defended against the frost and cold weather also during the spring insuing to be opened at the root sarcled and well weeded In the third yeare by his rule they ought to be burned in the spring time and the sooner that the ground is thus burned the better wil they come vp again and in greater plenty which is the cause that they like and prosper best in plots set with Canes and Reeds for such desire to be burnt betimes in the yere Moreouer he giueth another precept that they must not be sarcled nor haue the earth opened laid hollow about them before their buds or tops be aboue ground to be seen for feare least in the sarcling the roots take harm thereby either by rasing or shaking them vntill they be loose From which time forward if a man would gather any of the said buds or yong springs for salad or other vse they ought to be plucked and slipped from the root for otherwise if they be broken and knapt off in the mids the root wil presently put forth many vnprofitable sprouts which wil suck away all the heart and kill it in the end Sliue and pluck it you may in manner aforesaid vntil it spindle and run to seed which commonly beginneth to be ripe in the Spring then it must be set on fire as is before said and then once again so soon as new buds and tendrons appeare aboue ground from the root they must be sarcled bared and dunged afresh Now after it hath grown in this manner nine yeres so as by this time it is waxen old the roots must be taken vp and then replanted again in a piece of ground well digged and as throughly dunged Then I say ought the smal roots called Spongiae in Latine to be set again a foot distant one from another Furthermore Cato ordaineth expressely by name That sheeps dung should be vsed for that purpose because any other would breed store of weeds And verily there was neuer knowne any other thing practised or assaied afterwards to more gain and benefit about this Garden-herb vnlesse it were this That about the Ides or mids of February some haue let the seeds of Sperage lie well soked in dung and then sowed the same by heaps in little trenches or holes made for the purpose after which when the roots are wouen and knit one within another into a knot the spurns shooting from them they plant after the Aequinox in Autumne following a foot asunder by which means they wil continue bearing plenteously for ten yeres together For to breed and maintaine these garden Sperages there is no better soile than the gardens of Rauenna from whence we haue the fairest of all other As for the herb named in Latine Corruda I haue written heretofore of it and I vnderstand thereby the wild Sperage which the Greekes call Orminum and Myacanthon howbeit there be who giue it other names Finally I reade of certaine Sperages which will engender and grow of Rams hornes beaten or stamped and then put into the ground A man would thinke that I had discoursed already of all such Garden herbes as were of any price and regard but that there remaineth one thing yet behind whereof the greatest gaine of all other is raised and yet me thinks I cannot write thereof but be abashed to range it amongst the good herbs of the garden and that forsooth is our Thistle howbeit this is certaine to the shame be it spoken of our wanton and wasting gluttons that the Thistles about Carthage the great Corduba especially cost vs ordinarily six thousand thousand Sesterces to speak within compasse See how vaine and prodigal we be to bring into our kitchin and serue vp at our table the monstruosities of other nations and cannot forbeare so much as these Thistles which the very asses and other fourfooted beasts haue wit enough to auoid refuse for pricking their lips and muzzles Well since they be grown into so great request I must not ouer-passe the gardinage to them belonging and namely how they be ordered two maner of waies to wit replanted of yong sets or roots in Autumn and sowed of seed before the nones of March. As for the plants beforesaid they ought to be slipped from it and set before the Ides or mids of Nouember in any hand orels if the ground be cold we must stay vntil February and then be doing with them about the rising of the Western wind Fauonius Manured ywis it ought to be dunged I would not els so faire and goodly an herbe it is and so forsooth and it please you they prosper the better and come on trimly They are condite also and preserued in vineger or else all were mard in delicate liâ—…e honey seasoned also and bespiced I may say to you with the costly root of the plant Laser-woort yea and with Cumin because wee would not be a day without Thistles but haue them as an ordinary dish all the yeare long As for the rest of Garden-herbs behind they need no long discourse but a light running ouer them may serue well enough First and foremost men say That the best sowing of Basil is at the feast Palilia but some are of mind that Autumne is as good and they that would haue it done in winter giue order to infuse and soke the seed first in vineger Rocket also and garden Cresses are not dainty to grow but be it winter or Summer they will soon come vp prosper at al times But Rocket of the twain stands more at defiance with winter and scorns al his frowning looks and cold weather as being of a contrary nature to Lecture for it stirreth vp fleshly lust and therfore commonly it is ioined with Lecture in sallads both are eaten together that the exceeding heat of the one mixt with the extreme coldnes of the other might make a good mariage and temperature Cresses tooke the name in Latine Nasturtium a narium tormento as a man would say Nose-wring because it will make one writh and shrink vp his nosthrils which is the reason that the word is grown into a prouerb when we would signifie a thing which will put life into one that is dull and vnlusty In Arabia the Cresses by report proue to a wonderful bignesse Rue also is sowed vsually in February when the Western wind Fauonius bloweth and soon after the Aequinox in Autumne It cannot away with winter for it brooketh not cold or rain nor moist ground neither will it abide muck it liketh well to grow in dry places and such as lie faire vpon the Sun-shine but a clay ground which is good for bricke and tile that is alone for it and best of all other it delighteth in ashes and therewith is it fed and nourished insomuch as they vse to blend ashes the seed together for to keep away the canker worm and such like Certes we find that in old time Rue was in some great account and especiall
tie them together and so leaue them in the woods for the male tygres howbeit they rere neither the first nor second litter of them supposing that the dogs thus bred will be too fierce and eger but the third they nourish and bring vp Semblably thus doe the Gaules by their dogges that are ingendred of wolues and in euerie chace and forrest there be whole flockes of them thus ingendred that haue for their guide leader and captain one dogge or other him they accompanie when they hunt him they obey and are directed by for surely they keepe an order among themselues of gouernment and mastership This is knowne for certaine that the dogges which be neere vnto Nilus lap of the riuer running still and neuer stay while they are drinking because they will giue no vantage at all to be a prey vnto the greedie Crocodiles In the voiage that Alexander the Great made into India the king of Albania gaue him a dogge of an huge and extraordinarie bignesse And Alexander taking great delight and contentment to see so goodly and so faire a dogge let loose vnto him first Beares afterwards wild Bores and last of all fallow Deere But this dog making no reckoning of all this game lay still couchant and neuer stirred nor made at them This great Commander Alexander a man of mighty spirit and high mind offended at the lazinesse and cowardise of so great a bodie commanded that he should be killed and so he was Newes hereof went presently to the king of Albanie Wherupon he sent vnto him a second dog with this message That he should not make triall of this too against such little beasts but either set a Lion or an Elephant at him saying moreouer that hee had in all but those two of his kinde and if hee were killed likewise hee were like to haue no more of that race and breed Alexander made no stay but presently put out a Lion and immediately he saw his backe broken and all to rent and torne by the dog Afterwards he commanded to bring forth an Elephant and in no sight tooke he greater pleasure than in this For the dog at the first with his long rough shagged haire that ouerspread his whole bodie came with ful mouth thundering as it were and barking terribly against the Elephant Soon after he leapeth and flieth vpon him rising and mounting against the great beast now of one side then of another maintaining combate right artificially one while assailing another while auoiding his enemie and so nimbly he bestirreth him from side to side that with continuall turning about to and fro the Elephant grew giddie in the head insomuch as he came tumbling downe and made the ground to shake vnder him with his fal Bitches breed and beare young euery yeere lightly once and the due time for them to be with whelpes is when they are full a yeere old They goe with young threescore daies Their puppies come blinde into the world and the more milke they sucke the later it is ere they receiue their sight but as it is neuer aboue twenty daies ere they see so they open not their eies vnder seuen daies old Some say that if a bitch bring but one at a litter it will see by nine daies if twaine it will be ten daies first and the more puppies she hath the more daies it will be in that proportion ere they see Moreouer that the bitch-whelpe that commeth of the first litter see strange bugs and goblins The best of the whole litter is that whelpe that is last ere it begin to see or else that which the bitch carries first into her kennell The biting of mad dogs are most dangerous to a man as we haue said before especially during the dog-daies while the dog star Syrius is so hot for they that are so bitten lightly are affraid of water which is a deadly signe To preuent therefore that dogs fall not mad it is good for thirtie or fortie daies space to mingle hens or pullins dung especially with their meat againe if they be growing into that rage or tainted already to giue them Ellebor with their meat CHAP. XLI ¶ Against the biting of a mad Dog THe sure and soueraigne remedy for them that are bitten with a mad dog was reuealed lately by way of Oracle to wit the root of a wild rose called the sweet brier or Eglantine Columella writeth That when a whelpe is iust fortie daies old if his taile be bitten off at the nethermost joint and the sinew or string that commeth after be likewise taken away neither the taile will grow any more nor the dog fall euer to be mad I haue my selfe obserued that among the prodigies it is reported how a dog sometime spake as also that a serpent barked that yeere when Tarquine the prowd was deposed and driuen out of Rome CHAP. XLII ¶ Of Horses and their nature THe same Alexander the Great of whom ere-while we spake had a very strange and rare horse whom men called Bucephalus either for his crabbed and grim looke or else of the marke or brand of a buls head which was imprinted vpon his shoulder It is reported that Alexander being but a child seeing this faire horse was in loue with him and bought out of the breed and race of Philonicus the Pharsalian and for him paied sixteene talents He would suffer no man to sit him nor come vpon his backe but Alexander and namely when he had the kings saddle on and was also trapped with roiall furniture for otherwise he would admit any whomsoeuer The same horse was of a passing good and memorable seruice in the warres and namely being wounded vpon a time at the assault of Thebes he would not suffer Alexander to alight from his back and mount vpon another Many other strange and wonderfull things hee did in regard whereof when he was dead the king solemnized his funerals most sumptuously erected a tombe for him and about it built a city that bare his name Bucephalia Caesar Dictator likwise had another horse that would suffer no man to ride him but his maister the same horse had his forefeet resembling those of a man and in that manner he stands pourtraied before the temple of Venus Mother Moreouer Augustus Caesar late Emperour of famous memory made a sumptuous tombe for an horse that he had wherof Germanicus Caesar compiled a poeme At Agrigentum there be seen Pyramides ouer many places were horses were entombed Iuba reporteth That queene Semiramis loued a great horse that she had so far forth that she was content he should doe his kind with her The Scythians verily take a great pride and glorie much in the goodnes of their horses and Cauallerie A king of theirs happened in combat and single fight vpon a challenge to be slain by his enemie and when he came to despoile him of his armes and roiall habit the kings horse came vpon him with such furie flinging and laying about him with
late of growth were those trees in his time and so slowly came they forward But now adaies they come vp of kernels and stones set in plots of ground for the purpose and being transplanted againe they beare Oliues the second yeare after Fabianus saith That Oliues loue not to grow either in the coldest or the hottest grounds Virgill hath set downe 3 kind of Oliues to wit Orchitae i. the great round Oliues Radij i. the long Oliues and those which are called Pausiae He saith moreouer That the Oliue trees require no tending or dressing at all and need neither the hooke to be pruned nor the rake and harrow to be moulded ne yet the spade to be digged about Doubtlesse the goodnesse of the soile and the temperature of the climat especially are very requisit and much materiall alone without farther helpe howbeit they vse to be cut and pruned yea they loue also to be scraped polished and clensed between where the branches grow ouer-thicke euen as well as vines and at the same season The time of gathering Oliues ensueth presently vpon the vintage of grapes but greater industry and skil is required to the making and tempering of good oile than about new wine for ye shall haue one and the self same kind of oliue to yeeld a different juice and diuers oiles first and formost of the greene oliue and altogether vnripe there is drawne the Oile oliue which hath of all other the best verdure and in tast excelleth the rest and of this oile the first running that commeth from the presse is most commended and so by degrees better or worse as the oile is drawn before or after out of the presse or according to a late inuention by treading them with mens feet in little panniers and vpon hardles made of small and fine oziers This is a rule The riper that the oliue is the fatter will the oile be and more plentifull but nothing so pleasant in tast And therefore the best season to gather Oliues both for goodnesse and abundance of oile is when they begin to shew black And such halfe-ripe Oliues we in Latine call Drupae and the Greekes Drypetae To conclude it skilleth very much whether the berries be ripe vpon the tree or mellow within their presse also whether the tree be watered that is to say the oliues hanging thereupon be drenched and refreshed with sprinkling water or haue no other moisture than their owne and that which they receiue by dews and raine from heauen CHAP. II. ¶ Of Oyle OIle-Oliue commeth to haue a rank and vnpleasant tast if it be old kept and stale contrary to the nature of wine which is the better for age And the longest time that oile will continue good is but one yere Wherein surely if a man would well consider he may obserue the great prouidence of Nature For seeing that wines are made to seruefor intemperance and drunkennesse there is not that necessitie to drinke much thereof and to spend them out of hand and more than so the daintie tast that they haue when they be stale induceth men to lay them vp and keep them long But contrariwise she would not haue vs make such spare of oile and therefore by reason of the generall vse and need thereof she hath made it vulgar and common to all As touching this benefit and gift of Nature bestowed vpon mankind Italy of all other nations in the world carrieth the name for the goodnesse thereof but principally the territory or county of Venafrum and namely that quarter lying toward Licinia which yeelds the oile called Licinianum wherupon there be no oliues comparable to them of Licinia both for to serue the perfumers in regard of the pleasant smel which that oile doth giue so appropriat vnto their ointments as also to furnish the kitchin and the table as they say that be fine-toothed haue a delicate taste which is the cause I say that this oile carrieth the only name And yet these oliues of Licinia haue this priuiledge besides that birds loue not to come neere them Next to these Licinian oliues the question is between them of Istria Baetica whether of them should go away with the price for their goodnesse and hard it is to say which is the better of the two A third degree there is vnder these twoaboue named namely of the Oliues that come from all other prouinces setting aside the fertile soile of that tract in Africke which yeeldeth so great increase of corn For it should seeme that Nature hath set it apart for graine onely seeing it so fruitfull that way and hath not so much enuied it the benefit of wine and oile which she hath denied those parts as thought it sufficient that they might glory and haue the name for their haruests As for other points belonging to oliues men haue erred and bin deceiued very much neither is there in any part concerning our life to be found more confusion than is therein as we will shew and declare hereafter CHAP. III. ¶ The nature of the Oliue berries also of yong Oliue Plants THis fruit called the Oliue consists of a stone or kernell of oile a fleshy substance and the lees or dregs now by these lees called in Latine Amurca I mean the bitter liquor of the grounds that the oile yeelds It comes of abundance of water and therefore as in time of drought there is least thereof so in a rainy and watery constitution you shall haue store and plenty As for the proper juice of the oliue it is their oile and the chiefe is that which comes of those that are vnripe like as we haue shewed before when we treated of Ompharium or the Oliue verjuice This oilie substance doth increase and augment within the Oliue vntill the rising of the star Arcturus to wit 16 daies before the Calends of October after which time their stones and carnous matter about them do rather thriue But marke when there followes a glut of raine and wet weather presently vpon a dry season the oile in them doth corrupt and turn all well neare into the lees aboue said which may easily be perceiued by the colour for it causeth the Oliue berrie to looke blacke And therefore when this blacknesse begins to appeare it is a sign that they haue somwhat although very little of the lees but before that they had non at all And herein men are foulely dceiued taking this marke for the beginning of their ripenesse which blacke hew indeed is a signe of their corruption and betokens that then they are in the way to be stark naught They erre also in this that they suppose an Oliue the more grown it is in carnositie to be the fuller of oile whereas in very truth all the good juice â—…n them is converted then into the grosse and corpulent substance thereof and thereby also the stone and kernell come to be big and massie which is the cause that they had need of watering at that time
them apart according to their nature Now are we to treat of the rest which are of a carnous substance and those are diuided into fruits that be soft and pulpous and into berries The carnosity in Grapes and Raisons in Mulberries and the fruit of the Arbut tree differs one from the other Againe the fleshy substance in Grapes between the skin and the liquid juice is one and that in Sebesten is another Berries haue a carnosity by themselues as namely Oliues Mulberies yeeld a juice or liquor within the pulpe thereof resembling wine They be ordinarily of three colours at the beginning white soone after red and when they be ripe blacke The Mulberrie tree bloometh with the last but the fruit ripeneth with the first Mulberries when they be sull ripe staine a mans hand with the juice thereof and make them blacke but contrariwise being vnripe they scoure them cleane There is not a tree againe wherein the wit of man hath bin so little inuentiue either to deuise names for them or to graff them or otherwise saue only to make the fruit fair and great There is a difference which we at Rome doe make betweene the Mulberries of Ostia and Tusculum There is a kind of Mulberries growing vpon the bramble but their skin is much harder than the other Like as the ground-strawberries differ in carnositie from the fruit of the Arbut tree and yet it is held for a kind of Strawberrie euen as the tree it selfe is tearmed the Strawberrie tree And there is not a fruit of any other tree that resembleth the fruit of an hearb growing by the ground but it The Arbut tree it selfe spreadeth full of branches the fruit is a whole yeare in ripening by which means a man shall find alwaies vpon the tree yong and old fruit together one vnder another and the new euermore thrusts out the old Whether it be the male or female that is barren writers are not agreed Surely the fruit is of base and no reckoning at all no maruell therefore if the Latines gaue it the name Vnedo for that one of them is enough to be eaten at once And yet the Greeks haue two names for it to wit Comarum Memecylon whereby it appeareth that there be as many kinds among the Latines also although it be tearmed by another name Arbutus K. Iuba saith that these trees in Arabia grow to the heigth of fiftie cubites As touching Graines and liquid Kernels there is great difference betweene them for first and formost among very grapes there is no small diuersitie in the skin either for tendernes or thicknesse in the inner stones or pepins which in some grapes are but single or one alone in others double and those commonly yeeld not so much wine as the others do Secondly those of Iuie and Elder differ very much yea and the graines within a Pomegranat are not like to others in their forme for they alone be made cornered and angle-wise and seuerall as they bee they haue not a particular skin of their own but they are altogether clad within on which is white and yet they stand all wholly of a liquor and pulpous carnositie especially those which haue within them but a small stone or woodie kernell Semblably there is as much varietie in berries for oliues differ much from Bay berries likewise those of a Lote tree are diuers from them which the Corneil tree beares The Myrtle also differeth from the Lentisk in the verie berrie As for the huluer or hollie berries and the hawes of the white-thorn they are without any juice or liquor wheras Cherries be of a middle kind betweene berries and graines This fruit is white at the first as lightly all berries be whatsoeuer but afterwards some waxe greene as Oliues and Baies others turn red as Mulberies Cherries and Cornoiles but in the end they all become blacke as Mulberries Cherries and Oliues CHAP. XXV ¶ Of Cherries eight kinds BEfore the time that L. Lucullus defeated K. Mithridates there were no cherrie-trees in Italy but after that victorie which was about the 680 yeare from the foundation of the citie of Rome he was the man that brought them first out of Pontus and furnished Italie so well with them that within sixe and twentie yeres other lands had part therof even as far as Britain beyond the ocean Howbeit as we haue before said they could neuer be brought to grow in Aegypt for all the care and industrie employed about them Of Cherries the reddest sort bee called Apronia the blackest Actia the Caecilian be round withall The Iulian Cherries haue a pleasant tast but they must be taken new from the tree and presently eaten for so tender they be otherwise that they will not abide the carriage Of all other the Duracine Cherries be the soueraign which in Campaine are called Pliniana But in Picardie and those low countries of Belgica they make most account of the Portugall Cherries as they do also who inhabite vpon the riuer Rhene They haue a hew with them composed of three colors between red black and green and alwaies look as if they were in ripening still It is not yet full 5 yeres since the Cherries which they call Laurea were known so called they be because they were graffed on a Bay-tree stocke and thereof thy take a kind of bitternes but yet not vnpleasant to the tast There be moreouer Macedonian Cherries growing vpon a small tree seldome aboue three cubits high and yet there be certain dwarfe Cherries not full so tall called Chamecerasti i. ground cherry-shrubs The Cherry-tree is one of the first that yeelds fruit to his master in token of thankfulnesse recognisance of his paines all the yeare long It delights to grow in cold places and exposed to the North. The Cherrie wil drie in the sun and may be kept in barrels like Oliues CHAP. XXVI ¶ Of the Corneile and Lentiske tree THe same care is had in conditing the berries of the Corneil and the Lentiske as in preseruing Oliues so curious are men to content their tooth as if all things were made to serue the belly Thus we see how things of diuers relishes are mingled together and one giues a tast vnto another and causeth to be pleasant at the tongues end Nay we entermingle all climats and coasts of heauen and earth to satisfie our appetite for to one kind of meat wee must haue drugs spices fetcht as far as from India to another out of Aegypt Candie and Cyrene and in one word for euery dish we haue a seuerall land to find vs sawce To conclude wee are growne to this passe that we cease not to sophisticate our viands euen with hurtfull things so they tast well yea and to make dishes of very poisons because we would deuoure and send all downe the throat But more plainely hereof in our professed discourse of the nature and vertue of Hearbs CHAP. XXVII ¶ The diuersitie of tasts and sauours IN the meane time as
and fruit This is a generall thing obserued That al trees will thriue and prosper better yea and grow sooner to perfection if the shoots and suckers that put out at the root as also other water twigs be rid away so that al the nourishment may be turned to the principall stocke only The work of Nature in sending out these sprigs taught vs the feat to couch and lay sets in the ground by way of propagation and euen after the same manner briers and brambles doe of themselues put forth a new off-spring for growing as they do smal and slender and withal running vp to be very tall they cannot chuse but bend and lean to the ground where they lay their heads againe and take fresh root of their owne accord without mans hands and no doubt ouergrow they would and couer the whole face of the earth were they not repressed and withstood by good husbandrie The consideration whereof maketh me to enter into this conceit That men were made by Nature for no other end but to tend and look vnto the earth See yet what a commodious deuice we haue learned by so wicked and detestable a thing as this bramble is namely to lay slips in the ground and quick-sets with the root Of the same nature is the Yuie also euen to grow and get new root as it creepeth and climbeth And by Catoes saying not onely the Vine but Fig trees Oliues also wil grow increase of cuttings couched in the ground likewise Pomegranate trees all kinds of Apple-trees Baies Plum-trees Myrtles Filberds Hazels of Praeneste yea Plane-trees Now be there two waies to increase trees by way of propagation or enterring their twigs The first is to force a branch of a tree as it grows downe to the ground so to couch it within a trench foure foot square euery way after two yeares to cut it atow where it bent from the tree and after three yeares end to transplant it But if a man list to haue such plants or young trees to beare longer the best way were to burie the said branches at the first within would either in paniers or earthen vessels that when they are once rooted they might be remoued all whole and entire in them and so replanted The second is a more curious and wanton deuise than this namely to procure roots to grow on the very tree by carrying and conveighing branches either through earthen pots or oisier baskets full of earth thrust close to the said branches and by this means the branches feeling comfort of the warme earth enclosing them on euery side are easily intreated to take root euen among Apples and other fruits in the head of the tree for surely by this meanes we desire to haue roots to chuse growing vpon the very top So audacious are men and of such monstrous spirits to make one tree grow vpon another far from the ground beneath Thus in like manner as before at 2 yeares end the said impes or branches that haue taken root be cut off and carried away in the foresaid pots or paniers thither where they shall grow As for the Sauine an hearb or plant it is that wil take if it bee in this sort couched in the ground also a sprig if it be slipped off cleane from the stocke will come again and root Folke say that if a man take wine lees or an old bricke out of the wal broken small and either pour the one or lay the other about the root it wil prosper and come forward wonderfully In like manner may Rosemarie be set as the Sauine either by couching it or slipping off a branch from it for neither of them both hath any seed To conclude the hearb or shrub Oleander may be set of any impe and so grow or else come of seed CHAP. XIIII ¶ Of encreasing trees by seed the manner of graffing one in another how the fine deuise of inoculation by way of scutcheon and emplaister was deuised NAture not willing to conceal any thing from man hath also taught him to engraffe trees with their seed and graine For oftentimes it happeneth that birds being hungrie haue greedily gobled vp seed and fruit whole and sound which after they haue moistened in their gorge and tempered it also with the warmth and natural heat of their stomack they send forth and squirt out again when they meute together with their dung that giueth vnto it a vertue of fecunditie and so lay it vpon the soft beds of tree leaues which many a time the winds catch and driue into some clifts and cranies of the barke by meanes whereof wee haue seene a Cherrie tree vpon a Willow a Plane tree vpon a Lawrell a Lawrell vpon a Cherrie trre and at one time Berries and fruits of diuerse sorts and sundry colors hanging at one and the same tree It is said moreouer that the Chough or Daw hath giuen occasion herof by laying vp for store seeds and other fruit in creuises and holes of trees which afterwards sprouted and grew From hence came the manner of inoculation or graffing in the scutcheon namely to cut out a parcel of the barke of that tree which is to be graffed with a sharp knife made in manner of a shomakers nall blade and then to enclose within the said concauity the eie or seed taken out of another tree with the said instrument And in old time verily this was the only maner of inoculation vsed in fig-trees and apple trees Virgil teaches vs to open a concauity in the knot or joint of a bud that driueth out the barke and within it to enclose the gem or bud taken out of another tree And thus much for the graffing that Nature hath shewed But there is another way of graffing which casualtie and chance hath taught And to say a truth this Maister hath shewed well neer more experiments now daily practised than Nature her selfe Now the manner of it came by this occasion A certain diligent painfull husbandman minding to mound and empale his cottage round about with a fence of an hedge to the end that the stakes should nor rot laid a sill vnder them of Iuie wood but such was the vitall force of the said Iuie that it took hold fast of the stakes and clasped them hard insomuch as by the life therof they also came to liue and euident it was to the eye that the log of Iuie vnderneath was as good as the earth to giue life and nourishment vnto the stakes afore-said To come then vnto our graffing which we haue learned by this occasion first the head or vpper part of the stock must be sawed off very euen and then pared smooth with a sharp gardenhook or cutting-knife which don there offers vnto vs a two-fold way to perform the rest of the worke The first is to set the graffe or Sion between the barke and the wood for in old time truly men were afraid at first to cleaue the stocke but soon
for Oliue trees that their sets be not interred in the earth nor yet dried before they be planted Also the same experience hath taught that for old Oliue trees ouergrown with a kind of mossie skurfe it is passing good ech other yeare to scrape and claw them well between the Spring and Aequinox and the rising of the starre Vergiliae or the Brood-hen likewise to bestow mosse round about the root mary euery yere they would be digged round about the root and laid bare after the sunstead with a trench made two cubits broad and a foot deep as also once in three yeres it were not amisse to cherish them with good dung Ouer and besides the same Mago saith that almond trees ought to be planted between the setting of Arcturus and the shortest day in the yeare As for Peare trees they are not to be set all at one and the same time for they blossom not all alike They that beare either the long or round peares haue their season from the occultation of the Brood-hen starre vntill mid-Winter All other sorts and principally those that regard either the East or the North are to be planted in mid-winter namely after the retreit of the star called Sagitta i. the Shaft The Lawrell would be put in the ground from the Egle-star vnto the fall of the Shaft aforesaid for certainly the obseruation of the time pertinent to the planting of trees agreeth much-what after this maner and for the most part men do accord and ordaine That it should be done in the spring and Autumne especially Another season there is about the rising of the Dog-starre which few men take knowledge of because it is not so generally practised nor found alike profitable to all countries howbeit I must not ouerpasse it in silence considering that my purpose is not to speake of this or that countries disposition but to search into the nature of all things In Cyrenaica therefore a region in Africk they vse to set trees about the time that the Etesian Northerne winds do blow in Greece likewise they do the same and namely in Laconia they suppose that to be the best time for the Oliue tree in the Island Cos the maner is then to plant Vines also In all other parts of Greece they make no doubt to inoculate and to graffe in that season but in no wise will they plant whole trees then But herein it skilleth much to consider the nature of each tract and region for in Egypt they set plant and replant euery moneth of the yeare in Aethiopia likewise and India and generally in all Countries wheresoeuer it raineth not in Summer Setting these respects aside Trees require of necessitie to be planted in Autumne Like as therefore there bee three seasons of planting Trees so there are as many wherein they bud and put forth new shoots to wit the Spring the rising of the Dog-starre and the apparition of Arcturus And verily this is a thing worthy to be noted that not onely beasts and other liuing creatures haue an appetite to engender but the earth also and all the plants thereupon are much more lusty and hot that way And therefore to make them to conceiue in due season the time would be well obserued when they be as it were in loue and desire the act of generation And not onely in the earth and trees therein planted is this to bee seene but in grafts and stocks also particularly by themselues since that they haue a mutuall and respectiue appetite one to ioine and incorporate with the other They that make choise of the Spring for this purpose begin to put them as it were together for to ingender presently after the Equinoctiall giuing out in these plaine termes that trees then are broody and ready to put forth sprouts which is the reason that their barkes at such a time will knit and ioine together easily But such as prefer the Autumne before the Spring fall to this businesse immediatly vpon the rising of the star Arcturus for then they suppose that plants will take root forthwith c. by the time that the Spring is come they will be better prepared to put forth lustily considering that their vertue is not streightwaies spent in budding but rather imploied in taking good root Howbeit some trees there be that haue their set times and seasons of the yere limited whether it be to plant or to graffe and the same indifferently in all places as namely Cherry-trees and Almond trees about the mid-winter But for the most part the scituation of the place will be able to guid and order all this matter best for cold and waterish grounds ought to bee planted in the Spring but dry and hot in the Autumne With our peasants here in Italy it is ordinary to diuide their times and seasons for planting in this manner following They set ouâ—… for the Mulbery all the time from the Ides of February to the spring Aequinox for the Peare-tree they allow the Autumne and so forward till 15 daies before the point of mid-winter and no longer for Summer apples and quinces for Seruises likewise and plums they assigne the space between the winter tropicke or Sun-stead and the Ides of February As for Carobes of Greece and Peach-trees they haue all the Autumne and the whole yere before them vntill mid-winter approch All Nut-trees as namely Walnut trees Pine-trees Filberds Hazels and Chestnut-trees would be planted from between the first day of March and the 15 thereof To conclude the only time for willowes and broom is about the Calends or beginning of the same March But of these two last named the Broom loueth to be set of Nource-plants comming of seed in dry and light grounds but contrariwise the willow to be set of twigs in moist places according as we haue before said CHAP. XIX ¶ What trees they be that loue to sort and keepe companie together The skill and feat of baring the roots of trees and also of hilling or banking them about THere is besides a new manner of grafting trees which I will not ouerpasse for my purpose is not willingly to omit ought that I haue found in any booke as touching this argument And Columella as himselfe affirmeth was the first deuiser thereof namely to conioin trees of diuers natures and such as otherwise cannot abide societie and fellowship together as for example Fig-trees and Oliue trees He I say would haue a Fig-tree to be planted neere vnto an Oliue and so neere indeed as that a bough or branch of the oliue may reach vnto the Fig-tree at ease considering that it is very supple and pliable otherwise and ready to follow and be led as a man would haue it and yet as obedient as it is hee would haue it it euer and anone to be handled and made gentle in the meane time that by this meanes inured first it may bee bent and bowed to the purpose when the time serues Which done after that the Figge
manner of waies for either the roots be laid ouertwhart or acrosse and but shallow within the ground and look how many eies there be in the root so many plants wil spring aboue the earth or els they be pitched down right within a graue or trench of a foot depth so as there be two eies or buds vnder the ground the third aboue but close and meet with it but this caueat is to be giuen that the head thereof may bend forward toward the earth for feare that it drinke in any dew which might stand and settle vpon it This also is obserued that they be cut euer in the wane of the Moone as also before that they are imploied about Vineyards for to beare vp vines they would haue a whole yeares drying for such are more profitable than the greene The best staies to beare vp Vines are made of the Chestnut tree for why the wood is gentle and tractable tough withall and induring long besides it hath this property that cut it when you list it will spring againe more plentifully than any willowes It loueth to grow in a gentle and sandy ground but principally if the same stand vpon a moist grauell or a hot earth full of little pebbles and namely where there is good store of such soft stones as will soone crumble into grit neither makes it any matter how much the place be shadowed nor how cold and exposed to the Northern winds for such it liketh well enough yea although it be the side or hanging of an hill as bleake and cold as may be But contrariwise it may not abide the red French earth the chalkie or marle ground nor in one word any that is battle or fruitfull Set it is of a Nut as we haue before said but it commeth not vp vnlesse there be fiue in a heape piled together and those of the fairest biggest sort Moreouer the plot wherin you mean to haue Chestnuts grow must be ouvertly broken vp aloft from between Nouember and Februarie in which time the Nuts vse to be loose and to fall of themselues from the tree and spring vnderneath finding the ground light and hollow vnder them Betwixt each heape set in manner aforesaid there ought to be a foot space euery way and the trench wherein they be set of a span depth out of this plot as out of a seminary and nource-garden these yong plants are to be translated into another and then they must be set two foot asunder Howbeit they ought to be aboue two yeres old first before they be remoued and replanted Moreouer a man may increase Chestnut-trees by propagation to wit by couching and trenching the branches therof as they grow to the mother and there is not another tree againe that sooner taketh that way than it doth for the root thereof being laid bare the whole branch must bee interred along in the trench made for the purpose leauing out the end only aboue ground Thus shall you haue one tree spring from it and another from the root Howbeit planted in this wise it loueth not to be transplanted it cannot lodge elsewhere but dreadeth and hateth all change of soile and therefore such plots of ground as do affoord coppises of Chest-nut trees are stored with plants comming of marrons or nut-kernels rather than quicke-sets or plants set with the root For the ordering and dressing of them there is no other labour required than the others before rehearsed namely for the two first yeares inseing to dig the ground loose about their roots and to proine or cut away the superfluous twigs for euer after they will shift well enough manure themselues by reason that their owne shade will kill those superfluous water-shoots that spring out either from the root or the sides of the tree A coppise of these trees is cut ordinarily within euery seuenth yere and one acre of them will yeeld props enough for to serue a vineyard of twenty acres for besides that one pole of them will abide to be clouen and make two props apeece they will last very well vntill the next fall of the wood or coppis be past Moreouer the Mast-tree called Esculus is planted and commeth vp in like sort howbeit passing vntoward and vnwilling they are to grow and therefore they stand ten yeres at least before they be cut and lopped Set Acorns of this tree Esculus whersoeuer you please they wil surely take and come vp but the trench must be a span deep and the Acornes two foot asunder And foure times a yeare are they to be lightly * raked and clensed from weeds A forke or prop made of this wood lasteth very well and rotteth not and in very truth the more that the tree it selfe is cut and mangled the better it springeth and putteth forth new shoots Ouer and besides these trees abouenamed there be others that vse to be cut and lopped for Vine props and staies to wit the Ash the Bay tree the Peach and Hazell tree yea and the Apple tree but these are all of them lateward and slow of growth neither will they indure so well without rotting if they stand any time in the ground and much lesse will they abide any weâ—… But on the othe side the Elder tree of all others is most firme for to make poles and stakes of It wil grow of sions and imps euen as the Poplar As for the Cypresse tree we haue of it spoken sufficiently already CHAP. XXI ¶ The manner and skill of husbanding and dressing Vineyards NOw that we haue treated sufficiently of the instruments furniture and tackling as it were belonging to Vineyards it remaineth to speake of the nature of vines and to deliuer with especiall regard the manuring and dressing them According therefore as wee may see in Vines and some other trees which haue within them a spungeous matter and light substance their twigs and branches do containe a kind of marrow or pith inclosed between certain knots or ioints wherewith their stalkes are diuided and parted As for the fistulous concauities they are but short all of them and toward the top shorter and shorter but euermore betweene two knots they inclose the ioints aforesaid Now this marow this vegetatiue and vitall substance I say call it whether you wil runneth forward stil on end al the length of the hollow kex or pipe so long as it findeth no resistance by the way but meeting once with a ioint or hard knot which maketh head vpon it not suffering the same to passe forward it beeing driuen backe returneth downward howbeit in that reuerberation breaketh out vnder those knots and putteth foorth certaine wings or pinnions like arme-pits whereas the buds or leaues doe come but alwaies in alternatiue course one of this side another of that after the maner of reeds canes and fennellgeant as hath bin shewed before in such wise that if one wing â—…ise forth at the bottome of the lower knot on the right hand another springeth
