SAffron is a great Improver of Land and will grow in indifferent good Ground where it is not Stony nor two wet and in this case having Ploughed your Ground into Ridge Lands as for Corn or Pease take your Roots a Bushell of which will set an Acre and having drawn a Drill with a large Hoe place them therein with the spurns downwards about three Inches assunder then draw another Drill so that the Mold of it may coverup the former and in that place others in the same manner and so successively till you have set the Roots and when they Spring up draw Earth about them and these set in the beginning of July and if the weather be exceeding dry you may sometimes Water the Top Ranges and in September the Blew Flowers appears and in it upon opening three or four Blades of Saffron which you must observe to gather out Morning and Evening for a Month together the Flowers Continually encreasing The Saffron being gathered made a Kiln about half the bigness of a Bee Hive of Clay and Sticks and so puting a Gentle Fire of Charcoal under it tend it by often turning till you have reduced three Pound of wet Saffron to one dry an Acre may yeild 40 or 50 Pound the two Crops for the Root will yeild no more without being renewed or Transplanted Read more at large of these things in Blith's Husbandry Of FLAX FLax will yield 30 or 40 Pound an Acre Baren Sandy and Heath Ground is best for it and after Flax Turnips one Acre of good Flax is Accounted worth 3 or 4 Acre of the best Wheat and the Liquor hath much advanced the goodness thereof The best time to Sow it is about the beginning of April presently after a Shower of Rain some Sow it to the End of May and some after A Gentleman Planted 100 Ashes and Lived to see them Sold for 500 Pound at 50 Years growth Blith Husbandman page 163. If you cover Cherry Plums or other Fruit Trees with a rough Canvas or other Cloth in Summer and wetting of the Cloth often it will keep the Fruit back a long time that you may have it when others are gone If you put a Branch of a Cherry Vine Apricock c. in at a Window and nail it to the Seeling of the House Fruit will grow within Doors A hot Bed of Horse-dung laid a Foot high and supported on the sides and Mould laid thereon 3 Fingers deep If you Sow Cucumber-Seed Turnip-Seed Wheat or Pease it will come up half an Inch above the Ground in two Days this is a Notable Experiment Try also Cherries Strawberris and other Fruit that are dear when they are Early Strawberries water'd once in three Days with Water wherein Sheep Dung is steeped or Pigeons Dung will come early a good and Profitable Experiment Canker'd Fruit Trees CAuse the Earth to be taken away round it about four Feet from the Stem and about 5 or 6 Inches deep and in room thereof cause Stones to be set close and near together in dirt taken out of the High-way instead of Gravel after the manner that Streets are pav'd and it will Prosper and bear to admiration do the same to other Trees with a proportionable quantity of Chalk and ramm it fast about the Trees and it will have the like Effect as the Paving tho' it will not last so long as Paving To make Trees grow much WHen any Young Trees as Ash Elm Birch Oak but Ash especially are in their Bodies about two Inches Diameter which they are at three or four Years growth then take a piece of a Coat of mail or some such like Net of small Wier or Hair Cloth and putting it in the Palm of your Hand rub it pretty hard but not to tare off the Bark twice in a Year and you will find such Trees will out grow the rest very much Mr. Wolridge says That if our Waste and common Down Grounds were inclosed it would Feed more Sheep and Cattle by half than they do lying open and that in case ten Acre were Sown with Clover-Grass Turnips Cole-Seed Parsely or the like they would feed as many Cattle or Sheep as 100 Acres of the same Land would do that is laid waste To make Butter better than ordinary without seting the Milk for Cream AS soon as the Milk comes from the Cow and is strained then Charn it as usually Cream is done also the Cheese made of the Butter Milk will be better than the best two Meal Cheeses that you ever did eat and one Pound of this Butter shall be better than a Pound and half of the best Butter made of Cream Probatum Hartlib's Legacy Urine In Holland they preserve the Cows Urin as carefully as the Dung for their Land old Urine is very Excellent for the Roots of Trees Columella says That a good Husband may make 10 Load of Dung for every great Beast in his Yard and as much for every one in his House and one Load for small Cattle as Hogs this is strang to us and I believe there are many ill Husbands by this Account I know a Woman near Canterbury who saveth in a Pail all the droppings of Urine and when the Pail is full sprinkleth it on her Meadow which causeth the Grass to grow much at first it looks Yellowish but after a little time it grow'd so wonderfully that her Neighbours were like to have accused her of Witchcraft Hartlib St. Foin or Holy Hay commonly called Cinquefoin IT S a mighty improver of dry and barren Ground and excellent for feeding Cattle in France they sow these Seeds and Oats a like quantity on Ground out of Heart and Mow their Oats only the first Year that it may root well yet they may Mow it the first Year but it s not so well but the Year following you may and so for seaven Years it commonly bears four Loads or more on an Acre after seven Years break it up and Sow it with Corn till it be out of Heart and then Sow it with St. Foin as