Early English Meals and Manners Part 51

Cap. xi.

[Sidenote: _Ahuna._ When the Ahuna is in danger, he puts his head in his belly, and eats a bit of himself.]

++Ahuna is a mo{n}ster of the see very glorisshe, as Albert{us} saith / what it eteth it tourneth to greas in his body / it hathe no mawe but a bely / & that he filleth so full that he speweth it out agayne / & that can he do so lyghtely / for hehath no necke / whan he is in peryl of dethe be other fisshes / than he onfacyoneth himselfe as rou{n}de as a bowle, w{i}t{h}drawynge his hede into his bely / wha{n} he hathe then hounger / He dothe ete a parte of himselfe rather than {th}e other fisshes sholde ete him hole and all.

Cap. xiii.

[Sidenote: _Borbotha._]

++Borbotha be fisshes very slepery, somewhat lyke an ele / haui{n}ge wyde mouthes & great hedes / it is a swete mete / and whan it is xij.

yere olde, than it waxeth bigge of body.

[Sidenote: _b.u.t.t_, or _Flounder_ (Russell, l. 735, and note 2).]

Nota / Botte that is a flounder of the fresshe water / & they swi{m}me on the flatte of their body, & they haue finnes rou{n}de about theyr body & w{i}t{h} a sothern wynde they waxe fatte /

[Sidenote: _Bream_ (Russell, l. 745, 578).]

& they have rede spottis. Bre{n}na is a breme, & it is a fisshe of the riuer / & whan he seeth the pyke that wyll take hym / than he sinketh to the botom of {th}e wat{er} & maketh it so trobelous that the pyke can nat se hym.

Cap. xiiii.

[Sidenote: _Balena._ (The woodcut is a big Merman. See note, p. 123, here. ? Whale. Russell, l. 582.) Are seen most in winter; breed in summer. In rough weather Balena puts her young in her mouth.]

++Balena is a great beste in the see, and bloweth moche water from him, as if it were a clowde / the shippes be in great dau{n}ger of him somtyme / & they be sene moste towardes winter / for in the somer they be hidden in swete brod places of the wat{er} where it casteth her yo{n}ges, & suffereth so grete payne {tha}t tha{n} he fleteth aboue the water as one desiringe helpe / his mouth is in the face, & therefore he casteth the more water / she bringeth her yonges forthe lyke other bestis on erthe, & it slepeth / in te{m}pestius weder she hydeth her yo{n}ges in her mouthe / and wha{n} it is past she voydeth them out agayne / & they growe x. yere.

Cap. xvi.

[Sidenote: _Crevice_ (Sea and Fresh Water Crayfish). (Russell, l. 602, l. 618.) How they engender, and hybernate. How the Crayfish manages to eat Oysters.]

++Cancer the creuyce is a Fishe of {th}e see that is closed in a harde sh.e.l.le, hauyng many fete and clawes / and euer it crepeth bacward / & the he hathe two py{n}nes on his bely, & {th}e she hathe none / whan he wyll engender, he cli{m}meth on her bake, and she turneth her syde towardes him, & so they fulfyll their workes. In maye they chaunge their cotes, & in wi{n}ter they hyde the{m} fiue monethes duringe / wha{n} the creues hath dro{n}ken milke it may leue lo{n}ge w{i}t{h}out wat{er}.

when he is olde, he hathe ij. stones in his hed with rede spottes that haue great vertue / for if they be layde in drynke / they withdryue the payne frome the herte. thecreuyce eteth the Oysters, & geteth the{m} be policye / for whan the oyster gapeth, he throweth lytell stones in him, and so geteth his fishe out, for it bydeth than open.

The Operacion.

[Sidenote: Fresh-Water Crayfish is hard to digest.]

-- The a.s.shes of hym is G.o.de to make white tethe / & to kepe the motes out of the clothes / it w{i}t{h}dryueth byles, & heleth mangynes. The creuyce of the fresshe water geueth gret fode, but it is an heuy mete to disieste.

