through a Limbecke in Maries-bath doth maruailously heale the Agues caused of the obstructions of any noble part and which is more it killeth the wormes and wipeth away all the spots of the face it they be often washed therewith It is exceeding good against the inflammation of the eyes It is verie soueraigne against any infection or mortall sicknesse if it be drunke with Water and Honie it abateth the swelling of the bodie and easeth the colicke whether it be in the stomach or in the bowels it also cureth the biting or stinging of venimous beasts and it causeth a woman to be deliuered of her dead birth The root is a present remedie against the Plague not onely in men but also in all â—orts of cattell it is a speciall preseruatiue against all poyson and a meanes to withstand all putrefaction in regard whereof the Switzers mingle it amongst their owne meat and the sodder or prouender of their cattell that so they may continue in good health Arsmart so called because the leaues applied to the fundament for to wipe it doe cause great paine and of the Latines Hydropiper doth require a marshie ground full of water or at the least verie moist or often watered and it groweth rather being planted of a root then sowne of seed It is verie singular in ointments for old vlcers and fistulaes as also in clysters for bloudie fluxes the leaues thereof washed in cold water and applied vnto wounds and vlcers either of man or beast doe take away by and by the paine thereof and doth throughly heale them as the swellings or gaules vnder the saddles of horses that 〈◊〉 hurt if they be renewed euerie day and the horse needs not to be forborne for all that Or else take the hearbe new steepe it in water and wash it then rub therewith the swolne or gauled place then put the hearbe in some place where it may quickly rot or else burie it in some fat ground and coâ—er it with a great stone so soone as the â—hearbe is rotted so soone will the fore be healed If you spread it all greene in the bed it killeth fleas you shall keep powdred proke from wormes if you wrap it in the leaues of this hearbe thâ— juice thereof dropped into wormie eares doth kill the wormes that is in them Eye-bright delighteth in a leane ground and shadowed place and yet where moiâ—ture is not altogether wanting such as are the meadows and little mountaines is groweth of roots not of seed It is singular good against the dimnesse waterishnesse â—ataract rheume and weaknesse of the eyes being either applied and layd thereto or â—aken inwardly by the mouth there is a powder made of â—he dried leaues which beâ—ng oft taken by the mouth with the yolke of an egge or alone or mixt with aloes â—nd swallowed downe with Fennell-water or with water of veruaiâ—e doth comfort â—nd strengthen mightily the weake and diseased eyes some vse much to take Winâ— wherein eye-bright hath beene infused and steept a long time for the same purpose or the powder vsed with wine but the powder alone or the decoction without wine 〈◊〉 a remedie far more certaine than the wine of eye-bright as I my selfe haue proued â—y experience in as much as the Wine by his vapours doth fill the braine and proâ—ureth rheumes and therefore if you would auoid these inconuenienees you must â—elay your Wine vvith the vvater of Fennell or mixe Sugar therewith 〈◊〉 de â—illa-noâ—a aâ—â—irmeth that by the continuall vse of this heâ—healed an old man which â—â—ad alreadie wholly lost his sight by the often vse of the leaues of this hearbe as well 〈◊〉 as drie as well in his drinke as in his meat Veruaine as well the male as the female must be planted of roots in a moist soile â—nd that it may grow the fairer it requireth to be remoued and that into a place of â—he like nature and qualitie Besides the helpes that this hearbe affordeth vnto vveake eyes it is also good aâ—ainst the paine of the head teeth and vlcers of the mouth and principally in the â—â—fections of the skinne as the itch the tetter the flying-fire the ring-worme the â—prosie the Gangrena and Shbaâ—lus if it bâ— vsed in manner of a bath 〈◊〉 in manner of a foâ—entation made with Fâ—mitorie in Water and Vinegar Elicampane must not be sowne of seed because the seed hath no power to 〈◊〉 but it must rather be planted of the young sprouts pulled gently from the 〈…〉 that in a verie well tilled ground and which hath beene manured not verie 〈…〉 yet ouershadowed It is good to plant it in the beginning of Februarie leauing 〈◊〉 foot distance betwixt plant and plant for it hath great leaues and the roots do 〈◊〉 verie much as doe the young sprouts or roots of Reed The Wine wherein the root of Elicampane hath steept for the space of four◠〈◊〉 twentie houres is singular good against the colicke as we haue alreadâ—e said in 〈◊〉 first booke the juice of the root is singular good to continue and keepe the 〈◊〉 and beautifull hew of women The decoction of the root is likewise good 〈◊〉 â—â—joyce the heart and to prouoke vrine and the termes of women as also to 〈…〉 to spit out but then it must be vsed inwardly and whiles it is new and greene 〈◊〉 when it is old and drie it is fit to be vsed outwardly and not to be taken into 〈◊〉 bodie Dittander which hath the tast of pepper and mustard for which cause it is 〈◊〉 of the Latines Piperitis must be planted before the first of March cut as the 〈◊〉 but not so oft for feare it should die with cold It will continue two 〈◊〉 prouided that it be carefully weeded and dunged it continueth in many 〈◊〉 whole ten years and it cannot easily be destroyed The root of Dittander stamped with Hogs-gâ—ease or with the root of 〈◊〉 and applied in forme of a cataplaâ—me vnto the Sciatica doth cure it throughly It taketh away the great spots freckles and scales or pilling of the face by 〈…〉 the thin skin wherein these are fixed and as for the rawnesse left after the away of this skin it is healed easily with ointment of Roses Great Celandine groweth in euerie ground so that there be any shadow 〈…〉 and it would be sowne in Februarie and may so continue ten yeares so that â—waies after it hath cast his seed the stalkes thereof be cut downe within 〈…〉 of the root The juice of the flowers mixt with honie or womans milke or some othe◠〈◊〉 asswage the sharpenesse of it doth take away the spots in the eyes 〈…〉 scartes and vicers healeth the ring-wormes and itch of the head and the 〈…〉 the haire of little children The Alchymistes doe make great account of it 〈◊〉 their extractions of mettalls Some say that the old Swallows doe recouer the 〈◊〉 of their young ones being pore-blind by applying vnto their
root as that it may seeme and shew as though one had cut them away with a hooke and after that to lay them in order in the shadow that so the Sunne may not harme or injure them The manner of making Woad Vnder your Mill which would not be as some vse a Mâ—ll-stone for that crusheth out the sap and juice of the Woad too much but a Mill made of strong timbers the compasse of a large Mill-stone being hollow or dâ—â—uided onâ— out-side from the other and running circular or round and these out-sides shall be bound together both in the middest by the drawing axell-tree and also at the outmost Verdges by strong places of yron made broad and flat with reasonable rebated edges and these plates shall be at least three foot in lengâ—h answering to the full bredth of the trough in which the Mill shall run and this Mill must be 〈◊〉 about by a horse Now the leaues as aforesaid being â—â—rewed in the trough vnder the Mill you shall grind them as small as may be till they come to be as it were all one substance which may easily be done by oft turning the Woad ouer and ouer as the Mill runnes which one must continually doe with a shouell then the Woad being thus sufficiently well ground you shall stay the horse and takâ— all the ground Woad out of the trough and then fill the Mill with fresh Woad againe and thus do till you haue ground all you woad which being finished you shall forthwith mould it vp into great round balls as bigge as a culuerine bullet or twice so bigge as a mans fists and these balls you shall place vpon fleakes or hurdles made of small wands pent-housed housed or couered ouer to keepe them from the raine but all the sides open in such wise that the Sunne or Wind may haue full power to passe through the same and these hurdles shall be mounâ—ed one aboue another in many heights and degrees and your Woad balls shall lye thereupon without touching one another till they be throughly well dried then at the later end of the yeare which is towards Nouember you shall breake those balls againâ— and put them vnder the Mill and grind them as before and then taking it from the Mill you shall lay it in great heapes in some coole vault kept for that purpose onely and when vpon this laying together vpon heapes it shall begin to take heat it must be turned and in turning watered vntill it be sufficiently moistned for as too much water drowneth it so too much heat in the heapes doth burne it thereupon you most pile it vpon heapes not high but long ones and stirre it euerie second day so long as till it become cold and yet after this to put it abroad euerie fouâ—th or sixth day while it be throughly cooled indeed And this worke must be verie carefully performed for otherwise the woad would roast it selfe and proue not any thing worth which being so â—â—immed and ordered as it should it is left in some cold and paued place vntill the time of the selling of it and looke how much the longer it lyeth in heapes in this â—ase by so much it becommeth the better and finer The counâ—rie men of Tholouse in whose countrie there groweth great store of Woad doe not grind their Woad-balls into 〈◊〉 but gather it together by great vessells full and put vnder the Mill-stone to 〈◊〉 out the waterish parts of it and then they make vp the remaining substance 〈…〉 like loâ—ues which they drie and rot afterward by laying them in the 〈◊〉 heat of the Sunne in Sommer time and then they cast these lumpes into their 〈◊〉 where they put their Wooll to be died a blew blacke or other colour as it best pleaseth the Dyers The leaues thereof made into a plaister doe 〈◊〉 â—â—â—â—stumes and heale wounds new made they stay fluxes of bloud heale the wild 〈◊〉 and the vlcers which runne ouer the whole bodie Also the leaues of Woad thus ground are excellent to kill any itch 〈◊〉 or other râ—islike either in men or children also it is most excellent for the diâ—â—â—â— is 〈◊〉 called the Farcie and cureth it verie sodainely CHAP. LVII Of the Tasell THe Tasell called also Venus her bathing tubbe because it keepeth 〈◊〉 drops of water being by nature as all the other Thistles are hot and drie in the lower part of the leaues close by the stalkes to refresh and water it selfe withall serueth greatly in respect of his head for the vse of Clothworkers both to lay the Wooll of their new clothes so muchâ—â— is 〈◊〉 as also to draw forth so much as lyeth loose out of order amongst the rest and it is 〈◊〉 seruiceable or more vnto Cap-makers after that the Cap is spun wouen 〈◊〉 and scoured with sope Walkers-earth or other scouring earth Now he that will 〈◊〉 profit by this hearbe must make choyce of a good fat ground well 〈…〉 tilled with two three or foure arders and well harrowed and then after 〈◊〉 it with the best seed that possibly may be â—â—und and that verie thicke and when 〈◊〉 hath shot one of the earth as in the beginning of May then to make it cleane 〈◊〉 weed it with the hand and in Iune and Iulie to digge it if need be in the end of September you must gather the heads that haue flowred the first yeare leâ—â—â—â—â— the rest to grow for to be gathered the yeare following at such time as they shall be 〈◊〉 flowre The heads cut off the plants must be planted anew in a well tilled ground putting all the root into holes from one to another which is all one with the 〈◊〉 ring of the Radish and trampling the ground vpon them verie orderly and 〈◊〉 and furthermore to digge them when they begin to pricke and put forth branchesâ—â— in March Aprill and May and to cut them which are cankered or 〈◊〉 and so vnprofitable that so the juice of the earth may be fed vpon by those onely which are good and seruiceable And whereas at the time of their flowring they begin 〈◊〉 flowre on high on the head and so downeward till the whole head be 〈…〉 flowre being once fallen you must cut off the head either euening or morning 〈◊〉 halfe a foot of stalke thereunto Furthermore you must not forget that they must be set or sowne in furrowes that so water may haue an orderly course to fall to the 〈◊〉 of them and giue them a continuall refreshment and not to sow them in anie 〈◊〉 place but such as is reasonably watrie for too much moisture maketh the 〈◊〉 the head thereof which is the thing of most importance more low and short and of lesse commodiousnesse You must not gather or bind them vp in bundells 〈◊〉 a drie season towards the moneth of October at the furthest and not any 〈◊〉 earlier than the later end of September Some gathering it doe leaue it at the 〈◊〉 to drie
fortie poles nor yet be lesse than thirtie or fiue and twentie and if the inconuenientnesse of the place vvill not suffer you to cast them into squares then make them somewhat more long but yet not exceeding the foresaid fortie poles in length for besides infinite other commodities and pleasures accompanying short fields and such as are not of large reach this is one verie speciall profit namely that oxen and horses doe labour there vvith lesse trauell and vvearisomnesse in as much as they do not onely cheere vp themselues and take their breath being at the end of the furrow but also for that the plow-man cleanseth and freeth his plow of the earth vvherewith it is woont to be laden as then also carrying them about to enter vpon a new furrow cause your ground if possibly it may be to lie leuell and euen for besides the pleasure of seeing from the one end to the other they vvill also be the more easie to be plowed dunged and sowne let them be ditched round about or at the least on the sides as well to draine away raine-vvater or other if any should stand there as for to cut off the trade-waies of passengers Plant not within not about your Corne-grounds any trees for feare of the shadow knowing assuredly that the more that corne is shadowed the further off it is from being comforted and rejoyced by the Sunne as also from hauing the dust which is vvoont to lye much vpon it blowne off by the vvinds and likewise from being deliuered from snow fogges and tempests oâ—tentimes a heauie burthen vpon the backe thereof And yet put case that for your pleasure you vvould plant some trees thereabout then let them be no other but Willowes or such like that may beare no great head to make shadow and therefore let neuer come nie thereto either the poplar or aspe or aller vvhose shadow is not onely daungerous and huâ—tfull vnto the corne ground but vvhich is more vvith their great thicke and great store of roots they draw vnto them the best juice they sucke vp the fat of the earth and so steale away the best from the seed that is sowne And no lesse than these the Ashe is most poysonous vnto Corne-grounds for how farre soeuer his shadow extendeth so farre you shall see the ground euer forbeare to prosper and yet it is not vtterly vnnecessarie to haue trees grow about your Corne-fields for if you plant Fruit trees about them as the Apple Peare Ceruise and such like you shall find the profit many times double the injuries that are reaped from them neither is it forcibly necessarie that your fields should be cast into these small square grounds seeing you may haue them as large as you please according to the quantitie of your Farme or the nature thereof vvhich may as well lye publique and in common amongst your neighbours as priuate and seuerall to your selfe in either of vvhich you may make your lands of what length or bredth you please vvhether acres halfe acres or roods and herein is specially to be noted that you must cast your lands according to the natures of your ground not the prospect of your eye for if your ground be a gentle earth either mixt or vnmixt and lye drie and free all Winter from vvater neither by any meanes is subiect from it owne nature or casualtie to any superfluitie of moisture this ground you may lay leuell smooth and plaine and make it appeare as an entire garden or one land but if it be within any daunger of vvater or subject to a spewing and moist qualitie then you shall lay your lands high raising vp ridges in the middest and â—urrowes of one side and according as the moisture is more or lesse so you shall make the ridges high or low and the descent greater or lesse but if your ground besides the moisture oâ— by meanes of the too much moisture be subject to much binding then you shall make the lands a great deale lesse laying euerie foure or fiue furrowes round like a land and making a hollownesse betweene them so that the earth may be light and drie and this you must doe either vpon leuells or vpon descending and hanging grounds and to conclude the larger your fields are and the drier they are kept the better they will be and the better your corne vvill prosper vpon them CHAP. V. How often your Corne-ground must be â—ared or plowed ouer THat I may therefore briefly declare vnto you the tilling of grounds for graine and pulse vnderstand in generall that the earings of arable grounds are diuers according to the places and situations of the said grounds as vve haue alreadie alledged But howsoeuer the case stand in that poynt and in vvhat plat or peece of ground soeuer you can name them to be it behooueth that at the first earing vvhich is giuen them after they haue rested and laine fallow that you cleanse them vvell from stones all ouer with â—akes and that at the paines or trauell of some young boyes and girles that can doe little or nothing else or otherwise by others for the earth of it owne nature lying vntilled begettâ—h nothing but stones and strong and vnprofitable vveeds as those which are the reliques of the dung now throughly digested and chaunged by a heat exalted vnto the fiâ—th degree And we need not make any doubt of it but that euen good and kind ground when it should not bring forth any thing but mustard-seed couch-grasse pimpernell mercurie thistles of all sorts danewort vvild-fetch red poppie vvild oats veruaine blew bottles ax-fetch or such other like vnprofitable vveeds without forgetting of cockle and darnell and that which is called rest-harrow or at the least some fumitorie and henbane yet it will be doing of some thing more as namely those which grow out of it of themselues as stinking mathweed kexes rupture-wort these be reclaimed grounds and the herbe called Chamepytis as I haue sometimes seene in those countries which properly and truely containe France For the distinguishing of these herbes the thistles shew the heat of the ground as their aromaticall and odoriferous roots may testifie the hemlocke vvild smallage and fumitorie grow of putrefaction the bind-weed both great and small do proceed partly of drinesse partly of the alteration of the humour night-shade the great and small doe spring vp of the cold part of the earth vvhich they draw from the humour thereof mercurie of both sorts eye-bright also of two or three differing flowers the small sorrell red vnderneath and the three sorts of plantaine do hold of cold or temperate ground but the garden and vvater cresses rockets wild mustard-seed as also the two sorts of vvater-parsley haue differing natures and are more hot according to the humoâ—r vvhich chey confesse to participate in respect of their propertie To be short these are certaine dalliances and sports of nature vvhich though she should neuer be
and also by the Stones lying vpon the vpper part thereof which otherwise might haue fallen and beene cast there in manner as sometimes it falleth out that men find vpon vntilled grounds the liuely shapes of Fruits and Corne gathered together and growne vnto the Stone which is to bee seene neere to Mommirall in Brie where Wood is growne vnto the Stone besides that the Hearth will make quicke and speedie triall hereof This will doe you seruice in the enclosing either of your Parke or of your Vineyards and other such like commodities besides the profit you may make of it by the selling of Milstones and Stones to build withall But looke well to your selfe and take good heed of Quarries and casting of Stone-pits and of their deceits which oftentimes rewards vs with our paines for our labour And as for the Earth taken and vnderstood generally it beareth all manner of Corne Fruits Hearbes Timber-trees Mettals Stones and other things and this hath beene giuen vnto it euen since it was first made and hereupon old Writers haue iustly giuen vnto it the due name of Mother But although in respect of the cold and drie substance and nature whereof it consisteth it may be called all of one temperature yet it purchaseth and getteth contrarie qualities according to the seuerall situations it hath in diuers places as also vpon occasion of affinitie intercourse and participation it hath with things of repugnant qualitie and hence doe rise the diuers sorts of the same and so diuers as that euerie ground will not beare euerie thing but one or two at the most For this cause to auoid both cost and labour see aboue all things that you proue either by your owne triall and experience or else by such enquirie as you can make of your neighbors what kind of Fruits what kind of Corne and what sorts of Trees doe prosper best thereon Some places in Trance and the free Countrey of Beaux beareth no other graine than Rye which is contrarie to the nature of the ground new broken vp another loueth nothing but Wheat Solonge loueth March corne and sometime Mesling Touraine worthily called the Garden of France is found most plentifull in Gardens and Fruit-trees as that part called Brie or Braye because it is situate betwixt the Riuers of Marne and Seine doth bring forth Fruits and Corne for sustenance and that quarter which lyeth betwixt Marne and the Riuer of Aube bringeth forth an infinite deale of Hay Notwithstanding the diligence of the Farmer may by his industrie ouercome the weaknesse of a ground euen as well as all sorts of wild Beasts may be tamed by the painefulnesse of man In watrie and marish places it will stand vs vpon to make our profit of the water which you shall oftentimes by sluces turne from his naturall courses into your pasture grounds and ponds of running and standing water for the profiting and helping of the same About the brinkes and edges of the most commodious ones you shall set rankes of such Trees and profitable Plants as you know to like and prosper in the water And you must especially obserue and marke the diuersitie of the bottome and vndermost part of the ground which in watrie places is often found to differ much and to be somewhat strange and according to the nature thereof to set such Trees as may best agree therewith Your House being â—eated in such places will be most strong and pleasant in Summer but of greatest maintenance preseruation and safetie if you enuiron it round about with water after the manner of an Islet as it is practised in manie places of Flanders who make the vse thereof familiar among them to reape thereby the benefit of Fish in his season the flesh of wild Fowle Trees as well for Fruit as for Fire and Building besides the helpes of their excellent pasture grounds but indeed your owne health as also the health of those of your familie is impaired hereby especially in Winter Wherefore it will be better to build vpon high ground as the auncient Romans did and to leaue the waters below for the comforting of your â—ight if so be you haue not the meanes of closing in all the same round about for your breed of young Colts and other Cattell all which will like verie well vpon such grounds except it be your Cattell seruing to furnish you with Wooll If your Farme doe for the most part consist of wild Grounds and Desarts you shall make them arable by labour and paines and recouer them deluing them diligently and raking them often for the Bull-rush Bâ—akes and such other hearbes will soone be killed when the earth is often turned But and if you desire with more hast and certainetie to destroy them you shall burne the ground 〈◊〉 two first yeares and sow therein Lupines or Beanes to the end that together with the curing of the disease of your fields you may reape some profit and comâ—oditie Stonie grounds are mended by taking away the stones and if the quantitie be â—reat it will be best to cast them together in manner of some small hillock in certaine places of the ground and so by that meanes the rest will be cleansed and freed or â—â—ther when the daies of handie-workes shall be got good cheape it will be best to digge the earth verie deepe and there burying the stones before-hand afterward to â—uer them with the earth If the Farme consist most of Forrests and Woods you shall make thereof arable ground by plucking vp the Trees altogether as also their rootes but and if there be but small store it will be ynough to cut them downe and burne them and then to till the ground And such grounds are wont the first yeare to bring forth much because that the moisture and substance which before was spent in the bringing forth and nourishing of Trees Bushes and Heaâ—bes doth prepare it selfe wholly for the good of the Corne that is sowne vpon it or for that it hauing beene fatted and growne better by the leaues and hearbes of manie yeares which of it owne accord it brought forth before it was tilled becommeth afterward sufficient to nourish and bring forth great abundance of fruits and so it commeth to passe also that being robbed of her former nourishment in time it groweth leane loosing the freshnesse and moisture which was maintained by the couert and therefore continueth not so fruitfull as it was at the beginning Sandie places may be made better by Dung and Marle which yet notwithstanding euen without such Husbanding by meanes of some currant of water running vâ—der the Earth in some Countries ceaseth not to yeeld good profit to their owners but these craue rest which is the principall remedie to helpe their weake and feeble estate and also to be sowne with varietie of graine as after Rye some kind of pulse The way to know such grounds is common when the
places where Snakes Lizards Adders and other such like Beasts abound you may set vp some small Spire or Turret about your house or plant vpon some piece of high mounted ground some well-spread Tree of a great height for the alluring of Storkes to the same that they may helpe to free your house of those said venimous beasts for they will kill them to feed their young ones therewith But yet perswade not your selfe that you can easily draw and allure them nor yet retaine and keepe them Summer being once passed for vpon Winters returne they will be packing into another Countrey Notwithstanding there are some which not hauing beene disturbed in the time of their ayring and bringing vp of their young ones doe euerie yeare repayre to their wonted ayres and that by a long â—light out of a farre Countrey and doe ayre and neast themselues willingly also in the tops of high Towers not frequented as iudging the place to be such as will not suffer any man to doe them annoyance And in the meane time you need not take any care of their Neast laying sitting or feeding for they be birds carefull ynough of themselues and not needing the helpâ— of any other and which doe come and goe in such sort as one cannot perceiue them in such sort as that we may rather see them when they be commen than foresee their comming for as much as their comming and going is in the night Some doe thinke that they haue no tongue make no account of them for to eat them seeing they are of a verie euill iuice and venimous feeding and yet this good is in them that hee which shall haue eaten of a Storke shall not haue his eyes bleared or running all that yeare It is obserued in this bird that the young doe feed the old that breed them when they cannot flye any more nor get their prey CHAP. XVIII Of Feasants IT is a point of great curiositie to keepe Feasants which Columella calleth Hennes of Numidia but he that can do it hath both pleasure and profit and he must be such a one as almost doth nothing else for this bird is chargeable to maintaine she will haue her house by her selfe raised high and leaning to the inclosure or wall of the Court and long also that her troughes may be in the ayre and where the Sunne giueth And euerie seuerall bird must haue her owne roome and yet there must be but one dore vnto their Henne-house for the cleansing thereof and giuing of them meat The rest of their house shall be all open vpon the fore-part and yet in such sort as that it shall be sure and fast by being thick latted and of clouen boords about the height of a fadome below and verie well couered aboue Feasant Cocks and Hennes are hard to tame if they be not so hatched or else taken within the yeare for the elder sort grow sullen and malecontented and doe accord and buckle themselues either to lay or sit And as for the young they must be gently handled vntill they be well trained and can easily be content with and apply themselues to the enduring of a constrained ayre and that such a one as is not like to that where they were taken There must be one Cocke to euerie two Hennes The Henne hath but one season wherein she vseth to lay and that is March at which time she beginneth and so continueth vntill she haue orderly layd twentie and after she fitteth them all together or else fifteene of her owne and some others of another kind if you put them vnder her and she sitteth thirtie dayes and in the time of her sitting you must vse her with the like diligence that you doe the Henne but this must be all within her owne house The young ones being hatched shall be fed with flower of Barly boyled and cooled and afterward with the flower of Wheat and sometimes you shall mix herewith or else giue them by themselues some Gras-hoppers and egges of Ants and you must oftentimes giue them fresh water and cleane for they are subiect to the same diseases that the Henne is Men of old time were wont to fat their Feasant Cockes and Hennes for Feastiuall dayes or Banquets and Feasts onely and not for brood and gaue vnto them the first day honied water and strong wine to cause them to forget their naturall place after that of the flower of Barly tempered with water of ground Beanes and of cleane Barly of whole Millet of Turnep seed and Linseed boyled and dryed mixt with the flower of Barly and for to heat and cleanse their stomackes they gaue them Mustard seed for fiue dayes and so fatted them vp in their Cowpes for threescore dayes This is the thing that diuers Cookes of Paris with certaine other rich Victuallers doe know verie well to doe and they must as saith Columella giue them their â—eat to eat to the end they may be fat when they are vsed in Banquets for but few of these wild Feasant Hennes doe giue themselues to lay and beare the yoake of serâ—itude both together CHAP. XIX Of Peacockes THe Peacocke is a bird of more beautifull feathers than any other that is he is quickly angrie but he is as farre off from taking good hold with his feet he is goodly to behold verie good to eat and serueth as a watch in the inner court for that hee spying strangers to come into the lodging he fayleth not to crie out and to aduertise them of the house It is true that he is not kept with a little cost and meat being a great eater and quickly digesting his meat noysome to the house for that he spoyleth the Gardens if there be not some little Medow ground for him to frequent hee breaketh the roofe and high place of the house And the Cocke being ouer-ranke by nature doth breake the Hennes egges thereby to keepe her from sitting that so he may the more freely enioy and vse her The Cocke liueth a long time as from twentie to fiue and twentie yeares but the Henne somewhat lesse both the one and the other somewhat troublesome to reare and bring vp whiles they be young but they need not to haue any great care taken of them after they haue once left the dam except it be in keeping them from hurting the Corne. They loue a hot and temperate ayre and that is the cause that they are not brought vp in manie Countries of France but with much adoe The place where they most abound in all the Countrey is toward Lisieux in Normandie for from thence there come great numbers to Paris for great and sumptuous Banquets and Marriages There they make them fat with the drosse of Cyder and Perrie People of old and auncient time did cast Islets on the backside of their Gardens onely for Peacocks and there set vp some little shed for them at their pleasure to repaire vnto and another for the
planted and furnished with the Plants before spoken of in the moneth 〈◊〉 Nouember and in the beginning of October planting there also at the end of euerie eight feet some Elmes wild Plumme trees and Cherrie trees by the suppoâ—â— whereof as of faithfull props and staies it will wind and bind it selfe more firmely This Hedge shall be verie well digged and helped with dung for a foot depth 〈◊〉 neere vnto the root some two yeares after and pruned euerie yeare to keepe it rounâ— and euen as also to make it grow thicke and you must suffer to grow in height and thicknesse such Trees as shall be planted therein to serue for Stakes and as Poles for your Arbors and the moe Elmes you can put in this your Hedge and the rest which shall part your Garden of Huswiferie and Pulse the better it will be either for the making of Faggots euerie yeare and that so they may themselues spread more iâ— thicknesse as also for Timber-wood for your Ploughes and other Implements 〈◊〉 also that they may ouer-grow such Arbors as you shal plant at their feet and wheâ—â—with they doe in that place mutually and naturally beare and suffer If furthermore you would know the ordering of such great and small Trees 〈◊〉 whereof the Hedge is to consist you shall find it in the third and fixt Booke CHAP. II. Of the Arbors of the Kitchin Garden EVen as the Garden of Pleasure is to be set about with Arbors 〈◊〉 with Iesamin Maries seale Muske Roses Mirtle trees Bay trees Woodâ—bind Vines Gourds Cucumbers Muske Melons Prympe sweet â—ryeâ— and other rare things euen so shall the Kitchin Garden be set with Turrets of Lattice fashion couered ouer with Burdeaux Vines or with the best 〈◊〉 of Vines that are to be got in the Countrey for to make Veriuice on for 〈◊〉 and commoditie of the Household The fashion of the Arbor shall be in manner of a shadowie place for Arbors 〈◊〉 costly to maintaine to the end you may draw certaine Beds vnderneath or 〈◊〉 â—oore of hearbes which craue no great cherishing and refreshing leauing notwithâ—â—anding an alley of three foot breadth both on the one side and on the other for the â—spatching of such worke as is to be bestowed vpon the Arbor And you must â—ant the best and greatest sets of Vines vpon the South side not cutting them so â—â—ng as the wood may grow thicker for it is nothing but a good foot and a thicke â—at maketh a faire and a beautifull fruit The Lattice-worke may not be too thicke 〈◊〉 or wrought and it must rise and grow higher for the space of fiue whole yeares 〈◊〉 be renewed and new tied euerie yeare about the end of the moneth of Ianuarie 〈◊〉 the twigges of your Willowes and Osiers or of the Broome of your Warren â—hough if you make your poles of Iuniper wood you shall not need to trouble â—ur hand with them for tenne or twelue yeares especially if you strengthen your 〈◊〉 with piles of Oake halfe burnt Also if your poles be of dead wood and of 〈◊〉 stocks growing or encreasing if then you bind them with strong wyre it shall be 〈◊〉 of all for that shall last the longest and keepe your poles by their fastnesse of â—â—itting longer found than anie other binding whatsoeuer Tie not the poles of your â—atticâ—-worke strait nor the stocks against the trees of your hedge which shall serue â—r stakes for so in time the band would eat it selfe into the rinde as they should â—ow thicker and doe them great harme And I would not haue you to forget to â—ung and vncouer the roots of your stocks in Winter and to marke the young wood â—r to make sets to sell or to store your selfe withall euerie day more and more Gaâ—â—er not their Grapes verie ripe or verie greene nor yet when it rameth Finally â—e ordering of the Arbor is like the ordering of the Vine and would be but a suâ—erfluous thing to stand anie longer vpon in this place Wherefore you must haue â—ecourse to the place setting downe the manner of the ordering of the Vine as it â—hall be hereafter declared CHAP. III. Of the digging and casting of the Kitchin Garden AS concerning the dressing of the Kitchin or Household Garden in as much as there are two seasons in the yeare for to sow hearbes so there are two times for to bring into order and dresse Gardens that is to say Autumne and the Spâ—ing there must such consideration be had as that â—he first workmanship and tilth be bestowed about the beginning of Nouember vpon that ground which we intend to sow in the Spring and to digge in the moneth of May such other grounds as we intend to sow in Autumne to the intent that by the cold of Winter or by the heat of Summer the clods may be apt to turne to dust becomming short and brittle and all vnprofitable weeds may be killed But in the meane time before this first tilth and workmanship it will be good that the ground for one whole or halfe yeare be manured with old manure and made good and fat for the best liking earth that is in time becommeth leane and wasted by long and continuall occupation Wherefore it behoueth that the vnimployed or fallow ground which you shall appoint for your Gardens be first well cleansed from stones and afterward cast vp and digged into new and fresh earth and the bad weedes rooted out euen by the end of the rootes whereof the good huswife shall make good ashes and afterward amended with some small quantitie of Cowâ—â— dung and Horse dung well mixt together and well rotted and hauing laid a long time or else of Asses dung which is the best of all for Gardens because the Asse doth chew his meat with leisure and breaketh his meat throughly and so by that meanes doth make his dung better digested and better ground than other beasts doe and which also for that cause doth beget almost no weeds In stead of dung the chaffe and troden straw of Corne hauing rotted in the high waies for the space of a yeare may serue which being by nature verie hot doth so greatly fat the earth as that 〈◊〉 Hearbes Trees Citrons Limons Oranges Cucumbers Citruls and all other 〈◊〉 planted in that ground or sowne doe come vp verie faire and beare fruit 〈◊〉 quickly and in great aboundance For the second tilth it shall be wrought and laboured as a man would worke Morrar from the one end to the other and in thus labouring it you shall mix the dung or marle verie well with the earth For the 〈◊〉 tilth it shall be clotted layd close and raked into a flat forme and with the 〈◊〉 of the Rake in going ouer it you shall marke out your Beds and Floores and the Pathes running along betwixt them and those so long and so broad as you can 〈◊〉 them according to the contents and largenesse of the place And you must
of the Sunne but hath the shadowes of some Trees the top of a Mountaine 〈…〉 other such like thing It hath a verie astringent power as also it is verie 〈◊〉 by which after the manner of Comfrey it healeth wounds vlcers and fistulaes 〈◊〉 well inward as outward it stayeth rheumes and bloudie fluxes healeth the 〈…〉 the mouth and the inflamation thereof Which is more it is verie singular to prouoke vrine and to breake the stone Saxifrage as well the great as the small delighteth in a drie ground chalâ—â—â— clayie sandie stonie and altogether barren And it is sowne of small seedes which are found hanging to the rootes thereof It prouoketh vrine and so driueth foorth the grauell of the reines and bladder If you boyle the root and 〈◊〉 thereof in Wine it procureth Women also their termes and bringeth ou◠〈◊〉 after-birth The great and small Burre otherwise called Bardana and of the Greeke◠〈…〉 hath not need of anie great tilling for it will grow either of seed or 〈◊〉 in a leane ground that is drie and vntilled as wee may well see in ditches 〈◊〉 it groweth without anie labour at all and in the high wayes and by-pâ—â—h ◠〈◊〉 the fields The rootes seedes and iuice of the great and small Burre are verie 〈…〉 prouoke vrine to breake the stone of the reines and bladder and to stay the 〈◊〉 flux The iuice is drunke with white Wine or alone and the seed in like manner which is sometimes for the more pleasantnesse sake confected or couered with Sâ—gar The leaues stampt with a little salt and applyed vnto the bitings or 〈…〉 Adders mad Dogges or other venimous Beasts are verie soueraigne The rootes 〈◊〉 seedes of small Burre stampt and layd on cold swellings and rebellious 〈…〉 verie profitable and good Star-thistle so called because it hath little heads at the tops of his stakes 〈…〉 Thistles haue set round about with sharpe prickes after the manner of 〈…〉 groweth in vnhusbanded grounds as well of his root as of his seed Some doe 〈◊〉 esteeme of the seed made into powder and drunke in wine for to prouoke 〈◊〉 and to auoid grauell and herein it is of so great vertue as that the much vse of it 〈◊〉 cause one to pisse bloud sometimes The decoction of the root with honey after 〈◊〉 manner of a honied water doth the like but more gently and without 〈…〉 partie for to pisse bloud Maries Thistle otherwise called Spina alba or white and siluer Thistle or 〈◊〉 Artichoke or Asse-Thistle because that Asses delight much to eat it doth 〈◊〉 fat and well tilled ground and other ordering like to that of Beets and it 〈…〉 that it letteth not to grow in vntilled and vnhusbanded grounds The seed and 〈◊〉 haue as it were the like power to take away obstructions to prouoke vrine and it breake the stone that Star-thistle hath The Italians vse the roots thereof in Salads after the manner of Artichokes and good wines to gather the milke of it for to eat Some make a Ptisane with the root of this Thistle made in powder the seed of Fennell and a little long Pepper to giue to Nurses to vse which haue small store of milke The distilled water of the leaues is good against paine in the sides being drunke with halfe a dramme of the seed of the same hearbe Siluer-grasse so called because the leaues doe resemble siluer on the backe-side doth delight in a moist and grassie ground howsoeuer vnhusbanded it be It hath one excellent propertie aboue all other hearbes for to breake the stone to heale vlcers and malignant wounds within the bodie to stay the bloudie flux and to dissoluâ— cluttered bloud being taken in drinke Some say that if you put it in halfe a basin full of cold water and couer that basin with another basin or vessell or other couering that there will gather great store of vapours in the hollow of the thing couering it and will turne into the forme of distilled water and that this water thus gathered is verie good to take away the spots freckles staines and dye of the Suâ—ne out of the face Patience doth willingly grow in coole and moist grounds and we see it ordinarily to grow neere vnto Riuers and little Brookes The root by reason of the great bitternesse and desiccatiue power hath singular commendation against the Plague for being dried and powdred and afterward drunke with wine it driueth away all venime from the heart by the aboundance of sweat which it procureth Some foâ— this purpose take away the rinde and core of this root stamping it in vineger and after making a drinke of the vineger the iuice of Rue and Treacle for to take in pestilent Agues The powder of this root drunke with wine is excellent for the suffocations of the Matrix and the wringing throwes of the bellie This powder also killeth the Wormes healeth maligne Vlcers the falling of the haire called Tinea and the Kibes the Farcie in Horses whether it be taken inwardly or applyed outwardly either in iuice or in the decoction thereof Scabious groweth in the same ground that Patience doth that is to say in woods vntilled places and especially in sandie places It is verie proper and appropriate vnto the Cough and diseases of the Lungs foâ— the same purpose also the iuice is sometime extracted sometime the hearbe it selfe made into powder and sometime the decoction of it is made to endure for a long time Likewise there is sometime conserue made of the flowers His leaues or rootes applyed to itchie places and the places bare of haire or mixed with oyles and ointments doe great good vnto the same as also vnto plaguie carbuncles for they being rubbed with the iuice of Scabious will be found to vanish away within three houres The iuice of Scabious drunke in the quantitie of foure ounces with a dramme of Treacle not yet one day old is a singular remedie against the Plague so that afterward the partie sweat in his bed and withall continue the drinke for manie times The same remedie serueth for the bitings of venimous beasts if besides the drinke you apply outwardly vnto the soare the leaues of the same hearbe bruised A Liniment made of the iuice of Scabious the powder of Borace and a little Camphire is singular against tettars itch freckles and other infections or desilements of the skin Aboue all other things the decoction of Scabious being drunke the space of fortie daies doth heale the tettar throughly yea though it came of the Pocks as I my selfe haue oftentimes proâ—ed by experience Scolopendrium or rough Spleene-wort called also Harts-tongue would be planted in a stonie and grauellie ground which is moistened with some running Brooke and for want of this it must be often watered The rootes thereof must neuer be pulled vp but onely the leaues cut for it cannot be sowne seeing it bringeth forth no seed The decoction thereof made
in white wine is verie good for such 〈◊〉 haue a hard Spleene and are subiect to a quartane Ague Bâ—â—onie delighteth to be sowne in a moist and cold ground and neere vnto some wall by which it may be shadowed for it is not 〈◊〉 in loue with the Sun-beames The root hath contrarie properties to the leaues and flowers for the root 〈◊〉 the stomacke and is verie vnsauourie vnto the mouth his leaues and flowers and of 〈◊〉 verâ—e good smell and a tast correspondent and answerable The decoction of Betonie made in white wine assuageth the paines of the 〈◊〉 breaketh the stone and healeth the Iaundise The leaues stamped and applyed 〈◊〉 forme of a Cataplasme doe quickly ioyne together the wounds of the head A Cataplasme made of the leaues with Porkes grease doth ripen the tumors called Câ—â—haires and all other sorts of Impostumes The leaues stamped with a little salt doe heale hollow and cancrous vlcâ—rs To be briefe this hearb hath so manie and so greâ—â— vertues as that the Italian when he would highly commend a man for his giâ—â— will say that he hath moe vertues than Betonie Bugle would be planted in a stonie drie and hillie ground in respect whereof the Latines call it Casolida petrosa It craueth no great paines to be taken with 〈◊〉 The leaues thereof are good to conglutinate and soulder together both outward and inward wounds it is likewise put in drinkes for wounds and that is the cause why some doe commonly say That he that hath Bugle and Sanicle will scarce vouchsâ—â—â— the Chirurgion a Bugle Lions-paw groweth in a clayish ground being withall fat red and somewhat moist commonly in medowes situated in some high place It hath like properties with Bugle and Sanicle but moreouer it taketh away all the paine and heat of inflammations and vlcers The same hearb stamped and applyed vnto the teats of women and young maids maketh them hard and firme Great Comfrey groweth in moist places and hath the same propertie that Bugle hath that is to say to soulder wounds and this is â—o great in both of them as 〈◊〉 that you put Bugle or Comfrey into a pot wherein flesh is boyling the pieces of flesh will become no more manie but one The root of great Comfrey whiles it is yet greene and newly pluckt out of the earth being spread vpon Leather or vpon Linnen and applyed in forme of a Cataplasme vpon goutie or rheumatike places doth presently appease the paine of the gout being a thing often proued and tried The same root dried and made into powder is good to put in childrenâ— pappe which haue their rimme broken as also to stay the flux of the bellie A Cataplasme made of the root of great Comfrey with Beane flower and applyed vnto the place where the childs guts fall downe is a soueraigne remedie to cuâ—â— the same Self-heale craueth a fat ground and where the Sunne beateth not much it groweth of seâ—des and not of rootes and hath like properties that Bugle and Coâ—frey haue especially to stay the spitting of bloud the bloudie flux and to conglutinate wounds within the bodie where no man can come to apply tent or oyntment if there be made a drinke of the iuice of the rootes and leaues thereof which being chafed in your fingers or put vnder your tongue doth smell and tast like Myrrhe Water Germander called of the Latines Scordium groweth verie easily and without great paine or toile so that it be planted by little slippes taken from the old stalke and set in a moist ground for it specially requireth to grow well to be plâ—â—ted in a moist ground and to be often watered It hath the like qualities that Angelica hath against Poyson and the Plague and furthermore the decoction thereof taken as a drinke for certaine daies doth heale the tertian Agues and putteth away 〈◊〉 obstructions of the Spleene and prouoketh vrine Fole-foot must be planted in a verie moist place and craueth to be often watered for so it appeareth when as it is seene to flourish and like best in marish grounds and about currents of waters There groweth a whirish mossâ— about the root of it which if you gather and picke verie cleane and afterward wrap it in a Linnen Cloth with a little Sal nitrum and so boyle it a little in Lee and afterward lay it to drie in the Sunne you shall haue an excellent match to take fire at a flint and fire-steele for it taketh fire so easily that it will light at the first stroke of the 〈◊〉 Amongst other vertues it is singular good to comfort the lungs and parts aboue the breast whether you take it in a decoction or in a syrrup or in manner of a fume at the mouth or otherwise especially if you mingle some slippes of Hysope and some figges or syrrup with the said decoction The great Colts-foot especially the root thereof dried powdred and taken in the weight of two drammes with wine is singular against the Plague if so the partie sweat presently after It is good also to giue vnto Horses which haue the bots or are short-winded The great and small Carline so called as though it were Caroline because this Thistle was in a diuine manner made knowne vnto Charlemaigne by an Angell for the deliuering of his hoast from the Plague which did miserably annoy them doth require to be sowne and planted in a drie ground and stonie and where the Moone and Sunne doth shine pleasantly The root of the great Carline made into powder and taken the weight of a French crowne is singular good against the Plague the feeblenesse and faintnesse of the Heart for the keeping of the Vrine the breaking of the Stone the paines of the Sides and Conuulsions applyed outwardly after it hath beene steept in vineger it helpeth the Sciatica Eringium groweth in an vntilled rough and drie ground The wine wherein the rootes of Eringium haue been boyled prouoketh the Termes and restrained Vrine breaketh the Stone and casteth out it and Grauell It is good for such as haue the falling Sicknesse Dropsie or Iaundise The decoction of the root is singular good to resist Drunkennesse The distilled water of the young buds of the leaues being drunke euerie day and that so oft as one can is maruellous good for them which haue their bodies troubled with vlcers caused of the French Pocks in as much as it comforteth the Liuer The same water is verie profitable for the quartane and quotidian Agues The root thereof taken either in powder or in a decoction with the broth of those Frogges which are vsed to be eaten or for lacke of Frogges in the decoction of a Goslin or green Goose is a preseruatiue against the poyson of the Toad Hedgefrogge and other venimous hearbes It doth good also in the diseases of the heart being drunke with the decoction of Buglosse or Balme Beares-breech
to the quantitie of two drams purgeth hot and châ—lericke humours Dame Violets haue great leaues somewhat blacke notcht round about and broad the flowers are white and incarnate and in shape like vnto the Auens they grow sometimes so high as that they degenerate into a tree Goats-bread that it may haue faire double and full flowers doth craue a fat and moist ground The leaues thereof open at the Sunne rise and they close at noone the root boyled in mudde doth appease the paines and pricking of the side taken in forme of a lohoch with syrope of Violets it helpeth obstructed lungs and the pleâ—risie boyled in vvater and preserued with Sugar it is a singular preseruatiue against the Plague Poysons Venime and deadly Stinging the juice or distilled vvater of this hearbe doth heale greene vvounds if you dip linnen clothes therein and applie them to the wounds some vse the root of this hearbe in sallades where daintie and fine fare is the same boyled in a pot vvith Veale and Mutton and afterward prepared and made readie betwixt two dishes with butter and vinegar Marie or Marians Violets for the beautifulnesse of the flowers deserue to bâ— sowne in a fat and well laboured ground the flowers are good to make gargariâ—â—â—â— for the inflammations and vlcers of the mouth Lillie-conually called of the Latines Lillium conuallium notwithstanding thâ—t it groweth in shadowed Woodgrounds yet it deserueth to be tilled in gardens as 〈◊〉 in regard of the faire little flowers white as snow which it beareth being also of a most amiable smell somewhat like vnto the Lillies as also in respect of his vertues because the distilled vvater of the flowers being taken vvith strong and noble vvine doth restore the speech vnto them which haue lost it vpon an apoplexie it is good likewise for the palsey distillations and fainting of the heart yet these nor any other Lillies whatsoeuer can I commend for any vse of nosegaies because the smell of them â—s lussious grosse and vnwholesome apt to make the head ake and as some hold of â—pinion apt to in ingender infection by reason of a certaine putrefaction which it â—tirreth vp in the braine vvhereby all the inward parts are distempered therefore whosoeuer planteth them shall preserâ—â— them more for shew than smell and make â—se of their medicinall qualitie not oâ— their order and touching their medicinall qualtitie there is none better than this that if the root be taken and cleane washt and boyled in milke and so applyed to any hard tumour swelling byle or impoâ—tumation it will either dissolue it or else ripen breake and heale it so that it be applied pultus wise verie hot Water lillie as well the white as the yellow desireth a waterish and marshie place vve see it grow likewise in pooles and fish-ponds The root of vvhite vvater lillie â—oyled with grosse red wine and drunke stayeth womens whites the flowers roots â—nd seeds as well in decoctioâ—s as in conserues are verie singular or procure sâ—eepe â—nd to preserue chastitie Hyacinth groweth verie vvell in a sandie ground The root and seed boyled in vvine and drunke doth stay the flux of the bellie Narcyssus so called of a Greeke word because the smell of it comming vnto the 〈◊〉 doth cause an inclination vnto sleepinesse and heauinesse would be sowne in a â—at ground that is hot and moist it groweth also aboundantly in Languedoe and Iâ—alie and but a little in this countrie The root thereof boyled or roasted and taken with meat of drinke doth greatly procure vomit also the same brayed with a little Honie and applyed doth heale burnings taketh away the freckles and spots of the face being mixt with the seed of nettles Corneflag called in Latine Gladiolus as well the blew as the white would be planted of new plants in March and Aprill or else of slips but such as haue roots for they are neuer sowne neither doe they require any great tilling Their flowres differ from the flowres of marigolds in this in that the flowres of the marigold doe open at the Sunne-shine but the flowres of Corneflag doe shut and close vp themselues then not opening againe but when it is cold and moist weather The roots must be pulled out of the earth in the beginning of the Spring that thereby they may haue a pleasant smell and a delectable kind of sauour and afterward they must be died in the shadow of the Sunne Some people to take away the superfluous moisture thereof which putteth them in danger to be consumed with Wormes doe vvet them with Lee of ashes as well whiles they are in the earth as when they are out and so drie them and keepe them for to procure the linnens and woollen garments to smell well The juice of the roots put in a clyster doth appease the paine of the Sciatica the root dried and made in powder doth cleanse and consolidate hollow and filthie vlcers being held in the mouth it causeth a good breath layed amongst clothes it preserueth them from all vermine and maketh them smell pleasantly The juice of the root taken at the mouth sundrie times purgeth water in such as haue the dropsie especially if it be taken mixt with the yolke of an egge halfe boyled The root mingled with the root of ellebor and twice so much Honie doth wipe away freckles red pimples and all spots of the face if it be annointed thereupon The decoction of the root taketh away the obstructâ—ons caused of a grosse humour prouoketh vrine killeth vvormes and casteth out the stone The Italians make a preserue of this root whiles it is new with Sugar to Honie and vse it in all the cases aforesaid some make an oyle of the flowers infused in oyle which hath power to resolue soften and appease the griefe of cold rheumes or distillations Lillies must be planted in the moneth of March and Aprill in these 〈◊〉 and in hot countries in the moneths of October and Nouember as well the 〈…〉 the orange colour in a fat and well digged ground you shall make their flowe◠〈◊〉 what colour you will if before you set them you steepe their roots in such 〈◊〉 substance as shall best like you and afterward likewise to water the roots when they are set and planted in their trench with the same liquor and that after this 〈◊〉 Some say that the flowers of Lillies become red and purple if their roots before 〈◊〉 be planted be steept in the Lees of red Wine or in dissolued Cinnabrium and 〈◊〉 watered with the same in the little pit or trench wherein it is set Or else when 〈◊〉 are in flower in the moneth of Iune you must take ten or twelue plants and 〈◊〉 them together to hang them in the smoake for so they will put forth small roots 〈◊〉 vnto vvild Garleeke and when the time of setting is come which is in the 〈◊〉 of March and
Aprill steepe the same plants in the lees of red Wine vntill they 〈◊〉 prettily well coloured as being become red when you take them out afterward 〈◊〉 them in prettie pits contriued in good order and water them sufficiently with 〈◊〉 said lees for by this meanes the flowers that will come of them will be purple â—â—loured You shall likewise haue young and fresh Lillies all the yeare long if 〈◊〉 they be open you gather them and after close them vp in some bottell or well 〈◊〉 vessell that so they may come by no ayre Or else close them vp in some oaken vessel well pitched so that there can no vvater get in and after sinke the vessell in 〈◊〉 Well Cesterne or running vvater for so they will keepe young and fresh 〈…〉 yeare And if at any time during the whole yeare you would vse them set them in the Sunne that so by the heat thereof they may open And to the end that Lillies 〈◊〉 flower at many times when you set their roots you shall set some of twelue 〈◊〉 within the ground others eight and some foure for thus you shall still haue 〈◊〉 Lillies for a long time A Cataplasme made with the Onion of the roots of Lillies Hogs-grease and 〈◊〉 oyle of Cammomile doth maturate and ripen Buboes An oyntment made of 〈◊〉 said roots oyle of bitter Almonds and white Wax hath singular vertue to 〈◊〉 and smoth the face and to take away the vvrincles of vvomens faces The vvater 〈◊〉 Lillies distilled out of an Alembecke doth take away the vvrincles of vvomen 〈◊〉 and make them looke verie faire and white The root boyled or roasted in â—â—embers and stampt vvith oyle Oliue is a singular remedie against all sorts of burning as well of fire as vvater Being boyled vvith Garleeke and stampt in the 〈◊〉 of red Wine cleareth vvomens faces and countenances vvhich haue but ill coloâ—â—â— after their lying in bed if they besmeare their faces therewith at nights and in the morning wash them with Barlie vvater This root roasted and stamped with 〈◊〉 Swines-grease and applied to the cornes of the feet doth wholly spend them 〈◊〉 they be kept thereto but three whole daies together the distilled vvater of the flowers with a little Saffron and sweet Zylocaâ—sia helpeth vvomen in child-birth and deliuereth them also of their after-birth the oyle that is made of the flowers by infusion is good to soften all manner of hardnesse in swellings or otherwise if 〈◊〉 chafe the priuie parts with oyle of Linseed and applie Wooll vvet in these 〈◊〉 vpon the bellie Women which are in trauell of child-birth will find great ease 〈◊〉 the same Small Paâ—â—ces otherwise called Autumne Violets desire a drie and 〈◊〉 place they are to be planted in the Spring time and beare flowers continuing 〈◊〉 Autumne yea to Winter if so be they be oft watered and carefully handled The leaues or juice of small Paunces taken at the mouth or applied outwardly are 〈◊〉 good to conglutinate wounds the leaues of small Paunces boyled and 〈◊〉 doe stay the Falling-sicknesse in children when they froth and some the same flowers boyled with their hearbes and drunke doe cleanse the lungs and breast and 〈◊〉 good for inward inflammations The leaues dried and made in powder and 〈◊〉 with red Wine to the quantitie of halfe a spoonefull haue great force to stay the 〈◊〉 downe of the fundament The Helitropian is a certaine flower which hath such a loue and sympathie with 〈◊〉 Sunne that as his beames rise and spread open in the morning like a Curtaine 〈◊〉 the hearbe also openeth her leaues and glories and as it were attending vpon 〈◊〉 beames her flower riseth as he riseth and when the Sunne is in his Meridian or â—oone point then the flower standeth and looketh straight vpright and as the â—unne declineth so it likewise declineth and in the euening as hee shutteth in his â—eames so it also closeth vp her flowers and remaineth as it were hid and lockt vp 〈◊〉 the next morning This Helitropian neuer beareth on one stalke aboue one flowâ—â—â— but it is exceeding large and great being euer at least halfe a foot in the diameter 〈◊〉 is round and â—lat fashioned and enuironed with yellow leaues of a bright golden 〈◊〉 it groweth also vpon a great thicke stalke straight vpright and high from 〈◊〉 ground it beareth also verie manie seeds which as soone as they are ripe are like Marigold seeds white rough and semiciâ—cled The best time to sow it is in the â—pring time at the wane of the Moone and it is verie quicke and speedie in growâ—â—g The greatest glorie it hath is the beautie thereof yet it hath all those vertues â—hich the Marigold hath and cureth the same inâ—irmities Contrarie to this is the flower of the Night which is verie memorable for the 〈◊〉 faire flowers which it beareth It is therefore called the flower of the Night 〈◊〉 at the Sunnes rising it shuts vp her flowers and at his setting spreads them open 〈◊〉 and so flourisheth with great beautie all the night long his flowers are of 〈◊〉 colours some white some red some carnation and some yellow some interâ—ixt and some entire insomuch that to behold it either in the morning or in the 〈◊〉 it lookes like a most fine piece of Arras or Tapistrie to the great wonder of 〈◊〉 beholders when they shall see so manie seuerall colours proceeding from one 〈◊〉 without anie artificiall labour or other sophistication It is to be planted or 〈◊〉 in the moneth of March when the Moone is encreasing the ground being 〈◊〉 and rich and well tilled and ordered before hand Tulipan is a Plant which growes about two or three foot from the ground and 〈◊〉 a verie faire flower yet commonly not before it be three yeares old it deâ—ighteth to grow neere vnto the Flower-de-luce and would be planted soone after Winter in the new of the Moone The first yeare it putteth forth but one leafe verie â—arge and of a greene colour the second yeare it putteth forth two leaues and the â—hird yeare three leaues together with the knob or button which beareth the flower â—nd all long before the approaching of Winter as soone as the three leaues are â—prung vp which are euer neere vnto the earth the stemme shooteth vpward a good â—eight without leaues as smooth as a cudgell till it be come to his full growth Now of these Tulipans there are diuers kinds and are distinguished onely by the different â—olours of their flowers for some are white some red some blew some yellow some Orange some of a Violet colour and indeed generally of anie colour whatsoeuer â—xcept greene yet it is to be noted that these Tulipans which are thus of one enâ—â—re colour are but common and ordinarie for those which are most rare and preciâ—â—â— are of diuers colours mixt together and in semblance like the flower of the Night before spoken of Againe there
〈…〉 also that it may grow the fairer and fuller leafe it will be good to water the 〈◊〉 â—oft with water wherein hath been steeped for the space of one whole day drie thyme somewhat bruised If you be disposed to gather the seed you must gather also the flowers wherein it is contained seeing they cannot be sundred A Cataplasme made of thyme boyled in Wine appeaâ—eth the paine of the Sciatiâ—â—ca and the windinesse of the bodie and matrin The smelling of thyme is soueraigne to raise them that haue the Falling-sicknesse out of their fit and also to keepe them from their fit by decking their bed about with the leaues thereof The oft vsing of thyme with wine or whay is good for melancholicke persons Winter Sauourie craueth no fat manured or well tilled ground but rather an â—pen stonie and light ground lying so as the Sunne may shine full vpon it Both Thyme and Winter Sauourie are good for the nourishing of bees and for the preserâ—ing and seasoning of meats they are also called fine sebtill or small and slender hearbes Organie otherwise called bastard Margerome loueth a rough stonie peble weake and yet well fuâ—nisht ground and vvithall craueth a manured ground as also to be watered vntill it be growne vp to his full bignesse notwithstanding it be seene â—o grow in many places without watering or dunging It may be remoued of little â—prouts or sciences and the lower end set vpward to the end that it may put forth new â—prings and shoots and be sown of his seed the which the elder it is so much the sooâ—er it will put forth of the earth although that organie do not ordinarily shew it selfe before the 30 or 40 day after the sowing of it in many places it is sowne neere vnto â— because they willingly load themselues from thence and make singular honie Organie boyled in Wine and layed vpon the region of the raines doth take away and vndoe the difficultie of making vvater being boyled in wine and drunke it is good against venimous beasts or the stingings of Scorpions and Spiders A Cataplasme made of Organie and Barly meale boyled together resolueth the tumours vnder the eares The decoction thereof is good to comfort the sinews and the relaxed and weake parts the seed thereof drunke vvith Wine doth prepare and dispose a vvoman to conceiue the flowers and leaues of the sayd Organie dried at the fire in an earthen test or melting pot and being wrapped vp verie hot in a cloth and applied vnto the head and kept fast tied thereunto doth cure the rheume comming of cold Hyssope affecteth a place free from shadow and lying open vpon the Sunne it â—ay be set or sowne about the twelfth of March It must be cut in the moneth of August and dried to put in pottage in Winter Amongst other principall vertues that it hath it is of great vse for the affects of â—he lungs and to prouoke vvomens termes of there be a broth made thereof to sup â—asting in the morning Some say that the syrope of Hyssope taken oftentimes with â—owerfold so much of the vvater of Pellitorie of the wall causeth the stone and much grauell to auoyd from the reines Hyssope with figs rue and honie boyled together â—n water and drunke is good for those that are short breathed and for old and hard â—oughs stampt with salt cummine and honie and applied healeth the stingings of Scorpions stampt with oyle and rubbed it killeth lice pills made of hyssope â—orehound and pionie roots doe heale the falling-sicknesse Sommer sauourie doth delight in an open Sunne shining place and therefore must be set or sowne in such a one not in a fat or manured ground for it is often seen grow of it selfe in leane grounds and neere vnto the Sea It groweth more delightâ—ully and of a better tast if it be sowne amongst onions It is verie good for sauce to â—eat The leaues and flowres applied vnto the head in forme of a cap or garland doth away the drowsily inclined A Cataplasme made of sauorie and wheat meale â—oth cure distillations The Sciatiâ—â—â— Coriander â—orteth well with any kind of ground notwithstanding in a fat and â—ew ground it groweth a great deale more aboundantly and it seeketh for an hot â—ire againe that which groweth in a sunnie place doth ouerthriue that vvhich groweth in a shadowed place when you goe about to sow it chuse the eldest seed you can get for by how much it is the elder by so much it is the better so that it 〈◊〉 not mouldie and foughtie Sow it also in a fat and moist ground and yet 〈…〉 a leane ground and to cause it to spring vp the sooner you must steepe the 〈…〉 water two daies before you sow it If you must dung the ground where it is to be sowne it must be with Sheepe or Goats dung rather than anie other The excessiue heat thereof bringeth Head-ach and the trembling of the 〈◊〉 being eaten after meat it comforteth digestion and dispelleth windinesse so that 〈◊〉 be prepared The way to prepare it is as followeth You must hauing dried it 〈◊〉 cast vpon it verie good wine and vineger mixt together and leaue it thus sprinklâ—â— and wet the space of foure and twentie houres then drie it vp and keepe it for Physicke vse being stamped in vineger and cast vpon flesh it keepeth it from 〈◊〉 it prouoketh womens termes and some say that looke how manie seeds a woman drinketh with white wine so manie daies shall her termes continue 〈…〉 drunke with the iuice of Pomegranats killeth the Wormes in children The 〈◊〉 thereof with Ceruse Litharge of Siluer Vineger and Oyle of Roses 〈…〉 Wild fire and all Rednesse The seed stamped in Vineger doth keepe the 〈◊〉 from corrupting in Summer Also to drinke the iuice thereof with Honey 〈◊〉 Wine killeth Wormes and adding the seedes bruised thereto it helpeth a 〈◊〉 Feuer Sage as well the little as the great it planted of branches wrythen at the foot 〈◊〉 also of roots in the Spring and Autumne It is sowne also at the same time The 〈◊〉 delighteth to be laid about with Lee ashes It must be set neere vnto Rue to 〈◊〉 from Adders and Lizards which vse to take vp their lodging neere vnto Sage 〈◊〉 may be knowne by the leaues which haue their tops oftentimes withered and dried the same comming of hauing beene touched by Serpents Sage refuseth neither 〈◊〉 nor cold ayre how beit naturally it groweth in a barren stoâ—â—e and ill 〈◊〉 ground and that in such sort as that in some places of Spaine the mountaine◠〈…〉 ouer-growne therewith and the Countrey inhabitants burne no other wood Noâ—withstanding to grow faire it would be well digged about and kept clean◠〈◊〉 leaues and stalkes that are dead It hath a singular vertue to comfort the â—inewes that are hurt by being 〈…〉 or otherwise become weake
sweet of smell and such as will neuer faile but alwaies hold and bring forth in their season besides that a man may fit the root and branchâ—â— thereof to make a shadow Such Roses are not good to make conserues or distilled water nor for anie vse in Physicke onely they are good to drie and put amongst Linnen and other Apparrell because of their good smell It is true that some say that they loosen the bellie Looke further in the third Booke in the Chapter of the speciall properties of Grafting and Planting To haue Roses that shall smell verie sweet you must plant your Rose-tree in a place that is verie drie or else to set it round about with Garlicke The Roses will come early if you make a little trench of some two hands wide round about the Rose-tree and therein powre warme water morning and euening and yet this must not be attempted before it begin to put forth his buds You shall doe the like if you place your Rose-tree in baskets or pots of earth and order them after the manner of timely Gourds and Cucumbers as hath beene taught before You may keepe new Roses in their liuelinesse if you put them in the lees of Oyle so as that the lees may swimme aboue them Others pull vp greene Barly roots and all wherein they wrap Roses as yet not blowne and so put them together in a 〈◊〉 that is not pitched The way to haue greene Roses is if you graft the Rose-tree vpon an old Colewort stalke or vpon the bodie of an Oake but then the Roses will 〈◊〉 no smell You may make the Carnation Rose white if you perfume it with Brimstone 〈◊〉 such time as it beginneth to spread You may haue Roses of a yellow colour if after you haue planted the Rose-tree vvith his naturall earth neere vnto the broome you bore through the broome stalke vvith a vvimble and plant in the same hole diuers roots or shoots of the Rose-tree scraped round about so farre as they are to lye in the hole and after tie and make theâ— fast vnto the broome plant with mortar and whenas you see the hole bored in the stalke to be growne vp againe you shall cut off the broome stalke aboue the plaâ—â— vvhere you bored the hole and shall let the Rose-tree to put forth his shoots and 〈◊〉 by this meanes you shall haue yellow Roses The vertues of the Roses are sufficiently knowne vnto euerie one Some distill the vvhite and Prouence rose vvhich if you vvill haue it to retaine the full qualitie and vertue of the Rose together with the smell and fauour of the same you must distill in a glasse vessell and not in lead as is ordinarily accustomed Some make 〈◊〉 and syropes of carnation Roses which haue force to loosen the bellie and to purge the humours offending in serious and cholericke matter as also good for 〈…〉 the jaundise the obstructions of the liuer and beating of the heart The yellow growing within the Rose which is a flower accompanied as it vvere vvith smal haires doth stay the vvhite flowers of vvomen the white end of the leaues of Roses are good in a decoction to stay all manner of fluxes the cup hath the same force and vertues the seed and vvooll contained within the button of the Rose as also the whole button dried and made into powder is singular good to stay womenâ— whites and termes for the scalding of the vvater for the disease called Gonorrhaea taken the weight of a dram with sowre red wine Box-tree is planted of shoots or boughs after the twelfth day of Nouember It delighteth in hillie places and mountaines and groweth verie well in cold drie and vvindie places It must not be planted neere the place where bees are kept for the flower killeth them sodainly Some affirme that it corrupteth the ayre by the stinking smell it hath and for this cause it would be as sparingly planted in the garden as possibly may be Box-tree is better to make combes and other durable instruments of than for to vse in medicine if it were not that Physitians doe hold that the scrapings or râ—â—ped powder of Box and the leaues thereof boyled in Lee doe cause the haire to looke â—ed Some likewise doe thinke that it hath the like properties that Guaiacum hath in decoctions for the French disease but herein I referre my selfe rather to experiâ—nce than to reason Broome as well the small as the great is planted of shoots and boughs in the inâ—rease of the Moone about the Calends of March It may likewise be sowne and it requireth a drie and sandie ground The flowers as also the seed doe prouoke vrine and breake the stone as well of the reines as of the bladder the flowers prouoke vomit taken in a drinke the leaues and crops boyled in wine or water are good for the dropsie and obstructions of the liuer spleene and kidneyes some vse the stalkes of broome to tie their vines as also to make ropes and sackes of and that by ripening it in water as they doe hempe Spanish broome groweth also in drie places it must be remoued after the first yeare that it is sowne it is sowne in Februarie and remoued in March the next yere after the flowers in decoctions procure vomite after the manner of white hellebor the seed alone doth loosen the bellie and forceth downeward great store of water Furze grow in vntilled and sandie grounds the leaues boyled in water or wine do stay all manner of â—luxes The Cedar-tree is verie rare in these countries so that if you will haue it in your garden you must assigne it a well husbanded ground and lying open vpon the Sun notwithstanding the places where it is found most growing be cold and moist mountaines and full of snow if you doe well you must sow in pots of earth and cases or impaled places the small and exceeding little seed that commeth thereof The liquor thereof put into the hollow parts of the teeth doth stay their ach being anuointed it killeth the wormes and preserueth bodies from rotting The wood is verie pleasant to looke vpon and to smell vnto whereupon some vse it in steed of perfumes Saâ—in is planted as box and groweth much better if it be watered with Wine Lees or sprinkled with the dust of tile stones The leaues as well in decoction as in perâ—umes prouoke the termes and expell the after-birth and dead child they also cause to fall off the warts growing vpon a mans yard As concerning Iunipâ—r it affecteth the tops of mountaines and stonie ground for to grow well in and by how much it is the more â—ost of the winds and pinched with cold so much the fairer it groweth The fruit thereof is good for the stomach for weake and broken people and against all sorts of venime whether it be drunke or taken in a perfume as also against an
