Maison rustique, or The countrey farme· Compyled in the French tongue by Charles Steuens, and Iohn Liebault, Doctors of Physicke. And translated into English by Richard Surflet, practitioner in physicke. Now newly reuiewed, corrected, and augmented, with diuers large additions, out of the works of Serres his Agriculture, Vinet his Maison champestre, French. Albyterio in Spanish, Grilli in Italian; and other authors. And the husbandrie of France, Italie, and Spaine, reconciled and made to agree with ours here in England: by Geruase Markham. The whole contents are in the page following

Hempe.

HEmpe must be sowne in fat and well dunged grounds, and watered with some little brooke, or else in fl••t and moist countries, where much labour and ploughing hath beene bestowed: for the fatter the ground is, the thicker will the barke or pilling be. It must be sowne in March, and gathered when the seed is ripe, and afterward dried either in the Sunne, Wind, or Smoake, and then laid in water for to bee watered, that so the pilling may the more easily depurt from the stalkes, after∣ward to be vsed in making of ropes and cloth, a labour and trauaile well beseeming and fit for women.

This is the opinion of the French, but not the generall opinion of the better ex∣perienced: for, the rich ground which is spoken of here to sow hempe in, must not bee taken for the rich stiffe blacke clay, or for any clay at all: for although they will beare hempe; yet they put forth so much bunne, and so little pilling, that in∣deed the hempe that groweth therein is good for nothing: therefore the best ground to sow hempe on, is the richest of all mixt earths, whose mould is driest, loosest, blackest, and quickliest ripe, with little earing, as namely with two ardors at the most, which vvould be in October the first, and the last in March, which is the best and most conuenient time for sowing. Hempe must bee exceedingly well harrowed and clotted, and the mould must bee made as small as dust; for the seed is verie tender at the first sprouting: but being once gotten aboue the earth, it ou••∣groweth all other weeds whatsoeuer; and out of its owne nature, it doth choake and destroy them: whence it comes, that hempe neuer needeth any weeding: it must bee diligently and carefully kept and tended (after the first 〈…〉〈…〉

appeare aboue the earth) from birds, for the seede is so sweet and so much desired of all small birds, that without great and diligent care they will not leaue you any in the earth. Now for the best time of gathering your hempe, it is acording to the com∣mon custome of house-wiues, about Saint Margarets day, being towards the lat∣ter end of Iuly: But more particularly, you shall vnderstand that it is best pulling your hempe for the pill as soone as it doth begin to turne yellowish, and the leaues to hang downeward looking vnto the earth: but if for seed, then not be∣fore the seed looke blacke, and bee readie to shed: hempe must euer bee pulled vp by the rootes, and first spr••ad thinne vpon the earth, then afterwards bound vp in bundles, which they do call bayts, then it must bee c••rryed to the water to ripen, of which water the running streame is the best, and the standing pond is the worst: yet it must bee done with great heed; for hempe is very poysonous, and it doth not onely infect the waters, but it doth also poyson much fish: Hempe must lye three dayes and three nights couered in the water; then it must bee cleane washt out of the water, and afterwards brought home and dried either in the Sunne or vpon the kilne. There bee some house-wiues, which (either for sloath, or for want of a conuenient place to water in) doe ripen their hempe vpon the ground, by suf∣fering it to lye at the least fifteene nights vpon the s••me, taking the dewes which do fall Morning and Euening, and other raine by which it ripeneth; prouided that it bee turned euerie day once: but this manner of ripening is not good; for besides that it is vnkindly, and doth oftentimes cause the hempe to bee rotten, it also ma∣keth the hempe to be very blacke and foule; so that it doth neuer make white cloth. After the ripening and drying of your hempe, you shall brake it in brakes which are made of wood for the same purpose, and this labour would euer as neere as you can bee done in the Sunne-shine: after the braking of hempe, you shall swingle it, then beate it, then heckle it: and if you intend to haue verie fine cloth of it, you shall after the first heckling, beate it againe, and then heckle it through a finer hec∣kle, then spinne it, after warpe it, and lastly weaue it. Thus much for the hempe which is vsed for to make cloth withall: but for such as shall bee preserued for cordage, or the roper, you shall onely after the ripening pill it, and then either sell or imploy it.

Hempe seed is verie good to make hennes lay many egges,* 1.1 and that in the depth of Winter, and greatest coldnes of the same. Many doe burne the thickest rootes of the male hempe, and of the same so burnt and made into powder, do make gunne-powder. The iuice or decoction of the greene herbe being strongly strained, and powred in some place where there are earthwormes, doth cause them to come forth by and by: likewise being dropt into the eares, it causeth the worms or other beastes which shall bee gotten in thither to come out presently, and this wee haue learned of fishermen, which by this wile doe take wormes to serue them for their hookes. Hempe seede must neither bee eaten nor drunke, because it sendeth vp ma∣ny fumes vnto the braine, which will cause the same to ake▪ and therefore women do greatly transgresse the rules of Physicke, which giue this bruised seed in drinke, to such as are troubled with the falling sicknes or head-ach. This is a thing to be won∣dred at in hempe, that seeing there are two sorts of it, the male and the female, yet the female beareth not the seed, but the male.

Notes

• * 1.1

  The seed of hempe. To make hens lay egs.