acted on this Flower as any other whatsoever The first experiment is you may take them out of the earth and keep them in a room in sand two moneths in which space you may steep them in morical substances whereby you may make some infusions and alterations and crosse the nature and the seasons of the plant whereby you may bring about pretty fancies Other experiments may be made by grafting of them which is subtil viz. take the root of this and the Foxes-glove cut a part on the side of each of these roots off with a sharp knife of each part alike letting the strings of the bottom of the root alone then join them together and tie them with a little soft flax and so plant them in a box of earth these two roots will unite into one body and the effect will be pretty for there will be two several Flowers in one body Lastly This Flower is a great ornament to a Garden and for beautifying of rooms being placed in Flower-pots and an excellent shape it hath which my artlesse pen cannot describe in writing but in draught work my Pen Rule and Compasse hath walked a station and set it forth in its own shape and fashion and so I leave this worthy Flower to your care The Flower of the Sunne It is well known to those that have it and so is any other Flower therefore I shall give a short description of it to satisfie those that are not acquainted with it This Flower when it is at its full growth is at the height of a man onely with one stalk and that is as big at the nether end of a mans hand-rist upon the stalk are many leaves something like Mallow-leaves in colour and in bigness but they are not divided this one plant beareth but one Flower and that is at the very top of all and is of a great bigness so that some of them are thirty inches about and of a black and yellow colour bending it self down and inclining after the Sunne it flowereth in August The season fit for sowing of them is in April on this manner Prepare a border then prick in these seeds with your finger at half afoot asunder they come up suddenly after their setting they ought to be replanted after they are half afoot high into a rich earth where they may have good store of rotten dung under them to the end they may grow large you must water them often for it is a plant requireth much moisture so it will grow up and flower and bring forth seed which you may save and sow again the root and branch of this Flower dieth every year French Marigolds These are something like the African Marigold that is to say as like as any two several kinds may be like one another howsoever yet they are not so neer alike but there is a difference in every part for seeing the one and not seeing the other it puts you in mind of the other this is at such time till they come to flower then there is a great deal of difference in the colours of the Flowers for this is more delightfull than the other for it is intermixt with purple and yellow like your double Wall-flowers this flowereth in July being sown in natural earth being produced from hot beds they flower sooner Concerning the raising of them I shall not need to trouble my self to set it down how or where but see the directions for Africans as you raise them so you mayraise these I shall only give you a few observations if you low them in natural earth you need not replant them those that are sown in hot beds must be replanted you nor I need not trouble our selves with any more curiosity than hath been spoken for they continue not long with us they die that year so I hope out of your own capacity and what hath been spoken may sufficiently serve for the propagating of this Flower French Pinks French Pinks otherwise called French-Daises by others None so pritty and seeing the names are so obscure I will give you a description of this Flower it never riseth not above half afoot high but lieth on the ground with some stalks about afoot long these stalks are reddish about the bignesse of a Peas-vine of a hard substance with many thick leaves set in order upon them thick and jagged a whitish green colour about the bignesse of a ten shilling-piece round also at the top of the braches rise little spindles of a handfull long of a red colour on these branches grow many small Flowers no bigger than a single peny five leaves in number white and red speckled their time of flowering is from the latter end of May even to the later end of July they never bear any seed therefore take the propagating of them with slips as followeth The fit time for it is in the later end of August or the beginning of March for they cannot endure any drithe therefore set them in these seasons and now I will give you my directions how it ought to be done having gotten slips then prepare a border which is round an Herb knot and if you have none prepare a border next the wall having drest this border by a direct line and made the sides of it firme then set your line against the side of the border two inches below the top then prick in your slips by your line at two or three inches distance so that nothing appear but the tops of them if you do this in August they will flower the next Spring following timely those that be set in the Spring will not cast their Flower so soon Lastly Remember that you cut the leaves and dead branches off after they have done flowering then they will spring again fresh where they are once planted they alwaies continue and spread mightily so that they will run out upon your walls to prevent this and keep them in uniforme order strain a line at the bottome of your border and cut them off with a spade by that line those slips you may set again or pleasure your friends with them which you please Foxes-glove It is a Flower that springeth up with a blade like the Corn-flag through which shouteth up a stalk which beareth many Flowers set in order one above another and of a reddish colour and in the shape of a drinking bowl This Flower is richest on the branch in July it continueth fresh long on the stalk it beareth a seed which is ripe in the latter end of August The propagating of this Flower is either by seed or root First of the seed and that you shall sow in the beginning of April the Moon being in the increase in beds of natural earth in manner as I told you of the seed of the Flower-deluce the plants sprung of this seed groweth very slowly so that it will be two or three years before it come to flower in which space you must
replant it once or twice at the Spring or fall and have it weeded carefully and after it is come to perfection they are very hardy Next I give you directions for setting of them of the root thus having roots of your own or procuring of them from some other place slip all the young roots off the old set the old by themselves and the young by themselves in the intervals of your knots or in borders where your fancy most leadeth you Lastly I advise you to cut off the dead branches when they have done flowering close by the earth and remove them once ntwo years Globe-flower It is known by no other name that ever I did hear of yet there are two sorts that is single and double they are of one nature to give you better knowledge of them this plant groweth up to two foot high with many branches of one stalk spreading with green leaves in shape like the ivy-Ivy-leaf but lesser rough and jagged this plant beareth many Flowers which are yellow round and of the bignesse of a Wallnut it flowereth in the latter end of April the branches die every Winter and springeth again early having stood four year root and branch dieth This Flower is propagated by seed or slip the slip is it which is taken from the side of the old mother which is taken from part of the root and part of the branch this is to be done at the later end of March the place for planting of it is where you plant your pot-flowers I hope I need not stand to insist upon every particular that appertaineth to this Flower Having given you the knowledge of ordering of more choiser Flowers I think your own discretion may guide you how to order this So to be short you may buy the seed and sow it in the Spring with other Flowers and it will come forward without any great care or curiosity Green Cowslips So called because part of the Flower is green for there are leaves that are mixed amongst the Flowers which maketh them appear to be green they flower early in the Spring and never beareth any seed This Flower is set only of the slip in the Spring or in August the place fit for it is upon the edge of borders you shall do it thus slip them into as many pieces as you can then prune them with your knife which is to cut off all the leaves within an inch of the root then set them down by a line one by one upon the edge of your border water them while they are rooted then afterward they need no care but cleansing of the weeds from them thus you shall have them alwayes after Holihock Or Mallows there are many kinds and full of many vertues but first I will describe which they are and then I 'le treat of them in particular First For worthiness and beauty that are placed in Gardens of pleasure is the white and red and double Holihock next the red white yellow and blew double Holihock forasmuch as they are called Mallows I take them to be two or three distinct kinds for there is the Kings-Mallow March Mallow and French-Mallow these bear single Flowers and so will the Holihock without good industry but that is not all they differ in vertue as the Kings-Mallow the French-Mallow these are for physicall uses and the Holihocks are very wholsome for the body and a very pleasant Flower they bear I shall not treat of every sort in this place because they fit not the Garden of pleasure I shall reserve the French-Mallow March-Mallow or Kings Mallow to the Treatise of the physicall Garden Holihocks I have described what they are in order to their places and names I think it is needless to write any farther description of them they are so generally known I now proceed to the propagating of them First To have them early from the seed you shall sow them in hot beds in the middle of March the seed is of a quick spirit and cometh up the sixth day these plants must be covered or else you will lose your labour by May day you shall replant these seedlings into borders next the walls set them at the innermost part at a yard distance set them nigh the wall because they spread much another reason is you may nail the body of it to the wall to keep the wind from breaking of them these will flower by the latter end of the summer A second and ordinary way of sowing of them is in the middle of April in beds of ordinary earth where you may let them remain till the next August then replant them as you did the former The third best way is to sow them in the middle of August so by the coming on in winter they will have four or five leaves be sure you shelter these plants in the frost and snow and the seedlings will flower as soon as the old standards which is in July and August the seed is ripe about Michaelmas which you may save and sow again Herbit If I am mistaken in the name I will give you a description whereby you shall know it it hath many jagged thick leaves rising half a foot from the ground in the midst of it riseth a stalk like the stem of a Cowflip though something bigger and higher it is bare without leaves the Flowers have many small leaves in the middle with five greater set round it this Flower is the bigness of a double Primrose white and red speckled the time of flowering is in May it seldome bringeth seed to perfection the nethermost leaves keep green all the year This plant is set of the slip in the Spring of the year I suppose it is needless to stand telling of you how in every particular the place fit for it is in a quarter laid out into beds for Flowers as before this being so planted it will endure any weather till the fourth year and then it dieth naturally therefore take off some of the slips from the branch and root and set them which will renew their nature and keep the Garden flourishing Humble-plant I suppose the name of it was derived from the nature of it for the nature of it is thus when it is in its perfection if a man or a woman go to it and touch it with their hand this plant will bow to them therefore an humble plant It 's a plant that riseth never above a span in heighth with a broad head only a single stalk with small sharp whiteish green leaves set thereunto about the top the foot of the stalk is without leaves it putteth forth a blossome before it yeeldeth its seed which I cannot fitly call a Flower the seed is in shape and colour like the Spanish-Broom seed though not half so big and a smooth glistering seed In the propagating of this plant there must be a great deal of care and diligence this plant is only raised of the seed
