fo^ ThefeventeentliBooke of 



withallj and the pit thereof found among fprings or fountainesjic will ciDfe the ground to be in- G 

 finitefruitfulUbut it is rough in handling, and if it be laid too thickc upon the lands or leyes, it 

 willburnc theverie gtound.Thenexttoit is the red mark, called alfo Capnumargos, which 

 hath intermingled in it a ccrtaine fraall ftonie grit fuU of fand : This ftonie marie the manner is 

 to breake and bruife upon the very lands 3 and for the firft yeares, hardly can the ftraw bemowne 

 or cut downe for the faidftones. Lighter is this marie than the reft by the one halfcj and there- 

 fore the cariagc thereof into the field isle aft chargeable. It ought tobefpred and laid thiujand 

 fomethinkc that it ftandcthfomewhat upon fait. But both the one and the other will ferve well 

 for fiftieyeares, and the ground enriched thereby, will (during that time) yeeld plentie as well 

 of corne as graffc. 



Chap. Viil. 



Sundrie forts of :Emh and Mdrle. ' 



OFthofe marks which arc found to be fat, the white is chiefe; and thereof be many forts. 

 The moft mordant and iTiarpeft of them all, is that whereof we fpake before . Afecond 

 kind there is of chalkifh clay,which our goldfiniths ufc[:callcd Tripela :] this lieth a great 

 depth within the earth, infbmuch as many times men are driven to finke pits an hundred fooc 

 deepe, for it ; and thofe have a finall and narrow mouth above , but within-forih and under the 

 ground, they be digged wider, by reafon that the vaine thereof runneth many wa ies, in manner 

 of other mettall mines. This is the marie fo much uled in Britaine : the ftrength thereof beeing 

 caft upon a land, will laftfourfcoreyeeres; and never yet was the man known that herewith mar- ^ 

 led the fame ground twice in all his life time. The third kind of white mark, is that which the 

 Greekes call Glifchromargon: it is no other than the Fullers chalkie clay mixed with avifcous 

 and fattie earth. The nature of it,is to breed grafle better than to beare corne : for after one crop 

 of corne is taken off the ground in harveft, before feed time is come for winter grain,the grafle 

 wilIbefohighgrowne,that a man may cut it down and have a plentifull after-math for hay rand 

 yet all the while that it hath corne upon it, you fhall not fee it to beare any graffe befides . This 

 marie continueth good thirtie years ;if it be laid over-thickcupon aland,itchoketh the ground 

 * cymhu. in manner of* Cumine. The Columbine mark, the Gaules call in their language, by a name 

 Tarneb.i^M\ borrowcd of the Gteckcs, Pclias, [/.Dovc or Pigeou mark : ] it is fetched outof the ground in 

 nS'thcrcby ^' clots and lumps, like as ftohes bee hewed out of quarries : with funnc and the froft togither, it K 

 tiurds of pjt- will refolve and cleave into moft thin flates or flakes. This mark is as good for corneas forher- 

 luch hke mb"^ fandie marlc,it will ferve the turne for want of other : yea & if the ground be cold, 



biHi. moift, and weely, the husbandman will make choife thereof before other. 



The Vbian s,upon my knowledge,uk to enrich their ground and make it morebattk(though 

 their cerritorie othetwife be moft fertile) with any earth whatfoevcr 5 provided alwaies that it be 

 digged up three foot deepe at leaft, and laid a foot thickc 5 a devife that no other countrey doth 

 praClifc:howbeitthis fbiieand manner of manuring, continueth good not above tenyeares* 

 TheHeduans andPi6tones, have forced their grounds and made them moft plentifull , with 

 Jimeftone: which is found alfo by experience to be paffing profitable for vines and Olives. £, 



To come now to the ordering of this peece of husbandry.The ground ought to be ploughed 

 fitft,bcforcmarleof any fort bee caft upon it j to the end that themedicinabkvertueandfub- 

 ftance thereor,might the fooner and more greedily be received into it.Now forafmuch as mark 

 is at the firft over-rough and hard, not fb free in the beginning as to refolveand turncinto blade 

 or graffe, it had need of fbme compoft or dung to be mingled with it : for othcrwife, be it never 

 fo rich, it will rather doe harme than good to the ground, by reafon that it is yetftraunge and 

 not acquainted therewith : and yet helpc it this way as well as you can, it will not bring foorth 

 any plentie the firft ycarc after it is laid on. Laft of all, itskilleth much to confider the nature of 

 the ground, which you meane to mark : for the drie mark, forteth well with a moift foik j and 

 thetattie,hitteth that which is drieandkane. But when the groundis of a middle temperature ^ 

 between both,it mattereth not whether you uk the white goldfraiths ehalke,or the Columbine 

 mark/or cither of them will ferve well enough. 



Chap.; 



