Floraes paradise
FLORAES PARADISE,
Beautified and adorned with
sundry sorts of delicate fruites
and flowers,
By the industrious labour of
H.P. Knight.
With an offer of an English Antidote,
(beeing a present, easie, and pleasing remedy in
violent Feavers, and intermitting Agnes)
as also of some other rare inventions,
fitting the times.
His fruere, & expect meliora.
AT LONDON
Printed by H.L. for William Leake:
and are to be sold in Paules Church-yard, at the signe of the holy
Ghost. 1608.
PUBLISHED BY H.L.
PUBLISHED FOR William Leake
1608
1. A Philosophicall Garden: with a touch at the vegetable worke in physicke, whose prin cipall fire is the stomacke of the Ostrich.
First, pave a square plot with bricke (and if it be covered with plaister of Paris, it is so much the better) making up sides of bricke also plaistered likewise: let this bee of a conve[Page 2]nient depth, fill it with the best vegetable which you can get, that hath stoode two yeeres, or one at the least, quiet within his own Sphear: make cotrition of the same, and be sure to avoide all obstructions, imbibe it with A [...]in a true proportion, grinde it once a day till it bee dry: beeing dry, let it stand two or 3. daies without any inhibition, that it may the better attract from all the heavenlie influences, continuing then also a philosophi call contrition everie day (this grinding must also bee [Page 3]used in the vegetable worke where the [...] of hearbes is used instead ofaqua [...] during all the time of preparation: then plant what rare flowers, fruites, or seedes you please therein. And (if my Theorie of Nature deceive me not) this [...]so enriched from the heavens, without the helpe of any manner of soyle, marle, or compost (after one yeres revolution) will make the same to florish and fructifie in a strange and admirable manner: yea, I am perswaded, that it wil receive any Indian plant, and[Page 4]make all vegetables to prosper in the highest degree, & to beare their fruites in England, as naturally as they doe in Spaine, Italie, or elswhere; & that either by a branch of this Skill, or with a graine or two of the great Elixir applied to the roote, that Blackthorne bush neere Glassenburie Abbey, which blossometh yeerely (as i am enformed) neere or upon the birthday of our Lorde God, was first planted, and had his strange nature given unto it. The like is to be thought of that Oake in [...], growing in a [Page 5] hedge-rowe neere [...],which on the same day also putteth foorth greene buds yeerely, not having on the Eve any shew, or appearance of any spring.
So likewise of that Walnuttree, planted within the limits of the afore-said Abbie, which on S. Barnabies Eve standeth bare, & naked without leaves; and upon the day it selfe, richly clothed with his greene vesture. [Page 16] [...]now i wil proceede to write in plaine tearmes, of such a Garden & Orchard as will better serve for common use, and fit their wits& conceits much better. [Page 17]Breake up your ground, and dung it at Michaelmas. In January, turne your ground three or foure times, to mingle your dung and earth the better, rooting up the weedes at every time.[Page 19] [...]The surest way to have your seeds to grow, is to sow such as are not above one yeere old. T.T.[Page 21] [...]First, put some good fat dung into water, & there- in water your Leekes one night, and make your beddes all of good fat dung, that the dung may be a foote at the least in depth: then cover the bed with Ferne, and sette the Leekes with a great planting sticke, and fill not the holes with earth, but water them once in 2. dayes & no more [...]
2. Secrets in the ordering of Trees and Plants.
Dogs & cats applyed to the rootes of trees before the sap rise, have recovred many olde decaying trees. Shred them.[Page 96] [...] Gravellie ground is to be dunged with chalk; & chalky, with gravel, for lack of dung.
Strip away the leaves fro the boxen slip, and wind not the stemme, but sette it whole without winding [...]
