Roger Ascham Toxophilus 1545

grfjole of gfumtdts* 123

fhaftes, and dartes on. The tree called Sen. Hipp.
Cornus was fo common to make fhaftes of, that in good
authours of ye latyn tongue, Cornus is taken for a Ihafte,
as in Seneca, and that place of Virgill, Vug. end. 9.

Volat Itala Cornus.

Yet of all thynges that euer I warked of olde authours,
either greke or latin, for fhaftes to be made of, there
is nothing fo common as reedes. Herodotus in def-
cribynge the mightie hooft of Xerxes doth
tell that thre great contries vfed fhaftes ym*

made of a rede, the Aethiopians, the Lycians (whofe
fhaftes lacked fethers, where at I maruayle mofle of
all) and the men of Inde. The fhaftes in
Inde were verye longe, a yarde and an Amanus. s.
halfe, as Arrianus doth faye, or at the _ c
leafl a yarde. as Q. Curtius doth faye, and
therfore they gaue ye greater flrype, but yet bycaufe
they were fo long, they were the more vnhanfome, and
leffe profitable to the men of Inde, as Curtius doeth tell.

In Crete and Italic, they vfed to haue their fhaftes
of rede alfo. The heft reede for fhaftes grewe in
Inde, and in Rhenus a flood of Italy. pim. 16.3e.

But bycaufe fuche fhaftes be neyther
eafie for Englifhe men to get, and yf they were gotten
fcarfe profitable for them to vfe, I wyll lette them
paffe, and fpeake of thofe fhaftes whyche Englyfh
men at this daye moHe commonly do approue and
allowe.

A fhaft hath three principall partes, the flele, the
fethers, and the head: whereof euerye one mufle be
feuerallye fpoken of.

Ct Steles be made of dyuerfe woodes. as.

Brafell.

Turkie wood.

Fuflicke.

Sugerchefte.

Hardbeame.

Byrche,