The Inrichment of the Weald of Kent: OR, A Direction to the Husbandman, for the true ordering, manuring, and enriching of all the Grounds within the Wealds of Kent and Sussex, and may generally serve for all the grounds in England, of that nature: as, 

1. Showing the nature of all Wealdish grounds, comparing it with the soil of the Shires at large.  
2. Declaring what the Marl is, and the several sorts thereof, and where it is usually found.  
3. The profitable use of Marle, and other rich manurings, as well in each sort of arable land, as also for the increase of Corn and Pasture through the Kingdom.    
Painfully gathered for the good of this Island, by a man of great eminence and worth.  
Printed at London by G. P. for Roger jackson, and are to be sold at his shop near Fleetstret-Conduit. 1625.   

To the Honourable Knight, Sir George Rivers of Chafford, in the County of KENT.  
SIR,  
HAd I no scale (more than this bare and plain moulded Epistle) by which to come to your Worship's ears, yet in respect of the honest Livery which it carries (being necessary and husbandly collections, especially gathered for the Country and Soil wherein you live) I know, it cannot choose but find both favour and mercy in your acceptation; but when I call up into my consideration, the great worthiness of your experience in this and all other the like affairs, which tend to the general benefit of the Common wealth, and weigh the excellency of your wisdom, judgement, bounty, and affection unto hospitality (which give both strength and advancement to projects of this nature) I could not but take unto myself a double encouragement, and boldly say unto this work which I offer to your goodness; Go and approach with all thy sweetness before him, he that so perfectly knows all which thou canst or wouldst discover; he that is able both to correct and amend any thing that is imperfect in thee, he, for virtue's sake, will never forsake thee. Believe me (worthy Sir) should this subject wish itself a Patron, I do not think, it could wish beyond you; for you are a volume full of all that of which it intreateth: witness your years, your place, your supportation of the poor, and your continual employments; with any of which, there is not (of your Rank) a second living in your Country, to walk hand in hand with you; Being then (dear Sir) the oldest and best friend to your Country; forsake neither her, nor this which comes to serve it; and though in this Glass some lineaments may appear imperfect, yet by the help of your favour (though little be exact or most excellent) nothing shall be gross or unworthy the survey of your worthier patience. And so I rest,  
Your Worships to be commanded, R. I.   

A discourse of the Weald of Kent; and a comparison of the arable Lands therein, with the other parts of the Shire: Together with some necessary counsels for the ordering and enriching of the Marleable Lands in the Weald, or generally in any part of this Kingdom.  
THE Weald of Kent is the lower part of that Shire, 
Further additions.  lying on the South side thereof, and adjoineth to the Weald of Sussex, towards the West.  
This Weald both in Kent and Sussex, was sometimes all (or the most part) woody, wild, and (in the first times) uninhabited; and from thence took the name of Weald from the Saxon word, Weale or Yeale, or Weald, which signifieth a woody Country, or Forrestlike ground. The Britons called it Andred, which signifieth Greatness or Wonderful, and in Latin it was called Saltus Andred, (that is to say) the Chase or Forest of Andred, by reason of the great circuit, or large bounds thereof.  
Touching the true boundary or limits of this Weald, there have been diverse opinions, and most of them various and much differing both in place and quantity; but that which is the nearest and best allied unto truth, both according to the opinions of Assertus Menevensis, Henry of Huntingdon, and others of most credible report, is; that it extendeth from the Town of Winchelsey in Sussex, an hundred and twenty miles in length towards the West; and thirty miles in breadth towards the North. Now, although this report be most agreeable unto verity, yet who knows not, that curiosity may raise up many objections to withstand it; and therefore Master Lambert in his Perambulation of Kent, hath prescribed the best and most infallible way to find out the true and certain bounds of this Weald, to be only by jewry, or the verdict of twelve men impanelled, for that purpose; either in case of controversy, or other particular search; & this hath been in these later times brought forth most plentifully; for it hath been found by diverse late Verdicts, upon especial and most necessary occasions, that the Weald of Kent is truly Master lambert's second step in his Perambulation of Kent, reaching from Winchelsey in Sussex, and that Hill there, unto the top of Rivers-hill in Kent; and neither farther towards London, nor shorter towards Tunbridge; which agreeth so perfectly with the former limitations, that both may be received as most true and sufficient.  
