Horse but he would have it longer Howsoever he will eat as close to the Earth as a Sheep but he cannot so soon fill his belly To a hundred Beasts the Husbandman or Grasier may put in twenty Horses If it be low ground and if there be grass enough he may put in an hundred Sheep and so after the rate the pasture more or less and after this manner they may feed or eat the Close even and leave but few tufts But if it be high ground let him put in more Sheep and less Beasts and Horses Milch Kine and draught Oxen will eat a Close much barer then as many fat Kine and Oxen. A Milch Cow may have too much meat for if she grow fat she will the rather take Bull and give less milk for the fatness stoppeth the Pores and the Veins that should bring the milk to the Paps And therefore mean Grass is best to keep her in a low estate And if a Cow be fat when she should calf then is there great hazard of her and the Calf shall be the less but the Husbandman cannot allow his Draught-Ox too much meat except it be the after-mathe of a low-mown Meadow for that will cause him to have the Girte and then he is not so fit to labour And if there be too much Grass in a Close the Cattel shall feed so much the worse for a good bite to the Earth is sufficient for if it be long the Beasts will bite off the top and no more for that is sweet and the other lyeth still upon the ground and rotteth and no Beasts will eat it but Horses in Winter But these Beasts Horse and Sheep may not be foddered together in Winter for then they should be severed for else the Beasts with their horns will gore both the Horses and the Sheep in their bellies It will be necessary to make standing Cratches to cast their Fodder in and the staves set right enough together for pulling their Fodder out too hastily for shedding And if it be laid upon the Earth the fourth part thereof will be lost but if he is forced to lay it on the Earth let him lay it every time in a new place for the old will spoil the new Of Swine THe Husbandman that is well furnished with other Cattel it will also be very profitable for him that he have Swine It is a common saying That he that hath Sheep Swine and Bees sleep he or wake he may thrive and the saying is because that from these things the greatest profit ariseth with the least cost Therefore let the Husbandman consider with himself how many Swine he can conveniently keep let them be Boars and Sows all and no Hogs And if he be able to rear six Pigs a year then let two of them be Boars and two of them Sows and so to continue after that rate For a Boar will require as little keeping as a Hog and is much
remain three days untouched then wash it with the same and fill it again with red Lead This will heal it though it be galled to the body Of Warts in general and of the spongy Wart with the Remedy THere is a distemper that some Horse-men will neither allow to be either a disease or hurt and that is if a Horse want Warts behind beneath the Spaven place for then he is no Chapmans Ware if he be wild but if he be tame and have been ridden upon then caveat Emptor Let the Buyer beware that he hath both his eyes to see and his hands to handle there is a Saying That such a Horse should dye suddenly when he hath lived as many years as the Moon was days old or such time as he was foaled But to pass over this light digression there is a Wart which is called Spongy The Cure is if it be long enough to tye a thred about it and it will eat off or else to take it off with a hot Iron To help the Surbaiting or Soreness of a Horses Feet WHen you find your Horse to be surbaited presently clap on each of his fore-feet two new-laid Eggs and crush them therein then upon the top of them lay good Cow-dung Thus stop him for four hours and he will recover For a Wrench or Strain in the Pastern Take a quart of Brine and sethe it till it be ready to boil over and then strain it and put into it a handful of Tansie a handful of Mallows a Saucer full of Honey a quarter of a pound of Sheeps Tallow beat them together and set them on the fire until they are well sodden and then lay it hot to the Tent and sew a cloth fast about it and so let it rest five days and it shall cure him For a Back Sinew-strain or any other Strain Take an ounce of Turpentine and two or three spoonfuls of Aqua vitae and beat them together till they come to a perfect Salve then anoint the strain very well therewith and heat it either with a hot Brick or Bar of Iron and thus doing three or four times it will take away the strain For a frothy Hoof. First with an Instrument make hollow the extremities of the Hoof on the outside till the principal Vein break let all the blood come forth then fill up the hole with fine Salt and Hurds steeped in Vinegar and then bind them so that they shall not fall off This is a sure way to make a hard and sound Hoof. Of the Atteint It is a distemper that proceeds from an over-reaching before and if it be behind it is the treading of another Horse which every ordinary Farrier knows how to cure and therefore we shall wave it Of the Mourning of the Tongue I shall pass