125. How to make a ditch. 79 



perase, tyll thou haue set all thy settes, and let them lene 

 36 towarde the dyche. And a foote from that make thy Have the 



. ^ ditch a foot 



dyche. For if thou make it to nyo^he thy settes, the fr°" the 



^ hedge. 



water maye fortune to weare the grounde on that syde, 

 and cause thy settes to fall downe. 



125. ^ To make a dyche. 



If thou make thy dyche foure foote brode, than wolde Of what size 

 it be two foote and a halfe depe. And if it be .v. fote ditches, 

 brode, than .iii. fote depe, and so accordynge ; and if it 

 4 be fyue fote brod, than it wolde be double sette, and the 

 rather it wolde fence it-selfe, and the lower hedge wyll 

 seme. 



126. \ To make a hedge. 



Thou muste gette the stakes of the harte of oka, for stakes for a 

 those be best ; crabtre, blacke-thome, and ellore be good. *' 

 Reed wethy is beste in marsshe grounde ; asshe, maple, 

 4 hasel, and whyte-thome wyl serue for a time. And set 



thy stakes within .ii. foote and a halfe together, excepte [FoI. 544.] 



thou haue very good edderynge, and longe, to bynde with. 



And if it be double eddered, it is moch the better, and Ethers for a 



hedge. 



8 gret strength to the hedge, and moche lenger it wil last. 

 And lay thy small trouse or thomes, that thou hedgeste 

 withall, ouer thy quickesettes, that shepe do not eate the 

 sprynge nor buddes of thy settes. Let thy stakes be well Drive the 



1 2 dryuen, that the poynt take the hard erthe. And whan Lmi^. 

 thou haste made thy hedge, and eddered it well, than take 

 thy mall agayne, and drj'ue downe thy edderinges, and Wind in the 

 also thy stakes by and by. For with the wyndynge of the 



16 edderynges thou doost leuse thy stakes; and therfore 



they muste nedes be dryuen newe, and hardened agayne. Then drive 

 and the better the stake wil be dryuen, whan he is wel again. 

 bounden. 