William but it is strong it supporteth it self at the top of every stalk spring many small branches of an equal height atop of every branch is a Flower of a pritty Pink speckled colour the Flower is five leaves in number at the outer part of every leaf of the Flower groweth a prickle This Flower flourisheth most in the latter end of July For the propagating of them I will be short with you the time is in the latter end of April the place is in the quarter which you reserve for Flowers in that manner as I have shown you of other small seeds of Flowers in which bed you may let them stand till they flower soon after they have yeelded their seed the whole plant perisheth Lupins Many sorts there are viz. the blew the yellow the white the purple and the great Lupin these and all these differ as well in shape as in colour they differ also in growth every sort of seed hath a difference in greatnesse and in colour also to puzzle my self and trouble the Reader with the description of each is altogether needlesse I shall give you some observations how all sorts of Lupins may be raised of the seed and not stand to name in particular how each is to be raised for one direction will serve for them all The time of planting of all sorts of Lupins is in the middle of April and so till May the place is in beds or borders according as your fancy is or the quantity of your seed if you have a great quantity then you may plant them in trails in beds or borders in manner as they plant Peas these are for the blew and yellow which are the ordinary sorts but the greater sorts require more room Lastly Observe that any sort of Lupins committed to the earth in their season will spring up without any further care so they need nothing but weeding in the latter end of July all sorts of Lupins come to flower which are very beautifull in a Garden after the shading of the Flower springeth cods in the shape of a Bean-cod bigger or lesser according to their kinds the cods are rough like a Peach the seed will come to perfection in the latter end of August and may be set again in the same Garden where it grew for many years and it will not degenerate Ladies-Thistle It hath only one stalk upon a root with long leaves and as broad as a mans hand these leaves are prickley and of the colour of a cardus-Cardus-leaf the plant never groweth to above two foot high and in August it flowereth the flower is of the colour of the great wild thistle-flower but greater and without prickles the seed is long and rough of a gray colour This plant is set of the seed in the later end of March the place is in a border when you intend to have them flower each seed being set half afoot asunder and half an inch deep it cometh up suddenly and flowereth the same year and the time as aforesaid the branch when Winter cometh dieth and springeth again in March the third Winter after it soon dieth root and branch Lowe in idle Lowe in idle or two faces under a hood is a Flower that is much like Violets in all respects but only it flowereth at such times at Violets does not that is in June and July this Flower beareth a seed of which it may be raised if slips might not be had The time for setting of them in the slip or sowing of them in the seed is in March the place is either in the side borders of high walks or on the edge of low borders in manner as I told you of Cowslips if you sow them of the seed then you shall make drils by a line with a stick half an inch deep each drill at a foot asunder if it be on the side border of your high walks if on your low borders one is sufficient in these drils thinly cast your seed then cover it and it will grow up and cover the whole border suddenly where it will alwayes remain for it renewes its nature by the branches taking root as they lie on the ground Ladies-liveries This is not a Flower yet many people fancy to have it in the Garden of pleasure because it hath such a pretty property with it for it shouteth up with many blades like spire-grasse of an inch in breadth each blade is striped red white yellow and green some call it Truelowe-grasse it hath a root like such grasse though it runne not so farre this root if you set in any part of your Garden there it will grow and continue alwayes This plant I thought fit to set down for brevities sake because I would not exempt any Ladies-smocks Otherwise called Blew-caps and White-caps It is a plant that the nethermost leaves keep green all the year those leaves are green and jagged of the length of a mans finger set on close to the ground in the midst of these leaves riseth a stalk with a few smaller leaves on it and on the top of the stalk are four or five Flowers white or blew according to their kind This Flower is single with five leaves in shape and bignesse like a Dogg-rose the time they chiefly flower in is in April and May it seldom bringeth seed to perfection This plant is set of the slip at any time of the Spring or the fall in the edge of borders for the keeping of them up and for the beautifying of the Garden if you set them in the fall it is much better than in the Spring for those that are set in the Spring in dry weather usually cometh presently after then your borders will be so dry without watering will cause the slips to die those that are set at Michaelmas will be well rooted by that time the Summer cometh and so flower in their season these slips being thus planted continue always nothing dieth but the stalk whereon is the Flower which you shall cut off after the Flower fadeth for the keeping of your border handsome Marmadle deparve Or otherwise called the Worlds wonder and I think it no wonder that it should be so called for it hath a quality naturally as no other Flower hath and that is this it beareth a Flower of one colour as it may be to day and on the morrow after of another and sometimes two or three colours at once the colours are chiefly these first red white purple peach yellow and cinamon these are distinct colours there are mixt also as the white and the red the purple and the yellow and so of the rest the shape of this Flower is much like a heart with the smallest end upward no bigger than an Acron this Flower is of no continuance for it continues not long upon the stock not touched and being pulled off it withereth presently so that it is of no use but for the ornament
of the Garden There is two kinds of these plants that is the single and the double the single dieth yearly the double will continue two years if it be shelter'd from the frost and snow in the winter This plant is in growth like unto the stock Gilliflower it riseth not so high it spreadeth close to the ground with sharp-pointed leaves with a stock of the bigness of a mans thumb each Flower bringeth a seed and no more which is in shape and colour like the Pepper-corn but something greater The fit time for sowing of it is in the Moneth of March the Moon being in the encrease these seeds are tender and very dear for I never bought them for less than two pence a feed therefore they ought to be raised with great diligence and thus it must be ordered it must be sown in a hot bed but you need not make it purposely for about that time we fow Colliflowers Cowcumbers and Musmillions and in some part of one of these beds you may prick down your seeds three fingers asunder so done cover them with a glass the sixth day they will come up with two round thick leaves the next leaves that shoot forth will be long and sharp-pointed when this plant hath six leaves they ought to be transplanted into a border or pots of good mould so done about the beginning of August they will come to flower in manner as aforesaid There are other wayes of sowing of them that is in beds of freckled mould in the latter end of April for if they should be sowed before they would not grow those that are thus sown toward May day may be let stand in the same bed and it will be Michaelmas before they come to flower the year being so far spent they will not come to perfection therefore I think it best to take the pains to sow them in hot beds as was said so I 'le leave these directions to your charity and rest to speak any more here of the Worlds wonder Muscabious Be not Flowers of distinct natures and properties but distinguished in colours as the purple white red and damask-colour Flowers Scabious is a plant that groweth to great stature as it is in number of branches though they be but small they spread and grow to three foot high with some leaves growing jagged and others smooth of a dark green colour standing from the branches upon stems every plant yeeldeth abundance of Flowers in shape and bigness like the great double Emrose this Flower smelleth like honey the time of their flowering is from June till Michaelmas and after the seed of this plant groweth atop of all standing in order naked being enclosed in nothing these seeds when they are ripe have many beards whereby it entangleth one in another it is a hollow loose seed and the lightest of all others These plants are propagated from the seed the time for it is in April or August for indeed August is the best for then it sheddeth its seed and it is to be noted that at such time as plants shed their seed is the naturall time of sowing if they be such plants as keep green all the year Then in August prepare a bed of earth in a quarter which you reserve for Flowers so done mingle with your seed some earth or otherwise it will not untangle so that you will sow it too thick or too thin so done get some other earth and cover your seeds half an inch thick these things observed and your seed new and good it will come up in three weeks space like Gruncel let it alwaies grow on this bed and next summer following it flowereth then if you rail in this bed with little sticks it will keep the wind from breaking the Flowers keeping the plants in uniform order when the seed is ripe upon the stalk then cut the stalks off within a hands breadth of the ground the plant will spring again so you shall preserve seed and plant thus you may do for three years the fourth root and branch dieth Monks-hood Or old mans head it riseth up like the branches of Carawaies with small stalks never above two foot high every plant yeeldeth many Flowers which are set with many small whiteish grey leaves the Flower is of the bigness of the ordinary Cornations with a few green prickles growing among the Flowers This plant is sowed of the seed only in the latter end of April usually after this manner we dig a border by a walk side when this border is digged and raked then lay a line in the middle of the border and by the line make a drill then cast the seed thinly into that drill for it is very small then cover it this done it needeth no more care it cometh up well and by the mid August after it flowereth and dieth as soon as it yeeldeth its seed Marble-flower It is a plant of a small stature and the stalks are of a soft substance and of a whiteish green colour the leaves are of the same colour in shape like the wild poppy-leaves this plant beareth many Flowers which have no more than four leaves apiece and of a perfect white colour the time of flowering is in July the seed is ripe presently after then dieth the plant This plant is raised only of the seed in the Spring time I shall not stand to set down every particular concerning the ordering of it but so as you raise Monks-hood so you may raise this you may have that at one end of the border and this at the other Nurssusuly They are a kind of Daffodillies the difference is these flower after the Daffodilly and is of a milk white colour something smaller growing upon longer stalks These are planted of the root as I told you of the Daffodillies the place is chiefly upon borders of high walks because they are of a hardy nature and nothing else might so well grow there as they because of the drithe you may set them in any place else and they will grow and flower yearly neither weeds nor grasse nor any thing that groweth nigh them will kill them some will plant them in their Orchards round their fruit-trees Oxslips The double sort are planted in Gardens because they flower early in the Spring and for using of the Flowers in Salets and for strewing Flowers Oxslips are set of the slip onely in the Spring or fall the place fit for it is on bank-sides where they are once set they alwayes continue Oak of Paris It resembleth a young Oak plant the leaves being much smaller body and branches also are of a short substance the plant spreadeth at the top whereon are many pretty Flowers they flourish chiefly in August the seed groweth in great cods eight square wherein is brown seed as small as Parsley-seed after this seed is ripe the plant dieth This plant is propagated of the seed only in the beginning of May the place fit for it
and a Garden kind of the Garden kind there is only double and single one description will serve for both Burnats have winged leaves rising thick from the very root being much crumpled and jagged and of a palish green colour through the midst of them riseth a stalk two foot high whereon are many branches and at the top of each groweth a knob something like a button red and white speckled in which groweth yellow seed something like redish seed the branch dieth yearly Of this seed this Herb is sown or set of the slip in March or April in the end of a bed or border by it self where it will grow and flourish according to the description it requireth no more care than to cleanse it from weeds this herb is used in Claret-wine and in sallets in the beginning of March for it springeth very early Betony Garden Betony is so well known I need not write the description of it therefore take the ordering of it as followeth This herb is set of the slip only for it never beareth seed to any perfection the time for setting of it is in March or April the place for it is usually in the edge of borders or otherwise for to have a great quantity of it for stilling of it in cordiall waters then in beds by it self without any curiosity for it is a hardy herb and will continue a long time being once planted Camomill Is known so well and the manner and time for setting of it so I shall wave that and speak of the place only the first fit place that I shall name is round upon the edge of borders next to gravell walks the second place is upon banks of earth made couch-fashion to the end that a man might sleep upon a Camomill bed the third way is to set walks with it and of each side of the walk a water table laid with white sand which is a very pleasant sight the fourth way is to distinguish knots with it and that is thus set Camomill in the same form as you would lay Grass-work and truly the best Garden that ever I saw in his Majesties Dominions had a knot thus set Lastly Be pleased to take notice that Camomill set as was prescribed must be kept mown and clipt once or twice a week for the summer time or else it will grow out of form and hollow at the bottome and soon decay Comfrey A description of it is vain and a direction for the planting of it is needless for it will grow in any place where it is set I only name it to put you in mind of the planting of it somewhere about your house for its vertue is generall for man and beast as the Physicians Herbals will show you and I hope you will bestow the labour to plant it once for inso doing you need not do it more Cives Sometimes called Rush Leeks Chives and Chivet I hope that by one of these names there is no man but will know them the ready way for setting of them is to slip them into as many heads as they have and that will be sometimes twenty on one bed so done prick them into a bed finely digged and raked at two fingers distance so that they may come to cover the body themselves for the keeping of the ground moist and for the less expence in weeding and there they will alwayes remain yet they ought to be removed after they have stood four years because they will grow so thick that they will want moisture Cammell