that the Sunne may come but sparingly to it to wit euen when the shadow 〈…〉 be hard at the foot if it notwithstanding it delighteth much in places neere 〈◊〉 the Sea in leane and thin grounds where the ayre is warme and temperate of it â—elfe It must be planted in Autumne and in the Spring time of sets of whole plants 〈◊〉 of branches and in March it is planted verie fitly and seasonably when as the â—ap â—putteth vp and commeth to the barbe It may likewise be fowne after the foure 〈◊〉 day of March in a ground that is well manured one foot within the ground 〈◊〉 foure berries together and at the yeares end to remoue it to some other place The Bay-tree feareth the cold aboue all other things and for this cause it must be planted in this countrie in a firme and solide ground as hath beene said to the end that during the times of snow frost and freesing vpon raine the roots may be defended from cold which although the boughes and braunches should be dead by the cold of Winter it would yet continue to bring forth new boughes in the Spring time for the fastnesse and closenesse of the ground will haue let and stayed the ayre from hauing pierced vnto the roots And in caâ—e the ground where you haue planted your Bay-tree should be sandie drie and barren then it will be your part during the time of Winter to spread and cast ashes and straw about the roots of the Bay-tree to preserue the heat of the earth and to withhold the cold from piercing vnto the roots Then for to procure a flourishing and faire Bay-tree two things are necessarie the heat of the ayre and the fastnesse of the ground of which if the one be wanting the Bay-tree will not grow any thing at all or if it grow yet it will be buâ— a small and starued thing as we may easily make triall and proofe in this â—countrie The Bay-tree may be grafted vpon it selfe as also vpon the Dogg-tree the Ash-tree and the Cherrie-tree as we will declare more largely in the third Booke The Myrâ—â—e tree is of two sorts the one is a darke greene the other is a light greene the one beareth a yellow flowre and the other a white but of these the later is the better but euerie sort of Myrâ—le craueth a hot Countrie a light sandie leaâ—â—â— and brittle kind of ground and yet notwithstanding this it groweth well vpon the Sea bankes as also vpon the sides of pooles lakes and fennes It is planted either of young boughs borowed and cut downe for the excessiâ—e ranknesse of them after 〈…〉 foure or fiue yeares old or from the shoots putting forth at the root thereof â—epeâ—â—ting them from the maine root so soone as they be put vp and from after a yeare of their first planting to remoue them or else of seed rubbed and chaâ—ed betwixt your hands and after thrust into an old band or small cord the same buried all along according to that length that it is of in a furrow cast a foot deepe or thereabout and well manured with rotten dung and watering the place The myrtle-tree would be planted in the highest part of the Garden for by his smell it maketh the place most delightsome it may be â—owne also after the manner of the Bay-tree but then it will not grow vp till after a long tâ—me It will grow both high and faire if you make it cleane and scoâ—re it often round about and it will bâ—ing forth much and great fruit if you plant Rose-trees neere vnto it or else plant it neere vnto Oliue-trees in the countrie where they grow for the Myrtle and Oliue trees doe helpe one another greatly It loueth and craueth to be watred with mans vrine but especially with sheepes or when you can get neither of these with warme water wherein it delighteth exceedingly as sometimes appeared by a Myrtle planted neere vnto a bath which to euerie mans sight grew verie pleasantly and beautifully though there were no reckoning or account made thereof Myrtle-berries put in a vessell which is not pitched but well couered doth keepe a long time greene and fresh Some hold it better to put them in hanging vpon their boughs The Myrtle 〈◊〉 nothing so much as cold and taketh delight to be neere vnto pooles brookes and maritime places If you water it oft with warme water it will beare fruit 〈…〉 any kernell The fruit is called Myrtle-berries It must be gathered when it is 〈…〉 great while after the Rose is fallen and shaken It may be grafted vpon another of his owne kind and the white vpon the blacke and the blacke vpon the Apple-treâ— Medlar-tree and Pomegranet-tree After vintage time in the countrie of Prouence where there is a great number of Myrtle-trees the birds feed of the fruit of the Myrtle-tree and thereby become so fat and their flesh so pleasant to eat as that men eat birds so fatted all whole withâ—â—â— pulling out of the garbage insomuch as it is growne into a common prouerbe 〈◊〉 the excrement is better than the flesh The leaues bayes or berries of myrtle-tree by their astringent force and 〈◊〉 doe stay all manner of fluxes whether it be of the bellie or of the termes or principally of the whites the juice and distilled water of Myrtle-tree are singular good to drinke to keepe vp the falling fundament The decoction of the seed of Myrtle-tree doth blacke the haire and keepeth it from falling The berries of the Myrtle-tree may serue in steed of pepper the sauce made therewith worketh the like effect and is singular good to comfort a languishing stomach myrtle berries euen do comfort the heart and cure the beating of the same the ashes of the drie leaues of myrtle-tree burned within a pot of raw earth so throughly as that they become white being afterward washed haue one and the same vertue that Spodium or Pompholâ—â— hath If you cannot make the myrtle-tree to grow in your garden you must content your selfe with the Myrt-tree which craueth the same ground and manner of ordeâ—â—â— that the Myrtle-tree as being a kind of wild Myrtle-tree and which may be 〈…〉 the steed of Myrtle-tree vvhen it cannot be come by as hauing the same or 〈…〉 vertues Butchers-broome is also a kind of wild myrtle which groweth commonly in Forests and Vnderwoods from whence it is better to translate it into your garden 〈◊〉 either to sow or plant it He that is desirous to plant Tamariske in his garden must make choyce of the moist and wettest ground and for want of a sufficient moist ground to water 〈…〉 It is likewise seene that Tamariske doth grow faire and tall by ponds 〈◊〉 and other standing waters It is planted either of roots or sprouts and that from the 〈◊〉 of October till the foure and twentieth of December yea vntill the beginning of Februarie but yet it thriueth best being set of roots there is
no frost almost 〈…〉 hurt it especially the root for when it is once taken it putteth forth continually 〈◊〉 and boughs along the plant The wood is principally commended for that it assuageth and diminisheth 〈◊〉 spleene in such as haue it stopt too full of melancholicke humours and hence 〈…〉 that many troubled with that disease doe eat and drinke in vessells made of 〈◊〉 wood thereof And some likewise doe counsell to giue swine that are troubled 〈◊〉 too much fulnesse of the spleene water to drinke in their â—â—oughâ— hauing first â—â—â—ched therein coales made of the wood of Tamariske The decoction of the 〈…〉 damaske raisons in good for leprous persons and such as haue their spleene 〈◊〉 as also for the pockes Bastard Sene called of the Latines 〈◊〉 delighteth in a fat ground and well battilled with Sheepes dung It groweth not planted but vpon seed and it is meet that the seed be steeped first a long time in water euen vntill it begin to sprout The time to sow it is about the beginning of the moneth of Iune It must not haue any of the branches cut off nor be pruned or touched before the fourth yeare The fruit serueth to good vse for the fatting of Sheepe and maketh them to haue much milke it is good also to fat chickens bees goats and kyne Some take it to be Sene but they doe greatly deceiue and beguile themselues The Caper-tree in many countries groweth without any tilling â—n â—arable ground but where it wanteth if it must be sowne it must be in a hot countrie and a drie stonie and sandie place which shall before hand be inclosed with a little ditch which shall be filled with stone and lyme or else with fat earth for to be a fortresse and defence vnto it that so the roots of the Caper-tree and thereby all shoots that might grow vp from them may be kept from breaking forth and spreading further than this ditch for if they should be stayed and kept backe from spreading by some such meanes it would come to passe that within a small time they would ouer-runne the whole Garden and plant themselues in euerie corner of the same Notwithstanding the Caper-tree is not so noysome in that respect because it may be pulled vp as it is by inueniming I know not by what venimous humour or juice the whole ground and making of it barren It hath no need except a verâ—e little to be any way tilled or fashioned for it groweth well ynough without any thing done vnto it in â—ields and desart grounds It may be sowne in the Spring and Autumne The fruit of the Caper-tree as well the great as the small is good in a fallade to prouoke appetite cleanse the flegmaticke stomach and to take away the obstructions of the liuer but principally of the spleene the rind of the root and leaues haue the like vertue but more effectually Capers both the great and the small whiles they are yet greene and not salted doe nourish a great deale more both of them are in request not so much for that they are fruit as for their manner of preseruing which is performed either with vinegar or else with salt brine for Capers not pickled are of a verie sharpe and vnpleasant tast but the vinegar wherein they are preserued doth make them verie acceptable vnto the stomach but the great ones because they haue both more juice and more pulpe are a great deale better than the little ones though the little ones are more delightsome to the tast than the great ones because they are fuller of vinegar than the great ones Agnus Castuâ— seeing it commeth verie neere to the nature and condition of the Willow and of the same colour with the leaues disagreeing onely in smell craueth to be planted in a watrie place where there is much shadow or at the least to be oft watered The leaues seed and flowers are singular good for them which would liue chastly taken inwardly or applyed outwardly for some say that the leaues 〈◊〉 or â—lowres put into little bâ—gges and applied vnto the reines in bed do helpe to keepe the chastitie of the bodie which is the cause that in many countries it is seene planted almost in all the Monkeries The decoction of the leaues is good against the sealding and burning Vrine as well in drinking as in fomenting it as also against the obstructions of the liuer spleene and matrix If you carrie a branch of Agnus Castus about you you shall not grow wearie no not after much trauell The fume thereof taken in at the secret parts of women doth quench the vnsatiable lust and burning desire vnto venerie and carnall copulation Beane-tree or S. Iohns-bread bearing a long flat and broad fruit like vnto that of Caâ—â—ia would be planted of new shoots in Februarie and Nouember in a drie ground lying open vpon the Sun and where as there are verie deepe ditches made It may also be grafted in a Plum-tree or Almond-tree in any case you must neuer thinke vpon the sowing of it because so it would neuer beare any fruit but would die verie quickly it must be oft watered The Codâ— are good either to fat children or â—winâ— but not so fit to feed men withall It is true that the fruit doth loosen the bellie gently as it were after the manner of Cassia There 〈…〉 sorts of the Date-tree some beare fruit and some 〈…〉 and of the fruitfull some beare a reddish fruit and some a white and 〈…〉 gray Furthermore some are males and some females some are high and 〈…〉 some are stooping downe and but low and therefore called the little or 〈…〉 tree and some of a middle size betwixt both but howsoeuer they differ yet 〈◊〉 they agree that they all desire a hot ayre a great deale more than temperate for in a hot Countrey it bringeth forth verie faire and ripe fruit and of it selfe is 〈◊〉 kept and preserued without anie fâ—rther paine or â—are except it be about the 〈◊〉 of it where in a temperate Region it either ripeneth not his fruit or 〈…〉 none at all It craueth a 〈…〉 and nitrous ground foreseene that it be 〈…〉 moist and this is the cause why it â—roâ—pereth well vpon the Sea coast and if the ground where it be planted be not such it must be watered with salt water 〈…〉 brine It is planted of small Plants with roots in Aprill and May the Plant being well layd about with fat earth Some also sow the new stones of Dates and they bring forth their trees in October two cubits deepe in the ground and that mingled with ashes and well enriched with Goats dung and the sharpe side of it must be vpward it must be watered euerie day and euerie yeare there must be â—alt shed 〈◊〉 it or else which is better that it be oftentimes watered with water that is 〈◊〉 salt Againe that it may grow high and faire it
there is no need of any other labour but keeping of it cleane from hurtfull weeds vntill such time as the said Madder be readie to be gathered in September for to take the seed of it The choyce of the roots which you intend to set and plant must be out of the countrie of high Prouence being more Easterly and coole and as for the sight and tast of them they must be more yellow thicke and stringed comming neere vnto the colour of the true Prouence Orange-tree verie bitter in tast and in seething for the triall of it more red and full of juice that is to say not so drie and withered The time to plant is from March be ended vnto mid-May and as for the best and most profit to be expected from it it is not to be attained or come by till after the two first yeares after the first planting of it and withall you must make a sure defence about your ground against the comming in of cattell for there can no greater hurt happen vnto it In Italie they vse not to take vp the roots of Madder till after they haue continued ten yeares in the ground either set or sowne but they cut the boughes of it euerie yeare to haue the seed and after they couer the roots one after another laying two fingers depth of earth vpon euerie one the measure bâ—ing â—â—ken from his chiefe and principall to the end the frost may not hurt them and that so the roots may grow the thicker after the eight or tenth yeare they pull vp the roots drying them in the Sunne and afterward when they would grind or presse them they doe further drie them in a great Ouen made for the purpose and so presse them vnder a Mill-stone and this is called the fine Madder Thus they haue found by expâ—â—ence that looke how much the longer they delay the gathering of the root so much the more Madder haue they euerie yeare and that fine which is more than if they should take vp the roots euerie yeare You may both sow it and plant it in the samâ— place where you haue taken it vp or which is better sow that place for the nexâ— two or three yeares following with wheat because it will beare verie faire and great store thereof in as much as the field wherein Madder hath beene sowne is â—ade much fairer and better thereby as whereof it may be said this ground hath rested it selfe seeing the root hath done nothing but brought forth boughs for seed and that the leaues falling from them doe as much feed the ground as the ground doth the roots and boughes But Autumne being come and when you see that the hearbe beginneth to lookâ— yellow and to loose his naturall colour you shall draw it out or pull it vp with the spade or pickaxe and shall strip the roots from their leaues which you shall cast vpon small heapes to drie for the space of three or foure daies if the weather be such as it should or else sixe or eight daies in a rainie and moist weather then you shal cauâ—â— them to be taken vp dusted and scraped that so they may haue none of their haiâ—ie strings at them and when they are thus made cleane you shall keepe them whole or ground into powder either grosse and great or more fine and small either for your owne vse or for the sale Madder is in this one thing much to be maruelled at in that it colourâ—â—h his vrine that shall but hold it in his hands and which is more it maketh the bones and flesh of those cattell red which haue beene fed with it some certaine time some say that the powder of it is so penetratiue and so taketh vp the nosâ—hrills as that it inâ—â—nimeth and killeth many in a few yeares The decoction procureth vâ—ine and thâ— termes of women and coloureth egges red that shall be boyled with it The 〈◊〉 because they are rough and stiffe are good to scowre brasse vessell CHAP. LVI Of Woad AS concerning Woad it is tilled in a field and requireth much labour 〈◊〉 as the Nauets or Turneps though there be no part of it in request but the vppermost and that which is furthest off from flowers and stalkes it doth not feare frost raine or extraordinarie cold Indeed it doth not craue any long rested fat ground but a strong ground and such as may be said to be in good plight rather than an indifferent and light it groweth better also in groundâ— which haue layed fallow three or foure yeares before or which haue beene Medoâ—ground two yeares before than in grounds which haue beene well tilled which 〈◊〉 cleane contrarie vnto Madder which craueth as much helpe as the ground oppointed for wheat or vines yea and it craueth the rest of soyle and set from one yeare to one for otherwise the roots when they are set doe degenerate oftentimes and miâ—â—â—rie loosing their force and goodnesse And whereas Madder doth fat the groâ—â—d Woad doth make it leane and therefore it must not be sowne in a leane groâ—â—d where it euermore groweth but little and where it proueth almost nothing woâ—â—â— but rather in a ground that is well manured before it be sowne as also renewed wiâ—â— dung when it is to be sowne But the best approued ground of all other to sow woad in is that which hath laine long swarth and hath seldome beene broken vp 〈◊〉 wherein you are to obserue that in the ploughing vp of such grounds you must turne vp a great and a deepe furrow laying them broad and flat 〈…〉 that the seed may be throughly well couered and that the swatth rotting vnderneath and above the same may be as a warme and comfortable meanure to make it flourish and increase Being sowne of seed it must be diligently harrowed to the end it may be wel couered and incorporate with the earth and when the planes haue put forth their leaues the height of two fingers you must weed and digge it about mid-Aprill or somewhat later according as the time hath beene faire or rainie then shortly afterward you must gather the leaues and they being gathâ—red you must weed and diggâ— the feet of the said roots 〈◊〉 left voyd of their leaues and this must be continued â—uerie moneth that is to say Iune Iulie August and Sepâ—â—mber in such sort that 〈◊〉 as the leaues are gathered from foot to foot fiue times so they must be digged 〈◊〉 the earth cast as oft and that so soone as the gathering of the leaues is past and this labour of digging is ordinarily to be seuen â—â—mes gone ouer that is to say the fiâ—e times now spoken of and the two first which are before any gathering of the leaues doe fall The manner of gathering them is in this soâ—t When the leaues begin to be coloured about the edges and not in the middest you must take them from plant to plant in your hand and breake them off in such manner from the
to be planted against a wall are peâ—ches abricoâ—s nectaryas all â—orts of sweet plumbs â—herries oliues almonds and such like for the reflection of the Sunne cannot beat or play vpon them too much they are so infinitely in loue with the same And in as much as the Orchard is altogether dedicated and appointed for the matter of planting grafting and transplanting of trees in it we will assigne out certeine places wherein the â—urceriâ— of seeds and the other of stockes may conueniently be appointed which nurcerie of seeds shall be as a well furnished shop to afford new store of plants to furnish the orchard at all assaies and times of need We will first sow our nurceriâ— of seeds on that side by which we go into the Orchard and close vnto it the nurcerie of stockes where shall be planted wild ones reâ—â—oued from out of the seed nurcerie to be afterward grafted vpon in their time and season On the other side we will plant fruits vpon nut kernells and transplant and graâ—â— them after diuers waies In those parts of the two great void places where they are sundred the one from the other with a great path we will according to their kinds â—ute out and set out great trees and at the end of them we will pricke out oziâ—â—â— so as they may for their better growth receiue refreshment from some small brook or waâ—er course CHAP. II. Of the seed Nurcerie that is to say of the planting of Trees on Pippins or Seeds CErtaine it is that Trees grow and spring out of the earth either vvithout the vvorke and industrie of man or else by his â—oyle and skill painâ—ully imployed of such as grow by the skill and industrie of man some grow of seeds that is to say of kernells commonly called Pippins or of other seeds as of Nuâ— kernells cherrie stones plumme stones c. being thrust into the ground othersome of shoots and small twigges branching from the root at the 〈◊〉 of the Tree hauing their nourishing roots and drawing fibres from the full growne roots of the Tree or else of themselues Some grow of buds and bloâ—â—omes as â—â—â—â—ces or of young braunches or of boughes some of the multiplying of branches if especially the Tree be yet young and pliant others are graâ—ted one vpon another We will first intreat of the making of them grow in the seed Nurâ—â—rie of their seeds and so in order afterward vve vvill intreat of other meanes of making Treâ—â— to grow For the ordering therefore of your â—eed Nuâ—ceriâ— and furnishing of it vvith Pearâ—-Trees Apple-trees Quince-trees and others growing of seeds you shall cause to be digged good and deepe a great quarter in a good earth and cherishing â—ould and that if it be possible a Winter before you sow them to the end it may thereby become well seasoned and you shall almost mixe amongst it halfe as much dung as the earth comes to that you turne vp that so it may ripen and rot vvith the 〈◊〉 and so be kept in great ridges vnto Cyder time vvhich is in September and October At vvhich time take the droâ—â—e of the said fruits as it commeth out of the presse or a little after so that it be before the seeds be rotted or corrupted and chase and vvipe them verie vvell betwixt your hands then lay flat and square your plot or quarter and 〈◊〉 good and close and make it out into borders of the bredth of foure sector theâ—â—â—bout and making paths by casting vp the â—ould betwixt â—uerie two to the end thâ—â— they may be vved vpon the one side and the other vvithout treading vpon them This being done sow your drosse there in such sort as that the earth may therewith be lightly couered and then afterward couer it againe vvith the earth vvhich you haue cast vp in making of the paths or hollowed furrows betwixt the said bordâ—â— and rake them ouer afterward that so the drosse of the Apples may be vvell broken and spred not lying together on heapes This is an excellent vvay for the sowing of much ground and a great deale of seed because if one pippin come vp of a 〈◊〉 yet the husbandmans labour is saued and his profit sufficient but in case where such plentie is not but that a man must â—rom an Apple or two get all the seed â—e must â—ow or that by chaunce lighting of some few especiall pippins vvhose like â—â—ockes â—e is desirous to be maister of in this case you shall by no meanes bestow them into the earth thus rude and carelesly because it is to be vnderstood that the kernell of the Apple is a pleasanter and more sweet seed than any other vvhatsoeuer and thereby intiâ—â—th vvormes and such like creeping things sooner to deuoure and eat them 〈◊〉 any other therefore to keepe them from that miscarriage and to make them take soone you shall take a common garden pot such as you vse to plant Gillo-flowers in and filling it vvith fine mould vvithin three fingers of the brim lay in your seed and then 〈◊〉 vpon them other fine mould till the pot be full and so let them stand where they may receiue both Sunne and Raine till they sprout and be growne at least halfe a foot aboue the earth then hauing drest a piece of earth and manured it vvell for the purpose you shall take those young plants together vvith the earth and all vvhich is about them and place them orderly in the new drest ground at least 〈◊〉 foot distance one from another and these also you shall place in comely rowes so 〈◊〉 euerie eye may distinguish the seuerall alleys that passeth betweene them Other waies there be also of sowing of pippins as on the bankes of ditches new cast vp or else amongst the quick-set or in smal â—urrows digged and turned vp for the purpose and such like but yet none is so certaine as this alreadie rehearsed Otherwise driâ— the forâ—said pippins and keepe them to the Winter following and afterward about the later end of Nouember or the beginning of the Spring â—â—ow them in manner as hath beene â—aid without casting vp any earth out of the passage â—urrowes betwixt the borders when you shall measure them out but rake them in a little vvith your rake and thrâ—w thereupon good store of thornes and boughes verie shortly after you haue thus sowne them that the hennes or hogges may not doâ— them any injurie When the pippins are put forth of the earth and growne for the space of a yeare take away the thornes and weed away all the weeds from amongst them as oft as you can and suffer not any one to grow vp in height with them for feare that when you shall come to pull vp a stiffe and strong growne weed you pull not vp therewithall the little pippin and seed of the Tree Water them if the Sommer shall fall out drie and begin to vveed and lop them to acquaint them with the hedgebill and to
you will remouâ— them 〈◊〉 they are or plant them out of their nurserie without other manner of grafting them they vvill not faile to bring you good fruit for the taste and eating as also to 〈◊〉 Cyder of but the best fruit doth alwaies come by grafting for the fruit comming vpon grafting doth alwaies retaine a better forme and groweth more and more kind and withall much the greater but that which groweth of a kernell doth chaung◠〈◊〉 oft as the tree is changed which beareth it And besides you must note that 〈◊〉 all trees which haue a strong fruit grow better of kernels than of boughs yeâ— so it 〈◊〉 that a late â—eed doth bring forth but an ill-fauoured plant especially the said â—eed being put besides his familiar and well pleasing ground CHAP. V. Of Plants Siences and Shooâ—â— THe little siences of Cherrie-trees growne thicke with hairie 〈◊〉 and those also which grow vp from the roots of the great Cherrie-trees being remoued doe grow better and sooner than vpon stones but then they must be taken away and planted whiles they are young 〈◊〉 whiles they be but two or three yeares old for when they are growne thicke they thriue not so well againe if you stay till they be growne groâ—â—e in remouing of 〈◊〉 you must then â—op them and strip them cleane of their braunches setting their great end in the earth the depth of a foot and after treading downe the earth and pricking downe withall at the foot of euerie plant a little stake to hold them fast and to let the vvinds and vvhatsoeuer other thing from harming them But especially you must see that you cut not siâ—nces at any other time than in Winter for that moisture and coolenesse during the time of Winter especially is a meanes to conserue and keepe them and thereupon also they grow and bring forth their fruit the better afterward The Mulberrie tree groweth after the same manner of little â—iences although the best way of planting it be by taking a twigge thereof from the great branches which are cut from the old tree of the length of a foot and setting it good and deepe in the ground and that in such sort as that the ground may couer it three or foure fingers and this done you must see that in Sommer it be watered diligently Fâ—â—berts in like manner doe grow of smal shoots which grow forth of the roots of good Filbere-trees that are well rooted these â—iences must not haue their braunches cut off when they are remoued except they be growne great and ful of branches but three yeares after that they are remoued if they doe not prosper and grow faire you must cut them close by the ground and they will put forth a bush of streight siences verie smooth and neat and of these you may chuse whether you will suffer the fairest onely or all together to grow vp and continue The siences of the Oliue-tree which you intend to transplant must be long and faire ones and full of grosse and thicke moisture so as that they may be taken and grasped in the hand and the barke thereby nothing hurt They must be drawne ouer with dung mixt with ashes the head and the foot and after laid in the earth as they vvere vpon the Tree the lower end more downeward and into the earth and the higher end more vpward and looking into the aire for else they will not take at all and this must be a generall obseruation in transplanting of all manner of siences The siences of a vvell stringed root of a good plum-tree not grafted doe yeeld being transplanted a fruit no vvhit inferiour vnto that of the chiefe and principall plum-trees from which you haue â—aken them But and if the old plum-trees be grafted you must also take grafts and graft them in other plum trees or wild cherrie-trees or vpon â—oure Cherrie-Trees and not to vngraâ—t siences to transplant them Garden plummes and hartlike cherries doe not grow naturally being planted of siences but desire rather to be grafted of grafts CHAP. VI. Of pricking downe or fastening in the earth of small or great braunches SPrigs or plants taken from boughs or branches doe grow more speedily and come to better perfection than the â—eed of kernels or the setting of stones especially if it be put a little besides his owne ground and soylie and of this sort are â—ig-trees quince-trees and pomâ—granâ—t-trees When a man is disposed to pricke downe some small sprig of a Mulberrie Figge Quince Cornell Pomegranat and Plum-tree or many sprigs of all these kinds and their diuers sorts he must cut them off betwixt the first of Nouember and the later end of December or a little after and he must see that these his sprigs be faire and well fauoured ones hauing a sound barke full of little eyes and as thicke as a sticke or thicker He must chuse such as be streight and full of moysture consisting of one onely rodd and of young vvood as of some three or foure yeares old and that they haue also as much old vvood as they haue young and they must be sharpened like a stake for the value of the length of halfe a foot but the bare must be left on vpon one side that their end which you meane to put into the ground must be writhen and steept in vvater or else you must cleaue it a little in quarters and make it stand vvide open and gape vvith a beane in the cleft or else some 〈◊〉 little small stone put in the middest thereof and so pricke it downe in the earth a foot dâ—â—pe or else let it in a little-boxe of pease full of water and so put them all into the ground together The braunches must be gathered vpon a tree that is a good handfull thicke and hath borne fruit they must likewise be verie â—ound and they may be watered with a pipe which goeth downe vnto the root Obserue and marke 〈◊〉 the place nature of the soyle and aspect or scituation of the tree from whence you haue gathered the branch to pricke it downe on the same side the like soyle and the same scituation and lay vpon it some Elder-tree if so be that you would not haue it 〈◊〉 shoot vp into a tall tree but to continue alwaies low the braunches being such they will take the better and not breake in the gathering To plant the Figge-tree after the manner of the Genowais which shall beare fruit within three yeares after and it may be thus planted all Sommer time there must be taken a Figge-tree branch that hath borne fruit two or three yeares and that 〈◊〉 hauing leaues and fruit vpon it or not it must be sharpened and cut biace and pâ—icked thicke about that end which shall be set into the ground and afterward planted in a pit halfe a foot deepe in such sort as that the top of it may abide aboue the ground with
and Fullers clay tempered together with water You may make Quinces of what fashiâ—â— you will if you teach them to grow in moulds of wood or baked earth As coâ—â—â—â—ning the meanes to keepe them we shall speake of that hereafter The garden and reclaimed Quince-tree beareth two sorts of fruits the 〈…〉 male which is called the Quince Apple the other the female which is called the Quincesse thus differing the male is lesse more writhled and wrinkled drier of a sweeter smell and of a more golden colour than the Quincesse the wild Quince is verie odoriferous but of a verie hard flesh If you graft a male Quince-tree vpon a female or the female vpon the male you shall haue tender Quinces and 〈◊〉 as may be eaten raw whereas the other are not fit to bee eaten before they 〈◊〉 prepared The smell of Quinces is contrarie vnto venime and poyson also the Quinâ—◠〈◊〉 selfe doth comfort the stomacke stay the flux of the bellie and make men to 〈…〉 sweet breath For which reason wise Solon as saith Plutarch did 〈…〉 onely the betrothed but also the married women that they should neuer lye 〈◊〉 their husbands but that they should first eat of the flesh of a Quince And yet notwithstanding the woman with child when she draweth neere the time of her deliâ—â—rance may not vse Quinces although that in vsing of them in the time of her beiâ—g with child they will be some meanes of her bringing forth of a faire babe Soâ—â— make a confection of Quinces called Marmalade which is verie soueraigne againâ—â— the flux of the bellie which is prepared and made in manner as we will shew in the fiue and fortieth chapter according vnto which patterne wee may make a laxatâ—â—â— Marmalade after this sort Take of Quinces cleansed from their Pippins cut theâ— in quarters but pare them not boyle them throughly in water then sâ—raine them through a cleane Linnen cloth and wring them out diligently then boyle them againe with Sugar putting thereto a sufficient quantitie of Rubarbe in powder This Marmalade purgeth verie speedily and withall comforteth the stomacke and the liuer In stead of Rubarbe you may put some other laxatiue thereunto as 〈◊〉 Agaricke or such like The Cydoniatum or Marmalade of Lyons is 〈…〉 Scammonie CHAP. XXVI Of Oranges Assyrian Citrons common Citrons Limons and Pome-adams THe Orange Assyrian Citron and Limon desire to be set vpon the South or South-west wind for being touched with such winds as are 〈◊〉 and moist they become more aboundant in iuice better coloured and thicker which is the cause that the Sea-coasts being haunted with 〈◊〉 said-winds doe abound with durable plants and such trees bringing â—orth 〈◊〉 fruitfully for others set vpon the North and North-east are not thereby so 〈◊〉 fitted Some make Nurseries of these kind of trees sowing their seeds in 〈◊〉 They will affirme and giue it out likewise that they grow of siences set and 〈◊〉 downe in small furrowes or stucke downe in baskets and some do◠〈…〉 vpon the stocke neere ynough vnto the root and that in Aprill and in May 〈◊〉 some say that they may be grafted after the manner of the Scutcheon like graft 〈◊〉 the moneths of Summer putting their pippins in a pot or basket neere vnto 〈◊〉 tree where you would they should be grafted or halfe swallowed but the 〈◊〉 certaine direction and instruction about these Trees is that which is set 〈◊〉 in the second Booke and whereunto also wee referre you for the same 〈◊〉 The Pome-adam-tree is much to be esteemed euen of the best Gardiners not in reâ—pect of his fruit which indeed is more beautifull than profitable in as much as it is â—â—either good to eat raw nor yet to preserue but onely fit to wash the hands or else to 〈◊〉 in the hand but to graft Citron-trees Orange-trees Limon-trees and Assyâ—â—an Citron-trees vpon as wee haue said in the second Booke because they prosper â—â—aruellously vpon this tree and bring forth verie quickly faire and great fruit espeâ—â—ally the Orange-tree We haue entreated in the second Booke of the differences 〈◊〉 Oranges Citrons Meâ—ons and Assyrian Citrons whereunto we will further adde 〈◊〉 the Citron of Assyria is of a verie good smell but of little sweetnesse or anie â—â—ther tast and therefore it is vsuall to eat his flesh with salt or sugar or with salt and â—â—ineger The Limon differeth from this kind of Citron because the Limon is lesse 〈◊〉 colour drawing toward a greene bunching out both aboue and below after the â—â—anner of womens nipples As for Pome-adams they are round twice or thrice as great as Oranges not haâ—â—ing a verie thicke rind rugged vneuen and hauing manie clefts or chaps varie maâ—ifestly appearing like to the prints of teeth Some thinke they had this name giuen â—f being the Apple which Adam did bite vpon in this earthly Paradise They are â—â—ellished almost like Limons but not altogether so pleasant If you cut it in the â—alfe and season it with the fine powder of Brimstone and after rost the same vnâ—â—er the ashes and rubbe therewith the itching bodie or anie part thereof it will â—eale the same CHAP. XXVII Of the Figge-tree FIgge-trees are either white carnation red pale or green and some also be blacke There are some that beare before the cold come others are more late in their fruit and againe of all these some beare a small fruit as namely the white ones and othersome a great and grosse fruit stanâ—â—â—ng out with great bellies as by name the blacke ones of which yet further there 〈◊〉 one kind that beareth long Figges hauing almost no bellies and these draw noâ—hing neere in goodnesse vnto the great bellied ones and those which are more short All sorts of Figge-trees loue a hot ayre and countrey a drie and stonie ground insoâ—uch as that it ceaseth not bearing of excellent fruit amongst the heapes of small â—â—ones prouided that there be good store of depth of earth to spread and sinke â—owne his roots into at ease Such a tree as manie others is apt for hot Countries â—ut hee that would haue of them to grow in cold Countries must make choice of â—â—ose which bring forth their fruit before the cold time of the yeare and must couer 〈◊〉 with some shield in Winter and compasse it about the foot with fat ground or â—ung of Oxen or Asses verie well rotted for otherwise it will yeeld him no pleaâ—ure This tree is so full of pith and his fruit so moist as that if you water it the fruit will not keepe but yet you may vnder-digge and digge it to the end that the nights â—et may enter into it You must take from it all dead and rotten wood not suffering â—y it the water to find anie standing vpon the tree for otherwise the fruit would not haue anie tast or sauour The Plant of the Figge-tree which is of a branch or of shoots newly put forth 〈◊〉 planted in October
the yeare after that they beare out of all measure as in Portugale and the oyle that is made of those is good in the highest degree You must in any case looke to the inconueniences and harmes that the Oliue-tree is subiect vnto Many times in drie or moist places Oliue-trees are spoyled and become all ouergrowne with mosse which must be taken away with one toole or other for else the Oliue-tree will neither abound in leaues nor fruit Sometimes the Oliue-tree although it be faire yet beareth no fruit and then you must bore through the stocke with a wimble and put in good and deepe the graft of a greene bough of a wild oliue-tree or of some other oliue-tree that is fruitful and that vpon either side of the hole then afterward to close vp both the said holes with mortar mixt with straw and the tree as a new made thing wit become fruitful by the grafting in of this graft Others in such case doe vncouer the root and renew the seat that it standeth in Againe it may be remedied and the foot not vncouered with the lees of vnsalted oliues with mans vrine that is old or with the stale vrine of hogges It falleth out many times that the fruit is spoyled and lost by the naughtinesse of the ground where it is planted and then it must be thus remedied The Tree must be vncouered verie low at the â—oot round about and quicke lime put into it more or lesse according to the greatnesse of the Tree for a little tree craueth but a little The Oliue-tree sometimes beareth much fruit or flowres and notwithstanding by a secret disease that is in it it cannot bring them to a good end to ripen them vvhen thâ—â— happeneth the stocke must be vncouered round about and the lees of oyle mixt with sweet water afterward applied thereto Sometimes the Oliue-tree becommeth all withered and falling into a consumption which thing may happen through wormes or other vermine which spoyle and eat the roots and the remedie is to water the foot with lee of Oliues It sometimes also falleth out that the fruâ—t of the Oliue-tree falleth before it be ripe for a remedie whereof take a beane that hath a weeule within it close vp the hole with wax afterward take a greene turfe from neere vnto the root of the Oliue-tree and put the beane in it and so couer it with earth and the fruit of the oliue-tree will not fall Aboue all things you must keepe oliue-trees from Turtle-doues Stares and other such like birds which are exceedingly giuen to â—â—corishnesse As concerning the Oliue-tree and oliues you may see more at large in the second booke and of the oyle in this third booke CHAP. XXXV Of the Date-tree COncerning the Date-tree it hath much a doe to beare fruit in this coâ—â—trie but and if it beare yet it is verie late it craueth to haue a hot ayre and countrie or at the least well tempered and the fruit which it beareth is ripe before the Oliue-tree be good It delighteth in a light sandie and vntilled or champian ground and it is a plant either for Aprill or May to be planted of a small plant with the root The stone is set new in October and there must ashes be mingled with the earth where it is planted and to make iâ— grow and beare goodly fruit it must be watered often with the lees of wine Looke in the second booke Who so is carefull of his health let him not eat any Dates or else as few as possible he can because they cause the head-ach obstructions wringings in the bellie and in the stomach And yet notwithstanding this they stay the flux of the bellie and put into gargarismes they cure the frettings and cankrous vlcers of the mouth CHAP. XXXVI Of the Chesnut tree LEauing the Date-tree we come now to treat of the Chesnut-tree which groweth verie great high and thicke differing but a little from the walnut-tree it beareth a profitable fruit and hath not his like whether you respect the shape his nature or the nourishment it yeeldeth 〈…〉 as is to be seene in Auuergne Sauoy Periguâ—ux and Lymosin and especially in Lyonnoyse and Daulphinie where the great chesnuts grow in which countries especially in Parigord the greatest parts of the forests are of chesnut-trees an infinit 〈◊〉 of people liue not of any other thing but of this fruit eating it sometimes boyled sometimes roasted sometimes made into bread sometimes into broth with 〈◊〉 sometimes in meale baked after another sort Likewise nature seeing the profit 〈◊〉 redounded vnto men from this so profitable a fruit hath fenced and armed it with strong harnesse and such mightie armour as that it goeth for proofe both against the tooth of the beast and beake of the birds so long as it is kept within his vppermost cote and prickly couering yea and furthermore vnder his rind and pilling when it is taken away with another rind that is good and hard and with another that is more soft and fine for the better preseruing of it This tree pleaseth it selfe with such a ground as is lying vpon the North and being moist rather than drie or standing vpon the South for as much as it loueth the shadow better than the open Sunne the valleyes better than the mountaines a soft ground better than that which is hard and massie and a light ground and yet not a sandie or clayie To haue good store of Chesnuts it is better to sow them than to plant them and that in a well digged and stirred ground being also neat and well batled and that in the moneth of March â—etting them in the earth a foot deepe the sharpe end vpward foure or sixe of them together taken out of great and ripe Chesnuts and euerie hole distant from another the space of a fadome and two or three yeares after to plant them in some other places fortie foot asunder euerie one from another and that in respect of the great compasse which they take with their branches on euerie side If you would haue it to grow of a branch it must be such a one as hath root for to make it grow of it selfe by pricking downe into the earth some sience it will neuer be Wherefore the most certaine way is to make it grow of the fruit it selfe pricking it downe into the earth as hath beene said notwithstanding it may be propagated or multiplied burying and sinking some of his new shoots in the earth It taketh likewise if it be grafted in the cleft or in the Canon or Gun-like graft and that in March Aprill and May vpon it selfe or vpon the Beech-tree or vpon the Willow but it then ripeneth verie quickly and beareth a fruit of a sharpe and vnpleasant tast Chesnuts must be gathered in Autumne and kept till their rindes be become of a verie bay colour and cast out their fruit Howbeit if one would keepe them a long time
may shew his force by hauing passage and entrance thereunto If it come to passe that trees being yet young doe cease to grow in thicknesse you must cleaue the barke of the stocke in foure all along or else in fiue places according as the tree shall be in thicknesse and after that in a short time you shall perceiue it grow maruellously You must take from trees the drie leaues which haue shut vp within them the nests and egges of Caterpillers and other such like little beasts which are giuen to consume wast eat and spoyle the leaues tender parts and fruit it selfe from off the tree and besides doe oftentimes cause to drie away as also to die the whole tree especially peare-trees and apple-trees as being more subiect vnto this vermine than the other sorts of Fruit-trees And it is needfull furthermore to rid the stockes of all galls and breaches which the Wormes or Pismires haue made there because that vpon these occasions might follow their death and ruine Trees may be cut from the first of Nouember vnto the end of March and yoâ— are to giue order that there may no gashes be made of great depth and if you cut off the siences or shoots of the tree which bringeth forth no fruit and that it be in the decrease and last quarter of the Moone it will cause it to become fruitfull And when the tree which you haue grafted shall haue growne great you may take away his siences and leaue remaining your grafts alone For the matter of watering of trees they must not be watered except in time of verie great drought and then not vpon their foot and stocke but in compasse about them and this againe must be moderately done because trees desire to be moistened rather by amending of them with fat and well manured earth than with water also wee see that the fruits which grow in places that are not watered are ordinarily more sauorie and keepe longer than those whose earth and soyle is drencht with water howsoeuer that sometime the drinesse thereof be such as that it doth hinder and keepe the fruit from comming vnto his perfect growth and accustomed greatnesse If that trees sor some yeares together doe beare more fruit than ordinarie insomuch as that it is as much or more in number than the leaues you must in such case rid them of the third or halfe part in as much as those behind will not onely grow fairer but because also that the yeare after it will bring forth moe than and if those should be let alone it would doe CHAP. XLVII Of the curing of Fruit-trees EVen as all things that draw their force and take their growth from the earth haue some perseuerance of that which is good for them as those things by meanes whereof they liue so they haue certaine speciall and particular diseases growing vpon them by reason of things that are contrarie vnto them as either old age or vvant or ouer great aboundance of that which should nourish them Wherefore it is no maruell if Trees and euerie one of them doe now and then suffer inconueniences and such as if they be not quickly helped and relieued they will not faile to die All trees vvhich through force of wind or otherwise shall be clouen shiuered or sliuen must be cured with myre sheepes dung and swines dung Weeds growing about trees doe sucke the nourishment of the earth and they must carefully be weeded out and the rind of the tree must be smoothed with a hedging bill but not in ouerthwart maner When a tree groweth not in thicknesse and is long in putting forth of branches and in rising on high after that you haue vncouered it at the foot at such time as hath beene said before you must cleaue asunder many of his roots but those not of the chiefe and principall and put vnto them swines dung mixt with other earths and sometime powre downe in the place the lees of strong wine round about the roots likewise if it be growne exceeding mossie then you must cleanse it of the mosse with a great woodden knife taking heed that you hurt not the barke And in Sommer time when the earth is too wet it will be good to digge the earth about the foot and roots of those trees which were not vncouered at the roots in Winter and to mix therewith some thing to better the earth withall whether it be dung or some good mould from some other place You shall make the barren tree fruitfull if you hang amongst the boughes a bagge full of the seed of Roses Mustard-seed and the foot of a Weasell The file is a diseases in trees that fretteth their barks wherefore you must cut away this infection verie neat and cleane at the end of Winter with a verie sharpe toole and after put vpon the wound or cut the dung of Oxen or Swine and bind it to with old clothes and keepe them also verie close and fast with Oziers that it being thus fastned may continue a long time euen whiles the plasters can be kept on and made cleaue thereto There are but a few trees but they are subiect vnto the wormes and some more than others as Apple-trees Peare-trees and all such as containe within them a sweet juice some others lesse as the Bay-tree and others which beare sowre and bitter fruits Sometimes these wormes grow of the oldnesse of the tree sometimes of hauing taken a blow Therefore against such wormes as vse to breed in the barke of the tree in the place where you shall see the barke swelled or houen you must race it with a knife and pierce it euen vnto the wood that so the infecting humour may issue out and with some hooke or crooke you shall pull out the wormes and rottennesse that is within and that with as much speed as you can after this put into and vpon the cut an emplaister of oxe-dung or swines-dung mingled and stamped with sage and some quicke lime wrap it well and tie all fast and there let it remaine and abide so long as it can endure The lees of Wine or grounds of Oyle being cast vpon the rootes of the Trees that haue the jaundise or else are otherwise any way sicke doth them verie great good There breed in Trees certaine small beasts almost like to Weeuils and they are somewhat blewish or blacke and certaine of them haue long and sharpe pointed peakes or bills these doe great harme to grafts and other young Trees for they cut off young siences which are yet but tender and put forth not past the length of a finger you must at the height of the day when you shall see them there lay your hand vpon them verie softly without stirring the Tree for they let themselues fall downe when one goeth about to take them because they cannot quickly betake themselues to flight and if they let not themselues fall into
the same colour as likewise wild Wound-wort which Dioscorides calleth Hercules his wound-wort is very good foreseene that it grow not too great Germander likewise is good being called of the Grecians small Oake by reason of the figure of the lease Little Rampions likewise is very good because of the root which helpeth forth Lent sallads as wel as the Cresses wild Saffron is not good because of his flower seeing both the root and it doe kill beasts euen as Hemlock doth which is called Birds-bane neither yet water Pepper as being venimous through his heat and vsing to grow only in standing stinking waters as laughing Smallage doth called Herba Sardonica because it maketh men and beasts to seeme to laugh when it killeth them in like maner wild Woad Bucks-beard Hartstong wild low growing All-good both sorts of Violets the lesse Centaurie all the three sorts of Daisies and especially those which are called Gold-cups or little Crow-foot and the three-leaued grasse of the Medowes are all of them singular good hearbes for the fruitfulnesse of the Medow ground The Garlicke which is called Serpentina and which a man would iudge to be a little small rush of a reasonable length doth not amisse no more than the true and small water Germander which is often found in the Medowes of Cheles and elsewhere but great store of it maketh the hay to smell ill as on the contrarie Penyryall maketh it smell sweet and so likewise Organiâ— of both sorts the three sorts of Balme and Costmarie but Mints and that Hore-hound which is wild Camomile are nothing worth Great quantitie and store of wild Fetch causeth the hay to be verie full of nourishment for cattell the lesse Plantaine Siluer-grasse of both sorts Peachwort so called because it carrieth a flower like a Peach-tree and Burnet the three sorts of Shepheards needles called of the ancient Writers Storks-bills by reason of the fashion of the peake that followeth in place after the Hower whereof hearbe Robert is one doe verie well for cattell and cure them of the grauell causing them to make their 〈◊〉 in aboundance Millefoile and Prunell called the Carpenters hearbe because it is good for cuts are also good and verie sweet of smell but Quitch-grasse called Dogs-grasse doth destroy the Medow as much as Balme doth mend it and encreaseth milke in Kine as great Hares-foot doth in Goats and in like manner as Veruaine and Groundswell are good hearbes for Conies Looke well that Thistles set not their foot within your Medow except it be the blessed Thistle with the yellow flower or else the little Thistle and that but about the borders or edges of the Medow and that it haue the leaues of Sow-thistle though it be smaller and spotted as it were with drops of milke and therefore it is called Maries Thistle The red and blew Pimpernell because of their flowers as also the white are as good there as either the male or female Mercurie though these hearbes delight rather to grow in the wayes and amongst Vines as doe also the Bindweed and Nightshade Flax-weed which differeth from Esula in as much as it hath no milke and groweth high as Line doth saue that it hath a yellow flower is good but Esula or Spurge is naught as is also Hypericum for these two are both of them verie hot and shrewd fellowes Melilot the small and the great Myrrhis which hath leaues like Fennell and diuers diuided white flowers is of great vertue and sweet after the smell of Myrrhe To be short the Carret and Cheruile doe serue greatly for the nourishing and goodnesse of the hay But aboue all there is no hearbe nor seed more excellent to be nourished or sowne in the Medowes than Saxifrage is for amongst all huswiues it is held an infallible rule That where Saxifrage growes there you shall neuer haue ill Cheese or Butter especially Cheese Whence it commeth that the Netherlands abound much in that commoditie and only as is supposed through the plentie of that hearb only And for the better affirmation or proofe thereof you shall vnderstand that all good huswiues which will carrie any reputation for good Cheese-making doe euer dresse their cheslep-bags and earning with Saxifrage as the only hearbe that giueth a most perfit season to the same Now albeit I haue here deliuered you a particular collection of the seeds of all those hearbs which are most necessarie to be sowne in Medows yet I would not aduise you to be so curious as to bestow your labour in culling these seeds from the rest or to sow them in your Medows with that care and respect that you sow seeds in your Garden for lesse paines will serue only I would with you when you intend to sow your Medowes which would be either in the Spring or in Autumne to goe if you be vnprouided to such a neighbor or Farmer neere vnto you as is owner of some fine and delicate piece of Medow void of grosse filthie weeds stump-grasse knot-grasse peny-grasse speare-grasse or Burnet and from him you shal buy the sweepings or scâ—â—trings of his Hay-barne floore as also those sweepings which shall be vnder those windows or holes in at which the husbandman putteth hay when he vnloads it and these sweepings you shal sow vpon your Medows as thick as you can strew them for the thicker is euer the better and you must foresee that when you thus sow your Medowes you cause your ground to be as bare eaten before as is possible especially with Sheepe because as they bite the neerest of all cattell to the ground so they bestow vpon it their manure or dung which is the fattest and most fruitfullest of all other and maketh the seeds instantly to sprout after the first shower You shall also obserue when you sow your Medowes whether it be at the Spring or at the fall to see and if the dung of the cattell which last grazed vpon the same lye upon it still in heapes as when it fell from their bodies and this dung you shall raise from the ground and with beetles made for the purpose beat them into verie small pieces and so spread them generally ouer the whole Medow and then sow your seeds amongst them for by this meanes your seeds will quickly take root There is also another way of enriching of Medowes especially such as lye high and out of the dangers of flouds which for the most part are euer the barrennest and that is by the foddering or feeding of cattell vpon the same in the Winter season as thus The husbandman shall in the barrennest part of his Medow ground which is safest from waters or flouds make vp his hay in a large and handsome Stacke or Reeke either round or square according to his pleasure or the quantitie of the hay and this Stacke thus made he shall fence about with thorne or other hedge-ware to keepe
neither so large as that for the black clay nor so narrow as that for the white clay but in a meane between both The plow for the white sand differs nothing from that of the red sand only it oft hath one addition more that is at the further end of the beame there is a paire of round wheeles which bearing the beame vpon a loose mouing axle-tree being just the length of two furrowes and no more doth so certainely guide the plow to his true furrow that it can neuer loose land by swaâ—â—ing nor take too much land by the greedinesse of the yrons the culture and share for this plow are like those for the red sand onely they are a little lesse the culture being not fully so long nor so much bent nor the share so broad but a little sharper pointed and this plow also serueth for the grauell howsoeuer mixt whether with peeble flint or otherwise The plow for blacke clay mixt with red sand and the white clay mixt with white sand would be made of a middle size betwixt that for the blacke clay and that for the red sand being not so huge as the first nor so slender as the later but of a meane and competent greatnesse and so also the culture and share must be made answerable neither so bigge and streight as the greatest nor so sharpe and long as the smallest Lastly the blacke clay mixt with white sand and the white clay mixt with red sand would haue a plow in all points like that for the red sand simple onely the culture would be more sharpe long and bending and the share so narrow sharpe and small that it should be like a round pike onely bigge at the setting on Thus you see the diuersitie of plowes and how they serue for euerie seuerall soyle now it is meet to know the implements belonging to their draught vvhich if it be Oxen then there is but the plow clâ—uise the teames the yoakes and beeles but if it be Horse then they are two-fold as single or double single as vvhen they draw in length one horse after another and then there is needfull but the plow cleuise and swingle-tree treates collers harnesse and cart bridles or double when they draw two and two together in the beare geares and then there is needfull the plow cleuise and teame the toastred the swingle-trees the treates the harnesse the collars the round wit hs or bearing geares bellie-bands backe-bands and bridles Also there be of harrowes two kinds one vvith vvoodden teeth the other vvith yron teeth the vvoodden are for all simple clayes or such as easily breake and the yron for sands mixt grounds or any binding earth and for new broken swarthes or such earths as are subject to weeds or quicke growth for sleighting tooles the barke-harrowes vvill serue loose grounds and the roller those vvhich bind CHAP. VII To cleanse arable ground of stones weedes and stubble the first workes to be done vnto Wheat ground BVt to speake more particularly of the dressing and earing of arable grounds that are to be sowne with corne that is to say with Rie corne Maslin some kind of Barly Turkie corne and such others whereof bread is made and especially that which the Frenchmen call for the excellencie thereof Wheat corne and the Latines Frumentum and Triâ—â—cum they must haue the stones gathered off in Winter vpon ground that hath layne fallow which thing for to spare cost and charges may be done by little Iackboyes and girles which with their hands stouping downe and filling Maunds and little Baskets may carrie them into the middest of the high wayes and into the furrowes and rupts of Carts or else vnto the end of euerie land there casting them in some vnprofitable place And if this worke be done in the height of the Spring or in the Summer season it will not be amisse because it will be much better and easier treading vpon the lands and the ardors of the field being then new the stones will be a great deale the better perceiued or if this labour be done at the fall of the leafe it will not be amisse because it is both the time of the last ardor and when the field should be best cleansed as also the fittest time to mend and repaire the high waies against Winter The vvorke is so needfull as that if the field be not cleansed from stones though otherwise it should be duely and orderly plowed though otherwise it were fat and fruitfull of his owne nature yet vvould it beare lesse than any other peece of ground and on the contrarie how leane soeuer it be if yet it be cleane vvithall and freed from stones it will not let to bring forth in good and plentifull sort Sometimes before the gathering of the stones off some vse to vveed it and to pull vp by the root the briers thornes bushes and great hearbes growing thereupon but such labour may seeme most requisite in an ouergrowne ground before the first breaking vp of the same The stubble is to be taken away and rid from off the ground where wheat or other corne or oats or other graine haue growne so soone as the corne it selfe is shorne and cut downe And these weeds and quickes which grow vpon the arable lands would be torne vp by the roots vvith a sharpe harrow or as some husbandmen vse pluckt vp by the roots with a paire of vvoodden nippers made for the purpose and this would be done in the Sommer time after euerie great shower of raine for so they are vtterly destroyed vvhereas the cutting them vp by the ground doth but abate them for a vvhile and makes them after spring a great deale the faster now for to destroy those smaller roots of vveeds vvhich lye hidden in the ground and are vnperceiuable till they doe mischiefe you shall strike into your plow-rest many sharpe dragges or crooked peeces of yron most directly vnderneath and looking into the earth and then in plowing of your grounds where you spie a vveed before your plow there clap downe your rest vpon it and it will forthwith teare it vp by the roots and in one arder or two you shall make your ground as cleare of weedes as is possible for I must needs discommend that manneâ— of vveeding how generally soeuer it be receiued vvhich is vsed after the corne is spindled for though it taketh away the weed from the eye yet it so bruiseth and breaketh downe the corne that the discommoditie doubleth and trebleth the profit neither can the weed slay more corne than the feet of the vveeder vvherefore I vvould wish vvhen extremitie vrges a man to vveed at these ill seasons that he by no meanes step out of the furrow or striue to cut vp more weeds than he can reach without hurting the corne thereby CHAP. VIII That the second or next dutie to be performed to the ground is to enrich it by manuring it that so of a leane ground
be it neuer so good doth become worse and degenerate easily when it is sowne in a bad plot And for as much as I speake onely of Wheat in this place being the graine of most vse in Fraunce you shall vnderstand that there be diuers kinds thereof as shall be shewed hereafter which sith their names are not familiar in other Countries I will here repeat those which are most in vse amongst our neighbours especially in England of which the first is called whole-straw Wheat because the straw is whole and entire not hauing anie hollownesse within it and this is of all Wheat the largest and goodliest and yeeldeth the greatest store of flowre yet not of the most pure and most white colour it prospereth onely on the rich stiffe clay-clay-grounds and must necessarily haue three earings before it be sowne Next vnto it is the great Pollard Wheat which hath no aues vpon the eares it is a large Wheat also and prospereth likewise vpon stiffe clay-clay-grounds yet will aske but one earing because it loues to be sowne vpon pease-Pease-ground from whence Pease was reaped the same yeare The next is small Pollard which loues an indifferent earth as that which is grauelly or of barren mixture and it must haue euer full three earings Then Ograue Wheat which loueth anie well-mixt soyle and will grow either after three earings or but one so it besowne where Pease is reaped Then â—laxen Wheat which will ioy in anie soyle except the stiffe clay or burning sand prouided that it haue fully three earings and be well manured And lastly Chylter Wheat which is like vnto flaxen Wheat It will be good before you sowe your seed to lay it in steepe in water some certaine houres and afterward to spread and lay it abroad somewhere in the shadow to drie that so it may be readie to rowle or runne at such time as it is to be cast into the earth by this meanes you shall chuse the fairest cornes that shall stay behind in the boâ—tome of the water to sowe them which will grow within three or foure daies but as for those which swimme aloft aboue the water they shall be taken away because they are not worth any thing to sow for the best vse for such is either to seed Hennes or else to grind that so you may get out euen that sâ—all quantitie of meale and flowre that is within them Some before the sowing of their corne doe sprinkle it ouer a little with water wherein haue beene infused Houseleeke or the stamped seedes and roots of wild Cucumbers to the end that the corne may not be eaten of Moules field-Mice or other such like vermine Yet howsoeuer this may be a practise in France it is not receiued generally amongst Husbandmen to steepe the corne in water before they sowe it because so much moisture cooleth and drowneth the kernell of it too much Nay they are so farre from the practise thereof that a well-reputed Husbandman will not suffer his corne to be so much as washed before it be sowne The quantitie of corne which must be sowne shall be measured and rated according to the peece of ground for an arpent of fat ground will for the most part take foure bushels of Wheat a reasonable fat ground will take fiue and a leane will take more It is true that there must respect be had vnto the Countrey and place where it is sowne for in cold Countries and places that are waterie being also alwaies subiect to Snowes it is needfull to sowe a great deale more than in hot Countries or in temperate and drie places in as much as the cold and Snow doe corrupt the greatâ—st part of the seed Besides the time is well to be obserued and the disposition of the ayre for in Autumne you must sowe lesse thicke and in Winter or the times approaching and comming neere to Winter a great deale more againe in rainie weather you must sowe thicker than in drie weather Yet in England and other Countries which are much colder than France two bushels of Wheat or Pease will fully sowe an acre and foure bushels of Barly or Oates and three bushels of Beanes which proportion no man need to alter vpon anie occasion whatsoeuer CHAP. XIII Of harrowing and weeding of Corne. PResently after that the seed is bestowed in the ground you must for your last worke harrow it along and crosse ouerthwart and after that â—ake it from furrow to furrow but ouerthwart onely This would be done with Harrowes hauing yron teeth rather than woodden ones because they make the corne settle deeper into the earth which they doe breake and make fmall a great deale better and so by that meanes doe couer the corne with earth as it requireth at the least the thicknesse of foure fingers that so it may be the faster rooted and the safer from birds and thus it must be let alone the whole Winter vpon the Spring True it is that during Winter you must not neglect to make draynes and draughts thereby to carrie away the water that falleth in too great aboundance by raine Now this manner of harrowing is but for such entire grounds as lye together leuell plaine and vndistinguished by lands for were they cast vp with ridges as the lands of many Countries are then could they by no means be harrowed ouerthwart Therefore wheresoeuer your ground lyes in lands or in common mixt amongst your neighbours there you shall euer harrow your lands directly vp and downe the full length of the lands beginning at the furrowes first and so ascending vp to the ridges As for the Harrowes as before I said the woodden Harrow is best for the loose moulds and the yron Harrowes for the tough and binding moulds As for the Oxe-harrow which is as bigge as two Horse-harrowes and hath euer yron teeth it is best for the roughest earths especially new broken vp swarths the Horse-harrowes going before and the Oxe-harrow following after When the Spring time is come and the Wheat hath taken good root you must weed your ground of such store of weedes as Winter raine and the ranknesse of the earth it selfe haue caused to abound and ouer-grow the corne newly put vp as Feâ—ches tame and wild Poppie Cockle and such like and after once hauing weeded it it will be good to doe it the second time as when the eare beginneth to shoot for iâ— so doing the corne will proue faire and cleane But in the meane time you must so weed it at the first as that the rootes be not hurt but that they may remaine couered and laden with the earth that so they may stand faster in the earth and grow the more vpward At the second time of weeding you must not bare it much for and if the Wheat should not shoot vp still more and more it would rot vpon the earth and bring forth nothing Againe at the second weeding you shall stirre and make euen the ground a
at such time as it is sowne onely neither is it euer sowne vpon the fallowes but vpon the Pease-earth being euer vvell and carefully harrowed if you find the sayle whereon you sow it to be weake or out of heart the best meanes to giue it strength is to fold it with sheepe immediately before you sow it so that as soone as you take your fold from the land you may put your plow into the land by which meanes the seed and the manure as it were meeting together the manure keepeth the seed so warme and giues it such comfort that forthwith it takes root and brings sorth the increase most aboundantly Now for the cropping or gathering of this Maslin or blend corne you shall euer doe it so soone as you see the Rie begins to open or turne his eare downeward towards the earth albeit the Wheat seeme a little greenish at the root and be nothing neere ripe the corne being soft and milkie for the Wheat will ripen and grow hard in the sheafe which no other corne will doe and the Rie being suffered but to grow a day beyond his full time will shed his graine vpon the earth and you shall loose more than one halfe of your profit againe you shall not lead your blend-corne so soone as you doe your cleane Wheat or your cleane Rie but making it into good bigge safe stouckes vvhich will shed the raine from the eares and containing some sixteene or twentie sheaues in a stoucke you shall suffer is so to stand in the field to ripen as well for the hardning of the Wheat as for withering of the greene weeds vvhich growing amongst the Corne will be shorne vp therewith and bound in the sheaues altogether Secourgion SEcourgion is a kind of Corne that is verie leane vvrinckled and starued somewhat like vnto Barley and it is not vsed to be sowne in France except in the time of famine and dearth and then also but in some countries as are barren and verie leane and that to stay the vrgent necessitie of hunger rather than to feed and nourish It hath his name from the Latine vvords Succursus gentium The greatest part of Perigord and Lymosin doe vse this sort of Corne it may seeme to be a degenerate kind of Corne and may be called bad or wild corne It must be sowne in the thickest and fattest ground that may be chosen howsoeuer some say otherwise as that it delighteth in a light ground in as much as it sprouteth out of the earth the seuenth day after that it is sowne the thicker end running into rootes and the smaller putting forth the greene grassie blade vvhich flourisheth and groweth out of the earth The fittest time for the sowing of it is about the moneth of March in cold places or about the eight or tenth of Ianuarie if it be a mild Winter and not sharpe and pinching This is that kind of graine of three moneths growth whereof Theophrastus speaketh in his Booke of Plants howsoeuer Columella doe not acknowledge any kind of graine of that age Theophrastus in like manner maketh mention of a kind of graine of threescore dayes or two moneths growth and of another of fortie daies growth I heare say that in the West-Indies about Florida there grow sorts of corne some of two some of three moneths and some of fortie daies vve see it verie ordinarie in France to haue corne in three moneths namely in the countries of Beauce Touraine Lyonnoise Sauoy Auuergne Forest Prouence Chartrain and others in which the corne being sowne in March is ripe and readie to be cut downe in the third moneth The occasion of sowing it so late is either the vvaters or excessiue cold or snow or some such other hard vveather vvhich kept and hirdered it from being sowne any sooner Such graines and sorts of corne as are of three or two moneths or of fortie daies and amongst them especially the Secourgeon doe yeeld a verie vvhite and light flowre because it hath but verie little bran and the graine hauing drawne verie small store of substance for his nourishment but such as is of the lightest part of the earth and therefore small store of Bran by reason of the small space of time that it stayed in the earth The bread made of this Corne is verie white but withall verie light and of small substance more fit for Countrie-people and seruants in Families than for Maisters and vvealthie persons Againe in countries vvhere it is of account they vse to mixe Wheat vvith it to make houshold-bread Blanche BLanche is a kind of Wheat which the Latines call Far clusinum and old Writers Far adoreum as a Corne or Graine worthie to be highly thought and made of for his excellencie and goodnesse sake it is verie hard and thicke and requireth a strong and tough ground though it be not all of the best husbanded It groweth also verie wel in places and Countries that are verie cold as not fearing any cold be it neuer so outragious Neither doth it mislike and refuse drie and parched grounds and such as lye open to the excessiue heat of Sommer the Corne cannot be driuen from his huske except it be fried or parched againe for to grind and make bread of it they vse to frie or parch it but vvhen they vse to sow it they let it alone vvith the huske and in it they keepe it for seed It is verie massie and vveightie but not altogether so much as Wheat but yet more cleane and pure than Wheat and also yeeldeth more flowre and branne than any one sort of Wheat besides This kind of Wheat is verie rare in France but verie common in Italie vvhere it is called Sacidate Fine Wheat or Winter-wheat THere is a kind of small Corne that is verie vvhite vvhich the Latines call Siligâ— vvhereof is made White-bread called therefore of the Latines Siliginitis The French cannot as yet sit it with a name It must be sowne in verie open places and such as are hot and throughly warmed by the Sunne although it doe not vtterly refuse an earth that is thicke moist slymie and of the nature of Walkers-earth seeing that good husbandmen doe likewise report of it that there needeth no such great care to be taken about the making of this graine to grow and vvithall that if a man vse to sow Wheat in a moist and muddie ground that after the third sowing it will degenerate into this kind of Wheat It is that kind of Wheat which amongst the English is called Flaxen-wheat being as vvhite or vvhiter than the finest Flax it is of all sorts of Wheat the hardest and vvill indure a more barren and hard ground than any other Wheat vvill as the grauellie the flintie stonie and rough hils against which by the reflection of the Sunne onely vvhose beames it loueth exceedingly it will grow verie aboundantly neither will it prosper vpon and rich soyle but being as it were ouercome vvith the strength thereof
