dayes covering of it with a little straw to keep in the heat and at the third dayes end take off your straw and set some bended sticks over the bed then prick in your seeds at a handfull distance then cast a Mat on the top of your sticks this done you shall see your seed to come up the fifth day as I told you before Now take notice that you must give these plants some air once a day if the weather be warm this done you may transplant them in the middle of May into the out-borders of your Garden of pleasure there setting of them at half a foot distance and one chase in a border this done it will flower and the flower will keep fresh long on the stalk it seldome beareth seed in England without great care and industry I should speak much more of it but that it is of a tickle nature as to the alteration of it in germination which I have been informed by others and being not well acquainted with it I shall cease to give any arguments to the contrary and leave those experiments with you which are set down Angulshenelus It was never called by any other name I 'am not very well acquainted with this Flower and therefore I shall not affirm any thing of experience but take this description as I received it from a friend he saith this Herb or Flower whether you please to call it hath such a property that there is none like it viz. saith he when this Flower hath its seed full ripe in its self then if you go to it and touch it with your hand presently the Cod that the seed lyeth in breaketh whatever he be that toucheth it from the nature of this Flower viz. saith he I have gone to one that hath been counted for a Maid and I have desired her to touch the Cod wherein lay the seed of this Flower what if I should saith she why then saith he if you have lost your Maiden-head then this Cod will break at your touching of it she cannot believe that but boldly toucheth it then it breaketh and she is convinced of her fault and confesseth thinking the seed were sensible of her fact by this saith the Author I have found out my desire as to the knowing whether a woman hath lost her Maiden-head or not this I thought worthy of the reciting Now I will give you a description of it It is much like your purple valaren in shape but in colour of a whitish green the Flower being of a blewish colour it never groweth above a foot high and it flowreth in August and hath a hundred seeds in a Cod and it is much like Rose-campion seed It is raised of the seed in the Moneth April in the same manner and place as you do your Clove-gilliflowers as you may see hereafter and at the Moneths end it will be fit to be transplanted into the borders amongst orher Flowers or you may let it stand in the same beds if you please this done it will grow up and flower as aforesaid and when the winter cometh the top-branches dye and at the top of the root remaineth a small spring being well shelterd but be as carefull as you will the third year dyeth both root and branch saith the same Author Batchelors Buttons Descrip It is a Flower that runneth on the ground like Water cresses with stalks like Pease with a thick round furrey leaf like Balm but only it hath a bright green colour the Flower is a round double Flower of the colour of a white and red speckled Cornation but something less this Flower seldome leaveth any seed behind the branches of it dye when winter cometh and springeth again in the spring Now for the propagating of it if you have it not already in your Garden then you must procure slips of it not that it hath slips from the branches which may be set to grow but they must be such slips as have both root and branch and such are easie to be had where they are growing for they spread mightily in the ground now having got such slips as I told you of prepare a border either a border round a quarter of herbs or an out-border of your Garden as I told you in the former part of this Book then set your line at the uppermost part of the border then your slips a hands breadth asunder only one chase in a border for they encrease exceedingly this must be done in March or August those that were set in August will flower early but those that are set in the Spring will not flower till July or August those that are set in August will flower in May June and July now observe that as soon as they have done flowering you must cut off the top-branches with a pair of Garden-shears then it will spring presently after and take notice this Flower never groweth out of a Garden being once planted though the old stock dyeth yet it sendeth forth young shoots in its stead which causeth them to spread mightily and therefore if you will keep them in uniform manner you must transplant them once in two or three years as I directed you before Bee-Flower It is so called because it beareth a Flower in shape like a Bee whether I may properly call it a Flower or the seed I 'le not dispute but such a like thing in shape and colour it putteth forth at the time of seeding therefore I call it a Bee-Flower I shall cease to give you any further description of it because I think it not worth the labour If you have a desire to raise them if you can procure the seed it is easily done by sowing of them in good mould in the Spring time with other Flowers in borders or beds setting a mark where you sow them you shall see them come up with a sharp leaf and in June or July they bring forth seed and dye the same year I have spoken with some which have been mightily taken with this Flower Balm of Christ Or if you please the hand of Christ the Romans in former time were wont when they found any excellent Herb or Flower to dedicate it to their Saints and call it by their names so I conceive that the name of this Flower was derived from some Romish Author because it hath this title and indeed it is a great rarity to see a Flower representing the figure of a hand as this doth when it is in the fulness of its perfection it will be needless to describe it any further Now for the propagating if you can procure the seed of it at the beginning of April then sow it but with a great deal of care and curiosity viz. First find out the warmest place in your Garden and there make a bed of Barley-straw and Bran then cover it with fine mould three inches thick then prick in your seeds half an inch deep then shelter this bed a nights with a Mat you
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
is in a bed in a quarter amongst other Flowers but sow no other seed amongst them for they are a tender plant so that another will kill them this observed sow them as I have directed you to sow Muscabions this done they will grow up if the seed be good according to the description Pionys Of these Flowers there are two or three sorts first the male Poiony next the Rose-Poiony the small Rose-Poiony or the Poiony-Rose the colours are all these it is naturally red there are searlet colours supposed to be made so by art the male Piony never beareth seed to perfection but the rest do which you may raise Pionies of the way here I shall not stand to treat of because it is so nigh the nature of Tulip-seed and must be ordered alike and it will be so long before it come to flower I will save the pains to set it down here but refer you where it treateth of Tulip seed and so give you a short direction for the ordering of the root The fittest time for planting of Piony roots is in July presently after their flowering yet you may do it in March or September the place and manner is thus First the place is in the out-borders of your Garden the ground being good where you must set them a yard distance no deeper than the root may be covered Now if you have but small store of roots and would willingly have great store of Pionies you may cut every great root into half a score pieces and set them in like manner and they will grow but they will not flower till the second year those that are set whole will flower the next Spring following The old Piony-roots should have the suckers took from them once a year in so doing you need not remove the old root but make the Flowers much the larger The male Piony is planted at the same times and seasons in a box because it is of a more tenderer nature and for the causing of them to flower early some have told me they have had them flower at the beginning of April but I 'll not affirm what I hear by relation for fear I should not make it good by my action Primrose-tree If you know it not by that name I will give you this description when this plant first springeth it hath many broad long leaves lying on the ground whitish green in colour jagged on the sides full of veins afterward riseth the stalk being bore without leaves at the lowermost part and at the top a few small one this stalk riseth to four-foot high and it resembleth the Daisie very much this plant beareth its flower in June it beareth a seed that seldome will grow by mans industry but I have known it grow naturally of it self sometimes the branches of