geld them as little as you can keep them with a good head rather if need require lay them along on the ground and two yeares after cut them hard to the root If it be a yong vine attend vntill it be of strength sufficient then will it be time and not afore to prune it If haply the vineyard be bare and naked of vines and that they grow but thin here and there make furrowes and trenches between and therein plant new quicksets but rid the weeds well from about those Trencheâ—… for ouershadowing them be euer also digging and delving Then if it be an old vineyard so drage and pulse for prouender if it be a lean and light ground sow nothing that bears grain or corn Be sure that ye lay about the heads of the said quickesets dung chaffe refuse of grapes pressed and such like mullock When the vine beginneth to put out leaues and look green fall to disburgeoning So long as the Vines be yong and tender tie them surely in many places for feare lest the wood or stalk therof do break asunder But when a vine hath gotten head to perch aloft vpon a single traile gently binde the tender burgeons and branches thereof extend and stretch them out and lay them streit Now when they stand once vpright and are able to beare themselues mark when the grapes begin to change colour bind them wel and sure below As for graffing of vines there are two seasons of the yeare meet therefore the one in the spring the other when the vine doth floure and this is held for the best If you purpose to translate an old stock of a vine into another place and there to replant it cut off the first thick arm only leauing behind two buds and no more In taking of it vp be carefull that you do it with such dexteritie as that you race not nor wound the root This done look how it grew before so set it now either in trench or furrow couch it wel and close and couer it throughly with good mould After the same manner as is beforesaid vnderset and prop it vp bind it turn and winde it but aboue all be euery while digging about it As touching the drage called Ocymum the which Cato wills to be sowed in a vineyard it is a kind of forage or prouender for horses which the Latines in old time named Pabulum it commeth vp very speedily and groweth fast and besides can well away with shadowie places CHAP. XXIII ¶ Of Trees ranged in rewes for to support Vines IT remaineth now in this discourse and treatise of Vines to write of the manner of trees planted of purpose for to serue their turn And here I canot chuse but cal to mind first how this point of husbandry hath bin iudged naught and altogether condemned by the two Sarsennae both father and sonne but contrariwise held for good and highly commended by Scrofa whereas all three were reputed the most antient writers and skilfullest in this kind next to Cato And yet Scrofa as great a patron as he is thereof alloweth not this deuice in any clymate else but only in Italy Howbeit gon this hath for currant many yeares past and time out of mind That the best and most dainty Wines came of those grapes onely which grew vpon such Hautâ—…ins or trees beforesaid Yea and it was thought generally that the higher a Vine climbed vpon these trees the better grapes it bare and yeelded more commendable wine and againe the lower that those trees were the greater plenty followed both of the one the other By which a man may see how materiall it is to raise Vines on high and haue grapes growing in the top of trees In which regard choise also is to bee made of trees for this purpose And here first and formost is presented vnto vs the Elme and yet I must except that kind of it which is called Atinia by reason that it is ouermuch charged with boughes and leaues and therewith too full of shade Next vnto it may be ranged the blacke Poplar euen for the same cause because it is noâ—… leaued nor branched so thick Many men there be that refuse not the Ash the Fig tree yea and the Oliue so that it stand not ouer thicke with boughs and make too much shade As for the setting planting and ordering of these trees in general we haue sufficiently and to the full treated heretofore But now for this speciall and peculiar vse that they be put vnto this would bee considered That Vines which are to be wedded to these trees must in no wise feele the edge of the cutting hooke before they be three yeares old full After which time this regard ought to be had that euery second branch or arme thereof is to be spared and likewise each other yeare and no oftener they are in this wise to bee pruned and by that they are six yeres old it is good time to joine them in marriage vnto their husbands aforesaid In Piemont Lombardie and those parts of Italy beyond the riuer Po they vse for this purpose to plant their grounds with these trees ouer and besides those aforenamed to wit the Cornell the Opiet or Wich-hazell the Teil or Linden the wild Ash Ornus the Carpin Carme or Horn-beame and the Oke About Venice and all that tract the Willowes serue the turne and none else by reason that the whole soken standeth so much vpon water As touching the Elme named in the first place it must be kept plaine and bare and the great water-boughs vnderneath shread vntill you come to the middest of the tree or thereabout and then the rest ought to bee arraunged and digested into good order whereupon the Vine may climb as it were vpon staires or ladder rounds and lightly none of these trees vpward be aboue twentie foot high Now in case it be a high ground vpon an hil and drie they are permitted to branch and shut out their armes within eight foot of the ground But in plaines and low moist grounds they begin not to fork before they bear twelue foot Howbeit let the place be what it wil the flat of the tree from whence the boughs begin to diuide ought to regard the south sun And the said branches immediatly from their project must rise somewhat vpright in maner of fingers standing forth from the palm of ones hand among which the smal sprigs must eâ—…tsoons be barbed as it were shauen clean off for feare they do not ouershadow the Vine branches As touching the space or distance between one tree another the ordinarie proportion is that afront and behind in case the ground be erable it beare fortie foot but aflanke or on the side twentie Marie if it be not well tilled and husbanded so much wil serue euery way to wit twentie foot and no more Commonly euery one of these trees maintaineth tenne Vines at the foot therof and a bad husband he is who hath
needs the great harrows and clotting Contrariwise a man may know where there is good worke namely if the turfe be so close couched that there be no seams to be seen where the plough-share went finally it is a profitable point of husbandry and much practised where the ground doth both beare and require it For to draw here and there broad gutters or furrows to drain away the water into ditches and trenches cast for the nones betweene the lands that otherwise would stand within and drowne the corne CHAP. XX. ¶ Of harrowing and breaking clods Of a certaine kind of ploughing vsed in old time Of the second tilth or fallow called Stirring and of cutting AFter the second fallow called Stirring done with crosse and ouerthwart furrow to the first then followeth clodding if need be either with rakes or great harrowes vpon which insueth sowing and when the seed is in the ground harrowing a second time with the smal harrow In some places where the manner of the country doth so require this is performed with a tined or toothed harrow or els with a broad planke fastened vnto the plough taile which doth hide and couer the seed newly sown and in this maner to rake or harrow is called in Latine Lirare from whence came first the word Delirare which is to leaue bare balks vncouered and by a Metaphore and borrowed speech to raue and speake idlely It should seem that Virgil prescribed that the ground should haue foure tilthes in all by these words when he said That the corne was best which had two Summers and two Winters But if the ground be strong and tough as in most parts of Italy there needs a fift tilth before sowing and in Tuscan verily they giue their ground otherwhiles no fewer than nine fallowes before it be brought into tillage As for Beans and Vetches they may be sowed vnder furrow without breaking vp the ground before for this is a ready way gaining time sauing charges sparing labour And here I cannot ouerpasse one inuention more as touching earing and ploughing the ground deuised in Piemont and those parts beyond the Po by occasion of some hard measure and wrong offered to the people and peisants of that country during the wars And thus stood the case The Salassians making rodes into the vale lying vnder the Alpes as they forraied and harried the country all ouer assaied also to ouerrun their fields of Panick and Millet being now come vp and wel growne meaning thereby to destroy it but seeing the nature of that graine to be such as to rise againe and to check this iniury they set ploughs into it and turned all vnder furrow imagining by that means to spoil it for euer But see what insued therupon those fields thus misused in their conceit bare a twofold crop in proportion to other yeres yeelded so plentifull an haruest as that thereby the peisants aforesaid learned the deuise of turning corn in the blade into the ground which I suppose in those days when it new came vp they called Aratrare And this point of husbandry they put in practise when the corne beginnes to gather and shew the stem or straw to wit so soone as it hath put forth two or three leaues and no more Neither will I conceale from you another new deuise practised and inuented first not aboue three yeres past in the territory of Treuiers neer to Ferrara For at what time as their corn fields by reason of an extreme cold winter seemed to be frost-bitten and spoiled they sowed the same again in the month of March raking and scraping the vpper coat of the ground onely without more ado and neuer in their liues had they the like increase when haruest came Now as touching all other tillage and husbandry meet for the ground I will write thereof respectiuely to the seuerall kinds of corne CHAP. XXI ¶ Of the tillage and ordering of the ground THe fine Wheat Siligo the red bearded Wheat Far and the common Wheat Triticum Spelt or Zea generally called Seed and Barly when they be new sown would be wel clotted and couered first harrowed afterwards weeded at the last to the very root al at such seasons as shall be shewed hereafter And to say a truth euery one of these is a sufficient worke for one man to do in a day throughout an acre As for the Sarcling or second harrowing it doth much good to corn for by loosening the ground about it which by the winter cold was hardened clunged and as it were hide bound it is somwhat inlarged and at libertie against the Spring tide and full gladly admitteth and receiueth the benefit of the fresh and new come Sun-shine daies let him take heed who thus sarcles or rakes the ground that he neither vndermine the roots of the corn nor yet race or disquiet loosen them The common wheat Barley the Seed Zea i. Spelt and Beans would do the better if they were thus sarcled and the earth laied loose about them twice the grubbing vp of weeds by the root at what time as the corne is iointed namely when the vnprofitable and hurtful hearbs are plucked forth and rid out of the way much helpeth the root of the corn discharging it from noisom weeds procuring it more nutriment and seuering it apart from the other green sourd of common grasse Of all Pulse the cich pease asketh the same dressing and ordering as the red wheat Far. As for beans they passe not at all for weeding and why they ouergrow all the weeds about and choke them The Lupines require nought els to be done to them but only weeding Millet and Panick must be clotted and once harrowed vntill they be couered they call not for a second raking scraping about them for to loosen the earth and to lay fresh mould vnto them much lesse to be weeded As for Silicia or Siliqua i. Fenigreeke and Fasels i. Kidney-beans they care onely for clodding there an end Moreouer there be certain grounds so fertile that the corn comming vp so thick ranke in the blade ought then to be kembed as it were raked with a kind of harrow set with teeth or spikes of yron and yet for all this they must be grased or eaten down besides neuerthelesse with sheep Now we must remember that after such cattel hath gon ouer it with their teeth the same corne thus eaten downe must of necessity be sarcled and the earth lightly raked and raised vp fresh againe Howbeit in Bactriana Africke and Cyrene there needs no such hand at all for the climate is so good so kinde and beneficiall that none of all this paines is required for after the seed is once sowne they neuer visit it but once for all at nine months end at what time they returne to cut it down and lay it vpon their thrashing floores the reason is because the drought keepeth downe all weeds and the dewes that fall by night
especially I say if it thunder much Secondly they wil not last aboue one yere Item The tenderest daintiest be those that breed in the Sprinâ—… and that indeed is the best time for them Item In some countries the ouerflow of riuers engender Mushromes and namely at Mitylene where by report they will not otherwise grow but vpon floten grounds and namely in such places whither the water hath brought from Tiara a certain vegetatiue seed to breed them And verily That Tiara is wonderfully stored replenished with such As touching the Truffles or Mushroms of Asia the most excellent of all others be neer vnto Lampsacum and Alopeconnesus but the best that Greece yeeldeth are in the territorie about the citie Elis. In this Toad-stoole or Mushrome kind are those flat Fusses and Puffes to be reckoned which the Greekes name Pezitae as they haue no root at all so they be altogether without either stele or taile In the next place to these I must needs speake of the most noble and famous plant Laserpitium which the Greeks name Silphium discouered and found first in the abouesaid prouince of Barbarie Cyrenaica The juice or liquor drawne out of this hearb they cal Laser a drug so magnified of such singularitie and vse in Physicke especially that it was sold by weight and a dram thereof cost commonly Romane denier For these many yeares of late there is none of this plant to be found in that country of Cyrenaica beforesaid for that the Publicans and Farmers of the pastures and grounds there vnder the people of Rome doe put in their cattell among these plants and eat al downe by that means finding thereby a greater gaine or commodity than by letting them stand for the juice or liquor aforesaid One only stalk or stem thereof hath bin found in our days which was sent vnto Emperor Nero as a present for a great nouelty If it chance at any time that either sheepe or goat which commonly bite neer to the ground do light vpon a yong plant thereof newly peeping forth and not euident to be seene you shall know it by these signes The sheepe presently so soone as she hath tasted it will drop asleep and the goat fal a neesing For these many yeres the merchants haue brought vs into Italy no other Laser than that which grows abundantly in Persis or Media and in Armenia but it is far inferior to this of Cyrenaica and commeth short of it for goodnes And this that we haue is no better than it should be for they sophisticate and corrupt it with gum with Sagapeum or else with bruised Beans In regard of which scarsity I canot chuse but remember that which befell at Rome in that yere wherin C. Valerius and M. Herennius were consuls when by great good fortune there was brought from Cyrenae thirtie pound weight of the best Laser and set abroad to be seene in open place of all commers As also I may not let passe another occurrent namely how Caesar Dictatour at the beginning of the ciuile war tooke forth openly out of the chamber of the citie with other treasure both of gold and siluer an hundred and eleuen pounds of the best Laser Moreouer this one thing more I canot forget the best and most renowned Greeke Authors haue left in writing That 7 years before the foundation of the citie Cyrenae which was built 143 yeres after our citie of Rome this plant Laserpitium that beareth the said Laser was engendered at one instant by occasion of a certain thicke grosse and black shewer of raine in manner of pitch which sodainely fell and drenched the ground about the hortyards or gardens of the Hesperides the greater Syrtis The which rain was effectual and left the strength thereof for the compasse of foure thousand stadia within Affricke or Barbarie They affirme moreouer That the herb Laserpitium there growing is of so sauage and churlish a nature that it canot abide any culture or good ordering by mans hand but if one should goe about to tend and cherish it it would rather chuse to be gon into the desart and vnpeopled parts of the countrey or else winder away and die Moreouer they set downe this description of it That it hath many roots and those bigge and thicke a stemme or stalke resembling the hearb Sagapeum or Fennell-geant howbeit not altogether so great the leaues of this plant which they termed by the name of Maspetum come very near in all respects to those of Smallach or Persely As touching the seed that it beareth flat and thin it is in maner of leaues but the leafe it selfe therof sheddeth in the Spring time The cattell that vse to feed thereupon and whereof they be very greedy first fall a scouring but afterwards when they be clensed and rid of il humors begin to wax fat and their flesh by this means becommeth wonderfull sweet and pleasant They report moreouer that after the leaues be fallen men also were wont in old time to eat the stem or stalk thereof either rosted and baked vnder the cindres or else boiled and sodden in water and their bodies likewise for the first 40 daies ensuing did nothing but purge til they were cleared of al diseases breeding by occasion of any Cacochymie or collection of ill humours within them Now concerning the juice or soueraigne liquor before said the manner was to draw it after two sorts to wit by scarification either out of the root or forth of the stem and maister stalke And hereof it came to haue two names Rhizias and Caulias But the later of these two to wit that which came of the stem was counted the worst fubiect to putrifaction and sold cheaper than the other To come now to the root of Laserpitium it hath a blacke rind or barke vpon it wherewith the merchants vse to sophisticat many of their drugs As for the manner of dressing and ordering the juice thereof it was no sooner drawne but they put it into certaine vessels together with brans among then euer and anone they plied it with stirring and shogging vntil it had lost the cruditie and verdure thereof and by that working came to the maturity and perfection for if it were not thus well followed soon would it catch a vinew begin to putrifie and so continue but a while In this worke of theirs they had an eye vnto the color how it changed for when they perceiued it to be high that they saw it once drie and haue don sweating breathing out the raw humidity and vapor within then they knew therby that it was wrought sufficiently and come to the full ripenesse Others there be who say that the root of Laserpitium beareth more than a cubit in bignesse and that out of it there swelleth an excresence aboue the ground out of which there was wont by way of incision to issue forth a certaine white juice in manner of milke vpon which grew the stalke or
stem which they called Magydaris And they affirme besides that it beareth leafy flat graines for the seed in color like gold which shed presently vpon the rising of the Dog-star especially if the wind be south Of which grains or seeds fallen to the ground young plants of Laserpitium vse to grow vp vnderneath that within the compasse of one yere wil thriue both in root and stem to the just and full perfection they haue writen moreouer that the vse was to dig about their roots and to lay them bare at certain times of the yeare Also that they serued not to purge cattell as is aforesaid but to cure them if they were diseased for vpon the eating thereof either they mended presently or else ended and died out of hand but few they were that miscaried in this sort As touching the former opinion of purging and scouring true it is that it agreeth well to the other Silphium or Laserpitium of Persia aforesaid Another kind there is of it named Magydaris more tender and lesse forcible and strong in operation than the former and affourdeth no such juice or liquor at all it grows about Syria and commeth not vp in all the region about Cyrenae Moreouer vpon the mount Pernassus there is great plentie found of a certaine hearbe which the inhabitants would needs haue to be Laserpitium and so they cal it wherewith indeed they are wont to abuse and sophisticat that singular and diuine plant the true Laserpitium so highly commended and of so great account and regard The principall and best triall of the true and sincere Laser is taken from the colour somewhat enclining to rednesse without breake it you shall haue it appeare white within and anone transparent If you drop water vpon it or otherwise thin spittle it will resolue and melt Much vse there is of it in many medicines for to cure mens maladies Two plants more therebe well knowne to the common sort and base multitude and to say a truth few els are acquainted with them notwithstanding they be commodities of much gaine and many a peny is gotten thereby The first is Madder in great request among diers and curriers and for to set a color vpon their wooll and leather right necessarie The best of all and most commended is our Madder of Italie principally that which groweth about villages neere vnto our citie of Rome And yet there is no country or prouince lightly but is full of it It commeth vp of the owne accord and is sowed besides of seed and set of slips in manner of Eruile Howbeit a prickie stalke it hath of the owne the same is also full of joints and knots and commonly about euery one of them it hath fiue leaues growing round in a circle The seed is red What medicinable vertues it hath and to what purpose it serueth in Physicke I will declare in place conuenient The second is that which is called in Latin Radicula i Sope-wort an hearb the juice wherof Fullers vse so much to scoure their wooll withall and wonderfull it is to see how white how pure how neat and soft it will make it Beeing set it will come vp and grow in any place but of it selfe without mans hand it groweth most in Asia and Syria among rough craggie and stony grounds The best is that which is found beyond the riuer Euphrates and that bears a stem like tall Fennell howbeit small and slender and whereof the inhabitants of the countrey there doe make a delicate dish for besides that it hath a commendable tast and much desired it giueth a pleasant colour to what meat soeuer is sodden in the pot with it It beareth a leafe like the Oliue the Greeks cal it Strution it floureth in Summer louely it is to the eie but no smel at all it hath to content the nose prickie moreouer it is like a thorne and the stalke notwithstanding couered with a soft down seed hath it none but a big root which they vse to cut shred mince small for the purposes aforesaid CHAP. IV. ¶ The manner of trimming and ordering Gardens the sorting of all those things that grow out of the Earth into their due places besides corne and plants bearing fruit IT remaineth now to treat of Gardens and the carefull diligence thereto belonging a commendable thing in it selfe and recommended vnto vs besides by our fore-fathers and auncient writers who had nothing to speake of in more account and admiration in old time than the gardens of the Hesperides of Adonis and Alcioniis as also those pendant gardens vpon tarraces and leads of houses whether they were those that Semyramis Queene of Babylon or Cyrus K. of Assyria deuised and caused to be made Of which and of their workmanship my intent is to make a discourse in some other booke Now for this present to goe no farther than Rome the Romane KK verily themselues made great store of gardens and set their minds vpon them for so we read that Tarquin surnamed the Proud the last king of Rome was in his garden when he gaue dispatch vnto that messenger that was sent from his sonne about a cruell and bloudie errand for to know his fathers aduise and pleasure as touching the citizens of Gabij In all the twelue tables throughout which contain our ancient lawes of Rome there is no mention made so much as once of a Grange or Ferm-house but euermore a garden is taken in that signification and vnder the name of Hortus i. a Garden is comprised Haeredium that is to say an Heritage or Domain and herupon grew by consequence a certain religious or rediculous superstition rather of some whom we ceremoniously to sacre and blesse their garden and hortyard dores only for to preserue them against the witchcraft and sorcerie of spightful and enuious persons And therefore they vse to set vp in gardens ridiculous and foolish images of Satyres Antiques and such like as good keepers and remedies against enuy and witchcraft howsoeuer Plautus assigneth the custodie of gardens to the protection of the goddesse Venus And euen in these our daies vnder the name of Gardens and Hortyards there goe many daintie places of pleasure within the very citie vnder the color also and title of them men are possessed of faire closes and pleasant fields yea and of proper houses with a good circuit of ground lying to them like pretie farmes and graunges in the countrey all which they tearme by the name of Gardens The inuention to haue gardens within a citie came vp first by Epicurus the doctor and master of all voluptuous idlenesse who deuised such gardens of pleasance in Athens for before his time the manner was not in any citie to dwell as it were in the countrey and so to make citie and countrey al one but all their gardens were in the villages without Certes at Rome a good garden and no more was thought a poore mans cheiuance it went I say for land and liuing The
it into a warm sun-shine bank and there replant it then cut it off leauing not aboue 2 fingers breadth from the root aboue the ground but this must be don about the Spring Aequinox in mid-March then take a Cucumber seed set it within the soft pith of the said bramble bank it will round about with fine fresh mould dung blended together This is the way he assureth vs to make that the roots therof bearing such cucumbers or Melons will abide the greatest cold in Winter and neuer shrink at it of cucumbers the Greeks haue set down 3 kinds to wit the Laconick the Scvtalick the Boeotick Of which as they say the first sort only they be that loue waters so wel some there be who prescribe to take the seed of Cucumber or Melon to temper it in the juice of a certain hearb stamped which they cal Culix then to sow it persuading vs that we shal haue fruit therof without anyseed Of the like nature I meane for their manner of growing be the Gourds Winter and al cold weather they canot endure they loue also places wel watered dunged As wel Gourds as the cucumbers or Melons aboue said are commonly sowed between the Aequinox in March the Sunstead in Iune prouided alwaies that their seedly in a trench within the ground a foot a halfe deepe But in very deed the best and meetest time to sow them is about the feast Parilia howsoeuer there be some would haue the seed of gourds to be put into the ground presently after the Calends or first day of March but of cucumbers about the Nones i. the 7 day thereof or at farthest by the feast or holy-daies of Minerva named Quinquatrus They loue both alike to creep and crawle with their winding top branches or tendrels and gladly they would be clambering vpon walls and climbing vp to the house roofe if they can meet with any rough places to take hold by for naturally they are giuen to mount on high Howbeit their strength is not answerable â—…o their will and desire for stand they canot alone without the help of some props forks or railes to stay them vpright Exceeding forward and swift they be in growth They run on end when they are set on it and if they may be born vp sustained in maner aforesaid they will gently ouershade galleries walking places arbors frames allies vnder them in a garden and that right quickly In regard of which nature and behauior of theirs two principall kindes there be of them the one Camerarium as one would say the frame or trail Gourd and cucumber which climbeth aloft the other Plebeium i. the vulgar and common which creepeth along the ground beneath In the former kind it is worth the noting to see how the fruit heauy as it is hangeth stiffe poised as it were in the wind and will not stir notwithstanding the stele wherto it groweth be wondrous fine and smal Moreouer Gourds also may be fashioned in the head euery way as a man will like as the Cucumbers or Melons before named and specially within wicker cases made of pliable oisiers into which they are put for to grow to take their form so soon as they haue cast their blossom The nature of them I say is to receiue what figure a man will force and put them to but commonly shaped they are in their growth like to a Serpent winding and turnign euery way There haue bin known of them such I meane as were of the traile kind being led vpon a frame from the ground and permitted to run at libertie which grew to an incredible length for one of them hath bin seen 9 foot long As for cucumbers they bloom not all at once but by piece-meale floure after floure now one and then another yea and floure vpon floure one vpon the head of another Howsoeuer the Cucumber loueth waterish grounds yet can he abide drier places also Couered al ouer this plant and fruit is with a white down euen at the first but especially all the while he is in his growth Gourds are imploied sundry waies and to many more vses than Cucumbers For first their yong and tender stalks be very good meat and being dressed are serued vp as a dish to the table but the rind is of a cleane contrary nature Gourds of late time came to be vsed in stouves and baines for pots and pitchers but long before that they stood in stead of rundlets or small barrels to keep wine in The green of this kind hath a tender rind which must be scraped notwithstanding before a dish of meat can be made thereof And certes albeit Gourds be of digestion hard and such as will not throughly be concocted in a mans stomacke yet they are taken 〈◊〉 be a light mild and wholsom meat as they be handled and dressed diuers waies for that they 〈◊〉 not a mans belly to swel as some meats doe Of those seeds which be found within the gourd next â—…o the neck therof if they be set come the long gourds commonly such lightly you shall haue ingendred of those also that are in the bottom howbeit nothing comparable to the other Those that lie in the midst bring forth round ones but from the seeds that are taken out of the sides ordinarily there grow the shorter sort of Gourds such as be thicke and broad These grains or seeds would be handled in this manner First they are dried in the shadow and afterwards when a man list to sow them they ought to be steeped in water The longer slenderer that a Gourd is the better meat it yeelds and more pleasant to be eaten and therefore it is that they be thought more wholesome which grew hanging vpon trailes such indeed haue least store of seed within them Howbeit wax they once hard away with them out of the kitchen for then they haue lost all their grace and goodnes which commended them to the cooks dresser Such as are to be kept for seed the manner is not to cut vp before winter and then are they to hang or stand a drying in the smoake as proper stuffe and implements to be seen in a country house to keep as good chaffer seeds for the gardner against the time Moreouer there is a means deuised how to preserue them and cucumbers too for meat sound and good almost til new come that is by laying both the one and the other in a kind of brine or pickle Some say also that they may be kept fresh and greene interred in a caue or ditch vnder the ground in some darke and shady place with a good course or bed of sand laid vnder them and well couered afterward with dry hay and earth vpon the same in the end Ouer besides as in all plants and herbs in maner of the garden there be both wild and tame so is there of Gourds and Cucumbers both a certain sauage kinde
odoriferous and senting well but the root Of which root as Aristophanes an auncient Comicall Poet testifieth in one of his Comoedies they were woont in old time to make sweet perfumes and odoriferous compositions for their ointments whereupon some there be who call the root Barbarica but falsly for deceiued they are The sauour that this root doth cast draweth very neere to the sent of Cinamon It loueth a leane and light soile and in no wise commeth vp in a moist ground As touching the hearb named Combretum it resembleth the same very much howbeit the leaues be passing small and as slender as threds but the plant it selfe is taller than Bacchar well rest we must not in the description of these hearbes and floures only but also we are to reforme and correct their error who haue giuen to Bacchar the name of Nard-rustick For there is anotheir hearbe properly so called to wit that which the Greeks name Asaron i. Asara-bacca or Fole-foot a plant far different from Bacchar as may appear by the description therof which I haue set down among the sundrie kinds of Nardus And verily I do find that this plant is named Asarum because it is neuer vsed in making of guirlands and chaplets Concerning Saffron the wild is the best To plant it within any garden in Italic is held no good husbandry for it will not quit cost considering there is neuer a quarter set therewith but it asketh a scruple more in expence than the fruit or increase commeth to when all the cards be told For to haue Saffron grow you must set the cloues or bulbous heads of the root and being thus planted it prooueth larger bigger and fairer than the other howbeit sooner far it doth degenerate and become a bastard kind neither is it fruitfull and beareth chiues in euerie place no not about Cyrene where the goodliest floures of Saffron in the world are to be seen at all times The principal Saffron groweth in Cilicia and especially vpon the mountain Corycus there next to it is that of Lycia and namely vpon the hill Olympus and then in a third degree of goodnesse is reckoned the Saffron Centuripinum in Sicily although some there bee who attribute the second place vnto the saffron of the mount Phlegra Nothing is so subject to sophistication as Saffron and therfore the only triall of true Saffron indeed is this If a man lay his hands vpon it he shall heare it to cracke as if it were brittle and readie to burst for that which is moist a qualitie comming by some indirect means and cunning cast yeeldeth to the hand and makes no words Yet is there another proofe of good Saffron If a man after hee haue handled it reach his hand vp presently to his mouth perceiue that the aire and breath therof smiteth to his face and eyes and therewith fretteth and stingeth them a little for then he may be sure that the saffron is right there is a kind of garden saffron by it self and this commonly is thought best and pleaseth most when there appeareth some white in the mids of the floure and thereupon they name it Dialeucon whereas contrariwise this is thought to be a fault and imperfection in the Corysian Saffron which is chiefe and indeed the floure of it is blacker than any other soonest fadeth But the best simply in any place whersoeuer is that which is thickest and seemes to like best hauing besides short chiues like hairs the worst is that which smelleth of mustines Mutianus writeth that in Lycia the practise is to take it vp euery 7 or 8 yere and remoue it to a plot of ground wel digged and delued to a fine mould where if it be replanted it will become fresh again and youg whereas it was ready before to decay and degenerate No vse thereis in any place of Saffron floures in garlands for the leaues are small and narrow in manner almost of threads Howbeit with wine it accordeth passing well especially if it be of any sweet kind and being reduced into powder and tempered therewith it is commonly sprinkled ouer all the theatres and filleth the place with a persume It bloometh at the setting or occultation of the star Vergiliae and continueth in floure but few daies and the leaf driueth out the floure In the mids of winter it is in the verdure and al green and then would it be taken vp and gathered which done it ought to be dried in the shadow and the colder that the shade is so much the better For the root of Saffron is pulpous and full of carnositie and no root liueth so long aboue ground as it doth Saffron loueth a-life to be trampled and trod vpon vnder foot and in truth the more injurie is done vnto it for to mar it the better it thriueth and therefore neare to beaten paths and wells much frequented it commeth forward and prospereth most CHAP. VII ¶ Of the floures vsed in old time about coronets and guirlands the great diuersitie in aromaticall and sweet smelling simples Of Saliunca and Polium SAffron was no doubt in great credit and estimation during the flowring estate of Troy for certes the Poet Homer highly commendeth these three floures to wit Melilot Saffron and Hyacinth Of all odoriferous and sweet senting simples nay of all hearbes and floures whatsoeuer the difference consisteth in the colour the smel and the juice And note this to begin withall that seldome or neuer you shal meet with any thing sweet in sent but it is bitter in tast and contrariwise sweet things in the mouth be few or none odoriferous to the nose And this is the reason that wine refined smelleth better than new in the lees and simples growing wild haue a better sauor far than those of the garden Some floures the further they be off the more pleasant is their smell come nearer vnto them their sent is more dull and weaker than it was as namely Violets A fresh and new gathered rose casteth a better smel afar off than neere at hand let it be somwhat withered and dry you shal sent it better at the nose than farther off Generally all floures be more odoriferous and pleasant in the Spring than at any other season of the yeare and in the morning they haue a quicker and more piercing sent than at any houre of the day besides the neerer to noon the weaker is the smell of any herb or floure Moreouer the floures of new plants are nothing so sweet as those of an old stock and yet I must needs say that floures smell strongest in the mids of Summer As for Roses and Saffron floures they cast the pleasanter smell if they be gathered in cleare weather when it is faire and dry aboue head and in one word such as grow in hot countries be euer sweeter to smell vnto than in cold Climats Howbeit in Aegypt the floures haue no good sent at all by reason that the aire is
