10 The booke of Hunting 



ped in the ende of Odlober, bycaufe of the Wynter and coJdes 

 whiche then beginne to reygne, and for that mylke and other 

 nouritures which are moft meete for them, doe then beginne to 

 fayle, and therefore it is then verie harde (if they be whelped in 

 fuch feafon) that they flioulde efcape death, for as muche as the 

 Winter hath ouertaken them before they haue force to endure 

 the colde, and though they doe efcape, yet will they be fmall and 

 weake. Another vnmeete feafon for wheipes is in luly and Au- 

 guft, bycaufe of the vehement heates, and the flyes, fleas, and 

 other vermyne which then will torment them. But the beft fea- 

 fon to haue wheipes is in March, Apryll, and Maye, when the 

 time is temperate and the heate not ouer greate. Alfo it is 

 the right time which nature hath appoynted for the breeding ot 

 all lyuing creatures, as Kyne, Goates, Sheepe, and fuche lyke, 

 for that is the feafon moft fytte for their nouriture. And feeyng 

 that wheipes maye be bredde in all feafons, and that many de- 

 lyght to breede their kynde, and to nouriflie them in what feafon 

 fo euer they come, I haue therfore thought good according to my 

 fantafie, to gyue vnderftanding of meanes howe to preferue 

 them. 



Fyrft if they be whelped in Wynter, you fhall take a Bar- 

 rell or. a Pype well dryed, and knocke out the heade at the one 

 ende thereof, afterwardes put ftrawe therein, and fet it by a 

 place where there is ordinarily a good fyre, then turne the open 

 ende towardes the fyre, to the ende the wheipes may haue the 

 ayre thereof, and you fliall feede the damme with good pottage 

 or broth made with Beefe or Mutton. 



Then when the wheipes begynne to lappe, you fliall accu- 

 ftome them alfo vnto pottage, but fuch as haue no falte therein, 

 bycaufe falte doth make them drye, and caufeth them to become 

 maungie, vnto the which difeafe they are fubie^t when they are 

 whelped in winter. 



Alfo you fliall put in their pottage much Sage and other hote 

 hearbes : And if peraduenture you fee that their haire do fall, you 

 fliall then annoynt them with oyle of Walnuts and honny mingled 

 together, and kepe them in their tun or pype as cleane as you can, 



and 



