The ordinary small nets should be made of fine Phasian or Carthaginian[3] flax, and so too should the road nets and the larger hayes.[4] These small nets should be nine-threaded [made of three strandes, and each strand of three threads],[5] five spans[6] in depth,[7] and two palms[8] at the nooses or pockets.[9] There should be no knots in the cords that run round, which should be so inserted as to run quite smoothly.[10] The road net should be twelve-threaded, and the larger net (or haye) sixteen. They may be of different sizes, the former varying from twelve to twenty-four or thirty feet, the latter from sixty to one hundred and twenty or one hundred and eighty feet.[11] If larger they will be unwieldy and hard to manage. Both should be thirty-knotted, and the interval of the nooses the same as in the ordinary small nets. At the elbow ends[12] the road net should be furnished with nipples[13] (or eyes), and the larger sort (the haye) with rings, and both alike with a running line of twisted cord. The pronged stakes[14] for the small nets should be ten palms high,[15] as a rule, but there should be some shorter ones besides; those of unequal length will be convenient to equalise the height on uneven ground, and those of equal length on level. They should be sharp-tipped so as to draw out easily[16] and smooth throughout. Those for the road nets should be twice the height,[17] and those for the big (haye) nets five spans long,[18] with small forks, the notches not deep; they should be stout and solid, of a thickness proportionate to their length. The number of props needed for the nets will vary-many or few, according to circumstances; a less number if the tension on the net be great, and a larger number when the nets are slack.[19]
[3] Phasian or Carchedonian. Cf. Pollux, v. 26.
[4] {arkus, enodia, diktua}.
[5] [L. Dind. brackets.] See Pollux, v. 27, ap. Schn.
[6] {spithame}, a span (dodrans) = 7 1/2 inches. Herod. ii. 106;
{trispithamos}, Hes. 'Op.' 424; Plat. 'Alc.' i. 126 C; Aristot.
'H. A.' viii. 28. 5; Polyb. v. 3-6.
[7] {to megethos}.
[8] Or, 'eight fingers' breadth +' = 6 inches +. {palaiste} or
{palaste}, a palm or four fingers' breadth = 3 inches +.
[9] {tous brokhous}, a purse or tunnel arrangement with slip loop.
[10] Reading {upheisthosan de oi peridromoi anammatoi}. Lit. 'the
cords that run round should be inserted without knots.' See
Pollux, v. 28 foll.
[11] Lit. '2, 4, 5 fathoms; 10, 20, 30 fathoms.'
[12] {akroleniois}, elbows, Pollux, v. 29; al. {akroliniois}, L. S.,
'on the edges or borders.'
[13] {mastous}, al. 'tufts.'
[14] {skhalides}, forks or net props. Cf. Pollux, v. 19. 31.
[15] i.e. 30 + inches = 2 1/2 + ft., say 36 inches = 3 ft.
[16] {euperispastoi ta akra}, al. 'they should be made so that the
nets can be fitted on and off easily, with sharp points'; or 'off
the points easily.'
[17] {siplasiai}, i.e. 20 palms = 60 + inches, say 72, or 6 ft.
[18] {pentespithamoi}, i.e. 5 x 7 1/2 inches = 37 1/2 inches = 3 ft. 1
1/2 inch; al. 5 x 9 inches = 45 inches = 3 ft. 9 inches.
[19] Or, 'if in the particular position the nets are taut, a larger if
they lie slack.'
Lastly, for the purpose of carrying the nets and hayes, for either sort[20] there must be a bag of calf-skin; and billhooks to cut down branches and stop gaps in the woods when necessary.[21]
[20] Reading, with Lenz, {ekaterois}, or if, as C. Gesner conj., {e
ekatera}, transl. 'or either separately.'
[21] Or, 'for the purpose of felling wood and stopping up gaps where
necessary.'
III
There are two breeds of sporting dogs: the Castorian and the fox- like.[1] The former get their name from Castor, in memory of the delight he took in the business of the chase, for which he kept this breed by preference.[2] The other breed is literally foxy, being the progeny originally of the dog and the fox, whose natures have in the course of ages become blent.[3]
[1] {Kastoriai}, or Laconian, approaching possibly the harrier type;
{alopekides}, i.e. vulpocanine, hybrid between fox and dog.
[2] Or, 'get their appellation from the fact that Castor took delight
in the business of the chase, and kept this breed specially for
the purpose.' Al. {diephulaxen}, 'propagated and preserved the
breed which we now have.' See Darwin, 'Animals and Plants under
Domestication,' ii. 202, 209.
[3] Or, 'and through lapse of time the twofold characteristics of
their progenitors have become blent.' See Timoth. Gaz. ap.
Schneid. ad loc. for an ancient superstition as to breeds.
Both species present a large proportion of defective animals[4] which fall short of the type, as being under- sized, or crook-nosed,[5] or gray-eyed,[6] or near-sighted, or ungainly, or stiff-jointed, or deficient in strength, thin-haired, lanky, disproportioned, devoid of pluck or of nose, or unsound of foot. To particularise: an under-sized dog will, ten to one, break off from the chase[7] faint and flagging in the performance of his duty owing to mere diminutiveness. An aquiline nose means no mouth, and consequently an inability to hold the hare fast.[8] A blinking bluish eye implies defect of vision;[9] just as want of shape means ugliness.[10] The stiff-limbed dog will come home limping from the hunting-field;[11] just as want of strength and thinness of coat go hand in hand with incapacity for toil.[12] The lanky-legged, unsymmetrical dog, with his shambling gait and ill- compacted frame, ranges heavily; while the spiritless animal will leave his work to skulk off out of the sun into shade and lie down. Want of nose means scenting the hare with difficulty, or only once in a way; and however courageous he may be, a hound with unsound feet cannot stand the work, but through foot-soreness will eventually give in.[13]
[4] Or, 'defective specimens (that is to say, the majority) are to be
noted, as follows.'
[5] {grupai}.
[6] {kharopoi}. Al. Arrian, iv. 4, 5.
[7] Or, 'will probably retire from the chase and throw up the business
through mere diminutiveness.'
[8] Or, 'a hook-nosed (? pig-jawed, see Stonehenge, 'The Dog,' p. 19,
4th ed.) dog has a bad mouth and cannot hold.'
[9] Or, 'a short-sighted, wall-eyed dog has defective vision.'
[10] Or, 'they are weedy, ugly brutes as a rule.'
[11] Or, 'stiffness of limbs means he will come off.' Cf. 'Mem.' III.
xiii. 6.
[12] Lit. 'a weak, thinly-haired animal is incapable of severe toil.'
[13] Or, 'Nor will courage compensate for unsound feet. The toil and
moil will be too great to endure, and owing to the pains in his
feet he will in the end give in.'
Similarly many different modes of hunting a line of scent are to be seen in the same species of hound.[14] One dog as soon as he has found the trail will go along without sign or symptom to show that he is on the scent; another will vibrate his ears only and keep his tail[15] perfectly still; while a third has just the opposite propensity: he will keep his ears still and wag with the tip of his tail. Others draw their ears together, and assuming a solemn air,[16] drop their tails, tuck them between their legs, and scour along the line. Many do nothing of the sort.[17] They tear madly about, babbling round the line when they light upon it, and senselessly trampling out the scent.
