I leave them to calculat their year themselves Or had the Sun's motion been also slow as Saturn's or other of the Superior Planets then these places receiving his visit had been scorched by his long continuance in one place and other places continuing long in extream cold during his absence could not but frize before his return For it is beyond Contraversie if the Sun did continue any considerable time in one place things about him would be much more warmed than they are by his transient Visit. As for Instance Let a person take a Shovel full of fire and carry round about all the borders of a Room every particular place will not be so much warmed thereby as one place is when it doth remain any considerable space there Much on this Subject might be said which surpasseth the Eloquence of the ablest Oratour or Pen of best accomplished Clark Wherefore I shall return to what I was speaking of before You see Heat is one principal cause of growth of Grain and other things the Earth bringeth forth And seing Providence has aloted us to live in this cold Climate we must by Art endeavour to help that wherein Nature is defective as is said Which is done two wayes viz First by restraining external Cold and next by strenthening or assisting the internal Heat that is in the Earth The way to restrain external Cold is in a special manner by Planting and Hedging of which I shall speak more particularly when I come to treat of Planting But in the mean time that I may confirm my Assertion that restraining of external cold is no small Encouragement to growth of Corn and Grass c Besides the Reasons given for it in the first Chapter I shall tell what from Experience I have seen and what any person to their conviction may readily observe in any place where the Earth is sheltered from the violence of Storm As for Instance what Orchyeard Gairden c being inclosed under the shelter of Trees or any thing else that defends them from Wind and Storm But it is more Fertile than other Ground equal with it in every Circumstance this only excepted Again I have seen where the Wind had passage but only through the gape of a Hedge or Stone-wall the Ground there in the same very bit and no where else near it has been visibly a great dale more barren than the rest of the same Land And on the other hand where there has been a Bush or any other insignificant shelter tho the rest of the Ground about it has been barren Grass or any other thing growing under the lie of it has been tollerable good and rank Instances to confirm this were infinit wherefore I must conclude to restrain external Cold must be no small Encouragement for growth of Corn and Grass c. Having spoken of manuring or dunging the Ground in Chapter second and given a hint of what kind of Dung or Manure was fit for every several kind of Ground I shall not now resume what was there said only I would recommend this as an Universal Rule to apply that kind of Manure to every kind of Earth that has most of the Quality in it that the Ground whereon it is â—aid has least of viz hot Manure on cold Ground and cold Manure on Hot Ground But least some may be ignorant what kind of Dung or Manure is Hot or what is Cold know Cow or Ox Dung is the coldest of any I know and Horses Dung is more hot but Sheep Dung is hoter than either Lyme Ashes and Pigions Dung are also very hot either of them may be applyed alone or mixed as I shall afterward show But because I spoke of Marle and perhaps every one knows not what it is nor how to find it take Mr. Markem's Definition of it in his own Words Marle you shall understand is according to the Definition of Mr. Bernard Pullisly a natural and yet an excellent Sorb being an enemy to all the Weeds that spring up of themselves and giving a generative Vertue to all Seeds that are sowen upon the Ground Or for the plain Husband Man's Understanding it is a certain rich Stuff and rough Clay of a glewie Substance and not Fat or Oylie as some suppose this Marle is cold in Quality and not Hot as some would have it and it was Earth before it came to be Marle and being made Marle yet it is but a Clay Ground all Chalk whatsoever was Marle before it was Chalk And all manner of Stones which are subject unto Calcination or burning as Lymestone Flint and the like were first Marle before they were stones only hardened by accident and so not possible to be disolved but by fire As for Marle it self when it is a little hardened is only disolved by Frost and nothing else And thence the Cause is that Marle ever worketh better Effect the second year than the first This Marle hath been made so precious by some Writers that it has been accounted a fifth Element but of this Curiosity I will not now dispute Touching the Complexions and Collours of Marle there is some difference for tho all conclude there are four several Collours in Marle Yet one sayeth there is a White a Gray or Russet a Black and Yellow Another sayeth there is a Red and White mixed like unto Porphery And all these may well be reconceilled and Collours may alter according to the Climate and Strength of the Sun so that by these Characters the Collour the Roughness and the Loosness when it is dryed any Man of Judgement may know Marle from any other Earth whatsoever This Marle is so Rich of it self and so Excellent for Continuance that it will Maintain and Inrich barren Ground the worst ten or twelve and some for thirty years This Marle is commonly found in the lowest parts of High Countreys near Laiks and small Brooks and in the high part of low Countreys upon Knowls or small Hills or within the Clifts of high Mountainous Banks which bound great Rivers in To conclude You will seldom find barren Sandy Grounds but what are verged about with Marle sometimes it is found within two or three foot to the Surface of the Earâ—h and sometimes ten or twelve It is worth the searching after and boring of suspected places for it may be worth your pains Having given you this short hint of Markem's Opinion of Marle and how to know it I shall proceed to what I proposed To wit To give some Directions how to make some further Improvement of the Ground than what I have showen in the preceeding Chapter And as I said seeing Nature hath casten our Lot in this cold Climate we must by Art endeavour to supply that want the best way we can which beside the warding off Storm and Winds applying all or any of the forementioned kinds of Manure doth also warm or heat the Earth so that it doth bring forth Grain c. without any Fence at
first of the ten Milk Kyne may be made sixteen or twenty Stone of Butâ—er sixteen Stone at a Dollar per stone is odds of fourty six pounds in Money three Oxen and three Kyne I have to sell or dispose of every year and in respect they will be better fed than Cattle commonly now areâ— in regaird their Pasture is not overlaid I may reckon them at eighteen pound the peece four of them I sell at Hallowday for seventy two Pounds and two of the Oxen I keep and feed having good Fooder enough all Winter and in February or March I sell them at thirty pounds the peece at least which is sixty pounds Upon the Horses I reckon neither Profit nor loss Of the product of our Sheep we may reckon twenty to be brought up every year their Wool may be reckoned worth thirty or thirty six pounds I sell or â—â—spose of seven or eight of the weakest of them at Hallowday at fourty shilling a peece which amounts to fourteen or sixteen pounds twelve of the best of them I put into the Orchyeard and lets them feed there till after Candlemas and then I can sell them at four or five pounds a peece at least which is fifty or sixty pounds Beside all this I can have in my Orchyeard four or five Bee Hives which may be keeped at little or no Expence whereof I may make twenty four pounds per Annum and the half Aiker of Orchyeard I have in Herbs and Roots shall save a Dozen or sixteen Bolls of Grain However I do only reckon it to save fiftie pounds Now Let us see what the whole product of this Mailen or Farm Rooâ— amounts to in all Imp 214 Bollâ— grain at 5 lib per Boll 1070 00 00 The addition