this plant die in the Winter and spring again this plant hath certain young springs come from the side of the old mother which may be taken off and set in good earth and they will grow thus you must do if you have them of your own if you would have them to multiply and if you have them not you must procure them of the slip if you will have them The place fit to plant them in is in a bed with other Flowers where they will prosper without any more trouble I shall not trouble my self to write any more of them Princes-feathers Otherwise called My Love lieth a bleeding yet forasmuch as they are called by two several names they are partly of two kinds but both in one shape though they differ in colour that which is called the Princes-feather hath green leaves with red and white speckled Flowers bendingof it self down and many of them put together in a mans hat at a distance you would take it for a feather That which is called My Love lieth a bleeding hath red branches red leaves and red Flowers hanging its head down There is a difference in the seed also that of the Princes-feather is white that of My Love lieth a bleeding red both as small or smaller than Mustard-seed glistering like a Marble-stone the nature of them are alike therefore the ordering of them I will set down alike The time for raising of these curious Flowers is from the later end of April till the middle of May in manner as followeth prepare a border or a bed being finely raked take the seed and mix them with a little earth in a dish or bole for these seeds are so small that you cannot sow them otherwise but that they will be unevenly sowed this observed commit them to the earth with an even hand according to the quantity of your seed then riddle a little fine earth and cast uodn the seed a matter of half an inch thick if the season prove dry afterward you shall water it in the evenings and mornings sometimes this done you shall see this seed to spring up like Bloudwort about the twelfth day When these plants come to have five leaves you may remove some of them or all of them into another bed or border and set them by a line each plant half a foot distance they would be watered at their first planting for then the time of the year is commonly dry these plants will hang their heads the first three dayes while such time as the root is well fixed in the earth then the plant riseth and flourisheth bravely and needeth no more labour but only weeding In the later end of July they begin to flower and if you note this Flower hath a quality as no other hath and that is this it appeareth at the first in the same shape and colour as it is in the fallnesse of its perfection and that will be five weeks after this Flower keepeth long fresh in a Garden and being gathered it fadeth quickly therefore they are little used in Flower pots this plant after the seed is ripe dieth suddenly Lastly To have them sooner than ordinary you may raise them upon hot beds as I told you of Amorantus This Flower hath a property of colouring as none hath of it self it coloureth red writing upon paper it serveth as well as the best Ink in the world it coloureth Cloath or any thing that the juice of it toucheth I have shewed a pritty experiment with this Flower I took the juice of it and went to the white Lilly and gave it strokes with it presently the Lilly appeared white and red striped all that saw this Lilly thought it grew so naturally which indeed is strange to behold Many rarer things may be done with the juice of this Flower if a man be studious thereabout Poppies Blew white black red double and single wild and Garden Poppies there are I shall only speak here of the blew and white Double Poppies I shall not need to give any description of them because they are so well known nor shall I need to make any distinction of the directions for
conjecture because I have not set down rules for inoculation and transforming of shape and altering of sent and colour nor any objections to the contrary that I do not understand whether any such thing may be done yea or no. To this I answer That these intercisions or supplies are but conceits took up upon trust and never made good by practice and therefore I shall not dispense with the time to answer them in particular and swell up my Book about such uncertain vain and needlesse curiosities which are unpractical and that which is more they were never affected so I wave the Discourse Snap-Dragons They are not distinct kinds but distinct colours viz. the white the red and the peach colour so I will give a description which shall serve for all This plant spreadeth at the middle with many branches the bottom of the stalk is bare without branch or leaf the top of the plant riseth by degrees above the rest whereon are many small leaves green and sharp pointed of the same colour of the stalk on every branch are many Flowers knit double in the shape of a Peas blossome the time of flowering is chiefly in July the seed is ripe soon after which lieth in bags it is very small and of a brown colour after the seed is ripe the uppermost branches die the lowermost spring again two year after its first flowering then root and branch dieth This plant is propagated of the seed only the time is in March or August but it is best in August it is done as followeth Prepare a bed or a border and there sow the seed in manner as I told you of others so done it will come up in a fortnights space it need not be removed all the care is to shelter it the Winter following from the frost and snow the Summer following these plants will flower and continue with you according to the description Sweet Williams It is a plant that springeth every year when it is at its full growth it lieth one half of the ground the other rising up the whole branches being nigh three foot in length with many knots or joints where springeth many small leaves set close on to the stalk betwixt the stalk and the leaves springeth tufts whereon are many small Flowers four leaves in number of a Pink colour rising all of a height that at a distance you would take it for one united Flower this plant continueth flowering both June and July it seldom or never beareth seed to perfection Now this plant is set of the slip in March or September the slips must be such as have part of the root and of the branch and that is easie to be had where they grow for the root spreadeth in the ground mightily The place for planting of them is in banks or border sides I shall not need to stand to declare every particular of it but as you set the Bachelors-buttons so set these where they are once planted they alwayes continue they need no more trouble but after their flowering cut off the old vines and they will spring anew again Scarlet Beans Various are the wayes which I could enter upon the description and the ordering of this plant or Flower which I shall omit The description is thus This plant riseth in all respects like the Kidney or French Bean the Flower is of a scarlet colour which continueth long on the stalk and after it fadeth springeth cods wherein are likely five Beans something bigger than the Kidney-bean in the same shape and of an intermixt purple and red colour these Beans or seeds are set in the middle of April and so till May-day if opportunity do not then serve or the weather contrary to the season The place fit for it is in out-borders of Gardens of pleasure where they may runne up against the trees or supported with sticks against the wall this done by the later end of July they will come to flower and yeeld their seed ripe in the middle of September and then dieth the plant Lastly This plant yeeldeth a great increase of seed which you may plant again and it will prosper very well without any changing for three years These Beans are very good for to eat insomuch that they are prized before the Kidney-bean If you have a great quantity of the seed and would plant them for food you may do it in a Kitchen-garden the ground being hot and sandy well dunged plant them in rowes of two foot and an half distance and when they are grown up if they be stuck with small sticks they will be much the better yet they will bring a good increase without Snails They are so called because the seed is twisted much like it in shape and bignesse and of the colour of a dry tobacco-Tobacco-leaf This seed is ordinary to be bought at most seedmens and if you set it in the Spring time it will grow and bring forth its seed the same year and after that the plant dieth Snow-drops They rise with many spirish blades thick and of a soft substance set close to the ground bending with their tops down to the ground again through which rise many small stalks of half a foot in length upon which groweth Flowers of the bignesse and shape of an Acorn five leaves in number of a milk white colour bending downward The time of this Flower is in the beginning of April the roots are bullous-roots which you may transplant after their flowering The