? Of the "beestis and foulis" therein as
well as the herbs, of the woods in summer-time, of the hunting
therein, of the robbers and the difficulty of finding one's way? Of
the birds and the bees and the wild honey and the delicious coolness
of the deep shade in summer, and the "wery wayfarynge trauelynge men"?
And the final brief suggestion of the time when forests were veritable
boundaries? I believe also that this is the only book in which we are
told of the interesting old custom of tying knots to the trees "in
token and marke of ye highe waye," and of robbers deliberately
removing them. The picture is so perfect that I give it in full:--

"Woods ben wide places wast and desolate y{t} many trees
growe in w{t}oute fruyte and also few hauyinge fruyte. And
those trees whyche ben bareyne and beereth noo manere
fruyte alwaye ben generally more and hygher tha[=n]e y{t}
wyth fruyte, fewe out taken as Oke and Beche. In thyse wodes
ben ofte wylde beestes and foulis. Therein growyth herbes,
grasse, lees and pasture, and namely medycynall herbes in
wodes fo[=u]de. In somer wodes ben bewtyed [beautied] wyth
bowes and braunches, w{t} herbes and grasse. In wode is
place of disceyte [deceit] and of huntynge. For therin wylde
beest ben hunted: and watches and disceytes [deceits] ben
ordenyd and lette of houndes and of hunters. There is place
of hidynge and of lurkyng. For ofte in wodes theuys ben hyd,
and oft in their awaytes and disceytes passyng men cometh
and ben spoylled and robbed and ofte slayne. And soo for
many and dyuerse wayes and uncerten strange men ofte erre
and goo out of the waye. And take uncerten waye and the waye
that is unknowen before the waye that is knowen and come oft
to the place these theues lye in awayte and not wythout
peryll. Therefore ben ofte knottes made on trees and in
busshes in bowes and in braunches of trees; in token and
marke of ye highe waye; to shewe the certen and sure waye to
wayefareynge men. But oft theuys in tornynge and metyng of
wayes chaunge suche knottes and signes and begyle many men
and brynge them out of the ryght waye by false tokens and
sygnes. Byrdes, foules and bein [bees] fleeth to wode,
byrdes to make nestes and bein [bees] to gadre hony. Byrdes
to kepe themself from foulers and bein [bees] to hyde
themself to make honycombes preuely in holowe trees and
st