to Pasture Meadow or Arable Ground for of this Land a vast deal in the Kingdom lies waste and turns to no Advantage unless to a very few and that inconsiderable but to do this it is not only taking away the Water from the Surface or over part of the Turf or Swarth for then might all Quagmires and Bogs be easily recovered nor is it taking off the Downfalls as the Fen-men call them for then that might be easily done and yet no perfect Draining for continuance no nor the Land-falls Land-floods nor great Waters from off the Ground nor doing all these in a way or usual customary manner that may deserve the right and proper Name of Effectual Draining You must then to do it go to the bottom of the Cause if you would perform the Cure and take away that which is the Source and feeds the Fen or Moor making it barren and useless by corrupt and unwholsom Waters and when that is done it may be properly said to be a Perfect Draining and not before yet the other is not to be discommended nor discouraged where they are already done or may be made hereafter but the Perfection is in reducing it to Soundness or Perfectness of Mould that the Wet may not follow the Plough or it only bearing course Grass in the Summer be overflowed in the Winter but this is well done whether the Earth is Sand Clay Gravel or mixed Earth when it returns to a perfect Swarth pure Turf producing the small Thistle Crowflower Clover and Honeysuckle then is the Quintessence of the Earth properly prepared and in feeding and corning they will naturally return to be the richest of all your Lands as appears by many already brought to this Perfection lying near Rivers and under the Level of the Sea and most of the Ground in Holland has been improved this way to a considerable enriching of those People by fat Pastures and good Arable Lands But waving some Objections that may be made to no purpose by such as are not desirous such publick Works should go forward because perhaps they have a Cow a Horse or a few Sheep to feed as Commoners which can graze sufficiently about the Edges of these overflowed Lands I shall come to the Point and give an Essay of this matter which well put in practice may turn to great Advantage Consider then that the greater the Overflowing is the heavier it lies on the Land and for the passing off these the Water-cuts and Works must be proportionable and the Labourers in it the more for this Work must be done speedily a little neglect setting it frequently a great way backwards if the Works be considerable and therefore going about this necessary Improvement raise such Banks on the outsides of the Fens as may keep out the Land-Floods coming from higher Grounds and Ditches to carry them away on the outside into some adjacent River or Water-course that carries them to the Sea or some convenient River by which means you may have nothing to do with any thing but the proper Water in the Fens then consider how to draw your middle Trench which is the main to the best Advantage that the Waters may pass from others into it Take notice of the Advantage of the Ground in all its Particulars as to its ascending and descending its Level and Hollow so that having truly cast every thing well in your Mind drain the Water off by Trenches or Engins that will cast it a pretty way in great abundance from the lower parts that lie beneath the Level also by the help of Men where they are to be had with Scoups and Buckets When a Driness appears on the Surface and it is visible yet there are some Springs search for them and when you have found them do in all respects as by the boggy Ground mentioned in the foregoing Chapter and as for the smaller Hollows if they dry not it matters not greatly if they have no Springs in them to cause an Overflowing in Winter for they will serve to Water and Bathe your Cattle in the Heat of Summer or produce a numerous Fry of Fish for storing other Ponds As likewise keep Game there to your Advantage by alluring the Wild-Ducks Geese and other Water-Fowl of which considerable Advantage may be made but be very careful after this that your outward Banks break not to let in the Land-Floods from the Hills or high Grounds If the Trenches are necessarily to be many endangering your Cattle falling into them you may fill the smaller that come from the Springs to the greater with Pebbles and Flint about two Foot laying them as light as you can and over them Flags Rushes and Turf and upon them Earth to the Level and the Water will find a Passage among the Stones as in a Vault CHAP. XXII Tools and Instruments proper and useful in the working part and order of Draining Land c. THE first thing necessary is a good Line about 32 Yards in length made of the best Water-wrought Hemp about double the thickness of Whipcord and a Hand-Reel to wind it on that you may draw your Works by it as near unto the Streightness of the Line as possible and by the Length you may measure your Work by the Rod or Pearch to know how it goes on You must also have an exact Water-level near or altogether 5 Foot in length which Instrument many have essayed and made some open with a Channel for the Water to run all along upon a three Inch Board with Sights true to the Water placed at each end each at a just Proportion from the VVater to direct the Level but it lies so open to the VVind and is so troublesom in removing that I approve not of it Then make one for the more easie Carriage and true Performance of this VVork to fold into another square Staff about 5 Foot or 5 and a half made of the best young seasoned Oak the Level or Barrel 4 Foot and a half which Barrel in the midst of it is to be planted into the top of the Staff and so much of the one part of the Staff and just half the length of the Barrel take away with a Rabuting-Plain or Moulding till both join together and with these Joints make one compleat streight Staff and formable only about a quarter of an Inch taper upwards from the bottom to the top that it may not be too heavy and the Sights are to be fixed into both ends of the Level-Barrel that so they may stand firm and hold VVater and yet become very little Annoyance either to Sight or Practice and in carrying it it is a streight Staff with a strong Pike in the bottom of it to stick into the Ground when they use it not and in Exercise being unfolded not much unlike a Surveyor's Cross-Staff The next useful thing in this VVork is a Trenching-Plough and Coulter whose particular Use is to cut the Trench on both sides with great
it they will die Grashoppers in some measure do much Injury by feeding on the Leaf and Blossom of Corn and Pulse from the earliest to the latest These are hard to be destroyed without very great labour and that is by sprinkling the Corn with Water wherein Wormwood Rue or Centaury has been boilâ—d till the strength of them are quite taken out by the Water and if they bite where the Sprinklings happen they will die and the Scent of any bitter thing is so offensive to them that they are never sound where any such thing grows Moles are two ways destructive to Corn viz. in eating the Roots and rooting it up not making distinction of any sort but taking all alike There are divers ways of taking them but not so easily when the Corn is well grown for then they do their chiefest mischief when their Tracts or the Casting up of their Hills cannot be so easily discovered However you must do it as well as you can and when you see them casting up or moving in their Tracks strike them with an Iron of many Spears or dig Pits in their Tracts and set earthen glazed Pots which they will blindly fall into and cannot scramble out or fill a earthen Jugg with Pitch Rosin and Brimstone with some loose Tow or Rags and firing it clap the Neck to the mouth of the hole and the Air in the Earth drawing the Scent to a great distance will stifle them or mix the Juyce of Hellebore with Rye-meal scatter little bits in the Furrows and finding it in their way they will greedily eat it and die CHAP. XXXII To prevent Smuttiness in Corn preserve it against Blasts the Injury of Black Frosts Snow-water Mists and how it is to be ordered when reaped wet THere are other Mischiefs that befal Corn though not from living Creatures which I have laboured to find some suitable Remedies for in the trying many Experiments To prevent the Smuttiness and Mildew before you sow your Grain sprinkle the Ground over lightly with Chalk beaten very small Against Blasts the properest Remedy is held observing the Season when they usually happen to make Fires of Stubble or rotten Straw and burn in them the Snips of old Leather the Shavings of Horn and a little Brimstone so advantagiously on the sides of the Ground that a small Gale of Wind may carry the Smoâ—k and spread it among the Corn or Puâ—e This will likewise destroy Flies and other Black Frosts are very injurious to all Grain the piercing Cold chilling or killing the fertile Heat that propagates the Growth and either withers or stints it if it be extream and without Snow To bed it and keep off the bleak Winds there is no better Remedy against this than to strow Ashes over your Land either Wood or Sea coal and they add much Heat to it and keep off a great part of the Cold some throw rotten Straw over it but that proves a great Incumbrance the other nourishes the Ground and is good Manure for barren Earth As for Snows lying on the Ground it injures not the Corn but upon Thaws the Water being of a harsh Allomy nature much injures the Roots if it lie long upon it and the best way to prevent it is to lay your Lands high your Furrows deep and to have suitable Drains to the Lowness of your Ground to drain it away as fast as may be Mists and Fogs are very offensive where they are great or rise from ill-scented Grounds especially from Fens Salt-Marshes Standing-Pools Lakes c. The way of remedying this evil is to smoak the Land in the Evening with any sort of Fuel that casts a gross thick Smoak which will in some measure disperse and dry up the Vapour that would otherways by falling on it be poisonous and offensive to the Corn. Of Corn reaped wet there comes great damage for being so by Rain and not time given it to dry abroad or by the Unripeness or too Greerness of it when mowed if the Heat be great thereby contracted it often sets it on fire if less it moulders rots or moulds the Straw and Grain that it is of little or no value You may know when the Corn is ready to reap by the much bending of the Ear driness of the Stalk and hardness of the Grain then if you see any Weeds growing up among it that are but of a moderate height reap it as soon as you can to take in the less Weeds or the Seed of them to encumber or worsen it If Grass be grown high