place that they are commonly planted in is upon borders in intervales with Crokus and other Flowers with bullous-roots Let this short direction serve for I think it is as much as is needfull it being a Flower of such a hardy nature Start up and kisse me Or otherwise called Wag-wantons This is a plant that riseth to half a foot in height with many small brown leaves with a few branches spreading from the stalk whereon groweth Flowers of a sky colour being but a small Flower spreading of it self full abroad in the middle standeth three or four knots alwayes wagging of the colour of the flower the time this flowereth is in April and after the Flower is gone are round husks wherein is seed much like Violet seed This plant is sown of the seed or set of the slip in March in manner as you do Violets and such like I cannot stand to dispense any more time about it but must go to that of more consequence which is Tulips I am come now to that Flower which Authors have left a large description of to posterity and also vain disputes how Tulips are made by art into those several colours that they are in To give an answer to those things I shall omit the pains and not raise my discourse out of other mens words so I 'll set down what I have found by experience and what the nature of them is First In nature Here is a wonderfull work and many rare
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
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-purple-colour spotted as it were with blackish bloud and beareth a Flower
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-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-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
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
every particular of it but as you set sweet Maudlin so set this the time for it is in March and where it is once planted it flourisheth every summer for many years after this herb is used in Ale and clarified Whey Cummin Besides it is called Bullwort Amios Bishops-weed and Cummin-royall for a better knowledge of it it groweth four foot high with round stalks and many branches growing of them with long green leaves from the top of the branches are white fussy Flowers after this fadeth the seed soon appeareth which is like Parsly-seed but four times as big the root and branch perisheth every winter It must be sown in the Spring in a good earth which is very moist and it will prosper as was said the common use of this seed is to tole Pigeons to a Dove-coat there are besides speciall and physicall uses which I need not to set down it is so largely spoken of in many Herbals Coriander It resembleth Flax and beareth its seed much like it but it is hollow something big and very light and of a whitish colour the plant peritheth as soon as the seed is ripe The time of sowing Coriander seed is toward May day there be those that sowes half acres of it and more I suppose I cannot give them directions but what I have observed from them I will give you they usually sow in a light rich ground and but thinly for each plant spreadeth much ground the use of this is for strong waters the seed of it I mean whereby those that sow it have great profit Celandine The leaves are in the form of Turnip-leaves of a whitish yellow colour and full of yellow sap the root is reddish and full of yellow sap also the branches rise to a foot and an half high full of yellow Flowers and yeeldeth small seeds And for the ordering of it I will be short with you if it be sown in any place in digged earth it will grow and prosper and never forsake you and if you did but know the worth of it you would not neglect the doing of it Dragons I shall not need to stand long to describe it for it is very easie to be known by this that is the lowermost part of them are absolutely like a Snake and as big as the biggest Snake whatsoever and two foot from the ground spreadeth out winged leaves made in the shape of a Dragons-claw of a whitish green colour above that riseth that which we may call the Flower it is made in the fashion of that they call Cookowpintle and in this lieth much small seed which is as small as the smallest of a brownish colour the branch fadeth every Winter and springeth again the first of April and at the seventh or eighth year dieth root and branch but it leaveth suckers behind it Of the sucker this Herb is to be planted in the choisest earth that may be had or else it will not prosper the time for it is about the middle of April of the seed also this plant may be raised but it is very difficult I cannot permit the time to explain every particular of it Dill. This Herb is not without its vertue nor is it fit I should exempt it out of the inventory and I know that you need not my judgment in the sowing of it for nature doth it better than you or I for sow it when you will it will come up at its natural season Evat It hath long slender stalks rising to three foot high beset with leaves round about one against another in shape and colour like that of Arssmart and on the top standeth downy white Flowers which the wind carry away it never yeeldeth seed the leaves have little sent but as bitter as wormwood in taste the root is like Spare-mint root in tufts spreading far of the root this Herb is planted wither in the Spring or Autumn and it will grow almost in any place where it is set and never decay this is a special Herb in Physick and will well reward your labour if you know the worth of it Fether-few Otherwise called white Wort in the North of England they call it white Rue I suppose I need not give any description of so common an Herb. This Herb may be set of the 〈…〉 either in the Spring or the fall refuseth no ground and continueth many years without any replanting if men that live in the Countrey and have Cattel did but know the worth of this Herb they would find that it would do them as much good as a Horse-Doctor Fennell There be three sorts of Fennell viz. Fennell-flower sweet Fennell and the ordinary great Fennell The first two dieth yearly being sown of the seed so I shall only trouble you with the common Fennell and I suppose that can be no great trouble to you for put either seed or slip in the earth and it will grow French Honey-suckles French Honey-suckles has not long been inhabited in England therefore I will give a description This Herb hath leaves a foot long coming forth even from the root in some places two inches in breadth and in other places a hand breadth scolloping out with five or six scollops between the bottom and the top being of a fresh green colour and smooth it hath branches springing up to four foot high with many of those said leaves on them and many yellowish Flowers which leave a brown rough flat seed behind them the nethermost branches green all the year This Herb is propagated of seed or slip but chiefly of the seed the time for sowing of the seed is in April the place is in a border where it shall remain the season being temperate and the earth good it cometh up suddenly but it beareth no Flower till the second year French-Mallows This Herb hath strait stalks which grow up to three or four foot high if it be not cut it hath a round jagged crumpley and pale coloured leaf something broader than a mans hand with many small white Flowers of the stalks made of five leaves a peece each Flower yeeldeth one seed and of a three cornered fashion and of a gray colour This Herb is to be sown only in the Spring not in beds in a quarter where pot-herbs are sown but in a bed by it self and if the ground be good the seed cometh up the sixth day and by August it cometh to flower according to the description and when the Winter cometh on it perisheth but whilest it is young it is very good in Sallets and it is a good pot-herb at all times whilst it is green Gromwel Two kinds there are the wood Gromwel and the Garden Gromwel There is a great deal of difference betwixt these two kinds I shall onely describe the Garden kind It hath woody branches like the Mustard-branches but slenderer and lower many short leaves and blewish Flowers standing in brown husks and in each husk after the Flower fadeth
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
