The School of Recreation Part 1

The School of Recreation (1684 edition).

by Robert Howlett.

TO THE READER.

_Man, the Abridgement of the Creation, or the _Compendium_ of all G.o.ds Works, having divested himself by Sin of that Original Innocence and Angelical State of Life wherein his Creator had placed him, and thereby Subjected his collapsed Nature to the Malediction of G.o.d, _In the sweat of thy Face thou shalt eat thy Bread_, &c. It pleased however the Almighty to continue and confirm that Original grand _Charter_ he had at first granted him, of being _Lord of the Creatures_: Hereby intimating, That tho man is now _Born to Trouble, Labour _and Cares_, as the Sparks fly upward_; yet G.o.d has not deprived him of any Comfort or Felicity, which the Earth or Creatures of it can afford; but has invested him with a superior Authority and _Dominion over the Beast of the Feild, the Fowl of the Air, and the Fish of the Sea_. Thus it comes to pa.s.s, that every Creature payes a _Duty and a Subjection_, (as it were) to man, as to their _Master_; and notwithstanding the Ferocity and Salvageness of their Natures, become tame and submissive to the _Empire_ of Man. They court his Favour and mutely supplicate his Friends.h.i.+p and Confederacy, for the subduing the Enemies of their several _Species_: They readily obey his Precepts, and ravisht with his Service willingly execute his Commands. And thus by this prime Priviledg from G.o.d, Man is allowed the Liberty of subduing the Creature, and recreating his Mind by _Hunting, Fowling, Fis.h.i.+ng_ and the like; and by observing the Natural _Instincts_ of every Species, the innate _Enmity and Cunning_ of every Creature, may glorify the Immense Wisdom of his Creator._

_And as the Liberty of Recreation in lawful Exercises is thus _Naturall_, so is it highly _Necessary_ and Useful too. Recreation keeps up the strength and Alacrity of the bodily Forces, without which the Soul cannot work: I mean those brisk and violent Exercises, which the Following sheets specifie. They cause the Body to _transpire_ plentiful sweats, and exhale those black and fuliginous Vapours which too much oppress some men, and remove the Obstructions which hinder the Circulation of Nature. _Brisk Exercises_ render a man Active, Vigorous, Strong, and Hardy, and attenuate and disperse that _Stagnation_ of humors, Benummedness and Dulness, which _Idleness_ contracts: Nay, (as one excellently observes) divers bodily Infirmities, Diseases and Undecencies are hereby regulated and amended: _Riding_ was used by the great _Drusus_ for the Strengthening his weak and small Thighs and Legs; and by his late _Majesty_, especially after Dinner; and is also good for the Head: _Shooting in a long Bow_ for the Breast and Arms; and helps Squinting: _Bowling_ for the Reins, Stone, Gravel, &c._

_Nor are the several other _Games_ commonly practised, less _Commendable_, were they used with a _modest_ and _prudent_ Care: I recomend them as useful as the other, were a _right use_ made of them.

I would not have them made a _Trade_, instead of a _Divertis.e.m.e.nt_. But especially those that are managed by _Skill_, and not Fortune, may be Learned, for these acquaint a man with _Numbring_, and quicken the Fancy and Memory, and recreate the Mind._

_And as Recreation is thus natural and necessary, so is it _Commendable_ too, and recommended by the Practises of all Ages; as well sacred as prophane Histories plainly testifying the Truth of it. But I shall not trouble you any longer by detaining you at the Door, and enumerating the various _Examples_, which may Authorize a vertuous Use of Recreations, and apologize for this Work: The severest _Stoick_ being never so cruel to himself or Nature, as not to give his mind some _Relaxation_, and recreate it in some more pleasant Pathes, than the miry heavy wayes of his own sullen and wilful _Resolutions_. Nor do our _Modern Stoicks_, tho of the strictest Lives, deny themselves some _Mental_, if not bodily Recreations; altho perhaps _Infirmity_, _Age_, _Station_, _Degree_, may render their Divertis.e.m.e.nts the more _private_, yet not totally denyed.