This Weald was for many years held to be a wild Desert, or most unfruitful Wilderness (as write the Authors before mentioned) and indeed such is the nature and disposition of the Soil thereof to this very day: for it will grow to Frith or wood, if it be not continually manured and laboured with the Plough, and kept under by Tillage, so as it may truly be said of it, Incultae parantur vomere Siluae. It is throughout (except in very few places adjoining to Brooks or Rivers) of a very barren nature, and unapt either for Pasturage or Tillage, until that it be holpen by some manner of comfort, as Dung, Marle, Fresh earth, Fodder, Ashes, or such other refresh; and that seemeth to have been the cause for which in old time it was used as a Wilderness, & kept for the most part with Herds of Dear, and Droves of Hogs, as is specified in diverse historical Relations.  
And as there be yet remaining in Sussex diverse great Forests, and sundry Commons or Wastes, having five or six miles in length, which for the most part are not fit to be manured for Corn, and yield but little profit in pasture; so have there been also in Kent (within our memory) a great number of woody and overgrown grounds, converted of late to Pasture and Tillage, even after such a manner as in the said Perambulation is testified, where it is said, that although the Weald of Kent belonged to sundry known owners long since, yet was it not then allotted into particular Tenancies, as the other parts of the Shire were, but it was, in process of time, by little and little gained, as men were contented to inhabit there, and to rid it of the wood; And hereof it is also, that besides sundry whole Parishes which be named Dens or Low places, as Tenderden, Marden, Beneden, and sundry others, there be moreover many smaller portions, almost in every part of the Weald of Kent; which he likewise called Dens; as the Den of Cranbrooke in Cranebrooke; the Den of Hawkehurst in Hawkehurst, and such others; the which (as it seemeth) were at the first undertaken to be manured by sundry particular persons, whose names were then taken from those very Dens, and continued many years together, as by ancient evidences it doth yet appear, howsoever the age of long time hath now almost worn and consumed them all out of knowledge. Neither doth the Weald of Kent contain so many great Manors or Courts (for the proportion of the largeness) as the rest of the Shire doth, but was appertaining, for a great part thereof, to sundry of those Manors which do lie at large dispersed thorough the Shire; whereof each one had a great portion in the Weald, which both in the book of Doomsday, and in sundry the Court Rolls, and Rentals, passeth by the name of Weald, and Silua Porcorum, or Swine gatts, which were granted to diverse of the Farmers and owners of sundry Tenancies, which did belong unto those Dens, and other Lands within the Weald.  
And albeit these Dens be for the most part good large portions of Land, that be now broken into many several possessions, so as the same one Den sufficeth 20. householders at this day, yet it is very likely that each man at the first had his several Den wholly and unbroken, whereof he and his posterity beareth name, until that the same was by the custom of Gavilkinde, by sale or by exchange divided and distributed amongst others into parts, as we do now see them. But howsoever this Weald be of itself unfruitful (as I said) and of a barren nature, yet so it hath pleased the providence of the Almighty to temper the same, that by the benefit of Margle or Marle (as it is commonly called) it may be made not only equal in fertility with the other grounds of the Shire, as well for Corn as Grass, but also superior to the more and greater part of the same. 