before for it does not impoverish Land as other Annual Plants do but enriches it when the Roots is turn'd up by the Plow I have seen it thrive well in England on Chalky Banks where nothing else would grow and such dry barren Ground is fittest for it as moist Rich Land is fit for Clover-Grass and great Trefoil tho' St. Foin will grow pretty well on all Lands and will Flourish it Rooting deep when other Grass is Parched by heat but wet Lands soon corrupts its Root For the right managing of it observe these Rules or it will come to little 1. Make your Ground fine and Kill all other Grass or Plants for they will choke it 2. Be not too sparing of Seed for the more you Sow the thicker it will grow 3. Expect but seven Years Crop and then Plow it up or Sow it again with the same Seed or other Grain 4. Let not Sheep or other Cattle bite
them the First Year 5. Your best way is to make your Ground Fine as when you Sow Barly and Harrow it even and then to Plow these Seeds in alone without any other Grain as Gardners do Pease but not at so great a distance but make your Range about a Foot distance one from another and they 'l see it Flourish like Green Pease especially if you draw the Plow through them once or twice that Summer to destroy Weeds and Grass and if you do thus great Clover and other Seeds may be mow'd twice the first Year There is another sort at Paris called La Lucern which is not inferior to St. Foin but rather better for dry barren Land and is to be managed as St. Foin Thus you may improve barren Ground of 2 or 3s an Acre to forty or fifty Shillings an Acre There is a Grass at Madrington near Salisbury that is 24 Foot long with which they feed Hogs I question not but if the Seeds of it were fown in Rich Meadows it will yield Extraordinarily Mr. Worlidge says That for Clover-Grass a Rich light Land warm and dry will afford a great Profit that a Parcel 〈◊〉 Ground a little above two Acres of Clover-Grase 〈◊〉 Year yielded in May two Load of Hay worth 5 l. the next Crop of Seed was ripe in August and yielded three great Loads worth 9 l. that Year the Seed was 300 l. which with the Hay was Valued at 30l besides the after Pasture Another president is that on 4 Acres grew 12 Load of Hay at twice Mowing and 20 Bushel of Seed one Load of Hay that was Mowed in May was worth two Loads of other Hay and the after Pasture three times better than any other though four Acres in one Year yielded eighty Pounds Another That 6 Acres of Clover did maintain 6 Months 10 Oxen 13 Cows 3 Horses and 25 Hogs Valued at 40 l besides Winter Herbage It will prosper pretty well on any Ground that is not poor Clover-Grass lasteth but three Years An Acre of Ground will take 10 Pound of Clover-Crass-Seed in Measure about half a Peck The more you Sow the better some have Sown 16 Pound on an Acre with good Success let your Seed be the best and then in March or April Sow your Clover-Grass upon your Barly and Oats being harrowed or you may Sow it alone and you may cut it about June the first Year If you Sow it alone the best time is about Michaelmas and about the end of May you may cut the first Crop the exact time is when it begins to knot and after feed it with Cattle till January if you will preserve Seed expect but two Crops that Year the first as before the second must stand till the Seed comes to a dead ripeness After your Seed is Thrasht the Cattle will Eat the Stalks but if too Old they will not After two Years standing if you let it shed its seed it will store it with Clover and one Acre of this Grass will feed as many Cows as 5 of the other common Grass and your Milk will be much better and exceed in quantity and it fattens well In Flanders they cut it daily as your Cattle eat it and give it under Trees or in Sheds in Racks Let not your Cattle at first eat too much of it least they furfeit When it s throughly dry in March Thrash it Of Bees and how to manage them to great Advantage BEes are both Delightful and Profitable if managed with Care in order to which I shall give those short Directions If you have no Stocks of Bees but 〈…〉 I advise you first not to give Money for them but some other Commodity for tho' there be nothing in it but a Superstitious Observation yet things often dishearten People that are apt to credit such Reports Having Purchased you must be sure to carry them gently in a Sheet between two Persons on a Pole in the Night-time that they be not disturbed nor their Combs disordered the best time to remove them is in April and then carry them to a Pleasant Place lest they leave you nor must you immediately open them after you have placed them in your Garden but wait till they are at rest which you will know by their ceasing humming be sure place them that the Hive Mouth be to the Rising of the Sun observthat the Air and Water as also Herbs Trees and Flowers about them be very Wholsome Those they much delight in are Rosemary Cassia Thyme Saffron Bean-Flowers Mustand Seed Flowers Pinks Mellilot Poppy Roses and all Sweet Flowers Herbs and Trees Those they dislike are Worm-Seed wild Cucumbers Elms Spurge Laurel Southernwood and all bitter Herbs and Trees delighting most in Vallies and near Purling Streams The best Honey is extracted from Thyme the next best from Wild Thyme and the third from Rosemary tho' there is good Honey where none of these grow also where your Clovergrass St. Foin c grows good and much Honey is produced Be sure if you intend to mind Bees that you be cleanly and sweet and Eat no stinking things as