alworth of 24 Bollâ— Wheat 72 00 00 3 Kyne and one Ox at 18 lib a peece 72 00 00 2 Oxen at 30 lib a peece 60 00 00 8 Sheep at 2 lib a peece 16 00 00 12 Sheep at 4 lib 4 shil a peece 50 08 00 The profit of the Orchyeard 50 00 00 The Wâ—â—l worth 36 00 00 16 stones Butter at 2 lib 18 shil per stone 46 08 00 Honey worth 24 00 00 Â 1496 16 00 The product of that Mailen above mentioned was only 733 06 08 Which being deducted from 1473 lib 16 ss there remains still 763 09 0â— You may remember I observed the Expence of Labouring and Seed of both Mailens are alike for seeing I labour but fourtie Aikers of the later the just number of that laboured of the former the like number of Servants and quantity of Seed will sow and labour both You see I have seven hundered and sixty three pounds more in this than the product of the first Mailen and I have only a hundered pounds more Rent to pay conform to the proportion of Ground I have more in this last But because the Landlord gives me Encouragement at my first Stocking of this Ground in trusting me for several years a part of his Rent because at first the Ground cannot be brought to a good Condition and because I get a Tack or Lease some considerable time that I may be thereby encourag'd to improve this Ground therefore I shall allow him twenty or thirty Bolls more Rent per Annum Now grant that I do pay 30 Bolls more than what is above reckoned on and proportionable to the Rent of the first Mailen that is one hundered and 50 pounds in Money take this and the hundered pounds last mentioned from seven hundered and sixty three pounds five hundered and thirteen pounds have I still more profit than he who possesseth the first Mailen managed as at preseâ—t it is through the greatest part of this Kingdom But beside all this I offer yet to make it evident I shall save ten or twelve Bolls of Grain the other doth not which I do thus You may remember sixteen Bolls was allowed to maintain four Horses in labouring the first Mailen But in the other I allow only two Horses to be keeped and four Oxen they need not to be fed with Corn as Horses are three or four Bolls per Annum is all that four Oxen will need so here is four Bolls saved at least which is but a part of the profit had by labouring with Oxen for as I have shewed above sixty pounds may be made every year of two Oxen after they have laboured two or three years which cannot be made of Horses for tho some may make Benefit by bringing up Horses yet all cannot Further than to get Service of them while they live for all of them must once die in some Bodys custodie And therefore whatever any may gain others must certainly loss of them But because Oxen are not so good for every Service as Horses are I recommend a part of each as most Convenient and Beneficial Again I save six or seven Bolls of Seed which the Possessors of the first Mailen doth not And because I had Occasion several times to mention Bolls and Aikers which are not alike in all places throughout this Kingdom I shall here tell what Bolls and Aikers I mean off the Boll is after Lithgow Standard which contains near seven or eight Potles English or a galon Scots measure this is the Stander for Oats or Barly But that of Wheat Pease and Meal one third less And the Aiker contains an hundered and sixty Pearches or Falls to a Fall six Ells an Ell thirtie seven Inches and a Quarter of an Inch Three of our Aikers make near a Rood more than four English Aikers I have reckoned all along a Boll of Grain for Seed to an Aiker of Ground which doth very near jump in all kinds of Grain except Barly which doth not require so much But seeing I have reckoned both Mailens alike what it varies in the one it varies in the other also But to make my Assertion good I say let any person observe and they will scarce find one stalk of any kind of Grain but it will have a dozen of Grains upon it and some will have no fewer than thirty or fourty and scarce any under twenty beside several stalks sometimes out of one Root By all which it would appear the product is no less than twenty four Fold And yet in the mean time five or six or seven Fold is thought no despicable Increase This says not above one third of the Seed that is sowen doth come to perfection which I am very apt to believe Now let us see what are the Causes why it is so which beside the fault of the Seed I can guess at none save two the Maladies of both I shall in some measure remeed The first is by reason of the roughness and knotyness of the Ground whereon the Seed is sowen some of it falling down to the bottom of the Furrows and afterward being covered with clods and dust perhaps more than 5 or 6 inches thick it is either therein chocked for want of
Air or cannot get sprung up thorrow so much Earth Moreover even tho it be not so deep in the Earth yet when the Seed is sowen dry and falling into such places of the Ground as are also dry it cannot suddenly chip or spring and continuing partly moist and partly dry a great dale of it consumeth before it doth sprout That which confirms me in this Opinion Is when I have taken notice to Malt upon the Floor scarce one Grain of ten yea in good Grain scarce one of twenty but what did fairly chip or begin to shot forth from which I conjecture if that which is sowen on the Earth were as much moistenâ—`d it would as universally chip And I believe very little Grain that once springeth above Ground doth afterward â—ail except the Season be very intemperat The way then to Remeed these Maladies are to steep the Seed before it be sowen twenty four hours at least some prescrive steeping in Aquavitae and Lyme Water but I am for no such Curiosity fearing the Benefit will not repay the Charges But let it only be steeped in Water twenty four hours as is said and let it ly upon the floor till the watter dry from it and if ye cannot conveniently have it instantly sowen it will be nothing the worse to ly three or four days providing ye let it not heat it cometh as fast forward on the Barn Floor as if it were sowen For the Sape or Moisture that remaineth in it after steeping is sufficient to make it once sprout I suppose after it doth once chip or shut forth it doth not radily afterward fail And then to prevent its falling into hols give the Ground a course of Harrowing before the Seed be thereon sowen and thaâ— harrow it till it be enough Taking thir Measures I dar adventur to sow an Aiker of Land with two or three Pecks less Seed than in following the common Manner which is more than seven Bols saved of fourty Aikers if three Pecks per aiker be rebet But I shall only reckon six saved this way Before I close this Chapter I shall answer one Objection which some perhaps may frame against my steeping of Seed-Corn in that I 'm of Opinion dry Seed sowen upon dry Ground is not sudenly moistened and lying some considerable time half wet half dry is consumed before it receive Life Whereas on the contrare it 's the universal Opinion of all that have any Knowledge or Experience of Husbandrie that a dry Seed time is the most seasonable of any in so much that it 's a Vulgar Proverb A Boll of March Dust is worth a Boll of Gold but steeping of Seed seems to inferr the contrair To which I answer this makes nothing against my assertion for as I shewed above there is a moderat temperature of diverse Qualitys required in the Earth to fit it for bringing furth Grain it is not so much the excess of Moister in Seed-time that hindereth a plentyful Cropt as it is the excess of Cold and tho the Earth of it self be Cold and Dry yet Water is Colder and when the ground is wet with Rain in Seed-time it cooleth it so much that much of the Seed consumeth before it Chip Another bad consequence that followeth a wet Seed-time is the ground being Ploughed and Harrowed wet is in a manner knedded together like Levan and drying afterwards hardneth together as if it were a Cake so that Air hath not free access to the Seed or Root of the stalk and therefore cannot be so fruitful as otherwayes it would be Besides all this a great dale of hurtfull Weeds spring up which are incouraged