Systema horti-culturæ, or, The art of gardening in three books ... / by J. Woolridge, gent.

SECT. III. Of the Improvement of such Soyls.

THere are many parcels of Land lying near Towns, Villages, and Houses, that are of that excellent mixture of Loam, and other Earths, that they are capable to entertain most of the delicate Fruits, Flowers, and other Cu∣riosities, that are fit to be planted or propaga∣ted in your best Partirs, without any other mixture or composition, other than convenient dung of Oxen, Cows, Sheep, Pullen, Pidgeons, and sometimes old and rotten Horse-dung, to preserve it in its due and wonted fertility; it being by continual weeding, and the attraction of the Plants you furnish it withal, apt to steri∣lize. So that where your ground is thus natu∣rally fertile and prone to vegitate, you need take

no other care than to apply proper Soyls or Compositions, according as the nature of your Plant requires, or to maintain it in its full vigour.

Claiy-Land being cold, moist, and stiff, is to be converted by labour, and mixtures of a contrary nature; if you dig it often, the Sun, Rain, and Frost will make it more friable and fertile: For take Clay, and lay it on any other Land, it will in time dissolve, and unite in minute parts with it, that you shall hardly discern it; so also it will be much altered by culture on its own Basis, the wet being care∣fully drawn from it by declining Canals for that purpose, Water being the only thing that maintains its stubborn nature, if it rest on it.

But to accelerate the operation, and make it speedily more benign; Sand is an excellent Ingredient, especially that taken up in the bottoms of Rivers, or where hasty currents have left it at the foot of Hills, or Sea-sand where it may be had. Any old Thatch or cor∣rupted Vegetables, as Weeds, Fern, &c. buried in the Trenches as you dig it, drains the wet from it, and makes it more mellow. But above a∣ny thing, Peat-ashes, Turf-ashes, or any Ashes proportionably, and well mixed, is the high∣est Improvement, you can add to your cold, stiff, and moist Land. There are several o∣ther Additions that will improve it, as Rot∣ten-wood, Saw-dust, the bottoms of Piles of Wood great and small; but these being not to be had in any great quantity, will serve on∣ly in these Beds, where you intend to plant

your choicest Flowers; but Chalk, Lime, Marle, and such like, although they sweeten it at the first, yet in the end it unites with the Clay, and is soon converted into its own nature.

Chalky-Land usually yields a good rich sur∣face, therefore you must avoid planting too deep in it, and where you can with conveni∣ency, the sinking your Walks, and with the same matter to raise your Borders, is a very good Improvement of this sort of Land. You may also deal with it, as with the Claiy-Land, though in a more moderate way, for Chalky-Land is naturally cold, and therefore requires warm Applications; and is also sad, and will the better bear with light Composts, which is the reason that Chalk is so great an improver of light, hot and dry Grounds, especially ha∣ving suffered a Calcination.

Lands seated on Marle, are usually very rich, although cold and heavy; you need not doubt of the depth of it: for the turning it up, and exposing it to the Air, converts it into good Earth; a mixture of light and warm Soyl exceedingly advantages it.

Sandy-Lands, or Land that hath a compe∣tent mixture of Sand in it, is the warmest and lightest of all, and according to its fatness; it is the most free and apt to produce the most of Vegetables you plant in it. Sandy-Lands are best improved by mixture of Chalk, Lime, Marle, the sediments of Ponds, Lakes, or standing Waters, and need a more constant supply of such Additions than any other, un∣less

you have the command of some Spring or Stream of Water to irrigate it, and prevent the Suns exhaling the moisture it so easily parts withal, for we may constantly observe in rai∣ny Summers, what vast products Sandy-Land will afford us, compared with the dry. The same you will find in your Gardens, but the hot Dungs are here to be neglected, and the more cooling made use of.

The best for light Sandy-land, is Cow-dung, being cool and fat.

Some Plants delight in moist and boggy Lands, and where the Scituation of the Garden will not afford a Natural Bogg, an Artificial may be made, if you have the command of a Spring to feed it, or that you draw not wa∣ter very deep to moisten it often by hand; it may be made by digging a large Pit in such place you think most convenient, where if the Earth be not tenacious enough to detain the moisture required, you may line the bottom and sides with Clay well temper'd and trodden down, and fill it with Earth taken from a Bogg; in which being duely watered by some small current led thereto, or by frequent irrigations, your curious Aquaticks may be propagated as well as in the Natural.

There are several other sorts of Land, that are known by several other Names, which I might here enumerate, but these being the ge∣neral, and most Lands falling under some or one of these capacities, I shall not trouble you with them here, brevity being my study.

But if your Lands or Grounds within the precinct of your Garden, be somewhat of a different nature or quality from these before mentioned, yet may those general directions, as concerning that Land it is nearest of Na∣ture unto, serve for your Land. And if you have any Trees, Plants, or Flowers, that de∣light in Land different from the more general part of your Plantation, then may you com∣pound your Mould in some place proper for such Plant; directions for which you will find dispersed in this succeeding Tract, especially when I come to treat of Esculents.