40 ROGER ASCHAM
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ust beware, yf youre bow have a knot in the backe, lestthe places whyche be nexte it, be not alowed strong ynougheto here with the knotte, or elles the stronge knotte shallfreate the weake places nexte it. Freates be fyrst litlepinchese, the whych when you perceave, pike the placesabout the pinches, to make them somewhat weker, and aswell commynge as where it pinched, and so the pinches shalldye, and never encrease farther in to great freates. Freates begjmne many tymes in a pin, for there the goodwoode is corrupted, that it muste nedes be weke, and by-cause it is weake, therfore it freates. Good bowyers therfore do rayse every pyn and alowe itmoore woode for feare of freatynge. Agajme bowes moost commonlye freate under the hande,not so much as some men suppose for the moistnesse of thehande, as for the heete of the hand: the nature of heatesayeth Aristotle is to lowse, and not to knyt fast, and themore lowser the more weaker, the weaker, the redier to freate. A bowe is not well made, whych hath not wood plentyein the hande. For yf the endes of the bowe be staflfyshe, ora mans hande any thynge hoote the bellye must nedes sonefrete. Remedie for fretes to any purpose I never hard tellof any, but onelye to make the freated place as stronge orstronger then any other. To fill up the freate with lytleshevers of a quill and glewe (as some say wyll do wel) byreason must be starke nought. For, put case the freete dyd cease then, yet the causewhich made it freate a fore (and that is weakenesse of theplace) bicause it is not taken away must nedes make itfreate agayne. As for cuttyng out of freates wythe allmaner of pecynge of bowes I wyll cleane exclude from per-fite shootynge. For peced bowes be muche lyke owldehousen, whyche be more chargeable to repayre, than com-modiouse to dwell in. Agayne to swadle a bowe much aboutwyth bandes, verye seldome dothe anye good, excepte it beto kepe downe a spel in the backe, otherwyse bandes eythernede not when the bow is any thinge worthe, or els bootenot when it is marde and past best. And although I knowemeane and poore shooters, wyll use peced and banded bowessometjrme bycause they are not able to get better when they
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