THE Compleat Gardeners PRACTICE DIRECTING The Exact Way of GARDENING In three PARTS The GARDEN of PLEASURE PHYSICAL GARDEN KITCHIN GARDEN How they are to be ordered for their best Situation and Improvement with variety of Artificial Knots for the Beautifying of a GARDEN all engraven in Copper the choisest way for the Raising Governing and Maintaining of all Plants cultevated in GARDENS now in ENGLAND Being a plain Discourse how HERBS FLOWERS and TREES according to Art and Nature may be propagated by Sowing Setting Planting Replanting Pruning also Experience of Alteration of Sent Colour and Taste clearly reconciling as it treateth of each HERB and FLOWER in particular By STEPHEN BLAKE Gardener Search the World and there 's not to be found A Book so good as this for Garden ground London Printed for Thomas Pierrepoint and are to be sold at the Signe of the Sunne in St Paul's Church-yard M. DC LXIV To the Right Worshipfull WILLIAM OVGLANDER Esq one of the Honourable House of Parliament Son and Heir to the Late Sr JOHN OUGLANDER c. The Honourable Example of piety the worthy Pattern of good endeavours and great observer of the Works of Nature SIR LEt the heighth of your understanding and the greatness of your learning condescend so low as to take a view of the words and works which your Servant hath bound up in this Volume to give you a description thereof in metaphoricall expressions I have not Scholarship enough but I have confidence enough to speak and publish the truth of these Experiments which I have gathered with a diligent Eye and a painfull Hand from all such Plants as are cultivated in Gardens now in England the truth of the Discourse contained in this Treatise hath enboldened me to enrich it with your Noble Name now Sir I will be accountable of the Work I have from time to time took a due observation of that part of Gods vegetable Creatures which are placed within the compass of my Calling and with pains care and diligence I have writ down the knowledg of propagating of each Plant to help me the better in my Calling for in viewing of it I am put in mind of those Herbs and Flowers that the Winters cold breath hath bereaved of life or otherwise I might forget them though I might know them very well formerly they are so infinite in their number so various in their nature that my Head cannot carry in mind what Experiments my Eye and Hand hath seen and done without the help of my Pen upon this account I have set down these Observations which I know to be true and I doubt not but it is a laudable Piece now I think fit to publish it to the World for the advancement of Gods Creatures and for the good of my self and others that shall put it in practice that it may be a rule to guide the ignorant and confirm the judgement of those that have good experience The reason why I undertook this Work is this I have made diligent enquiry after such Books of such Authors as might help me in my Practice and I could find very few and for those that are they did not answer my desires because they only treated of the use and vertue of Herbs the beauty variety and preheminence of Flowers the goodness and profit of Fruit-Trees but they have written little or nothing as to the practicall part of the advancement of the nature and growth of Herbs Flowers and Trees and for that which is written seems to me and other Men which have experience as fancies dreams and conceits which might come into their heads as they were sitting in their Studies for I and others have found by wofull experience that their direction concerning the propagating of any Plant to be more hurtfull than usefull but this is not my intended Discourse for in the ensuing Treatise I have spoken little against Authors and took less from them for mine is the Gardeners practicall part which hath never been written by any and having good experience therein a talent God hath given me to improve I think it not fit to lay it up but to unfold my Napkin that it may contribute to a publick good I further humbly conceive that it was my duty to dedicate it to you before any other whatsoever because I was a Plant nourished up within the pale of your habitation and I hope not altogether unfruitfull yet considering I was nursed up with your bounty preserved with your love and care then the fruit is no more mine but yours worthy Sir and I know it is very usefull for all as have a desire of such a Work as tendeth to the propagating of Plants wherein is abundance of excellent things both for food medicable and physicall Arts for the use and comfort of mankind that God in all things may be glorified every sensible man knoweth this and he hath so much reason if he will but set his understanding awork whereby he can discern the wisdome of a Creator in forming such a harmony of Creatures and in giving of them such various operations in their severall natures and that all things are so ordained that it shall be no way usefull without knowledge and labour then let all degrees of men know whether they be high or low rich or poor they ought to labour either in body or mind that they may some way or other cooperate and contribute to the common good or else they are unworthy of the blessings of this life yet all men desire a good name with reputation and honour whether they are deserving yea or no. Now my counsell is to all such that they will look upon you worthy Sir as an example of all good endeavours to wit your great love care and diligent search after the knowledge of those Plants which are mentioned in this Book and that they will take notice of your more estimable vertues as constance in times of distraction such a setled devotion in times of faction such lowliness of mind in such heighth of Estate much more my eyes and ears have gathered from your eminent parts which my Pen cannot express And Sir let me intrude farther on your patience to acquaint you with this Treatise wherein I have faithfully declared the way of contriving modelizing and situation of a Garden of Pleasure with artificiall Knots to be amplified therein for the variety of delight pleasure and contentment of all noble and ingenious persons I have given rules and directions for the advancement of a physicall Garden and a Kitchin Garden and for each of these I have given a right information how each Herb Flower and Tree in particular is to be propagated in its own nature also Experiments of alteration ingemination in the fructition or by conviction with varieties properties and beauties appertaining to Plants either for food physick or pleasure and I suppose it cannot be altogether unwelcome to you and the rest of the Nobility of this Nation if they take into
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
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
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
and excellent things to be observed from this work in nature First consider how beautifull it is and of what a hardy nature it is of other Flowers that are beautifull are of a tender nature it is not so with this considering what a stately form it hath but this I shall wave I will speak how Tulips are tituled Tulips are distinguished and called in the oraty of the colour each Tulip hath that which is held most in estimation is the Scarlet the Princes-robes and the Fools-coat the Chimney-sweeper and the black and yellow especially if they have the shape of the Crown Tulip The ordinary sort of Tulips are these the Wind colour the London-white the yellow the purple the peach colour the Maiden-blush the red the white the Cinamon the Widow-Tulip Ordinary mixt colours are these the Lords-livery the Priests-vestures the red and white the yellow and red the orange and damask the purple and red and many more which I cannot stand to name All these colours or any other doth sometimes alter their colour by nature as well as by industry of themselves and forasmuch as the colour of Tulips do differ one from another is of an apt nature and not of a forced nature and seeing that they are apt to alter of themselves I will endeavour to shew you how you shall find the nature of this Flower First If you have Tulips already in your Garden when they are flowering take notice of what colour they are then stick a small stick by each particular Flower and write upon the stick what colour each Flower is now by the setting down of this stick you shall know what colour they were when the Flower is faded and nothing remaineth but the root in the earth Let these sticks or marks stand till such time as you remove them the time of removing them is presently after they have done flowering and that is about the beginning of June in the removing of them all the art and knowledge consists either for the enlarging of them or to have them flower at contrary seasons or to alter the colour First For altering the colour Having set the marks to know what colour they were take up your roots and lay each colour by themselves so done prepare your ground to set them in if you set them in the same place where they were taken up some fresh mould must be gotten and well ridled so lay it upon the border where you have a desire to set them But happily you may set them in a wrong place for ornament therefore I will give some directions for the place if the Garden be crosse-work then it is proper to set them in a border round it if Herb-work then Tulips must be set in a quarter cast out into beds in such a manner as is in the draft-work of this Book Secondly These Tulip-roots thus taken up you must seprrate the young suckers from the old bearers and plant them in a bed by themselves at a hands breadth one from another the old bearers must be planted at eight inches difference either in bed or border no deeper