| Title: | Copy In Scribal Hand E, Breeding Rabbits/Making Warren, Anon & Mr. Sleggers |
|---|---|
| Dating: | undated [1588] |
| Ref: | 67/5/1A-4B |
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Directions for Keepinge of tame
Coneyes.
To Keepe tame Coneyes had of one in London Anno .1588. who then Kept many, and had many good experiments. Hee about that time sold many femall Coneyes for 10s. a peece. And some of his bucke-Coneyes which had good silver-heare-Coats hee sold dearer.
Give them Oats and Wheate brann everie morning and eveninge a reasonable quantity not to glutt them, and at noone hay, and as much greene meate as will goe into a glove, and if they have rabets, they must have greene meate twice a daye.
One bucke will serve six does let the does bee buckt 4. 5. or 6. times.
Breeders are to bee put to the bucke when they bee red in the vent, if they hold after they have taken bucke, their vent will looke pale and waterish. You may know best by feeling them 10 dayes after they bee buckt, you shall feele little knots in the small of their bellyes as bigg as little nutts. You must not gripe <them> hard in the belley, for feare of making
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them cast her rabbets.
If a doe have but one or 2. or .3, shee will stay two dayes after her time. But if shee have 6. or 7. shee would come a day or two before her time.
To Keepe them from Infection keepe them sweet and cleane, giving them meate in good order not too much in one time, and none at another.
If any of your does bee sick, cut their eare that they may bleede and give them a little groundsell if you see that they bee bound, or else what they desire, most, till they bee amended.
To keepe them from beeinge burned you must not them let take bucke so often as they will.
To encrease their milke sow thistell and dandebyers is the best; if they bee not to bee gotten, then the Carrott and Carrott-tops.
To helpe them beeinge burned take a little sallet-oyle and heate it on the fire reasonable hott, and clippe it on the burne with a ragge thill ill it looke rawe, and after dresse it with cold oyle 2. or 3. dayes. For a wen, which Coneys are subjects unto [catchword: take]
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take a sharpe knyfe and cutt the skinne a little at once till you
When you take your rabbets from the does abate their greene meate 2. or 3. dayes, and leave one of the best rabbets to draw downe her milke least her duggs should breake.
Memorandum. That Greene tares is an excellent foode for tame coneyes, which tares you most<TRANS SWITCH="2"></TRANS> have<TRANS SWITCH="1"></TRANS> part of the summer, first by sowing some earlie viz so soone after Christmas, as the great frosts are past, and by sowing latter, and some after that so that you may gather them greene till the frosts come againe.
An Instruction for a Warren
for tame Coneyes found amongst
Mr. Sleggers writings.
First make choise of two acres of very dry ground, and compasse it with a ditche as round as a circle, five foot deepe and 7. foots wide, let
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the sloope side of your ditche bee towards the warren, and that way throwe up all your earth let the outside bee plumme upright, which you must presently pale, otherwise the earth will fall in. Then plant your trees not above 8. intches deepe, and at the least 24 foots asunder, lay close about the roots of every tree, as much pease-strawe as may bee well carried under a mans arme, which will keepe the roote moiste in summer, and warme from frost in winter. The best time to set your trees is shortly after Michelmas, which verifieth the old Proverbe in Kent, if thou wilt a good tree have, let him carry a greene leafe to his grave. In the very middle of your ground you must make a little lodge, in which you must have 8. severall hatches, so placed that they may bee allwayes open into the warren in everie hatche, you must tye with a little
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<must> washe your trees with water, so high as a Coney can reach, wherin you must burst the garbage of a Coney. Also every weeke you must drawe a peece of Carrayne at the foote of your pale in the bottome of your ditche round about your warrayne by which meanes your coneyes will never offer to touche your trees, nor come neere the Pale to scrape themselves out.
I doe accompt your charges in keeping your
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Coneyes to bee twentie markes a yeare. That is your warriners boordt and wages 8lb. and the Coneyes meate 5lb.6s.8d. The increase at an indifferent rekeninge will bee 7 litters a yeare, every Coney of the best kinde will bring 6 Rabbets at a Litter, where one of that sort bringeth fewer, two will bring more, some will bring 9. litters in a yeare // <left margin: //And that doe is not worth the keepinge, that bringeth not 7. Litters in a yeare.> The value of this encrease, after the aforesaid rats, at 8d. the coople (which the very Skinnes of most of them with good husbandrie will bee worth) amounteth to the Summe of 44lb.16s. a yeare. (But for feare you should fayle in your rekening, as the woman did that supposeth all the eggs in her basket would bee Capons. I will allow for Casualties 11lb.9s.4d. so resteth above all charge of the warriner And their meate 20lb a yeare de Claro, which I thinke beeinge well vsed can yeeld no lesse.
Although this kind of beeinge bred in houses cannot eate sweate, yet beeinge bred in this manner they are both the biggest fattest and sweetest Conyes that are.
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The aforesaid last Directions and Accompt were made 50 yeares since; and though the charge now would bee greater, yet the accompt for the gaynes may hold as well now as then and to more cleere gaines, for that such rabbets now will bee worth twice so much as they were then valued.
Memorandum. That Markeham in his Booke of Husbandrie called cheape and good among other things writeth of tame Coneyes and there hee sayth, that the feeding and preservation of those tame Coneyes is nothing so costlie and troublesome as many have imagined. For the best food you can feede a coney with, is the sweatest and shortest haye, of which one loade will serve two hundred coople a yeare. See more there folio 139.
And see the Country farme.
And also Le Theatre d'Agriculture, in french fol. 371. 372. 373. to 378. where is treated at large of Coneyes.