Cap. xviij.

[Sidenote: Caucius.]

++Cauci{us} is a fisshe that will nat be taken w{i}t{h} no hokes / but

[Sidenote: Capitaius.]

eteth of {th}e bayte & goth his way quyte. Capitai{us} is a lytel fisshe w{i}t{h} a great hede / a wyde rou{n}de mouthe / &

[Sidenote: _Carp._ Is difficult to net.]

it hydeth him vnder the stones. Nota. Carpera is a carpe, & it is a fysshe that hathe great scales / and the female hathe a great rowghe, & she can bringe forthe no yonges tyll she haue receyued mylke of her make / & that she receyueth at the mouth / and it is yll for to take / for whan it perceyueth that it shalbe taken w{i}t{h} the net, tha{n} it thrusteth the hede into the mudde of the water / and than the nette slyppeth ouer him whiche waye soeuer it come; & some holde them fast be the grounde, gra.s.se / or erbis, & so saue themselfe.

Cap. xix.

[Sidenote: _Whale._ Likes Harmony. Gets harpooned, rubs the harpoon into himself, and slays himself.]

++Cetus is the greatest whale fisshe of all / his mouthe is so wyde that he bloweth vp the water as yf it were a clowde / wherw{i}t{h} he drowneth many shippes / but whan the maryners spye where he is / than thei acco{m}pany them a gret many of shyppes togeder about him with diuers i{n}strume{n}tis of musike, & they play with grete armonye / & the fische is very gladde of this armonye / & co{m}meth fletynge a-boue the watere to here the melody, & than they haue amonge them an instrument of yron, {th}e whiche they feste{n} in-to the harde ski{n}ne, & the weght of it synketh downwarde in to {th}e fat & grese / & sodenly w{i}t{h} that al {th}e instrumentes of musike be styll, and {th}e shyppes departe frome thens, & anone he sinketh to the grownde / & he feleth {tha}t the salt watere smarteth in {th}e wou{n}de, tha{n} he turneth his bely vpwaerd and rubbeth his wownde agay{n}st {th}e grou{n}d, & the more he rubbeth, the depere it entreth / & he rubbeth so longe {tha}t he sleeth hymself / and whan he is dede, than co{m}meth he vp agayne and sheweth him selfe dede / as he dyd before quicke / and than the shippes gader them togeder agayne, and take, & so lede hym to lo{n}de, & do theyr profyte with hym.

Cap. xxij.

[Sidenote: Conche, or _Muscle_.]

++Conche be abydynge in {th}e harde sh.e.l.lis: as {th}e mone growth or waneth, so be the conches or muscles fulle or nat full, but smale / & there be many sortes of conches or musclys / but {th}e best be they that haue the perles in.

Cap. xxiij.

[Sidenote: Sea-snails.]

++Coochele / is a snayle dwelli{n}ge in the water & also on the lo{n}de / they go out of theyr howses / & they thruste out .ij. longe hornes wherwith they fele wether they go / for they se nat where they crepe.

Cap. xxiiij.

[Sidenote: _Conger._]

++The Conger is a se fisshe facioned like an ele / but they be moche greter in qua{n}tyte / & whan it bloweth sore, than

[Sidenote: Polippus.]

waxe they fatte. -- Polippus is also a stronge fisshe {tha}t onwa.r.s.e he wyl pull a man out of a shyp. yet {th}e conger is so stronge that he wyll tere polippu{m} asonder w{i}t{h} his teth, & in winter {th}e conger layth in {th}e depe cauernes or holes of the water. & he is nat taken but in somer. -- Esculapius sayth.

[Sidenote: Corets.]

Coretz is a fisshe that hydeth hym in the depe of {th}e water whan it rayneth / for yf he receiued any rayne, he sholde waxe blynde, and dye of it. -- Iorath sayth. The fisshes that be

[Sidenote: _Sea-crevice._]

named se craues / wha{n}ne they haue yo{n}ges / they make suche noise {tha}t through theyr noyse they be fou{n}de and taken.