nor indeed be ever so thrifty as before so that from that time to this we find all sorts of Timber growing scarcer and dearer and so 't is likely still to continue 'T is well we are in good Terms with the Northern Crowns but should we once have a Difference with them we might soon expect to be brought to the utmost Extremity especially when the Iron-works those great Devourers of Fewel should multiply upon us to furnish the Kingdom with such Iron-Provisions and Stores as are now brought from thence and all but little enough to serve our Occasions So that upon such a general Slaughter or rather Massacre of Wood as would be made in such a Conjuncture we could not but become an easie Prey to a Foreign Invasion It behoves therefore our Parliaments more than ever to put a stop to such Practices as shall unduly diminish the Growth of such a necessary Commodity as also to encourage the planting of it by some Priviledges and Exemptions and particularly to encourage the planting of Wood in such Heaths and barren Grounds as lie commodious to any Navigable River or near such Ports and Harbours to which our Shipping does most resort But of things relating to this Subject more at large when I shall hereafter discourse of the Fuel of London CHAP. VIII Of Trees as they are Vseful in Husbandry EVERY Husbandman or Farmer tho he be not Master of a Park or of Fair Woods ought to have his Ground well stord with such Trees as may promote his Husbandry such as Elms Oak and Ash as likewise to be commodiously furnish'd with Aqualicks or such as grow near the Brooks and Waters as Sally Withy and Orles For these Trees tho of less bulk are very serviceable And First I begin with Elms Elms then as also Poplar being cut at the Butt do Coppice or cast forth New Shoots in great abundance so that so far as their Roots spread under Ground they will sprout out of the Earth like a little Forrest For there being no Branches to draw the Sap the Roots cast forth or discharge themselves of what may be spared from the main Tree towards the raising a new Offspring These young Plants if preserv'd from the injury of Cattle will grow considerably but not to substance by reason of their great Multitude The more therefore of these young Sprouts are wed away the fairer will be the remainder They are better therefore propagated this way than by Transplantation tho if transplanted the best way is to mow Grass or Weeds and lay them about the Roots which will keep the Ground moist sweating and defend the Roots from the Extremities of Heat and Cold if some Stones be mixt with the Grass it is not amiss for they will keep the Grass hollow and preserve it from withering and baking together The like helps may be us'd to preserve Fruit-Trees or any other Trees whatsoever Elms in Husbandry are useful for Stocks and Valleys for Wheels For Ox-Bows as also for Harrows This Wood likewise is good in Railes and Gates if sawn thin not being apt to rove like Oak and being light will shut and open with more ease Boards of Elm are good likewise for Floors and Doors of Rooms but not so good as Oak because subject to swell and shrink upon alteration of Weather The Season of cutting them is from Allhallon-tide to Candlemas but if cut in the Summer let them be cast into the Water for a quarter of a Year and that will fetch out the Sap and preserve them from the Worms An old Barr-Oak being cut at the Butt will never Coppice more but Saplings or young Timber will shoot from the Butt but not sprout forth of the Ground round about like Elm and Poplar Oaks therefore are best rais'd of Acorns especially in large Fields For if Acorns be set in a small quantity they will be in danger of being destroy'd by Moles or Field-Mice who are of a strange quick Scent and will get them out of the Ground tho never so well cover'd and carry them to their little Holds or Store-Houses Oaks tho they be accounted the longest Livers amongst the Trees of this Island perish soonest by Cold and Drought of any excepting Poplar and Asp as was observable in 84 being the Year following that severe Frost A vast number of Oaks especially the old ones wither'd away the following Summer which prov'd exceeding dry And of sound Timber-Trees many were split and cleft to the very heart so that a Man might put his Finger in the Cleft or Rent which clos'd up again when the Frost was over and altho they seem'd to the Eye to have receiv'd no Dammage yet 't is certain that they were seely or weeping or shatter'd and in a manner unserviceable being sawn For tho the Gaps and Clefts which were made by the Frost heal'd up again leaving sometimes no Seam nor Scar in outward appearance nevertheless when such Trees are cut the Wounds will soon appear so that the Dammage done that Winter as I have said before will not be repair'd in many Ages and I look upon good Timber to be a Commodity which will every day grow more scarce than other And such truly was the violence of that