The English Husbandman Part 6

{SN: The getting in of Oates.} Now for the gathering in of your Oates, they be a graine of such incertaintie, ripening euer according to the weather, & not after any setled or naturall course, that you are to looke to no constant season, but to take them vpon the first show of ripenesse, and that with such diligence that you must rather take them before, then after they be ripe, because if they tarry but halfe a day too long, they will shed vpon the ground, & you shal loose your whole profit. The time then fittest to cut your Oates is, a.s.soone as they be somewhat more then halfe changed, but not altogether changed, that is, when they are more then two parts white, and yet the greene not vtterly extinguished, the best cutting of them is to mow them (albeit I haue seene them shorne in some places) & being mowen to let them dry and ripen in the swathe, as naturally they will doe, and then if you bind them vp in Sheafes, as you should binde your Barly, it is best: for to carry them in the loose c.o.c.ke, as many doe, is great losse and hindrance of profit.

{SN: The getting in of Pulse.} After you haue got in your white Corne, you shall then looke vnto your Pulse, as Beanes, Pease, Fitches, and such like, which you shall know to be ready by the blacknesse of the straw: for it is a rule, whensoeuer the straw turnes, the Pulse is ripe. If then it be cleane Beanes, or Beanes and Pease mixt, you shall mowe them, and being cleane Beanes rake them into heapes, and so make them vp into c.o.c.kes, but if they be mixt you shall with hookes fould the Beanes into the Pease, and make little round reapes thereof, which after they haue beene turned and dryed, you may put twenty reapes together, and thereof make a c.o.c.ke, and so lead them, and stacke them: but if they be cleane Pease, or Pease and Fitches, then you shall not mowe them, but with long hookes cut them from the ground, which is called Reaping, and so foulding them together into small reapes, as you did your Pease and Beanes, let them be turned and dryed, and so c.o.c.ked, and carried either to the Barne, stacke, or houell.

Now hauing thus brought in, and finished your Haruest, you shall then immediately mowe vp the stubble, both of your Wheate, Rye, and Masline, and with all expedition there-with thacke, and couer from Raine and weather, all such graine as for want of house-roome, you are compeld to lay abroad, either in stacke, or vpon houell: but if no such necessitie be, and that you haue not other more necessary imployment for your stubble, it shall be no part of ill Husbandry to let the stubble rot vpon the Land, which will be a reasonable Manuring or fatting of the earth.

Now hauing brought your Corne into the Barne, it is a lesson needlesse to giue any certaine rules how to spend or vtter it forth, sith euery man must be ruled according to his affaires, and necessitie, yet sith in mine owne experience I haue taken certaine setled rules from those who haue made themselues great estates by a most formall and strickt course in their Husbandry, I thinke it not amisse to show you what I haue noted from them, touching the vtterance and expence of their graine: first, for your expence in your house, it is meete that you haue euer so much of euery seuerall sort of graine thresht, as shall from time to time maintaine your family: then for that which you intend shall returne to particular profit, you shall from a fortnight before Michaelmas, till a fortnight after, thresh vp all such Wheate, Rye, & Masline, as you intend to sell for seede, which must be winnowed, fand, and drest so cleane as is possible, for at that time it will giue the greatest price; but as soone as seede-time is past, you shall then thresh no more of those graines till it be neare Midsummer, but begin to thresh vp all such Barly as you intend to conuert and make into Malt, and so from Michaelmas till Candlemas, apply nothing but Malting, for in that time graine is euer the cheapest, because euery Barne being full, some must sell for the payment of rents, some must sell to pay seruants wages, and some for their Christmas prouisions: in which time Corne abating and growing sca.r.s.e, the price of necessitie must afterwards rise: at Candlemas you shall begin to thresh all those Pease which you intend to sell for seede, because the time being then, and euery man, out of necessitie, inforced to make his prouision, it cannot be but they must needes pa.s.se at a good price and reckoning.

After Pease seede-time, you shall then thresh vp all that Barly which you meane to sell for seede, which euer is at the dearest reckoning of any graine whatsoeuer, especially if it be princ.i.p.ally good and cleane.

