Gervase Markhaui. 83 



toria call a " prose version " of it appeared 

 next year in the second part of The 

 English Husbandman, drawne in Two 

 Books, by Gervase Markham. I have in 

 my possession original , copies of several 

 of Markham's books, including a fine 

 example of the 1631 thick quarto edition, 

 which contains most of them under the 

 general title A Way to get Wealth, in six 

 books. "I. Cheape and Good Husban- 

 dry. II. Country Contentments, including 

 Hunting, Hawking, Coursing with Grey- 

 hounds, Shooting in Longbow * or Cross- 

 bow, Bowling, Tennis, Baloone, THE 

 WHOLE ART OF ANGLING, the use of 

 the Fighting Cock. III. The English 

 Housewife, ' containing the Inward and 

 Outward Vertues which ought to be in 

 a Compleate Woman.' IV. The Enrich- 

 ment of the Weald of Kent. V. Mark- 

 ham's Farewell to Husbandry. VI. A 

 new Orchard and Garden, including the 

 Husbandry of Bees." Of these six books 

 it is said, " The first five Bookes gathered 



* Archers might well wish that he had devoted 

 a good deal more space to a description of this 

 fascinating exercise. By the way, he says the 

 bow-string should be drawn by holding it with 

 the thumb as well as the fingers. As far as I 

 know, no other writer on archery recommends 

 the use of the thumb. R. B. M. 