than that there be half an inch of earth above the root for if you do they lie cold in the ground and cannot get the benefit of the Sun and air to cause them to spring timely Thirdly Concerning the altering of colour having taken notice of what colour they were before set the red Tulips by themselves and the white Tulips by themselves after these directions take a quantity of wild or Garden-herbs and Sheeps-dung and Pigeons-dung beat these Herbs and the dung together so done put some of this into the holes where you set your Tulip-roots anoint the roots with the same and set them into the holes and put in more atop of them covering of them with earth this done upon several trials it hath altered the colour some after one manner and some after another but still the red and the white carrieth the greatest sway Again I have been told and I have conceited it to be true that is in the planting of a red Tulip to alter the colour I should take a white Tulip-root Lettice-leaves Solendine leaves Camomile and the white Thistle and Peas-flower and beat all these together and so I did and committed them to the earth as I did the former and I did imagine that the root would partake of those several coloured juices and convert it into its own nature which should cause so many orites of colours as was mixt in the juices but I found by experience that it was nothing so for I found no more alteration in those than I did in the former which was only the enriching of the earth with the strength of the substance of the Herbs and dung so Flowers do not convert any colours as they are but into its own colour and intercisial form as every one hath Some think that there is several juices in the earth which is the cause of it as is said that if Garlick be set by Gilliflowers that they will be the sweeter because that they think that the Garlick doth draw away the strongest juice this is as uncreditable as the stories of Robinhood for sure if Flowers draw juice so does the Crab-tree I mean drawing or receiving of it as it is then mark an Apple grafted upon a Crab-tree must needs turn a Crab for it receiveth its juice from the Crab-stock and as they say the Crab-stock draweth sower juice and if it be so from whence should the Apple receive its sweet juice Why then it is plain that the Apple graft converts the sower juice of the Crab-stock into its own nature and becometh of a pleasant taste and so it is with all plants else so it is not Garlick by Roses can make them the sweeter nor contrary colours applied to Tulips that will alter the colour and seeing there are divers colours it is an art of nature and those things which I direct you to apply to them in the former page is that which doth agree with their nature for it inlargeth the Flower and altereth the colour as soon as any thing whatsoever applied unto them Fourthly There is certain wayes of grafting of them to have two Flowers spring from one root and that is done thus Take two Tulip-roots of two several colours one as big as the other and cut off a part from the side of each proportionably alike so that you cut not the strings at the bottom then joyn them together and bind them with a little flax and set them in the earth and the next year according to what they are grafted they will bring forth Flowers of two several kinds seeming to spring from one root some are so simple to think that they will be mixt colours but that is answered where I treat of Flower-deluce-roots and prove to the contrary Fifthly To have Tulips of the seed is to sow it in the later end of
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
alwaies if the boxes be big enough and deep enough these plants must be housed in the winter as long as they stand in boxes but some when they are three years growth transplant them against walls where they will prosper very well if it be upon the South part thereof Orange-trees And Lemon-trees will grow very well in England if they have houses built on purpose so that they may be wheeled in and out upon truckels in the boxes of earth that they grow in but yet they seldome bring any fruit to any perfection they are only for a sight they are pleasant trees to behold for their leaf never fadeth but keepeth green all the year I think I may spare the labour to give any further information of them or any directions for the propagating of them for I think few of my countreymen will dispence of so much charge for to have nothing but a sight for it Pomegranate-tree Is the stateliest tree in shape or growth of all others it is a tree also that never fadeth its leaf the leaves are long and of a yellowish green colour of a thick substance this plant groweth not to its full stature in England and I never saw it out therefore I cannot give a right description of it these plants will be raised no where but at home which is in Spain and being brought hither when they are young plants in boxes of earth they may be preserved in warm chambers to bring untimely fruit Peach-trees Of Peaches there is the double Peach-flower the smooth Peach and the rough Peach the early Peach and the winter Peach all these are planted against walls at twelve foot distance and preserved as you may see of Apricocks for the raising of them I shall wave it here and speak of it in the Treatise of fruit-trees I only name them here because they are cultivated in the Garden of pleasure Perry winckle It runneth training on the ground with many joynts whereat shoot out leaves of a dark green shining leaves somewhat like the Bay leaves but not half so big at every joynt cometh Flowers of a paleblew colour some are white some of a dark reddish colour the root is a little bigger than a rush the branches creepeth far about This plant is set of the slip only and it may be set any where it refuseth no ground being set either in the Spring or the fall the best place to set it in is upon bank-sides where little or nothing will grow this taketh root and spreadeth a great deal of ground presently and keepeth the bank whole of it self without weeds for it killeth them Sweet-Bryer It is planted underneath windows for its sweet savour sake the suckers that come from it may be planted they will grow up very well but to have great store of sweet-Bryer save the seeds while the Spring of the year and then sow it in beds of loose earth and it will grow without fail the plant sprung of that seed by that time a twelve moneth they will be big enough to transplant into hedge-rows as some have them planted round their quarters of their Gardens others plant them in maze-form keeping of the sides cut and the top and pleasant walking it is there Tamarus Is a tree so well known that it needeth no description it is usually planted to grow over doors or bowers for it shadeth and covereth much it 's a tree that never beareth seed therefore it is only planted of the sucker or the slips which comes from the body or the root being took of in September and planted where you have a desire they should grow and it may be done without any curiosity The Gilli-Rose Or the Gilderland-Rose it riseth to six foot high with a body as big as a mans wrist with a reddish bark the leaves resemble the Vine leaf though much less and of a darker colour upon one branch groweth but one Flower after the Flower sheddeth there appeareth a seed but it never cometh to perfection this tree decayeth not in eight or nine years where it liketh its air and earth Of the sucker this Rose may be raised the time for getting and setting of the sucker is in February the latter end thereof placing of it in a very warm place so done it will come to flower the third year after another way is which is more certainer for to inoculate it upon a Damask-Rose stock The Province-Rose There be two or three sorts and that is the Provincerosal the Province-vicar the red Province and the damask Province a great enlargement I could make upon these but the summe of all is Province-Roses must be inoculated upon damask Rose stocks so I shall give you the way of inoculation and that briefly First Observe the time and that is about the first of June when the plant is full of sap now followeth the manner Go to a Province-Rose tree and cut off one of the likeliest young shouts that you can see then go to a young damask-Rose stock which must not be above a year old this observed take off a bud from off the cutting which you brought from the Province-rose the bud took off evenly and square then lay it upon the damask-rose stock a matter of a foot from the ground let it be so mark out just such a proportion of bark by that then take it out with the point of your knife then set the other in its room which if you did it artificially will just fill up the place or else it is worth nothing but if it do joyn right then it is very likely if will grow then bind it with a little flax leaving the middle open for the bud to grow out set two or three of these buds of one stock but if one grow it is enough Now when you see the bud incorporated with the stock then unbind them for the band will do them hurt after the bud is shotten forth an handfull length then cut the stock off above it these are certain and easie wayes of inoculation of Roses but if you are not satisfied with these short directions see the Treatise of inoculation for fruit trees The Cinamon-Rose A great quoil there is about this Rose Some think it was coloured by a morical substance being a damask Rose before Others are of that opinion that it was inoculated upon a Barbary stock but whilst men hold these opinions it doth plainly appear that they do believe that colours in Flowers were made by mans art but I am not of that opinion for I believe they are only preserved by mans industry and all mans art is to find out the working nature and all that is here required in the promoting of this plant in its own nature is to inoculate it upon a damask Rose stock which may stand in a warm convenient place where the unkind Winter may not nip it Vines Of Vines there are many kinds and many Authors have given large descriptions praises and directions for
