Now hauing brought your Corne into the Barne, it is a lesson néedlesse 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 méete 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 séede, 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 séede-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 scarse, the price of necessitie must afterwards rise: at Candlemas you shall begin to thresh all those Pease which you intend to sell for séede, because the time being then, and euery man, out of necessitie, inforced to make his prouision, it cannot be but they must néedes passe at a good price and reckoning.
After Pease séede-time, you shall then thresh vp all that Barly which you meane to sell for séede, which euer is at the dearest reckoning of any graine whatsoeuer, especially if it be principally good and cleane. After your séede-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 yéere, must now at the latter end of the yéere, 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 agrée 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-trées 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.
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 fourtéene foote [on] of another, Iames or outshoots of stone or bricke, betweene which you may plant and plash those fruit-trées 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 fourtéene 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.