over this distemper as 't is held incurable A Remedy for a Pinch or a Gall in the Withers First cut out the dead flesh and make a Tent with the White of an Egg and then wash the part with warm white Wine and afterwards anoint the sore place with white sweet Suet. A present Remedy for the Staggers When you find your Horse distempered in his Head then take a piece of woollen Cloth and bind it fast to the end of a stick being well rubbed with good Barbary Sope and then put in into both his Nostrils with as much ease as you and it will draw it forth very gently again This is a perfect Remedy An excellent Remedy for the Strangles When you first see the Strangles growing prick them under the Throat in the morning and after cover the Horses head with a Linnen cloth and then rub him often under the Throat with fresh Butter on the sore place and it will cure him A Remedy for the Swelling of the Cods Take strong Vinegar white Chalk well powdered stir it well and make a Paste anoint the Cods of the Horse three or four times a day and in few days it will cure him A Remedy for the Mattering of the Yard Take a pint of white Wine boil therein a quart of Roche-Allum and with a Squirt thrust it very far into his Yard squirt the same some three or four times to pierce and cleanse the bottom from the filth and thus continue until he be whole An excellent Cure for the Tetter Before you meddle with the place first draw blood from his Legs and then strike the Veins of the Legs on the outside and on the inside but not on the place where the Hoof comes forth then wash the place with white Wine and mingle the Juyce of Prunella with powder of Galls and clear Water and with this Liquor beat the Hogs Grease and liquid Pitch that all become like Honey and having so done anoint the Tetter and in six times dressing it will be cured A rare Medicine for a sore Back be it never so wrung with a Saddle Take of Sheeps Dung to the quantity of three parts of your Plaister and the fourth part of dry Wheat and Rye-flour and mingle them well together and let them boil a quarter of an hour in good fair water and then lay it on warm and at two or three times applying it will cure the Back This is a tryed and approved Plaister For the Botch in the Groyns of the Horse The Cure is to take of Wheat-flour Turpentine and Honey of aech a like quantity stirring it to make a stiff Plaister and to lay it to the Sore to break it and then lance it tent it with Turpentine and Hogs Crease A Remedy for the Lax. Take of Bean-flour and Bole Armony of each a quartern mingled in a quart of red Wine give it him luke warm and after it let him drink warm water with Bean-flour but if that will not stay him then give him half a penny-worth of Allum beaten into powder and Bole Armony beaten small in a quart of Milk stirring them till all the Milk be of a Curd and this will stop him A Remedy for the Costiveness or Belly-bound Take of the Decoction of Mallows a quart put to it half a pint of Oyl or so much Butter an ounce of Benedict Laxative and pour it into his Fundament with a little Horn and hold his Tayl close to his Fundament whilst another doth lead him and so keep it in him as long as you can and after keep him warm and give him warm water to drink An excellent Remedy for the Yellows The cause thereof is the abundance of bad humours the Cure is plain Let him blood if you see it yellow a pottle then give him a quart of white Wine of Saffron and Tamerisk of each half an ounce and the Juyce that is wrung out of two handfuls of Selandine let him take it blood-warm and keep him warm and with good Mashes wherein put two spoonfuls of the powder of Brimstone Some will give him in this Drink the green Ordure of Geese strained A Remedy for the Swelling of the Gums The
in the furthest East part of the Field from thence as they came in for their going upon the Ground doth much good and let the Shepherd bring his sheep to the stakes and the sheep will rub themselves on the stakes And let the Shepherd walk about them till they are set and so order them for two or three nights and they will follow those stakes as he flitteth them and set by them And if any ill weather comes they will rise up and go to the Hedge This manner of folding shall keep them from breeding of Mathes and Scabs nor in the least manner abate of their flesh it will also preserve them from rotting In the morning let the Shepherd put them out of their Pastures he shall not need to have any Hurdâ—es or Sheepflecks What time of the year the Rams should be put to the Ews A Husbandman as I have already said cannot so well thrive of his Corn except he have other Cattel nor by his Cattel without Corn for otherwise he shall be a Buyer a Borrower or a Begger and because that sheep in my opinion are the profitablest Cattel that a Husbandman can have I shall discourse the more at large of them It will therefore first be a necessary thing for the Husbandman or Shepherd to know what time he shall put the Ram to the Ews In this particular I must make a distinction for all times are not alike to put to the Rams for upon