Frost that as I very well remember it rent a Stone-Wall from the top to the bottom so wide that I could lay my Finger in the Cleft the Crack running and turning with the joints of the Stones which Breach at Spring clos'd up again leaving no mark of Rupture behind The Wall was built upon a Rocky Foundation in the Water Of all Trees Elms resist Cold the best for I observ'd not one to perish by that rigid Season Oak serves for several Uses in Husbandry as for Planks and Beds for Waines for Spokes in Wheels for Vessel-Staves and for all the Occasions of Building 't is the Wood which is most durable and beautiful If you cast Beeches or quarter-Quarter-Wood into the Water being sawn Green and letting them lie therein a quarter of a Year and better 't will fetch out the Sap and make them fit for Use quickly Likewise Saplings being cast green into the Water after they have lain there for some time become tough and hard and will not be subject to Worms as appears by Axle-Trees so that a Gate or Rails made of young Poles thus season'd shall last many Years and never be subject to the Worm nor to â—ove or warp by the Sun In a word I hold it best to cast all sorts of sawn or cleft Oak as Boards Window-stuff Spokes pipe-Pipe-wood or Stairs pin-Pin-wood Waine-Beds c. into the Water there to season for being driâ—d in the Sun they will be apt to warp or cast Oaks Elms and generally all Trees whatsoever being cropp'd or having the Heads cut off so that they cannot stretch themselves higher grow more bulky and burry so that 't is usual for an Oak thus dwarf'd to contain six Yards in compass For such Trees rotting and
under the Title of Sacerdotes Arrorum Their Number was Twelve of which he himself was one condescending to be called the Twelfth Brother of that Fraternity being solemnly Installed thereunto by Laurentia Acca his Foster-Mother who platting a Garland of the Ears of Corn bound it on his Head with her White Fillet which was lookt upon at that time to be the most Sacred Badge of Priesthood and was the First Crown that we read of amongst the Romans And in so great Honour was it held in after Ages that nothing but Death could put a Period to it and was ever enjoyed even in Times of Exile and Captivity No Wonder then if even Kings themselves delighted to write of Husbandry such as Hiero Philometor Archelaus and Attalus Amongst Militant Persons Xenophon was eminent this way but much more famous was Mago the Carthaginian and Brother of Hanibal which Works of his were held in that Esteem as to be Translated into divers Languages an Epitome whereof made Greek was sent to Dejotarus as a Jewel of Inestimable Value and particularly it was lookt upon by the Romans to be so precious that amongst all the African Monuments of Learning this alone was thought worthy of the Romans Care and to be preserv'd upon the Subversion of Carthage being Translated likewise into the Roman Language by the Care and Directions of M. Cato Amongst Philosophers whose Works are Extant Aristotle Pliny and Terentius Varro signaliz'd themselves upon this Subject as did also Theocritus Hesiod and Virgil amongst the Ancient Poets with infinite other Writers of modern Date And such an Influence truly had the Art and Practise of Husbandry upon the Minds of Men that the most eminent of them in all Ages whether for Military or Civil Employments did ever betake themselves in some degree or other to this Course of Life Hence it was that every Roman of old had his Villa where to bestow himself in time of Vacancy from Business as they have at this Day in Italy and elsewhere belike thinking themselves then most happy when they take up with the Entertainments of their Vineyards As to the Profits arising from a Country Life it is superfluous to enlarge on that which is so obvious to all the World And first in respect of the General or Commonwealth This is that great Vein by which the Blood is distributed through all Parts of the Body or rather the very Blood it self since it is disfus'd over the Whole nor can any Part or Member subsist without it It is the Foundation of Traffick and Commerce forasmuch as all the Manufactures and Commodities which we export or receive from Foreign Parts are but the Productions of the Earth at the first or second hand Corn Wine Oil Fruits Cloth Linen or Woollen Silks c. are all of them the Off-spring of the Earth cultivated by Art and Industry And as the Husbandman is most necessary to the Publick in Times of Peace so is he as useful in Times of War since all the Stores and Magazines by which Garrisons and Armies in the Field are sustain'd are deriv'd from his Labour and Providence The Description therefore which the Poet gave of old Italy that it was Potens Armis atque Vbere Gleba was well concerted for Italy as it was one of the most fruitful so it was the most martial and victorious Country under Heaven giving Laws to all other Nations so that were it under the Command of