_Solomon_ had his _Ittan_ for Recreations, as _Josephus_ informes us, and the _Heathen_ Sages their _Olympiques_, wherein were exercised, _Wrestling_, _Running_ with _Horses_, _Leaping_, _Coursing_ with _Chariots_, _Contention of Poets_, _Rhetoricians_, _Disputations of Phylosophers_, &c._

_And because _Velle suum cuique_, every Mans Nature claimes a special Prerogative, in the electing a Recreation _Suitable_ to it self, one thing being very pleasing and delightful to one, and offensive and troublesome to another, I have therefore like the industrious _Bee_ gathered _Honey_ from various _Flowers_, and according to your _Palate_ taste and Eat; I have carefully _Delineated_ and drawn to the Life the divers _Figures_ of the several Recreations, and leave you to admire that _Peice_ you fancy best; intreating you to put them to the best _Use_, not to make them your Trade instead of _Recreation_; in which sence I would have you to accept this: And now you may walk in and view the Structure._

OF

Hunting.

_Hunting_, being a Recreation that challenges the sublime Epithets of _Royal_, _Artificial_, _Manly_, and _Warlike_, for its Stateliness, Cunning, and Indurance, claims above all other Sports the Precedency; and therefore I was induced to place it at the Head to usher in the rest; and of which take this concise Definition, _viz._ That since Nature has equally imparted unto every Beast a wonderful Knowledge of _Offence_ and _Security_, herein we may observe, _The curious Search and Conquest of one Creature over another, hurried on by an innate natural Antipathy, and performed or wrought by a Distinction of Smells._

And now to come to the Purpose, and the Design of this Tract, briefly to inform the young _Hunter_, as yet raw in the true Knowledge of this _Royal Sport_, with what is meerly _necessary_ and _useful_, without amusing him with _superfluous_ Observations for his Instruction: I shall therefore observe throughout this Treatise this Method: 1. The several _Chases_ or _Games_ which fall under the first Denomination, _Hunting_.

2. The genuine or infallible _Rules_ whereby we are to direct our selves, for the obtaining the true Pleasure in prosecuting the same, and the desired Effects of it.

Know then; There are five _Beasts of Venery_ or _Forest_, viz. The _Hart_, _Hinde_, _Hare_, _Boar_, _Wolf_.

As likewise five Wild Beasts, or _Beasts of Chace_, viz. The _Buck_, _Doe_, _Fox_, _Martern_, _Roe_.

The _Beasts of Warren_, are three, _viz._ _Hares_, _Coneys_, _Roes_.

_Note_, The _Hart_ and _Hinde_ before spoken of, though they are of _one_ kind, yet, because their _Seasons_ are several, are esteemed _distinct_ Beasts; and in the _Hart_ is included the _Stag_, and all _red Deer_ of Antlier.

And because I reckon it the most necessary part of the _Hunter_ to understand the _Names_, _Degrees_, _Ages_, and _Seasons_ of the aforesaid different Beasts of _Forest_ or _Venery_, _Chace_, and _Warren_; I shall therefore, in the next place, present him with these following

_Beasts of Forrest_, &c.

The _Hart_, the first Year is called a _Hinde-Calf_, 2 A _k.n.o.bber_, 3 A _Brock_, 4 A _Staggard_, 5 A _Stagg_, 6 A _Hart_.

The _Hinde_, the first Year a _Calf_, 2 A _Hea.r.s.e_, 3 A _Hinde_.

The _Hare_, the first Year a _Leveret_, 2 A _Hare_, 3 A _Great Hare_.

The _Wild-Boar_ and _Woolf_, being no _English_ Chace, I omit.

_Beasts of Chace._

The _Buck_, the first Year is called a _Fawn_, 2 A _p.r.i.c.ket_, 3 A _Sorrel_, 4 A _Sore_, 5 A _Buck of the first Head_, 6 A _Great Buck_.

The _Doe_, the first Year a _Fawn_, 2 A _Teg_, 3 A _Doe_.

The _Fox_, the first Year a _Cub_, 2 A _Fox_.

The _Martern_, the first Year a _Cub_, 2 A _Martern_.

The _Roe_, the first Year a _Kid_, 2 A _Gyrl_, 3 a _Hemuse_, 4 A _Roe-Buck of the first Head_, 5 A _Fair Roe-Buck_.

As for the _Beasts of Warren_, the _Hare_ being spoken of before, little or nothing is to be said. The _Coney_ is first a _Rabbet_, and then an _Old Coney_.

Thus much for their Names, Degrees, and Ages: Now let us next observe their _proper Seasons_ for Hunting.

The _Hart_ or _Buck_, beginneth _fifteen_ Days after _Mid-Summer-Day_, and lasteth till _Holy-Rood-Day_.

The _Fox_, from _Christma.s.s_, and lasteth till the _Annunciation of the blessed Virgin Mary_.