Garlick Onions c. least they sting you and keep their Hives clean from Cobwebs Moths and other Filth or they 'l not thrive Read more of these Matter in Mr. Worlidge his Compleat Bee-Master price 6 d. and Rusden of Bees price 1 s. 6 d. and Butler of Bees price 1 s. The only three Books Extant on this Subject All sold at the Ring in Little-Brittain In the beginning of April Bees begin to Work and if they stand in a Pleasant place they will work so chearfully that they will afford Honey three times in a Summer viz. the latter end of May the latter end of July and the latter end of August if the Summer be temperate tho' if you would have them subsist well in Winter to take their Honey in May and July is sufficient If it happen that by reason of the Young Brood the Hive be overcharged which by their clustriug about the Mouth of it and Humming you may plainly discern prepare a New Hive ready rub'd with Fennel Bean-Tops Thyme Balm Marjoram Bean-Flowers Milk and Honey Hyssop Mallows and with some of these rub the Hive well but rather with a Sprig or Branch of the Tree they swarm on then dip such Sprig or Branch in Mead or Honey and Water or with Milk and Salt or Salt only and when you have rub'd the Hive well with the Herbs that t is wet observe the coming out of the Young Bees for several days especially when the Sun-shines hot on them least they Swarm on a sudden and take Wing and Fly away which is prevented by Ringing on a Warming-Pan or Candle-stick c when you see they are settled either on Tree Hedge or Ground if they settle on the Ground lay the Hive prepared as before directed over them If on a Tree take your Hive rub'd with Sweet Herbs and let one hold up the Hive and
THE HUSBANDMAN'S JEWEL DIRECTING How to Improve Land from 10l per Annum to 50l with small charge by Planting Making Cyder as good as Canary for 5d a Quart or less To Improve Land by draining and by Hemp Saffron Liquorice To Brew Ale and Beer make Cyder Meed Mum Metheglin and other Liquors to order Bees and Silk-worms Destroy Vermin c To which are added the Arts of Angling Hawking Fowling Ringing c Directions to cure all diseases of Horses Oxon Cows Bulls Calves Sheep Lambs Goats Swine Dogs Conies Hares Poultry and singing Birds at 12d charge To Improve Clover and St. Foin To make Table drink for families both sick and well at a Farthing a Gallon worth Gold good against all Distempers And to cure all outward Sores or Pains Aches c at a Penny charge with divers other matters LONDON Printed for G. Conyers at the Ring in Little Brittain Price 1 s. THE Husbandmans Jewel c. To Improve Land to 50 or 100 Pound per Acre per Annum IT 'S evident in many places especially in the fenny Country that by draining the fens that Bogy Lands not worth 2s an Acre has been improved to 5 or 6 Pound by Corning c and Mr. Blith in his Excellent Book of Husbandry says that if you Plant Boggy Lands with Willow and Sallow and such like Aquaticks draining it first well and deep it will be worth 5 Pound an Acre tho' before it was not worth 2s an Acre and in 11 or 12 Years the Wood on that Land may be worth 60 Pound an Acre Also in Kent they have improved Ground not worth 6s an Acre to six Pound by Planting in their Hedge Rows Fruit Trees about 16 17 or 20 yards distant the more Room the better from one another and one sort of Fruit or other will prosper on any Ground and if you plant 160 Trees of the best Pipins and Red-streaks on an Acre it may reasonably be supposed that one with another they will yeild 320 Bushels and 20 Bushels of Apples usually makes a Hogshead so that there will be 16 Hogsheads on an Acre and these will make 8 Hogsheads of Royal Cyder which at 2d per Quart is 2 pound an Hogshead so that the 8 Hogsheads will yeild 16 Pounds But this Cyder Royal may be worth 9d per Quart and then an Acre will amount to near 40 Pound per Acre and the Grass will grow the between your Trees or Gooseberry or Currants may be Planted betwixt which is best for the Grass is apt to be sour and bitter and by this method you may Probably make 8 Pound per Acre more so that in the whole by a modest computation 50 Pound per Acre may be made but some affirms that above 140 Pound an Acre may well amount to in a Year but however the Product no Question will be very great Now to make Cyder equal to Canary to a Bottle of Cyder Botled in March put two spoonfuls of the Spirit of Clary sold at the Apothecarys and will be about a penny charge and if you put a little lump of Loaf Sugar and a spoonful of Brandy and let it stand about a Week it will make Cyder resemble Canary so near that a well exercised Pallet shall not know the difference A Planter Writes that if in March you put a spoonful of Spirit of Clary to your Cyder it will equal Canary without any more a doe but you may strenghten it with Spirit of Brandy and Clary and sweeten it and put in your Ingredients more or less as you think fit this Spirit is a strong Spirit but very wholesome and has the perfect flavour of Canary see more of this by and by and Read a Book Call'd the way to get Wealth by making 23 sorts of Wine equal to French and also to make divers other Liquor and other Curious Matters and also remember that these English Liquors are more wholesome for the Body than French c Every Nation affording that which is most proper for it's Natives and the great advantage that would accrue to the Nation by Promoting our own Liquor may be supposed near a Million a Year that is spent in Poreign Liquor Also by Marl and Soil great