the cakes which liquorish women vse to make of the meale It must not be sowne but in the midst of Summer whiles the times continue drie and that there is no raine looked for of a long time for the raine doth hurt it after it is sowne cleane contrarie to other plants which all of them reioice in raine after they are sowne The oyle which is pressed out of the seed of Sesame doth neuer freeze and is the lightest of all other Oyles and yet being mixt with Wine or Aqua-vitae sinketh to the bottome There is no account to be made of this graine for nourishment because it is giuen to ouercome the stomacke and is hardly digested as is all oylie matter Lentils LEntils must be sowne at two times in Autumne and most commonly especially in France and cold Countries in the Spring time whiles the Moone encreaseth vnto the twelfth thereof and either in a small or little mould or in a fat and fertile ground for when they be in flower they destroy and spoyle themselues through too much moisture or by putting too farre out of the earth And to the end they may grow the more speedily and the greater they must be mixt with drie dung before they be sowne and foure or fiue daies after that they haue beene so laid to rest in this dung to sowe them They will keepe long and continue if they be mingled with ashes or if they be put in pots wherein oyle and preserues haue beene kept or and if they be sprinkled with vineger mixt with Beniouin Lentils howsoeuer auncient Philosophers had them in estimation are of hard digestion hurtfull to the stomacke filling the guts full of wind darkening the sight and causing fearefull dreames and withall are nothing good if they be not boyled with flesh or fried with oyle Fasels FAsels grow in stubbly grounds or rather a great deale better in fat grounds which are tilled and sowne euerie yeare and they are to be sowne betwixt the tenth of October and the first of Nouember or else in March as other pulâ—e after that the ground hath beene eared about the eleuenth of Nouember They must be sowne after that they haue beene steept in water for to make them grow the mose easily and that at large when they are sowne and alwaies as they ripen to gather them They make far grounds where they be sowne they are accustomed to beare much fruit they keepe a long time they swell and grow greater in boyling and are of a good pleasant tast vnto all mâ—ns mouthes It is true that they are windie and hard to digest but yet notwithstanding they are apt to prouoke vnto venerie if after they be boyled they be powdred ouer with Pepper Galanga and Sugar and yet more specially if they be boyled in fat milke vntill they burst If you mind to take away their windinesse eat them with Mustard or Caraway seed If you haue beene bitten of a Horse take Fasels chew them and apply them so chewed vnto the greene wound Young gentlewomen that striue to be beautifull may distill a water of Fasels that is singular good for the same end and purpose Lupines LVpines craue no great husbandrie are good cheape and doe more good to the ground than anie other seed for when as Vineyards and arable grounds are become leane they stand in stead of verie good manure vnto them Likewise for want of dung they may be sowne in grounds that stand in need to be dunged if after they haue put forth their flowers the second time they be plowed vnder the ground they grow well in a leane ground and such as is tyred and worne out with sowing and they may be sowne in anie ground especially in stubbly grounds such as are not tilled for in what sort soeuer they be sowne they will abide the roughnesse of the ground and negligence of the husbandman neither doe they craue anie weeding as well in respect of their root which is single as also for that if it were hurt they would die presently and because also that it should bee but labour lost for they are so farre off from being infected and wronged with weeds that they euen kill them and cause them to die And this is the cause why manie sowe them in the middest of Vineyards to the end they may draw vnto them all the bitternesse of the Vineyard as being the qualitie most familiar vnto them and with which they best agree Notwithstanding they may not be sowne deepe for when they flower they are made no account of Of all other kinds of Pulse they only stand not in need to be laid vp in Garners but rather vpon some floore where the smoake may comâ— vnto them for if moisture take them they will grow full of wormes which eate vp that which should make them sprout and that which is remaining can doe no good they must be gathered after raine for if it should be drie weather they would fall out of their cods and be lost Lupines are good to feed Oxen in Winter but they must be steept in salted and riuer water and afterward boyled they serue also for to feed men to make bread thereof when it is a time of dearth of other corne Some doe note this speciall propertie in them which is that they turne about euerie day with the Sunne insomuch as that by them workmen are taught the time of the day though it be not cleare and Sunne-shine Lupines stampt and laid vpon the nauell doâ— kill wormes in little children the decoction thereof doth prouoke the termes of women and taketh away the obstructions of the sight by reason whereof manie doe wish them to be taken of young maidens and women which haue pale colours Their meale is singular good in caâ—aplasmes to resolue the swelling of the Kings euill and other hard tumours as well boyled in honey and vineger as in honey and water and likewise for the Sciaâ—ica Beanes BEanes must be sowne in a fat soile or else a ground that is well manured and eared with two earings and although it be in stubbly grounds and seated in low bottomes vvhither all the fat and substance of the higher parts doth descend notwithstanding the earth must be â—liâ—ed and cut small and the clods broken before they be sowne for albeit that amongst all the other sorts of pulse there be not any that doe so little vvaste and the strength and juice of the earth notwithstanding they desire to be vvell and deepe couered vvithin the earth they must be diligently vveeded at such time as they peepe out of the earth for so the fruit vvill be much more and their coddes farre the tenderer They may be sowne at two times of the yeare in Autumne vvhere it is a strong ground and the beanes be great and in the Spring especially in this Countrie in a vveake and light ground the beanes being but small and of the common size those vvhich are sowne in Autumne are
that end doth become blacke and turneth into a darke and obscure colour This line after it hath receiued braking and the first hackling you shall take the strickes and platting them into a plat of three make a good bigge roule thereof and put it into a smooth and round trough made for the purpose in the same manner as you beate hempe so you shall beate this flaxe till it handle as soft as any silke then vnplat the strickes againe and heckle it through the second heckle the which must bee much finer than the first which done plat vp the strickes againe and then beat it the second time and then vnplat as before and heckle it the third time through the finest heckle that can bee gotten then spinne this â—ow and it will make you yarne either for Lawne Holland or Combricke or for the finest sisters thred that can bee sowed with as for the hurds which doe fall from the heckle you shall haue a great and diligent care to keepe them light and loose for by reason of the much beating they will bee exceeding soft and apt to clotter together and abide in lumpes and in the drawing of the thred it will handle very woollie yet bee well assured that from the first hurds you shall make a most exceeding fine mydling from the second a very fine lynnen and from the third a pure good holland Many other labours are bestowed vpon flaâ—ce but in this alreadie rehearsed consisteth the whole art of the huswife yet herein by the way is to bee noted that euer before you beate your flaxe you shall bestow great drying of it letting it stand each seuerall time at the least foure and twentie houres within the aire of the fire before you beate it for drying causeth it to breake Out of the seed of line you may presse an oyle which will neuer 〈…〉 so cold it is vsed of Physitions Painters and many other sorts of workemen It is singular good to soften hard things for the paine of the hemorrhoides chape and tumours of the fundament called Condylomata being washed in rose-water it â—â—reth burnings it is maruelous good in plurisies if so be that it be 〈…〉 is old heateth and procureth vomite Nauets and Turneps NAuets and Turneps delight in a light and fine would and not in a 〈…〉 sad ground and yet turneps grow better in moist ground◠〈…〉 on the tops and sides of hills in drie and pettie grounds such as those are which are sandie and grauelly Howsoeuer it is the ground where they are sowne must haue beene oftentimes turned and cast harrowed and dunged for by these meanes they will not onely grow well but the ground after that they be gathered being thus prepared will bring forth fairer corne Turneps are sowne twice in the yeare in Februarie and in August in a well manured ground and you may not suffer them after that they haue gotten some little growth to put vp any further out of the earth for and if they should still grow more and more aboue the earth their root would become hard and full of small and little holes See more of nauets and turneps in our second booke CHAP. XIX Aduertisements concerning corne and pulse WIse and prudent husbandmen must not plow their groundes cut their vines or prune or haue any dealing about trees from the eighteenth day of Nouember vnto the seuen and twentieth of December Sow your corne as soone as you can and stay not to sow it in the Winter Neither doe you euer sow the corne which grew in a fat soile whether it bee wheat or rie or any other such in a leane and barren field but rather sow that corne in a fat and fertile soile which grew in a leane and barren ground and to be briefe sow in a well conditioned ground that which was growne in an ill conditioned ground In sowing your seed see that your hand auswere your foot and standing vpon your feet see that your right foot especially be moued when your right hand doth moue In sowing of wheat you must cast it with a full hand or by handfuls but in sowing barely rie oats and many other kindes of graine especially such as is shut vp in huskes as millet pannicke and rape seed must be sowne and cast into the earth with onely three fingers To preuent the frost that it may not hurt the corne that is sowne especially such as is sowne in cold grounds as those which are most subiect vnto frosts you must cast and spread lime vpon the said grounds before they besowne or else which is better mingle a sixt or eight part of lime amongst the corn which you meane to sow and so sow them together To keepe your seed from being eaten of birds mice or pisâ—yres water it before you sow it with the iuice of hoâ—se-leeke or according to Virgils aduice with water wherein nitre hath beene infused To cause peason beanes and other pulse to be tender and easily boyled you must lay them a day before they bee sowne in water vvherein there hath beene nitre dissolued or else to mingle amongst them in fowing of them some dung and nitre and if notwithstanding after all these meanes vsed they cannot yet be well boyled then put into the pot wherein they are boyling a little mustard seed and in a short time they will relent and seeth in peeces Beanes being sowne neere trees cause their roots to drie and wither beanes will keepe long if you water them with sea water notwithstanding that they will not boile any thing at all in salt or sea water Cich peasâ— will become greater if you infuse them in warme water before they be sowne or if you steepe them in their cods in vvater vvherein nitre hath bin infused if you vvould haue them earely sow them when you sow barley Lentils will grow very faire if they be infused in their cods in warme water with nitre or if they be rubd ouer with drie ox-dung before they be sowne You must not sow millet thicke if so bee you would haue it good for examples sake a handfull is enough to sow halfe an arpent withall for if you should 〈…〉 more you must but pull it vp when you come to the weeding of it Sow your lupines before all other kinds of corne without staying or 〈…〉 raine before they flowre you may put oxen in amongst them and 〈◊〉 all the other sorts of herbs they will eate but they will not touch or come neere vnto the 〈◊〉 because that they are bitter you may make them sweet if you steepe them three whole dayes in sea and riuer water mingled together Sow all manner of pulse in the increase of the Moone except peason and gâ—ther them as soone as they be ripe for otherwise their cods will open and the 〈◊〉 fall out Gather seeds and all manner of graine in the change of the Moone if you would haue them to keepe and doe with them as
indifferently serued with vvater not such a one as hath any fresh springs or fountaines either breaking out euen with the vppermost face of the earth neither yet carried along within in the depth of the earth below but only in such sort as that neere vnto them there may be water to moisten their rootes withall and the same moisture must not be either bitter or salt to the end that the tast and â—auor of the wine may not be spoiled So that by this it appeareth that it is not meet to plant Vines in deepe and low valleyes albeit they might and would bring forth grapes in great abundance and that because they would not ripen in due time and so there would be made of them no better than a green vvine of small value adde hereunto that Vines seated in low valleyes are very much endangered by the Frosts of the Winter and Spring time and are also subiect to haue their grapes to burst and to runne out their iuice and to rot vvhich vvould cause a musâ—ie and foughtie taste in the vvine and therewithall vvhen the yeare is rainie the kernels cleaue and burst out through the abundance of moisture by reason vvhereof the grape being in this sort too much moistened and nothing at all dried the vvine becommeth vnsauorie and apt to grow sowre and fall into many other faults And if you happen to light on such a place then chuse to plant there such plants and yong shootes as may beare clusters not too thicke set but growing somewhat thin that so the Sunne may pierce through them much lesse may you plant those Vines vvhich haue their pith taken out and bring forth a firme and solid grape in cold and moist grounds as neither yet in a hote and drie ground such Vines as haue substance enough in them and beare a grape somevvhat soft But chiefly if your place be so well appointed by nature as that it consist of and containe grounds that are fit and meet vpon the tops of great hills together vvith some low and small hills then make choice of them to plant your Vines thereupon It is true that it vvill hardly grow there at the first but hauing once taken roote it vvill yeeld a verie pleasant and noble vvine such as the vvines of Ay Hadre Argentueil Meudon and Seurre be In generall if you vvould plant a Vine vvhich may profite you in bringing forth abundant store of good fruit you must see that the ground be gentle easie fine and indifferent light to be stirred not as though such a ground onely vvere good for Vines but for that it is most kind naturall and best agreeing for Vines to be planted in sandie stonie grauelly and flintie ground as also such as consisteth of a Potters clay in the bottome and couered ouer with earth is good prouided that they be intermingled with some fat earth and that they be often refreshed by being digged euen to the veine of stones or rocke In a sandie clayie and churlish stubborne ground the first digging and casting of it must be good deepe and such grounds also would be thrise digged or cast at the least Such grounds bring forth strong and delicate vvines but such grounds as haue of stones or flints great store vpon the vppermost face of the earth are not fit for Vines because in Summer they stand at a stay by reason of the great heat of the Sunne being beat back vpon them by the said stones and they doe no better in Winter because of the excessiue cold which in like manner then troubleth them True it is that if a Vine be planted in a grauelly rockie and stonie ground that then it will not be needfull to cast so deepe because the roote is not so farre downe into the earth as is the new planted Vineyard which is made in a sandie â—oile and it is contented with twise digging for the most part A soile standing vpon Walkers clay or marle as loegâ—y vpon Yonne is verie good for Vines but the ground standing vpon a Potters clay is not good In like sort the grauelly ground is not altogether fit for though it yeeld a daintie good wine yet it yeeldeth but a veâ—ie little and there also the new planted Vineyard is very subiect vnto the hauing of his grapes washed away The drie and burning earth doth yeeld leane Vines if it be not helped by the dunghill As concerning the power of the Sunne and disposition of the ayre the Vine delighteth not to be planted vpon the tops of mountains and much lesse in places lying open vnto the Northeast winde but it delighteth in an ayre that is rather hote than colde and faire rather than rainie it cannot abide tempests and stormes it reioiceeth in a small gentle and friendly winde and would bee turned toward the East or South It is true that generally in cold places vines must stand vpon the South and in hot places vpon the North or East prouided that they be sheltred at such time from the winds as well of the South as of the East if the place be subiect to Winds it will be better that it should be to the Northerne or Westerne Windes than otherwise in temperate places either vpon the East or West but the best is towards the East Furthermore in as much as it is a very difficult thing to find all these commodities and good properties of ground and aire in euery countrie the good workeman shall fit the plants of his vines vnto the nature of the places and countries wherefore in a fat and â—ertile ground he shall set the young plant of a small vine and such a one as beareth but little as the Morillion the Melier and the Aubeine and in a leane ground the plant that is very fruitfull as that of Samoureau Tresseau Lombard Ouch Muscadet Beauuois and Pulceau in a thicke and close ground the plant that is strong and putteth forth great store of wood and leaues as that of Morillion Morlou Tresseau and Pulceau in a small mould and reasonable fat ground the plant which putteth forth but a little wood as that of Samoureau Lombard and Beaulnois and by this meanes the defect and want or the excesse and superfluitie of any qualitie in the young plant of the vine shall be supplied or corrected by the nature of the ground and that in such sort and manner as that of two excesses shall spring one meane and well tempered thing which is a point to be wished and requisite in the growing of all sorts of plants Furthermore he may not plant in moist places the young plant which is giuen to beare tender and grosse grapes as that of Samoureau Gouet Mourlous Pulceau Cinquaine and Tresseau In places â—ossed with winds and stormes he must prouide to plant such a kind of vine as is woont to bring forth hard grapes and sticking fast and close vnto the stalke but on the contrarie that which shall haue accustomed to beare tender
they delight most in SEeing it hath beene deliuered and laid downe here aboue what time and manner is to be obserued in the planting of all wild trees and in giuing them such tillage as may easily and in short time procure their growth it hath seemed good vnto me to write some little thing of the nature and sorts of trees which are planted and found ordinarily in the vvoods and forrests of France and to declare briefely what manner of ground they delight in and in what soile they proue greatest and most profitable to the end that the planters of them be not frustrated of their paines and purpose and that that which requireth a drie and hot soyle be not planted in a moist and low soyle as also that the trees vvhich delight in a moist and low countrey be not planted in mountaines and drie countries for this falleth out oftentimes to be the cause that such as bestow their cost in planting doe misse of their intent and that the plant being in a ground cleane contrarie vnto it doth not come to any profit For which cause I will here in a word expresse my mind concerning that point not with any purpose to describe or comprise all the natures vertues and properties of trees neither yet to speake of all kinds of trees but onely to describe and declare the places and grounds wherein they prosper and grow most as also to make knowne the diuersitie that is amongst trees of one and the same sort and of one and the same name as which are most fit to be planted and best for to make shadowes to walke or sit in I know that there are diuers sorts of trees that grow both in the Easterne Northerne and Southerne parts of the vvorld vvhereof we are almost altogether ignorant and which in respect of the diuersitie of the regions doe not grow at all in this climate and of these I mind not to speake at all because my purpose is only in briefe to lay downe that which is necessarie to be knowne about the planting of common trees such as are ordinarily to be found in our owne forrests and not of strange and forraine ones the trouble about which would be more than the pleasure And as for such as are desirous to attaine the perfect knowledge of all manner of trees growing in any part of the world and their vertues properties natures and seeds they may see the same at large in Theophrastus in his fourth booke of the historie of Plants and in the third booke vvhere hee particularly entreateth of the kinds of wild and sauage trees for he particularly runneth through the nature force vertue seed and manner of planting of euery wild tree as well those of the East North and South as those of the West but it shall be sufficient for vs at this time to declare the nature of fiue or six sorts of trees which commonly grow in the countries hereby and of their kinds and what ground euery one delighteth in Now therefore to begin there are two sorts of trees in generall the one is called vvater-trees or trees delighting to grow in or neere vnto the brinkes of vvaters in medowes and in low and watrie places the other land trees or trees delighting to grow vpon the firme and solid land and vvhere the waters by inundations or ouerflowings vse not to come But first we will speake of the trees liuing in or about vvater CHAP. XV. Of the Aller Poplar Birch Willow and other trees haunting the water YOu shall vnderstand that there are foure or fiue sorts of trees vvhich of their owne nature grow neere vnto vvaters and which except they haue great store of moisture doe hardly prosper or grow at all of vvhich amongst the rest the Aller is one that most coueteth the vvater for the Aller is of that nature as that it would be halfe couered in vvater and at the least the most part of the rootes must of necessitie be within and stand lower than the vvater for otherwise they would not take insomuch as that trees of such nature ought to be planted in moist medowes and neere vnto the brookes running along by the said medowes or in marshes for in such grounds they take and grow exceeding vvell This tree is apt to take in moist places because it is a vvhite vvood containing much pith and putting forth great store of boughes in a short time by reason of the moistnesse of the vvaters vvherewith it is nourished and fed The said Aller trees may be planted two manner of wayes as namely either of branches gathered from great Allers or of liue roots digged vp in most places together with the earth and set againe in the like ground and that in such sort as that the halfe of the said roots be lower than the water and the vpper part couered with earth the depth of one finger and in the meane time before they be planted they must haue all their branches cut off too within a fingers length of the root and it will put forth againe many young shoots after the manner of Hasel trees You may read more of the Aller tree in the fourth booke There is another sort of vvater-wood which hereabout is commonly called white wood of this kind are the Poplar Birch and other sorts of wood which grow close by the water side and vpon the banks of ditches springs and little brookes and it is a common practise in Italie to lay their conueyances and pipes to carrie their vvater from riuers throughout their grounds of those woods And these kinds of trees may be easily planted of young roots along by the vvater and riuer side both most conueniently and profitably especially the white Poplar otherwise called the Aspe tree whose leaues are apt to shake with euerie small winde Where rootes cannot be got there may in their stead be taken faire and strong plants such as are vsed in the planting of Willowes The Birch doth somewhat resemble the white Poplar in his barke and the Beech tree in his leafe but it craueth a colder and moister soile than the Poplar And this is the cause why it groweth so plentifully in cold countries The other sort of vvater-wood is the Willow vvhich as wee finde by proofe groweth nothing well except it be in a moist and warrie countrie and neere ioyning to vvaters The manner of planting of Willowes is commonly by setting of Willow plants and those such as are of a good thicknesse and strength as namely as great as one may gripe for looke how much the stronger and thicker they be so much the moe shoots will they put forth and so much the stronger This tree differeth much from the Aller for the Aller will haue his rootes all within water but the Willow would stand higher and spread his roots along into the ground that is wet and moist and neere vnto water vvithout hauing his roots altogether in the water according whereunto it is
briefe to referre such as are desirous to see the same to Theophrastus his third booke of the historie of Plants vnder the title of the Oake as also in like manner for all other sorts of trees vvhich I spare to speake of that so I may not exceed my former purpose and intent All these sorts of Oakes are of great continuance and length of life insomuch as that some allot vnto them to liue three hundred yeares that is to say one hundred to grow one hundred to stand at a stay and one hundred to decline and fal away which may easily be seene in the old and auncient forrests And whereas the Oake is long in comming to his growth and long in dying it is no maruell if the Elme the Ash the Maple and other vvoods set in the like and no better ground doe put forth their boughes and branches more speedily and mightily than the Oake for the nature of those trees is to grow vp soone to their pâ—â—fection and so to die and fade soone and the nature of the Oake is to grow by leisure to flourish a long time and to be long before it die Now Nature will not be ouer-chased as may be seene in a horse which commeth to his growth in fiue yeares and man not before he be fiue and twentie and so the whole continuance of the one is more durable than that of the other This I speake in respect of such as by and by looke to haue vvood to become growne according as they can wish giuing them to know that to answere their hastie desire it will be best for them to plant Ashes Elmes and Maple onely seeing they are giuen to spring mightily and in a short time putting forth more boughes in sixe yeares than the Oake in tenne Whereas they which desire to haue a more pleasant profitable and durable vvood though it be longer in comming to perfection must plant Oakes Chesnut-trees Horne-beames and Beech-trees for they are reasonably long in growing and of like durablenesse and put forth but small store of shoots like as the Oake in such sort as that they become trees of one and the same sort and growth and to be planted after one manner and at one time as hath been said before It is very true that the Oake delighteth in a fat good and drie ground euen as the Horne-beame and Beech-tree doe notwithstanding the Horne-beame and Beech will grow more easily in a stonie ground or countrey although that euery sort of trees whatsoeuer be giuen to grow the better by how much the ground is better wherein they are planted But some doe naturally delight in and craue a good ground as for example the Oake if you would haue it to prosper well for and if you plant it in an indifferent ground it will prosper but indifferently and if it be set in a hard and barren soile it hardly prospereth and doth nothing but burne away with the heat of the Sunne and yet Horne-beames and Beeches doe grow in grounds that are but indifferent yea they may be seene to prosper well in hard and stonie grounds The pits are in good season opened and all the said trees more conueniently planted in the moneth of Februarie when the strength of Winter it well broken as alwaies hath beene said The Horne-beameâ—tree called of the Latines Carpinus groweth in the same ground and after the same fashion that thâ— Maple doth The vvood of this tree hath in times past beene vsed to helue husbandmens tooles and to make yokes for Oxen but now it is made matter for the fire being a wood that hath least moisture but more drinesse and which maketh the bâ—st coale Which proceedeth not from the naturall defect of the Tree but from the ill husbanding and planting of the same vvhen either it is not regarded at the first shooting vp or is cropped by cattell vvhen it is tender or else planted in a stiffe-binding earth in vvhich it ioyeth not at all any of vvhich makes it grow crooked knottie and vvithout forme and so consequently of small vse but being planted on good ground vvhose mould is loose and yeelding and husbanded and defended from other annoyances it vvill shoot forth straight and vpright and beare a verie smooth and most delicate timber which timber is of great price and estimation amongst Fletchers for it maketh the strongest and best arrow of any wood whatsoeuer and is preferred farre before either birch or brasill as being of an indifferent and true poise neither so light as the one nor so heauie as the other The beech called of the Latines Fagus as it resembleth the hornebeame verie neere so it craueth the like soile and dressing for the making of it to thriue and grow well it is true that therefore it is worthie to bee had in request because it bringeth â—orth its fruit which is called beech-mast and that of no lesse profit than the acorne at the least the squirrells turtle doues cranes and such other birds doe fat themselues thereupon The men of auncient time did make their wine vessels fats and drinking vessell of the rind of this tree It prospereth exceedingly well in grounds that are full of pyble flint and other small stones whether mixt with sand or clay it mattereth not prouided that the mould bee not too much tough and binding neither exceeding hard and rockie but apt to breake and yeeld to the roote which by reason of the greatnesse of the boale or bodie of the tree which may euer compaire with the oake ought to haue both a strong and a deep hold The timber of the beech is good for boards or planks or for any Ioâ—â—ers ware as bed-steeds tables stooles chaires cubbords chests or any other thing except wainscot or â—eeling which by reason of the softnesse of the timber it is not so much allowed therefore it is also very good for Turners ware and especially for great washing bowles traies and such like or any other houshold necessarie which desireth a plaine smooth wood which is gentle to cut and delicate for the eie to looke on The linden tree groweth very well in hillie and high mounted places so that they bee notwithstanding moist and somewhat waterish the wood thereof is fit to make coffers and boxes and the rinde to make cradles or baskets to lay young children in The corke-tree craueth the like soile with the ash and oake it is no where to be found in all the forrests of France but in great store in the countrie of Bearne and Foix. This is a thing worth the noting in this tree namely that it may haue its barke pilled off without doing of any iniurie vnto the same and this is ordinarily imploied about the making of hiues for bees and for the soles of slipper and pantoâ—â—es vsually worne during the cold time of Winter The yew-tree which the Latines call Taxus is very common in our forrests it groweth
they shall be beset and compassed To take birds with your hand you must scatter in some plaine and smooth piece of ground Corne or Millet steept in the lees of good vvine and the iuice of Hemlock and afterward drie them whereof when the birds shall haue eaten they will not be able to flie afterward so that one may take them with his hand To kill birds with the Long-bow or Stone-bow vpon houses trees or butts it is requisite that he that shooteth should haue double shafts forked before vvhen hee vvould kill Geese or other great birds and those verie sharpe euerie vvhere to the end they may cut off the vving or the necke vvhere they shall touch them for to strike them vvith the common shaft vvould not so hurt the bird as that she might be constrained to abide in the place for shee vvould flie away notwithstanding that she vvere hurt or shot through although shee vvould die thereof in another place The end of the seuenth and last Booke of the Countrey House FINIS A TABLE OF THE MATTERS contained in the seuen Bookes of the Countrey House A ABel borne the fourth of the Moone a good day 32 Abrecock-tree and Abrecocks how planted 378. being grafted are verie tender in the time of frost 372 Acornes to grow Oakes vpon how they must be sowne and husbanded 655 An Acre of ground how much it containeth 518 Adam created the first day of the Moone 32 Agrâ—monie 25. their vertues ibid. A good Aire is a necessarie thing to a Farme 4 Alberges or small Peaches 372 Alembecks of glasse how they must be ordered 446 Alembecks of the Venetians 445. how to choose them of glasse 446 Alembecks for distillations 447 Alkermus and the confection thereof 487 Alkakengi and the vertues and statutes thereof 288 Alleys 235 Aller trees and Aller plots 504. how planted 660 Almond trees where and when to be planted 307 Bitter Almonds made sweet 371 Almonds without shell and naturally written vpon ibid. Amel corne 551 Angelâ—ea and his vertues 199. the compound water thereof ibid. The Angeuins louers of their profit 23 Aniou a good soile 12 Annise 249 Ants spoyling Trees and Vines 405 406. to driue away Ants. 314 Apple-trees in what ground they grow best and how grafted 360. most precious and most in request of all other trees 379 How to keepe Apples 408. golden Apples 253. how to haue red Apples 365. Apples with short starts 380. Apples of loue 252. maruellous Apples 287. brought by Monsieur du Bellay B. of Mans 288. Apples of yellow colour 364. Apples of two tastes ibid. wilde Apples distilled 454 Aqua vitae often distilled 455. and whereof it must bee made ibid. it hath infinite vertues 456 Aquitaine a countrey fruitfull in all manner of good things 12 Arach the hearbe and the obseruations thereof 174 Arhâ—rs for Gardens and woods fit tor them 282 Arbâ—rs of the Kitchin Garden 156 The Arders of Arable ground 531 An Arpent of ground how much it containeth 518 Arsâ—â—art why so called and the properties thereof 197 Artichokes 170. their vertues and maner of dressing and the Moules and Mice are enemies vnto them ibid. Asarum Bacchar and the vertues thereof 198. good for a quartane Ague 40 Ashes make a leane ground 6 Ashes cluttering together like balls a signe of raine 25 Ash-tree distilled and the oyle thereof 482 Aâ—peragus may be growne of sheepes hornes 183 Asses to plow withall 539. Asses fore-shewing raine 25. 147 148. the nature burthen and goodnesse of an Asse ibid. Astrologie inuented by Shepheards 110 Auens 182 Autumne and the constitution thereof 34 126 366 380 Auuergne the people thereof are industrious and painefull but coueting other mens gaine 23 B BAdgers or Brocks are of two sorts their earths 699 Bay-tree where it must be sowne 337. in what soile and place it delighteth 396. the faculties thereof 397. Bay-tree keepeth the house from lightning ibid. Bakehouse belonging to the â—arme 570 That a Bailife of Husbandrie cannot carrie such an affection and vigilant eye as the Faâ—mor 15 Balme 252. it increaseth milke in Kyne 496. Balme distilled 453 Balmes artificially made and the description thereof and their kinds 437. Balmes of S. lohns wort 205. excellent Balmes of the hearbe Nicotiana 223 Barbell the fish 507 Barbes in Calues 63 Barley when and in what grounds it must be sowne 554. to prepare mundified Barley 555. Barley must bee sowne in dust 542 Barnes where and how they must be made and seated 18 Basill sowne putteth forth at the end of three â—aies 161. Basill and Amber are at perpetuall hatred 242. Basill causeth ache and scorpions in the head 243. Basill distilled 454 Basseâ—s or earth-dogges and how they must be ordered and saued 702. Bassets of two sorts ibid. and how to traine them vp and nurture them 700 Bastard Dittanie otherwise Fraxinella breaketh the stone 207 Marus Bath 442. the patterne thereof 443. Maries Bath multiplied 442 443 To Batâ—le ground and with what manner of dung 537 Against Baâ—s 315 Beanes what soile they craue 561. and why there are manie fooles whiles they are in flower 562. Beanes amend the ground where they are sowne 11. to cause Beanes to be quickly sodden 569. flowers of Beanes distilled for to keepe 465 â—ards of Goats 238 â—ares-breech 203 〈◊〉 when to be bought and killed 30 of a double kind of life 506. Beasts or their parts distilled 470. to tame wild Beasts 670. signes foretelling death of Beasts 29 〈◊〉 scarce of water 6. it beareth Riâ— contrarie to his nature 10. the people of Beauce are laborious 23 〈◊〉 of diuers sorts according to the diuersities of Countries and the manner of making of them and then temperature 587 590. it fatteth Hennes and Câ—pons 591 〈◊〉 the profit of them and how they must be ordered 316 317. what manner of ones they must be 318. how they must be handled 319. their conditions 321. their chastâ—tie sobrietie neatnesse 322. their kings and waâ—res among themselues 323 324. their kings must be killed which are the cause of their contention and what be their marks ibâ—a Bees that are cruell 326. swarmes of Bees and their fights ibid. what diseases Bees are subiect vnto and their remedies 326. they are engendred of a putrified carcasse 320. their â—ot going farre from their hiues a signe of raine 25 〈◊〉 ringing clearer and louder than ordinarie a â—igne of aine 25 â—â—aiamine borne the 23. dâ—y of the Moone 34 〈◊〉 173. and the speciall obseruations about the same ibid. 〈◊〉 tree 665 666 â—â—esonie â—02 Betonie distilled 453. watâ—r Betonie 211. Paules Betonie 204. called the Leapers hearbe and why ibid. 〈◊〉 or Oxen for the plough 539. fierce and cruell Beeues how tamed 92. of their diseases 9â— 94. three Beeues will not plough so much ground as one horse 91. great Beeues of Languedoâ— or Prouence 103. to cauâ—e Beeues to haue a good stomacke 436. to fat Beeues to sell 104. how they sore-shew raine 25. to
reading of old Writers or their owne ouer-reaching curiositie the ruine and ouerthrow of all good wits so many new inuented fashions of Building Tilling Speaking or Writing seeing that by such meanes in seeming to reforme things without the perfect knowledge of them men haue beene brought oftentimes vtterly to spill spoyle and marre the same And therefore I would not haue you to maruell if the Frame and Toile vsed about our French Countrey-Farme be not altogether like to that of former and auncient daies for it is my purpose following the Prouerbe which sayth That we must learne the manners of our auncient predecessours and practise according to the present Age to lay out vnto you the waies so to dwell vpon order and maintaine a Farme Meese or Inheritance in the Fields name it as you please as that it may keepe and maintaine with the profit and encrease thereof a painefull and skilfull Husbandman and all his Familie whereupon it commeth to passe that the countrey inhabitants doe call it at this day the onely or principall and greatest gaine that is because no other thing bringeth more gaine vnto the master thereof than the earth if it be well husbanded and reasonably maintained Now for as much as with good reason my countreymen of England may obiect against this Worke that albeit it may sort well with any soyle that is in any degree how much collaterall soeuer allyed to this temper clyme mixture of the French yet to vs that are so much remote in nature and qualitie and whoâ—e Earth giueth vnto vs for our most generall profit things and fruits either little or very stranger-wise acquainted with them and in as much as there may be found that difference in our labours which may equall the difference of our tasts they being as farre from our Barley as wee from their Vine and wee as farre from their Fruits as they from our Woolls I will after the faithfull translation of their noble experiences adde the difference of our customes and to their labors adde the experience and knowledge of our best Husbandmen hoping thereby to giue a publike content to ouâ— Nation who seeing the true difference of both Kingdomes may out of an easie iudgement both compare and collect that which shall be fittest for his vse and commoditie CHAP. II. A briefe shew of that which shall more largely â—e described in that which followeth THe better to helpe the memorie and as it were by the way of pointing out of our French Husbandrie I will propound and set before you a champion place seated in such a coast or corner as you may find not as you could chuse and there wee will prepare without extraordinarie costs or charges a House with all such appurtenances or verie neere such as are fit and requisite for our time as good Cato hath drawne and described for his in that Treatise of Husbandrie set downe by him for the Commonwealth of the Romans And in the same place we will entreat of the state and dutie of the Farmer his Wife his People Cattell flying Fowles and such other things At the one side of this House euen iust in the place whereupon the Sunne riseth and in one part thereof wee will place the household garden which neere vnto the borders of his quicke-set hedge shall containe a frame of Railes in forme of an Arbor for Vines to runne vpon for the furnishing of our household store with Veriuice and other necessarie hearbes for the house and we shall not altogether neglect or forget to prouide and plant in the same place hearbes sit for medicine And yet furthermore in this garden also you shall plant things to make your profit vpon as Saffron Teazill Woad red Madder Hempe and Flaxe if it seeme not better to reserue this part of Husbandrie for fields that are full of Fennes or waterish Places In the other part wee shall make a garden for flowers and sweet smels with his ornaments and quarters garnished with many strange Trees About the Hedge we shall set for to make pottage withall Pease Beanes and other sorts of Pulse as also Melons Citrons Cucumbers Artichokes and such like in which place wee shall entreat of Bees Next to our gardens were must dresse some well-defenced piece of ground or greene plot for fruits and there place our nurcerie for kernels and feeds and there plant such stocks as whereon we intend to graft After or next hereto our square of old growne trees and such as haue beene transplanted taken vp and remoued and together with these things we will write of Silkewormes and prescribe the waies to distill Waters and Oyles as also to make Cyders Next in order to our foresaid Greene plot lying neere some one or other little Brooke we are to lay our Medow Grounds or Pastures for feeding compassed about with Osier Elme Aller-tree and Withie and by the borders of such Hedge we will prouide some Poole of standing water or running Spring and next in order to these the great and large Medowes for the prouision and reuenues of the Lord. Betwixt the South and the North we will appoint and set downe Corne-grounds and teach how to measure them and describe their fashion and manner of â—illing in which place wee will speake of making and baking of Bread and ouer and aboue the moitie or halfe part of a hanging thing and the moitie of a Butt or little Hill In the place which is neerest vnto the South we will plant the Vine and withall declare the ordering of the same Wee will speake of Vintage and the making of common and medicinable Wines And thereto wee will adde the diuers sorts of Wines which grow in our Countrey of France Betwixt the North and the East we will place our Warren either vpon some Hill or in some other place fit to hunt in and in the higher grounds wee will plant small Wood and great Timber-trees not forgetting in the meane time any thing which may appertaine to the ordering and gouerning of Wood or concerning Carpentrie We will also make mention of Parkes for wild Beasts of the hunting of them but that in a few words for there is no need that a good Householder should trouble his braine with much hunting and of the breeding of Herons Finally we will briefely describe the order and manner of taking of Birds So that after all these things there shall not much remaine further to be added hereunto either concerning the pleasure or profâ—t of a Countrey Farme especially such a one as a man ought to desire which would liue carefully and within the compasse of reason vpon the labouring of his Land CHAP. III. What things are requisite before we goe in hand with building of this Countrey Farme AS concerning the proprietie of Inheritance whereof manie Authors both Greeke and Latine haue entreated so exactly and curiously I doe not at all intend to incomber my selfe therewith
great Sand is fast and yellowish it is then found to be good for Corne and when it is white and drie it is good for Wood and wild fruits But it behoueth the Farmer to apply himselfe vnto the nature and temper of his field and according vnto it to sow and plant in euery place such things as are best agreeing with them as Pulse Millet Panicke Ryce Lentils Fetches and other things which doe not require great store of fatnesse But in our English Soyles we find that our sandie and hard grounds doe beare best Barley at their first breaking or when they are fattest after Rye Oats Fetches or Tare The strong heartie and fat Soyle is good for Vineyards and is apt to beare great store of Wheat-Corne foreseene that the yeare be drie especially in the moneth of May but small store of any other encrease yea and if the times be much giuen to raine they will beare but a little Corne and great store of chaffe Yet if the Seeds-man haue a carefull hand in the bestowing of his seed and doe not as it were cloy or choake his ground therewith these fat Soyles will beare very well and sufficiently the first yeare either whole Straw-Wheat Pollard-Wheat or Barley and the second yeare Beanes Pease or both mixed together and the third yeare Wheat or Rye or both mixed together which is called Maslyne or blend Corne. A raw rough and tough Soyle is hard to till and will neither bring forth Corne nor any other thing without great labour howsoeuer the seasons be temperate in moisture and drinesse To helpe the same you must labour it most exquisitely harrow it and manure it verie oft with great store of dung so you shall make it better and lesse subiect to the iniuries of the Sunne Winds and Frost but especially desire that they may not be watered with raine for water is as good as a poyson to them The Clay and strong ground as that in Bresse and other plaâ—es of Partois craueth great and deepe furrowes when it is eared and euerie where else as euen in the verie places where stones lye deepe and ouer-couered againe with good earth and this to the end that the water may the better be conueyed away which is naturally mixt therewith and cannot so easily depart by reason of the clammâ—e sliminesse of the earth This plot is not so fit either for Trees or Vines except it be for some fruit Trees and those well husbanded and nourished If you build there then doe it vpon some high ground and neere ynough vnto the Riuer and cause the Easterne and Northerne quarter because such places are subiect verie much to putrifaction and verie vnwholesome The territories of Croye and Ardose are more sound and wholesome though they be more barren but it must be made better and much mended and employed onely to that which it delighteth in for the Baylife of the Husbandrie ought to know the nature of the ground and not to force it to beare that which is contrarie vnto it notwithstanding whatsoeuer you doe vnto it for the bettering of it for of forced grounds there comes as much profit as there doth of beasts by violence vsed towards them For suppose you may compell them yet it shall be to your great cost and charges by reason of their hurts maladies and otherwise for such cattell commonly stand not in good plight and state The old Prouerbe also saith That a Householder should giue greater heed vnto his profit and the holding out or continuing of that which he hath vnder his hand than to his pleasure and rare commoditie Euerie Countrie fit for good Vineyards is stonie and grauellie or full of pebbles and is found to be better on the South quarters or on the descent of the Hill lying on the side toward the Riuer This place is not so good for Corne in the plaine or â—lat places thereof you must make it better and dung it Make your buildings there on the sloping side which looketh into the Southeast where you may not remoue your selfe farre from the Riuer for the reason afore giuen The best Soyle is that which is blacke crumbling and easily turned ouer that is to say which easily falleth into small pieces in ones hand and feeleth light sweet and fat in handling like to that which is found in the countrey of Tourraine Maine and Anjou which are fertile in all manner of fruitfulnesse and aboundance of goods rich in Hills Vallies Pasture-grounds Vale-grounds Vineyards and all sorts of fruits but vpon good cause they giue place to Prouence part of Languedoc and Guienne and the better places of Aquitaine all which by reason of the heat of the South Sunne bring forth not onely in greater aboundance but their fruits of all sorts of better qualities and more forcible This is the land of Promise in our France and hath no discommoditie saue that of the Southerne wind which they call Austrault which except it be tempered by the Northerne winds doth almost euerie yeare engender vnhappie calamities both in men and beasts Wherefore in this Countrie the dwelling places and buildings must be set vpon a Hill and the South wind shut out and denâ—ed all entrance by lights except when it shall be needfull in the depth of Winter But to speake generally the Soyle may be knowne to be good and to beare great store of fruits by these means as if it be somewhat blacke or somewhat yellow if it 〈◊〉 not when it is ill tilled if it become not myrie when great store and abundance of raine shall fall vpon it but drinketh vp all the water that shall fall and therewithall keepe this moisture and refreshment a long time if in Winter time it become not hard in the vpper part thereof if without being husbanded or mended by great labour or fatnesse of dung it bring forth flourishing hearbes timber-trees straight thicke hauing great aâ—â—es and abounding with store of their seuerall fruits and those good and well-rellished in their kinds and if it yeeld great fruitfulnesse of Corne if by being watered or rained vpon it become blowne vp and as it were stretched out and blacke and not hard bound or turned white if the water springing forth of it be sweet or if the greene soddes thereof being broken in pieces and steept two or three houres in water that is sweet and of a good tast doe not marre or make worse the tast of such water which must be tried by tasting of it after that it hath beene strained and clarified For naturally water issuing out from a spring or wrung from something that hath beene steept in it retaineth and carrieth with it the tast of the Earth and on the other side if the Earth steept in Water the same Water doe after such steeping yeeld a sweet and pleasant rellish if cast vp and two or three dayes after throwne into the said ditch againe it
Grasâ—e doe â—lose vp in selfe and gather together his leaues if the Swine doe play a long time and runne to and fro shaking and â—earing what they haue taken in running if the wormes come out of the Earth if the Cat after that she hath a long time licked the sole of her foot and trimming â—he haire of her head doe reach the said sole of her foot oftentimes ouer her â—are Likewise he shall foretell great aboundance of Raine if the Clouds be darke deepe and thicke if the drops of water falling from the Skies be somewhat whitish and make great bubbles and great falls here below if the Raine fall mildly and begin to fall with small drops if the Water fallen vpon the Earth in great aboundance without any wind be incontinently drunke vp of the Earth if the Waters of the Fennes and standing Pooles grow warme without the heat of the Sunne more than ordiâ—arie if Hennes with their Chickens by and by in the beginning of the Raine doe flye vnto their houses or if in the morning they come forth late and as it were not vnconstrained to their feeding if the heauenly Bow called in Latine Iris doe stretch it selfe towards the South or if it appeare double triple or foure-fold in the Heauens and if it appeare after it hath rained the feare of future Raine is not quite abandoned He shall foresee times of Snow in Winter if he perceiue that the clouds of darke ones become as it were whitish chiefely when the North wind bloweth if round about the Sunne or the Moone there come diuers pale circles or halfe red ones if in the time of great Cold the ayre grow thicke and somewhat rebated of his sharpenesse if it make a drie Cold without any Frost if together with many signeâ— of Raine there appeare many also of Cold approaching He shall iudge in like sort of Haile if in the Spring or Autumne he see that the clouds of blacke and darke ones become whitish or if about the moneth of Aprill together with many signes of Raine there be mixt darke and whitish clouds Hee shall giue good heed to the tokens fore-shewing future Winds and they are these if the Sunne at his setting be red if the Sunne set amongst reddish clouds if the Sunne all the day long or a great while before his setting haue carried a Purple colour and setting seemeth greater than ordinarie if the Moone haue a red face if the Clouds in a faire Season and beautifull Skie be carried on high if the Clouds appeare in the Heauens gathered together as they were flockes of Sheepe if Forestâ— and the high tops of Mountaines doe make a noyse if the starres of Heauen runne euerie way if they seeme more grosâ—e and of greater light than vsuall if it thunder in the Morning or in Winter if in the Spring time it thunder more mightily and ofter than it lighteneth if the sound of Bells be sometimes heard very easily and by and by not to be heard if the Sparrowes doe sing and chirpe beyond measure if the Dogs tumble themselues vpon the ground if the webs and small threads of the Spiders doe flye in the Ayre if the Duckes doe spread and flicker with their wings often and a long time together if the Heron crie toward night as he is flying if the â—lame of the fire cast forth many small sparkles if the Wood doe crackle and breath out wind more than ordiâ—arie Hee shall fore-tell the happening of any Thunder Brightnesse Lightening and Tempest when hee shall see that in the morning and euening in Summer or in the beginning of Autumne the Sunne yeeldeth a greater heat than ordinarie and when there appeareth in the ayre a verie thicke and deepe cloud if the Wind called Typhon causing Whirle-winds doe blow ragingly and that the ayre be full of many thicke and darke clouds if the dayes in Summer or Autumne be more feruent and hot than the season of the yeare can naturally beare and that sometimes at the Sunne-set there appeare a Raine-bow toward the West if there flye in the ayre many ajriâ— impressions and burning flames He shall be assured of faire Weather when he shall perceiue that the Sunne sheweth it selfe cleane at his rising or cleare and shining at his setting hauing about it manie small clouds apart one from another and withall somewhat red and pleasant when the Sunne in the time of raine setteth haâ—ing his face red and fierie and when the Day-breake which men call the Morning shall appeare of the naturall colour of white and indeed the Prouerbe A red euening and a white morning setteth the Pilgrime a walking teacheth as much if when the Moone is three or foure dayâ—â— old it shew it selfe pleasant and cleane without spots or clouds if when it is in the full it be seene cleare and that that part of the Heauens called S. Iames his way appeare cleare and bright if at euening there appeare many Lightnings not accompanied with Thunders or Clouds if at euening or morning at what time of the yeare soever it be the deaw fall in great abundance if the Northerne wind blow strongly if the Owle after Sâ—â—ne-set doe come forth and whoop all the night without ceasing if the little Fâ—ies before Sunne-set doe swarme together and sport themselues in the Sunne-beameâ— iâ— the Crowes flocke together in great companies and call with a â—ull voice it the Crow call early in the morning if the Bats doe â—omâ— forth of their â—oles at 〈◊〉 set and â—lye vp downe in the open ayre if the Craneâ—â—lye high and doe not betake themselues verie quickly to a lower pitch if Watâ—r-Fowles doe haunt somewhat â—arre off fâ—om the side of the Water And although that the parts of the yeare ordinarily haue their beginning and ending at a certaine time as the Spring beginneth about the seuenteenth of Februarie and endeth about the seuenteenth of May and so consequently of the other notwithstanding for as much as these parts and seasons doe square and fall out of order sometimes sooner sometimes later the good Husbandman shall haue ouer and aboue the common certaine signes and tokens to fore-see the beginnings and endings of the times of the yere as they may fall out extraordinarily As if hee know that Water-Fowles foâ—sake the Water or that the house-Nightingale especially the Male doâ— sing more than any of all the rest if the Cranes flocke together and returne vnto the place from whence they are come if the Geese fight together for their feeding place being in great leanenesâ—e or if the Sparrow more than ordinarie call betimes in the morning he shall say that Winter is at hand In like maner if he see that the Westernâ— wind begin to blow and that the cold rebateth if the Swallows do returne in flocks 〈◊〉 the Ducks haue their breast-bone white at the end of Winter he shall iudge that 〈◊〉 Spring will be verie quickly for such creatures doe
Bodies doth worke her effect in like manner vpon vs as concerning our bodies as well as vpon the rest of earthly things it is most certaine that in lesâ—e than in one moneth it runneth all that course and way which the Sunne is in running all the yeare long and that it hath no light of it selfe but that it taketh and receiueth it all from the Sunne giuing his reuerberations and reflections vnto the Earth with more vehemencie when it is further off from the Sunne as on the contrarie looke how much it commeth the neerer vnto her coniunction with it so much the lesse light and force doth it impart vnto the Earth Hereupon it commeth that we say that the Moone encreaseth or decreaseth not that indeed it doth encrease or decrease saue then when it is in his eclipse being continually enlightned by the Sunne but this his brightnesse onely which it casteth and spreadeth vpon the whole face of the Earth doth only encrease and decrease And this shining brightnesâ—e according as it is longer or lesser time hath likewise more or lesse force to moâ—e the humors of naturall things to worke their effects For by how much the more that this light encreaseth by so much the more doth the moisture thereof spread and communicate it selfe aboundantly throughout the outward parts as on the contrarie by how much it waneth and groweth lesse by so much the naturall humiditie and moisture doth withdraw and betaketh it selfe vnto the inward parts This is thâ— cause why men call the Moone the Mother Nurse Regent and Gouernesse of all such humidities as are in earthly bodies Wherefore to speake first of Field-beasts the well-aduised Farmer shall not kill at any time whatsoeuer his Porkes Muttons Beeues Kine or other Beasts of the flesh whereof he would make his household prouision for the sustenance of his Familie in the wane of the Moone For such flesh as is killed in the decrease of the Moone falleth away and impaireth euerie day and also craueth much fire and time to make it readie withall neither ought any man to maruaile or staâ—d astonished at this if hee consider well that a Sawsage or other such like kind of meat doth grow lesse by a quarter when they are boyled Neither shall he make account of or buy any Horse-flesh or other which was foled or brought forth in the decrease and old age of the Moone for that they are more weake and faint than the rest moreouer they come to no growth neither is their flesh of sufficient weight when they be killed He shall neuer â—â—sh his Pooles Fish-ponds Ditches or Waters with salt Fish in the decay of the Moone for both Fish and other Beasts of the Water especially they which ar◠〈◊〉 with shells or thiâ—ke sâ—ales as Crayfishes Crabs Oysters Muscles and such 〈◊〉 are found veriâ— much impaired in their substance and leane in the old age and 〈◊〉 of the Moone and contrariwise grosse fat and full when she is in her force 〈◊〉 full The Faulkoneâ— shall chuse rather the full Moone to fâ—ye in than the wane 〈◊〉 that Hawkes and all Birds of the prey are a great deale more nimble sharpe and 〈◊〉 aboâ—t the full Moone than in any other time The Horse and Beast subiect 〈◊〉 maladie of the eyes is better at â—ase in the decrease than in the encrease or full 〈◊〉 the Moone He shall make prouision of Faâ—s or of the marrowes of the bones of â—utton Harâ— Beefe and others if he haue need in the full of the Moone not in the 〈◊〉 He shall geld his Bore-Pigs Rammes Bull-Calues or Bulkins and 〈◊〉 when the Moone decreaseth He shall set Egges vnder Hennes or other Fowlâ—â—â—he new of the Moone and principally in the first quarter As for Trees and other Plants the wise and discreet Farmer will plant his Fruit-â—â—ees and others in the new of the Moone and yet not before the first quarter At 〈◊〉 same time he will haue regard to cut downe and lop Wood for his fuell but 〈◊〉 such as he minds to keepe for to build wiâ—hall when the Moone decreaâ—â— being sure that all matter be it to build House Presses Bridges and other 〈◊〉 being cut downe in the decrease of the Moone lasteth a long time and is â—nd maruailoâ—s good and yet better when it is cut downe rather at euening than in 〈◊〉 morning which thing may also be applyed to hewen stone and milstones when 〈◊〉 be cut out of their Quarries and 〈◊〉 He shall plant his Vine in the encrease of 〈◊〉 Moone when it is foure or fiue daies old He shall cut the leane Vines and such 〈◊〉 planted in â— bad soyle in the encrease likewise of the Moone but those which â—ore fat in the going away of the Moone seeing that thus they will bring forth 〈◊〉 Grapes than if they were cut in the encrease in as much as then the Moone 〈◊〉 vpon them to soften them and make them fat cannot chuse but cause abounâ—â—ce of Clusters and Leaues but cutting them the Moone being old the Wood â—ommeth bound and applyeth it selfe onely to bring forth great store of fruit He 〈◊〉 cleanse prune cut at the foot Fruit-trees toward the later end of the Moone 〈◊〉 they will become better laden with fruit He shall make his Nurseries of 〈◊〉 the Moone being ouer the Earth As for Fruits he shall gather Apples Peares and other Fruits as also his Grapes â—he decrease of the Moone because thereby the Wines will be the better and 〈◊〉 kepâ— which otherwise would be in danger to sowre and rot in â—he moneth of 〈◊〉 following being the time that men are wont to cut their Vines And which 〈◊〉 he shall gather and carrie into his house whatsoeuer he would haue to endure 〈◊〉 last long at such time as the Moone shall decrease Hee shall sow his Corne as 〈◊〉 and other Graine he shall weed fanne searce and gather together his Corne 〈◊〉 a locke he shall grind his Corne the better to keepe it in flowre in the end 〈◊〉 old of the Moone It is verie true that the bread encreaseth profiteth more 〈◊〉 be ground the Moone encreasing and being new He shall mow and cut downe 〈◊〉 Corne with Sythe the Moone wasting He shall pull Line and Pulse at the same 〈◊〉 and yet indeed all Pulse gathered or reaped in the growth of the Moone are of 〈◊〉 digestion 〈◊〉 concerning Hearbes he shall sow them the Moone being new and gather them 〈◊〉 the Moone encreaseth in her light as being then of farre greater force than in 〈◊〉 wast and wane At the same time he shall gather Cucumbers Gourds Melons 〈◊〉 Pompions and all Roots which grow in the head whether they be Leekes 〈◊〉 Radishes Turneps Lillies Saffron or such like except Onions which 〈◊〉 be dealt withall cleane contrarie for they become a great deale more grosse 〈◊〉 better fed in the declining than in the augmenting or full of the Moone during
faire and beautifull Weather Hee shall plough the grounds that are drie light white leane sandie full of roots and great hearbes and which were not eared in October Hee shall giue the second eare vnto those his grounds that are most barren and scatter vpon them the chaffe of Beanes Wheat or Barley Hee shall cut downe the boughes of the Willowes for Railes for Vines and Stakes for Hedges Hee shall prepare props and thicke square Laths to vnderset his Vines Hee shall cut and take away the superfluous boughes of the Trees the Moone decreasing Hee shall turne the vppermost of all the dung made since S. Martins day vndermost and contrarily to the end it may be well rotten when hee shall carrie it out to spread it vpon his Field and Medow Hee shall furnish afresh or make new his Carts Tumbrels Ploughes and other his Instruments necessarie for his Husbandrie Hee shall make prouisions of verie sharpe yron tooles to cut and cleanse his Trees and Vines Aboue all things let them beware of Sowing because the Earth as then is too open heauie full of vapours and like vnto Wooll not well carded In Februarie in the new Moone he shall transplant Vines of two or three yeare which shall now alreadie haue taken good root but he shall not touch them of one yeare which will not be remoued because of the small strength which they haue as yet got He shall carrie dung out into his Corne-fields Vineyards Medowes and Gardens Hee shall cast trenches for the planting of new Vines Hee shall cut the roots of the Vines and set square Laths or Props for the defending of them Hee shall prune and cleanse the Trees of whatsoeuer is superfluous Hee shall cleanse them from wormes â—ilthinesse and worme-eatings canker and rottennesse which are to be found in the drie leaues Hee shall make readie his garden-Garden-grounds to sow and set therein all manner of hearbes Hee shall giue the Earth her second earing for the receiuing of Beanes Barley Oates Hempe Millet and such other Seed of small Pulse He shall ouerlooke his Vines especially those which he knoweth to be weake and tender He shall repaire the Hedges of his Gardens He shall plant woods for Timber-trees aud Talwood He shall also plant the slips of Oliue trees Pomegranate trees Quince trees Figge trees Poplaâ— trees Willow trees Elme trees Osiers and others as well Fruit Trees as wild ones which haue roots Hee shall cleanse the Doue-house Henne-house and place where the Peacocks and Geese make their haunt because that these Cattell in the end of this moneth begin to be hot and to tread Hee shall over-looke his Warren to stoaâ—e it anew and to handsome vp the Earths Hee shall buy Bees he shall make cleane their Hiues verie carefully and kill their Kings Hee shall buy Faulcons Sparrow-hawkes and other Birds of the prey which he shall put into Mue in the end of this moneth In March euen in the beginning of it he shall sow Lyne Woad if it were not sowne in Februarie Oates Barley Millet Pannick Hempe Peason Lentils Tare euerlasting Lupines small kinds of Corne as the Fetch Fasels and other such like bitter kinds of small Pulse He shall gâ—ue a second carder vnto new plowed fallowes which are now by this 〈◊〉 well amended and dunged so as that he may make them readâ—e to sow He shall weed his Corne he shall get Grifts to graft when the sap beginneth to climbe the Trees and before that they put forth any buds He shall plant these Fruits great Nuts Chesnuts Almonds small Nuts Filberds and the stones of Oliues and Apricocks and diuers other Fruits He shall sow diuers Nurseries with the kernels of Apples Peares Mulberries and such other like Fruits He shall plant such Hearbes aâ— are set low and close by the ground as the slips of Artichokes Thistles necessarie for vse Sage Lauander Rosemarie Strawberrie Gooseberrie-bush Roses Lillies Ciâ—ruls Cucumers Melons and Pompions He shall trim vp his Gardens as well â—or the Kitchin or commoditie as that which is drawne into quarters or for pleasure and shall sow therein whatsoeuer necessarie Seeds He shall cut and vncouer the roots of Vines and Fruit-trees to the end they may bring forth more fruit He shall put dung to the roots of the Trees he shall gather vp the loppings to make Fuell of In Aprill about S. George his day you shall set abroad your Citron and Orenge Trees as also all such other Trees as you had kept within house from S. Martins day from which he shall remoue the earth from foot to foot taking from them such roots as are put forth towards the vppermost part of the earth as also all superfluous boughes not suffering any one branch to exceed another either in breadth or height He shall plant if he haue not alreadie done it Oliue trees Pomegranate trees Citron trees and Mulberrie trees and shall prune them carefully He shall graft the Figge tree Chesnut tree Cherrie tree and Orenge tree He shall cut the new Vine for at this time it endureth best to be cut He shall be carefull to feed his Pigeons because at this time they find but little in the fields He shall put Horse to his Mares the hee-Asse to the shee-Asse and Rams to the Ewes He shall make cleane the Hiues of the Honey-flies and shall kill the Butterflies which abound when Mallowes are in flower In May hee shall water the Trees that are newly planted hee shall sheare his Shâ—epe fill vp his Wines gather great store of Butter and make much Cheese gâ—ld his Calues and begin to looke to his Bees and Silkewormes of which he shall gather together a great number He shall weed his Corne cast the earth off his Vines the second time vncouering and freeing their roots from the earth about them to the end that the heat may not hurt them he shall take away all the greene branches and tender boughes which beare no fruit he shall crop the ouer-ranke boughes of Trees he shall graft such Oliue trees as must be grafted in the bud In Iune hee shall make readie his Threshing floore and cause it to be thorowly cleansed of straw durâ— and dust he shall cut downe his Medowes mow his Barley crop his Vines thresh his Corne to sow in Seed time In Iuly hee shall mow his Wheat and other graine vsed to make pottage of hee shall graft in the bud he shall gather from Apple-trees and Peare-trees the faultie Apples and Peares and those which doe ouer-charge the Trees he shall digge his Vines againe the second time and plucke vp from them the Grasse called Dogs-tooth he shall lay eeuen and fill vp the earth where it is any where cleft or broken to the end that the Sunne may not burne before hand the Vine He shall cut downe such Wood as shall serue for this Fuell all the yeare long In August he shall pull his Line and Hempe gather such fruits
faithfull or that she her selfe be present with them Let her compell her sonnes to be formost at worke and let her shew them the example of their father that this may be as a double spurre vnto the men seruants Let her not endure them to vtter or speake any vnchast word oath or blasphemie in her house and let her cause Tale-bearers to be silent and not to trouble themselues with other folkes matters Let her keepe close vp her Stubble and lopping of Trees for fuell for the Ouen Let her not suffer the stalkes of her Beanes Peason Fetches Thistles Danewort the refuse of pressed things and other vnprofitable hearbes to be lost for in winter they being burnt into ashes will affoord prouision to lay Bucks withall or else be sold by little and little vnto the Towne Let her giue good account vnto the Mistresse or Lord of the Egges and young ones as well of Birds as of other Beasts Let her be skilfull in naturall Physicke for the benefite of her owne folke and others when they shall fall out to be ill and so in like manner in things good for Kine Swine and Fowles for to haue a Physition alwayes when there is not verie vrgent occasion and great necessitie is not for the profit of the house Let her keepe all them of her house in friendly good will one toward another not suffering them to beare malice one against another Let her gouerne her Bread so well as that no one be suffered to vse it otherwise than in temperate sort and in the time of Dearth let her cause to be ground amongst her Corne Beanes Pease Fetches or Sarrasins Corne in some small quantitie for this mingling of these flowers raiseth the paste maketh the Bread light and to be of a greater bulke At the same time she shall reserue the drosse of the Grapes shee presseth affoording them some little corner for the imploying of them in the deâ—raying of some part of charge for the seruants Drinke that so the Wine may serue for her husband and extraordinarie commers But the naturall remedies which shee shall acquaint her selfe withall for the succour of her folke in their sicknesses may be those or such as those are which I shall set downe by writing in manner of a Countrie Dispensatorie leauing the other more exquisite Remedies to bee vsed by the professed Physitions of the great Townes and Cities CHAP. XII The Remedies which a good Huswife must be acquainted withall for to helpe her people when they be sicke FIrst for the Plague shee shall make a distilled water of the hearbe called Regina prati after that shee hath caused the same to be steept in white Wine or else shee shall cause to lye to steepe in the iuice of Citrons a peece of Gold or the powder or leaues thereof for the space of 24 houres and afterward mixe that iuice with white Wine and the powder or decoction of the root of Angelica and so giue it to drinke to the infected Or else let her take two old Walnuts one Figge tenne leaues of Rue one graine of Salt powne and temper them altogether and rost them vnder the ashes and afterward being sprinkled with Wine let her giue them to be eaten Or else let her take one head of Garlicke twentie leaues of Rue as many of Clarey and powne them altogether with white Wine and a little Aqua vitae afterward let her straine them out and giue the partie to drinke thereof a good draught The water of Naphe drunke to the quantitie of six ounces causeth the malignitie of the Plague to breake forth by Sweats the iuice of Marigolds Scabious and of the flowers of Betonie doe the like Apply vpon the swelling a loafe very hot or a Henne â—ut through the middest or a white Onion made hollow on the root side and filled vp againe with good strong Treacle or Mithridate softened with the iuice of Citrons it hauing all this within it and being well stopped must be rosted vnder the ashes till it be rotten after that powne it well in a Mortar and apply it or else if it be strained the iuice drunke and the drossie part applyed to the place you shall perceiue the like effect For a continuall Feauer which is otherwise called the hot Disease shee shall apply vpon either wrest of both the armes the iuice of the stinging Nettle mixed with the oyntment of Poplar buds or two springs of new-layed Egges Soot taken off from the Hub of the Chimney and well beaten togethâ—â— and mixt with salt and strong vineger let her bind the whole vnto the parties wrests with a Linnen Cloth or else in place of this shee shall take away the heart of an Onion and fill it with Mithridate and apply it fast bound vpon the wrest of the right arme or else shee shall take the heart of a water-Frog and apply it vpon the heart or backe bone of the sicke partie or else she shall apply vpon the region of the Liuer or vnto the soles of the seet quicke Tenches Many for this cause doe stampe the small Sorrell and make a drinke for the great heat thereof as also make a Cataplasme thereof to apply to the wrests of the sicke partie Others doe the like with the water which they straine out of a great Citrull Others cause to steepe in water the whole seed of Flea-wort for the space of a night and minister of this water with a little Sugar to the sicke partie to drinke For a Quartane Ague take of small Sage or for want of it the other Hysope Wormewood Parsley Mints Mugwort white spotted Trefoile stampe them all together with the spring of an Egge and the grossest Soot that you shall find cleaâ—ing to the Chimney and of the strongest vineger that may be found infuse them altogether and make thereof Cataplaâ—mes fit to be applyed to the wrests of the hands To the same purpose steepe the crummes of two white Loaues as they come from the Ouen in a quart of Vineger afterward distill the same by a Lâ—â—becke and giue thereof a small draught to the sicke partie to drinke about some two houres before the fit come Some hold it also for a singular remedie to take the iuice of the female white Mulleine before it put forth his stalke pressed or drawne forth with white Wine and drunke a small space before the fit The like effect hath the iuice of Folefoot the decoction of the leaues and rootes of Veruaine boyled in white Wine the decoction of Calaminâ— Peniryall Organie Burrage Buglosse Languede-boeuf the rind of the root of Tamariske Ash-tree Betonâ—e Tyme Agrimonie and the roots of Sperage all boyled in white Wine the iuice of Wormewood and Rue powred from their feelings and drunke before the fit the iuice of Plantaine drunke with honied water Some doe make great account of the powder of the root of Asarum otherwise called Cabaret dryed in the Sunne or in
