OF FOREST-TREES. |>77]

This 1 hold to be an excellent Note : He conceives the Barley Season Chap.VIIto be of the latest to sow your Seeds, but with Oats it does well, soyou sow them not too thick ; but ’tis best of all to sow them by them-selves, without any Crop of Grain at all.

A more expeditious Way is to plant with Sets, making Holes orFojfes (which are best) two Foot wide, and deep, and about half aRod distant, viz. four in every Rod square, two Sets in each Hole,sowing your Keys and Seeds among them the ensiling Spring, andthat continued as oft as you find Stampings and Keys to be had, eventill your Wood be perfectly furnished, only taking Care that they lienot long too thick, because it will heat and burn the Kernels', and there-fore let them be put into the Ground as soon as they are pressed, orelse lay them thin, or parted with Straw.

In case your Land be poor, and wanting Depth, or but indifferent,observing the Posture of your Ground, divide it into four Yards di-stance at both Extreams, by small Stakes, making Rows of them, bysetting up some few between them, to direct, and lay your Work streight,ploughing one Yard of each Side of the Stakes, if the Ground beGreen-Jward, for the easier running of the Roots : Having thus plow-ed two Yards, and left two unploughed through your whole Piece*some short Time before planting Season, so soon as the Fall of the Leafbegins, dig up the unploughed Interjlices , laying one half of the Earthon the unploughed Pieces, and the other half upon the rest; and as youdo this, plant your prepared Sets about a Yard distant, with Store ofSallow or other Cuttings with them, digging that Ground which youlaid on the ploughed Part a good Spade deep, which will make it neara Foot thick to plant your Sets in : Thus proceed from one unplough’dGround to another, till all of it is planted: Two Men on each Side ofthe Ridges will soon dispatch the Work, which would be finished bythe latter End of January, which is the best Time for the sowing yourKeys, Nuts, and other Seeds , unless the Weather be frosty, in whichCafe you may a little defer it : And when all is sowed, cover them alittle with the Shovelings of some Ditches, Pond, or other Stuff, as anassured good Way to improve such Grounds to considerable Advantage.

For the planting of Walnuts, Chesnuts, Cyder-Apples, or any otherForest or Fruit-trees, in open Fields, Mr. Cooke directs how the trian-gular Form exceeds all the rest for Beauty and Advantage : I refer youto his 33 d Chap.

An old and judicious Planter of Woods, prescribes us these Di-rections, for improving of Sheep-walks, Downs, Heaths, &c. Sup-pose on every such Walk, on which five hundred Sheep might be kept,there were ploughed up twenty Acres (plough’d pretty deep, that theRoots might take hold, and be able to resist the Winds ) this shouldbe sowed with Mast of Oak, Beech, Chats of AJh, Slap le-Keys,

Sloes, Service-Berries, Nuts, Bullis, Vc. bruised Crabs and Hdws,mingled and scattered about the Sides and Ends of the Ground, near aYard in Breadth. On the rest sow no Haws, but some few Crab-ker-nels : Then begin at a Side, and sow five Yards broad, plowing underthe Mast, &c. very shallow ; then leave six Yards in Breadth, and sowand plow five Yards more, and so from Side to Side, remembring toleave a Yard and half at the last Side ; let the rest of the Head-lands

lie,