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 order of cutting Hoppe-rootes.

VVHen you pull downe your hills, (which if you have not already done, you must now of necessity goe a∣bout to doe) you should (with your Garden toole) undermine them round about, till you come neere to the principall roots, and then take the upper or younger rootes in your hand, and shake of the earth, which e••rth being againe removed away with your said toole you shall discerne where the new rootes grow out of the old Sets.

In the doing hereof, be carefull that you spoyle not the old Sets, as for the other roots which are to be cut aw••y, you shall not need to spare them to the delay of your work, except such as you meane to set.

Take heed that you uncover not any more then the tops of the old sets in the first yeare of cutting.

At what time soever you pull downe your hills, cut not your rootes before the end of March, or in the begy••ning of Aprill, and then remember the wind.

In the first yeare (I meane) at the first time of cutting and dressing of your rootes, you must (with a ••••••rpe knife) cut a∣way all such rootes or springs as grew the yeare before out of your sets, within one inch of the same.

Every yeare after you must cut them as close as you can to the old rootes, even as you see an O••••e••s head cut.

There groweth out of the old sets certaine Rootes, right downwards not joynted at all, which serve onely for the nou∣rishing and comfort of those sets or principall rootes which are not to be cut off. There be other like unto them growing outward at the sides of the sets. If these be not met withall, and cut asunder, they will encumber your whole Garden.

Because it may seeme hard to discerne the old sets from the new Springs, I thought good to advertise you how easie a thing it is to see the difference thereof; for first you shall be sure to find your Sets where you did set them, nothing increa∣sed in length, but somewhat in bignesse inlarged, and in few yeares all your Sets will be growne into one, so as by the quantity that thing shall plainely appeare: and lastly, the difference is seene by the colour, the old roote being red, the other white, but if the hills be not yearely pulled downe, and the rootes yearely cut, then indeed the old sets shall not be perceived from the other rootes.

If your Sets be small, and placed in good ground, and the hill well maintained, the new rootes will be greater then the old.

If there grow in any hill a wild Hop, or whensoever the stalke waxeth red, or when the Hop in any wise decayeth, pull up every roote in that hill, and set new in their places, at the usuall time of cutting and setting, or if you list, you may doe it when you gather Hops, with the rootes which you cut a∣way, when you make your picking place.