place with a Liniment made of Linseed and the powder of the tooth of a wild Boare or else to apply vnto the place a Cataplasme made of the dung of a young boy of a good constitution fed for the space of three dayes with Lupines and well baked Bread leaâ—ened and salted and hauing Claret Wine to drinke and no other eyther meates or drinkes and adding to the foresaid childs dung an equall quantitie of Honey Against the Pleurisie drinke presently with the syrrup of Violets or some other appropriate to the Breast whatsoeuer the weight of a scruple of Nettle seed or of the Ash Trees or take three ounces of the distilled water of Maries thistle or of Carduus Benedictus or of Broome a spoonefull of white Wine six springs or straines of Egges that are verie new the weight of a French crowne of the shells of French small Nuts made into powder eighteene graines of red Corall powdred all being mixed together let it be giuen warme with as much speed as may be mundified Barley and the seeds of Melons Gourds Cucumbers and Poppie are in that case highly commended roast a sweet apple vnder the embers mix therwithall when it is roasted the iuice of Licorâ—ce Starch and white Sugar giue thereof vnto the diseased twice a day two houres before meat or else take the weight of a French crowne of the powder of a wild Bores tooth and cause him to swallow it either with the iuice of sweet Almonds and Sugar Candie or with the broth of red Coleworts or decoction of the water of Barley or some other such like which is appropriate for the Breast or else burne to ashes the pizzle of an Oxe and giue a dram thereof with white Wine if the ague be but small or with the water of Carduus Benedictus or Barley water if the ague be strong and great and assure your selfe that such remedies are singular if they be vsed within three dayes of the beginning of the sicknesse The manner of making these ashes is to cut the pizzle of the Oxe in gobbets and laying it vpon the harth that is close layd to set a new pot ouer it and afterward to lay hot burning coales or hot embers about the pot which must be oft renewed vntill one be assured that it is burnt into powder and the better to iudge of the time he must thinke that this will not be done vnder a whole day It is good to lay a playster of blacke Pitch vpon the grieued side and where it commeth to passe that the paine of the side continueth and that the sicke partie cannot spet cause him to vse the decoction of the flowers of red Poppie or of the powder of them the weight of a French crowne with the water of Scabious and Pimpernell and syrrop of Hysope if there be no great Feauer or Violets if it be great Furthermore for a Pleurisie which is desperate and past hope take a sweet Apple euen a verie excellent one and take the kernels forth of it and fill vp the hollow place with fine Olibanum rost it couered ouer and rolled in stupes vnder the hot embers throughly and then giue it to the sicke of the Pleurisie to eat For the spetting of Bloud cause him to drinke the distilled water of the first little buds of the leaues of the Oake or the decoction of Comfrey or of Plantaine Horse-taile or Knot-grasse otherwise called the hearbe of S. Innocent or to swallow downe some small drops of Masticke or Harts horne or Goats horne burnt or Bole Armoniake or Terra sigillata or Corall or Amber or the powder of the innermost rind of Chestnut tree or of the Corke tree or frie the dung of an Hogge with fresh Butter and of that cluttered bloud which the sicke partie shall haue spet and so giue of these thus fried together to the sicke partie to eat For the beating of the Heart it is good to hang about the neck so much Camphire as the quantitie of a Pease or to drinke two or three ounces of the water of Buglosse and of Baulme some hold the distilled water following for a singular and soueraigne remedie Take two Hogs harts three Stags harts or the harts of three Bulls Nutmeg Cloues and Basill seed of each three drams flowers of Marigolds Burrage Buglosse and Rosemarie of each halfe a handfull steepe them all in Malmesey or Hipocras for the space of a night after distill them with a Limbecke and reserue the water for vse which shall be by taking three or foure ounces when necessitie doth require The conserue of Betonie and Rosemarie flowers Cinnamon water Aqua vitae and Imperiall Waters which wee haue set downe in our worke of the beautifying of mans bodie For the faintnesse of the Heart or Swouning it is good to straine and wring the ioynt of the Ring or Physitions finger as also to rub the same with some piece of Gold and with Saffron for by the meanes of that finger his neere communicating with the heart there is from it conueyed and carried some vertue restoring and comforting the heart For the flagging and hanging breasts of Women make a liniment with the drosse of the oyle of Linseed a little gumme Arabick Tragacanth Mastick and Camphire or with the iuice of Succorie or apply thereunto ground Iuie or the egges of Partridges which you shall change oftentimes or small Basins of the distilled water of young Pine-apples or the iuice of wild Pine-apples To procure much Milke vnto Nurses they must vse the fresh and new-gathered iuice of Fennell oftentimes or the iuice of Smallage or of Beets or the powder of the rootes of Maries thistle adding thereto the seed of Fennell and a little Pepper the fore-hoofes of a Cow burned and drunke with Wine or Broth or other conuenient liquor or the powder of Crystall powdred very finely and drunke with Wine or some broth or let them eat of boyled Coleworts seasoned with Pepper or of the roots of Rapes boyled with Pepper To cause Women to loose their Milke you must apply vpon the nipples of their Breasts the roots of great Celandine â—odden and powned or vse a fomentation of verie sharpe Oxicrate vpon the Breasts or else you shall apply a Cataplasme of the flower of Beanes or an emplaister of Rue Sage Mints Wormewood Fennell Branne boyled and mixed with Oyle of Camomill or the leaues of young and verie greene Gouâ—ds or of Cray-fishes all to brayed and stamped in a Mortar For the inflammation of the Breasts comming of the great aboundant store of Milke take the dyrt found in the bottome of the Troughes of Cutlers or Grinders and therewith couer the Breast and so you shall asswage the paine in one nighâ—â— you may adde thereto a little of the Oyle of Roses or if the Milke be much curded without any great inflammation in the Breast you may apply vnto it a Cataplasme of the flower of Rice or of
Runnet is the small Cheeslep bagge or stomacke of a young Calfe not aboue three weekes or a moneth old well washt salted cleansed and seasoned with Cloues Mace and a little Nutmeg and so kept in a close pot with Bryne and so vsed according as occasion serueth The pot in which the milke is must not be without some quantitie of heat for to keepe it warme and yet notwithstanding it must not come neere vnto the fire as it may not stand farre off And when it is curded and gathered together it must be put presently into slices tormes or fats for it is profitable that the Whay should run out and separate it selfe from the Curd But chiefely and aboue all other things it is required that the maidens which shall meddle with the making of Cheese should be cleanly fâ—t for the purpose their sleeues from about their hands and armes folded vp and aboue all farre from being troubled with their termes In like sort the people of the Countrey of Auergnac which make great reckoning of their Cheese doe chuse the young children that are but of foureteene yeares of age and those proper neat and handsomely trimâ—ed vp not hauing scabbed or scurâ—e hands neither yet of an vntemperate heat for they thinke and persuade themselues that such filthinesse of the hands doth hinder the full curding and ioyning together of the Cheese and so doth make them full of eies If she determine to drie harden and keepe them long she shall the more carefully looke to the strayning forth of the Whay and cleare Milke and after to set 〈◊〉 in rowes vpon 〈◊〉 Lattises or Cheese-heighâ—â— fit for the same and that withall it be in a cellar or in some darke and coole place or else to take them vp into some high place hauing store of aire prouided alwayes that the Sunne haue 〈◊〉 power ouer the Cheese She shall shift them euerie day vntill about the fourth or fifth day at which time they will begin to cast a slowre as though it were the flowre of meale and then shee shall cast a little small salt vpon them The next morning shee shall turne the other side and doe the like therewith after she shall turne them euery day and if need be make them cleane on both sides and about the edges with a rebated knife made of purpose such a one as will not cut After some time when 〈◊〉 knoweth that they are somewhat drie shee shall put them in another place as vpon boords layd as it were vpon ladders she shall cleanse and scrape them oft and keepe her boords cleane also and if by striuing to keepe them long they become hard and bitter she shall couer them ouer in Grauell or in Barly flower or in Cich-pease or else she shall couer them with the leaues of Dragons which likewise doe keepe them from being eaten of Mites and that they doe not become mouldie And in case that wormes doe eat them shee shall take away this vermine and annoint them with oyle of Linseed or the drossie parts of the same which will preserue them singularly 〈◊〉 or else shee shall put them in a great heape of Millet corne or Linseed which will keepe them fresh and coole in the hotest times and hot in the coldest times And seeing the deepest point of skill about Cheese is to bestow them so as that they may best mellow she shall bring them together in the end and put them in presses the clothes taken out and set neere the walls of cellars vnder the ground vpon small boordâ— hauing moistened them before with oyle Oliue or Linseed and vineger mixt together She shall iudge that for good Cheese which is fat and heauie the meat of it close and well compact of colour somewhat yellowish sweet to â—ast pleasant to smell and nothing mouldie neither yet full of mites or wormes and which is made of pure Cowes milke without mixing any sheepes milke therewith for it maketh the Cheesâ— lesse sauorie and more whitish It is true indeed that it may be made to looke yellow some Saffron mixt therewithall as is vsuall amongst the inhabitants of Poictou An old Cheese all mouldie brayed and mixed with the decoction of a salt gammon of Bacon and applyed in forme of a Cataplasme doth soften all the hard swellingâ— of the knees CHAP. XV. Of Hennes AS concerning the ordering of Pullen which is the chiefest thing that a good Huswife is to regard there must care be had that the Henne-house be euerie day made cleane euen so soone as the Pullen be out and the dung pâ—t aside for the fatting of the Medowes The Baskets for them to lay in oftentimes shaken vp and refresht with new straw and neasts and their Pearches and Ladders scraped euerie weeke The roofe or vpper part of the house shut in euerie night at Sunne-set for feare of Fulmers and opened euerie morning at Sunne-rise Their Water-pots to let them drinke at must be kept cleane and filled with cleaâ—â— water euerie day and that twice in Winter and thrice in Summer Let their water be cleare alwayes least otherwise it cause them to haue the Pip which thing happeneth as soone vnto them of the filthinesse of their water as of the want of it Let her 〈◊〉 to be cast out vpon the dunghill oftentimes fresh straw right ouer-against the Barâ—â— where the Pullen vse to scrabble and neere vnto the same place let her cause to be put sand dust or ashes to procure them the pleasure of dusting themselues in the Sunne and pruning of their feathers Let her cause to be remoued farre from them the residence of wine or drosse of the Presse of whatsoeuer fruits and from the place of their haunt for such things keepe them from laying And it further behoueth her to haue this care as to see that throughout all the Henne-house there be neither Lath broken nor any place of the walls hauing any Lome fallen either without or within or any sheeâ— of Lead lifted vp or raised thereby to preuent the danger of Caâ—s Foxes Weasels Polecaâ—s Fulmers and other beasts giuen to rauin abroad in the night as also the Kite Hen-harrow and Owle which sometimes will not let to swap into the very Brood-house to catch and carrie away the Chickens And to the end you may not lose any of them you must cut off the great feathers of one wing from such as vse oftentimes to flye ouer walls that so also by this meanes you may keepe them out of your Gardens for they would take it vp for a custome and it would keepe them from laying And for a surer preuention of the foresaid mischiefes ouer and aboue that which hath beene said for it is not good to clip the wings of Cocks or Capons you must fasten and set rowes of thorne faggots vpon the tops of the walls of the said Gardens and all other places elsewhere The Brood-house shall be
you would haue them to draw which is from two yeares and a halfe to three giue them the yoke and beele fit for beasts of their age and sixtie daies after you shall fasten them to the waine with the teame to draw it through the fields or foure daies after you shall fasten vnto the teame a piece of wood or other load In the end accustome them to be put to draw before Oxen which are in the plough incouraging and cherishing them and that without any stroakes vntill such time as they bee made cunning trouble and wearie them not too much with labour the first yeare If you buy Oxen for labour take them of the same coast and quarter that your Farme is for they cannot acquaint themselues so easily with a strange ayre as horses doe and if vpon occasion you buy them in a strange Countrie then buy them such as were bred in a barren and plaine Countrie and those will thriue and take well vvith euerie place whether the ayre be hot or tender or subtile and thin Furthermore it remaineth that you chuse them of three yeares old or thereabout for sooner you cannot traine them to labour though you haue bought them doe not labour them much for the first yeare and especially in the time of great heat feeding them rather with good hay than with grasse so they will grow able by little and little to endure all paine and will feare the heat the lesse and will continue sound and cherefull a longer time yea and they will spend you lesse for your cartell not feeding vpon grasse you shall gather the greater store of hay in your meadowes and better then and if your beasts had broused the grasse being but young and peeping out of the ground You shall know how old they are by looking in their mouthes for within ten moneths of the first yeare they change their fore-teeth and sixe moneths after the next and at the end of three yeares they change them all and when they be in their middle and best age their teeth are white long and euen but when they grow old shey become short vneuen and blacke Labouring Oxen must not be too fat nor too leane and those which eat softly and with leasure doe abide and continue better in their strength The good Oxe must be of a meane size or stature gentle to handle readie and quicke when he is spoken to not crauing the goad and yet notwithstanding quicke also when he is prickt and going forward readily in regard of his nature well limmed short and broad of a square bodie stout stiffe hauing a round muzzle great eares very hairy and matches a wide and curled brow a great and blacke eye haire curled and 〈◊〉 it were waued hornes strong quicke of a reasonable greatnesse and blacke his brâ—â—ke hanging downe euen to his knees his head short and well compacted 〈◊〉 shoulders and breast a great dewlap and belly a round rumpe firme and sound legs a long taile vnto the ground small and thicke tufted toward the end straighâ— and plaine backe stretcht-out ribs large reines strong thighes and â—inewie a short and broad hoofe short haire shining thicke and thicke set colour blacke and red this is the best The second and next thereto is the Bay the Pie-coloured and the spotted The white is the worst of all The gray and yellowish are indifferent his hide and skin thicke and well fed betwixt foure and eight yeares old for at this age he is in his full strength and lustinesse The Oxe thus made will serue you to labour and worke till he be tenne yeares old and after that you may fat him and â—ell him for he liueth till foureteene or sixteene yeare old You may also fit for the Geares and vnto worke such Kine as arâ— barren or gelded But and if you buy Oxen alreadie trained to the Yoke and fitted for the Cart or Plough your Oxe-keeper must deale verie aduisedly with them at the first whether it be at the Plough or anie other labour and find out his manners and how he hath been handled and what qualities the bringer of them vp hath vsed and accustomed them vnto to the end they may be nourished and continued iâ— the same to make their worke the better but and it you will acquaint and fit anie of your owne heard vnto labour your Oxe-keeper must take the paines and must for the more his and their ease know their nature and if I durst so say the complexion of such as he would handle and breake if he be a slow and sluggish beast if â—e lye downe often if he be quicke furious and headie swift to lift and lay about his heeles or to vse his hornes if he be dull of the pricke trembling going backward rather than forward fearefull to goe into the water then you must first beat him from these faults before you goe about to head-stall him if so there be not anie other thing that might rather hinder and forbid him And know that for to doe these things is somewhat too soone before he be three yeares old and somewhat too late when he is past fiue Meat and faire words doe accustome an Oxe to the yoke sooner than feare And there is no course more expedient than that which unnâ—â—men doe vse about a young dogge not yet made readie to range coupling him with another dogge which is alreadie fitted old and stayed for it your Oxe-keeper do couple a young oxe as yet a nouice with a well experimented and sure old one and yet so as that they be of one pitch strength for this is a principall thing to match them in greatnesse strength and nature then he which hath beene alreadie accustomed to worke will guide and direct the vnpractised vnto all the turnings of the yoke to all the fashions of the cart and plough And if the oxe be hard to be nurâ—â—red and yet a comely beast and in your judgement fit for the draught then put him in a great yoakâ— betwixt other two of his owne starure which are gentle and wel reclaimed to their worke and in three daies you shall see him to buckle himselfe handsomely vnto it also And if you will only tame them acquaint him by little and little to indure a rope and the fastning of it to his hornes and after a few daies tye him fast to a stake and there let him stand fasting some certaine time if he be stomackfull when his heat is somewhat ouerpassed cause him to smell your hand oftentimes that so he may be acquainted with â—ou and claw him betwixt the legges and euerie where else speaking him faire Afterward let him draw a Briâ—e or two made fast in the yoke and now and then set him to the emptie tumbrell and cause him to draw a little prettie way after put into the tumbrell some load to trie his strength and in like sort acquaint him with
Troughes be alwaies cleane And against variable weather the Hogheard must haue in store much Acornes Beanes Crabs or wild Peares or some other rotten Fruit or some manner of Pulse or some Washings of Vessell and for want hereof some steept Barly together with Bran and Coleworts or boyled Turneps or great Nauers to offer vnto them And euerie day when they come from the field let the Huswife procure in readinesse for them some daintie hot meat as Whay the droppings of the Cheese mingled with Bran and Water hauing first had three or foure boiles together for besides that this good attendance will cause them to make hast home and not to forsake their companie to runne stragling abroad when the Hogheard would haue them to come home These hot drinkes and meats doe also heat the cold meats which they shall haue fed vpon in the field all the day long and thirdly they will rest better in the night and lastly not become so subiect to diseases And let there be speciall care had that their meat be not cold not too thinne least is cause them the flux of the bellie There is also two other Foods which are verie naturall and excellent for Hogges the first whereof is Ale or Beere Graines that is to say after your Malt hath beene ground and masht and that you haue drawne both your best and your smaller drinke from it then with the remaines mixt either with Whay Buttermilke Washings of Vessels or such like you shall feed your Swine twice a day and be sure to fill their bellies This food will preserue and keepe them in good plight and liking and though it will not fatten or make them readie for slaughter yet it will hold them in good flesh and prepare them so well for feeding that with lesse cost you may make them seruiceable The second is Chaundlers Graines which is the dregs skins and other substances which at the melting of his Tallow will by no meanes be dissouled these you shall mixe with the Swines Wash being a little warmed and giue him a good meale thereof three times a day and it will fatten him exceedingly and in verie short space Also if you take raw Malt when it is almost readie to goe to the Kilne and as the Husbandman saith is only well comed and with it feed your Swine there is nothing in the world that will sooner fatten them for besides that it is a great feeder it feedeth and maketh both the flesh and fat exceeding white and pleasant both to the eye and tast Only this obseruation you must euer hold that when you haue fed your Swine to his full proofe with what food soeuer it be that you feed them that then you harden that fatnesse by giuing the Swine good store of drie Pease or Beanes foure or fiue daies before he come to slaughter for without it the fat will consume in the pot and the flesh will much lessen Now during the time that you feed your Swine it shall be good that once or twice you giue them good store of Veriuice and Radle or red Oaker mixt together for this will not onely stay the flux of the bellie but also cleanse and preuent the Meazle which is verie incident and generally happeneth to all Swine in their feeding Also you shall note that the Husbandman is of opinion that you cannot outer-feed or make your Swine too fat for sayth he the fatter your Bacon is the more is your profit and three bits of such Lard shall sooner cloy and fill the bellie of a hynde than a whole Gommon of such Bacon as it halfe fed and hath the leane thereof equally mixed with the fat together Whence it commeth that the thriftie Husbandman will seeke all meanes both by Mast Corne Hippes Hawes or anie other moat to raise his Swine to as great proofe as he can anie way compasse Let the floore or pauement of their cote be layed with thicke pauing stone and euerie moneth renewed with grauell or sand to drie vp their pisâ—e for this beast though he be sluttish and dirtie doth notwithstanding prosper best in a clean house that is well kept and maintained And to the end that the corruption of the aire which this kind of beast maketh in close places may not cause him to haue either any ill sent or other diseases to grow vpon them in their cotes especially when they are in any number together it behooueth that the doore thereof be made with thorough lights of great barres or clouen bords to the end that their euill aire may passâ— away and that which is good may come in place continually and it is meet that the doore should giue downe verie neere vnto the causey to the end that they may not lift it vp with their snouts and cast it off the hinges for this cattell can hardly indure to be shut vp but gnaw and bite with their teeth whatsoeuer it be that hindreth theâ— from comming forth where they are inclosed The Hogges which you intend to keepe in and to fat shall not come forth of their stie being alone and free from others neither shall they haue any light but at the doore which is made to go in at for to dresse them The care about them is not so great as of other cattell excepted onely the keeping of them cleane and knowing how to make them good meat so long as vntill they be fat for after that they will euerie day leaue some of their meat not stirring out of their place as though they vvere vvithout feeling and power for to moue in such manner as that though the great height of fatnesse that they are growne vnto and the thicknesse therewithall Mise may sometimes make their nests vpon their backes and yet they feele them for they are sometimes seene to heape such quantitie of fat vpon the liue flesh as that there are some Hogges found a foot and a halâ—e thicke of Lard Keepe not aboue ten Bores for a hundred Sowes and so forth proportionably the rest as vvell Males as Females let them be wained and gelded after a yeare old or sixe moneths at the least howbeit the most infallible time and opportunitie iâ— vvhen they begin to grow hot and goe a brimming Suffer not aboue eighteene Pigges ordinarily to sucke one Sow but sell the rest at eight or ten daies old and a yeare after waine and geld the rest and so put them into the field keepe those especially which haue a short and broad head the snout set high and long without the brest fat and broad the chine of the necke large his feet short his thighs great and in the rest verie short grosse square and well packt together of colour blacke or vvhite and full of bristles vpon his backe for to make Bores and those which are verie long side bellied great headed large buttockt and sides giuing out likewise all of white colour a small head and short legges
the other for hastâ—e Pease Beanes and such like being right necessarie 〈◊〉 your household vse yet notwithstanding you may sow anie of those seeds abroad 〈◊〉 your Fields or manie other remote Croft or Close well tilled for the purpose 〈◊〉 fully as much profit conueniencie especially your Hempe and Flax for you 〈◊〉 vnderstand that there be some Soyles so rich and fat that after you haue 〈◊〉 Wheat Barly and Pease successiuely yeare after yeare that then in stead of fallowing and giuing your land rest you may that yeare sow a full crop of Hempe whicâ— â—estroying the weeds and superfluous growths which spring from the fertilenesse of â—â—e Soyles makes your land apt and readie to receiue either Wheat or Barly againe â—nd so you neuer loose anie Crop at all bue haue euerie yeare something to reape â—â—om your ground whereas should you let it rest and bestow meaâ—ure vpon it as 〈◊〉 case of more barren earth you would so much ouer-rich it that it would either â—â—ildewe and spoyle your Graine or else choake and slay it with the aboundance of Weeds which the earth would vtter forth of it owne accord Againe if your land â—e with your neighbours in common amongst the generall Fields here a land and â—ere a land or here two and three and there two and three as it is a generall custome 〈◊〉 diuers places and that such lands doe butt vpon greene Swarthe or Grasse-â—rounds which are likewise common and on which both your selfe and your neighâ—ours must necessarily teather your Cattell which Cattell if at anie time they breake â—ose or by the negligence of their Keepers be stalld too neere the Corne may doe â—ou much hurt on your Graine in this case and to preâ—ient this euill you shall sow â—â—e ends of all such lands as butt on the grasse tenne or twelue foot in length as your and may conueniently spare with Hempe for vpon it no Cattell will bite so that â—n either of these cases aforesaid you shall not need much to respect the preseruation â—f your Hempe or Flax Garden The Inclosures of the Gardens must be such as the commoditie and necessitie of the place doth require that is to say of Walls if the reuenues of the House will beare it or of a strong and thicke Quick-set Hedge if there want either Pit-â—tone or reuenues to build the wall withall Notwithstanding it is least cost to speake the truth and more profit to inclose and compasse them in with a Quick-set Hedge than with a Wall for the Quick-set Hedge doth endure a longer time and asketh not so great charges neither to trimme it nor to repaire it as the Wall doth Such a one is that which is made of Brambles and Thornes as white Thorne or with the plants of Elder tree or other plants with tufted flowers mingled and set amongst the Brambles the same being cut by the taile and made plaine and euen when the time of the yeare serueth as wee see here in manie places of France Some there be that compasse and inclose their Gardens with Ditches and Banks but small to their profit seeing the moisture of their Gardens which should serue them is thereby conueyed away and taken from them and this holdeth in all other cases but where the ground is of the nature of Marishes The common inclosing vsed by Countrey men is of Thornes Osiers and Reedes but such Hedges doe require almost euerie yeare new repaire reliefe and making in putting new stakes therein whereas if it had an abiding and liuing root it would free the Gardeners of a great deale of trouble cost and trauell The ground of the Gardens must bee good of his owne nature free from Stones Durt and hurtfull Hearbes well broken and dunged a yeare before it be digged to be sowne and after it hath beene digged and dunged againe or marâ—ed you must let it rest and drinke in his dung and marle And as concerning the nature and goodnesse of it the Clayie Stiffe or Sandie ground is nothing worth but it must be fat in handling blacke in colour and which crumbleth easily in the breaking or stirring of it with your fingers or which hath his greene Turfes or Clods breaking easily vnder the Pick-axe and becommeth small with labouring as the small Sand and generally all grounds that are good for Wheat are good for Gardens It is requisite also to the end it may bring forth greene Hearbes in aboundance that it be a reasonable moist ground for neyther the ground that is much drie nor that which is much subiect to water is good for Gardens Notwithstanding if the Grounds belonging vnto the Farme happen not to haue this commoditie of idle and vnimployed ground to make Gardens you must remedie that soare as well as possibly you may The Clayie Stiffe and Sandie places must bee amended by Dung and Marle and would bee cast three foot deepe The Watrie place shall be made better if there bee mixt with it some Sandie or Grauellie Ground and therewith cast it round about with ditches thereby to draine and draw out the water annoying the Gardâ—â— And thus the good Husband shall doe his endeuour to amend and make in soâ—â— sort his ground more fruitfull Lee the dung which he layeth vpon it be either 〈◊〉 Sheepe or of Swine or of Horse or Pigeons or Asses according as the nature of 〈◊〉 ground shall require or of Oxe or Cow for albeit some Gardners thinke it of 〈◊〉 coole a nature and not so nourishing vnto tender hearbs as the other which are 〈◊〉 hot yet they are greatly mistaken therein for it melloweth the earth and enricheâ—â— it more than anie of the other and maketh it more apt to sprout and put forth 〈◊〉 encrease besides it doth naturally affect no weeds if it haue better seed to workâ— vpon Whence it commeth that the Garden so manured keepeth his hearbes 〈◊〉 the cleanest fullest and largest Also Ashes are a verie good meanure for Gardenâ— especially if the ground be apt to chap or breake into great rifts as diuers Claâ— grounds are neither if the soyle be answerable thereunto shall you omit Marâ—â— Sand Chalke Lyme or such like And the elder it is the better also in as much 〈◊〉 in time it looseth his filthie stinke and whatsoeuer other euill qualitie and getteth 〈◊〉 new kind of rottennesse which is more soft and more easie to be conuerted into the substance of the earth whereby good earth is made better and the naughtie amended This is the cause why such as haue written of Husbandrie in Latine haue called dung Lâ—tamen and Frenchmen Litiere because it maketh the ground meâ—â—â—e supposed when it is once mingled and incorporated with the same For dung that 〈◊〉 pure and of it selfe must not be laid vnto the roots of trees but first where thereâ—â— need of the shortest earth and afterward of dung The Hedge of Quick-set parting the Kitchin Garden and that other for delight would be
fruits 〈◊〉 from out of this Garden are much better by remouing in doing whereof they are also not onely more freely bestowed but become of a better tast and verdure CHAP. VI. Of the time of sowing the Kitchin Garden ALl seede which are for the store of the Kitchin Garden must be Sowne 〈◊〉 remoued in the encrease of the Moone as namely from the first day 〈◊〉 the sixt for those that are sowne in the decrease they either come 〈◊〉 slowly or else they be nothing worth Besides that although you sow 〈◊〉 the encrease of the Moone it sometime falleth out that notwithstanding your 〈◊〉 be fat full make a white flower and be nothing corrupted or hurt yet some 〈◊〉 constellation which the Gardiners doe call the course of the Heauens doe 〈◊〉 them that they profit not nor yet thriue anie thing at all Although that 〈◊〉 the Husbandman say That the Earth which hath the fauour and benefit of a 〈◊〉 and mild ayre and is watered with some running streame is in all points and râ—spects free and not tyed or bound to anie lawes of sowing but hee cannot 〈◊〉 that whatsoeuer groweth whether it be Plant or Seed hath two ends that is to 〈◊〉 the Root which hath altogether to doe with the Earth and the Branches or vppermost part thereof which hath altogether to doe with the Ayre and the Heauenâ— and that the obseruations drawne from superior bodies as from the proceeding and disposition of the Moone doe shew and proue the ouerthwarts and 〈◊〉 incumbrances wrought against the creatures of the earth both in their 〈◊〉 forth of the earth and drawing to stalke as also in the gouernment of them aâ—terward In moist places and such as are serued with some small currant of water it is 〈◊〉 to sow in the Spring for then the mildnesse and gentlenesse of the yeare followinâ— doth entertaine in verie good sort the growing seeds and the drinesse of the 〈◊〉 cannot hurt them because of the water prest and at hand But when as the 〈◊〉 of the place hath no naturall supply of running water or else such as is verie 〈◊〉 come by in respect of the bringing thither there is no other refuge but the 〈◊〉 of the Winter raine wherefore in such places it is more sure to sow in Aâ—tumne and yet one may well sow there in the Spring so that you cast your 〈◊〉 three foot deepe If a man be disposed to sow Seeds in Summer it must be in the encrease of the Moone of Iuly and August and in Autumne in the encrease of the Moone of September and October as also for the Spring in Februarie and in March In 〈◊〉 naturally cold or which receiue no great heat from the Sunne beames the sowing 〈◊〉 the Spring time must be toward the later end thereof and that in Autumne must 〈◊〉 hastened and early performed On the contrarie the sowing of Seeds in the Sprinâ— time in a hot place must be early performed and the Sowing or Seed-time of Aâ—tumne must be somewhat deferred Seeds doe grow the better when they be 〈◊〉 vpon warme daies or daies that are neither hot nor cold than and if they be 〈◊〉 vpon hot cold or drie daies The Seed that is to be sowne must not be aboue 〈◊〉 yeare old otherwise if they be verie old drie wrinkled leane soft false or 〈◊〉 gathered they will neuer grow nor thriue Wherefore by how much the 〈◊〉 the seeds of Cucumers Melons Leekes and Gourds be so much the sooner they grow On the contrarie by how much the elder the seeds of Parsely Beets 〈◊〉 Cresâ—es and Coriander be so much the more hastily doe they put out of the earth supposed alwaies that age hath not corrupted them Coleworts and 〈◊〉 of all sorts white Succorie Garlicke Leekes and Onions are sowne in Autumne and liue all Winter Coleworts Rocket Cresses Coriander Cheruill Nauets Turneps Radishes Parsneps Carrets Parsely Fennell and other hearbes whose roots are good in pottage are sowne in Autumne and in the Spring notwithstanding they grow better being sowne in Iuly in hot Countries and in August in Countries indifferent hot and in September in cold Countries Lettuce Sorrell Purcelane Cucumbers Gourds Sauorie Harts-horne Trick-madame Beets and other tender hearbes as also Artichokes are sowne in the Spring and for the most part also those of March and Aprill grow more early than those of Februarie according to the diuersitie of the time Aboue all the Seeds which are to be sowne must be well-conditioned full heauie corpulent grosse hauing a good colour yeelding a white flower when they be broken not dustie for dust falling from them when they be broken sheweth that they are corrupted and nothing worth CHAP. VII Within what space Seeds are wâ—nt to grow after they be sowne NOtwithstanding that the nature of the Ground the mildnesse of the Aire fauourable furtherance of the Heauens and the age of the Seed doe cause Seeds to hasten the more or to be the flower in springing out of the bosome of their mother and nurse the earth for as much as that which is sowne in faire weather and an open aire in a hot place and open vpon the Sunne and of new Seed doth shew it selfe sooner than that which is sowne in a contrarie time and place yet euerie Seed hath a certaine time to manifest in selfe in whereto we must haue due regard to the end that there may be prefixed times to sow and looke for the growth of euerie Seed Spinach Basill Nauets and Rocket grow within three daies after they be sowne Lettuce the fourth day Cucumbers and Citruls the fifth Purcelane a little later Annise the fourth Cresses and Mustard-seed the fifth Beets in Summer on the sixt and in Winter on the tenth Arach the eight Coleworts the tenth Leekes the nineteenth or ofter the twentieth Coriander about the fiue and twentieth or else more late if the Seed be new Organie and Sauorie after the thirtieth Parsely in the fortieth for the most part and oftentimes in the fiftieth It is true that in this place the age of the Seed and state of the Aire when the Gardiner doth sow them is of great moment for as I haue said the Leeke Cucumber and Citrull grow sooner if the Seed be new And on the contrarie Parsely Spinach Organie Sauorie Coriander and Cresses when their Seed is sold likewise the Seed of Cucumbers steept in milke or in warme water putteth the sooner out of the earth after the same sort you may make reckoning of Artichokes and manie other hearbes as you shall know hereafter in their particular Treatises CHAP. VIII Of watering weeding sweeping and cutting of Pothearbes SO soone as the ground is full of Seeds in all places you must be carefull to water it if by hap the place be drie of his owne nature that so the Seed may not be hindered of his sprouting by the too much drinesse or that the hearbe alreadie sprung may not die The
the tooth-ach 〈◊〉 the paine being drie and thrust into the teeth it rooteth them out put 〈◊〉 decoction and drunke oftentimes it breaketh the stone it maketh a good colour 〈◊〉 the face and a sweet smell in all the bodie excepted onely that it maketh the vrine strong and stinking CHAP. XXX Of Garden and Water-Cresses GArden-Cresses so called because they grow at all times and are of great nourishment as also Water-Cresses doe loue moist places and the little Brookes rising from Springs and other little Riuers whereforâ— they aske no other labour in Gardens but to be planted neere to 〈◊〉 that they may grow well and to be watered euerie day hauing water 〈◊〉 at their foot Both of them are verie good in Salads of Lettuce and haue great force against the Stone and difficultie of Vrine And furthermore Cresses of the Garden made in a Cataplasme doth resolue Carbuncles the Sciatica Cat-haires and all other sorts of Impostumes especially if it be mixed with Leauen it killeth the Wormes The iuice thereof drunke with the iuice of Mints and Wine doth the like The iuice of Water-Cresses dropped into the eare doth heale the paiâ—â— of the teeth comming of a cold cause The seed of Cresses chewed and held 〈◊〉 the mouth is good against the palsie of the Tongue In the palsies of othâ— parts there must be applyed vnto the said parts bagges full of the seed of the said Cresses hauing boyled 〈◊〉 first in Wine The same remedie is good also for the Colicke Water-Cresses in a fomentation comfort a cold stomacke prouoke the termes mundifie and cleanse the mother and prepare it to conceiue They dissolue the colicke of the mother if you frie them with Mugwort vpon a hot fire 〈◊〉 sprinkling them with red wine and applying them vnto the bellie They are verie singular against the paines of the mother after Child-birth if with the flowers of Camomill and the leaues of Mugwort all chopped small and incorporated with foure yolkes of egges you frie them all in a frying-panne with the oyle of Lillies and applie it hot vnto the bellie and nauell The iuice thereof rubbed aboâ—â— the cods stayeth the flux of the seed in the night time A Cataplasme made of the leaues of Water-Cresses of the leaues and rootes of Turneps and of the rootes of Parsley all chopped small and fried with pure wine and butter and applyed 〈◊〉 the stomacke and the groine causeth the vrine that hath beene long kept to 〈◊〉 away and auoid CHAP. XXXI Of Saffron AS concerning Saffron as shall be said hereafter it loueth an indiffereâ—â— soyle not strong not dunged but yet well eared lying vpon the Sunne and well digged and it commeth verie well in the place where Onions haue growne It loueth not water and standeth in awe of the Moule and Mice It groweth better the head being set than the seed being sowne for indeed it is not vsed to be sowne but the heads of it onely to be set as the heads of Lillies Leekes or Sea Onions are They are planted and set by ridges in Aprill and May. The heads are let ripen on heapes in the shadow of the Sunne some eight daies before they be set and this must be in such a place as is not moist They are set in a well-digged earth with their roots and a good distance one from another as namely about halfe a spanne and three ynches deepe It groweth the better if it be a little footed vpon It flowreth euerie yeare in Autumne for one whole moneth together and then letteth the flower fall but it keepeth his leaues greene all Winter long vnto the Spring and then it beginneth to wither and maketh no shew at all in Summer It may continue good being set and plantâ—d for nine yeares and then if it be remoued into some other place it will be able to doe further good It is true that it springeth forth manie cloues and kernels which must be taken away euerie three yeare or else the root would be choaked and smothered Some doe set it as being the best time from after mid August vnto mid September and cast at the roots of it the drosse of Grapes as it commeth from the Presse and leaue it in the earth two or three yeares and euerie yeare in Aprill and May the dried part of the hearbe is tyed vp and troden into the earth some two ynches deepe without hurting of the root and after you haue cleansed the grassie part and leaues thereof and that the flower shall be ripe as in August and toward Autumne it shall be gathered in the morning at Sunne-rise and reserued in a close and drie place Furthermore the Saffron is knowne to be good if it be fat if being holden in your hand it make a noyse and if being put into anie liquor it dissolue if being handled and held vp to the face it procure a certaine kind of biting or pricking vnto the eyes if it be of a golden colour if it dye the hand with his colour and haue somewhat a â—harpe smell and pricking and if it be not brittle and verie readiâ— to breake Saffron taken in a verie small quantitie is good for the weakenesse of the stomacke and fainting of the heart it keepeth from being drunke and healeth the bitings of Serpents and Spiders if it be taken inwardly or applyed outwardly in great quantitie it procureth swimming and paine in the head and bringeth a â—oggie mist ouer the eyes CHAP. XXXII Of Nauets great and small NApes and Nauets called of the Latines Napi are two diuers sorts of one kind but notwithstanding differing in taste colour and greatnesse for the Napes are greater and drawing toward a yellow colour lessâ— pleasing the taste Nauets are lesse white and a great deale more sauorie both of them are sowne after one fashion in a well-digged ground and withall well enriched and made verie good that so they may goe downe a good way and worke themselues deepe into the ground or else in a ground which is intended to be made fertâ—e or vpon Stubbles which haue beene newly plowed or betwixt Millâ— and Pannicke The seed is vsed to be mingled with earth broken into small powder that so it may sow the more clearely not falling manie together it must not be aboâ—â— three yeares old for if it be elder it bringeth forth Coleworts And if the seed 〈◊〉 beene steeped and moistened in milke or sweet wine or honied water two or three daies before it be sowne it will be verie much the better And if they come 〈…〉 thicke there is some part of them to be taken vp and set in other places They 〈◊〉 be well wed and digged and the fairest and greatest kept to haue the sâ—â—d of 〈◊〉 They are sowne in August When you goe about to sow them you must looke thâ—â— the earth haue beene newly watered with raine for so they will grow betteâ— And aboue all things it must be looked vnto
due time when as they be ripe The vse of Gourds is not so dangerous as those of Cucumbers so that their waterishnesâ—e be tempered with things meet and sit for the same as with saffron pepper and other such aromaticall powders and for the dish those which are long and white are better and to be preferred before either of the other two sorts Physitians are of opinion that there is nothing better to asswage the heat of hot burning agues to take away the thirst and to loosen the bellie then to vse oftentimes the strayned juice of Gourds stewed without liquor in a new earthen pot set in an ouen There is nothing better for the drinesse of the tongue for sharpe and burning humours and for leaâ—e agueish persons than the vse of the pulpe of Gourds or the Syrope made of their juice CHAP. XXXIX Of Melons and Pompions MElons and Pompions doe not so easily grow in this Countrey because they delight in a Countrey and Ayre that is hot but by force of labour and cunning skill they are drawne vnto it by ordering their beds and remouing of them where they may be shielded from the Cold and receâ—â—e the benefit of the South Sunne and reflexe of the heat of the same from some wall And againe it is a speciall furtherance and helping of them forward to fore-cast that they may grow in such seasons as are verie hot for now and then Summer falleth out 〈◊〉 variable and mixt with cold or drought or moisture as that thereupon they be 〈◊〉 ripe till Autumne and towards the time of Vintage Wherefore it standeth you vpon to hasten them and helpe them forward with dung and with the heat of their beds though this course in the meane time stand not so well with the health of the parties that shall eat them or with the goodnesse and pleasant smell of the Pempions and thereupon it commeth that there are moe grounds planted with Cresses than with Melons amongst vs. Wherefore it were better to reserue for such vse quarter of ground or thereabouts in some place of your Garden where the South Sunne lyeth and is beaten backe by some wall the same also keeping away the North wind hauing no shadow either of Trees or of anie other thing to keepâ— backe the Sunne from it but being withall a good fat and substantiall ground well weeded well tilled and the greene swarth well broken and withall made verie leâ—ell and euen And this your quarter would be againe diuided into foure small quarters and to set your Melon seeds which you intend to plant that yeare but in one of thâ— said little quarters letting the other three râ—st and so succâ—ssiuely in succeeding yeares to low the said little quarters one after another for then the Melons wiâ— grow in their naturall goodnesse and perfection it being their nature to craue a new rested and well manured ground And if it be requisite to helpe such ground wiâ—â— some sweetnesse you must burne vpon it in Winter some Straw or drie Dung 〈◊〉 some Elder tree amongst other wood and mixe the ashes with the earth to the end that during the time of Winter it may grow in season And if the said ground 〈◊〉 need of more helpe it must be dunged with Sheepes dung or else with Goats dung well rotted and this to be done a long time before you intend to sow your Meloâ— seed for as for Horse or Cow dung it must not be vsed except it be when no other thing can be gotten and when it is vsed it must be spread and mixt with the earth long before Seed-time as hath beene said whereby wee may iudge how vnfâ—â— the beds now adaâ—es vsed are for to yeeld good Melons and they that would haâ—e them grow vpon beds as lesle damnifying must make their beds in the said place of the Garden compassed about and hemmed in with a Mat and vpon the bed must be cast a layer of the best and fattest earth that you can find or of earth the thicknesse of three fingers and in this earth to set your seeds for the Melon will not be so much spotted with the dung when there is a mixture of the one and the other You must take the seed of the Melon which hath a thicke and hard huske and looking verie greene within which is of the first growne and of those which grow neerest vnto the root which you shall haue reserued in your Melon plot vntill the full â—ipenesse thereof that so you might haue others grow of it for the seed is better when it is now taken out of the Melon hauing beene all that while from the gathering time kept in the bodie and substance thereof And if you would haue it to grow verie quickly sleepe it in warme water sixe or seuen houres afterward aboâ—â— the tenth day of March make your pits vpon your beds some three or foure foot one from another and two foot in depth and widenesse and if you may make yoâ—â— choice of dung then fill them vp with Sheepe or Goats dung that is old well rotted and crumbly and with verie fine blacke earth together and herewith to fill them vp within two â—ingers Some put therein the dung of horses comming hot from the stable to make thâ—m put forth the sooner but the sauour and goodnesse of the Melon is greatly hindered thereby and thereupon pricke six or ten seeds of your pompions the sharpe end downeward although some put not in aboue foure or fiue and couer them againe gently without much beating or treading of the earth downe vpon them Afterward for to auoid daunger of frosts couer them with straw or mats borne vp with stickes prickt vp one way or if you haue the benefit of great boards or tables of boards borne vp with stones or rubbish by the way that so they may not presle vpon them and that so you may take them vp when the Sunne shineth hot and lay them downe againe when the cold wind bloweth and when frosts come And as soone as the Melons shall haue put forth leaues bigge ynough you must water them with a shred of cloth hanging continually in a pot of water without wetting of the Melon any whit at all and this watering must be continued in a verie drie ground though you haue remoued your Melons till the fruit become of the bignesse of Oranges and if you vse beds you shall remoue them after mid-May in this countrie out of the danger of frosts about fiue or sixe foot one from another vpon a border well tilled and manured And from that time forward you shall weed out diligenetly all the weeds from about them and shall lighten their earth at the trunk of the root without doing any hurt to it and when the flower shall peepe out you must cut off the ends of the armes of the heaâ— be to the end that the flower and the fruit may come forth in greater store aboundance And for
the seed of Gromell to the quantitie of two drammes Ceterach halfe a dramme and Amber two scruples all being powdred with the iuice of Plantaine or Purcelane or Lettuce In like manner two drammes of the seed of Gromell with womens milke doth much comfort and strengthen a woman in her child-birth Hyporicum loueth the like entreatie that Gromell loueth and yet withall it doth refuse a fat and well tilled soyle The iuice of the leaues and flowers healeth cuts and wounds The seed drunke with white wine taketh away the tertian Ague The flowers and crops are principally in vse to make Balmes of for the curing of wounds such like as this is Take of the fruit of the Elme tree the flowers of Hypericum and the buds of Roses put them all together in a Glasse-bottle and set them in the Sunne so long as vntill you see them all so altered and changed as that they may seem to be rotted then straine them all through a linnen cloth and reserue it for your vse See further in the third Booke of the oyle of Hypericum Ground-pine loueth a drie sandie and stonie soyle and groweth better planted than sowne The whole hearbe boyled in honied water doth heale the laundise prouoke the termes in Women prouoke Vrine and is soueraigne against the Sciatica either taken in drinke or applyed vpon the hippe in forme of a Cataplasme for the whole hearbe with the flowers and roots made into powder and taken at the mouth fortie daies with halfe an ounce of Turpentine doth throughly heale the Sciatica The conserue made of the flowers is good for such as are subiect vnto the Palsie The whole hearbe boyled in vineger and taken at the mouth doth minister insinit helpe to a trauailing women when the child is dead in her bodie Agrimonie would be planted in a stonie and drie place and further craueth no great helpe of hand or husbandrie The decoction openeth the obstructions of the Liuer and strengtheneth it and it being boyled and drunke doth helpe against the bitings of venimous beasts The iuice of Agrimonie mixt with vineger and salt in a Liniment doth cure the Itch. Agrimonie is good against the cough of Sheepe and for broken-winded Horses The liquor of the decoction of Agrimonie with fumitorie made like Whay doth prouoke Vrine expell the Termes heale the Itch and Scab of the whole bodie whereupon it is singular in the beginning of the Leprosie The seed mixt with the iuice of Agrimonie and taken in manner of pilles doth kill the Wormes The Stagge being shot and wounded is healed so soone as he hath eaten of this hearbe If you gather good store of this hearbe and steepe it in faire Spring water in a large earthen pot till the water putrifie and then euerie morning wash the face therein it will take away all manner of Morphew Sunne-burning Farn-freckles and other spots or dunnesse of the skinne whatsoeuer making the same also cleare and smooth and filling vp euerie manner of wrinekle Some likewise vse in this case to vse with Agrimonie the like quantitie of Goose-grasse and sure it is not amisse for they haue both one manner of force and working White Mullein groweth euerie where but best in a stonie and sandie ground The white Mullein both leaues flowers rootes and seed is singular good against all manner of venime as also to containe in his place the falling Fundament Good wiues in like manner for this consideration doe make a fume of the seed and flowers of Mullein the flowers of Camomill and Masticke all made into 〈◊〉 The iuice pressed from the root before it put forth his stalke and drunke foureâ—â—â—â— in the quantitie of an ounce with Hippocras or Malmesey in the beginning of a 〈◊〉 of a quartane Feauer doth driue it quite away The iuice pressed out of the floweâ—â— or leaues applyed to Warts doth take them cleane away Likewise Gentlewomâ—n find no better remedie than the iuice of white Mullein flowers to take away the wrinckles and other blemishes in their face The leaues bruised betwixt two stoneâ— and applyed in forme of a Cataplasme vpon the foot of a Horse that hath beene cloyed doth affoord him a singular and present reliefe The water distilled of the flowers quencheth the firinesse of the face if there be a little Camphire added thereâ— unto It doth in like manner with the tumor called Erisipelas the itch burnings 〈◊〉 other diseases of the skin The flowers of white Mullein with the yolke of an eggâ— crummes of bread and the leaues of Leeks applyed vnto the Hemorrhoids doe 〈◊〉 them altogether There groweth about the leaues of white Mullein a whitish 〈◊〉 which is good to make match or tinder to take fire Mercurie craueth one and the same ground with the Vine there to be sowne and grow in great aboundance without anie great care of husbanding and yet thâ—â—â— must care and regard be had not to sow it among Vines because the wine which 〈◊〉 Vines should yeeld amongst whom Mercurie hath beene sowne would retaine the tast of Mercurie and become verie vnpleasant to drinke The iuice of Mercurie being drunke helpeth conception prouoketh womeâ—â— termes and deliuereth them of their after-birth The decoction of Mercurie doâ—â— loose the bellie being drunke or taken in a Clyster Some make a honey of the 〈◊〉 of Mercurie with a halfe quantitie of honey and this is good for laxatiue Clysteâ—â— The iuice of Mercurie taketh away Warts the seed of Mercurie in a decoction with Wormewood doth cure the Iaundise and the iuice thereof with vineger doth ripâ— vp the scab and scurffe Yarrow doth grow in a ground that is indifferent fat and moist The decoctioâ— thereof doth stay all manner of fluxes and especially the red termes of women 〈◊〉 also that which commeth of a wound especially the leaues dried made in powder and drunke with the iuice or water of Comfrey or Plantaine The leafe put into the nose stayeth the bleeding and put into a Clyster it stayeth the bloudie flux Milfoile bearing a white flower being powned with his flower and drunke with 〈◊〉 distilled from the same and Goats milke doth cure the burning of the vrine in 〈◊〉 and the whites in women Danewort groweth better plunted than sowne and craueth a fat ground well â—â—nured and somewhat moist The iuice pressed from the roots of Danewort being drunke for a certaine time preserueth a man from the Gout The seed of Danewort being well washed and drunke in powder to the quantitie of a dramme hauing beene first steeped a whole night in Wine doth helpe the Dropsie because it procureth stooles downward and vomit vpward to the voiding of great store of water Being drunke also with the dâ—coction of ground Pine it asâ—uageth the paine of the Gout and Pocks There is also made a soueraigne Oyntment of the same for the appeasing of the said paines Taâ—â— the iuice of the roots of Danewort the flowers of Rye and
fresh butter of ech alike mixe all and let them worke together in an earthen pot set in the Ouen with this Oyntment rub the akiâ—â—g parts or else infuse the flowers in oyle with mans grease set in the heat of the Sunne Some also make an Oyle of the seedes pressing it 〈◊〉 of them Orpin groweth for the most part in moist and shadowie places The Countrâ—y people doe by their good wills plant it vpon Saint Iohns night in dishes or vpoâ— trenchers of wood in some cleft of a wall the foot being thrust into clay and theâ—â— they set it where it abideth a long time greene growing and flourishing if it be now and then watered The liquor of the decoction of the leaues is a soueraigne remedie to heale wounds and stay fluxes of bloud for inward wounds and vlcers and for burstings and ruptures Goats-beard groweth verie well in a moist ground and shadowed and craueth to be oft watered The Latines call it Vlmaria because the leaues are like to the leaues of Elme The root and leaues made in powder doe cure the flux of the bellie and bleeding The distilled water being drunke is singular good for wounds both inward and outward Ground-Iuie groweth likewise in a moist and shadowed place The decoction of the leaues hath great power to take away the obstructions of the liuer and spleene to prouoke vrine and the termes in women There is made of it an excellent balme for new cuts and wounds also for the Collicke ministred in Clysters or taken in drinke putting the small chopt leaues into a Glasse-violl well stopt with gummie wax and strong parchment and setting the said violl in Horse dung for the space of fortie daies The iuice thereof with the rust of Brasse is a fit medicine for fistulaes and hollow vlcers the decoction thereof with Betonie Pimpernell Mouse-eare Bistort Horse-taile Tormentill red Coleworts and Dittander is singular for wounds in the principall and inward parts if it be oft vsed This ground-Iuie is otherwise called of some Ale-hoofe and it hath a most singular vertue for the curing of all manner of â—ore eyes either in man or beast if you take it and beat it well in a mortar and drop into it three or foure drops either of white Rose-water or the water of Eye-bright and then straine it into a cleane Glasse-bottle and keepe it close then wash the sore eye therewith when occasion is ministred and the oftener in the day that you doe wash the sore eye therein the better it is and the sooner recouered Hounds-tongue groweth easily in peblie and vntilled ground The leaues powned and applyed vnto burnings the wild-fire old vlcers wounds and inflammations aches fluxes and hemorrhoids doe verie much good There is made a singular Oyntment for wounds of the iuice thereof mixed with honey of Roses and Turpentine There are also made thereof pilles to stay vehement and violent rhewmes Adders-tongue doth require aboue all other things a fat place well tilled and moist it groweth also in medowes but it is destroyed by and by and spoyled The leaues stamped and applyed vnto burnings inflammations burstings and principally vnto wounds and maligne vlcers are of a maruellous effect There is a balme made of the leaues thereof for the same effects whereunto some put Turpentine Red wine wherein this whole hearbe hath beene steeped is good to stay rhewmes falling downe vpon the eyes Goose-grasse doth grow in anie kind of ground and hath no need of great tillage Some doe distill the water of it which is singular good against the Pleurifie and other paines of the side being taken in the beginning of the disease as also against the bitings and stingings of venimous beasts and to coole the heat of Cankers Corne-rose craueth a fat ground and well tilled such as are corne-Corne-grounds wherein we may see them grow faire and verie well blowne The flowers of Corne-rose as well the great as the small either in decoctions or the distilled water or in syâ—rups or in powder the weight of halfe a French crowne are singular meanes to prouoke spitting in Pleurisies and to cure the same Bastard Dittanie in like manner requireth a fat ground and well tilled and therewith a diligent care to water it and to keepe it from the coldnesse of the ayre The seed root leaues and flowers as well in powder as in a decoction doe prouoke vrine breake the stone prouoke the monethly termes cast out the dead conception and after-birth being eaten with Rubarbe they kill and cast out the wormes The iuice applyed outwardly doth draw forth thornes and thistles and stumpeâ— of splints Knot-grasse is called in Latine Polygonum it groweth by the edges of Vineyards and fields that are badly tilled especially when it is a moist yeare Amongst the principall vertues thereof the distilled water is soueraigne against the difficultie of vriâ—â— as I haue oft proued by experience Salomons-seale must be set in a drie ground and raised high The root whiles it is new being powned or the iuice of the same wipeth out freckles spots blew markes of blowes falls or other such like thing whether they be in the face or in anie other part of the bodie Some distill the water which as verie good for the paintings of women Great Dragons must be planted in a shadowed place and good earth The small Dragons loue a moist ground and waterish as neere vnto the Fountaine in the Garden Their rootes boyled or rosted and mixt with honey and afterward taken as 〈◊〉 Eclegme doe profit greatly for shortnesse of breath difficult and hard coughs and painefull getting vp of the spittle in such sort as that they cut ripen and wast the grosse humors and slimie Being powdred and mixt with honey they heale maligne and corroding vlcers especially the Polypus Their leaues spread vpon Cheese doe keepe them from spoyling and â—otting If the iuice thereof be mixed with honey and put into the eyes they take away all manner of paâ—â—e and aking thereof Also who so batheth his hands in the iuice thereof may handle anie venime without danger Also it is a great cooler of lust and maruellously abateth all lecherous cogitations As concerning the Nettle it hath no need either of sowing or setting for it commeth vp in Gardens more than one would haue it yet notwithstanding it is not without his great vertues as well the Greeke Nettle as the Hungarian or dead Nettle The leaues and especially the rootes of dead Nettle stamped and put vpon the nosthrils doe stay the bleeding of the nose and their iuice rubbed vpon the brow doth as much The leaues of the stinging Nettle stampt with a little Myrrhe and applyed vnto the nauell in forme of a Cataplasme haue great power to prouoke the termes of women Their iuice drunke a certaine time prouoketh vrine and breaketh the stone A Liniment prepared with the leaues of Nettle Salt and Oyle doth
principally in that which is moist Neither the one nor yet the other doth beare any seed as Writers record notwithstanding it hath beene tried that the male beareth seed and that it cleaueth to the hindermost part of the leaues but yet so little that hardly can a man see it and which cannot be acknowledged or gathered but in the end of Iulie which is the time when it is ripe for to gather it you must cut the leafe neere vnto the root and then hang them vp in your house spreading a linnen cloth vnder them or else some faire cleane white paper I know well that the common sort doe verily thinke and auerre that this seed cannot be gathered but on the night of the wakes of S. Iohn in Sommer and that more is not without great ceremonies and mumbling and muttering of many words betweene the teeth which haue power to driue away Deuills which haue the custodie of the same seed but all this is nothing but fables The decoction thereof is good to prouoke womens termes to cast out the dead child to kill wormes and some doe vse it to heale the frettings or hurts that may be in the fundament fallen downe but especially the female Hearbe Two-pence so called because the leaues resemble small peeces of siluer requireth no great peece of husbandrie about it saue onely that it would haue a moist ground The whole hearbe either in decoction or powder but especially the water thereof distilled in a limbecke is verie singular good for the falling downe of the fundament Fleawort being called of the Latines Psyllium craueth a verie fat well manured and batled ground for else there will no good come of it The seed prepared in forme of a Mucilage and applied in vinegar doth kill the wild fire and teâ—â—er applied vnto the head or brows it taketh away the paine thereof it taketh away also the rednesse of the eyes being applyed thereunto The distilled water is of infinite goodnesse seruing in the paynes of the eyes two or three drops thereof onely being dropt into them This hearbe requireth a verie fat place well manured and tilled likewise we see it grow aboundantly in vineyards and grounds for Wheat and Barlie The leaues are verie singular good for the opening of the liuer and cleansing away of adust humours and this also is the cause why physitians prescribe it with whay in scuruie scabbie and itchie cases and where the leprosie is The juice thereof is good to cleere bleared eyes Ground-swell groweth in euerie ground and without any great care we see if grow likewise neere vnto walls and vpon the townes walls it is greene all the yere and flourisheth as it were in euerie moneth and this is the cause why the Italians call it euerie moneths flower Some thinke that Ground-swell distilled is verie singular good for the Whites in women but beleeue it not before you find it true by proofe for I haue obserued by often vse that this hearbe whether in decoction or otherwise prouoketh the termes that are stayed Birt-wort as well the long as the round must be planted in a fat and fertile soyle such as that where Wheat is sowne and Oliue trees planted Their roots amongst other alâ—â—ost inâ—inite vertues cause womens courses purge the lungs cause spitting cure the cough and prouoke vrine which more is if either of them be taken in drinke especially the round one made in powder with Pepper and Myrrhe it driueth forth the after-birth the dead conception and all other superfluities gathered in the Matrix it doth the like being applied in forme of a Mother suppositorie It purgeth all obstructions of the liuer and easeth all manner of colicke or other griefes which proceed from windie causes it is soueraigne against all manner of poyson or any other infection it cleanseth the bloud and by rubbing the gummes therewith it preserueth the teeth from rotting Centaurie or the gall of the earth aswel the great as the smal desireth a fat ground that is fruitfull and well tilled and yet in such a ground they thriue not well without the great care and industrie of the Gardener Their root in decoction juice or powder moueth womens termes and prouoketh vrine expelleth the dead child purgeth â—legmaticke humors which cause the sciatica openeth the obstructions of the liuer and spleene killeth the wormes profiteth and helpeth palsies convulsions and diseases of the sinews it cleareth the sight and taketh away all mistinesse from them especially the juice dropt into the eyes doth heale their fresh and new wounds and siccatriceth old and maligne vlcers Woodbind craueth no great tilling or husbanding for it groweth euerie where and in what place soeuer it listeth It is true that it desireth greatly to be neere broome hedges and also the borders of fields The fruit of Woodbind drunke with Wine the space of fortie daies taketh away the obstructions of a hard and indurat spleene it purgeth out vrine with such force as that the tenth day the vrine becommeth all bloudie it helpeth women in their child-birth the leaues in decoction or distilled doe heale wounds and filthie vlcers wipe away the spots and scarres of the bodie and of the face Pimpernel hath red and blew flowers and craueth a moist and shadowed ground so likewise we see it grow in the shadows of hedges and bushes Pimpernell with the red flowers stampe and applied vnto the eyes or the juice thereof dropt within them taketh away the inflammations dimnesâ—e and vlcers of the eyes and healâ—th the inflammations of the secret parts Pimpernell with the blew flower boyled with salt and water is a verie good and proper medicine to cure the itch or scurfe and the lice or wormes in the hands if you wash them oâ—t therewith Buckwheat is a verie common hearbe and yet but little knowne by his name it is verie ordinarie in corne and tilled grounds about haruest time The Peasants of Champaigne doe commonly call it Veluote because in my judgement the leaues are hairie which name I mind not to change but rather to keepe for the easier knowing of the hearbe They make vse of it by applying it if at any time in shearing they happen to cut themselues with their sickles For to know it better therefore than onely by the name it putteth forth from the root fiue sixe seuen or eight small branches for the most part layed along vpon the earth of the length of a hand and sometime of a foot bearing leaues somewhat like vnto the little bindweed but indeed they be lesse and more round verie hairie and a little fattie The flower is small and of diuers colours drawing verie neere vnto a pale yellow but in greatnesse it commeth neâ—re vnto the flower of eyeâ— bright but in shape and fashion vnto the nettle slower The water of the leaues and branches distilled whiles it is in force in a Limbeck in Maries-bath is singular
the best of our moderne Physitians doe report but Iaques Siluius saith That the Sene which commeth out of India is not at all inferiour to it neither that which groweth in Tuscanie True it is that there is not anie of them but is passing good As for the vertnes of Sene according to the opinion of Aetuarius one of the best reputed Physitians amongst all the Grecians hee writeth That Sene is verie excellent for the purging and auoiding of choler and flegme without anie danger of disturbance vnto the bodie and spirits it also purgeth most sweetly all melancholie and adust humours being taken in the broth of a Capon it also taketh away all inueterate and old paines in the head and easeth all inward obstructions According to the opinion of Master Iohn of Damascus and excellent Arabian Physitian Sene being abstersiue and binding purgeth excellently the braine the sensitiue parts and organs of the heart from all adust and melancholie humours it also helpeth all long and tedious Feauers it also reioyceth the spirits and taketh away all sadnesse from the heart A decoction made of the leaues thereof together with Camomill strengtheneth the braine wonderfully and comforteth the sinewes being bathed therein also being taken anie way it confirmeth both the sight and hearing And if you find that the purgation be weake you may then strengthen it with mingling therewith Simples of stronger nature as Sal Gemma Sal India and such like but if you vse it for anie griefe in the stomacke then you shall mix strong cordials therewith and administer it either in the broth of Veale Chickens or Capons or anie other flesh And Serapion another Arabian Physitian writeth That Sene is excellent for those which are dull of vnderstanding for those which are subiect to frenzie or madnesse or anie decrepitnesse of bodie proceeding from inward weakenesse And to all these former opinions Iohn Fernell Iaques Siluius Manard Ferrarois and Andrew Mathiol the most excellent reputed Physitians of their times are fully and truely consenting as may be found in each of their Writings The Garden of Pleasure or Flower Garden CHAP. XLVII Of the profit pleasure situation working or tilling and disposing of your Garden of Pleasure THe most pleasant and delectable thing for recreation belonging 〈◊〉 our French Farmes is our Flower Gardens as well in respect 〈…〉 serueth for the chiefe Lord whose the inheritance is to solace 〈◊〉 therein as also in respect of their seruice for to set Bee-hiues in It is 〈◊〉 commendable and seemely thing to behold out at a window manie acres of 〈◊〉 well tilled and husbanded whether it be Medow a Plot for planting of 〈◊〉 or arable Ground as we haue stood vpon heretofore but yet it is much more to behold faire and comely Proportions handsome and pleasant Arbors and as it 〈◊〉 Closets delightfull borders of Lauender Rosemarie Boxe and other such 〈…〉 heare the rauishing musicke of an infinite number of pretie small Birds which continually day and night doe chatter and chant their proper and naturall branch 〈◊〉 vpon the Hedges and Trees of the Garden and to smell so sweet a Nose 〈…〉 neere at hand seeing that this so fragrant a smell cannot but refresh the Lord of the Farme exceedingly when going out of his bed-chamber in the morning after 〈◊〉 Sunne-rise and whiles as yet the cleare and pearle-like dew doth pearch vnto the grasse he giueth himselfe to heare the melodious musicke of the Beeâ— which busying themselues in gathering of the same doe also fill the ayre with a most acceptabâ—â— sweet and pleasant harmonie besides the Borders and continued Rows of souâ—raigne Thyme Balme Rosemarie Marierome Cypers Soothernwood and 〈◊〉 fragrant hearbeâ— the sight and view whereof cannot but giue great contentment 〈◊〉 to the beholder And in this Garden of Pleasure you are verie much to respect the forme and pâ—â—portion of the same wherein according to the opinion of Serres and Vnieâ—◠〈◊〉 must be much ruled by the nature of the Soyle which albeit you may in part by your industrie and cost helpe as touching the leuelling raysing abating or 〈◊〉 of the same yet for the most part and especially touching the ayre 〈◊〉 and clyme you must be gouerned by the Soyle in which you liue Now 〈◊〉 the generall proportions of Gardens they may at your pleasure carrie anie of 〈◊〉 foure shapes that is to say either Square Round Ouall or Diamond As for that which is more long than broad or more broad than long neither of which are vncomely they are contained vnder the titles of Squares This is but the outward pâ—â—portion or the Verge and Girdle of your Garden As for the inward 〈◊〉 and shapes of the Quarters Beds Bankes Mounts and such like they are to be diâ—ided by Alleyes Hedges Borders Rayles Pillars and such like and by these yoâ— may draw your Garden into what forme soeuer you please not respecting 〈◊〉 shape soeuer the outward Verge carrieth for you may make that Garden which 〈◊〉 square without to be round within and that which is round either square or oâ—â—ll that which is ouall either of the former and that which is diamond anie shape 〈◊〉 all and yet all exceeding comely You may also if your ground be naturally so 〈◊〉 or if your industrie please so to bring it to passe make your Garden rise 〈◊〉 by seuerall degrees one leuell ascending aboue another in such sort as if you had diuers gardens one aboue another which is exceeding beautifull to the eie and very beneficiall to your flowers fruit-trees especially is such ascents haue the benefit of the Sun-rising vpon them and thus if you please you may haue in one leuell a square 〈◊〉 in another a round in a third a diamond and in the fourth an ouall then alongst the ascending bankes which are on either side the staires you mount into your seuerall gardens you shall make your physicke garden or places to plant your physicke hearbes vpon according as the modell is most brauely set forth by Oliuer de Serres and as the late king of France caused his physicke garden to be made in the Vniuersitie of Montpellier being all raised vpon bankes or heights one aboue another 〈◊〉 round some square in the manner of a goodly large and well trimmed Theatre as may be seene at this day to the great admiration thereof The Garden of Pleasure as hath beene said must be cast and contriued close to the one side of the Kitchin Garden but yet so as that they be sundred by the intercourse of a great large alley as also a hedge of quickset hauing three doores whose ground must be of a like goodnesse and vouchsafed the like labour tilling and husbanding that the Kitchin Garden hath bestowed vpon it and as the Kitchin Garden is to be compassed and set about with Lattise worke and young common bordering stuffe to be made vp afterward and continued into arbours or as it were into small chappells or oratories
