The Sportsman | Page 6

let alone."
The net-keeper should be a man with a real passion for the work, and in tongue a Hellene, about twenty years of age, of wiry build, agile at once and strong, with pluck enough to overcome the toils imposed on him,[2] and to take pleasure in the work.
[2] {toutous}, "by this, that, or the other good quality."
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