After your seede-Barly is sould, you may then thresh vp all such Wheate, Rye, and Masline, as you intend to sell: for it euer giueth the greatest price from the latter end of May vntill the beginning of September. In September you shall begin to sell your Malt, which being old and hauing lyne ripening the most part of the yeere, must now at the latter end of the yeere, when all old store is spent, and the new cannot be come to any perfection, be most deare, and of the greatest estimation: and thus being a man of substance in the world, and able to put euery thing to the best vse, you may by these vsuall obseruations, and the helpe of a better iudgement, imploy the fruits of your labours to the best profit, and sell euery thing at the highest price, except you take vpon you to giue day and sell vpon trust, which if you doe, you may then sell at what vnconscionable reckoning you will, which because such vnnaturall exactions neither agree with charitie, nor humanitie, I will forbeare to giue rules for the same, and referre euery man that is desirous of such knowledge, to the examples of the world, wherein he shall finde presidents inough for such euill customes. And thus much for the first part of this worke, which containeth the manner of Plowing and tillage onely.

THE SECOND PART OF THE FIRST BOOKE OF the English Husbandman, Contayning the Art of Planting, Grafting and Gardening, either for pleasure or profit; together with the vse and ordering of Woodes.

CHAP. I.

_Of the Scyte, Modell, Squares, and Fashion of a perfect Orchard._

Although many authors which I haue read, both in Italian, French, and Dutch, doe make a diuersitie and distinguishment of Orchardes, as namely, one for profit, which they fashion rudely and without forme, the other for delight, which they make comely, decent, and with all good proportion, deuiding the quarters into squares, making the alleyes of a constant breadth, and planting the fruit-trees in arteficiall rowes: yet for as much as the comelinesse and well contriuing of the ground, doth nothing abate, but rather increase the commoditie, I will therefore ioyne them both together, and make them onely but one Orchard. Now for the scyte and placing of this Orchard, I haue in the modell of my Country house, or Husbandmans Farme, shewed you where if it be possible it should stand, and both what Sunne & ayre it should lye open vpon: but if the scyte or ground-plot of your house will not giue you leaue to place your Orchard according to your wish, you shall then be content to make a vertue of necessitie, and plant it in such a place as is most conuenient, and nearest alyed to that forme before prescribed.

{Ill.u.s.tration}

Now when you haue found out a perfect ground-plot, you shall then cast it into a great large square, which you shall fence in either with a stone or bricke wall, high, strong pale, or great ditch with a quicke-set hedge, but the wall is best and most durable, and that wall would haue vpon the inside within twelue or fourteene foote on of another, Iames or outshoots of stone or bricke, betweene which you may plant and plash those fruit-trees which are of greatest tendernesse, the South and West Sunne hauing power to shine vpon them.

When you haue thus fenc'st in this great square, you shall then cast foure large alleyes, at least fourteene foote broad, from the wall round about, and so likewise two other alleyes of like breadth, directly crosse ouerthwart the ground-plot, which will deuide the great square into foure lesser squares, according to the figure before set downe.

The figure 1. sheweth the alleyes which both compa.s.se about, and also crosse ouer the ground-plot, and the figure 2. sheweth the foure quarters where the fruit-trees are to be planted.

Now if either the true nature and largnesse of the ground be sufficient, or your owne abilitie of pursse so great that you may compa.s.se your desires in these earthly pleasures, it shall not be amisse, but a matter of great state, to make your ground-plot full as bigge againe, that is to say, to containe eight large quarters, the first foure being made of an euen leuell, the other foure being raysed at least eight foote higher then the first, with conuenient stayres of state for ascending to the same, to be likewise vpon another euen leuell of like forme, and if in the center of the alleyes, being the mid-point betweene the squares, might be placed any quaint fountaines or any other antique standard, the platforme would be more excellent and if vpon the ascent from one leuell to another there might be built some curious and arteficiall banquetting house, it would giue l.u.s.ter to the Orchard.