and places to make a speech out of that many standing about and below may heare in like sort shall the Garden of Pleasure be set about and compassed in with arbours made of Iesamin Rosemarie Box Iuniper Cypres trees Sauin Cedars Rose-trees and other dainties first planted and pruned according as the nature of euerie one doth require but after brought into some forme and order with Willow or Iuniper poles such as may serue for the making of arbours The waies and alleys must be couered and â—owen with fine sand well bet or with the powder of the sawing of Marble or with the fine dust of slate-stone and other hewen stone or else paued handsomely with good pit-stone and tyles that are well burnt or with faire peeces of stones such as staires be made of the whole laying of them being leuelled and made euen with a beater or mall made for the purpose or where these are not to be gotten you shall take of fine yellow grauell well mixt with pyble or other such like binding earth and with it trim your alleys others vse to take coale dust or the ashes of Sea-coale well beaten and siâ—ted and with it strow the alleys and although it be not fully so sightfull yet it is profitable in this respect that it keepes them from grasse and weeds and other greenes because nothing will sprout through the same albeit be not troden or walked vpon of a long space This Garden by meanes of a large path of the bredth of six foot shall be diuided into two equall parts the one shall containe the hearbes and flowers vsed to make nosegaies and garlands of as March Violets Prouence Gillo-flowres Purple Gillo-flowres Indian Gillo-flowres small Paunces Daisies yellow and white Gillo-flowres Marigolds Lilly-conually Daffodils Canterburie-bells Purple Veluet flowre Anemones Corne-flag Mugwort Lillies and other such like as may be called the Nosegay Garden Also in it you shall plant all sorts of strange flowers as is the Crowne imperiall the Dulippos of sundrie kinds Narcyssus Hyacynthes Emeryes Hellitropians and a world of other of like nature whose colours being glorious and different make such a braue checkerd mixture that it is both wondrous pleasant and delactable to behold The other part shall haue all other sweet smelling hearbes whether they be such as beare no flowers or if they beare any yet they are not put in Nosegaies alone but the whole hearbe with them as Soothernwood Wormewood Pellitorie Rosemarie Iesamin Marierom Balme Mints Penniroyall Costmarie Hyssope Lauander Basill Sage Sauorie Rue Tansey Thyâ—â—e Cammomile Mugwort bastard Marierom Nept sweet Balme All-good Anis Horehound and others such like and this may be called the Garden for hearbs of a good smell These sweet hearbes and flowres for Nosegaies shall be set in order vpon beds and quarters of such like length and bredth as those of the Kitchin Garden and some of them vpon seats and others in mazes made for the pleasing and recreating of the sight other some are set in proportions made of beds interlaâ—ed and drawne one within another or broken off with borders or without borders the greatest part of which sweet hearbes as also for Nose-gay flowers though they grow â—â—â—rally and of their owne accord without anie labour or trauell of the Gardener especially hearbes for Nose-gaies yet such of them as stand in need of dressing and ordering shall be sowne planted remoued gathered and kept no otherwise than the pot-hearbes but yet notwithstanding regard must be had of the nature of euerie particular one as shall be declared hereafter in the particular description of 〈◊〉 of them CHAP. XLVIII Of hearbes for Flowers or Nose-gaies MArch Violets as well the single as the double must be set of whole 〈◊〉 in a well manured ground and digged the depth of a foot before the â—â—lends of March if you will â—ow them you may doe it in Autumne and the Spring But especially you must beware not to set Violets euerie 〈◊〉 in one and the same place for otherwise it will beare a yellow flower and haue verie little or no smell in it You may make that one and the same Violet shall beare 〈◊〉 the colours that others doe that is to say white pale yellow and red of you mix together the seeds of all and tying them in a Linnen cloth put them in that sort 〈◊〉 a well manured earth The Violet must be gathered in the morning before the 〈◊〉 rise and when it raineth not if so be that you will haue it to keepe his vertues and sweet smell The flowers of March Violets applied vnto the browes doe assuage the headaâ—â— which commeth of too much drinking and procure sleepe He that shall haue takeâ— a blow vpon the head so that it hath astonished him shall not haue anie greater 〈◊〉 if presently after such a blow he drinke Violet flowers stampt and continue the 〈◊〉 drinke for a certaine time There is made of the flowers of Violets Syrrups and Conserues good for the inflammation of the Lungs the Pleurisie Cough 〈◊〉 Agues It is also most excellent to preserue these Violets for Salads to serue all the 〈◊〉 as thus When you haue gathered your Violets and pickt them cleane both 〈◊〉 their stalkes and anie other corruption that may hang ouer their leaues you 〈◊〉 wash them cleane and strike the water through a drie cloth so cleare from them 〈◊〉 may be then take a Glasse-pot of the fashion of a Gally-pot so large as you 〈◊〉 put in your hand and being cleane washt also first in the bottome thereof lay a layre of your Violets of halfe a fingers thicknesse then take of the finest refined Sugar beaten verie small and therewith couer the Violets all ouer then lay another layre of the Violets and couer them with Sugar as you did before and so lay Violets vpon Sugar and Sugar vpon Violets till you haue filled the pot to the 〈…〉 take of the strongest Wine-vineger that can be gotten and poure it into the pot till the vineger swimme aloft then let it rest an houre or two to settle and if you 〈◊〉 that the vineger be shrunke below the flowers you shall fill it vp againe not 〈◊〉 thus to doe till the vineger will shrinke no more then couer the pot vp verie 〈◊〉 with Parchment and Sheepes leather and set it so as it may receiue some 〈◊〉 ayre of the fire and after one moneth vse them as occasion shall serue for they will last all the yeare both Winter and Summer without loosing either their â—â—lour strength sweetnesse or pleasantnesse neither their growth nor fulnesse And in this sort you may preserue all sorts of flowers whatsoeuer as Roses Marigoldâ— Gilliflowers of all kinds Cowslips Primroses Broome flowers Paunfie◠〈◊〉 leaues or anie other sweet and wholesome flower whatsoeuer Wherein is to 〈◊〉 noted that if the flower which you preserue be of a pure white colour and that yoâ— feare the vineger may somewhat abate the brightnesse
of the colour in this case you shall distill your vinegar either in a Limbecke or other ordinarie Still and with the water which commeth from it which will be of a most pure and chrystaline colour and is indeed the spirit and sharpest part of the vinegar you shall preserue your flowers and then without doubt they will not abate any part at all of their owne brightnesse and colour White yellow and red Gillo-flowres do craue the like ordering that the March Violet doth and grow better vpon walls house tops and old ruines of stone than planted or tilled in gardens especially the yellow which come neerer to the resemblance of a shrub than of an hearbe hauing hard and wooddy stalkes and set full of branches commonly called of Apothecaries Keyâ—y The seed of Gillo-flowres stampt and drunke with white wine is soueraigne to prouoke womens termes and to further deliuerance in them that trauell Daisies must not be sowen but planted after the manner of violets this is the least kind of the 〈◊〉 which is likewise found in the fields without being tilled it flourisheth all the yeare long if it be well ordered Daisies stampt with Mugwort resolueth the King-euill A Cataplaâ—me made of Daisies is good for the palsie and all manner distillations For wounds in the brest whereinto tents may be put it is good to dâ—inke by and by a drinke made of stamped Daisies they heale the pastules of the tongue if they be chewed as also of the mouth being braied they asswage the inflammation of the priuie members eaten in sallades or broth of flesh they loosen the bellie Purple Veluet flower called in Latine Aramanthus doth recreate more with his colour than with any smell that it hath for it smelleth nothing at all notwithstanding who so will haue it in their gardens must plant it in a drie and sandie place The flower supt in pottage doth stay the flux of the bellie the termes and white flowers of vvomen the spitting of bloud especially if there be any veine broken or bruised in the lungs of brest The flower hereof infused in vvater or white vvine the space of an houre maketh the colour of the wine red and thus one may helpe himselfe the more easily to beguile any that are sicke of some ague and cannot abstaine from Wine Canterburie-bells as well the simple as the double require a fat ground and well inriched The Latines call it Viola Calathiana Their â—lowers mingled with Wheat flower make a good Cataplasme against scuruinesse and other sorts of scabbes likewise their roots boyled in white Wine to the consumption of the halfe and a linnen cloth dipped therein and applyed to scabbes and scuruinesse doth heale them the roots boyled in Wine and taken in a potion doe heale all the ruptures of the inward parts of the bodies doe cleanse the exulcerated lungs and spitting of bloud brayed and ground in manner of meale and drunke in Wine the weight of a French Crowne with two or three graines of Saffron are singular good against the jaundise if the partie sweat thereupon presently the like vertue is in the distilled water of the flowers the juice drawne out of their root and flowers applyed vnto wounds doth heale them presently a pessarie drencht in this juice prouoketh womens termes and draweth out the child dead in the mothers vvombe being dropt into the eare whereinto there hath some Flea or such other vermine crept it killeth them Gillo-flowres of all sorts are seldome sowne but oftentimes planted of roots or braunches pluckt from the plants the root shall be planted in the beginning of Autumne in a fat mould and so put in pots of earth thâ—t it may be remoued and set vnder some couert in Winter for feare of the frosts Sommer being come before the great plant haue cast forth his sprouts you may breake off so many small branches from about the root as will almost serue to set and plant a whole bed withall and so you may breed new plants of them You may make Gillo-flowers smell like Cloues if you lay bruised Cloues round about their roots In like manner you may make them haue faire flowers large pleasant and sweet smelling if you plucke away their leaues often and take paines to digge and water their earth furthermore such Gillo-flowers are commonly called Gillo-flowers of Prouence of the place where Gillo-flowers so ordered doe grow large tufted and ample those which haue not their flowers so large nor so sweet neither yet are so carefully looked vnto and dressed are properly called Purple Gillo-flowers The flowers of Gillo-flowers of Prouence as also their root are soueraigne against the Plague And for this cause such as are well aduised in the time of the Plague 〈◊〉 make conserues or vinegar of the flowers of Gillo-flowers to keepe themselues 〈◊〉 the euill ayre Indian Gillo-flowers called of the Latines Flos petillius and Ocellus 〈◊〉 although it refuse no ground notwithstanding if you plant it of the whole plant or of the branches thereof or else sow it in a fat and wel manured ground especially in the beginning of Iuly it will grow vnto such a height as that it will seeme to be a thing degenerated into the bignesse of a tree and will put forth of his stalke many boughâ— after the manner of a tree or shrub and by the same meanes there will put 〈◊〉 flowers induring vntill Winter Who will be counted carefull of preseruing his health must not smell vnto the flower of the Gillo-flowers of India for the smell thereof doth procure head-ach and giddinesse and is a meanes to breed the Falling-sicknesse further also which is more dangerous some haue found it by experience that it ingendreth an infectious aire likewise Physitians giue speciall prohibition to smell vnto the Indian Gillo-flower in the Plague time because the flower thereof is venimous and of temperate much like to the Hemlocke which may easily be perceiued by the vnpleasant smell it yeeldeth being both most strong and stinking That it is so namely that 〈◊〉 is venimous I haue giuen thereof sometimes vnto a Cat the flower the Gillo-flowres of India beaten and mixt with cheese to eat and she hath thereupon become verie much swelled and within a short time after dead I saw likewise a little young child who after hauing put these flowers in his mouth his mouth and lips did swell and within a day or two after became verie scabbed Wild Gillo-flowers as well white as red although they grow in the edges of fieldâ— and along the waies may notwithstanding be planted and set in gardens where 〈◊〉 they be oft remoued they will grow to haue a double flowre Their seed flower and whole hearbe is good against the stinging of Scorpions and indeed haue so greâ—â— vertue this way that the hearbe onely cast among Scorpions taketh from them all power to hurt their seed taken
is another note of admiration in this flower which is that it changeth it colour euerie yeare of it owne nature for the which no Gardiner is able to giue anie account Also there be some Tulipans which will not â—â—ourish aboue foure or fiue daies in the yeare and then after it carrieth no flower 〈◊〉 all The Martagon is a plant which putteth forth verie rare and excellent flowers â—uch what is shape like the Flower-de-luce and are infinitely desired for their exâ—ellencies it is most commonly either of an Orange or red colour and may be eiâ—her sowne or planted in a good ground in the Spring time when the Moone encreaseth It groweth in height seldome aboue three foot neither hath it anie branâ—hes it garnisheth the earth with manie greene leaues both long and sharpe â—ending their points downeward At the toppe of the stemme the flowers put â—orth vpon seuen or eight round buttons or cuppes which after a few daies doe open and out of euerie button springs forth a flower which will continue 〈◊〉 upon at least three or foure daies and then they will fall away and the bowle is perceiued in which the seed is retained which is not verie great but of a little and 〈◊〉 compasse Pâ—onie are flowers of diuers kinds some being single and some double and are 〈◊〉 esteemed for the beautie of their flowers they may be sowne or planted on any 〈◊〉 earth immediatly after Winter the stalke of it is greene and being risâ—n 〈◊〉 foot from the earth it putteth forth diuers large branches vpon the tops whereof 〈◊〉 many great buttons out of which breaketh forth the flowers being round 〈◊〉 and large so that some haue beene measured from the circumference to be the 〈◊〉 part of a foot in the diameter these flowers are euer of one colour as being all 〈◊〉 all white or all purple and not mixt or stripped as other flowers are Amongst all the flowers which beauitfie gardens none may compare with this other for odour glorie or generall delicacie whence it commeth that it is 〈◊〉 the Crowne Emperiall it may be sowne from the seed in any well drest 〈…〉 the Spring of the yeare and the new of the Moone yet it is much better if it be 〈◊〉 from the root which root is bigge and round like vnto a great S. 〈◊〉 Onion about which in the planting you shall â—ould a little fine mould 〈◊〉 with cows dung and then set it a good depth into the earth the stemme of this 〈◊〉 will spring out of the ground three or foure foot garnished all along with fine 〈◊〉 yet without any braunches at the top of all it putteth forth eight or nine 〈◊〉 borne vpon seuerall little branches distinguished from the stalke euerie one of 〈◊〉 being of equall height and length the flowers thereof for the most part shew 〈◊〉 because like the Helitropian they continually follow the Sunne and 〈◊〉 stand streight vpright but at hie noone onely the colour of them most 〈◊〉 is a pale red and they haue within the inward part of them a round liquid 〈◊〉 like vnto an Orient pearle which whilest the flower is in strength being for the 〈◊〉 part fifteene or twentie dayes you can by no meanes shake off nor will it be 〈◊〉 way with showers or tempests but if with your hand you wipe it away a new 〈◊〉 will arise againe presently in the same place this pearle if you tast vpon your 〈◊〉 is sweet and pleasant as Honie or Sugar This flower must be carefully 〈◊〉 from the frost and the slips of it would be seldome or neâ—er set because they are 〈◊〉 they bring forth flowers as three or foure yeares at the soonest CHAP. XLIX Of sweet smelling Hearbes BAsill as well the great as the small is sowne in Aprill and May in a 〈◊〉 ground and commeth vp quickly if so be that by and by after it is 〈◊〉 it be watered with water somewhat heated It may be sowne 〈◊〉 in Autumne and the seed would be watered with vinegar for so 〈◊〉 it but a verie little it will grow forth into branches If you sow it in a drie ground 〈◊〉 open vpon the Sun it will by and by turne and become either mountaine 〈◊〉 or cresses When you haue sowne it you must draw vpon the ground some 〈◊〉 fasten and set it close together for if it should lye light and hollow the seed would 〈◊〉 corrupt It must be watered at noone-tide cleane contrarie to other hearbs 〈◊〉 would be watered at morning or euening To cause it to grow great it is 〈◊〉 crop it oft with your fingers and not with any yron thing Some report a 〈◊〉 strange thing of Basill as namely that it groweth fairer and higher if it 〈◊〉 sowne with curses and injuries offered vnto it and further that there is a deadly 〈◊〉 betwixt ambeâ— basill for whereas amber or blacke jet it giuen to draw 〈◊〉 â—nto it vpon the touching of them it driueth and putteth farre from it the leaues and 〈◊〉 of Basill Such as are subject vnto head-ach or feare to be troubled therewith must shun the 〈◊〉 of Basill altogether for the smell thereof begetteth paine and heauinesse of the 〈◊〉 yeâ— sometimes it ingendreth in the head little small wormes like vnto Scorpiâ—â—s as we read to haue happened to a certaine Italian in our time as Monsieur â—â—oulier D. in physicke doth testifie in the beginning of his Practica in whose â—â—aine the oft smelling of Basill did beget a scorpion which caused him to endure â—â—treame paine and brought him to his death in the end The greatest vertue that 〈◊〉 hearbe can haue is that if a woman doe hold the roots of Basill in her hand toâ—ether with a Swallows feather when she is in trauell she shall be deliuered by and 〈◊〉 without any paine Rue as well that of the garden as the other which is wild doth not loue eyther a â—oist or cold ground neither yet a ground made verie fat with dung but rather a 〈◊〉 and drie ground free from vvind and where the Sunne shineth much in respect â—hereof it must be couered with ashes during the Winter time for the naturall heat 〈◊〉 the ashes doth cause it to resist the cold It may be sowne in March August and â—â—ptember although in deed it grow better set of roots or braunches than sowne â—hen it groweth old it degenerateth into a wooddie substance and therefore you â—ust cut the stalkes twice euerie yeare euen to the root to recouer his youth againe 〈◊〉 must not be suffered if possibly it may be let to flowre for if it be suffered to put 〈◊〉 any flowres it groweth so much the more drie Some report that this hearbe 〈◊〉 a maruailous propertie as that if it be toucht or come neere vnto be it neuer so 〈◊〉 by a woman that hath abused her bodie or that hath her termes that it dyeth 〈◊〉 and by To cause that it
may grow faire and haue a more pleasant smell it must be planted â—nder the shadow of a Figge-tree or grafted in the rind of a Figge-tree for the 〈◊〉 and sweetnesse of the Figge-tree doth temper the sharpenesse and acrimoâ—ie of the Rue Some say likewise that Rue will grow fairer if the branches thereof 〈◊〉 set in a Beane or Onion and so put into the ground It is likewise reported that it â—â—oweth fairer if one curse and hurt it when they set and plant it But looke how â—â—iendly and kind it is to the Figge-tree so much it is enemie vnto and hateth the â—â—emlocke likewise Gardiners when they would pull vp Rue for feare of hurting â—â—eir hands rub them with the juice of Hemlocke Wild Rue is of greater force than the garden Rue and of a more vnpleasant â—â—ell and also a more dangerous smell furthermore of so sharpe a vapour as that if 〈◊〉 come neere vnto the face neuer so little it will breed the wild fire in it The feed 〈◊〉 of the one and the other by the hot and drie temperature it hath drieth vp the 〈◊〉 of man and maketh him barren the same seed in decoction is good for distilâ—â—tions and the moisture of the matrix Rue hath a singular vertue and force against all manner of venime Likewise we 〈◊〉 that the king Mithridates was accustomed to vse an opiate made of twentie â—â—ues of Rue two drie Figges two old Walnuts and a little Salt to preserue his state â—gainst all manner of poyson For this cause you must plant in your gardens and 〈◊〉 your sheepecoats houses for your fowle and other cattell great quantitie of â—ue for Adders Lizards and other venimous beasts will not come neere vnto 〈◊〉 by the length of the shadow of it Some also hold it as a tried thing that to 〈◊〉 away Cats and Fulmers from hen-houses and doue-houses there is nothing â—etter than to set Rue at the doores thereof or round about them And that to free a â—ome of fleas and gâ—ats it is good to water that same with water sprinkled about with branch of rue In the plague time it is not good to put rue neere vnto your nose â—ontrarie to that which we see many men practise because by the sharpenesse of the 〈◊〉 there is caused a heat and excoriation of the part which it toucheth notwithâ—â—anding to draw out the venime that is in a bubo or pestilent carbuncle there is noâ—â—ing better than to applie thereto a cataplasme made of the leaues of rue stampt with leauen hogs-grease onions figges vnquencht lime sope cantharides and a 〈◊〉 treacle If a man haue eaten of hemlocke ceruse mandrakes blacke poppie 〈…〉 other hearbes which through their great coldnesse haue caused them to be 〈◊〉 and blockish they may profitably vse the juice of rue to drinke it for the 〈◊〉 of them from such danger or else the wine wherein it hath beene boyled Thâ— distilled water of rue powred into vvine and rose-water of each as much is good 〈◊〉 the weakenesse of the sight It is verie soueraigne for the headach and being 〈◊〉 in wine with fennell and so drunke it easeth all obstructions of the spleene or 〈◊〉 and taketh away the pain of the strangurie and also stoppeth any flux being 〈◊〉 with Cummin-seed it easeth all maner of aches and being stampt with home 〈◊〉 flower and the yolke of an egge it cureth any impostumation whatsoeuer All sorts of mints whether garden or wild doe nothing desire the ground 〈◊〉 dunged fat or lying open vpon the Sunne but rather a moist ground neere 〈◊〉 water for want thereof they must be continually watred for else they die it is 〈◊〉 sowne than set but if it be set then it may be either of roots or branches in 〈◊〉 or in the Spring time especially about the twelfth of March or September 〈◊〉 wanteth the seed to sow it may insteed thereof sow the seed of field mints 〈◊〉 the sharpe point downeward thereby to tame and reclaime the wildnesse of it 〈◊〉 it is growne it must not be toucht with any edge toole because thereupon it 〈◊〉 die Neither need you take care to sow it euerie yeare for it will grow of itselfe 〈◊〉 being sowne of set in great aboundance Mints stampt and applyed to breasts too hard and full of milke doe seften 〈◊〉 and hindreth the curding of the milke stampt with salt it is good against the 〈◊〉 of a mad dog stampt and put into a cataplasme it comforteth a weak 〈◊〉 and strengtheneth digestion two or three sprigs of mints taken with the juice of â—â—pomegranat stayeth the hicket vomiting and surfets It is good to help them 〈◊〉 haue lost their smelling by putting it oft to the nose Then leaues dried made in 〈◊〉 and drunke with white wine doth kill the wormes in yong children Such as 〈◊〉 milke aâ—ter they haue eaten it must by and by chaw of the leaues of mints 〈…〉 the quaâ—ling of the milke in their stomachs for mints haue the speciall 〈…〉 keeping milk from curding as also to keepe cheeâ—e from corruption and 〈◊〉 if it be sprinkled with the juice or decoction of mints being â—pplied vnto the 〈◊〉 it asswageth head-ach commming of cold The water of the whole hearbe distilled 〈◊〉 Maries bath in a glasse Alembecke and taken the quantitie of foure ounces 〈◊〉 stay bleeding at the nose which is very strange thing they that would liue 〈◊〉 must not smell vnto not eat any mints and therefore in auncient time it was 〈◊〉 captaines in warre to eat any mints Calamint otherwise called Mentastrum delighteth in the same ground 〈◊〉 mints we see it likewise grow in vntilled grounds neere vnto high waies and hedgâ— It prouoketh the termes in women whether it be taken at the mouth or in 〈◊〉 and that with such violence as that women may not in any case meddle with 〈◊〉 if they take themselues to be with child it is singular good vsed in formentation 〈◊〉 the paines of the stomach for the colicke and distillations the juice thereof 〈◊〉 the mouth killeth wormes in the bellie and being dropt into the eare it killeth 〈◊〉 there also Of this Calamint there are three kinds as the stone Calamint the 〈◊〉 Calamint and the water Calamint the water Calamint is excellent to make 〈…〉 the earth Calamint is verie good against leprosie helpeth paine in the 〈◊〉 and comforteth the stomach lastly the stone Calamint is soueraigne against 〈◊〉 and strengtheneth the heart if it be bruised and made into a plaiâ—ter with 〈…〉 sewet it healeth any venimous wounds and to drinke it three or foure daies 〈◊〉 either in ale or wine it cureth the jaundise Thyme as well of Candie as the common doth grow better planted than 〈◊〉 and craueth a place open vpon the Sunne neere vnto the sea and leane and it 〈◊〉 be planted at mid-March in a well â—illed ground that so it may the sooner
And for this cause some make Sage Wine for 〈◊〉 drinke and a fomentation with the decoction of Sage for the trembling of the 〈◊〉 and other parts It comforteth the mother being taken in a fume at the secret 〈◊〉 by such fume it also stayeth the whites Such as cannot beare their conception 〈◊〉 their time but miscarrie vpon slight causes must oftentimes in the morningeat 〈◊〉 Sage leaues for they strengthen the retentiue facultie keepe aliue and strengthen 〈◊〉 child and make women verie fruitfull And this is the cause why the Egyptian◠〈◊〉 a great mortalitie constrained their wiues to drinke the iuice of Sage with a little 〈◊〉 keeping themselues foure daies from hauing to doe with their husbands and then 〈◊〉 to lye with them that so they might conceiue and bring forth manie children To stirre vp appetite and cleanse the stomacke full of ill humours Sage 〈◊〉 be vsed oftentimes in pottage and otherwise it assuageth the paine of the head 〈◊〉 cleanseth the teeth and gummes it maketh a sweet breath being boyled in wine 〈◊〉 distilled water thereof doth cleare the sight the conserue of the flowers of Sage 〈◊〉 the like vertues Oake of Ierusalem called of the Latines Botrys craueth a drie and sandi◠〈◊〉 or else a watrie ground but such a one as is sandie or grauellie We behold it also 〈◊〉 and then to grow in swift running Brookes Being once sowne it needeth not 〈…〉 sowne againe afterward for it groweth againe euerie yeare and that as it were in 〈◊〉 of a shrub It hath vertues much like vnto Thyme that is to say it is goodâ—â—gainst the suppression of the termes and vrine Being dried and laid in 〈◊〉 it giueth a verie good smell vnto the garments and keepeth them from 〈…〉 decoction thereof with Licorice is wonderfull good for such as haue a short 〈◊〉 and are â—â—uffed in their lungs if you put thereto a little Sugar or syrrup of 〈◊〉 â—ea and furthermore to such as spit matter vpon no other penaltie but that it be vâ—ed a long time The hearbe parched vpon a hot tyle and besprinkled with Malmeâ—ey and applyed vnto the bsllie asswageth the pains of the matrix yea and more too â—f you adde thereunto the leaues of Mugwort and the flowers of Cammomile all friâ—â—d with oyle of Lillies and the yolke of an egge Horehound called in Latine Marrubium or Prassium as well the blacke 〈◊〉 the white groweth in euerie ground but rather in an vntilled than in a tilled ground you may also see it grow neere vnto walls hedges wayes and borders of fields 〈◊〉 is â—rue that the wild deâ—ireth wattie places as ditches little riuers moist and low plaâ—es It is verie good in decoction for the cough and difficultie of breath because it cleanseth the lungs and causeth spitting it prouoketh womens termes and bringâ—th â—orth the after-birth Sea Romane and common Wormewood is not so much sowne or set because of his smell as for the profit that it bringeth vnto the health The Romane groweth in a sandie ground the Sea-Wormewood groweth in a salt and ashiâ— ground â—he common in hillie stonie drie and vntilled grounds for to set them you must writhe the roots Wormwood amongst other his vertues almost infinite and admirable doth especially comfort the stomach laden with cholericke humours but not the stomach oppressed with flegmaticke humors and for that cause there is a Wine made of Wormwood and called by the same name The decoction of dogs-grasse his roots and the crops of Wormewood doe heale the Iaundise The conserue of the crops made of a pound thereof and three pounds of Sugar doth cure the old inâ—eterate and desperate dropsie if it be oftentimes vsed after purging it doth preserue likewise from drunkennesse It is an antidote in case a man haue â—aten venimous Mushromes or taken downe any other venime especially the Hemlocke as also in bitings and stingings of Spideâ—s and other venimous beasts The juice mingled with the kernells of Peaches doth kill the Wormes The leaues made into ashes and mingled with oile of Roses doth make the haire blacke The leaues layed in Wardrobes doe keepe the garments and doe driue away Flies and Gnats Southernewood groweth best being planted of roots or shoots for it doth not so well being sowne of seed It cannot abide much cold nor much heat and therefore it must be planted in some such place of the garden as is temperate The seed the weight of a French Crowne stampt with some of the leaues in white Wine adding thereto an old Nut and a little Bole-Armoniacke all being stâ—ayned and drunke is a singular drinke against the Plague and all manner of poyson The crops of the tops of the leaues and the flowers being beaten and stampt in oyle and made into the forme of a liniment doe serue to shift off the shiuerings of agues if so be that the soles of the feet and verebres of the backe oâ— him that hath the ague be rubbed therewith Southernwood taken inward or applied outward doth kill wormes in young children It is true that Galen for biddeth the taking of it at the mouth because it is an enemie to the stomach Rosemarie loueth chiefly a reasonable sat ground it groweth in any ayre but best by the Sea sides and thereupon it beaâ—eth his name It must be planted in the Spring and Autumne of roots on braunches writhen and see fast in the earth and that in a warme place or at the least lying open vpon the Sunne and not such a place as is verie moist or subject vnto the Northernâ— vvind because this plane can hardly endure the cold and therefore it must be planted vpon the South vader some wall and the good time of planting or it is when it will pricke and then you must take off the small young sprigs and set them three inches vvithin the earth making the earth fast and close vnto them aboue or else of some part of the most leauie branches therof which being afterward helped by making the ground light doth spread and continue fresh hauing no need to be watered except at the verie time of setting of it if the ground be 〈◊〉 and yet notwithstanding if it be watered it will prosper the better and flourish the more So long as it is young it would be diligently weeded and picked it requireth no dung but onely a good mould and to be compassed 〈◊〉 the root with good earth The lees of Wine and the scraps broken off from 〈◊〉 layd at the foot thereof doe cause it to grow maruellously There are two 〈◊〉 Rosemarie the one bearing seed and the other not Some plant it for food 〈◊〉 vnto Hiues because it flowreth betimes and for that the Bees doe greatly delighâ—◠〈◊〉 it and by it doe better continue in health as also make better honey than thâ—se which feed not vpon it at all The flowers of
it will keepe a yeare or two without being spoyled if you gather them cleane and not mixt with anie filthie things hauing 〈◊〉 dried them a little in the Sunne vntill they haue lost their newnesse and freshnessâ—â— afterward drie them vp throughly in the shadow and put them not vp to keepe 〈◊〉 they be perfectly dried It is good in the Plague time to perfume the house with Rosemarie for the 〈◊〉 thereof driueth away the ill ayre The leaues and flowers are good against headach especially to stay the whites if a woman doe vse them long time euerie morning 〈◊〉 more specially to make the sight better if the partie that hath the weake sight 〈◊〉 eat fasting both the leaues and the flowers of Rosemarie ioint together with 〈◊〉 and salt euerie morning The flowers thereof made in conserue doe comfort 〈◊〉 Stomacke and are good in melancholike Passions the Falling sicknesse 〈◊〉 and Palsies The seed drunke with Pepper and white Wine doth heale the Iaundise and take away the obstructions of the Liuer The decoction of the 〈◊〉 thereof in white Wine doe comfort weake and oppressed Sinewes If you 〈◊〉 your head therewith it will make a hard skinne and comfort the little 〈◊〉 and also keepe the haire from falling so quickly Some doe make Tooth-piâ—â—â— of the wooddie parts thereof and those verie good as also Coales to draw 〈◊〉 first Lineaments and Ground-worke of Pictures and such other things to be painted The ordering of lesamine is like vnto that of Rosemarie saue that Iesamine doâ—â— continue alwaies greâ—ne and not so subiect to frost as Rosemarie and is much in 〈◊〉 quest for Arbors and Shelters and for the setting forth of a Quarter There may 〈◊〉 made an Oyle of his flowers infused a long time in Oyle of sweet Almonds 〈◊〉 in a bagge from betwixt a Presse which will be soueraigne to comfort the 〈◊〉 â—inewes and other parts of the bodie troubled with cold distillations and to 〈◊〉 the frets of young children Mountaine or wild Thyme delighteth to be planted or sowne in grounds 〈◊〉 some Fountaine small Rundle or Well and such as is ill tilled being drie in 〈◊〉 and full of water in Winter and thus placed it yeeldeth a great deale the 〈◊〉 leaues It requireth notwithstanding a ground that is neither fat nor dunged 〈◊〉 open to the Sunne and would be oft transplanted Sometimes it commeth of 〈◊〉 that is ill husbanded Mountaine Thyme boyled in vineger and oyle of Rose assuageth the headach if the temples be rubbed therewith boyled in Wine and drunke it prouoketh Womens termes bringeth forth the after-birth and dead child with Honey iâ— cleanseth the Lungs and helpeth the Falling sicknesse The decoction is good 〈◊〉 the windinesse swellings and hardnesse of the Matrix The perfume of 〈◊〉 Thyme killeth Serpents and other venimous Beasts and driueth away Fleas 〈◊〉 weight of a French crowne of the powder of Mountaine Thyme drunke with 〈◊〉 assuageth the belly ach and deliuereth the partie which is troubled with 〈◊〉 of vrine Penyryall groweth well either sowne or planted wherein this must be marked that if it be planted of the root or branches in Autumne it will bring forth 〈◊〉 and flowers in mid Nouember It being once planted continueth alwaies so 〈◊〉 it be well wed and pickt euerie yeare it must be watred verie diligently Penyryallâ—â— excellent good against the Dropsie for the Spleene Iaundise and furthering of womens deliuerance in trauell as also to bring forth the after-birth and to 〈◊〉 the termes being drunke with white Wine The perfume of Penyryall killeth 〈◊〉 and venimous Beasts A Cataplasme made of Penyryall boyled in Wine doth assuage the paine of the Sciatica Dill loueth better to be planted than sowne and craueth chiefely a ground somewhat warme but more enclining to cold If you would haue it to grow faire you must water it oftentimes When it is sowne it is not needfull that the seed should be couered with earth because it is not subiect to be eaten of Birds Dill hath power to take away Belchings and inward Gripes Vomit and Hicket and that onely with smelling to it to prouoke Vrine and helpe the digestion of the Stomacke it causeth a spring of milke in Nurses healeth the suffocation of the Matrix and ripeneth all manner of tumours Annise craueth a well batled tilled fat and manured ground It must be sowne in March and oft watered Euerie man knoweth how good and profitable the seed thereof is eaten in the morning for such as are subiect to the gripes of the Stomack and Guts to the Hickeâ— Belchings stinking Breath and which desire to haue a beautifull and comely countenance after meat it also helpeth digestion it is good for Nurses to cause them to haue much milke It also taken away the stopping of the Stomacke or Spleene it helpeth Collickes prouoketh Vrine makes a man apt to sweet and lastly keepes the bodie soluble Bishops-weed craueth such ground and such tillage as Annise which being once sowne doth lightly grow there euerie yeare by the seed falling from it it groweth chiefely in rested grounds The seed is excellent good against Wringings and Gripes to prouoke Womens termes and Vrine if it be drunke with Wine so that it be vsed but seldome for otherwise it causeth a pale colour The perfume doth mundifie and cleanse the Matrix and maketh barren women fruitfull if together with this suffumigation the barren woman doe take euerie second morning the weight of a dramme of the powder of this seed three houres before shee eat anie thing continuing it for foure of fiue times but in the meane time the husband must lye with his wife vpon such daies as shee shall vse this powder a thing proued diuers times Caraway is sowne in the moneth of May in a good cleane and manured ground in such sort as we haue said in the Kitchin Garden The seed helpeth Digestion prouoketh Vrine expelleth Windinesse and hath the same vertues that Annise hath being made into powder it is with good successe mixt amongst such remedies as are vsed to be giuen for drie blowes Cummin doth grow fairest when it is sowne in a fat and hot ground or in a ground lying open to the Easterne Sunne amongst the pothearbes for so it groweth better in the beginning of May. Some likewise say that for to make it grow faire and well it must be cursed and rayled vpon It must not be watered so presently after it is sowne but after it is put forth of the earth it must be oftentimes watered The seed taken at the mouth scattereth the winds which breake vpward it mendeth the inward gripes and taketh away the difficultie to make water as also the blacknesse of drie blowes the powder thereof being presently applyed after it hath beene beat verie small and fine and heated at the fire
the said tooth-ach It is good also for them which haue the swimming of the head as also for them which are troubled with Melancholie or with the Stone Caâ—s-mint or Nept is a kind of Calamint whereof wee haue spoken before so called because that Cats doe exceedingly delight in the smell thereof and doe tumble themselues round vpon the leaues and stalkes it groweth without anie great husbanding in marshie and waterish places as may easily be seene and tryed It is reported to haue a singular vertue in helping women to conceiue In like manner Physitians are wont to prescribe Bathes and Fomentations made of this hearbe for women that cannot conceiue and haue children Also it is verie delicately purgatiue and openeth the bodie verie gently without offence or danger aftercoâ—â—iâ—enesse French Lauander being and hearbe of a verie good smell and verie vsuall in Languâ—doâ— and Prouence doth craue to be diligently tilled in a fat ground and lying open to the Sunne The decoction syrrup or distilled water doth comfort the braine and memorie taketh away the obstructions of the Liuer Spleene Lungs and Matrix but such as are cholericke must not vse it because it disquieteth them mightily in causing them to vomit and altering them much by bringing a heat vpon all the bodie The drie stonie and Sunne-shining place is verie fit for Lauander whether male or female Before it flower it must be cut and picked verie carefully It is of a sweet smell and good when it is dryed to put amongst Linnens and Woollen Clothes â—mparting of his sweetnesse vnto them and keeping of them from vermine It is verie excellent to comfort weake and wearied sinewes or otherwise ill affected through some cold cause and by reason hereof Baths and Fomentations made of Lauander for Palsies Conuulsions Apoplexies and other such like affects are verie soueraigne The flowers with Cinnamon Nutmeg and Cloues doe heale the beating of the heart The distilled water of the flowers taken in the quantitie of two spoonefuls restoreth the lost speech and healeth the swownings and disease of the heart The consâ—rue and distilled water thereof doe the like The Oyle thereof dryeth vp Rheumes also and beeing annoynted vpon the nape of the necke it is singular good against conuulsions and benummednesse of sinewes All-good otherwise called in French Orualle because it is as much worth as gold groweth in anie ground without seed and with seed it delighteth notwithstanding to be often watered The leaues stamped and applyed doe draw forth thornes and prickes that are fastened and runne into anie part of the bodie whatsoeuer It doth in like manner bring the child out of the mothers bodie being in trauell The wine wherein it hath been steeped in small quantitie doth make men pleasant and cheerefull and apt to carnall copulation The seed thereof put into the eye and turned manie times round about the eye doth cleanse and cleare it in wiping away the â—â—egmaticke humour wherewith you shall well perceiue the seed to be laden and aâ— it were wrapt in small filmes after that it is taken out of the eyes The flowerâ— and seed put in a vessell full of sweet Wine whiles it yet purgeth giueth it the tast of Malmesey It is true that such Wine will quickly make one drunke and cause the head-ach as we see that Beere doth wherein Brewers boyle Clarie in stead of Hoppes Nigella of the Garden must be sowne in a ground that is fat and well tilled The fume of the seed taken doth stay the rheume drie the braine and causeth the smelling that is lost to come againe boyled with water and vineger and holden in the mouth it assuageth tooth-ach Sweet Balme groweth rather in Woods and Forests than in Gardens notwithstanding he that will haue it in his Garden must sow it in a fat and well battild ground where the heat of the Sunne commeth not verie strongly It serueth to reioyce the heart and deliuereth the spirit from melancholike imaginations and fansies it is good not onely against bitings and stingings of venimonâ— beasts but also against the Plague in whatsoeuer manner it be vsed And further if anie man doubt himselfe to haue eaten anie venimous or poysoned meat as it falleth out often in them which haue eaten Mushromes and such like things then this serueth for a singular remedie against the same Such as esteeme it a fine thing to keepe Bees to the end he may preuent their flying away and forsaking of their Hiues as also to cause them to come againe if they be gone away doe rub the Hiues with the flowers of sweet Balme as on the contrarie to driue them and to cause them to forsake them they rub them with the flowers of Fetherfew Camomile as well the white as the yellow hath no need of great tilling it is sufficient to plant it in a drie leane and stonie ground Camomile is singular good to mollifie resolue raâ—ifie and loosen and in this respect there is no remedie better for laâ—â—itudes or wearisomenesse without iust outward causes than bathes made with the leaues and flowers thereof The leaues of Camomile stamped with white wine make a verie good drinke to cure all sorts of Agues but especially Tertians for which reason the Priests of Egypt did consecrate it vnto the Sunne Also the water of Camomile drunke warme in the beginning of the fit doth throughly heale the Tertian by vomit The leaues of Camomile yet greene being dryed vpon a Tyle or hot Fire-panne doe by and by appease the head-ach Being also fried with sweet Sewet and vnset Leekes in a Frying-paâ—â—e and put hot into a Linnen bagge and so applyed to the nauell it killeth Wormes either in old middle age or young infants and taketh away all manner of paine in the bellie Melilot refuseth no ground be it fat or be it drie and yet it loueth to be watered Melilot doth mollifie resolue and rarifie as doth Camomile and yeeldeth a verie good smell especially when it is new or when it raineth in Summer it also assuageth the ach of anie part or member whatsoeuer it be Also the â—uice thereof mixed with Turpentine Waxe and Oyle ripeneth breaketh and healeth anie Impostume whatsoeuer it taketh away all hard swelling and cleanseth wounds Manie men being verie desirous to adorne and set forth their Garden with all sorts of Plants doe amongst the rest prouide to furnish it with Apples of Loue which the Latines call Mala insana by reason of the beautie of their fruit which which is as thicke as a Cucumber drawing towards a red colour They must be sowne in the Spring in a fat and well battild soyle and where the Sun hath great power because they cannot abide any cold they craue the like ordering and husbandrie that the Cucumber doth Many licorish mouthes let not to be eating of these no more than of mushroomes they take
away their pilling they cut them in slices boyle them in water and after frie them in the flower of meale and butter or oyle and then cast vpon them pepper and salt this kind of meat is good for such men as are inclined to dallie with common dames and short-heeld huswiues because it is windie and withall ingendreth cholericke humours inâ—inite obstructions and head-ach sadnesse melancholicke dreames and in the end long continuing agues and therefore it were better to forbeare them Mandrakes as well the male as the female is more acceptable and to be commended for the beautie of his leaues fruit and whole plant than for the smell it hath it must be sowne or planted in some shadowed place a fat and well battild ground and be kept from the cold which it altogether detesteth and cannot abide The Apples of Mandrakes procure sleepe if you put but one of them vnder your eare when you are layed in bed it is all but fables which is spoken of the root which is not so cooling as the apple and hath vertue on the contrarie to drie soften and resolue all the hardnesse of the liuer spleene kings euill and such other tumours how hard and rebellious soeuer that they be Which is more Dioscorides reporteth that if one boyle the rootes of Mandrakes vvith Iuorie for the space of sixe houres it maketh the Iuorie so tractable and softeneth it in such sort as that you may set what impression vpon Iuorie that you please peraduenture such as bring vs vnicornes horne from thence doe vse such deceitfull and wily dealing with vs seeing by such their cunning skill they are able in such sort to soften Iuorie or the Harts-horne and thereby likewise able to worke it to the same forme which we receiue the vnicornes-horne in at this day Within this small time there hath beene seene a plant somewhat like vnto apples of loue bearing a round fruit like an apple diuided vpon the outside as the melon is with furrowes in the beginning it is greene but afterward when it commeth to ripenesse it becommeth somewhat golden and sometimes reddish This plant is more pleasant to the sight than either to the taste or smell because the fruit being eaten it prouoketh loathing and vomiting CHAP. L. Of the forme of setting Hearbes in order by proportion of diuers fashions WEe haue alreadie deliuered the forme of setting Hearbes in order as well such as are of a sweet smell as those which are for nosegaies and that either vpon particular beds or quarters now we will speake of the manner of bestowing of them in proportions of diuers fashions and in labyrinthes or mazes But in this course I cannot set thee downe an vniuersall and as it were inuiolable prescript and ordinance seeing the fashions of proportions doe depend partly vpon the spirit and inuention of the Gardener and partly vpon the pleasure of the maister and Lord vnto whom the ground and garden appertaineth the one whereof is lead by the hops and skips turnings and windings of his braine the other by the pleasing of his eye according to his best fantasie Notwithstanding that there may not any thing be here omitted which might worke your better contentment and greater pleasure by looking vpon the beautie and comelinesse of this your garden-plot I intend to set before you diuers figures of proportions and the manner of drawing of them cunningly to the end you may haue the meanes to chuse those which shall most delight you and best agree with your good liking In which I desire you to giue great thankes and acknowledge your selfe greatly beholden and bound vnto Monsieur Porcher Prior of Crecie in Brie the most excellent man in this art not onely in France but also in all Europe and not vnto me who shall be but his mouth in deliuering what he hath said written and communicated vnto me in precepts yet extant and to be seene with the eye And touching these proportions you shall vnderstand that they are of two kinds inward and outward the inward are those beauties and proportions which are bestowed vpon the inward parts or quarters of your garden as are knots mazes armes braunches or any other curious figures whatsoeuer and these are diuided by slender rowes or lines of hearbes flowers turfes or such like the outward beauties or proportions are those which are bestowed in the outward and generall parts of the whole or entire modell of the garden drawne into what figure knot or deuise your fancie can create or the ground retaine and are diuided by alleyes hedges deepe borders and such like as shall be at large shewed vnto you hereafter To come therefore vnto the matter all the sweet smelling hearbes and others for â—osegaies which we haue mentioned before are not fit and good to make proportions of The most fit and meet are penniroyall lauander hysâ—ope wild thyme rosemarie thyme â—age marierom cammomile violets daisies basil and other such hearbs as well those that are of sweet smell as those which are for nosegayes as for example lauander and rosemarie of a yeare old to make borders about the proportions or knots and as for boxe in as much as it is of a naughtie smell it is to be left off and not dealt withall All the rest of the hearbes as penniroyall hyssope wild thyme thyme sage maâ—ierom and such like are â—ittest to be vsed about the quarters or else in some such preâ—tie little deuises as are made in the middest of borders or whereof proportions of quarters without borders as wel whole as broken are made Germander also is an excellent hearbe for the setting forth of any inward proportion for it growes euen and comely thicke and vpright so is also mother of thyme winter-â—auorie and pinkes prouided that with your sheares you keepe them from too much spreading The hearbes whereof borders shall bee made must bee more high and thickeâ— set of leaues than those whereof proportions of quarters either whole or broken are made or yet the other which are in the middest of the borders that so the beautie and good proportion of the knot or quarter may bee seene and discerned more easily I call in these places that the border which compasseth the proportion or quarter about as also the alleys of the garden I call broken quarters those many small parcels which are sundred and seperate one from another The proportions either without borders or borders are either equally square in widenesse and length or else vnequally squared that is to say longer than they are wide or wider than they are long Or else of the forme and shape of an egge or of a forme and fashion that is mixt of a round and a square or of some such other forme as shall please the gardener as for example the fashion of a flower-deluce of a true loues knot of a lion rampant and other such like portraitures That which shall be in the midst of the proportions with borders
proportion or squares you must haue two small rods of the thickenesse of a thombe of willow of some other straight wood the one eight foot long and the other betwixt three and foure the long one to serue for the largest works and the short for the smaller vpon which rods you must marke out your proportions wherof you meane to make your squares or any other â—orme that it shall please you to make For round workes you must haue an instrument commonly called the Gardners Bilboquet the patterne whereof you shall see hereafter but giue it what name it pleaseth you but this is the manner of making of it You shall take a prop or standard somewhat thicker than your thombe you shall put thereto a line of the same thicknesse that your gardening lines are of three or foure foot long or according to the length and greatnesse that you would haue your rounds of Vpon this line shall you make knots according to the bignes or outside of the worke and then another knot for the second or inward circle of the round which shall be eight or nine inches or lesse if you will but I tell you before hand that if you make them any lesse the border will be ouershadowed and will not last and continue so long and yet I still refer it to your owne discretion To euery knot of the said line for to make your rounds withall you shall make fast right ouer against the knot on the backside thereof a little sticke some foure fingers long more or lesse as you shall most fancie and of thicknesse of your little finger By the meanes of these knots shorter or longer you shall make your rounds so many and so big or so little as shall seeme good vnto you If it may not rather stand with your liking to make two Bilboquets one for your smal rounds and another for your greater This figure following doth shew the forme and fashion that must be followed in vsing your lines for the making of your quarters with borders These draughts will serue also to make a border to broken quarters with some small whole and vnbroken proportions in the midst euen as you see a square in the midst and shall further hereafter see it in other portraitures which shall be set out for your vse To work the more surely you shall let all your lines be stretched out in length and our standards props or dibbles fast in the ground vntill such time as you haue throughly finished the border that is to say your crosse lines in the middest as also those which passe from corner to corner and thirdly those which make the sides of the borders All which said lines are noted with the letter B. The others which are marked with the letter A. are the running or flying lines which are carried from one place to another to make middle partitions to the treading of the rounds and to the squaring of the said border when as one side is downe they are then to be taken vp to be pitched down else where And although that here be foure yet two is sufficient at the discretion of the gardener who according as his number of workefolkes is more or lesse shall stretch and draw more or fewer lines The manner of vsing and platforme shewing the practise of handling the lines for the laying out of a simple quarter without any border And how the lines must bee continued and kept stretcht till the whole proportion be drawne out and finished The vse and manner of practising by the stretched lines The vse and manner of practising by the stretched lines A simple proportion or draught of a Knot A simple proportion or draught of a Knot A simple proportion or draught of a Knot A simple proportion or draught of a Knot A simple proportion or draught of a Knot A simple proportion or draught of a Knot A simple proportion or draught of a Knot A simple proportion or draught of a Knot A simple proportion or draught of a Knot The way and maner to stretch the lines to make a quarter with borders and to make a border with squares broken and crossed thorow the middest The manner of stretching your lines vpon a border with a seuered knot in the middest A border with his seuerall proportion in the midst A border of broken squares with a middle consisting of fiue proportions The manner to stretch the lines to make a quarter of broken squares Let rest and abide in their places the lines til you haue finished the proportions Take the measure of the standards of a crosse and corner line whether it be a square or a round and let there be so many of them and as great as the ground will beare And if perhaps you would plant any thing in the middest of the quarter helpe your selfe with the running lines and their standards to plant there what you would without putting downe any other standards or stretching any other lines than are alreadie and those you must not flacke according as hath beene said before The manner of stretching the lines vpon a quarter of broken squares A border of broken squares with the middle The forme and shape of Bilboquet which is an instrument to take the measure of rounds as we haue declared before The forme of a Labyrinth When the hearbes as well of the Borders as of the Quarters are growne vp if they become too thicke set of leaues and by their large spreading doe ouer-shadow the one the other couer the small alleyes of the proportions and therewithall spoyle and huâ—â— the comelinesse of the whole Quarter they must be cut The season to cut them is at all such times as need shall require It is true that there must especiall care be had not to cut them the time of August being once past by reason of the great losâ—e that ensueth in hearbes which thereby will fall to wither and pine away and become as things burned with the Sunne To cut them which stand in a right and straight line you shall stretch a line verie stiffe being of the length of the proportion by the direction whereof you shall cut verie neere first the two sides and then the vpper face thereof As concerning Rounds you must cut them for the â—ight of the Countrey as round as euer you can To cut the Border whether it be of Lauander Rosemarie or Boxe you must vse the ordinarie sheeres which haue handles of wood To cut other smaller and lesse hearbes you must haue sheeres like those which Taylors vse Now you shall againe vnderstand that these inward Quarters wherein you place these Knots or other Deuises may be circumferenced or bound in as well with 〈◊〉 curious Hedges made battlement-wise in sundrie formes according to inuention or carrying the proportions of Pyllasters Flowers shapes of Beasts Birds Creeping things Shippes Trees and such like as with Borders especially if your ground be little or straitened because these Hedges take
in some place by itselfe because it is subject vnto fleas or lice and other 〈◊〉 vermine which causeth the small â—oot that should hold vp the head to fall dowâ—â— others doe put ten or twelue of them in little faggots together and so hang 〈◊〉 standing one a prettie deale from the other in the shade or wind and not in the 〈◊〉 or in any moist place Some drie them in the South Sunne turning them twice or thrice and after hanging them by paires in order vpon poles The Tasell is to be commended in this point for that in the middest of the head thereof after it is well dried there is found a little Worme which being hung about the necke or applied vnto the wrests doth heale the feauer quartaine it assuageth likewise the great ach of impostumes which grow about the nailes being applied â—â—hereunto CHAP. LVIII Of Saffron AS for Saffron the best Farmers and such as are most cunning in the ordering of plants doe make verie much and highly esteeme of that which is called Bastard Saffron and of the common people tearmed Parrot-seed being the same that old writers call Carthamus the plant is of no vse the 〈◊〉 excepted which purgeth flegmaticke humours or else feeds Parrots which are daintie and fine mouthed This plant when it is growne vp being well husbanded 〈◊〉 ordered beareth certaine little thicke heads like the heads of Garleeke and in 〈◊〉 middest of it a flower which one would say were Saffron This good it doth 〈◊〉 that it enricheth and maketh fat the ground where it groweth likewise it â—â—â—ueth no great food or maintenance neither leaueth it any root in the earth after it 〈◊〉 gathered that may put forth or take any acknowledgement of or doe any harme â—â—to the soile wherein it grew There is euerie way as much profit in tilling of this â—earbe as there is in Anise or Fennell when all is said a good Farmer will make profit of euerie thing and there is not as we say so much as the Garleeke and Oniâ—on which he will not raise gaine of by selling them at faires most fitting for their â—â—me and season and so helpe himselfe thereof and fill his purse with money The ordinarie Saffron seruing for sauces painting and making of colours is a â—â—hing of toyle and of profit as may be learned and easily vnderstood by the inhabiâ—â—nts of Tourain Prouence and Portugal where the same growes exceeding aboundantly It is planted like cammomile in the Spring vpon heads foure fingers off one from another but it must be in a free and well battilled ground not verie far nor verie leane but open to the Sunne it must be well troden downe with the feet when it shall let fall his flower but when it buddeth and putteth forth it must be left â—lone to natures worke At the time of the gathering of it you must haue linnen â—loaths to draw it out of his bell euening and morning and after drie it well in the â—hadow of the Sunne and â—ouer it with cleane linnens make it cleane and taking away his white purge it that so it may be free from all filth and fit to be kept in a drie place well couered or in some vessell close stopt and leauing in the earth the Oniâ—â—ns or heads of the Saffron with a good quantitie of Grapes or of the drosse thereof 〈◊〉 it commeth from the presse put vnto them you shall take them vp in the moneth of March when they haue brought forth fruit three yeares and drie them in the Sun â—eeping them after in some place that is not moist that so you may plant them againe 〈◊〉 some other place and ground that is well tilled as hath already beene deliuered at â—â—arge in the fiue and thirtieth Chapter Some are of judgement that it is naught for a 〈◊〉 to vse Saffron much and that it is a speciall venime vnto the heart but howsoeâ—â—er this be true the profit of it is great and therefore commodious and requisite for 〈◊〉 Farmer which would not that his ground should be vnprofitable vnto him See â—ore about in the place aforâ—named concerning Saffron CHAP. LIX A brieâ—e and short reniew concerning Pulse I Will say nothing of the Nauâ—t nor of the two kinds of 〈◊〉 of which the great and round one is for them that dwell in Lymosin 〈◊〉 and Prouence and the long one which they call 〈◊〉 for Fraunce and other places as in like manner I will make no mention of Mustard-seed Millet Pannicke and Cummine neither yet of great wild 〈◊〉 Lupines Lentils and Fenugreeke vvhich notwithstanding are all pulse and â—eed of profit and commoditie for the houshold as hauing reserued them for the 〈◊〉 garden planted at the end of the kitchin-garden I will content my selfe in this place 〈◊〉 admonish the good Farmer that for the bringing of the ground into some kind of occupation during the time of his rest and after that it hath been imployed in bringing forth better corne it will not be amisse to sow therein either 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 foresâ—â—ne that the â—eed after the pulling vp of the plants be so well and thoroughly gathered and carried away as that the ground may be quite rid and 〈◊〉 of the same for otherwise in time there would be nothing to be found amongst this seed but wild Coleworts Dâ—newort and other noysome weeds and in deed pulse 〈◊〉 make as much for good husbandrie as the corne that is good for to make 〈…〉 pottage is in continuall request for the houshold in what house soeuer it be 〈◊〉 make a 〈◊〉 of making bread of Millet as is to be seene in some places of 〈◊〉 but it is not but when great necessitie driueth them to it But howsoâ—â—er 〈◊〉 be 〈◊〉 peason fiches and fetches are not of lesse request or inferiour in tast unto great 〈…〉 lupines cummine fenugreeke and lentills and for the proofe hereof I will 〈◊〉 to witnesse the people of Aruernia Lymosin Sauoy and Dauphine for the 〈◊〉 whereof not to speake further in this place of any other thing whatsoeuer that may be as it were superfluous we will referre you to learne the whole 〈◊〉 in the 〈◊〉 of tilling of seeds and pulse in arable grounds CHAP. LX. Of remedying of strange accidents that may happen vnto Hearbes THe Hearbes either sowne or planted in the gardens before spoken of 〈◊〉 not hurt onely by haile lightning thunder frosts fogges blashâ—â—â— and other harmes hapning by the courses of seasons but also they 〈◊〉 annoyed by reason of wast and destruction brought vpon them 〈◊〉 little beasts as Grashoppers Weazles Caterpillers house and field Rats 〈◊〉 Moules Pismires Flies Gnats Bats Wall-lice Fleas Greone-flies Horse 〈◊〉 Frogges Snailes Adders and such like which mischiefes you must be 〈◊〉 full to meet withall that so you may not loose your labour about your garden 〈◊〉 frustrated both of the profit and pleasure that might rise and come thereby And to speake generally of the preuenting of these
commoditie haue we as the vvaxe which we enjoy by 〈◊〉 Bees yea what say you to honie it selfe that their admirable worke and no 〈◊〉 profitable and pleasant for the vse of man Let it not then seeme strange vnto you if we aduise the housholder to giue care and be carefull to keepe Bees about his 〈◊〉 and therewithall teach him in a few words what should be the ordering and goâ—â—â—ning of them and their hiues and withall at what time and houre it is good â—â—â—â—ther honie and vvaxe The housholder therefore shall first make choyce for the keeping of Beâ—â— of some fit and secret place in his Garden of Pleasure in the bottome of some 〈…〉 it be possible to the end they may the more easily rise on high to flie abroad to 〈◊〉 their food as also for that when they be laden they dâ—â—cend the more easily dowâ—ward with their load But let vs see to it especially that the place be open to 〈◊〉 South Sunne and yet notwithstanding neither exceeding in heat not in cold 〈◊〉 temperate and that the same by hill wall or some other rampart be defended 〈◊〉 winds and tempests and so also at that they may flie their sundrie and 〈…〉 for to get diuerâ—â—â—ie of pastures and so againe may returne to their little cottages laden with their composition of honie and againe in such a place as wherein 〈…〉 great quantitie of Thyme Organie Sauorie Iuie Winter Sauorie vvild 〈◊〉 Rosemarie Sage Corneflag or Gladdon Gilloflowres Violets white 〈◊〉 â—â—ses flowre-gentill Basill Saffron Beanes Poppie Melilot Milfoile and 〈◊〉 sweet hearbes and flowers wherein there is no bitternesse and in like 〈◊〉 â—â—â—â—cient good â—â—ore of trees of good smell as Cypresse trees Cedar-trees 〈…〉 Pine-trees Turpentine-trees Iuie-trees Masticke-trees and also fruit-trees as â—â—mond-trees Peach-trees Peare-trees Apple-trees Cherrie-trees and other 〈◊〉 besides all this maruellous great store of hearbes and those of the rarest and 〈◊〉 knowne and withall such as grow in well tilled grounds and pastures for these 〈◊〉 them to grow rich in good vvaxe as the wild Radish the wild Bell flowre 〈◊〉 Succorie and blacke Pionie and besides these wild Parseneps and garden â—â—â—â—neps and Carots Broome and the Strawberrie-tree are not altogether good 〈…〉 make honie the Elme-tree causeth them to haue the flux of the bellie as also the 〈◊〉 males or spurges Box maketh honie of a bad smell and which troubleth their 〈◊〉 that eat it and yet notwithstanding profitable for them which haue the Falling 〈◊〉 But if at any time you shall chaunce to haue any of your stockes to 〈◊〉 or to dye by what chaunce soeuer it shall be you shall then by no meanes 〈…〉 combeâ— more than cleansing them from all manner of filth and take of the 〈…〉 honie you can get damaâ—ke Rose-water and the juice of Fenell and 〈◊〉 veâ—e well together then with a bunch of Fennell dipt in the same first 〈…〉 combes verie well and also rubbe the hiue within therewith lastly rubbe the 〈◊〉 whereon the standeth with the same that you did the hiue and you shall be 〈…〉 â—ured that the first swarme that riseth either in your own or in any other mans 〈◊〉 if it be not aboue a mile or two from you will knit without any other 〈◊〉 king in that stocke The place must be closed in with a verie strong hedge or else with good 〈◊〉 for feare both of beasts and theeues for kine and sheepe doe eat vp their flowres and â—eat the dew off from the flowres whereof the Bees should load them and which is so well beloued of the little prettie birds yea and that also which falleth downe at the breake of the day in faire weather and is purified on the leaues and flowers of the plants hearbes and wild trees but of all tame beasts there is none that doth so damnifie these little pretties vvretches as Swine and Goats for the Goats wast their food and jumpe against their houses yea and oftentimes beat them downe the Swine besides the wasting and eating vp of their food rubbing themselues against the hiues doe ouerturne them and the seats whereon they be set sheepe in like manâ—er loosing some of their lockes of Wooll vpon the hedges are cause that the â—illie poore Bees now and then become intangled therein when they labour to get their â—â—od and so leaue their carcases for a pledge hennes likewise haue a gluttonous apâ—â—â—tite towards them Serpents also doe sometimes take vp their Innes in their hiues 〈◊〉 to take away this casualtie at once and for euer you must plant Rue round about 〈◊〉 in good quantitie in as much as venimous beasts cannot by any meanes abide â—â—his hearbe Callamint also is verie good to be planted for the same purposes neere vnto the â—â—ues so is also the heaâ— be â— Angelica or Gentiana but aboue all things you must be â—â—â—â—full to make your hiues exceeding warme that is to say of what stuffe soeuer â—â—â—ey be made you shall on the out-side daube them better than two fingers thicke with 〈◊〉 and Cows dung mixt together and ouer them a vvarme coat of long Ryeâ—â—aw couering the hiue from the top to the bottome and hanging some what below 〈◊〉 stone Their place also must be farre off from the dunghill common draughts or issues 〈◊〉 marshes fennes dropping dirtie and myrie places which might hurt them 〈◊〉 ill smells and for that thâ—â—e prettie beasts are deadly enemies to all filthinesse â—â—d vncleannesse but rather let their place of abode be neere some â—â—all brooke of â—â—ter naturall and of it selfe continually running or by art in some chanell that will 〈◊〉 along the water drawne out of some vvell or fountaine and this rundle must 〈◊〉 by the edges stones or boughes of trees for the bees to light vpon But whatsoeuer the place is whether in the garden of Pleasure or elsewhere alâ—â—it we haue assigned this to be one of the fruits of pleasure to be gâ—thered in the garâ—â—n of Pleasure it must not be hemmed in with high walls on euerie side and yet if 〈◊〉 feare of theeues you were disposed to raise them the higher then you must pearse 〈◊〉 wall some three feet from the ground and worke it with small holes for the bees 〈◊〉 through at and some twentie or thirtie paces off to build some little house if 〈◊〉 be so disposed for him to dwell in who hath the charge of looking to them and 〈◊〉 also to put his tooles CHAP. LXII Of the fashion of the Hiues and the manner of setting them for Bees A Place and standing for Bees being thus appointed the next thing is according to that fashion which may be most conuenient for the Countrie to make hiues Some thinke the best are those which are made of quarters of sawne boards vvide ynough but not verie long others you must haue 〈◊〉 long and narrow that so you may haue two sorts of hiues that is to say great 〈◊〉 small ones the great ones for such as
keepe them still so bare of braunches as that their sap may be imployed wholly in the making of one faire and lustie bodie and stocke and not many afterward pull them vp toward Winter before they haue begun to blossome to transplant and remoue into the nurcerie of stockes To cause them to shoot and put the sooner out of the earth you must steepe their kernells in vvater or milke for the space of two or three daies And you are here to vnderstand that the 〈◊〉 of the Mulberrie-tree doth not grow so haâ—â—ly or bring forth so good fruit as the seed of the Figge-tree For to sow the Elme you must gather his seed before the tree be couered with leaues which is in the beginning of March at such time as it beginneth to be yellow afterward they must be dried two daies in the shadow and after that sowne in a suffâ—cient firme ground an inch deepe and watered often if there fall no raine The Bay-tree must be sowne a foot deepe in the ground and foure seeds togegâ—ther transplanting and remouing it a yeare after into some other place and in like â—ase you are to deale with all such like seeds whether they be of Cypres trees Myâ—â—â—â— trees or others CHAP. III. Of plants comming of stones FOr your plants of stonie kernells as of Oliue-trees Cherrie-trees Plum-trees Almond-trees Peach-trees Chesnut-trees Pomegranat-trees if so be that Pomegranat-trees be rather to be reckoned amongst them which haue stone-kernells than amongst the other which haue the soft kernells Abricots and Date-trees you must drie the stones as they come fresh out of their fruits which you meane to set in the ground at such time as the Sunne is not vâ—â—ie sharpe and in the shadow thereof and see that it haue beene sâ—eeped in milke or vvater three or foure daies before and then thrust it into the earth But this must not be done but in the beginning of Winter that so they may first breake forth in the Spring for and if you put them into the earth before Winter they may also sprout and put forth before it come and so finding them young and tender when it commeth may preuaile against them to kill them they not being able to resist the rigour and roughâ—â—esse of the cold and frosts But and if for your auoyding of 〈◊〉 labour you will graâ—t them in their nurcerie that is to say in the place where you first 〈◊〉 them and where they haue put forth without remouing of them to any other place then seâ— in eueriâ— hole three foure or fiue stones and if all of them spring spring vp and take root yet you must let none but the fairest stand and 〈◊〉 to graâ—t vpon in the place and as for the rest they would be pulled vp and remoued into some other place In what season soeuer it be that you set your stones yet see to it that the ground be good and digged verie deepe but put much small dung amongst it either alone or mingled with dust gathered out of the high waies and see them three fingers within the earth and halfe a â—oot one from another watering them three times euery monâ—â—â— especially in Summer when it falleth out drie and weed them once a moneth Especially see they be set in a faire soile and open vpon the Sunne if so be you would 〈◊〉 a well-â—ed and pleasant-tasted fruit for otherwise if you set them in a shadowed place though it be of a good soyle indeed the fruit may be faire to looke to but 〈◊〉 ynough to eat When the stones are set and haue taken sooting and are become 〈◊〉 what preâ—ily fed pull them vp about Aduent which you mind to transplant and breake off the points of their roots and strip them of all their branches before you set them downe againe in their new appointed standing and know that a double remoue doth make the wild to become free conditioned and better bringing vnto them great aduantage And as concerning particular properties belonging into euerie stone and how it must be set it is to be knowne that grosse Nuts all manner of Peaches wild Figgeâ— Almonds Cheâ—nuts small Abricots but especially and most singularly well the branches becommeth free and reclaimed being set of a stone foreseene that they find as good and as faire a soyle as the trees enioy from whence the fruit of the said 〈◊〉 were taken The stone of the Peare-Plum-tree must be set in a cold place a foot deepe in the ground the point downeward euerie one a foot from another and this in Nouember in high places and in Ianuarie in low places The stone of the Iuâ—ube tree must be set after the manner and fashion of the stone of the Peare-plum-tree but it is long and slow in growing out of the earth The stone of the plum-tree must be set a fat ground a foot deepe and that in Nouember and Februarie and they are to be remoued the same time of the yeaâ—â— making their holes and pits neither too wide nor too deepe The stones or nuts of the Pine-tree must be set in cold places in Februarie and March or about the fall of the Pine-apple or shortly after in pits well digged and of a good mould the apple may not be broken by violence or with any 〈…〉 to get out the kernell but you must attend till it be opened and set vpon 〈◊〉 And the Pine-nuts must be steeped three daies before you set them and then you must set seuen together Some lay them in little baskets and cut them when they are sprung up They need no remoue but and if you do remoue them you must lookâ— in the taking of them vp that you hurt not the chiefe and principall roots Small nuts and plums of all sorts peaches the small and great and great abricâ—â—â— in whatsoeuer good ground and pleasant soyle their kernells be set yet they grow not altogether like vnto the fruit of their trees whereof they were gathered and therefore they delight rather to be grafted vpon their young stockes The stone of the Date which bringeth forth the Date-tree must be set the great 〈◊〉 downeward two cubiâ—â— deepe in the earth and in a place enriched with Goaâ—s 〈◊〉 and the sharpe side vpward it desireth to be watred daily and that there should 〈◊〉 yeare be salt sowne about it and withall it must be remoued The seeds of Limons Citrons Oranges Assyrian Citrons and such like as 〈◊〉 bin said in the second Booke must be prickt downe vpon beds well prepared 〈◊〉 about the moneth of March the sharpest end downward halfe a â—oot 〈◊〉 from another and a finger and a halfe deepe in the ground they loue to be much 〈◊〉 after when they are growne a foot high remoue them to the foot of some wall opâ—â— vpon the South and in Winter when the time is hoarie couer and fauour thâ—â— in such manner as wee haue