Improvement In-Land is to be made as appears about the City of London and what has been done may by the like good Husbandry be done again To Improve Land COnsider from whence the cause of Barrenness proceeds whether from Heat or Cold if from Heat and it lye near any River convenient over flow it and when it is pretty well soaked open Trenches to draw it off then Mud it over with the Casting of some Ditch Lake Pond c. Instead of Dung spread the soil when dry and breaking the lumps in the nature of Dung Harrowing and after a large Shower of Rain turn it up with a large Plow and let it lye till some more showers have fallen on it and then Plow it over again lightly and sow your Seed and you will have a large Crop a Third more than usually If the Ground be Cold lye low and Moorish subject to Weeds Flaggs Rushes c. Make Trenches lower than the Weeds to Drain it thorowly or it will signify nothing then marle it over with Marle or Chalk and let it lye till the Rain dissolves it then Plow it in high Land Ridges that the Water may fall off into the Furrows turning the soard downwards that it may Rot more speedily thus let it lye a Month or six Weeks or more then scater over it Wood-Ashes Sea Coal-Ashes or Soap-Boilers Ashes let them be washed in by the Rain and then with a Trenching Plough in convenient places draw the Water out of the Furrows into Water Courses and then sow the Seed and in a Year or two the Ground will be good if not two subject to overflow and when you have done with it for Corn lay it Fallow and by marling it every other Year it will afford Excellent Grass and become good Pasture To improve pasture if it lye Low and wet whereby it Chills the Roots and produces Weeds c. Cast on it Hogs Dung Horse Dung and the Dung of any Fowls mingled with Slack'd Lime or Lime Stones which being well soaked Plough up the Land turning down the Green Soard yet raise the Ridges of the Land but a little sloping and so run a Trench Cross-ways very deep or as you see it otherwise convenient and lay it Fallow by this means it will be much dryer and the next Grass young sweet and tender If your Ground be a Burning Sand then Osie it over as before directed and if it is troubled with Ant-hills open them to the bottom or rather lower and the wet will drive them away and if you Scatter Slacked Lime or burnt Pitch and Brimstone on them and it will kill them If with Mole-hills at the end of March or beginning of April take their Nests or set a Pott Trap in the Ground
even with the surface in their Tracts and they 'll fall into it If the ground is troubled with Gaurse Tansie Fern Thistle c pull them up Hoe or strike of the Tops that the Root that remains being over Charged with Sap may Perish And to raise immediately a good Soard and prevent Weeds growing you must Dung your Grounds and spreading the Dung suffer the Rain to soak in levelling the Land with a Rowler and suffer not heavy Cattle if it lye Low to Graze when the Rain has made it soft for by treading they will spoil it's growing when soft and if you intend it for Hay then no Cattle must come in it after Lady-Day least by Croping too near the young blades of Grass they spoile the first cutt and hinder the latter also Read more of these things in Blith's Husbandry a Book wrote by Experience and the only Book of Husbandry Extant the Fourth Edition with large Aditions Sold at the Ring in Little Brittain Price 3 s To improve Ground by Hops Flax Liquorice and Saffron FOr a Hop Garden choose a good mellow Ground and rich Ground not two hot moist nor Cold well sheltred by Trees from strong Winds that may rend the Vines from the Poles turn it up deep with a Plough or dig it with a Spade and cast it up into little hills or Rows with Alleys betwixt the Hills about two foot distant from each other then take your best Sprouts or for want of them the Growth of slips and making four or five holes in a Hill crumble in some Mold lightly and put the slips or Sprouts into the holes and so cover them up do this in the beginning of April observing if time will permit the Moon to be in the Increase and to every Sprout that rises well fix a Pole and suffer that to twist about it Observe to set them all Inclinning towards the South that the Sun may the better compass them for this is most evident a bending Pole has more Hops than an upright And a Gentlemen in York shire places his Hops in such sort that one Plant may not shadow another but that his whole Garden receives the fulness and strength of the Sun Beams at once whereby his Hops are more kindly and the Bells much larger than any other Hop Ground whose Poles are erected and stand upright after our ordinary and gross manner To return I say fix the Pole for them to twist about it the Pole being 8 or 9 Foot above Ground at least being full of Snags for the better supporting the Vine At Lamas Tide you will find them Belled and when you find them fit to cut cut the Vines by the Root and take them off with the Poles into a plain place and gather them dry them on a Kiln and Bag them up an Acre of Hops are sometimes worth 100 Pound To Improve Land by Flax. PLough up a considerable mellow Ground and having a good sort of Seed sow it in the middle of April if possible in the Moons increase having before improved the Land with fat Soil from the streets or some Olse place casting the Seed 2 Bushel to an Acre and when it appears above Ground whilst young take care that the Weeds over grow it not tho when it has out slipt them it needs no