among it and you cannot avoid reaping it with the Corn take care to spread it thin before you sheave it and dry it well in the Sun till it wither and become as Hay very dry and then sheave it up and shock it in small Shocks then when it has sweat a little open it and give it the Sun and the Air that it may yet be more dry then lay it in greater Shocks and let it sweat again and so open it and when it is by this means well opened and dried Inn it but sometimes Rain or great Mists causes a Weakness if it be before the Reaping let it stand somewhat longer in Expectation of a favourable Season but if your Expectation be frustrated and by the abundance of falling Rains the Corn is likely to be beaten down grow again or rot you must make a Virtue of Necessity reap it carry it home and having aired and dryed a little under shelter you must have Kills to dry it often turning and shifting the Sheaves and when it is dry let it cool well and mow it up lightly that the Air may come plentifully amongst it leaving for that purpose a hollow in the middle of the Mow and underneath and so it will be kept good and sweet CHAP. XXXIII Proper Directions for Stacking of Corn in the true Method to keep it from Vermin Fowl Taking-Wet or Musting WHere there is not a Conveniency of Housing there is a necessity of Stacking Corn and care must be used for the well-ordering of it this way that it may be preserved with the least loss also from Wet and Moulding for a moist Ground if the Stack be unadvisedly placed on it without any other Remedies will spo l at least a yard of the Bottom and therefore you must make and raise your Ground on purpose with Gravel Sand and Pebles or other Stones not subject to breaking proportionable for a Stack either round or a square or triangular distant from Eves-dropping or the Driping of Trees and so that the violent Winds cannot blow the Rain or Melting-Snow off from them though they stand at some distance upon the Stick yet so that it may stand safe sheltered from high turbulent Wind that would arise or uncover it then upon the Earth so rais'd above the level of Water occasioning Overflowings by sudden Showers make four pieces of Stone or Timber like Blocks broad on the lower-end and narrower on the
Heat and Vigour yet Excess imbitters and utterly wasts the Strength of it eating and spoiling the Roots of Grass Trees or any thing of natural Growth and therefore the Salt-water being drawn off and stayed from any more flowing in the Ground by lying low is capable of having fresh Water brought upon it from higher places which lying sometime will take out the Saltness of the Earth the other left behind it to a great degree it need not exceed above four or six Inches on the Surface if the Land be level let it lie two or three days and then by the help of Ditches or Sluces drain it away or by the help of Engins which I shall have particular occasion to speak of it may be thrown off into convenient places as over the Banks into the Sea if it be near or on other waste Ground where it may dry up and between whiles flow it often till the fresh Water has in a great measure taken the Saltness out of the Earth The Ground being drained and pretty dry about the latter end of March plough it up as deep as well you can turn up a large Furrow and laying it into Lands raise them up as much as you can lay them round and observe if they be simple or mixed if it be Sand whether red or brown then take such clear Earth as is free from the Washings of the Salt Water being of a small and mean Stiffness and Richness digged out of some Pits or Banks where the least Miss or Spoil may be made lay it in little Heaps and spread it over the Land and when dry clot it and break it as finely as possible and this Earth will suck and draw the Salt into it taking off much of the evil quality in the sandy Ground and also stiffning the Sand makes it apt for Fruitfulness If this Ground damaged by Salt Water be rough hard gravelly Earth then spread in like manner the best and richest Clay that can be had or for want of that blue Marle which will not only suck up the Saltness but cool and much refresh the Ground adding new Nourishment whereby the Seed that is cast in will be fed and nourished But if the spoiled Earth be a tough stiff Clay though seldom found so near the Overflowings of Salt Water cover it over with the finest fresh Sand which will separate the Sand from the Clay and take away the naughty Stiffness of it that will otherwise oppose the rising of the tender Sprouts it will also give a gentle Warmth and abate the Coldness of the Clay and make it bring forth plentifully If it be a mixed Earth observe whether it be binding or loose if the former Sand it as before if the latter spread it with the richest Clay you can get When you have thus ordered your Land plough it a second time before Midsummer so that the new-layed Earth may be well mixed with the old then take the Mud of dried bottoms of Lakes Ponds or Ditches of Waters that were fresh or Woollen Rags chopped small or with both together cover it over lightly then immediately plough it Land after Land lest by long lying the Sun attracts the strength out of the Manure then let it rest till Michaelmas and so give it the last ploughing and sow it with the hardest and largest Wheat and for this Land that which is called the White Pollard is the best and if the Salt Water be kept out you will have a very good Crop the second Year sow it with very good Hemp-seed and it will prove very gainful the next Year lay it flat for Oats and then lay it down and it will prove good Meadow or Pasture However the first Year after laying down let Sheep graze on it whose cropping it and Dung will fertilize it and then you may use it as you please either keep it for Grazing for it will produce extraordinary good Grass or for Meadow and in a few Years you may plough it again to produce good Corn especially Wheat for by this time the Saltness is very much taken out of it And thus you may reduce all sorts of Ground overflowed by Salt Water where there are no Salt Water Springs to feed and float it for if there be and they cannot be drained turned away or otherwise remedied your Labour is lost Where fresh Water cannot be brought on these Grounds to float them add to your former Manure Moorish Earth the Soil of Streets and High-ways the Earth dug up where Dunghils have lain a considerable time Rubbish and Sweepings of the House Barns or Yard and having spread them on the Land take a large Hawthorn-bush rough and prickly plash other Bushes and fasten to it To make it lie flat and pressing on the Ground tye on the upper part of it wooden Rowlers and lay other Weights on it to fasten it to the Horses Drawing-geer by the Stem or great Stalk and draw it over the Ground in the nature of a Harrow to break all the Clumpers and lay the Earth very smooth after every ploughing then sprinkle Soap-Ashes moderately on it and it will lose its Saltness in a little time and become good producing Ground either of Corn Meadow or Pasture CHAP. XVII Good Pasture and Meadow to be made of Barren Soil of any sort of Earth simple or mixed WAys of enriching the Earth are two-fold viz. By Water and Manure and for this use the lower the Ground lies so it be subject to Overflowings or much Wet it is the better and is sooner made good and brought to Profit Then consider what sort of Grass it naturally produces whether clean and entire or mixed with that of worser growth and of these the first is most promising and if the Growth be intermixed with Thistle Broom or the like or burthened with offensive Weeds grub and pluck them up by the Roots clearing the Ground of them as well as you can dry them mix them with Straw and burn them upon the Swarth of the Ground and spread the Ashes then fold your Sheep upon the Ground for several Nights that their Dung may strengthen it and their Feet trample up the Grass then scatter it over with good Hay-Seeds and go over them with a Rowler or beat them with a flat Shovel that they may be the better pressed into the Ground to take Root then over these scatter Hay or the Rotting of Hay under the Stacks or the Sweepings of the Barn or moist Bottoms of any Hay that has been good and is moist and of no other use then spread on your Manure as Horse-dung Man's Ordure or the Dung of any Beast and being thinned and the Clots well broken let it lie till the new Grass springs through it and the first Year do not graze it lest not having taken very good Root the Cattel tread it up but mow it while it come to Perfection And although the first Year it may prove short and coarse yet the second
somewhat well grown taking off with your Pruning-hook the smallest and most superfluous Boughs and Branches doing it upward about January that what of the Snag remains to the Tree may not split and the best way is to cut them off as close to the Body of the Tree as may be lest the Stump rot and Water get into the hollow part to spoil and doat the Timber Secondly When you perceive your Plants will not grow up to tall Timber shroud them or lop them and they will grow up to be very good Pollards This must be done above the heighth of the reach of Cattle smooth and asloap taking off the top and main Branches this may be done in the beginning of the Spring or the end of the Fall and so when they are grown up you may lop them every four or five Year for good Fuel besides these may stand in Hedge-rows or vacant places fit for no other use and after they have afforded you great store of it the Bodies if they hold sound make a good sort of short Timber very fit for Planks and other uses As for Winter-greens as Pines or any other rosinous Tree they must be cut in Winter after the great Frosts and coldest Winds are over but in no wise be beheaded nor the colateral Branch much cut off Thirdly All Trees delighting in wet or moist Ground may be shrouded or lopped in the beginning of March the Weather being open but not too near the Body lest it endanger the Tree and hinder its sprouting Fourthly Coppices may be felled or cut from September to mid March leaving such standards as you intend for Timber at an equal distance chusing out the straightest and most likely thriving for that purpose cut not above half a Foot from the Ground and that sloap-wise that the young Sprigs may the better shoot out and grow and furnish you with a second Felling Fifthly When your Timber-trees are arrived at their best state or you have occasion to fell them for advantage fell the Oak from April till Mid-summer for then the Sap is proud and the Bark which is a very good Commodity will easfily be got off But for other Timber the best Season is in Winter when the Sap