80 THE ENGLISH MASTIFF. 



" and a foot square, and, with a mallet, setting a chisel of two 

 " inches broad upon the three claws of his fore feet, and at 

 " one blow cutting them clean off. And "this expeditating (by 

 "some called hambling or lawing of dogs) ought to be 

 " enquired of by the regarders of the forest every; third year, 

 " and to prevent such as are not expeditated, and the owners 

 "of them amerced 35. for keeping such dogs so outlawed." 

 Another term for cutting off the claws, or cutting out the 

 balls of the feet of dogs, was hoze-ing. 



The Rev. Daniel, in his Rural Sports, states, vol. i, "The 

 "court of regard, or survey of dogs, was holden likewise 

 " every third year, for expeditation or lawing of dogs, by 

 " cutting off to the skin, three claws of the fore feet, to prevent 

 " their running at, or killing deer. No other dogs than 

 " mastiffs were to be thus expeditated, for none other were 

 "permitted to be kept within the precindls of the forest, it 

 " being supposed that the keeping of these, and these only, 

 " were necessary for the defence of a man's house.'' Vide 4, 

 Inst. 308. 



From this, we may see the early encouragement which was 

 given towards keeping the mastiff as a guard for premises. 



Idistone, chapter xxii., states that the mastiff was cherished 

 by the Anglo-Saxons, and every two villeins, according to 

 Jesse, had to maintain one of these dogs. The heading hound 

 or molossus being used for chasing the larger animals. I 

 know not on what authority Jesse may have advanced this. 



Strutt states that the oldest treatise on hunting that lie 

 was aware of, was that of Tweci or Twety, grand huntsman 

 to Edward ist. Vide Warton's History of English Poetry, 

 vol. 3, page 221, and Strutt, Lib. i ch. xiii. Strutt states 



