Englished thus:
'Foure things of Elie Towne much spoken are,
The Leaden Lanthorn, Maries Chappell rare,
The mighty Mil-hill in the Minstre field,
And fruitful Vine-yards which sweet wine doe yeeld.'
And doubtlesse men might plant Vines with good successe, to make good wine even with us. There are many kinds of Vines, but I know none so good, and fit for our climate as the Parsley Vine or Canada Grape, we see by experience yearly it beares abundance of fruit unto perfection. And whosoever would plant Vines in England I think he cannot meet with a better kind than the Parsley Vine both for bearing and goodnesse. The Fox grape is a faire large Fruit and a very great bearer although not of so much esteem as divers others. The Frantiniack Grape is of great accompt with many, and is a speciall fruit where it comes to perfect ripenesse, which it hardly does, except the Vine be set upon the South-wall where it may have much sun. The Red and White Muskadine Grape are speciall fruits and beare very well, and come to perfect ripenesse if the Vine grow upon the South-wall or upon the Easte-wall which is best next. There is the Curran Grape, Cluster Grape, and many other kinds of good grapes, and the fruits are better or worse according to the place they grow in: If they have much sun, and be well ordered, the fruit will be better and sooner ripe."—Austen's Treatise of Fruit Trees, 1657.
[E155] "There are very many kinds of Plums, many more than of Cherries. I esteeme the Mustle Plum one of the best, being a faire large black plum, and of an excellent rellish, and the trees beare abundantly. The Damazeene also is an excellent fruit. The Violet and Premorden Plum-trees are very great bearing trees, and the fruits pleasant and good. The White Peare-plum-stocks are accounted the best, and the Damson-stocks the worst for grafting upon."—Ibid. p. 57.
[E156] "Hurtillberies (= Whortleberries) called 'Hurts' for shortness at Godalming. I suspect this may be connected with Hurtmoor, the name of a dale near Godalming."—Note by Rev. W. W. Skeat. "'Hurtilberries' for 'whortleberries,' itself a corruption for 'myrtleberries.'"—Dr. Prior, Popular Names of British Plants, 1870.
[E157] "Medlars, called in Normandy and Anjou meslier, from Lat. mespilus, but as the verb mesler became in English meddle, so this fruit also, although a word of different origin, took a d for an s and became medlar."—Ibid.
"The Kernells [of medlers] bruised to dust, and drunk in liquor (especially where Parsly roots have been steeped), doe mightily drive out stones and gravell from the kidneyes."—Austen, Treatise on Fruit Trees, 1657, p. 84.
[E158] "The Iuyce of Mulberries is knowne by experience to be a good remedy for a sore mouth, or throat, such as are perfectly ripe relax the belly, but the unripe (especially dry'd) are said to bind exceedingly, and therefore are given to such as have Lasks and Fluxes."—Ibid. p. 84.
[E159] "Peach, in old works spelt Peske, Peesk, Peshe, and Peche, O. Fr. pesche, L. Persica, formerly called malum persicum = Persian apple, from which the Arabs formed their name for it with the prefix el or al, and thence the Spanish alberchigo."—Dr. R. A. Prior.
Austen, in his work already quoted, says (p. 58): "Of Peaches there are divers kinds. I know by experience the Nutmeg and Newington Peaches to be excellent fruits, especially the Nutmeg Peach."