one Prince it might possibly pretend to be once more the Mistress of the World as it was heretofore when the Boundaries of its Empire were the Ocean which it exceeded to in Greatness of Extent Nor could it be possible for Flanders with the other neighbouring Countries to sustain such vast Armies and to have been the Seat of War and Desolation for so many Ages together with such immense Losses and Calamities were they not enabled thereunto by the invincible Industry of its Inhabitants and by the Fertility of the Soil In the next place if we regard the particular Interest of private Persons no less obvious is it that nothing can more advance it than Husbandry The great Estates and Fortunes which many Men arrive to this way being a certain Proof of this Truth If some miscarry 't is no wonder whether it be through their own ill course of Life Ignorance or Negligence or perhaps from some sinister Accidents from which no State or Condition can be exempted But in the General 't is certain that considering the vast Numbers of Men who make Profession of Husbandry none make a surer Fortune than those who follow it there being ten Bankrupt Tradesmen or Merchants for one Husbandman Consideration being had I say to the Farms which far exceed the Shops in Number And as to our native Country in particular it enjoys certainly many Advantages above any Country whatsoever For in foreign Kingdoms so it happens that one Province abounds only with Corn another is in Reputation for Wine a third is eminent for Herbage a fourth for Boscage in which Case Men must be beholden to remoter Parts for Necessaries which is a Business of great Expence Trouble and Delay for Instance Picardy and Normandy are great Corn-Countries but have little Wood Wine or Pasturage all which Necessaries being from far are very chargeable Holland is famous for Butter and Cheese but it must be oblig'd to foreign Countries for almost all its other Commodities whereas with us in England there is rarely a Farm of Fifty Pounds per Annum but has Meadow and Pasture-Ground belonging to it together with some Wood or Coppice as likewise with Arable Land for Corn with Sheep-Pasture as also with Trees for building for the Occasions of Husbandry for Fire and in many Places for Fruit and rich Liquor being yet farther bless'd with fresh and wholsome Water almost in every Ground or with some little Rivolet or Brook running near it so that a Man enjoys all things almost within himself of which he can stand in need without any Dependence upon others or of being in danger of want by any Difficulties in the Conveyance tho' I must confess that in some respects foreign Countries have an Advantage over us not only from the Sun and Temper of the Soil which generally requires less Manurement than with us but also from the Woods which in hotter Countries are much more easie being generally dry smooth and fit for Teams or Carriages at all Seasons or else they have artificial Canals as in the Low-Countries which indeed is a thing very considerable to a Farmer who keeps the Market so that little Profit may be expected from a Farm be the Ground never so good which lies not near to a good Market-Town or which wants the Conveniencies of good Roads or of a Navigable River The Italian Saying of Buona Terra Cativa Gente hath been by some applied to our Country with respect doubtless to the Peasantry of this Nation for as for the ancient Gentry
richest Cyder that can be found amongst us and of the noblest Tincture I would moreover advise every Gentleman who has a Love for Cyder to store his Plantation with all sorts of Fruits and planted in all sorts of Grounds and all sorts of Ways viz. in Open Fields or Orchards in Hedge Rows and near his Houses Some Fruits likewise blossoming at one time and some at another 't is very likely whilst some Trees miscarry and receive Damage by the Winds and Frosts others which are not yet in Blossom or which have blossom'd some time ago or which are under some sort of Covert or Shelter may escape from Danger I shall not enter into a Discourse upon the Art of making Cyder 'T is the duly Practise of every Family Some Things however there are which ought daily to be look'd to by such who hope to be Masters of good Cyder of which the first is the hoarding of Apples and here I hold it much better to lay them in a Chamber on heaps than to leave them sweating in Gardens or on Grass-plots for lyiâ—g on the Ground and in the open Air they not only receive and such in the Rains and Dews which fall upon them but draw a dead Saâ—our from the Earth whilst the Spirit which woâ—ks in the Sweating is imbib'd therein which cannot but much impoverish and flatten the Liquor All which Mischiefs are avoided when Apples are hoarded within Doors and on a Chamber-Floor Besides Fruit ripens sooner within than without Doors because in the heaâ—ing or serment the Spirits are neither imbib'd by the Spongy Earth nor so apt to fly away