spoken of in the second Booke As much may be said of Pomegranat kernels and Bay-berries as you may vnderstand by the second Booke Pistaces doe require greater diligence and delight to be sowne as well the male as the female in a verie fat ground and vvell â—ared the backe turned to the East and this abouâ— the first day of Aprill and at the same time of the yeare you may graâ—â— them vpon themselues notwithstanding that some doe graft them vpon the almond-tree The peach stone would be set presently after that the fruit is eaten there remayning still some small quantitie of the â—lesh of the peach about the stone and for the longer lasting and keeping of it it loueth to be grafted vpon the Almond-tree CHAP. IIII. Of the nurcerie for stockes IF you vvould haue a beautifull and pleasant fruit of your trees it is not ynough that you should onely sow or set your seeds or stones in a good soyle but it standeth you as much vpon to remoue them after one yeare into another place for this translating of them doth so delight them and reuiue their vigour and spirits as that they yeeld more pleasant leaues and a 〈◊〉 â—ed and liking fruit For and if you will bestow this fauour vpon vvild 〈◊〉 you shall find them to become of a gentler nature and farre more excâ—â—ling 〈◊〉 Wherefore when the Trees which shall haue sprung vp of seeds or stones 〈◊〉 or sowne shall haue come by some little nourishment and grow in the seed 〈◊〉 take them vp vpon a new Moone at night with as many roots as possibly may be and if it happen that any of them be spoyled or broken cut it looke vnto it alâ—â— that you doe not pull it vp when the Northerne wind bloweth for this wind is an enemie vnto new set plants and set them againe presently least the roots should spend themselues it must not be in a hot or cold vveather nor in an excessiue vvind nor in raine but at such time when it is calme and verie faire chusing rather a cloudie day than when the Sunne breaketh out hot and the Moone being in her 〈◊〉 but and if you should not haue the leisure to remoue them so soone or and if you would send or carrie them somewhat farre bind them vp in their owne earth mingled vvith dung and make it fast thereto with vvoollen cloth or leaues When as you take them vp marke what part standeth vpon this or that quarter to the end that you may set them downe againe vpon the same quarter and coast of the heauens for and if in remouing them you set them in a contrarie â—oyle and situation in respect of the heauens they will not thriue so vvell and that is the cause why those that buy new plants most diligently inquire in what manner of ground they stood and what aspect of the Sunne they were most open vnto that so they may set them downe againe in such like ground and in the same aspect True it is that this obserâ—â—tion seemeth too ceremoniall vnto me and exceeding hard continually to be kâ—pt seeing vve buy trees at Paris sometimes to plant whose first situation we doe not know neither can vve learne and yet notwithstanding being planted they cease not to thriue and prosper And againe what cause is there of any such ceremonie seeing the Sunne vvhich is the nursing father of all plants doth visit euerie day all the sides of the Tree and that the ground wherein it is planted is no lesse nouâ—â—shing vpon the one side than vpon the other These things weighed about the third of December you must lay flat another plot and make a furrowed quarter where you shall lodge according to the order of a hundred the small wildings which you shall haue taken vp out of the â—eed nurcerie cutting off the end and beards of all their roots and which may be in any place about their slender little stockes and that in a good ground yea much better if it be possible than that is of the seed nurcerie It is true that the furrowes must be made according to the goodnesse of the ground the nature of the tree for in a clayie or hard ground you must make your furrows the depth of three cubites in a watrie and marshie place of three feet 〈◊〉 Some plants as the Ash and Oliue tree grow better in the vpper face and top of the earth than in the depth and lower parts of the same Set in order your young â—â—â—dings in the said furrows halfe a foot one from another and there couer them and leaue the space of a foot betwixt one furrow and another that there you may make paths to goâ— about vveeding with â—ase and passe betwixt euerie two furrows When thus your wildings are set you must cut off their stockes close by the earth and fil vp the paths with dung without euer going about to hide or couer the plaâ—â—â— in the earth and so soone as they grow they must be well wed round about and 〈◊〉 from vveeds and vnderdigged or lightly digged sometimes in Sâ—mmer round about not comming ouer neere the rooâ—s in any â—ase and they must be vvaâ—â—â—d also on euenings when it hath beene a verie hot day and when they haue put forth â—â—â—ces for one or two yeares then going ouer them all leaue not moe than one 〈◊〉 to euerie plant and let it be the â—â—eekest best liking tallest and comâ—liest of all the rest cutting the other off close by the stocke As these â—â—â—nces shall grow on so 〈◊〉 picke off cleane from them the small superfluous wood growing vpon them vpward and euen close also vnto the stocke and this must be done in March or Aprill and then must some small prop or stay be prickt downe at the foot of euerie wilding for to â—â—rect and guide it by tying them both together with wreaths of graâ—â—e but 〈◊〉 moâ—â—e or some soft thing betwixt them that so the hardnesse of the prop may not gal it when it shall be growne thicke And thus you shall order and husband then til the time come when you must remoue them if rather you make not choice to grâ—â—â— them vpon the place as they stand When through forgetfulnesse you shall haue 〈◊〉 your wildings or planes growne vp of feeds for two or three yeares vntaken vp 〈◊〉 must furrow them as hath already bin said but with deeper digged furrows and thâ—â— you shall not breake the roots so much and it will be â—it and conuenient to cut off their branches vpward as occasion shall require There are found kernels of peares or garden apples that haue beene gathered 〈◊〉 trees that vvere sometimes wild ones or growne vpon trees which haue alreadie 〈◊〉 oftentimes grafted vvhich bring forth verie streight trees and also of comely wood as if they had beene grafts from the beginning not hauing any prickes or 〈◊〉 to argue them â—uer to haue beene wild Such young trees if
the middest together with the residue of the eaile which you haue left behind and for the lifting vp of the said graft in Scutcheon after that you haue cut the barke of the shoot round about without cutting of the wood within you must take it gently with your thumb and in pulling it away you must presse vpon the wood from which you pull it that to you may bring the bud and all away together with the Scutcheon for and if you should leaue it behind with the wood then the rest of the Scutcheon were nothing worth You shall find out if the Scutcheon be nothing worth if looking within it when it shall be pulled away from the wood of the shoot you find it to haue a hole within but more manifestly if the bud be stayed behind with the wood in the shoot when it ought to haue beene in the Scutcheon Thus your Scutcheon being well raised and taken off hold it a little by the taile betwixt your lips without wetting of it euen vntil you haue cut the barke of the tree where you would graft it and looke that it be cut without anie wounding of the wood within after the fashion of a 〈◊〉 but somewhat longer than the Scutcheon that you haue to set in it and in no place cutting the wood within After you haue made incision you must open it and make it gape wide on both sides but in all manner of gentle handling and entreatie and that with little 〈◊〉 of bone and separating the wood and the barke a little within euen so much at the Scutcheon is in length and breadth you must take heed that in doing hereof you doe not hure the brake This done take your Scutcheon by the end and the 〈◊〉 which you haue left remaining and put it into the incision made in the tree listing vp 〈◊〉 the two sides of the incision with the said little Scizars of bone and cause the said Scutcheon to ioyne and lye as close as may be vnto the wood of the tree being 〈◊〉 hath beene said in weighing a little vpon the end of the rind so cut and let the vpper part of the Scutcheon lye close vnto the vpper end of the incision or barke of the said tree afterward bind your Scutcheon about with a band of hempe as thicke as the pen of a quill more or lesse according as the tree is small or great taking the same hempe in the middest to the end that eyther part of it may performe a little seruice in wreathing and binding of the said Scutcheon into the incision of the Tree and it must not be tied too strait for that would keepe it from taking the joyning of the one sappe to the other being hindered thereby and neither the Scutcheon noâ— yet the hempe must be moist or wet And the more justly to bind them together begin at the backside of the tree right ouer against the middest of the incision and from thence come forward to joyne them before aboue the eyelet and taile of the Scutcheon crossing your band of hempe so oft as the two ends meet and from hence recurning backe againe come about and tie it likewise vnderneath the eyelet and thus cast your band about still forward and backward vntill the whole cleft of the incision be couered aboue and below with the said hempe the eyelet onely excepted and his taile which must not be couered at all this taile will fall away one 〈◊〉 after another and that shortly after the ingrafting if so be that the Scutcheon will take Leaue your trees and Scutcheons thus bound for the space of one month and the thicker a great deale longer time afterward looke them ouer and if you 〈◊〉 them growne together vntie them or at the least cut the hempe behind and leâ—â— them vncouered cut also your branch two or three fingers aboue that so the impe may prosper the better and thus let them remaine till after Winter about the moneth of March and Aprill If you perceiue that the bud of your Scutcheon swell and come forward then cut off the tree three fingers or thereabout about the Scutcheon for and if it should be cut off too neere the Scutcheon aâ— such time as it purtech forth his first blossome it would be a meanes greatly to hinder the flowing of it and cause also that it should not thriue and prosper so well after that one yeare 〈◊〉 past and that the shoot beginneth to be strong beginning to put forth the 〈◊〉 bud and blossome you must goe forward to cut off in biace wife the three fingers 〈◊〉 the top of the tree which you left there when you cut it in the yeare going before 〈◊〉 hath beene said When your shoot shall haue put forth a good deale of length you must sticke downe there euen hard joyning thereunto little stakes tying theâ— together verie gently and easily and these shall stay your shoots and prop theâ— vp leâ—ting the wind for doing any harme vnto them In this sort you may easily graft white Rose-trees in red Rose-trees and red Rose-trees in white Rose-trees to haue Roses of diuers sorts vpon one and the same Rose-tree You may graft after the same manner two or three Scutcheons prouided that they be all of one side for they would not be equally set together in height because that so they might all become staruelings neither would they be one directly ouer another for the lower would stay the rising vp of the sap of the Tree and so those which were aboue should consume in penurie and vndergoe the foresaid inconuenience You must note that the Scutcheon which is gathered from the Sience of a Tree whose fruit is sowre must be cut in a square forme and not in the plaine â—ashion of a Scutcheon It is ordinarie to graft the sweet Quince-tree bastard Peach-tree Abricot-tree Iujube-tree sowre Cherrie-tree sweet Cherrie-tree and Chesnut-tree after this fashion how beit they might be grafted in the cleft more easily and more profitably although that diuers be of a contrarie opinion As thus for example Take of the grafted of the sweet Quince-tree and bastard Peach-tree of the fairest wood and best fed that you can find growing vpon the wood of two yeares old because the wood is not so firme and solide as the others and you shall graft them vpon small plum-tree stockes being of the thicknesse of ones thumbe these you shall cut after the fashion of a goats foot you shall not goe about to make the cleft of any moe sides than one being about a root high from the ground you must open it with your small wedge which being thus grafted it will seems to you that it is open but of one side afterward you shall wrap it vp with a little mosse putting thereto some gummed Waxe or Clay as hath beene said before and bind it vp with Oziar to â—eepe it the surer because the stocks is not strong ynongh of it selfe for to hold it and
some part of the stocke close by the earth and put through the hole a wedge of Oake watering it about with mans vrine You shall make bitter Almonds sweet if you lay round about the roots of the Almond-tree Swines dung and Vrine casting much earth vpon it afterward and this yearely or if you bore a hole in the stocke of the tree and put therein a wedge dipe in honey or if as Plinie and Theophrastus say you bore the stocke through and through below and let the sappe runne out Of sweet Almonds you may make sowre ones if you let the beasts browse and crop off the first and tender branches The Almond-tree will be free from all annoyance of fogges if so be there be smâ—ll grauell laid vnto the rootes before it blossome and when it shall begin to blossome then to take it away You may haue written Almonds if you breake the shell of an Almond veriâ— finely without doing anie harme to the kernell whereupon hauing written what you thinke good wrap vp the shell and kernell in paper and so set it well couered with dyrt and Swines dung Almonds are gathered when their huskes gape through the force of the Sunne and hauing beat them downe if you shell them altogether and wash them in salt brine they will become white and will keepe a long time prouided that before you lay them vp to keepe you drie them in the Sunne Their huskes will be easily taken off from them if you spread them vpon straw The place to keepe them well must be drie whether it be Coffer Presses or Garner and if the number be great that you would keepe you must see that the place haue good store of ayre and be lying open to the North wind The bitter Almonds haue power to resist drunkennesse as Plutarch witnesseth of a certaine Physition which did vse to drinke out all commers and not be drunken himselfe and that by eating fiue or six bitter Almonds before he did drinke but they kill Hennes and Chickens if they eat them The bitter Almond bruised and rubbed or layed to the browes and temples doe appease the head-ach and procure sâ—eepe especially if you put vnto it water of Veruaine The vse of sweet Almonds is good for them which are troubled with clammie fleame in their throat or which haue weake lungs and are subiect to the grauell in the reines or difficultie of vrine as also to restore natures force and to make men apt to venerie The gumme of the Almond-tree doth quickly stay the spetting of bloud yea the daily vse sufficiently sheweth how profitable this fruit is for it serueth all the yeare long for the making of Almond milke Potage Pennets Marchpanes and other such daintie deuises CHAP. XXII Of the Peach-tree Abricot-tree Spanish Peach-tree Peach-Plum-tree bastard Peach-tree and the small Peach-tree PEach-trees are planted of their stone setting it two fingers within the ground and the small end thereof vpward it delighteth in sandie places in drie places and where the Sunne hath his full force but in cold moist and windie places it dieth presently if it be not defended from â—he said inconueniences You must set the stone with the sharpe end turned into the â—round and when it is in the earth digge it battle and stirre vp the earth about it at â—he foot at the least thrice a yeare you must allow it dung a fat soyle and a small â—ould and that a little before Winter come and especially Swines dung which maâ—eth it to grow more thicke than anie other sort of dung or batling by this meanes â—ou shall haue good Peaches thicke ones and fleshie You must likewise weed them â—ft after when it is two yeares old you must remoue it and lay it along in his pit â—uen after the manner that they vse Vines letting one onely bough stand out of the â—arth which may grow to serue for the stocke and bodie and thus it will continue â—ong by reason of the great number of roots which it will haue both to stay it as a â—oundation and to feed it but you must cut off the longest branch and that which 〈◊〉 the straightest of all the other which is the thing that would be diligently practised â—pon all fruit trees because that it is the thing which keepeth them from bearing â—ore and aboundance of fruit It is not to be grafted out of it selfe if you will haue it â—xcellent howbeit to make it last the longer in as much as it soone waxeth old it is â—ood to graft it vpon a bitter Almond-tree damaske Prune-tree or Quince-tree but 〈◊〉 otherwise than scutcheon or fluâ—e-like It must be watered at euenings in hot weather with coole water and sometimes with water mingled with the lees of wine especially when it withereth and beginneth to fall away as also to remedie it when it is in danger of fainting and drying you must lop it and cut away all the boughes as is wont to be done with Willowes when they are headed for by that means they become lustie and frolike and to haue as manie boughes as they had before It must also be sâ—ayed vpon some Pole or Willow because his roots be verie tender small and not creeping farre into the earth likewise we see that the Peach-tree doth grow old and fall away incontinently It beareth a diuers fruit as well in colour and tast as in substance and this diuersitie commeth for the most part of the ground but principally of the husbanding of them And that it is thus the Peach-trees that are planted or grafted vpon Vines bring forth Peaches of a better tast and more solide substance the Peach-tree grafted vpon a Mulberrie-tree bringeth forth Peaches that haue red flesh the Peach-tree grafted vpon a Nut-tree doth beare Peaches with huskes like Nuts whose tree is but small and hath leaues like vnto the Almond-tree and a reddish flower It is true that such a tree may become such a one of it selfe as we see infinitely in France The Peach-tree grafted vpon an Almond-tree beareth Peaches which haue a kernell like vnto the Almond but the rind and the flesh like vnto the Peach There may as much be said of Abricots called of the Latines Praeocia or Armeniaca of Spanish Peaches Medlar-tree bastard Peach-tree and small Peaches which are kinds of trees agreeing much with the Peach all which are verie tender in frost especially the grafted Abricot-tree and it continueth not past halfe the time of the Peach-tree all of them are subiect to be spoyled of the cold snowes frosts and fogges which happen after that they are blossomed but to keepe them from these dangers it will be good to graft them vpon the Quince-tree or Almond-tree all of them will beare great fruit if when they blossome they be watered with Goats milke Concerning the particular vertues of the Peach-tree see more aboue in the nineteenâ—â— Chapter of this Booke The flowers of the Peach-tree are
and Nouember in a warme and temperate ayre but in Februarie March or Aprill where it is a cold ayre and yet the Genowayes doe plant branches all the moneth of August as they are laden with leaues and fruit As for the grafting of it that may be done in Aprill as well in the bodie or stocke as in the barke or rind Some say that the Figge-tree planted amongst Vines doth it no annoyance which is in some part true because there is some 〈◊〉 and agreement betwixt the Figge and the Grape and both their woods are full of thick pith and Raisins or dried Grapes being wrapped in Figge leaues doe not onely keepe well and sound according to their nature but amend and become better 〈◊〉 in tast and smell and in part false because the Figge-tree casteth one such large branches and broad leaues as that the shadow thereof doth hurt the Vine There are some low dwarfish Figge-trees like vnto the Peach-tree the fruit of which Peach-trees is somewhat agreeing with the Grape so as that the Peach being 〈◊〉 into red wine doth most highly content and please the tast and these indeed 〈◊〉 doe small harme vnto Vines standing amongst them but hee that troubleth 〈◊〉 the Vine stockes with anie kind of tree at all shall doe better than hee which 〈◊〉 otherwise If you desire to haue low Figge-trees and such as may be kept in 〈…〉 vnder your windowes to satisfie your desire with their pleasant sight cut in the Spring time a shoot of the Figge-tree before it bud wrythe his top with your hand set it the wrythen top downe in the earth and the end where it was cut vpward and out of the earth it will put forth manie small boughes all about the 〈◊〉 which will beare pleasant fruits the tree continuing to remaine alwaies low You shall haue early Figges if you water the Figge-tree with oyle and Pigeons dung and oâ— the contrarie late ones if you take away the first buds when they are growne to be as bigge as Beanes The Figge-tree the elder it is the more fruitfull it falleth out to be It is verie subiect to be eaten of vermine and the meanes to free it from this mischiefe is to set by it some Onions or else for to kill the vermine you must scatter Quicklime or 〈◊〉 old Vrine or the lees of Oyle there about the place It will not be cost soft to annoint the stocke with the iuice of Mulberries or if you spread and loame it ouer with red Fullers earth when it is a full Moone or if you hang at the branches of it young Figges newly put forth Furthermore Figges will grow with letters vpon them and garnished with what shape you desire it when you graft the 〈…〉 you write in the eye of the Figge-tree such proportion as you would haâ—e that 〈◊〉 Figges should beare and besides without vsing anie such curious course 〈◊〉 delighteth to sport her selfe with this fruit in such manner as that shee 〈…〉 an infinite number of figures and indented notches full of pleasantnesse to 〈◊〉 and these are tokens of the goodnesse of the Figge for as it is verie 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 doth constraine the skinne to fall into wreaths and to quarter out a thousand shapes This is a maruellous thing that although the fruit of the Figge-tree be verie 〈◊〉 yet the leaues thereof are of a sharpe and bitter tast Likewise the wood being 〈◊〉 doth yeeld a sharpe smoake and the ashes a verie scouring lee and 〈◊〉 strong because of his sharpnesse as if the Figge-tree had bestowed and 〈◊〉 all the whole substance of his sweetnesse vpon the Figge and had leâ—t 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 for it selfe This is also a maruellous thing that the Figge-tree is not subiect vnto the Thunder-claps We haue oftentimes tried that if you steepe two or three Figges in 〈…〉 night that such Figges eaten in the morning doe cure the shortnesse of breath 〈◊〉 milke of the Figge-tree dropt into the eare killeth the wormes therein The 〈…〉 the Figge-tree rubd doe prouoke the Hemorrhoids Looke for a more ample discourse of Figges and the Figge-tree in the second Booke CHAP. XXVIII Of the Apple-tree THe Apple-tree which is most in request and the most precious of all others and therefore called of Homer the Tree with the goodly fruit groweth any where and in as much as it loueth to haue the inward part of his wood moist and sweatie you must giue him his lodging in a fat blacke and moist ground and therefore if it be planted in a grauelly and sandie ground it must be helped with watering and batling with dung and smal mould in the time of Autumne It liueth and continueth in all desireable good estate in the hills and mountaines where it may haue fresh moisture being the thing that it searcheth after but euen there it must stand in the open face of the South Some make nurceries of the pippins sowne but and if they be not afterward remoued and grafted they hold not their former excellencie it thriueth somewhat more when it is set of braunches or shoots but then also the fruit proueth late and of small value the best is to graft them vpon wild Apple-trees Plum-trees Peach-trees Peare-trees Peare-plum-trees Quince-trees and especially vpon Peare-trees whereupon grow the Apples called Peareâ— maines which is a mixture of two sorts of fruits as also when it is grafted vpon Quince-trees it bringeth forth the Apples called Apples of Paradise as it were sent from heauen in respect of the delicatenesse of their cote and great sweetnesse and they are a kind of dwarffe Apples because of their stocke the Quince-tree which is but of a smal stature The Apple loueth to be digged twice especially the first yeare but it needeth no dung and yet notwithstanding dung and ashes cause it prosper better especially the dung of Sheepe or for lesse charges sake the dust which in Sommer is gathered vp in the high waies You must many times set at libertie the boughes which intangle themselues one vvithin another for it is nothing else but aboundance of Wood wherewith it being so replenished and bepestred it becommeth mossie and bearing lesse fruit It is verie subiect to be eaten and spoyled of Pisâ—nires and little wormes but the remedie is to set neere vnto it the Sea-onion or else if you lay swines dung at the roots mingled with mans vrine in as much as the Apple-tree doth rejoyce much to be watered with vrine And to the end it may beare fruit aboundantly before it begin to blossome compasse his stocke about and tie vnto it some peece of lead taken from some spout but when it beginneth to blossome take it away If it seeme to be sicke water it diligently with vrine and to put to his root Asses dung tempered with water Likewise if you will haue sweet Apples lay to the roots Goats dung â—ingled with mans water If you desire to haue red Apples graft an Apple-tree vpon a blacke Mulberrie-tree If
the Apple-tree will not hold and beare his fruit 〈◊〉 it be ripe compasse the stocke of the Apple-tree a good foot from the roots vpâ—ard about with a ring of a lead before it begin to blossome and when the apples shall begin to grow great then take it away Apples must be gathered when the moone is at the full in faire weather and about the fifteenth of September and that by hand without any pole or pealing downe because otherwise the fruit would be much martred and the young siences broken or bruised and so the Apple-tree by that meanes should be spoyled of his young vvood which would cause the losse of the Tree See more of the manner of gathering of them in the Chapter next following of the Peare-tree and as for the 〈◊〉 of keeping of them it must be in such sort as is deliuered hereafter You shall 〈◊〉 frozen Apples if you dip them in cold water and so restore them to their naturall goodnesse There is a kind of wild Apple called a Choake-apple because they are verie harsh in eating and these will serue well for hogges to eat Of these apples likewise you may make verjuice if you presse them in a Cyder-presse or if you squeese them vnder a verjuice milstone Vinegar is also made after this manner You must cut these Apples into gobbâ—â—â— and leaue them in their peeces for the space of three dayes then afterward cast them into a barrell with sufficient quantitie of raine water or fountaine water and after that stop the vessell and so let it stand thirtie daies without touching of it And then at the terme of those daies you shall draw out vinegar and put into them againe as much water as you haue drawne out vinegar There is likewise made with this sort of Apples a kind of drinke called of the Picardines Piquette and this they vse in steed of Wine Of others sorts of Apples there is likewise drinke made which is called Cyder as we shall declare hereafter An Apple cast into a hogshead full of Wine if it swim it sheweth that the Wine is neat but and if it sinke to the bottome it shewes that there is Water mixt with the Wine Infinit are the sorts and so the names of Apples comming as well of natures owne accord without the helpe of man as of the skill of man not being of the race of the former in euerie one of which there is found some speciall qualitie which others haue not but the best of all the rest is the short shanked apple which is marked with spottings as tasting and smelling more excellently than any of all the other sorts And the smell of it is so excellent as that in the time of the plague there is nothing better to cast vpon the coales and to make sweet perfumes of than the rinde thereof The short stalked Apple hath yet further more one notable qualitie for the kernells being taken out of it and the place filled vp with Frankincense and the hole joyned and fast closed together and so rosâ—ed vnder hot embers as that it burne not bringeth an after medicine or remedie to serue when all other fayle to such as are sicke of a pleurisie they hauing it giuen to eat sweet apples doe much good against melancholicke affects and diseases but especially against the 〈◊〉 for if you roast a sweet apple vnder the ashes and season it with the juice of licoâ—ice starch and sugar and after giue it to eat euening and morning two houres before meat vnto one sicke of the pleurisie you shall helpe him exceedingly CHAP. XXIX Of the Peare-tree BVt the Peare-tree being the most in request and precious next vnto the Apple-tree amongst all the fruit-trees that are is ordered for the most part after the manner of the Apple-tree although the vvood and fruit of the one be more firme than that of the other and that the Peare-tree bring forth his fruit late as not before the end of Autumne vvhen as all the great heat is alreadie past notwithstanding you shall set it in the same ground with the Apple-tree and in the first foure or fiue yeares of his grouth you shall lay it open at the foot a litte before the end of December vncouering it euen vnto the rootâ—â— which you shall shaue and trim with a knife bowed againe and in the end of Iaâ—â—arie you shall couer it againe with his owne earth mingled with good made mould keeping from thence forward his place well weeded the foot verie neat and cleane and the stocke verie well freed from intanglements of boughes so farre as the hand can doe it and throughout verie carefully cleansed from mosse snailes and caterpillers husbanding and ordering the earth at the foot of it euerie two yeares at the beginning of Winter for the fruit which the Peare-tree thus husbanded shall beare will be both more faire and better relished and keepe longer The Peare-tree that is planted in a leane drie chalkie or grauelly ground is but of a starued growth bearing a sharpe small and ordinarily a stonie fruit The kernels are sowne in the Nurcerie as those of the Appletree but the hoped fruit is long in comming and scarce attained throughout the whole life of a man for it is farre longer time in comming to perfection than the Apple-tree It groweth also of a branch well chosen and he that will haue it so grow must plant it in September and October in hot Countries but in cold Countries in Februarie and March and in temperate Countries it may be done in either of the two times as it shall best please him But the Peare-tree that is most sure and likeliest to bring contentment of it selfe is that which is grafted vpon the young plant in the Nurcerie and in such curious sort maintained and ordered as hath beene said as also if it be remoued some three yeares after affoording it a large and deepe roome in a good mouldring earth It may also be grafted in a Peach-tree Quince-tree and Almond-tree but yet better vpon it selfe than vpon anie of these for so it becommeth of a better nature It is knowne by proofe that the Peare-tree grafted vpon a Mulberrie-tree bringeth forth red Peares and if it happen that your Peare-tree bring forth a stonie Peare you must remoue the earth from the foot and powre in vpon the rootes euerie day for the space of fifteene daies the lees of good old wine Peares must not be gathered before the later end of Autumne when the great heat of the yeare is past because their moisture being weake and in small quantitie the Sunne suffereth not that it should come vnto anie good consistence before such time as the ayre begin to turne and change into coldnesse and therefore saith Theophraâ—â—us this is the onely fruit-tree that ripeneth his fruit best and soonest in the shadow Such gathering of Peares also must not be taken in hand but after that the Autumnall blasting and dew
about it and to wax old which it casteth forth or else by reason of the mosâ—e which it gathereth and for that cause it would haue his gumme taken away at the beginning of cold weather and the mosâ—e rubbed off with a rough Linnen cloth or a mosâ—e rubber of Horse-haire and this at all times There happeneth likewise vnto it an vindisposedesse through the fault of the Gardiner not casting the ground about the foot or cutting off the rotten and corrupt wood whereupon it turneth in and rowleth it selfe vp into small balls sometimes in one place sometimes in moe and this is a disease which being neglected doth spread it selfe in the end all ouer the tree from one end to another and bringeth it wholly to distruction and therefore so soone as you shall see the sicke tree in this sort to crumple and runne vpon heapes you must cut off verie cleane all the boughes thus diseased whereof it would be murdered and killed euen to the sound and whole branches and withall to order husband it in all good sort about the foot to the taking away of this euili humor which in this maner crooketh and causeth to turne round his wood There happeneth also sometimes by reason of some secret cause that it so languisheth as that it giueth ouer to beare fruit for the putting of it in heart againe you must lay open his roots and cast vpon them the lees of oyle mingled with water or else the stale of oxen or mans vâ—ine or cast vpon the roots the ashes of Vine branches throughly boyled All Plums in generall are cold and moist more or lesse the sweet ones lesse the sowre and sharpe ones more The sweet Plums haue vertue to loosen the belly and yet they will purge more strongly if at such time as when the Plum-tree is young there be taken from it some part of the pith of the stocke or else one of his boughes and the place filled vp againe with Scammonie They will in like manner procure sleepe if you put into the said emptied places the iuice of Mandrakes or Opium Sharpe and tart Plums are giuen to stay the belly There is great account made in Prouence of the Plums of Brignoles by reason of their pleasant tast In France throughout and euerie where else there is a speciall account made of Damaske Plums which are of three sorts the black red and violet colour all of them prouing verie excellent in the Countrey of Tourraine for from thence are sent throughout all France of them dried which are vsed at all times The Plums of Pardigoine are likewise greatly esteemed by reason of their plumpenesse and pleasant tast Furthermore Dates are verie rare and scarce in this Country namely those which come neere to the Dates of other strange Countries which are more pleasant relished than anie other Some likewise make account of Rhemish Plums dried by reason of the pleasant tartnesse and sharpnesse which they haue CHAP. XXXIX Of the Pomegranate-tree COncerning the Pomegranate-tree it requireth little husbanding 〈◊〉 yeeldeth small delight to the sight by reason of his ill-fauored branches and boughs saue so long as it is bearing his fruit before it come to perfect ripenesse and yet put out quartered and as it were laid open to thâ— shew out of his coat and couering this tree is the most delightsome to behold of all others the frame and fashion of whose flower and fruit being well considered iâ—â— worke of Nature right admirable there is not that raine that scorching heat of thâ— Sunne nor yet almost that fading and decaying old age which can cause it to forgoe his goodly shew of Rubies and yet notwithstanding how famous a thing soeâ—er it be it groweth without anie daintie or delicate handling and looking to and that sometimes at the foot of a wall sometimes in the midst of a heape of stones and sometimes amongst the hedges by high waies sides It is true that it craueth a hot Countrey and where it may not be debarred of the Sunne and if it happen to be set at any time in a fat ground it maketh his best aduantage of it being in this respect like vnto the Oliue-tree whereof we haue spoken before And if it be in such a Countrey as iâ— fit for it you need not to thinke either of the digging or vnder-digging of it for it reckoneth not of seeing it selfe set in a great heape of stones as neither to breake crosse-wise through a ruinous wall neither ceaseth â—t for anie such thing from bringing forth his good and pleasant fruit but in cold Countries where it hardly groweth it would be digged and husbanded about the foot twice a yeare that is to say in Autumne and in the Spring It will grow either vpon roots or of grafting in the cleft and that vpon it selfe about March or Aprill but and if you will plant it vpon somâ— branch that hath roots you must chuse such a one as is a handfull thicke and make it a delightsome and fine moulded pit Some would haue it thrust into the earth with a stake by it as is vsuall in setting Willow plants but I cannot find that this way of thrusting it downe thus into the earth doth proue to anie good The Pomegranate-tree will not loose his flower if when as it is flowred you compasse the flocke about with a ring or hoope of Lead or with the old slough of an Adder The wine of Pomegranats is made of this sort You must take the ripe kernels cleane and free from their skins and put them in the presse where they must be pressed by and by Some straine them through bagges made for the purpose some 〈◊〉 them to be put into vessels vntill it be well fined in the end they powre oyle vpoâ— them that they may not corrupt or grow sowre The Pomegranate Apple put in a pot of new earth well couered and 〈◊〉 with clay set in an Ouen and in the end so well parched as that it may be made into powder then such powder taken the weight of halfe a crowne with red wine doth helpe thâ— partie maruellously that hath the bloudie flux The innermost flowers of thâ— Pomegranate made vp in conserue with Sugar haue an incredible force to stay 〈◊〉 manner of fluxes of the Matrix whether white or red taken in the quantitie of 〈◊〉 an ounce with the iuice of sowre Pomegranates or red wine or water wherein 〈◊〉 hath beene quenched as also to stay the bloudie flux the shedding of nature thâ— flux of the guts or of the stomacke The kernels of sowre Pomegranates dâ—ied made into powder and after mingled the weight of an ounce with a 〈◊〉 of fine powdred Frankincense and two drammes of this powder taken euerie morning doe stay the whites CHAP. XL. Of the Ceruise-tree THe Ceruise-tree as well the male as the female delighteth in a cold moist and mountainous place but in a hot and plaine
called quicke and Virgins Brimstone and not artificiall Brimstone vvhen you intend to make your Oyle of Briâ—stone to dâ—still you shall take a sheeâ—e of yron of foure fingers thicknesse and fire red this you shall cast into the small pot vvith Brimstone to make the said Brimstone burne and flame the smoake comming forth of the Godeâ— vvill ascend vp to the vessell hanging aboue vvherein after a short time it vvill be turned into Oyle vvhich Oyle will thence distill into the vesâ—ell below Gather this Oyle and reserue it in a vessell well stopt for to vse for the curing of Gangrenes Fistulaâ—s vâ—cers of the mouth and Ring-wormes if you doe but touch them vvith this Oyle vpon the end of a feather It is singular good against rebellious vlcers comming of the pockes some giue it to drinke with balme water in the morning vnto such as are but scarce cured and recouered of the pockes to the end it may driue out the disâ—ase The oyle of Brimstone may be made otherwise boyle Brimstone in Aqua-vitae vntill there begin an oylie substance to swim aloft gather this liquor with a woollen or linnen cloth or with a little espoone you must sometime renew your Aqua 〈◊〉 vntill you haue gathered oyle ynough if presently after bathing your selfe you annoinâ— with this oyle your bodie infected with Quick-siluerâ— you shall expell and draw forth the said Quick-siluer But concerning all these Oyles see more in our Booke of secret remedies and medicines CHAP. LVII A description of certaine artificiall balmes BVt it is vvell and sufficiently knowne how that now the true and naturall balme is no vvhere to be found and that in place thereof the industrie and skill of man hath inuented Oyles which approach and draw neere in vertues and faculties vnto the true balme now therefore be it in like manner knowne that these Oyles are made either by distillation or impression and that vve will speake onely of some certaine ones which are made by impression ceasing to speake of those which are distilled for them which meddle in drawing out the quintessences of things as you shall further perceiue by our Booke of secret remedies Balme of the maruellous apples Take the maruellous apples either with or without kernells but verie ripe put them in a vessell full of common oyle either old or new or of the oyle of sweet Almonds or Linseed and infuse them a long time in the Sunne or in Maries-bath or in horse-dung that is verie hot or in the earth in a vessell that is well couered ouer with sand and let it remaine there one whole yeare or else two vvhich is the better you may likewise make this oyle of the leaues and little cods without the fruit some with the apples put together with the oile of sweet almonds or linseed oyle doe joyne of liquid varnish one ounce for euerie pound of oyle such an oyle is a singular balme for all wounds inflammations of the breasts and for the appeasing of outward paines and ache for the bursting of young children the vlcers of the matrix and to procure conception if after that the woman is come out of the bath made for the same purpose the annoint her secret parts therewith and drinke of the powder of the leaues with vvhite Wine it is also singular good for the paine of the hemorrhoides being mingled with linseed oyle or the oile of sweet almonds We haue spoken of the maruellous apples in the second Booke where we haue declared how that the hearbe whereupon they grow is called Balsaâ—ina because it hath the vertue of balme The oyles of the flowers of Rosemarie white mullein Paules betonie Nicotian and ground Iuie being thus prepared as we haue spoken of before haue like vertues with balme Another balme Take the fruit of the elme the flowers of Hypericum and the buds of Roses put all together in a glasse bottle with oyle of Oliues stop vp the bottle close and leaue it in the Sunne vntill you see the same all of it in such manner consumed as though it were rotten afterward strayne it and keepe the oyle for your vse Another Take Gumme elemie foure ounces oyle of vvormes oyle of Roses and Hypericon of each two ounces of Venice Turpentine two ounces mix altogether and incorporate them vpon a coale fire afterward keepe it in little bottles Another balme Take the flowers and seeds of Hypericon foure handfulls bruise them throughly and set them in the Sunne the space of ten daies in a glasse bottle with foure pound of old Oyle of Oliues afterward presse them out carefully and put againe as many moe flowers and seeds of Hypericon into the bottle set it in the Sun againe tenne vvhole dayes after presse it out all againe and put thereunto as followeth of oyle of dill and of Venice Turpentine of each a pound and a halfe of Aqua-vitae halfe a pound of Mummia vvood of Aloâ—s masticke myrrhe and Iuieguâ— of each an ounce and a halfe of the rosen of the pine-tree three ounces saffron halfe an ounce cloues nuâ—megs cinnamom of each three drams mix all together and boile them three houres in Maries-bath in a glasse bottle close stopped that nothing may breath out Then set the bottle in the Sunne the space of ten daies reseruing the oyle afterward for pains of the eares wounds fistulaes cankers Noli me tangere c to annoint the backe bone a little before the fit of the ague come vvhich beginneth of cold Another balme take the fruit of the elme vvithin which you shall find a liquor like vnto oyle put it whole into a strong viole which viole you shall stop verie close and burie for the space of fiâ—teene daies in horse dung that is verie hot by reason of his being verâ—e rotten then set it in the Sunne for a certaine time and after gather the cleare part that shall swimme aboue and this vvill be vnto you a singular balme Otherwise gather all the liquor that you find in the fruit of elmes put it in a strong viole adding of the flowers of Hypericon and common oyle stop vp the viole verie close and burie it in horse dung that is well rotted leaue it therein a sufficient time and afterward taking it out you shall haue a singular balme See further in our Booke of secret medicines concerning balmes A briefe discourse of the distilling of Waters CHAP. LVIII Of the profit and commoditie of distillation NOtwithstanding that distillation be the vvorke rather of a Philosopher or Alchymist otherwise called an extracter of quintessences than of a farmer or maister of a Countrie Farme notwithstanding the profit thereof is so great and the vse so laudible and necessarie as that we take not the chiefe Lord of our countrie house to be furnished vvith all such singular commodities as vve desire if he lacke the knowledge and practise of distillation not that I vvould have him to make it
also must be separated from the single to the end that they may make the fairer silke and especially there must choice be made of such people as are the best workefolkes both â—or to know the silke as also to draw it out with such discretion as that there may â—come the most profit of it When the Wormes shall be out of their huskes then you must make choice of the best for encrease and breeding those which are the grossest and blackest are the strongest and affoord better egges than anie of the oâ—her You must likewise take more females than males and for the knowing of â—he one from the other the eyes of these creatures doe sufficiently testifie thereof â—or the females haue thinner eyes and not altogether so blacke as the males They must also be put asunder and white Linnen clothes spread or rather leaues of Paper vpon little Tables for to receiue their egges The Paper is more naturall â—nd commodious than the Linnen because it may be the better raked ouer with 〈◊〉 knife to draw together the egges thereupon without making of anie spoyle 〈◊〉 all As concerning the diseases whereunto these little creatures be subiect When they haue not beene so carefully looked vnto as they should to be kept cleane when the â—â—old Northerne wind or the hot Southerne Sunne hath molested them as also when â—hey haue eaten too much then they become sicke wherefore you must keepe â—hem cleanely stop the windowes and holes by which the cold windes doe enter and get in and carrie coales of fire that doe not smoake into their lodging setting thereupon Frankincense or Sawsages cut in slices for they so loue this smell as thaâ— it presently cureth them as also besprinkle them with a little Malmesey or Aqua-vitae If they haue beene troubled with too great heat of the South Sunne there must be sprinkled vpon them Rose-water If they haue ouer-eaten themselues the contrarie diet will cure them as the keeping of them three or foure daies without eating anie thing If there be anie of them that are spotted with anie duskish blewish or yellowish colour and that there appeare withall vpon their bellies a certainâ— humour that doth wet them they must be speedily taken from out of the companie of the rest and carried out and in the morning before the Sunne rise set the whole and sound in the ayre for some small time and afterward put them in their places againe and then it will be good to sprinkle them with good and strong vineger and to annoint them with Wormewood or Sothernewood and also to giue them ayre making them likewise to feele the force of the Sunne prouided that the beames thereof doe not â—ouch them and you must looke also that the windowes bee so placed as thaâ— the morning ayre may season and send his breath throughout the whole house The end of the third Booke THE FOVRTH BOOKE OF THE COVNTRIE HOVSE That there are two sorts of Medowes CHAP. I. Of Medowes and their difference IN our former Treatise wee haue runne through those things which belong vnto the husbanding and ordering of Gardens and Orchards and now it requireth that wee speake of Medow Grounds vvhereupon consisteth the greatest meanes of feeding and bringing vp of Cattell to the end wee may perfect and accomplish our fore-appointed purpose The thing therefore called in our French tongue Prâ— may seeme to be borrowed from the old word Prat and both of them to signifie and point out a thing that is readie and prest to doe the Master of the Farme and Farmer seruice without putting him to anie paines in respect of the labouring or husbanding of them but this must be vnderstood of Medowes hauing their prey and maintenance about them namely such as are those which are fed and watered with the Marne on the one side and the Riuer Aube on the other which is about some hundred and fiftie leagues of square Countrey as also those about the Riuer called Veselle which of all others doth most abound in Medowes It is in like manner in the free and reclaimed grounds from Barle-duâ— to Vitrye in Partois and from Louemont to Vassie in Thierache all along the little Blondelle as also along the great and small Morin in our Country of Beauuoisis Such medow grounds doe not â—eare stormes and tempests as Gardens and other arable grounds doe but with little cost and charges they yeeld their double reuenue and profit euerie yeare the one of Hay the other of Pasture Medowes are of two sorts the one drie the other â—oist The drie craueth not the helpe of anie water to be watered withall except the raine because it is in a fat place and where it hath full store of refreshing â—uice and in such places Hay doth grow of his owne accord and that a great deale better than where it is forced by casting of water vpon it The moist medowes haue also seldome anie need of watering because most commonly they lye alongst the bankes of some great or small Riuers which feedeth and nourisheth them as those which lye here in France by the Riuers of Marne Aube Blondile and Morin and in England by the Riuers of Thames Trent Seauerne Auon Teame Ouze Wye and such like and these medowes are for the most part plaine and leuell grounds because the inundations of these Riuers washing them ouer at least once or twice euerie Winter the Moalâ—s and other silthie vermine which hurt the earth are destroyed and these Medowes are euer more fruitfull and more aboundant in their encrease than the higher Medowes are but the grasse is nothing neere so sweet and so pleasant neither feedeth so soundly nor so suddenly Whence it commeth that the husbandman keepeth his high-land hay for his cattell which are to be sed and his low-low-ground hay for those which worke CHAP. II. What grounds are good for Medowes and how to make new Medowes THe ground that is fat and full of iuice although it be nothing at all helped either by small Riuer or Brooke is good to bring forth hay so that such place be not exceeding farre from some small Brooke standing water or little Riuer or at the least that it be moist at the bottome and such as wherein if that one make a reasonable deepe ditch he may find good store of water for moisture is one of the nurses of hay Where such â—at and iuiceground is not there may Medow ground be made of what manner of earth soeuer it be whether it be a strong slight or leane earth so that you haue close by it but this one commoditie of a little Brooke to water it and that the field lye somewhat sloping or descending not verie low nor verie flat as wherein the raine water or other of anie small Riuer taking sometimes ouer the same doe not vse to dwell and stand anie long time but passeth and runneth away faire and softly without anie â—arrying Wherefore I agree and must needs confesse
cattell from tearing or spoyling the same till such time as the Farmer himselfe shall thinke it meet to cut downe the same Then when the extremitie of Winter shall come as either when the grasse is cleane consumed or that by reason of long Frosts or Snowes your cattell cannot come by anie food then is the time to cut downe your Hay-reekes and to fodder your cattell therewith morning and euening cutting no more downe at a time than shall conueniently serue to fodder your cattell for spoyle herein is the vildest husbandrie that can be This hay thus cut downe you shall not lay in one place but in diuers places of your ground in little tufts or hillockes scattering an armefull thereof in manie places because if you should lay it in one place or in a verie small circuit neere together your cattell would disagree and offer to gore one another at least the stronger cattell would euer beat away the weaker and so rob them of their food whereas being scattered into diuers remote places those which are beaten away from one place will goe to another and so take their food without trouble in which you shall euer obserue to lay more tufts or heapes of hay than you haue cattell Neither yet doe I meane that this manner of foddering shall ouer-spread anie great piece of ground at one time but according to the number of your cattell be close packed together both for the ease of the fodderer and for the well husbanding of the hay which to be carried vp and downe too 〈◊〉 would make much wast by scattering so that to lay one foddering within two or three yards of another is sufficient And this I speake of great cattell as Oxen Kyne Steeres Horses or such like for if you fodder Sheepe then you must lay your hay in long rowes one row three or foure yards from another vpon the driest and cleanest ground you can find because the trampling and treading of the cattell will else 〈◊〉 much spoyle of the hay And herein is also to be noted that you must not by any meanes lay your fodder aboue twice in one place but change and alter your ground finding out still a drie and vntrodden place to fodder in as well for keeping the ground from two much foyling and tearing vp with the feet of cattell as also for the â—aâ—ing of the hay which would be halfe lost if it should be layd in wet and myrie places And thus you may in one Winter runne ouer a great piece of ground and not onely sow it plenteously with the Hay-seedes which will fall from the Hay in the carrying but also manure the ground excellently by this drawing together of your beasts into one place making their lâ—are and dunging most thereupon Now some will say that this manner of enriching of grounds carrieth with it a discommoditie which equalleth the goodnesse which is reaped from it and therefore not so much to be esteemed alledging that the trampling of the cattell teareth vp the greene-swarth and as it were ploweth vp the ground in such sort that it will hardly beare any good croppe of grasse a yeare or two after To which I answere that if it doe as happily it will teare vp or digge the ground so that you loose the next yeares croppe in some part yet after the first yeare is past the second will double and the third will treble anie encrease formerly receiued from the same ground neither will the goodnesse euer after be abated from the same besides if your ground be subiect to anie filthie soft mosse or fuzzie grasse which is both vnsauourie and vnwholesome for beasts and also choaketh and deuoureth vp all better herbage this treading of the cattels feet will vtterly kill it and make the ground fruitfull for euer after Nay if the ground haue beene much subiect to small whynnes or prick-grasse which is a most venimous weed in anie ground according to the opinion of the best husbands this course onely will destroy it To conclude â—he Medow well kept and maintained doth alwaies bring double commoditie to that which is ill gouerned and husbanded CHAP. V. Of the harrowing watering and keeping close and well defensed the Medow ground BEsides the seedes of good hearbes which is verie requisite for the Medowes yet there are other workes needfull for the goodnesse of Hay for the Medowes must be harrowed and raked presently after they be sowne to breake the clods into small earth or dust that so the mowers may not thereby hurt their Sythes If the ground of the Medow be withered and drie it will be a maruellous commoditie vnto it to draw into it all the winter long at the least some small Brooke for the watering and moistening of it seeing that moisture is the naturall nourishment of Hay and this would be done especially during the moneths of Nouember December Ianuarie and Februarie afterward when the earth hath drunke her fill then stop the way whereby the water of the Brooke runneth It is true that if the Medow-plot lye vpon the side of some hill or vpon some high ground there shall be no need to water it for the first raine that falleth will descend and water such Medowes verie sufficiently being ioyned with the iuice and goodnesse of the dung which you shall haue bestowed in the higher places Neither shall it be needfull to water the ground much where there is great quantitie of three-leaued grasse because then it would die by and by Againe you must not cause anie water to ouerflow anie old Medow grounds in the time of great and excessiue cold except it should be that they should continue a long time because that the water fayling the ground thus boyled againe and drenched would be verie much annoyed by the vehemence of the frost and yce Likewise if there be anie marish or dead water in anie part of your Medow you must cause the same to runne and drayne out by some Conduits or Trenches for without all peraduenture the super-aboundance of water doth as much harme as the want scarcitie or lacke of the same You must be sure also to keepe Swine out of your Medowes because they are alwaies turning it ouer with their snouts and â—aying great soddes of earth Neither must you admit anie great Cattell into them saue when they be verie drie because the hornie hoofe doth sinke into the earth and either breake off the grasse or cut in sunder the rootes whereupon they cannot spring or multiplie anie more CHAP. VI. To mowe your Meadowes againe and againe to gather the Hay and refresh your Meadowes and to bring your barren Meadowes into Tillage NOw for the mowing of your Meadowes it must be according to their growth or ripenesse for some ripen soone and some late and sure there cannot fall to the Husbandman greater losse than to cut his Meadow before it be ripe for then the sap or moisture not being come fully out of the roote
sweet and got in a good season that vvhich is not verie long of growth but verie pleasant and cleane grasse without weeds hard stumpes pricks or such like is best for milch-kine or stall-fed-oxen onely that which you preserue for your Kine would be got verie drie and haue all the sweetnesse and pleasantnesse that may be but that you keepe for your feeding-cattell would not be altogether throughly vvithered but got a little greenish so as it may take such a heat in the mowe as may onely discolour it and turne it red but no more for that will bring a thirst vnto the cattell and make them drinke vvell and the Grasier is of this opinion that cattell neuer feed well till they drinke well and that haye which is the finest and shortest growing vpon high and drie grounds full of flowers and sweet 〈◊〉 is best for your sheepe or young calues and this must be got verie drie and as neere as you can vtterly without any raine for when it is so drie that it will hardly lye vpon the Waine then is it the best of all for when the husbandman saith that moist haye is profitable for the increase of milke he doth not meane that you shall get in your haye greene or any part vnwithered for that brings it to a rottennesse or ouer-drinesse which is verie ill for milke but you shall get it into the barne as drie as you can without scorching scalding or such vnnaturall extremities and this hay taking his kindly sweat in the mowe is that which is called the Moist-hay and that which taketh a little too much heat in the mowe and altereth colour is the Drie-hay and keepeth your fat cattell from gripings and other painefull griefes in their bellies to which they are euermore verie much subject It is an vse with some husbandmen as well in our France as in other countries after they haue brought their haye into drie cocke to put it into great stoukes or pettie stackes without doores and so to let â—t remaine a fortnight or more that it may take the full sweat before it be brought to the barne or hay-loft but it is a needlesse and a double labour and may verie well be spared if the orders be obserued before prescribed for this much curiositie did but spring from a fearefulnesse of ouer-heating or mow-burning which to preuent the Ancients spared not any labour Nay they were so curious in the first times that they would not suffer their haye by any meanes to lye neere to the sinke or smell of the beast-house or vvhere any other noysome sauours were supposing that the haye would naturally of it owne inclination draw all such corruptions vnto it but it was a feare might haue verie vvell beene spared Now touching the later crop of haye which is euer to be mâ—â—ne in the moneth of September you shall in all respects vse it like the hay of these barren grounds last written of for the yere time being so much shot on it can haue no other kindly withering neither is it to be vsed for the feeding of fat cattell or for milch Kine but onely for drie beasts or such as onely labor as the oxe horse mule or asse If by the gathering of your hay you perceiue your meadowes to become barren vvhether it happen by your negligence in not hauing beene carefull ynough in husbanding of them or by reason of age seeing the earth will sometime rest it selfe as being vvearie for the recouering of the strength againe as it is onely seene in barren soyles and no other for that which is truely fertile and good ground will neuer be wearie of bearing especially if it lie low and be gentlie washt with waters but that which lies high or violently against the heat of the Sun will many times decay in his aboundance which when you shall at any time perceiue it shall be good to forbeare the cutting of it the next yeare and onely graze it with cattell especially sheepe which vvill be as good as a manuring vnto it and make it beare grasse in as good plentie as euer it did afore for often cutting occasioneth barrennesse and often feeding breedes increase But if it be through the naturall fertilitie and hardnesse of the ground that it waxeth barren then you shall vse the like meanes that you vvould in making of new meadows set downe before in the second chapter of this booke or else if you see that you loose your labour in renewing of your barren meadows set downe with your selfe to reduce them into arable ground especially those which are drie parched bringing forth verie small store of grasse growne ouer with a hard â—â—st and fraught rather with naughtie weeds than good and profitable grasse For the doing whereof you must cut the vpper face and crust of the earth in Aprill with a shallow delfe in turfes some fadome and a halfe long and halfe as broad and to the thicknesse of two fingers drie these turfes in the Sunne and being concocted by the heat of the Sunne fit them one to another and lay one vpon another in manner of a furnace afterward set fire to them with good store of straw when they are burned let them coole sixe or seuen daies after spead the ashes thereof equally all ouer the field then looke for a good raine in May to incorporate this ashie earth and when it is accordingly performed then plow it vp in Iune and presently after sow it vvith millet afterward with rie and in the end with mastling and wheat CHAP. VII Of the Ozier-plot REmember this that three things carefully kept and increased by the diligence of the vvorkeman doe make rich vvithout any great trauell that is to say the meadow-grounds the Ozier-plot and the Willow-plot vvhich by the meanes of vvater lightly slyding through the veines of the earth in the fat and vvell liking places that are vpon the sides of hills and by the vvatering of manifold streames round about doe naturally grow euâ—rie yeare and yeeld great profit vnto their maister for the feeding of hiâ— cattell the making of hoopes for vessell and binding of them as also for fewell the benefit of poles woodden vessells arbours stakes for hedges and supporters for vines We will therefore speake first of the ordering and husbanding of the Ozier-plot and after it of the Willow-plot vvhich vve do not dreame to haue any other assigned place than about the meadows and far remoued from the arable ground in as much as their shadow is so hurtfull to wheat line pulse and other graine as that they neuer grow vvell where they are ouershadowed by these but on the contrarie meadow grounds receiue great profit thereby as well because that grasse doth grow the fairer and more pleasantly in the shadow than vvhere it is not shadowed as also for that the leaues of Ozier Willow Aller and such other Trees falling vpon the meadowes and there rotting maketh them the more fat
abounding in grasse and fertile The Ozier then which old Writers call Sea-willow or Wicker-tree that is to say apt to bend desireth not to come verie neere to the water but loueth rather to stand vpon the descending side of the valley and the Ozier-plot would end at the sides of the Willow-plot the Ozier-plot must be prickt with a line and prettie small ditches drawne out in it betwixt two lines and euerie slip must be set one from another about fiue foore and a halfe to giue them their spreading It vvill not abide the shadow of any tree but loueth much to haue the fruition of the South-Sunne The tame red Ozier requireth great husbanding and is afraid of frosts and the showres of raine that fall in March and verie cold vvater the vvhite and the greene Ozier vvhich neither bend nor yet defend themselues so well are of a harder nature and grow higher It vvill be good to pricke downe moe of the tame ones than of the other and alwaies to set them out of the shadow and there must be but a little water at their foot the most part of the time vvherefore you must make furrowes by the vvay to keepe and reserue water It must be dressed twice in a yeare to make it grow vvell that is to say about mid-May and towards the end of Nouember presently after that it is gathered being also the time of planting of it It is verie delightsome vnto it to haue the earth raised vvith the spade and stirred and to cast in again the clods vnto the foot some fifteen daies after S. Michael which is the time of gathering them and making of them vp into bottles You must keepe your bottles made of the thicknesse of a fadome fresh coole in some cellar or 〈◊〉 and if the season be drie to vvater them throughout now and then some slip off the leaues in gathering of them thereof to make good ashes others let the leaues fall of themselues and after gather them for the houshold and in Winter-nights by the fire side make the slaues spend their time in cleauing them for to make baskets of some doe not cut the oziers all from the head but such slips as are about the edges of it and leaue the maister-twig to stand vvhole for fiue or sixe yeares when it must be renewed and pricked downe againe for this is the terme of the plant for in all the time following the plant doth nothing but drie and the twig harden CHAP. VIII Of the Willow-plot SOme say that the Willow-plot craueth the like husbandrie that the Oier-plot because the Willow differeth onely from the Ozier in vse bignesse and barke for the Willow-tree is for poles the Ozier as hath beene said for bindings about the vine and caske the Willow is thicke and growing taller the Ozier is smaller and lower the Willow-tree hath a barke of a darke purple colour the Ozier of a yellow straw colour But vvhatsoeuer it is the Willow loueth vvaterie places and is planted of the tops cut off or else of poles the poles are taken from aboue of a good thicknesse but notwithstanding not thicker than the arme and they must be planted and pricked downe in the earth so deepe as they should stand before they touch the firme ground the cut of the top may be of the length of a foot and a halfe and be set in the earth being couered a little That which you shall plant must be cut from the tree verie drie because it will not thriue if it be vvet when it is cut therefore you must shun rainie daâ—es in the cutting of your Willowes The best time of planting the Willow is in Februarie in the beginning or in the end of Ianuarie vvhen as the heart of the great cold is broken vvhich oftentimes hurteth this plant when it is newlie planted It is true that it may be planted at any time after the beginning of Nouember yea it may be then both planted and gathered The plants shall euerie one stand from another sixe foot square and they must be carefully husbanded for the first three yeres as if they were yong vines You shall find a larger discourse of the Willow-tree in the sixth Booke The distilled vvater of Willowes is good to be drunke for the staying of all sorts of fluxes of bloud the decoction of the leaues or the lee made of the ashes of the vvood beeing drunke doth kill bloud-suckers vvhich hang in the throat CHAP. IX Of the Elme MEn of old time did much esteeme the Elme for the vine sake because they married the vine vnto the Elme as also it is yet practised of some vnto this day in Italie but now the Elme is applied to another manner of vse by the husbandman and for that cause vve haue giuen in charge to euery housholder to plant a plot of elmes at the end of his orchard as vvell to make fagots of as to make vvheeles and axle-trees of for his carts and ploughes as also for fire-wood and other easements besides the pleasure that the Elme-tree affordeth all the Sommer long For the planting then of your Elme-plot make choyce of a fat peece of ground and vvithall somewhat moist although this Tree be easie to grow in any kind of ground vvhich you shall digge and cast breaking the clods afterward verie small in so much as that you shall make all the earth as it were dust and in the Spring you shall harrow it and lay it euen afterward you shall sow it verie thicke vvith the seed of elmes vvhich shall by this time become little red hauing beene a long time in the Sunne and yet notwithstanding retayning his naturall substance and moisture and you shall sow it so thicke as that all the earth shall be couered vvith it then cast of fine mould vpon it good two fingers thicke and vvater it a little and couer the earth vvith straw or broken boughes and braunches to the end that vvhat shall come out of the earth may not be deuoured of birds And vvhen the siences shall begin to shew take away the straw and boughes and pull vp the bad vveeds verie carefully vvith your hands in such sort as that the small rootes of the elmes vvhich as yet are tender be not pluckt vp therewithall The waies and squares must be so discreetly cast as that he which is to weed them may easily reach to the middest of them euerie vvay Fâ—r if they vvere too broad then he should be constrained in pulling vp the vveeds to tread the earth vvith his feet by which meanes the shoots might be hurt After vvhen the branches are put vp some three foot high to take them vp from their nurserie and to plant them in another ground and after that to transplant them againe The Elme-tree also may be planted of small branches taken from great etmes and that a great deale better in Autumne than in the Spring time after three yeares passed they must be transplanted
Penyriall Sauorie Marierome Garlick and the lees of wine of ech alike of the greases of the same beasts so much as you shall see to be enough stampe euerie thing by it selfe after mixe them together and make pills thereof to cast into the place whither you would haue the fish to â—locke and that an houre before you cast in your net Otherwise take the bloud of a blacke Goat and Barly flower of each alike bray them both with the lungs of the Goat cut very small and make pillâ— thereof to vse after the manner aforesaid Otherwise take Garlicke halfe a pound burnt Sesamum as much Penyryall Organie Thyme Marierome Sauorie and wild 〈◊〉 of each foure ounces of Barly flower a pound of the dough thereof as much and of the barke of Frankincense-tree two ounces mingle all together with Bran and giue it vnto the fishes To catch Pearches The Pearch is not easily taken with Nets neither yet at the Weyres but rather with a proper bait and that in a puddlie and troubled water wherefore you must make a bait with the liuer of a Goat and bait your hooke therewith Or else take yellow Butterflies and Cheese of Goats milke of each halfe an ounce of Opopanax the weight of two French crownes of Swines bloud halâ—e an ounce and of Galbanum as much then powne them all verie well and â—â—â—gle them together powring vpon them near red Wine and make thereof such little loaues as you vse to make perfumes into and afterward drie them in the shadow For to take Salmons as well of the Riuer as of the Sea Take of the testicles or stones of a Cocke one ounce of Pine-apple kernels burned two ounces bray them both together till they come to the forme of a powder Otherwise Take wild Ruâ— seed and the fat of a Calâ—e of each an ounce of Sesamum two ounces stampe them all and make little loaâ—es which you shall vse The Trouts which are a kind of Salmon are taken with the hand hauing betaken themselues into their holes or with Nets or at Weyres and sometimes with the light of a candle The Gudgeon is taken with a hooke or the little Net called a Truble The Carpe is taken with the Net hooke or engines laid at Weyres but shee oftentimes deceiueth the Net shoouing her head downe into the mud or myre wherein shee delighteth The end of the fourth Booke THE FIFTH BOOKE OF THE COVNTRIE HOVSE Of Arable Grounds The measuring of Lands of what sort or forme soeuer they be CHAP. I. Of the common Measures whereby things are measured NOtwithstanding that the Art of measuring Grounds doth more properly belong vnto the Geometrician than vnto the Husbandman and euen as chiefe Masons and Master-builders who ought to haue the skill of Measuring doe not vouchsafe at anie time to measure the Workes and Buildings which they haue set vp and finished but leaue the same for such as make profession of Measuring So likewise it may seeme that this is no dutie of the Husbandmans to measure out his grounds but rather appertaining and therefore to be expected of them which practise such art and skill Notwithstanding being desirous that the Master of this our Countrey Farme should not be ignorant of anie thing which may serue for the enriching of his house and encrease of his wealth I haue thought it meete and reasonable before I passe anie further vnto my purposed discourse of the husbanding and tilling of Corne-ground familiarly to vnfold certaine rules of Measuring which are verie common with vs here in Francâ— and wherewith the Farmer in case of necessitie and for his commoditie may helpe himselfe To begin therefore with the matter all Grounds and Lands whether they be Medowes Vineyards Woods Isles of Water Courts Gardens Corne-ground places fields and others whatsoeuer are measured in France by the foot fadome and pole The foot according to the Kings measure containeth throughout all France twelue ynches the ynch twelue-lines and â—uerie-line must be of equall length to the thicknesse of a barly corne that is full and well fedde A â—iâ—rce or third part of a foot is called a Dour and the fourth part is called a Quarter The fadome and the pole are measured by the foot but how manie â—oot the one and the other should containe there is not anie so sure and certaine a rule which holdeth through all France as there is for the foot by reason of the variâ—tie of Measures and those not in diuers Countries of France onely as in Britaine Normandie Gascoine Poictou and others but also euen in places situate within some one Isle of France and standing hard together as may easily be seene neere vnto Paris in such sort as that the fadome of some Countries containeth sixe foot and eight ynches and the pole twentie foot elsewhere the fadome containeth seuen foot and foure ynches and the pole two and twentie foot In manie places the fadome containeth sixe foot and the pole eighteene foot In others againe the fadome containeth sixe foot fiue ynches and halfe an ynch or there about and the pole nineteene foot and one dour which is foure ynches True it is that as the rule is certaine through all France that a foot containeth twelue ynches so it is as sure and inuâ—olable that a pole containeth three fadome Wherefore without standing much vpon the fadome which in truth is a measure more fit for Masons and Carpenters than for measurers of ground for the well measuring of all sorts of grounds you must content your selfe with two principall measures the foot and the pole not forgetting or omitting your yncheâ— quarters and thirds which are parts of a foot Which more is in as much as feet fadomes and poles are but small measures and such as whereof might rise as it were an infinite number or at the least a verie troublesome number and such a one as the reckoning whereof could hardly be kept especially when there is need of measuring a Wood Medowes Places Isles arable ground and other places of great compasse besides the foot fadome and pole there is vsed another measure which the Frenchmen call an Arpent but of the people of Burgundie and Chaâ—paigne and manie others it is called Iournax deriued from the Latine word Iâ—gerum which containeth as much ground as two Oxen or Horse coupled or yoaked together can tyll in one day The Normans call it an Acre taken from the Romane word Actus This measure ariseth of manie poles being put one vnto another or else multiplied together as the poles doe rise of manie feet multiplied It is verie true that euen as the pole doth not hold throughout all Fraunce one measure of feet so neither doth the Arpent consist infallibly of one number of poles but looke almost how manie Countries there are euen so manie differences of sorts of Arpents there are likewise And that it is so there are to be
