and last Plowings according to his Interpretation must have allusion to bis frigora the other two Plowings are poetically recommended by the Vernal and Aestival Suns The Reason of the Summer-Fallow is taught us by the same Poet a little after Glebasque jacentes Palverulenta Coquat Maturis Solibus Aestas Because the parching Sun burns the fibrous and stringy Roots of the Herbs or Weeds which otherwise would choak the Grain Lime and burning of Ground is kinder for Corn than Dung for Dung besides that it requires some Digestion or Maturation is subject to breed Weeds by reason of the Weeds and their Seeds which lie in the Litter But the Shovelings of Folds is the worst thing imaginable that can be thrown upon Tillage for it consists chiefly of the winnowings of Corn with all manner of Trash whatsoever and tho' the Chaff or Litter be perfectly rotted and turn'd to Earth yet it shall still flourish with Weeds beyond any other Soil or Compost whatsoever but for Pasturage such sort of Management is very kind Pigeons-Dung is the hottest of any one Load and a half of it being thinly strew'd or sown is sufficient for an Acre Next Sheeps-Dung is an excellent Manurement and of this about four Load to an Acre of Horse-Dung eight Load upon an Acre is good dressing and of Beasts or Cow-Dung ten or twelve Load and of good mellow Earth as the Mud or cleansing of Pools Ditches and the like after two or three Years sweetening we ought to bestow twenty Load at least upon an Acre We are to note likewise that the fresher the Dung the better 't is for Stercoration so that one Load of Dung a little ripened or settled in a heap is as good as two Load of that which has lain two or three Years mellowing forasmuch as two Load of fresh Dung after it has lain for some time rotting will not make one Load Besides the saline or sulphureous parts of the Dung in which its vegetative Virtue does principally consist by lying long in the heap are wasted by continual heat and rottening and after some time will prove no better than rank Mould or Earth whereas that which is new is fat and unctious and full of heat and spirit This which I have said holds true in the Manurement of Ground for Corn but for Garden-Ground that Dung which is oldest and most rotten is the best because it may be made fine and sifted and by this means be fit for all Seed-Plots Boxes Flowers and the like But in all these Cases no difinitive Rule can be given forasmuch as the Natural Temper or Disposition of the Earth being in several Places very different more or less help must be us'd and generally speaking an Acre of Arable dress'd as before-mention'd will yield three Crops But of all Manurements I hold Lime to be the best Four Load to a moderate Acre is a good dressing it kills the Weeds corrects the Coldness of the Soil and cherishes the Grain so that the Ground which is dress'd with it will be the better for Several Years after 'T is likewise wonderful good for cold weeping Pasture In former Ages they manur'd their Land much with Marle which is a hot kind of Earth and slakes something like Lime And 't is certain that they us'd vast Quantities of it as appears by the great Pits we find in all Places where such Husbandry was in use some of which Pits will contain ten or twelve thousand Loads but this sort of Husbandry since the use of Lime has been in credit is much neglected Burning of Land is excellent good for Corn for by this means the Weeds are kill'd and the Strings or Fibres of the Weeds or Grass being turn'd into Ashes enrich the Ground mightily by reason of the saline or nitrous Particles with which the Ashes do abound Upon which account it is that such Marshes as lie near the Sea-Coast and are wash'd with the briny Element are extraordinary luxuriant and feed Cattle beyond any other Shells and trashy Weeds of which we find great quantities on the Sea-shore are wonderful Helps to Tillage so that a barren piece of Ground not worth Four Shillings per Acre will yield eight or nine Crops successively as I have been credibly inform'd the Reason is from the great quantities of Salt which such Trash does abound with and for this Reason 't is I say that Rumny Marsh and the Marshes of Holland feed the best of any Ground in the World Hence it is that the Low-Countries have such a large Breed of Men Horses and other Beasts as are not elsewhere to be found And for the same Reason likewise 't is that the Animals which are ingender'd in the Sea are far more numerous and greater in bulk than those of the Earth and the young Fry or Spawn of Fish belonging to the River such I mean as relish the salt-Salt-Water as Salmon Lamprys and the like tho' small and little when they leave the fresh Streams will upon their Return from the Salt-Water in a very short time acquire an extraordinary Growth Fish which are so testacious as Crabs Lobsters Oisters and the like are much more nourishing than other Fish by reason of that volatile Salt with