_Of the breeding of Wood in rich champaine soyles._
Nature which is the most perfect worke-mistresse of all things (as all
the Philosophers say) but I say our good God out of his most diuine
wisedome, hath allotted to euery soyle, if we will note it, through
the whole course of this Kingdome, particular profit to sustaine and
maintaine it, as to some Mines, to some Timber, and to some fertility
of grasse and corne, and where any one of these are, there commonly
some of the other is euer wanting, as we sée daily in our experience;
and for as much as in the fruitfull and fertill soyles of this
land, of which wée estéeme the wealthie vales, as that of _Essam_,
_White-horse_, _Beluoire_, and many others the best, there is euer
great scarsitie of Wood, the very wealthinesse of the soyle it selfe
almost denying to beare such burden, because for the most part the
stifnesse of those clayes is contrary to their growth, yet for as much
as the necessitie and vse of Wood is so great and valuable, I would
perswade euery good and worthy Husbandman, to endeauour himselfe with
all his vtmost power and strength, to plant wood in euery conuenient
place round about him, and not to take the rules of the ignorant for
his lesson, that sith neuer any did grow there, therefore neuer any
will grow there: for it is absurd and foolish: nor to say because my
auncestors haue neuer done it why should I attempt it? These arguments
are made from a false figure, and the Husbandman must remember that
his dutie is industrie, and encrease not altogether imitation and
president, and he must as seriously finde out new and néerer profits,
as hold those he hath learned: and therefore he shall endeauour by all
commendable labour to haue euer about him whatsoeuer is necessarie for
his vse: but you will peraduenture aunswere me, that to plant Woods
in these rich soyles, were very much losse, because the fertilitie
thereof will yéeld a much better profit. To this I reply, that I
would not haue you plant any spacious piece of ground with wood, but
onely your ditches, hedges, and such wast earthes, as almost denie
any other profit, and that the want of wood in those places may not
discourage you, to imagine that wood will not grow there. Doe but
view the cytes of euery Towne in those rich Countries, the seates
of Noblemen & Gentlemens houses, and the Parks which commonly are
adioyning there-vnto, and you shall hardly sée any of them without the
fellowship & acquaintance of some wood, which in times past hath béene
planted either for defence or pleasure, and from thence collect that if
wood will grow with my next neighbour, then why not with me, so long
as the soyle doth not alter. But _Labor vincit omnia improbus_, True
industrie was neuer fruitlesse. Then for the generall good both of your
selfe & your neighbours, looke that you replenish all your ditches &
ring fences, with good store of Quick-set, that is to say, all that lye
high, & out of the danger of water, with White-thorne, Black-thorne,
and Bryer, and those which are low & subiect to washing, with Willowes,
Sallowes, and Ozyers.
[Sidenote: How to set all sorts of Quick-set.]
Now for as much as it is not enough to say vnto the Husbandman do
this, but that I must also shew the manner of doing thereof: I will
shew you briefly how to set all manner of Quick-sets, and first
for the white-thorne, black-thorne, bryer or such like, which must
stand frée from inundation, you shal when you enclose any piece of
ground, after you haue markt out the true breadth of your dyke vpon
the in-side thereof, and close by the verdge of the dyke, cut with
your spade a little trough, halfe a foote or there-abouts in breadth
& depth, in which trough or small gutter, you shall lay the rootes
of the first rowe of your Quick-sets, so as the top ends may looke
vpward, & a little bend in towards the ditch, & these quick-sets you
shall place within lesse then a foot one of another: then with your
spade beginning to make your ditch, you shall with the first cleane
mould, couer all the rootes close and fast, so as they will not shake
nor stirre with your hand, then hauing raised the banke of your Dyke,
and couered the lowest rowe of Quick-set more then halfe a foote, and
broken the earth so, as it may lye close and handsome together & you
shall then after the same manner lay another rowe of Quick-set ouer the
first, I meane not one Quick-set directly ouer another, but the second
rowe placed as it were in the midst betwéene two of the first, though
at least halfe a foote higher: then you shall couer that row like the
former, and ouer it place a third, which shall stand directly opposite,
and ouer the first, so that in their growth the middle rowe shall as
it were grow betwéene two of the lowest, and two of the highest: and
then vpon this vppermost rowe lay the remainder of your earth, and
make your banke perfect, and in this sort finishing one yard of the
Ditch after another, you shall at length bring your labour to the end
of your desire. Now in this labour you are to obserue some speciall
things, as first to looke well vpon your Sets before you put them into
the ground, and be sure that they be gréene, young and vntainted, then
that the rootes be cleane, and no small thréeds or iagges hanging about
them. And lastly, that they stand vpright, and not aboue foure or fiue
inches without the earth at the most, then shall you looke well to the
making of your banke, and lay the earth so as it may not slip or fall
backe into the Dyke, so as the raine may wash away the mould, and leaue
the rootes bare: but let all things be done strongly and artificially.