Now for the planting and furnishing of these quarters: you shall vnderstand that if your Orchard containe but foure quarters, then the first shalbe planted with Apple-trees of all sorts, the second with Peares and Wardens of all sorts, the third with Quinces & Chesnutes, the fourth with Medlars & seruices. Against the North side of your Orchard wall against which the South sunne reflects, you shall plant the Abricot, Verdochio, Peach, and Damaske-plumbe: against the East side of the wall, the whit Muskadine Grape, the Pescod-plumbe, and the Emperiall-plumbe: against the West side the grafted Cherries, and the Oliue-tree: and against the South side the Almond, & Figge tree. Round about the skirts of euery other outward or inward alley, you shall plant, the Wheate-plumbe, both yealow & redde, the Rye-plumbe, the Damson, the Horse-clog, Bulleys of all kindes, ordinary french Cherryes, Filberts, and Nuts of all sorts, together with the Prune-plumbe, and other such like stone fruits. But if your Orchard be of state and prospect, so that it containe eight quarters or more (according to the limitation of the earth) then you shall in euery seuerall quarter plant a seuerall fruit, as Apple-trees in one quarter, Peares in another, Quinces in another, Wardens in another, and so forth of the rest. Also you shall obserue in planting your Apples, Peares, and Plumbes, that you plant your summer or early fruit by themselues, and the Winter or long lasting fruit by themselues. Of Apples, your Ienitings, Wibourns, Pomederoy, and Queene-Apples are reckoned the best earely fruits, although their be diuers others, and the Pippin, Peare-maine, Apple-Iohn, and Russetting, your best Winter and long lasting fruit, though there be a world of other: for the tastes of Apples are infinite, according to there composition and mixture in grafting. Of Peares your golden Peare, your Katherine-Peare, your Lording, and such like, are the first, and your stone-Peare, Warden-Peare, and choake-Peare, those which indure longest. And of Plumbes the rye-plumbe is first, your Wheate-plumbe next, and all the other sorts of plumbes ripen all most together in one season, if they haue equall warmth, and be all of like comfortable standing.

{Ill.u.s.tration}

Now for the orderly placing of your trees, you shall vnderstand that your Plumbe-trees (which are as it were a fence or guard about your great quarters) would be placed in rowes one by one, aboue fiue foote distance one from another, round about each skirt of euery alley: your Apple-trees & other greater fruit which are to be planted in the quarters, would be placed in such arteficiall rowes that which way soeuer a man shall cast his eyes yet hee shall see the trees euery way stand in rowes, making squares, alleyes, and deuisions, according to a mans imagination, according to the figure before, which I would haue you suppose to be one quarter in an Orchard, and by it you may easily compound the rest: wherein you shall vnderstand that the lesser p.r.i.c.kes doe figure your Plumbe-trees, & the greater p.r.i.c.kes your Apple trees, and such other large fruit.

Now you shall vnderstand that euery one of these great trees which furnish the maine quarter, shall stand in a direct line, iust twelue foote one from another, which is a s.p.a.ce altogether sufficient inough for there spreading, without waterdropping or annoying one another; prouided that the Fruiterer, according to his duty, be carefull to preserue the trees vpright and to vnderprope them when by the violence of the winde they shall swarue any way. Vpon the ascent or rising from one leuell to another, you may plant the Barberry-trees, Feberries, and Raspberries, of all sorts, which being spreading, th.o.r.n.y and sharpe trees, take great delight to grow thicke and close together, by which meanes often times they make a kinde of wall, hedge, or fencing, where they stand.

Hauing thus shewed you the ground-plot and proportion of your Orchard, with the seuerall deuisions, ascents, and squares, that should be contained therein, and the fruits which are to furnish euery such square and deuision, and their orderly placing, it now rests that you vnderstand that this Orchard-plot, so neare as you can bring it to pa.s.se, doe stand most open and plaine, vpon the South and West sunne, and most defended from the East and North windes and bitternesse, which being obserued your plot is then perfect and absolute.