the mistake of time there may be a great damage or loss for that man that hath the best Sheep-pasture for winter and some springing in the beginning of the year he may suffer his Rams to go with his Ews all times of the year to blissom or ride them when he will but for the common Pasture it is time to put to his Rams at the Exaltation of the Holy Cross for then the Buck goeth to the rut and so would the Ram. But for the ordinary Husbandman that hath no Pasture but the common Fields it is time enough at the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel And so for the poor Husbandman of the Peek and such others that dwell in hilly or high Ground that have no Pasture nor common Fields for them Simon and Judes Day will be a very good time and the reason is this An Ew goeth with Lamb twenty weeks and uses to yean her Lamb in the twenty first week and if she have not convenient new Grass to eat she will want Milk for her Lamb for want of which there are many Lambs that perish and are lost that through the leanness of the Dams and their want of Milk are forced to forsake their Lambs so that in some hard Countries oftentimes they both dye To make an Ew to love her Lamb. IF the Ew have Milk and will not love her Lamb put her into a narrow place made of Hordes or of smooth Trouse a yard wide and put the Lamb to her to suck it and if the Ew strike or smite the Lamb with her head bind her head with a Hay-rope or Cord to the side of the Pen and if the Lamb will not stand side-long call the Ew and give her a little Hay and tye a Dog by her that she may see him and this fright will in a short space cause her to love her Lamb and if he have a Lamb dead whereof the Dam hath much milk flay the Lamb and tye that skin upon another Lambs back that hath a weak Dam with little milk and put the good Ew and that Lamb together in the Pen and in one hour she will love the Lamb and then he may take the weak Ew away and put her in another place and by this means he may save both hers and the Lambs life At what time Lambs should be weaned IN some places they never sever the Lambs from the Dams which is for two causes one is in the best pasture where the Rams go away with their Ew there it needeth not for the Dams will grow dry and wean the Lambs themselves Another cause is he that hath no sound pasture to put his Lambs into when they should be weaned he must either sell them or let them suck as long as the Dams will suffer them It is a common Saying That the Lamb shall not rot as long as it sucketh except the Dam want meat But he that hath several and sound pastures it is time for such a one to wean his Lambs when they are sixteen or eighteen weeks old at the farthest and the Ew shall again the better take the Ram. And the poor man of the Peek Country and such other places where they use to milk their Ews five or six weeks c. spoil their Lambs so as that they are never so good as those that suck long and have meat enough To draw Sheep and to sever them in divers parts WHen the Grasier hath many Sheep in his Pastures it will be convenient for him to have a Sheepfold made with a good Hedge or a Pale the which will easily receive all his sheep that go in one pasture in a dry place and adjoyning to the end of the same let him make another little Fold that will contain ninty sheep or more and both these Folds must have either of them a Gate into either pasture and at the end of that Fold let him make another little Fold that will receive forty sheep or more and between every Fold a Gate And when the sheep are in the great Fold let forty of them or thereabouts come into the middle-fold and stake the gate and then let the Shepherd turn them and look on every side and if he find any sheep that needeth any help or cure for any cause take that sheep with his Hook and put him into the little Fold And when that he hath taken all that need any curing then let him put the other into whether pasture he pleases and let as many in of the great Fold and take as many in as need any handling and put them into the little Fold And thus go them all over till that he have done and then let him melt Grease and handle all those that he hath drawn and then shall not the great Flock be tarried and kept from their meat and when he hath cured them let him put them into their pasture To meddel Tar. LEt the Shepherds Tar be medled with Oyl Goose-grease or Capons grease these three are the best For they will make the Tar to run and spread abroad Butter and Swines grease when they are melted are good so that they are not salt for Tar of it self is too sharp it is a fretter and no healer without it be medled with some of these To make Broom-Salve A Medicine to salve poor mens sheep that think Tar too costly the worth of which if some of the richer sort knew they would make use of it Let the Shepherd take a shere full of Broom Crops Leaves
