HOW TO KNOW A HART 131 



hath a hind, and commonly longer traces. Never- 

 theless there are some hounds well traced, which 

 have the sole of the foot as a staggard or a small 

 stag, but the talon and the ergots are not so great 

 nor so large. Also a great hart and an old one 

 has a better sole to his foot, and a better talon 

 and better bones and greater and larger than has 

 a young deer or hind. And so in putting in the 

 earth the hart's foot and the hind's foot as I have 

 said, he shall know the difference and better than 

 I can devise. And also the hinds commonly have 

 their traces more hollow than a staggard or a stag, 

 and more open the cleeves (toes) in front than 

 a hart of ten, for of the others reck I never. 

 The judgment is in the talon (when it is great 

 and large ; and in the sole of the foot) 1 when it 

 is great and broad, and the point of the foot 

 broad. And men have seen a great hart and an 

 old one, the which had hollow traces, and that 

 cannot matter so that he hath the other signs 

 before said. For a hollow trace and sharp cleeves 

 betoken no other thing than that the country the 

 hart hath haunted is a soft country or hard, and 

 where there be but few stones, or that he has been 

 hunted but little. And also if a" man find such a 

 hart, and men ask him what hart it is, he may answer 



1 The words in brackets have been omitted in our MS. but 

 are in the Shirley MS. and G. de F. p. 129 ; they have been 

 thus inserted to complete the sense. 