The best seasons for this worke is the moneths of February, March,
and Aprill, or September, October, and some part of Nouember: if the
weather be dry aboue head, when you haue set your Quick-set, you
shall make a dead hedge vpon the top of the new banke, to kéepe those
Cattell which are within your ground, from breaking forth or hurting
the Quick-set: and another small fence on the lowe verdge of the Dyke
which is outward, to kéepe those cattell which graze without from
running into the dyke, and hurting the quick-set. Now after a spring
and fall is past, you shall suruay all your quick-set and wéede it
cleane from all manner of filthinesse that doth choake or stifle it,
and scratching the fresh mould about it giue comfort to the roote: then
if you perceiue that any of your Sets be dead, you shall plucke them
vp, and place new in the roome, and if any be blasted in part, and not
clean killed, you shall cut away so much as is blasted, and let the
rest remaine, you shall looke well to the Caterpiller and other wormes,
which mightily deuoure Quick-sets, especially in these fat Countries,
and if you finde any taint of them, destroy them as is shewed you in a
former Chapter.
[Sidenote: Planting of greater Trees.]
After your Quick-set is come to the age of thrée yéeres, and that the
banke is setled and swarth growne thereon, you shall then within the
body of your hedges plant all manner of great Trées, as Ash, Béech,
Maple, and such like, and also all manner of fruit Trées, as Aples,
Peares, Plums, Wardens, and such like, and in the first thrée yéeres
be very carefull to preserue each in his true proper nature, and doe
to them all the rights which is due to their growth, and in that time
obserue which kinde of Trées in the generality prospereth best, and
agréeth most naturally with the soyle. And of those Trées sée that
you flourish your grounds most plentifully, the particular manner of
planting whereof is already formerly declared. And hence doth _Kent_
and _Worcester_ shire boast of their fruit, _Windsor_, _Sherwood_
and _Hollam_ shire their Oakes, and other particular Countries their
particular commodities.
[Sidenote: Of the setting of Willowes, &c.]
Now for the setting of Willow, Sallow and Oziers, it is a thing so
vsuall and common, that it néedeth no great Art in the relation,
yet because I would be loath that any omission should be taken for
negligence, you shall vnderstand that in setting them you must first
respect the place, which would euer be lowe and moyst, the water
sometimes washing them, sometimes cooling them, and euer giuing them
comfort. Now to speake first of the Willow it would be euer planted
vpon bankes, where it may stand more dry then wet, for such prosper
best, and endure longest, as for proofe some will continue, twelue,
fiftéene nay one and twentie yéeres, where as those which are set close
by the water, will hardly endure seueral, but not aboue nine yéeres at
the most. Touching their planting, they be set two manner of wayes,
but which is the best, is not yet agréed on amongst Husbandmen. The
first is to take an Augure full as large in compasse (although much
shorter) as that where-with you boare Pumps and with it boare a hole
in the earth two-foote, and a halfe déepe, then hauing headed some of
the choysest Willowes you haue, take the fairest and straightest of
those lops, and then cutting the sloape-wise at both ends and leauing
no superfluous twigs cleauing there-vnto, put the bigger end downe very
hard into the earth, and then with the mould which came forth, with the
Augure ram the earth close and hard about the Set, so as no reasonable
strength may shake it. Now there be other Husbandmen which in stéed
of the Augure take onely an Oaken or Ash stake, of the bignesse of an
vsuall set, and with a Béetell driue it into the ground two foot and a
halfe, and then by shaking and opening the earth, pull it out againe &
then put in the Set as is before shewed, and beate and tread the earth
close there-vnto, and there is no doubt of the well prospering thereof.