Weeder have a Hook with a Socket upon a little staff a yard long and this Hook should be well steeled and ground sharp both behind and before and in his other hand he should have a forked stick of about a yard long and with his forked stick he must put the weed from him and he putteth the Hook beyond the root of the weed and he pulleth it to him and cutteth the weed close to the Earth and with his Hook he taketh up the weed and casteth it in the Raine and if the Raine be full of Corn it is better to stand still when it is cut and withered but let him beware that he do not tread too much upon the Corn and especially after that it be shot and when that he cutteth the weed that he cutteth not the Corn and therefore the Hook should not exceed to be above an inch wide And when the weed is so short that he cannot with his forked stick put it from him and with the Hook put it to him then must he set his Hook upon the weed close to the Earth and put it from him and so he shall cut it clean With these two instruments he shall never need to stoop to his work Dog-fennel Goldes Mathes and Kedlocks are bad to weed after this manner they grow upon so many branches and are so close to the Earth and therefore they use for the most part to pull them up with their hands but let them look well that they pull not up the Corn therewithal As for Tare no weeding will serve turn How to mow and shear Barley and Oats BArley and Oats most commonly are mown a man or a woman following the Mower with a Hand-rake half a yard long with seven or eight teeth in his left hand and a Sickle in the right hand with the Rake he gathereth as much as will make a sheaf And then he raketh the Barley or Oats by the topâ— and and pulleth out as much as will make a band and casteth the band from him on the Land and with his Rake and his Sickle taketh up the Barley or Oats and layeth them upon the band and so the Barley lyeth unbound three or four days until it be dry weather and then he binds it And when that the Barley is led away the Land must be raked or else there will be much Corn lost and if the Barley or Oats lye they must needs be shorn To reap or mow Pease or Beans PEase or Beans are reaped most commonly last or else mown after divers manners some with Sickles some with Hooks and some with Staff-hooks In some places they lay them on Repes and when that they are dry they lay them together on heaps like Hay-cocks and never bind them but the best way is when the Repes be dry to bind them and to set them on the ridge of the Lands three sheaves together Mowers geld not your Beans that is to say to cut the Beans so high that the nether Cod grow still in the stalk and when they are bound they are the readier to load or unload to make a Reke or to take from the Mow to thresh and so are not the Repes How Rye should be shorn AT the latter end of June or the beginning of August is the time to shear Rye which should be shorn clean and fast bound In some places they mow it the which is not so profitable a way for the Husbandman but it is the sooner done For when it is mown it will not be so fast bound and the Husbandman cannot gather it up so clean but that there will be much lost it also taketh up more room in the Barn then shorn Corn doth Nor will it keep or save it self from rain or ill weather when it standeth in the cover as the shorn Corn will do How to shear Wheat WHeat should be shorn clean and bound hard but for a general Rule let the Shearer take heed that the shearers of all manner of Wheat-corn cast not up their hands hastily for then all the loose Corns and the straws that he holdeth not in his hand flyeth over his head and are lost and also it will pull off the Ears and that more especially of the Corns that are very ripe In some places they will shear their Corns high to the intent to mow their stubble either to thatch or to burn if they so do they have great cause to take good heed of the shearers For if the Ears of the Corn crook down or bend to the Earth if the shearer be not very wary and put up the Ear or he cut the straw as many Ears as be under his Hook or Sickle fall to the Earth and are lost And when they mow the stubble it is a great hinderance to the profit of the ground In Sommerset-shire about Zelchester or Martock they shear their Wheat very low and all the Wheat-straw that they purpose to make thatch of they do not thresh it but cut off the Ears and bind it in sheaves and call it Rede and therewith they thatch their Houses And if it be a new House they thatch it under their foot the which is the best and surest thatching that can be of straw for Crows Pigeons and the like shall never be able to hurt it How to sow both Pease and Beans LEt the Husbandman sow his Pease upon clayie ground and the Beans upon the Barley ground for they require ranker ground then the Pease Howsoever some Husbandmen are of opinion that the big and stiff ground as Clay should be sown with big ware as Beans but I am of another mind for if a dry Summer come his Beans will fall short And if the ground be very good put the more Beans to the Pease and they will yield the better when they are threshed And if it be very rank ground as it is much at every Town-side where Cattel do resort that plough not the Land until it be sown for if he do there will come up Kedlocks