_Of the ordering of the Garden, and placing of the Hils._
As soone as you haue chosen out your platforme of ground, you shal
either by ploughing, or digging, or by both, make it as flat & leuell as
is possible, vnlesse it be any thing subiect vnto water, and then you
shall giue it some small desent, and with little trenches conuaye the
water from annoying it: you shall also the yeere before you either make
hill or plant it with Hoppe-rootes, sowe it all ouer with hempe, which
will not onely kill, and stifle all sorts of weeds, but also rot the
greene-swarth, and make the mould mellow, and apt to receiue the rootes
when they come to be planted.
Now, as soone as your ground is thus prepared, you shall then take a
line, and with it measure your ground ouerthwart, and to euery hill
allow at least three foote of ground euery way, and betwixt hill and
hill, at the least sixe foote distance: and when you haue marked thus
the number of thirty or forty places, where your hils shall be placed,
intending euer that the time of yeere for this worke must be about the
beginning of Aprill, you shall then in the center, or midde part of
these places made for the site of your hils, digge small square holes of
a foote square each way, and a full foote deepe, and in these holes you
shall set your Hoppe-rootes, that is to say, in euery hole at least
three rootes, and these three rootes you shall ioyne together in such
wise that the toppes of them may be of one equall height, and agreeing
with the face or vpper part of the earth, you shall set them straight
and vpright, and not seperating them, as many doe, and setting at each
corner of the hole a roote, neither shall you twist them, and set both
ends vpward, nor lay them flat or crosse-wise in the earth, neither
shall you make the hils first and set the rootes after, nor immediately
vpon the setting cast great hils vpon them, all which are very vilde
wayes for the setting of Hoppes, but, as before I sayd, hauing ioyned
your rootes together, you shall place them straight and vpright, and so
holding them in one hand, with the other put the moulds close, firme,
and perfectly about them, especially to each corner of the hole, which
done you shall likewise couer the sets themselues all ouer with fine
moulds, at least two fingers thicke, and in this sort you shall plant
all your garden quite ouer, making the sites for your hill to stand in
rowes and rankes, in such order that you may haue euery way betweene the
hils small alleyes and passages, wherein you may goe at pleasure from
hill to hill, without any trouble or annoyance, according to that forme
which I haue before prescribed touching the placing of your Apple-trees
in each seuerall quarter in your Orchard: and herein you are to
vnderstand, that in this first yeere of planting your Hoppe-garden you
shall by no meanes fashion or make any great hils, but onely raise that
part of the earth where your plants are set, some two or three fingers
higher then the ordinary ground.
{SN: The choise of Rootes.}
Now, before I proceede any further, I thinke it not amisse to speake
some thing touching the choise, gathering and trimming of Hoppe-rootes:
wherefore you shall vnderstand that about the latter end of March is the
best gathering of Hoppe-rootes, which so neare as you can you shall
select out of some garden of good reputation, which is both carefully
kept, and by a man of good knowledge, for there euery thing being
preserued in his best perfection, the rootes will be the greatest and
most apt to take: and in the choise of your rootes you shall euer chuse
those which are the greatest, as namely, such as are at the least three
or foure inches about, & ten inches long, let euery roote containe about
three ioynts, and no more, and in any case let them be the cyons of the
last yeeres growth: if they be perfectly good they haue a great greene
stalke with redde streakes, and a hard, broad, long, greene, bell; if
they be otherwise, as namely, wilde-Hoppes, then they are small and
slender, like thriddes, their colour is all redde, euen when it is at
least three yards high, whereas the best Hoppe carieth his reddish
colour not three foote from the earth. Now hauing gotten such rootes as
are good and fit for your purpose, if the season of the weather, or
other necessitie hinder you from presently setting them, you shall then
either lay them in some puddle, neare to your garden, or else bury them
in the ground, vntill fit time for their planting: and of the two it is
better to bury them then lay them in puddle, because if you so let them
lye aboue xxiiij. houres, the rootes will be spoyled.
Now after you haue in manner aforeshewed, planted your garden with
rootes, it shall not be amisse, if the place be apt to such annoyance,
to pricke vpon the site of euery hill a few sharpe Thornes to defend
them from the scratching of poultry, or such like, which euer are busie
to doe mischeife: yet of all house-fowle Geese be the worst, but if your
fence be as it ought, high, strong, and close, it will both preuent
their harme and this labour.