Weeding for the Land being some what moist it will grow to an Extraordinary height when ripe which is known by the Yellowness of the outward Rind and the swelling of the Seeds then must you pluck up the Stalks and bind them up in little bundles suffering them to dry in the Sun then lay the bundles in Water soaking them with heavy weigth and when you find the Rind loose then are they steeped enough then take them out and unloose them again drying them in the Sun and strip off the Rind which you must hackle on Crins of Iron c. Fit for use an Acre well managed will bear 30 or 40 Pounds worth of Flax when dressed and ordered to the purpose Hemp Seed steeped in plain Salt-peter diluted in Water and other fit Earthy substance in its due time arrived to the Talness that it rather seem'd a Coppice of Wood of 14 Years growth than plain Hemp. Of Planting and Grafting IN Planting observe when you remove any Tree to mark it in the Rind that you set it the same way it grew first bring with you as much of the natural Earth as you can and over and above adding a small matter of Dung and fresh Mold cuting off part of the top Branches that they may not draw away too much Sap before its well Rooted In Grafting there are several methods to be observed and first when you have taken the Scion which must be from the body of the Tree and not a top Twig You must saw off your Stock about 3 or 4 Foot above the Ground then cuting the Twig flat at the great end but not the Bark off slit the Stock with a Knife or Chisell and put in the Scion that both barks may toutch then with Dung and Clay well tempred together bind it up close that neither Air nor Bugs can enter and let it continue Secondly there are some who bore a hole a sloap into the heart of the Tree and so put the Scion in Thirdly they take a Bud from one Tree and slitting the Bark of another Tree let it in and so close them together Fourthly there are those that slice off a Bud or Scion with the intire Bark and plaister and by opening the Bark of a Branch into another Tree and all these ways sometimes hit In Grafting the Fig will grow on a Mulbery the Apple or Pear on a Quince or Crab the Damson on a Wild Thorn Peach and Cherry upon a Peach the Apricock on a Plumb the Wal-nut upon the Ash the Quince on the Barbary the Almond on the Philbeart the Vine upon the Cherry Tree and so of other which are better and improved by Grafting To improve Liquorice LIquorice greatly improves Ground and is of a lasting quality to order it dig your Ground very deep then mellow the Mold and cast it up into Banks making Alleys between the Banks being about two Foot high then take your Crown-slips and make Holes with a setting Staff upon the Banks in a line put in the slips having first crumbled in some soft Mold covering all but the Top and as the Leaves sprout draw the Earth about them with a small Hoe and Water not the Plants except the Weather be excessive dry and then but very little and that in the Evening and because you can expect but little Benefit of these Plants the First and Second Year you may Sow Onions set Potato's Beans Cabbage or any thing of the like nature between them and the 3d Year about the beginning you may draw and dig the Plants and dry them in a Hot-house Killn or Stow and a good Acre of Liquorice will yeild 90 Pound To improve Saffron
come about it then with a Net you may take abundance of Fish Proper Flies for every Month. February PAlmer Flies little red Brow the Silver Hackle the plain Hackle the Gold Hackle the great blew dun the great dun the dark brown March The early bright brown the little whirling dun the Thorn-tree Fly the whitish dun the little black Gnat the blew dun the little bright brown April The little dark brown the small bright brown the Violet Fly the great whirling dun the Horse flesh Fly the yellow dun May. The green Drake the dun Cow the black May Fly the Stone Fly the little yellow May Fly the Camlet Fly the great Drake the yellow Palmer the Turky Fly the black flat Fly the little dun the brown light the white Gnat the Cow Lady the Peacock Fly the Cow-turd Fly June From the 1st to the 24th The Stone-fly and green Drake the Barn-fly the Owl-fly the purple Hackle the Flesh-fly the purple Gold Hackle the little Flesh-fly the Ant-fly the Peacock-fly the little black Gnat the brown Gnat the green Grashopper the brown Hackle the dun Grashopper July The Orange-fly the Badgers-fly the Wasp-fly the little white dun the black Hackle the black brown dun the Shell-fly August The Fern-fly the late Ant-fly Harry-long-leg the white Hackly September The late Bagger the Camel brown Fly October The same Flies that were used in March Artificial Flies how to make them and the Season they are to be used in IN April a Stone-fly is in Season the body of it is made with black Wooll made yellow under the Wings and under the Tail the Wings made of Mallards Feathers May at the beginning a ruddy Fly is in Season make the body of red Wooll wrapt about with blew Silk the Wings make of the Wing of a Drake and a red Hackle The yellow or green Fly is made of yellow Wooll his Wing made of red Hackle and the Wing of a Drake The dun Fly is made of black Wooll and sometimes dun in season in March his Wings made of Partridge Feathers black Drake's Feathers and the Feathers under his Tail The black Fly in season in May made of black Wooll and wrapt about with Peacock's Tail his Wings the Feather of the Wings of a brown Capon with the blew Feathers in his Head In June the said yellow