The country-mans recreation, or The art of [brace] planting, graffing, and gardening, [brace] in three books. The first declaring divers waies of planting, and graffing, and the best times of the year, with divers commodities and secrets herein, how to set or plant with the root, and without the root; to sow or set pepins or curnels, with the ordering thereof, also to cleanse your grafts and cions, to help barren and sick trees, to kill worms and vermin, and to preserve and keep fruit; how to plant and proin your vines, and to gather and presse your grape; to cleanse and mosse your trees, to make your cider and perry, with many other secret practises which shall appear in the table following. The second treateth of the hop-garden, with necessary instructions for the making and maintenance thereof, ... with some directions for tabaco. Whereunto is added, The expert gardener, containing divers necessary and rare secrets belonging to that art, ... hereunto is likewise added the Art of angling.

Of the erection of Poles.

WHen your Hops appear above the ground, so as you may discern where the principall roots stand, set up your Poles, preparing their way with a crow of Iron, or a forked woodden tool, with a point of Iron, somewhat like unto these.

[illustration] depiction of planting tools

For if you stay till the Hops be grown to a greater length, one inconveni∣ence is, that either in making the holes, or in erecting the poles, or else in ramming the earth to the fastening of them, you shall hazard the bruising or breaking of your Hops: ano∣ther is, that you shall be forced to tye every stalk to the pole, whereas otherwise the most part of them will climb up of their own accord: the third is, that it will hinder the growth of the Hop, if it remain unstayd so long.

You must ••et every Pole a foot and a half deep, and within two or three inches at the most of the principall root.

If your ground be rockie and shallow, tarry the longer be∣fore you set up your Poles, so as your Hops may be grown two or three foot high, that you may adventure to make a hill or bank at every pole to stay uphold the same, with∣out burying any of the young Springs, which may afterward be covered with lesse danger and annoyance of the principall root.

Let the Poles of every hill lean a little outward one from another.