●he use of ●arle is an●●ent.  The which manner of bettering the ground is not now newly discovered, but was the ancient practice of our Forefathers many a year ago, as by the innumerable Marl-pits digged and spent so many years past, that trees of 200. or 300. years old, do now grow upon them, it may most evidently appear, besides the which we have mention of Marle in books of gainage or husbandry, that were written in the days of King Edward the 2. or before, 
●●rling was 〈◊〉 continued, 〈◊〉 is now ●●●iued.  howbeit the same manner of tillage, by means of the civil wars, maintained many years as well in the time of the Baron's wars, as of the wars between the house of York and the Family of Lancaster, was so given over, and gone out of use, until these 30. or 40. years, that it may be said to have been then newly borne and revived, rather than restored, because the very true art of enriching the ground by Marle, seemeth to lie hidden in part, as yet not to be discovered to the full: for in this short time we have seen many arable grounds, which for sundry years after the marling of them, have plentifully borne Wheat and other Grain, to be now become unfruitful, and so will they continue, albeit they should be now marled again. And this cometh to pass by the ignorance of the right manner of ordering the Marl, which is as strong and cheerful as ever it was before, howsoever it worketh not his natural effect, through the unskilfulness of the Husbandman, that both wasteth the Marl, and loseth withal his time, his labour, his cost, and the profit of his ground. I cannot deny but a man shall see some grounds, of nature fit to take Marle, and of situation so near to Marl-pits long time opened, that they might be marled plentifully with little charge, and have been heretofore marled indeed, and yet the sameto lie now unploughed, and not only barren of themselves, but also unapt for Marl, and uncapable of amendment by Tillage: but, I must say withal, that albeit the men in those former Ages had the right ordering of Marle, yet were they not all good Husbands alike, neither doth the Field joy alike under the Farmer, and under the very Owner of the same, the one seeking the very uttermost gain that may be made during his short interest, and the other endeavouring to perpetuate his commodity, even to the end of his estate, which hath no end at all, so that through unskilfulness of the one, and greediness in others, the ground may sooner be crammed to death with Marle, than it shall be made the better or fatter by it. The reason whereof I will reserve, until that I shall have cause to teach in particular, after what manner and measure the ground is to be marled. In the meanwhile, I will open the nature and conditions of this wealdish ground, comparing it with the Soil of the Shire at large, and afterward declare unto you what the Marl is, and what sorts thereof there be usually found in the Weald of Kent; and lastly, enter into the true and profitable use thereof, as well in each sort of arable Land, as also for the increase of Corn and Pasture thorough the Kingdom.  
The arable ground of this Weald hath commonly a fleet and shallow Mould to be turned up by the Plough, so as in many places the dead Earth or Mould is within three inches of the face of the ground, and in the best places, the good Mould exceedeth not six inches in depth at the most, and therefore it wanteth convenient substance to nourish Corn any long time, but will faint and give over, after a Crop or two; for the which reason also, it cannot yield any sweet or deep Grass. Besides this, the Weald hath many copped or hillish grounds, out of which there do many Quits or Springs of water issue, that make it cold and barren; and from these Hillocks, the best part of the good Mould is washed down into the Watercourses and Dikes that be made to divide and drain the Land. Furthermore, the Weald is divided into many small enclosures, the biggest sort (for the most part) of which, are between sixteen Acres and twelve in quantity, and thereby hath it many Hedges and Trees, which in unseasonable weather do keep both the Sun and Wind from the Corn, so as for want of that succour and comfort, it groweth, and many times rotteth in the Earth, so that it earneth not, nor eareth, nor prospereth not kindly many times. And these small Closes are caused by this, that men are not able to marl any great part or quantity of ground at once; and having marled a little, they are desirous to sow it with Corn: for the preservation whereof, as also for draining it, they are enforced to make so many and small severals: for all which reasons it is plain, that there is little good arable Land there, and rarely any good Pasture, those only places excepted, which are amended by irrigations of floods, which there is called flowing and overflowing. chose, the arable Land of the Shire at large, hath a deep and fat Mould of good Earth, that is able to bear five or six good Crops together without intermission; and, after three or four years' rest, will do the like again, and may so interchangeably keep that course for ever: yea, there be many grounds that are sowed without ceasing, because the Mould is so deep, that when the upper part thereof beginneth to faint and be weary, men can add some strength of cattle, and with the Plough go deeper, and fetch up a fresh Mould that will continue for a long season. Furthermore, this arable ground is a hollow dry ground, for the most part, on a deep Clay, that by tillage, and the weather, will become dry and spongy, so as the Rain there washeth in the fat of the Earth, the rather, because it is not so hillish and sliding as the Weald, but more level, even, and champion also, by which the Sun and Wind do dry the Corn, and do make it both carne or ear well, and yield a purer flower then that which is sobbed in wet, and hath long time lain before it be dried again. But forasmuch as the great odds between these two sorts of grounds, may be made even by the help of Marle, if it be rightly ordered, as I said, I will now show you what it is, and how many sorts thereof be found in this Weald of our Country. Marle is indeed, as it is in name, the fat or (marrow) of the earth: for so did the Germans, and so did our elders the Saxons, term it, of the word Marize, which we found Marrow, and thereof we call it Marling, when we bestow that fat earth upon our lean ground. Pliny saith, That the Brittanes (meaning us) did use to amend their Land with a certain invention which they called Marga, that is, the fat of the earth, and it is to be seen in Conradus Hereshachius, that the Germans do use it to the same end, and do call it by the same name till this very day: it is therefore a fat, oily and unctuous ground, lying in the belly of the earth, which is of warm and moist temperature, and so most fertile, seeing that heat and moisture be the father and mother of generation and growth; howbeit this is not a pure & simple marrow, (as that is which lieth in our bones) but a juice, or fat liquor mingled with the Earth, as is the fat which lieth mixed, and dispersed in our flesh, so as the one may be drawn away, and the other remain, as it shall anon appear unto you.  