in the Open Air which must needs help forward the Digestion by mellowing of the Apples the Heat being less subject to wast and Dissipation Another thing to which we ought to have regard is the drawing-off or racking of Cyder from the Lees after it has done working and is wâ—ll setled This way of râ—cking sortens the Cyder much and contributes to its Vegeteness and Conservation for by lying long upon the Grounds or Lees it attracts an Acidity which in a short time will make it eager and fretting The true Season of racking Summer-Cyders that is such as are made of Apples early ripe is about Christmas when it has been a little clarified by the Frosts But for stronger Cyders which carry a great Body or Spirit rather and come from the Mill as thick and sweet as Honey they are not to be touch'd till the Winter be pass'd and then if not pretty clear they must be rack'd a second or perhaps a third time so that I have had Pippin and Bromsbrow Cyder which has not been fine or fit for botling under a Twelve-month the Fruit being extraordinary ripe and well hoarded when 't was made But the common Season for botling of Cyder is about two Months after the Racking which falls out about May for then the Cyder nits or frisks in the Vessel which is the critical Season of botling and if it be not taken then all the botling in the World will not make it brisk and lively Tho' still I say that the thicker the Cyder when it comes from the Press the more Rackings it must undergoe till it becomes fine sparkling and without Dreggs They who have a Curiosity for Cyder must have regard likewise to many other Circumstances as first for the Mill that of Stone is found by experience to be much better than the Steel-Engine so much talkt of alate which is ever and anon apt to be out of Order so that many have quitted the use of them returning to their Stone Mills again Next for pressing of Cyder there are several ways of doing it The way of pressing by one Screw is better than by two The Muss or broken Pulp being thrown into Cribbs Boxes Knewcloaths Baskets or wrapt up in Twists of clean Rye Straw in which particulars every man may follow his own Experience and Fancy I shall not trouble my Reader about Ordering the Vessels this being part of the Concerns belonging to the good Housewise and yet if there be any fault in this particular as many times there is the Liquor and perhaps the Vessel is irrecoverably lost The best way then as soon as the Liquor is drawn of is to stop up the Vessel close and never to turn out the Lees or Sedement till it comes to be us'd again For in case any Air or Moisture get into it 't will soon poyson and corrupt the Grounds which will give such a nasty oily Smell to the Vessel as can rarely be got out by burning or any Method whatsoever Some indeed there are which after the Cyder is drawn of wash the Vessel very well with cold Water and when it is clean from all its Lees they dry it well in the Sun or Wind and so let it stand till they have occasion again to use it This way of washing with cold Water is esteemed much better than with scalding Water because the hot Water is more apt to penetrate the Wood by which means the smell of the Cyder is soak'd out of the Pores of the Vessel which are fill'd with a waterish Vapour which when cold will be apt to make the Vessel mouldy whereas cold water washing off only the slimy filth which sticks to the sides leaves the Wood of the Vessel well seasoned with a strong smell of the good Liquor which will very much help the Cyder which hereafter shall be put into it Some regard likewise must be had to the Bottles that they be very clean wash'd and dry'd otherwise after some little time there will be a kind of Cream upon the Neck of the Cyder which will very much deprave it and fill it full of Dreggs and make it distastful The newer the Cyder is the more space must be left betwixt the Cork and the Liquor in the Bottle For upon Change of Weather it will be apt to work and being windy if too close fill'd 't will endanger the breaking of the Bottle Likewise such Corks ought to be well ty'd down for they will rise oâ— draw with the windiness of the Cyder and sometimes fly out in the Air. Cyder therefore ought to be old and well digested of its windy Quality before ever it be bottled and yet if kept too long or prickt 't will never recover it self and after some time it shall gather a flying Lee or Dreg which is a certain sign 't is lost I shall not speak of the artificial Helps of Cyder esteeming the Liquor which stands in need of them to be worth very little and yet so it is that many of our Cyder-Merchants make their greatest Profit by these Adulterating and artificial Practices By these Marks 't is easie to know adulterated Cyder It frisks a little at first but then it flattens presently and tastes a little deadish and sweet 't is likewise thick and muddy and raw upon the Stomach and after it has stood a little in the