it certain huls or chaffe if I may so say of brasse Now the ground or floore to receiue this refuse as it falleth ought to be well paued There is another stuffe found in the said forges or bloom-smithies easily discerned from this Psegma which the Greeks for that it is as it were twise burnt or concocted call Diphryges And this is made three maner of waies For first they say it comes of the Marquesit stone burnt in a furnace vntill it be calcined and reduced in the red chalke Rubrica It is engendred also of the earth or cley within a certain caue in Cyprus first dried and soon after gently burnt in a fire round about it maintained with small sticks put therto by little little There is a third way of making it to wit of the grosse dregs or drosse of brasse settling downe to the battome of the furnace in which furnace a man shall perceiue these different matters to wit the brasse it selfe which being melted runneth into pans and vessels ready for to receiue it the refuse called Scoria which flies out of the furnace the florey that floteth aloft the Diphryges or drosse which remaineth behind Some yeeld another reason and making of Diphryges in this manner namely That there be certain round bals or pellets as it were of hard stones found within the mines of brasse which together with the Marquesit or brasse ore doth not melt in the furnace a man shall see the brasse it selfe boile about the same which round hard stones are vnited and soudered only one to another by this means but themselues resolue not nor melt perfitly vnlesse they be translated into other furnaces for they be the very heart as it were of the whole matter But in the second triall and boiling that which remaineth behind is called Diphryges Well be it what it will the same reason there is of it in Physicke as of the rest of this kind found in furnaces for by nature it is desiccatiue it consumeth besides all excrescences doth clense mightily The triall of it is by the tongue for if it bee good Diphryges no sooner toucheth it the tongue but it drieth it and withall tasteth of brasse But before I depart from these brasse mines and furnaces I cannot conceale from you one miraculous thing as touching this mettall There is you know a noble family in Rome of the Servilij well renowned as may appeare by the Roman Kalender and acts of record and these haue among them a certaine piece of brasse coine ealled a Triens i. The third part of a Roman Asse which they do keep and feed with siluer and gold For eat and consume it doth both the one and the other from whence it came first and what the reason in nature of this property is I know not yet But for my warrant I will set downe as touching this matter the very words of old Messala The house quoth he of the Seruilij hath a certain sacred Trient in the honor of which piece they do sacrifice yerely with great deuotion and solemnity omitting no magnificence nor ceremonies thereto belonging And this Trient the common speech is of them all that it seemeth one while to grow bigger and another while to diminish and be smaller according to which increase or decrease the said Servilij take presage That their family shall either rise to more honour or decay in credit and reputation CHAP. XIV ¶ Of Yron and Yron mines and the different kindes of Yron IT remaineth now in the next place to discourse of the mines of yron a mettal which we may well say is both the best and the worst implement vsed now in the world for with the helpe of yron we break vp and ear the ground we plant and plot our groues we set our hortyards and range our fruitful trees in rewes we prune our vines and by cutting off the superfluous branches and dead wood we make them euery yere to look fresh and yong againe by meanes of yron and steele we build houses hew quarries and cut in stone yea and in one word wee vse it to all other necessary vses of this life Contrariwise the same yron serueth for wars murders and robberies not onely to offend and strike therewith in hand but also to reach and kill afarre off with diuers sorts of darts and shot one while discharged and sent out of engines another while lanced and flung by force of the arme yea and sometime let flie with wings and this I take to be the wickedest inuention that euer was deuised by the head of man for to the end that death may speed away the faster to a man and surprise him more suddenly we make it to flie as a bird in the aire and to the arrow headed at one end with deadly yron we set feathers at the other whereby it is euident that the mischiefe proceeding from yron is not to be imputed to the nature of it but to the vnhappy wit of man For good proofe wee had already by many experiments otherwise that yron might be imploied and occupied without any hurt or harme at all to mankinde And verily in those capitulations of peace which after the expulsion of the kings Porsena king of the Tuscans tendred to the people of Rome I find this expresse article imposition that they should not vse yron but only about tillage of the ground And as our Chronicles of greatest antiquity haue left recorded it was not thought safe to permit writing and ingrauing letters with a style of yron Certes in the third Consulship of Pompey the great by occasion of a tumult and commotion raised within the city of Rome for the murder committed vpon the person of P. Clodius there was an edict come forth which now is extant vpon record after the manner of an inhibition in this form Ne vllum telum in vrbe esset i. That no man throughout all Rome should be seene to weare a weapon Neuerthelesse men did not forbeare and giue ouer to doe some honour vnto yron also in some other occasions of this life tending to the entertaining of civility and humanity for Aristonidas the cunning artificer minding to represent in an image the furious rage of Athamas beginning now to coole and be allaied together with his repentance for the cruell murdering of his owne sonne Learchus whom he flung headlong against the hard stones and thereby dasht out his braines made a temperature of brasse and yron together to the end that the rustie yron appearing through the bright lustre of the Brasse might liuely expresse a blushing red in the countenance beseeming a man confused and dismayed for so vnnaturall a fact This Statue is at this day to bee seene at Thebes Within the same Citie there is another image of Hercules all of hard yron or steele which Alcon the famous workman made of purpose to signifie the vndaunted heart of that deified Hercules who vnderwent and
line the second to the Meridian line or the South the third to the Sun-setting in the Equinoctiall and the fourth taketh vp all the rest from the said West to the North star These quarters againe they haue parted into foure regions a piece of which eight from the Sun-rising they called the Left as many again from the contrary part the Right Which considered most dreadfull and terrible are those lightnings which from the Sun-setting reach into the North and therefore it skilleth very much from whence lightnings come and whither they go the best thing obserued in them is when they return into the Easterly parts And therefore when they come from that first and principall part of the skie and haue recourse again into the same it is holden for passing good hap such was the signe and token of victories giuen by report to Sylla the Dictatour In all other parts of the element they be lesse fortunate or fearful They that haue written of these matters haue deliuered in writing that there be lightnings which to vtter abroad is held vnlawful as also to giue eare vnto them if they be disclosed vnlesse they be declared either to parents or to a friend and guest How great the vanity is of this obseruation was at Rome vpon the blasting of Iunoes temple found by Scaurus the Consull who soone after was President of the Senate It lightneth without thunder more in the night than day time Of all creatures that haue life and breath man only it doth not alwaies kill the rest it dispatcheth presently This priuiledge honour we see Nature hath giuen to him whereas otherwise so many great beasts surpasse him in strength All other creatures smitten with lightning fall downe vpon the contrary side man onely vnlesse he turne vpon the parts stricken dyeth not Those that are smitten from aboue vpon the head lie downe and sinke directly He that is stricken watching is found dead with his eies winking and close shut but whosoeuer is smitten sleeping is found open eied A man thus comming by his death may not by law be burned Religion hath taught that he ought to be enterred and buried in the earth No liuing creature is set a fire by lightning but it is breathlesse first The wounds of them that be smitten with thunderbolts are colder than all the body besides CHAP. LV. ¶ What things are not smitten with Lightning OF all those things which grow out of the earth Lightning blasteth not the Laurell tree nor entreth at any time aboue fiue foot deep into the ground and therefore men fearfull of lightning suppose the deeper caues to be the surest and most safe or els booths made of skins of sea-beasts which they call Seales or Sea-calues for of all creatures in the sea this alone is not subiect to the stroke of lightning like as of all flying foules the Eagle which for this cause is imagined to be the armour-bearer of Iupiter for this kinde of weapon In Italie betweene Tarracina and the temple of Feronia they gaue ouer in time of warre to make towers and forts for not one of them escaped but was ouerthrowne with lightning CHAP. LVI ¶ Of strange and prodigious raine to wit of Milke Bloud Flesh Iron Wooll Tyles and Brickes BEsides these things aboue in this lower region vnder heauen we finde recorded in monuments that it rained milke and bloud when M. Acilius and C. Porcius were Consuls And many times else besides it rained flesh as namely whiles L. Volumnius and Serv. Sulpitius were Consuls and look what of it the foules of the aire caught not vp nor carried away it neuer putrified In like manner it rained yron in the Lucanes countrey the yere before that M. Crassus was slaine by the Parthians and together with him all the Lucanes his souldiers of whom there were many in his army That which came downe in this raine resembled in some sort Sponges and the Wisards and South sayers being sought vnto gaue warning to take heed of wounds from aboue But in the yere that L. Paulus and C. Marcellus were Consuls it rained wooll about the Castle Carissa neare to which a yeare after T. Annius Milo was slaine At the time that the same Milo pleaded his owne cause at the bar there fell a raine of tyles and bricks as it is to be seen in the Records of that yeare CHAP. LVII ¶ Of the rustling of Armour and sound of Trumpets heard from Heauen IN the time of the Cimbrian warres we haue bin told that Armour was heard to rustle and the trumpet to sound out of heauen And this happened very often both before and after those wars But in the third Consulship of Marius the Amerines and Tudertes saw men in armes in the skie rushing and running one against another from the East and West and might behold those of the West discomfited That the very firmament it selfe should be of a light fire it is no maruel at all for oftentimes it hath been seene when clouds haue caught any greater deale of fire CHAP. LVIII ¶ Of Stones falling downe from the Skie AMong the Greeks there is much talke of Anaxagoras Clazomenius who by his learning and skill that he had in Astronomie foretold in the second yeare of the 78 Olympias what time a stone should fall from out of the Sun and the same happened accordingly in the day time in a part of Thracia neere the riuer Aegos which stone is shewed at this day as big as a waine load carrying a burnt and adust colour at what time as a comet or blazing starre also burned in those nights Which if any man beleeue that it was fore-signified must needs also confesse that this diuinitie or fore-telling of Anaxagoras was more miraculous and wonderfull than the thing it selfe and then farewell the knowledge of Natures workes and welcome confusion of al in case we should beleeue that either the Sun were a stone or that euer any stone were in it But that stones fall oftentimes downe no man will make any doubt In the publicke place of Exercise in Abydos there is one at this day vpon the same cause preserued and kept for to be seene and held in great reuerence it is but of a meane and small quantity yet it is that which the selfe-same Anaxagoras by report fore-signified that it should fal in the mids of the earth There is one also at Cassandria which was in old time vsually called Potidaea a colony from thence deducted I my selfe haue seene another in the territorie of the Vocantians which was brought thither but a little before CHAP. LIX ¶ Of the Rainebow THose which we call Rain-bowes are seene often without any wonder at all or betokening any great matter for they portend not so much as rainy or faire daies to trust vpon But manifest it is that the Sun beames striking vpon an hollow cloud when their edge is repelled are beaten backe against the Sun and thus ariseth varietie
neer to their hiues the very aire smel therof will kill them Ouer and besides Bees naturally are many times sick and that do they shew most euidently a man shall see it in them by their heauie looks by their faintnesse in their busines ye shall mark how some will bring forth others that be sicke and diseased into the warme sun and be readie to minister vnto them giue them meat Nay ye shall haue them to carie forth their dead and to accompanie the corps full decently as in a solemne funerall If it chance that the king be dead of some pestilent malady the commons subiects mourn they take thought and grieue with heauy cheere and sad countenance idle they be and take no ioy to doe any thing they gather in no prouision they march not forth onely with a certaine dolefull humming they gather round about his corps and will not away Then requisite it is and necessarie to seuer part the multitude and so to take away the body from them otherwise they would keep a looking at the breathlesse carcasse and neuer go from it but stil moan and mourn without end And euen then also they had need be cherished and comforted with good victuals otherwise they would pine away die with hunger To conclude a man may soon know when Bees be well in health by their cheerfulnesse and fresh hue that they carry CHAP. XIX Diseases of Beees THere be diseases also and imperfections in their worke and namely when they fill not their combs or bring not to perfection their yong Bees The first is called Cleros like as the other Blapsigonia Moreouer the sound made by reuerberation of the aire which men call Eccho is hurtfull vnto them for they feare mightily that resounding noise comming with a double stroke Mists fogs also trouble them much as for spiders they be their greatest enemies of all others in case they can preuaile so much as to enter into the hiue weaue a copweb within it for they kil all the Bees and there is no remedie against it Againe that Moth or Butterfly which vseth to fly about the snuffe of a candle burning a poore silly flie otherwise and of base account here doth much hurt and that in diuers sorts for not only it self eateth and gnaweth the wax of their combes but also doth blow and leaue behind them such excrements as afterwards proue other moths Also wheresoeuer he goes and flies within the hiue he leaues behind him a certaine substance comming most from the dusty downe of his wings with which he thickneth the threds as it were of copwebs There breed likewise euen in very wood certain worms which aboue all things make means to eat the combs What should I speake of their owne greedy feeding and glutting themselues with too much liquour of the floures in the Spring time especially whereupon ensueth a dangerous flux and loosnesse of their belly As for oile it is not bane to Bees only but also to all other Insects especially if a man dip their heads in it and then let them be in the Sun for presently they wil die of it Many times Bees are causers of their own death with getting a surfet by excessiue deuouring of hony namely when they see it ready to be taken out of the hiue for otherwise they are very thrifty ouer-great sparers and such as at other times will driue out those that wast prodigally and be gluttinous no lesse than such as be idle lusks and slow at work Nay euen their own hony doth them hurt for if they be anointed therewith in their hinderparts they will die vpon it Lo how many enemies this creature so liberall and bountifull hath see how many casualties it is subiect vnto and yet what be these I haue already rehearsed in proportion and comparison of those which are omitted Their remedies will we speak of in conuenient time and place for this present content I will my selfe to treat only of their natures CHAP. XX. ¶ How to keepe Bees to the hiue and the manner of repairing them BEes ioy in the clapping of hands and ringing of brasen basons at the sound thereof they will assemble and come together wherby it is plain that they haue the sence of hearing When they haue done their taske of worke when they haue brought forth their young ones and fully accomplished all their deuoir then they perform a solemnitie of exercise wherin after they haue flown abroad in the open aire at libertie fetched their compasse about on high gathered into rings and rounds in manner of tournament for their pleasure then at last when it is time of repast they return home again The longest time that they can liue say that they passe through all dangers and no misfortune light vpon them but euery thing that is aduerse fall out well and happily is not aboue seuen yeares And neuer was it knowne or heard of that an hiue continued aboue ten yeares Some Writers be of opinion That dead Bees if they be kept within a house all a Winter and when the Spring is come be laid forth in the hot Sun to fry and one whole day be kept couered all ouer with fig tree ashes they will reuiue and be quick again But suppose they be not only dead but their bodies also lost and gon some say they may be repaired and a new swarm ingendred by laying the fresh panches of oxen or kine newly killed with the dung garbage and all within a dunghill there to putrifie Virgil affirms that the carcasses of any yong steers will do the same like as dead horses will bred waspes and hornets and Asses carrion turne to be Beetle flies by a certain metamorphosis which Nature maketh from one creature to another And yet there be none of all these but are seen to engender howbeit the manner of their breed is much after the nature of Bees CHAP. XXI ¶ Of Wasps and Hornets WAsps vse to build them nests on high of earth and clay and therein make their roomes and cels of wax Hornets in caues and holes vnder the ground All these verily haue their chambers made with six corners and yet their nests consist of some barke and substance like cobwebs And as they be a barbarous and sauage kind of creatures so their yong is not vniforme one is ready to fly abroad while another is but yong not fledge and a third a meere worme and grub still All these breed in Autumne and neuer in the spring When the Moone is in the full they increase maruellously As for the little waspes called Ichneumones and lesse they be than others they vse to kill one kind of spiders called Phalangia and carry them into their nests they besmeare them all ouer with a liniment sit ouer them and so procreate their own kind Moreouer all the sort of these liue vpon flesh contrary to the manner of Bees which will not touch a dead carcasse But
drying confiture Some grapes there be that are condite in Must or new wine and so they drinke their owne liquor wherein they lie soking without any other seething Others againe are boiled in Must abouesaid vntill they lose their owne verdure and become sweet and pleasant Moreouer yee shall see old grapes hang still vpon the Vine their mother vntill new come but within glasses that a man may see them easily through howbeit to make them to last and continue in their full strength as well those which be preserued in barrels tuns and such like vessels aforesaid they vse the helpe of pitch or tarre which they poure vpon the stalks that the cluster hangs to and wherewith they stop close the mouth of the said glasse It it not long since that there was a deuise found that wine of it selfe as it came naturally from the grape growing vpon the vine should haue a smack and sent of pitch And surely this kind of Pitch wine brought the territory about Vienna into great name reputation before that this vine was known those of Auern Burgundy and the Heluij were in no request at all But these deuises as touching vines wines were not in the daies of the Poet Virgil who died about 90 yeres past But behold what I haue to say more of the Vine tree the vine wand is now entred into the camp and by it our armies are ranged into battalions nay vpon the direction thereof depends the main estate of our soueraigne Empire for the Centurion hath the honour to carry in his hand a Vine-rod the good guidance and ordering whereof aduanceth after long time the centeniers for a good reward of their valorous and faithfull seruice from the leading of inferior bands to the captainship of that regiment and chiefe place in the army vnto which the maine standard of the Aegle is committed yea and more than that the Vine wand chastiseth the trespasses and lighter offences of the souldiers who take it for no dishonor nor disgrace to be thus punished at their Centurions hand Ouer and besides the planting of Vineyards hath taught martiall men how to approach the wals of their enemies to giue an assault vnder a frame deuised for the purpose which therupon took the name of Vinea Lastly for medicinable vertues in phisick the Vine is so profitable to mans health that the vse of it alone is a sufficient remedy for the distemperature of mans body caused by wine it selfe CHAP. II. ¶ Of the diuers kindes of vines DEmocritus was the onely Philosopher euer known who made profession to reduce all the sorts and kinds of vines to a certaine number and indeed he vaunted and made his boast that he had the knowledge of all things that were in Greece All others besides himselfe and those comming neerer to the truth as shal appeare more euidently by the variety of wines resolutely haue set downe that there be infinit sorts of Vine-trees Looke not therefore at my hands that I should write of them all but onely of the principall for that in truth there bee in manner as many and as sundry kinds of them as are of grounds Wherefore I will content my selfe and thinke it sufficient to shew those that be singular and most renowned among them or such as haue some secret propriety wortlradmiration And first to begin with the Aminean Vines all the world giueth them the chiefe praise and greatest name as wel for their grapes of so lasting and durable a nature as for the wine made thereof which in all places continues long invigor is euer the better for the age And hereof there be fiue sundry sorts Of which the kindly Vines named Germanae haue both lesse grapes and grains within but they burgen and bloom better than others and after the floure is gon they can abide both rain and tempest but the second kind which is the greater is not so hardy howbeit lesse subiect to wind and weather when they be planted to run vp a tree rather than to creepe vpon a frame A third sort are called Gemellae for that their grapes grow double like twins they be very harsh and in taste vntoothsome howbeit their vertue and strength is singular The smaller sort of these take harm by the South wind but all other winds nourish them as we may see in the mount Vesuvius and the little hils of Surrentum for in all other parts of Italy ye shal neuer finde them but wedded to trees and growing vpon them As for the fift kind of these Amminean vines they be called Lanatae so freezed they are with a kind of down or cotton insomuch as we need not wonder any more at the Seres or Indians for their cotton and silken trees The first kind of these Amminean grapes come soonest to their ripenesse and perfection and most quickly do they rot putrifie Next to these Amminean vines those of Nomentum are in most account and for that their wood is red some haue called them Rubellae These grapes yeeld no great plenty of wine but in stead thereof their stones and kernels and other refuse remaining grow to an exceeding big cake howbeit this property they haue The frost they will indure passing well lesse harme they take also by raine than drought and thriue better in cold than heat and therefore in cold and moist grounds they excell and haue no fellow Of these vines they are more plentifull which beare grapes with smaller stones and leaues with lesse cuts and iags indented As touching the Muscadell vines Apianae they tooke that name of bees which are so much delighted in them and desirous to settle and feed of them Of two sorts they are and both carry cotton down Howbeit this difference is between them that the grapes of the one wil be sooner ripe than the other and yet there is neither of them both but be hasty enough These Muscadell grapes like wel and loue cold countries and yet none sooner rot than they if showers take them The muscadell wines are at the first sweet but with age become harsh and hard yea and red withal And to conclude there is not a grape that ioies more to hang vpon the vine than it doth Thus much of the very floure of Vines and the principall grapes that be familiar and proper vnto our countrey of Italy as their natiue soile The rest be strangers come out of Chios or Thasos As for the Greeke grapes of Corinth they be not in goodnes inferior to the Aminean aforesaid They haue a very tender stone within and the grape it selfe is so small that vnlesse the soile be exceeding faâ—… and battle there is no profit in planting and tending such vines The quick-sets of the vine Eugenia were sent vnto vs from the Taurominitane hils in Sicily together with their syrname pretending a noble gentle race Howbeit they are neuer in their kind with vs but only in the Alban country for if you
transplant them they proue very bastards and changelings presently And in faith some vines there be that take such an affection and loue to a place that all their goodnesse and excellency they wil leaue there behind them and neuer passe into another quarter whole and entire as they be in their own nature Which euidently is to be seen in the Rhetian vine that of Savoy and Daulphnie of which in the chapter before wee said that it gaue the taste of pitch to the wine made thereof for these Vines at home in those countries are much renowned for the said tast but elswhere if they be transplanted they loose it whole and no such thing may a man acknowledge in them Howbeit plentifull such are and for default of goodnesse they make amends recompence in abundance of wine that they yeeld As for the vine Eugenia it takes well in hot grounds The Rhetian likes better in a temperat soile The Allobrogian Vine of Sauoy and Daulphine delights most in cold quarters the frost it is that ripens her grapes and commonly they are of colour black Of all the grapes aboue rehearsed the wines that be made the longer they be kept the more they change colour and in the end become white yea though they came of blacke grapes and were of a deep colour at first Now for all other grapes whatsoeuer they are reckoned but base in comparison of the former And yet this is to be noted and obserued that the temperature of the aire may be such and the soile so good that both the grapes wil indure long and the wine beare the age very wâ—…ll As for example the Vine Fecenia and likewise Biturica that bloometh with it which beare grapes with few stones within their floures neuer miscarry for they euer preuent and come so timely that they be able to withstand both winde and weather Howbeit they do better in cold places than in hot in moist also than in dry And to say a truth there is not a vine more fruitful yeelding such store of grapes growing so thick together in clusters but of all things it may not away with variable and inconstant weather let the season be staied and setled it matters not then whether it be hot or cold for wel it wil abide the one the other alone hold it neuer so long The lesser of this kind is held for the better Howbeit in chusing of a fit soile for this vine it is much ado to please and content it in a fat ground it soone rots in a light and lean it will not grow at all very choise it is therefore dainty and nice in seeking a middle temper betweene and therefore it taketh a great liking to the Sabine hils and there it loues to be The grapes that it bears be not so beautiful to the eie but pleasant to the tooth if you make not the more hast to take them presently when they be ripe they will fall off although they be not rotten This vine puts forth large and hard leaues which defend the grapes well against haile-stones Now there are besides certain notable grapes of a middle colour between black and purple and they alter their hue oftentimes whereupon some haue named them Varianae and yet the blacker they be the more they are set by they beare grapes but each other yeare that is to say this yere in great plenty the next yere very little howbeit their wine is the better when they yeeld fewer grapes Also there be 2 kinds of vines called Pretiae differing one from the other in the bignesse of the stones within the grape full of wood and branches they are both their grapes are very good to be preserued in earthen pots and leafed they be like to Smallach they of Dyrrhachium do highly praise the Roial vine Basilica which the Spaniards cal Cocolobis The grapes grow but thin vpon this plant they can well abide all South winds and hot weather they trouble and hurt the head if a man eat much of them In Spaine they make 2 kindes of them the one hauing a long stone or grain within the other a round these be the last grapes that are gathered in time of vintage The sweeter grape that the Cocolobis bears the better is it thought howbeit that which was hard and tart at the first will turne to be pleasant with keeping and that which was sweet will become harsh with age and then they resemble in tast the Albane wine and men say there is an excellent drinke made thereof to help diseases and infirmities of the bladder As touching the wine Albuelis it bears most grapes in the tops of trees but Visula is more fruitfull beneath toward the root and therfore if they be set both vnder one and the same tree a man shall see the diuersitie of their nature and how they will furnish and inrich that tree from the head to the foot There is a kind of blacke grape named Inerticula as a man would say dull and harmlesse but they that so called it might more iustly haue named it The sober grape the wine made therof is very commendable when it is old howbeit nothing hurtfull for neuer makes it any man drunke and this property hath it alone by it selfe As for other vines their fruitfulnesse doth commend them and namely aboue all that which is called Heluenaca whereof be two kinds the greater which some name The long and the smaller called Arca not so plentifull it is as the former bat surely the wine thereof goes downe the throat more merily It differs from the other in the perfect and exquisit roundnesse of the leafe as it were drawn by compasse but both the one and the other is very slender and therefore of necessitie they must be vnderpropped with forkes for otherwise they will not beare their owne burden so fruitfull they be They delight greatly to grow neare the sea side where they may haue the vapors of the sea to breath vpon them and indeed their very grapes haue a sent and smell of a brackish dew There is not a vine can worse brooke Italy Her grapes are small they hang thin and rot euen vpon her and the wine made thereof will not last aboue one Summer and yet on the other side there is not a vine that liketh better in an hungry and lean ground Graecinus who otherwise compiled his worke out of Cornelius Celsus in manner word for word is of this opinion That this Vine could loue Italy well enough and that of the owne Nature it mislikes not the Countrey but the cause why it thriueth no better there is the want of skil and knowledge to order and husband it as it ought to be for that men striue to ouercharge it with wood and load it with too many branches and were it not that the goodnesse of a fat and rich soile maintained it still beginning to faint and decay the fruitfulnesse thereof were enough to kill it
Masticke which is engendred in Pontus and is like to Bitumen and therto adde the root of Iris or the floure de luce and oile For this is found by experience That if the vessells be sered with wax the wines therin will not hold but turne soure quickly Moreouer we daily see that better it is to put vp wine into those vessels wherin vinegre hath been kept afore than into such as had dulcet or honied wine Cato sets downe a receit to trim and concinnate wine for that is the very tearme which he vses in this manner Take of lie ashes sodden with cuit boiled to the halfe one fortieth part temper it with a pound and a half of penniroyall or salt and otherwhiles with marble braied beaten into pouder among He makes mention also of brimstone but rosin he names with the last But aboue al he wills to refresh and renue the wine when it now begins to come to maturity and perfection with new wine which he calls Tortivum and I take it that he means that which ran last out of the wine-presse which he prescribeth also to be put vnto new wines for to get them a fresher color as the very tincture of wine and so it wil be also of a more fattie substance and goe down more glib and merrily See see how many deuises of medicines and slibber sauces the poore wine is forced to endure and all to please our pallat our eye and other sences and yet ywis we marueâ—… that it is so hurtfull to our bodies Well would you haue an experiment to know when wine is going or enclining to be dead and soure dip therein a thin plate of lead if it change color take it for a signe that it is in the way of decaying Of all liquors wine hath this propertie to vinew to pal into change in vinegre But a thousand medicines it doth affoord and books of Physick are full thereof Moreouer wine lees being dried will serue as a match to keep fire and without any other fewell to feed it ye shall haue it burne and flame of it selfe The ashes thereof is of the nature of Nitre and hath the same vertues and in this regard somewhat more for that it is found to be more fattie and vnctuous CHAP. XXI ¶ Of wine-cellars NOw when wine is made and tunned vp in maner aforesaid there is as great difference and diuersitie in the bestowing of it in cellars They of Piemont about the Alpes doe put vp their wines in woodden barrels bound well with hoopes for warmth and moreouer if the winter be very cold they make fires in their cellars or butteries to keep them for being frozen I will tell you a strange wonder yet true and to be verified not by hearesay but plain eiesight There were seen vpon a time whole heaps huge lumps of wine congealed into ice by occasion that the hoopes of the hogsheads burst that contained the wine and this was held for a prodigious token For indeed wine of it owne nature will not congeale and freeze only it will lose the strength and become apalled in extremitie of cold In warmer climats and more temperat they fil their wines into great stands and steanes of earth which they set into the ground either ouer the head all whole or else by halfe deeper or shallower according to the situation temperature of the region Likewise they giue the wine open aire in some places whereas in other they keep it close within house in tauernes and cellars And thereto belong these and such like rules First that one side of the wine-cellar or at leastwise the windows ought to stand open to the North or to the East in any wise where the Sunne riseth at the time of the Aequinoctiall Item that there be no muckhils nor priuies neer no roots of trees nor any thing of a strong and stinking sauor for that wine is of this nature to draw any smell very quickly into it and aboue all Fig trees as well the wild as the tame be hurtfull to wine-cellars Item as touching the order of placing the wine-vessels they ought to stand a pretty distance one from another for fear of contagion for that wine is alwaies most apt to catch infection very soon Moreouer it matters much of what proportion and fashion the pipes tubs and such vessels be made Those with great bellies and wide mouths are not so good Also they must be nealed with pitch presently vpon the rising of the dog-star afterwards doused and washed all ouer either in the sea or else salt water then to bee seasoned and strewed with vine ashes or cley and being scoured they ought to sweeten them with a perfume of Myrrhe which were good to be done also to the very cellars oftentimes Furthermore if the wines be weak and smal they had need to be kept in tubs and hogsheads let downe within the ground but the strong and mighty wines may lie aboue ground in the open aire Prouided alway that wine vessels be neuer filled top full but the void part that is left and stands aboue the wine would be thoroughly dightwith thicke wine made of withered grapes or sodden wine to the halfe and saffron mingled withall yea and old pitch together with cuit Thus also ought the lids and bungs of the vessels to be ordered with an addition besides of mastick and pitch In the deep of Winter they must not be vnstopped and opened in any case vnlesse the weather be faire and cleare Neither when the wind is Southerly or the Moon in the full This also is to be noted that the floure or mantle which the wine casts vp to the top is good when it is white if it be red it is a very bad signe vnlesse the wine it selfe be of that color Moreouer if the vessels be hote or the lids do sweat it is no good signe Note also that the wine which soone begins to mantle and cast vp a floure incontinently or to veeld another smell than the own wil not continue long good As for the cuits whether they be sodden to the half or the thirds they ought to be boiled made when the skie is without a Moon that is to say in the change and vpon no day else Moreouer the decoction must be in leads and not in coppers with walnuts among to receiue al the smoke which otherwise might infect the cuit In Campaine they let their best wines lie abroad in vessells euen in the open aire to take the Sun the Moone raine and wind and all weathers that come and this is thought to bee best for them CHAP. XXII ¶ Of auoiding Drunkennesse IF a man marke and consider well the course of our life we are in nothing more busie and curious nor take greater paines than about wine as if Nature had not giuen to man the liquor of water which of all others is the most wholsom drink and wherwith all other creatures are wel contented But
not like as wine is neither is there such difference in so many kinds of oliues as there is in wine for surely we cannot at the most obserue aboue three degrees in the goodnesse of oiles namely according to the first second and third running out of the presse Finally the thinner that oile is and the more subtill the finer and daintier is the smell thereof and yet the same same sent in the very best of them all continueth but a small time CHAP. IIII. ¶ The nature of Oile Oliue THe property of oile is to warm the body and to defend it against the iniuries of cold and yet a soueraigne thing it is to coole and mitigate the hot distemperature of the head The Greekes whom wee may count the very fathers and fosters of all vices haue peruerted the true and right vse thereof to serue for all excesse and superfluitie euen as far as to the common annointing of their wrastlers with it in their publick place of exercise Known it is for certain that the gouernors and wardens of those places haue sold the oile that hath beene scraped from the bodies of the said wrastlers for 80 Sesterces at a time But the stately maiesty of Rome contrariwise hath done so great honour to the Oliue tree that euery yere in Iuly when the Ides come they were wont to crowne their men of armes and gentlemen marching by their troups and squadrons in solemne wise with chaplets of oliue yea and the manner was of captains likewise to enter ouant in pety triumphes into Rome adorned with Oliue coronets The Athenians also honoured their conquerors with Oliue garlands But generally the Greekes did set out their victors at the games of Olympia with branches of the wild-oliue CHAP. V. ¶ The manner how to order Oliues NOw will I report the precepts and rules set down by Cato as touching oliues His opinion is that the greater long Oliue Radius of Salentum the big Orchites the Pausia the Sergiana Cominiana and the Albicera should be planted in hot and fat grounds He addes moreouer as hee was a man of singular dexterity and prudent spirit which of them in the neighbour territories and places adioining were taken for the best As for the Licinian Oliues he saith They would be planted in a weely and cold hungry ground for if it be a fat soile and a hot the oile wil be corrupt and naught and the very tree it self wil in short time be killed with ouermuch fertility and bearing too great a burden Moreouer they will put forth a red kind of mosse which eateth and consumeth the tree To conclude his mind is that Oliue hort-yards should be exposed to the sun yet so as they regard the West wind also in any case for otherwise he commendeth them not CHAP. VI. ¶ How to keep Oliues and the way to make oile of them CAto alloweth of no other means to keep and preserue oliues and specially the great ones made like cullions named thereupon Orchita and the Pausiae but either in brine and pickle when they are greene or else among Lentisk branches when they are bruised and broken The best oile is made saith he of the greenest and sourest oliues Moreouer so soon as euer they be faln they must be gathered from off the ground and if they be fouled and beraied with the earth they ought to be washed clean and then laid to dry three daies at the most Now if it fall out to be weather disposed vnto frost they should be pressed at 4 daies end He giueth order also to bestrew and sprinkle them with salt saying moreouer that if they be kept in borded sollors or garners the oile will be both lesse in quantitie worse withal So it wil be also if it be let lie long in the lees or together with the cake and grounds when they be bruised and beaten for this is the very fleshie and grosse substance of the Oliues which cannot chuse but breed filthy dregs And therfore he ordaineth that oftentimes in a day it should be poured out of one vessell into another so by setling clarified from the grounds then to put it vp afterwards into pans and panchions of earth or els into vessels or kimnels of lead for brasse mettall wil mar oile All this should be done within close presses and rooms and those kept shut where no aire or wind may come in that they might be as warm and hot as stouves He forbids also to cut any wood or fuel there to maintain fire for that the fire made of their stones and kernels is most kindly of any other To the end also that the grounds lees should be liquified and turn into oile euen to the very last drop the oile should be let run out of those vessels or kimnels aforesaid into a vat or cistern for which purpose the vessels are often to be clensed the ozier paniers to be scoured with a spunge that the oile might stand most pure clear But afterward came vp the deuise to wash oliues first in hot water then immediatly to put them whole as they are into the presse for by that means they squize forth lees all and then anon to bruise and crush them in a mil so presse them in the end Moreouer it is not thought good to presse the second time aboue 100 Modij which is the full proportion of one pressure it is called Factus That which after the mil comes first is named the floure of the oile or the Mere-gout Lastly to presse 300 Modij is thought to be foure mens work ordinarily in one night and a day CHAP. VII ¶ Of Oile Artificiall IN Cato his time there was no artificiall Oiles I meane no other but that of the Oliue and tâ—…refore I suppose it was that he made no mention thereof but now adaies there be many kinds First will we treat of those that are made of trees and principally before all the rest of the oile of the wild oliue thin it is and much more bitter than that of the other gentle true Oliue but good for medicines onely Very like to it is that which is made of Chamelaea an herb or shrub growing in stony places to the heigth of a span no more with leaues and berries resembling those of the wild oliue The next is that which commeth of Cici or Ricinus i Palma Christi a plant which groweth plentifully in Aegypt which some call Croto others Trixis or wild Sesam but long it hath not been there In Spaine likewise this Ricinus is found of late to rise suddenly to the heigth of an Oliue tree bearing the stalke of Ferula or Fennel-Geant clad with leaues of the vine and replenished with seed resembling the graines or kernels of small and slender grapes and of a pale colour withall we in Latine call it Ricinus of the resemblance that the seed hath to a ticke which is a vermin that annoies sheepe For to