Fly is in season made of black Wooll with a yellow List on either side the Wings of a Buzzard bound with broken Hemp. Also the Moorish Fly in season in June made of duskish Wooll the Wings the black Feathers of a Mall Drake Also in the middle of June the Taring Fly made of Bear 's Wooll the Wings made contrary one against the other of the whitish Feathers of a Mall Drake In July the Wasp Fly in season made of black Wooll wrapt about with yellow Silk the Wings made of the Feathers of a Buzzard or Drak The Shell Fly good in the middle of June made with greenish Wooll wrapt about with Pearls of a Peacock's Tail the Wings made of a Buzzards Feathers The dark Drake Fly made of black Wooll wrapt about with black Silk in season in August the Wings made of the Feathers of a Male Drake with a black Head The May Fly made of greenish coloured Cruel or Willow Colour and darken it in most Places with waxed Silk or ribb'd with a black Hair or some of them ribb'd with a Silver Thread and such Wings for the Colour as you see the Fly to have at that Season The Oak Fly the Body made of Orange paring and black Cruel the Wings the brown of a Mallard's Feathers To take Pikes TAke what quantity of blown Bladders you please and at the mouth of it tie a Line longer or shorter as the Water is in depth bait your Hooks Artificially and put them into the Water and as the Wind blows them gently the Pike will strike himself and make pleasant Diversion by flouncing about when spent take him out the same may be done by tying your Line at the Leg of Ducks or Geese To take a Pike as he lies sleeping and sunning in fair Weather with a Loop or Net MArch and August is the best time Take a long Pole or Rod that is light and strait on the small end fasten a running Loop of twisted Horse-hair and Silk or made of Wyre of a large Compass which gently draw on him and when it is 5 or 6 Inches over his Gills hoist him up if it is a small Pike draw it not so far on make no Noise in walking nor speaking if he lies so that you cannot conveniently noose him touch his Tail with the Rod and he 'll turn as you please also with a hand Net putting it gently under Water guide it just under him and lift it softly till you just touch him and then do it as quick as you can Baits for Fish TAke Oculus Indiae soft Cheese and Honey and Crumbs of White Bread make it into a Paste and throw little Pellets into the Water and the Fish will swim above the Water Of FOWLING LET your Net be made of the best Pack-Thread well twisted and dry'd and for great Fowl let your Meshes be two Inches at least form point to point the larger the better provided the Powl cannot creep through Let the Net be about 2 Fathom deep and 6 in length is the best verge it on each side and at either end extend it with long Poles that the lower end of the Poles may be fastned with a piece of a Line or two Stakes fast driven into the Ground And observe to do this at the Places where Birds feed and haunt in the Mornings and you may expect Sport To take Birds with Lime twigs THus you must make it At Midsummer peel the Bark from the holli-Holli-Trees and fill a Vessel and put running Water to it then boil it over the Fire till the white and grey Bark rise from the green Take it off the Fire drain the Water well away and then separate the Barks and take the green lay it on some moist Floor and close Place and cover it with Weeds and let it lie about a Fortnight and in that time it will rot and turn to a slimy Substance and then put it into a Mortar beat it well and then take it out and wash it in some running Stream till the foulness is gone Then put it in a close Earthen Pot let it stand five days look to its purging and scum it When clean put it into another Earthen pot and keep close for use As for your Setting-dog it must be elected and trained thus He must be of good Scent and love naturally to haunt Fowls the Land Spaniel is best being of a good nimble size and couragious Mettle which you may know by his Breed and being of a good Ranger c. Then the first Lesson is to make him crouch and lie down close to the Ground and it s done by frequent laying him on the
forced under the Sword and by the spreading of the Plow and help of the turning board you force the Earth from ward which requires much more strength than if the Plow were made of a bredth proportionable from the Shares point to it's hinder part and the Sword or Earth caryed from the bottom and a turning board cast from ward and then you may either add a second Colter and share to succeed the former fixt to the very same beam about 4 or 5 Inches lower which said second Colter and share will cut and take up another course in the bottom of the Trench and carry it higher And then the turning board will throw it on the first Plowing or else you may make another to cast higher then the first to follow it Each of these Plows require but half the strength of the common forcing Plow for that it Cuts Raises and casts the Earth over without any side forcing at all You may make this Plow 5 6 or 7 Inches broad or more according to the Nature of the Ground and strength you design to use whether 1 2 or 3 Horses to draw it and it will serve not only to Plow and Plow-Trench Land but it will also serve to pare off the Turf of Ancient Pasture Land in order to burn it for the Foot on which the fore end of the Beam rests may be made to stand higher or lower as you please to have it to the end it may cut thicker or thiner and being as broad will do that sort of