Beg. The leaves of this keepeth close to the ground and something resemble Violet leaves but only thicker and of a darker green and in the middle standeth a stalk some eight inches in heighth whereon groweth one knapped Flower like the Flower of Betony the stalk and some part of the leaves die yearly and the under leaves alwaies keep green This plant is set of the slip only which must have part of the root and branch the best place for setting of it in is upon the edge of borders for the keeping of them up this herb is for speciall uses being employed physically Chervill It is called Merah Chervill sweet Chervill and sweet Sisly it is supposed there were three kinds of them that is the wild Chervill the sallet Chervill and the sweet Chervill one description will serve for the Garden kinds Both sorts the leaves resemble tongue-grass but of a fresher green colour the stalks rising up a yard high spreading with white Flowers at the top after which comes long black shining seeds the herb is sweet to smell and tast where once it is growing it continueth many years but the branch perisheth in the winter This herb is sown only of the seed that is to say there is no other way of gaining of it there are two seasons for the sowing of it the one is in the beginning of April and the other in the latter end of August these are the times the place is in a bed amongst sweet herbs in manner as I shewed you of Basill so done it will come up according as it was described Carowaies At the first coming up a man at a distance may very well take them for Carots but as they grow up bigger they differ more for the Caroway is of a darker green and yeeldeth its seed like the Fennell The time and the only time for sowing of Carowaies is in the latter end of August for I have often tried it in the Spring and I could never have it to grow and I sowed but once in August and it prospered very well therefore sow it in August and the next summer it will yeeld seed and after the branch dieth but springeth again and yeeldeth seed every summer for many years without any care Clary The leaves are thick gross and woolly and of a light brownish colour very broad spreading upon the ground as it were and in the middle riseth a stalk of two foot high with many branches spreading whereon are many Flowers like those of Sage and each Flower leaveth its seed behind it like that of Radish but something smaller This herb is sown of the seed and it requireth a good ground and to grow in a bed by itself there is two seasons for the sowing of it one in the Spring and the other in the fall that which is sowed in the fall a hard winter will kill it therefore it is best to sow it in the Spring the vulgar uses of this herb is for frying with eggs and other things for it strengtheneth the back and encreaseth venery Course-Mary Or Ale-Coust and by some Balsom-herb it is known of a long whitish leaf sharp pointed at both ends and finely cut about the edges the stalk hath many such like leaves though smaller with a tust at the top when it flowereth like that of sweet Maudlin and it never yeeldeth seed This herb is set of the slip only I hope I need not stand to shew
the summer are only used for Gerkings to insist upon the raising of them early about the middle of March make beds of new horse-dung of two foot and a half high and near that breadth then make a band of straw or hay and pin it upon the uppermost part thereof then lay some fine ridled mould atop near three fingers thick then cover this bed with some litter or straw and make a pent-house over it as I told you of the Sparrow-grass bed whereon must lye Mats then steep your Cucumber-seed in milk and suet for four and twenty hours by that time the bed will be hot then prick in your seeds at two fingers distance upon the bed and lay on the litter again be carefull afterward for once or twice a day to see that the bed be not too hot for then it will force gemination too soon and the plants will never hold it now observe that if the seed appeareth before the third day then that bed is too hot and too hasty a gemination but if they appear not before the fourth or fifth day then those plants are like to come to good if they be carefully looked after for the future and that is to set glasses over them all night and in boisterous dayes till towards the middle of April then transplant them from that bed into holes or trenches wherein is laid new horse-dung and Pigeons-dung if it may be had with four inches of good mould atop of it then set four Cucumber plants in the compass of a Musmillion-glass and with a glass over each four plants let these plants be watered with such water as hath stood in the Sun wherein hath been steeped horse-dung by these directions if you had any knowledge or insight in it before you may have Cucumbers fit for a sallet by mid May if the Spring be any thing favourable and that is counted great rarities The second and the ordinary way of raising Cucumbers for sallet to have them about mid-summer is to raise them in mid April upon a hot bed not so hot as the former only covered with Mats and the first week in May transplanted into holes as was said before you need not go to the charge to cover them with glasses for any thing else will serve that will only keep the frost from them anights let these be watered as the former every evening or every other evening if it rain not I cannot stay to treat upon every particular Lastly The ready way of planting or sowing of Cucumber-seed is to prepare holes which will hold a Wheelbarrow of good rotten dung or more let each hole be four foot asunder and earth atop of the dung and then half a score seeds pricked in each hole but if four of them come up it is enough and what more cometh up pull them away or else they will hinder one another and come to nothing note that the time of sowing is about May day let these be well watered the summer following and gelded and by August their fruit will come to perfection Colliflowers They are raised of the seed and I shall spare a great deal of labour in setting down the directions for it if you please to look back how beds are made for Cucumbers in the same manner and at the same time so make for these and they are governed up alike only these are without glasses at the middle of May transplant them into rich and forward ground setting each plant two foot and a half distance watering of them well at the first planting and by the latter end of July they will come to flower so that you may have a dish of them The second season of the sowing of Colliflower-seed is in the beginning of September in beds of very good mould being sown there and come up at a moneths end transplant them into another bed of three abreadth setting each plant at a hands breadth asunder in ranges by a line then make a shelter over them with sticks and mats to shelter the plants from the frosty nights the winter following the next Spring transplant them in like manner as I told you of the other and by mid-summer or soon after they will come to flower Cabidges Mistake me not I mean the propagating of Cabidge-seed to be Cabidges again which oftentimes through negligence and ignorance turn or come to be Cail or Colworts but I cannot stay to reckon up Colworts and Cabidges how many sorts there are and what a great commodity it is especially amongst the Plow-men but I shall proceed with all the brevity as may be possible what is to be observed in the sowing and governing of the seed that it degenerate not First of all observe the season that is if you sow seed for winter plants to be planted out of the Spring do it at the latter end of August in a light earth the Moon being at the full five or six weeks after transplant them into another earth laying or setting them at half a foot distance to the end that each plant may have its proportion of ground and be restrained of its high growth at the latter end of February and in March at the full Moon these may be planted into quarters of earth where they may stand at a yard distance now note the best ground for these to be planted in is the strongest clay or mawm earth that is with this provisoe that there be abundance of dung under it these Cabidges must be kept whole with earth about the stalks as the weeds rise and the under leaves stripped off to cause the Cabidges to grow the greater Lastly You may sow this seed in March for winter Colworts for they may be transplanted about the latter end of May or in the beginning of June in manner as aforesaid I cannot go farther I have spoken more than I intended Carrots I shall only give three directions for the propagating of them which vulgar people are not acquainted with though they may sow of them yearly the first is the earth that the seed is committed to that it be of a like nature and not wet when it is delved also observe that the Moon be of the first quarter the time of the year is even from the beginning of March till May. Secondly Observe the quantity of seed that you sow it not too thick and for a better help thereunto consider your quantity of ground and then note that three pound of seed soweth an acre and so proportionably sow your own Thirdly That you let them not grow too thick for then they will be very small and worth nothing the best way to prevent this is to hoe them as our London Gardeners do so that each Carrot stand ten inches one from another or thereabout Corn-sallet Whether any Countrey men know it yea or no I shall not dispence with the time to describe it but sow it in your Garden in the beginning of September in a good earth the seed being sound and
new I dare promise you that it will grow and come to be cut by the next March for Sallets and by the latter end of April it cometh to flower and in June the seed is ripe which if you save it you may sow it again or if you let it scatter of it self sometimes it will grow naturally Goards As they are known to be in distinct forms and something in nature so they bear their names according to the Country from whence they are brought that is the Italian Goard the lowland Goard and the Cocker Goard if I am mistaken in the names I am not mistaken in the properties and the form for there is one sort which is nigh a yard long and sometimes as big as the lowermost part of a mans thigh with that end which is farthest from the stalk and so it cometh lesse and lesse by degrees Another sort is long and both ends alike for matter of bigness the other is bigger and shorter all these grow in like manner as Pumpkins do as for stalk and shels and they say the leaves differ not much Now for the raising of them if you have a desire I will give you my directions as far as I have observed by others viz. at the same time as they set Cucumber-seed in the same manner they do the Goard-seed and what they require afterward I cannot affirm it to you but it is said they are as easily raised as Cucumbers The stalk and root perisheth yearly as they do Indian suckory It is so well known I need not write any thing of its use and virtues but for the nature of it it is very probable I have observed more of it than those that have cultevated it longer than I have done and in my observation I have found it to be of a strong nature so that if you commit it to the earth in the Spring or Autumn it needeth no farther care but being cleansed from weeds so it will continue till it hath yeelded its seed three times and then root and branch dieth English-Beans Or great Garden Beans I name them here because they are usually set in Gardens though sometimes in Fields In which place soever you plant them in I find but one Objection and that is some plant them here and there according to their fancy and not by a direct line the errour is this those that are set at random and not by a line they have not their proportion of ground nor can you cleanse them hoe them or gather them without great injury in breaking of them down therefore learn of the Gardeners and Husbandmen about London for if they plant twenty acres together it is all set in rows by a line each row some eighteen inches difference one from another and the Beans the other way some six French-Beans They are much like the former but something thinner and of a tenderer nature they are ripe something sooner and require an hotter soil these may be set in the same manner as I described before of the English-Beans Let that suffice Jerusalem-Artichoaks The property of this plant is so that nothing is usefull but the root and it remainet hin the ground some as big as a Hens egg some bigger some less and of divers shapes some long some round some crumpled and all full of dents and of a reddish colour from which riseth a stalk near eight foot high resembling that of the Flower of the Sun though not so big a stalk This stalk perisheth yearly the root continueth in the ground as was said Of the root these Artichoaks so called are propagated either by cutting of the great ones into small pieces or else setting the little roots descending from the mother in beds of earth by themselves in March without any difficulty for they are very hardy and will grow in any place but they prosper best in a light mould Now note that once a year these roots may be taken up and the great ones reserved for to be eaten and the little ones set again Kidney-Beans My Countrey men I suppose call them French-Beans like Ideots for why names that are given things which are newly found out are given them according to what they resemble and it is so that this Bean resembleth a Kidney and therefore it is fitly called a Kidney-Bean let that passe There is red white purple and speckled of them but the nature of them is one and my directions for the planting of them shall be one and that briefly In the latter end of April provide a hot natured ground if it be something sandy it is the better so that it be but well holpen with rotten muck the year before when the ground is digged they may be either planted or set in ranges by a line at eighteen inches distance those that go to the trouble to set them usually take the pains to stick sticks for them to run up upon to the end to keep them from the ground for to save their fruit and to cause it to ripen the sooner those that plant them in drils take no farther care but only hoing the ground being hot and dry they ripen very well and bring good increase Lettice Many sorts there be but of all others the French Lettice is the best but that being sown in England it doth often degenerate from its own nature because it findeth not the air and the earth so temperate here as in its own Countrey therefore if it be raised here it must be done with care and judgment and as for our ordinary English Lettice it may be it would appear as light as vanity to the vulgar sort of people to give any directions for the raising and governing of them although there is matter of consequence in the work yet I shall wave it and only put you in mind that you may sow Lettice any moneth from the latter end of February to the latter end of September yet take notice that those which be sown in the middle of the Summer ought to be watered and those that are sowed in September for salletting early in the Spring would be covered with straw or sown under a warm pale that might shelter it from the sharp winds Lastly If you have a desire to save seed of Lettice let it be of such as was sown in September let them not be cut or medled with till the seed be full ripe in it and that will be in July Leeks A short account may very well serve for the raising and governing of this Herb or root and so it shall be Leeks are sown in the beginning of March in a rich soil for that it delighteth in much in which place they may remain all the Summer following and in September be transplanted into a rich soyl laying of them in rows at half afoot asunder as the ground was digged The end of removing of them is to cause them to grow the bigger and so the next Lent those Leeks are drawn up by the roots for
