of Ranting, 131

for yat good dede onely, but for other infinit mo which
comme dayly to a man byn Geefe, and furely yf I
mould declame in ye prayfe of any maner of befte
lyuyng, I would chofe a goufe, But the goufe hath
made vs flee to farre from oure matter. Nowe fir
ye haue hearde howe a fether muft be had, and that a
goofe fether onely. It foloweth of a yong gofe and
an oulde, and the refidue belonging to a fether:
which thing I wyll fhortlye courfe ouer: wherof,
when you knowe the properties, you maye fitte your
ihaftes accordyng to your fhotyng, which rule you
muft obferue in all other thynges too, bycaufe no one
falhion or quantitie can be fitte for euery man, no
more than a fhooe or a cote can be. The oulde goofe
fether is flyffe and ftronge, good for a wynde, and
fytteft for a deed fhaft: the yonge goofe fether is
weake and fyne, befl for a fwyfte fhaft, and it mufl be
couled at the firfl fhering, fomewhat hye, for with
fhoting, it wyll fattle and faule very moche. The
fame thing (although not fo moche) is to be con-
fydered in a goofe and a gander. A fenny goofe,
euen as her flefh is blacker, floorer, vnholfomer, fo is
her fether for the fame caufe courier floorer and
rougher, and therfore I haue heard very good fletchers
faye, that the feconde fether in fome place is better
then the pinion in other fome. Betwixt the wmges is
lytle difference, but that you muft haue diuerfe fhaftes
of one flight, fethered with diuerfe winges, for
diuerfe windes: for if the wynde and the fether go
both one way the fhaft wyl] be caryed to moche.
The pinion fethers as it hath the firfle place ^in the
winge, fo it hath the fyrft place in good fetheringe.
You maye knowe it afore it be pared, by a bought
whiche is in it, and agayne when it is colde, by the
thinneffe aboue, and the thickneffe at the grounde, and
alfo by the flifnes and fineffe which wyll cary a fhaft
better, fafler and further, euen as a fine fayle cloth
doth a fhyppe.
The coulour of the fether is lefte to be regarded,