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And other beaſts that lay egges, haue gall great or ſmall, as fiſhes and Serpents. Alſo he ſaith, that euerye Beaſt that hath bloud hath ſemen: and euerie beaſt without bloud that gendreth another, hath fiue wits, except the mouſe with eyen healed and couered, and hath the blacke of the eye vnder a ſkinne: and in ſome beaſts the wayes of wit and of feelyng, bée preuye and bée hidde, as eares and noſethrills in fiſh, which heare as it is well knowen: for they flye and voyd fluſhing and noyſe: & they ſmell well alſo, els would they not come to the net, for milke, nor for fleſh roſted. For fleſh roſted, crabs come into willowes and pitches. Therefore Ariſtotle ſaith, as Auicen meaneth, that the Dolphin, and other manner of fiſh, fall to the bottome ſodainly, as it were in Epilencia, when they heare ſodaine thundering, or great mouing and noyſe, and be taken as they were dronke. And fiſh flyeth and voydeth the place of waſhing and ſlaughter of other fiſh, and the bloud of other fiſh, and flye and voyd alſo hoarie and uncleane nets, and come glably into new. And beaſtes with crimping bodies haue ſharpe wit & féeling, though it be priuie and hid, as Bées and Antes, that heare and ſmell a farre, and haue liking in certaine odor and ſmell, and dye in ſome odour of Brimſtone, and of burnt leather, and of burnt Harfes hornes: and ſo Bées abide not in places of euill ſmell, but they reſt in places with good ſmell and ſweetneſſe, as he ſayth.
Alſo hée ſayth, that beaſts are diuers in manner of voyce of crieng: for ſome haue ſtrong voyce and ſharpe, and ſome féeble and lowe and ſome with lytle voyce or none, and onely beaſts that haue the woſen of voyce, and lungs, and breath, haue voyce. But ſome breatheth not, and maketh ſomtime noyſe & ſometime an hiſſing. And beaſtes that haue voyce make tunes and melodie, & ſome crye, chitter and ſing, namely in time of gendering and of loue, and they knowe each other by their owne voyce, and call and pray each other to loue. Alſo he ſaieth, that each beaſt, that hath bloud and goeth, waketh and ſléepeth, and euerye beaſt that hath eye lyddes, cloſeth them when he ſleepeth: and euery beaſt that layeth egges, maketh ſmall ſléepe.
Alſo euery beaſt néedeth meate and noriſhing according to his complection, and that is right needfull and neceſſary for ſuſtenaunce and wexing of the beaſt, or for the reſtoring of that thing, which is loſt by kindly heate.
But in receiving and taking of meat and drinke there is great difference: for ſome going beaſtes with complete and euen lyppes, drinketh ſucking, as man, horſe, cowe and mule, and other ſuch: and beaſtes with vneuen lyppes, in the which the neather lippe is ſhorter then that ouer, drinke lapping, as an hound, & cat, and other ſuch: and ſo by the diſpoſition of eyenneſſe and vneuenneſſe of lippes, ſome beaſts in drinking ſucke, & ſome lappe: and therefore kinde ordayneth wiſely in hounds, and in other lapping beaſts, tender tongue, long and plyaunt, & the tongue is the more able to licke & to holde the water, and bring it to the mouth. But many foure footed beaſtes, drinke not but ſeldome, as Lonyes, and Hares and other ſuch: for meate of ſuch beaſts is right moyſt, and that moiſture ſufficeth to them in ſtéede of drinke, & to bring their meate into the members, & to coole kinde heate. And other beaſts that be full hot and drye, either of complection, or by accidentall heate and drineſſe, and vſe drye meate or hotte, néede therefore drinke to the foreſaid things & doings: and this is the cauſe why Culuers and other birds that be not rauenners drink: for they eate corne & graines and other ſuch and their meate is fatte, hot and drye.
And fowles and birds of praye, vſe moyſt meate indeed, and drinke therefore but ſeldome, and when they drink, it is token of ſickneſſe and that vnkind heat hath paſſing maſterie in them, as Auicen and Ariſtotle meane. And Auicen meaneth, that beaſts with little bodyes, be more ſlye and hardie, and wittie, than other beaſtes with great bodyes: as it fareth in Spiders, Bees, & Antes, their workes be ſo ſlighe and ſubtill,