shall have your seeds to come up the tenth day you shall find that making of beds with Barley-straw and Bran to be the excellentest way of raising of Flowers that ever was invented for why your beds that are made with horse-dung forceth gemination too soon and does not continue that height which the plant was forced up for which cause the plant decayeth and those that are made only of earth they are too cold for outlandish plants if you will take my counsell and sowe it after this manner before described transplant it in May into a box of earth and you shall have the balm of Christ to flourish in July which is a great rarity to the beholders of this Nation there are few experiments more to be used than have been described it will dye when winters cold breath comes therefore remember every year to raise it as I told you Bears-Ears By some called Rickaluses by others French Cowslips and purple Cowslips it hath a leaf like your None so pretty very thick and jagged and keeps green all the year they never rise above a handfull high only the stalk the Flower on that stalk is much like the double Cowslip and the Flower is not much unlike in number of leaves and in shape but in colour they differ the colours are these the pink colour the scarlet the morey colour and the purple these naturally flower all at one time and that is in March and April these are Flowers of great estimation and a great many of curiosities are used about them in the propagating of them from seed and slip Now I will give you my own experience which I found true by my practice Rickaluses are encreased by seed and slip first of the seed if you can get the seed of the best colours then sowe it in a box in March or the beginning of April in speciall good mould you must be carefull to water the seed well for the first summer the second summer it will flower about that time as I told you before you may let these remain in the box so they stand not too thick where they will grow continually you may take slips from them to transplant into other places take notice that the putting of them inboxes is not because they will not endure the cold winter but to have them early There are ordinary means for raising of them by seed and slip the seed you may raise in beds with other Flowers the slip is to be set in August and March in this manner having gotten your slips prune them handsomely and setting of them at a distance atop of a border or by a borders side watering of them for the first ten moneths if the season should be dry by that time they will be rooted and come to perfection but they flower not that year Bell-Flowers There is a white and a blew they differ not much one from the other in nature therefore the directions of one will serve for both first I 'le give you a description they spring up with branches like Safforn-Crocus in the beginning of January if the weather be not too much unseasonable and flower in the latter end of March the Flower is in shape like a Bell it hath only five leaves presently after it is flowering the stalk withereth and beareth no seed but the root remains in the ground alwayes and springeth every year they are a Flower numbred amongst those that have Bullous roots The preserving of them in their nature is thus at any time after they are flowering you may transplant the root into new places or set them again in the old or if you have them not then you may send for the root to some other place where they may be had the place proper to set them in is in your intervails of herball or out-borders of Grass-work in this manner make holes in your ground with a diber half a foot asunder put in each hole a root be sure you make not your holes too deep for then it will keep back the Flower from coming early it lying so low and so cold otherwise you may get them early by putting of them in boxes and housing of them lastly take notice that you must replant them every two year or else the roots will grow thick and the Flower will be small Crows-foot There are single and double there are distinct colours as white red and purple the double sort beareth a Flower something like the double stock-Gilliflower in bigness set with many leaves like the inner part of the Emrose it spreadeth with many stalks of two foot high with many dark green leaves and shaped like the Vine leaves with a weak stalk it flowereth in July and August and beareth its seed a little after The chiefest way of propagating this is of the slip in the Moneths March or August the slip is taken partly from the root for the branch dyeth every year and the slip of such branches will not take root I shall not need to describe every particular in planting of them the places fit for them is in the borders next the walks in your Garden at a foot distance for they spread very much you must save the seed of this Flower or take of some of the slips and set for he 'le stay with you but two years then he dyeth you may raise it of the seed also even as you do any other ordinary Flower and therefore I 'le not stand to treat of it Crokus Of these there are two sorts the striped Crokus and the Safforn Crokus these are both winter Flowers for they flower at the beginning of February even to the latter end of March they are a very pretty Flower and they are so well known I need not stand to describe them only I 'le tell you what properties they have and though it be said that all Herbs and Flowers bear seed this I could never find to bear any for flower stalk and branches soon vanish after their first appearing nothing remaineth but the root and this root ought to be took up presently after he is flowered which is in April and when you have taken them up reserve the suckers by themselves and the bearers by themselves you may keep them in a box with a little earth a Moneth or two if you please and plant them at your leisure The manner and place of planting of them the properest place to plant them is in borders where Tulips are planted between every Tulip-root you shall set a Crokus-root at what time the Crokus hath done flowering a little after the Tulips will begin we usually take up Crokus as well as Tulips every other year because they should not lye too deep in the earth for they 'le run downwards and encrease with so many suckers that they 'le be hindered of their large growth and by having too many suckers about them and by lying so deep in the cold earth they 'le be hindered of their
springeth the next year after and having yeelded its seed three years the root and branch dieth the general use that it is for is for the beautifying the Garden and for flower-pots This flower is propagated of the seed only the time for it is the beginning of April the place fit for it is in a piece of ground which we reserve only for a Nursery only for raising of flowers in there you may sow it with others or by themselves in the end of a bed having committed them to the earth you shall see them spring up in a fortnights time with two small green leaves being carefully watered they will be big enough to be removed for they will spread mightily so they will not have room enough to grow in the bed where they are sown therefore transplant them into beds or borders in your Garden of pleasure and in August they will come to flower and the next year they will flower by the latter end of May. There is another season in sowing of them and that is in the latter end of August but the plants that were sown at this season must be carefully looked after and sheltered from the frost and snow they will come to flower in the Spring seasonably and die at the third years end as I told you before therefore save that seed and sow it again there is nothing more of curiosity belongeth to this flower so let these short and plain directions serve Emrose Considering that flowers are more for beauty than for vertue this flower challengeth the title of praise First for its early flowering for in warm places some begin to flower presently after Christmas and then others begin so some are continually flowering while June others by art and nature flower twice a year as in March and September Now to give you a description of them they are of a set colour seldom or never speckled the ordinary colour is red blew and purple the Emroses held most in estimation are the scarlet the London white and the black these colours being of large kinds I have known a root of each sold for ten shillings others have told me they have known them sold for three pound a root Of these flowers there are double and single the root is like a Ginger-race in shape and bignesse this flower beareth a weak seed something like sweet Madeling-seed and that will seldome grow and I suppose that Emrose-seed never grew though it be commonly sold for that purpose yet I have found by experience that it will not grow and as many Gardeners as ever I had conference with did ever affirm such a thing to be true therefore if you will have Emrose you must set them of the root and I will be brief and willing to show you where and how The fittest season for setting of them is in June the Moon being at the full but if opportunity doth not then serve you may plant them any time betwixt that and the latter end of August but as I said before it is best to remove them in June for then there will be the stalks above ground and some flowers and afterwards there will be none so that in the taking of them up you may cut them with a spade but that 's not all you 'll never find all your roots unless you will sift the earth and that is a great deal of trouble The fittest place in planting of these roots is in beds amongst your Cloves or else at the edge of your borders where you plant Tulips and sometimes in beds by themselves for the common sort make a little trail of an inch deep then break the roots into a many small peeces and lay them into this trail at a hands breadth distance the least peece will grow and flower the next year following Here followeth experiments worthy of observation Emrose-roots must be removed once in two years because they do so increase and multiply so that you shall have twenty or thirty roots about one old bearer these being so thick and growing barren will cause them to bear very poorly which is a very sufficient reason that they must be removed every year or every other year at least Secondly Whether there might be any alteration in the colour by any skill or care that may be used Many men have said this may be done and they have given some blind reasons for it which I shall wave and tell you how you may propagate the natural growth viz. Take Tulip-roots Lettice Sheeps-dung Strong-waters mix these together into a salve and apply it to the root and so commit the root to the earth and it will cause this root to send forth a large flower and more speedilier than those that are not so ordered those roots ought to be planted in a box for to have them come timely not but that any Emrose-roots will endure any weather Lastly To produce Emrose at all times in the year is easily done if the Winter be not too violent First take notice that you may take up Emrose-roots at any time and keep them in your house though for a year then set them again and they will grow Having this advantage if you have a desire to have them in Harvest you must plant them in the later end of May and they will flower at that time and to have them flower later plant them at the later end of July Now observe that there is such a Law and Nature that any Herb being deprived of its natural season yet it will bud forth its flower afterwards having liberty alwayes provided it be sheltered from the cold so it is plain that a man may put such flowers as have bullous roots you may put them forward or backward by keeping of them in season or out of season out of the earth African By some called the African-Marigold all that can be spoken of this flower is that it serveth for beautifying of a Garden for they flower towards the later end of Summer when most flowers are nigh done another thing they have not been long in England it came to use first out of Africa and you know that things that are new are rare in estimation It rises first like young ashes in shape and colour afterwards spreadeth it self into many branches and before it flowereth it riseth to be a yard high the flowers are in shape like the double Marigold but three times as big and of a yellow colour if you smell to it it will put you in mind of honey the seeds are small and black something like Oats this seed is ripe about September the branch and root dieth presently after It is propagated by sowing of it in hot beds as you may see of Amorantus in this Book this must be done in the beginning of March so that they may be ready to transplant into borders at the beginning of May so that you may have them to flower timely The
