CHAPTER V 



OF THE ROE AND OF HIS NATURE 



The roebuck is a common beast enough, and 

 therefore I need not to tell of his making, for 

 there be few men that have not seen some of them. 

 It is a good little beast and goodly for to hunt to 

 whoso can do it as I shall devise hereafter, for 

 there be few hunters that can well devise his 

 nature. They go in their love that is called 

 bokeyng in October, 1 and the bucking of them 

 lasteth but fifteen days or there about. At the 

 bucking of the roebuck he hath to do but with 

 one female for all the season, and a male and a 

 female abide together as the hinds 2 till the time 

 that the female shall have her kids ; and then the 

 female parteth from the male and goeth to kid 

 her kids far from thence, for the male would 

 slay the young if he could find them. And when 

 they be big that they can eat by themselves of the 

 herbs and of the leaves and can run away, then 



1 This is wrong ; they rut in the beginning of August. See 

 Appendix : Roe. 



2 A clerical error. G. de F. (p. 36) says, "as do birds," 

 which makes good sense. 