upwards which in the space of Twenty years the Common measure of an Age may amount I say in the Summ Total to the Number of Four or Five Hundred Thousand The Number of Houses as they stand at present in the City and Precincts of London Westminster and Southwark may be computed to a mount to Forty Thousand For as for the greater Buildings or Houses such as the Palace Royal the Inns of Court of Chancery and some Noblemen's Houses they must not here be reckoned as single Foundations or Houses since some of them may contain the Building of Twenty Forty or perhaps one Hundred private Houses of the middle Order such as those which belong to Tradesmen or Shop-keepers Let the Common standard therefore or measure of a House be such an one as contains Nine Chimnies for where there is One that hath more there are Five which have less so that the excess viz. of the greater Houses on the one hand weigh'd against the defect on the other viz. the great Number of small Buildings in private Allies and the Out-Skirts of the City most of which have not above five or Six Chimnies to a House I say upon such an Allowance as is here made we may reasonably pitch upon Nine Chimnies to be the common proportion of every House one with another and than the Summ Total of the Chimnies may be about Three Hundred and Sixty Thousand If we allow yearly therefore to every Chimney one good Load of Wood or Charcoal or something more we shall find that London will require about Four Hundred Thousand Loads of Wood yearly to supply its occasions And from this too we may make a considerable defalkment when we shall consider what a great Number there are of Brewers Dyers Hatters with such like Smoaky Occupations all which require a stronger and more constant heat such as that of Sea-Coal-Fires Which Professions also being noysom in themselves and dangerous to their Neighbours upon the account of the many Casualties of Fire to which they are more obnoxious it would be very safe and convenient if they were oblig'd to Settle on the farther side the Water which would very much contribute to the Health and Security of the City So that upon an allowance of our Furnace-Gentlemen to use Sea-Coal as also for the Sons of Vulcan our little Forge-men and Smiths which require to be dispers'd up and down the Town to some necessary occasions we may reasonably believe that about three Hundred and Fifty Thousand good Loads of Wood of a Tun to each Load will be sufficient to answer the occasions of this City 'T is true a Nobleman's House and where there is much of the Kitchen will require Thirty or Forty Loads of Wood but then we must Consider that for one Nobleman's House there are Eight or Ten smaller Houses of about Four or Five Chimnies which will be supplied with Four or Five Loads commodiously so that reguard being had still to the proportion of the House the Quantity of Wood before mention'd will be sufficient and so much the rather because that in the Summer time most of the Nobility and Gentry retire into the Country Our next Enquiry then will be where to find such a Quantity of Wood as is here pitch'd upon To this end and purpose we are to consider in the First place what quantity of Wood grows usually upon an Acre of Ground An Acre then of Coppice-Wood of about Twelve or Thirteen years growth if moderately well stor'd will yield about Threescore Cords or Loads of Wood each Cord or Load being Eight Foot in length Five Foot Six Inches in heigth and Three Foot in thickness or length of the Billet closely laid together so that one Acre of good Wood-Land will yield yearly about Five Loads of Wood more or less and then we shall find that about Sixty Thousand Acres of Land well planted with Wood will afford us the quantity we are now seeking These parts of Sussex and Kent which lie betwixt Tunbridge Wells and Rye which is about Thirty miles in length and of a bredth proportionable are almost all Woods Great part of Buckinghamshire of Oxfordshire and Barkshire abound with vast Numbers of Woods The like may be said also of other places bordering upon the Roads of London from all which places to London we have a most easie conveyance by Water as well upwards by the Tide as downwards by the Stream For so it is that the parts nearest bordering on the Thames and Medway are most productive of Wood or if there be occasion for a Land-carriage so hard so capacious and level are the Roads as are no where to be found in any other part of England What quantity of Wood this may amount to is hard to compute but without all dispute it far exceeds the Quantity requir'd to serve the occasions of London especially if the Iron-works those great devourers of Wood were made to keep their due distance But in regard that London is not the only mouth which is to be fed with this fiery food there beeing some Consideration to be had to the Necessities and Occasions of the Neighbouring places we must be allow'd more Ground than what is