arose and in that mutinie or insurrection forsooke the city and withdrew themselues to the fort Ianiculum made a law published it within a certain groue hard by called Esculetum where there grew a number of trees named Esculi and the said statute ran in this forme That whatsoeuer ordinance should be enacted by the said Commonaltie it should bind all Citisens of Rome whomsoeuer to obserue and keepe In those daies the Pine and Fir and generally all trees that yeeld pitch were held for strangers and aliéns because none of them were knowne to grow neere vnto the city of Rome wherof now we will speak the rather because the beginning whole maner of confecting and preseruing wines might be thereby throughly knowne First and formost some of the trees aforesaid in Asia or in the East parts do bring forth pitch In Europe there be six sorts of trees seeming all of one race which yeeld the same Of which the Pine and the Pinaster cary leaues thin and slender in manner of haires long also and sharp pointed at the end The Pine beareth least rosin of all others howbeit otherwise some it hath in the very fruit thereof which we call Pine nuts or apples wherof we haue already written yet so little it is that hardly a man would reckon the Pine among those kinde of trees that yeeld rosin The Pinaster is nothing els but the wild Pine it growes wonderful tall putting forth arms from the mids of the trunk or body vpward wheras the other Pine brancheth only in the head This of the twain is more plentifull in rosin whereof we will speake more anon These wild Pines grow also vpon plains There be trees vpon the coast of Italy which mencal Tibuli and many think they be the same although they carry another name slender they are and shorter altogether without knots and little Rosin they haue in them or none but they serue well for shipwrights to build frigats brigandines The Pitch tree loueth the mountains and cold grounds a deadly and mournful tree it is for they vsed in old time to sticke vp a branch thereof at the dores of those houses where a dead corps was to giue knowledge therof abroad and commonly it grew green in churchyards and such places where the maner was to burn the bodies of the dead in funeral fires but now adays it is planted in courtyards and gardens neer our houses because it may be easily kept with cutting and shredding it brancheth so well This tree puts forth great aboundance of rosin with white grains or kernels comming between so like vnto frankincense that if it be mixt therwith vnneth or hardly a man may discern the one from the other by the eye And hereupon it commeth that Druggists and Apothecaries do sophisticate frankincense and deceiue folk with it All the sort of these trees are leaued with short thick and hard pricky bristles in manner of the Cypres The Pitch tree beginneth to shoot forth branches euen from the very root almost and those be but small bearing out like armes and sticking one against another in the sides Semblably do the Fir trees which are so much sought for to serue shipping and yet this tree delighteth in the highest mountains as if it fled from the sea of purpose and could not away with it and surely the form and maner of growing is all one with the pitch tree The wood thereof is principal good timber for beams and fitteth our turn for many other necessaries of this life Rosin if it be found in the Fir is thought a fault in the wood whereas the only commoditie of the pitch tree is her rosin and yet somtime there frieth and sweateth out a little thereof in the extreme heate of the sun The timber of them both is not alike for that of the Fir is most faire and beautifull the pitch tree wood serueth only for clouen lath or rent shindles for coopers to make tubs and barrels and for some few other thin boords and painels As for the Larch tree which is the fift kind of those that beare rosin like it is to the rest and loueth to grow in the same places but the timber is better by ods for it rots not but will last and endure a long time the tree wil hardly be killed besides it is red of colour caries an hoter and stronger sme than the other There issueth forth of the tree as it growes good store of liquid rosin in colour like hony somwhat more clammy which will neuer grow to be hard A sixt sort there is of these trees and it is properly called Teda 〈◊〉 the Torch tree the same yeelds more plenty of moisture and liquor than the rest lower it is of growth than the Pitch-tree but more liquid and thin very commendable also to maintain fire at sacrifices to burn in torches for to giue light These trees I mean the male only bring forth that strong and stinking rosin which the Greeks call Syce Now if it happen that the Larch tree proue Teda i. to be Torch-wood it is a signe that it doth putrifie and is in the way of dying The wood of all these kinds before named if it be set a fire maketh an exceeding grosse and thick smoke and presently turneth into a cole spitting and sparkling a far off except that only of the Larch tree which neither burneth in light flame nor maketh cole ne yet consumeth in the fire otherwise than a very stone All these trees whereof we speake continue greene all the yeare long and very like they are in leafe that men otherwise of cunning and good experience haue enough to do to discern one from the other by it so neere of kin they be and their race so much intermingled But the pitch tree is not so tall as the Larch for the Larch is thicker in body of a thinner and lighter barke more shag leaued and the said leaues fattier growing thicker more pliable and easier to wind and bend whereas the leaues of the pitch tree hang thinner they be of a drier substance more slender and subiect to cold and in one word the whole tree is more rough and hideous to see to and withall full of rosin the wood also resembleth the Firre rather than the Larch The Larch tree if it be burnt to the very stumpe of the root will not spring againe and put forth new shoots whereas the pitch tree liueth stil for all the fire and wil grow afresh the experience whereof was seen in the Island Lesbos at what time as the Forrest Pyrrhaeum was set on fire and clean burnt to the ground Moreouer euery one of these kinds differ in the very sex for the male of each kind is shorter and harder the female taller hauing fattier leaues and the same soft and plain nothing stif and rugged The wood of the male is tough and when it is wrought keepeth not a direct grain but windeth and turneth so as
than to flie from it to the leaues of the Ash. A wonderfull goodnesse of dame Nature that the Ash bloometh and flourisheth alwaies before that serpents come abroad and neuer sheddeth leaues but continueth greene vntill they be retired into their holes and hidden within the ground CHAP. XIIII ¶ Of the Line or Linden tree two sorts thereof GReat difference there is euery way between the male female Linden tree for the wood of the male is hard and knottie of a redder colour also and more odoriferous than the female The barke moreouer is thicker and when it is plucked from the tree it is stiffe and will not bend It beareth neither seed nor floure as the female doth which also is rounder and bigger in bodie and the wood is whiter more faire and beautifull by farre than is the male A strange thing it is to consider that there is no liuing creature in the world will touch the fruit of the Linden tree and yet the juice both of leaf and barke is sweet ynough Between the bark and the wood of this tree there be thin pellicles or skins lying in many folds together whereof are made bands cords called Brazen ropes The finest of these pellicanes or membrans serued in old time for to make labels and ribbands belonging to chaplets and it was reputed a great honor to weare such The timber of the Linden or Tillet tree will neuer be worm-eaten The tree it selfe is nothing tall but of a meane height howbeit the wood is very commodious CHAP. XV. ¶ Ten kinds of the Maple tree THe Maple in bignesse is much about the Linden tree the wood of it is very fine and beautifull in which regard it may be raunged in the second place and next to the very Citron tree Of Maples there be many kinds to wit the white and that is exceeding faire and bright indeed growing about Piemont in Italie beyond the riuer Po also beyond the Alps and this is called the French Maple A second kind there is which hath a curled graine running too and fro with diuers spots the more excellent worke whereof resembling the eies in the Peacockes taile thereupon took also the name And for this rare and singular wood the countries of Istria and Rhaetia be chiefe As for that which hath a thicke and great graine it is called Crassiuenium of the Latines and is counted to be of a baser kind The Greekes distinguish Maples by the diuerse places where they grow For that of the champion or plaine countrey which they name Glinon is white and nothing crisped contrariwise the wood of the mountaine Maple is harder and more curled and namely the male of that sort and therefore it is in great request for most exquisite and sumptuous workes A third sort they name Zygia which hath a reddish wood and the same easie to cleaue with a barke of a swe rt colour and rough in handling Others would haue it to be no Maple but rather a tree by it selfe and in Latine they call it Carpinus CHAP. XVI ¶ Of the Bosses Wennes and Nodosities called Bruscum and Molluscum Of the wild Fisticke or Bladder nut-tree called Staphylodendron also three kinds of the Box tree THe bunch or knurre in the Maple called Bruscum is passing faire but yet that wich is named Molluscum excelleth it Both the one and the other swell like a wen out of the Maple As for the Bruscum it is curled and twined after a more crawling and winding manner whereas the Molluscum is spread with a more direct and strait course of the grain And certes if there might be plankes hereof found broad enough to make tables doubtlesse they would be esteemed and preferred before those of the Citron wood But now it serueth only for writing tables for painels also and thin bords in wainscote work to set out beds heads and seelings and such are seldome seen As for Bruscum there be tables made of it inclining to a blackish color Moreouer there be found in Alder trees such nodosities but not so good as those by how much the wood of the Alder it selfe is inferior to the Maple for beauty and costlines The male Maples do put forth leaues and flourish before the female Yea and those that grow vpon dry grounds are ordinarily better esteemed than those of moist and waterish places in like sort as the ashes Beyond the Alps there is a kind of bladder Nut-tree whereof the wood is very like to the white white Maple and the name of it is Staphylodendron It beareth certain cods and within the same kernels in tast like the Filberd or Hazell-nut Now for the Box tree the wood thereof is in as great request as the very best seldom hath it any grain crisped damask-wise and neuer but about the root the which is dudgin and ful of work For otherwise the grain runneth streight and euen without any wauing the wood is sad enough and weighty for the hardnesse thereof and pale yellow colour much set by and right commendable As for the tree it selfe gardeners vse to make arbors borders and curious works thereof Three sorts there be of the Box tree the first is called the French Box it groweth taper-wise sharp pointed in the top and runneth vp to more than ordinarie height The second is altogether wild and they name it Oleastrum good for no vse at all and besides careith a strong and stinking sauor with it The third is our Italian box and so called Of a sauage kind I take this to be also howbeit by setting and replanting brought to a gentle nature This spreadeth and brancheth more broad and herewith a man shall see the borders and partitions of quarters in a garden growing thick and green all the yeare long and kept orderly with cutting and clipping Great store of box trees are to be seen vpon the Pyrenaean hils the Cytorian mountains and the whole Berecynthian tract The thickest and biggest Box trees be in Corsica and they beare a louely and amiable floure which is the cause that the hony of that Island is so bitter there is not a beast that will eat the fruit or grain thereof The Boxes of Olympus in Macedonie are more slender than the rest and but low of growth This tree loueth cold grounds yet lying vpon the Sun The wood is as hard to burn as iron it will neither flame nor burn cleare it selfe nor serue to make charcole of CHAP. XVII ¶ Of the Elme foure kinds BEtween these wild trees abouesaid and those that bear fruit the Elm is reckoned of a middle nature in regard of the wood and timber that it affords as also of the friendship acquaintance that it hath with vines The Greekes acknowledge two sorts thereof namely one of the mountains which is the taller and the bigger and the other of the plaines champion which is rather more like a shrub the branches that it shooteth forth are so smal and slender In
there is not a tree not so much as the very Vine that sheddeth leaues CHAP. XXII ¶ The nature of such leaues as fall from trees and what leaues they be that change colour ALl trees without the range of those before rehearsed for to reckon them vp by name particularly were a long and tedious piece of work do lose their leaues in winter And verily this hath bin found and obserued by experience that no leaues doe fade and wither but such as be thinne broad and soft As for such as fall not from the tree they be commonly thick skinned hard and narrow and therefore it is a false principle and position held by some That no trees shed their leaues which haue in them a fatty sap or oleous humiditie for who could euer perceiue any such thing in the Mast-holme a drier tree there is not and yet it holdeth alwaies green Timaeus the great Astrologer and Mathematician is of opinion that the Sun being in the signe Scorpio he causeth leaues to fall by a certain venomous and poysoned infection of the aire proceeding from the influence of that maligne constellation But if that were true we may wel and iustly maruell why the same cause should not be effectuall likewise in all other trees Moreouer we see that most trees do let fall their leaues in Autumne some are longer ere they shed continuing green vntill winter be come Neither is the timely or slow fall of the leafe long of the early or late budding for wee see some that burgen and shoot out their spring with the first and yet with the last shed their leaues and become naked as namely the Almond trees Ashes and Elders And contrariwise the Mulberry tree putteth forth leaues with the latest and is one of them that soonest sheddeth them again But the cause hereof lies much in the nature of the soile for the trees that grow vpon a leane dry and hungry ground do sooner cast leafe than others also old trees become bare before yonger and many of them also lose their leaues before their fruit be fully ripe for in the Fig tree that commeth and beaâ—…th late in the winter Pyrry and Pomegranate a man shall see in the later end of the yere fruit only and no leaues vpon the tree Now as touching those trees that continue euer greene you must not think that they keep still the same leaues for as new come the old wither fal away which hapneth commonly in mid-Iune about the Summer Sunne-stead For the most part the leaues in euery kind of tree do hold one and the same colour and continue vniform saue those of the Poplar Ivy and Croton which wee said was called also Cici iâ—… est Ricinus or Palma Christi CHAP. XXIII ¶ Three sorts of Poplar and what leaues they be that change their shape and figure OF Poplars there be found three sundry kinds to wit the white the blacke and that which is named Lybica or the Poplar of Guynee this hath least leaues and those of all other blackest but mow commendable they are for the fungous meazles as it were that come forth thereof As for the white Poplar leafe the leaues when they be yong are as round as if they were drawn with a paire of compasses like vnto those of Citron before named but as they grow elder they run out into certain angles or corners Contrariwise the Ivy leaues at the first be cornered and afterwards become round All Poplar leaues are full of downe as for the white Poplar which is fuller of leaues than the rest the said downe flieth away in the aire like to mossie chats or Thistle-downe The leaues of Pomegranats and Almond trees stand much vpon the red colour But very strange it is and wonderfull which hapneth to the Elme Tillet or Linden the Oliue tree Aspe and Sallow or Willow for their leaues after Midsummer turn about vpside downe in such sort as there is not a more certaine argument that the Sun is entred Cancer and returneth from the South point or Summer Tropicke than to see those leaues so turned CHAP. XXIIII ¶ What leaues they be that vse to turne euery yeare Of Palme or Date tree leaues how they are to be ordered and vsed Also certain wonderfull obseruations about leaues THere is a certain general and vniuersal diuersitie difference obserued in the very leaf for commonly the vpper side which is from the ground is of greene grasse colour more smooth also polished The outside or nether part of the leaf hath in it certain strings sinues or veins brawns and ioynts bearing out like as in the back part of a mans hand but the inside cuts or lines in maner of the palme of ones hand The leaues of the oliue are on the vpper part whiter and lesse smooth and likewise of the Ivy. But the leaues of all trees for most part euery day do turn and open to the Sunne as desirous to haue the inner side warmed therewith The outward or nether side toward the ground of all leaues hath a certaine hoary downe more or lesse here in Italy but in other countries so much there is of it that it serueth the turn for wooll and cotton In the East parts of the world they make good cordage and strong ropes of date tree leaues as we haue said before and the same are better serue longer within than without With vs these Date leaues are pulled from the tree in the Spring whiles they are whole and entire for the better be they which are not clouen or diuided Being thus plucked they are laid a drying within house foure daies together After that they be spred abroad and displaied open to the Sun and left without dores to take all weathers both day and night and to be bleached vntil they be dry and white which done they be sliued and slit for cord-work But to come again to other leaues the broadest are vpon the Fig-tree the Vine and the Plane the narrowest vpon the Myrtle Pomegranat and oliue as for those of the Pine and cedar they be hairy the Holly leaues and all the kindes of Holme be set with sharpe prickes As for the Iuniper in stead of leafe it hath a very pointed thorne The Cypresse and Tamariske carrie fleshie leaues those of the Alder be most thick of all other The Reed and the Willow haue long leaues the Date tree hath them double The leaues of the Peare tree are round but those of the Apple tree are pointed of the Ivie cornered of the Plane tree diuided into certaine incisions of the Pitch tree and the Fir cut in after the maner of comb-teeth of the wild hard Oke waued and indented round about the edges of the brier and bramble sharpe like thornes all the skin ouer Of some they be stinging and biting as of Nettles of others ready to pricke like pins or needles as of the Pine the Pitch tree the Larch the Firre the Cedar and all the sorts
determine all quarrels These shafts they arme with sharpe barbed arrow heads in manner of fish-hooks which wound with a mischiefe because they cannot be drawne out of the body againe and to make these arrowes flie the faster and kill more presently they set feathers vnto them Now say that a shaft be broken as it is set fast in the body that end without the flesh wil serue againe to be shot so inured are the people in those parts to these kind of weapons so practised withall in discharging of them so nimbly that a man seeing how thick the shafts flie in the aire would say they were a cloud of arrowes that shadowed the very Sun And therefore when they goe to battell they wish euer for faire weather and Sunne-shine daies Windes and raine as most aduerse vnto their warres they cannot abide then are they quiet and rest in peace ful sore against their wils because their weapons at such a time wil not serue their turne Certes if a man would fall to an exact reckoning and aestimate of Aethyopians Egyptians Arabians Indians Scythians and Bactrians of so many nations also of the Sarmatians and other East-countries together with all the kingdomes of the Parthians hee should finde that the one moietie or halfe of the world hath been vanquished and conquered by the meanes of arrowes and darts made of Reedes The Candiots aboue all others were so readie and perfect in this kinde of feat that the ouerweening of their owne skill and the confidence which they had in this manner of seruice made them too bold and was in the end their owne ouerthrow But herein also as in all other things else whatsoeuer Italie hath carried the name and woon the prize for there is not a better Reed growing for to make shafts than that which is found about the Rhene a little riuer running vnder Bononia very full of marrow or pith stiffe also it is and weightie withall it cutteth the aire it flyeth away most swiftly and last of all it will hold the owne and stand in the weather so counterpoised that no winde hath any power on it And those Reeds in Picardie and the Low-countries are nothing comparable ne yet of Candie how highly soeuer they be commended for warre-seruice And yet the Reeds that grow in India be preferred before them and beare the name which indeed some thinke to be of another nature considering they bee so firme and bigge withall that beeing well headed with yron they serue in stead of Speares and Iauelins In very truth the Indian Canes for the most part grow to the bignesse of Trees such as we see commonly in Temples standing there for a shew The Indians doe affirme that there is a difference amongst them also in regard of sexe and namely That the substance and matter of the male is more fast and massie but that of the female larger and of greater capacitie within Moreouer if wee may beleeue their words the verie Cane betweene euery ioint is sufficient to make a boat These great Canes do grow principally along the riuer Acesine All Reeds in generall doe shoot and spring in great number from one root and principall stocke and the more they bee cut the better they come againe The root liueth long and without great iniurie offered vnto it will not die it also is divided into many knottie ioints Those onely of India haue short leaues But in all of them the leafe springeth out of the ioint which embracing the Cane doth clad it round about with certaine thin membranes or tunicles as far as to the middle space between the ioints and then for the most part they giue ouer to claspe the Cane and hang downeward to the ground As well Reeds as Canes spread their leaues like wings round one after another on either side vpon the very ioints and that in alternatiue course alwaies very orderly so as if the one sheath come forth of the right side the other at the next ioint or knot aboue it putteth out on the left and thus it doth throughout by turnes From these nodosities otherwhiles a man shall perceiue as it were certaine little branches to breake foorth and those bee no other but small and slender Reeds Moreouer there be many kindes of Reedes and Canes for some of them stand thicker with ioints and those are more fast and solid than others small distance there is between the same there be again that haue not so many of them and greater space there is from the one to the other and such Canes for the most part are of a thinner substance Yee shall haue a Cane all full of holes within called therupon Syringias and such are very good to make whistles or smal flutes because they haue within them neither gristly nor fleshy substance The Orchomenian Cane is hollow throughout from one end to the other and this they call Auleticus or the pipe Cane for as the former was fit for flutes so is this better for great pipes Now you shall meet with Canes also that stand more of the wood haue but a narrow hole and concauity within and this is full of a spungeous pith or marow within-forth Some be shorter some longer than other and where you haue one that is thin and slender you shall spie a fellow to it more grosse and thicker That which brancheth most putteth forth greatest store of shoots is called Donax and is neuer known to grow but in marishes and watery places for herein also lieth a difference and preferred it is far before the Reed that commeth vp in dry ground The archers reed is a seuerall kind by it selfe as we haue shewed before but of this sort those in Candy haue the greatest spaces betweene euery ioint and if they be made hot they are very pliable and will bend and follow which way soeuer a man would haue them Moreouer Reeds are distinguished one from another by the leafe not for the number but the strength and colour The leaues of those about Lacedaemon are stiffe and strong growing thicker of the one side than of the other And such as these are thought generally to grow along standing pooles and dead waters far vnlike to those about running riuers and besides to be clad with long pellicles which claspe and climbe about the Cane higher aboue the ioint than the rest doe Furthermore there is another kind of Reeds that groweth crooked and winding trauers and not vpright vnto any height but creeping low toward the ground and spreading it selfe in manner of a shrub Beasts take exceeding great delight to feed thereof and namely when it is young and tender for the sweet and pleasant taste that it hath Some cal this Reed Elegia Ouer and besides there breedeth in Italy also among the fens a certain salt fome named Adarca sticking to the rind or vtmost barke of Reedes and Canes onely vnder the verie tuft and head passing good it is for the tooth-ach
is that hee beareth downe before him the roofe of many a house and carrieth it cleane away CHAP. III. ¶ The societie of the skie and aire with the earth respectiue to trees SOme men do force the skie for to be obedient conformable to the earth as namely when planting in dry grounds they haue regard to the East and North and contariwise when in moist places they respect the South Moreouer it falleth out that they be driuen otherwhiles to follow the nature of the very Vines and thereby to be ruled wherupon in cold ground they plant such as be of the hastie kind and soone ripen their grapes to the end that they may come to their maturity and perfection before cold weather comes As for such Vines and trees bearing fruit as canot abide dews those they set in to the East that the Sun may soon dispatch and consume the said dew but looke what trees do loue dewes and like well therewith those they will be sure to plant against the West or at leastwise toward the North to the end they may inioy the full benefit thereof All others againe grounding in manner vpon natural reason only haue giuen counsell to set as well Vines as Trees into the Northeast And Democritus verily is of this mind that such fruits will bee more pleasant and odoriferous CHAP. IIII. ¶ The quality of sundrie regions AS touching the proper seat of the Northeast wind and of all other winds we haue spoken already in the second booke and our purpose is in the next following to treat of the rising and falling of signes and notable stars of other Astronomical points also concerning heauen Now in the mean time for this present it is sufficient that in the former rule of the North wind we seem to rest and resolue vpon the apparent and euident argument of the wholesome and healthfull climate of the heauen forasmuch as we see that euermore all such trees as stand into the South soonest shed their leaues the same reason also is to be giuen of those that grow vpon the sea coasts and albeit in some places the winds blowing from thence and the very aire of the sea be hurtfull yet in most parts the same are good and profitable Certaine plants and trees there are which take pleasure to be remot from the sea and ioy to haue the sight of it only a farre off set them neerer to the vapors and exhalations ascending from thence they will take harm and mislike therewith The like is to be said of great riuers lakes and standing pooles As for those which we haue spoken of they either burn their fruit with such mists or refresh and coole such as be hot with their shade yea take joy and prosper in the frost and cold And therfore to conclude this point the surest way is to beleeue trust vpon experience thus much for this present concerning the heauen our next discourse will be of the Earth and Soile the consideration whereof is no lesse difficult to be handled than the other First and formost all grounds are not alike good for trees and most kinds of corne For neither the black mould such as Campain standeth vpon much as in all places best for Vines or that which â—…umeth and sendeth vp small and thin mists neither is the red veine of earth any better how soeuer there be many that commend it The white earth or chalkie marle the clay also within the territory of Alba and Pompeij for a vineyard are generally preferred before all other countries although they be exceeding fat which in that case is otherwise vsually reiected On the other side the white sand about * Ticinum likewise the blacke mould or grit in many places as also the red sandy ground although it be wel mingled tempred with fat earth are all of them nothing to the purpose for increase fruitfulnesse And herein must men take heed because oftentimes their judgement may faile when it goeth but by the eie for wee must not streight waies conclude that the ground is rich battle wheron we see goodly faire tall trees to grow vnlesse it be for those trees only for where shal we meet with any higher than the Fir is there a tree again that possibly can liue where it doth No more is rank grasse plentifull forrage a true token alwaies of a good ground for there is no better pasture nor grasing to be found than in Almaine and yet dig but vp the greene sourd and the thinnest coat of turfe that may be ye shal presently come to barren sand vnder it ne yet is it by by a moist ground that hath vpon it deepe grasse and hearbes shooting vp in height no more verily than a fat and rich soile is knowne by sticking to one fingers as appeareth plainly in all sorts of clay And verily no earth doth fill vp the trenches euen againe out of which it was cast that therby a man might find out whether the ground be sad or hollow and generally all sorts thereof will cause yron to rust that shal be put into it Moreouer there is no weighing of earth in ballance to know by that means which is lighter or heauier for who could possibly euer set down the iust weight that earth should haue Againe the ground that is cast vp into banks by the ouerflow of great riuers is not alwaies commendable seeing that some plants there be that decay if they be set in water And say that some such bank were ground good enough yet it continueth not so long vnlesse it be for Willowes and oisiers onely But if you would know a rich ground indeed one of the best arguments and signes therof is this when you see it to bring forth a thick strong haulme or straw such as vsually groweth in that noble territorie Laborine within Campaine which is of that bignesse that the people of the country vse it for fewell in stead of wood Now this ground so good as it is where whensoeuer we haue found it is hard enough to be tilled and requireth great labour and husbandry putting the poore husbandman to more paines in manner with that goodnesse of it than possibly he could haue with any defects and imperfections thereof For euen the hot earth called by the name of Carbunculus which vseth to burn the corne sown therupon may be helped remedied as it is thought by setting it with plants of poore hungry vines The rough grauell stone which naturally will crumble as grit many writers there bee that allow and commend for vines As for Virgil he findeth no fault with the ground that beareth fern and brake for a Vineyard The earth that is brackish and standeth much vpon salt pâ—…tre is thought to be more found for many plants than others and in regard of vermine that vse to breed therein much safer also Neither do high banks and hils remaine vntilled and naked for want of
good husbandry if so be a man haue the cast of it to eare breake them vp skilfully As for the plaines they are not all of them exposed to the Sun or subiect to the wind more than need requireth And to speake of frosts mists and fogs there be Vines as we haue said already which are nourished and fed with them And to conclude hereby we may see that in euery thing there is some one deep secret or other wherein it behoueth each man to employ his spirit and set his mind for to search them throughly and find them out what shall we say then to this That oftentimes those things which haue bin approoued by long experience and many obseruations become otherwise and change their vsuall manner In Thessalie about Larissa the whole region by reason of a lake that was let out and drained drie prooued much colder and the Oliues which there grew before left bearing and died all vpon it In like sort neer vnto Aenos the Vines were all scorched and burnt by occasion that the course of the riuer Ebrus was brought neere vnto them an accident that beforetime neuer befell vnto them Semblably about the citie Philippi the whole country being made drie by sluces and trenches artificiall altered withall the whole disposition of the aire and weather and changed the very habite of the heauen aboue their heads But in the territory of Syracusa the forraine Coloners that thither came to inhabit and practise husbandry by ridding the ground from all the stones marred all the corn in the country so mirie and durtie it was by that meanes vntil such time as they were driuen to lay the stones againe where they had them In Syria the husbandmen goe lightly ouer with their plough take no deep stitch in making their furrowes for feare of the stony rocke lying ebbe vnder the good ground which in Summer season will burne all their graine and seed sowne there Now there be certain parts of the world where a man shall see one and the same effect to proceed both of extreame heat and also of excessiue cold Thracia is exceeding cold and thereby plentifull in corne Africke and Aegypt be as hot and yet come not after it for fertilitie in that kind In Chalcia an Island belonging to the Rhodians there is one place aboue the rest so fruitful that the Barly which was sowed in the due time season of the yere they mow once and presently put it into the ground againe which will be ready to be cut downe the second time with other corne in haruest In the Venafrane tract within the realme of Naples the grauellie ground is thought meetest for Oliue trees therin they bear most plentifully contrariwise about Boetica in Spaine the fattest soile is best for that purpose The excellent grape that makes the good Punicke wine ripeneth soon vpon the very rockes but the Caecube Vines stand soaked drenched as it were in the marish low grounds of Pomptinum See what a difference and diuersitie there is in causes to make this variety in sundry plots of ground Caesar 〈◊〉 being conuented before the Censors and there pleading his cause affirmed openly that the plaines of Rosea were the very fat of Italy and resembled the kell or leafe of a fed and franked swine wherein quoth he if a man left forks or props to day they will bee ouergrowne and couered with grasse by to morrow But surely this ground is good for nothing but pasture Yet notwithstanding Nature would haue vs still to learne and grow skilfull euery day more than other and for that intent she hath laid open the defects and imperfections of the ground euen there whereas the commodities thereof be neither so certain nor so well knowne And therefore let vs in the first place speake of those faults for which the earth is blamed CHAP. V. ¶ Sundry sorts of earth IF a man would know which is a lean hungry bitter ground there is no better experiment and proofe thereof than by the blackish misliking and vnkind herbs growing thereupon like as when they come vp scortched and burnt they shew a cold soile also when they seem il fauored and vnpleasant to the eie the earth no doubt is soked and drowned in wet As for red sandy ground and clay you need go no farther than to your owne eie-sight And such soiles as these be is of all other hardest to be wrought and tilled they so clog and load both the harrow teeth and the plow-shares with huge and heauie clods Howbeit the ground that is thus churlish to be eared and husbanded is not alwaies bad and naught for increase But it fareth cleane contrary with the pale and wan ashie earth as also with the white sandy soile for the barren ground is soon found by a thicke and callous crust that it hath euen at the first dent of culter or stroke of mattocke Cato setteth down briefely as his maner is all the defects and faults of ground in these words Take heed quoth hâ—… of a rotten ground and see that you stir it neither with cart nor touch it with beast What should we think was his meaning by this term of his that he should feare rotten ground so much as to forbid in a manner to tread and goe thereupon Let vs call to mind the rottennesse that is in wood and thereby shall we find those faults that he abhorreth and detesteth so much in the earth In good faith by rotten earth hee vnderstandeth dry spungeous and full of holes rugged hoary eaten old and hollow So as in that one significant word Cariosa hee said more than could be expressed possibly by any multip icity of language whatsoeuer for if a man would rip vp to the quicke the imperfections that are in grounds he should find that some pieces there be of it that may be termed truly old and ouerworne not for any age for who can say properly that earth is subiect to old age but by reason of their naturall defects in regard wherof a ground may be weake feeble barren and no longer good for to bring forth any thing The same Cato iudgeth That ground to be principall which lieth at the foot of an hill and runneth forth in manner of a plaine into the South which is the very scituation of all Italy and by a blackish and swart earth which he calleth Pulla he meaneth a gentle tender and mellow soile And this we will determine to be the best simply both for worke or tillage and also for gaine and increase now let vs if ye please stand a little vpon this word Tenera i. Tender which he vseth in this sence you shall find a maruellous signification thereof and that he implieth thereby as much as your heart can wish to be in a ground That is it which is so temperat in fertility that is it which to be wrought is so gentle soft pliable and mellow neither wet nor yet dry and thirsty
to be fat the white is chiefe and thereof be many sorts The most mordant and sharpest of them all is that whereof wee spake before A second kind there is of chalkish clay which our gold-smiths vse called Tripela this lieth a great depth within the earth insomuch as many times men are driuen to sinke pits 100 foot deep for it and those haue a small and narrow mouth aboue but within-forth and vnder the ground they be digged wider by reason that the veine thereof runneth many waies in manner of other mettall mines This is the marle so much vsed in Britain the strength therof being cast vpon a land will last 80 yeres and neuer yet was the man known that herewith marled the same ground twice in all his life time The third kind of white marle is that which the Greekes call Glischromargon it is no other than the Fullers chalkie clay mixed with a viscous and fatty earth The nature of it is to breed grasse better than to beare corne for after one crop of corne is taken off the ground in haruest before seed time is come for winter grain the grasse wil be so high growne that a man may cut it down and haue a plentiful after-math for hay and yet al the while that it hath corn vpon it you shall not see it to beare any grasse besides This marle continueth good 30 yeres if it be laid ouer-thick vpon a land it choketh the ground in manner of Cumine The Columbine marle the Gauls call in their language by a name borrowed of the Greeks Pelias i. Doue or Pigeon marle it is fetched out of the ground in clots and lumpes like as stones be hewed out of quarries with Sunne and the frost together it will resolue and cleaue into most thin slates or flakes This marle is as good for corne as for herbage As for sandy marle it will serue the turn for want of other yea and if the ground be cold moist and weely the husbandman will make choice thereof before other The Vbians vpon my knowledge vse to inrich their ground and make itmore battle though their territory otherwise be most fertile with any earth whatsoeuer prouided alwaies that it be digged vp three foot deep at least and laid a foot thick a deuise that no other country doth practise howbeit this soile and manner of manuring continueth good not aboue ten yeres the Heduans and Pictones haue forced their grounds and made them most plentifull with lime-stone which is found also by experience to be passing profitable for vines and oliues To come now to the ordering of this piece of husbandry the ground ought to be ploughed first before marle of any sort be cast vpon it to the end that the medicinable vertue substance thereof might the sooner and more greedily be receiued into it Now forasmuch as marle is at the first ouer-rough and hard not so free in the beginning as to resolue and turne into blade or grasse it had need of some compost or dung to be mingled with it for otherwise be it neuer so rich it will rather do harm than good to the ground by reason that it is yet strange and not acquainted therewith and yet help it this way as wel as you can it will not bring forth any plenty the first yere after it is laid on Last of all it skilleth much to consider the nature of the ground which you mean to marle for the dry marle sorteth well with a moist soile and the fatty hitteth that which is dry and lean But when the ground is of a middle temperature between both it mattereth not whether you vse the white gold-smiths chalke or the Columbine marle for either of them will serue well enough CHAP. IX ¶ The vse of ashes vpon lands of Dung what graine or pulse sowne doth make the ground more plentifull and what burneth it THe people dwelling beyond the Po make such account of ashes for to inrich the grounds withall that they prefer it before hors-muck and such like which dung because they take it to be very light they burne also into ashes for that purpose Howbeit as we haue said before in one and the same corn-land they vse not asheâ—… and mucke both at once no more doe they cast ashes in hortyards for to nourish yong trees nor in fields for some kind of corn Some are of iudgement that grapes are fed with dust who also do cast dust vpon them when they begin to bloome yea and bestrew dust vpon the roots as well of Vines as other trees Certain it is that in the prouince of Narbon they vse so to do and they are assuredly persuaded that grapes ripen better and the vintage commeth the sooner thereby because in those parts dust doth more good than the Sun As for mucke there be diuers sorts thereof and in old time much vse there was of it for in Homer we read that long ago the good old king 〈◊〉 was found laying soile and dung vpon his land with his own hands The first that deuised mucking of grounds was by report Augeaâ—… a king in Greece but Hercules divulged the practise thereof among the Italians who in regard of that inuention immortalized their K. Stercutius the son of Faunus M. Varro esteemeth the dung of Blackbirds gathered out of their bartons where they be kept in mew aboue al others He highly magnifieth and extolleth it also for that it bringeth forth so good forage to feed kine oxen and swine withall auouching for certaine that they will become fat beefe and pork with no meat sooner We must thinke well therfore and hope the best of the world now adaies since that our ancestors and forefathers so long ago had so great bartons and pens that the dung of fouls there kept was sufficient to help their hard and hungry grounds In the second degree of goodnesse Columella rangeth Pigeons dung gathered out of Doue-cotes the third place hee giueth to that of Hens and other land pullen reiecting altogether the dung of water-foule Howbeit all other Authors setting these two aside attribute with one voice and consent vnto the excrements of mans body the greatest praise for this purpose Some of them prefer mans vrine and namely when the haires of beast-hides haue bin soked therewith and quicke-lime together in the Tanners pits Others vse vrine alone by it selfe only they mingle water with it againe but in greater quantitie a good deale than they whose vrine it was did put to the wine when they drank it and good reason too for more need there is now to correct and represse the malice thereof considering that besides the natiue malignitie of the wine it selfe mans bodie hath giuen and imprinted into it a strong and vnsauorie quality Thus you may see how men labour striue and try conclusions to seed and inrich the very ground the best way they can deuise Next vnto the ordure and vrine of mans â—…ody the filthy dung of swine
