Old Agricultural Writers, 
© 
country, “ who yoke their cattell by the homes, where¬ 
at the oxen are so greeued, that they scarcely race the 
upper part of the earth.” This method is practised to 
no inconsiderable extent by the descendants of the 
French on this continent at the present day. The free 
use of the rake or harrow and the roller , are strongly 
urged. 
The waxing, waning, and fulling of the moon, and 
the course of the wind , has much to do with the direc¬ 
tions in sowing and planting, which are given with 
great caution. The use of saltpetre with certain kinds 
of seed when sown, is shown to be a practice of the 
ancient Greeks. The origin of Trefoil is given from 
Media, and its antiquity established from Columella, 
who noting well its great luxuriance, asserts that“ an 
acre will fynde three horses for a yeare.” 
“ Of hempe, there two kinds, the male that is with¬ 
out floure and beareth a seed of many colors, and the 
female that, to recompense her barrenness, hath a 
white doure. It loveth a rich ground, well dounged 
and watered, and deep plowed; it is naughty sowing 
it in rainy weather. The thicker you sow it the ten¬ 
derer it will be, and therefore some sow it thrice, 
though some appoint six seeds for a foote. When the 
seed is ripe it is pulled and made up into bundles, laid 
in the sun for three or four days, afterwards laid in 
water with weights upon it for eight or ten days, till 
the rhind wax loose, then dried in the sun, then broken 
in the brake, then combed.” 
The crops cultivated are similar to our modern ones, 
with the addition of several strange names ; (i wheat, 
rye, barley, millet, zea, Far. adoreum, oats, buck or 
beech-wheat, panicle, kyse,sesamun, pulse, beans, pease, 
lyntels, chyche, cicercula, tares, lupins, fenngreche, 
rnedica (a trefoil), cytisus, sperie,” &c., &c. 
Oats, though esteemed nought by Virgil, and weeds 
by Pliny, were even then much used in France for pro- 
vender, and in Germany for food. In England, too, they 
were used occasionally for both food and drink, and 
Theophrastus says “ it is not daungerous in the choyce 
of its grounde, but groweth like a good fellow in every 
place where no seed else will grow.” 
The cradle for cutting grain even then, was used to 
some extent, and the reaping machine was in success¬ 
ful operation, for Palladius describes a “ shorter way 
to-be doone with the oxe that shall in short time cut 
down all that groweth ; woont to be used in Fraunce. 
The devise was a lowe kind of carre with a couple of 
wheeles, and the frunt armed with sharpe sickles which 
trick forced by the beaste in the corne, did cut downe 
al before it.” In hot weather he recommends plow¬ 
ing all night, thereby turning in all the dew and avoid¬ 
ing the heat of the sun. We object to this for man or 
beast, but would substitute from daylight till 10 A. M., 
and from 3 or 4 P. M., till twilight again. 
Roots scarcely entered into their estimate of crops. 
The introduction of these into modern agriculture, has 
probably doubled the crops of Europe, within forty years, 
where cultivated. 
For the Flovjer Garden, a great variety of minute di¬ 
rections are given, and it must be allowed if the plan de¬ 
tailed by our author was fully carried out, all the com¬ 
forts, delicacies, and luxuries of vegetables, fruits, 
and flowers were enjoyed by the better class of those 
times, equally with the most tasteful and luxurious of 
the modems. 
The remedies for caterpillars, insects tyc., are similar 
to several employed by ourselves, mixed up with many 
absurdities. Burning brimstone and stalks of garlick, 
juice of wormwood, lime and soot were preventives 
then and are so now. 
The orchard was ordered with great particularity 
221 
and care. The fanciful notion of sympathy, or “ a na- 
turall freendshippe and loue betwixt certayne trees,” 
and their antipathies are particularly noted, as well as all 
the modes of propogating, budding, grafting, and 
cultivating are specified—all fruits have their due share 
of attention and are specified with sufficient minute¬ 
ness, but the vine seems to claim the most particular 
attention. Sixteen close pages, show the estimation in 
which it was held in England, and this long description 
seemed requisite to give to this fruitful subject, its law¬ 
ful honors, for even there it was esteemed worthy 
cc among all trees and plants to challenge, by good rights, 
the Souereigntie.” Noah has the credit of its dis¬ 
covery and its importance in all time since, is fully 
chronicled; and Cato, Varro, and Columella are cited as 
raising 700 and “ Seneca 1000 gallondes of wine on an 
acre.” The custom of manuring vineyards with the 
trimmings of the vines, is shown to be at least as old 
as our author, and may have descended from the re¬ 
motest antiquity. The lighter kinds of land is pre¬ 
ferred for it, as 
“ Dame Ceres ioyes in heauie ground, 
And Bacchus in the light;” 
the flint, by general consent, being considered a friend 
to the vine. 
The forest trees, in all their useful, though in Eu¬ 
rope, limited variety, are enumerated, with their uses, 
modes of planting, and the beauty and general utility de¬ 
rivable therefrom. These complete the second book 
on gardening and trees ; the first, being occupied en¬ 
tirely with general principles, pastures, arable ground 
and tillage. 
The 3rd. Book “ entreatying of Cattell” begins with 
the horse, which is minutely described, the result of 
which is, that e< the hole bodie should be so framed, as 
it bee large, hye, liuely, sprited and well trussed. 
Some horsemen would have their horse limmed after 
the proporcion of divers beasts, as to have the head 
and leggs of a stagge, the eares and tayle of a fox, the 
neck of a swanne, the brest of a Lion, the buttocks of 
a femayle, and the feete of an asse. His tayle would 
bee longe, bristly an<? curled, the length whereof, 
is not only a beautie, but also a great commoditie 
to hym to beat away flies; yet some delight to have 
them curtailed, specially il they bee broad buttockt.” 
In soils and plants and trees, the lore and practice 
of ancient times, seems not to have partaken so much 
of the marvellous, yet through the whole of their ideas 
their was manifest a strain of the fanciful, of which 
the most illiterate of modern times are hardly suscep¬ 
tible. But no sooner did they come in contact with 
the things of life, than a strange phantasie seemed to 
possess them. All was magic and witchcraft, so far 
as they were concerned. A spell seemed to hang over 
their very existence, and sprites, fairies and hobgoblins 
ruled the whole race of animated existence. Witness 
the “ conceauing of the mare with her own feruent de¬ 
sire, and bringing foorth after the manner of byrdes. 
In Spaine, mares have conceived with the wind” (of 
which Addison makes notable mention, in describing 
the farthingales of the modish cockneyess, not dis¬ 
similar to the bustles of the present day,) “ and 
brought up their colts, but the colts have not lived above 
three yeres,” For choice and novel directions for con¬ 
trolling the sex of the progeny, and its indication in 
its incipiency, we must refer the curious to the work 
itself. 
The jlsse has his due share of attention, and the 
habits of this dandy beast seem not to have altered 
much since the days of his ancestors. His daintiness 
of the water, like that of the feline tribe, has an ample 