at this day planted with Wood and this we shall not be long a seeking for if we consider of the great number of Heaths waste Grounds and Commons which lie every way within Twenty or Thirty Miles of London It may reasonably be computed to be Fifteen or Twenty Thousand Acres all which at present is not worth Five Shillings an Acre being stock'd only with rascally Sheep and Geese Let us suppose then an Act of Parliament to be rais'd in favour of this or some such like Design For without the All-mightiness of a Parliament no Great and Publick Work can ever come to any Maturity this Project then must be built upon these Grounds and First In order to an Enclosure let all the Rights and Privileges of the Commoners be brought in at such a Rate or Purchase as the Supreme Authority of the Nation shall think fit For to deprive any one of his Right and Priviledge without due Compensation made is very unjust as doubtless 't is most just so to do when it shall redound to the greater Benefit of the Public without any detriment to the particular Persons concern'd Secondly such enclosed Wastes or Commons to be carefully preserv'd by more than ordinary Provisions to prevent tumultuary Invasions of mobling Levellers as likewise the clandestine Havocks to which such Enclosures especially near so Populous a City are very Obnoxious To this end and purpose 't would be convenient that every Gentleman or Nobleman herein concern'd over and above the subservient Labourers to be employ'd in Planting Fencing Defending Dipping Cutting Cording Coating and Carrying such Wood as from time to time should be upon the premises I say it would be very Expedient that to every Thousand Acres so planted there should be a Capital Bayliff or Ranger
that the Worms most resort and by consequence the Wants who feed upon them so that I have known the same Place choak'd up three or four times afresh during the Winter-Season Ground newly broke up may be sown with some sorts of Pease or Oats Pease are better and must be harrowed in after the Plowing but generally the Crop is not so good as upon temper'd Land forasmuch as it will be subject to Grass and Weeds After Pease the Year following we may sow Barley for there will be time enough betwixt Harvest and Barley-sowing to give the Ground its due plowings After the second Crop it must be fallow'd and dress'd before 't will yield another unless it be sow'd with Oats which will much impoverish the Ground 'T is the best Method therefore to let old Land after it has been broken up to lie fallow the first Year and if in good proof 't will with a little help yield three Crops successively In lesser Inclosures which are converted to Tillage I hold it the best Husbandry in the World instead of head-Lands on which the Cattle turn not to sow them but to let them lie plain for Grass as also a large Meer to be left of ten or fourteen Yards breadth under all the Hedges which inclose the Tillage for these Borders will never bear good Corn especially if the Hedges be quick and high and stor'd with Trees for the Shade of the Trees and Hedges as also the Droppings from the Boughs will destroy the Crop as will also the Birds which lie continually in the Hedges The Roots likewise of the Trees and Quick will rob the Corn of its due Nourishment Let the Borders round about therefore be kept for Grass which as it is most delightful to the Eye and most commodious for walking so is it most profitable For the Washings or Land-Floods running off the Furrows will fatten the bordering Meer in an extraordinary manner and make it as rich as any Meadow-Ground as the Shade likewise of the Trees and Hedges will as well help forward Grass how injurious soever they may be to Corn. After the Crop is in the Barn being hous'd dry the next thing the honest Labourer or Husbandman is to consider of is to turn it into Money Peradventure the safest way will be to thrash it out as soon as the Season does require and to send it to the Market for by long lying in the Barn Rats and Mice will quickly draw their Mines and make large Inroads nor will the Thief be wanting as Occasion shall serve to give a Cast of his Skill to which we may add the Incumbrance of the Barn for the Crop of a following Year To keep it thrash'd in the Granary is altogether as bad for 't will be subject to the Assaults of Vermine and unless often turn'd 't will grow musty Besides 't will contract a great deal of Dust and Filth and the Grains of Corn will shrink or shrivle and lose their bright Colour All which will be of much more Detriment than what may be recompenc'd from the Advance of the Market which commonly does lurch us by sinking lower but rarely rising to that degree as to make amends for the Inconveniences we meet with by keeping in our Corn. But if it be judg'd expedient to keep Grain the best way is in the Straw by putting it into a Rick not rais'd upon Posts or Pillars of Wood or of much Stone as is usual with