Part 4

Let them Walk till the young Cockerils begin to disagree, and when once you find they are inclineable to quarrel, and raise up civil-Wars amongst themselves, you must speedily take them up, and if they are strong enough, cut their Combs and Wattles, and not before; for if you cut them too early, there will be no Comb remaining either to grace or guard the Head, and he’ll look so Capon like, that you will hate to see him when turned into the Pit. But on the other hand, if you let them wear their Wattles a Year, or may be five Quarters, as some unwisely do, they will then be heavy headed, and in spight of Fate must needs loose a World of Blood, which of all things is the most hurtful to a Cock of the Game; and, therefore, as you may not before a Quarter old at soonest, so you may not exceed three Quarters at the farthest, before you dub your young Cocks, for the Reasons aforesaid: And in cutting, if you observe this for a Rule, to leave the Comb round like a Half-moon, it will make the Cock appear as it were Roman-nos’d, or Hawk-bill’d, and will not only be a good guard to his Head, but will render him much handsomer to look upon: Whereas close cutting makes them appear sneaking, and also much weakens the Beak of a Cock, and by that means many times looses the Battle. But when you Cut, or Dub your Cocks, be sure to put them up into the Pens for a Week, or more, until you find their Wounded Heads begin to shell and heal; and this imprisonment will be of double advantage to the young Cocks, for it will both acquaint them with the Pens, and give you the advantage of often handling of them, which is the most compendious way to make them become tame and gentle, without which qualification, or good property, a Cock (tho’ never so well bred) is not to be trusted to Fight for any considerable Wager: for should he come to be sett, it is ten to one he skuts, and basely quits the Pit, and that more for fear of being handled by the feeder, than hurt by the other Cock, and so looses the Battle for want of prehandling, and being made tame, and gentle before he comes to Fight: And therefore, as ’tis a most notorious Crime in a Cock of the Game to be wild or shie, so it is as weak and silly in a Master, to Fight such a Bird, before he be familiaris’d, and made bold and gentle.

_When Cocks should be set out to Walk, and where._

And now in the next place, after this Penning, and his Wounded Head is got well, you must send him to a Walk, where (like an absolute Monarch) he may Reign without controul, and be beyond the hearing of the hourly challenges of neighbouring Cocks, which is a thing apt to stir their Choller, and therefore it is that Captain _Markham_ so much commends a Lodge, a Grange-house, or Mill, because that, for the most part, they are places remote, and far from Neighbours. And as you are always to chuse a Walk that is grac’d with Solitude, having green Fields, or pleasant Meadows on one hand, with Mountainous, Hilly, dry Ground on the other, and a murmuring Brook, or twatling Rivelet, or in their stead some pleasant Pools, or Ponds of clear sweet Water, with a good Barndoor, or else some loving Hand from the House that may daily afford plenty of Corn, especially if the Cock be large; So should you, if possibly you can, avoid the having of too many Hens in your Walk, for look how many above six your Cock walks with, so many Mates has he too many; and, indeed, had he but two or three it’s enough, and the Walk would be the better: for many Hens make a Cock to tread often, and much treading greatly debilitates a Bird of the Game, and makes him feeble when he comes to Fight; tho’ length of time and good Feeding will much restore a Cock that is decayed by hard Treading.

_Of a proper Roost for Cocks._

And now for the Roost of your Cock, which is one of the choicest things you are to look after in his Walk, for it makes or marrs a Cock I assure you; and therefore know, that there is nothing better than a Beam, or broad Struncheon, wraped round, and close with well twisted Thum-ropes of Hay, into which he may set his Claws, and by that means hold himself fast without stradling, or lying wide with his Legs: Whereas if his Roost be either small or narrow, he is forced to sit wide, and gripe hard, to hold himself on; and this many times spoils a good Cock, and makes him not worth a Groat, that might otherwise have been a Jewel of impreciable Value; and therefore be sure to be very careful and curious in the Roost: and see that the Floor be not too hard on which he is to light when he is to descend from his Roost, for that will be apt to break his Claws, and bruise his Feet, and make him Club-footed, and Gouty; neither is it good to give a Cock Meat either upon a Brick, Plaister, or Boarded-floor, for that will much harm the Bill, or Beak of a Cock, making it blunt, and dull, and many times breaks it quite off, to the spoyling of the Bird at present.

_Of Sparring young Cocks and its use._

And here by the way give me leave to recommend to you the frequent sparring of your young Cocks: I confess ’tis a thing practised by few or none, and by the generality of Cock-masters judged injurious and hurtful, and therefore much declaimed against; yet notwithstanding all this, I have practiced it for many Years, with good success and advantage; And do constantly affirm it to be one of the greatest helps that can be conferred upon a young Cock, provided it be performed by a Skilful Master, whose care and diligence may be manifested in the well ordering of the Cocks in these their early heats: And a better way I know not than this, which I have ever observed, and been very successful in.