Now forasmuch as where nature, fruitfulnesse, and situation doe take from a man more then the halfe part of his industrie, and by a direct and easie way doth lead him to that perfection which others cannot attaine to without infinit labour and trauell: and whereas it is nothing so commendable to maintaine beautie, as to make deformitie beautifull, I will speake something of the framing of Orchard-plots there where both nature, the situation, and barrainnesse, doe vtterly deny the enioying of any such commoditie, as where the ground is vneuen, stonie, sandy, or in his lownesse subiect to the ouerflow of waters, all being apparant enemies to these places of pleasure and delight. First, for the vneuennesse of the ground, if that be his vttermost imperfection, you shall first not onely take a note with your eye, but also place a marke vpon the best ascent of the ground to which the leuell is fittest to be drawne, and then plowing the ground all ouer with a great common plough, by casting the furrowes downward, seeke to fill in and couer the lesser hollownesses of the ground, that their may not any thing appeare but the maine great hollowes, which with other earth which is free from stones, grauell, or such like euils, you shall fill vp and make leuell with that part where your marke standeth, and being so leuelled, forthwith draw the plot of your Orchard: but if the ground be not onely vneuen but also barraine, you shall then to euery loade of earth you carry to the leuelling adde a loade of Manure, either Oxe Manure, or Horse Manure, the rubbish of houses, or the clensings of olde ditches, or standing pooles, and the earth will soone become fertill and perfect; but if the ground be stonie, that is, full of great stones, as it is in Darbishire about the Peake or East Mores, for small pibbles or small lime-stones are not very much hurtfull, then you shall cause such stones to be digd vp, and fill vp the places where they lay either with marle, or other rich earth, which after it hath beene setled for a yeere or two you shall then plough, and leuell it, and so frame forth the plot of your Orchard. If the ground be onely a barraine sand, so that it wanteth strength either to maintaine or bring forth, you shall then first digge that earth into great trenches, at least foure foote deepe, and filling them vp with Oxe Manure, mixe it with the sand, that it may change some part of the colour thereof and then leuelling it fashion out your Orchard. But lastly, and which is of all situations the worst, if you haue no ground to plant your Orchard vpon, but such as either through the neighbourhood of riuers, descent of Mountaines, or the earths owne naturall quallitie in casting and vomiting out water and moysture, is subiect to some small ouerflowes of water, by which you cannot attaine to the pleasure you seeke, because fruit-trees can neuer indure the corruption of waters, you shall then in the dryest season of the yeere, after you haue marked out that square or quant.i.tie of ground which you intend for your Orchard, you shall then cast therein sundry ditches, at least sixteene foote broad, and nine foote deepe, and not aboue twelue foote betwixt ditch and ditch, vpon which reserued earth casting the earth that you digged vp, you shall raise the banckes at least seauen foote high of firme earth, and keepe in the top the full breadth of twelue foote, with in a foote or little more: and in the casting vp of these bankes you shall cause the earth to be beaten with maules and broad beetels that it may lye firme, fast, and leuell, and after these bankes haue rested a yeere or more, and are sufficiently setled, you may then at the neather end of the banke, neare to the verge of the water plant store of Osyers, which will be a good defence to the banke, and vpon the top and highest part of the banke you shall plant your Orchard and fruit-trees, so that when any inundation of water shall happen, the ditches shalbe able inough to receiue it; or else making a pa.s.sage from your Orchard into some other sewer, the water exceeding his limits may haue a free current or pa.s.sage: besides these ditches being neatly kept, and comforted with fresh water, may make both pleasant and commodious fish-ponds. Also you must be carefull in casting these bankes that you doe not place them in such sort that when you are vpon one you cannot come to the other, but rather like a maze, so that you may at pleasure pa.s.se from the one to the other round about the ground, making of diuers bankes to the eye but one banke in substance, and of diuers ponds in appearance, but one in true iudgement. And thus much for the plot or situation of an Orchard.

CHAP. II.

_Of the Nurserie where you shall set all manner of Kernels, and Stones, for the furnishing of the Orchard._

Although great persons, out of their greatnesse and abilitie, doe buy their fruit trees ready grafted, and so in a moment may plant an Orchard of the greatest quant.i.tie, yet sith the Husbandman must raise euery thing from his owne indeauours, and that I onely write for his profit, I therefore hould it most conuenient to beginne with the nursery or store-house of fruits, from whence the Orchard receiueth his beauty and riches.

This Nursery must be a piece of princ.i.p.all ground, either through Art or Nature, strongly fenced, warme, and full of good shelter: for in it is onely the first infancy and tendernesse of fruit-trees, because there they are first kernells, or stones, after sprigs, and lastly trees.

