"THE CURIOUS KNOTTED GARDEN" 67 



and seeds and fruits, and in what sort to keep and 

 preserve them; to make fair Bowling Alleys well 

 banked and sealed, which, being well kept, in many 

 houses are very profitable to the gardeners." 



The instructions in the Elizabethan manuals for 

 grafting, pleaching, and plashing (see page 50) are 

 most explicit and elaborate. There are rules for the 

 care of every flower and herb. Nothing is too small 

 for attention.. The old authors even say what flowers 

 should be picked often and what flowers prefer to 

 be let alone. One old gardener gives the following 

 details with regard to the sowing of seeds: 



"If you will [he writes], you may sow your seeds 

 in rows, or trails, either round about the edges of 

 your beds to keep them in fashion, and plant either 

 herbs or flowers in the body of your beds, or you 

 may furnish your beds all over, making three, four, 

 or five rows, or trails, according to the bigness of 

 your bed ; the order, or manner, is to make each trail 

 of like distance and range your line and by it, either 

 with your finger or a small stick, to make your trail 

 about an inch thick, or thereabout; and therein, to 

 sow your seed, not over-thick. If you put your 

 seeds in a white paper, you may (if the seeds are 

 small) very easily and equally sow them by shaking 

 the lower end of your paper with the forefinger of 