First then, after you have placed a young Cock some little time at his Walk, where he Reigns like a supream Lord and Master over all, without the least controul, or molestation from any Antagonist, then take a Brother, or some other young Cock, as near to his Age and Size as may be, and go to this his Walk, and there, after having secured their budding Spurs, by putting them on little Hutts made for that purpose; _Take_ Ive-berry-leaves, Ground-Ive-leaves, _bruised with_ Herb of Grace, Sweet Butter, _and the fine Powder of brown_ Sugar-Candy, _mix these well, and make them into Pills as big as a large Bean_, give to each Cock a Pill, or two, and then turn them down in some green Field or Pasture, where they may run if they please, and by hard Wrestling and Sparring, heat themselves until they begin to close, and come to mouth it; then take them up and loose their Hutts, and bag them close, for should you permit them longer to Combat, they will by heavy strokes bruise and bather each other, and with deep mouthing displume themselves, and thereby make the damage far greater than the advantage would have been, had they been rightly managed.

Now the Bags wherein you put your heated Cocks, must be well lined with Rie Straw, and set in some warm place, for three or four Hours at least, and supposing it then near Roosting time, take the Cocks out of the Bags, and give to each a White-bread Toast, soaked in warm Urine, for there is nothing that tempers and cleanses a Cock after Sparring better than such a Toast. Also let the Head and Feet of the Cocks be well suppled, and bathed in warm Urine, and then put them up to Roost to the Hens, and so leave them to their Walks.

And thus if you serve your young Cocks once, or twice a Quarter, until they come to be of Age, fit to put up to Feed, you will find the good of it, in that they will grow both skilful and cunning in Fight; their Wind will be lengthened, their Sinews grow stronger, and their Joints more plyant, and flexible, and they in all respects more able, and powerful in Fight by much, than such as perhaps have hardly seen a Cock, or at least seldom or never been Sparred until they come to be put up and Dieted for Battle: And truly hence it is that we often see Cocks that have been well bred, Fight but very indifferently the first Battle, and come off but poorly, and all for want of early and often Sparring before they come to Fight.

_The method of Dieting, & feeding Game-Cocks._

But having gone thus far in Cocking, I shall in the next place, proceed to give some directions to know and understand the best way and means made use of by the ablest Cock-Masters of these times, in the way of ordering of Cocks, when put up to be Fed, or Dieted for to Fight: For I have often grieved to see a gallant Cock meerly lost and cast away for want of good feeding, and at the same time been no less sorry for the Owners of such Cocks, who perhaps were Gentlemen of Worth, and Quality, that delighted in the Royal Sport of Cocking, and with a World of Care and Cost, have brought up, and reared Cocks to be fit for feeding, and then unfortunately have put them into the hands of some unskilful Rascal that shall pretend to be a Feeder, tho’ he know no more than a Horse, how to Diet, or Order a Cock he should be Ordered to Fight. And hence it is that many an honest Gentleman looses his Mony, many a good Cock his Life, and both of them their Credit, and all for want of a good Feeder.

Now that no Gentleman Cocker may ever hereafter dash upon this common Rock, on which so many have been split, provided they keep to the Directions given in the following Pages, wherein they shall find all the Secrets and most hidden Misteries in Cock-feeding, laid open to them in terms so plain and easie, that they shall be able both to correct and instruct the mercenary Feeder, who Diets Cocks for Hire, and heeds not how they speed, when once they are out of his hands, and perhaps knows as little how to manage them as they should be whilst they are in his Custody, and therefore to prevent your giving of Mony to have your Cock marred, or that you may not pay for his being Pined instead of being Fed (as divers have done) or if not so, perhaps suffocated thro’ too hot or too high feed, and want of due Sparring with other such like injuries, too often put upon poor Cocks, by ignorant unskilful Feeders, I shall here make known to the great greif and sorrow of all such selfish narrow Soul’d Cock-Masters, who have made it their business rather to conceal, and lock up, than to divulge and make known the rare Art of Feeding.

And take it thus: First when your Cocks are brought up to feed, see that they are fresh, full, and fine in their Feathers, and that their Wings are strong and good; Examine also their Legs, and Feet, whether they be clean, unclubed, and free from the Gout, and such like swellings, and have all their Claws, and whether their Bill, or Beak be firm, sharp and strong; what plight of Body they are in, whether they look ruddy about the Head; and if so (provided they are of Age) you may then cut their Tails, and put them into the Pens to Feed: And let the first Meat that you give them be of a cleansing, drying quality; and therefore good clean, dry Barly that is sweet and free from Seeds, Spirt, or Mouldings, is a proper Food enough for the three first Days, with fresh Water to drink along with it.