which they do abound What we read of old of sowing Cities with Salt when they were to be eras'd and condemn'd to utter Desolation seems much to confirm this Opinion for by that means the Soil was made fit for Pasturage and for the Service of Beasts which was design'd to be unfurnish'd with Men tho' I much doubt whether our common Salt if sown upon the Earth would produce any great effect having receiv'd possibly some Alteration from the Fire I am more inclinable therefore to believe that by sowing such Places with Salt was no more but to sow or scatter the Ashes on them arising from the Ruines which generally was by burning which Ashes by reason of the copious Salts with which they did abound were themselves by a kind of Figure called Salts and such as serv'd to render the Soil useful only for the Nourishment of Beasts as I have already observ'd Why such Salts should be so fruitful seems to proceed from their penetrating Nature by which they seem to open first and then to purge the Bodies which do imbibe them from their cold crude Humours healing them likewise and afterwards rendering them more uniform and compact The way of burning Land is by gathering the Turfs into little Heaps in the hollow whereof a little Bush or Faggot of dry Wood being laid after the Turf has been well dry'd and parch'd by the Sun they set the Hillock on Fire and afterwards scatter the parch'd Turf and Ashes upon the Surface This Method of improving the Ground by burning was much in practice amongst the Ancient Romans Their way was to burn the Stubble which remain'd after Harvest as it was left standing on the Ground and this serv'd to prepare it for another Crop as we
if Fruit Trees be not planted 't would be very Convenient and Ornamental to have such Walks in length and Cross-ways of Lime-Trees Elms Oaks and the like For to see the Campain without Garniture would look a little too bald and to have it choakt up with little Enclosures would look too Yeoman-like and would be a disturbance to Recreations of the Field as Hawking and Hunting and be stoppage also to the wholsome Air and to the Prospect of the remoter Countrys There must likewise be store of Fish-Ponds For there will be sufficient Water for these running daily from the Gardens and Offices of the Palace and the Ground about it The Fish-Ponds must be design'd one below another some for stews some for feeding and some for spawning The Spawning-Pools must be but little and every Three years New ones to be made in another place For in a little piece of Ground freshly broke up Fish will multiply prodigiously for the First year the next year less and in the third year the Spawning-Pool will be good for little the strength and Nutritive Virtue of the fresh Earth being spent Amongst our Pools I would have one if possible for Pikes for 't is an excellent Fish tho' destructive of the other Fry nor apt to thrive in a Pond unless fed with a good Current Carps Tench Perch Roch and Gudgeons should be the main Stock of our Pools and one Caution ought to be given viz. Never to break the Ice in case of a severe Frost which Thing indeed is Contrary to the Common Practice For I found by Experience that in the year 1683 one of the severest for Frost we have ever known in England that all my Fish died in those Ponds where I brake the Ice only in a little Pool or Pit which I took no care of believing it to be frozen to the Bottom there the Fish all escap'd and grew Extraordinary The Reason for their Growth was the same with that for there Preservation For as I conceive there are many nitrous particles or kinds of spirits issuing continually through the Body of the Earth from which nitrous Exhalations or Atoms all Things derive a seminal virtue and have there accretion so that the Rigorous Season sealing up all the Exteriour Passages and Pores of the Earth and covering the Water too with a thick coat of Ice impenetrable by the Air and through which such Exhalations cannot pass the Fish by this means receive much more Nourishment than at other Times the Bottoms and Sides of the Pool which lie under the Ice being free to admit of such perspirâ—tion which cannot fly out into the open Air as at other times by reason of the congeal'd Surface of the Water and this is the true Reason of Juvenal's Observation of some sorts of Fish that they were longo frigore pingues and upon the same Account it is likewise that Fish are found in the Northern Seas in much greater Numbers and of a larger Bulk than in the Southern And truly I can averr it upon my own Experience that after the severe Winter before-mention'd when the Ice was thaw'd I took out of my Pools Carps big with Spawn some 14 some 16 Inches long which the Summer before were not above 4 or 5 Inches in length so that they grew 10 or 11 Inches or better in Eight Months space which could proceed from nothing but the Extremity of the Cold. The Reason why Fish turn up their Bellies and die upon the breaking of a