is low for if it be much in those Trees it breeds Worms and much defaces the beauty of it and the properest Months are December and January when you fell large Timber cut off all the large Arms first lest they endanger the Tree rifling or breaking in the fall CHAP. LV. Sundry Trees not yet mentioned their Growth and Well-ordering for the Improvement of Land CYpress Trees will grow tolerable well in England and is not only pleasant for the cool refreshing shade it casts but in indifferent mixed Sandy and Clay-ground it will grow to a considerable stature and thickness but then they must not be set in over moist or wet places and though they are most used to shade Walks Avenues cover Arbours and adorn the centers of green Plats yet where they come to any thing of Timber the Wood is exceeding good hard and durable of a good Scent preserving Cloaths from Moths and Worms and lasts a long time without corrupting or rotting Pliny affirms he saw Gates of this Wood four hundred Years old and yet neither Worm-eaten nor perished The Pine-tree is somewhat of the nature of the Fir of a rosiny Sap and a very hot Tree therefore it thrives best in cold places where the heat of the Sun cannot make it sweat too much to spend and destroy itself though it delights much in Hills and Mountains where the Air is more free and cooler always than in the Valleys yet will it thrive well enough in Woods especially if they be upon a little rising ascent that the wet passes away and a mixture of Earth of Gravel Sand and Clay and as the former may be improved by Slips or Scions so this may also and by the Kernel sown which comes out of the wooden husts of the Apples it bears And were this Tree better regarded and improved in England it might turn to as great an advantage here as in other Nations and even our Hills might be covered with these and Fir-trees so that in a few Generations we need not be at the expence of buying and fetching home Timber of this kind but have plenty of our own to the great improvement of Land that now is of little or no value There are some other Trees natural to other Countries that might be propagated in England and turn to the advantage of the industrious Husband-man as the Larach-tree a lasting sound Wood as also the wild Olive Almond Date Cedar which by good management are conceived to grow well in this Country and may be brought to a great improvement though not to that perfection their native Soil gives them yet so far as may be an advantage very highly to those that are at the trouble of planting and rearing them for when they are once well entred they will produce numbers and grow themselves without any further trouble unless sometimes pruning and watring in a dry and parching Season till their spreading tops are sufficient to shade their Roots and prevent the Sun-beams from sucking up too much moisture from them and may as other Trees be transplanted as occasion requires CHAP. LVI Of Trees fitting for Timber and other Vses the sundry sorts their goodness and to what uses properly to be attributed very necessary to be known c. I Shall now from what has already been laid down proceed to the usefulness of the Timber and Wood produced by Trees that have not as yet been amply touch'd on Cedar and Cypress are excellent in Building for their lastingness as not in a great number of Years being subject to corrupt The Fir Poplar Ash and Elm are exceeding good for the inward parts of Building as for main Timber Jousts Rafters Floors c. but hold not so well where they are sometimes wet and at other times dry as the Oak does For the conveyance of Water the Alder Pine Pitch-tree and Elm make curious and lasting Pipes but then they must be covered with Earth for above Ground they will not well hold especially in hot Weather by reason of their rining especially all but the last which will do tollerably well The Oak Beech and Walnut-tree endure very well in the Water The wild-Olive Mast-holm and wild-Oak are of long endurance For Rafters and Mortice-pieces the Elm and Ash are very properly adapted because of their length The best to bear wieght is the Fir and the Larash which howsoever you lay them will neither bend nor fail your expectation till Worms consume them On the contrary The Olive and the Oak will give and bend and so will the Poplar The Wilow Birch Elm and Date usually bend against the burthen they bear the Poplar on the other side giveth upon every light weight the Elm and the Ash though slow are easily bent These are
and the Skips which she makes before she quats then with your Pole beat the places where she is most likely to shelter for being reduced to these necessitous Shifts she is at her last Cast and has but a little time to hold out nor can be long out of your Possession And thus much for all that is material in Hunting the Hare as far as Directions can be given in Print Of the Fox Badger and Wild-Goat THE taking the Fox Badger and Wild-Goat are other Recreations in some places of this Kingdom highly in Esteem and there is very good Sport to be found in it though the Quarreys are of no Value except their Skins As for the Fox he is a subtile cunning Creature not easily to be circumvented his Resting-place is generally in the Ground or some hollow Tree but mostly in the former and when once he 's unkennel'd stop up the Hole and cast in your Fox-dogs who by reason of the strong or burning Scent he leaves behind him cannot miss if once they have taken it to follow him in the right Track keep him if you can from getting into the Woods mark his Mocks Wiles and Leaps that so you may be the abler to deal with him though he be a strong one He will lead you a weary Journey over Plains and Hills before you can run him down and if he earths you must send in your Tarrier after him if the Hole be wide enough or else dig him out His Haunts are so uncertain when he is a roaming that Directions cannot well be given about it and you may sooner light on him by chance out of his Hole than when you go purposely to look for him and that will be by the Dogs happening to light on the Scent which is very strong The Badger is a kind of Wild-dog living in Ground like the Fox but not so hurtful to Cattel and Poultrey His Haunts and Coverts are usually in Woods or bushy places The Dogs must be hardy and bold that venture on him for he is strong and a very shrewd Biter and for the last Refuge when almost run down hasts to his Hole but finding it stopped as it must be if you intend to take him he will set himself against it and fight very couragious even to Death He is a Heavy Creature and by the Unevenness of his Legs as some allow it of no swift Flight and therefore soon overtaken in the Pursuit As for hunting the Wild-Goat it is much used in Wales on the Mountains but a very dangerous Exercise to pursue among those scraggy Rocks This is a Creature that is not in those steep places easily taken for neither Dogs nor Men in some places can follow her where she will run on the sides of the Rocks like a Cat so that hallowing and making a noise with Horns they watch at her Bolting-places or steep comings down and so sieze her with the Dogs and if it be a young She-Goat this hunting will render her as tender as Venison Of the Otter THis Otter is a Creature that lives as well by Water as Land and is a great Devourer of Fish Having set her from her Holes in the Banks if you can keep her on the Land she is presently taken but upon any Fright if possible she will take the Water especially being pursued and if the Dogs be good they will pursue her there and dive after her till she comes to vent and then her best is past for then if the Water be not too deep for Horses to enter she may be easily struck with an Otter-spear and taken As to the taking of other Creatures that are great Enemies to the industrious Husbandman Farmer c. in their Corn Underwoods Fish-ponds Rivers and other things I for Brevity's sake refer you to my Vermin-killer in my approved Book treating of Domestick Cattle and many other profitable things THE Countryman's Almanack SHEWING Many things necessary and profitable to be known in relation to Weather c. And what is proper to be done in Rural Affairs in many Particulars throughout the Twelve Months c. Signs of Weather And First Of Rain THis is to be observed by the Face of the Heavens and divers Creatures viz. When the Sun shews broad in rising as through a Mist and has a Circle about it When it sets in a black or dusky Cloud and scatters pale and watery Beams When the Moon is pale and blunt-horned near the Change When a red Morning changes to grey or marble-coloured Clouds suddenly being overcast When the Wind often shifts and changes and holds long in the South When the Stars are dull and Circles seem to appear about them through the thickness or grossness of the Air when little scattering Clouds appear at Northwest in the Evening When the Crow flies low casting his Head often upwards and makes an unusual Noise when Cattle often look upward and snuff the Air sometimes lowing heavily and making towards Shelter When the Sea-Pies fly low and dip as it were into the marshy Waters or Rivers making a great Noise Signs of Fair Weather WHen the Sun rises bright and Mists are on the Water and the Rain-bow appearing after a Shower shews very light in the Azure or bleuish part When the Sun sets red and casts direct Beams and there are Webs flying in the Air or contracted by the Vapours on the Grass When the New Moon is sharp pointed and shines very clear when the Clouds look clear and are tinctured about the Edges with a golden Colour the Sun being skreened behind them When Birds of Prey fly very high and Cattle graze freely without looking up or seeming to be disturb'd When Owls cry clear in the Night and have no kind of Stammering in the Noise they make If in Summer observe the business of the Bees and how far they fly from their Hives for if they apprehend either Rain or Storm they ever keep near about heir Homes Signs of Windy Weather EXpect Winds to arise when Sea-fowl begin to flock to the Shoar When there is a rushing Noise heard in Woods without any feeling of Wind for that is a Sign the Vapour is arising out of the Earth and the Air is already seized with it that soon will create strong Winds if not violent When a dusky Redness appears in the Moon and Sun and Meteors by Night thwart the Skies expect the Approach of great Winds When the Sea-Waves beat with a hollow Noise against the Rocks and sounds as it were at a distance and the swelling seems high and bright then Winds are gathering When a Red Morning suddenly changes and the Wind thereupon shifts its Quarter or Point then expect the Wind will suddenly arise Signs of Frosty Weather IT signifies Frost when the Sun sets red in the Winter and the Air is clear or misty at a distance When the Stars shine bright and twinkle much seeming to send Darts and Rays to the Earth When the Moon in Winter is sharp-pointed