the propagating of them they being of alike nature Both these sorts are raised of the seed only the time for it is in the beginning of March the place for it is in a bed in a quarter which is reserved for Flowers onely in manner as I shewed you concerning the Princes-feather if your seed be good in a short time it will come up and observe if your plants should be thick then pull some of them up and set them in another place or cast them away by the later end of July following your plants will flower according to their kinds The white Poppie is for general uses and for distilling as the Physicians Herbals will shew you The red is also good for the cure of many maladies The second season of sowing of Poppies is in the later end of August or the beginning of September in place and manner as aforesaid These plants will come to flower in the later end of May following Lastly Where Poppies are once they likely alwayes continue though the plant dieth every other year yet the seed that it sheddeth springeth up again naturally Pinks Two sorts there are viz. the matted Pink and the grasse Pink. I need not trouble my self to write any more of them they are so well known I will only acquaint you the easiest and the best way of propagating them by seed and slip which may be most for pleasure First For sowing of them of the seed the time which is seasonable for it is in the middle of April the place in some high border side or a high wall side provided that there be but earth drest conveniently and finely if the bank-side be ten foot high then make as many drils at a direct line and at an equal distance one from another in those drils sow your seed with an equal hand then cover it and fix the face of your bank smooth again Now understand that these seeds will come up in ranks which will be very pleasant to the beholders these plants must be well weeded the first Summer the second Summer they will spread so that they will cover the bank themselves so that no weed can possibly grow there then these Pinks will flower which will cause such a beautious sight as hath nor been seen in England unlesse it were the like Besides this they will alwayes continue there and need no labour but cutting off the dead stalks after they have done flowering The time for the setting of the slips is in the beginning of September the place is in the edge of borders round grasse-work or herb-work a single chace in every border set at three inches distance so done they 'll come to flower the later end of the next May following Purple-Primrose These are Flowers that differ not from the white Primrose in shape and growth but only in bearing purple Flowers and that which is more rare they flower twice a year in March and in September These Flowers are set only of the slip at two several seasons and those are presently after their flowering The place fit for it is in borders at the uppermost part thereof directly at a hands breadth asunder if this be done in the Spring time the slips must be well watered till they have taken root if in the fall you have no more care or trouble with them but to keep them weeded to cut off their dead leaves and stalkes after their flowering for the renewing of their nature and to cause them to look the pleasanter Pawmers So called because the seed is the figure of a Pawmer and upon this account men hold such a thing a great rarity and though of little use yet they will bestow the pains to propagate it as followeth About May-day this plant is only to be raised of the seed in this manner prepare a place in a border under a wall or some other warm place there prick in your seeds with your finger at a hands breadth asunder I suppose you will not set many of them because they are no more usefull and so by July they will come to flower and a moneth after the seed is ripe and the plant dieth Queens-Gilliflower Some call it the white Gilliflower whether it hath any more names I cannot tell yet I know it is usuall to give divers names to one and the same plant It hath many leaves growing and spreading close to the ground something long sharp-pointed of a dark green colour being hard rough rugged and grayish underneath of little or no sent but of a fine pleasant sharp tast above these rise a stalk two foot in heighth and at the tops of the stalks and branches stand many tufts of small white Flowers which smell sweet and in their places being fallen come cods wherein is a brown flat seed and at one time you shall have Flower and seed ripe upon the stalk the root is somewhat black and woodish with divers great strings the top branches die every year but the root and the under leaves perish not but abide many years the sides partly from the root send forth many young slips every year By this description I hope you understand the nature of this plant I shall not need to stand to treat of every particular in reference to its ordering to be short get of the slips of this plant either in Spring or fall and set them in a convenient bed or border of good earth c. The Flowers of this plant are good in nosegaies or to be placed in Flower-pots the leaves are a good pot-herb and serve for many physicall uses Rose-campions Be these the white the red the purple they differ not in form but in the colour let one description serve for all Rose-campions have white hoary leaves and soft sharp at each end the stalks are of the same colour weak and small as a Hop-vine not well able to support themselves from one root springeth many of them which spread mightily in June and July this plant hath its Flower richest in the branch these Flowers are made of five leaves the seed lieth in bags which are round and of the bigness of a mans fore-finger and when this seed is full ripe it will rattle in the husks the seed is as small as Gunpowder and of a dark brown colour on this plant will be ripe seed and a rich Flower at once this plant riseth to three foot high the second year the whole plant dieth naturally This plant is propagated only of its seed and in short I will show you the way viz. prepare a bed or one end of a bed in the quarter which is appointed for Flowers so done sow your seed then cover it thinly with a little ridled earth let this be done in the beginning of April or the latter end of August now observe that those that are sown in August if the winter following be hard they must be covered with a little straw and the
them from both and if they are made of a stately fashion they do beautifie the Garden And lastly you may have your flowers at such times in the year by removing of them from place to place as cannot be effected by those that grow out of Pots 3. Thirdly Cradles are necessary you must understand to keep the wind from breaking and beating of them to and fro and keeping of them in uniform manner these cradles are made of white rods six standing and two woven round about and the lower end sharp to put into the earth and these keep the flowers up 4. Fourthly If flowers be kanker-eaten it will destroy them for it is a worm that eateth the root this you shall discern by the branches when they look of a dead colour then search the root when you have found this kanker take tarr and the yelk of an egg and mans ordure and apply this to the kanker-eaten and that will cure it 5. Fifthly If your flowers stand too long unremoved or the ground stirred about them and fresh mould put to them the ground will be bound stiff about the root which must be remedied by opening the earth about them and putting in of fresh mould this must be done early in the Spring or otherwise you will hinder it more than farther it 6. Sixthly If you let too many flowers grow upon a stock they will be very small and in danger to kill the stock therefore you must when you see there is like to be great store of flowers cut the most of them away for the preservation of the stock and the enlarging of your flower and for the preserving of seed for if you would have good seed you must not suffer above five or six Flowers to be upon a stock these must be of the top Flowers at the first flowering the seed will come to perfection by the latter end of August and when you see the seed black in the cod then cut off the branch and hang it up in the house till it be thorow dry then you may rub it out this seed you must sow in your own Garden for two years and afterwards you must change it or else your Flowers will degenerate and grow single 7. Seventhly Housing of the Plants is necessary for preserving of them from frost and snow which would kill them and for getting of them to flower early observe that you are to give them sun and air on such dayes as it is to be had and to set them forth in rainy dayes for rain water is much better than conduit for them but if rain-water may not be had water them with standing water and be sure that they have it often for all vegetable creatures do partake more of the element water more than the element earth to prove this take any plant and burn it look how much ashes so much earth and all the rest which vapour'd away was a watery substance which vapoured up out of the earth then watering often is needfull 8. Eighthly To get Laires is very needfull and it is done thus you may buy small pots for the purpose which are like a tunnell with a hole at the bottom to let out the water if there should be too much it hath a slit of one side these pots we fill full of earth and set it by Cornation-Gilliflowers side and bring one of the choicest slips that we can see in at the slit so that the top of it shall be above the top of the small Laire-pot and the lower part of it is in the pot and in the earth so this putteth forth root this must be done in August and next March you shall cut off the slip that is so rooted and plant it in another pot that Laire-pot which the slip came out of will serve for the like use again Further queries and observations there are concerning producing of these Flowers contrary to nature and seasons 1. The first dispute is whether Cornation seed bringeth forth a single Pink I answer some do and the most do not for those that comes single were of the under-seed therefore if there were diligence and care in the saving the seed as I told you before there would be very few single Pinks but those that are by diligence replanted may be made double but if you will not bestow the pains you may plant them in some border or bank-side there to remain for strowing Flowers another curiosity is to have Cornations almost while Christmas and it is very probable this might be done if you will take these directions 2. In June and July till the latter end of August cut away all such buds or branches that you see are like to bring forth a Flower and afterward let such as will spring forth alone and by Michaelmas these will be budded forth this must be done by your pot-Flowers because they must be carried in in the cold nights they must be set into a room and set abroad again adayes by this means you shall have the buds open and keep this Flower even while Christmas 3. Other things I have been told that would cause this effect that was by enclosing the Flower in soft wax at the time they begin to open so let them stand enclosed while Christmas or any time of the winter that you have a desire to have a Cornation-Gilliflower then saith he take off your wax in a sun-shine day and the sun will open the Flower and by this means you may have them at any time you may believe this if you please but it were good for you to find it true by experience for my part I think it cannot be so for the stalk withereth before that time of the year and if the stalk be dead the Flower cannot be alive and that is a sufficient reason 4. Many other vain things I have been told concerning alterations which are very uncertain truths which I shall not bestow the pains to set down but shall proceed with laudable and creditable and profitable things for him that is employed therein I do not intend to please any man in writing of this Treatise unless he will be pleased with the bare truth and no more so I 'le speak a word or two of the continuance of this Flower If it may be carefully looked to it may continue five or six year or otherwise not half so long Some men are of opinion when they see this beautifull Flower as to think it is of an art of their own or others but they are mistaken all the art of man is to find out the art of nature it self for if any thing be not used in its own nature and season it will come to no effect therefore what I have discovered of the nature of this or any other Flower as far as my capacity can truly understand I give it to all men yet I know Reader that it may be contrary to your judgment for so many men as