〈◊〉 sorts 〈◊〉 Marle.  Four sorts of Marle be found in this Weald, known asunder by the difference of colours, and thereby also differing in degrees of goodness one from the other: for there is a Grey, 
1, 2, 3, 4.  a Blue, a Yellow, and a Red Marle, all which be profitable, if they be earthy and fat, or slippery as Soap: and most times little worth, if they be mixed with Sand, Gravel, or Stone. So the Blue is reputed the best, the Yellow the next, the Grey the next, and the Red less durable than the other three; and yet it is thought the Red to be the better, if it be found upon the Blue or others. These Marles do lie in veins or floors, amongst those Hillocks or copped grounds most commonly, whereof I have spoken, and do oftentimes show themselves at the foot of the Hill, or about the midway between the foot and the top thereof: some of them have over them a cover of ground, which we call Cope, not exceeding 7. or eight foot in depth; some lie deeper, and other some do arise, as namely, where the ground lieth not high, and that Marle commonly is very good; and there is in diverse level grounds good Marle.  
And as Marle is for the most part of these four colours, so is arable ground for the most part of these four sorts following; 
Four sort● grounds.  that is to say, either a cold, stiff and wet clay, 
1.  which is either the Cope of the Marl, or lieth near unto it, and is therefore commonly called, The Marl Cope ground, or a Haisell mould, which I count to be one of the best Wealdish Moulds, 
2.  being a compound Mould, and very good for Marle, and will quit the cost very well. 
3, 4.  Then are there two sorts of sandy Mould, the one being a reasonable good kind, but not equal to the Haisell Mould; for you shall have in diverse places of the Weald, this Haisell Mould to bear two or three good crops of Wheat being Summer-fallowed, together, which you shall hardly have of any sandy ground, without mending: but as I said of the better sort of these two kinds of sandy Moulds, you have commonly very rich Wheat, being well marled, which is not so barren as the other; but this last kind of sandy Mould, is a very barren kind of ground, and hath a very fleet Mould, and you shall have very Heath grow upon it in diverse places; and yet being ordered as followeth with Marle, will bear both good Corn and Pasture. And now that we may the better understand how to marl and manure every of these sorts by itself, you must know that the Haisell ground being dry, and not subject to Winter-springs, or tears of water (for, which some call such, A whining or weeping ground) is to be handled thus.  