ordinary Husbandmen but let the Frame of Wood which is to bear up the Rick be laid upon five or nine Pillars a full Yard from the Ground The Pillars must be proportionable to the Burthen being made round and strong and finely plaister'd over and cover'd with flat square Stones four Foot in breadth each to prevent Vermine from running up For if the Pillars be square tho' never so polish'd Rats and Mice will run up the Corners but on a round one they have not the least Hold for their Claws The Rick also must be well thatch'd to prevent Damage from foul Weather and by this means Grain may be preserv'd sweet and entire for many Years There is this Thing farther which I would recommend to the Consideration of every Husbandman especially if he be a Gentleman viz. to avoid as much as possible the Covering of his Barns and Out-Houses with Straw For besides that such Thatch'd Coverings looks mean and beggerly 't is certain that they will prove far more expensive than Tyling in a little Process of Time People are easily drawn to follow the Examples of the Country to avoid a little greater Charge for the present not considering that such Thatch'd Houses will be a continual Reparation and Expence Every violent Gust or Puff of Wind tears them to pieces and makes vast Breaches Unluckey Birds are still pulling them and the Rain Snow and Weather will in a very short time rot such Coverings and considerable Damage be sustain'd before Stuff and Thatcher can be brought in place Whereas the Tiled Roofs tho' a little more chargeable at first will last a long while without Repair and when repair'd it will be done at a quarter the Charge of Straw Roofs 'T is true Thatch'd Houses are a better Security for Corn against Rain and Snow but then 't is known too that they harbour Birds Rats Mice with other Vermine and above all are most dangerous so that many Houses have been burnt to the Ground and whole Families undone by Fire catching in the Thatch But in this and many other Methods Country Fellows will never quit the old Road how Ridiculous and Inconvenient soever it be no more than the Irish can be wean'd from their old barbarous Custom of Tailing their Horses to one another and to draw with them in their Teams CHAP. III. Of Pasturage PAsturage is of several sorts That wherein Sheep thrive best is the Lawnes as also the wide and open Downs such as those in Cotswold and in Wiltshire for what is richer or ranker by reason of the great Dews that lie upon them is apt to beget the Rot also hilly Ground in which are many Springs and little Lakes is very unwholsome For where Sheep bite closest they thrive best unless they be design'd for the Butcher and then they must have a fuller Diet. There is no small Care to be taken in ordering the Pasture of such as are design'd for Breed or Store Let them be kept in the Summer as bare as possible for if they once come to abate their Flesh as certainly they will towards Winter they will be a long time before they will come about but being hard kept in the Summer and dispos'd into thriving Pasture towards Winter they will keep their Fleeces whole upon their Backs and be able to weather out the sharpest of that Season Of the Usefulness of Fallow-Fields we have spoken before Woods and rough Grounds are very hazardous for Sheep for besides the Danger they are in of tearing their Fleeces
and sometimes of being hang'd in the Briars they are subject to a Disease called the Wood-Evil which is a Bladder of Water gathering in the Head which makes them turn round and so they will continue in the same place and in that giddy turning Condition till they die When a Sheep therefore is taken with this Distemper the Butcher must cure him Nevertheless young Cattle thrive best in rough woody Grounds by reason of the Covert and the large Walks such Places yield and by this means they are defended from the Fly and the Breeze The Grass likewise of such Places tho' course and soure agrees well enough with young Cattle which would not pay for their Keeping were they to feed in richer Pasture Horses especially where we would have a good Breed require likewise a large Walk and woody such as those in Parks which are dry and hard at the bottom and withal stony yet cover'd with a sweet Turf and abounding with fresh Springs Thickets and some Lawnes or Pasturage dispers'd in Valleys and fatned with little Rivolets And upon this Score it is that the Northern Parts afford the best Horses for the Ground being poor they can afford them a larger Range which helps their Wind and teaches them to use their Legs and the stony Ground makes their Heels tough and hard As for the Dayry as also for the Working-Cattle and the like the better the Pasturage the better the Return If the Ground be over-grown with Couch or Foggy Grass the best way will be to eat it down in Winter with hungry hardy Cattle and in the Spring when the young Grass begins to peep out of the Ground as certainly it