^6 A Difcojtrfe of Foreft-Trees. 



Tis here 



Eternal Spring, and Summer all the year. 



H,ff^. I . But, above all the natural Greens which inrich our home- 



born ftorc, there is none certainly to be compar'd to the Holly ^ 

 infomuch as I have often wonder'd at our Curiofity after forreign 

 Plants, and expenfive difficultict, to the negleft of the cultttre of 

 this vulgar y but incomparable Tree ; whether we will propagate it 

 for Vje, and Defence -^ or iovftght and ornament. 



2. Is there under heaven a more glorious and refrefhing objed 

 of the kind, than an impregnable Hedge oi one hundred and fixty 

 foot in length, feven foot high, and five in diameter, which I can 

 ftiew in my poor Gardens at any time of the year, glitt'ring with 

 its arm'd and vernifh'd leaves ? the taller Standards at orderly 

 diftances blufhing with their natural Cor all: It mocks at the ru- 

 deft afl'aults of the Weather, Beajis, or Hedge-breaker, 



Et ilium nemo impun} lacejfit. 



,3. I have already (hew'd how it is to be rais'd of the Berries, 

 Mfhen they are ready to drop : Remove them alfo after three or 

 four years i but if yoU plant the Sets (which is likewife a. com- 

 mendable way , and the fFoods will furnilli enough ) place 'em 

 Northwards, as they do ^icl{. Of this might there lining Pales 

 and Enclofurcs be made (fuch as the Right Hondurable my Lord 

 Dacres, fomewhere in Sujfex, has a Park, almoft environ'd with, 

 able to keep in any Game, as I am credibly inform'd) and cut into 

 fquare Hedges, it becomes impenetrable, and will thrive in hottejt 

 as well as the coldcji places. At Dengenejfe in Kent they grow na- 

 turally amongft the very beach, and pibbles : And this rare Hedge, 

 the boaft of my Villa, was planted upon a burning gravel, ex- 

 pos'd to the meridian Sun. 



4. True it is, that time muft bring this Tree to perfedion ; it 

 does fo to all things elfe , & pofleritati pangimus. But what if a 

 little culture about the Roots (not dunging, which it abhorrcs) 

 and frequent ftirring of the mould doubles its growth ? We ftay 

 et^e« ^e/«r/ for a tolerable ®«/c)^, it is worth ftaying it thrice for 

 thk, yN\\\c\\\\AS no Competitor. 



5. And yet there is an expedient to efFedt it more infenfibly, by 

 planting it with the ^ick.: Let every fift or fixt be an Holly-fet, 

 they will grow up intallibly with your ^ick^, and as they begin 

 tolpread, make way for them, by extirpating the White-thorn, 

 till they quite domineer : Thus Vizsmy Hedge^x9i planted, with- 

 out the leaft interruption to the Fence, by a moft pleafant Meta- 

 morphofis. But there Is alfo another, not lefs applauded, by lay- 

 ing along of well rooted Sets (a yard or more in Ic'ngth) and 

 itripping off the leaves and branches : thefe cover'd with a com- 

 petent depth of earth will lend forth innumerable Suckers which 

 willfuddenly advance into an Hedge. 



6. The 