is most commended only Columella condemneth it Some praise the mucke of any foure-footed beasts whatsoeuer so they were fed with Tree-trifolie called Cytisus Others prefer the doung of Pigeons before any other in the second place that of Goats thirdly of sheepe then of kine and oxen and lastly of cart-jades mules asses and such like Thus you see as well what difference there was in times past between this dung and that as also what were the rules so farre as I can guesse and learne whereby they went in the vse and ordering thereof for to say a truth the old way is best euen herein as well as in other matters Ouer and besides the practise hath bin already seen in some of our prouinces where there is so great store of cattell bred to riddle and sift their dung ouer their ground through sieues in manner of meale and so in processe of time it loseth not only the stinking sent and ill-fauored sight that it had but also turneth into a pleasant smel and looketh louely withall Of late found it hath been by experience that Oliue trees doe like and prosper very well if the ashes of lime-kills especially be laid to their roots Varro among many other precepts addeth and saith That corne grounds would be manured with hors-dung because it is the lightest but medowes require compost that is heauier and namely made by beasts that haue barley for their prouender for that such soile bringeth plentie of grasse Some there bee aâ—…so that preferre the dung made by horses before the mucke of kine and Oxen likewise sheeps treddles before Goats dung but Asses mucke before all other because they eat and chew their meat most leisurely But daily experience teacheth the contrary and testifieth against the one and the other And thus much as touching compost of mucke Furthermore all men are of opinion that nothing is better for the ground than to sow Lupines therupon prouided alwaies that before it cod it be turned into the ground by the plough spade or two-piked yron forke also when it is cut down to make it into wads or bottles and so to bury them at the roots of trees and vines especially In countries where there are no cattell to better the lands it is thought good to manure the same in stead of beasts dung with very hawme straw and ferne Cato hath a deuise to make an artificiall mucke or compost of litter lupine straw chaffe beane stalks leaues and branches both of Mast-holm and oke He saith moreouer to the same purpose Weed out of the standing corn Walwort otherwise called Danewort and Hemlock also from about oâ—…er-plots plucke vp ranke weeds or ground Elder also Reeke or Sea-grasse and dead leaues or branches lying rotten vnder trees when thou haste so done strew and lay a course of them vnder sheep where they be folded Item If the Vine begin to decay and wax leane burne the shreads and cuttings of the owne and turne the ashes vnder ground hard to the roots thereof Item where thou meanest to sow any wheat or such like bread-corn draw thy sheep thither and there fold them He saith moreouer that the sowing of some graine is as good as a dunging to the ground for these be his very words The fruit it selfe of the earth is a batling to the earth and namely Lupines Beans and Vetches for they muck the lands like as on the contrary side Chiches do burn the ground both because they are plucked and also for that they stand vpon salt Semblably doth Barley Foenigreeke Eruile and generally all kind of pulse which are pulled and not mowne downe Item Take heed quoth Cato that you set no pepins or kernels where you meane to sow corne As for Virgil he is of opinion that the sowing of Line-seed for flax likewise of Otes and Poppies do burne corne-ground and pill it out of heart He also giueth rules as touching mucke-hills That they should be made in the open aire within some hollow place where it may gather water that they be couered ouer with straw and litter for feare they should dry in the Sun and last of all that they haue a good strong stake of Oke pitched and driuen in about the mids thereof for so there will no snakes nor such like serpents breed and ingender therein Moreouer as touching the spreading of mucke and mingling it with the mould of a land it is exceeding good to do it when the winde setteth full West so that the Moon then be past the full and in the Waine But this rule many haue mistaken and not construed aright supposing that they should so do when the Western wind Fauonius beginneth to rise and namely in the moneth of Februarie only whereas indeed most cornlands require this point of husbandry in other moneths as wel But looke what time soeuer you list to do it be sure in any hand that the wind do then blow from the Equinoctiall point of the West and that the moone then be in the waine and drie withall Haue regard to these rules and obseruations you will wonder to see the effects thereof and what increase the earth thereby will yeeld CHAP. X. ¶ The planting and setting of trees the manner how trees do grow by a Sion sliued and plucked from the root NOw that we haue already sufficiently treated of the considerations as well of the aire and skie as of the earth belonging vnto plants and trees me thinks it were to good purpose to discourse of the industry and artificiall meanes that men haue vsed to make trees grow and verily we shall find no fewer kinds of them that come by mans hand than of such as nature it selfe hath brought forth so kind and thankfull we haue bin to her as to make recompence in this behalfe First and formost therefore this is to be noted That all trees do grow either of seed sowne or of branches growing to the tree and couched in the ground or of an old stocke from whence new imps may sprout also either of a slip or sprig plucked from another tree and so laid in the ground or of a young shoot twig impe or Sion engraffed in the very trunk of a tree slit and clouen for that purpose For I cannot chuse but maruell much at Trogus who was verily persuaded That about Babylon the leaues onely of Date trees beeing set or sowne would prooue trees Now whereas there be so many deuises abouesaid for to nourish trees this you must vnderstand that some trees there be which will grow by many of these waies before specified and others by them all And verily the most part of this knowledge hath beene taught by Nature her selfe for first of all we haue learned by her for to sow seed by occasion that we haue seen some to fall from trees which being receiued by the ground haue chitted taken root and liued And in very truth some trees there be that grow no otherwise as Chestnut and Walnut-trees excepting
onely those that being cut downe doe spring new again from the root Of seed also although the same be farre vnlike to others those also will grow that are vsually planted otherwise as for example Vines Apple trees and Pyrries for in these the stone and pepin within serueth in stead of the seed and not the fruit it selfe as in those before rehearsed the kernels whereof i. the fruit are sowne Medlars likewise may come vp of seed But all the sort of these that spring after this maner be late ere they be come forward and slow in growth they turn also to a degenerat and bastard nature and had need to be graffed anew ere they be restored to their owne kind which is the case of Chestnuts also otherwhiles Howbeit there be others for them againe which sow or set them what way you will neuer grow out of their owne kind and such be Cypresses Date trees and Lawrels for the Lawrell commeth vp by sowing by setting and planting after sundry sorts The diuers kinds whereof we haue described already Of all which the Lawrell Augusta with the broad leaues the common Bay tree also that beareth berries as also the wild kind named Tinus be ordered all three after one and the same sort The manner whereof is this the Bayes or berries thereof be gathered dry in the moneth of Ianuary when the Northeast wind bloweth they are laid abroad thin to wither one apart from another not in heaps for feare they should catch a heat This done some put them afterwards in dung and being thus prepared and ready for to be sowne they steep them in wine Others take and lay them within a large basket or twiggen panier trample them vnder their feet in a brook of running water vntill they be pilled and rid of their outward skins for otherwise their skin is of so tough and moist a substance that it would hardly or not at all suffer them to come vp grow After all this in a plot of ground wel and throughly digged once or twice ouer a trench or furrow must be made a hand full deepe and therein the berries ought to be buried by heaps to wit twenty or thereabout together in one place and all this would be done in the month of March. Lawrels also will grow if their branches or boughes be bended from the stocke and laid within the ground but the Triumphall Lawrell will come vp no other way but by setting a graffe or impe cut from it As for the Myrtle all the sorts thereof within Campaine come of berries sown but we at Rome vse to interre only the boughes of the Tarentine Myrtle growing still to the body and by that means come to haue Myrtle trees Democritus sheweth another deuise also to increase Myrtles namely to take the fairest and biggest berries thereof lightly to bruise or bray them in a mortar so that the grains or kernels within be not broken then to besmere with the batter or stamped substance thereof a course cord made of Spart or Spanish broome or els hempen hurds and so lay it along within the ground Thus there wil spring therof a maruellous thick hay or wall as it were of yong Myrtles out of which the small twigs you may draw which way you will yea and plant them elswhere After the like manner folke vse to sow thorns or brambles for to make hedges mounds namely by annointing such another hempen rope with bramble blacke-berries and interring the same As for Bayes thus sowne when they come once to beare a dark and blackish leafe Myrtles also when their leaues be of a wine color to wit of a deep red which commonly happeneth when they be three yeres old it wil be time to remoue and transplant Among those plants and trees that are sowne of seeds Mago maketh much ado and is foully troubled about those trees that beare nuts such like fruit in shels for to begin with almonds first he would haue them to be set in a soft clay ground that lieth into the South yet he saith again that Almond trees loue a hot and hard soile for in a fat or moist ground they will either die or els wax vnfruitful But aboue all he giueth a rule to chuse Almonds for to set or sow that be mo stâ—…oked and especially such as were gathered from a young tree also he ordaineth that they should be well soked or infused in soft beast sherne or thin dung for three daies together or at leastwise in honied water a day before they be put into the ground Item they ought by his saying to be set charilâ—… with the sharp and pointed end pitched downward and the edge of the one side to turne into the Northeast Also that they must stand three and three together in a triangle forsooth so as there be a handbredth iust between euery one Moreouer that euerie tenth day they ought to be watered till they be shot vp to a good bignesse Now to come vnto walnuts they be laid along within the earth with this regard that they do ly vpon their ioints As for pine nuts there would be six or seuen of their kernels put together into pots that haue holes in them and so buried in the ground or else they should be ordered after the manner of the Bay tree which commeth of berries bruised as hath been shewed before The Citron tree will grow of seed and may be set also of sprigges or twiggs drawne to the ground from the tree and so couched Servis trees come of the grains thereof sowed of a quick-set plant also with the root or of a slip plucked from it But as the Citron trees liue in hot grounds so these Servises loue cold and moist As concerning seminaries and nourse-gardens Nature hath shewed vs the reason and maner thereof by certaine trees that put forth at the root a thick spring of yong shoots or sions but lightly the mother that beareth these imps killeth them when she hath done with her shade and dropping together And this is euident to be seene in Lawrels Pomegranate trees Planes Cherry trees and Plum trees for standing as these imps doe a number of them without all order vnder their mother stocke they be ouershadowed and kept downe so that they mislike and neuer come to proofe Howbeit some few there be of this sort that are not so vnkinde to their yong breed as to kill them with the shadow of their boughs and namely Elmes Date trees This would be obserued by the way that no trees haue such yong imps springing at their feet but they only-whose roots for loue of the warm sun and moist rain spred aloft and ly eb within the ground Moreouer the manner is not to set these yong plants presently in the place where they must remaine and continue for altogether but first they are to be bestowed in a piece of ground where they may take nourishment to wit in some nurse-garden
for the nones vntil they are grown to a good stature and then they are to be remoued a second time to their due place And a wonder it is to see how this transplanting doth mitigate euen the sauage nature of the wildest trees that are whether it be that trees as well as men are desirous of nouelties and loue to be trauelling for change or that as they go from a place they leaue behind them their malicious qualitie and being vsed to the land become tame and gentle like the wild beasts especially when such yong plants are plucked and taken vp with the quicke root Wee haue learned of Nature also another kinde of planting like to this for we see that not only water shoots springing out of the root but other sprigs slipped from the stocke liue and doe full well but in the practise of this feat they ought to be pulled away with a colts foot of their owne so as they take a quicke parcell also of their mothers bodie with them in manner of a fringe or border hanging thereto After this manner they vse to set Pomegranate Filberd Hazell Apple and Servise trees Medlars also Ashes and Figge trees but Vines especially marie a quince ordered and planted in that sort will degenerate and grow to a bastard kinde From hence came the inuention to set into the ground yong sprigs or twigs cut off from the tree This was at first practised with foot-sets for a prick-hedge namely by pitching down into the earth Elder Quince-cuttings brambles but afterwards men began to do the like by those trees that are more set by and nourished for other purposes as namely Poplars Alders and the Willow which of all others may be pricked into the ground with any end of the cutting or sprig downward it makes no matter whether for the smaller end will take as wel as the bigger Now al the sort of these are bestowed and ranged in order at the first hand euen as a man would haue them and where he list to see them grow neither need they any remouing or transplantation at all But before we proceed any further to other sorts of planting trees it were good to declare the manner how to order seminaries seed-plots or nource-gardens For to make a good pepinnier or nource-garden there would be chosen a principal and special peece of ground for oftentimes it falleth out yea and meet it is that the nource which giueth sucke should be more tender ouer the infant than the owne naturall mother that bare it In the first place therefore let it be sound and drie ground how be it furnished with a good and succulent elemental moisture and the same broken vp and afterwel digged ouer and ouer with mattock and spade and brought to temper and order so as it be nothing coy but readie to receiue al manner of plants that shall come and to entertain them as welcome guests withall as like as may be to that ground vnto which they must be remoued at last But before al things this would be looked to that it be rid clean of all stones surely fenced also and paled about for to keep out cockes and hens and all pullen it must not be full of chinkes and cranies for feare that the heat of the sunne enter in and burne vp the small filaments or strings and beard of the new roots and last of all these pepins or kernels ought to stand a foot and a halfe asunder for in case they meet together and touch one another besides other faults inconueniences they will be subiect to wormes and therefore I say there would be some distance between that the ground about them may be often harrowed and raked to kill the vermin and the weeds pluckt vp by the heeles that do breed them Moreouer it would not be forgotten to proin these yong plants when they are but new come vp to cut away I say the superfluous springs vnderneath and vse them betimes to the hooke Cato giueth counsel to sticke forks about their beds a mans height and lay hurdles ouer them so as the Sun may be let in vnderneath and those hurdles to couer and thatch ouer with straw or holme for to keepe out the cold in winter Thus are yong plants of Peare trees and Apple trees nourished thus Pine nut trees thus Cypresses which do likewise come vp of â—…eed are cherished As for the grains or seeds of the Cypres tree they be exceeding small and so small indeed that some of them can scarce be discerned well by the eye Wherein the admirable worke of Nature would be considered to wit that of so little seeds should grow so great and mightie trees considering how far bigger are the cornes of Wheat and Barley to make no reckoning nor speech of Beans in comparison of them What should we say to Peare trees and Apple trees what proportion or likenesse is there between them and the pretty little pepins whereof they take their beginning Maruell we not that of so slender and small things at the first they should grow so hard as to checke and turne again the very edge of ax and hatchet that frames and stocks of presses should be made thereof so strong and tough as will not shrinke vnder the heauiest poise and weights that be that Mast-poles comming thereof should be able to beare saile in wind and weather and finally that they should afford those huge and mightie Rams and such like engins of batterie sufficient to command towers and bastils yea and beat downe strong walls of stone before them Lo what the force of Nature is see how powerfull shee is in her works But it passeth and exceedeth all the rest that the very gum and liquour distilling out of a tree should bring forth new plants of the same kind as we will more at large declare in time and place conuenient To returne then againe to the female Cypres for the male as hath bin said already bringeth forth no fruit after that the little balls or pills which be the fruit thereof be gathered they are laid in the Sun to dry during those moneths which we haue before shewed and being thus dried they will breake and cleaue in sunder Now when they are thus opened they yeeld forth a seed which Pismires are very greedy of Where another wonder of Nature offereth it selfe vnto vs That so small a creature as it should eat and consume the seed which giueth life and being to so great and tall trees as the Cypres Well when the said seed is gotten and the plot of ground â—…aid euen and smooth with cilinders or rollers it must be sowne of a good thicknesse in the moneth of Aprill and fresh mould sifted and strewed ouer with riddles an inch thicke and no more for if this grain be buried ouer-deep and surcharged it is not able to break through against the weight of the earth but in stead of rising vp the new chit turneth and bendeth backward
meet for by reason of the foresaid bonds they need not feare the gaping of it too wide Some stocks there be that the very same day that they be graffed in the nource-garden are without any harme remooued to the place where they must grow If the stocke wherein you graffe be big and round the best way is to set the sion between the barke and the wood therof and to diuide the one from the other with a wedge of bone least in enlarging of the barke it channce to breake In graffing of a Cherry tree stocke the ouer rind or barke would be taken away before the clift be made Now these trees alone of all others may be graffed very well presently after mid-winter When the said rind is gone you shall see therein a certain down that if it chance to clasp about the graft it rots the same incontinently But to return again to our worke of graffing After the wedge is taken forth whole and sound at the point which is a token that no spill remaines within you may be bold to bind the head of the stocke all about Yet this would be considered by the way which I had like to haue forgotten that the best handsomest graffing is as neer the ground as may be in case the knots wil giue leaue and the stock beare it also that the grafts would not conueniently stand without the stock aboue six fingers breadth Now when al is done and sure work made as hath been said Cato willeth vs to take cley or the sandie grit of chalk mixed together with oxe or cow shearn to worke and temper all these together in maner of a tough past or cataplasme and then to lay the same within the clift round about to daube all And verily by this and other such rules which he hath left in writing it appears plainly that in those daies the manner was to graffe betweene the barke and the tree and not otherwise as also to set the sions in the stocke not aboue two fingers deepe As for Apple trees and Pyrries he prescribeth that they should be graffed in the Spring also 50 daies after the summer Sun-stead and again after vintage but Oliues and Fig-trees in the Spring only obseruing the age and disposition of the Moon when she is in the wane and thirstie that is to say drie moreouer after noonetide and when no Southern wind doth blow And I cannot chuse but wonder much at the curiositie and double diligence of Cato who not content to haue defended the graft with clay or past aforesaid yea and to preserue it with turfe and mosse against the injurie of rain and cold to haue bound it about also with little knitches of soft osier twigs sliued in twaine must giue charge besides to couer it with Oxe-tongue a kind of herb there is so called i. Buglosse and yet hee hath not done but the same must be bound with wispes and wreaths of straw and litter aloft Now adaies men make no more adoe but thinke it sufficient to stop and close vp barke and al with earth or cley and chaffe tempered together thinking it sufficient the graft beare out two fingers breadth aboue They that wait vpon the Spring season for to graffe are many times driuen to their shifts for want of time by reason that all trees make hast then to bud and do break out of a sudden vnlesse it be the Oliue the oilets or eies wherof be longest while in comming forth as hauing least sap of all other running vnder the barke the which if it were ouermuch would stifle and choke the grafts As for the Pomegranat and Fig tree howsoeuer otherwise they seem to be dry yet good it is not to defer and put off the graffing of them The Peare tree may well enough be graffed with the blossom on the head and it makes no matter if a man do stay and graffe it within the moneth of May. To be short if a man be constrained to fetch his sions or imps of Apple trees and such like far off it is thought that they will keepe their sap best if they be stuck or set fast in a Rape root Also if one would preserue them a certain time before they should be occupied it is passing good to lay them close betweene two erest tiles well stopped on euery side with earth and that neere to some riuers or fish-ponds CHAP. XV. ¶ The manner how to graffe a Vine tree AS for the cuttings or sets of vines they may be kept wel a long time couered all ouer with straw or litter in dry ditches and afterwards they are to be laid within the earth all hilled or couered saue only that their heads be seen aboue ground Cato graffeth a vine stock three maner of waies First he willeth that the mother stock should be cut ouerthwart then clouen through the very pith or heart in the mids wherin he would haue the yong imps thwitted and sharpened as is beforesaid to be set and ingraffed so as the marrow of the one and the other may ioyne and meet iust together The second maner is when two vine stockes doe reach one to the other for to cut byas or aslaunt after the manner of a goats foot two twigs or branches of either one with this regard that these cuts be of a contrarie side the one vnto the other and withall so deep as that they come vnto the pith or heart then to fit one to the other ioyning pith to pith and then binding them fast together so close that no aire may enter between vntill such time as the one hath adopted the other The third deuise is to bore holes in an old vine not directly but aslope as far as to the pith and then to put into them yong imps 2 foot long and to bind them fast which done to make a certaine batter or morter with clay beasts dung and sand together and therewith to dawbe the place but with this regard that the graft stand halfe vpright or somwhat leaning This manner of graffing hath bin checked and corrected of late daies by our countrymen who leauing the hand-piercer haue taken the French Vibrequin or brest-wimble which gently and quickely boreth a hole and hurteth not the wood for all chasing heate caused by the said piercer dulleth the vigor both of stock and imp Also they haue deuised that the said imp to be ingraffed be gathered from the tree when it begins to bud or burgen and when it is set into the stocke that it be left standing out with no more than two eies or buds out of the graffing place that it be well bound also with the winding rods of an Elme moreouer that on either side of it the mother stock be slit or cut in two places on both sides to the end that from thence rather than otherwise the waterish humour may distill and drop forth which of all things hurteth vines most After all this they would haue the said
two sets there be a foot an half one way to wit in breadth and halfe a foot another way to wit forward in length These plants being thus ordered after they haue growne to twelue moneths they should be then discharged of all their burgeons euen to the nethermost knot vnlesse haply it bee spared and let alone for some there be that cut it also after these commeth forth the matter of the oilets shew themselues and therewith at the third tweluemonth end the quick-set root and all is remoued to another place in the vineyard Besides all this there is another pretty and wanton deuise more curious ywis than needfull to plant Vines and â—…mely after this manner Take foure branches of foure vines growing together and bearing sundry kindes of grapes bind them wel and strongly together in that part where they are most ranke and best nourished being thus bound fast together let them passe along either through the concauitie of an Oxe shanke and maribone or els an earthen pipe or tunnell made for the nonce Thus couch them in the ground and couer them with earth so as two ioints or buds be seen without By this meanes they inioy the benefit of moisture and take root together and although they be cut from their owne stocke yet they put out leaues branches After this the pipe or bone aforesaid is broken that the root may haue libertie bo th to spread and also to gather more strength And will you see the experience of a pretty secret you shall haue this one plant thus vnited of foure to beare diuers and sundry grapes according to the bodies or stocks from whence they came Yet is there one fine cast more to plant a Vine found out but of late and this is the manner thereof take a Vine-set or cutting slit it along through the midst and scrape out the marrow or pith very cleane then set them together again wood to wood as they were before and bind them fast but take heed in any case that the buds or oilets without-forth be not hurt nor rased at all This done put the same cutting into the ground interre it I say wel within earth and dung tempered together when it begins to spread yong branches cut them off and oftentimes remember to dig about it lay the earth light certes Columella holdeth it for certain and assureth vs vpon his word That the grapes comming of such a vine wil haue no stones or kernels at all within them A strange thing and passing wonderfull that the very set it selfe should liue and that which more is grow and beare notwithstanding the pith or marrow is taken quite away Furthermore since we are entred thus far into this discourse and argument I cannot passe by but I must needs speake of such twigs and branches of trees as wil knit and grow together euen to a tree For certain it is that if you take fiue or six of the smallest sprigs of box binde them together and so prick them into the ground they will proue and grow to one entire tree Howbeit in old time men obserued that these twigs should be broken off from a Box tree which neuer had bin cut or disbranched for otherwise it was thought verily they would neuer liue but afterwards this was checked by experience and the contrary knowne Thus much as touching the order of Vine-plants and their nource-garden for store It remaineth now to speak of the manner of Vineyards and Vines themselues Where in the first place there offer vnto vs fiue sorts thereof For some traine and run along vpon the ground spreading euery way with their branches others grow vpright and beare vp themselues without any staies Some rest vpon props without any traile or frame at all others be bornvp with forkes and one single raile lying ouer in a long range and last of all there be vines that run vpon trailes and frames laid ouer crosse-wise with foure courses of railes in manner of a crosse dormant The same manner of husbandry that serues those Vines which beare vpon props without any other frame at all will agree well enough to that which standeth of it selfe without any staies For surely it groweth so for default onely and want of perches and props As for the vine that is led vpon a single range as it were in one direct line which they call Canterius it is thought better than the other for plenty of liquor for besides that it shadoweth not it selfe it hath the furtherance and help of the Sun-shine continually to ripen the grapes it hath the benefit also of the wind blowing through it by which means the dew will not long stand vpon it Moreouer it lieth more handsome to the hand for the leaues to be plucked away and for the clods to be broken vnder it in one word is readiest for all kind of good husbandry to be don about it But aboue all other commodities it hath this that it is not long in the floure but bloometh most kindly As for the frame aforesaid that is ranged in one line a length it is made of perches or poles reeds and canes cords and ropes or els lines of haire as in Spaine and about Brindis The other kind of frame with railes and spars ouerthwart beareth a vine more free for plenty of wine than the rest and called this is Compluviata vitis because it resembleth the hollow course of gutter tiles that in houses receiue all raine water and cast it off For as the crosse dormant in building shutteth off the raine by foure gutters euen so is this Vine led and caried foure waies vpon as many trailes Of this Vine and the maner of planting it we will only speak for that the same ordering will serue well enough in euery kind besides marie there be far more waies to plant this than the rest but these three especially The first and the surest is to set the Vine in a plot well and throughly delued the next to it is in the furrow the last of all in a trench or ditch As for digging a plot and planting therein ynough hath been written already CHAP. XXII ¶ Of furrowes and trenches wherein vines are planted also of pruning vines IT sufficeth that the furrow or trench wherin a vine is to be planted be a spade or shouels bit breadth but ditches would be three foot long euery way Be it furrow trench or ditch wherin a vine is to be replanted it ought to be three foot deepe and therefore no plant thereof should be remoued so little but that it might ouer and besides stand aboue ground and shew two buds at the least in sight Needful it is moreouer that the earth be well loosened and made more tender and gentle by small furrowes ranged and trenched in the bottom of the ditch yea and be tempered sufficiently with dung Now if the vineyard lie pendant vpon the hanging of the hill it requireth deeper ditches and those
vpward fetch vp the eies budding out beneath thus by pruning although they seem to do hurt and wrong vnto them yet they draw them to shoot out the longer by the meanes for in good faith the more profitable way it is thus to vse acquaint it with bearing branches lustily and far better and easier is it besides to cut away these yong imps as the vine lieth fast joined to the frame vntill such time as a man think it be strong enough of the wood Oâ—…hers there are who in no case would haue a vine touched or medled witâ—…all the next yeare after that it is remooued into the vine-yard noâ—… yet to feele the edge oâ—… the cutting â—…ooke vntill it haue fiue yeres ouer the head mary then they agree it should be pruned guelded of all the wood it hath saue only three burgeons You shal haue some againe that will indeed cut them the very next yere after they be replanted but so as they may win euery yere three or foure ioints and when they be foure yeres old and not before they giue them liâ—…erty to climbe vpon the frame But this I assure you is the next way to make the vine fructifie slowly and late besides it causeth it to seem scortched and full of knots yea and to grow like a dwarfe or wreckling The best simply is to suffer the stocke or mother to bee strong first and afterwards let the branches and yong imps hardly be as forward and audacious as they will Neither is it safe trusting 〈◊〉 which is full of cicatrices or skarres a thing that proceeds of great errour and an vnskilfull hand for surely all such branches grow of hurts or wounds and spring not one jot from the mother stock indeed for all the while that shee gathereth strength her whole vertue remaineth within her but when she is suffered to grow and fructifie she goeth throughly to worke and emploieth her forces full and whole to bring forth that which yeerely shee conceiued for Nature produceth nothing by halfes nor by peece-meale but is deliuered of all at once Well then after that a vine is once full grown and strong enough let it presently run vpon perches or be led in a traile vpon a frame but in case it bee yet with the weakest let it be cut againe and take vp her lodging hardly beneath vnder the very frame for in this point the question is not what Age but what Strength it hath for that is it which must rule all And verily great folly and rashnesse it were to put a vine to it and let her haue the will to grow ranke before she be as big full as a mans thumbe The next yere after that it is gotten to the frame there would be saued and let to grow one or two branches according to the strength and ability of the mother let the same the yere following also be preserued nourished and permitted to grow on end vnlesse her feeblenesse be against it but when the third yeare is come and not afore be bold to giue her the head with two branches more and neuer let her goe but with foure at the most In one word hold a vine downe as much as you can neuer cocker and cherish her but rather represse her fruitfulnesse for of this nature is the vine Rather than her life she would be alwaies bearing neither taketh she such pleasure to liue long as to beare much and therefore the more you take away of her ranke and superfluous wood the better will she imploy her radicall sap and moisture to fructifie and yeeld good store of grapes yet by her good will she would be euer putting forth branches for new plants rather than busie in bearing fruit for well woteth she that fruit will fall and is but transitory Thus to her owne vndoing and ouerthrow while shee thinketh to spread and gaine more ground shee spends her strength her selfe and all Howbeit in this case the nature of the soile will guide a man and advise him well in a lean and hungry ground although the vine be strong enough you ought to keep it downe with cutting that it may make abode vnder the head of the traile and frame aboue and howsoeuer she may haue some hope that her young branches may get vp to the top as being at the very point to mount aboue it and so neare as that they reach therevnto yet let her stay there and proceed no farther suffer her not I say to lay her head thereupon and couch vpon the traile nor wantonly to spread and run on at her â—…ase In this manner I say hold her head in with the bridle that she may in the end chuse rather to grow big in body strong withall than to shoot forth branches about her euery way far and neare The same branch now that is kept short of the frame ought to haue two or three buds to burgen at and to bring forth more wood in time and then let it be drawne and trained close vnto the traile and tied fast thereto that it might seeme to beare vpon it and be supported thereby and not to hang loosely thereupon Being thus bound to the frame it must likewise be tied anon three buds or joints off for by this means also the wood is reclaimed and repressed from running out in length beyond all measure and the burgeons in the way between will come thicker shoot vpon heigth to furnish the husbandman with store of new sets and sions for the next yeare The very top end in no wise must be tied Certes this property and qualitie hath the vine That what part soeuer of it is dejected and driuen downward or els bound and tied fast the same ordinarily beareth fruit and principally in that very place where it is bowed and bent in manner of an arch As for the other parts which be backeward and neerer to the old maine stocke they send out store of new branches indeed full of wood but otherwise fruitlesse that yeare by reason I suppose verily of the spirit or vegetatiue life and that marrow or pith where of wee speake before which findeth many stops and lets in the way How be it these new shoots thus putting forth will yeeld fruit the next yere Thus there offer vnto vs two kinds of vine branches for that which springeth out of the hard and old wood and promiseth for that yeare following nothing but sprigs and twigs onely is called Pampinarium whereas that which commeth more forward beyond the cup or cicatrice and beareth shew of grapes is named Fructuarium As for another springing from a yeare-old branch it is left alwaies for a breeder and kept short vnder the frame as also that which they terme Custos i. the Keeper or Watch a young branch this is and no longer than it may well carry three buds which the next yeare is like to beare wood and repaire all in case the old vine stocke should miscarry and spend
flanked as they be within those close sides than to wryth and wrest them to a mans mind to fro In lopping and shredding of trees when the cut standeth open there would be no hollow places made like cups for feare that water should stand therein Last of all if a Vine be to climbe Trees that are of any great height there would be stayes and appuies set to it wherupon it may take hold and so by little and little arise and mount vp aloft CHAP. XXIIII ¶ The maner of keeping and preseruing Grapes Also the maladies whereto Trees be subiect IT is holden for a rule That the best Vine-plants which run vpon a frame of rails ought to be pruned in mid-March about the feast of Minerua called Quinquatrus and if a man would preserue and keep their grapes it would be done in the wane of the Moone Also that such vines as be cut in the change of the Moon wil not be suâ—…iect to the iniurie and hurt of any noisom vermin Although in some other respect men are of opinion that they should be cut in the night at the full of the Moon when the signe is in Leo Scorpio Sagittarius and Taurus and generally it is thought good to set them when the Moon is at the full or at leastwise when she is croissant Moreouer this is to be noted that in Italy there need not aboue ten men for to look vnto a vineyard of an hundred acres And now that I haue discoursed at large as touching the manner of planting graffing and dressing of Trees I purpose not here to treat again of Date Trees Tretrifoly whereof I haue sufficiently written already in the Treatise of strange and forrein Trees but forasmuch as my meaning is to omit nothing I will proceed forward to decipher those matters which concerne principally the nature of Trees and namely their maladies and imperfections whereto they also as well as beasts and other liuing creatures are subiect And to say a truth what creature is there vnder heauen freed therefrom And yet some say that wild and sauage trees are in no such danger only the hail may hurt them in their budding and blooming time True it is also that scorched they may be otherwhiles with heate and bitten with cold black winds comming late and out of season for cold weather surely in due time is kindly and good for them as hath bin said before But let me not forget my self See we not many times the cold frost to kill the very Vines Yes verily but this is long of the soile and nothing else for neuer hapneth this accident but in a cold ground So as this conclusion holdeth still That in winter time we alwaies find frost and cold weather to do much good but we neuer allow of a cold and weake ground Moreouer it is neuer seen that the weakest and smallest trees are indangered by frost but they are the greatest and tallest that feele the smart And therefore no maruel if in such the tops being nipped therewith seem first to fade and wither by reason that the natiue and radical moisture being bitten and dulled before was neuer able to reach vp thither Now concerning the diseases that haunt Trees some there bee that are common vnto all others againe that extend peculiarly to some certaine kind or other As for the former sort generall it is that no trees are exempt from the worme the blasting and the joint-ach Hereof it commeth that we see them more feeble and weake in one part or member than in another as if they did participate the maladies and miseries of mankind so common are the names of diseases vnto them both For certes we vse to say indifferently That trees are headlesse when they be lopt and topt as wel as men who are beheaded we tearme their eyes to bee enflamed sendged and bloud-shotten when their buds be blasted many other infirmities according to the like proportion And therupon it is that we say they be hungerstarued and pined and contrariwise that they be full of crudites and raw vndigested humors namely when moisture aboundeth in them Yea and some of them are said to be grosse and ouerfat to wit al such as bear rosin when by the means of too much grease as it were they begin to putrifie and turn into Torch-wood yea and it falleth out that they die withall in case the said grease take once to the roots euen as liuing creatures being ouergrowne with fat Moreouer ye shall see a kind of pestilence light amongst one peculiar kind of trees like as it fareth sometimes with men in sundrie states and degrees whereby one while slaues only die of a plague another while the Commons and those either artisans in a citie or peasants and husbandmen of the countrey Now as touching the Worme some trees are more subject vnto it than others and to say a truth in manner al more or lesse and that the birds know well ynough for with their bills they will job vpon the barke and by the sound trie whether they be worm eaten or no. But what say we to our gluttons and belly gods in these daies who make reckoning among their dainty dishes of wormes breeding in trees and principally of those great fat ones bred in Okes which wormes they call Cossi are esteemed a most delicat meat These forsooth they feed in mue and franke them vp like fat-ware with good corn-meale But aboue al others Pear trees Apple trees and Fig trees are soonest worme-eaten and if any trees escape they be such as are of a bitter wood in tast and odoriferous in smell Touching those wormes that be found in Fig trees some are engendred of themselues and of the very wood others are bred of a bigger vermine called Cerastes Howbeit al of them which way soeuer they come are shaped in maner of the said Cerastes and make a certaine small noise like the shrill and creaking sound of a little criquet The Seruise tree likewise is haunted and plagued with little red and hairie wormes that in the end doe kill it The Medlar trees also when they be old are subject to this maladie As for the misliking of trees calsed Sideratio wherby they consume wither away crumble to powder it is a thing caused only of the weather and influence of some Planet And therfore in this ranke are to be raunged Haile Blasting with some vntoward winds and frosts that bite and nip them to the heart And verily it falleth out that in a mild and warme Spring when plants bee too forward and put foorth their soft buds and tender sprouts ouer-soone the black wind taketh them on a suddaine and a certaine rime settleth thereupon sendging and burning the oilets of the Burgeons whiles they be ful of a milky sap which accident if it light in blooming time vpon the blossome is called properly Carbunculus i. a Mieldeaw As for the Frost at such a time it is far worse