Pool is this When a hole is made in the Ice the compress'd Water flows out thereat in a full Stream or Gush This Motion of the Water upon the Inlet of fresh Air draws the Fish to the breach from out of there Banks or Holds where they lay warm tho much incommoded for want of Air which the closeness of the surface would not allow them Coming therefore to the broken places for Respiration the excessive coldness of the Air presently be numming them and deprives them of sense and afterwards of life This they who pretend to stealing of Fish understand too well and the less the hole is so a man can but turn and wind his hand in it the greater will be the crowd of Fish about it and consequently they will fall more easily within the Clutches of such Fish-Mongers There 's no Expedient therefore better than not to break the Ice at all in case of an extraordinary Frost As for other Observations relating to a Farm they have been breifly glanc'd upon in the foregoing Chapters From the Grange or Farm-House let us cross over the way towards the Church or Hospital let the Hospital then consist of two sides one for Maim'd or Aged Men whether Widowers or such as were never Married The other side for Women under the same circumstances whether Virgins or Widows for married Couples will never accord with the Orders of a Publick Hospital Let there be Chambers for Twelve Men and for as many Women their Cells to be on the Ground-Floor let each Cell consist of Two little Rooms with convenient Out-let and a little Garden On each side of the Hospital let there be a little Refectory where they shall Eat in a Collegiate way with a Common Kitchen and Cellar to each side likewise All to be manag'd by the care of some pious decay'd Gentlewoman or Matron with her Servants which Matron or Governess also is to have convenient Lodgings and Maintenance for her Care and Labour At the upper Side and in the Front of this Hospital but at some convenient distance from it let there be a little Church or Chapel competently endow'd for the maintenance of a grave and pious Divine who may have his Lodgings at the end of the old Mens Apartment and towards the Church 'T is his business to read Prayers twice a day in the Church to observe the Fasts and Feasts as they are appointed in the Liturgy as also to Instruct the Members of the Hospital together with the Youth of the Village or Neighbourhood in a vertuous way and to preach likewise on Sundays I would not have such a Person to be incumbred with Tythes but to be provided for by a Salary or by the Annexing of some part of the Parochial Dues for his Support by the Favour and Authority of the Bishop or in case it should be an Impropriation as generally it happens in all the Capital Mannours of great Noblemen it would be in the Power I may say it would be the Duty of such a Patron to make all suitable Provision annexing the Parsonage to such a Church As for making such a Village to be a Market Town or to have the benefit of Fairs I do not much approve of it Such a Design indeed would draw more concourse of People but withall 't would make the place more noisie and dirty and divert the Inhabitants from attending the Service of their Soul however it might tend to their own private Profits and Advantage For so
pleased to utter them Which Point would deserve a little to be insisted on were it not that the Manifold and Signal Blessings we have otherwise receiv'd of them would lay us open to palpable Ingratitude should we once offer to contest it with such generous faithful and constant Friends whose Benefits verily ought never to be forgotten And yet I fear though we should apply our selves to Fishing we should not be very successful at it unless we could imitate them in their Industry Parsimony and their great Care and Diligence in Curing and Ordering such Fish For these are the Three Principal Points which they have regard to who follow this Trade which such will never be good at who love to live in full Pasture and at Ease But what will become of this salt-Salt-Water Objection if we suppose as really we may without much peradventure that were Wood the Statutable and Staple Fuel of London many Ships would be employ'd in bringing Char-Coal by Sea from other parts of England as Hampshire c. where such Provision might well be spared But to come to our Colliers Be it as it will be were London alone allow'd or oblig'd to make use of Wood-Fuel there would be a vast utterance of Sea-Coal along the Thames and in all the Villages adjacent to London And whereas Commodities which come by Sea are subject to Disappointments so in time of War should the Coal-Fleet be taken or obstructed what then would become of London But Wood being a Native of the Neighbourhood could never fall a Prey to Pyrates or be subject to Naval Attempts and look what Provisions may be made one Year will continue the same in all others succeeding if the same quantity of Ground be yearly cut For Wood is not