{SN: Of Poales.}
Next vnto this worke is the placing of Poales, of which we will first
speake of the choise thereof, wherein if I discent from the opinion of
other men, yet imagine I set downe no Oracle, but referre you to the
experience or the practise, and so make your owne discreation the
arbiter betweene our discentions. It is the opinion of some, that
Alder-poales are most proper and fit for the Hoppe-garden, both that the
Hoppe taketh, as they say, a certaine naturall loue to that woode, as
also that the roughnesse of the rinde is a stay & benefit to the growth
of the Hoppe: to all which I doe not disagree, but that there should be
found Alder-poales of that length, as namely, xvj. or xviij. foote long,
nine, or ten, inches in compasse, and with all rush-growne, straight,
and fit for this vse, seemeth to mee as much as a miracle, because in my
life I haue not beheld the like, neither doe I thinke our kingdome can
afford it, vnlesse in some such especiall place where they are purposely
kept and maintained, more to shew the art of their maintenance, then the
excellency of their natures: in this one benefit, and doutlesse where
they are so preserued, the cost of their preseruation amounteth to more
than the goodnesse of their extraordinary quallitie, which mine author
defends to the contrary, giuing them a larger prerogatiue, in that they
are cheaper to the purse, more profitable to the plant, and lesse
consumption to the common-wealth: but I greatly doubt in the
approbation, and therefore mine aduise is not to rely onely vpon the
Alder, and for his preheminence imagine all other poales insufficient:
but be assured that either, the Oake-poale, the Ashe, the Beeche, the
Aspe, or Maple, are euery way as good, as profitable, and by many
degrees much longer lasting.
{SN: The proportion of the Poale.}
{SN: Of cutting and erecting Poales.}
Now, if it be so that you happen to liue in the champian Country, as for
the most part Northampton shire, Oxford-shire, some parts of Leycester
and Rutland are, or in the wet and low Countries, as Holland, and Kesten
in Lincolne-shire, or the Ile of Elye in Cambridge-shire, all which
places are very barraine of woode, and yet excellent soyles to beare
Hoppes, rather then to loose the commoditie of the Hoppe-garden I wish
you to plant great store of Willowes, which will afforde you poales as
sufficient as any of the other whatsoeuer, onely they are not so long
lasting, and yet with carefull and dry keeping, I haue seene them last
full out seauen yeeres, a time reasonably sufficient for any young
woode, for such a vse. Thus you see the curiositie is not very great of
what woode so euer your poale be, so it be of young and cleane growth,
rush-growne, (that is to say, biggest at the neather end) eighteene
foote in length, and ten inches in compasse. These poales you shall cut
and prepare betwixt the feast of Al-Saints, and Christmas, and so pile
them vp in some dry place, where they may take no wet, vntill it be
midde-Aprill, at which time (your Hoppes being shot out of the ground at
least three quarters of a yarde, so that you may discerne the principall
cyons which issue from the principall rootes) you shall then bring your
poales into the garden, and lay them along in the alleyes, by euery hill
so many poales as shall be sufficient for the maine branches, which
happely the first yeere will not be aboue two or three poales at the
most to a hill, but in processe of time more, as foure or fiue,
according to the prosperitie of the plants, and the largenesse of the
hils. After you haue thus layd your poales, you shall then beginne to
set them vp in this sort: first, you shall take a gaue-locke, or crow of
iron, and strike it into the earth so neare vnto the roote of the Hoppe
as is possible, prouided alwayes that you doe not bruise, or touch the
roote, and so stroake after stroake, cease not striking till you haue
made a hoale at least two foote deepe, and make them a little slantwise
inward towards the hill, that the poales in their standing may shoote
outwards and hould their greatest distance in the toppes: this done you
shall place the poales in those hoales, thus made with the iron crow,
and with another peece of woode, made rammer-wise, that is to say, as
bigge at the neather end as the biggest part of the poale, or somewhat
more, you shall ramme in the poales, and beate the earth firme and hard
about them: alwayes prouided, that you touch not any branch, or as
little as you may beate with your rammer within betweene the poales,
onely on the out-side make them so fast that the winde, or weather, may
not disorder or blow them downe: then lay to the bottome of euery poale
the branch which shall ascend it, and you shall see in a short space,
how out of their owne natures, they will imbrace and climbe about them.