First, 
The order of the Ha● mould.  plough it as deep as you can, with the strength of eight beasts at the least; and be not afraid to plough up some part of the dead earth that lieth under the upper good Mould, for the Sun, the Rain, the Wind, and the Frost, will in time mellow and amend it; and besides that, the Mould: will be the deeper for a long time after, and thereby keep itself the longer from being stiffened with the Marl. Then may you bestow 500 Courtloads (as we call them) of Marl upon each Acre thereof, every load containing 10. or 12. Bushels of eight Gallons, and each Acre containing 160. Rods of 16. foot and a half to the Rod. Then also you may choose whether, at the first breaking up, you will sow it with Oats, to kill the grass, or else first marl it, and sow it with Wheat, or otherwise Summer-fallow it, in the May after the Oats, and then Marle it, and sow it with Wheat. Upon that fallow or Gratten (as we call it,) you shall do well to sow it with Pease, and at Michaelmas following, to sow that Pease-stubble or Gratten with Wheat again, which also will be the better, if the Summer wherein it carried Pease, were moist, because the Pease being rich and thick, do destroy the Grass, that together with the washing of the fallows by rain, doth greatly consume the heart and virtue; or, as we call it, the state of the ground. But if that Summer were dry, then is a fallow best, because the Sun with his heat doth much good to the ground, and enableth it the better to bear out the weather in the Wheat season ensuing. If you like to sow it, as I said, with Pease, sow them as early and timely as you may, for they will be so much the sooner haruested, and then also you may plough or stir your Gratten the sooner, whereby it will be the better hardened to bear out the weather in the time of sowing of your Wheat: but I doubt, Pease doth somewhat stiffen it. Two bushels of Wheat do suffice for the sowing of an Acre hereof, except it be for the first Crop, after the new breaking up of the ground; during which time, there is found a Worm, called an Emble, which in French signifieth Corn in the ground, being of colour yellow, and of an inch in length, that will eat some part of the Corn; but if you sow it thick, it will be both small-eared and thick, and slender of straw, which the Rain and Wind will beat and hurlee down, and then it will scarcely rise again; or if it do, yet through the nearness of the shadow of the Trees and Hedges, that in so small Closes be many, it will rather rot for want of drying, then come to maturity, that is, to perfect hard, and full grown Corne. After your first marling, you must carefully foresee, that you plough not this ground either with deep or broad Furrows, but fleet and narrow, lest you cast your Marl into the dead mould; for Marle differeth much from Dongue in this behalf; Dongue spendeth itself upward, and howsoever deep it lie, the virtue thereof will ascend: but Marle (as saith Sir Walter Henly, 
Note.  in his Husbandry) sendeth his virtue downward, and must therefore be kept aloft, and may not be buried in any wise. Furthermore, if your ground be hillish or copied, it shall be fit that you make your Ridges 7. or 8. foot broad at the least; for in such falling lands, the more broad Furrows you make, as you must make many, where you make small Ridges, the more of your Marl shall be washed and carried into the bottoms. It is good also to draw a cross or quarter Furrow, and opening the ends of all your land Furrows into it, to leave the other ends of your Furrows stopped, that the water-shoot run not all the length of the field. Again, this ground would always be sown under furrow, and that also before Michaelmas, if the season will so permit: for this ground (if it be well husbanded) will be mellow and hollow, or lose, whereby through Rain and Frost, it would sink down from the root of the Wheat; if it should be sown above Furrow, the which being uncovered, must needs be bitten and killed with the cold. It is also very fit that you harrow not this sort of ground too small, but that you leave the clods as big as a Bowl, the which being mouldered with the frost, will both cover and keep warm what is underneath it. Moreover, it shall be good, that upon some fair and dry day, in the beginning of March, you put your flock of Sheep into your Wheat, that with their trampling upon it, the Corn may be well and fast closed with the earth; yea, & presently after (if it will bear foot) you may roll it as you do Barley, whereby both the Clods shall be broken, and the Gratten or stubble shall be more even and ready for the Mower. Generally you must understand, that after you have bestowed your Marl in the field, you ought to let it lie unspred abroad, until you be ready to plough, and then immediately after the spreading of it, turn it into the ground with the Plough; for otherwise, if it should lie long spread in the field, the Sun will spend no small part of the fatness thereof, although I know many desire it, because it will be the smaller being burned with the Sun, which I like not. And