by a Cold wet Season and geting once above the Corn before it rise keep what advantage they get CHAP. IV. The great Profit of Hedging and Inclosures THE preceeding Chapter having already run beyond the bounds I thought to have contained all I had to say on this Subject in I shall endeavour all possible Brevity in speaking to these Heads I have nor yet spoken to You may remember at our entry it was observed That where the Earth is Fertile there is a moderat Temperature of Heat Cold Moisture and Dryness and when any one or more of these Qualitys prevail or are desicient it is so farr diseased and rendered unfruitful And also That the Hot or Salt Quality is that which is most frequently defective in our cold Climate and tho it be strengthened yet by Tielling and Dressing of the Ground it is extracted forth into the Substance of Grain c. That which is principally required then to bring the Ground to a Fruitful Condition is to assist this Hot or Salt Quality and seeing by GOD's Providence we Inhabit this place of the Earth which is naturally more cold than many other places thereof in respect it lyeth more remore from the Sun's Heat let us therefore endeavour to help by Art that wherein Nature is defective And before we go any fatther it may be no unseasonable Meditation to Contemplate upon the Wisdom and Goodness of that Infiniâ— Being who has fixed the Sun that most glorious Creature in such a Sphere that by this one body of Light the whole Universe is Illuminated warmed and Quickened For what Creature Animate or Inanimate can subsist without constant Refreshment from his Grateful Comforting Rayes Yea doth not all the other Luminaries borrow their Light Glory off him What Finit Capacity could ever have contrived where to place one single body that might give light and moderat heat to the whole Universe Had the Sun been fixed in a lower Sphere than now he is the Earth had been scorched or burned up Had he been placed in a higher Sphere than the Earth had not been warmed to such a degtee that it had been possible for Men thereon to live or any thing therein to grow Should the Sun remain but a year or two at that distance he is from us in Winter no living Creature could subsist But the placeing of this Glorious Body at such a convenient distance is but one part of the wonderfulness of the incomprehensible Wisdom of GOD in relation to that Creature For had not the Sun moved let him be fixed in what place soever one third part of the Earth had not received the Benefit of his warm Beams Had his Annual motion that is his Revolution thorow the Signs been also quick as that of the Moon then Corn Herbs Flowers c that had begun to sprut and grow during the time of his welcome Visit should have weathered and decayed upon his sudden abandoning of them before they came to perfection And here if it were not beside our purpose I might ask such as make the Moon to be another inhabited Terestial Glob what time Corn takes to grow up and ripen there For more space than a moneth can they not have for Summer Winter Autumn and Spring Or else they must call every moneth but one day And so
1000 Lambs I would have Hutts builded and make them so large that they may have sufficient Room to ly at ease and have room to breath for too much heat may do them hurt Wherefore little holes or windows in the Walls will be very convenient if it were not to preserve them from Rain And for the benefite of their dung they needed not to be put in any house at all but their dung as I shall instantly take notice of is almost as material a peece of benefite as any one profite had by them Next I would have about two hundred Aikers of the said Pasture inclosed and not suffer a beast thereon to set its foot till after Hallowday Then I make about some thirty Aikers in Meadow And because some may object that this will be the most difficult Task of all because of the natural barrenness of the Ground I shall answer to this by and by But first I would have an hundred and twenty Aikers more laid by for Croâ—t and this may seem another Mystery But I say again if it be not so mountainous that it cannot be plewed it may be made very fertile Six or seven score Aikers I appoint for Croft but if it cannot be plewed at all I gather the dung nevertheless and therewith manure the Grass But I suppose an hundred Aikers or two of the bounds foresaid to be arable which may be ordered after this sort The Sheep you heard are to be put in Coats every Night in Winter and even in Summer also if they be noâ— put in folds thir Sheep being well bedded or litter'd for that must by no means be neglected every one of them including Lambs will make a Cart load of dung each year which I value at fourteen shilling each Cart load as you shall afterward hear This three thousand â—ive hundred Carts of dung will sufficiently dung thirty five Aikers at five score Cart load per Aiker But because this Ground is naturally cold I shall allow six score to each Aiker which is no worse than nine score common dung the whole dung according to this Reckoning serveth thirty Aikers the strength of which will remain good four years So by this Sheep dung six score Aikers is keeped in Manure each Aiker of which I doubt nothing off but it may bear ten Bolls per annum But that I may remove all ground of Objections a-against the fertility of this six score Aikers of Croft or Corn Land let the dung of the rest of the Cattle To wit A dozen Horses or Oxen that perform the Labour and forty or fifty Nolt be added to the said Sheep dung abovementioned I am sure no better dunged ground can be required neither for all this shall I reckon the Product of each Aiker above 7 Bolls seven times six score is eight hundred and fourty Bolls less than an hundred Bolls will serve for seed observing the Rules given Chap 3. And fourty eight Bolls for Horse Meat according to that Calculation Six men are keeped to labour this Ground beside what are needed for other Uses whose Mantainance I shall not reckon laying that aside foregainst the Servants that were required to wait upon the Cattle when this Mailen was mannaged as above an hundred Bolls will therefore be sufficient for both Meat and Wages to these six Men An hundred Bolls for seed fourty eight for Horses and this hundred makes in all two hundred and fourty eight which being deduced from 840 Bolls five hundred and ninty two still remain which being reckoned at five pound per Boll is two thousand nine hundred 60 pounds But because nothing is yet allowed for sheering and reaping this Corn let two hundred pound go to defray that Charge Thirty Aikers as I formerly said I would have made in Meadow or Hay for preserving the Sheep in a Storm and not to go through every particular and show how much Hay may be made on each Aiker and how many Sheep may eat a Stone or Load of Hay at a Meal I say not to trouble my Reader in surveying every particular I suppose it will not be questioned but this quantity of Hay may serve this Stock of Sheep in cases oâ— extream necessity when their Pasture are covered with Snow or if they be in a great strait they may be supplyed with Corn-sheaves The way I make this Meadow or Park if there be none natural upon the Ground is by sowing several Aikers of the Corn-ground with Cloaver or grass-Grass-seed when it has born several Crops after its dunging ready to be dunged again sow it with Cloaver as is said after the Corn is thereon sowen and the Land made as smoth as possible I say about eight days after the Corn is sowen sow this Seed upon the Ground and fill your Harrow with Thorns so that the Teeth thereof go not into the Ground least thereby the Mould be raised too high above the grass-Grass-seed The Thorns being well tyed into the Harrow it smootheth a thin Mould over the Seed So that year you have your Crop of Corn as if nothing else were upon the Ground And next year the Cloaver and Grass grow up plentifully so that two or three times it may be cut down or moven Thus are your Hay Parks made But if your Ground be so Mountainous that it cannot be ploughed nevertheless it may be