and other weeds But let him sow it with Beans for if he sow it with Pease the Kedlocks will hurt them And when he finds a seasonable time let him sow both Pease and Beans so that they are sown in the beginning of March. To know a seasonable time to sow go upon the Land that is ploughed and if it sing or cry or make any noise under thy feet then 't is too wet to sow but if it make no noise and will bear the Horses then sow in the Name of God For the manner of his sowing let him put the Pease into the Hopper and cast a broad thong of Leather or Garth-web of an Ell long let him fasten it to both the ends of the Hopper and put it over his head like a Belt and stand in the midst of the Land where the Sack lyeth the which is most conveniently for the filling of the Hopper and let him set his left foot before and take
hot Iron draw two streaks on each side then in the midst of the first line lance them with a Lancelet or Razor taking hold of the Kernels with a pair of Pinsers so as that you may cut the Kernels out without hurting the Vein then fill the hole full of Salt Another Cure for the same Take Agrimony Honey and Violet-leaves stamp them together and slit the Sinew under the Ear and lay a Plaister thereunto for two or three days Of the Mourning Chine with the Remedy THe cause hereof is great heat and afterwards taking of cold it first beginneth with a Rheum which proceedeth to the Inflammation of the Liver and the Lungs by the continual distilling upon them then to the Glanders which is the Impostumation thereof and lastly to an Exulceration which abruptly and untruly is called the Mourning of the Chine The signs to know this disease are these 1. The continual distilling of Rheum in the Head 2. The continual Knobs between the Jaws 3. The keeping of the hair without casting 4. A continual running of a thick stinking matter at the Nose like Oâ—k-water 5. The fastning and growing of a Knob as big as a Walnut to the inside of one of the Jaws which if so commit the Horses Carcass to the Crows for he is past all help The Cure for such a Horse if he be not past Cure For the first which is the Rheum the Cure is what I have mentioned for the Cold in the Head For the second Cure I refer you to that of the Glanders For the third let him blood till you see that he have fine and pure blood and give him good Mashes For the fourth for the running of his Nose you may add some ordinary purging Drinks that are used for the purging of the Head For the fifth if you find no amendment but a knob grown to his Jaw then you must give him a Purge with Pills and if these means will not help him though he were the best Horse in the world he is remediless Of the Broken Wind with the Remedy THe cause of this dangerous disease hath been but guessed at not truly discovered by any as not being well understood therefore accounted of most Horse-men incurable I do intend to use my best endeavours to unfold and explain it to which purpose I will divide the same into three kinds every one of which may be truly termed a Broken Wind because the breath being drawn very short and thick contrary to the original Institution or Creation the which is long cold and quiet for so every Creature is by Nature but when any accident of violence of the body is used in any of them to a distemper the signs thereof will quickly be visible and then every mans experience telleth him evidently that he panteth and fetcheth breath very short and thick I therefore will begin with the Cause thereof the which rightly understood the Effects cannot be hid Now the causes why a Horse draws his breath very short are these as sickness great fulness violent exercise but the reason of the cause is for that the Heart being the only hottest part of the body from whence the Arteries and Veins do carry the heat thereof to every part of the body and therefore it is truly said to be the Chariot of Life when the same by sickness or violence of exercise is choaked or as it were smothered with too great heat then do the Lights being the Bellows to draw breath according to that Office that Nature ordained them unto presently labour with all violence to draw it and cool and comfort the Heart and so consequently all the members and parts of the body to fill all the empty corners with Air which naturally and in predominant qualities is moist and when they have drawn sufficient breath the driness and heat by the moistness of the Air is quenched which being so then doth the Creature draw breath leisurely and coldly and not before but so long as the Heart is oppressed by the violent heat of sickness or by great fulness or violent exercise the Caves Pipes and passages for the breath are almost stopped and choaked up then do the Lungs labour extream thick to preserve the life of the Creature which is the Heart and therefore it is said to be the first thing that liveth and the last that dyeth So that all things which hinder and stop the passages of the breath breaking the natural course thereof are the only causes of a Broken Wind. So likewise the Cure of the Broken Wind must be by