Geometâ—ician shall vse for the setting downe in writing the lying buttings and contents of the said peece of ground which he hath measured He must also haue two men that is to say one his assistant to goe before him and to carrie the end of the chayne and to thrust downe into the earth the tenne or twelue shafts and the partie whose ground is measured or some one for him that can lay and point out vnto the Geometrician the bounds and limits of the said peece of ground whether it be arable wood medow or aniâ— other such like place How and in what manner the Measurer of these grounds is to accomplish and performe his worke THis Measurer of grounds being thus suted with all the foresaid instruments seruing for the measuring of ground and hauing likewise the directions and assistance of others as hath beene said to helpe him about his worke must diligenâ—ly enquire of the manner fashion and custome of measuring in that place and of what length his chayne must be how manie poles are contained in an arpent in that countrey and how manie foot are to goe to euerie pole seeing as wee haue said before almost euerie countrey hath his seuerall measure besides this hee being well instructed and taught in the boundings and limits of the peece of ground which hee would measure he must lay aside or else at the least trusse vp his cloake verie close and place himselfe at one of the ends of the plot of ground wood or medow hauing his shafts all of them vnder his girdle on the left side and his Squire hanging by a little crooke at his girdle on the right â—ide there pitch downe his Geometricall staffe making fit and fast his Squire vnto the end thereof and to assigne for his more ease the tenne shafts which hee had made fast vnto the left side at his girdle vnto that place whereas is fixed the little hindge afterward stouping with his head to take his sight and view by shutting the one eye ouerthwart and within the holes or lights of the said Squire the forme and first the length by one side of the Squire afterward the breadth by the other side of the said Squire without stirring or mouing of the Squire at all from out of his place from aboue the staffe of the peece of ground that hee would measure It is true that hee shall need neither staffe nor Squire if the peece of ground be square or of a small compasse because that without any such Squire he shall be able to discerne the forme of the ground and in such cases hee shall onely vse the helpe of his shafts which hee shall giue vnto his assistant and of the chayne the one end whereof he shall hold himselfe and giue the other vnto his assistant which shall goe before to sticke downe the shafâ—s at each end of the chayne both of them herein applying themselues to the same purpose alike The assistant shall goe before and first he shall hold in his left hand the tenne shafts altogether leauing the eleuenth with the Master-measurer to fasten downe in the place where he shall begin his measuring if so be that the measurer doe not chuse rather in stead thereof to vse his staffe the said assistant shall hold one of the ends of the chayne by the ring with the great finger of his right hand and that without aniâ— want of roome for his finger to goe in he shall fasten downe in the earth one of his shafts which his left hand shall haue reached him with his right hand at the end of the chayne as it is stretched forth at length the said Master-measurer shall fullow him and shall take vp the shaft which his assistant hath set downe into the earth then the assistant shall proceed and goe on alwaies carrying the chayne with him and fastening the end of the chayne which hee carrieth with one of his shafts thrust downe into the earth and this shaft the Master-measurer alwaies comming after shall take vp and both of them shall continue and hold on this course the one to put downe the shafts and the other to take them vp vntill such time as the chiefe measurer haue gathered to himselfe all the tenne or twelue shafts which will be so manie or so manie poles This done both of them shall goe vnto two other ends of the said peece of ground and shall doe in like manner as they did at the first where when as the measurer hath measured the length of one side he shall measure the one breadth leauing the length of the other side and the other breadth hauing found out by his Squire that the peece of ground is square if rather for his owne assurance and contentment of the owner he thinke it not meet to measure the two lengths by themselues and the two widenesses by themselues Whereupon it will come to passe that if the peece of ground or wood for an example contaâ—ne from the one end to the other on all sides tenne poles multiplying the one side by the other that is to say tenne by tenne they shall haue the totall summe of the poles of the Square which will be a hundred poles which is one aâ—pent and so hereupon the measurer shall conclude that the place doth containe an arpent Againe if in case that the place were of greater breadth and length than tenne poles square they shall hold on their measuring and passe from one end to the other accounting that which shall be more still reducing all that they measure into hundreds of poles and so into arpents See here the easie way for the measuring of Land Woods and other places of small compasse and square wherein there is no great need of anie Squire but and if the peâ—ce of Land Wood or other such place be of great compasse and contents and yet notwithstanding lying straight on euerie side as of fiue or sixe hundred arpents or more it will stand the measurer vpon to vse the helpe of his Squire wherefore hee shall pitch downe his Geometricall staffe at one of the ends of the said peece and shall set his Squire to the top of the end of his staffe and shall view the other end of the ground through the holes or lights of the said Squire if his sight and largenesse of the place will permit him which if it will not then onely so farre at that time as his sight may bee conâ—â—ied vnto which place directly whither the direct line of the squire doth looke hee shall send his assistant or some other man to pitch downe a diameter that is to say a stake or pole or some other certaine marke so farre off as that the said measurer may see it at that end of the peece where he is taking his sight or else many diameters in many places alwaies directly beholding the first diameter if in case the peece of ground should be of longer distance so as that one two or three
husbanded in the earth would notwithstanding yet neuer abide idle or without doing something It is true that the couch-grasse and that which is called rest-harrow make shew to be more standing tenants than veruaine or male knot-grasse for they will not away except the plow and culture their tyrannous commaunders doe come To conclude these later hearbes being cut and rooted out by oft and deepe plowing must afterward especially the thistles be thwacked and beaten small before the first raine that so there may nothing of them yea no more than of an Adder remaine aliue to breed or increase any thing againe for their nature is so soone as they receiue a little moisture to fasten and claspe themselues so close to the slime of the earth as that they vvill thereby againe so enter new possession that within a short time after they vvill become strong ynough to strangle their mother Let vs therefore conclude that the earings of the arable ground are to cleanse it from stones and vveeds to manure it to spread and cast abroad the dung or marle to plow it after the manner of the first earing to â—urrow or ditch it to clod it vvith a roller or board to couer it then after some time vvhen the raine hath fallen vpon it to plow it for the second earing which of auncient men is called stirring of it and this cannot be done without laying it in furrowes and the third earing is to plow it for seed time to sow harrow and pull vp vveedes vvhich by aboundance of raine and too much rankenesse of the earth doe ouergrow and enter commons with the new â—hot corne And lastly to mow and lay it bare and naked to sheare or cut it downe to sheaue it and to gather it in And albeit I here stand much vpon the cleansing of grounds from stones which is a verie good husbandrie and for which by a generall consent whole lordships and towneships will joyne together and make as they terme them in diuers countries common daies for common works yet you must vnderstand that all soyles are not to be cleansed from stones but only the clayes and sands which haue no generall mixture with stones but as one would say here a stone and there a stone scattered seuerally and not mixt vniuersally for where the earth and the stones are of one equall mixture not abounding more in the one than the other there to take away the stones were to impouerish the ground and make it bare and vndesensible both against the wind heat and cold as thus vvhere stones are mixed equally vvith light sands there they keepe the sand firme about the rootes of the Corne vvhich should they be taken away the vvind vvould blow the sand away from the corne and leaue it drie and bare by vvhich meanes it vvould neuer sprout or in those hillie countries where the reflection of the Sunne is verie hot and the earth light if the stones being generally mixt should be taken away that violent heat vvould so scortch and burne the corne that it vvould seldome or neuer sprout or neuer prosper and againe where the countrie is most cold and most subject to the bitternesse of frosts there this equall mixture of stones taking a heat from the Sunne giues such a warmth to the corne that it prospereth a great deale better and sooner than otherwise it would for vvhich cause stones are many times held amongst Husbandmen to be an excellent manure for arable land so that I conclude though in 〈◊〉 earthes they are most sit to be cleansed away yet in light soyle they may verie well be suffered as is to be seene in the Southerly parts of France and the Westerly parts of great Brittaine CHAP. V. The Plow mans instruments and tooles THe carefull and diligent plow-man long time before he be to begin to eare his ground shall take good heed and see that all his tooles and implements for to be vsed in plowing time be readie and vvell appointed that so he may haue them for his vse vvhen need shall be as namely a waggon or two according to the greatnesse of the farme and those of a reasonable good bigge size and handsome to handle vvell furnished vvith wheeles vvhich must be finely bound and nayled and of a good height but more behind than before one or two carres vvhich may be made longer or shorter according as the matter vvhich shall be layed vpon them shall require one light and swift cart the bodie layed vvith plankes and sufficient strong to beare corne vvine vvood stones and other matters that are of great vveight a plow furnished vvith a sharpe culture and other parts tumbrills to carrie his dung out into his grounds wheele-barrowes and dung-pots to lade and carrie out dung in strong and stout forkes to load and lay vpon heapes the corne-sheaues pick-axes to breake small the thicke clods the roller to breake the little clods rakes pick-axes and mattockes or other instruments to plucke vp vveeds that are strong and vnprofitable harrowes and rakes with yron or woodden teeth to couer the seed with earth sickles to sheare or cut downe haruest flailes to thresh the corne fannes and sieues to make cleane the good corne and to separate it from the chaffe dust and other filth And because the plow is of all instruments belonging to the arable field the principallest and varieth the oftest according to the variation of climats I vvill here giue you a little touch of the seuerall plows for euerie seuerall soyle and first to speake of the composition of plows it consisteth vpon the beame the skeath the head the hales the spindles the rest the shelboard the plow-foot the culture and the share then the slipe to keepe the plow from wearing and the arker-staffe to cleanse the plow when it shall be loaden vvith earth or other vild matter The plow vvhich is most proper for the stiffe blacke clay would be long large and broad vvith a deepe head and a square shelboard so as it may turne vp a great furrow the culture vvould be long and little or nothing bending and the share would haue a verie large wing as for the foot it vvould be long and broad so set as it may giue vvay to a-great furrow The plow for the vvhite blew or gray clay vvould not be so large as that for the blacke clay onely it vvould be somewhat broader in the britch it hath most commonly but one hale and that belonging to the left hand yet it may haue two at your pleasure the culture vvould be long and bending and the share narrow vvith a vving comming vp to arme and defend the shelboard from vvearing The plow for the red sand would be lesse than any before spoken of more light and more nimble the culture would be made circular or much bending like that for the white clay yet much thinner and the share vvould be made as it were with a halfe vving
they haue a slipperie and moist â—round fit to make pots of for necessarie businesse they plow vpon a causey and as it were vpon an Asses backe and in euerie fiue furrowes they hold it meete to cast one high ridge that is verie large and made also like vnto a caâ—sey that it may both receiue the raine water and that which springeth out of the earth which is alwayes moist and that because of two Riuers lying vpon the one side and on the other and doe moisten and water the grounds there continually vnderneath And for the same purpose which is also practised in small Beaux as in Long-boyau Val de Gallie Val-boyau Niuernois and Bourbonnois they make at the end of their ground certaine rises of sufficient height where betwixt the said rise and arable ground there is a ditch or pit made within it after the fashion of a long fatt to receiue the waters which runne along after great raine for otherwise they would rot and smother the corne This troubleth such as trauell those countries exceedingly and this is the cause of the name whereby they are called the Grashoppers of Brie Insomuch as that they cannot tell how to doe so well as in a rainie day to goe and pull vp Darnell Dane-wort and other ouer-spreading weedes which else they could hardly ouercome being a kind of earing of the ground called of auncient Writers the freeing of Corne-ground from weedes hauing further by such aboundance of raine this scath done vnto their Come as that it is layd bare now and then yea and that though it be neuer so well harrowed and the earth of it selfe strong and mightie There is no need of anie such rises or ditches in the parts of France truly and properly so called neither in the Isle thereof nor in the flat and free Countrey of Blairie as Long-boyau and Labeaâ—ce the verie Barne and Store-house of France the Countries of Oye Sangterre or else of Berry and free Poictou And all grauellie Countries may be well excused and freed from all manner of such inconuenience as appeareth by manie places of Picardie and Solongne euen vnto Percheron so that they make their furrowes close and neere one to another as is wont to be done in low grounds and valleyes The ground must also be plowed in a fit and conuenient time to the end that it may become fruitfull Wherefore the carefull Husbandman shall neuer plow his ground whiles it is wet for running through it with the plough at that time it will doe nothing but runne vpon heapes especially in tough and clammie grounds as also in those which be hard or growing and putting forth their fruit in as much as this maketh them so sad and close that it is impossible to make them fine and small mould againe Likewise it is an absurd thing euer to goe about to put the plough into a dyrtie and myrie ground because it is nothing fit to stirre or deale anie manner of way withall before it become drie and so vnfit as that though you could doe what you would vnto it with the plough yet there is no casting of anie seed into it And if it should fall out that there were anie Tree or Vinâ—-plant in the ground you must passe it ouer in lifting vp the plough from off the shootes which come from the rootes at all times when you perceiue your selfe to be vpon them or 〈◊〉 you shall cut them off with a hatchet rather than bruise and breake them with the culter for feare of breaking the culter it selfe and putting the Oxen or Horse to 〈◊〉 and paines CHAP. X. That the â—attell vsed to plow withall doe differ according to the manner and custome of the Countries IN rough and tough grounds as also in free and kindly grounds as hath been said where there are required as needfull three Horses to a plough of fiftie foot but not so coupled and spanged as they be in Countries where they vse to plow with Mares Oxen Asses or Buffles you must after the first caring breake the clods with the rowler and lay it flat square and plaine with a planke In leane grauellie and weaker grounds you shall not stand in need to be at such cost either with horse or man for it is not requisite that you should draw so deepe a draught in the earth and againe the husbandmen of such Countries haue sooner finished and made an end than others and yet doe labour with more leisure because of the ayre and climate of their Countrey Yet this is but a particular fashion in France therefore to speak more generally both according to that and other forraine soyles you shall vnderstand that there be two principall causes to make a man plow with Horses although he may haue Oxen at his pleasure The one is when he liueth in a verie wet and dyrtie soyle where the ground of it selfe yeeldeth forth such a continuall moisture that the finallest trampling or treading thereupon bringeth it to a verie myre in this case it is best to plow with Horse because they draw euer directly one after the other and tread euer in the furrow without annoying the land and goe also much more light and nimbly than other cattell whereas Oxen going double and treading vpon the land would foyle it and make it so myrie that it would be good for no purpose The other when a man liueth farre from his necessarie accommodations as from his fuell his fencing his timber and other such like necessaries which he must forcibly vse euerie yeare in this case he must euer keepe his teame of Horses because they are fittest for trauell and long iournies doing them euer with the greatest speed and least losse whereas the Oxe being a heauie beast would soone surfet and are indeed so vnapt for the same that a man can hardly doe them greater iniurie Now for the number of Horses to be vsed in the plow it must be according to the greatnesse of the labour and the strength of the cattell for in the heauie and stiffe clayes sixe are euer few ynough either to fallow with or to plow the Pease-earth with and fâ—ure for anie other ardor in the lighter sands foure is sufficient at all times and three vpon anie necessitie As for the mixt soyles if they be binding they will craue as much strength as the clayes but if they be loose the same that serues the light sands will serue them also And herein is to be noted that the stoned Horse is euer better for the draught than either the Mare or Gelding yet all good and meet for seruice Againe they worke with the Asse and the Oxe as in Aâ—uergne with the young Mule and in Romaine and Champaigne in Italie with the Buffle whereas of a truth the labour of Oxen is not readie nor so quicke of dispatch in the time of necessitie and for to remedie and helpe this mischiefe you must begin your worke with the Oxen
you shall take clodding-beetles made of purpose broad and flat and with them breake the clods so in peeces that the raine may soften them then with your back-harrowes runne ouer them againe and this is called sleighting as well as clodding Wherefore after that the clods are well broken and all made plaine for the second earing you shall cut vp your grounds againe about mid Iune if they be fat and moist or about the moneth of September if they be leane and drie for otherwise your leane ground would be quite dried vp and burnt with the Sunne neither would there remaine therein anie vertue or iuice Aboue all things you must obserue and keepe such order in plowing as that the ground may not be too drie nor too moist for great store of moisture maketh them dirt and mire and too much drinesse doth disaduantage the husbandman amaine either because the plough cannot enter the ground or if it enter yet it cannot breake it small ynough but turneth vp thicke and broad clods of earth in such sort as that afterward it will be hard to plow vp the field againe for certainely there cannot be that done which should and is requisite when the earth is too hard Wherefore the ground that hath beene plowed in drought must haue a rainie season found out to be plowed in afterward againe that so the same being watered and moistened may be the more easily tilled Yet of the most approuedst husbandmen for France is not rich in that profession it is held that the earth can neuer be plowed too drie so long as the plow is able to run through the same and one ardor so gotten is worth three in the moister weather besides the greater that the clods are which arise by plowing thus in drie weather 〈◊〉 greater store of mould you shall haue which is a good aduantage to the graine neither will it be anie thing more difficult to plow if you stay a good season and haue the earth throughly wet before the next plowing for these great clods doe neuer arise but in the clay grounds which are apt to breake with anie moisture Shortly after the second earing you shall giue it his third earing which must be more light and such as breaketh not in so deepe as the two former This earing being finished you must make the ground euen and smooth with a harrow presently after which shall be about the middest of October then you shall sow and bestow your seed vpon the ground in good proportion but not at anie other time than in the encrease of the Moone and neuer in the decrease and then likewise it will be the better if you take the opportunitie of a little raine following the Prouerbe which sayth You must sowe Wheat in myre and Barly in dust and the reason is because thaâ— Wheat being hard and comming neere to the nature of Wood doth bud and 〈◊〉 better and sooner when it is layd in steepe and mollified in dyrt or else for feare of Pismires which if the Wheat should be sowne in a drie ground would become lords of it by and by and carrie it away Notwithstanding if you see that the raine be somewhat long in comming seeing the times are not in mans power you shall not deferre to sow especially in dry grounds for the corne which is sowne in dry ground and well harrowed and couered doth enioy and keepe the same without corrupting as well as if it were in the Garner and if there follow anie raine the seed will be vp in a day I presuppose in the meane time that the Husbandman hath let rest and lye idle his grounds for some two yeares wherein he is intending to sow his Wheat to the end they may bring him a better crop Furthermore seedâ—time is expired and past about the eighteenth day of Nouember for then the earth by the coldnes of the aire becommeth close shut and as it were rugged staring and agast so that it will not be able so well to receiue the seed and to cause it to thriue It is true that in cold places seed must bee sowne earlier but in hote places later whereupon it commeth to passe that in Italie they sowe about the beginning of Nouember but with vs in France where it is temperate in October in cold places and Coast-countries in the kallends of September or rather sooner to the end that the roots of the come may be growne strong before that the Winter-raine doe molest it or the Yee and Frosts doe hurt it Notwithstanding at what time soeuer you sowe your seed you must maâ—e diuers conueiances ouerthwart the grounds and conduits to carrie away the water out of the Corne. Yet this Seed-time is spoken but as of Wheat only or Rie which are called Winter-cornes for Pease Beanes and Pulse would bee sowne in Februarie and the beginning of March and Oats and Barley at the end of March and beginning of Aprill Now sometime the husbandman shall haue occasion to reioice in hope of good successe and sometime to feare in doubt of the euill successe of his seed by reason of the variablenes of the time Hee shall haue good hope of his Seed if hee see the time inclined to sweet mild and not violent showers and vnto temperate not eâ—cessiue and often showers for the mild showers resemble the dew the excessiue ones doe moisten and coole too much If in like manner the snow doe fall in aboâ—ndance and become hard by some frost following thereupon for such snow letteth and stayeth the earth from spending it selfe by exhalation and vvasting of his fatnesse which otherwise by vapours would be consumed and if also the said snow in making doe wash and water by little and little the earth vvith his pure and sweet liquor and as it vvere scumme of raine for that serueth to make the earth fat prouided that presently vpon the melting of the snow there fall no showers of raine accompanied vvith haile if lastly the frosts come in their proper and due time for if they be too 〈◊〉 and forward they burne the young sprouts and if too late they hurt them verie much CHAP. XII Of the choice and quantitie of seed to be sowne FOr Wheat to make seed of the industrious Husbandman shall chuse such as is full thicke heauie firme and so hard and strong as that it cannot but with paine be broken betwixt the teeth of a red colour bright cleane not aboue a yeare old which maketh sauourie and well-tasted bread threshed out of choice and culled eares which after fanning and winnowing lyeth vppermost as that which is the thickest and most massie which was growne in a fat ground but contâ—arily seated to that wherein such Wheat is to be sowne as from hill to plaine and from moist to drie and yet so contrarie as that the seed of a bad place be rather sowne in a good place than the seed of a good place sowne in a bad for seed
it will vvither or not grow at all or else mil-dew turne blacke and become altogether vselesse Amel-corne THere is yet another kind of Corne vvhich the Grecians and Latines call Olyra of a middle size betwixt Wheat and Barlie vnlike altogether vnto Winter-vvheat vvhereof we last spake but of a sort and facultie like vnto spelt whereof vve vvill speake next in order Of this graine Dioscorides maketh mention and Matthiolus calleth it in French Seigle-blanche the tilling and ordering of it is like vnto that of spelt There is verie vvhite bread made thereof there is but small store thereof in France Spelt-corne SPelt-corne is that vvhich the Latines call Zea and hereof the auncient â—â—mans did make great account and gaue it to name Semen by the way of excellencie as the Italians in such places as vvhere the said Spelt groweth in great aboundance doe call it Biada The Graine is lesse and blacker than Wheat It is found sometime single sometime double in an eare set with a long beard It must be sowne in a verie strong and hard ground for otherwise it will not thriue neither is there any sort of Wheat which so troubleth and weakeneth a ground as this but the bread that is made thereof is excellent and of it likewise the Italians vse to make a singular kind of Furmentie Course Wheat-flowre or fine Wheat-meale COurse Wheat-flowre is that which of the Latines is called Similage and is made of Wheat that is excellent good hauing the greatest Bran onely sifted from it but being ground of the best Mill thâ—â— may be gotten howsoeuer the French name Semole vvhich seemeth to be deriued from these Latine ones Sine mola may 〈◊〉 to argue the contrarie We haue not any of the Corne in this Countrie vvhereof the Semole is made but in Prouence it is sowne in great quantitie as also in Champanie and in the Countrie of Naples and from thence there is great store of this 〈◊〉 meale brought vvhich Physitiâ—ns doe prescribe to their sicke patients to make Panade or pap-meat of vvith the broth of a Capon notwithstanding that 〈◊〉 and the greatest part of Physicions doe affirme that the fine meale called of the French Semole is of a grosâ—e and slimie iuice and not digested without difficultie and thereupon injurious to such as haue need of a fine and attenuating nourishment It is certaine that it is of great nourishment as is also the bread that is made thereof In steed of Semole vve vse Maslin and as concerning the Wheat vvhereof the course flowre Semole is made it craueth such ground and manner of husbanding as Maslin doth Furmentie FVrmentie is that vvhich the Latines call Alica or Chondrus and it is a kind of Wheat whereof after that it hath been steeped for some time in vvater and afterward brayed and husked and then in the end dried againe in the Sunne and ground somewhat grosly is made a kind of grosse meale reâ—embling 〈◊〉 verie much vvhereof sometimes is vvoont to be made pap-meat sometimes it is mixt in meat-broth and sometimes panade vvithall all which meats to say the truth doe nourish a great deale more than they profit the health of the bodie in as much as they ingender a thicke clammie and grosâ—e juice verie hurtfull for them that are subject vnto obstructions or vnto the stone and grauell Turkie-Wheat TVrkie-wheat so called or rather Indian wheat because it came first from the West-Indies into Turkie and from thence into France not that it is sowed there any otherwise than for pleasure or for to cause some admiration at the strange things which Frenchmen themselues doe admire and make much account of 〈◊〉 be sowne verie carefully after this manner the field must be diligently tilled according to all the sorts of earings vvhich are woont to be bestowed vpon any 〈◊〉 ground afterward toward the end of March at such time as the Sunne beginneth to affoord his hot and comfortable beames in franker and freer sort the said wheat must be steeped in water two whole daies and when this is done to keepe it till the earth receiue some prettie showres vvhich happening then presently to open the earth vvith some sharpe stake and that all along as streight as a line but with equall and sufficient distances and to cast into euerie one of these holes foure or fiue graines of this vvheat and by and by to close in the earth againe vvith your foot and so in this sort to fill and set a vvhole field with this Corne. If the earth be fat and the seed full and well â—ed it will not faile to sprout within seuen daies and to be ready to mow within fortie daies two moneths three moneths or at the furthest foure moneths sooner or later according to the goodnesse of the ground and power of the Sunne that is to say earlier in a hot place and good ground that lyeth open vpon the Sunne but more late in a cold ground and a leane place It hath the like temperature that our vvheat hath but somewhat more hot as may easily be gathered by the sweetnesse of the bread that is made thereof the meale thereof is vvhiter than that which is made of our wheat but the bread made thereof is more grosse thicke or close and of a more â—lymie substance in such sort as that the nourishment made thereof is likewise more grosse and apter to ingender obstructions vvherâ—â—ore if the dearth of vvheat and famine doe force and compel you to sow of this Turkish-wheat to make bread thereof it will doe better if you mingle it with the flower of our vvheat than and if you should vse it by it selfe all alone The meale of this vvheat in as much as it is thicke and clammie will be good to make cataplasmes of to ripen impostumes withall for being apt to stop the pores of the skin by his clamminesse it cannot chuse but worke such effect Sarasins-wheat SArasins-wheat is a graine verie ordinarie and common throughout all France and more abounding vvithout comparison than the foresaid Turkie-wheat it must be sowne in all manner of grounds because it refuseth not to grow in any vvhether it be grauelly or of any other qualities vvhatsoeuer and that especially in Aprill in hot places or somewhat later in those that are cold and it is so forward and hastie at that it will ripen twice and yeeld you two crops in a yeare in one and the same ground being in a hot ground as is to be seene in Italie It may be mowne at the end of three moneths after it is sown in this countrie it is most vsed in the fatting of hogs pigeons and other fowles and in the time of dearth and famine to make bread which will be a great deale better if with this corne be mingled the corne of our countrie vvheat It may be made into grosse meale euen as the grain called furmentie but better without comparison than that of millet to be imployed in
it cowes-milke goats-milke or the juice of sweet almonds with sugar The Flemmings vse to make pap-meat thereof which they loue exceeding vvell The Muscouites distill the water of oats and vse it for want of wine and such water heateth and maketh drunke no lesse than Wine Thus much of the French opinion of Oats vvho are indeed but halfe knowing or not so much in the excellencie of the graine but to come to their knowledge who haue the full proofe and triall thereof you shall vnderstand that it is a graine of no lesse worth and estimation than any of the other and questionlesse may much lesse be banished a Common-wealth than of the other in as much as where none of the other will grow there this will you shall then know that Oats will grow in any soyle whatsoeuer as either in fertile or barren hot or cold drie or moist nor doth it aske much labour for in fertile soiles it wil grow with one earing as namely at seed-time which is euer about the end of March or beginning of Aprill it will grow also after any other graine as after wheate rye barley or pulse but it is best sowing it after barley or pulse because to sow it after Wheat or Rie would pill the ground too much and make it barren too soone In barren grounds it will grow with two arders or three at the most as one at Midsommer another at Michaelmas and the third at seed-time or else at Michaelmas and at seed-time onely it must be sowne vnder furrow like barley in loose moulds and after two or three arders but aboue furrow in fast earths and where it hath but one arder onely it must be well harrowed according to the strength of the mould that is to say with wooden-teeth in loose moulds and vvith yron teeth in fast moulds they must be cropt as soone as they turne colour and appeare a little yellow for else they vvill shed their graine as being the loosest corne of all other These Oats are of diuers most excellent vses both for men and also for cattell as first for Oatmeale which is made in this sort as soone as your Oats haue beene thresht and vvynowed you shall lay them on your kilne and vvith a soft fire drie them verie vvell and then carrie them to the milne either the Wind-mill the Water-mill or the Horse-mill and there let the Miller cut them and hull them but by no meanes crush them to fine meale but onely driue the cleane kernell from the courser hull then vvith a fanne or a gentle vvind vvinnow the emptie hulls from the Corne and if so be that you find they be not all cleane hulled then passe them through the mill againe and then vvynow them againe and thus doe till the nulls be cleane taken off vvhich hulls are a verie good prouander for horses as for the Groats vvhich is vsually called common or course Oat-meale they are excellent to make porridge of all kinds and for puddings of all sorts or for any other pap-meat or panada whatsoeuer it is also an excellent food at Sea being boyled in Water or otherwise vsed after the manner of grauell This oat-meale being ground into â—ine meale like other corne maketh diuers kinds of verie good bread chiefely where other corne is not to be had If you mixe the fine meale of Oates with Wheat meale it maketh verie daintie Oat-cakes either thicke or thinne and is of great estimation where they are knowne These Oates being maulted as you mault Barley make a verie good mault and that mault both verie good Ale and Beere only a little more sharpe than that which is made of Barley Lastly those Oates are of all other foods the best that may be for the feeding of horse or fatting of cattell they are also good to seed all sorts of Pulleine especially Geese Swannes and all manner of water-fowle which take much pleasure therein Millet MIllet as those know verie well which dwell in the Countrey Bearne Bigorre and Armignac after that it hath beene steeped some certaine time in water would be sowne either morning or euening in the coole thereof in light and small moulded ground and it groweth not only in grauelly ground but also in sand when the country it wet and moist but in anie case it would not be sowne in drie grounds and such as consist of Fullers earth or are marly neither must it be sowne before the Spring for it requireth heat wherefore it may conueniently be sowne in the end of the moneth of March or else somewhat later that so it may enioy the benefit of the dew a long time It putteth not the husbandman to anie great charges for a little seed will sowe a great deale of ground So soone as it is sowne it must be pressed downe with a hurdle of Wickers well laden to keepe it from the heat of the Sunne in the springing vp thereof for otherwise the seed would grow vp and drie away through the vehâ—mencie and heat of the Sunne-beames Notwithstanding it would be oft and verie well weeded for the â—ooting vp of all manner of ill weedes especially the blacke Millet So soone as it may be spied peeping forth of the earth and before that by the operation of the Sunne the corne doe shew it must be pluckt vp by the hand and be laid in the Sunne afterward to drie and lastly shut vp in some place where it may be kept and being thus ordered it lasteth longer than anie other manner of corne Millet doth good vnto the fields wherein it is gathered in this respect namely that wormes will not hurt the corne that shall be sowne there presently after anie whit at all seeing they will leaue the graine that is sowne and cleaue to the straw of the Millet In the time of dearth they vse to make bread of Millet but vnpleasant ynough especially when it is setled and the inhabitants of Gascoâ—gne and Campaigne doe vse a pappe-meat made of Millet with milke and that not of the pleasantest taste as well the bread as the pappe-meat made of Millet is of small nourishment besides that they make obstructions and that because Millet is cold in the first degree and drie in the third Millet fried with salt and flowers of Camomill and put into a bag doth serue against the paines of the collick and wringings of the bellie To keepe Purgatiues as Rubarb Agarick yea and flesh also from rottennesse and corruption it is good to burie them in Millet Sesame SEsame would be sowne in a blacke ground that is somewhat rotten and moist It groweth also in sandie and fat grauellie grounds or in mingled grounds and it is verie fruitfull euen no lesâ—e than Millet or Pannicke It is true that the good householder needeth not trouble his braine much with the sowing of it seeing it is apt to make the ground altogether barren and yet is good for nothing except the oyle that is pressed out of it and
more worth than the other so that the hindes let not to say That they had rather eat the huskes or stalkes of beanes sowne in due time than the beanes themselues of three moneths old because they yeeld more fruit and haue a greater and better stored graine But at what time soeuer you sowe them you must haue speciall regard to sowe them all about the fifteenth day after the change of the Moone because that in so doing thâ—y will be the beâ—ter loaden and because they will not be so much assailed of little vermine as and if the Moone were new The day before they be sowne you must steepe them in the lees of Oliues or in water of Nitre to the end that they may beare the more fruit be more easie to boyle and not to be subiect to be eaten of Weeuils or Larkes They must likewise reape and pull them vp in the new of the Moone before day and after leaue them in the ayre to drie and thresh them out before the full Moone and afterward carrie them into the Garner for being thus ordered vermine will not breed in them Againe they proue more profitable being planted than sowne in a good ground that is well dressed tilled fatted and manured vvhich said ground if it be sowne the yeare following with Wheat will yeeld a more copious and plentifull haruest in as much as Beanes doe fatten a ground more than anie other kind of Pulse If you would keep them long you must sprinkle them with salt water but if you meane to boile them you must bee sure to keep the salt from them because salt-water doth harden them they must not be left in the cold aire for the cold also doth make them the harder to boile To keepe them from being euen of wormes they must bee annointed or rubd ouer with oile-oliue one after another vntill such time as they be well liquored with this oile The flowers of Beanes notwithstanding that they be of a pleasant and delightsome smell doe hurt a weake braine and such a one as is easily carried away and ouercome And hereupon it commeth to passe that there are a great number of fooles when Beanes are in flower Thus much for the French experience of Beanes which doth indeed more concerne the Garden-Beane than those which are continually in vse amongst Husbandmen Therefore to come to the profit and true knowledge of the husbanding of Beanes you shall vnderstand that they are onely to be sowne in a rich stiffe ground that is verie fertile as namely the black or blew clay for in other earths they â—oy but a little and they will grow with one eaâ—ing onely which would be done at the beginning of Ianuarie vpon such earth as hath borne Barly before or else vpon greene-swarth which hath not been plowed long before it must be plowed deep and haue a great furrow turned vp then you shall let it lye till it haue taken frost and raine then vpon the next faire season being about or soone after S. Valentines day you shall sowe it and harrow it As for the weeding of Beanes it is to no purpose for they are of themselues so swift of growth that they will out-grow all weedes And if they haue anie Pease mixt amongst them which should euer be for it is the surest seed they will smother vp and destroy all sorts of weedes They are because of their vpright growing better to be mowne with sythes than cut to reapt with hookes they aske little withering for so soone as the cod turnes blacke the stalke dryes The vse of them is principally for prouander for Horses or to mixe with Barley Wheat or Rie to make bread for hind-seruants or for hunting or running Horses but then commonly they are vsed simply of themselues or else mixt with Wheat onely for the mixture of Barley or Rie is not good for Horses of that nature except for some cause physicall as to keepe them soluble in their bodies and so forth The Garden-Beane is good for men to eat being boyled and mixt with butter vineger and pepper or for want of butter with oyle-Oliue The cods also are a verie good food being boyled whilest they are greene and tender Lastly the water which is distilled from the flowers of Beanes is good to take away the morphew or spots in men or womens faces Small Peason SMall Pease are no lesse profitable for the fatting of ground that is leane than Lupines It is true that if you looke to haue good store of them and well-codded you must sowe them in fat and warme grounds and in a temperate and moist time as in Februarie or March and sometime in September in the increase of the Moone and yet it is hard for them to endure and hold out the Winters cold for they alwaies desire the full fruition of the Sunne and doe grow a great deale the fairer when they doe enioy it accordingly and when also they are borne vp to that end on stickes rather than let fall flat to the ground to creepe vpon it they must be sowne thinne because their stalkes doe spread themselues further than anie one other kind of pulse They are verie subiect to be eaten within of Wormes and yet those which are so eaten of Wormes are better to sowe than the other which are whole and sound For this cause if you will preuent the Wormes that they may not hurt and hinder your corne sowe Peason first in the place It is true that for the better growth and prospering of them the thicke and grosse seed is most conuenient to be sowne especially if it be laid in water to steepe therein a night because thereby they grow the more easily and lose some part of their saltnesse in being steept by which meanes they recouer their naturall verdure againe They must be gathered in the decrease of the Moone presently vpon their being ripe for else they drie vp and fall out of their swads The earth wherein they are sowne standeth in need but of one earing Cich Peason CIch Peason doe likewise grow in fat and moist places they must be sowne in a rainie time they doe greatly load and burthen the earth and for that cause are neglected of the wiser sort of husbandmen Notwithstanding if you will sowe them you must steepe them in warme water a day before that so they may grow and put forth of the earth the sooner and greater Some to haue them grow the fairer doe steepe them and their cods in nitrous water To keepe them that passengers and other folke may not gather them to eate when they are ripe you must water them fiue mornings together before the Sunne rise with water wherein haue beene steeped the seedes of wild Cucumber and Wormewood and the dew within fiue daies after will haue taken away all the bitternesse thereof Such practises are likewise good for to be vsed about small Peason and Beanes The vse of them is good for such as are
slow to performe the act of carnall copulation and especially to carrie away grauell and to breake the stone as also for such as haue weake lungs and low and weake voices They are also good against melancholie and doe cut off troublesome thoughts and cogitations and put in place thereof iollie conceits and merrie moodes and then they being laid forth in the Moone-shine when it is in the encrease and before the Sunne rise they must be sprinkled with oyle-Oliue afterward steeped in warme water to soften them and lastly boyled for to be eaten The way to vse them is rather to suppe vp their broth made with the rootes of Parsley than to eare the Peason Small Cich Peason SMall Cich Pease called of the Latines Cicercula must be sowne in fat places and in a moist time as in Ianuarie or Februarie they doe lesse harme to a field than anie other pulse but for the most part they neuer come to profit for when they are in flower they cannot abide drowth nor anie strong Southerne windes at such time as they leaue flowring Great wild Tare and bitter Fetch THe great wild Tare and bitter Fetch doe desire leane places and such as arâ— not moist for sometimes by putting forth too freely and growing too much they ouerthrow themselues They may be sowne in Autumne or in the end of Ianuarie and all the moneth of Februarie but not in March because if it should be sowne in this moneth it would hurt the Cattell especially Oxen troubling them in their braines Fetches THere are two seed-times for Fetches the first when they are sowne for to feed cattell and it is about the fifteenth day of September the second in Februarie or March and this is for to make bread of for to eat being mixt with other corne both of them may be sowne in vntilled grounds but it is better when they are sowne in grounds that haue had their three earings This seed loueth not the dew and therefore it must be sowne two or three houres after Sunne-rise when all the moisture thereof is spent and consumed either by the wind or by the Sunne and it must not alone be sowne but it must also be couered the verie same day because that if the night should come vpon it and wet it but a little before it were couered it would quickly become corrupt and putrified The ground wherein it is sowne needeth not anie more than one earing and when it is sowne it needeth no weeding In anie case it must not be sowne before the fifteenth day of the Moone for otherwise the Snailes will annoy it In like manner it must not be sowne neere vnto anie Vine or Orchard or anie place where there are trees growing because it draweth vnto it the iuice of such plants as be neere it and yet the Fetch doth not make the ground leane but rather fat and that it is so appeareth because that so soone as the Fetch is taken away out of the fields there may Peason Millet or anie other sort of Pulse be sowne Panick HE that would sow Panick must make choice of a light grauellie sandie or stonie ground and such a one as is situate amongst hills and on the tops of hills and yet whereas there is no little resort of water for that it being hot by nature groweth and putteth forth more easily than Millet It must be sowne in Summer and it groweth so speedily as that it may be mowen within fortie daies after that it is sowne The inhabitants of Gascoigne make bread thereof but it is verie vnpleasant because it is verie short and apt to câ—umble away euen like ashes or sand The Perigordians frie it with butter or oyle others eate it with milke or meat-broth Fenugreeke Cummin and Mustard-seed FOr the sowing of Fenugreeke you must make choice of such ground as you would for the Fetch which you must not cut the second time seeing the first if it be done thicke and small and not deepe will serue for if the graine should be couered aboue foure fingers it would not be able to sprout and spring vp and therefore the plough and harrow both must goe but lightly ouer it The meale of Fenugreeke with Brimstone and Nitre doth take away the freckles of the face If you mingle it with a fourth part of the seedes of Cresses in vineger it will proue a singular remedie for the falling of the haire called Tinea If you boile it in honied water putting thereto some Swines grease it will resolue the swelling of the testicles hands feet and vnder the eares and is profitable against the wrenches of ioints The decoction thereof drunke oftentimes doth infinite good to such as haue beene troubled with an old cough and likewise for the vlcers of the breast for the distillations and rhewmes falling vpon the eyes you must wet clothes in the decoction of this seed and apply them vnto the browes And as for Cummin and Mustard-seed wee haue spoken of them in the second Booke Medick fodder or Snaile-clauer THere is not either anie Pulse or other feeding which is more agreeable or more precious for the feeding of beasts than Snaile-clauer called in French Sainct foin for that it may seeme to spring out of the earth and as it were of a more speciall fauour from God not onely for the nourishing and fatting of heards of cattell but also to serue for Physicke for beasts that are sicke and in that respect it is called of the Latines Medica Some call it Burgundie hay because the Burgundians 〈◊〉 beene alwaies verie carefull for the sowing and tilling of this hearbe The inhabitants of Picardie call it Foinasse and manie haue giuen it the name of great Trefoile Howsoeuer the name goe the benefit of this grasâ—e is so great as that euerie casefull husbandman ought continually to reserue the better part of his grounds to bee sowne therewith Make choice therefore of the sowing and growing of great store of this grasâ—e of an euen ground that is verie cleane and fat easie to be plowed and which hath had three earings before it was sowne as also which hath beene well dunged well harrowed and digged and delued rather in the decrease of the Moone than plowed with the plough beginning the worke in Iune afterward in August October December and Februarie to the end that the weedes that are in the ground may bee sufficiently killed as well by the heate of Summer at the cold of Winter After that you haue made the ground well pleasing and fit by such industrie beginne to sow it in the end of Aprill during the new of the Moone and toward the latter end of the day for being watered by the dew of the night it will spring more speedily and easily out of the earth than and if it were sowne in the heat of the day because it would be burst continually and would come but to small effect and profit You must not bee niggardly in sowing of it for
as that of the 〈◊〉 of Beauce but yet to make some manner of recompence more white and such as â—â—teth better than that of Beauce The corne of Brie is of a lesse graine than that of France and Beauce as also a loâ—e of this corne is of lesse quantitie than that of 〈◊〉 corne and of lesse whitenesse and pleasure in eating than that which is made of the corne of France because that Brie is a countrie of sweet cherries and yet notwithstanding it is found that the countrie properly and truely called Brie doth surpasse and goe beyond the two other in massinesse of corne and the cause making it so to be is the shortnesse and thickenes of the skin thereof which is euidently more apparant in it than in the rest which make it to weigh the more The corne of Picardie is of a lesse graine than any of the other three aforesaid and so the bread of this corne is not so good great white or profitable because that this corne is more hard stiffe stubborne and vneasie to grind than the others and therefore such as out of which the flower cannot be well drawne which causeth men commonly to call the corne of Picardie more vile and filthie than the rest seeing when it is ground the bran thereof detaineth and keepeth backe of the flowre within it Champaigne notwithstanding that it flow and abound with corne and make a verie faire and great shew yet it is inferiour vnto the other aforesaid countries because the corne thereof yeeldeth lesse bread than the others because naturally it is giuen to be choking and to run vpon wreathes betwixt the milstones and more redious to grind than others againe it is long thin and clouen in the middest which maketh that it carrieâ—h so much wast bulke Generally wheat the smaller it is and the thinner the huske is the better and whiter the meale is which commeth from it as is both seene in France and in other countries for in England the wheat which groweth on the rich stiffe soyles and is called whole straw wheat being a great large corne with a thicke huske is euer the coursest and blackest of all wheats yet good to the yeeld and rich in meale but the flaxen and chilter wheate which are much smaller and thinner huskt and grow vpon barrenner grounds as for the most part vpon the Iunams and such like doe euer yeeld the finest and whitest meale and therefore are most sought after for the making of fine maunchets sweet bisket Iumballs and such like 〈◊〉 pasts To grind corne THe husbandman hauing made good choice of his corne shall send it to the mill whether it go with water or with wind according as the countrie shall be 〈◊〉 fit and conuenient for or and if he haue choice and may send it to either then 〈◊〉 shall rather chuse to send it to a watermill carried about with a very swift 〈◊〉 for the more forcible turning about of the stone and which hath his 〈◊〉 of a very hard greet and all of one peece if it bee possible such as are in Bâ—ie and Champaigne especially at Ferte vnder Ioarre for the milstones that are tender and soft doe easily breake and quickely grow out of frame and withall do continually 〈◊〉 some grauell in turning about which being mixt with the meale taketh away all the pleasantnes and good sauour of the bread and becommeth oftentimes troublesomâ— vnto the teeth Many doe counsell and aduise to beat the corne in a 〈◊〉 before it be sent to the mill to be ground and in beating of it to sprinkle it ouer with 〈◊〉 and after to drie it in the Sunne and then in the end to send it to the mill Some 〈◊〉 not send it to the mill except it be very drie and when as it is not drie they set it in the Sunne to drie as holding this opinion that the drier it is the more 〈◊〉 it yeeldeth Others besprinkle it with salt water hoping by such watering of it 〈◊〉 the meale will become more white and that they shall haue greater quantite of 〈◊〉 Of old time as may be gathered out of Aristotles problems barley was woone to be pâ—rched before it was ground In France none of these waies of preparing their 〈◊〉 to the mill are vsed but as the corne is so they send it to the mill It is true that the miller is to lay his stones in such sort as that according to the owners will 〈…〉 make a greater or a smaller meale as also according as the corne it selfe shall be more grosse hard small or soft Yet the lesse the corne is bruised the finer the meale will be and the grosser your branne is the better and vvhiter will your paste be vvhence it comes that the skilful Baker wil euer chuse the great black Cullen stones to grinde his fine Wheat vpon which no more but bruising and as it were crushing the corne makes the meale as pure and as vvhite as Snow As for the drinesse or danknesse of corne it is certaine that no graine except Wheat can be too drie but that the skilfull Miller sayes should euer sticke to the Hopper vvhence it comes that he will vvhen he findes his Wheat too drie dash or sprinkle some vvater vpon it which makes it grinde a great deale the better and makes the meale much vvhiter Of Meale Mil-dust flower of Meale Branne fine Meale Wheate Starch and mundified Barley THe corne being ground is turned into Meale in such sort as that meale is no other thing but that vvhich commeth of the corne vvhen it is ground and so the meale falleth out to be such as the corne was that is to say very vvhite if so bee that the corne were pure and cleane thick and short such as the corne of France properly so called is blacke and full of bran if the corne were starued small wrinckled full of filth and dirt long and flat such is the meale of Rie But the husbandman before the grinding of his corne and turning of it into meale must thinke with himselfe vvhether he will keepe it long or no such as he vvill not keep there is no need vvhy he should care of what corne he causeth it to be ground as vvhether it be old or new threshed neither yet how and in what maner but such as he doth entend to keep for some time as in a store-house for to answer the times of necessitie hee must chuse the driest corne that he can meet vvithall because that if it be not verie drie it might verie quickly take heat in the meale and so it is meete that it should bee old threshed and not new and comming from the sheafe although the bread that is made of corne old threshed be not so good as that which is made of new threshed corne and that vvhich commeth fresh from the sheafe for the meale that commeth of corne olde threshed reserued a long time in the garner keepeth better than that
leueâ— to knead their crust withall the hardned froth of beere which because it is windy and flatuous doth make the bread light as it were full of eies The grounds of beere doth serue to polish and scoure brasen vessell if they beâ— laid to steepe therein some certaine time The end of the fifth Booke THE SIXTH BOOKE OF THE COVNTRIE HOVSE The Vine CHAP. I. Of the profit rising of a well dressed Vine and Vineyard HItherto wee haue intreated of the husbanding tilling ordering and dressing of garden plots orchards and arable ground it now remaineth that we speake of the vine wherupon for certaintie dependeth the greatest part of the reuenues and riches of a house-holder howsoeuer many make small account of the vine and do more esteeme to haue possession of meadowes pasture woods and other grounds than to stand to the reuenues growing by vines in as much as for the most part they yeeld not the fruit which may recompence the charges laid out about them But for all this the vine is not to be discredited seeing this is not the fault of the ground but of the people that till it and either for couetousnesse or ignorance or negligence offend in the tilling thereof It is true that the husbanding and ordering of the vine is chargeable painefull and a matter of great care by reason of the tendernesse of the wood which being well considered may seeme to haue come to passe by a speciall prouidence of God directing the same and making it so weake tender and feeble to the end that this plant might not serue for any other thing than to bring forth the excellent and pretious liquor of wine which is so needfull for the sustentation and life of man for if it were fit for any thing else as the wood of other trees is it would be imployed and wine thereby would become a great deale more deere than it is The greatest part of vine dressers do not esteeme in what ground the vine be planted but do make choice of the worst quarter in all the country as if the worst ground and that which is good for nothing else were the best to plant vines in Others haue not the iudgement to know and chuse their plants and for that cause doe oftentimes plant their vineyards with such young vines as are nought Againe many hauing no respect of the time to come do in such sort order and dresse the vine as if they thought to liue but an houre burdening and loading it with so many branches and shootes for propagation and leauing vpon it so much wood as that it cannot prosper any long time Others although they know the way to order and dresse it well do yet continually omit certain courses and seasons as being more busily imployed about their own profit than their maisters wel-fare Likewise I would alwaies aduise the Lord of our countrie farme that hee would not altogether commit the care and charge of his vineyard vnto his farmer but that he himselfe would lay the chiefe burthen about it vpon himselfe for as the masters eie maketh the horse fat so the carefull industrie of the Lord or chiefe owner maketh the field fruitfull and to beare great store of increase and for that likewise the owner and Lord of the vine will not onely spare it better but also see that it bee not defrauded of any such toile and labour as it requireth contrarie for the most part to the practise of such as are but secondarily interesâ—ed in such matters the vine being such a peece of inheritance as wherein euerie small fault committed doth draw after it great losse and such as oftentimes cannot bee remedied or repaired but by supplanting what is done and replanting it a new And that it is no otherwise but iust so marke and see if euer you heare the Guespines of Orleance or the Beaâ—uoies and those of the duchie of Burgundie which haue large grounds imployed in vineâ—yards to complaine themselues of their vines and that because themselues take the whole care and reserue the principall ouersight vnto themselues On the contrary the Parisians haue no other complaints or agreeuances to talke of but of their vines and that because they credit deceitfull and ignorant workemen to sway the worke whose couetousnesse ignorance and negligence is for the most part of the cause that they reape not the fruit of their vines in such plentifull manner as they should or at the least that the fruit which they doe reape is not so durable as it would And this you must thinke that vines will yeeld a larger reuenue a great deale than gardens or other areable grounds if they bee well and diligently husbanded for there are few arpents of vines to be found which yeeld not euery yeare one yeare helping another ten or twelue tuns of wine which is a great reuenue and yet remaineth vnreckoned a great benefit and auailes which may be made of small plants and impes which may be gathered to transport or transplant into any other place which will easily amount to more than will satisfie and aunswere all the costs and charges which are laid out any maner of way about the vines wherefore either the reuenue rising of such plants by sale or the hope of the vintage and gathering of wine must be the spur to pricke forward the master of this our countrie farme to looke to the ordering and dressing of the vines himselfe CHAP. II. What soile and aire the vine doth most delight in THe vine groweth not but in certaine places that are fit and naturall for it which is a thing to be accounted of by vs so much the more excellent because the speciall propertie of this plant is more commended by men than any other in respect of the good it ministreth which iâ— that in such places as it groweth in the men are found to be more strong and mightie by the vse of it than other men are which for want of it are forced to vse other drinkes As concerning the soile to plant it in there must two things be considered the qualitie of the ground where it is to be planted and the disposition and inclination of the aire which ruleth in that place As concerning the qualitie of the ground you shall chuse such a one as is not very churlish and close neither yet very lighâ— and open but yet of the two more inclining vnto a small mould and open ground neither leane nor very fat yet somewhat the rather inclining to the fat not champion nor a very plaine and flat and yet in such grounds there grow more wine neither very stiffe and straight but rather somewhat raised than otherwise that so it may bee the better aided and succoured by the fauourable beames of the Sunne neither driâ— nor moist and watrish because that in such kind of ground the vine continueth not long neither doth it bring forth good wine but such as is quickely perished and yet
grapes in places that are hot and giuen to be mild In drie countries he must plant those vines the fruit whereof is woont lightly either through raine or the dew to rot as those be of samoureau Gouet Pinot Blanke and Beaunoies and in a moist place those which are woont to spoile and perish through drinesse In countries which are troubled with haile such as are of a hard and large leafe for such are able the better to defend and couer the fruit CHAP. III. How that there is not planted any vine by the way of making a seed nurcerie except it be onely for pleasure I Am of that mind that a man cannot but hinder and iniurie himselfe in making nurcerices of vines for besides that the tree doth not grow sooner of kernels than it doth of the plant there is also this inconuenience namely that the vine growing of knernels doth not yeeld any thing of profit or good for vse This is indeed a worke for such as loue their pleasure and haue in their purses largely to defray the charges thereof being able thereby to sow seeds out of some strange countrie afterward to raise a nurcerie of stocks of the same when they are growne vp for to bee transplanted and remoued into a better ground and that they may graft thereon and afterward againe remoue the stockes so grafted into a better ground also that so about two yeares after they may reape the fruit thereof which is woont to be both great and daintie enough but yet this same new vineyard thus planted is the least durable of all others Againe in this countrie wee doe not trouble our selues in planting vines to runne vpon trees in such sort as any man may easily see that they doe in Lombardie and other places neither yet with such as are raised vpon single and double shadowing arbours neither yet with such as vse to creepe along and spread themselues vpon elmes or other trees for the wine neuer proueth so good as well because the root of the tree is corrupted after the maner as it falleth out with coleworts as also because this plant loueth not to be hoiâ—ed and mounted too high neither yet shadowed with any building of timber-worke higher than the stature of a perfect man CHAP. IIII. How that before you plant your vine you must learne out what wine the earth will beare where you are purposed to plant it WHosoeuer doth purpose to plant vines must not so much trust vnto the markes and signes of a good ground ceclared and set downe before as first to see that he haue made trial what wine the ground will best beare where he mindeth to plant his vine for it were but labour lost and money cast away to plant a vine for so small increase as can nothing like aunswere and content your expectation Thus then you may trie and proue your ground make a pit in the ground where you meane to plant it of two foot depth and of the earth cast out of the pit take a clod and put it in a glasse full of raine water that is verie deane mingle and beate together this earth and water then let it rest vntill such time as the earth haue made his perfect residence and setling in the bottome of the glasse which is easily perceiued by the cleerenesse of the glasse which will follow thereupon and after that the earth is throughly setled tast the water and looke what relish or tast it hath such would the wine be and therefore a vine yeelding such a relished wine fittest to be planted there therefore if you find therein a bitter tast a saltie or allum like or any other such vnpleasant tast auoid and cease to plant any vine in any such ground Which if it be true then to dung and manure vines is altogether to bee condemned because it is very hard that earth fed and nourished with dung should not taste and retaine the smatch of the dung and so by consequence communicate the same with the wine Wherefore the Parisians are fowly and foolishly ouerseene to load and lay vpon their vines yeare by yeare such great quantitie of dung and that is the cause for the most part why their wines haue an vnpleasant tast and doe easily and very quickely corrupt and yet further the dung doth cause the vines to grow old by and by and become barren because they put forth all their goodnesse the first yeare CHAP. V. Of the choice of young vine plants THe choice of young plants whether they bee crossets marquets or the tenais must not be put to the discretion of the seller who little careth to take the fit season for the gathering of the said young plants neither yet for the goodnesse of them but altogether to his diligent heedfull care which is the workemaster and for that cause it were best for men to take them of their owne vines or else at least to haue those which hee shall buy warranted to beeâ— good he must also haue regard to the quality of the aire and situation of the ground where he will set his plants that so he may fit them for the same For and if the ground lie vpon the South he shall chuse the young branches of vines which he will plant from the same part and quarter if he meane to plant them in a high place hee shall gather the plants vpon some high and tall vine and if low then out of some vineyard that is very low planting in a hot cold drie or moist ground hee shall chuse his plants for the renewing of any failing or decaied of the like situation by this meanes the plant will fasten the sooner in the ground and it will bring forth fruit sooner and a great deale better than if it should bee otherwise Likewise hee must not keepe the young plant any long time before hee plant it for no more than trees which are to bee remooued can the vine well and easily endure after it is cut to bee long vnplanted neither yet would it be carried far or remoued out of its owne soile into another because it feareth the change of earth and aire and thereupon it commeth that the young plants brought out of strange countries as of Beaune Rochel and Burdeaux cannot prosper so well in our soile as those which grew there first To make good choice therefore of crossets to plant new vines of you must see that the vine from which you gather such Crosâ—ets bee but sparingly furnished with pith because that such a one is not onely fruitfull and bearing aboundantly but because also it is not so subiect to the iniuriousnesse of time as Snow Fogges Frostes and the burning of the Sunne in the time of Sommer as those which haue much pith in them afterward when the vines beginne to bud you must diligently view about the beginning of September those that are most laden with grapes and which are most fruitfull and haue most
timber trees if peraduenture you haue not the bâ—nefit of some vnder wood neere vnto your house where the conies may settle themselues and make their abode Notwithstanding in as much as the hunting and taking of conies which haue their couerâ—s and boroughs in such vnder woods is some what more hard and difficult than that of the Warren and because also that conies liuing in smal woods multiplie nothing so much as those in the Warren and that especially by reason of foxes woolues and other field beastes whereunto they are oftentimes made a pray by being deuoured of them it will bee better and for your further both ease and profit to make a Warren apart by it selfe You must then for the making thereof reserue some fiue or sixe acres of fine dustiâ— or sandie ground such as is not fat strong or close in a high place lying open vpon the Sunne and not in a â—arish or waterie ground for together with that the â—onie hateth aboue all things moisture and cold yet for the conueniencie of her making of here earthes it is requisite that she be in a place where she may dig with ease for the making of her bed and couert This peece of ground shall be compassed and be set about after the manner of a parke with reasonable high walls to keepe out foxâ—s woolues and other wild beasts that they may not iniurie or make war vpon this little beast Within this conigrie you must plant great store of brambles mulberriâ— trees and â—loe trees strawberrie plants wild pine trees hurtle berrie bushes goose berrie bushes mâ—rtle trees and great store of iuniper for the conie loueth the iuniper berrie aboue all other things And as concerning hearbes you must sow if so be the earth bring not forth someof itselfe great â—tore of sowthistle groundswell succorie coleworts lettuces clarie taragon thistles turneps cich â—ease and other such like for the feeding of these little beastes As for the drawing of some small brooke or bestowing of any water conduit vpon them you need not trouble your selfe seeing the coniâ— hath moisture more than any thing else Neither yet doe you trouble your selfe to prepare them any other lodging than the holes which they shall dig and worke out for themselues And those burroughs or clappers which shall be meet for them to worke in which borrough would if the nature of the ground doe not allow it bee cast vp somewhat high and sâ—â—ape wise so as the water may by all means dessend and passe from the same without soaking into it or drawing it vpon any fluxe of raine whatsoeuer vpon the tops of these burroughs or clappers for the better strengthning of them and holding the loose mould together you shall plant good store of alders and other rough bushes which are quicke of groweth whose roots once entring into the earth and twinding about the mould will keepe any from falling more than that which the conie of her owne selfe diggeth and although out of the precisenesse of choice we desire a speciall place for the conie Warren yet you shall vnderstand that the most barrenâ—est ground whatsoeuer so it lie drie will serue for the conie Warren as namely the most dryest heath or downes or those earths which are ouer runne with linge gorse whynnes braken broome ferne and such like for a conie feedeth as a sheepe doth close and neere to the ground and will gather vp the smallest chiâ—e of grasse that may be and also delighteth to crop vpon weeds or any other tender bud that groweth within the compasle of her feeding the snow is her greatest enemie â—et not so much for the want of food as for the ouer moistning of â—er food and so bringing rottennesse therefore it is meere to haue euery Winter in your Warren a little cob or stacke of hay wherewith in those extreame times you may fodder your conies pricking vp little 〈◊〉 thereof in clouen stickes close by the ground which they will eate with all greedinesse for it is a meat at those times which they loue exceedingly for proofe whereof doe but fodder sheepe neere vnto a connie Warren and you shall see how euening and morning the conies will swarme vnto the same eating vp whatsoeuer the sheepe shall leaue which is not too hard or rough for their eating CHAP. II. That there must a Clapper be made for the better storing and planting of your Warren ANd yet it is not inough to haue made and finished the things that are to bee done round about the Warren as to haue fenced it with whatsoeuer is necessarie for the preseruing and nourishing of conies but you must also store and plant it for no more than arable ground beareth fruit except there be seed cast into in nor the vine any grapes except it bee diligently planted and dressed so neither thinke you that your Warren be it neuer so neaâ—ly and necessarily appointed and trimmed vp can breed and feed conies except you first put them there Wherefore for your storing of your Warren it is requisite that you cast vp a clapper wherein you may put your males and females to kindle euery moneth for to buy so many as should be needfull would be too costly and chargeable for the farmer or housholder Seeing also that it commeth to passe oftentimes that after hee hath sold many vnto the vitailers or for that the foxes haue eaten vp some great number the Warren remaineth quite spoiled and destitute of conies in so much as that he must be compelled to store it againe It is better therefore in respect of the greater commoditie and lesse charges to make a clapper in some corner of your court kitching or garden which may be foure square narrow and fenced in with bords or plaistered walls indeed it were better to be prouided in the Warren for so the young ones might more commodiously out of the clapper passe into the Warren at some one side of the clapper which should bee crosse wrought with lattise worke and should haue the holes thereof left so wide as that the young ones might passe out and in vnto their dams Whether therefore the clapper be prouided in the Warren or elsewhere you must build certaine small lodgings paued with boords and these must haue holes in them like to those which the conies make themselues in the earth and euery one seuerall from another for the conies to betake themselues into and it will be enough for to allow in such places one male to eight or ten females and yet therewithall to keepe the bucke close shut vp in his lodging for feare he should hurt and wrong the young ones for the male conie contrarie to the nature of all other manner of buckes deuoureth the young ones It is very true that so soone as it is espied that the Doe hath kindled she must incontinently be put into some other hole with the male that so he may Bucke her for this is a most certain thing that
