A boke of the propreties of herbes called an herball wherunto is added the time [the] herbes, floures and sedes shold be gathered to be kept the whole yere, wyth the vertue of [the] herbes when they are stilled. Also a generall rule of all maner of herbes drawen out of an auncyent booke of phisyck by W.C.

Portum.

❧ Thys is called a leke, it is hote and dry in the .ii. degre, it desyrethe lou••e ground and fat and wel dū∣ged in that they shall beste profyte in hote places and tēperate. They may be sowen in Decembre in tem¦perate places & colde. They maye be sowen in Ianuary, February & Marche, whan the grounde is wel dygged and dyghte, and it may be sowen by it selfe or medled with o∣ther sedes of herbes in good fatte grounde well dygged and turned aboue it with good dōge, this sede wolde be sowen somewhat thycke and whan they be somwhat sprōg take vp the greatest lekes & plante them in forowes, but take a waye none of theyr roote whan ye set thē in y^e forowes, but whan ye set them wyth a dyble, than cutte a way the rotes almoste vp to the leke head & awaye the vppermost of the leues

they may be planted in Iulie, Au∣guste, September & October, they be much profitable in March, and in Apryll nexte folowynge, but in your plantynge you shall nat seke after fate softe ground for menely groūde that is beste & that groūde that is almoste drye is beste, there is two maner at settynge of lekes, one is in forowes, as is the maner in Bonony and the forowe muste be fro the other a spanne large, and the lekes mast be set in the forowe iiii. fyngers brede eche fro other, & whan ye mnke nexte forowe caste the earth on the lekes and treade it downe softely with thy fote. The ii. maner is thus whā the groūd is well dygged & raked than make ho¦les with a great dyble & euery hole fro other a large spā more ī which the lekes must be set in, but fyl nat thy holes nor put earth on thē but let thē be voyde, iii. wekes whā we¦des

growe amonge them pul them vp & kepe thē clene fro wedes. Di∣uers auctours saye that the Lekes that be thus planted be better thā any other, or they may be well plā∣ted amonge great onyons & whan the onyons be taken awaye, wede the leke and you shall fynde them fayre and good and whā ye plucke vp, leue some in a place, & leue som for sede, y^• whych sede may be kept iii. yere, and it be hanged vp in the hulles, Lekes be beste soden, or .iii. tymes wasshed before they be eatē. For a woūde take lekes and stam∣pe them wel with hony, and laye it to the wounde, and it wyll heale it, for the coughe take y^e ioyce of lekes vse to drīke it, for y^• same take y^e ioy¦ce of lekes & medle it with womās mylke and vse to drinke it, & it wyl clense the longes of al vyces.