Now for the defects which Husbandmen finde in these two seuerall
plantings. Some say, that the Augure taketh out so much earth, that the
Set cannot but stand loose at the roote, and so wanting full hold of
the earth, either takes not at all, or continues but a little space.
Others say that the driuing in of the stake beates the earth so hard
together, that it withstandeth the passage of the tender sprouts, & so
killeth the set, but both are deceiued: for these are but suppositions,
and experience daily shewes vs, that these are the best and spéediest
wayes of setting of all sorts of Willowes that euer any time brought
forth, and I haue knowne one man set this way two hundreth Sets in a
day, of which not one hath failed, but all prospered. Now for your
Sallowes, you shall set them, and chuse the Sets in all poynts as you
doe the Willow, onely they would be placed a little néerer the water,
for they delight some-what more in moysture, as for the Ozier it would
be set like other Quick-set in the side of bankes, so as it may almost
touch the water, and as your Willowes or Sallowes would be set a little
remote one from another, as namely tenne foote asunder: so these must
be set close together, and in thicke rowes one against another: and
these Ozier Plants you must cut from their head, being the principall
spiers which grow thereon, and then cut off their tops, leauing them
not aboue two foote long at the most, and of all other they are the
quickest in growing.
[Sidenote: The vse of Willowes, Sallowes, and Oziers.]
And although Willow, Sallow, and Ozyer, are in our lawes estéemed but
as wéedes and no Woods, yet they be so profitable, that the Husbandman
can hardly misse them, the Willow and Sallow seruing for fence and
fewell, to make Harrowes, Cart-saddles, & horse Hames, and the Ozyers,
for fish Leapes, or Wéeles for Baskets, Scuttels, Fans to winnow with,
and many other things full as necessary: therefore if you haue any
marish grounds that are vselesse, bogge-myers, or Ilands in great
riuers, let them be imployed to the nourishing of these profitable
wéedes, and by making draynes through them to giue the water passage,
you shall in small time bring them to earthes of great profit, which
consideration were it rightly wayed, there would not be halfe so much
wast ground as is in this Kingdome.
[Sidenote: Ordering of the Willow.]
But to my purpose, when you haue planted these Willowes, you shall
after euery floud, sée if the water haue driuen any of them away, or
displease them, and immediately mend them, and set them vp straight
againe. If any Cattell shall pyll or barke them, you shall pull vp
such Settes, and place new in their roome. Your Willow set would by
no meanes be too long at the first setting, for then will neuer beare
a good head, and too short is likewise as vnprofitable, therefore it
is held to be fiue foote aboue the earth, is a length sufficient: you
may head your Willowes once in thrée yéeres, or fiue at the furthest,
and when you sée the bodies waxe hollow, you may cut them downe for the
fire, and fixe new Sets in their places.
[Sidenote: Ordering of Ozier.]
The Ozier to come to his true profit and season asketh much pruning
and trimming, as namely you must kéepe the stocke lowe, and neuer
aboue halfe a foote aboue the earth, you must picke them cleane from
Mosse, and from the slime and filth, which the ouer-flow of the water
will leaue vpon them: you shall prune the small spiers, and make them
grow single one by another, and if any shoote out a double stalke, you
shall cut it away, you may head them euery second yéere at the fall
onely, and though some head them once a yéere, yet it is not so good
husbandry, nor will the Ozier be so tough or long lasting. The best
seasons for the setting of the Willow, Sallow, or Ozier is, either
any part of the Spring or Fall, and the best time to loppe the Willow
or Sallow, is in the Spring for fence, and in the Fall for timber or
fewell; but the Ozier would be cut at the fall of the leafe onely. And
thus much for the bréeding of Wood in the rich champaine Countries.