WOODCOCK.] NATURAL HISTORY. 351 



she presently, dieth. The sea-onion of all other things is 

 hateful to a Wolf, and by treading on it his leg falleth 

 into a cramp ; the Wolf is an enemy to the fox and turtle, 

 and in their absence from their nests, they leave this onion 

 in the mouth thereof, as a sure guard to keep their young 

 ones from the Wolf. A she- Wolf the first year littereth 

 one whelp, the second year two, the third year three, and 

 so observeth the same proportion unto nine, after which 

 she groweth barren ; and when she bringeth her young ones 

 to the water, if any of them lap water like a dog, him 

 she rejecteth as unworthy of her parentage, but those which 

 suck their water like a swine, or bite at it like a bear, 

 them she taketh to her, and nourisheth very carefully. Of 

 dogs and Wolves cometh the panther, of the hyasna and 

 the Wolf come the Thces, and the hyaena itself seemeth 

 to be compounded of a Wolf and a fox. The skin of a 

 Wolf being tasted of those which are bit of a mad or 

 ravenous dog doth preserve them from the fear or hazard 

 of falling into water. If any labouring or travelling man 

 doth wear the skin of a Wolf about his feet, his shoes 

 shall never pain or trouble him. He which doth eat the 

 skin of a Wolf well tempered and sodden will keep him 

 from all evil dreams, and cause him to take his rest quietly. 

 The teeth of a Wolf being rubbed upon the gums of young 

 infants doth open them whereby the teeth may the easier 

 come forth. Topsell, " Four-footed Beasts," pp. 568-84. 



IF any man bind the right eye of a Wolf on his right 

 sleeve, neither men nor dogs can hurt him. 



Albertus Magnus^ " Of the Virtues of Animals." 



Woodbine. 



MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, iii. I, 30. 



[Honeysuckle ; but in " Midsummer Night's Dream," iv. I, 47, 

 Nares thinks it is used for bindweed or convolvulus.] 



Woodcock. 



O this woodcock ! what an ass it is ! 



TAMING OF THE SHREW, i. 2. 



THE Woodcock strives to hide his long bill, and then 

 thinks nobody sees him. 



Dean Swift, " Polite Conversation," dialogue i. 



[Jonston, "Natural History of Birds," ch. iv. (1657), says that 

 it was popularly supposed to be without gall. 