August in a fine fertile earth for it is a very tender feed though when it is come to perfection the plant is the hardiest of all others The plants that come of seed will be very small the first year and beareth no Flower while the fourth year and seeing Mr. Purchas and others have took up their time to study curiosities about ordering this seed and that this Flower is grown so common that the roots may be had almost any where I shall not insist any more upon ordering this seed Sixthly Tulips must be removed every year or every other year the time fit for it is in the later end of June in manner as aforesaid the reason is if they be not removed they grow too deep in the ground and the ground groweth stiff about them and they send forth suckers from the old bearers these things hinder the timely bearing and maketh the Flower the less Seventhly Concerning sent In the former Treatise of Gilliflowers I had an occasion to speak of the alteration of the sent of Flowers and if it could be done on this as I know it is impossible it would make this Flower exceed all Flowers for here is nothing wanting in this Flower that nature did bestow in any other except sent and what may be done in altering the sent Authors say it is thus Take two or three Cloves as much Mace and a stick of Oinamon two grains of Musk and a little Amber-grease these beaten together adde unto it a few drops of Damask-rose-water then take a fine Camebrick rag and spread this upon it lay this to a Tulip-root then commit it to the earth this done water them now and then with Damask rose-water and some other sweet drugs this cost with diligence performed say they the Tulip that springeth from that root will be as sweet as any Flower whatsoever This you may believe if you please but I can assure you that you will lose your labour and cost My reason is as I said before plants do not contract any substance as it is either sweet or sowr black or white but into its own sent colour and for me that God and Nature gave it Lastly Some things may be done in crossing of the nature of this Flower by keeping of the root out of the earth to put it backward for flowering at contrary seasons for you may keep it out of the earth a quarter of a year and set it again and it will grow and flower thus you may keep them back from flowering one Summer and the next Summer they will flower the timelier and the Flowers will be much the larger I cannot insist upon every particular but I hope I have shewed you the principal things of concernment and I have answered some of the groundlesse opinions that men have took up upon trust concerning the ordering of this Flower The Sensitive plant A strange nature this plant hath and that is if a man touch it with his hand it will crumble it self up together hence the name of it is derived or called the Sensitive plant It riseth to a span high with weak stalks but tough with small brownish leaves with a few tufts at the top of the branches where groweth small Flowers and it beareth a small seed presently after This plant is raised on a hot bed of the seed under a glass In the beginning of April and at May transplant it into a box of fertile earth where it will remain two years if it be housed in the Winter and carefully looked after Thrift It is matted close to the ground like matted grasse with spiry blades like matted Pinks it spreadeth mightily upon the ground and it beareth a Flower in May which is double and of a whitish Pink colour This Flower standeth upon a naked stalk of an handfull long and after the Flower fadeth and beareth no seed This Flower is set of the slip only for the keeping up of borders and for the distinguishing of knots these slips may be set at any time of the Spring or fall and where they are set they alwayes continue Turkey-caps They spring up like red Lillies to two-foot high and afterward brancheth out into five or six branches on each branch groweth a Flower which is red and in the form of a cap standing with the tops exactly downward the time of its flowering is in July and after the Flower fadeth it leaveth the seed behind it which seldome cometh to perfection This Flower is set of the root only the time for it is presently after its flowering or at its first springing in March in the same places and manner as was told you of Lillies after the stalk dieth the root springeth again yearly the roots would be removed every year or every other year or else the Flowers will be but small Violets Both double and single are sown and planted in Gardens for several uses as well as for pleasure In August and the beginning of March they set up the slip in borders or banks and in April you may sow them of the seed in drils as was shown of Pinks where they will alwayes remain I need not trouble my self to write any more of them Wall-gilliflowers I am now come to the last Flower in my Treatise it needeth no description it is only propagated of the seed by sowing of it amongst rubbish or upon wals at any time of the year you please for it is a seed of that hardinesse that it maketh no difference betwixt the Winter and the Summer but will flourish in both equal and beareth its Flowers all the year therefore I advise you to sow it upon some wall or stony bank Now after this seed is once sown and hath taken root it will naturally of it self overspread much ground and will hardly ever after be rooted out This beareth its seed much like to the Stock-gilliflower but that it is much smaller and the lightest of all seeds and as it scattereth it cometh up naturally of it self and seeing it requireth no more labour I will not insist any more upon it So endeth the Treatise of Flowers THE GARDEN of PLEASURE as it treateth of CURIOUS TREES Here followeth short Descriptions and Directions for the raising and maintaining of such curious Trees as are placed in Gardens of Pleasure now in England either for their Fruits Flowers or Pleasure Apricock AN Apricock is a tree that is placed against a wall for the gaining of fruit from them for if they be set abroad for standards they will never bring fruit to perfection neither will those against the wals some years if they be not preserved with mats and that is done thus Drive some Tenter-hooks at the uppermost part of the wall and upon those hooks with a pole hang your-mats in the Evening and in the Morning take them off with the same and these mats will preserve the fruit from frosts winds and blasts which oftentimes perisheth fruit at the first
Brobston's Garden where you may be satisfied whether I have given you a right information of it yea or no. Horn-Fig-trees It is a tree hath few branches scattering one from another with here and there a leaf the bark of the body is of a brown colour the whole tree groweth to be a little higher than a man atop of every branch putteth forth a kind of a fruit like a Key ball and at the first it hath a kind of a red husk on it which maketh it appear at a distance like a Flower and when that sheddeth the fruit is as hard that is underneath and as rough as the Pyone Apple This tree is raised either of the seed or slip but best of the seed for it is done with as much ease as the Pippin-kernels are raised but it is hard to procure the seed or slip for the tree is very scarce Creeping Vine So called because if it be set against a wall or a house it will take hold it self without any nailing and run up to the very top and needeth no care but pruneing you may say what need it have any pruneing seeing every branch will take hold of the wall I answer the reason is because one branch will grow over another else and therefore they must be prevented while they are young by cutting off I need not trouble my self in setting down waies for the planting of them for it is done with as much ease as the ordinary Vine Lowaray This tree groweth to ten foot high with branches springing from the body of the root even from the very bottome to the top being very strait shoots covered with a grey bark the leaves are of a pale colour round at the bottome and sharp at the top at the and of every old branch springeth a Flower in the form that the Vine putteth forth her Flower but of a blew colour This tree is raised of the sucker which springeth from the root these being taken away in September and set in any ordinary earth they will grow as soon as a willow the place that they are usually set in is by bowers to the end that they may cover them for you may bend this tree which way you please and they will not break Laurell Is so generally known that I need not speak any thing in describing of it I shall only speak two or three words of the raising of it and the place of planting of it in for ornament First for the raising of it if you have good store of Laurell trees at Michaelmas cut off so many young branches as you can that are two foot in length and longer the longer the better then find out a place that is very moist earth and rich lying something in the shade there plant your cuttings laying of them slope-waies so that there be a foot of them in the ground and the rest above thus done let these cuttings remain there till the next March and by that time they will have roots of an inch long then you may transplant them to wall-sides or pales where they may be set at four foot distance and kept nailed to the walls or pales those that have great store of them make hedges of them by walks sides supporting of them with poles and so keep them cut at the top about London they make a great profit of the cuttings of Laurell Lowrex This plant spreadeth like a bush even close to the ground and seldome groweth to be three foot high the leaves are green and two inches in breadth made of the fashion of a long ovall and are so thick set on that a man cannot see into the body of the plant this plant keepeth green all the year and beareth a berry but it never cometh to any perfection therefore it is set of the slip and the least slip of this plant will grow The raising of it and planting of it is as I told you of the Laurell cuttings therefore let one direction serve for both the place that this plant is set in is in physick-Gardens because it is a physicall plant Lorestrinus The branches of this plant are weak so they are usually planted against walls arbors or upon frames of close walks it keepeth its leaves green all the year which are of a brownish green shooteth out with long branches like the young Vine shoots and the old shoots beareth a tufty white Flower which flourisheth in May. This plant is planted of the slip as most plants are that keepeth green all the year so I shall not need to insist upon the manner of it for it is done with as much ease as any of the other so nothing remains but that it be planted in the places according to the description Lignae-vitae Is a tree that is not very common I do not know that ever I saw above three of them in my life yet if the slips of them may be had I am confident that it would grow almost any where but it never beareth seed which cometh to perfection and that maketh it so much a stranger in England and for your better understanding I give you this short description it is a tree which hath branches like the Saven the body of it is smooth and strait and of a ruddy colour with never a twig upon it but at the very top which is very pleasant to behold this tree at his full growth is as big as a mans thigh and a matter of twelve foot in heighth the body of it is the best wood in the world for musicall instruments and for your new Engine turning-work I think it needless to speak any thing of the propagating of it more than I have Mirtill-trees Of Mirtils there is the sweet Mirtill the smooth Mirtill and the prickly Mirtill and some will have them distinguished into more names yet he that knoweth the one may easily know the other All Mirtils keep green all the year and have a thick leaf as broad as a groat that they call the prickly Mirtill hath a sharp-pointed leaf full of veins the sweet Mirtils leaves are smooth and round that they call the smooth Mirtill differeth not in any thing from the sweet but only the sweet hath a bloom which hath a sweet savour no Mirtill tree groweth to any great stature for it is a great tree counted that is so big as a mans thigh and six foot high The propagating of each of these sorts is chiefly of the berry or seed on this wise prepare boxes of as good mould as may be had set the seeds therein so done let the boxes be sheltered anights the time for this is in the beginning of April this observed if the seed be good it will come up in a little more than three weeks space let the plants stand in these boxes till the next September then draw out such plants as stand too thick and plant them in other boxes and let some remain in the same where they may stand
is black and three square pretty great and weighty It is propagated either of the seed or slip if you sow it of the seed it is no great matter when nor is it material where it being committed to any ordinary digged earth it cometh up naturally and continueth there alwayes The leaves of it are boiled with Beef and in the Spring time it is used for a Pot-herb the root is used for sauce Annis It will grow in England if it be carefully manured but seeing that the leaves of this plant are for no use it will be lost labour to raise it considering the seed may be bought any where All-Hail All-hail or Clowns All-hail by others Woundwort It hath leaves thick and round of the breadth of a six-pence gray rough and full of sap the branches that they grow on lie on the ground much like Germander but it runneth not out so long it beareth a little blewish Flower but never leaveth seed to perfection the nethermost leaves keep green all the year This Herb set of the slip in the Spring time in borders or any ordinary earth and it will prosper very well and spring yearly Bares-britch This Herb doth resemble the smooth Thistle rising up with a stalk and at the top the leaves turn something round and in the middle springeth tufty downy Flowers of a brownish colour growing in rough husks and underneath is grayish rough seeds This plant groweth wild in some parts but it is nursed up in Gardens for physical uses it is usually set of the slip in the Spring and it flowereth that Summer and after it hath yeelded its seed three times the plant dieth Balm Balm beareth a seed which it may be raised of but the Herb is so common that it is needless to trouble you with its description The time that they usually set the slip of this Herb is in the beginning of April if in case that you can get but few of the roots they may be slipt into many parts and each part will grow if it have but part of the branch with it The place that it is usually planted in is in beds by it self of two foot and an half broad four rows of it in a bed and let it have all the bed to it self and let it be well watered at the first planting it requireth no more trouble but springeth yearly The dead branches would be cut off when Winter cometh Basyll Garden seed Basyll hath one upright stalk rising up to one foot high whereon are set small branches with two leaves upon a joint set one against another whereat spring a small Flower whitish in colour and after it fadeth it leaveth one seed in a bag which is black and something bigger than Hysop-seed this Herb hath the sweetest sent of all others at the approaching of Winter this Herb dieth it is propagated only of the seed the time for it is in the later end of April in this manner dig a bed finely in a quarter which is reserved for sweet Herbs rake it likewise then sow your seed on it and cover it with a little fine mould thinly Now observe if that it be like to rain after the bed ought to be covered for if the seed take wet before its gemination it turneth all to a gelly and so is lost Lastly This seed cometh up the ninth or tenth day and then it would be watered in dry weather till such time as it covereth the bed The use of this Herb is for broth or for stewing meats and the like Blessed-Thistle It is