and not up and down for thereby the inconveniency of the steepness is met withal and the Labour both of the Men and Cattel is eased but herein you must be careful that you plough not always one way but sometimes higher sometimes lower working aslope as you shall see cause Touching the Season of Ploughing it must be chiefly in the Spring for in Summer the Ground is too hard and in Winter too foul and dirty but in the Spring the Ground being mellow is easily to be wrought and the Weeds are then but turned in which both does good for the Inrichment of the Ground and plucked up by the Roots before they have seeded will spring again and therefore for the most part we begin to plough about the midst of March but sandy and light Grounds they use to be ploughed in the midst of Winter if the Season will suffer Pliny is of my Opinion that stiff Ground then should be stirred A slender and level Ground subject to Water should be first ploughed in the end of August and stirred again in September and prepared for Sowing about the twelfth of March. The light hilly Ground is not to be broken up in Summer but about the middle of September for if it be broken up before being barren and without Juyce it may be burnt up with the Sun and have no goodness remain in it Wet Ground some would have to be broken up after the Ides or beginning of April which being ploughed that time should be stirred about the tenth of June and after again But those that are skilful in Husbandry agree that in the tenth of June without great store of Rain you shall not plough for if the Year be wet I know nothing to the contrary but that you may plough in July In the mean time be very careful that you meddle not with Ground that is over-wet CHAP. V. Of Liming Sanding and Hacking Land to make it fruitful THere are other Considerations relating to the well Ordering of Ground than what I have already touch'd on to clear and prepare them for Corn Grass Pulse or other Things useful and exceeding profitable If the Ground be barren cold or produces Weeds or Rushes to help it and bring it to a moderate Temper of Improvement for Fruitfulness Lime is exceeding good The Lime-stones may be got among Quarries of Stones and in divers other places you may burn them in a Kiln in the most convenient place you have to save Charges of Carriage and when you have before sanded your Ground and hacked it make your Lime small and on every Acre bestow between thirty and forty Bushels of Lime spreading and mixing it exceeding well with the Sand and Earth and the stronger and sharper the Lime is the better the Earth will be and the Improvement will answer your Cost and Labour It matters not of what Colour your Lime-stones are whether of a pure White or of a Grey so they be sharp and strong in quality to give a good Tincture to the Earth it being the Strength and Goodness of the Lime not the Beauty that in this kind brings forth the Profit and indeed it is a great Helper to Cold Grounds especially Clay or Wet Grounds and this is a great Preparer to laying Dung on these Lands or any Soyl that is fatning either of Cattel or such as is cast out of Ponds Lakes or muddy Ditches for barren and hard Earth can never be overlaid with good Manure or Compost seeing the want of Warmth and Fatness which these produce was before the occasion of the Unfruitfulness As for the Hacking and Sanding mentioned the first is after the Ground has been turned up with the Plough to go over it with a long Hoe or Hack and cut in pieces the Grass that you see turned up in the Ridges or Furrows or any uneven Clumpers that it may be dragged away burnt or carried together with the Weeds not to grow up again to incumber the Corn or Pulse and Sanding is to bring Loads of Sand lay them in convenient places as Heaps of Dung and spread them lightly or thick as you see occasion over the Ground that the Lime mixing with it may the better Embody with the Mould and Rain falling be soaked in a good depth to the heartning the Ground and producing a good Crop to encourage the industrious Farmer CHAP. VI. Of the First and Second Ploughing and of Harrowing AS to the first manner of Ploughing of Ground that is barren for the Improvement of it if it lie free from Water as commonly all even barren Earths do then throw down the Furrows flat and between every of them leave a little Baulk about half the breadth of the Furrow and so go thorough and plough up the whole without any regard to Difference or Distinction of Lands but if there be danger of Annoyance of Water lay the Furrows more near and high dividing the Ground into several Lands proportioning each of them to lie highest in the middle that the Water descending may have free passage on either side and when you have Hacked Sanded and Limed it as before directed come to your Second Ploughing In the Second Ploughing penetrate the Ground deeper than at first taking as the Husbandmen call it a good Stitch to raise up Earth at the Quick which before was not stirred make your Furrows deeper and greater laying them closer and rounder together and in this Order or Latter Earing be sedulous to plough it as clean as may be leaving no Baulks or any Escapes and as you plough have those that shall follow to run it over with a Second Hacking that is with a heavy Share Hoe or Hack to clear or kill the Grass and Weeds as also to lay it level This done take a Pair of strong Iron-teethed Harrows and go over the Ground to open and tare that which was ploughed and hacked into smaller Particles and raise the Mould lightly in greater abundance Then take the best sort of that Grain you think fit to Sowe in it and scatter it according to the Art of good Husbandry suffering your Sprinkling to be a Medium not too much nor too little The Seed being sprinkled on the Ground make your Second Harrowing to cover it close and well being careful to break all the Clots as near as possible raising the Mould as fine and high as may be that it may cover the Seed the deeper and prevent the Rain washing it up or the Birds and other Vermine from destroying it for certain it is that these cold clayey or barren Grounds if not lightly raised keep in and clog the Seed which by reason of its roughness cannot easily break through or if it does the Cold at the Roots starve the Spires and they mostly wither away if not helped by Proper Means and Artful Labour As for Clotting the Earth it is very proper in many Cases for when you have Sowed and Harrowed the Ground if notwithstanding some hard Clumpers
remain which will be in hard tough Earth subject to barrenness which the Rain cannot dissolve so that the Grain in vain may labour to get through them to crumble these then take a Clotting-Beetle made of sound Wood very hard after the form of a Carpenter's Mallet but with a much longer Handle and heavier Head and with it go over the Ground in a dry Season and dash them to pieces or to spread them the more you may take a flat Board much about two Inches in thickness and a Foot broad fastned to a strong Handle that on necessity you may use with the force of both your Hands in the manner of a flat Shovel CHAP. VII Of Weeding and Destroying the Weeds with Directions to Order the Corn in Sowing c. WEeds are very offensive and destructive to Corn in hindering its Growth and therefore having brought you to bestow your Corn in barren Ground it is but reasonable I should tell how to preserve it that it prosper to answer your Expectation When the Corn is sprung up about a foot above the Ground these sorts of Soil whose nature it is to produce Weeds will require your Industry and they must be taken out if Thistles or such as are great and offensive with Hooks or Nippers by cutting them off close by the Roots or rather pulling them up by the Roots if that by breaking the Ground will not drag up the Roots of the Corn with them The Nipper may be made with two long Pieces of hard Wood riveted to be opened like a Pair of Pincers with Saw-teeth closing into one another that they may take the surer and firmer hold without slipping and these may be much hindred in their Growth by Soweing about two Bushels of Bay-Salt to an Acre of Land as you do your Wheat after the Grain is Sowed which is also of so excellent a Nature in barren Lands that it heats them to a degree and makes what is Sowed prosper and multiply manifold As also will Steeping your Grain in Sea-Water or being at too great a distance Brine especialâ—y so that you Sowe it presently after As for the Sand you sand Ground withal it must be Sea-Sand if possible to be gotten but if the Ground lie so Inland that it cannot be done without vast Trouble and Cost of Carriage more than the Advantage may be supposed to recompense dig up the saltest loosest Sand or Earth you can light on and make that supply its place the Saltness may be known by trying it in Water for a Quantity being steeped there if it make the Water brackish you may be assured it is proper for your use also Wood-Ashes Sea-coal-Ashes and Sutt are extraordinary Manurers of Land being scattered over them or ploughed in so that being wetted they diffuse their Quality of Heat to temporize with the Coldness of the E rth and cherish what is Sowed But as for Rye it must not be wetted for among all Grain it grows best with the least wet and will as the Country say drown in the Hopper in a Rainy Day yet where Salt Ashes Sâ—t or Sea Sand have been sprinkled and ploughed in it will prosper very well on barren Ground so Manured whereon you may Sowe Barley Oats Beans Peas Lupins Fetches c. As for Wheat the wetter it 's sowed the more firmly it sticks in the Earth takes Root and prospers CHAP. VIII To Dress and Manure barren Ground over-run with Goss Broom Furs Weeds c. relating to Ground dry and wet HAving given some Insight into the Improvement of barren Ground a thing exceeding necessary to be known in a great many parts of this Kingdom I shall proceed in it to the other Particulars and especially to the Filling and Dressing rough and barren Clays encumbred or over-run with Goss Broom and such-like things of Nature's Product which hinders Land by keeping it lean and out of Heart from being easily brought to produce any thing else Now I must suppose these kinds of Clayey Ground whether simple or mixed to lie a little lower than those before discoursed on not so subject to heat to burn up what grows on them in the scorching Summer nor to nipping Frosts to wither and blast in the Extremities