therefore also no good Husband will carry and spend his dongue in the time of Summer, except he do presently withal plough it into the ground; for although the Mould of the arable Land itself will take good, if it be turned to the Sun, which will both dry and fasten it, yet the matter fareth far otherwise with the Marl, from which if the Sun shall draw and suck the fat moisture that maketh the Land fertile, then becometh it (as Columella speaketh) of the worst sort of ground, Solum siccum, pariter & densum & macrum, quod sive exerceatur, sive cessat, colono refugiendum est. It becometh (saith he) a dry, thick, and lean Clod, which whether it be tilled or laid to rest, must be forsaken of the Husbandman, as unprofitable. And now your Haisell mould being thus marled, ploughed, sown, and manured, you may not charge with Wheat above twice, and then must it rest 5. or 6. years together; all which time it will bear a very good and sweet Pasture, well set with a white Clover, or threeleaved grass, most battening and profitable, both for Sheep and Bullocks. After those years ended, it will grow to some Moss, or will peradventure cast up Broome, and then it is time to break it up, and sow and handle it as before, for two other Wheat seasons or Crops, leaving it a Wheat-Gratten or stubble, rather than with an Oat-Gratten or stubble, which burneth the Land being marled. Being thus interchangeably sowed and rested, your Haisell Mould will continue good arable and Pasture, by the space of 30. years together, whereas if it should be continually sowed, 6.7. or more years together without rest, it will become utterly unfruitful, both for Corn and Cattell also. Neither will it any thing avail to marl it over again when it is so decayed, because the former Marle having his juice exhausted by continual Tillage, whereof the Corn sucketh one part, and the Sun, Wind and Weather drieth and wasteth the rest, is but a dead Clod (as I said) that is not capable of new Marl to amend it, nor casteth any profitable grass at all; for proof hereof, I myself, seeing that the common earth of Highways, were by treading of cattle, washing of Rain, and the drying of the Sun and weather, it lay separated from that natural juice which it hath in the pit, and spreading it upon the grounnd, I saw that the land was not only not amended, but much the worse by it. And now for an end of handling this sort of Haisell ground; if it shall appear unto you, that 500 loads of Marl upon the Acre, have clanged, stiffened, and too fast bound your land (as indeed the nature of Marle is to bind and to stiffen) then take you some of these ways to help it: either rest 4. or 5. years, or fodder upon it before you break it up with so many cattle as you may; or take the uppermost part of your Ditches or Forelands', or waste places of your fields, which you may mingle with Dongue, and which, before you sow your Wheat, you may lay upon your fallow, and stir it in with your Plough, and by this you shall both loosen your Marl, and refresh your ground, so that within 40. years the Mould of your ground will clean eat up and swallow the Marl that you lay upon it; and then become hungry, and as capable of Marl again as it was before at the first. And by this also, you may see the very cause for which it is good not to sow your marled Land continually, but to pasture it by turns and so give it rest; namely, because the continual ploughing doth exhausted and spend the fat of the Marl, leaving the drossy, dry, and fruitless parts thereof, to lie and cover the face of your ground; whereas Pasturage, through the donguing, treading, & foddering of cattle, doth increase a new Mould, which mingling itself with the dead Mould, doth in the end give some life and heart unto it. And therefore these Farmours and owners that have been at the cost to marl their ground, and will not forbear to till it, but hasting to raise their charge, do thereby utterly strike it with barrenness, are like to Aesop's man, who having a Hen that laid him every day a golden Egg, and being greedy to have all the gold at once, did therefore kill the Hen, thinking to have found her belly full of gold, and so was both defrauded of that he looked for, and lost also what he had before. Hitherto of the nature, ordering and marling of this Haisell ground. Generally now for the continual fallowing and stirring thereof, you must understand, it may neither be fallowed wet, lest it answer more Grass than Corn; nor yet so dry, that the dead bottom swell up, as in great drought it will, and swallow the good Mould that lieth above, and therefore bind not yourself to any precise time of any month, but the opportunity either in May or june, as you shall find the weather to have prepared it for your desire. In the like temper you ought to stir it after a shower, after Saint james his day, or in the end of july; for so will it be dry and hard before the time of sowing, whereas if it be stirred later, every small Rain will distemper it into Dirt or Mire, by reason of the tenderness thereof, and then can you not fitly bestow your Seed upon it.  