Now, if it happen after your Hoppes are growne vp, yet not come to their
full perfection, that any of your poales chance to breake, you shall
then take a new poale, and with some soft greene rushes, or the inmost
greene barke of an Alder-tree, tye the toppe of the Hoppe to the toppe
of the new poale, then draw the broken poale out of the Hoppe (I meane
that part which being broken lyeth vpon the ground) and as you saw it
did winde about the olde poale (which is euer the same way that the
sunne runnes) so you shall winde it about the new poale: then loosening
the earth a little from the neather part of the broken poale, you may
with your owne strength pull it cleane out of the earth, and place the
new poale in his roome. Now, there be some which are exceeding curious
in pulling vp these olde poales, and rather then they will shake the
earth, or loosen the mould, they will make a paire of large pincers, or
tarriers of iron, at least fiue foote long with sharpe teeth, and a
clasping hooke to hould the teeth together, when they haue taken fast
hould vpon the poale so neare the earth as is possible, and then laying
a peice of woode vnder the tarriers, and poysing downe the other ends to
rest the poale out of the earth without any disturbance, the modell or
fashion of which instrument is contained in this figure:
{Illustration}
This instrument is not to be discommended, but to be held of good vse,
either in binding grounds where the earth hardneth and houldeth the
poale more then fast, or in the strength and heate of summer, when the
drynesse of the mould will by no meanes suffer the poale to part from
it: but otherwise it is needlesse and may without danger be omitted.
As soone as you haue sufficiently set euery hill with poales, and that
there is no disorder in your worke, you shall when the Hoppes beginne to
climbe, note if their be any cyons or branches which doe forsake the
poales, and rather shoote alongst the ground then looke vp to their
supporters, and all such as you shall so finde, you shall as before I
sayd, either with soft greene rushes, or the greene barke of Elder, tye
them gently vnto the poales, and winde them about, in the same course
that the sunne goes, as oft as conueniently you can: and this you shall
doe euer after the dew is gone from the ground, and not before, and this
must be done with all possible speede, for that cyon which is the
longest before it take vnto the poale is euer the worst and brings forth
his fruit in the worst season.
{SN: Of the Hils.}
Now, as touching the making of your hils, you shall vnderstand that
although generally they are not made the first yeere, yet it is not
amisse if you omit that scruple, and beginne to make your hils as soone
as you haue placed your poales, for if your industry be answerable to
the desert of the labour, you shall reape as good profit the first
yeere, as either the second or the third. To beginne therefore to make
your hils, you shall make you an instrument like a stubbing Hoe, which
is a toole wherewith labourers stubbe rootes out of decayed woode-land
grounds, onely this shall be somewhat broader and thinner, somewhat in
fashion (though twice so bigge) vnto a Coopers Addes, with a shaft at
least foure foote long: some onely for this purpose vse a fine paring
spade, which is euery way as good, and as profitable, the fashion of
which is in this figure.
{Illustration}
With this paring spade, or hoe, you shall pare vp the greene-swarth and
vppermost earth, which is in the alleyes betweene the hils, and lay it
vnto the rootes of the Hoppes, raising them vp like small Mole-hils, and
so monthly increasing them all the yeere through, make them as large as
the site of your ground will suffer, which is at least foure or fiue
foote ouerthwart in the bottome, and so high as conueniently that height
will carry: you shall not by any meanes this first yeere decay any cyons
or branches which spring from the hils, but maintaine them in their
growth, and suffer them to climbe vp the poales, but after the first
yeere is expired you shall not suffer aboue two or three cyons, at the
most, to rise vpon one poale. After your hils are made, which as before
I sayd would be at least foure or fiue foote square in the bottome, and
three foote high, you shall then diligently euery day attend your
garden, and if you finde any branches that being risen more then halfe
way vp the poales, doe then forsake them and spread outward, dangling
downe, then you shall either with the helpe of a high stoole, on which
standing you may reach the toppe of the poale, or else with a small
forckt sticke, put vp the branch, and winde it about the poale: you
shall also be carefull that no weeds or other filthinesse grow about the
rootes of your Hoppes to choake them, but vpon the first discouery to
destroy them.