of Winter yet these Grounds as they are will neither properly bear Corn nor Grass There is another sort of Ground not differing in barrenness to this viz. such as are infected with noysome Weeds which cause Diseases in the Cattel feeding there as likewise thick and overgrown with Broom for altho' these for Fuel Thatching or Covering of Out-Houses c. may be some advantage to the Husbandman it makes nothing near a Recompence for the loss of so much Ground as may be turned by a little Cost and Labour to good Improvement To destroy these Incumbrances cut them as near as possible may be to the Ground then make them up in Bundles as big as Bavins dry them first in the Sun and then carry them home and Stack them in a place where the Wet cannot fall upon them for if it do it will soon rot them then stub up all the Roots you can find in the Ground and lay them in little heaps to dry after which they will become good Fuel or burnt upon the Land and the Ashes scattered will much strengthen it when soaked in by the Rain or ploughed in the proper time for this is about the latter end of April and beginning of May. Thus having thoroughly cleared the Ground take the Refuse with some Roots well dried and pile them hollow pare up Roots of Grass and Earth and pile on them leaving only a Vent and then give Fire with Straw or Stubble and the Earth keeping in the Smoak and receiving it will as it were burn with the Roots and receive the Fatness and be very mellow This in some Countries is called burning of Bail and when it is well burnt and cooled with Shovels and Beetles break and disperse it over the Land and it will be a very good Dung or Manure then with a very long Plough breaking up the Ground and by broad deep Furrows lay it into Lands as large as you think the Nature of it will bear higher or flatter according to the like conveniency as it lies more or less subject to the Water or overflowing of Neighbouring Brooks Rivers or great Ditches or Waters occasioned from Showers descending from Hills or higher Grounds for these Inundations greatly hinder Fruitfulness by chilling or rotting the Corn or other Grain in the Ground when sowed so that if it spring up it comes to no advantage But first of those Grounds that lie not within the Danger of Overflowings by reason of their height and so of the rest in their Order But to the purpose The Bail burnt cast abroad and the Land broke up then if you can come by it Salt it with Sea-Sand after Lime it as has been directed or for want of Sea-Sand scatter as you do Grain Bay-Salt
it will be fine and very long and in great Plenty and once in twenty or more Years Dressing will continue it for good Meadow or Pasture if in dry Seasons you have Water to relieve it which may be gathered by bringing Springs or the violent Fallings of Rains into a Ditch on the other side of it or by any other Conveniency according to the Situation of the Ground on the ascending part to overflow it so long that it soak deeper than the Roots of the Grass to continue Moisture for the Nourishment of it a considerable time The best Season in general for watering Meadows is from the beginning of November to the end of April and the muddier or more troubled the Water is the better for then it brings a Soil upon the Ground and this is properly after hasty Showers and great Fluxes of Rain and you may make a Conveniency if you have many Fields lying together especially in a Descent to pen up the Water in one till very well soaked and then by a Sluce or breaking down of a Dam let it into the next and so by a small addition of Water transmit it to many This may be done likewise after Mowing in drowthy Weather or if you Graze the Land it may be done at any convenient time CHAP. XVIII Several Vseful Engins described for the Watering of Meadow Pasture c. THere is great Advantage to be found in watering of Lands on several occasions as the Nature of them or the Climate they lie in requires but then there is some Difficulty in doing it where the Conveniency of Rivers and Land-floods are wanting and without the help of Engins many times exceeding Toil and Labour is required which induces me to describe some of the most material And first The Persian Wheel so named from its Use and the great Advantage it brings to the Kingdom of Persia on this occasion This Wheel is made after the manner of an Undershot Mill viz. with a double Ring into which two Pins pass and on them the Floats are fastned which Floats are to be hollow and the half most remote from the Wheel holds the Water raken in at the open place about the middle of the back of the Float and as the Wheel turns so the Water is raised by degrees and tends towards the part of the Float that is next to the Wheel and as it surmounts the Receiver the Water empties into it one Float succeeding the other so that at one turning round of the Wheel 30 Gallons of Water may be delivered This Wheel ought to be about 15 Foot Diameter and the Floats at 18 Inches distance and so it will deliver the Water at about 10 11 or 12 Foot above the Stream it takes it from and may be carried four times round in a Minute so that in one Hour it will distribute about 120 Hogsheads of Water with 12 or 18 Inches penning or stopping but an ordinary Current of Water will very well water about 30 or 40 Acres of Land according as it may lie disposed to receive as to Level or Descent When you do this consider the Nature of your Land If it be a cold Clay too much Water injures it if light warm or sandy then a little Water greatly refreshes it It is also to be observed that this Motion well set a going is constant and will last some Years with little Charge of Repairing and the slower it moves the better it delivers the Water and a small Stream will carry it It may also be used in Draining of Lands if a Current can be made to carry the Wheel about and as the Land lies higher or lower so lesser or greater Wheels may be used and they will exceedingly superabound the Charge and Trouble by making of Grass grow in great Plenty where otherwise little or none would appear and by Troughs or Trenches the Water may be carried from one Ground to another a very great Distance if not hindred by steep Ascents There is another sort of an Engin used which is called a Wind Engin and may be used on still Waters where there is no Current to carry the Wheel about or a Dam cannot be conveniently made to force it and this serves indifferently for watering or drawing Several have been the Inventions of Ingenious Men to accomplish this some have designed it by Horizontal Windmils and by a Wheel with Scoops or Buckets fixed to Chains also by a Wheel carrying up the Water in Buckets fixed thereto and by the Swiftness of the Motion casting it a great way forcibly from it But that I most approve on as the best and least chargeable is the Vertical Sails like the ordinary Windmils only they are not so long though more in number placed in an Axis of a length proportionable to the length of the Veins the one end resting on the moveable hollow piece of Timber that is to move round over the Pump as you have occasion to turn the Reins the other resting on a Semicircle in which there are several Notches and Stays that it may be placed as you please So let the Wind stand any way yet by the Motion of the Semicircle you may have it at one end of the Veins or the other and let the Pump on which the one end of the Axis rests be placed over the place you are to draw your Water out of at the Nose or Mouth at such a height as is convenient to conveigh it into a Trough and this Pump may be made of a Diameter according to the strength of the Windmil and observe so to order the Bucket that it may always dip into the Level of the Water which prevents much Injury and Trouble to the Work This Pump may be round or square according to the smallness or largeness of it Let the Handles of the Pump extend in length to the Axis of the Windmil which must to receive and move the same be made crooked like the Axis of a Cutler's Grinding-stone or Dutch Spinning-wheel turned with the Foot or the end of the Axis of the Windmil may rest upon a Cylinder or Box made moveable on the top of the Pump with the crooked Neck or End within the Cylinder so that when it is turned any way the end of the Axis is perpendicular over the Pump And moreover you must take care that the Handle or Rod of your Bucket may turn Swivel-wise to answer the Shiftings of the Wind as the Sails are changed and these kind of Mills are of excellent use and to be made or manured at a small rate and are easily to be repaired when out of order or taken to pieces and removed from one place to another carrying off abundance of Water if kept in continual Motion which a scanty Wind will do CHAP. XIX Further Rules and Directions for Watering Meadow and Pasture for the Improving and Fertilizing of it HAving spoken of conveying Water to the Ground I now come to direct how it ought to be
dispersed on it The Water being raised to the height you desire cut your main Carriage allowing it a convenient Descent that it may have a good Current all along and let the Mouth of it be of Breadth rather than Depth capable to receive the whole Stream you desire and when you are to use a part of the Water let the main Carriage narrow by degrees that at the end it may press the more forcibly into the lesser Carriages that issue all along from it and at every rising Ground and other proper Distance you ought to cut small tapering Carriages proportionable to the Distance and Quantity of the Land or Water you design to fructifie which must be very shallow and many in number for the Water running shallow and swiftly over the Grass greatly revives it In the next place observe that in drawing or watering of Lands you may make Drains to carry off all the Water the Carriages being on and therefore they must bear some Proportion to it though not so large and as the Water is conducted by the lesser Carriages to every part of the Land so the lesser Drains must be made in the lowest places to lead the Water off and as the Carriages lessen so must they widen as they run to drain the Water well off as soon as the Land is well soaked into other Grounds for if Water be left in low places it proves very injurious to the Grass in the Winter it kills it and in the Spring and Summer much hinders its growth breeding Rushes and Weeds though when drained produces good Pasture Is you water droughty Land in the Heat of Summer do it in the Night or a very cloudy temperate Day taking it off again before the Sun-beams shine hot upon it left that conspiring with the Heat that comes out of the Earth deaden or sicken the Roots of the Grass so as it wither