like other Products of the Earth as Grass Corn c. which by immoderate Rains or excessive Heats or by many other Accidents may become scarce and dear but look what Profit a Coppice yields at one Fillet 't will yield the like at another if of the same Growth and duly preserv'd so that our Computation being once adjusted we shall rarely be to seek for new Supplies nor be unprovided But admitting that the New-Castle Colliers might suffer something by the disusage of their Coal in London if it shall appear that the whole City and in effect the whole Kingdom of which that City is an Abridgement shall suffer infinitely more by the Use of it I cannot see what Reason there can be to perswade so great a number of Men to a Continuance of that which is so injurious to their own Concerns and Interest only to be thought officious and beneficial to some few others who shall thereby get Estates Just as reasonable as if I should endeavour to perswade the Citizens of London to pull up their Broad Paving with which their Streets are flank'd and which are so commodious to all Persons because 't would be for the Interest of Shooe-makers and Taylors that Men should wear out their Cloaths and Shooes by trudging up and down in the Dirt or otherwise to ride in Coaches which tho' very Expensive to him who goes up and down the Streets upon his Occasions would nevertheless be very commodious and profitable to Coach-makers and to the Hackney-Merchants That the burning of Sea-Coal may happen to be the Preservation of Wood is in some Sense very True but 't is as true too that the burning of Wood would be a greater Encrease of Wood and consequently of Timber because it would encourage Men to convert their barren Grounds into Wood-Plantations whereas where Wood-Fuel is neglected or supplanted by that of Coals Men are easily tempted to quit the Preservation of their Woods and convert their Ground to Tillage in hopes to find more Advantage so that if Wood were made the Fuel of London I doubt not but that many would be thereby invited to convert their Arable into Woods as a Thing of much more Profit For being once Planted they are preserv'd with little Labour and Charge and yield a certain constant Revenue without hazard For Crops of Wood with a little Care as I said before will never fail and being arriv'd to some Growth a Year or Two's forbearance will excedingly advance the Encrease And as 't is true likewise that one Chaldron of Coal will yield more heat than Three or Four Loads of Wood so it is as true too that the Dammage sustain'd in a House in London of any Figure oâ— Trade by the smutty smoak of the Coal is triple to the extraordinary Charge such a House would ly under were it obliged only to make use of Wood and Char-coal In respect of the Poor Sea-Coal must be confess'd to be a very commodious Fuel because cheap so possibly might Turf and Cow-dung be but were it not for that Thick Cloud of Sea-Coal-Smoke which covers the City in the Winter-time and deprives it of the Benefit of the Sun I doubt not but there would be less occasion for Fire than now there is that the Poor in London might subsist as well as they do in other Cities of England by the Benefit only of Wood were the Price thereof fixt to a just and equitable Rule Paris doubtless is more Populous than London and has as many Poor the Winters likewise are sharp enough tho not so long as with us Neither have they their Wood in any Quantities growing near it nor such a River as the Thames to float it and yet such is their Oeconomy in this particular that there is no want nor do their Poor starve in Winter With us however and in case of a Season more severe than ordinary 't would be a Charity becoming the Wealth and Greatness of such a City as London to give Four or Five Thousand Chaldren of Sea-Coal to be distributed amongst the Poorer Families which at the Proportion of half a Chaldron to a Family would supply the Indigence of Twenty or Thirty Thousand Poor People without any considerable annoyance to the City Something may be objected against the Use of Wood as being more cumbersome than Sea-Coal which lies close in the bottom of a Cellar and is in no danger of Fire whereas Wood must have a great deal of Room to ly within Doors and without Doors too 't will be no less an Incumbrance and Hazardous tho a great Number of Houses there are which have no Convenience without or any spare Back-side at all and especially in the City But this is easily answered for first It is supposed that the greatest part of our Wood-Fuel is to be Char-coal which will ly in as little room almost as Sea-Coal in Holes and Vaults and over and above has this advantage that it is sooner lighted to serve our Occasions and more easily and with less waste put out and reserv'd for further use so that we may kindle more or less of it as we see good and without waste whereas Sea-Coal-Fires are a long time a kindling and many times we
