uickest merchandise is of the young rabbits,
wherefore the older conies[196] are brought from further off, where there
is no such speedy utterance of rabbits and sucklings[197] in their season,
nor so great loss by their skins, sith they are suffered to grow up to
their full greatness with their owners. Our parks are generally enclosed
with strong pales made of oak, of which kind of wood there is great store
cherished in the woodland countries from time to time in each of them
only for the maintenance of the said defence and safe keeping of the
fallow deer from ranging about the country. Howbeit in times past divers
have been fenced in with stone walls, especially in the times of the
Romans, who first brought fallow deer into this land (as some conjecture),
albeit those enclosures were overthrown again by the Saxons and Danes, as
Cavisham, Towner, and Woodstock, beside other in the west country, and one
also at Bolton. Among other things also to be seen in that town there is
one of the fairest clocks in Europe. Where no wood is they are also
enclosed with piles of slate; and thereto it is doubted of many whether
our buck or doe are to be reckoned in wild or tame beasts or not. Pliny
deemeth them to be wild; Martial is also of the same opinion, where he
saith, "_Imbelles damae quid nisi praeda sumus?_" And so in time past the
like controversy was about bees, which the lawyers call _feras_ (_Tit de
acquirendo rerum dominio_, lib. 2 Instit.). But Pliny, attempting to
decide the quarrel, calleth them _medias inter feras et placidas aves_.
But whither am I so suddenly digressed? In returning therefore unto our
parks, I find also the circuit of these enclosures in like manner contain
oftentimes a walk of four or five miles, and sometimes more or less.
Whereby it is to be seen what store of ground is employed upon that vain
commodity, which bringeth no manner of gain or profit to the owner, sith
they commonly give away their flesh, never taking penny for the same,
except the ordinary fee, and parts of the deer given unto the keeper by a
custom, who beside three shillings four pence or five shillings in money,
hath the skin, head, umbles, chine, and shoulders: whereby he that hath
the warrant for a whole buck hath in the end little more than half, which
in my judgment is scarcely equal dealing; for venison in England is
neither bought nor sold, as in other countries, but maintained only for
the pleasure of the owner and his friend