[Page 97] [...]All trees which you wold have to grow thicke at the top, and to [...] there, cut or proine them in May: for they spring more in June and July, then all the yere befre or after.[Page 101]Plant dwarfe trees, and when the fruit is almost ripe, bow downe their branches with their fruite upon them, into great earthen pottes, or pitched tubs, either with bot toms, or without bottoms, the pottes or tubs standing in the earth; then cover the with boardes and earth from the funne, and the sap of the tree will keepe them growing a long time [...] [Page 103] [...]
Oxe blood into the holes, cover them with earth, and this will make your trees to prosper well [...]If you doe this at the Spring, the smell of the blood will offend you; and therefore this practice is best for the Winter season.
[Page 105] [...]Take of the rich crust of one acre of ground, & therewith you may make any garden, or orchard ground, that is but a foote deepe in goodnes, of what depth you please to make the rootes of your trees to prosper the better [...] [Page 128]Alwaies be careful when you graft upon young stocks the splicing way, that your stocke be of as large a kind of fruit, or larger, then the Cions, or else it will not be able to feede the cions: or else you must grast upo larger stocks, if the cions be of a large fruit.
Plant an Apricot in the midst of other plumme trees round about it, at a convenient distance; then in an apt season, bore thorough your plumme trees, and let in to every one of the, one or two[Page 129]of the branches of your Apricot tree, thorough those holes, taking away the barke on both sides of your branches which you let in, joyning sap to sap, and lute the holes up with tempered loame; & when they are well knit, the next yeere cut off the branch from the Apricot tree: and so you have gotten many Apricot trees out of one. Take a way in time all the heade of your plum tree, and all other branches, maintaining onely that which is gotten from the Apricot. But some Comend rather the letting-in of a [Page 130]branch of one tree, into the other, workmanly, for the more certaine kinde of grafting.
Plant every stocke with one leading branch, at the least, to carry up the sap: and after your stock hath growne one yeere, and maketh good shewe of liking the ground, then graft your cions upo it, leaving one or two leaders; but none so high as to over top your cions: & when your cions is well taken, then cut away your leaders, and all other spires, and so your cions wil prosper exceedingly [...][Page 131] [...]
Some hold opinion, that if when others begin to graft in the slit, you doe then cutte off the head of your Stocke, leaving one branch neer the head to leade the sap, & then after cold weather is all past, if you graft in the slit, that so your stock and cions wil prosper farre better, then if you had grafted the same in the slit at the first [...]
The right honourable my Lorde Zouch, in Winter, [...]moist weather is best, that the earth cleaving to the rootes, may be also removed with them, the earth beeing fast bound with fearne branches to the rootes) removed diverse apple trees, damson trees, & c. beeing of thirty or[Page 148]forty yeres growth, at Hackney: the earth was digged in a good large compasse fro the rootes, the rootes little hurt; holes were prepared for each tree before hand, enriched with fresh & good earth; the branches and tops taken off almost close to the trunke: &they were planted againe in the same hower wherein they were remooved, & the rootes placed towardes the same point of the compasse as they first grew. He had a few damsons the first yeere, and al put foorth leaves at Michaelmas after, anno 98.
[Page 149]Blood laide at the roots of old Vines, hath bin commended for an excellent substance to harten them, unto M. Andr. Hill.
If you cut any Vines when the sap is up, presentlie cover the place with good store of Turpentine, & it will stay bleeding [...]Some commend the straight binding of a packthred about the barke thereof: some feare with a hot iron, and drop hard wax presently upon it [...][Page 170] [...]And if your tree beare not wel, by reason that all the sappe runneth into leaves, which is a common fault in divers orchards, to check [Page 171]the sap, cut off all the young rootes that growe about the maister rootes; and crosshacke the bodie under the ground, & likewise the maine rootes as before,numero 131, to avoide mosse, and cover the tree with earth againe: for by this meanes, the sappe is kept from rising up too plentifully [...][Page 172] [...]Gather not your pippins till the full moone after Michaelmas; so may you keepe them a whole yeere without shrinking: and so of grapes, and all other fruites; so of onion seedes, annis seedes, & other seedes, which you wold keepe full and plumpe [...]