Now for the manner of chusing, sowing, and planting them in this nursery, I differ some thing from the french practise, who would chuse the kernells from the cider presse, sow them in large bedds of earth, and within a yeere after replant them in a wilde Orchard: now for mine owne part, though this course be not much faulty, yet I rather chuse this kinde of practise, first: to chuse your kernells either of Apples, Peares, or Wardens, from the best and most princ.i.p.allest fruit you can taste, for although the kernell doe bring forth no other tree but the plaine stocke vpon which the fruit was grafted, as thus, if the graft were put into a Crab-stocke the kernell brings forth onely a Crab-tree, yet when you taste a perfect and delicate Apple, be a.s.sured both the stocke and graft were of the best choise, and so such kernells of best reckoning. When you haue then a competent quant.i.tie of such kernells, you shall take certaine large pots, in the fashion of milke-boules, all full of hoales in the bottome, through which the raine and superfluous moysture may auoyde, and either in the Months of March or Nouember (for those are the best seasons) fill the pots three parts full of the finest, blackest, and richest mould you can get, then lay your kernells vpon the earth, about foure fingars one from another, so many as the vessell can conueniently containe, and then with a siue sift vpon them other fine moulds almost three fingars thicke, and so let them rest, filling so many pots or vessells as shall serue to receiue your quant.i.tie of kernells of all sorts. Now if any man desire to know my reason why I rather desire to set my kernells rather in vessells then in beds of earth, my answere is, that I haue often found it in mine experience, that the kernell of Apples, Peares, Quinces, and such like, are such a tender and dainty seede that it is great oddes but the wormes will deuoure and consume them before they sprout, who naturally delight in such seedes, which these vessels onely doe preuent: but to proceede.

After your kernells are sprouted vp and growne to be at least seauen or eight inches high, you shall then within your nursery digge vp a border about two foote and an halfe broad, more then a foote deepe, and of such conuenient length as may receiue all your young plants, and hauing made the mould fine and rich with Manure, you shall then with your whole hand gripe as much of the earth that is about the plant as you can conueniently hould, and so take both the plant and the mould out of the vessell, and replant it in the new drest border: and you shall thus doe plant after plant, till you haue set euery one, and made them firme and fast in the new mould: wherein you are to obserue these two principles, first that you place them at least fiue foote one from another, and secondly, that such kernells as you set in your vessels in March, that you replant them in borders of earth in Nouember following, and such as you set in Nouember to replant in March following, and being so replanted to suffer them to grow till they be able to beare grafts, during which time you shall diligently obserue, that if any of them chance to put forth any superfluous branches or cyons, which may hinder the growth of the body of the plant, that you carefully cut them away, that thereby it may be the sooner inabled to beare a graft: for it is euer to be intended that whatsoeuer proceedeth from kernells are onely to be preserued for stockes to graft on, and for no other purpose.

Now for the stones of Plumbes, & other stone fruit, you shall vnderstand that they be of two kindes, one simple and of themselues, as the Rye-plumbe, Wheate-plumbe, Damson, Prune-plumbe, Horse-clogge, Cherry, and such like, so that from the kernells of them issueth trees of like nature and goodnesse: the other compounded or grafted plumbes, as the Abricot, Pescod, Peach, Damaske, Verdochyo, Emperiall, and such like, from whose kernells issueth no other trees but such as the stockes were vpon which they were grafted. Now, for the manner of setting the first, which are simple and vncompounded, you shall digge vp a large bedde of rich and good earth a month or more before March or Nouember, and hauing made the mould as fine as is possible, you shall flat-wise thrust euery stone, a foote one from another, more then three fingars into the mould, and then with a little small rake, made for the purpose, rake the bedde ouer and close vp the holes, and so let them rest till they be of a yeeres groath, at which time you shall replant them into seuerall borders, as you did your Apple-tree plants and others.

Now for the kernells of your compounded or grafted Plumbes, you shall both set them in beddes and replant them into seuerall borders, in the same manner as you did the other kernells of Plumbes, onely you shall for the s.p.a.ce of eight and forty houres before you set them steepe them in new milke, forasmuch as the stones of them are more hard, and with greater difficulty open and sprout in the earth, then any other stone whatsoeuer: and thus hauing furnished your Nursery of all sorts of fruits and stockes, you shall when they come to full age and bignesse graft them in such order as shalbe hereafter declared.