called Cardus Benedictus Holy-thistle and Cardus I suppose it need not any further description This Herb is raised of the seed only in March it must be sown in a loose rich earth in a warm place under some pale hedge or walk you should prick in the seeds with your finger in the bed at three fingers breadth asunder for if it should be raked the beards that are at the end of the seeds would not let them be covered and that is the reason I advise you to prick them in with your finger The second season of sowing of it is in the later end of April then it may be sown without any trouble in any ordinary earth and will prosper very well and so this Herb dieth at the approaching of Winter then you may save the seed and sow it in the Spring in like manner as I told you Bares-foot This Herb shooteth up branches two foot high with many joints whereat shoot out springs with five dark green leaves upon them shaped like a Bares-foot and pale coloured Flowers fashioned like a cup hanging with the top downward This Flower is upon the branch in May it hath clumped roots which spread in the ground and are of a stinking savour This Herb is set of this root onely either in the Spring or in the fall it delighteth in a shadie place where if you set it it will grow without any more trouble and spring every year after according to the description Bugloss I suppose this is so well known it needeth no description Bugloss may be sown either in March or the later end of August thinly for it spreadeth much ground if it be sown in the Spring it will be late in the Summer before it come to flower therefore it is best to sow it in August It continueth three year before it dieth but the branches die every year only the root remains which springeth again The vulgar uses of this Herb is the Flowers and the leaves are put into Claret-wine and Beer to give it a pleapleasant taste the Flowers also are used in Sallets and Syrups Burrage This Herb is much like the former but that it groweth not to such a stature and the leaves are shorter and broader I need not write any thing of the time of sowing of it for sow it when you will it will come up at its natural season and if you suffer it to seed the seed that falleth comes up naturally and in time will overspread the Garden therefore I advise you to sow it in some reversion or some waste place in the Garden Bloodwort Bloodwort hath leaves shaped and striped like the Harts-tongue leaf but they are of a red colour these leaves are set on close to the ground through which rise stalks like the dock and beareth a seed in like manner which is red and three square glistering like the Sorel seed This Herb is sowed of the seed in the Spring time it would be in a small bed by itself it cometh up soon after its sowing and will come to cover the bed suddenly it beareth not seed till the second Summer after its sowing and the fourth year it dieth but it seldom leaveth the ground without young in the stead for if you suffer it to bear seed as it falleth it cometh up naturally This Herb is very good in broth and bloud puddings of all sorts Burnat There is a wild kind
it is in drils round beds wherein is Tulips and other Flowers of bullous-roots the seed in like manner is sown in drils for the distinguishing of knots either division-work or running-drafts Now take notice that Hissop-seed thus sown or any other way being thinly covered it cometh up suddenly and by the later end of the Summer it will come to seed if you cut it not but I advise you to cut it every fortnight after it is grown to a handfull high for it is for profit pleasure and for the preservation of the Herb for that which is kept from seeding will flourish seven or eight years and the other not half so long Thirdly This Herb may be set of the slip at that time manner and place as was said of the seed and it will flourish accordingly if it be well watered at the first planting and afterward if the season be dry Lastly Hissop is the best of strowing Herbs both for sent and for growth and being distilled the water of it is very precious Housleek Housleek or Singreen is an Herb of general uses and though it be no art in the planting of it I name it for its worth and to put you in mind that you may plant it upon wals or thatcht houses of the slip in Cow-dung and earth and it will prosper very well and spread and continue with you without any more trouble Jerusalem-Sage It hath many rugged leaves to the sight and handling they are at a span in length sharp pointed at the upper end the lowermost part growing close to the earth spreading every way and of a greenish gray colour in the middest groweth many spindles something like Cowslips with Flowers on them like those of English-sage This Flower never yeeldeth seed it is propagated of the slip as followeth In March or September get the slip of this Herb and set it in a bed of good mould and it will prosper or otherwise it will not Now observe after these slips are rooted they will continue many years in that place without any more trouble and the leaves and Flowers are for sovereign Medicines although I cannot find the Physicians have treated of it either by name or description yet the vertues are these it cureth sore brests applied Poultiswayes and made up into salve it cureth all manner of green wounds and drunk inwardly helpeth women in travel and many other vertues it hath which I cannot dispense with time to repeat Kings-mallow Kings-mallows or March-mallows these are much like the Pot-mallows or Hollihock but a great deal bigger in body and leaves something rounder the branches grow not so high as the other and something crookeder The raising of this Mallow is of the seed in March the place fit for it is in some out-border of the Garden where it may grow without any replanting and so at the later end of August next after the sowing it beareth a small Flower in comparison of the Hollihock much like it and afterward the seed which seldom comes to perfection having done so three years root and branch dieth Kapons-tayles By some named Capons-feathers and by others Caponherb It hath winged leaves rising from the root of a foot long of a fresh green colour smooth to the sight and in handling in the middest riseth branches to four foot height weak and bending with many such like leaves as the former though not so big the top of the branches are huskey Flowers of a sad white colour which dry on to the stalk and never yeeldeth seed the roots are long and white full of knots and spreading which shoot up young branches every year Of the root this Herb is planted either in the Spring or fall the fittest place for it is in a bed with other pot-herbes and being done it needeth no more industry but will prosper according to the description This Herb is excellent good for broath and for Puddings made of bloud Lovage It hath stalks growing to a mans height hollow like Bean stalks with many branches spreading from the sides of them whereon are leaves much like those of Angelica and of a strong stinking savour the branches and stalks perish yearly and the root sendeth up the like again Now for the ordering of it I will be short for the Herb is hardy and requireth no more than to be set in the earth of the slip which is taken from the root either in the Spring or the fall and it will continue as was said in the description Liquorish I suppose the root of it is well known of all those that are troubled with colour that take any thing to prevent it the branches that springeth from the roots are in all respects like young Ash-plants at four foot high this may serve for the knowledge of it The way of planting of it for profit as many do now plant three or four Acres of it more or lesse according to their opportunities and abilities would take up a large Discourse and very probable I might outrun my judgement in some particulars Those that are Plantaginers of it differ in the way and judgement of planting of it so I will wave the quantity and speak of the nature and quality My reason is because I think that those need not my judgment that plant such great quantities so take the way of planting of a bed for a houshold use as followeth In March provide a bed of good earth either light or sandy and of three spit deep such a bed of earth provided and layed out at three foot in breadth then set three chace of roots at a foot distance each root a foot asunder now note the roots must be but half a foot in length at the most pricked in with a diber so that there be but an inch of earth above them atop of this you may sow any salletting the first year the second year it would have the bed to it self and the earth loosened about it and the third year in January or February it should be taken up and in the taking of it up note that such roots as run downward are good Liquorish and those that run side-waies are not so good but it is better for planting again than the other which you may plant in the manner as was said before in the March following and by this industry you may come to have acres of it as is at the neat houses nigh London Lastly See what profit is made of planting of Liquorish viz. the Apothecaries give fifty shillings for a hundred weight of the roots and upon this account some have made five hundred pounds upon the encrease of six acres of land Lavender-cotton Or white Lavender the branches of it are like Cypruss but of a white colour and riseth not altogether so high as the Lavender slip doth it beareth a yellow downy Flower and leaveth no seed the herb is bitter in tast and little better in sent Of the slip this herb is set either in March
according to the description that would be cut off at the Winters approaching and that is all that need to be done till the third year and then the root ought to be took up for its use and vertue the use is for Diers for dying and the Physical vertues the Herbals will shew you Marygolds There be double and single flowered ones and both of them yeeldeth seed and if it be sown in any place which is digged it will grow and keep the Garden full but if the ground be barren they will degenerate and turn single The use of the Flower of this Herb is for the pot for broth and the like and those that do think of the Winter in the Summer do gather the Flowers and dry them in the shade and put them up in paper bags for the like uses and others viz. for to make Posit-drinks for those that have any distemper at their hearts It is also thought that it is as effectual as Saffron Mother-wort It hath brownish strong stalks rising two or three foot high with many leaves cut deep into the very stem something like the Vine-leaf rough and crumpled of a sad green colour but many veins therein there are many branches and one stalk which also yeeld at the tops thereof a purple coloured Flower as small as that of Balm but in the same manner as that of Hore-hound after which come small blackish seeds in great plenty The bottome of the plant keepeth green many years before the root perisheth This Herb will seldom grow of the seed therefore it must be set of the slip or sucker which is taken partly from the root The time for it is either in the Spring or fall in a border or a bed of good earth where it will prosper and come to perfection according to the description Nip Garden Nip is much like Balm in the leaf but that they are sharper pointed whiter and hoary growing on four square stalks shoot up to three foot high with many small branches set thereunto having smaller leaves than those at the bottome This Herb yeeldeth a strong sent something sweet like Balm the Flowers grow in large tufs at the tops of each branch something like that of Sparemint of a whitish purple colour The root remaineth in the ground like that of the Mint and all the Winter some of the nether most leaves keep green The seed that this Herb yeeldeth is like Purslain in all respects but only it hath one white speck and that is where it grew to the cod and at that place it springeth its branch again Of the seed or slip this Herb may be propagated the seed if it hit it is long before it comes to perfection and it is very tickle in gemination as I have found by experience The best time for sowing of it if you will go to the trouble is in the later end of August but I think it better to set it of the slip if it may be had for that way it will prosper very well in any ordinary earth The time and manner of doing of it is as I told you of Balm in the former part of this Treatise in a bed by it self Orpine It hath round and brittle stalks with fat and fleshy leaves of a pale green colour the Flowers are white growing in tufts the roots are divers thick round tubelous roots and the branches fade yearly This Herb is set of the root onely in a bed reserved for it self The time is either in the Spring or fall and without any curiosity being committed to the earth in its season it will grow and flower as was said Pepperwort The root sendeth up leaves in shape like the Coursemary cut on the edges carrying the colour of the Horse-reddish leaves it hath a hard small round stalk with many branches like the same very thinly set with leaves and at the top of every branch are small white Flowers which leaveth a small seed that seldome cometh to perfection after the seed falleth the branch dieth and the root remaineth in the ground which sendeth up the like again This root is something like the wild Parsnip The way of propagating of this Herb is of the root the time for it is in March the manner thus Cut your roots into short pieces of three inches in length so done a bed of earth prepared for that purpose then prick in them pieces of roots at half a foot distance by May they will shoot up with leaves and by the later end of Summer with stalks as was said Now note that these roots must remain in that place untouched three years if you would have them at their full vertue and then they may be took up and the roots set again Pot-Margerum I imagine it is altogether needlesse to describe it seeing it is so common an Herb therefore take the propagating of it by seed and slip as followeth First Of the seed The season for it is either in the latter end of April or the latter end of August the place is in a bed by it self in a quarter with other sweet Herbs and done in the manner as I shewed you of Basil Secondly Of the slip that is done at the same seasons but sometimes not in the same places for we set it on border sides to keep them up where it will spring as well as in a bed and it will continue alwayes where it is once rooted in bed or border for it putteth forth side suckers which flourish after the old plant dieth I think it is but lost labour to write any thing more of it the Herb being so hardy and so well known Prick-Madam Or Prick my Dame Divers trailing branches upon the ground it hath composed of a soft substance not divided into branches or leaves but all parts alike which are round prickles like those of the Furse but as big as a Goose quill if you touch it a small matter breaketh it and it is not prickley at all though it seem so to be the colour of it is a blewish green and beareth a yellow Flower in August and a long seed a little after like that of Muscove but seldom to perfection This Herb is set of the slip in borders sides either in the Spring or the fall one chase in a border upon the uppermost edge thereof for after it is rooted it runneth upon the ground like Penny-royal and taketh root with its branches therefore it would be kept cut in order by a direct line at the nethermost part of the border and then it appeareth pretily it keepeth green all the year and continueth many so This Herb is eaten in Sallets in the Spring time Purple-grasse In Physicians Herbals I cannot finde this Herb named or described therefore I will describe this Herb and its vertues This Herb runneth on the ground like Clover-grasse with leaves and stalks of a purple-colour spotted as it were with blackish bloud and beareth a Flower