and flag rather than grow to any great Advantage In some places for the more ease of Watering you may have the opportunity to command a small Stream or Spring and to bring it down by Carriages upon the Lands and proportion them small or great according to the quantity of Water you can give and if it be little from drilling Springs make Stops in the Carriages that it may water one Land first and then by the Drains convey it to that which lyeth lower and so by degrees to all as Conveniency will admit and the small Springs in constantly working will bring much Improvement As for Springs that produce a hard harsh Water proceeding from Alomy Vitrioline and Coal Mines or Minerals it is not to be brought on Lands unless for the destroying of Rushes and Weeds and afterward the Acrimony taken off by mollifying Waters or well dunging with fat and nourishing Soil to amend the Barrenness and produce store of Grass CHAP. XX. The proper way effectually to Drain Land and reduce it to Fertility either Arable or Pasture WHen Land is much incumbred by Water and thereby rendred as it were useless especially where there is a Superfluity of venomous corrupting Water lying in the Earth much occasioning Bogginess you may nevertheless consider that this Land with some Labour and Cost may be brought to be very good and in order to the procuring of it to be so I shall lay down plain Rules and Directions Take special Care in draining such Grounds especially where there are feeding Springs and observe in this case the Descent that you may the better by the Drain take away all the Water from the bottom or else it will be of little Value therefore observe the lowest Level of your Drain and so low that you may draw off your Water and not any lower can you carry it away by this means therefore be especially careful herein and then if you can get a lower Descent from this carry your Drain upon the Level till you find certainly you are got under the Moisture Miryness and Water that either feeds the Bogs or covers the Land and go a Spade's Graft or thereabouts deeper and so you need not tye your self to a dead Leavel but as the Moisture lieth higher or Ground rises so may you rise in the working your Drain keeping one Spades Graft under it Observe that in cold Rushy Lands this kind of Water that creates much Barrenness is found beneath the first and second Swarth of the Land and beneath that you most frequently find a little Gravel or Stonyness in which this Water is and sometimes below these in a hungry Gravel but it usually lies deeper in boggy Land than in Rushy and a Spades Graft you must go deeper than the bottom of these As for the Matter causing the Bog it is easie to be discover'd sometmes lying within two Foot of the Superficial part of the Ground and usually within three or four though some lie far deeper as six and eight or more and having found this Spring that would willingly break out were it not incumbred by the Load of Earth it is forced to wheeze through and break its way by much spreading dig a Foot beneath it give it a Current in the Drain and if it be swift it will suck all the other Springs to it and make the boggy Spunginess of the Ground to cease so that in a little time a Driness will insue Make your Drain from the bottom of the Bog trenching it in the sound Ground or else in some low Ditch so low as you conceive it under the Spring or Spewing-Water then carry up the Trench into the boggy Streight through the middle of it one Foot under that Spewing-Water or Spring upon the Level unless it rises higher for many times it rises as the Land rises and at other times riseth very level even to the Head of the Bog into which you must carry your Drain or within two or three Yards of the Head of it then at the Head strike another Trench overthwart both ways at the middle Trench as far as the Bog goeth all along the End of it continuing at least one Foot under it and this may work a strange Alteration in the Ground without any more Trenching Or to work it somewhat more certainly consider after you have brought a Trench to the bottom of the Bog then cut a substantial Trench about it according to the Dimension of the Bog whether round square or long or three or four Yards within the boggy Ground for so far it will drain well that which you leave without the Trench underneath the Spring-Water Round and when you have so done make one Work or two overthwart it upwards and downwards all under the matter of the Bog and in a Year at furthest your Desire will be answered CHAP. XXI To Drain Fenny and Marshy Lands with the least Charge and most effectually c. FEnny and Marshy Ground is another thing to be considered and great Advantages to be raised by well draining them so that they may be converted
thrives better upon Land that is moderately manured with Dung Marl or Chalk and when it has grown seven Years the Root so spreads that being ploughed in it becomes excellent Manure to prepare the Land for Corn. The Seed of it is mostly like a Parsnip-seed only a little browner rounder and fuller you must by reason it is bigger sow more in quantity than that of Claver for the smaller the Seed is the further it spreads in the Ground so that a Pound and a half of this or somewhat more will go no further than a Pound of the other for the thicker and closer it grows the better it stocks the Ground The manner of sowing it may be with Barley or Oats and being mowed with them may be used as good feed but the separating I hold the best it may the first sowing be mowed the latter end of the Year and so preserved for a good Crop five or six Years after and then the Spirit decaying the common Grass will overcome it and by that time it has prepared the Earth fit for Corn again There is also another Grass by the French called the La-Lucein which is exceeding good Fodder and this will well grow on dry and barren Lands but this is not very common nor has any considerable improvement been made of it in this Kingdom however it may be proper for barren Lands of little value for any thing else and an Experiment would not be amiss to improve it for by Industry through the blessing of God all the Improvements we have have been brought to pass to the enriching and plentifully feeding the Nation whilst Sloth would have brought Poverty and Want CHAP. XLII Improvement of Land by Sowing and Well-ordering Turnips TUrnips are a great improvement of Land for beside the advantage they yield in selling for the Kitchen and the feeding Cattle and Swine the Roots and Leaves may be brought to rot on the Ground and become good Manure besides they hinder not the first Crop especially of Pease Beans or Barley but being sown when they are taken off grow and flourish in the Winter and are properly drawn defore Barley or Oats Seed-time though you may sow two Crops the early and the latter The Seed being small may for the better and more even spreading of it be mixed with fine Mould or to prevent the Bugs or Worms eating it in the Ground with Wood-ashes they require if the Ground has been well broke up but a light plowing but to be well harrowed that the Birds destroy not the Seed which if you perceive to have been done by the barrenness of one place more than another when they come up you may sow that again and there will be little difference in their coming to perfection They delight in and prosper best in a mellow Ground or a mixture of Sand and Clay a black Mould is exceeding good to produce them for if the Ground be hard their roots will not spread or come to their full natural perfection Of these very useful Roots there are two sorts both of one kind that is the round or bulbous and the long Parsnip Turnip but the first is the most numerous and usualest sown in Fields When you have sowed and harrowed the Seed laying the Land as even and level as may be go over it with a Rowler of weighty Wood to press it in and break the remaining Clods that the growing Seed may the easier put through it and when they are pretty well come up and the leaves begin to spread they must be diligently hoed over and the underlings culled out by cutting them off even with the Ground or somewhat lower that the principal Plants may receive the Sun and Air more freer and thrive the better and when they are grown larger if they appear too thick they must have a second hoing and then the tops will spring up amain and the roots have more Earth to spread in If you find a black sort of a Caterpiller to light on them when they come up first green or grow a little height which poyson and eat up their leaves by that means hindering their growth if you cannot flow them for a time with Water to drown these Insects go over them with a great heavy wooden Rowler taking care that the Horse with his Feet spoil as few as may be and the weight of this Rowler bearing the tops hard to the Ground will crush the Insects to death and if this be done in a dry time when they are in this manner mostly infected the tops with the heat of the Sun and a little sprinkling of Rain will rise again and flourish more than ever To preserve the best Seed for the next Year 's sowing take a considerable number of the fairest and largest Turnips free from Worm-eaten Stringyness rough-Rinds or Warts and transplant them to a good Soil when they are growing to Seed co ering them pretty high with Earth that is about four Inches above the Root setting them a Foot and a half distance and water them a little if the Weather be very dry and so let them run to Seed then cut of the Stalks when the Seeds loosens and begins to tussle in the Pods and having well dryed them in the Sun put them into a large Hop-sack and by beating them with Staves that the Seed will come out which you may Sift or Winnow from the Husks and lay it up in a moderate dry place for your next Year's use sowing it as before and ordering in all particulars where required as directed and you will have Winter-stores for yourself plenty for your Cattle and the like for the Market if you live near any good Towns this being a very wholsom moist cooling and nourishing Root good against Feavers and all hot Diseases allaying the acrimony of the Blood CHAP. XLIII Improvement of Land by Sowing of Carrots and how to well order them c. CArrots are very wholsom nourishing Roots and by them Land may be well improved but in every Soil they will not prosper as mostly delighting in warm Sandy-ground mixed with a moderate fruitful light Mould and if you sow them in any other it must be well stirred and manured but where you find a natural light and warm Ground if it be but indifferently fertil they will however thrive therein you may sow them in intervals between Beans or Pease laid in Furrows and so reap two advantages with a little more labour and cost the one not hindering the other for as much as the Carrots are ready to draw the others will be taken off the Ground and though in doing it some of the tops may be bruised in trampling they will recover and spring up again The Land these are sowed in should be rather digged than ploughed or if the latter it must be very deep to give the Roots leave to grow to a full length and bigness When you have sowed the Seed about the middle of March or much sooner if the