CHAP. III.

_Of the setting or planting of the Cyons or Branches of most sorts of Fruit-trees._

As you are to furnish your nursery with all sorts of kernells and stones, for the breeding of stockes where on to graft the daintiest fruits you can compa.s.se, so shall you also plant therein the cyons and branches of the best fruit trees: which cyons and branches doe bring forthe the same fruit which the trees doe from whence they are taken, and by that meanes your nursery shall euer afford you perfect trees, wherewith either to furnish your owne grounds, or to pleasure your neighbours. And herein by the way you shall vnderstand that some trees are more fit to be set then to be sowne, as namely, the Seruice-tree, the Medler, the Filbert and such like. Now for the Seruice-tree, hee is not at all to be grafted, but set in this wise: take of the b.a.s.t.a.r.d cyons such as be somewhat bigger then a mans thumbe, and cutting away the branches thereof, set it in a fine loose moulde, at least a foote deepe, and it will prosper exceedingly, yet the true nature of this tree is not to be remoued, and therefore it is conuenient that it be planted where it should euer continue: in like manner to the Seruice-tree, so you shall plant the b.a.s.t.a.r.d cyons of the Medlar-tree either in March or October, and at the waine of the moone.

Now for the Filbert, or large Ha.s.sell-nut, you shall take the smallest cyons or wands, such as are not aboue two yeeres groath, being full of short heauie twigges, and grow from the roote of the maine tree, and set them in a loose mould, a foote deepe, without pruning or cutting away any of the branches, and they will prosper to your contentment. Now for all sorts of Plumbe-trees, Apple-trees or other fruit-trees which are not grafted, if you take the young cyons which grow from the rootes cleane from the rootes, and plant them either in the spring, or fall, in a fresh and fine mould, they will not onely prosper, but bring forth fruit of like nature and qualitie to the trees from whence they were taken.

Now for your grafted fruit, as namely, Apples, Plumbes, Cherryes, Mulberries, Quinces, and such like, the cyons also and branches of them also will take roote and bring forth fruit of the same kinde that the trees did from whence they were taken: but those cyons or branches must euer be chosen from the vpper parts of the trees, betwixt the feast of all-Saints and Christmas, they must be bigger then a mans finger, smooth, straight, and without twigges: you shall with a sharpe chissell cut them from the body or armes of the tree with such care, that by no meanes you raise vp the barke, and then with a little yealow waxe couer the place from whence you cut the cyon: then hauing digged and dunged the earth well where you intend to plant them, and made the mould easie, you shall with an Iron, as bigge as your plant, make a hoale a foote deepe or better, and then put in your cyon and with it a few Oates, long steept in water, and so fixe it firme in the mould, and if after it beginneth to put forth you perceiue any young cyons to put forth from the root thereof, you shall immediatly cut them off, & either cast them away or plant them in other places, for to suffer them to grow may breede much hurt to the young trees. Now where as these cyons thus planted are for the most part small and weake, so that the smallest breath of winde doth shake and hurt their rootes, it shalbe good to p.r.i.c.ke strong stakes by them, to which, fastning the young plant with a soft hay rope it may the better be defended from stormes and tempests.