made Hay either by laying Dung upon the Grass or by folding your Sheep or other Cattle on the place you intend to make in Hay And after it is pudled and dunged by the feet and dung of your Beastial sow it with the said Seeds and Harrow it as above Let this Hay be given to your Sheep in time of Storme as is said But first provide Racks to lay it in for if you throw it down among their feet they will loss a great part of it by trampling it amongst their Dung Some place their Racks in the middle of their Sheep Coats But this I do not commend for if the Rack be placed so low that the Sheep can conveniently eat out thereof then the Woole is torn off their backs by going through beneath it To have them placed upon the Wall I judge more convenient The 200 Aikers that was appointed to be hained all Summer let your Sheep be put on it in November or as soon as your other pasture grows bare By this prudent providing for Food to your Sheep in Winter I doubt not but it may granted that Sheep keeped after this manner will be much stronger and more healthie than those keeped as was formerly supposed And consequently their Lambs cannot but be fatter and larger for how can it be supposed that a Ewe lying among Frost and Snow all Winter at the point of starving can in the Spring bring forth a Lamb in a good Condition Therefore we may reckon Lambs of Sheep keeped after this latter manner one third better than those keeped as above I question nothing but their Wool may be
7907. As for any other Literal Errors incident to creep into all Books throw mistake be pleased to correct them your selves And if it were proper here to make an Appologie for my self I might plead the more to be excused in respect I have been so hastened to have this finished before the Session sate down and other Reasons needless here to repeat that before I wrote the second Sheet the first was at the Press and never after had I one Sheet of Coppy ready at once the whole time it was a printing THE PREFACE to the READER NEighbours and Country men this small Treatise may seem to bear a Title which in the following Sheets cannot be made good I confess before I took a particular look into every Circumstance of this Project I could scarce beleive such a thing could be But after peruseâ— let the Iudicious Reader Iudge how far I have accomplished my Undertaking I know it is seldom that any new Project is much encouraged by most of you and he that proposeth it reputed a Wise Man However I have rather chosen to hazard upon the Censure of all than conceal that which may be profitable to any And seing the chief mistery of this Project consists in your Prudent and Exact Calculation as I remarked in my Answer to the 2 d. Objection wherefore I yet once more Recomend it in this and all other Cases I doubt not but some may cast it in my Teeth since I am so good at Teaching others how to improve their Stocks How cometh it to pass that I have been so far mistaken in forecasting of my own Affairs To which I Answer Perhaps I may now be a better Gamester than formerly while my Carts were a playing Moreover it was not altogether my want of Skill in Calculating that made my Projects to misgive But grant it to be as ye suppose it doth not follow but my Advice may be both Profitable and Reasonable A Mariner that hath suffered Ship-wrack may be as good a Pilote in that same Channel where he lost his Ship as another that has come that same Way with a Prosperous Gale and Full-Sea sailing over the hide Rocks and dangerous Banks If you think my Advice Reasonable take it Gratis and welcome If not buy Experience at th Rate I have done HUSBANDRY Anatomized OR An Enquiry into the present manner of Manuring the Ground in Scotland for most part and several Rules and Measures laid down for the better Improvement thereof c. WHEN Almighty GOD Created the World by the Word of his Power He could have made Men to live without Food as well as Angels Or yet have made the Earth to bring forth all manner of Food for him without Labour or Industry as it doth for Caâ—â—le and creeping things But so it was that He that is Infinit in Wisdom saw it meet to assign Man a dayly exercise in earning his Food and Rayment whereby he is not only diverted from following some bad Practice But also that thereby he may see his great frailty in that he is not able to live without dayly Subsistance and Refreshment from Creatures inferiour to himself As also he thereby may learn to know his great need of Spiritual Nourishment to his Soul in as much as it is more precious than the Body together with many other profitable Lessons No doubt if Man had continued in the Estate of Innocencie his Labour had been rather a Pleasure than a Toyle as may be gathered from the Sentence pronounced against Adam where it 's said From thenceforth by the Sweat of his Brows he should Earn his Bread untill he should return unto the Dust 'T is plain enough it had not fated so with him were not for his Transgression And upon Cain's Transgression the Earth is again Cursed that thenceforth it should not yeeld its strength What wonder thô before this time it had become a barren Wilderness considering the dayly multiplyed Transgressions of the Children of Men But this being extraneous to my purpose and that which I am not capable to decipher I shall remit it to the Contemplation of Divines But that I may come to the purpose I shall first take some general Observations concerning the present Constitution of the Earth 2. Lay down certain Rules for bringing every kind of Ground to a right Temperature so far as may be 3 An Enquirie into the present manner of manuring the Ground through most part of this Kingdom 4 Lay down several Rules for manuring it to greater advantadge tho not inclosed 5 How much more by Parking and Inclosures 6. Concerning Stock-keeping 7. Something concerning Planting 8. Some directions how to sow several Garden Seeds and Roots And lastly I shall enervat what Objections I conceive may be framed against any of my propositions CHAP. I. Of the Earth's Constitution in general ANd first I say notwithstanding that Proverb is of verity There is never a Tale without a Reason That is there is no Effect but from some certain Cause yet 't is as true there may be many things really true in Effect that we do not well know from what Cause And seing I am neither Philosopher nor Alchymist I hope the moderat Reader will not altogether disprove or misregard my propositions where the matter of fact is evident altho I cannot give a Philosophical definition of the Cause Nevertheless that I may not desire the Reader to credit my bare Assertion without any ground I shall in some measure endeavour according to my weak capacity to give him satisfaction in this point And first I say it cannot be denyed but some places of the Earth are Moist and Cold and other places Hot and dry The cause of which differences some aleadge to be by the influence of the Planets and other Coelestial Bodys by which also they make all Minerals to be Engendered I shall not say but there maybe much truth in this for in these Climates lying nearest the Equinoctial geting a larger share of the Sun's heat are generally more fertile providing it be not scorching than other places more remote as I shall afterward show Neither shall I altogether deny but other Planets may also have some influence Notwithstanding of all which I cannot be perswaded through influence of the Planets there can be with in the bounds of a mile of ground or perhaps less one field hot and sandy Another cold clay ground A third Marish and Boggie A fourth dry Heath ground A fifth a tollerable mixture of all these c. Now seing these differences cannot be from the forementioned Cause it must be from its primitive Constitution or I shall not dive any farther into it To enquire any more after the Cause of this is like a person coming where there is a house on fire and in stead of endeavouring to quench the Flame calleth out How did the Fire break out How was the House kendled The thing required in this case seing the Effect is unqustionable