the Low-Countreys and likewise in Lombardy where those rich Meadows are at the same time water'd by an infinite Number of Trenches or Channels all cut by hand and replenish'd with great Variety of Fish As for Ditches fill'd with dead or standing Water they are industriously to be avoided as affording in the Summer-Season most noisome Smells and Vapours breeding great quantities of Flies and Insects as their Water is most unwholsome and dangerous for Cattle Quickset-Hedges consist generally of Holly Hazle Hip-briar Brambles the Black and White Thorn c. Holly is better rais'd by Berries than by Sets tho' there be but few who designedly plant them but in the Walks of Gardens and then I say they are rais'd by Berries and are esteem'd for being ever Green and for their Red Fruit or Berries The Holly which is edg'd or fring'd with a silver kind of Thread is accounted very ornamental in the choicest Gardens Holly has this Advantage above all other Quicks for it will thrive best among great Trees as Oaks ' and Elms especially Elms when other Quicks will not grow by reason of the strong Nourishment which such greater Trees draw to the Consumption of what is planted near them Hazle tho' a quick grower where it likes the Ground ought not designedly to be planted for the Leaves and Skirts being extraordinary sweet and tender all sorts of Cattle prey most eagerly upon it to the ruine of a Hedge Hip and Haws as well as Hazle are best planted by Birds and Vermine For such Crâ—atures making Nuts and Berries to be their ordinary Food fly with them or carry them from Place to Place and so dropping them up and down the Hedges or else hiding them under Ground at Spring some will be sure to sprout Brambles grow naturally enough we may suppose tho' 't is true too that the Seeds of Black-berries scatter'd by Birds or otherwise up and down the Hedges beget a large Encrease and the Shoots or Strings of them running along the Ground quickly take root as we see in Straw-berries and will over-run the Ground if not timely subdued But the two common Quicksets by which Husbandmen raise their Hedges are the Black and White Thorn call'd the Haw-Thorn As for the Black Thorn the Quicks or Sets are not very apt to grow but where they once take root they are never to be destroy'd and they make the best Fence of any for it is hardy and stubborn and by being a prickly Shrub Cattle are not apt to bruise it One Inconveniency it has that it is apt to spread wider than it should do by sending forth new Shoots from the Root at some distance from the Hedge and if not carefully look'd after will quickly over-run a Ground The White or Haw-Thorn is the most usual Quick which the Husbandman makes use of for the raising of Hedges for the Sets are good Greens and withal thorny and prickly but the Leaves or tender Buds being sweet Cattle and especially Sheep will endanger them very much if not carefully prevented either by washing them with Lime or by making Dead Fences before them till they be grown out of Danger The Season for planting of Quick holds good from the beginning of December to the middle of February and sometimes later if the Spring be backward 'T is infinitely better to plant Quick on the Ditch-side than on the Field-side for on the Field-side they will be sure to be nipp'd with Cattle but on the Ditch-side the Sets are safe from the drying Sun as also from Cattle which graize on the Field-side especially if some Shrubs Bushes of Black Thorn be prick'd in over them with the Stakes which make the Dead Hedges Some in planting of Hedges will set Acorns Ash-keys Crab-quicks and the like But I look not upon this Method to be so profitable to the Hedge for such Trees when grown up to any bigness will rob the Hedge Wood of its due Nourishment and leave Gaps near the Bodies of such Trees and will stand in need of continual Repair and altho' the Crop of such over-grown Trees may serve for Fuel yet I look upon it to be a much better Hedge which shall never stand in need of Repair as I have said before However it be every Man may follow that which he finds most profitable Cutting or Plashing of Hedges is another thing which we are to have regard to which besides that it must be done in due Season that is in the Winter or very early in the Spring great care is to be had furthermore to the manner of cutting A felling or down-right Blow is too apt to make a Cleft in the Stub which will rot and deaden it is better therefore to cut upwards if one can conveniently come at it Likewise we must be sure to leave good store of bushy Thorns or Broom on the sides of the Quick-Hedges for these serve for a Defence to keep off Cattle from brouzing upon the tender Shoots of a newplash'd Hedge and after two Years time such Shoots will grow strong and be out of the reach of Cattle and then we may safely cut away or trim off the Under-growings or bushy Fuel for our Occasions Whereas he who cuts the top of a Hedge and the under-wood or side Spriggs all at once