work as well as your brest Plow and with 6 fold more speed Worlidge says he has made a model of it that answers what is here proposed and had he an Ingenious Assistant should soon bring it to perfection but these hints he hopes may prove sufficient To make a Denshireing Plow THis must be drawn by one or two Horses It must have 2 Wheels or Trundles If they are low then let your paring Plow rest on the Axis but if larger Wheels are found more proper then fix your paring Plow at some distance under the Axis and both ways let it have a long stave or handle that the Labourer by lifting up or pressin down the same may cause the Turf to pare thin or thick as he likes best or as the unevenness of the Lands requires let him Regulate his Labour This way with one Horse and 2 men and a Skillfull-man to Regulate and Guide the Plow you may pare 2 Acres in a Day or more if the Ground be but smooth and even but if the Ground is full of Hills Stumps c. It must be done over again and then 2 men and one Horse may pair the one Acre a Day as well to the full as with a brest Plow and more easily and cheap a fourth part at least both in Charges and in time an Ingenious Man will quickly a mend any Error such an Instrument may meet with and it is so Beneficial and easy to be done that I commend it highly to those that may have occasion There is lately a Steel-plow invented by one dwelling in Catteaten-street London which with one Man and 2 Horses or 2 Oxen may be Plow'd any Land whatever as soon as double the men and Cattle performed by common Plows Worlidge says he has seen the Model which was well made and true and Questionless will far exceed the common or usual Plows and it may cost 30 or 40s extraordinary being of Steel it will soon repay it if 2s a Day can be saved by it there is a French Plow also much like our double Plow already described which carry 2 Furrows at once the Description and use you have in I Houghtons Collection of Husbandry to which I refer you To take Moles kill Foxes c Paxamus says that an Earthen Jug or Pot large Bely'd and narrow Necked and put into it Chaf or Straw Chopt Rosin Bees Wax and some Brimstone and Ceder-wood mix them together then set them on fire then put the Neck of the Bottle into one hole and stop all the holes besides that one and passages where the Moles pass your smoak Kills them or drives them away presently Another Take white Helibor or the Bark of Dogs Còle which you please powder'd mix it or them with Wheat-flower or Barly Meal or Rye-flower and with Milk and Wine make it into a Paste put this into their holes and they eat it and it Kills them Some keep Cats in Gardens and tame Wesells that will destroy them Some use to fill the Holes with Marking-stone and wild Cucumber Juice and pour it into their Holes Some pour Oyl of Lees into their Holes only Pliny Some set Traps at the mouth of the Holes with Hair Some with a Bough fastned down in the Ground take them or take Pitch Rosin and Brimstone with some loose Tow or Rags put into an Earth long Neck Pot with a great Belly Fired and put into their Holes Stifles them Or a deep Earthen Pot let in the Ground in their Stracks just even with the surface of the Earth they fall in and cannot get out if this is wisely set it takes many especially in Bucking time which is about March Another Incredible way A Mole catcher and his Boy in 10 Days time in a Ground of 190 Acres laid down for Tillage took near three Bushels of Old and Young by casting up their Nests only which are always built in a great Heap as big again as the rest easily disern'd and then presently the Old ones would come to look their Young which he would snap up presently also or if you have a conveniency of Water bring it over the Ground and it will destroy them as far as it goes To kill Moles TO take them in Trenches spoils much Ground therefore take a Mole Spear or Staff and where you see them cast go lightly but not on the side 'twixt them and the Wind least they hear you and at the first or second putting up of the Earth strike them with your Mole Staff downright and mark which way the Earth falls most If she cast toward you strike some what over If she cast up toward the Left-hand strike somewhat on the Right-hand and so on the contrary to the casting up In plain Ground strike down and there let it remain then take out the Tongue in the Staff and with the spitle or flat end dig round about your grains to the end thereof to see if you have Killed her if you have mist her leave open the Hole and step a side a little and perhaps she 'll come to stop the Hole again for they love but very little Air and then strike again but if your miss her pour into her Hole a Gallon or two of Water and that will make her come out for fear of Drowning mind them going out in a morning to feed or coming home when fed and you may take a great many To take Moles when you Plow TAke a she with