be from the influence of Coelestial Bodys and by the Regency or Planets of this and the other disposition together with their Conjunctions Squares Angles Opositions and so forth Such various effects are produced and that not only in the Elements But also the like influence have they on humane bodys both in their Dispositions and Actions is the Doctrine of most Astrologers What ever be the Opinion of such Men yet 't is beyond contraversie they go about to seek the nearest that go to the Stars to seek knowledge in futer Events I know so much of Astrologie that I know Mathematicians may calculat the course of the Planets and know in what Schem or Form the Coelestial Bodys shall be for a great many years to come And also they may be informed by those of their own profession that have lived many hundered years agoe what was the Schem of the Heavens when such such Events fell out and from this they conjecture when the Coelestial Bodys come again to be in the like Posture or Frame the like Events they shall befal I say notwithstanding of what Knowledge the best Mathematicians may have in future things by these Conjectures there can be nothing certain from these Causes For I hope none of them will deny but he that gave these Creatures a Being and appointed them their Uses and Offices can work whatsoever he pleaseth without their concurrance or assistance But so it is he hath forewarned us to be assured if we persist in sin we may expect to be punished as other people who have committed the like sins in times past And we have frequent instances in the History of the Iewish Church what was the causes of the Judgements inflicted on them I know not how the Planets were disposed in all the Revolutions of that people But the Pen-man of that Sacred Storie attributes all the Mutations of these times to other Causes I am of Opinion that such as are well versed in Sacred Writ and acquainted with the Life and Conversation of a People may read their Destiny better than all the Astrologers in Europe can do by their Mathematical Calculations None I confess can be positive as to the Time or Manner GOD sometimes giving a longer or shorter space of Repentance as he pleaseth And because He doth not alwayes punish sinners in the very act therefore many mistake the cause of their punishment as the Israelites in Ieremiah's time being by him reproved for their idolatrie assuring them that the afflictions they were then under proceeded from that cause They absolutely defend themselves alleadging he went about to deceive them Ier 44.17 But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth of our own mouth to burn Incense to the Queen of Heaven and to powr out Drink-offerings unto her as we have done we and our Fathers Our King and our Princes in the Citys of Judah and Streets of Jerusalem for then had we plenty of Victuals and were welâ— and saw no evil But since we left off to burn Incense to the Queen of Heaven and to pour out Drink-offerings unto her we hâ—â—e wanted all things and have been consumed by the Sword and by the Famine We want not abundance in our times that mistake the Language of Providence not one white less than thir Israelites did But meddling with them not being to our purpose I shall let them stand and fall to their own Master What I designe at presâ—nt is to have my Reader perswaded to a dutâ—â—ul Obedience unto the Law of GOD and to depend on Providence for good Success in his Lawful Affairs and for a Blessing on the Fruits of the Ground rather than believe Good or bad weather or any other Events cometh by guess or by the common course of the Starrs Now To return to our purpose let us see what kind of Nourishment or Medicine is required to refresh the Ground withal or to bring it to a temperat Constitution And that is First Dung of all sorts Vigitables of all kinds providing they be first putrified or rotten Yea all kind of Animals and Lime Ashes c. Tho some curious persons recommend Horn and Hove Blood and Gutts of Cattle and Shells of Fishes and Salt-Peter c. as very strong and dureable Nourishments for the Ground Yet seing these things cannot be had by every one I shall only speak of these which may be had every where Viz Dung of Cattle Ashes Lyme Marle and Sea-ware any of which will strengthen any kind of Ground Yet some of them are stronger than other and each of them proper to be applyed to different kinds of Ground as I shall immediatly remark And first I shall begin with Marish Ground if it be ploughable then let it be made in high Riggs Sheep or Horse Dung is fittest for this kind of Earth if it be so moist that it cannot be plewed draining the Water from it by Trinches or Ditches and strawing it with Lime or Ashes of Wood or Coals will much help the growth of Grass and prevent the growth of Rushes or any other hurtful weed 2 ly Where the Earth is sandy and hot let it be fatned with Cow-dung or Marish-earth because the Constitution thereof is too hot already Dung of a contrary Quality must be applyed But if it be excessive hot it can hardly be made Fertile unless a great quantity of Clay or Marish Ground be laid upon it which will be more expensive than all the Profit coming thereby can repay In that case I know nothing better than take what Grass it produceth of its self and not spend Seed and Labour in vain For tho in a wet Season it may bear a pretty good Crop yet seeing a drowght may as readily happen it is saffer to bestow Expence on other Ground where more certain Profit may be expected 3 ly Strong Clay Ground is that we shall speak of next the Nourishment most proper for it is Horse or Sheep dung This kind of Earth is capable of as much Improvement as any kind of Ground whatsomever Yet seeing there is two Maladies in it to be removed which is Cold and Astringedness or Hardness especially when a very dry Summer follows a wet Spring Beside the dung above mentioned take Sea sand or other sandy Earth and spread upon it as you do dung This both helps to keep the Ground open and also mitigats the Cold. Another thing that makes this kind of Ground open and tender is fallowing And also sowing it with Pease or Beans which at least ought to be sowen on this kind of Ground every third or fourth Year 4 ly The next kind of Earth we shall speak of is Mountainous wild and over-growen with Heath or Heather This Shurb only groweth on cold dry Ground where scarce any thing else can grow Nevertheless by removing that cold dead kind of light Ground that is upon the surface of the Earth where this Heather groweth The soil may be made pretty
Fertile The manner of mannaging this kind of Ground is as follows viz To digg it up in Turffs which being dryed gather in small Heaps and burn and spread the Ashes in September or October then sow it with Wheat and plough it down with a light Furr The first years Crop will do more than reward your Labour ten or twelve Bolls per Aiker being the least Increase you may expect and always afterwards it will be fit for Grain or Pasture as your other Ground But because most People in this Countrey are Strangers to this kind of Labour I shall tell what Method they take in other places to make this wild Ground Arrable Where the Heather is very rank or strong they take a Hoâ— much in form of an Each and therewith stricking as when a Carpenter heweth with an Each going round all the quarters of each Turff they digg it up Or else they first slit the Ground with a kind of Plough they have for that Use making each slit about a foot distant from one another then crossing it again all the edges of the Turff are â—ut so that they need but only cut them in the bottom Eight Men may digg an Aiker in a day where the bottom of the Turff is only to be cut but if the Ground be not slit as abovesaid scarce will they digg one half thereof You may slit your Ground either with your common Plough by lengthening your Culter three or four inches lower than your Sock But that which I judge may be more easie and hasten your Labour much more is to make a Slyp aftâ—r the common manner only and a Cross-beam and therein you may place two Culters