there appeareth one seed in a husk which are small and of a sky colour glistering like pearls the branches perish yearly but if you suffer the seed to shade it cometh up naturally of it self So if I should give any directions for times and seasons of sowing it it were needlesse for the description sheweth it so there is no more to be said sow it when you will it will come up at its own season The virtue of these seeds are incomparable for curing of the stone and gravel and women when they be in labour Gladin It springeth up with spiry blades like the flag and beareth a Flower something like the Flower-deluce but of a yellow colour it hath double roots spreading in the ground Of the root this Herb or Flower is set without any curiosity and in any ordinary place and there it will continue alwayes and flower in July the root of it is excellent in Physick Gooses-tongue A common thing it is to give three or four names to one and the same thing for fear there should be any mistake in the name I will give you this short description of it This Herb is in all parts at the first springing like sweet Maudlin only it is of a darker green colour and afterward it rises up with branches spreading beset with jagged leaves and tufts atop of downy stuff like that of Coursemary it never yeeldeth seed it hath a sweet savour and stringed roots whereby it spreadeth and increaseth This Herb is set of the slip which is taken from the root in a bed in a quarter amongst pot-herbs where it will grow without any industry and continue alwayes green it should have the top branches cut off at the comeing in of Winter Note also this Herb is one of the best of pot herbs Germander It runneth with small branches on the ground which will take root it is set thick with small leaves of a brownish colour it beareth the smallest Flower of any other and no seed it keepeth green all the year and never decayeth Now this Herb is set only of the slip in border sides for the keeping of them up Others distinguish knots with it it must be kept alwayes cut for it runneth and spreadeth farre else Note it is a stinking Herb yet sovereigne in Physick Garlick It is a needlesse curiosity to describe that which all men know so well and to pen down the vertues it were double labour seeing the Physicians have done it so often so I will onely put you in mind of the setting of it in March and taking of it up at Michaelmas for your several uses so that you might not want it when you have occasion for it and that my Physical Garden should not be without it Horse-Redish At its first springing it hath jagged and torn leaves as it were of a light green colour the next that spring are broader and longer and only cut a little on the edges then runneth up spindle stalks whereon are white Flowers seldom any seed to perfection The manner of planting of this is of the root and so easie and so plain that you cannot misle for put the least piece of the root of it in the ground and it will spring up as was said and in three years time it will come to be as big as the small of a mans leg and then it should be taken up for the vertue that is in it or else it will decay and be worth nothing Herb grasse Herb-grass or Rue It is a common Herb yet there is great difficulty in the planting of it for it will not grow in any place let the earth be never so good for where it doth like it groweth very slowly and so doth all sorts of Herbs and trees that have most vertue in them Secondly It is to be observed that this Herb is to be propagated of the slip only for it never beareth any seed therefore take the observations in the planting of it as followeth In September get the slips of this Herb which must be slipt from the body and not from the branches this observed then look out a convenient border either under a wall a hedge or a pale to the end that it may have shadow and if it be possible under the shadow of a Bay-tree for this Herb is an hot Herb and delighteth least in the Sunne of all others as for example Pulse which is cold as Musmillions and Cucumbers these are cooler and desire the benefit of the Sun and heat of manure Thirdly You see it is plain that Herb-grass requireth a shady place where it may have the Sunne only some small part of the day then ser it as I told you in a shady border and let the earth be very good though Authors have said that it abhorreth dung yet I have found by continual experience that dung well qualified maketh it prosper mightily so nothing remains but that you set it so and it will prosper very well but the first year and the second it will grow but very slowly till it be well rooted and afterward it will flourish for nine or ten years if no accident befall it as some suppose that if an evil woman break any of it that it will soon fade and die presently after if it be so my judgement is that there be few or no women can break off this Herb but it must of necessity die To prove whether it be so or no it would take up an extraordinary Discourse which I shall wave and leave this vertuous Herb to be propagated by your care for your use and profit Hore-hound Of these there are two sorts there are the wild kind which hath a stinking smell but that which I here prescribe and intend to treat of is the sweet Hore-hound which is nursed in Gardens for its Physical vertues I suppose it is needless to give any description of it The way of propagating of it is of the slip which hath part of the root the time for doing of it is either in the Spring or in the fall according as opportunity shall best serve The manner of it is without any difficulty even as I told of Betony and so done it prospereth very well and springeth every year after Hyssop There is only two sorts that is the yellow and the green they differ not in nature though in vertue one direction will serve for both in the propagating of it and therein I shall be very brief The best and the easiest way for raising Hislop is of the seed First The ordinary way of raising of it of the seed is in the later end of April the place fit for it is in beds two foot and an half in breadth in the quarter with the sweet Herbs in that form as you may see in the draft-work in the beginning of this Treatise I shall save the labour to write the manner of sowing of it but so as Basil is sown so is this The second way of sowing of
set in a decent manner and I shall spare the ink and paper to set it down but see as Hysop is done so is this The last thing that is to be taken notice of is that it be kept clipt so that it bring forth neither Flower nor seed for if it does it will not continue half so long and this you may know to be true by the Garden knots that are sown or planted with it and that being clipt alwayes to make it show pleasant continueth fresh seven or eight years when that which is sown in beds and let run to seed continueth not above half so long Tansie The double kind is planted in Gardens for its vulgar and physicall uses the place would be in some reversion or out-part of a Garden for it spreadeth very much where it is planted and abideth there alwayes only losing of its branches every winter I pray you excuse me for writing any directions for the planting of it it being such a vulgar hardy herb it is needlesse V. laren Of it there is two sorts in form and colour of Flowers and that is the purple Valaren and the blew Valaren they differ in seed as well as in colour yet they differ not so much in stature and growth but that one description will serve them both It hath leaves round and of a dark green smooth on the edges and all parts else many of them set on upon one stem much like that of Box these are set all upon stalks and the bigger of them are springing as it were from the root and spreading on the ground the stalk riseth to three foot high and on the top are many Flowers set one above another of a blewish