smother the bud and deuour the substance of the earth for all plants come of heate and moisture and if they be suffered to bee intangled with weeds they will be smothered and in danger to be lost CHAP. IX That wood diligently dressed and husbanded doth profit more than that which is not so dressed and husbanded I Know that there are many trees which are dayly seene to grow without such great paines taking and industrie freely receiuing their naturall nourishment without aide or assistance and that by reason of the fruitfulnesse either of the ground or of the countrie and yet if some one do so escape a hundred die for it and this I say for their sakes who hauing once planted would be loath to loose their paines and do conceaue that all or the greatest part doe thriue and prosper which conceat is notwithstanding like to deceiue them if they proceed not to dresse and husband them in conuenient sort after they haue beene well planted as is aboue declared Wherfore I haue applied my selfe to trie the issue of tilling of them according to art and knowledge as also of leauing them vntilled and I find that although the tree which groweth in the desert do grow vp sometimes vpon a perfect growth notwithstanding it groweth not in so short time and the greatest part of it dieth and that which is well tilled and planted doth grow twice so much and that not one of ten of them is lost but that all prosper of what sort of wild trees soeuer they by But some may replie that labour is chargeable and costeth much but in as much as it lasteth not alwaies being to continue not past foure or fiue yeares at the most much like vnto the young plant of a vine it will be found that the cost will not bee great seeing especially that after such cost it is freed from any more for euer For after that wood is once grown vp to such height as that weeds cannot ouer grow nor ouercrow it which will be in foure or fiue yeares if it be husbanded then it smothereth the weeds that grow vnder it and keepeth away from them both the Sunne and the aire with its shawdow in such sort as that they die and are not able to ouershadow or do any hurt vnto the wood CHAP. X. Of remouing lopping pruning and making cleane of wood THat your plant may grow the better it is likewise requisite â—o remoue trees from a high drie and bad soile into another ground that is more moist and fat if it may be by this meanes in finding a better soile the tree will take more easily and there is no doubt but the better the ground is and the better that the plant is ordered the sooner it will grow become bigger beare greater boughs and leaues rather than lesse as may be seene in old forrests which are situated in fertile and fat countries or in those which grow in sandie and bad grounds as in Solonge where woods continue very small and vntimely Woods planted and ordered as is abouesaid the first second and third yeare must not bee touched with any edge toole and yet notwithstanding towards the third and fourth yeares and those that follow if you perceiue your wood so thicke set and spred as that it riseth not neither groweth high as it ought you may cull out and cut away the small sprigs and little boughes as you shall find them seeing they are good for nothing and leaue behind you some three or foure of the principall braunches so stripped of their small twigs as your owne discretion will best direct you This pruning of them would bee towards the moneth of March after that the cold is passed and gone that so the frost may not hurt the boughes that are cut and newly lopped and you may continue thus to prune them vnto the middeh of April at what time they begin to bud and put forth but then it must be done gently holding the shanke of the tree fast and firme without mouing or shaking of the rootes And this pruning may be done euery yeare if you will and by this meanes you may cause a new spring of small woods to grow and to put forth eight or ten branches fit for to bee plants for high and tall trees by cutting away the side ones and leauing three or foure of the fairest branches growing from the foot of the said small wood so cut downe according as you shall think good so that you make choice of such as grow vp high and straight and if they be not altogether strong enough to hold vp themselues you may helpe them with some prettie small props and stickes the better to hold them vp CHAP. XI Of the manner of sowing acornes for the growing of oakes ALl sorts of wild trees grow of remoued plants hauing good rootes or of branches or of the seeds and fruits which they beare and whereby they renew themselues Of the remoued plant there hath alreadie enough beene said as that it is more profitable and of a more speedie and certaine growth and therefore the sooner able to bestow pastime vpon his master The second way to grow trees is to grow them of branches writhen and buried in the earth gathered in such sort as that they may put forth roots and take againe as Columella hath very well set downe at large notwithstanding this way is long in taking root and putting forth and not to be practised but where there are no plants to be come by Wherefore I will not meddle with it in this place because it is not done without difficultie and vncertaintie and for that the pleasure thereof is long be-before it is reaped as also for that in this our countrie of France there are many vnderwoods and strong hedges where are to be gathered very easily and that in great quantity plants of all sorts of wild trees The third way is to sowe them of seed as of acornes beech maste and of the seed that is in the leaues of elmes for they bring forth such trees as those whereupon they themselues did grow and such seeds may bee sowne in little furrowes made with a hacke or grubbing axe and those not aboue foure or fiue fingers deepe and therein to couer them againe very lightly with broken mould or else they may bee sowne with the plough as beanes and all other kinds of graine are or with a debbell by which name they call a little sticke of halfe a foot long and a finger or inch thicke And of the three waies the best is to plant or sow the acorne or other seed with the dibble euerie one halfe a foot from another or one foot euery one from another by a straight line or after the manner vsed in grounds broken vp with the hacke making a small open place in the earth and therein putting the acorne in the like distance of halfe a foot all along the furrowe notwithstanding it is
the third a Willow groue and Oziar plot the fourth a great Riuer the fifth a Medow the sixth a great champion ground the seuenth Coppies of vnderwood the eight plentie of Bushes and a Warren and the ninth a forrest of great Trees or Oakes to beare Acornes Now amongst all these seuerall points of perfect beautie we may see that the principall is vvater and vvood because that hauing vvater one may easily make Medowes Garden plots Oziar yards and Willow plots all along the vvaters and riuers and hauing vvoods one may make Vnderwoods Warrens Bushes and high great trees also if it be lopt and pruned vnderneath to make it shoot vp and grow on high And he must not leaue aboue three or foure branches at the most and then they will become tall and high by and by because that the root is disburdened of all the rest of his boughes by hauing them cut downe in like sort the ground sendeth all such nourishment vnto these three or foure branches as it had imployed in the nourishment of many branches of small vvood and affoordeth growth vnto the straightest and fairest branches which are left behind to come to perfection thus in a small time they become tall and great trees and beare acornes So in like manner there is not that vvood of high and great growth cut downe in good and seasonable time vvhich putteth not forth small vvood and bushes if cattell and beasts be carefully kept out Whereupon I will conclude that in planting of woods there are three things principally requisite to the making of a beautifull place that is to say little wood great wood bushes and a warren for it is the like reason to plant the one and the other for of the one the other is made wherefore in respect of the pleasure profit and beauty of the place it is meet and conuenient to plant woods But the chiefe pleasure and pastime which commeth by wild woods is that being ioined to your house and champion habitation which is the place where it must be seated or planted it is pleasant to the sight for by its diuersity of greenenesse it maruellously delighteth and with great contentment recreateth the sight The second pleasure or pastime is that the woods being neere vnto your lodging are alwaies full of all sorts of pretie birds which sing Sommer and Winter all the day long and most part of the night as nightingales and such other like whereby their songs become ioyfull and delightsome to the eare and so there is a pleasure and great contentment to the eare euen to them in the house if it be neere vnto Another pleasure is that in the said woods there are alwaies great store of wood coists popingaies stares cranes and other sorts of birds which make you pastime to see them flie and there may also pleasure be reaped in taking of them with little engines as with a call nets the tonnell or other such like The fourth is that in the woods there are to bee had conies hares squirrels and other sorts of small beastes pleasant to behold and of great seruice for prouision of vitaile The fifth is that in hot seasons you may purchase a coole aire within the said woods as those which will couer and defend you from the iniurie and vexation of the Sunne and contrariwise cooling you vvhether the heat will or no and therein you haue also to behold a comfortable greenenesse both vpon the boughes and ground vvhich keepeth his grasse greene through the coolenesse and shadow of the trees The sixth is that in Winter being in the said vvoods you are out of the iniurie and force of the vvinds and great cold because they breake them off and further in these vvoods you are solitarie and may vse your leasure in reading writing or meditating vpon your affaires vvithout being disquieted or distracted or drawne to cast your sight abroad ouer any farre distant place or countrey in as much as the sight cannot pierce through the boughes or bushes Besides the said pleasures there commeth much profit thereof as well for the feeding of cattell and that in the shadow and with store of grasse at commandement at all times as also in respect of the Oake mast Beech mast Chesnuts and other fruits vvhich the trees beare vvhich serue for the fatting of hogges and are very necessarie for other beasts and for that also you may vpon certaine yeares make fall of your vvoods to make faggots fire vvood stakes to hedge in garden plots and other inclosures as also rods for Vines to runne vpon and if there be cut downe any Chesnut-trees or Hasels you may besides the things alreadie named make your profit of hoopes and boords for vvine-vessels in such sort as that these your vvoods shall not onely doe you pleasure but profit also if so be you be so disposed to make your vse of it By this meanes you may coniecture that the ground which is imploied in bearing of vvood is not any thing inferior in profit vnto others which are imployed in bearing of Corne and Vines It is very true that the commaundement or vse and profit of it are longer time in purchasing and more hardly come by than that of Corne and Vines but it recompenceth it with the double in the end for the first charges once defrayed nature bringeth forth both the greater and the smaller vvood vvithout the helpe of man and vvithout any labour vvhich happeneth not in Corne-grounds and Vineyards seeing they beare not except they be continually husbanded and tilled Wherefore the ground imploied in Beech mast and vvood yeeldeth as much profit as any other and will stand the house in as great stead seeing it cannot be any way held or inhabited without vvood I haue heere beene the more vvilling to declare and lay downe in briefe the pleasure and profit that commeth of vvoods to the end that they which take paines in those courses may not thinke that they haue lost their time and cost bestowed thereupon and that they may not be ashamed at the first blow of their trauaile and long attendance seeing that afterward both the pleasure and the profit doth abide and continue vvithout any further cost and that vnto them and their posteritie Wherefore my counsell and aduise vnto the good husband and master of the familie is that he apply himselfe to such planting of vvoods betimes that so he may the sooner enioy the pleasures thereof and that in so doing he cast them so as that they may grow as neere vnto his lodging and house where he meaneth to dwell as possibly may be for his further both profit and pleasure for if no good else should come thereof yet they would serue to breake the raging and blustering vvindes annoying the house if they be well placed and so conueniently as a man may be able to dispose them CHAP. XIIII A treatise of the nature properties and differences of wilde trees and what ground
light for the hand of him that shall vse it and also strong ynough to endure the stresse or labour it shall be put vnto also it must be gentle and soft to cut all which the Ash is more than any other tree whatsoeuer There are three sorts of Elmes The one is of those vvhich haue a small little leafe and a blacke stalke The second hath a large leafe and a reasonable vvhite stalke The third of them hath a verie large leafe and the stalke as it vvere all vvhite Those vvhich are to be chosen for planting are those two later for they are of greater growth and are vvoont to prosper better besides that they are fairer and put foorth moe boughes making thereby a greater shadow Of these three sorts there are both males and females vvee call those females vvhich beare most fruit and the thicker seede and the males vvee call those vvhich are lesser and beare their fruit of seede in the middest of the leaues and that in such sort as that they seeme to beare neyther fruit nor seede And for this cause there are manie that vvrite of Husbandrie affirming the said tree to beare no fruit or seede and that it groweth either of a plant or shoot And of this opinion vvas Tremâ—lius Notwithstanding it is certaine that euerie leafe beareth his fruit contained within the middest thereof and thereof vvill Elmes grow being sowne in due time And of this opinion is Columella and experience it selfe doth shew the same hee making two differing sorts of Elmes calling the one sort the fairest and tallest Elmes of Fraunce and the other sort Italian Elmes And as concerning those fairest Elmes if they be to be found they must be planted because they grow vp the sooner that way and put forth much larger boughes Theophrastus and some other vvriters doe make them lesse differing according to the countrey wherein they grow I haue beene the more willing to describe them according to their kind of leafe and vvood that you may the more easily know them I would haue you to looke backe into the fourth booke and there you shall find their natures and vertues more at large described The soiles in which they most of all delight is a verie stiffe clay and the principall vse of them ouer and aboue the making of Bow-staues formerly mentioned is the making of naues for vvaggons or cart-vvheeles for vvhich they are more excellent than any other vvood vvhatsoeuer and the more knottie and twound they are a great deale the â—itter they are for that purpose so that as the cleane growne smooth and euen Elme serues for other purposes so the knottie vneuen and most crooked Elme will serue for this Amongst these sorts of trees wee may place the Maple-trees called of the Latines Acâ—res because in their nature they somewhat resemble the Elme They craue the like ground namely a fat and moist ground they grow as the Elmes doe in all arable grounds they put forth in a short time great branches and but little greenenesâ—e This tree hath a verie white bodie beareth small leaues like the leaues of three-leaued grasse and doth not breed or gather any great store of vermine It naturally groweth shortâ— crooked rugged and beareth seldome any great length of timber yet where it groweth otherwise the timber is verie firme white close and durable It serueth for diners excellent and good purposes as namely it is the best of all other by reason of the wonderfull whitenesse thereof for all manner of inlaid works vvhich Ioyners vse also it is excellent for all manner of Turners vvare as for the making of trenchers dishes bowles sewing kniues and other implements for the Table prouided it be euermore of at least a yeare or more seasoning for if it be wrought greene it will warpe ryue and be indeed for no purpose Many vse to season it in a drie house but then it asketh a longer time and the sappe will be much longer in consuming but the best way is to let it lye abroad all the first Winter and take all wet which falls for that will driue the naturall wet of the sappe soonest out of it and then house it the Summer following and then after you may safely worke it at your pleasure The Ash is contrarily inclined for thereon breedeth oftentimes such aboundance of vermine as that thereby all their leaues are eaten and bored verie full of little holes Of this sort of Trees as well Elmes as Ashes and Maples the best are those vvhich grow the soonest and spread out the largest boughes in a short time As concerning the properties of these three kinds of Trees wee haue spoken in the third booke in the Chapter of Balmes how there is made a singular balme of the little fruit that is found inclosed in the leaues of one of the sorts of Elmes Furthermore the vvater vvhich is found inclosed in this little fruit maketh the face neat and shining if it be vvashed therewith againe double linnen clothes being vvet in this iuice or vvater and applyed vnto children vvhich are bursten becommeth a singular remedie for them The same iuice also put into a glasse-bottle and buried in the earth or dung for the space of fiue and twentie daies being well stopped and hauing the boâ—tome set vpon a heape of salt proueth singular good to cure greene vvounds if they be dressed vvith tents steeped in the said iuice The Maple-tree in this countrey amongst other things is had in request because of the boughes thereof there are made Bowes and that because they are stiffe and hard to bend The Ash-tree hath a singular vertue against the venime of Serpents for it is such an enemie and so contrarie vnto them as that they dare not draw neere or approach vnto the shadow thereof and againe as hath beene proued of many if you make as it were a circle of the leaues or boughes of the Ash-tree and put within the same a Serpent by the one side thereof and a burning fire on the other side the Adder will rather aduenture to passe through the fire than ouer the Ash-tree leaues For this cause Nature as one carefull of the good of mankind hath prouided that the Ash should flourish before that Adders and Vipers doe vse to come out of their holes in the Spring time as also that it should not fall his leaues in Autumne till they haue taken vp their Winter resting place Wherefore if it happen that any Horse Cow or other beasts of the Farmers should be bitten by some serpent or other venimous beasts there cannot be found a more soueraigne remedie than to stampe the tenderest leaues that are to be found vpon the Ash straining out the iuice to giue it the beast to drink and afterward to lay vpon the grieued part the drâ—sse of the stamped leaues this is likewise a good remedie for men that are bitten of any Adder or Viper The decoction of
birds which eate heart and paste must be purged at the least once euery moneth with two or three wormes out of the pigeon house euery time two daies after put into her water-pot the quantitie of a nut of sine sugar and when her voice faileth her you must put into the said water some licoras as namely so much as may giue some taste to the water and this will cleere her voice very exceedingly The foresaid purgation is very needfull when they are about to moute The cage must neuer be without earth or sand She must be sprinkled ouer with wine at the least twice a week to further her in her mouting and for the better preseruing of her life setting her afterward in the Sunne 〈◊〉 she be almost drie the like course must be taken when she is troubled with liâ—e and if you giue her any drie figs they will much reioice her CHAP. LXIX To purge birds that feed vpon Hempe-seed BIrds that eate Hempe-seede shal take for to purge them the seedes of melons husked and herbes as you shall thinke good namely Succorie Beets Lettuses Scariole and Mercury which is principally good for the Linnet but giue them what herbs you please for they are very good to 〈…〉 to purge them yea and though they haue no need to be purged yet you 〈◊〉 not cease continually to be giuing of them some giuing then furthermore amongst either earth or drie mortâ—â— in their cage to the end they may eate of it or dust themselues in it at their pleasure and conuenient time which is very wholesome for them and likewise you must giue them some Sugar as you haue beene taught before You shall perceiue when the bird would moute by the feathers in her cage and then you shall besprinkle her lightly with wine as wee haue already spoken before Some birds mout in the end of Iulie and others in the end of August Those which are taken in the nest begin to mout as soone as they be bred and their mouting continueth a moneth You shall besprinkle them with wine at the least twice a weeke to cause them to mout the sooner CHAP. LXX To know how long the birds liue IF any man desire to know how long these birds liue let him know that amongst Nightingales some liue three yeares some fiue and others vnto eight and sing vntill that time but from that time forward they are not any longer in perfection but decline by little and little It hath bin seene that Nightingales haue liued till they haue been fifteene yeres old and continued singing euery day lesâ—e or more so that it may seeme that they liue according to the good ordering which they haue or else according to their good complexion The Miskins being subiect to the gowt doe liue but a short time as three or foure yeares at the most The solitarie Sparrowes liue in good state and account for the space of fiue yeares many of them die of the subtile disease some of imposâ—umes others of gowts and some young ones of the falling sicknesse Finches liue tenne yea fifteene and twentie yeares more or lesse according vnto their complexion and they are alwaies in good plight singing vnto the last day of their life The Linnet is short-liued because she is subiect vnto the subtile disease some liue two yeares some three and some fiue according to their manner of ordering and gouerning The Siskins liue some fiue others eight yeares by reason of their good complexion and because they are not so subiect vnto diseases as other birds The Spinke liueth but a short time because they are subiect to blindnesâ—e some liue one yeare some two others till foure many of them die of the falling sicknesse because they haue beene set forth into the Sunne in the Summer time vvhereby the heat hath searched and penetrated into their braine The Calanders Corydales and Larkes liue alike long the one sort and the other as three or fiue yeares Some Calanders doe liue longer than the Corydales but she groweth melancholie being remoued out of one place into another The Canarie bird liueth long as fiue tenne and fifteene yeares yea there haue some beene seene to liue twentie yeares continuing alwaies good The Thraupis is of the continuance of six yeares or thereabout according as she is kept better or worse It is a bird that is not much regarded for her singing is but irkesome and tedious some take pleasure in it and some doe not CHAP. LXXI The manner of taking small birds as well those which sing as those which are for to eat as also all other sorts of small birds TO take birds with the voice of some leafe knife or such other like thing a man must stand in a bush shadowing himselfe with the leaues thereof and with a whistle make a noise or crie counterfeiting some bird that hath beene taken before or is then taken Some take a Sparrow being kept somewhat neere and held in a snare and make her crie pinching together her wings or legges and then the birds will flocke about her to aid her thinking that the Owle hath caught her and hauing set lime-twigges or lime-bushes vpon the branches of the trees the birds that shall come to succour her and lighting will be limed To take Spinkes as they are going that is to say in the place where many Spinkes are wont to passe you must enuiron their trees after they haue beene cut and planted in a plaine ground one distant from another some small distance as three foot or thereabout with leaues below as if it were a lodge and amongst them lay a coard made fast vnto a bough and carried vp on the other side with some prop this shall be held by a man placed a good way off and on the said bough shall be hanged and made fast two or three Spinkes then you must set the said trees verie choicely and thinne with lime-twigges and some distance off from thence two or three cages wherein there shall be some Spinkes for to call to such flocks as shall come flying that way which perceiuing those in the cages as also those which are hanged vpon the sticke will liâ—e themselues on the trees To take Pattridges with the Tonnell or Tombrell there must a man be placed behind a Cow or a Horse of wood or of oâ—â—er painted in such sort as that it may resemble the fashion of a Cow or a Horse and in the meane time hee shall ouer-cast the nets vpon the Partridges This kind of taking of Partridges is now adaies forbidden To take Partridges and Woodcocks in the night with fire you must light a match of old drie vvoollen clouts dipt in melted tallow wrapping them vp afterward together in forme of a torch as thicke as ones arme and of the length of a foot then you must astonish and amaze the Partridges in such sort as that they may cast themselues into the nets vvherewith
282 Clapper or Warren storing thereof 645 646 To Clod the earth 541 Câ—mpound water of trees 461 Clâ—uds darke and thicke a great signe of raine 26 The nature of the Lark called Cochenis 727. and her feeding ibid. To cut Cocâ—rels or to make them Capons 77. to fat Capons ibid. with speede 590. to make them lead Chickens 515. to make their stones good to make leane men fat 74. Capons of Mans and Bretaigne 73 Cocks and Capons must not haue their wings broken 67. one Cocke to a dozen Hennes ibid. notes of a good Cock and his colour 68. Cocks crowing at all houres a signe of raine 〈◊〉 How to order and breake Colts 1â—8 the marks of a good Colt 135. Colts how they must be looked to 1â—6 and to burne them and slit their noâ—â—â—â—ils ibid. to geld them 127. the means to make them seruiceable ibid Colutea 291 Rocke Comsâ—ey 202 Great Comâ—rey ibid. Compositions of honey 230 Conâ—es are a kind of Hares 697. those of the Warren how they must be cared for and fedde 646. the diffeâ—ence betweene those of the Warren and those of the Clapper 648 Conserue of the root of Elicampane 428 Conserue of Quinces wherefore good 376. laxatiue conserue of Quinees iâ—id Constraint is neuer good 12 Sale Cookes their vse of great deceit 117 Corke trees what ground they delight in 667 Red Corant tree 342 Coriander 245 Corne of all sorts and the manner of growing them 548. Seed-Corne how it must be chosen 543. to sow â—anne riddle lay vp corne vpon the end of the Moone 31. such diuers sorts thereof as are fit to make bread 571 Corne of diuers Countries of France and which are the best 571. the grinding of them 572 Tuâ—kie Corne and how it must be husbanded 553 Saracâ—ns Corne or Wheat ibid. Aduertisements concerning all manner of Corne and Pulse 569 570 Corne-flagge 239. distilled 462 Costmarie and his properties 182 The Court next the dwelling house and the scituation thereof 15. how it must be walled 16 Cowcumbers without water 195. how they may be kept 281. enemies to oyle 190. their huâ—tful qualities ibid. obseruations to be knowne concerning the same 194 Creame of milke and how it must be prepared 65 Crâ—spinet a singular hearbe against the Stone 〈◊〉 Cresses and their faculties 184 Crowes bathing themselues and braying at night are a signe of raine 25 Crowfoot 210 Cummin 249 Curiositie the ouerthrow of good wits 1 Curlew 78 Cuttlâ—-fishes and the manner of taking of them 515 D ADaies worke how much ground it containeth 518 Criticall Daies concerning the Moone 3â— The 12. Daies of the feast of the Natiuiâ—itie do prognosticate the disposition of the whole yeare 28 The Huswiues Dairie-house 16 The Dairie-woman and her office 38. what medicines she is to know for the diseases of the familie 39 Daisies 237 Daâ—es how planted 338 Date-trees how planted 390. male and female and their nature 292. what earth they craue 390 Dates how to be kept 409 Dâ—â—â—-wort 206. distilled 453 â—earth and the signes fore-shewing the same 29 〈…〉 grounds how they may be prepared to beare fruit 10 〈◊〉 â—iâ—phâ—â—nicon distilled 462 〈◊〉 Diligence of the householder doth ouercome the weakenesse of the ground 10 〈◊〉 249 〈◊〉 good kind of Dissembling 21 〈◊〉 by whom it was inuented and the kinds therof 439 440 〈◊〉 of many sorts of waters with a briefe discourse therâ—upon ibid. 〈◊〉 what it is ibid. 〈◊〉 of Oyles and Quintessences with a discourse theâ—eupon 469 〈…〉 Herbes Flowers Baâ—kes and Roots euery one by themselues 45â— c. 〈…〉 of Distilling 440 〈◊〉 matter must be prepared before it be Distilled 448 〈◊〉 Distill by Coldnesse 440 with the heat of Sand. 450 oftentimes one and the same water 451 what maner of heat is requisite thereto ibid. licours and the maner of ordering all things therein 454 compound waters three manner of wayes 460. c. per descensum 464 468. and without heat ibid. with a filtre ibid. liuing things 458 wood 480 481 â—â—sâ—ruments and vessels for Distillation 441 〈◊〉 forme of Furnaces to Distill chymicall oylâ—â— 471 472. â—â— itches for fishes 508 â—â— ittanie and his properties 210 〈◊〉 203 â—â—â—ogges three sorts belonging to a Farme-house 120. to preuent their going madde and how to handle them 221 â—â—â—â—oggeâ— their names ibid. â—â—unting Doggâ—s are of three sorts in generall 685. their keâ—nelâ— and feedings 676. their diseases and cures 677. c. 〈◊〉 Doggeâ— how to traine them vp to fit them to hunting to swimming and diuers other pretie qualities 68â— their tumbling vpon the ground a signe of raine 25 〈◊〉 Madde Dogges 678 〈◊〉 madde Dogge hauing bitten an Horse â—47 〈◊〉 Dogges-tooth a signe that water will 〈◊〉 found if there be pits cast 7 〈◊〉 Dogge-tree 395. and how to keepe the fruit thereof ibid. â—â—he backe Dâ—re of the house 18 〈◊〉 ground Dung-house how and where it must be made and â—eated 17 〈◊〉 Doue-houses 86 〈◊〉 Dragons great and small 268. distilled 465 〈◊〉 Dreames ioyfull in the new of the Moone 32 â—â— Drinkes made of fruits and a discourse of the making of them 410 â—â— â—rinâ—e of Sloeâ— 419. of Ceruises 395. the making of the Drinkes of Cerâ—ises 419 〈◊〉 haue a barren seed 626 〈◊〉 Drunkennesse how hurtfull a thing it is to man 625 〈◊〉 and Drakes how they must be kept and handled 〈…〉 where they must â—it on nights ibid. 〈◊〉 â—ild Ducks made drunke are easie to take â—8 〈◊〉 â—lesh pleasant to eate ibid. Ducks bloud good against all manner of venime â—bid Young Ducks ibid. Dung of the Stables where to be laid 15 What manner of Dung is to be laid vpon the ground 534 Than Dunâ— nothing more deare 535 Dunâ— of diuerse sorts and how and when it must bee spread 536 Dung of Pigeons for what ground it is good 89 Duâ—g what is good or euill for the Vine 599 602 603 Dung of Oxen Kine and Sheepe is good for manie diseases 104 116 of Men Kine and Pigeons diâ—tilled and their vertues 557 of Hares hindeâ—eth conception in Women 698 of Hens swallowed of an Horse causeth winging in the bellie 147. and causeth haâ—re to grow againe 74 of Hogges stayeth the spitting of bloud 111 of Goats cureth the Parotides Bubo Sciatica and other Apostemes 120 of â—urtle Dâ—ues for the spots of the eyes 84 of the Goose for the Iaundise 77 of Dogges excellent for the Squinancie 122 To Dung the ground and what manner of dung it must be 535 To Dung the ground in the encrease of the Moone 32 To lay any Dung to Vines is a damnable thing 595 There must 〈◊〉 two Dungâ—â—â— made and why 15 E EAgle the king of Birds 707. and the nature of Eagles ibid. The Earth of a cold and drie nature 10. of contrarie qualities according to her particular plots ibid. Diuers sorts of Earth and their diuers manner of tilling and encrease 11 Blackish and yellowish Earth good and fruitfull 11 12 Eâ—â—on borne the sixt day
leache of 425 Dâ—inke of all sorts made after the English manner 588 589 Dung for Gardens 156 E ELme and the goodnesse 650 English practise added to the French 2 F FIgge-treeâ— growing in cold soyles to beare fruitfully 194 Fish in ponds how to feede with the best foode 509 Fish-ponds how to make 505 506 Flaxe â—54 Flower of the night 241 Flowers for Bees 316 Foxes by what meanes they get their eâ—â—ths 70â— G GRound Iuie the vertues 207 Goose grasse the vertues 207 Garden of pleasure how to proportion 234. alleies how trim 235. quarters to adorne 235. inward and outward beautie 277. hedges for borders 278 Grounds wet how to draine 335 Geese enemies to grasse 493 Grasse when best to cut how to make into hay the windrowes the hay cockes 499 Grasse sower and harâ—h choice and vse of hay of moist hay of drie hay 500 curiositie in hay making the grazing is good for hay ground 501 Garners how to make and their vse 547 548 Greyhound 673 diuersitie of Greyhounds choice of Greyhounds the breeding of Greyhounds 674. Greyhounds how to place for Teasers Goshâ—wkes more worth than Sparrowâ— hawkes 707. The differences betweene the Ramage or Brauncherhawkes and the Iâ—as hawkes 708. how to enter your Sparrow hawke all the diseases of the Sparrow hawk 709. phisicke for hawkes the seuerall impediments of hawkes 710 Gerâ—aulcons and their kinds 712. how to keepe the Gerâ—aulcon of Gerâ—aulcons the white is the best 713 H HOrsemans instruments 123 Horses food 124 Horse nose-slit naught 126 Horse to gueld 126 Horse keepers office 126 Horse exercise after water 128 Horse to make trot 132 Horse to make amble 133 Helpeâ— for stumbling 133 Horse to make racke 134 Horse to make gallop 134 Horse with best maâ—kes or signes 135 136 Horses age 136 Hempe 154 Hearbs that will hardly grow and how to preserue to make grow soone â—59 to remoue 163 Hearbs of the East 229 Hearbs of the West 230 Hearbs of the North. 230 231 Hearbs of the South 231 232 233. Heâ—â—â—opian 241 Hiues dead how to order 316 Hâ—ues made of straw 318. where to place them 318 Horses and oxen of France 539 Hempe what ground is best and the ordering 566 Of Hounds 673. Hounds being young how they are to be taught and trained 682 Hunting of Deere at force with Hounds only 686 Hores what places are best to find them in 695 Hobby a Hawke and the vse 712 Hawkes which bee called Longâ— winged Hawkes which short 715 Husbandrie the maner entreated of 1 I INamâ— how to prepare to sow corne vpon 556 L LIllies and their vertues 239 Line or Flax how to order after the English manner 567 568. to make white thred to make oyle of Line seede 568 M MAâ—â—iues and their collars 121 Marâ—â—gon of Constantinople 241 Muâ—â—ard how to make 281 Marmalade how to make of Oranges Lymons Cytrons 420 Meadowâ—s and their differences in England 491 Marshes salt and their profit 492 Maâ—â—in how to crop and gather 550 Malt and how to make it after the English manner 556 557 Maple and the vse 663 Meâ—â—ins and their seuerall kinds 712 N NFâ—s of diuers sorts to take fish with 507 508 Nut trees or Haâ—ell trees 373 O ORchards how to inclose 135 Oyle of Oats 425 Oats a great breeder of grasse 493 Of the Oxe harrow 544 Oats and the profit 558. Oatmeale how to make 558 Oake the goodnesse necessâ—â—ie and vse 619 P PEstilence 147 Pursâ—an to preserue 177 Pyoaâ—â— 242 Pipâ—ins how to sow 336 337 To Preserue Barbeâ—ies 422 To Preserue Filbeâ—â—â—or small nuts 423 Pasts how to make and the diuersities of colours 424 Ploughâ— of diuers fashions 532 Plowing with English Oxen. 340 Pasterie in the right kind and the vse thereof 585 586 Parkâ— what ground they should consist of 668 669. the water for Parks the proâ—it and a strange example therof 669 Q QViâ—keâ—â—â— how to plant 153 Quince cakes how to make 423 R THe best Runnet 65 Rams that are best 110 Rot how to cure 114 â—hewme in the eye 147 â—ye how to sowe and order after the English manner 549 S 〈◊〉 Stâ—â—â—e how to â—eed soone 103 Sheepe and the diuersities 216 Staggers 147 〈◊〉 â—traines 148 〈◊〉 â—pautâ— 148 〈◊〉 â—ignes of outward diseases 148 〈◊〉 â—ignes of inward diseases 148 〈…〉 breakes imposâ—umations 171 〈◊〉 â—pinage sallad 174 〈…〉 pouch vertues 209 〈◊〉 â—â—uces how to make to dâ—ayne medowes 494 〈◊〉 â—â—â—â—â—age a great friend to meadowes 496 〈◊〉 â—â—edes to be sowne in meadowes as sweepings of hay-barne floures 496. fodderings of cattell and sheepe and the speciall commoditie thereof 497 498 〈◊〉 â—awne of 〈◊〉 how to preserue 506 〈◊〉 oyle or mudde of ditches good dungâ— 537 〈◊〉 â—eed wheat of diuers sorts 543 〈…〉 how to make them hunt well 681 〈◊〉 Of Spanyâ—â— and their vse and ordering 679 〈◊〉 Setting dogges and their vse 680 〈◊〉 Sythes and Syckles 545 T TAbacco vertues 219 220 Translator to the English Reader 2 Tâ—â—pan 241 V VArietie of Countries causeth a dâ—uers manner of labouring of the earth 1 Violets to preserue 236 W WAlking horses nor good 131 Warts 148 Water-Spanyels their vse and ordering 682 Weeding why not to vse â—59 Weeds how to destroy 334 Winnowing of corne 548 Woad-ground 309. the making of Woad 309. the vertues 320 Y Yâ—llowes 14â— FINIS ⧠A Table of the Diseases and Remedies described in the seuen Bookes of the Farme-House A AFter-birth of women newly brought in bed 54 183 206 207 210 214 247 249 251 287 360 How the Age of a man may be a great while prolonged 428 An euill Aire and 〈◊〉 meanes to driue it away 199 449 Anthrax or Carbuncle 58 Apostemes 120 214. of all sorts and the healing of them 56 57 122. to ripen them 155. cold Apostemes 120. Apostemes of the breast 109 Apostemes in Oxen. 102 Apoplexie 42 239 251 456 To keepe Apparrell 247 Appetite lost 182. how to recouer it againe 291 〈…〉 in horses 139 B BAcke and ache of the backe 434 Barbes a horses disease â—40 Barrennesse in women the remedies 52 82 245 246 249 251 288 To bring women to Bed without paine 243. to bee brought in bed before ones time 54. difficultie to bee brought in bed 54 To keepe Bees from flying away and to driue them 252 Belcking 249. at the mouth 48 Beâ—â—ie and the fluxe thereof 69. the coâ—â—iuenesse of the bellie 71. ache in the bellie 434. coâ—â—iuenesâ—e 206 â— 209 428. to loosen it mightily 287 Bellie-ache fluxe of the bellie and the bellie bound in Oxen 96. paines of the bellie in horses 129 Vntimely Birth 204 Bitings of Dogges that are mad 61 189 199 244 387 391 395 678 of venimous Beasts 205 of the Viper 75 of Serpents 61 102 250 362 677 690 of the Wolfe 7â— of Shrowes 102 147 171 of Scorpions 102 of Flies vpon horses 143 Bitings or wounds made by the wild Bore are dangerous 690 The Bladder 457 Bâ—â—sters 213 Blâ—â—d cluttered 201. fluxe of
A corrupt aire Broome To make water The stone To vomite Spanish broomâ— Furzâ— The Cedar tree Saâ—in Iuniper Elder-tree Head-ach Rosemarie and Iesamin Iuie Priuet 〈…〉 Cucumbers and Gourds Hops Maruailous apples 〈…〉 The fâ—lling downe of the fundament To make women fruitfull The maruailous peasâ—â— Winter Cherries The Bay-tree The Bay-tree cannot endure cold 〈…〉 The 〈◊〉 tree 〈…〉 The Myrt-tree Butcher-broome 〈◊〉 Basterd Sene. The Caper-tree 〈…〉 Chastitie Heat of Vrine The burning beat of the secret parts 〈…〉 To â—eed swine The Datâ—-trâ—e The Pine-tree 〈…〉 The vertue of the Pinâ—â—pple The Figge-tree 〈…〉 A fruitfull figge-tree 〈◊〉 and timely figges Figges of diuers colours To make a good figge of a wild Greene figges Soluble figges To â—ame a wild Bull. 〈…〉 The Plague 〈…〉 The Oliue tree A maruellous thing about the Oliue tree Virginitie 〈◊〉 The gathering of Oliues Oliues serue to make Oyle of and to serue as Table The gathering of Oliues to serue in Banquets The gathering of Oliues to make Oyle of Flux of the bellie Flux of 〈◊〉 Itch. 〈…〉 〈◊〉 Citron-trees Orange-trees Limon-trees Citron-trees of Assyria The manner of transporting Citron-trees c. Taken 〈◊〉 of the remembrances of Monsieur Nicot sert from Portugall vnto 〈◊〉 mother and to the Câ—rdinall of Lorraine Ground fit for these Trees Holes or Pits The â—itting of Citron and Orange trees of Plants To sow Orange trees To graft Orange grafts Gourds a friend vnto the Citron To keepe Citrons c. long Oranges of a mixt nature Citrons Citrons of 〈…〉 The difference betwixt Orange Citron and Limon trees The leaues of the Citron tree The iuice seed and 〈◊〉 of Citron trees A sweet breath Rednesse of the face Warts To soften pearls To diminish Gold The water of Nafe To graft Pomegranatâ— Pomegranate trees loosing their flowers Sweet Pomegranats White Pomegranate seeds A fruitfull Pomegranate tree Red Pomegranatâ— Thick Pomegranatâ— Pomegranatâ— without anie kernels Open Pomegranats Pomegraâ—â—â—â— flowers The way to keepe Pomegranats The Plaâ—â— tree The Lotâ— or 〈◊〉 tree The Masticke tree The Iuiâ—be tree Madder The difference betwixt the vine and the Madder To colour the 〈◊〉 To procure the 〈◊〉 To make wood 〈…〉 〈…〉 Against Haile Against Lightning A Hedge-toad Frost Against Mists and Fogs Blasting Against Birds Against little 〈◊〉 Against Snailes Against Caterpillers Womens 〈◊〉 Against 〈…〉 Against 〈◊〉 Against the 〈…〉 Against 〈◊〉 Against 〈◊〉 Against 〈◊〉 Against 〈◊〉 Against Grasâ—oppers 〈…〉 Against Rats and Mice Against 〈◊〉 Against 〈◊〉 Against 〈◊〉 Against 〈◊〉 Against 〈◊〉 The setting of hiues 〈…〉 〈…〉 that is to be 〈…〉 Choice of Bees which are gathered in the Forests 〈…〉 Kings of Bees 〈…〉 To kill the Kings of the Beâ—â— The marks and signes of the Kings of the Bees The diseases of Bees Lice and Grubs Heat or Cold. Fighting 〈…〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 Bees Corrupted Combâ—s Aâ—ain Butterflieâ— Against Drâ—â—es The gathering of Honey To make Honey and 〈◊〉 The markâ— of good 〈◊〉 〈…〉 New Honey Old Wint. Honey is best at the bottome The vertues of â—oney The tearme of the Bees life The disâ—â—lled water of Honey 〈…〉 〈…〉 Honie of 〈…〉 Honie of the fruit Anacardia Honied water A wine made of 〈◊〉 and water 〈◊〉 of honie The 〈◊〉 of good Waxâ— Blacke wax Greene wax Red wax White wax The 〈◊〉 place The beautifull prospect The Fruit-garden A briefe of 〈◊〉 which shall be 〈◊〉 of in this third Bookâ— To sow the 〈…〉 The setting 〈…〉 Ground for the 〈◊〉 of stones Greaâ— and grossâ— Nuts Peaches Pâ—â—â—â—-plums Almonds Chesnuts Abrâ—cotâ— Iuâ—ubâ—-tree Plum-tree Pine-tree Small Nuâ—s Peaches Aâ—â—trges Great Abricoâ—s The Date stone Piâ—â—aces The Peach plant Fruits growing of grafts doe 〈◊〉 keepâ— a better form and fâ—shiâ—â— than the other comming of plants Fruit comming of a 〈◊〉 pâ—ant Plants of cherrie 〈◊〉 vpon 〈◊〉 The Mulberri-tree Plants of Fil-berts Plants of the Oliue-tree Plants of Plumme-treeâ— French 〈◊〉 The 〈…〉 of sprigs of Mulberrie Fig 〈◊〉 Pomâ—granâ—â—â— and Plumme-treâ—â— To plant the fig tree after the manner of the 〈◊〉 〈…〉 To plant 〈◊〉 manner of waies The time of propagating Siences fit for propagatâ—â—n The time of grafting To graft vpon a wild stock To graft in the 〈◊〉 To graft in the the Scutcheâ—â— or Bnd. To graft in the Cleâ—â— To graft in the 〈◊〉 Grâ—fting 〈◊〉 To keepe grafts To gather grafts To cut grafts To cut the grafts of hart-â—herrie-trees and Plum-trees To graft in the cleft The sappes of the graft and stock must be 〈…〉 the other To graft in by as like to a Gâ—ats soot To graft iâ— a canon To graft in the 〈◊〉 of a Tree To graft vpon a willow To graft in a Crowne To graft in a 〈◊〉 To graft in a Morsell To graft in poles To graft the vine Forward or late fruits The graft of the Apple-tree Halfe Peach and halfe Nuts One fruit hauing the rast of manie fruits Cherries without a stone Laxatiuâ— fruitâ— Fragraâ—â— fruit Colourâ—dfruits Fruits hauing the vertue of treaâ—le Wine against the biâ—ings of 〈◊〉 To graft a vine vpon a vine Plums at 〈◊〉 times Peaches cherrâ—e and madlarâ— eating likâ— spice Medlars without stones Peares of Augusta Peares of Parmâ— made to be 〈◊〉 ripe To me mulberries earely and late The time of grafting them Nuts without shells Nuts plums and great almonds To keepe an oke or other Tree greene at all times Written Figges That the Figge-tree loose 〈◊〉 his fruit The Cherrie-tree grafted vpon a Paie tree The Peare-tree of sweet roses or muske 〈◊〉 White Mulberries Grapâ—s in the Spring To fashion fruits after what shape that one will Peaches or Almonds written vpon Red Peachâ—â— Peaches of one or other colour Peaches without stones Fruitfull pomegranâ—ts To make bitteâ— almonds sweet To make good Muscadell Nuts with thin shells A nut-tree bearing neither leafe nor fruit tiu Midsommer The grafting of Peaches The grafting of the peaer-plum-tree Plums like to the almond Fruit without blossomes Apples of a yellow colour Apples of two 〈◊〉 Late 〈…〉 Cherries at all times Sweet Medleâ—â— Fotward peares and late peares Red apples Teares without stones Red 〈◊〉 Sweet pomegranatâ— Peaches and quincâ—s together Peaches and almonds together To haue 〈◊〉 fruit of a pippin or kernell Red apples Sweet apples Great cherries A fruitfull apple-tree A tree bearing grapes and his â—oont naturall fruit Peaches The 〈◊〉 time of plant Gross or thicke trees 〈◊〉 grafts To 〈◊〉 trees The Almond-tree The profitable Almond-tree The barren Almond-tree Sweet Almonds Bitter Almonds Almonds within printed letters The gathering of Almonds The place to keepe them in Drunkennesse Diseased 〈◊〉 The Abricot-tree Melancholie Wormes Spanish Peaches Quinces of diuers colours Venime The flux of the bellie A laxatiue Marmalade Pome-adams To graft the Figge-tree The Apple tree Gathering of Apples Vinegar Neat Wine Mingled Wine The Peare-tree To gather Peares Looke in the Treatise of Perrie The Medlar-tree The timely Peach-tree Oyle of the flowers of the timely Peach The Walnut-tree To plant the Walnut tree To remoue the Walnut
waters distâ—lled in Maries bath to retaine their vertues Waters distilled in the insâ—rument called the Bladder The waters distilled ouer the vapour of boyling water The 〈◊〉 of waters distilled in Mâ—ries bath Chusing of the â—ead Heads of Braâ—â—â— and Copper How to order Glasse-stills For the 〈◊〉 of waterâ—â— Two things to be considered in 〈◊〉 The 〈…〉 What kind of things are infused in wine What matâ—er or things are to be infused 〈◊〉 vinegar or â—ine Infusions in the bloud of Man a Swine or malâ— Goat Infusion must heâ—p or increasâ— the force of the things distilled The addition of salt Putrifaction Furnaces must be set in a place where they may not doâ— or take hurt When we are to stand farre off from the 〈◊〉 and not to come neere them The chusing of Glasse-stilles A gentle fire at the first What quantitie of matter is best to be put in the still To distill in the heat of sand To make a speâ—dier distillation than oâ—diâ—arie Vinegar distilled in that sort To distill one water many times The heat required to the distilling of one thing oâ—â— The extracting of quintessences To seperate the flegme in distilled liquors The time of the flegme his comming forth When the still is in good temper and stilleth not too fast nor too slow To giue a good smell or taste to distilled waters Troubled waters Water of wormwood Water of Winter Cherrieâ— Water of common Walnuts Water of Walnut tree leaues Water of strawberries aâ—ainst veâ—ime spots To procure termes To dry the weeping eye The water of Ash-tree Water of cherrie stones and kernells The falling 〈◊〉 Water of filberds Water of danewort The water of Betonie The water of Gentâ—an The plague The water of pelliâ—â—riâ— Paine of the Teeth Water of eye-bright The water of Nicotian The water of Paules betonie Leprosie Scabs The water of Hyssope The water of turneps Water of Lymons The water of Fenell The water of parsley Water of smallage basile 〈◊〉 buglosse c. The water of cinnamome A bad stomacke 〈…〉 Venime Rosewater Water of orange flowers Water of wild apples The water of elder rosemary and marigolds What is meant by liquor in thâ—â— place Aqua-vitae The bladder still to distill Aqua vitae in Aqua vitae oâ—ten distilled Signes shâ—wing that the Aqua-vitae is sufficiently distilled Aqua-vitae is distilled either of wine or wine 〈◊〉 or beere Vessells for the distilling of Aqua-vitae Vertues of Aqua-vitae Distilled vineger The difference betwixt Aqua-vitae and Vineger in their maner of distilling What vessels Vineger would be distilled in The vertues of distilled Vineger Salted water or Sea water Honey distilled To colour the haire Turpentine distilled The bloud of a male Goat distilled The stone Mans bloud distilled The bloud of a Drake distilled Distilled milke The vertues of distilled milke The milke of a she Goat distilled The distilling of mans dung Deepe vlcers The biting of â— mad dogge To giue a good smell to the distilled water To distill liuing things The water of a storke Water of Swallowes The Water of flesh Water of Egges Restoratiues The diuine restoratiue Another restoratiue Another restoratiue Another restoratiue A restoratiue to be made presently Compound wateâ—s Three sorts of common compound waters Sage water compounded Turnep water compounded Water of angelica compounded Falling sicknes Water of celandine compound Water of the vine compound Rose water compounded It preserueth the sight Eybright water compounded Rosemarie water compounded Fistulaes of the eies Water of trecle Vlcers of the mouth Treacle water Water of cloues Paine of the stomacke and bellie Saxifrage water The Stone Water of Swallowes Horse-taile water Vlcers of the reines Corneflag water Burneâ—-water Stone Grauell A water for the eyes An imperiall water An Allome water Purging waters Catholicum and Diapâ—oenicon distilled Water of Rhubarbe distilled Sweet water Lauander water Water of Cloues The water of sweet smells Rose-water musked Water of Spike Damask water Water of Myrrhe Rose-water sweetned with Muske Water of Oranges Water of Nasse or Orange flowers The counterfeit water of Orange flowers A sweet smelling water A water for Fukes The vses of waters for Fukes Water of Strawberries Water of Beane-flower The water of Dragons Water of Guaiacum The water of Peaches and Willowes Water of whites of egges Water of 〈◊〉 of bread Water of Snailes Water of the whites of egges Water of Calues feet A water making white Water of crums of bread Water of the broth of a Capon Water of Bran. A sweet water Another water A water to paint the face withall Water of Cowes miâ—ke Water of egges A water to colour or paint the face withall The water of Lard Water of Honey Water of Capers A painting and colouring water A water to cleanse the teeth To distill as it is called per ascensum Wha◠〈◊〉 of Oyles are distilled per desceâ—sum Rose-water distilled per descensum The Sea-Onion distilled per descensum To kill Rats and Mice Another manner of distilling waters per descensum and that without heat Water of the yellow parts of Violets To distill by the Filtre Virgins milkâ— Hearbes Seedes Flowers Fruits Spices 〈◊〉 Gummeâ— Beasts or the parts of Beasts Which â—e the distilled Oyles Two sorts of vesselâ— for thâ— distilling of Oyles The head The Gourd and the Head The preparing of the matter No oyle can be drawne in Maries-bath The order that must be kept in distillation The signes of the distillation ended A comparison betwixt thâ— water of the simple and the water vsed in the distilling of the simple To distill already distilled water The continuance of distilled oyles The 〈◊〉 Fruits Spiceâ— and arâ—maticall drugs Oyle of Cinnamome The preparing of wood for to draw oyles 〈◊〉 of The placing of the vessells Oyle of â—uaiacum wood Oyle of Ash-tree wood Two waies to extract oyles out of liquid Gums Oyle of Turpentine Thus 〈◊〉 Oyle oâ— waxe distilled When the distillation is ended Oyle of Waxe Another manner of making oyle of Waxe The 〈◊〉 of the oyle of wax The gathering of the Mulberrie-tree leaues Signes that the wormes would makâ— silkâ— For to know the colour of the silk The choice of the 〈◊〉 The choice of breeding wormes The difference betwixt male and female wormes The diseases of silke-wormes Salt Marshes To make new medow grounds Oates a great breeder of grasse To sow Medowes Geese a greas enemie to good grounds 〈…〉 To gather out the stones To horrow it The manuring of it Bottomes of Hay-mowes Sluces and Draines To sow medowes Sops in wine or Snaile-clauer Cato Palladius Plantaine Wild Carret Wound-wort Germander Small Rampions Wild Saffronâ— Laughing Smallage Great and small water Germander in the Medowes of Cheles Carpenters wâ—rt-â—alme Blessed thistle Pimpernell Saxifrage a great friend to Medowes Sweepings of Hay-barne floores Foddering of great cattell Foddering of Sheepe Commoditie of foddering Mowing of meadowes Best time to cut grasse Wind-rowes Great hay-cockes Sowre and harsh-grasse Choyce and vse of haye Moist-hay Drie-hay Curiositie
that so you may take their egges to put vnder some Henne to sit them thereby to make them tame for the fowle that is thus or dered will be better than that of the yard and which stirreth not out of the Court or from about the sides of the streets to tread To take such wild Ducks as are about your Ponds to make them tame you must cast the lees of wine or red wine in that verie place of the Pond side where you 〈◊〉 accustomed to cast them meat of wine and corne with leauen and flower tempered together and you shall take them when you see them drunke or else to take of the root and seed of Henbane a good quantitie and lay it to steepe in a basen full of water a whole day and a night afterward put thereinto Wheat and boyle all together vntill the said Corne be well steept and swelled afterward you shall put of the same Corne in the said place for the wild Duckes will runne vnto it and as soone as they shall haue eaten it they will fall downe all astonished and giddie This kind of fowle is made fat in such manner as the young Geese that is to say with the same food onely it remaineth that you should giue vnto them besides that the small of the fish and so you need not to cowpe them vp and as for your common ones the more you suffer them to runne the better it is for them You may make your profit of this bird in as much as the flesh thereof is very pleasant to eat especially about the necke and breasts the feathers thereof are â—maller better and more wholesome to sleepe vpon than those of Geese She layeth egges is great quantitie but not so good or delicate as those of the Hennes but yet of vse 〈◊〉 make Cakes fried Meats and other daintie Deuises adde hereunto that you may set them vnder Hennes When this bird trimmeth her feathers with her bill it betokeneth Wind. Also some hold the bloud thereof hardned and drunke with wine is good against all manner of poyson The Drake applyed aliue vnto the bellie is a soueraigne remedie for the 〈◊〉 of the Guts and Collicke insomuch that some say that this disease thus cured returneth vnto the Drake and that in such sort as that hee dyeth of it Teales young Ducks water-Hennes and small Ducks of the Pond will neuer be made tame but otherwise you may more easily take them than you can the wild Geeâ—e We may say as much of the Woodcocke and Curlew and other birds hâ—â—â—ting the Water and Riuers and liue notwithstanding vpon the Land for which cause they were called by men of old time birds of a two-fold or double kind of liuing and feeding Swannes haunt and loue to resort to some particular places onely as in watrie wandring and solitarie places There are great store to be seene in such places towards Toâ—â—s Angoulesme Coignac the Riuer of Sharant which is reported to be floored with Swannes and paued with Trouts Sameure in Fraunce as also in Flanders and towards Valentia which some say to haue beene in that respect called the Valley of Swannes and may be made tame and may be put either in Ponds or iâ— Fennes but indeed they destroy and spoyle verie much fish Sometimes they feed vpon the greene Corne as the Gosling or wild Goose and doe make great spoilâ— and wast therein It is sufficient for two paire to take their pleasure in your Pooles or foure if they be verie great and one paire onely is ynough in your Fish-pond and they must haue a house apart in the Orchard or Garden couered ouer a little and free from disturbance often made cleane and refreshed for they defile verie much If they haue not ynough whereon to feed in the place of their abode you must cast them some softened bread or some of the smallest fishes This is a great eating fowle and chargeable to be kept he maketh his Neast himselfe and hatcheth but once a yeare and three egges at the most at a time but he is a verie beautifull and pleasant bird There is a certaine kind of Swanne which hath his right foot diuided into fingers and fashioned with nailes and clawes or tallons as birds of the prey haue whereupon in striking into the water he catcheth and footeth his prey but his left foot is fashioned after the common manner of others and with it he roweth vpon the water Such a one was seene and killed at the Abbey of Iuilly neere Dampmartin in the yeare 1554. This kind of Swanne feedeth no where but in the water and vpon his prey and is altogether wild and cannot handsomely be tamed but the common Swanne is not such a one Socrates in Plato saith that this bird is dedicated to Apollo because of the gift of diuination which he hath by which he foreseeth his death and singeth verie sweetly and melodiously when he perceiueth the same at hand as seeming thereby to foresee what good Death doth bring with it I haue obserued that he doth not onely foresee his owne death but also the death of men especially when he appeareth in such places as he was not wont to haunt Witnesse hereof is S. Bartholomew his day in the yeare 1572 two or three dayes before which were seene manie Swannes flying swimming and diuing in the Riuer of Seyne betwixt S. Clou and the Port of Nully Cranes are not much vnlike to Swannes and are not birds of continuall haunt but yearely remouing from the Countries that are more hot vnto those Countries that are more cold Their departure is about September and their returne shortly after the Spring seed time and although they doe addict themselues vnto watrie places yet they feed for the most part of that which the drie land yeeldeth and not of things affoorded by the water for they liue and feed vpon Corne as doe the wild Geese There is no cause why you should make any great account of the Crane for although hee stay a certaine time with you yet hee layeth not anie moe than two egges all the yeare long Wherefore if you be willing to keepe of them you may doe it rather to please your sight withall than for anie hope of encrease for they neither lay nor sit anie moe than two egges And further their flesh is of a verie hard digestion especially if it be new killed but if you will eat it stay some time after the taking of them and hang them vpon the arme of some Figge-tree that they may grow tenderer Also eate them rather a long time after they haue beene dressed than whiles they are yet warme When you see them flye aloft in the Ayre without making anie noyse then looke for faire weather but and if you see them rest themselues vpon the ground be ye assured that it will be raine If your Farme be neere vnto marishes and
make it purge and boyle vp and withall they hang in the vessell a nodule or knot full of 〈◊〉 pepper ginger graines of paradise and cloues also they cast into the vessell a handfull of Elder-tree-flowres they set the vessell in the Sunne in Summer time for the space of fortie daies or in Winter they set it in some caue vnder the ground This kind of honied water is verie soâ—â—â—aigne against 〈◊〉 agues 〈◊〉 dispositions of the bodie diseases of the braine as the falling sicknesse apoplexie and palsie in which cases wine is forbidden The countrie men of Prouence and the Italians doâ— make marchpaines of honie and almonds after this manner Take white honie three pound and three whites of egges beat all together with a woodden pestill in a bason till it grow vnto the colour of milke afterward see the bason vpon a fire of coales stirring all together very carefully with the pestill till such time as it become somewhat thicke then put thereto sweet almonds stamped and fried such quantitie as shall be needfull for the making of it of some good consistence being yet hot powre it our vpon some marble or polished table make vp your marchpaine thereof and it will be singular good for them to eat which are in a consumption as also to procure spitting CHAP. LXXI Of the markes of good Waxe and the manner of preparing diuers sorts of Waxe GOod Waxe must be of a verie yellow colour smelling sweet far light pure 〈◊〉 close neat and purified from all filth It is the ground of other Waxes called artificiall as being by art made into diuers colours as blacke red greene and white Waxe Blacke Waxe is made with ashes of burnt paper greene by putting 〈◊〉 vnto it red by putting the root of Alkanet vnto common Wax or the powder of Cinnabrium but white Waxe is made many waies but for the most part after this sort and manner Melt Waxe in some vessell â—it for the purpose afterward 〈◊〉 it from all manner of superfluities through a strainer being thus strained 〈…〉 a soft coale fire in a great skellet or vessell of copper to keepe it liquid and in 〈◊〉 close thereby you shall haue one or two great barrells made after the manner of 〈◊〉 â—ubs full of water newly drawne out of the well in which you shall wet 〈…〉 that are round flat and halfe finger thicke fashioned like round coueâ— or 〈◊〉 of pots and in the middest they shall be made fast to a little sticke or woodden 〈◊〉 manner of a graspe by which one may handle them you shall dip the same 〈◊〉 well wet in water in the vessell where the Waxe shall be melted and pâ—eâ—â—â—ly after you shall pull them out full of Waxe and put them in the water â—ubs where the 〈◊〉 will abide that shall haue cleaued vnto them you shall gather this wax together and spread euerie peece by it selfe vpon hurdles couered with linnen cloth in the 〈◊〉 heat of the Sunne in the moneth of Iulie and vpon these you shall leaue it till it become white In the meane time while it shall thus lie in the Sunne if it happen 〈◊〉 the heat of the Sunne be so vehement that it melteâ—h the wax so spâ—ed vpon the hurdles you must water and sprinkle it often with coole water by the same meaâ—â— also defend it from the Bees which will flie thither from all corners to 〈◊〉 out the honie Otherwise boyle the wax in water so oâ—t as vntill that you see it 〈…〉 it this manner of whitening wax is not so sure nor of so easie charges as the 〈◊〉 for the often melting of the Wax doth wast it verie much but the drying of it in the Sunne bringeth no great losse as you shall best find after proofe and triall made To make â—earing candle Take two pound of new Wax a pound of good 〈◊〉 and a quarter of a pound of turpentine mixe them and make searing Wax The end of the second Booke THE THIRD BOOKE OF THE COVNTRIE FARME The Orchard or Greene plot CHAP. I. Of the differences of Orchards or Greene plots and the inclosing of the Fruit-Garden THere are three sorts of Orchards or Greene plots the one otherwise called an Arbour contriued with great bankes and this is pointed out and prouided in a field couered with green grasse and a fountaine in the middest of it and wrought-into dâ—uers plaine and euen plots and braunches consisting of loâ—ts which are sustained and borne vp with carpentrie or frames of timber vnder which a great number of people may sit couered ouer head Of this sort I haue seene at Basill and 〈◊〉 other places in Germanie and to â—it a place for this manner of greene plot it 〈◊〉 requisite that it be cleansed from all manner of stones and weeds not so much as 〈◊〉 roots left vndestroyed and for the better accomplishing hereof there must boyâ—â—ng water be powred vpon such ends of roots as sâ—aying behind in the ground canâ—â—ot be well pulled vp and afterward the floore must be beaten and troden downe 〈◊〉 â—ightily then after this there must be cast great quantity and store of turfes of earth 〈◊〉 of greene graâ—â—e the bare earthie part of them being turned and laied vpward 〈◊〉 afterward daunced vpon with the feet and the beater or pauing-beetle lightly 〈◊〉 ouer them in such sort as that within a short time after the graâ—â—e may begin 〈◊〉 peepe vp and put forth like small haires and finally it is made the sporting green 〈◊〉 for Ladies and Gentlewomen to recreate their spirits in or a place whereinto â—â—hey may withdraw themselues if they would be solitarie and out of â—ight The second sort of greene plots is that which our auncient Frenchmen who first â—â—rote our Romane discourses and histories haue taken and vsed for a place of 〈◊〉 for Princes and was called in aâ—ncient time after the manner of a sojouâ—â—ing 〈◊〉 abiding place but now by the name of a beautifull prospect Which beside the â—â—ately building singularly contriued in partitions diuersitie of workes and most â—â—aire windows compassed in with goodly water ditches â—ed from continuall runâ—â—ng Springs doth containe an â—â—ner and base Court with gardens for pleasure and fruits with vnderwoods warrens fishponds and whatsoeuer goodly and beautifull thing is wont to stand about princely palaces The third sort of greene plots is that which we intend to trim vp in this place and it may supplie the place of the fruit garden for a house respecting and looking to thrift and to keepe a houshold for husbandrie such a one as we haue here 〈◊〉 to furnish and set out euerie way well appointed and in which vve are 〈◊〉 to regard profit joyned with a meane and moderate beautie and coâ—â—â—nesse than any vnnecessarie â—umptuousnesse Therefore to goe on in our designed course and intended plot this place requireâ—h that next after the kitchin and flower gardens with their appurtenâ—â—â—â—
vve make readie and trim vp a greene plot for fruit trees containing in it as much ground as both the other gardens and that without any manner of other aâ—â—eys of 〈◊〉 beewixt it and the gardens or in the middest of it selfe than such distance and spare as must of necessitie be betwixt the trees and whereof we will speake more 〈◊〉 and without also whatsoeuer other husbandriâ— grasse or other things whereof you might hope to make some proâ—it vnderneath whether of hay or any such other thing which would grow there for the fruit tree would not haue his sustenance purâ—oyned or kept from it by the â—â—lling of other plants which might be â—eared about it neither doth it craue to be kept vvaâ—me in Winter time but onely tilled and ordered according to his seasons because that otherwise it would yeeld no profit vnto the owner thereof The situation of the orchard would be vpon some hill top or some little hill rather than in a plaine ground for besides that such seats haue better ayre more pleâ—sant and delightsome for contentment of contemplation and view and diuers other allâ—rements which will there offer themselues the tops of hills are yet more apt to containe greater number of fruit trees to be planted therein than the plaine groâ—â—â— possibly can for such as stand in plaines if they be planted any whitneere do annoy one another vvith their shade the other on the contrarie side according as it 〈◊〉 more and more from the foot causing euerie tree to ouer-looke his fellow taketh away the discommoditie or inconuenience of such ouershadowing one of another It must also be planted somewhat more vpon the North than vpon the South quarter that so it may minister matter of rejoycing to such as shall behold it out at the windowes in his beautie and jolitie Indeed if it be planted vpon the South it 〈◊〉 more open vpon the Sunne whose heat is verie requisite for fruit trees but then 〈◊〉 would not stand so faire for prospect besides that it vvould be offended and 〈◊〉 of the dust and filth of the threshing fâ—oore vvhen the corne is threshâ— if in case it should stand neere vnto it In any case let it not stand vpon the North-West quarter because it is a moâ—â— deadly enemie vnto all sorts of plants but principally of flowers which it singeth as if a fire had passed that vvay and the cause is for that it commeth from the 〈◊〉 side and taketh part with the North vvhich is verie rough and sharpe but yet not so dangerous as that North-West vvind vvhich bloweth once a yeare chiâ—â—ly 〈◊〉 the Spring and spoyleth the cherâ—â—e-tree-flowers and the vine more than any of the 〈◊〉 Whereupon there arose this Latine verse Vae tibi galerna per quâ—m sit clausa 〈◊〉 In any case let not the ground vvhereon you plant your orchard be marshie or 〈◊〉 terish for the fruits growing vpon such grounds are not vvell relished neither 〈◊〉 vvill they last long it must likewise be inriched one yeare before that it be cast and digged to make any nurceriâ— there either of seeds or steckes and after it hath 〈◊〉 the second time digged and dâ—â—ged or marled you must let it rest digest his dung and marle and in like manner pick out the stones that are in it most carefully And as concerning the naturall disposition and goodnesse thereof it must be â—at in handling blacke in colour and vvhich murleth easily in breaking and stirring it vvith your fingers not being hard clayie chalkie or sandie Yet if it be so that the situation of your Farme lyeth in such a soyle as is marshie and vvaterish for 〈◊〉 man cannot make choice of his abiding and it is a brauer reputation to the Husbandman to make a barren earth fruitfull than to make a fruitfull ground pleasant therefore as â— said if your ground lye low and be much subâ—ect to wet and rottenneâ—â—e you shall trench it diuers waies almost in the manner of a Labyrâ—th cutting one â—rench into another in such wiâ—e that the water may haue a descent of falling away into some Brooke Riuer or other Dike which as a Sewer may carrie away the wet and keepâ— the Orchard drâ—â— and also you shall bring from some other Grounds Lakes or Ponds great store of earth mudde and other compas wherewith you shall raise and heighten the bankes betweene the trenches in such â—ort that they may remaine and be farre from the danger of washing or ouerflowing of anie water and these bankes you shall stake well with strong Oaken stakes on euerie side and plant great store of Oziers also about them to maintain and hold vp the earth from falling Then as soone as you see these bankes firme and beginning to grow to haue a greene swarâ—h vpon them you shall plant your fruit-stocks of euerie seuerall kind vpon the same and without all doubt they wil prosper and grow there as well as in any ground whatsoeuer as may be seene in diuers places both of this and other Kingdomes The inclosure or defence vnto the Orchard shall be either a hedge of Quickset which is in truth the most pleasant and conuenient though yet the wall be more profitable as being more strong and built in lesse time which also being planted and handsomely dressed affoordeth not much lesse pleasure than the hedge or else if you like it better a ditch cast about it with a Quickset hedge set vpon the raised side thereof but in this according as the sufficiencie and reuenues of the Farme will beare it 〈◊〉 yet alwaies prouided that it be out of the way of the cattell and where no man 〈…〉 except he enter in at the gareâ—â— and graunted that the wall is the surest kind 〈◊〉 defence as also the strongest most profitable and perfected in least time Besides the wall of all other â—ences is most needfull for the Orchard as well for the strength indurâ—ance and safe keeping of the same as also for the great profit which commeth thereby to all maner of fruit which is planted and plashit vp against the same chiefly in those cold countries where the Sunne is not altogether so violent nor so readie to 〈◊〉 as in these our 〈◊〉 â—oyles of France for it is most certaine that by planting any daintie or render fruit close to a wall and spreading his braunches open against the same which with loopes of leather or felt together with small nailes may easily be done â—aâ—â—ning euerie principall braunch and materiall twig to the wall it will doubtlesse put â—orth as early flower knit and ripen being in a cold and hard â—oyle as if it were in the warâ—nest and fertillest earth which doth best of all agree with its nature as may be seene daily both in the cold and barren countries of Fraunce as also in other kingdomes much more Northerly and lesse beholden to the Suns warmenesse And herein you shall vnderstand that the principall fruit trees which delight
little that so the corne may not be too close and fast couered 〈◊〉 the â—oot which would cause it to die also and rot away bringing forth nothing This worke and dutie is not of small weight and moment in as much as oftentimes the corne is choaked by weedes and bowed to the earth by their too much loftinesse taking their opportunitie of some beating wind or raine Moreouer you must not be abashed if the greater part of the eares proue emptie without hauing anie thing at all in them and the other not to come to perfection and ripenesse Againe when the good corne is accompanied with Fetches Darnell and other weedes the bread is not onely made more vnpleasant lesse sauourie wholesome and discoloured but also it commeth not to the one halfe of good corne which is not mingled with these filthie weedes insomuch as that three load of such corne after the winnowing of it doe not yeeld two of pure and cleane corne And which is worse the field where such seedes are scattered doe not bring forth halfe so much as those which are charged with nothing but well cleansed and winnowed corne CHAP. XIIII Of mowing or shearing THe last labour and toyle for the which all the other in the whole yeare going before was taken is mowing and cutting downe of the corne which must be attended after that it once becommeth ripe which will appeare by the turning of the colour into a light yellow throughout in all parts alike and before that the graine be altogether hardened and turned red that so it may grow thicker in the weathering and barne rather than standing in the fields For it is most certaine that if it be cut downe in good and due season it will grow bigger and encrease afterward whereas otherwise if you stay the mowing or shearing of it downe till it be throughly drie the greatest part of the corne will fall to the ground in shearing of it and will become a pray for the birds and other beasts If there happen anie violent storme or whirlewind it will lay it flat with the earth You must of all other times make choice of the wane of the Moone or betwixt Moone and Moone to cut downe your corne therein if that you would haue your corne to keepe well and the best houre is the breake of the day when it is full of deaw The manner of shearing is either to cut it in the middest of the straw to the end you may haue stubble to couer your countrey houses as also to heat the Ouen to bake bread in such countries as are vnprouided of wood as in Beauce or else to cut it within a foot of the ground for the greater prouision of straw which will serue afterward to make Mats for Beds or Litter for Horses and other Cattell and which is yet the greatest profit of all to imploy about the making of Mats for the vse and behoofe of the householder in his chambers That which remaineth shall either be cut downe with Sickles or Hedging-bills made fast to the end of a great staffe to make a fire withall for the Winter time or else it shall be burned in the fields themselues to make dung by the means of raine falling thereupon in grounds especially that are sandie or standing of a stiffe Potters clay or which haue a strong mould And although this be the French manner of shearing of Wheat or Rie for of these graines there are no difference yet in other countries they vse to sheare after the Sunne is risen and at such time as the corne is most drie holding as doubtlesse it is most probable that the binding of the corne together in sheaues whilest the wet deaw is vpon it doth either rot or make it mildew quickly As for the stubble it is much better to mowe it downe with Sythes than cut it vp with Sickles both because you may goe neerer to the ground and also saue much labour in doing your worke sooner and better The corne being cut shall be gathered together and made into sheaues and after led and carried into the barne by the Farmer which must be seated in a sufficient high place that so it may receiue the wind somewhat readily and yet not that I would haue the wind when it commeth to be able to goe against the houses or gardens for besides the annoyance which the small chaffe would worke in the eyes of the people and that before they should perceiue it it would furthermore hurt and much annoy the gardens because that by the same sticking to the leaues of the hearbes and trees as also to their fruits in Autumne it would drie them and make them apt and easie to be burnt by the heat of the Sunne CHAP. XV. Of threshing Corne. FOr the last labour of the Husbandman there remaineth nothing more but to thresh out the Corne for to sow it againe or for to store vp and lay aside in the Garner and this not sooner than till three months passed after the Haruest for although the Corne should be gathered of full ripenesse yet still it goeth forward to more perfection as it lyeth in the Barne The Gascoines notwithstanding fearing that Corne left long in the sheaues should not onely take a great heat but grow full of Butterflies Mothes and small Woâ—mes which are wont to spoile it cause the sheaues to be dried three whole daies in the Sunne and that in the field where they were mowen and afterward thresh it in the same place carrying lastly the Corne so threshed into Garners so that by that means they stand not in need of Barnes to carrie their sheaues into and there to keepe them This is also a custome vsed both in Ireland Spaine and the Islands neere vnto Spaine but I cannot commend the husbandrie for it is most certaine that except Corne may take a kindly sweat in the Mowe it is neuer wholesome nor will yeeld flower in that aboundance which otherwise it would do Besides Corne is euer more safely kept in the eare than in the Garner and take much lesse puâ—rifaction Whence it comes that your great Corn-masters and hoarders of Corn when they want roome to lay their Corne in will thresh vp their oldest store and then keepe it in the chaffe till they haue occasion to vse it being of this mind that whilest it lyes therein it will euer keepe sweet and it is a most certaine rule for nothing is a greater preseruer of Corne than the owne chaffe except it be the care it selfe in which Nature hauing at first placed it of necessitie it must euer be safest therein Wherefore I would haue all good husbands to bring their Corne home into the Barne first and there to let it rest three weekes or a moneth at least in which time it will haue taken the full sweat and then to thresh it as occasion shall serue And herein is also to be noted that if you