is white and of singular use for Turners work and to make Tools for the Husband-man and besides its pleasant shade it yields abundance of Fuel The Aspen-tree delights in moist wet Ground though it will grow in Woods and Copices it differs not much from the Poplar and is propagated by young Suckers whose tops you must not cut off the first Year The Alder may with success be set in wet Lands and much improves it of these you may set Trunchions and they will grow very fast they will also grow of Seeds but the best are young Sets with roots being set as big as the small of a Man's Leg and in length about two Foot cut not the smaller Sets till they have stood three Years and so they will produce great store of Wood for Poles and other uses The Withe is a good improver of boggy Land as also the Osier which turns to a very great advantage being worth 9 or 10 l. an Acre where the Land before was of little or no value if they can be carried easily by Land or Water to the places where they make Baskets Chairs Scuttles and the like Ware they may be cut every two or three Years The common Willow affords much Fuel Poles and Binding-rods this will grow either by Roots Slips Trunchions or the like plant them in February if the Weather be open and so till they Bud. These watry Trees are of a clean white Wood and very great improvers increasing exceeding fast and the better when they are once grown up for being lopped and are a good shade for Cattle in Summer and afford them good brouzing CHAP. LIII Farther Improvements for Ordering sundry sorts of Trees for the valuable Improvement of Land c THere remain yet other things not treated of in relation to the improvement of Land by Trees viz. As for such Trees as cast their Leaves in the Fall the best time to transplant them to other convenient places for Timber Under-wood Shade or Ornament you may do it the Weather being open in October November and upon necessity till they begin to bud in the Spring and those Trees that do not shed their Leaves but are green throughout the Year are best removed in the Spring when the cold is abated and the Sun opens the pores of the Earth that the Roots may spread and the Sap be continued by fresh moisture and it may be well done in August The pithy Trees as the Ash Lime-trees Sycamore Aspen c. need no cutting upon transplanting till they have well taken root one Year and then to hasten their growth in bigness you may cut the tops of the uppermost branches that too luxuriously expend the moisture that should feed the bole and under-branches As for Fir or any Rosiny-tree cut not the roots nor the branches but a very little because they will be apt to spread their Rosin or Turpentine too much to the decay of the Plant for that is it which keeps it alive and and makes it prosper This method may be used to transplant Suckers Scions Slips or Layers of Birch Elm Chesnut Oak Beech c. But where they have not good root it must be done in the Spring when the Sap is risen and they begin to put out their buds All Trees delighting in wet or watry Ground may well be transplanted in February or March before they are too forward if the Frost be well out of the Ground Remove Trees rather into a better than a worser Ground wherein they naturally grew or at least so much good Earth in the holes you make to set them in as may first give them a fixed rooting and so they may get a head and when they are once acquainted with the nature of the Land they will thrive amain let as much of the Earth in which they first grew as may be adhere to the root when you remove them that so they may be the better nourished and grow more kindly and let the spurns of the roots be as many as may be pretty long and large except the top and downright roots that so they may spread every way and that they may the better do it make the holes you set them in large and fill in the Mold loose upon them If you would have your Trees prosper well remove them not out of a warm shelter into a bleak cold Air and to keep them steady and upright that they may not decline nor much loosen by the blowing of Winds keep the Earth pretty high about them above the level of the Ground The Oak Pine Walnut and other Trees that bear spreading branches at the transplanting set at a good distance from each other at least forty Foot but the Beech Ash Yew Fir and Chesnut may stand much nearer viz. at a third of the distance The Hornbeam and Elm will grow the nearest of any Trees together and these you may plant in a regular or a promiscuous order As for the watring of Trees in dry Seasons care must be had of it whilst they are young especially as soon as they are transplanted for this settles the Earth about them and makes the Roots take firmer hold and if they have been far fetched set the Roots in Water some time before you plant them and if you find the Wind much shakes them set strong Stakes by them and fasten the Trees to those Stakes with wisps of Hay that they may the better be strengthned and so order it by putting Moss or Hay between the Plants that the rubbing may not fret or gaul them you may lay about the Roots of them Fern Stubble Hawme or any other such like things that in the first place it may keep them warm and in rooting dung them Stones laid about the Roots of Trees keep them moist in Summer and warm in Winter Coppices may be planted about Autumn with young Sets or Plants the best way in rows at ten or fifteen Foot distance for then you may very well reap the benefit of Intervals by ploughing digging and sowing and have a great deal the better conveniency for the grazing of Cattle and proper ways for Wains or Carts to fetch away the Timber or pass from one Ground to another besides it will yield you pleasant shady Walks and then if you would thicken your Coppice when well grown bend some of the Boughs that are nearest to the Ground give them little nicks on the back of the bending and put them a little way so bowed into the Earth covering them with Mold and keeping them from rising with hooked Stakes driven into the Ground and springing up they will produce a great many Suckers and in time grow up into Trees or at least considerable Under-woods CHAP. LIV. How to Order Trees for their better growing and more speedily turning to good Advantage TO preserve Trees in good plight and to make them grow apace there are other things required than what I have hitherto mentioned First Prune them when they are
easily wound and bent viz. The Willow and Birch and the smaler Oak Shingles to cover Houses are best made of Oak Beech and the Wood of such other Trees as bear Mast also of such as yield Rosin as the Pine and the Pitch-tree For Tables Stands Bowls and such other houshold Utensils the Maple Ash and Walnut are very curious graceful English Woods and much lasting Box is a Wood well known of great value for its firmness and durableness and usually sold for its preciousness by weighâ— and serves for Combs Hafts of Knives Mathematical Instruments and so many Mechanical uses that little except the very tender Sprays can be counted waste in it so that an Acre of good growth of this is held to exceed by much the value of twenty Acres of the best Corn and therefore considering when once it is well got in the Ground that every twenty Years it may be well cut and the Roots left will produce new Shoots to supply the place of what was taken away what great advantage may be made by it in improving Land where little else will grow and that it requires no yearly toiling ploughing and sowing nor the charge of Seed Holly is another excellent Wood useful for Whip-stocks Cops of Caâ—rs and Sidings as also for any thing that requires a strong tough lasting Wood but above all its Bark has of late been found famous for the making of Birdlime the which because it may be grateful to the Country-man not only in taking and destroying such Birds as annoy his Corn but to furnish his Table though it is somewhat a digression from the Subject I shall however by the way give him a Receipt to make and use it and then come again to a conclusion of what I intend to lay down in relation to the Ordering of Trees and Improvement of Wood-lands for his advantage CHAP. LVII A true Receipt how to make the best Bird-Lime WHen the Sap is full in the Bark of the Holly about Midsummer take that which is well grown and strip off a considerable quantity of the Bark and boil it in fair Water till the gray and white Bark part from the green so separate the green and lay it on a heap on a Tyled or Stone Floor in a Cellar or some such cool place covered with Weeds for the space of ten or twelve days in which time it will putrifie turning into a slimy quality then put it into a Morter and beat it with a wooden Pestle till nothing but slime remain so that no part of the Bark being to be discerned it may be wrought like Wax then wash it in a running Stream that no moat or husk may remain in it after this is done kneed it into a glazed earthen Vessel cover it close from the Air and there it will fume up and purge out its scurf and dross and after six days scum it off and continue so doing till no more arise then that you may keep it for use shift it into another clean Vessel When you use this on Twigs Straws or Bushes according to the quality of the Fowl you design to take warm it and mix it with a little Hogs or Goose-grease over a gentle Fire till they are well incorporated by frequent stirring then anoint the Twigs Straws or Bushes with it as even as you can without leaving any knobs or roughness and place them either in Woods or Fields where the Birds you intend to take resort and place what Allurements you think fit in Meats or other Matter as will be most taking to them and place them so that when they descend they must needs touch them and such as do will certainly be entangled for if they rise with them on their Feet they will certainly lap their Wings and that will cause them suddenly to fall and as the greater or lessness of the Fowl is so must you proportion your Twigs CHAP. LVIII Wonderful Improvement of Land by planting Trees and by Inclosures shewing the advantage of it over those Lands that lye in Common WOod may be greatly