removing of the stoppings of the Air and then the Lungs will perfectly perform their Office and the Creature will be freed from the disease The differences of Broken Winds both in cause and effect are divers and yet may be termed Broken namely the shortness of breath the Pursick and Broken-winded 1. As touching the shortness of breath it may proceed from some gross and tough humours cleaving to the hollow places of the Lungs stopping the Wind-pipes so that the Horse cannot easily draw his breath and the sign thereof is his coughing often daily and vehemently without voiding at the Nose or the Mouth 2. It may come by hasty running after drinking or upon a full stomach or dissolution of humours descending into his Throat or Lungs by reason of some violent heat dissolving the same And the signs thereof are continually panting sending the same forth very hot at his Nose in a wheasing manner his Flanks beating so thick that he cannot fetch breath but by holding his Neck right-out and straight and this may be truly called a Broken Wind. The Cure is to take a close earthen Pot and put thereinto three pints of strong Wine-vinegar and some new-laid Eggs with the shells unbroken and four Garlick-heads clean peeled and bruised then cover the Pot close and set it in some warm Dunghil and there let it stand a whole night and the next morning take out the Eggs but break them not then strain the Garlick and Vinegar through a clean cloth put thereunto a quarter of Honey half a quarter of Sugar-candy two ounces of Liquorish two ounces of Aniseeds beaten into a fine powder The Horse having fasted all night in the morning open his mouth and put out his Tongue and put one Egg into his Throat and then let go his Tongue so that he may swallow it down then pour after it a Horn of the said Drink being luke-warm and so all the Eggs in that manner and all the Drink being spent bridle him and stop him and cloath him very warm and let him stand four hours then unbit him and if it be in Winter give him Wheat-straw but no Hay and if in the Summer time give him Grass and for some days together Mashes to drink with some Sallet-Oyl or Hogs grease in them and the Horse will do well and in few days be fit for Exercise Of the Gravelling of the Horse with the Remedy IT is
sufficiently you must rub and chafe all his Throat and Groyn An approved Cure of the Garget in Hogs This is a dangerous disease that many of them dye of it is a Swelling and Inflammation of the Throat behind the Jaws of a Hog I cannot be acquainted with any other Remedy for it is but this that they use to slit it in the midst as long as the Inflammation or Sore is and then to flay up the skin on both sides of the slits and so far as the Sore is rub it with Nettles and Salt and lay Tar upon it and he shall recover A Remedy together with a Bath for a Swine that hath the Swine-Pox For the Cure give them the powder of Brimstone with some Stale A Bath to wash them is as follows Take Yarrow Plantane Primrose-leaves Bryar-leaves old Oaken-leaves of a year of watry Betâ—ony of each two handfuls boil them in two Gallons of running Water till that they are tender and then wash your Hogs and Pigs therewith and use this once or twice and it will dry it up A Remedy for lousie Hogs This disease comes to them from Leanness and want of good keeping in Winter for so long as they are lousie they will not thrive The Remedy is take Quick-silver and kill it with Sallet-Oyl and fasting Spittle then mix therewith afresh Grease or Neats-foot Oyl and so anoint them all over Preservatives against the Meazles with the most approved Cures of them in Hogs To keep and save your Hogs from being measled take this course You shall use in the Summer especially in the Dog-days which last from the midst of July to the middle of August to give them amongst their Wash and other meat chopped cold Herbs of Lettice Endive Succory Violet-leaves of Dandelion Sow-thistle or Sumitors and such like chop a quantity of these amongst their meat to keep them cool Another is to take a quart of stale Piss or mens Urine that hath been kept very long and therein put a good handful of a pound of black Sope stir and mix it well together with the Piss then put therein a quantity of Whey force the Hog if he be nice to drink it Let him rest two or three hours after it and then give him some other meat not much and so let him rest without any other sustenance until the next morning for a weeks space or more as you shall have cause and you shall see this Experiment made good To fat Sheep All things will fatten Sheep which are mingled with salt water as Vetches Bran Chaff and such like To make the Wool to come again If the Wool of the Sheep after they have been scabby do fall off as in some places the Wool will go clear off to make it grow again and supply the same places grease them with Butter mixed with Tar Oyl Goose-grease or fresh Grease for Tar alone is too sharp a fretter and a whealer without it be mixed with some of the aforesaid Ingredients Of the Red Water with the Remedy This is a certain Bladder with water under the