The country-mans recreation, or the art of planting, graffing, and gardening in three bookes. The first declaring divers wayes of planting, and graffing ... also how to cleanse your grafts and cions, how to helpe barren and sicke trees, how to kill wormes and vermin and to preserve and keepe fruit, how to plant and proyne your vines, and to gather and presse your grape ... how to make your cider and perry ... The second treateth of the hop-garden, with necessary instructions for the making and the maintenance thereof ... Whereunto is added, the expert gardener, containing divers necessary and rare secrets belonging to that art ...

How to place or set Trees at large.

IN this thing ye shall consider, ye must give a competent space, from one Tree to another, when as ye make the holes to set them in, not nigh, nor the one tree touch another. For a good Tree planted, or set well at large, it profiteth often∣times more of fruit then three or foure Trees, set too nigh together. The most greatest and largest Trees commonly are Walnuts and Chesnuts, if ye plant them severally in ranke, as they doe commonly grow upon high wayes, besides hedges and Fields, they must be set xxxv. foote asunder, one from ano∣ther, or there-abouts, but if ye will plant many rankes in one place together, ye must set them the space of xiv. foot one from another, or thereabouts, and so farre ye must set your rankes one from another. For the Peare-trees and Apple-trees, and of other sorts of Trees, which may be set of this largenesse one from the other, if ye doe plant onely in rankes by hedges in the Fields, or otherwise, it shall be sufficient of xx. foote from another. But if ye will set two rankes upon the sides of your great Allies in Gardens, which be of tenne or twelve foote broad, it shall be then best to give them more space, the one from the other in each ranke, as about xxv. foote, also ye must not set your Trees right one against the other, but en∣termedling or betweene every space, as they may best grow at large, that if need be, ye may plant of other smaller Trees be∣tweene, but see that ye set them not too thicke. If ye list to set or plant all your Trees of one bignesse, as of young Trees like rods, being Peare-trees, or Apple-trees, they must be set a good space one from another, as of twenty or thirty foote in

square, as to say, from one ranke to another. For to plant or set of smaller trees, as Plum-trees, and Apple-trees, of the like bignesse, it shall be sufficient for them foureteene or fifteene foote space in quarters. But if ye will plant or set two tankes in your Allies in Gardens, ye must devise for to proportion it after the largenesse of your said Allies. For to plant or set ea∣ger or sower Cherry-trees, this space shall be sufficient e∣nough the one from the other, that is, of x. or xii. foote, and therefore if you make of great or large Allies in your Gar∣den, as of x. foote wide, or thereabouts, they shall come well to passe, and shall be sufficient to plant your trees, of ix. or x. foot space and for the other lesser sorts of trees, as of Quince-trees, Fig-trees, Nut-trees, and such like, which be not com∣monly planted, but in one ranke together.