a large Vessel full of Water and when you see any new Mole Holes cast up being opened with the Plow pour therein Pitchers or large Cans of Water and that will make them in a little time come out and thus you may destroy them in Plowed Land or Pasture in Corn Lands make Treuches in Spring-time to take them To take Moles another way IN March and April the Ground is soft and they run shallow and also after a Rain and by Bank sides and in the Rout of Carts and when you see such newly wrought tread it down always softly and then at her Accustomed Hours which is usually in Spring time from about 6 8 and 11 in the Morning and in the Evening about 3 or 4 or 7 she will stir up the Earth in the said Trenches and so go from Trench to Trench and then watch diligently and hearken and you will either hear her or see her at Work moving the Earth in the Trench then stop down the broad end of your Staff cross the Hole behind her and with your Foot before her so stop the way behind with your Staff and before with your Foot and this takes her up with your Spattle Moles go abroad generally about Sun Rising or soon after in Dry or Hot Weather Moles seldom go abroad but in the Morning but in moist Weather twice a Day Forenoon and Afternoon in Frosty Weather they Work under Trees and thick Hedges and Bushes In wet Seasons and in Winter they lye most in wet Banks of Hedges under the Roots of Trees and in Hills and come out every Morning to go a broad if it is Dry 2 or 300 Yards from the Holes and after an Hour or two feeding return home then observe where they have been and there make Trenches or chop the Earth down with the Spattle or broad end of the Mole Staff which he hath before raised or passed through and there tread it down with your Foot in your Trenches lightly and the longer the Trenches are the longer she is a pasing through it make Trenches in the most convenient place in the Ground if you make them neigh their Holes it is best to take them going out or in going home make their Trenches along by the Hedge-sides or Nigh Banks and Roots of Trees for that is best Another Some say that in Gendering time if you lead or draw a Bitch Mole in a String a long the Ground the Buck will Grice her and so you may Catch them in Pots set in the Ground Put a dead Mole in their common Haunts makes them for sake them Another The best Instrument to destroy them is made thus TAke a small Board of about 3 Inches and a half broad and sive Inches long on the one side thereof raise 2 small round Hoops or Arches and at each end like unto the two ends Bail or Hoops of a Carriers Waggons or a Tilt-Boat large enough that a Mole may pass through them in the middle of the Board make a Hole so big that a Goose-quill may pass through then is that part Finished then have in a Readiness a short Stick about two Inches an half long about the bigness that the end thereof may just enter the Hole into the middle of the Board also you must cut a Hasle or other Stick about a Yard or Yard and half long that being stuck into the Ground may spring up like unto the Spring they usually set for Fowl c. Then make a link of Horse-hair very strong that will easily slip and fasten it to the end of the stick that Spring also have in Readiness four small hooked sticks then go to the Forrough or Passage of the Mole and after you have opened it fit in the little Board with the bended Hoops downwards that the Mole when she Passes that way may go directly through the two semicircular Hoops before you fix the Board down put the Hair spring through the Hole in the middle of the Board and place it round that it may answer to the two end Hoops and with the small sticks and gently put into the Hole to stop the Knot of the Hair spring place it in the Earth in the Passage and by thrusting in the four hooked Stick fasten it and cover it with Earth and then when the Mole passeth that way either the one way or the other by displacing or removing the small Stick that hangs Perpendicularly downward the Knot passeth through the Hole and the spring takes the Mole about the Neck tho' this description seems tedious yet this is very plain and easily performed these Vermin being so very prejudicial even worse to Ground than Swine I have enlarged the more upon it And refer you to Mr. Blith's Husbandry a Book all Husbandmen ought to peruse being Reprinted with large Additions To take Foxes TO take your Foxes take 2 large Fish Hooks and hang them on Branches of Trees hang them from the Ground that the Fox may Leap at it before he can catch it cover it with Beast Liver Flesh or Chicken and when he catches at it the Hook holds him and when you have baited drag Raw Flesh a Cross in his usual Paths or Hants unto the Gin and that Excites him to the place of Distruction Another Foxes will eat no Hens that have eaten a Pox Liver A Spring Trap. TAke a thick Hasle stick it fast in the Ground make a string fast to the end of it and to this string make fast a small short stick with a Nick in the lower end thereof made on the very upper side thin thereof the Pole is bound down with it to another stick set in the Ground fast with a nick likewise under then open the end of the string set it in some Dung or where you please when the Fox plucks the upper string aside then the Nick slips and the Pole starts and holds him up by the Neck To learn a Dog to stand upright and Exercise as a Soldier by taking to the right and left BEtwixt your Fingers hold a Piece of raw Flesh and thus you may make him run a Figure of 8 or Dance the Hay having a Whip at each end in your Hand and so off as you swing it he will jump over it 2. If you would make him go Lame of 2 Legs or on all four or cross Leg'd strike him on the Legs with a small Stick To make him Pace Trot or Gallop ABout his Neck tye a string holding the end in your Hand with a Whip lashing to the Left and Right as you please and thus you may make him Dance on the Rope stand in the Pillory go up a Ladder Backward and what you please Let your Dog be Young that you teach and very Hungry and when he is Tractable encourage him and when otherwise beat him well FINIS