tip of the Heart which scalds and consumes the Heart and at length will kill the Sheep The best help is for some nights to chase them with a Dog which will preserve them from the mischief of this distemper An excellent Remedy for the Cough of a Sheep You must give him in the morning with a Horn a little of sweet Almonds mixed with a little white Wine Let him take it warm let him have new straw and make him to eat of the Colt-herb growing on Lands some call it Horse-hoof Of the cloven Pesil There is no other Remedy when he is a Lamb but to keep it clean till it be bigger anoint him with Tar and when he is in reasonable case kill him for there is no cure for it A Remedy for the Flegm Put the tender tops or branches of Savory into their Nostrils or Basil into their Noses which will cause them to sneeze but you must close their Eyes You may also take of the Juyce of Briony with honyed Water To kill Maggots Take Oyl of Olive and the powder of Brimstone and so anoint therewith or of the powder of Brimstone and Tar mixed together and warmed over a soft fire A Remedy for the Water in the Belly or Head Stamp and strain of two-penny Grass and give it him in boiled Wine Against any water in the Head boil Purslane in honyed water strained and so give it him For the Worms in the Cuts the Remedy Take a quantity of the Juyce of Horebound with some Leek-blades and bruise them and so give it to him and it will help him Of the Tin-worm It is a small red Worm with many Legs much like to a Hogs Louse they creep in the Grass if Sheep or any other Cattel do eat one they will swell and within a day or two dye if they are not cured To effect which take a quantity of Stale and Salt and stir them together and give it him so chafe him a while after or give him the Juyce of the Herb Robert and it will recover him A Remedy for the Loosness of the Teeth For the Cure take the tender Crops of Bryars called the Black Bryar and put it amongst his meat and his Teeth will fasten again in the eating thereof A Remedy for the Flowing of the Gall. Give him half a spoonful of Aqua vitae mixed with so much Vinegar and let him blood under the Tayl and he will mend A Remedy for the Choler in Sheep 'T is cured by giving the stale Urine of men A Cure for the Lousie in Sheep Take Quick-silver killed in Oyl Olive or Spittle and therewith anoint him Of the Wild-fire This is a disease counted incurable the Shepherds have no other way but to keep the Sheep warm and to nourish him with Goats milk the which will mitigate the distemper of the violence of the fire A Remedy for a Sheep that hath lost her Quide If a Sheep hath lost her Quide notwithstanding she will eat all the day and cast it up in the night again which casting will be like to the Paunch of a Beast for she cannot digest it but pine away by little and little For the Cure you must take Quide-wort that groweth amongst Corn like to Groundsel bruise a quantity thereof and then mark when you do see another Sheep chew the Quide and take part of her Quide out of her mouth and mix it with the bruised Quide-wort and roll it together and so give it make her swallow it and she will do well An excellent Cure for the Staggers in Sheep Take of long Pepper of Liquorish of Aniseeds of Hemp-seeds and of Honey of each a penny-worth heat all these together and put therein a pottle of new Milk and stir the Honey and it with the rest altogether and thereof give to each Lamb or Sheep two spoonfuls or somewhat more luke-warm and this will cure them Vseful
Horsemanship drawn from Nature Art and Practice of Riding BEfore I enter into the unfolding of the Parts of this Art I do think it fit to shew the Natural Instinct and Temperature that ought to be in every perfect Rider He must be a person void of fear for the true properties of his fortitude should be to guide his most noble Nature through hard and difficult things to the attaining of the end of his Heroick desires because the perfection of every good undertaking consisteth in this that it be done by a staid and constant reason without rashness And because every Rider is a reasonable Creature he therefore ought to be able to yield a constant reason without any contradiction as not subject to any prejudice of the Inquirer for that he only teacheth by reason for what he doth an inherent property peculiar to man yet it cannot be truly said that every reasonable man is a perfect Rider because every man hath not attained to the reason of the Art and therefore unable to teach Num quod nemo didicit nemo docere potest for no man can teach what he hath not learned And though it may be confessed that every good beginning cometh unto us by Nature yet the growth and progress thereof we attain unto by Precepts of Reason and the accomplishment by knowledge and practice For Nature without Knowledge is blind Knowledge without Nature falls short and Practice without the former is imperfect From hence it proceeds that unless Nature Art and Practice be conjoyned it will be impossible to be a good Rider to be able to know how and when to help his Horse the only principal things