The Marl Cope ground followeth, which is most commonly (as I said) a stiff, 
The ord●● of the Ma●●● Cope gro●●●  wet, cold Clay, and not so fit as the former to be marled for Corn, except in some few fleet places thereof, but yet it may serve for Pasture or for Oats; such of them as be marled, must be fallowed fleet or shallow, lest the Marl become drowned in the wet: then being marled, they may in dry Summers (and not over-moist Countries) bear Wheat in some mediocrity. Three hundred loads at the most of Marle are sufficient for an Acre of this kind, and two bushels and a half of Wheat will sow the same, which must be cast above Furrow fourteen or twenty days before Michaelmas. It requireth round, high and narrow Ridges, and that the water-Furrowes be stricken somewhat deep, the better to convey moisture from the Corn, and that it be left cloddy as much as may be: and yet to say the truth, such as will convert this sort of ground to tillage, must provide a greater quantity of rich ground or Greet (as we term it) and of fat Dongue, then of Marle itself, to amend this Land withal. But if there be any ground that is light and whining, or weeping, because of Springs that are therein, 
 and therewith doth cast up Rushes, let that be marled upon the green land with four hundred or five hundred loads upon the Acre, about the latter end of Summer; for so will the Marl sink into it, and cast up a sweet grass for eight or ten years together, and until that the Marl be sunk so low, that another sword or crust of earth be grown over it, and then is it fit time to plough it, but yet very fleet and narrow, for so will it bear good Oats; but if it be so wet that you cannot adventure to sow your Wheat upon it, because the Rushes be not killed with this first ploughing, then may you sow it again with Oats, drawing good water-furrowes to drain it, because it will be the wetter for ploughing, and thereby the Marl also will the sooner lose his force; thus doing, let it lie to Pasture again.  
There be some other grounds of the Marl Cope, which carry a sour Grass, 
weed.  and the Dyers Weed (commonly called Greening weed) and having a great tore thereof, the which also may be amended by three hundred or four hundred load of Marle upon the Acre of the green Land: for the Marl will both rot the tore or vesture thereof, and also enrich the Mould very much; so as it will answer good Pasture twelve years after: and when you shall perceive that the Marl is well sunk, then may it be ploughed fleet and narrow, sowed with Oats, and fallowed; so may it both bear good Wheat, if it find a good season, and be the richer a long time after, partly by the benefit of the Marl, partly by the rotting of the tore, and sword, and partly by the dongue and water of the cattle that pasture upon it: for the sweeter the Pasture is, the more Beasts it feedeth, and the more beasts it beareth, the more itself is amended by it.  
Touching the fallowing of this ground, great heed is required: for as it swelleth more than the Haisell ground, if it be taken hard and dry, so is it more grassy than that, or the sandy Soil, if you fallow it wet: The season therefore followeth commonly in April, or in the beginning of May, for to fallow it, and to stir it about Midsummer, or so soon after as the Rain shall have prepared it meet for your un-shod Oxen to labour upon it. Many men fearing to hit the right season for this ground in the Spring of the year, do make it ready by a Winter fallow before Christmas, and by stirring it before Midsummer, if they may; which manner is not to be misliked.  
Lastly, cometh the two sorts of sandy ground, 
The order of the san●● Moulds.  and gravely Mould; the one being to be ordered much after the Haisell Mould, saving he would have somewhat more Marl, and also would be favoured more in the often tillage, than it: for the Haisell Mould will bear or endure more tillage than the Sand. But this last sort of sandy ground, being a very staring Sand (as we use to call it) for much of it will bear Heath, being of itself very barren, and very fleet or shallow Mould, and overhot and dry, and, by reason of that extremity, is unfertill, except it be marled very plentifully. And therefore when you break up this ground, plough it as deep as you may, not fearing to cast down the best Mould thereof, because the Marl will pierce thorough, and sink down into it. An Acre of this ground requireth five hundred or six hundred loads of your Marl at the least. Sow always under-furrow about Michaelmas, with two Bushels and a half upon the Acre, which it will better carry then the Haisell ground: for although the Straw be small, yet will it be harder, and stand better than that of the other. The worm whereof I spoke, will be busy with that, that groweth on this sort of ground, until that the heat thereof be somewhat assuaged by the Marl. If your ground be hilly, make your Water-furrowes in such sort, as I have said before, for the saving both of your Marl & Mould; harrow it very little, leave it as cloddy as you may. After that you have taken a Crop from it; fallow that Wheat Gratten or Stubble in May; after that, stir it also, and then, about Michaelmas, sow it with Wheat again: for it is not yet rich enough to bear you good Pease. This done, let it rest four or five years, and if it send up any plenty of Broome, cut or pull them when they be of some mean bigness, but plough not the