APPENDIX 265 



1 174, he says wild boars as well as other animals fre- 

 quented the forests surrounding London, and it would 

 certainly be a long time after this before these animals 

 could have been extirpated from the wild forests in more 

 remote parts of the country. 



Sounder is the technical term for a herd of wild swine. 

 " How many herdes be there of bestes of venery ? Sire 

 of hertis, or bisses, of bukkes and of doos. A soundre 

 of wylde swyne. A bevy of Roos " (Twety and Gyf- 

 ford). In the French Twici we have also Soundre dez 

 pores. 



Farrow (Sub.) was a term for a young pig, in Mid. 

 Yjng.farhjfhr, Old Eng. fearh (Strat.). Farrow (verb) 

 was the term used when sows gave birth to young. 



G. de F. says that wild boars can wind acorns as far 

 as a bear can (p. 58), and turnmg to his chapter on bears, 

 we find that he says that bears will wind a feeding of 

 acorns six leagues off ! 



Routing or rooting. A wild boar is said to root 

 when he is feeding on ferns or roots (Turb., pp. 153, 



154). 



Jrgus, as our MS. calls the dew-claws of the boar, were 

 in the later language of venery called the gards (Blome, 

 p. 102). Twety and Gyfford named the dew-claws of 

 the stag OS and of the boar ergos. " How many bestis 

 here os, and how many ergos ? The hert berith os above, 

 the boor and the buk berith ergos." 



Grease, as the fat of the boar or sow was called, was 

 supposed to bear medicinal qualities. "And fayre put 

 the grece whan it is take away, In the bledder of the 

 boore my chylde I yow pray. For it is a médecine : for 

 mony maner pyne " (" Boke of St. Albans "). 



WILD CAT {Fe/is Catus), which at one time was 

 extremely common in England, was included among the 

 beasts of the chase. It is frequently mentioned in royal 

 grants giving liberty to enclose forest-land and licence to 

 hunt therein. 