Next to these fruit-trees, you shall vnderstand that your bush-trees, as Barberryes, Gooseberryes, or Feberryes, Raspberryes, and such like, will also grow vpon cyons, without rootes, being cut from their maine rootes in Nouember, & so planted in a new fresh mould. And here by the way I am to giue you this note or caueat, that if at any time you finde any of these cyons which you haue planted not to grow and flourish according to your desire, but that you finde a certaine mislike or consumption in the plant, you shall then immediatly with a sharpe knife cut the plant off slope-wise vpward, about three fingars from the ground, and so let it rest till the next spring, at which time you shall beholde new cyons issue from the roote, which will be without sicknesse or imperfection; and from the vertue of this experiment I imagine the gardners of antient time found out the meanes to get young cyons from olde Mulberry-trees, which they doe in this manner: first, you must take some of the greatest armes of the Mulberry-tree about the midst of Nouember, and with a sharpe sawe to sawe them into bigge truncheons, about fiueteene inches long, and then digging a trench in princ.i.p.all good earth, of such depth that you may couer the truncheons, being set vp on end, with Manure and fine mould, each truncheon being a foote one from another, and couerd more then foure fingars aboue the wood, not fayling to water them whensoeuer neede shall require, and to preserue them from weeds and filthinesse, within lesse then a yeeres s.p.a.ce you shall behold those truncheons to put forth young cyons, which as soone as they come to any groath and be twigged, then you may cut them from the stockes, and transplant them where you please, onely the truncheons you shall suffer to remaine still, and cherish them with fresh dunge, and they will put forth many moe cyons, both to furnish your selfe and your friends. And thus much for the planting and setting of cyons or branches.

CHAP. IIII.

_Of the ordinary and accustomed manner of Grafting all sorts of Fruit-trees._

{SN: The mixing of Stockes and Grafts.} As soone as your nursery is thus amply furnished of all sorts of stockes, proceeding from kernells and of all sorts of trees proceeding from cyons, branches or vndergrowings, and that through strength of yeeres they are growne to sufficient abilitie to receiue grafts, which is to be intended that they must be at the least sixe or eight inches in compa.s.se, for although lesse many times both doth and may receiue grafts, yet they are full of debilitie and danger, and promise no a.s.surance to the worke-mans labour, you shall then beginne to graft your stockes with such fruits as from art and experience are meete to be conioyned together, as thus: you shall graft Apples vpon Apples, as the Pippin vpon the great Costard, the Peare-maine vpon the Ienetting, and the Apple-Iohn or blacke annet vpon the Pomewater or Crab-tree: to conclude, any Apple-stocke, Crab-tree, or wilding, is good to graft Apples vpon, but the best is best worthy. So for Peares, you shall graft them vpon Peare stockes, Quinces vpon Quinces or Crab-trees, and not according to the opinion of the frenchman, vpon white thorne or willow, the Medlar vpon the Seruice-tree, and the Seruice vpon the Medlar, also Cherryes vpon Cherryes, & Plumbes vpon Plumbes, as the greater Abricots vpon the lesser Abricots, the Peach, the Figge, or the Damson-tree, and to speake generally without wasting more paper, or making a long circ.u.mstance to slender purpose, the Damson-tree is the onely princ.i.p.all best stocke whereupon to graft any kinde of Plumbe or stone fruit whatsoeuer.

{SN: The choise of Grafts.} After you haue both your stockes ready, and know which grafts to ioyne with which stockes, you shall then learne to cut and chuse your grafts in this manner: looke from what tree you desire to take your grafts, you shall goe vnto the very princ.i.p.all branches thereof, and looke vp to the vpper ends, and those which you finde to be fairest, smoothest, and fullest of sappe, hauing the little knots, budds, or eyes, standing close and thicke together, are the best and most perfect, especially if they grow vpon the East side of the tree, whereon the Sunne first looketh; these you shall cut from the tree in such sort that they may haue at least three fingars of the olde woode ioyning to the young branch, which you shall know both by the colour of the barke, as also by a little round seame which maketh as it were a distinction betwixt the seuerall growths. Now you shall euer, as neere as you can, chuse your grafts from a young tree, and not from an olde, and from the tops of the princ.i.p.all branches, and not from the midst of the tree, or any other superfluous arme or cyon; now if after you haue got your grafts you haue many dayes Iourneys to carry them, you shall fould them in a few fresh mouldes, and binde them about with hay, and hay ropes, and so carry them all day, and in the night bury them all ouer in the ground and they will containe their goodnesse for a long season.