_When and how to Sparr your Game-Cock._

And now let them be lustily Sparred, and long Stived, especially if they are Fat, and full of Flesh. But if a Cock be poor and low in case, you must then be more moderate, and not Stive, and Sparr so hard, least you over do him, and perhaps quite Kill him, or at least worst him so far, that he may not recover it again of many Days, and therefore besure strictly to examine what plight your Cock is in before you either Sparr or Stive him, and see that after you have hutted your Cocks, and by that means secured their Heels, forthwith then give to each Cock a Pill, or Roll as big as a Walnut made up in two or three Parts, and prepared in the following manner.

_To make the Scowering Pill._

Take of white _Sugar-candy_, _Rosemary_, _Fetherfew_, _Ground-Ivy_ bruised, mingle these with Sweet Butter, let the _Sugar-candy_ be finely Powdered, and let these be well incorporated together, and just before you give the Cocks these Pills, put them into warm Urine; and these will cleanse a Cock of Grease, add to his Strength, and lengthen his Wind.

_When and how to Stive your Game-Cocks._

And after the Cocks have been Sparred (as aforesaid) let them take a Diaphoretic, or Sweating after this manner: First take off their Hutts, and then immediately Stive them very close in some warm Room, where no penetrating Air can come to annoy the heated Cocks; for otherwise they will loose the benefit of their Sparring, and in these Stoves you must leave the Cocks for three or four, six, eight or ten hours together, according as the Cocks are in Strength and Flesh; for a poor weak Cock will not bear long Stiving: And now in the Cock’s absence let their Pens be cleaned, and fresh Straw be put into them, and if need be, you may then alter their Perches higher, or lower, or remove them to another side of the Pen, as you see cause for it.

And when you take the Cocks out of the Bags or Stives, lick with your Tongue the Eyes and Heads of them, and so put them into their Pens, and so fill their Troughs with Cock-bread cut into small square bits, and steept in Urine, that so the Cocks may feed whilst ’tis warm; for this will cause their Scowering Pills to work and greatly cleanse, and purify both the Head and Body of your Cock.

_Of the several Ways of making Cock-bread._

Now to make Cock-bread aright, and at the same time, to have it suit with every Feeder’s humour, is a thing altogether impossible; seeing we are _quot Homines tot Sententiæ_.

_How to make the ordinary Cock-bread._

Some fancy that the common Bakers Bread is as good as any: Others will tell you that there must be some _Bean_, or _Pease_ Meal put amongst it, and a few _Anniseeds_, with the Whites of Eggs; and this is the best Cock-bread say they.

_Another Receipt for to make Cock-bread._

But there are others will tell you, that you must take of _Wheat_, _Pease_, _Beans_, and _Oates_, of each a like quantity in _Meal_, or _Flower_ finely dressed, with the Juice of _Liquorish_, and a little _Sack_, or strong _Stale-Beer_, with Brown _Sugar-candy_, _Anniseeds_, _Carroway-seeds_, mixed together: But if the Season be very hot, you must put _White-Wine_ instead of _Sack_, and as much common Ale as will make the Flower up into Dough, with the Whites of ten or twenty Eggs, and a Yolk or two amongst them; and this they take to be the best sort of Bread for to Feed Cocks withall.

_How to make the best sort of Cock-bread._

But in my opinion there is yet a better sort than any of these, and I make it thus, _viz._ of the best and finest Wheat-meal, I take three-quarters of a Peck, and one quarter of Oat-meal of the purest sort, and first of all mix these well together; then add the Whites of twenty new laid Eggs, four Yolks, an Ounce of the best extract of _Liquorish_, and as much of the fine Powder of brown _Sugar-candy_, a quarter of an Ounce of _Anniseeds_, and _Carroway-seeds_ grossly bruised, with a Lump of good sweet _Butter_ as big as your fist at least, and a quarter of a Pint or more of the best _White-Wine_ that can be bought for Mony, with three or four spoonfulls of Syrup of _Clove-gilliflowers_ put into it, and a Date or two, with some Candyed _Eringo Roots_ cut very small so that it may be scattered into every part, and let these Ingredients be all well worked together, in some Tub, or Pan fit for that purpose, with your hands, until you are Satisfied that they are thoroughly incorporated.