will and sooner than in other Pasturage by reason of the thick dead Couch or Grass which keeps it warm and defends it from the Winds and Frosts then is the time to turn in Cattle and especially Horses which tasting of the young springing Grass will pluck up the dead and wither'd together with it afterwhich let it be eaten bare with Sheep which as they feed will fatten the Ground with their Dung and by this means will the Ground be brought to a fine sweet Turf Pasture-Grounds are improv'd several ways at first by sowing of Foreign Seeds such as Clover St. Foin and the like all which Seeds must be sown along with the Grain or a little after the Ground being prepar'd or made very fine And by this means when the Grain which ought to be Barley is above Ground and grown to some strength the Seed whether of Clover or of St. Foin for the purpose will be springing up without Prejudice to the Crop and keep back and suppress Weeds which otherways would endanger the Corn and poison the Ground for some time after Clover thrives almost in all sorts of Ground unless very stony or very wet Land but 't is most proper for a mix'd Land such as partakes of a Sand and something a fatter Glebe The same Manurement or Dressing which serves for Barley will serve likewise for Clover which will last good in the Ground for three Years by which means that Land which was not worth a Noble an Acre will be worth 30 s. an Acre This sort of Grass may be mow'd twice a Year the first Crop serves for Hay the second they cut for Seed about the middle of September when the Blossoms are fully wither'd for it must lie withering on the Ground for some time and be hous'd very dry which is something difficult by reason of the long Dews and the declining Sun at this Season of the Year This sort of Grass is very good for Horses and to feed Pigs and fatten Sheep But for Cattle as Cows or Oxen if they be turn'd in hungry they will be in danger of over-filling themselves and by this means to swell and burst for this sort of Food is exceeding sweet and luscious The way then is to turn in Cattle when they are full tho' at the best this sort of Food is not so kind for them as Grass When the Clover is worn out of the Ground as generally it lasts not above three or four Years at most the Ground will quickly come to a grassy Turf so that I hold it absolutely necessary for every one who lays down his Ground sor Pasturage to leave it with Clover This sort of Improvement is much practis'd in Herefordshire Worcestershire and some Parts of Glocestershire and after some little Interval of Time it may be renew'd again upon the same Ground and so on the Soil being first duly dress'd and prepar'd for Corn. St. Foin where it likes the Ground is much more profitable than Clover because of longer Continuance It requires a quite different Soil from Clover for it thrives best in a hilly stony cold and barren Ground but dry such as that in the higher Parts of Glocestershire Oxfordshire and other Places of the Kingdom This sort of Grass may be mow'd from Year to Year for divers Years together and when it dies after a few Years Intermission the sowing of it may be renew'd again upon the same Ground c. The Fodder is exceeding good for Horses and not unkind for Cattle so that by means hereof the Ground which before was not worth Two Shillings an Acre shall be worth Twenty Shillings an Acre and better The Reason why St. Foin thrives so well in dry stony barren Ground is this It is a Plant which shoots its small fibrous Roots a great depth in the Ground deeper far than Grain or Common Herbs which by reason of the stony Surface cannot run low whereas St. Foin creeps deep by its Roots betwixt the Joints of the Stones where the Vegitative Nutriment cannot be suck'd by such Plants as feed upon the Surface which generally lies no deeper than the Plow And because St. Foin requires a dry Soil such barren dry Ground is most sit for it the stony Surface and the declining Situation utterly forbidding any Moisture to sink far into it Clover likewise shoots down a good depth but not so deep as St. Foin and is in a short time supplanted by other Herbs forasmuch as it prospers best in a thriving and loose Soil and generally we may observe that such Herbs as are perennial shoot deep roots downwards as Hops Docks Ferne Broom Nettles and the like whereas they which are annual ly shallow on the Surface Ray or Rye Grain is a spiry benty sort of Grass and is another kind of improvement much of the same continuance with Clover and thrives best in Cold Wet and Gauly Ground it is not so much in Vogue as Clover or St. Foin Another way of improving Pasturage is by Soil or dressing of the Ground such as Dung which has been rotting some Years as likewise Shovelings of Folds and the Mud of Pools and Ditches after two or three Years mellowing But I know not any thing which improves Pasturage more than Mault-Dust so that every one who Trades in selling of