endangers the killing of his Fence the Cattle having free scope and liberty to nip off the tender Buds in all Places as fast as they shoot out For the same Reason likewise I hold it not good Husbandry to be over-curious in grubbing up of Thorns or Bushes which grow near a Quick-Hedge for these are as it were the Out-works which preserve the main Fence safe which being once cut away the principal Fence lies open to the Injuries of Cattle When a Hedge is grown very old and stubby 't is best to cut it up at the Butt leaving only here and there a Layer or Pleacher the Mould being first cast up carefully to the Bank to cherish the Roots of such Thorns or Hedge-wood from whence the dead Stuff was cut For the Safety and Defence whereof a dead Hedge must be made at two Yards distance the Brush lying on the Field-side to keep off Cattle from doing Mischief whilst the new-laid Hedge is a recovering This Art of Husbandry or double Hedging is not to be practis'd but where there is plenty of Tynnel and there the Charge or Expence is no other but the Hire of Tyning which is inconsiderable and after three Years time it may be taken away ready cut and dried for the Fire In all dead Gaps of Hedges 't is very expedient to make the Stakes of Sally or Withy for they will prove quick and grow and afford plentiful Matter for the Repair of Hedges from time to time There is a sort of dead Hedging which is commonly practis'd with good Advantage especially near Lanes and that is by pricking or sticking Thorns slant or slope-ways upon the Bank and covering the bottoms of them with
whose business it should be continually to visit the Woods under his care and to give an Account of what may occur to his notice Thirdly that there be a standing Court or Body of Men deputed every three years by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the City by the Stewards of Westminster and Southwark and some others also by Parliament to enquire into Frauds and Disorders and to determine the Prizes of Wood throughout the City with its Penalties and dependencies and in a word to Inspect and Regulate the whole affair And as to that particular Branch of Enclosing Commons 't would certainly be a thing of the greatest Advantage that ever could be thought of and that in respect of First the Commoners themselves for besides the ready Summs of Money which so many Families would be enrich'd with proportionably to their Stock and Interest which certainly would turn to a greater profit than what is reap'd from a waste and uncultivated Common there will be a constant provision likewise for a great Number of Poor Families who are now ready to steal or starve having only their bare naked Pasture to feed upon where they are exposed all the Winter long to pinching Winds and Hunger Every Hundred Acres so Planted as is here design'd will very well Employ and Maintain Four Families for ever when such Woods shall be capable of Cutting and in the raising of them there will be continual Employment in Planting and in making and repairing of Hedges c. so that the poorer sort of People will be double gainers by the Bargain Next for the Purchasers 't is as certain too that their profit will be very Considerable For the Ground which before was not worth a Noble an Acre being Planted as 't is here Projected will yeild near upon Thirty Shillings an Acre for ever And in the last place the Public will reap Benefit by such Improvements not only in respect of that more copious supply which will be transmitted daily to the City but in respect also of that Provision which may be made for Timber especially in the Skirts or Outsides of such Plantations For the Government ought to have a prospect to future Ages and to have Timber growing so near to our Naval Magazines would be a Thing of Inestimable Advantage the want and decay whereof is that which we shall every day be more sensible of than other Lastly 't is for the Interest of the Common-Wealth that Lands should be improv'd in Order to make the Public Burthen more easie For Ground of Thirty Shillings an Acre can bear Taxes more easily than that of seven or eight Shillings an Acre And this reason will ever hold good when the Dammage which some may receive is inconsiderable in respect of the Advantage reap'd by others and especially by the Publick What may be objected against this Project of Enclosures is first That by this means there will be a greater shelter for Thieves and Robbers with which such Places are but too much infested To this the Answer is easie as to Robbers on the High-way or the Bilbo-Blades breaking upon the Wheel will be an undoubted Remedy of which I have already spoken Pardon likewise and a Reward to such Robbers who shall discover their Fellows will be a good prevention of their Confederacy and create a Jealousie amongst them or fear of one another This was practis'd with very good Success by Sextus Quintus who clear'd all the Ecclesiastick State of Banditi or