The _Hinde_, or _Doe_, from _Holy-Rood-Day_, till _Candlemas_.

The _Roe-Buck_, from _Easter_, till _Michaelmas_.

The _Roe_, from _Michaelmas_, till _Candlemas_.

The _Hare_, from _Michaelmas_, to the end of _February_.

Thus much I thought fit to speak briefly of the proper _Names_, _Degrees_, _Ages_, & _Seasons_ of the several Chaces which we Hunt: But having almost forgot some, I shall insert here, as intending to speak somewhat of them, and they are the _Badger_, _Otter_, and _Wild-Goat_; the last being a _Welch_-Game: Many more there are which I might here enumerate, but being _Forreign_ Chaces, I omit, as directing my Discourse to the _English-Man_.

As for the _Terms of Art_ appropriated to Hunting, as the Huntsmans _Dialect_, they are so many and various, that should I go about to note them here, it would swell my Treatise to too big a Volume; and therefore I refer you to the _Dictionaries_ which speak of them. And now I bring you to the second thing I proposed, _viz._ The _Rules And Measures_ we are to learn and observe in the aforementioned Sports or Chaces; and in this we must begin with the _Pursuers or Conquerors_ of these Chaces, namely;

_Of Hounds._

There are several kinds of _Hounds_, endued with Qualities suitable to the Country where they are bred; and therefore consult his _Country_, and you will soon understand his _Nature_ & _Use_: As for instance, The _Western_ Counties of _England_, and Wood-land, Mountainous Countries, as also _Ches.h.i.+re_, and _Lancas.h.i.+re_, breed the _slow-Hound_; a large great Dog, tall and heavy. _Worcesters.h.i.+re_, _Bedfords.h.i.+re_, and many other well mixt Soyls, where the Champaign and Covert are equally large, produce the _Middle-sized Dog_; of a more nimble Composure than the fore-mentioned, and fitter for Chace. _Yorks.h.i.+re_, _c.u.mberland_, _Northumberland_, and the _North_ parts, breed the Light, Nimble, _swift slender Dog_. And our open Champaigns train up excellent _Grey-Hounds_, hugely admired for his Swiftness, Strength, and Sagacity. And lastly, the _little Beagle_ bred in all Countries, is of exceeding Cunning, and curious Scent in Hunting. All these Dogs are highly set by in all remote Parts, whose Princes and Lords tenderly cherish them as _Excellencies_, and ambitiously sue for as _Rarities_.

For the _Choice_ of Hounds we are to rely much on their _Colours_, and accordingly make our Election. The Best and most Beautiful of all for a general Kennel, is, The _White Hound_, with black Ears, and a black spot at the setting on of the Tail, and is ever found to be both of good Scent, and good Condition, and will Hunt any Chace, but especially the _Hare_, _Stag_, _Buck_, _Roe_, or _Otter_, not sticking at Woods or Waters. The next is, the _Black_, the black-tann'd, or all Liver-hew'd, or the milk White Hound, which is the true _Talbot_, is best for the _String_, or _Line_, as delighting in Blood; the _Largest_ is the comliest and best. The _Grizled_, usually s.h.a.g-hair'd, are the best Verminers, and so fittest for the _Fox_, _Badger_, or other hot Scents; a couple of which let not your Kennel be without, as being exceeding good cunning _Finders_.

For the _Shape_ of your _Hound_, you must consult the Climate of his Breed, and the natural Composition of his Body; but by these following Characters you may know a good _Hound_. If you like a large, _heavy_, true _Talbot-like_ Hound, See

His _Head_ be round and thick. _Nose_ short and uprising. _Nostrils_ wide and large. _Eares_ large and down-hanging. _Upper-Lip-Flews_ lower than his Nether Chaps. _Back_ strong and rising. _Fillets_ thick and great. _Thighs_ and _Huckle-bones_ round. _Hams_ streight. _Tail_ long and rush-grown. The _Hair of his Belly_ hard and stiff. _Legs_ big and lean. _Foot_ like a _Fox_'s, well clawd and round. _Sole_ dry and hard.

All these shew an _able Hound_.

If you would choose a swift _light Hound_, the _Yorks.h.i.+re_ one in the generality will please you; for that (as these have) he ought to have a _slenderer_ Head, _longer_ Nose, _shallower_ Ears and Flews, _broad_ Back, _gaunt_ Belly, _small Tayl_, _long_ Joints, _round_ Foot; and in fine of a _Gray-Hound-like_ Make.