tree grew out of the base or foot of a Columne that Caesar Dictator caused there to be erected Semblably at Rome also twice during the war between the Romans and K. Perseus there was a Date tree known to grow vpon the lanterne or top of the Capitoll temple foreshewing those victories and triumphs which afterward ensued to the great honor of the people of Rome And when this was by stormes and tempests ouerthrowne and laid along there sprung vp of it selfe in the very same place a Fig tree at what time as M. Mâ—…ssala and Caius Cassius the two Censors held their Quinquennall solemne sacrifices for the assoiling and purging of the city of Rome From which time Piso a renowmed Historiographer and Writer of good credit hath noted that the Romans were giuen ouer to voluptuousnesse and sensuality and that euer since all chastitie and honest life hath bin exiled But aboue all the prodigies that were euer seen or heard there is one that passeth and the same hapned in our age about the very time that Nero the emperor came to his vnhappy end and fall for in the Marrucine territorie there was an oliue garden belonging to Vectius Marcellus a right worshipfull knight of Rome which of it selfe remoued all and whole as it stood ouer the broad highway to a place where lay tillage and earable ground and the corn lands by way of exchange crossed ouer the said causey againe and were found in lieu of the Oliue plot or hortyard aforesaid CHAP. XXVI ¶ The remedies for the maladies and diseases of Trees NOw that I haue declared the diseases of Trees meet it is that I should set down the cure and remedies thereto Where this one thing would be first noted That of Remedies some be common to all trees others appropriate to certain Common be these following To bare and clense the roots to hil and bank them again that is to say to giue aire vnto the roots let the wind into them and contrariwise to couer them keep both wind weather from them to water them or to deriue diuert water from them to refresh their roots with the fat liquor of dung to discharge them of their burden by pruning their superfluous branches Item to giue their humors issue and as it were by way of phlebotomie to let them bloud and to skice and scrape their bark round about in maner of scarification To take downe their strength and keep them vnder that they be not too lusty proud Also if the cold hath caught their buds or burgeons therby caused them to look burnt rough and vnpleasant to slick polish smooth them again with the pumy stone These verily be the diuers helps to cure trees howbeit vsed they must be with great discretion for that which is very good for one is not so good for another and some trees require this course others that to be taken with them As for example the Cypres tree canot abide either to be dunged or watered it hateth all digging and deluing about it it may not away with cutting and pruning it is the worse for all good physick nay all remedies to others are mischiefs to it and in one word go about to medicine it you kil it All Vines and Pomegranat trees especially loue alife riuer sides desire to be watered for thereby will they thriue and prosper The Fig tree also it selfe is nourished and fed in waterie grounds but the fruit that it beareth is the poorer by that means Almond trees if they be plied with digging will either not bloome at all or else shed their floures before due time Neither must any yong plants or trees newly graffed be digged about their roots before they haue gathered sufficient strength and begin to beare fruit Most trees are willing enough to be disburdened of their superfluous and ouer-â—…ank branches like as we men can spare our nails to be pared and bush of hair to be cut when they be ouergrowne As for old trees they would be cut down hard to the ground for vsually they rise again of some shoot springing from the root and yet not all of them Regard therefore must be had that none be so vsed but such as we haue noted before as are able of nature to abide it For trees to be watered at the roots in the heate of summer it is good but in winter it is as bad In the fal of the leaf it may be wholsom it may also be hurtfull and therefore the nature of the soile would be considered for the grape-gatherer in Spain meeteth with a good vintage notwithstanding the Vines stand in a marish and fennie ground howbeit in most parts of the world besides it is thought good husbandry to draine away from the roots the very rain water that falls from aboue in Autumne About the rising of the Dog-star trees desire most of all to be wel watered and yet they would not haue too much thereof euen in that time for in case their roots be ouer-drenched and drowned therewith they will catch harm Herein also the age of trees is to be respected which in this case prescribeth what is meet and sufficient for yong trees be lesse thirsty than others also Custome is a great matter For such as haue beene vsed vnto watering must not change their old woont but they require most of all others to be vsed so still Contrariwise Those Trees which grow vpon dry grounds naturally desire no more moisture than that which is needful In the territory about Sulmo in Italy and namely within the Liberties of Fabianum the Vines which doe beare the harder and sowrer Grapes must of necessitie be watered And no maruaile for the verie lands and Corne-fields vse to haue water let in vnto them And here a wonderfull thing is to be obserued This water cherisheth the Corne but killeth all the hurtfull Grasse among and the riuer ouer flowing the lands is as good as a weeding In the same countrey the maner is in midwinter to open a sluce or draw vp their floodgates for to ouerflow their vine roots with the riuer and so much the rather if either it be an hard frost or snow lie vpon the ground And why so because the pinching cold should not burne them and this they call there by the name of Tepidare i. to giue them a kindly warmth as in a stouve see the memorable nature of this only riuer to be warme in winter and yet the same in summer is so cold that hardly a man can endure his hand in it CHAP. XXVII ¶ Of caprification or scarifying trees also the maner of dunging them TOuching the remedies for blasting as well by heat as cold I will treat in the booke next following Meane while I cannot omit one manner of cure by way of Scarification For when the bark is poore and lean by reason of some disease or mislike so as it clengs together pressing and binding the quick wood
out of the Balear Islands for a Modius of that wheat yeeldeth in bread 30 pound weigâ—… yet otherwhiles it falleth out in some kinds of wheat being blended two sorts together 〈◊〉 namely that of Cyprus and Alexandria whereof neither exceed little or nothing more than 20 pound weight to the Modius that the bread made thereof will arise to the ordinary proportion for the Cyprian wheat is not bright but brown and duskish and therefore makes a blacke kind of bread in which regard the Alexandrian wheat which is faire and white is mixed with it and so both together do yeeld in bread 25 pound weight The wheat of Thebes addeth a surplusage thereto of one pound As for the maner of working and kneading dough I like not their fashions who take sea water for that purpose as most do that inhabit the sea coasts thinking thereby to saue the charge of salt for I hold this very hurtfull and dangerous Neither doe I thinke that vpon any other cause mens bodies are made more subiect to maladies than by this means In France Spain when the Bruers haue steeped their wheat or frument in water and masht it for their drink of diuers sorts as heretofore hath bin shewed they take the skum or froth that gathereth aloft by the working of the wort and vse the same in stead of leuen for to make their bread which is the reason that their bread is lighter and more houved vp than any other Moreouer there is great difference in wheat by reason of the straw or stalk that bears it for the thicker that it is and more full the better is the corne taken to be The Thracian wheat is inclosed and well clad as it were with many tunicles and coats throughly prouided by that means and good cause why to resist the excessiue cold of that climat which gaue the Thracians iust occasion also to cast about and deuise to haue a kind of wheat that remaineth vpon the ground not aboue three moneths by reason that the snow ouerspreadeth the face of the earth all the year â—…esides and verily this kinde of corne is come into other parts of the world and lightly within three moneths after it is sowed you shall haue it readie to bee reaped A practise well knowne all the Alpes ouer and in other cold and winterly regions where by report of the inhabitants this kind of corne doth wondrous well and none prospereth better or groweth more ranke than it Ouer and besides there is another kind of wheat that putteth vp from euery root one stalk and no more in any place whatsoeuer the manner is to sow it in no ground but that which is light and it neuer misseth Also about the Thracian gulfe there is wheat that within 40 daies after the sowing will be ripe and therupon it is called the Two-month wheat And would you heare a wonder there is no wheat more weighty than it and besides it yeelds no branne at all In Sicilie and Achaia both there is great vse thereof and namely among the mountainers of those two countries Much seeking also there is after that corne in the Isle Euboea about Carystus See how much Columella was deceiued who thought that there was not to be found so much as any kind of three months wheat whereas it is plaine that such hath beene of old and time out of mind The Greeks also haue a proper name for it and call it Trimenon Furthermore it is reported that in the countrey Bactriana there is some corne of that bignes that euery graine is full as much as one of the eares of ours But to returne againe to our husbandry of all spiked corne Barley is sowed first but I purpose to set down the very just time and season apropriat to each kind according to the seueral nature of euery sort which may meaning also is to declare Mean while I canot omit that there is among the Indians barley both sowne and also wild whereof they make the best bread that they haue As for vs Italians to say a truth we set most store by rice wherof being husked and cleansed we make grotes like for all the world to those which other men besides doe make of barley husked The leaues verily that this graine Rice doth beare be pulpous and fleshy resembling Porret or Leeks but that they be broader the stem groweth a cubit high the floure is of purple colour and the root round like a jem or pearle Barley husked was the most ancient meat in old time as may appeare by the ordinarie custome of the Athenians according to the testimonie of Menander as also by the addition or sirname giuen to sword-fencers who vpon their allowance or pension giuen them in barly were called Hordearij i. Barley-men The ordinarie drie grout or meale also Polenta which the Greeks so highly commend was made of nothing els but of barley and the preparing thereof was after sundrie waies The manner that the Greeks vsed was first to steepe the barly in water and giue it one nights drying the morrow after they parched or fried it and then ground it in a mill Others there be who when it is well fried and parched hard besprinckle it once againe with a little water and then dry it before it be ground There are some again who take the ears of barley when they are green beat driue the corn out and while it is fresh and new cleanse it pure which don they infuse it in water and while it is wet bray it in a mortar then they wash it well in osier paniers and so let the water run from it and beeing dried in the sun they pound or stamp it againe and beeing throughly husked and cleansed grind it into meale as is aforesaid Now when it is thus prepared one way or other to twenty pound of this barley they put of Line seed three pound of Corâ—…ander seed halfe a pound of salt about two ounces and two drams and after they haue pearched them all well they blend them together and grind them in a quem They that would haue this meale to keep long put vp into new earthen vessels al together both floure and bran But in Italy they neuer vse to steep or soke it in water but presently parch it and grind it smal into a fine meale putting thereto the former ingredients and the graine of Millet besides As for bread of Barley so much vsed of our forefathers in old time the posterity that liued after found to be naught and condemned it in such sort as they allowed it for prouender only to feed their beasts and cattel with But in stead therof came vp the vse of husked barly to be sodden for grewell so highly commended as a most nutritiue and strong meat and withal passing wholesome for mans bodie insomuch as Hippocrates who for skill and knowledge was the prince of all Physicians hath written one whole booke in the praises onely
made of Zea than of Wheat and called it is Granum or Granatum although in Alica that be counted a fault To conclude they that wil not vse chalk do blanch and make their Frumentie white by seething milke with it and mingling all together CHAP. XII ¶ Of Pulse IT followeth now to write of the nature of Pulse among which Beanes do challenge the first ranke and principall place for thereof men haue assaied to make bread The meale of Beans is called in Latine Lomentum There is not a Pulse weigheth more than it and Beane meale makes euery thing heauier wherin it is Now adaies they vse to sel it for prouender to feed horses And indeed Beanes are dressed and vsed many waies not only to serue all kind of four-footed beasts but also for man especially For in most countries it is mingled with Frumentiâ—… corn and namely with Pannicke most of all whole and entire as it is but the more delicat and daintie way is to break and bruise it first Moreouer by ancient rites and religious ceremonies at the solemn sacrifice called Fabraria the maner was to offer vnto certain gods and goddesses Beane cakes This was taken for a strong food being eaten with a thick grewel or pottage howbeit men thought that it dulled a mans sences and vnderstanding yea and caused troublesome dreames in the night In regard of which inconueniences Pythagoras expressely forbad to eat Beanes but as some haue thought and taught it was because folke imagined that the soules of such as were departed had residence therein which is the reason also that they be ordinarily vsed and eaten at the funerals and obsequies of the dead Varro also affirmeth That the great Priest or Sacrificer called the Flamine abstains from Beanes both in those respects aforesaid as also for that there are to be seen in the floure thereof certain letters or characters that shewheauines and signs of death Further there was obserued in old time a religious ceremonie in Beanes for when they had sown their grounds their maner was of all other corne to bring back with them out of the fieldes some Beanes for good luck sake presaging thereby that their corne would returne home again vnto them and these Beanes thereupon were called in Latine Refriuae or Referiuae Likewise in all port-sales it was thought that if Beanes were entermingled with the goods offered to be sold they would be luckie and gainefull to the seller This is cerataine that of all the fruits of the earth this only will be full and sound when the Moone is croisant notwithstanding it were gnawne and halfe eaten with some thing before Set them ouer the fire in a pan with sea water or any other that is saltish they will neuerbe thoroughly sodden They are set or sowne before the retrait of the Starre Vergiliae i. the Brood-hen the first of al other Pulse because they might take root betimes and preuent the Winter And yet Virgill would haue them to be put into the ground in the Spring like as the manner is in Piemont and Lombardie all about the riuer Po. But the greater part of good Husbandmen are of this opinion That the stalke or straw of Beanes sowne early or set betimes are better than the very fruit it selfe which hath had but three months being in the ground For the cods and stalks only of Beans are passing good fodder and forage for cattell Beanes when they are blouming and in their floure desire most of al to be refreshed with good store of rain but after they haue don flouring they care for little the sowing of this Pulse in any ground is as good as a mucking vnto it for it enriches it mightily And therefore towards Macedonie and about Thessalie the manner is when Beanes begin to blossom for to turne them into the ground with the plough Beans come vp and grow in most places of their owne accord without sowing and namely in certaine Islands lying within the Northern ocean which our countrymen therupon haue named Fabariae Semblably they grow wild commonly thoroughout Mauritania but exceeding hard and tough they be and such as possibly canot be sodden tender There are likewise in Aegypt to be found Beanes with a stalk beset full of prickles or thornes which is the cause that Crocodiles wil not come neer them for feare of hurting their eyes The stemme of these Beanes is foure cubites in height but exceeding thicke and big withall tender it is notwithstanding and soft running vp euen and smooth without any knots or joints at al it caries a head in the top like Chesboule or Poppy of a rose red color wherin are contained not aboue 30 Beanes at the most The leaues be large the fruit it selfe or the Bean is bitter in tast and the smel not pleasant howbeit the root is a most dainty meat which the inhabitants do eat as wel raw as sodden and like it is to reed cane roots These grow in Syria and Cylicia as also about the lake Torone within Chalcis As touching other Pulse Lentils be sown in Nouember and so are Pease but in Greece only Lentils loue a light ground better than a fat heauie they like also drie and faire weather Two kinds thereof be found in Aegypt the one more round and blacke than the other the rest be fashioned as common Lentils According to the manifold vse and diuers effects of Lentils there haue sundrie names and denominations beene borrowed from them for I find in writers that the eating of Lentils maketh men to be mild and patient whereupon they be called Lenti and Lenes As for Pease it ought to be sowed in warm places lying well vpon the Sunne for of all things it cannot abide the cold Which is the cause that in Italie and in other countries where the clime is tough and hard they are not sowne vsually but in the Spring and folke chuse a gentle light and loose ground To come now to the Ciâ—…h pease the nature of it is to be nitrous and saltish and therefore it burneth the ground where it grows Neither must it be sowne vnlesse it were well steeped and soked in water the day before many sorts there be of these cich-pease different in bignes form colour and tast for there are both blacke and white and those in fashion shaped like to a Rams head and therupon they are so called There is a second kind named Columbinum or by others Venerium These are white round light lesse than the former Rams-head ciches which men do eat ceremoniously with great religion when they meane to watch thoroughly all night long There is a little cich pease also called Cicercula made cornered and otherwise vneuen like vnto a Pease But the best ciches and most pleasant are those that come neerest in resemblance to the Eruile and generally the red kind and the black are more firm and fast than the white cich pease grow within round cods whereas other Pulse
he contained in long and flat according to the forme and figure of the seed which they hold Pease by themselues haue a long round cod in forme of a Cylinder The Pulse called Phasâ—…oli i. Kidney Beans vse to be eaten cod and al together These may be set or sowne in what ground you list from the Ides of October to the Calends of Nouember Finally all kinds of Pulse so soone as they begin to ripen are to be gathered or plucked hastily for stay neuer so little they leape out of their cods and shed and being once fallen they lie hidden in the ground like as the Lupine also CHAP. XIII ¶ Of Rapes or Neuewes of Amiternium Turneps NOw let vs proceed and passe to other matters and yet in this discourse it were meet to write somwhat as touching Rapes or Nauews The Latin writers our countreymen haue slightly passed by and touched them only by the way The Greeks haue treated of them somwhat more diligently and yet among pot-hearbes and worts growing in gardens whereas indeed according to good order they would be spoken of immediatly after Corne or Beanes at least wise considering there is not a plant of more or better vse than is the Rape or Nauew First and formost they grow not only for beasts of the earth and the Foules of the aire but also for men For all kinds of Pullen about a Farme-house in the countrey doe feed vpon the feed thereof as much as of any thing else especially if they be boiled first in water As for four-footed beasts they eat the leaues thereof with great delight and wax fat therewith Last of al men also take as great pleasure and delight in eating the leaues and heads of Rapes or Nauewes in their season as they do of young Coly-flories Cabbages or any tender crops of hearbs whatsoeuer yea when they are faded flaggie and dead in the Barn they are esteemed better than being fresh and green As for Rapes or Nauewes they will keep long and last al Winter both within the ground where they grew and being well wintered they will continue afterwards out of the earth lying abroad euen almost till new come so as they yeeld men great comfort to withstand hunger and famin In Piemont Lombardie those countries beyond the Po the people make the most account of gaine by gathering Rapes next to wine vintage and corne haruest It is not choise and daintie of the ground where it will grow for lightly it wil prosper where nothing els can be sowed In foggy mists hard frosts and other cold weather it thriues passing wel and grows to a wonderfull bignes I haue seene one of their roots weigh aboue fortie pounds As touching the handling and dressing of them for our table there be many waies and deuises to commend and set them out Preserued they may be till new come specially condite with sharp and biting Senuie or Mustard seed Moreouer our Cooks know how to giue them six other colours besides their owne which is pure and naturall they haue the cast to set euen a purple hew vpon them And to say a truth there is no kind of viands besides that being thus painted colored hath the like grace The Greeke writers haue diuided them by the sexe and therby made two principal kinds therof to wit the male and the female Nay more than that out of one and the same seed according as it is sowed they can make male or female whether they please For if they sow thicke and chuse therto a hard and churlish ground it will proue of the male kind Also the smaller that the seed is the better it is esteemed But of al Rapes male or female three especiall sorts there be no more For some roots spread flat and broad others are knit round like a ball the third sort that runs downe into the ground with a long root in manner of a Raddish they cal the wild Rape or Nauew this bears a rough lease and ful of angles or corners the juice that it yeelds is sharp hote and biting which being gathered in haruest time reserued mundisieth the eies and cleareth the sight especially being tempered with brest-milke If the weather be cold they are thought not only to thriue in bignesse of the root but also to prooue the sweeter whereas contrariwise in a warm season they run vp all to stalke and leafe The best simply are those that grow in the Nursine territory For they are sold by the weight and euery pound is worth a Roman Sesterce yea and otherwhiles twaine if there be any scarcity of them Next to these in goodnes be those that come out of Algidum Thus much of Rapes Navews As for the Turneps of Amiternum they be in a manner of the same nature that the Rapes aforesaid cold they loue as well Sown they are before the Calends of March foure quarts of their seed will take vp a whole acre of ground The best Husbandmen and such as are more exquisite in their practise of Agriculture giue order That the ground for Turneps should haue fiue tilthes whereas Rapes or Nauewes are content with foure but both the one and the other had need of a soile well inriched with dung or compost By their sayings also Rapes will prosper the better and come vp thicker if they be sowed in their huls chaffe and all together Moreouer they would haue the seeds-man to be naked when he sowes them and in sowing to protest that this which he doth is for himselfe and his neighbors and withall to pray as he goeth The proper season for the seednesse of them both is between the feasts of the two gods to wit Neptune and Vulcan To conclude there is a subtill and curious obseruation that many go by and do hold namely this To marke how many daies old the Moon was when the first snow sel the winter next before for if a man do sow Rapes or Turneps within the foresaid compasse of that time the moon being so many daies old they will come to be wondrous great and increase exceedingly Men vse to sow them also in the Spring but then they make choise of moist and hot grounds CHAP. XIIII ¶ Of Lupines AFter Rapes and Turneps the Lupines haue greatest vse and serue to be raunged next for that they indifferently serue both men and also all foure footed beasts that be houfed either whole or clouen Now for that the stalke is very shittle in mowing and therefore flyeth from the edge of the syth the onely remedie therefore that the mower may catch it is to goe to worke presently after a good shower And verily there is not a plant growing vpon the earth I meane of such as are sowne of seed more admirable than the Lupine in regard of the great amity and sympathie betweene the earth and it Looke how the Sun keepeth his course in our Horizon aboue so doth it turne and go withall insomuch as the
Husbandmen of the countrey go by no other clocke to know how the day passeth in close and cloudie weather than this obseruation Moreouer it hath three seasons of blowming it loueth the earth well but yet willingly it would not be couered ouer with mould for this is the onely seed that is sowne vpon ground without any ploughing or digging it would grow to chuse in a most grauelly drie and sandy soile and in no case can it abide any tending or husbandry about it so affected is it to the earth that cast it vpon any rough ground among bushes leaues briers and brambles it will chit and spurt neuerthelesse neuer lin til it take root within the earth If Lupines be sowed either in vineyards or vpon corne lands they inrich the same and make the ground better as we haue before written and so little need haue they of dung that they stand in stead of the very best To say a truth there is no graine lesse chargeable to be sowne than it nay there is none costeth nought at all but it for it needeth not so much as to be brought into the field and why it soweth it selfe presently in the same field where it grew and sâ—…edding as it doth of the own accord a man neuer needs to cast and throw it vpon the land as other corne It is first sowne and last gathered and lightly both these seasons fall out in the moneth of September for if the Seed-nes preuent not the winter so as it may haue good root before it commeth it will be in danger of the cold Ouer and besides if it chance to lie bare and vncouered aboue-ground left carelessely without any keeping and that no raine come vpon it presently for to driue it into the ground it is safe enough and catcheth no harme for so bitter it is that no liuing creature will touch it and yet for the most part the husbandmen bestow a light furrow vpon it and so couer it verie shallow If the ground be fast and heauie it loueth that â—…est which standeth vpon a red clay And for the maintaining and inriching of this kind of soile it must be turned vp or eared after the third flouring but in case it be grauelly or sandy it wil serue to do it after the second Chalkie grounds onely and myrie it hateth and therein it wil not grow As bitter as otherwise it is yet if it be steeped and soked in hot water it is mans meat also Moreouer one Modius or pecke of Lupines is sufficient for to satisfie and feed an Oxe or a cow at a time and this kind of prouender will make beasts strong and healthfull Moreouer the meale of Lupines applied to the bellies of yong children that haue the wormes is a singular remedy For the good keeping of Lupines all men agree that they should be laid vp in some chimney or smokie place especially for if they lie in a moist roome there be certain little worms that wil nibble off and eat the tip or nauill that it hath and by that meanes marre it for euer sprouting againe Finally if Lupines be eaten downe by beasts while they be greene in the leafe the ground where they grew must presently be ploughed vp CHAP. XV. ¶ Of Vetches and Eruile VEtches also do manure and fat the ground where they be sowed neither be they chargeable or stand the husbandman in much they be sown with one tilth otherwise there needs no harrowing nor weeding there is required no mucking onely they would be couered with mould and the clods broken for sowing of vetches there be three sundry times first about the setting of the star Arcturus that by the moneth of December it may get a good head for to be eaten with beasts and it is generally holden that being sowne in this season it will bring the best seed for say it be eaten downe then it will carry the burden neuerthelesse the second Seednesse is in Ianuarie the last in March and being then put into the ground it will run vp most to blade and yeeld the best forrage for cattell Of all seeds that are cast into the earth it loueth drought most it can brooke also shadie places well enough The chaffe that commeth of the seed thereof is excellent good and better than any other in case it were ripe when it was gathered It robbeth vines of their nourishment if it be sowed neere those trees wherto vines are wedded in somuch as a man may see euidently how they languish As touching Eruile it asketh no great hand or trauell about it yet thus much more attendance it requireth than Vetches for that it must be weeded and grubbed about the roots Besides this kind of Pulse is of great vse in Physick for Augustus Caesar was cured of a disease that he had and recouered his health by the means of Eruile as himselfe reporteth in some of his letters now extant Moreouer fiue Modij or pecks of Eruile sown is sufficient to maintain and find a yoke of oxen As for that which is sowne in March it is hurtfull forage men say for kine and oxen as also that which is sowne in Autumne maketh beasts heauie and stuffed in the head but that which is put into the ground in the beginning of the Spring is harmlesse CHAP. XVI ¶ Of Foenigreeke of Rie of Dredge of the prouender corne or Bolimong Ocymum of Spanish Trefoile or horned Clauer-grasse called in Latine Medica of the shrub Trifoile named Cytisus FOr the sowing of Silicia or Siliqua otherwise called Foenigreeke there needs no more but to scarrifie or scrape it lightly vp with a furrow not aboue foure fingers breadth deepe for the lesse cost and husbandry that is bestowed about it and the worse that it is vsed the better it prospereth and yeeldeth greater increase a strange thing to be spoken and seldom verified That Negligence should be any waies profitable and yet herein it prooueth true That which is called Secale and Farrago in Latine i. Rie needeth no more adoe but to be harrowed the clods well broken There is a kinde of Secale or Rie which the people called Taurines dwelling vnder the Alpes doe call Asia it is simply worst of all other and good for nothing but onely to driue away hunger plentifull enough this corne is and yeeldeth good increase but the straw is slender blacke it is and of an vnpleasant colour howbeit exceeding weightie and ponderous they vse to mingle the red wheat Far therewith and make thereof a Mascelline to allay the bitternesse thereof and yet for all that the bread which it maketh is most vnsauorie to the mouth and ill for the stomack It wil come vp in any ground whatsoeuer and bring forth a hundred fold ordinarily neither doth it eat the ground out of heart but rather maketh it more battle and serueth in stead of compost or mucke As for that kind of dredge of farrage which commeth of the refuse and light corne purged from
els will the Millet proue bitter in tast The like experiment they say is of a Moldwarps shoulder for if any corn be sowed or touched therewith before it will come vp the better and bring more increase Democritus had a deuise by himselfe for all seed corn whatsoeuer namely to temper soke the same corn in the iuice of the herb housleeke or Sen-greene growing vpon houses either tiled or shindled which in Greeke is called Aizoon and in Latine Sedum or Digitellum for this medicine will serue for all maladies The common practise of our husbandmen is this in case through the ouersweet sap or juice in greene corne wormes take to the roots for to sprinkle them with simple oile lees pure and clean without any salt afterwards to rake it in Also when the corn begins to ioint and gathet into knots then to clense the ground and put off no longer for feare least the weeds do get head ouergrow This I am sure vpon mine owne knowledge that there is an herbe but what proper name it hath I wote not which if it be interred in the foure corners of a field that is sown with Millet it wil driue away Stares and Sparrows which otherwise would by whole flights and flocks lie thereupon and do much harme nay I will speake a greater word and which may seeme wonderfull There is not a bird of the aire one or other that dare enter or approch such a field Field-mice and Rats are skared away and will not touch corne which before the sowing was either bestrewed with the ashes of weasels or cats or els drenched with the liquor and decoction of water wherein they were boiled howbeit this inconuenience insueth hereupon That bread made of such corn will haue a smach and sent strongly of such cats and Weasels and therefore it is supposed a more expedient and safer way to medicine our seed corne with oxe gall for to preserue it from the said Mice and Rats But what remedy against the blast and mildew the greatest plague that can befall vpon corn Mary prick downe certaine Lawrell boughes here and there among the standing corne all the said mists and mildewes will leaue the corne and passe to the Bay leaues and there settle What shall we do then to corne when it is ouer-rank Eat it me downe with sheep and spare not whiles it is young and in the blade onely before I say it be knotted and neuer feare harm by the sheeps teeth as neere as they go to the ground for let it be thus eaten many times the corn will be the better yea and the head will take no harme thereby but prooue the fairer If such rank corne be once cut down with the syth no more certain it is that the grain in the eare will be the longer to see to howbeit void and without any floure within it for sow such seed again it wil neuer grow nor come vp And yet about Babylon the maner is to mow it twise first and the third time to put in sheep to it for to eat it down otherwise the corn would neuer spindle but blade still and run all to leafe But being thus cut and cut again and eaten in the end ye shall haue it to increase and multiply 50 for one so fertile is the soile and if the owner be a good husband besides and vse the ground accordingly he shall reap thrice as much euen a 150 sold. And what carefull diligence is that which is here required Surely neither much nor difficult only he must be sure to keep the ground well with watering for a long time together to the end that it may be discharged of the ouermuch fat within it which by this means will be washed all away and the ranknesse delaied Yet as rich and fertile as this soile is the two riuers Euphrates and Tigris which vse to ouerflow and water the country bring no slimy mud with them as Nilus doth in Egypt wherby the ground is made so fat as it is neither is the nature of the earth there giuen to breed herbs that it should need any weeding and yet so plenteous and fruitfull it is that it soweth it selfe against the next yere for the corne that sheddeth in the reaping and mowing being troden vnder foot into the ground is as good as a sowing and riseth of it selfe without any further labor Seeing then there is so great difference in the soile I am put in minde thereby to fit euery ground with seed respectiuely according to the nature and goodnesse thereof This therfore is the opinion of Cato that in a grosse and fat soile there would be wheat and such like hard corne sown and if the same be subiect also to mists and dews there may be sown therein raddish millet and Panick must be sowne first in a cold and waterish ground and afterwards for change in a hot soile Item the red bearded wheat Far or Adoreum requireth a chalkie and sandy ground and namely if it be well watered Item the common wheat loueth a drie soile exposed to the Sun and not giuen much to breed superfluous weeds Item Beanes will doe well in a sound and fast soile As for Vetches they care not how little they be sowed in a moist piece of ground and such as is apt to run to grasse Moreouer for the fine winter wheat Siligo whereof the best manchet is made and also for the common frumenty wheat there would be chosen an open high ground lying pleasantly vpon the Sunne that it might haue the heat thereof to parch it as long and as much as is possible As for Lentils they doe like a good rough and shrubbie soile full of red earth so as it be not apt quickly to gather a green-sord Barly would gladly grow vpon a restie ground new broken vp or else such as be in heart to beare euery yeare And as for Summer barley of three moneths it would be sowne in a ground where it could not haue an earely or timely Seednes which is so fat and rich as it may affoord to beare crop yere by yere finally to speak to the purpose indeed this also is Catoes witty resolution in one word for all if the soile be light and lean seed it with such grain or forage seed as require no great nourishment as for example with Cytisus and excepting the Cich-pease with all pulse that are vsed to be plucked out of the earth and not mowed downe and thereupon indeed are these pulse called in Latine Legumina because they are plucked and gathered in that sort but in case the ground be good and fat sow such things as require fuller food and nutriment and namely all garden worts and pot-herbes wheat both the common and the fine and Linseed Then according to this rule a leane and hungry soile will well agree with barly for the root is contented with lesse nutriture wheras contrariwise we allow both