it in dry banks on stone-wals and mud-wals for there it delighteth most to grow and will shift for it self whereever it be planted for it neither careth for heat nor cold but abideth its place alwaies without any alteration this herb is good in sallets and for physicall uses Shalot Or Spanish Garlick it hath heads in the ground like Garlick though not so big it runs up with blades like that of Chives but a great deal bigger and longer there is never any appearance of any Flower or seed but continueth according as I described it the sent of it is strong being eaten it never offendeth the breath By this short description you may know it as well as if I had filled up a page with it This herb or root is propagated by the off-set or sucker setting of them in March in beds of ordinary earth prickt in each root at a hands breadth asunder just within the earth this done by the next Michaelmas following each root will encrease to be ten then they ought to be taken up and kept in a chamber all the winter till the next March and then set again in manner as was said Sweet-Maudlin I hope I may spare the pains to write a description of an herb that is so common so only take the nature of it and that is it beareth a seed which is something downy wherein I can see little or no perfection or any kind of spirit that may tend to growth yet seedsmen do sell it upon that account and unexperience men by it thinking to raise the herb of it but they are mistaken it is the slip and the slip only that it is encreased by and that is done in the Spring time in this manner having gotten slips then prepare a bed and set them therein with a diber so thick as they may cover the bed when it cometh to spread and that will be in a short time after I need not to give any farther observations only remember to clip off the branches when it begins to put forth its Flower so that will renew its nature and make it to look the more beautifull and continue the longer Seurvy-Grass Many thick leaves round and green it hath smooth on the edges these leaves are sometimes springing from the root upon stems and others upon stalks spreading upon the ground never rising above a foot in heighth and the tops spread with white Flowers and after they fade cometh bags wherein is contained small seeds This herb is sown of the seed only the best season for it is in the latter end of August it mattereth not what earth it be so it be fine dry and clear from rubbidge and have some shelter it will grow up and prosper very well the winter following and it will be the first sallet-herb in the Spring by May it cometh to flower and yeeldeth not its seed in a good while after Sweet-Fern It hath roots that remain in the ground like those of Spare-mint spreading and encreasing which sendeth up sprouts crumpled at the first of a pale green colour and after it brancheth out into jagged leaves as it were of a darker green colour than the former something like that of sweet Sisly these grow not but to a small heighth and never yeeldeth either Flower or seed this herb yeeldeth as pleasant a sent as Basill the branches dye at the coming of the winters cold breath and the root sendeth up the like again the next Spring this herb is frequent in Gardens in Barkshire Of the root only this herb is propagated by setting of it in ordinary earth at its first springing which is in the beginning of April now I advise you to plant it in an out-border because it spreadeth mightily where it is planted so by that means it will not run amongst other herbs that are placed in quarters Sweet-Covey Or Muscovey is an herb that where once it is sown there it continueth by the reason of the scattering of its seed which springeth up again I need not describe it nor speak any thing more of the nature of it it is so well known for where it hath gotten any interest it will hardly be destroyed if you desire it Sweet-Marjorum There are two sorts and that is winter sweet-Marjorum and summer sweet-Marjorum first for the summer sweet-Marjorum that is sown of the seed in the latter end of April in beds of good mould finely delved and evenly raked and the seed cast with an even hand upon it then rake it not but cover it thinly with mould as I told you in the sowing of Basill this needeth no further care but watering and weeding and at the coming of the frost it withereth Winter sweet-Marjorum is sown at the same time and in the same manner and it continueth green all the winter following and it is for the same use and vertue as the other is and a great deal more in estimation because it can be had when the other is not Sweet-Oak Is an herb which perisheth yearly and leaveth a seed which is as small as the Rose-campion seed I cannot stand to describe every part of this herb nor cannot speak of every particular in the observation of propagating of it for I have already gone as far as my bounds so I will only acquaint you with this that is you may sow it when you have sowed the seed of the herb before-mentioned in the same manner and preserve it with the same care Taragan I suppose it is well known so a description is unneedfull This herb is also sown at the same time and season as the former but the seed is more difficulter to take in the gemination but in the fructition much harder this herb may be set of the off-set but seeing that it is of no long continuance and of no great vertue but only for it s sent therefore I shall not dispence with the labour to set down every particular way for it Time It is not to be questioned but that the generality of men and women do know this herb and how and when it may be planted to grow but yet let me put you in mind of a decent form in each particular in the propagating of it by seed and slip First There is two seasons for it the one is in mid April and the other at the latter end of August that which you sow or set in April especially that which is sown will not come to flower that summer and ought not to be cut till the latter end thereof because it should spread the ground and keep the Sun from scorching of it at the latter end of the next summer following it will come to flower and seed Secondly For sowing or setting of it in August I hold this the best season for it will endure the winter and will have taken good root against the summer and be fit to be cut for the severall uses when the other is sown now observe that this be sown and
top which maketh it to stand in a stately form the leaves of this tree are green as the Bay-trees and keep so all the year they are also of the same shape though not half so big the ribs of them are something reddish and the bark of the body of the tree is of a reddish green colour something rough and dented the middle of the tree as to say amongst the branches are bare and without sprouts or leaves at the top springeth berries upon stalks when they are ripe they are absolutely like Strawberries and may be eaten though not half so good yet they are usually eaten There is no way that I could find of propagating of this tree but by slips taken from the branches and set in good mould to the end that they may take root and become trees but most of them thus done seldome take root There is another way which is more certain and that is to make a branch as it groweth upon the tree to pass thorow a pot which hath a hole in the bottome of it and then to fill the pot full of earth and that will cause it to take root as it groweth on the tree and then it may be cut off and planted in that place where it should remain The End of the Physicall Garden THE GARDENERS PRACTICE IN THE Kitchin Garden how to advance the nature and growth of Herbs Roots and Pulse contained therein I Have not leisure to insist upon every particular at this time but if it please God to permit me life I shall give these rules and directions for the propagating of those plants mentioned in the Alphabeticall Table belonging to the Kitchin Garden thus Propagation 1. The season fit for sowing or planting 2. The time and place fit for it 3. How to order the ground 4. The quantity and the quality of seed 5. The knowledge of replanting of seedlings 6. The art in slips suckers and roots 7. How to prune cleanse and dress plants Experiments 1. The preservation of plants from hurtfull distempers 2. To produce them early or late 3. How to alter sent and colour 4. The art of transforming plants So only take these short observations upon these plants as followeth in this Treatise viz. Artichokes By their distinct kinds form and vertue are called thus the Protector head the Rabits head and the Dogs head or otherwise red white and brown Artichokes the red and the brown are propagated by art and care to a huge greatness in reference to those that are and grow naturally The way of propagating of Artichokes is of the slip in an extraordinary rich soyl not as it is naturally rich but improved with dung for they delight in any stiff clayey ground so that it hath but dung enough Secondly The time and manner of setting of them is thus when the ground is digged and laid levell or even then set the slips in half a foot deep by a line so that they stand two foot and a half asunder the season that is best for it some suppose it to be in September but experience tells us that the last winter most or all of those slips thus set were killed therefore I think it best to set them in March in that manner as aforesaid Thirdly The preservation of them from perishing in the winter is to shelter them from frost and snow and that is done by trenching of them and laying of new dung about them which will not freez but will keep the plant from the frost Sparrow-grass If I should enter upon an historicall discourse of this herb I should never have done I will only acquaint you that this herb is raised of the seed and usually after this manner they prepare beds of good earth of three foot a breadth and two foot path between in breadth likewise then cast in the seed thinly thereon this is done in the latter end of March the next September they transplant these plants the seedlings into beds of the same breadth of extraordinary rich sandy ground the next summer following it spindleth into small spindles which are worth little but the third Spring after its sowing riseth good Sparrow-grass now note that every September rotten dung must be laid upon the beds and in the beginning of March to be raked off and the ground loosened with a forkabout the plant for if they should do it with a spade it would cut the roots The way of producing of it early is done by raising of it upon hot beds I will permit a little time to show you how and when in the latter end of February make a hot bed of horse-dung of three foot high and three foot broad and of a length according to your Sparrow-grass you intend to sow the bed thus made then lay-fine mould atop of it so that it may raise it two inches higher so done take up the oldest Sparrow-grass roots that you have that are like to decay where they stand and lay them one by one as thick as you can upon this hot bed lay as much more earth upon the roots as is under them cover the bed with some litter the fourth day the roots will sprout up young Sparrow-grass by reason of the heat of the dung and the steme being kept in with the litter which causeth this hasty growth now observe that when these sprouts are thus shot up the litter must be took away and pent-houses of rods made over the beds whereon you shall lay Mats to preserve them from the frost and cold remember to give the bed air once a day if the weather be seasonable so done you may pull good Sparrow-grass from the bed at the fortnights end Beets Both red and white are for generall and Kitchin uses they are raised of the seed and you may sow it when you please and it will come up but it is when it please and that is at its naturall season you may also sow it in any ordinary earth and it will grow but the better the earth is the better is the herb and yeeldeth the greater encrease also the root will grow to a huge bigness which is for many uses especially the root of the red Beet Now I advise you to sow Beet seed in speciall rank ground in the beginning of September and by the latter end thereof it is very probable that some of the seed will be come up and the rest will not appear till the next Spring following the next summer they will run to seed if you suffer them and after they have yeelded their seed three times the root and branch dieth yet where they are once sown by reason of scattering of the seed they will not leave your Garden Cucumbers Are long and short the long are counted the best both for salleting and pickleing the raising of them is both alike all the art that I shall endeavour to lay down in few words here is the raising of them timely for salleting for those that come late in