Proscripts by promising indemnity to every Bandit who should bring the Head of his fellow whereupon they fell to cutting of one another's Throats each labouring to prevent his Companion from making the first Experiment upon himself and so not daring to trust one another the Gang was soon broken for singly they were not dangerous As for petty Rogues there is no great fear of them in the present Case Mutton-Mongers would have little Employments the Commons being unprovided with that Commodity and for other pilfering Chapmen there will be then no more cause of fear than now rather less there being a full Employment for the poorer sort and the Overseers of the Woods will be very useful also to observe the Disorders of those under their Care Another Objection may be made from the noisomness of so many smoking Cole-Pits which we may suppose to be continually employ'd for the charboning of Wood But for the same reason there must be no Lime nor Brick made For these things too are of an offensive Savour Besides Charboning of Cole is a thing which will not happen above once in Twelve or Thirteen Years so that the inconvenience may easily be born with and is incomparably less than the continual stink of the Sea-Coal Fires which are so great an Annoyance to the Court to the Nobility and Gentry and in a word to the most Considerable part of the Kingdom whether we consider their Number or Quality Those who follow the Chase might possibly receive some prejudice as to freedom of Riding by such Enclosures But on the other hand they would reap a greater Advantage from the preservation of the Game For such Woods would ever be well furnished and the Countries neighbouring upon London is generally so open and the Fields so large that there is liberty enough for the Chase without any incoveniency to the Rider or to the Husbandman but these are trivial Considerations not worth our insisting on Let us then hasten forwards and consider whether the Profit and Advantage arising to the Nation in general and to London in particular by burning of Wood be greater than the Dammage they may sustain by the dis-usage of Sea-Coal If we consider the Question with an eye to the Publick it will be told us by the Coal-Merchants that in the Fleets where such Provisions are brought there are a great number of Boys and Seamen bred who are so useful to us either for War or Traffick also that one Chaldron of Coal will yield as much Heat as four Loads of Wood and that were it not for Coal the poorer sort of London would perish Likewise that the use of Coal is the preservation of Wood and consequently of Timber for where great Woods are cut many thrifty Trees which in time would prove excellent Timber are condemn'd to the Fire As touching the breeding of Seamen by the Coal-Voyages 't is certain that some advantage doth accrue to the Nation by that means and certain 't is too that would we apply our selves to the Fishing-Trade we might be furnisht with many more Seamen than those who ply betwixt Newcastle and London as 't is certain also that the Fishing would bring us in more Profit than any other Undertaking whatsoever But so it is that we are contented to let our Neighbours Fish upon us for the Net cannot well be avoided whilst the Waters are troubled and then make them rich at our own Expence by buying our own Fish of them at such Rates as they shall be
up do throw away their Money and Time for it will come up ten times thicker than before Sowing the Ground with Clover will go a great way in destroying of Broom and sometimes it will utterly kill it by reason it draws a stronger Juice but above all the sowing of St. Foin without all dispute will utterly kill it forasmuch as it goes much deeper into the Ground than the Roots of Broom and engrosses or draws all the vegetative Virtue of the Earth unto it self The way to destroy Fern is to whip off the young Heads of it with a Switch as soon as it peeps out of the Ground for then 't is very tender and will weep or bleed exceedingly This being done five or six times in a Year for so often will it get head again and continu'd under this Method for two Years it will utterly destroy it A Boy in an Hour's time may whip off the heads of so much Fern as will poison an Acre of Ground so that ten or twelve Hours Labour bestow'd upon a piece of Ground viz. an Hour at a time will purge a Field from this devouring Weed For by often whipping of it it bleeds and is bruis'd and the scorching Sun withers it in the same way as I have before describ'd in Broom Dyers-weed or Wood-wax where it grows is a most pernicious Weed it robs the Ground exceedingly and its Bitterness will not suffer any Cattle to eat it nor will it be destroy'd by mowing The only way I could ever find is to graze the Ground which is pester'd with it by Sheep and eat it bare for Sheep bite close and love this sort of Herb very well and it is said moreover to preserve them from the Rot and the Hay or Fother made