in their seed and mould or couer it afterwards with yron-toothed harrows drawn aloft Lands in this manner sown need no other raking or weeding for commonly they make not past two or three bouts in a land and as many ridges Finally it is thought that in this manner there may be sown in one yere by the help of one yoke of oxen 40 arpens or acres of land ordinarily if the ground be gentle and easie to be eared but if it be stiffe and stubborne they shall haue worke enough to go through thirty CHAP. XIX ¶ The seasons that be proper for tilling the ground also the manner of coupling oxen in yoke IN this operation of ploughing ground I am of mind to follow that Oracle or Aphorisme of Cato who being asked which was the first and principall point of Agriculture answered thus Euen to husband order and tend ground well being demanded againe what was the second hee made answer To plough well And when the question was propounded concerning the third point of husbandry he said That it consisted in manuring and dunging it well There be other necessarie rules besides set downe by him as touching this matter namely Make no vnequall furrowes in ploughing but lay them alike with one and the same plough Passe not the kindly season but care the ground in due time In the warmer countries lands would be broken vp and fallowes made immediatly after the Winter Solstice or Sun-stead In colder regions touch them not before the spring Aequinox or Mid-march In a drie quarter plough more early than in a moist sooner also in a fast and compact soile than in a loose and light ground in a fat and rich field than in a leane and poore land Looke in what climat the Summer is ordinarily drie and hot it is thought more profitable to eare vp a chalky or a light and leane ground between the Summer Sunstead and the Aequinoctiall in the fall of the leafe If the climat be such as yeeldeth but little heat in Summer and therewith many showers of raine where the soile also is fat and beareth a thick green-sourd it were better to break vp ground and fallow in the hotest season where the soile is heauie grosse and fat and wherein a man may tread deepe I like well that it should be tilled and stirred in winter but in case it be very light and drie withall it would not be medled with but a little before seednes Here also be other proper rules set down by Cato pertinent to Agriculture Touch not qd he in any hand a piece of ground that soon will turne to dust and mire When thou doest plough indeed for to sow imploy thy whole strength thereto but before thou take a deep stitch for all giue it a pin-fallow before this commodity commeth therof that by turning vp the turfe with the bottom vpward the roots of weeds are killed Some are of this opinion that howsoeuer we do els a ground should haue the first brâ—…aking vp about the springe â—…inox a land that thus haâ—…h bin once plowed in the spring is called in Latin Vervactum hath that name of the foresaid time Ver i. spring Indeed ley grounds such as rest each other yere must be in this wise followed Now if you would know what the Latines mean by Nouale they take it for a field sowed euerysecond yere And thus much of the land To come now vnto our draught oxen that must labour at the plough they ought to be coupled in yoke as close together as streight as is possible to the end that whilst they be at work and ploughing they may beare vp their heads for by that meanes they least doe gall or bruise their necks If they chance to goe to plough among trees and vines they must be muzled with some frailes or deuises made of twigs to the end they should not brouse and crop off the yong springs and soft tendrils Moreouer there ought a little hatchet to hang euermore fast to the plough beame before therewith to cut through roots within the ground that might breake or stay the plough for better is it so to do than to put the plough to it to keep a plucking at them or to force the poore oxen to lie tugging wrestling with them Also in ploughing this order is to be kept That when the oxen are gone down with one furrow to the lands end they turne and goe vp againe with another so that in ploughing of a land they rest betweene whiles as little as may be but euermore go forward in their labour vntill they haue made an end of their halfe acre or halfe daies worke and verily it is thought sufficient for a teem of oxen to breake vp at the first tilth in one day of restie or ley ground one acre taking a furrow or stitch of nine inches but at the second tilth or stirring an acre and a halfe which is to be vnderstood of an easie and mellow soile to be wrought for if it be tough and churlish it is wel if they eare vp at the first halfe an acre and at the next time they may go through with one whole acre how hard soeuer the ground be for thus haue poore beasts their taske set and their labour limited by Natures lore and appointment Euery field to be sown must be eared at first with streight direct furrows but those that follow after ought to go byas and winding If a ground vpon the pendant or hanging of the hil be to be broken vp the furrowes must go crosse and ouerthwart howbeit the point and beak of the plough-share must be so guided that one while it beare hard aboue on the one side and another while beneath on the other side and verily in this mountaine worke the ploughman that holdeth the plough hath toile enough and laboreth at it as hard as the oxen do Certes there be some mountaines that haue no vse at all of this beast but they eare their ground with raking and scraping hooks only The ploughman vnlesse he bend and stoope forward with his body must needs make sleight worke and leaue much vndon as it ought to be a fault which in Latine we call Preuarication and this terme appropriate vnto husbandrie is borrowed from thence by Lawyers and translated by them into their courts and halls of pleas if it be then a reprochfull crime for Lawyers to abuse their clients by way of collusion wee ought to take heed how we deceiue and mocke the ground where this fault was first found and discouered To proceed the plough-man euer and anone had need to cleanse the culter and the share with his staffe tipped and pointed at the end like a thistle-spade he must beware that between two furrowes he leaue no naked balks raw and vntilled also that the clots ride not one vpon anothers back Badly is that land ploughed which after the corn is sowed
soone as the seede is in the ground that it may be harrowed in with the corne But in case this manner of dunging be neglected it followeth then before that you do harrow to strew the short small dung in manner of dust gathered out of Coupes Mues and Bartons where foule are fed or els to cast Goats treddles vpon the land as if you would sow seed and then with rakes and harrowes to mingle it with the soile To the end now that we may determine fully as touching this care also belonging to dung euery sheep or goat and such small cattell should by right yeeld ordinarily in dung one load in ten daies and euery head of bigger beasts ten load for vnlesse this proportion and quantity of muck be gathered plain it is that the granger or master of husbandry hath not don his part but failed in litering of his cattell Some hold opinion that the best way of mucking a land is to fold sheep and such like small cattell thereupon euen in the broad open field and to this purpose they inclose or impark them within hurdles In a word a ground not dunged at al groweth to be cold and again if it be ouermuch dunged the heart thereof is burned away And therefore the better and safer way is to muck by little at once and often rather than to ouerdo it at once The hotter that a soile is it stands by good reason that the lesse compost it requireth CHAP. XXIIII ¶ Of good seed-corne The manner of sowing ground well How much seed of euery kind of graine an acre will take The due seasons of Seednesse THe best corne or Zea for seede is of one yeares age two yeares old is not so good that of three is worst of all for beyond that time the heart is dead and such corne wil neuer spurt And verily this that is said of one sort may be verified of all kindes The corne that setleth to the bottome of the mowgh in a barn toward the floore is euer to be reserued for seed And that must needs be best because it is weightiest for therein lieth the goodnesse neither is there a better way to discern and distinguish good corn from other If you see an eare of corn hauing grains in it here and there staring distant asunder be sure the corn is not good for this purpose and therefore it must be cast aside The best graine looketh reddish and being broken between ones teeth retaineth stil the same colour within the worse corn for seed is that which sheweth more of the white flower within Furthermore this is certain that some grounds take more seed and some lesse And hereby verily do husband men gather their first presage religiously of a good or bad haruest for when they see the ground swallow more seed than ordinary they haue a ceremonie to say beleeue that it is hungry and hath greedily eaten the seed When a man is to sow a moist ground good reason there is to make the quicker dispatch and to do it betimes for fear lest rain come to rot it But contrariwise in dry places it is not amisse to stay the later and attend till raine follow lest by lying long in the earth and not conceiuing for want of moisture it lose the heart turn to nothing Semblably when a man soweth early he must bestow the more seed and sow thick because it is long ere it swel and be ready to chit But if he be late in his seednes he should cast it thin into the ground for thick sowing will choke and kill the seed Moreouer in this feat of sowing there is a pretty skil and cunning namely to cary an euen hand and cast the seed equally thorowout the whole field The hand in any case of the seeds-man must agree with his gate and march it ought alwaies to go iust with his right foot Herein also this would not be forgotten that one is more fortunate and hath a more lucky hand than another and the seed will prosper better and yeeld more encrease that such a one soweth an hidden secret surely in Nature and whereof we can yeeld no sound reason Ouer and besides this is to be considered that corn comming from a cold soile must not be sowne in a hot ground nor that which grew in a forward and hasty field ought to be transferred into lateward lands Howsoeuer some there be that haue giuen rule clean contrary howbeit they haue deceiued themselues with al their foolish curiositie Now as touching the quantitie of seed that must be giuen according to the varietie both of ground and grain these principles following are to be obserued in a reasonable good ground of a mean temperature an acre in ordinarie proportion wil ask of common wheat Triticum or of the fine wheat Siligo 5 modij of the red wheat Far or of seed for so we cal a kind of bread corn ten Modij of Barly six of Beans as much as of common wheat and a fift part or one Modius ouer of Vetches 12 of Cich pease the greater Cichlings the lesse and of pease three of Lupines ten of Lentils 3 as for these folk would haue them sowed together with dry dung of Ervile six of Silicia or Feni-greek six of Phaseols or Kidny beans foure of Dradge or Balimong for horse prouender 20 but of Millet and Panick 4 Sextars Howbeit herein can be set down no iust proportion for the soile may alter all And in one word a fat ground will receiue more and a lean lesse Besides there ariseth a difference another way in this manner if it be a massie fast chalky and moist ground you may bestow in one acre thereof six Modij either of common wheat or of fine Siligo but in case it be loose and light naked dry and yet in good heart and free it will aske but foure For the leaner that a ground is vnlesse it be sown scant and the straw come vp also thinne the shorter eare will the corne haue and the same light in the head and nothing therein Be the ground rich and fat ye shall see out of one root a number of stems to spring so that although the grain be thin sown yet will it come vp thick and beare a faire and full eare And therefore in an acre of ground you shall not do amisse to keep a meane between foure and six Modij hauing respect to the nature of the soile And yet some there be who would haue of wheat fiue Modij sown at all aduenture and neither more not lesse whatsoeuer the ground be To conclude if the ground be set with trees or lying on the side of an 〈◊〉 all is one as if it were lean hungry and out of heart And hereto may be reduced that notable Aphorisme worthy to be kept and obserued as a diuine Oracle Take not too much of a land weare not out all the fatnesse but leaue it in some heart Ouer and aboue
grapes good for courriours 420. k Vine props and railes which be best 525. b Vine tendrils and burgens how to be ordered for the table 423. c. Vines afford most plants of all other trees 527. a Vine tree how to be graffed 520. h Vines draw into them the tast of herbes and plants growing neere vnto them 422. g Vineyard how to be bounded 529. b. how to be ordred with smallest expense ibid. f. ought to be exposed to the Sun 527. c. Vineyards Statanae 414. h Vinegre how it is made and the vses thereof 424 k Vinegre of Cypresse figs. 412. a Vinegre of Alexandrine figs. ibid. L. Vitellius stores his ferme with fig trees 445. a Vis maior what it is 599. a V L Vlysses ship turned into a rocke 79. d V N Vnedo the fruit of the Arbute tree 447. e V O Voluox a worme hurtfull to Vines 547. c Volta the name of a monster 26. k Vopisci who be so called 160. h Vortex the name of a stormie blast 25. b V R Vrchins of the sea 253. a Vrinum what kinde of addle egge 300. k V T Vtorus or loci in a woman what part 344. h V V Vulcans temple built by Romulus 495. a Vulturnus what wind 22. l Of Voices a discourse 353. a. b. c W A VVAgons and chariots who first made 188 l Walwort a weed naught for ground 508. g Walnuts emploied at weddings 445. e. and why ibid. Walnut trees brought out of Persia by commandement of kings 445. f. Walnut why called Persicon and Basilicon ibid. Walnut named in Greeke Caryon and why ibid. Walnut huskes and the young nuts how to be vsed 446. g Walnuts differ onely in the shell ibid. Walnut shels diuided in twaine ibid. Walnuts called Inglandes and why ibid. i Walnuts brought first into Italy by L. Vitellius ibid. k Walnut tree wood cracketh before it breaketh 492. m Water an element 2. l. the roundnesse thereof 31. e. the benefit it hath by the earth and the earth by it 32. h Water of what tast 449. a Waters fresh run aloft the sea and why 44. m Watering cherisheth corne and killeth grasse about Sulmo in Italy 544. m Water bringeth forth greater liuing creatures and more plentie than the earth 134. m Water verie materiall for corne fields 581. f ouerflowing corne fields as good as a weeding in some place 545. a Warden peares 439. d Wax made of all hearbs saue Dockes and Goosefoot 313. d W E Weauing whose deuise 188. i Weeding of corne 580. l Weeds choking corne and pulse 545. a Weights and measures whose deuise 188. l Weapons and armour whose inuention 189. a. b Wesps how to be kept from preserued fruits 441. f Wesps feed greedily vpon serpents 355. e Westerne wind Fauonius a husband to all plants and to certaine mares 471. d Wezando what it is 339. c W H Whales and Whirlepoles 235. b. c. as long as foure acres of land 235. c Wheat sold at Rome for one As by the Modius 551. b. c Wheat how it is spiked eared and ioynted 558. k Wheat of Italie best 559. e. other countries compared with ibid. Wheat of Bâ—…otia commended 559. e Wheat of Italie praised by Sophocles the Poet. 560. h Wheat esteemed by weight and so compared 560. h. i Wheat different in the straw or stalke 560. i Wheat of Thrace a three moneths corne ibid. m Wheat of Thrace a two moneths corne 561. a Wheat subiect to the mieldew 562. k Wheat of sundry kindes different in name 562. k Wheat what proportion it should yeeld in meale and floure 563. e. f. common Wheat Triticum exceeding fruitfull 564. m. the wonderfull and incredible encrease of wheat in Africke 565. a. Wheeles a kinde of fishes 236. g W I Wilding apples 438. m a wedded Wife turned to he a man and a husband and contrariwise 158. h Willowes of many sorts 484. l. their manifold vses in pearches trailes props and bindings ibid. red-Willowes good both to wind and bind 484. m Willowes fit for wicker workes ibid. as gainefull to the master as corne fields medowes and oliue rows 485. b. See more in Withies Wings of Bâ—…ts diuided into ioints 347. a Winds raigne in the region of the aire 19 c. how they arise and whence 21. c. their natures and obseruations 22. 23. c. Windpipe what it is 339. c the obseruation of winds good in husbandrie 608. i Winds who first distinguished 189. d Winds how they may be knowne distinctly one from another 608. g Wine a most pleasant liquor to be vsed inwardly 428. i of Wines 195 sorts 428. i Wine who first delaied with water 189. m Wine congealed into yee 425. d Wine lees maintaineth fire ibid. e Wine how it is knowne to decay ibid. b Wines how to be seasoned and medicined 425. a. b. how to be ordered prepared and seasoned 425. d Wines allowable for sacrifice and the seruice of the gods 423. c. Greeke wines reiected in sacrifice ibid. Wines when they grew in request at Rome 418. h Wines turne sower and recouer of themselues 423. b Wines reduced into 80 kindes 418. g of Wines foure principall colours 416. l Wine how to be tunned and kept 425. c. d Wine-cellers how to be ordered ibid. e Wine vessels how to be placed in the cellar ibid. Wine vessels how to be made and chosen 427. d drinking Wine fasting ibid. Wine of strange and wonderfull effects 422. l Wine causing women to be fruitfull ibid. procuring madnesse ibid. driuing women to slip their birth 422. m disabling for the act of generation ibid. Wines spiced and compound forbidden by Themison 422. k Wines of trees and shrubs ibid. h Wines of sundry hearbes and roots ibid. g Wine Phorinean 416. k Wine Cicibeliâ—…es ibid. l Wine Halyntium ibid. Wines sweet of diuerse sorts 417. a. b. c. d Wine Aigleuces 417. b Wine Dulce ibid. Wine Diachyton ibid. Wine Melitites 417. d. how it is made ibid. Wines alter according to the climat and soile where the Vines grow 415. b Wine spared among the Romanes 418. k. l. Forbidden in sacrifice ibid. h Women in Rome not allowed to drinke wine 418. k Women punished for drinking wine 418. k. l Wines aromatized 419. a Wines Greeke 419. f Greeke wine giuen in a congiarie by L. Lucullus at Rome 420. g. Wine of Chios prescribed for the Cardiaca passio 420. g left by Hortensius to the quantitie of 10000 barrels when he died ibid. Wines giuen in a congiarie by Iul. Caesar Dictatour 420. h Wines artificiall 420. i Wine Omphacium ibid. Wine Oenanthinum ibid. Wine Adynamon 420. l. how it is made ibid. the vse thereof ibid. Wine of Millet 420. l Date wine 420. m. how it is made ibid. Fig wine Sycites 421. a. wine of Lotus ibid. Wine of Carobs ibid. Wine Rhoites of Pomegranats ibid. of Gorneil or wild cherries ibid. of Medlers ibid. of Cervoises ibâ—…d of Mulberies ibid. of Pen-nuts ibid. Wine of Myrtles how it is made 421. b
way I cannot ouerpasse the foolish superstition of the Aegyptians who vse to sweare by Garlicke and Onions calling them to witnesse in taking their othes as if they were no lesse than some gods Of Onions the Greeks haue deuised sundry kinds to wit the Sardian Samothracian Alsiden Setanian Schista i. the clouen Onion and Ascalonia i. little onions or Scalions taking that name of Ascalon a city in Iury. They haue all of them this propertie besides to make ones eyes water and to fetch out teares being smelled to especially they of Cypros but the Gnidian onions least of all others cause one to weep In all kinds of them the body of the root consisteth of a certaine fatty pulp or cartilage For quantity the Setanian be least except the Tusculane howbeit such are sweet The clouen onions the scalions aforesaid are proper for to make sauce of As touching that kind of them called Schista gardners leaue them aâ—… winter in the ground with their leaues or head standing in the spring they pluck off the said leaues and then shal you see spring forth others vnderneath according to the same clifts and diuisions whereupon they tooke the name Schista After which example the like practise in all other kindes is prescribed namely to pull the leaues off that they should grow rather big in root than run vp to seed The Ascalonian onions haue a proper nature qualitie by themselues for they be barren as it were from the root and therefore the Greeks would haue them to be sowed of seed and not otherwise to be set of heads Besides that they should be translated replanted again late about the spring at what time as they put forth blade for by this vsage say they you shall haue them burnish and grow thicke yea and then make hast for amends of the former time foreslipt These must be gathered betimes for after they be once ripe quickly will they rot in the earth if you make not the better hast to pluck them vp If you set or plant their heads a stalke they wil put forth and seed vpon it but the onion it selfe will consume and come to nothing Moreouer there is a difference obserued in the colour of onions for they that grow in Samos and Sardis be most white those also of Candy be much esteemed and some there be who doubt whether they be the same that the Ascalonian or no for that if they be sowed of seed their heads or roots will grow big set them they will be all stem and seed and no head at all As for the rellish or taste that onions haue there is no great diuersitie but that some are sweeter than other Our onions here in Italy be all of two sorts principally the one which serue for sauce to season our meats which the Greeks call Gethyon Chibbols but our countrymen the Latines Pallacana these are sowne commonly in March April and May the other is the great headed onion and these be put into the ground either after the Aequinox in Autumne or els after mid-February when the West wind Favonius is aloft Moreouer onions are diuided into sundry sorts according to the degrees of their pleasant or vnpleasant and harsh tast to wit the African French Tusculan and Amiternium But euermore the best are the roundest Item the red onion is more keen and angry than the white the dry and that which hath lien is more eagre and sharp than the green newly drawn the raw also more than the sodden and finally the dry by it selfe more than that which is condite and preserued in some liquor for sauce The Amiternium onion is planted in cold moist grounds and this alone would be set of a head in maner of garlick cloues whereas the rest will come of seed Onions the next summer following after they be sowne put forth no seed but head only which groweth and the leafe or stem drieth and dieth But the next yere after by way of interchange it bringeth forth seed and then the head rotteth And therefore euery yeare they vse to sow onion seed apart in one bed by it selfe for to haue onions set onions for seed in other by themselues The best way to keep onions is in corn chaf and such like pugs As for the Chibbol it hath in maner no distinct head at all but only a long neck therfore it runs in maner all to a green blade the order is to cut and sheare it often in manner of porret or leeks which is the cause that they sow it also of seed and do not set it Ouer and besides before we sow onion seed the plot by mens saying ought to haue three diggings for to kil and rid out of the ground the roots of hurtful weeds and ten pound of seed ordinarily wil sow an acre Here and there amongst would be Saverie sowne for the better will the Onions like and prosper with the companie of that hearbe Also after the ground is sowne it requireth weeding sarcling or raking foure times at the least if not oftner Our neighbours in Italie sow the Ascalonian Onion in the moneth of Februarie whose manner is also to gather Onion seed when it beginneth once to wax black before it fall to wither Seeing now that I am entred thus far into a discourse of Onions I shal not do amisse to treat of Leeks also in regard of the neare affinitie betweene them and the rather for that it is not long since that the Porret kind which is often kept downe with clipping and cutting came into great name and credit by occasion of the Emperor Nero who vsed for certaine daies in euery moneth for to scoure his throat and cleare his voice and to take it with oile on which daies he did eat nothing els not so much as bread Wee vse to sow them of seed after the Aequinox in September and if we meane to make cut Leeks thereof the seed would be sowed the thicker These Leeks are kept downe with clipping and shearing still vntill the root faile without remouing them out of the same bed where they were sown and alwaies they must be plied with dung But before they be cut nourished they ought to be vntill they haue gotten a good head When they are wel grown they are to be translated into another bed or quarter there replanted hauing their vppermost leaues lightly shriged off without comming to the heart or marow which is their body next to their roots and their heads set deeper downward yea and their vtmost pellicles and skins sliued from them In old time they vsed to put vnder their root a broad flint-stone or els a tile which did dilate their heads within the ground and make them spread the better This they practised also in other bulbous plants as Onions c. thereby to haue the fairer heads But now in these daies the maner is lightly to barbe pluck off with a sarcling hook the beards or strings of
be tied fast vnto them Of all Garden-hearbs Beets are the lightest The Greeke writers make two kinds thereof in regard of the colour to wit the black Beets and the whiter which they prefer before the other although it be very scant and sparie of seed these also they cal the Sicilian Beets and for their beautiful white hew and nothing else they esteeme them aboue Lectuce But our countreymen here in Italy put no other difference between Beets but in respect of the two seasons when they be sowed namely in the Spring and Autumne whereof we haue these two sorts the spring Beets and the Autumnall and yet they be vsually sowne in Iune also This herbe likewise is ordinarily remooued in the plant and so replanted or set againe it loueth besides to haue the roots medicined with muck as well as the other abouesaid yea and it is very wel content with a moist and waterish ground The roots as well as the leaues or herbage thereof vse to be eaten with Lentils Beans but the best way to eat them is with Senuie or Mustard for to giue a tast and edge as it were to that dull and wallowish flatnesse that it hath Physitians haue set downe their iudgement of this herb That the roots be more hurtfull than the leafe and therefore being set vpon the bourd before all persons indifferently as well the sound as the sick and crasie yet many a one maketh it nice and scrupulous once to tast therof and if they do it is but slightly for fashion only leauing the hearty feeding thereupon to those rather that be in health and of strong constitutions The Beet is of two diuers natures and qualities for the herbage or leafe hath one and the bulbs comming from the head of the stem another but their principall grace and beautie lieth in their spreading and breadth that they beare as they cabbage And this they come vnto as the manner is of Lectuces also by laying some light weight vpon the leaues when they begin once to gather into a stalke and shew their colour And there is not an hearbe throughout the Garden that taketh vp greater compasse with fuellage than doth the Beet for otherwhiles you shal see it to spread it selfe two foot euery way whereunto the goodnesse and nature of the soile is a great help The largest that be knowne of these Beets are those which grow in the territory about Circij Some hold opinion that the only time to sow Beets is when the Pomegranat doth blossome and to transplant them so soon as they haue 5 leaues A wonderfull thing to see the diuersitie in Nature of these Beets if it be true namely that the white should gently loosen the belly and make one soluble whereas contrariwise the black doe stay a flux and knit the body It is as strange also to obserue another effect thereof for when the Colewort hath marred the taste of wine within the tun or such like vessell the only sauour and smell of Beet leaues steeped therein will restore and fetch it againe As touching the Beets as also Colewoorts which now beare all the sway and none but they in Gardens I do not find that the Greeks made any great account of them yet Cato highly extolleth Coules and reporteth great wonders of their vertues and properties which I meane to relate in my treatise of Physick For this present you shall vnderstand that he putteth downe three kinds of them the first that stretcheth out broad leaues at ful and carieth a big stem the second with a crisped and frizled leafe the which he calleth Apiana the third is smooth plain and tender in leafe and hath but a little stalke and these are of no reckoning at all with Cato Moreouer like as Coleworts may be cut at all times of the yeare for our vse so may they be sown set al the yere long yet the most appropriat season is after the Aequinox in Autumn Transplanted they be when they haue once gotten fiue leaues The tender crops called Cymae after the first cutting they yeeld the Spring next following now are these Cymae nothing else but the yong delicat tops or daintier tendrils of the maine stem And as pleasant and sweet as these crops were thought to other men yet Apicius that notable glutton tooke a loathing of them and by his example Drusus Caesar also careth not for them but thought them a base and homely meat for which nice and dainty tooth of his he was well checked and shent by his father Tiberius the Emperor after this first crop or head is gone there grow out of the same colewort other fine colliflories if I may so say or tendrils in Summer in the fall of the leafe and after them in winter and then a second spring of the foresaid Cymae or tops against the spring following as the yeare before so as there is no hearb in that regard so fruitfull vntill in the end her owne fertility is her death for in this manner of bearing she spends her heart her selfe and all There is a third top-spring also at mid-summer about the Sunstead which if the place bee any thing moist affoordeth yong plants to be set in summer time but in case it be ouer-drie against Autumne If there be want of moisture and skant of muck the better taste Colewoorts haue if there be plenty and to spare of both the more fruitfull and ranke they are The onely muck that which agreeth best with Coleworts or Cabbages is Asses dung I am content to stand the longer vpon this Garden-wort because it is in so great request in the kitchin and among our riotous gluttons Would you haue speciall and principal Coleworts both for sweet tast and also for great and faire cabbage first and foremost let the seed be sowne in a ground throughly digged more than once or twice and wel manured secondly see you cut off the tender springs and yong stalkes that seem to put out far from the ground or such as you perceiue mounting too ranke and ouer-high from the earth thirdly be sure to raise other mould in maner of a bank vp to them so as there peep no more without the ground than the very top these kind of Coleworts be fitly called Tritiana for the threefold hand and trauell about them but surely the gaine will pay double for all the cost and toile both Many more kindes there be of them to wit that of Cumes which beareth leaues spreading flat along the ground and opening in the head Those of Aricia be for heigth no taller than they but rather more in number than for substance thinner and smaller this kind is taken for the best and most gainfull because vnder euery main leafe in maner it putâ—… forth other yong tendrils or buds by themselues which are good to be eaten The Colewort Pompeianum so called of the towne Pompeij is taller than the rest rising vp with a smal stem
from the root howbeit among the leaues it groweth to more thicknesse These leaues branch out but here and there and are in comparison of others narrower howbeit much set by for their speciall tendernesse wherby they are soon sodden and dressed and yet cold weather they cannot indure whereas on the other side the Coleworts of Bruzze or Calabria like the best in winter and be nourished with the hard season leaues they haue exceeding great and large but their stalks are but small and as for tast they be sharp and sower The Sabellian Coles what curled and ruffed leaues they carry it is a wonder to see so thick they are besides that they rob the very stem of their nutriment which therby is the smaller howbeit of al others they be reputed the sweetest Long it is not since there came from out of the vale of Aricia where somtimes there was a lake and a tower standing vpon it remaining yet at this day to be seene a kind of Cabbage-cole with a mightie great head and an infinite number of leaues which gather and close round together and these Coles we in Latin call Lacuturres of the place from whence they come Some Coleworts there be which stretch out into a roundle others againe extend in breadth and be very full of fleshy brawns None cabbage more than these settting aside the Tritian Coleworts beforenamed that are known otherwiles to bear a head a foot thick and yet none put sorth their Cymes or tender buds more than they Moreouer this would be noted That howsoeuer all kinds of Coleworts eat much sweeter for being bitten with the frost yet if there be not good heed taken in cutting off their head or tender crops and buds so that the wound come not neere the heart and pith and namely by cutting them aslope and byas in manner of a Goats foot they will take much harme thereby Such as be reserued to beare seed ought not to be cut at all They also are not without their grace and commendation which neuer passe the bignesse of a green and ordinary plant such small coles are called Halmyridia for that they grow not elsewhere but vpon the sea coasts and because they wil keep greene prouision is made of such for to serue in long voiages at sea for so soon as they be cut vp before they touch the ground they be put vp into barrels where lately oile hath been and those newly dried against the time and stopped vp close that no aire at all may enter in and therein be they preserued Some there be who in remouing the young plants lay vnder their roots Riek and Sea-weeds or els bruised and powdred nitre as much as a man may take vp with three fingers imagining thereby that they will the sooner come to maturity Others againe take the seed of Trifolie and Nitre stamped together which they strew vpon the leaues for the same purpose And as for Nitre it is of this nature to make them look green still although they were sodden or els they vse to boile them after Apicius his fashion namely to steep them wel in oile and salt mingled together before they be set vpon the fire for to be sodden Moreouer there is a way tograffe herbs also as well as trees namely by cutting off the yong sions that spring out of the stalk and therein to inoculate as it were the seed of another plant within the pith or marow thereof This also may be practised vpon wild Cucumbers Ouer and besides there is a kind of wild Woorts growing in the fields called Lapsana much named and renowned by occasion of the sonets carols chanted in the solemnitie of Iulius Caesar the Emperors triumph and especially of the merry times and licentious broad jeasts tossed by his soldiers who at euery second verse cast in his teeth â—…hat in Dyrrhachium they liued of nothing els but of those Woorts noting indeed by way of cauill and reproch his niggardise in rewarding them so sleightly for their good seruice now was this Lapsana a kind of wild Colewort which they did eat of instead of the fine and dainty tendrils and buds of the garden Coles As touching Sperages there is not an herb in the garden whereof there is so great regard and care taken as of them Concerning their first original beginning I haue spoken at large in the treatise Of the maner how to order the wild of that kind and to entertain them in our gardens as also how Cato willed vs to sow and plant them in plots of Reeds and Canes Now there is a middle sort of these Sperages not so ciuill and gentle as the Asparagi of the garden and yet more kind and mild than the Corrudae of the field these grow euery where abroad euen vpon the mountains and the champion countrey of high Aâ—…ain is ouerspred and full of them wherof there goes a pleasant speech and merry conceit of Tyberius Caesar the Emperour namely that there grew an herb in Almain very like to the garden Sperage for as touching that which commeth vp of it selfe in Nesis an Island of Campaine it is thought the best simply of all others without comparison The garden Sperages be planted from the knots bunching together within the ground named Spongiae which easily may be replanted for surely an hearb it is that carrieth a mighty head or cluster as it were of roots and the same putteth forth spurns euery way from it of a great depth into the ground They send out at first certaine greene spurts or buds peeping forth of the ground which growing to a stem in processe of time rise sharpe in the top and then are they chamfered diuided into certaine musculous branches that spread abroad This hearbe may be sowne also of seed Cato tooke not more paines about any other hearbe nor imploied greater diligence in the description thereof than he did in it It is the very last thing that he treateth of in his booke whereby it may appeare that the man came all vpon a sudden and newly to the knowledge of that hearbe and the ordering of it He giueth order Imprimis That the plot wherein they are to sowne be moist fat and well digged Item That they be set half a foot euery way asunder one from another in no wise the place troden down with ones foot moreouer that two or three seeds be put together in a hole made before with a dibble directly by a line for in those daies they set them onely of seed Item That this would be done about mid-March which is the proper season therefore Item That they haue their fill of dung That they be kept cleane with often weeding but in any case That great heed be taken in plucking vp the weeds that the tender buds or croppes new knit and appearing aboue ground be not knapt off For the first yeare hee would haue them in winter time to be couered with straw and litter and so
it somwhat stuffeth and offendeth The floure is of a golden colour And say that it carrieth neither seed nor floure yet commeth it vp of it selfe in void and vacant places altogether neglected and without any culture for it doth propagat and increase by the tops and tips of the branches lying vpon the ground and so taking root And therefore it groweth the better if it be set of root or slip than sowed of seed For of seed much adoe there is to make it come vp and when it is aboue ground the yong plants are remoued and set as it were in Adonis gardens within pots of earth and that in Summer time after the maner of the herb and floure Adonium for as well the one as the very tender and can abide no cold and yet as chill as they be they may not away with ouer-much heat of the Sun for taking harme But when they haue gotten head once and be strong enough they grow and branch as Rue doth Much like vnto Sothernwood in sent and smell is Camomile the floure is white consisting of a number of pretty fine leaues set round about the yellow within CHAP. XI ¶ Of Marioram the greater and the lesse called in Latine Amaracus or Sampsuchum Of Nyctygretum Melilote the white Violet of Codiaminum and wild Bulbes of Heliochrysum and Lychnis or Rose Campain And of many other herbs growing on this side the sea DIocles the Physitian and the whole nation in maner of the Sicilians haue called that herb Amaracus which in Egypt and Syria is commonly named Sampsuchum It commeth vp both waies as well of seed as of a slip and branch It liueth and continueth longer than the herbs beforenamed and hath a more pleasant and odoriferous sent Marjoram is as plentifull in seed as Sothernewood but whereas Sothernewood hath but one tap root and the same running deep into the ground the rest haue their roots creeping lightly aloft and eb within the earth As for all the other herbes they are for the most part set and sowne in the beginning of the Autumne some of them also in the spring and namely in places which stand much in the shade which loue to be well watered also and inriched with dung As touching Nyctygretum or Lunaria Democritus held it to be a wonderfull herb and few like vnto it saying that it resembleth the colour of fire that the leaues be pricky like a thorne that it creeps along the ground he reporteth moreouer That the best kind therof growes in the lad Gedrosia That if it be plucked out of the ground root and all after the Spring Aequinox and be laid to drie in the Moonshine for 3 daies together it will giue light and shine all night long also That the Magi or Sages of Persia as also the Parthian kings vse this herb ordinarily in their solemn vowes that they make to their gods last of all That some call it Chenomychos because Geese are afraid of it when they see it first others name it Nyctilops because in the night season it shineth and glittereth afarre off As for Melilote it commeth vp euery where howbeit the best simply wherof is made the greatest account is in Attica but inwhat place soeuer it growes that is most accâ—…pted which is fresh new gathered not enclining to white but as like vnto Saffron as is possible And yet in Italie the white Melilote is the sweeter and more odoriferous The first floure bringing tidings of the springs approch is the white bulbous stock-Gillofre And in some warmer climates they put forth and shew euen in Winter Next vnto it for their timely appearance is the purple March Violet and then after them the Panse called in Latine Flammea and in Greeke Phlox I meane the wild kind onely Codiaminon bloweth twice in the yeare namely in the Spring and the Autumne for it cannot abide either Winter or Summer Somewhat later than those before rehearsed are the Daffodil and Lilly ere they flour especially in countries beyond sea in Italy verily as I haue said before they bloum not till after Roses for in Greece the Passe-floure Anemone is yet more lateward Now is this Anemone the floure of certain wild Bulbes different from that other Anemone whereof I will speake in the Treatise of Physick-hearbs Then followeth Oenanthe and Melanion and of the wild sort Heliochrysos After them a second kind of Passe-flower or Anemone called also Leimonia beginneth to blow And immediatly vpon it the pety Gladen or sword-grasse accompanied with the Hyacinth last of all the Rose sheweth in her likenes But quickly hath the Rose done and none so soone and yet I must except the garden Rose Of all the rest the Hyacinths or Harebels the stock-Gillo floure and Oenanthe or Filipendula beare floures longest But of this Oenanthe this regard must bee had that the floures bee often picked and plucked off and not suffered to run to seed This groweth in warme places It hath the very same sent that Grapes when they first bud and put out blossom whereupon it took the name Oenanthe But before I leaue the Hyacinth I cannot chuse but report the fable or tale that goeth thereof and which is told 2 maner of waies by reason that the floure hath certaine veines to be seen running in and out resembling these two letters in Greek AI plaine and easie to be read which as some say betoken the lamentable mone 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that Apollo made for his wanton minion Hyacinthus whome he loued or as others make report sprung vp of the bloud of Aiax who slew himselfe and represented the two first letters of his name AI. Helyachrysos beareth a yellow floure like to gold a small and fine leafe a little stalk also a slender but hard and stiffe withall The Magi or Sages of Persia vse to weare this hearbe and floure in their Guirlands and they be fully persuaded that by this meanes they shall win grace and fauour in this life yea and attaine to much honour in glorie prouided alwaies that their sweet compositions wherewith they annoint and perfume themselues be kept in a vessel or box of gold not yet fined nor purified in the fire which gold they call Apyron And thus much for the floures of the Spring Now succeed and comeafter in their rank the summer floures to wit Lychnis Iupiters flower or Columbine-and a second kind of Lilly likewise Iphyon and that Amaracus or Marjeram which they cal the Phrygian But of all others the flower Pathos is most louely beautifull whereof there be two kinds the one with a purple flower like vnto the Hyacinth the other is whiter and groweth commonly in churchyards among graues and tombs and the same holdeth on flouring better and liueth longer The flower de-luce also is a Summer flower These haue their time fade and are soone gone And then come other flowers for them in their place in