required in a Rider that is inriched with Nature Art and Practice and yet if he be so qualified and bestow all his labour and skill upon a Jade let him assure himself he shall Oleum operam perdere but lose his labour For although every Horse be a sensible Creature moved by sense and feeling as things proper to his Nature and taketh his instruction by Speech as man instructeth man which is either by incouragement or cherishing him when he doth well or by punishing him when he resisteth his Discipline yet nevertheless when a Jade begins to be taught and proceeds with a continual perseverance therein yet shall he never attain the perfection of Action because all Art must imitate the Nature of the Horse which to content and please is the end of the whole Art but where contrary Natures are there of necessity must be contrary workings and then must needs ensue contrary effects for every Creature worketh according to its Nature For amendment whereof the ignorant and pretended Rider proceedeth to violence which the Nature of the Horse abhorreth as a perturbation for then his Riding becometh grievous and painful so that he knoweth not what to do no more then an untowardly Scholar by whipping to say his Lesson delightfully and were it granted that the Horse were of a good disposition to yield all obedience to the most skilful Rider yet shall he never attain to any perfection of Action because Nature hath not shaped nor given him aptness fit for such a purpose no more then a natural Fool by Education can attain unto true Wisdom And yet very few Riders neither have nor do truly judge hereof for that nothing is more manifest in all their Writings and Actions then provision and means to make perfect that which is most imperfect by Nature as though they had never learned that Art can never overcome the necessity of Nature wherefore I desire all such as wish and desire to be good Riders first to examine their own natural dispositions Secondly to learn to know the true and perfect shape of Horses Thirdly the natural Causes of their goodness and badness Fourthly to be taught by an understanding Master and not to begin without his direction Fifthly to practise and always to examine the reason of his Practice then shall he see what a Hand-maid all Art is to Nature then shall he discern in the beholding of the actions of the perfect shaped Horse to be easie quick and ready according to his perfection of Nature as true qualities bred and brought forth by Nature not by correction but with all mildness and gentleness voluntarily performed the which all true and natural Riders will and ought altogether to cherish seeing all Horses do in that beautiful form that he himself doth express when he desires to appear most comely and just in his Pace just in his Trot just in his Gallop just in his Carriere just in his Head just when he standeth still just in union with the will of the Rider his Head and Neck will be so justly and rightly placed of such staidness and his Mouth of such a sweet and perfect composure as it seems as if Nature strove to set forth her own glory All which some call Natural and not so much Accidental in a perfect and a true shaped Horse It remaineth now to discourse of those things which most principally are required by the Art for the true performance of such Actions as Art requireth either for helps corrections or cherishings for reducing the Horse to perfect Action fit for the most gentile use of man For he that knoweth how to correct and cherish a Horse in his due time is and so ought to be accounted the most grounded in this Art the which cannot in a small time either be attained or performed and therefore for the true attaining thereof I wish that none undertake the same as I said before but by the direction of an expert Master lest it be said to him as Timotheus the best Player on the Flute of his time who when that he took a Scholar used to demand of him Whether he had made an entrance into that Play which if he had he took a greater reward by half then he did of them that knew nothing saying That his pains were greater to take from him what was unskilfully taught him then in teaching that which was good to such as understood nothing at all thereof The things that are principally to be used for helps are as hath been said corrections and cherishings which may be contained in these three Heads viz. the Voice the Hand and the Leg because the Voice by words of Art helpeth and with mild meek and gentle words cherisheth but by loud and taunting terrifieth and correcteth The Hand being the Instrument of Instruments upon the true use whereof the ground of the Art resteth by the temperate and sweet stay thereof it helpeth by clawing or gentle putting the Horse it cherisheth and by correcting or striking frighteth Again the Hand by the stroke jerk or sound of a Rod or Wand is sometimes very useful it often helpeth by practising mildly and gently with it clawing and scratching the Horse it incourageth and cherisheth him but by striking him too hard correcteth to his displeasure Again the hand with a Bridle