at least providing they be thin and of good Mettle then lay a weight upon the said Slyp and where-ever it is drawen it will slit the Ground alse deep as the point of your Culters goeth CHAP. III. How to mannage the Ground to better Advantage tho not Inclosed SEeing all that can be said in General can never point out the Case so clearly as condescending on Particulars doth I shall therefore lay down the whole Matter in every Circumstance which I shall do by comparing the present way of managing the Ground by that which I shall propose But because every kind of Ground is not alike some being Valys which of themselves are more Fertile than Hills or Mountainous Ground and some lying near Borroustowns geting a greater quantity of dung than its own product can make by which it is in a prettie good Condition already But seeing I am to give only one Instance it shall be that which is commonly called Dale-ground that is such Lands as are partly Hills and partly Valys of which sorts may be comprehended the greatest part of Arrable ground in this Kingdom And as is â—aid tho this one Instance cannot be an infallible Rule for managing every kind of Earth by yet in some measure any person may know how to manage every kind of Ground For if the Ground be naturally Fertile or lying near any place where dung can be had More Land may be taken into dunging and where the Ground is naturally barren less must be taken in dunging than what is here proposed In a word I would give this a general Rule to dung no more than can be dunged sufficiently Of this kind of Dale-ground above mentioned I shall suppose a Farmer to have a Lease or Tack of threescore Aikers at three hundered Merks of Rent per annum perhaps some who are not acquaint with Rural Affairs may think this Cheap but these who are the Possessors thereof think otherwayes and find difficulty enough to get the same payed according to their present way of manuring thereof as anone you shall see But that I may proceed to the Comparison I shall show how commonly this Farme Room is managed It is commonly divided into two parts viz one third Croft and two thirds Out-field as it 's termed The Croft is usually divided into three parts To wit One third Barly which is alwayes dung'd that year Barly is sowen thereon another third Oats and the last third Pease The Out-side field is divided into two parts To wit The one half Oats and the other half Grass two years successively This Ground being improven as above represented let us see next what the Labouring of it may cost and what may be the Product thereof First The Product that may be supposed to be on each Aiker of Croft four Bolls and that of the Out field three the Quota is seven score Bolls This we may reckon it to produce good and bad Seasons the Better to mend the worse which we shall also reckon at five pounds per Boll Cheap Year and dear year one with another This in all is worth seven hundered pounds Then let us see what profit he can make of his Cattle According to the division of his Lands there is twenâ—y Aikers of Grass which cannot be expected to be very good because â—t gets not leave to ly above two years and therefore cannot be well â—oarded However usually beside â—our Horses which are keeped for â—loughing the said Land ten or â—welve Nolt are also keeped upon a â—erm Room of the above mentioned â—ounds But in respect of the badness of the Grass as said is little Profit is had of them perhaps two or three stone of Butter is the most can be made of the Milk of his Kyne the whole Summer and not above two Hiffers brought up each year As to what profit may be made by bringing up young Horses I shall say nothing supposing he keeps his Stock good by those of his own upbringing both in this Case and in that which I shall instance by and by The whole Product then of his Cattle cannot be reckoned above fifty Merks For in respect his Beasts are in a manner half starved they are generally small so that scarce may a Hiffer be sold at above twelve pounds The profit of his Bestial therefore cannot exceed what is said By what is said you see the whole Product of this Farm Room exceeds not the Value of seven hundered and thirty three pound or thereabout The Grain and Bestial being all he has to make Money of except what Vertue the Good wife and her Maid can make which is needless here to enquire into For let it be what it will the way of managing the Ground according to this project will rather further than hinder them in their Frugality Therefore I shall now try what Expence or Out-Cost the managing of this Room may be And not to mention the first Cost or Stocking of it which may be about the matter of 8 or nine hundered pounds the Interest of which in Reason ought to be allowed out of the first end of his profit But I shall proceed you heard this Ferm Room produceth one hundered and fourty Bolls of Grain per annum fourty of which may be allowed for the Mantainance of his
Family and sixteen for the use of his Horses fourty to pay his Rent withal and as much for Seed This in all makes one hundered and thirty six Bolls only four Bolls remains for paying of Servants Wages which cannot be less than seventy or seventy five pounds for he can labour it with no fewer than two Men and one Maid beside a Herd in Summer and other Servants that are required in Harvest Yet nothing more hath he to furnish his Family in Cloaths and other Necessarys except the Industry made by his Wife and Maid or if he can spare some of the fourty Bolls allowed to be consumed in the Family it may help to pay part of his Servants Fees Now I shall proceed to show what Method I would have Fermers take in managing their Land You heard two Men a Boy a Maid and four Horses was required to labour the Room above mentioned I shall seek no more to labour one half more Ground And if the product of both be equal according to their proportions then is the expence of Seed and labouring of this additional thirty Aikers wholly saved which is a considerable profit But I shall make it evident not only shall this expence be saved but also the product of the Ground shall be more than that of the first Instance even proportionablie to their Bounds The Mailen or Ferm Room I am to speak of I suppose to contain ninety Aikers of the like Ground with that formerly mentioned I divide it thus sixty six Aikers I make Out-field which I divide into three parts two thirds I leave Grass and one third I plough three years then I plough another third part three years and then the last third part I plough other three years and begins again to plough that first third part and so continues to plough one third and â—ave two thirds Grass Thus every third is ploughed three years and lyeth six successively Of the other twenty four Aikers I first take two and I make it in a Yeard or Orchyeard half an Aiker thereof I Sow and Plant with Cabbage or other Kaile and what Roots I think fit for Use of the Family the other Aiker and half I leave Grass and the whole I plant with Fruit-trees but because I assigne this Orchyeard for another Use than allanerly for Fruit I plant the Trees at the matter of thirty foot distance The Trees being planted at this distance hindereth nothing the growth of Grass or Herbs beside them and within ten or twelve years much Benefit maybe also made of themselves The twenty two Aikers that remain I divide into five parts which is near four Aikers and a half each part To make the shares equal I take half an Aiker off the Out-field Thus I have eighteen Aikers of Croft-land sowen four and an half Grass each year so I dung four Aikers and a half the first year and thereon I sow Barly the next year I sow it with Wheat the third year with Pease or Oats the fourth year with Oats or Pease the fifth year I leave it Grass or if I thing fit I Fallow it the fifth year by this Method only four Aikers and a half is to be dunged every year for which there is dung abundance because a far greater number of Cattle can be keeped on this Mailen than that above mentioned because I have more than three times as much Grass for tho