42 THE MASTER OF GAME 



the female cometh again to the male, and they 

 shall ever be together unless they be slain, and if 

 one hunt them and part them asunder one from 

 another, they will come together again as soon as 

 they can and will seek each other until the time 

 that one of them have found the other. And the 

 cause why the male and the female be evermore 

 together as no other beast in this world, is that 

 commonly the female hath two kids at once, 

 one male and the other female, and because they 

 are kidded together they hold evermore together. 

 And yet if they were not kidded together of one 

 female, yet is the nature of them such that they 

 will always hold together as I have said before. 

 When they withdraw from the bucking, they mew 

 their heads, for men will find but few roebucks 

 that have passed two years that have not mewed 

 their heads by All Hallowtide. And after the 

 heads come again rough as a hart's head, and 

 commonly they burnish their horns in March. 

 The roebuck hath no season to be hunted, for 

 they bear no venison ^ but men should leave them 

 the females for their kids that would be lost unto 

 the time that they have kidded, and that the kids 

 can feed themselves and live by themselves with- 

 out their dame. It is good hunting for it lasteth 

 all the year and they run well, and longer than 

 does a great hart in high season time. Roebucks 



* See Appendix : Grease. 