who forbiddeth expressely to take Cypirus inwardly in any drink and yet he protesteth that it is most effectuall for them that be troubled with the stone and full of grauel but by way of fomentation onely He affirmeth moreouer that without all doubt it causes women to trauell before their time to slip their vntimely fruit But one miraculous effect therof he reports namely that the Barbarians vse to receiue the fume of this herb into their mouth and thereby wast and consume their swelled Spleens also they neuer go forth of dores before they haue drunk a pipe therof in that maner for persuaded they are verily saith he that by this means they are more youthful liuely and strong He saith moreouer that if it be applied as a liniment with oile it healeth all merry-gals and raw places where the flesh is rubbed off or chafed it helpeth the rank rammish smel vnder the arm-holes and without faile cureth any chilling numnesse and through cold Thus much of Cypirus As for Cyperus a Rush it is as I haue said growing square and cornered neere the ground it is white toward the top of a dark blackish green and fattish the vnder leaues that be lowest are slenderer than leek-blades the vppermost in the head are smal among which is the seed the root is like vnto a black oliue which if it grow long-wise is called Cyperis and is of singular operation in Physick The best Cyperus is that which groweth amongst the sands in Africke neere the temple of Iupiter Ammon in a second rank is that of Rhodes in a third place may bee ranged the Cyperus in Thracia and in the lowest degree that of Egypt And hereupon came the confounding of these two plants Cyperus and Cypirus because both the one and the other grow there But the Cyperus of Egypt is very hard and hath no smell at all whereas in the other there is a sauor resembling the very Spikenard There is another herb also comming from the Indians called Cyperis of a seuerall kind by it selfe in forme like vnto ginger if a man chew it in the mouth it coloureth the spittle yellow like as Saffron But to come again to Cyperus and the medicinable properties therof It is counted to haue a depilatory vertue for to feth off haire In a liniment it is singular good for the excrescence of the flesh about the naile roots or the departure and loosenesse therof about them which both imperfections be called Pterygia it helpeth the vlcers of the secret parts and generally all exulcerations proceeding of rheumatick humors as the cankers in the mouth The root of Cyperus is a present remedy against the stinging of serpents and scorpions specially Taken in drink it doth desopilat open the obstructions of the matrice but if a woman drink too much therof it is so forcible that it will driue the matrice out of the body It prouoketh vrine so as it expelleth the stone and grauell withall in which regard also it is an excellent medicine for the dropsie A liniment thereof is singular for cancerous and eating sores but especially for those that be in the stomack if it be annointed with wine or vineger tempered with it As concerning the rushes beforesaid their root sodden in three hemines of water vntill one third part be consumed cureth the cough The seed parched against the fire and so drunk in water staieth the flux of the belly and stoppeth the immoderat course of womens moneths but it procureth head-ach As for the rush called Holoschoenos take that part of it which is next the root and chew it then lay it to the place that is stung with a venomous spider it is an approoued remedie I find one sort more of Rushes which they cal Euripice and this property withal That it bringeth one to sleepe but it must be vsed with moderation for otherwise it breedeth drowsinesse sib to the lethargy Now seeing I am entred into the treatise of rushes I must needs set down the medicinable vertues of the sweet Rush called Squinanth and the rather because as I haue already shewed it groweth in Syria surnamed Coele The most excellent Squinanth commeth out of Nabataea and the same is knowne by the addition or syrname Teuchites In a second place is that of Babylon The worst of all is brought out of Africke and it is altogether without smell Squinanth is round of an hote and fiery taste biting at the tongues end The true Squinant indeed which is not sophisticated if a man rub it hard yeeldeth the smel of a Rose and the fragments broken from it do shew red As touching the vertues thereof It resolueth all ventosities and therefore comfortable it is and good for the wind in the stomack also it helpeth them that puke vp choler or reach and spit bloud it stinteth the yex causeth rifting and breaking wind vpward it prouoketh vrine helpeth the bladder The decoction thereof is good for womens infirmities if they sit therein A cerot made therewith and dry rosin together is excellent against spasmes and cricks that set the neck far backward As concerning Roses the temperature thereof is hot howbeit they knit the matrice by an astrictiue quality that they haue and coole the naturall parts of women The vse of Roses is twofold according to the leafe of the floure and the floure it selfe which is the yellow The head of the Rose leafe to wit the white part thereof is called in Latine Vnguis i. the Naile In the yellow floure aforesaid are to be considered seuerally the seed the hairy threds in the top the husk and pellicle that couereth the Rose in the bud the cup within euery one of these haue their proper qualities vertues by themselues The leaues are dried or the iuice is drawn and pressed out of them three waies either all whole as they be without clipping off the white nailes for therein lyeth the most moisture or when the said nails are taken off and the rest behind is infused in the sun lying either in wine or oile within glasses for oile rosat or wine rosat Some put thereto salt others mingle withall either Orchanet or Aspalathus or els Squinanth and this manner of juice thus drawne and prepared is very good for the matrice and the bloudy flix The same leaues with the whites taken away are stamped then pressed through a thicke linnen cloth into a vessell of brasse and the said juice is sodden with a soft fire vnto the consistence of hony and for this purpose choise would be made of the most odoriferous leaues CHAP. XIX ¶ The medicinable vertues of Roses of the Lilly and Daffodill called Laus tibi Of the Violet of Bacchar Combretum and Azarabacca HOw wine of Roses should be made I haue shewed sufficiently in the treatise of diuers kinds of wines The vse of the juice drawn out of Roses is good for the eares the cankers and exulcerations in the mouth
to be an excellent remedy for to rid away the ringing end thumping within the ears And to conclude it is a generall speech That if dogs do lap and tast the milke of a woman which hath borne a maid child they will neuer run mad As touching the fasting spittle of a woman it is judged to be a proper medicine for bloud-shotten eies also for the rheum that hath taken a course thither if so be the corners of the eyes be euer and anone bathed and wet therewith when they be hot and inflamed but more effectually will this remedy work in case the woman forbeare all meat and wine the day before I read moreouer in some Authors That if the head be bound vp with a womans haire-lace or fillet it easeth the pain thereof And thus much in some good sort as touching the medicines proceeding from women As for the rest that are written and reported they exceed all reason and there is no end of them For first and formost it is said that if a woman whiles her monthly sicknesse is vpon her bee set into the wind abroad with her belly naked she will scar away hailestorms whirlewindes and lightenings yea and aâ—…ert any violence of the weather whatsoeuer And at sea verily any woman standing openly against the weather bare although she haue not her fleurs is enough to secure the sailers and passengers from all tempests As for the very monthly flux itself of women a thing in other respects and at all times as I haue shewed before of a monstrous nature there be writers who tell and presage wonders thereof such as be horrible abhominable and indeed not to be spoken and yet some of these things I hold it no shame to deliuer in writing namely If it fall out just in the eclipse of Sun or Moon that a woman hath her sicknesse come down the same is a pestilent quality and apt to breed diseases incureable Likewise if haply the time of the change when the Moon is in coniunction with the Sun and those things concurre together the man who medleth with her during that time shall not auoid his bane but it will bring vpon him some pestilent malaâ—…y remedilesse Moreouer the venome thereof is so strong at that time especially more than at any other that the presence or breath only of a woman then will infect and staine any purple cloth And yet bad enough it is at all times for whensoeuer they are in their fleurs it skills not in what quarter of the Moone if they goe about any field of corn with their nakednesse vncouered yee shall see the canker wormes caterpillers beetles and all such wormes and hurtfull vermine to fall from the corn as they passe along This inuention by the saying of Scepsius and Metrodorus came from the Cappadocians who being infested with a number of those green flies called Cantharides deuised this means to be rid of them for they caused their women at the time of their monthly terms sauing the reuerence of womanhood be it spoken to go through the standing corne with their cloths tuckt vp round about their wast and all bare beneath In other countries yet they are more mannerly and in a better respect to the honor of women put them only to go barefoot for this purpose with their haire hanging loose about their eares vngirt vnlaced and vnbraced Howbeit great heed must be taken that they walke not thus at the Sunne-rising for then surelv all the crop vpon the ground will wither and dry away to nothing Also if a woman during her natural courses doe but touch any yong vines it is enough to marre them for euer As for Rue and Iuie Plants otherwise of themselues most medicinable and indued with singular vertues against poison they will presently die with their touch Much I haue already said of this strong and pestiferous venome and yet I haue not written all For ouer and besides certaine it is that if a menstruous woman doe no more but touch a Bee-hiue all the Bees will be gone and neuer come to it againe Also if at such a time she handle any skains or slips of linnen yearn and set them ouer the fire to seeth they will in the boiling turn black Let her but take a barbers rasor in her hand the edge wil turn and become blunt nay if she do no more but touch any brasen vessel it is wonderfull what a strong sauor it wil cast and how it wil rust and canker therupon and the rather if this fall out to be in the decrease or wane of the moon Doth a woman at such a time touch a mare that is in fole it is enough to make her cast the same before due time And not onely so but the very sight of women in that case although they be a great way off is able to do much harm but principally the first time that they haue the said fleurs after the losse of their maidenhead or otherwise during their virginity when they first come down by course of nature of the owne accord The malignitie of this venomous humor is so great that the slime ingendred within the lake of Sodome in Iury as viscous as it is otherwise will forgoe all that tenacity and diuide in sunder by nothing els but a thred infected with the said menstrual bloud according as I haue declared heretofore So forcible it is besides that the very fire which is of power to ouercome all things and change their nature is not able to conquer and alter this for burne or calcine it to ashes and strew neuer so little thereof vpon any cloths that are to be washed or scoured in the Fullers mill it wil change their color though they were of purple and cause any die whatsoeuer to lose the fresh lustre And more than that so pernicious is the quality of this venome that as naturall otherwise as it is to women it is no better than a poison to those of their own sex for in case one woman with child be annointed about her naturall parts with the foresaid bloud of another or do but step ouer the place where it is she will immediatly fall to labour and slip an abortiue birth As for the famous curtizans Lais and Elephantis who haue written so contrary one to the other of this argument and namely as touching abortions and of what efficacy the cole of Colewort Myrtle or Tamariske root is after it hath bin quenched in the said bloud as also how she Asses will not conceiue for so many yeres as they chance to eat Barly corns infected therewith besides other strange deuises that they haue set abroach I think them incredible I would not haue any credit at all giuen vnto their writings considering the monstruosities contrarieties which they haue put down whiles the one prescribeth medicines for to make fruitful the other ordaineth the very same to hinder conception and cause them to be barren Moreouer Bythus of
enough at these fooleries and absurdities of theirs but surely wonder lesse will they thereat who know what store they set by illfauored ticks the foulest and nastiest creatures that be and why do they thus magnifie so filthy a vermine because forsooth this creature onely of all others hath no passage at all for the voidance of excrements sucke it neuer so much and no way there is but death with them when they are thus full but so long only as they continue hungry and fasting and yet they say that they wil indure so a long time euen a whole seuen-night together with abstinence and spary feeding mary let them feed stil to the ful they wil not hold out so long but burst again in fewer daies space Well this tick so filthy as it is and of so admirable and strange a nature in their conceit they hold to bee of exceeding vertue to appease all paines and torments of the body whatsoeuer in case a man take one of them with the left eare of a dog and carry them hanging to some part about him And more than that these Magitians take marks by it presage of the life or death of their patients for they hold it for a certain and assured signe of life if one hauing a ticke about him stand at the beds feet where the sicke man lieth and when he asketh him how he doth and where he is amisse c. if the patient make answer readily vnto him but in case hee make no answer at all then surely hee shall die there is no remedy But take this withall this ticke must be plucked likewise from the left eare of a dog and the same dog ought to be cole-blacke without any specke of other colour And Nigidius hath left in writing that dogs will not all day long come neare vnto a man nor abide to see him who hath plucked a ticke from an hogge But to returne vnto our Magitians they affirm that such as be lunaticke and beside themselues shall come againe to their right wits and sences in case they be sprinckled with the bloud of a moule They auouch moreouer and say that if one seeth the tongue eies gall and guts of a Dragon in wine and oile and permit this decoction to coole all night abroad in the open aire it is a soueraigne medicine to chase away such bugs spirits and goblins wherewith folke be haunted and affrighted in the night season if they bee annointed therewith all ouer their bodie morning and euening Nicander writeth that whosoeuer carry about them the serpent Amphisbaena dead or no more but the very skin thereof hanging fast to any part of their bodies they shall finde it to bee a most soueraigne remedy for any through cold or chilling fitt that hath surprised them Nay hee staieth not there but addeth moreouer and saith that if the said serpent be bound vnto any part of a tree that is to bee felled and laid along the workemen that hew at the butt thereof shall feele no cold all the while and the tree by that meanes shall the sooner and more easily bee cut downe and ouerthrowne No maruell therefore if this serpent aforesaid dare leaue his nest and commit himselfe to the cold weather for he ventureth first to come abroad and is to be seene aboue ground before the Cuckow begins to sing But since I haue made mention of the Cuckow there comes into my minde a strange and miraculous matter that the said Magitians report of this bird namely that if a man the first time that he heareth her to sing presently stay his right foot in the very place where it was when he heard her and withal marke out the print and just proportion of the sayd foot vpon the ground as it stood and then digge vp the earth vnder it within the said compasse looke what chamber or roome of the house is strewed with the said mould there will no fleas breed there They say moreouer that the fat which is fleeted or skimmed from the broth wherin dormice and rats be sodden is excellent good for those that be affraid of the palsie and subject thereto also that Sowes or Cheeslips called Millipedae prepared and taken in drink in manner as I appointed for the squinancie are singular for those that find themselues to be falne into a phthysick or consumption of the lungs so is a green Lizard by their saying sodden in three sextars of wine till there be but one remaining if the patient take thereof a spoonfull at a time euery day vutill he feele himselfe warished and fully cured Others assure vs of as great effect by drinking the ashes of shell-snailes in wine As for the falling sicknesse the tried greace of sweatie and vnwashed wooll tempered with a little myrrhe so that the quantitie of them both arise to the bignesse of an hazell nut cures the same if it be taken infused and dissolued in two cyaths of wine presently after the patient haue swet and be come out of the baine For the same disease they ordaine the cullions or stones of a ram which haue bin kept long and dried to be reduced into pouder to the weight of halfe a denier Romane and so to be taken in water or else in one hemine of asses milke howbeit with this charge That the patient forbeare drinking of wine fiue daies after and as many before Furthermore they do highly commend the drinking of sheeps bloud likewise their gall in milke but principally if it be the gall of a lambe a sucking whelpe is very good in this case if it be taken with wine myrrhe but first the head and feet must be cut away Some for this purpose drink the surots or rough werts growing to the legs of a mule in three cyaths of oxymell others giue order to drinke in vinegre the ashes of the star-lizard Stellion which breedeth beyond-sea and the tender skin or slough of the said Lizard which she casts in the same maner as a snake doth taken in drink helpeth much Some Physitians are so venturous and bold that they haue giuen to those who be subiect to the falling sicknesse the verie Stellion it self after it is rid and clensed from the garbage or guts and so kept dried appointing their patients to drinke the pouder thereof in some conuenient liquor through a pipe of a cane others appoint it to be rosted vpon a wooden broch or spit and so to be eaten for meat And seeing I haue occasion thus to write of this Stellio and the skin thereof it were very conuenient and necessarie in this place to shew the manner how the said slough which is growne ouer him in winter may be gotten from him when he hath turned himselfe out of it considering that he vseth commonly to deuoure and eat it himselfe because it should not do any man good for there is not a beast againe more spightfull to mankind and enuious of our commoditie insomuch as this word
of the â—…ater die presently and are there to be seen lying dead For this secret mischiefe there is besides in many of these waters that they are faire and cleare to see to and thereby seeme to allure both man and beast to drinke thereof for their owne bane and destruction as we may see by Nonacris in Arcadia for surely this fountaine giueth no suspition at all wherby we should mistrust a venomous quality and yet some are of opinion That the hurt which commeth thereby proceedeth from excessiue cold and they ground their reason vpon this That the water issuing out of it into riuerets and rils will congeale and grow to a stony substance It fareth otherwise about the vale of Tempe in Thessalie where the water of a certaine fountaine is fearfull to see to and there is no man but abhorreth the sight therof besides the corrosiue quality that by folks saying it hath to fret and eat into brasse and yron the best is that as I haue shewed before it runneth not farre and the course that it holdes is but short But wonderfull it is that a certaine wild Carob should enuiron this source round about with his roots and the same continually beare purple flours as it is roported to do Also in the very brinke and edge of this fountaine there is another herbe of a kind by it selfe which abideth fresh and greene from one end of the yeare to another In Macedonie not far from the tombe of Euripides the Poët there be two riuers run together the one yeelds water most wholesome for to be drunke the other is as noisome and deadly Neare to Perperenae a towne in Troas there is a spring the water whereof giueth a stonie coat or crust to all the earth that it either ouerfloteth or runneth by of which nature are the hot waters issuing out of a fountaine neare Delium in Euboea for look what way soeuer the riuer runs you shal see the stones to grow still in height About Eurymenae which is in Thessalie there is a well cast into it any chaplets or guirlands of floures they will turne to stones There runneth a riuer by Colossi a city in Phrygia into which if you throw brickes or tiles that be raw and vnbaked you shall take them forth againe as hard as stones Within the mines of the Isle Scyros there is a riuer which conuerteth into stone all the trees that it runneth by or toucheth as well the boughs as the bodies In the famous and renowned caues called Corycia all the drops of water that distill from the rocke turne to be as hard as stones and no maruell for at Meza in Macedonie a man shall see the drops of water become stone as they hang to the very vaults of the rocke much like to ysickles from the eaues of houses in Winter time whereas at Corycum abouenamed the said drops turn into stone when they are fallen downe and not before In certain caues they are to be seen conuerted into stones both waies and some of them are so big as they serue to make columnes and pilastres of and those otherwhiles of diuers colours to the eye as may be seen in the great caue of Phausia which is within the Chersonese of the Rhodians Thus much may suffice by way of examples to shew the varietie of waters with their sundry vertues and operations CHAP. III. ¶ The qualitie that is in waters How a man may know which be good and wholesome from such as be naught and vnwholesome MVch question there is controuersie among physicians What kind of water is best and yet with one generall consent they condemne and that iustly all dead and standing waters supposing those that run to be better for it standeth with good reason that the very agitation and beating vpon the banks as they beare streame in their current maketh them more subtile pure and cleare and by that meanes they get their goodnesse Which considered I maruaile very much at those who make most account of the * water gathered and kept in cesternes But they ground their opinion vpon this reason because raine water is of all others lightest as consisting of that substance which was able to rise and mount vp aloft and there to hang aboue in the aire Which is the cause also that they preferre Snow water before that which commeth downe in shoures and the water of yce dissolued before the other of melted Snow as if the water were by yce driuen together and reduced to the vtmost point of finenesse They collect hereby that these waters to wit raine snow and yce bee all of them lighter than those that spring out of the earth and yce among the rest farre lighter than any water in proportion But this opinion of theirs is to bee reputed as erronious and for the common good and profit of mankinde to be refuted For first and formost that leuitie whereof they spake can hardly and vnneath bee found and knowne by any other meanes than by the sence and feeling of the stomacke for if you goe to the weighing of waters you shall perceiue little or no difference at all in their poise Neither is it a sufficient argument to prooue raine water to be light because it ascendeth on high into the aire for wee may see stones likewise drawne vp into the clouds and besides as the raine falleth downe againe it cannot chuse but be infected with the grosse vapours of the earth Whereby it commeth to passe that wee find raine water ordinarily to bee most charged and corrupted with ordure and filthinesse and by reason thereof it heateth most quickly and corrupteth soonest As for snow and yce that they should bee thought to bee composed of the subtile parts of this Element and yeeld the finest water I wonder much considering the neare affinitie which is betweene them and haile which might induce vs also to thinke the same of it but all men confesse and hold that the same is most pestilent and pernicious for to bee drunke Moreouer there are amongst them not a few who contrary vnto the opinion of other Physicians their fellowes affirme flatly and confidently the water of snow and yce to bee the vnwholesome drinke that is for that all the puritie and finenesse thereof hath beene drawne and sucked out And in very truth wee find it by experience that any liquor whatsoeuer doth diminish and consume greatly by beeing frozen and congealed into an yce Wee see besides That ouer-grosse and foggie deawes breed a kinde of scurfe or scab in plants white frosts burne and sendge them and both of these the hore frost as well as the deaw proceed from the same causes in a manner that snowes doe Certes all Philosophers agree in this one point That raine water putrifieth soonest of any other and least while continueth good in a ship as saylers know full well Howbeit Epigenes auoucheth and affirmeth That the water which hath beene seuen times putrified and as often purified
account you shall meet with no spring there sink as deep as you will and therfore workmen when they come to it giue ouer presently For a great regard they haue to obserue the change of euery coat as I may so say of the earth as they dig to wit from the black delfe vntil they meet by degrees with the veins aforesaid Furthermore it is to be noted that the water which is found in cley grounds is alwaies sweet and potable like as that which a stony and gritty soile doth yeeld is commonly colder than any other and such a kinde of ground also is allowable for the proofe of good waters for it ingendreth sweet and wholsome water light also of digestion and pure withal by reason that as it passeth by a soft grit as it were through a strainer all the grossenesse thereof it leaueth behind sticking thereto As for thicke sand grauell it affordeth small and slender springs and those not durable besides the water wil quickly gather mud Ground giuen to beare pibbles or the grosser sort of grauell giue vs no security that the springs therein wil hold all the yeare long howbeit the water is very good pleasant The hard and compact grauell called the male grauel and the land which seemeth ful of black and burnt carbuncle stones bringeth forth wholsome waters and the sources be sure and perdurable But red stones yeeld the best simply and those that we may be sure will neuer giue ouer and faile And therefore when wee shall perceiue the foot of a mountaine standing vpon such stone or vpon flint wee may boldly reckon of wholesome and euerlasting springs and this gift they haue beside to be passing cold Moreouer in digging and sinking pits marke this for an assured and infallible signe that you approch vnto water namely if the earth appeare and shew moist more and more still as you go lower and lower also if the spade enter more willingly and goe downe with ease and facilitie When pioners haue wrought deepe vnder the ground and then chance to meet with a veine of brimstone or alume the dampe will stop their breath and kill them presently if they take not the better heed and therefore to foresee and preuent this danger they vse to let downe into the pit a candle or lampe burning for if it goe out they may be sure it hath met with the dampe Therefore if pits be subiect to the rising of such vapours cunning and expert workemen make on either side of such pits both on the right hand and the left certaine out-casts tunnels or venting holes to receiue those hurtfull and dangerous vapours whereby they may evaporat and breathe forth another way Otherwhiles it falls out that the aire which they meet with in digging very low doth offend the pioners albeit there be no brimstone nor alume neere but the ready meanes to amend the some and auoid the danger is to make winde and fresh aire with continuall agitation of some linnen cloathes Now when the pit is sunke and digged as far as to the water the bottome must be layd and the lowest sides of the wall reared of stone simply without any mortar made of lime and sand for feare lest the veines of the source be stopped Some waters there are which in the verie prime and beginning of the spring are of this nature That they grow to be exceeding cold namely such as haue their source or spring lying but ebb for they are maintained only of winter rain Others againe begin to be cold at the rising of the Dog-starre And verily we may see the experience both of the one and the other about Pella the capitall city of Macedonie for the water of the meere or marrish there before the towne in the beginning of Summer is cold and afterward when the weather is at the hotest the spring water in the higher parts of the Citie is so extreame cold that it is readie to bee frozen The semblable happeneth in Chios where there is the same reason of the hauen and towne it selfe At Athens the great and famous fountain named Enneacrunos in a rainy or stormy summer is colder than the pit water or wel in Iupiters garden within that city and yet the said Well water if it be a dry season will stand with an ice at Midsummer CHAP. IV. ¶ The reason of certaine Waters that appeare and be hid againe suddenly BVt aboue all others the waters of pits or wels be ordinarily most cold about the retreat or occultation of Arcturus yea and many times they faile in the mids of summer and all of them in maner grow very low for the space of foure daies at the time of the setting of the foresaid star Many there be which haue little or no water in them all winter long and namely about the hil Olympus where it is spring first ere the waters return and find the way into their pits And verily in Sicilia about the cities Messana and Mylae during winter the springs are altogether dry but in summer time they run ouer the brinks of their Wels and pits maintaining pretty riuers At Apollonia a city in Pontus there is a fen neere the sea side which in Summer only ouerfloweth and especially about the rising of the great Dog-star mary if the summer be colder than ordinarie it is not so free and plentifull of water Some Springs haue this qualitie with them to be drier for shoures and raine water as for example in the territorie of Narnia a city in the duchy of Spoleto which M. Cicero hath not forgot to insert among other admirable things in his treatise of Wonders for of this territorie hee writeth in these tearmes That in a drought it was durty and in rainy weather dusty Moreouer this is to be noted That all waters are ordinarily more sweet in winter than in summer but in autumn least of all and in a dry season lesse than at other times Neither are the riuer waters most times of like taste by reason of the great difference that is in their chanels for commonly the water is such as the earth soil through which it passeth and doth participat the qualitie and tast of those herbs always which it passeth and runneth by No maruell therefore if the water of one and the selfe-same riuer be found in one place more vnwholsome and dangerous than in another It falls out many times that the brooks and rills which enter into great riuers do alter their water in the very taste as we may see by experience in the famous riuer Borysthenes insomuch as such great riuers be ouercome with the influence of such riuerets and either their owne taste is delaied by them or clean drowned and lost And some riuers there be which change by occasion of rain the proofe wherof was thrice seen in Bosphorus when by reason of the fall of some salt shoures the flouds that ouerflowed the fields destroyed all the
182 h. 185 c. 186 h. 187 d. 188 g. 198 k. 216 h 250 k. l. 251 e. 252 l. 253 c. 267 e. 272 l m. 273 c 278 l. 283 c. 288 g. 291 b. 403 b. 412 g. 413 d. 442 l 443 a. Purgetiues in curing maladies condemned by Asclepiades and most Physicians in old time 243 f Purgatiues how they may lose their operation 298 h. Purgation how to be staied 432. m Pursiuenesse how to be helped 154 g Purple fishes medicinable 437 d. their shels medicinable 438 h how to colour a purple die 421 a Purple embroidered coats by whom worne in Rome 459. d Pushes or piles called Pani arising commonly in the emunctories how to be discussed or brought to maturitie 36. h 70 l. 72 m. 158 l. 178 g h. 180 k. 138 a. 183 d. 192 m 206 l. 208 g. 279 e. 282 h. 303 b. 307 c. 309 d. 316 k 320 g. 370 l. other Pushes or angry biles how to be repressed or resolued without suppuration and breaking 72 g. 140 l. 142 g 144 k. 166 i. 167 d 180 g. 560 h. Puteolana a kind of Lead litharge 474 k Putrefaction of flesh how to be cured 208 g P Y Pycnocomon what herbe 251 a the description ib 262 h. Pycton a Physician 370 k a Pyramis erected vpon Mausoleum by the hand of Pythis a famous workeman and architect 568 l Pyramides in Aegypt bewray the vaine glory of those princes 576 l. why they made such monuments 576. m where they were situat 577 a b Pyramides of Aegipt testified by many writers yet knowne it is not what prince built which Pyramis 577. c in building of one Pyramis the number of workemen and how many yeares were emploied 577 c how many talents of siluer expendedin radish garlicke and onions for the workemen about one Paramis 577 d the description and measure of the largest Pyramis ibid. the height of these Pyramides how it should be taken Thalis Milesius taught 577 f Pyreicus a famous painter 544 h. he practised to paint simple and base trifles 544 i. surnamed thereupon Rhyparographos ibid. Pyren a pretious stone 630 〈◊〉 Pyrgoteles a famous Lapidarie and cutter in pretious stone 601 d. he onely was allowed to engraue the image of K. Alexander the Great in a stone ibid. Pyrites the Marcasine stone why so called 588. l where it is found ibid how calcined ibid. for what vses in Physicke it serueth 588. m vncalcined how it is medicinable ibid. Pyrites a pretious stone 630. l Pyromachus a cunning imageur 402 l. his works ibid. Pyrrhus an imageur and his works 502 l Pyrrhopâ—…cilos a kind af marble See marble Syenites Pythagoras a Physitian 66. l Pythagoras superstitious in obseruing numbers and letters 299 d. Pythagoras the Philosopher honoured with a statue at Rome for being the wisest man 492 〈◊〉 Pythagoras of Rhegium a famous Imageur his works 498 k. Pythagoras of Samos an Imageur and his works 498 l m he resembled the other Pythagoras so neere that hardly he could be knowne from him ib. Pytheas a writer 428. 〈◊〉 Pythe as an admirable grauer 483. f. his workemanship exceeding costly ib. his works 483 f. 484. g Pytheus the rich Bithynian 480. g Pythiae Priestresses and Propheteesss 569 d Pythios a kinde of bulbe 19. b Pythis an excellent mason and architect 568. l Pyxicanthus a bush the berries whereof are medicinable 195 d. Q V QVadrans a small piece of brasse coine at Rome 463. b stamped with punts or small boats ibid. Quadrigati siluer pieces of coine at Rome why so called 463 c. Quaestoria what goldfoile 465. e Quaking chilling for cold how to be helped 136. g Quarrels and debate what causeth 342. i Querne-stones ready framed found naturally in the ground 588 i. turning about of the owne accord ibid. Quartane agues vntoward to be cured in old time by any good course of Physicke 390. h against the Quartan ague appropriat remedies 44 l. 67 a 109 e. 120 i. 122 k. 126 k. l. 151 d. 219 e. 223 d 260 i k. 298 c. 301 b. 302 h. 309 e. 310 i. 311 b c 312 i. 315 a d. 335 f. 336 g. 356 i. 390 t k l m 391 a b c. 413 a. 432 m. 435 a. 445 f. 446 g h i 557 c. Quotidian ague how cured 310 i. 311 b. 335 f Quicke brimstone See Brimstone and Sulphur-vif Quicke-siluer a poyson the remedies thereof 121 c. 153. b 318 h. 323 a. 364 h. Quick-siluer Naturall where it is found 473. a the power thereof ib. it loueth gold 473. b it purifieth it ib. the great affinitie betweene gold and it 473 c. it is rare ib. Quid pro Quo in Physicke dangerous and condemned 348 l. Quicke-fire stones what they be 589. a good for espials in a campe ibid. they mill strike fire ibid. Quinarius a piece of siluer coine at Rome of what value 463 a b. Quinces for what good 163 d oyle of Quinces called Melinum what vertues it hath 64 g Quindecemvirs at Rome and their colledge 295 b Quinquesolium See Cinquefoile Quinqucviri 347 c. delegats chosen with good circumspection ibid. Quich-grasse described 206 i. why called Gramen Pernassi 206 k. the vertues that it hath ibid. R A RAbirius a writer in Physicke 308 g Radicula what hearbe it is 9 e. where it groweth ib. what vse there is of it ib. what names it hath 219 l the medicinable vertues that it hath ib why it is called Aureum Poculum ib. Radishes described with their properties 16 i k Radishes of excessiue bignesse 17. a Radishes of three sorts 16 k. the Radish Agrion Armon or Armoracia which some call Leuce 16. m Radish seed where to be sowne 17. a Radish roots how to be ordered as the grow 17 a b best Radishes in Aegipt and why 17 c Radish medicinable ibid. Radish highly esteemed among the Greeks ibid. Radishes cure the phthisicke 17 d Radish presented in gold to Apollo ibid. in the praise of Radish a booke compiled 17 e Radishes marre teeth and polish yvorie ib. Radishes their medicinable vertues 39 b Radishes wild and their vertues 39 a Radishes corrected by Hyssope 40 g Ragwort an hearb See Orchis and Satyrion Rai-fish or Skate medicinable 439. d Raine water kept in cesterns whether it be wholesome or no 406 g. it altereth the nature of some riuer waters for the time 410 k. it soonest doth corrupt 406 k Raisins of what operation they are in Physicke 148 k especially cleansed from their stones ibid. Rams how they shall get none but ram-lambs 400 g Ramises a king of Aegypt erected an obeliske of one entire stone a hundred foot high wanting one 574. l his deuise to fasten his owne sonne to the top end of it at the rearing 573 a b Ranunculus an hearb See Crowfoot Rapes of two kinds 16 g a Rape of lead offered to Apollo 17. d a Rape rosted by Manius Curius for his refection at the table 38 k Rapes medicinable ibid. Raspir a fish and the nature
the roots only of the vines and lay dung thereto The second deluing they would haue to be from the Ides of Aprill and six daies before the Ides of May that is before they begin to conceiue and bud and thirdly before they fall to blossome also when they haue done flouring and also at the time when the grapes alter their hew But the more skilfull and expert husbands affirme constantly That if the ground be ouermuch laboured and digged too often the grapes will be so tender skinned that they will burst againe Moreouer these rules following are to bee obserued That when any vines do require such deluing and digging the laborers ought to goe to worke betimes before the heat of the day mary if the vineyard stand vpon a mirie clay it is not good then either to eare or dig it but rather to wait for the hot season for the dust that riseth by digging is very good by their saying both to preserue the vine and grapes from the partching Sun and also to defend them against the dropping mists As for disburgening of vines and clensing them of their superfluous leaues all men accord that it should be done once in the Spring to wit after the Ides of May for the space of eleuen daies following and in any hand before they begin to put forth floure And how much thereof must be thus diffoiled for the first time euen all that is vnder the traile or frame no more As for the second men be not all of one minde some would haue the leaues to be disbranched when the vine hath done flouring others expect vntill the grapes begin to be ripe But as touching these points the rules that Cato giueth wil resolue vs for we are now also to shew the maner of cutting and pruning vines Many men begin this worke immediatly after vintage when the weather is warm and temperat but indeed by course of Nature this should neuer be done before the rising of the Aegle star as we will more at large declare in the next booke where we are to treat of the rising and fall of the fixed stars and of their influences or rather in truth when the Westerne wind Fauonius beginneth to blow forasmuch as there might be danger in going ouer soon to work considering that hast commonly maketh wast For this is certain that if there come an after-winter and chance to bite the vines newly medicined as it were or rather fore with this pruning if it happen I say that when euery man makes reckoning that winter is gon it come vpon them againe and whiske with his taile their buds pinched with cold will lose their vigor their wounds will cleaue and make rifts in such sort that when the humidity is distilled and dropped forth the oilets wil be nipt and burnt away with the bitternesse of the vnseasonable weather for who knoweth not that in frost it is ticklish medling with vines and that they be in danger soon to breake and knap asunder To say therefore a truth by order of Nature there would not be such hast made But here is the matter they that haue a large domaine and much lands to look vnto they that must go through a great deale of work cannot wil nor chuse but begin betimes and make this computation and reckoning aforesaid And in one word the sooner that vines be pruned if the time wil serue commodiously the more they run into wood and leaues and contrariwise the later you go to work the more plenty of grapes they wil yeeld and therefore it is meet and expedient to prune vines that be poore and feeble very timely but such as be strong and hardy last of all As for the manner and fashion of the cut it ought alwaies to be aslant like a goats foot that no drops of raine may settle and rest thereupon but that euery shower may soon shoot off also that it turn downeward to the ground that it be euen and smooth made with a keen and sharpe edged bill or cutting hook Furthermore this heed would be taken that the cut be iust between two buds for feare of wounding any of the oylets neere vnto that part which is cut off and commonly this is supposed to be blacke and duskish and so long as it is so seen it ought to be cut and cut again vntill you come to that which is sound and cleare indeed for neuer shall yee haue out of a faulty and corrupt wood any thing come forth that will bee worth ought If the vine be so poore and lean that it affordeth no branches meet and sufficient to beare cut it down to the verie ground for best it is then to fetch new from the root and to see whether they will be more liuely Ouer and beside in disburgening and desoiling a vine you must beware how you pluck off those burgeons that are like to beare the grape or to go with it for that were the next way to supplant as it were the grapes â—…ea and kill the vine vnlesse it were a new and yong plant Will you then know which are vnprofitable and may be spared euen all those are deemed superfluous which are come not directly from the knot or neere oilet but grow out of the side and no maruell since that the verie branches of grapes which hang in this manner out of the hard wood are so stiffe and tough also that vnneth a man may plucke them off with his fingers but had need of a knife or hook to cut them away As for the pitching of props into the ground some are of opinion that the best way is to set them between two vines and indeed that were the easier way to come about the vines for to lay their roots bare when time serueth Also better it is far so to doe in a vineyard where the vines run vpon one single traile in case the said traile be strong enough and the vineyard not subiect to the danger of winds but where a vine runneth foure waies it must be relieued with prop and stayes as neer as may be to support the burden yet so as they be no hinderance when as men should come about the foot to lay the root bare and therefore they would be a cubit off and no more Moreouer this is a general rule that a vine be clensed about the root beneath before that it be pruned aboue Cato treating generally of all maters concerning vines writeth thus by way of rule and precept Let your vine quoth he be as high as possibly you can fasten it to the frame decently but take heed you bind it not too hard Dresse and order it after this manner After you haue cut away the tips and tops therof dig round about the roots and be in then to eare vp plow the vineyard draw furrowes and ridges too and fro throughout Whiles vines be yong tender couch the branches within the ground for propagation with al speed as for old vines