Then take _Wood-sorrel_, _Ground-Ivy_, _Featherfew_, _Dandelion_, and _Burrage_, of each a like quantity, and distill them in a cold Still, and add three or four Spoonfuls of the pure Juice of _Lemmons_ to every Pint of distilled Water; And add as much of this Julip as will serve to make all into a good stiff Past; let this be wrought quick, and made into little flat Loaves, which ought to be a day or two old before you spend them, and then being well rasped, or pared, so that none of the burned or brown outside remain, they may then be cut and given to the Cocks, as aforesaid.

And this I take to be the best and fittest sort of Bread for English Cocks, it being a Food that does greatly strengthen and exhillate them, and at the same time cools, and keeps them Temperate in their Bodies, provided you have regard to the Season; for in Hot Weather, or where the Climate is more than ordinary hot, there must be more of the cooling Ingredients added; and fewer, or a less quantity of those that are hot in Nature.

_Of other Food used by some for Game-Cocks._

There are those that think the finest Wheat-bread, with good store of hot Spices in it, and soaked or sprinkled only with the simple Water or Juice of _Wood-sorrel_ to be the best of Food for a Cock.

And some again heed not what Bread they have, so that they have but good store of Flesh to give their Cocks, crying that up for the best and strongest Food.

But in my opinion these extreamly err in fancying Flesh to be Food fit for a Cock, these carniverous Sots understand not the nature of these valiant sort of Birds, who force such unnatural food upon them, nor is it possible for a Feeder to make a Cock strong, and at the same time Fight cool, and be long winded with such sort of Diet.

_How a Game-Cock should be Fed before he Fights._

But suppose your Food to be either this, or that, or what you like best, be it what it will, yet is this on all hands agreed on by every one that pretends to Feeding, that the last Meal you give your Cock before he Fights must be common Manchet-bread, such as the Bakers usually make, with good store of Barm therein, and what they sell at every Market; for this sort of Bread is ever very light and goes off quick, it being soon digested, leaves the Craw or Crop of a Cock fine and clean, and so it ought to be when your Cock Fights, for otherwise you do in effect but throw your Cock away.

And tho’ ’tis highly necessary to bring a Cock into the Pit clean and empty, yet you may, and ought to give him five or six little bits of par’d _Pippin_ put into a Cup, or Dish of Spring Water, out of which let him pick the Apple, and drink a little if he pleases, of the Water: Or, for want of Apple, you may (as I said before) give your Cock a bit of White-bread, and drink after it, and so turn him into the Pit to try his Fortune.

_What Water is best for Cocks._

Some Feed their Cocks twice a Day, and others three times, and Water them after each Feeding, and that for the most part with common Fountain Water; but the following _Barly Water_ is the best, especially in the Summer, and indeed all the Year long, where the Climate is any thing hot and Sultery: As in _Jamaica_, _Madera_, _Bermudas_, _Guardeloope_, and _Pettiguavers_.

For this Water excellently cools, and wonderfully refreshes the Vital Spirits that labour under Heat; it has also a cleansing quality, and is highly restorative where Feaverish Distempers afflict the Body; and therefore to be preferred before simple, or Common Fountain Water.

_To make Barly Water._

Take _Barly_ and boil it in Spring Water, and let it stand to cool and settle; then pour off the Settlings, and give this to your Feeding-Cocks.

_Concerning the Method of Trimming Game-Cocks._

And for the Trimming of a Cock it is a thing so well known to almost all that ever saw a Cock of the Game, that I need not say any thing of it, but leave every Country to follow their own Fashion; for I must tell you that I have known some Feeders more angry when they have been told this, or that way is best, or looks most genteel, than a _Spaniard_ when he is told of his Trunk Breeches, who strait claps his hand upon his Sword cries, _Sacrament, me breech te boon breech by Gar, dam your French Fashions_.

_Of the Heeling of Game-Cocks._

And for the Heeling of a Cock there can no certain Rule be given for that, because the way, and manner of some Cocks Fighting requires their Heels to be set extreamly high; others exceeding low: This Cock must have his Heels fixed narrow, and that Cock as wide as they can be set.

And therefore I would let no man Heel a Cock, unless he has first seen him Sparr, and know his way of Striking, let him be never so great an Artist at Heeling, I heed not that; but think him fittest to Heel the Cock, that fed him, and has seen him Sparr.

_The Methods of Matching Cocks._

Then as for Matching of Cocks, ’tis now all the Mode of late to Weigh them, so that be they thick or thin, long or short, they take their chance, falling in according to Weight, let their Shape be never so different.

But in my opinion, the good old way of Matching small Cocks is still the best way, and most exact; to Measure them by Hand, and Match by the Eye (if the Handler have any Skill) will make them fall in tite: Besides, a Cock that is well fed shall Weigh far lighter than one that is ill Fed, or not Fed at all.

_Concerning the right Handling of a Cock._