APPENDIX 221 



York, to which Lavallée draws attention as being one 

 of the many ludicrous mistakes in this edition (G. 

 de F., xli.). 



Our text calls the hare the most marvellous beast 

 (p. i8i), the reasons given being because she "fumeth 

 or croteth and rowngeth and beareth tallow and grease." 

 By " rowngeth " (Fr. ronger) it was meant that the hare 

 chewed the cud, as by the ancients it was generally sup- 

 posed that the hare was a ruminant. Although this is 

 not the case, and the hare has not a compound stomach, 

 nevertheless this belief showed a close observation of 

 nature, for when a hare is seated she can bring up parts 

 of her food and give it a second mastication. 



The hare and rabbit have little or no fat, but what 

 they do possess is called grease. Twici says : // porte 

 gresce (pp. i and 2i). 



" She has teeth above in the same wise as beneath " 

 (p. i8i) is another of the peculiarities noticed in our text, 

 which shows that the difference in dentition that dis- 

 tinguishes the hare from all other rodents had been re- 

 marked. Instead of two incisors in the upper jaw, the 

 hare has four, having two small rudimentary incisor teeth 

 behind the two large front ones, and five or six molars 

 in the upper jaw, with two incisors and five molars in the 

 lower jaw (Brehm, ii. p. 627 ; Cornish, " Shooting," ii. 



p. 153). . 



It is difficult to know why the hare was considered a 

 " melancholy " beast, and how this curious reputation 

 was kept up during the whole of the Middle Ages. 

 It was thought that eating the flesh of the hare rendered 

 one also subject to melancholy. G. de F. does not 

 mention this, and altogether his book is comparatively 

 free of such superstitions, but he says the flesh of the 

 hare should not be given to the hounds after a day's 

 hunting, as it is indigestible : quar elle est fastieuse viande 

 et les fet vomir (p. 210). Therefore, when rewarding the 

 hounds, they should only have the tongue and the kidneys, 

 with some bread soaked in the blood of the hare. 



