What time, enricht by Phoebus rayes, The Alder his new wealth displayes (*) Of budded groates, and welcome payes Vnto the Spring.
The Trowts, of middle growth begin, And eygall peizd, twixt either finne, At wonted hoste Dan Lyners Inne, Take their lodging.
Next, as the dayes vp early rise, In com's the Peall, whose smaller sise, In his more store, and oft supplies, A praise doth find.
Laftly, the Sammon, king of fish, Fils with good cheare the Christmas dish, Teaching that season must relish Each in his kind.
(*) It is said that the fish cometh, when the Alder leafe is growne to the breadth of a groate.
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And of the Sammon in particular.
NOW to the Sammon, king of fish, a trice, Against whose slate, both skill and will conspire, Paine brings the fewell, and gaine blowes the fire, That hand may execute the heads deuice. Some build his house, but his thence issue barre, Some make his meashie bed, but reaue his rest: Some giue him meate, but leaue it not disgest, Some tickle him, but are from pleasing farre. Another troope com's in with fire and sword, Yet cowardly, close counterwaite his way, And where he doth in streame, mistrustlesse play, Vail'd with nights robe, they stalke the shore aboord. One offers him the daylight in a waze, As if darknesse alone contriued wiles: But new Neptune, his mate, at land, the whiles, With forked Mace, deere school's his foolish gaze. Poore Fish, not praying, that are made a pray, And at thy natiue home find'st greatest harme, Though dread warne, swiftnesse guide, and strength thee arme, Thy neerenesse, greatnesse, goodnesse, thee betray.
In the Hauens, great store, and diuers sorts of fish, some at one time of the yeere, and some at another, doe haunt the depthes and shallowes, while the lesser flie the greater, and they also are pursued by a bigger, each preying one vpon another, and all of them accustoming, once in the yeere, to take their kind of the fresh water. They may be diuided into three kinds, shell, flat, and round fish. Of shell fish, there are Wrinkles, Limpets, Cockles, Muscles, Shrimps, Crabs, Lobsters, and Oysters.
Of flat fish, Rayes, Thorn-backes, Soles, Flowkes, Dabs, Playces.
Of round fish, Brit, Sprat, Barne, Smelts, Whiting, Scad, Chad, Sharkes, Cudles, Eeles, Conger, Basse, Millet, Whirlepole, and Porpose. The generall way of killing these (that is the Fishermans bloudie terme, for this cold-blouded creature) is by Weares, Hakings, Saynes, Tuckes, and Tramels.
The Weare is a frith, reaching slope-wise through the Ose, from the land to low water marke, and hauing in it, a bunt or cod with an eye-hooke, where the fish entering, vpon their coming backe with the ebbe, are stopped from issuing out againe, forsaken by the water, and left drie on the Ose.
For the Haking, certaine Stakes are pitched in the Ose at low water, athwart from Creeke, from shore to shore, to whose feete they fasten a Net, and at ful-sea draw the vpper part thereof to their stops, that the fish may not retire with the ebb, but be taken, as in the Weares.
The Sayne is a net, of about fortie fathome in length, with which they encompasse a part of the Sea, and drawe the same on land by two ropes, fastned at his ends, together with such fish, as lighteth within his precinct.
The Tucke carrieth a like fashion, saue that it is narrower meashed, and (therefore scarce lawfull) with a long bunt in the midst: the Tramell differeth not much from the shape of this bunt, and serueth to such vse as the Weare and Haking.
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The particular taking of sundrie kinds of fishes, is almost as diuers as themselues. Wrinckles, Limpets, Cockles, and Muscles, are gathered by hand, vpon the rockes and sands. Many of the Crabs breede in the shels of Cockles, and of the Lobsters in those of Wrinckles, as my selfe haue seene: being growne, they come forth, and liue in holes of Rockes, from whence, at low water, they are dragged out, by a long crooke of yron.