or a purple colour glistering as it were the time it begins to flower is at the latter end of June and so continueth till after Michaelmas this causeth some seed to be ripe when Flowers are rich in the branch the nether most part of this herb keepeth green all the year and continueth many before it dyeth Now for the raising of it my words must be few that is this Herb may be sown of the seed or set of the slip in the latter end of March or in August in a bed by it self in the usual manner of sowing and planting of others and it will prosper according to the description Wormwood Of this there be three sorts viz. Sea Wormwood Field Wormwood and Roman Wormwood and the last of these is onely cultivated in Gardens for its cordiall and physicall uses This Herb is set of the slip or sown of the seed but the sowing of the seed I shall wave because nature doth it better than I can teach you the slip is set in the Spring time which is taken from the head of the root it prospereth well in any earth being something shaded Winter-savoury This is the last Herb in the Physical Garden as it fals out in the Alphabetical order though the vertues are the best of all others for vulgar uses Of Winter-savoury there is three sorts in form of leaves and only one in nature and vertue I will now give some directions for the propagating of this Herb though most men know it yet it may serve to put them in mind of that which they know in mid April and the later end of August either of these seasons the seed of this Herb is sown and the slip is set I shall not trouble you with the manner but as Hysop was sown in like manner is this so done it prospereth very well THE PHYSICAL GARDEN as it treateth of TREES A short Description or Direction for the Propagating of each TREE which is Fruitfull and Physical usually planted in a Fruitfull or Physical Garden Barberry I Will be as short on this and all the rest as possibly may be so that I may but give an information The plain way of propagating of each Tree as this is of the sucker which springeth partly from the root and being taken away in September and set in the nursery where suckers slips and seedlings are set and after they have taken root they may be transplanted into the quarters of the Garden in uniform order where they are to remain Currants Currants are generally white black and red but yet each of these sorts differ in greatness as well as in goodness according to the care as is used about them in the raising of them from suckers to fruitfull trees the thing is plain yet there are mistakes many times in it therefore I would willingly give my evidence in it to insist upon it presently after Michaelmas take your suckers from your Currant trees and if you have not ground ready for them to transplant them where they should alwayes grow then plant them in a piece of ground by themselves at a foot distance which may be fitly called a nursery let them stand there while that time twelve moneth then plant them into the middle of Strawberry beds at a yard distance each tree bound to a stake so that the wind may not break them and put them out of uniform order Lastly observe let these suckers be taken yearly from the roots of the old bearers or otherwise they hinder them from being fruitfull they must be pruned also which is to cut away the superfluous branches which run above the rest and never bear fruit Gooseberries Are distinguished into many sorts usually thus Dutch and English first with the Dutch there is white and red which are the worthiest of all other both to the pallate and the eye of the English kinds there are white and red also and many others but I will only name these that is the long yellow and the round yellow the amber and the christall the nepture and the wild all these are set of the sucker as I told you of Currants in like manner and transplanted into like places Many arguments of curiosity I could raise in the propagating of them which would appear to men of experience to be needlesse my self being sensible of the same I passe that and only desire you to remember to prune them so that the fruit may be the larger and the trees renew their nature and appear the more pleasanter Mulberries Are white red and black these trees seldome send forth any sucker neither are they to be grafted upon other stocks to advance the fruit but the way is to get young sprouts from the body and to set them in good earth in September or thereabouts so that they may take root and at two or three years end to be replanted into certain places where they may remain so done it is without question but these slips or cuttings will come to be trees and bring forth fruit according to its mother Quinces Are supposed to be of divers kinds by reason that they yeeld contrary fruits in vertue and in shape I shall not end the controversic here by any arguments but shall refer you to a Book of mine which
early flowering for these reasons we transplant them every year or every other year from the Qualon-Crokus you may save Safforn Lastly Some may enquire for experiment of moloration in the nature of the plant in ingemination there can be none for it is out of mans element because they are not produced of seed but encrease of themselves by the root in the earth now if any man should desire to alter the colour of this Flower I think it a vanity for no man can devise more rarity of colours than nature doth bestow in flowers but for promoting of the nature of this or any other which springeth of a bullous-root take these observations First fill some boxes of the finest mould that may be had and as dry as may be then put it into boxes then set these boxes in some garret or room or other where it may have the Sunne and Wind but no rain come at it have so much patience as to let it stand for a twelve moneth then get Sheeps-bloud the juyce of a Laren Camomile Mallows and Lapeons tails mix these juices and Sheeps-bloud together then water this dry earth with this substance then take your Bullous-roots as crotus Tulips crown Imperials Lillies Snow-drops and the like then plant them in these boxes at the times and seasons as I have directed you formerly and anoint the roots with this substance at their planting water them continually with the same let them have no rain or any kind of water else but only this besure they have Sunne Wind and Air enough for otherwise your flowers will corrupt this done your flowers will spring out of an exceeding large growth and produce them very early and I can positively say that it will make them differ from what they were formerly So much for that Crains-Bill It is a flower of a Bullous-root about the bigness of the top of a mans thumb long and flat on one side rising with branches like great rushes spreading every way with a stalk rising in the middle whereon groweth the flower with a few small long leaves hanging down of his head it is a flower of the Spring being once planted in a ground there it remains it will not be worth my labour to describe every particular of it to be short the time of planting of them is in April or August the place in some out-border in a physical or a kitchin-garden and there if they be but kept clean from hurtfull weeds they will flower yearly and increase so you may plant more ground with the suckers or pleasure your friend with them Cullenbines There is a speckled Cullenbine and the purple Cullenbine the white and the blew and many other mixt colours which I shall not stand to name The branches of Cullenbines die every year and the root springeth again the leaves are for good use for pot-herbs and for physical uses as you may see in Herbals the seed of this flower doth ripen the latter end of July and if you let it shed of it self it will spring up again if the earth be cleansed from weeds so where they are once soon the falling of the seed keepeth the Garden replenisht with them yet the old stock dieth standing four or five years the time for sowing of these is chiefly in August so that they may flower timely the place ought to be in some borders next a privy walk be sure you let them not stand too thick for then they will grow small and single let them be cleansed from weeds Thus much may serve for the ordinary sort of Cullenbines Now there is a more tenderer sort which we call the thrice double converted Cullenbine these are not much unlike the former but only they are much larger and much exceeding the other in orient colour these flower at the same time the other do they seldom bear seed but if you can procure either seed or slip you shall order them as followeth Prepare some fine boxes of earth and therein sow your seed or set your slip having a diligent care over them afterward by watering of the slip and transplanting of the seedlings sheltering of them from the frost and snow you shall have them to flower early in the Spring I cannot stand to set down every particular there may be many means used to set forward the nature of them but no way