there be not three times as many Aikers yet in respect it is much better Soarded by lying six years whereas the other lay but two it will be no worse than what is said And as I observed formerly six or seven Aikers of the other Mailen used to be dunged every year 't is certain this four aikers and a half hath farr greater allowance Let us next see what product may be reasonably expected off this Mailen I suppose it will not be denyed by any who know Husbandrie but each Aiker of Croft may produce eight or ten Bolls at a Cropt considering how strongly it is dunged How ever I shall reckon but only seven and the Out-field I suppose may be reckoned to bear four Bolls per Aiker For seeing in the above writen instance three Bolls was the product of one Aiker after two years lying And this lying six years cannot but be much more Refreshed for tho the common way of supplying the Defect of the Salt Quality that is in the Earth be by applying Dung or Lyme Yet there is also much of this Quality in Dew and Rain and when the Ground is not tiled or opened up Grass or other things the Earth produceuh of it self doth not extract forth so much of this hot Quality by far as Seeds do when it is Manured Therefore I think one Boll per Aiker may be very reasonably expected more off Ground that has had six years rest than that which has had two The product then of twenty two Aikers I shall reckon four score and eight Bolls and seven times eighteen the product of the Croft-land is six score and six Bolls which in all makeâ— two hundered fourteen Bolls A fourth part of the Croft being sowen with Wheat we may reckon on 24 Bolls of that Grain beside its own Seed which is at least a Crown per Boll better than other Grain Add this to five times two hundered and fourteen pounds the Value of the whole Grain upon the said Mailen the Quota is eleven hundered and fourty two pounds Next let us consider what Stock of Cattle may be maintained upon this Mailen or Ferm Room You hear'd four Horses and ten or twelve Nolt were keeped upon that above mentioned and three times as much Grass is upon this Yet I shall not so much endeavour to augment the number as strive to have the Cattle in a good Condition For as I formerly remarked generally throughout this Kingdom the Cattle are almost half starved which keeps them both small and lean Let us therefore keep on this Mailen but two Horses four Oxen and eight or ten Milk Kyne and a Bull Six Calves we may reckon to be brought up by them ever year one half Male the other Female Our Stock of young Cattle according to this Calculation doth consist of six Calves six of a year old and six of two years old which according to the Vulgar way of reckoning Soumes may be counted eight Soumes And when they come to be three years old they come in the account of Kyne or Oxen The two Horses according to the Vulgar account are reckoned four Soumes and every Cow or Oxen one so the whole Soumes above mentioned are twenty seven The Aikers of Grass in this Mailen are fourty eight beside that of the Orchyeard which I reserve for Hay to give the Cattle when sick or Sheep in a Storm besides the above said twenty seven Soumes I may keep on this Grass fourty or fifty Sheep Let us now reckon what Benefit may be made of thir Cattle And
about them as may retain it I take care that it be keeped in a Trough or deep hole at the Lower-end of the Cow-house or Stable and causes it to be carry'd thenâ—e to the Dunghill and pour it out there for doubtless there is as much strength or pith in Piss as in Dung Again if there be any Marle or Sea-ware in the Ground or any place near by I make it my business to get as much of it as I can conveniently lay upon the Ground every year till it be all gone over But if neither of these can be had I look for Lyme Of which with old thack of Houses and Clay-turff diged in some most convenient place of the said Mailen being dryed I mix with the Lyme and old Thack together with Dung and Straw or any Rubbish I can get I make a Dung-hill upon some convenient place of that Land I intend to Fallow as I shewed above This I do every Summer or any other time when Occasion serveth And at the end of three years the time when this six or eight Aikers of Out-field is fallowed I lay this Dung-hill upon it But if the Ground ly so that I can Fallow two or three Aikers every year so that it ly not in the middle of my Pasture I lay this Manure also every year on so much as I can Now after Fallowing and Manuring I plough it about Michaelmas and thereon soweth either Wheat or Winter Barly And if the Season be good ten or twelve Bolls per Aiker may be expected without a Miracle For Fallowing of it self without any Manure is able to Enrich any ordinary Ground so that for three or four years it will bear as much as if it had been dunged tollerable well But because this Ground has never before been manured I give it both Fallowing and Manure to bring it once to a good Condition and then with resting six and being but tielled three years it will continue in a good Condition for â—ifty or sixty years Yea if it be Hedged and keeped Warm and not ploughed oftner than what is said it will in all time coming continue much better than it was before Now as is said taking this course in providing Manure extraordinar for two or three Aikers of Out-field Land every year within twenty or twenty four years it is all thus brought to a good Condition so that if I please I need not from thence forth let it ly more but three or four years at a time and plough it as long whereby I may alwayes have eight or ten Aikers more in Corn than what is shewed above Moreover every one of these Aikers may reasonably be supposed to bring forth six Bolls per Annum which is two Bolls morâ— on each Aiker of the twenty two Aikers of Out-field allowed to be ploughed each year than it was supposed to bear in Chapter third which is fourty four Bolls And eight Aikers that formerly lay Grass being now ploughed and yeelding six Bolls per Aiker makes fourty eight Bolls Which added to fourty four makes nintie two which at the price foresaid is worth 470 pounds for the Expence of Seed and Labour of the additional eight Aikers now ploughed more than what was before I deduce one hundered pounds and three hundered seventy still remains But because Hedging the Ground and purchasing of this extraordinar Manure or Gooding as it is vulgarly termed cannot be done without some Expence In reason therefore it ought to be deducted out of the Product or Increase that is hâ—d of the Ground Let us therefore enquire what that may be And seeing we reckoned already four Aikers Croft and eight Out-field more laboured each year than was when we summed up the Account in page fourty two and allowed twenty Shillings Starling for Seed and Labour of each Aiker we must therefore now deduce all that was allowed for labouring the said twelve Aikers and allow it in part of payment of what charge I am at in keeping more Men and Horse than were proposed for labouring the Mailen before it was Inclosed For since I reckon all charge of Men and Horses that labour the whole Ground the expence of labouring this twelve Aikers also cometh in on that account I shall therefore allow one Man and other two Horses or two more Oxen to be keeped when this twelve Aikers are laboured than before two Horses according to our first Calculation doth require eight Bolls of Corn to maintain them and for a Man's Meat and Wages I shall reckon eighty or ninety pounds There was a Boy allowed for Herding when the Mailen was not inclosed which will not be requir'd after it is inclosed Yet I shall allow him to be keeped in this case not only in Summer but even in the Winter also who may serve to drive the Plough And two Men are sufficient to thresh the Corn dress the Garden and do any other Labour that is to be done beside the ploughing Now for this Boys Meat and Wages all Winter you know he 's to be kept in Summer however I reckon fourty pounds Thir four Men or at least three Men and a Boy are abundance to labour this Mailen to the full And for cuâ—ing down