{SN: How to graft in the Cleft.} Hauing thus prepared your grafts, you shall then beginne to graft, which worke you shall vnderstand may be done in euery month of the yeere, except Nouember and October, but the best is to beginne about Christmas for all earely and forward fruit, and for the other, to stay till March: now hauing all your implements and necessaryes about you, fit for the Grafting, you shall first take your grafts, of what sort soeuer they be, and hauing cut the neather ends of them round and smoth without raysing of the barke, you shall then with a sharp knife, made in the proportion of a great pen-knife slice downe each side of the grafts, from the seame or knot which parts the olde woode from the new, euen to the neather end, making it flat and thinne, cheifely in the lowest part, hauing onely a regardfull eye vnto the pith of the graft, which you may by no meanes cut or touch, and when you haue thus trimmed a couple of grafts, for moe I doe by no meanes alow vnto one stocke, although sundry other skilfull workmen in this Art alow to the least stocke two grafts, to the indifferent great three, and to the greatest of all foure, yet I affirme two are sufficiently inough for any stocke whatsoeuer, and albeit they are a little the longer in couering the head, yet after they haue couered it the tree prospereth more in one yeere then that which contayneth foure grafts shall doe in two, because they cannot haue sap inough to maintaine them, which is the reason that trees for want of prosperitie grow crooked and deformed: but to my purpose. When you haue made your grafts ready, you shall then take a fine thinne sawe, whose teeth shalbe filed sharpe and euen, and with it (if the stocke be exceeding small) cut the stocke round off within lesse then a foote of the ground, but if the stocke be as bigge as a mans arme, then you may cut it off two or three foote from the ground, and so consequently the bigger it is the higher you may cut it, and the lesser the nearer vnto the earth: as soone as you haue sawne off the vpper part of the stocke, you shall then take a fine sharpe chissell, somewhat broader then the stocke, and setting it euen vpon the midst of the head of the stocke somewhat wide of the pith, then with a mallet of woode you shall stricke it in and cleaue the stocke, at least foure inches deepe, then putting in a fine little wedge of Iron, which may keepe open the cleft, you shall take one of your grafts and looke which side of it you intend to place inward, and that side you shall cut much thinner then the out side, with a most heedfull circ.u.mspection that by no meanes you loosen or rayse vp the barke of the graft, cheifly on the out side, then you shall take the graft, and wetting it in your mouth place it in one side of the cleft of the stocke, and regard that the very knot or seame which goes about the graft, parting the olde woode from the new, do rest directly vpon the head of the stocke, and that the out side of the graft doe agree directly with the out side of the stocke, ioyning barke vnto barke, and sappe vnto sappe, so euen, so smooth, and so close, that no ioyners worke may be discerned to ioyne more arteficially: which done, vpon the other side of the stocke, in the other cleft, you shall place your other graft, with full as much care, diligence, and euery other obseruation: when both your grafts are thus orderly and arteficially placed, you shall then by setting the haft of your chissell against the stocke, with all lenitie and gentlenesse, draw forth your wedge, in such sort that you doe not displace or alter your grafts, and when your wedge is forth you shall then looke vpon your grafts, and if you perceiue that the stocke doe pinch or squize them, which you may discerne both by the straitnesse and bending of the outmost barke, you shall then make a little wedge of some greene sappy woode, and driuing it into the cleft, ease your grafts, cutting that wedge close to the stocke. When you haue thus made both your grafts perfect, you shall then take the barke of either Apple-tree, Crab-tree or Willow-tree, and with that barke couer the head of the stocke so close that no wet or other annoyance may get betwixt it and the stocke, then you shall take a conuenient quant.i.tie of clay, which indeede would be of a binding mingled earth, and tempering it well, either with mosse or hay, lay it vpon the barke, and daube all the head of the stocke, euen as low as the bottome of the grafts, more then an inch thicke, so firme, close, and smooth as may be, which done, couer all that clay ouer with soft mosse, and that mosse with some ragges of wollen cloath, which being gently bound about with the inward barkes of Willow, or Osyar, let the graft rest to the pleasure of the highest: and this is called grafting in the cleft.

{SN: Notes.} Now there be certaine obseruations or caueats to be respected in grafting, which I may not neglect: as first, in tr.i.m.m.i.n.g and preparing your grafts for the stocke: if the grafts be either of Cherry, or Plumbe, you shall not cut them so thinne as the grafts of Apples, Quinces, or Medlars, because they haue a much larger and rounder pith, which by no meanes must be toucht but fortefied and preserued, onely to the neather end you may cut them as thinne as is possible, the pith onely preserued.