to alter the form setting forward of the nature is but a watery substance which I shall not speak of here but refer it to that place where I treat concerning Cornation Gilli-flowers Crown-Imperial Crown-Imperial or Imperial-Crown counted the worthiest of Spring-flowers for it flowreth at the beginning of April now understand that there are two or three sorts as the great Imperial the Italian Imperial they differ not so much but if you know one you may know the other Imperials at the first coming up are so like Lillies that they have been took for Lillies by some they rise to three foot high and at the very top shouteth out six flowers hanging directly downward above them rises sharp leaves eight in number sharp and small and a handfull long standing directly upright which resembleth an Imperial-Crown this flower keepeth fresh three weeks off the stalk in the middle of the flower standeth six blewish pearls the stalk of this flower perisheth every year after it hath born its seed which is about the middle of June the root remaineth in the ground which is as big as a mans fist yellow and round it stinketh mightily I need not give you any farther description The propagating of them is either by seed or slip First The seed that is raised as are Tulips of which I treat hereafter in the same time and place setting of the slip is presently after his flowering then if you have them not you may procure them and set them in your borders with your Tulips betwixt every Tulip an Imperial root so by that time your Imperials have done flowering your Tulips will begin so you shall have your borders to flourish all the Spring And not to be troublesome to you the Imperial-roots must be removed every year and the suckers took from the old mother and planted in a bed by themselves at a handfull distance and the next year you may replant them into the borders amongst your bearers they flower the second year Lastly To produce any thing by Art from this flower contrary to Nature if it may be done upon any it may be done upon this for you may take the root out of the ground for a moneths space and in that time you may water it or anoint it with such contrary colours as you desire most to have the flower of then this root is forc'd to participate this watery substance of contrary colours into its nature and some think that this must force the root to bring forth a flower like those colours like that substance that it was watered with but I am not of that
judgement yet some alteration may be but not according to mans expectation for sow a Turnip in a sandy ground which is that which his nature requires and sow it in the rankest ground that is and it is a Turnip still so Imperial roots being set in these substances it will be an Imperial still and therefore they are but conceits and not experiments which I can affirm for truth yet some alterations will be and many times contrary to what a man doth expect every seed will spring up to be the like of his mother yet some difference may be in shape and forme as one Physiognomy of a brother may differ from another and that is not as man pleaseth Let this suffice Cornflag This is a flower which springeth of a bullous-root rising with many leaves two foot high in the shape of a sword in the middle of those rise in the branch with shorter leaves one in the same forme as the other this beareth a flower resembling the Flowerdeluce in shape a matter of six leaves and every leaf is of three fingers breadth purple at the top and blew towards the bottome this flower is in his prime in May and the seed is ripe in June then dieth the branch the root remaineth in the ground and springeth yearly The ordering of them I shall set down in few words First If you have them not you shall procure the seed in the moneth of August then you shall sow it in this manner Prepare a border of good mould under some wall where it may be sheltered from the cold Winter your bed being finely raked cast your seed on it of such a thickness as reason shall best direct you then riddle a quantity of fine mould and cast upon these seeds so that they may be covered half an inch deep this done you shall see your seed spring up a matter of three weeks after with a single blade shelter these all the Winter there and in the latter end of March replant them into the out-borders of your garden of pleasure at a foot distance one range in a border the second year they will flower the fourth year you shall replant them again for otherwise they will grow so thick that it will spoil their flowering and for planting of them take slips which are took from the root in the moneth of March and set them one chase in a border as I told you of seedlings Thus much for our English Corn-flag There is also the Indean Corn-flag which is of a more statelier growth a curiouser colour and tenderer in nature but it flowereth at the same times and is sown and planted at the same seasons as the former only with a great deal more care for the seed root or branch will not endure the cold Winter therefore we sow it in boxes transplant it into others and by putting these boxes into houses in the Winter giving of them air in seasonable dayes we raise and preserve this Italian Corn-flag now concerning any experiment of alteration I never could find any man of such an ambitious desire as to do any such thing but for the setting forward of the nature of it water it with such a water wherein hath been Sheeps-dung and Pigeons-dung So I cease and proceed to the worthiest of flowers which is Cornation Gilliflowers Of Gilliflowers there are divers kinds as the Cornation-Gilliflower the Clove-gilliflower the Wall-Gilliflower these I shall referre to another place and speak here only of the Cornation-Gilliflower which for beauty and delicious smels and excellent properties deserves letters of gold I wonder that Solomon did not write of this Flower when he compared his Spouse to the Lilly of the valley but whether there were any of these flowers in those dayes or in those places we will not enquire but proceed to the flower it self To give a description of it were vanity being so generally known by every one yet few know the nature of it therefore I shall only speak of the titles of them and proceed to the ordering of them They are only tituled and distinguished by their colours chiefly thus the Crystaline the Granado the fair maid of Kent the Fools-coat the Dover the Bandeleer the mixt Clove the painted Lady the old Mans Head the London-white the Emperors-robes the Patern of Nature the Scarlet the Wine-colour the Widdow the Peach-colour the Purple these and all these are intermixt which doth make so many mixt colours that I will not stand to name but will proceed to sowing planting and replanting First Of these I 'll begin with sowing and therein are matters of consequence first it is the way to have plenty and store of these flowers Secondly it is the chiefest art in the practice indoubling and redoubling of them For sowing of them you ought to consider what ground is fit for them it must be a well tempered ground by no means too rank and in a convenient place where it may be warmed by the reflection of the Sun the place appointed dig it and cleanse it from stones then lay it out into small beds of two foot and a half in breadth then rake them finely take a quantity of seed and sow it of a thickness as you think best then get a little fine mould and riddle through a riddle cover these seeds with it a matter of three quarters of an inch thick these seeds will come up the sixteenth day with two spindles like grasse Now I have shown you the manner of sowing of them now you must consider the times and the seasons for them The season fit for it is the first full Moon in April and the first full Moon in May and likewise in August the same manner as I told you Now observe those that are sown in April ought to be watered in the dry weather and in the first full Moon of August they ought to be replanted to a better earth in some border by a wall-side where they may be sheltered from the cold the Winter following The planting of them is done thus when your border is digged and evenly raked then go to your place where your seedlings grew then take them up with a setting stick which is the fittest instrument for that purpose so done prune them which is to cut off all the superfluous grosse top blades slipping off some of the under blades then go to your place as before mentioned and by a direct line set the one from the other six inches distance and so let them stand while the next March covering of them from frost and snow a nights then in March you may remove them into knots or pots or any other proper place where you shall have a desire or shall stand for the beauty of your Garden these plants being set in a better mould than before and diligently watered will come to flower by the next July following Thus much of the seedlings sown in August Now for those that are sown in the