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with the shovelings of some ditches, pond, or other stuff, as an afsured chap.vu.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 triangularform exceeds all the rest for beauty and advantage. I refer you to his33d chapter.
An old and judicious planter of Woods prescribes us these directionsfor improving of sheep>-walks, downs, heaths, &c. Suppose on every suchwalk, on which five hundred sheep might be kept, there were ploughed uptwenty acres, (ploughed pretty deep, that the roots might take hold, andbe able to resist the winds) this should be sowed with Mast of Oak, Beech,
Chats of Ash, Mapple-keys, Sloes, Service-berries, Nuts , Bullace, Flaws,and bruised Crabs , mingled and scattered about the sides and ends of theground, near a yard in breadth. On the rest sow no Haws, but some fewCrab-kernels; then begin at a side, and sow five yards broad, ploughingunder the Mast, &c. very shallow; and then leave six yards in breadth,and sow and plough five yards more; and so from side to side, remember-ing to leave a yard and a half at the last side; let the rest of the head-lands lie till the remainder of the close be sown in March with Oats , &c. topreserve it from hurt of cattle, and poaching the ground: When the springis of two years growth, draw part of it for Quicksets; and when the restof the trees are of six years shoot, exhaust it of more, and leave not aboveforty of either side, each'row five yards distant, and here and there a Crab-stock to graff on, and in the environing hedge (to be left thick) let thetrees stand four yards asunder; which if forty-four were spared, will amountto above four thousand trees. At twenty years end, stock up two thou-sand of them; lop a thousand more every ten years, and reserve the re-maining thousand for timber. Judge what this may be worth in a shorttime, besides the grafs, which will grow the first six or seven years, andthe benefit of shelter for sheep in ill weather, when they cannot be folded;and the pasture which will be had under the trees, now at eleven yardsinterval, by reason of the stocking up those two thousand we mentioned,excepting the hedges; and if in any of these places any considerablewaters fortune to lie in their bottoms, fowl would abundantly both breedand harbour there. These are admirable directions For park-lands, where■shelter and food is scarce.