improved by inclosing Ground with it for Corn and Pasture yielding a great many advantages to the painful Husband-man whose good Industry well deserves a good Recompence First For that well-grown Trees and good Hedge-rows shelters his tender Corn c. from bleak Winds and keeps off the blastings that would much annoy it even when grown Secondly It is a great advantage to Pasture-lands in sheltering Cattle both in the heat of Summer and in the extream of Winter as also from violent storms of Rain Hail or Snow c. Thirdly It secures Corn from High-roads being made into it by idle Persons and Cattle which if it lay in common or open could not be avoided since those that know not the toil and cost the Husbandman is at to bring his Crop to a Harvest little regard what havock they make through laziness for wanton disportment or the nearest way which if there were a Barrier of good Fence they could not do and then for Cattle it saves the trouble of Pounding and many frivilous Suits that frequently arise on trespasses of these kinds and therefore is advantagious both to the owner of the one and the other Fourthly Trees growing up their Lops afford much Fuel and Fencing perpetually supplying the owner with both as occasion requires and indeed few know the scarcity of the first so well as those that live distant from Inclosures in open champion Countries where Coals cannot at all or at least without great charge and labour be had not only the pinching Winters afflict these but even their necessary occasions of Brewing Baking and Dressing their Provision make them sensible to their great cost and loss of time that the planting of Trees is extreamly beneficial for that being at hand they may keep it in a readiness by getting it in and laying it up to dry at leasure times to their great comfort and advantages and be profited in selling the overplus to the rich and charitably bestowing some on their poor Neighbours and for their Christian Compassion towards them be loaded with their Blessings and Prayers and of this one Mr. Tusser one very much experienced in Rural Affairs in his old fashioned Rhime thus speaks The Wood-land above all I praise the Champion delighteth not me For nothing of Wealth it doth raise to such as laborious be In Wood-lands the poor Man that have scarce fully ten Acres in Land More merrily live and do save than th' other with forty in Land The one hath in every Hedge both plenty of Fuel and Fruit The other lays Turf up and Sedge and gets it by wonderous suit And ready in Winter to starve when th' other you see doth not so But has what is needful to serve when th' other all ragged does go There is indeed a great difference in the advantage arising between Inclosures or Wood-lands and such as lye open and though some may be apt to grudge
at the inclosing of Commons yet were there a good measure taken therein it would greatly turn to the advantage of the poor and much improve the riches of the Nation there being so much good Land lying as it were waste might be inclosed and let to the benefit of the poor to the great easing of the Parishes and advantaging those that claim a right therein three or four times more than what now it can for the poor having little stock to put there the rich make their advantage who have much which if it was inclosed and let out for the general benefit they could not do and so thereby the stock of Corn would be greatly advanced and in some Years a good improvement of Timber might be made many Commons and Moors that now lye in a manner waste and are of little profit being capable with a little industry of producing equal with Lands of a good value so that things thus rightly stated every one concern'd might have a right understanding and be highly satisfied in so good a Work Consider in this case where the Grounds are inclosed how happily people live as in Hartford-shire Essex Kent Berk shire Surry Wilt shire Somerset-shire Hamp-shire and others all which not only raise Corn for themselves but supply other open Countries and even the great City of London which consumes a vast quantity thereof and yet no parts of England set a greater rate or make a greater advantage by Grazing Therefore I must say that all Interests upon Commons or Rights of Common-pasture upon any of these Lands may without prejudice to any particular Interest be advantaged and much improvement made to the Publick considering what vast quantities of Land lye as I may term it waste some over-run with Mole-hills Ant-hills Goss Fern Bryers Twitch-grass and the like others under Water for the want of opening the Currents and Passages for Brooks or Water descending from Hills for whilst it lyes thus every one concludes it not his business and so it lyes neglected and many however claim their part in it that will bestow neither cost nor labour in making it fit for good Pasture or Corn-land though if it was so ordered it might prove in a little time the enriching of them and be a means to disburden the Parish by the Rents arising therefrom of the chargeable Poor and be a means to employ labouring Men so that every one would live at ease from encumbrances or suffering wants But this some may say cannot be done without great encouragement of our Superiors or at least the general consent of all that have any right or claim in the many parts of such Land by long custom Suppose this granted as for the first Those that are called together to consult the good and welfare of all the People of England cannot be thought to be averse to so great an advantage to the Publick where Particulars are rightly represented and stated since the Poor reaping the Benefit they being by far the vaster number it would be a great easement to the Nation in employing many and charitably supporting others And for the latter I presume there are few that would not be induced to study their own good and advantage CHAP. LIX Of Inclosures and Trees planted in Hedge-rows both Fruit and others and the benefit arising thereby to the Owners of such Land c. THere might be abundance of things said in the encouragement of Inclosures and Woodland beneficial to private Persons and the general good of the Nation since so great a consumption of Timber and Under-wood has of late been made in building of Shipping Houses in Iron-works and Charcoal which if not in time repaired will make this or at least the next Generation too sensible of the decay of it and the want of these Necessaries will much obstruct the Trade of the Nation as well as put private Persons to great streights The Earths proper in this case may be chosen indifferently but for Wood land chuse a warm sandy gravelly Ground mixed with other Earth to temper them especially with a moist strong cold Clay I have given divers Rules already for the meliorating Earths when they decay or languish by sundry Manures and therefore shall not be troublesome to my Reader in repeating what is already done but where Inclosures are designed for Corn by the way that it is proper you make choice of a good sound middle warm Land than of the richest and fattest that is and it will produce a great encrease and the Timber about it will pretty well thrive and grow up in time to great spreading Trees though not over high so that the Boughs will be very thick and substantial and the great Arms serve for divers necessary uses as occasion shall require them in Building or other Matters and the Spray-lops provide a sufficiency of Fuel to skreen you from the cold In the Hedge-rows you may likewise to advantage yourself more plant Fruit-trees which being well grown will with a little care bear better than those planted in Orchards as lying more open to the Sun and altogether unincumbred by others so that by the Fruit great profit will accrue and the due pruning them will add to your stock of Fuel besides it will give a very pleasant prospect to the Ground affording cool and delightful Umbrays in the Summer-season And this appears by Land already improved in this nature in Hertford-shire Worcester-shire Gloucester-shire and other Countries redownding to the great benefit of the Owners who have by this means a double Crop yearly one of Fruit and the other of Corn and a third may in some cases be brought to perfection viz. of Turneps or such like that may be sown ripe and drawed before the Season for sowing Barly comes on by which means Land may be improved to a great value or if laid down for Meadow or Grazing nothing can be more accommodating to Cattle than a Pasture fringed with substantial Trees spreading their Branches as I have hinted to skreen by sheltering from Rain Winds Heat or Cold. This I speak to incourage Industry and this Industry consequently encreases Wealth which always commands a plenty of what is necessary and being once gained takes off much of the toil and labour Poverty imposes on the needy so that the Labour of youthful Years may comfortably supply old Age to do which experience teaches us it is very necessary It is allowed by the most judicious that shadiness in Summer and warmness in Winter occasion'd by Trees much helps and betters the Land for in such Fields we find the earliest Grass and frequently the greatest Swath and Burthen and consequently more Corn than in open places exposed to bleak Winds in Winter and Spring and the Sun 's hot Beams continually lying on and parching them in Summer from Morning till Evening-tide Hills indeed may reasonably keep off some Winds and make them fly over the Champion-ground but I cannot conceive we have any that cast so
Winter the Spring shall be moist and the Summer dry Wine and Corn shall be plentiful and good Sheep shall prosper the small Fruits and Seeds of Gardens shall flourish many great Men shall die there shall be great Peace and Honour to all Kings and Governours If it be on the Saturday it shall be a good rainy Winter the Spring shall be moist and warm the Summer and Harvest very good Weather Swine shall many of them die Sheep be diseased and abundance of Cattel perish there shall be great Plenty of Hay Wine and Corn but Fruit shall be scarce many shall die suddenly Begin no lasting VVork on Saturday especially towards the Evening Thus you see I have also affixed this old Prognostication as I know it to be of Authentick Authority with many being the dear Delight also of some ancient People who discourse much to this purpose and of VVitches on cold VVinter-nights by the Fire-side with a Pot of good Ale FINIS ADVERTISEMENT SErts of Cuts for Bibles in Folio Quarto and Octavo curiously engraven on Copper containing near two hundred Plates are now sold to Booksellers at a cheaper Price than usual viz. 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