thereof is good for them in the Winter As for Thistles they are not to be destroy'd as Fern by cutting Breaking-up and sowing the Ground with Clover is the best way to kill them and sometimes they will die of themselves The like also may be said of Docks Nettles and such-like Trash which proceed commonly from the indigested Rankness of the Soil Liming of the Ground whether Tillage or Pasture does very much contribute to the Suppression of these Weeds Moss is a great Impoverisher of Ground and is the pure Effect of old Age or of worn out Nature so that growing in a kind of thick Mat or Scurf upon the Surface of the Earth it robs the Herbs of their due Nourishment or more probably I say the Earth being worn out of heart is able to put forth nothing but this dry kind of Trash And altho ' dressing the Ground with rich Earth or Dung may encourage the Earth to put forth anew yet 't will never answer the Charge and soon return to Moss again like an old over-worn Man who tho' he may get a little Strength and Warmth by means of a plentiful and nourishing Diet yet as soon as that 's withdrawn Nature relapses to its former State of Languor and Imbecility There is no other way then to destroy Moss but by breaking-up such Pasture and tilling it with Corn for this brings up the Mould which for a long time lay under the Turf which being expos'd to the Sun and Dews quickly acquires a prolifick or vegetative Virtue The dividing of Pasture-Grounds into little Closes is not the most profitable for besides the Vexation and Expence one will be at perpetually in making and repairing such Fences as also the Loss of Ground by Hedges and Ditches certain 't is that Cattle thrive far better in a large Walk for the Grass which grows under the Droppings of Trees is soure and trashy and in the Summer-Season when Cattle are subject to the Breeze they will not be so apt to break out where they have the Liberty to range Likewise 't is much more easie to have Water in a large Field of forty Acres than to furnish the same with Water when divided into six or seven little Grounds sor in so great a Space as a Field of forty Acres 't is ten to one but we may find some one place which may serve the Necessities of Cattle But to find the like Convenience in divers Parts or Quarters of the same Ground is very rare and difficult so that I dare boldly affirm that a piece of Ground of ten Acres will keep a Stock of Cattle longer than sour Closes of three Acres each tho' of the same Nature and Goodness For in lesser Grounds Cattle quickly walk over them and being sullied and stained with their Feet they will not care to feed thereon whereas in larger Fields they have room to range and feed till the stained Places be refresh'd with Rain or with the Dews CHAP. IV. Of Fences MOunds and Fences are Matters of great Moment in Husbandry and they are of two sorts being either Dead or Quick Dead Fences are Banks or Bulwarks of Earth Stone Walls Pales Ditches or Current of Water and the like For unless these things be put in good order all our Industry about our Pasturage and Tillage will signifie but little whilst they lie expos'd to Trespassings and Wast As for Banks of Earth they are most us'd near Cities where 't is impossible almost to raise a Quick-Hedge by reason of the great Numbers of Poor who inhabite the Out-skirts who upon all Occasions and especially in cold Weather will make Plunder of whatsoever is combustible The great Multitude likewise of Citizens and of idle Persons walking for their Pleasure as also of Gentlemen and Country People resorting continually to Cities upon the score of Marketing and other Business all Inclosures of this kind will unavoidably be laid wast especially in the Winter-Season and 't will require some Years for the Repair of a Quickset-Hedge whereas Banks of Earth are easily mended and not easily assaulted by Horsemen nor liable to be spoil'd upon the account of Fewel Such kind of Fences are very proper for Corn there being no Harbour for Birds nor Shade but for Pasturage they are not so convenient as affording neither Shelter against the Sun or Weather Fences of Pales are us'd generally about Parks the ruggedness of the Clefts being very proper to hinder Deer from breaking out It is easie also to open or shut a Breach by removing or pinning two or three Poles a thing very convenient for an Inclosure of Chace Stone Walls are too chargeable unless in such Places where the Ground is naturally dry and stony as on Cotswold Hills for there the Stones lie in all Places ready to hand there being no more to be done but to lay them orderly upon one another And this kind of Stone-work laid dry and without Mortar will continue for Ages As for Canals or Streams of Running-Water they are the best Boundaries of all For besides the Advantage derivable to the Ground by watering they afford infinite Pleasure and Profit by Fish and serving the Occasions of Cattle and sometimes also by Traffick as in