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 ...

The Setting of Chesnuts.

THe Chesnut-tree, men doe use to plant like unto the Fig-tree. They may be both planted and graffed well, they waxe well in fresh and fat earth, for in sand they like not. If ye will set the Curnels, ye shall lay them in water untill they doe sinke, and those that doe sinke to the bottome of the water be best to set, which ye shall set in the Moneth of November and December, foure fingers deepe, a foot one from another, fo•• when they be in these two Moneths set or planted they shall endure long and beare also good fruit, yet some there be that plant or set them first in dung, like Beanes, which will be sweeter then the other sort, but those which be set in these two Moneths aforesaid, shall first beare their fruit, men may prove which is b••st, experience doth teach.

This is another way to prove a••d know, which Chesnuts be best to plant or set, that is, ye shall take a quantity of nuts, then

lay them in Sand the space of thirty dayes, then take and wash them in water faire and cleane, and throw them into water a∣gaine and those which doe sinke to the bottome, are good to plant or set, and the other that swimme are naught; thus may ye doe with all other Curnels or Nuts.