this additional twelve Aikers of Corn let twenty four pounds be allowed That I may let you see the whole Particulars at one Glancâ— I have set them down here in a â—ormal Account Impriâ—is The remainâ— of the Account in page 42 763 09 04 4 Aiker Croâ—t 28 Bolls at 5 libâ— per Boll 140 00 00 On 22 Aiker Out-field 44 Bolls more than was reckoned at first is 220 00 00 â— Aiker Out-field 48 Bolls at 5 lib also 240 00 00 Summa 1363 09 04 The Expence that is more required in Labouring of this twelve Aikers that was Un-laboured before the Ground was Inclosed amounts to the Summ of 254 Pounds as the following Particulars doth make appear Imprimis 12 Bolls Seed 60 00 00 Eight Bolls for Horse Meat 40 00 00 A Man's Meâ—t and Wages 90 00 00 A Boy 's Meat and Wages 40 00 00 For additional Shearers 24 00 00 Summa 254 00 00 This 254 pounds being deduced from 1363 there remains 1109. To go through every particular and shew what might be made of Cattle now when the Ground is Inriched and Inclosed And also what Benefit may be had by Sowing Seeds of Cloaver and other Grass Ryb Seed and several other wayes how the Land may be Improven But what is said already having run beyond the intended bounds it may be sufficient to provoke people to try the Experiment And if this be kindly accepted off perhaps I may enlarge a little further on this Subject unless some better accomplished for this Work do take it in hand to whom I shall willingly yeeld in the mean time I shall hasten to speak to the next Head proposed I foregot to reckon upon the Profit of the Orchyeard which may contain upwards of seventy
I have been recommending the Use of Roots and Herbs as more profitable for House keepers than to make alwayes Use of Grain for Maintainance of their Families Wherefore least they object against my Advice in pretending difficulties from their want of skill in this Art and the natural Barrenness of the Ground To solve these difficultys I say according to the Measures already laid down for bringing every kind of Ground to a temperat Constitution I have shown already that any kind of arable Ground may be made fertile by industrie And I say again by Hedging and Planting fence your Garden from Storm and dung it well you may have Roots and Herbs abundance therein To bring your Gardens therefore to a good Condition First Digg up or delve your ground at first about a foot deep The soard of your ground throw the bottom of the Furrow or Trench and if there be any Weeds or stones in it gather them out this being done about Hallowday or some time in the Winter Then in the Spring so soon as you find it seasonable for sowing of Seeds dung your Garden and delve it over again casting it in Plots or Beds And then you may sow Carrot Parsneep Turneep or Onion Seeds or any other common Seeds you please and as soon as any Weeds begin to spring be sure to pluck them up In the Furrows you may plant Cabbage I need not tell you how to set or plant common Kale few or none but what has abundance of them already But when your Ground begins to fail which perhaps it may do within twelve or sixteen years even thô yâ— dung it every year by the frequent labouring and breaking up it begins to fail and turn somewhat dead or lifeless which cannot be helped but by letting it rest two or three years or else by Trenching which is done thus First cross your Brâ—â—k or Plot of Ground make a Ditch about two or three foot broad four inches deeper than the Crust of the Earth or deepth you have diggâ—d before throw the Earth quite out and seatter it upon the laighest part of your Plot then dig as much of your Ground next to this Trench and throw the upermost of the Earth into the bottom thereof and the new Earth you find below lay uppermost and when you have occasion to Trench this Ground again you must dig three or four inches deeper then before and as often as ye Trench raise three or four inches new ground and dung it and sow as before I also recommended Potatoes as a very profitable Root for Husbandmen or others that have numerous Families And because there is a peculiar way of Planting this Root nor commonly known in this Countrey I shall here shew what way it is ordinarly planted or set But first know there be two sorts of them the one knotty and some thing redish coloured the other long some thing after an Oval Form and white this last is set whole and when the Stalk is grown up a dozen or perhaps more Potatoes groweth round about the Root thereof but the cornered sort must be cut in small peeces before they be set Now the manner of Setting or Planting them is thus The ground whereon they are set must be dry and so much the better it is if it have a good Soard of Grass The Beds or Rigs are made about eight foot broad good store of dung being laid upon your Ground Horse or Sheep Dung is the most proper Manure for them Throw each Potatoe into a knot of dung and afterwards digg Earth out of the Furrows and cover them all over about some three or â—our inches deep the Furrows left between your Riggs must be about two foot broad and little less will they be in deepth before your Potatoe be covered You need not plant this Root in your Garden they are commonly set in the Fields and wildest of Ground for enriching of it The common way Potatoes are made usâ— of are boyled and broken and stirred with Butter or new Milk also roasted and eatâ—n with Butter Yea some make Bread of them by mixing them with Oat or Barley Meal after they are broken stirred with Milk other parboyl them and bake them with Aples after the manner of Tarts Several other wayes are they made use of as eating among Broath broken with Kale To be brief Potatoes are as usefull and profitable about a Husbandmans Houses as any kind of food I know I might insist in shewing farther How any Farmer possessing a Mailen as in Chap 3. May by Roots and Herbs not onely save ten Bolls of his Grain but even ne're twice so much From the middle of August till Ianuary he may have Potatoes in March and April Parsneeps from May to October abundance of Milk Kail and Carrots and Turnneeps c. after Lambmass But having insisted beyond my Expectation let what is said suffice at the time and if this pass the Press again there being but a few Coppies of this Impression perhaps the World may have it with some Addition and Amendments In the preceeding Chapter as a special means to enrich your Ground I thought to have informed you that where you can have the Conveniencie to set Water upon your Land it will much encrease the growth of Grass The way to perform this where you can draw a Ditch alongst the head of your Field and foregainst the head of every Rigg make a little Gape that you may close or leave open at your pleasure and then draw Furrows with your Plough and Spade squint wayes in the declining of the Hill from the Furrow between your Riggs to the top or middle thereof where it is left without any Conduit Then it spreadeth and waâ—ereth the Ground But that it may not run away as soon as it falleth down to the Furrow again you may raise it to the middle of the Riggs as before Thus renew your Conduits till iâ— come to the lowest part of the field CHAP. VIII Several Objections Solved NOt to consume time I shall as briefly as possible answer to some of the most material Objections I judge may occure And in the first place me thinks I hear some thick scul'd Peasant that sees as â—arâ— in States Affairs as a Mear doth in a Mill-stone Saying What And From whence came you Sir That offers to teach us how to labour our Ground We and our Fathers have been bred in Husbandrie thâ—se many Generations and if there had been any Mistery in it to find would not they have found it out before this time Are you Wiser than all that ever have been bred and exercised in Husbandry hitherto Away with your fool Notions there are too many â—ees in your Bonet-case we will satisfie our selves with such Measures as our Fathers have followed hitherto Solve Soft Friend one Question at once you run on with a full Carrier However to your first two Questions I say I am neither Italian Ierman nor of any