Natural history -- England -- Wiltshire; Wiltshire (England) -- History
In Wiley river are otters, and perhaps in others. The otter is our
English bever; and Mr. Meredith Lloyd saies that in the river Tivy in
Carmarthenshire there were real bevers heretofore—now extinct. Dr.
Powell, in his History of Wales, speakes of it. They are both alike;
fine furred, and their tayles like a fish. (The otter hath a hairy
round tail, not like the beavers.—J. RAY.)
I come now to warrens. That at Auburn is our famous coney-warren; and
the conies there are the best, sweetest, and fattest of any in England;
a short, thick coney, and exceeding fatt The grasse there is very
short, and burnt up in the hot weather. ’Tis a saying, that conies doe
love rost-meat.
Mr. Wace’s notes, p. 62.—“We have no wild boares in England: yet it may
be thought that heretofore we had, and did not think it convenient to
preserve this game”. But King Charles I. sent for some out of France,
and putt them in the New Forest, where they much encreased, and became
terrible to the travellers. In the civill warres they were destroyed,
but they have tainted all the breed of the pigges of the neighbouring
partes, which are of their colour; a kind of soot colour.
(There were wild boars in a forest in Essex formerly. I sent a Portugal
boar and sow to Wotton in Surrey, which greatly increased; but they
digged the earth so up, and did such spoyle, that the country would not
endure it: but they made incomparable bacon.—J. EVELYN.)
In warrens are found, but rarely, some old stotes, quite white: that
is, they are ermins. My keeper of Vernditch warren hath shewn two or
three of them to me.
At Everley is a great warren for hares; and also in Bishopston parish
neer Wilton is another, where the standing is to see the race; and an°.
1682 the Right Honble James, Earle of Abingdon, made another at West
Lavington.
Having done now with beastes of venerum, I will come to dogges. The
British dogges were in great esteeme in the time of the Romans; as
appeares by Gratius, who lived in Augustus Caesar’s time, and Oppian,
who wrote about two ages after Gratius, in imitation of him. “Gratii
Cynegeticon”, translated by Mr. Chr. Wace, 1654:-
“What if the Belgique current you should view,
And steer your course to Britain’s utmost shore’!
Though not for shape, and much deceiving show,
The British hounds no other blemish know:
When fierce work comes, and courage must he shown,
And Mars to extreme combat leads them on,
Then stout Molossians you will lesse commend;
With Athemaneans these in craft contend.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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