ground, until it have taken such rest, and after it, you may well break it up of new, and sow it with Oats: which Oat Gratten or Stubble, you must Summer-fallow, when it is at the Harvest; and than if you desire to have it in good heart, you must marl it with three hundred or four hundred loads upon the Acre again. After this Crop thus taken, rest it five or six years, and then take one Crop more of Oats from it, and, after a Summer-fallow, sow it with Wheat, and suffer it to lie a Wheat Gratten or Stubble, till it shall have rested as before, is apppointed for the Haisell ground, and so will it be the better thirty or forty years after the marling. We have in this Weald a sandy and gravely ground that is wet and weeping, the which is scarcely worth the marling, except the nearness of the Marl: and thereby the small cost and charge thereof, may entice a man to bestow the cost upon it with Marle, and then the best way is to marl upon the green Land, or upon a fallow, with five hundred loads or more upon the Acre, or rather to take the profit thereof by Pasture then by Tillage: for it will hardly bear good Corn, which is soon killed with the wet vapour that is continually sent up from the wet Springs that lie under it. This sort of ground is to be fallowed, when it is both hard and dry, because it swelleth not as doth the Haisell Mould, and may therefore be taken in june, if former fair weather bring it not to a dry season; and it is to be stirred also after a shower, in the like plight as the Haisell mould before. Your marleable grounds being ordered in this wise, severally set down for each kind of them will continually stand fruitful either for Corn or Pasture: and albeit the high prices which Corn hath of late years carried, may allure some men to sow Corn incessantly, and thereby to spend their Marl, and to choke their arable in the end, yet I doubt not but the wiser sort can see that it is much better to maintain their grounds hearty and in good plight for ever, then to raise a short gain, that will bring a long & perpetual loss upon them, the rather also, because that Butter, Cheese, and the flesh of Beef and Mutton, be advanced in price equally, if not beyond Wheat, Rye, Barley, and the other Grains. Howbeit a good Husbandman will make his profit of them both: for if he have one hundred, or one hundred & twenty Acres of this Wealdish arable, he will so marl and manure them, that dividing his Land into five or six equal parts, he may continually plough twenty or five and twenty Acres for Corn, and yet lay to Pasture the rest by turns: so that by the help of his Marl, his Land shall be continually rich and profitable, both in the one and other of them. And as thus I have spoken of the Weald, describing the nature and property thereof: so may every man of discretion and judgement, which shall meet with earth of the same quality and condition (in what part of this Kingdom soever) make application of these Rules before rehearsed, and no doubt but the profit will make both the labour and cost, profitable and pleasant.  

The several ways, according to the opinions of Writers; and the certain ways, according to the experience of Husbandmen, for the destruction of Moles, or Moales, which dig and root up the Earth, and how to reduce and bring the ground to the first goodness, having been spoilt by them.  
IT is needless either to describe the nature and quality of this Vermin, or the injury and hurt which they do to the Husbandman, Gardner, and Planter, since no Country is exempt from their annoyance: but touching the remedies, they are of greater secrecy, and therefore I thought good in this place to insert them.  
The ancient Writers are of diverse opinions touching the manner of destroying this creature, and therefore have left unto us sundry Medicines how to work the same: amongst the which, one writeth, as an approved experiment, that if you take Walnut-shells, and fill them with Brimstone, Chaff, and Perrofin, and then setting them on fire, put them into holes or trenches, thorough which the Mole passeth, and the very smell or stink thereof will poison them; so that if you dig, you shall find them dead in their holes.  
Another affirmeth, That if you take Brimstone, and dank stinking Litter of Horses, and burn it in the holes or haunts of the Moales, it also will impoyson them; so as you shall find they will come out of their Caves, and lie dead upon the green Grass.  
A third affirms, That if you take green Leeks, Garlic, or Onions, and chopping them grossly, thrust it into the holes, and the very fume or savour thereof will so astonish and amaze the Moales, that they will presently forsake the Earth, and falling into a trance, you may take them up with your hands. Now there is not any of these Medicines which can be disallowed: for there is no doubt but that they will work the effects spoken of, if the Mole can be brought to take a full sent thereof: but it is a Vermin curious of scent, and passing quick of hearing, and being in a spacious ground, will prevent these baits; and therefore they are rather to be applied for Gardens or little grounds, where there is but a Mole or two, then in large Fields, where there be many hundreds.  
To conclude, for this matter of Medicines, or for the helping of Gardens, Hopyards, or any small spot of ground, there is not any thing held more available, then to sow in that place the Herb called Palma Christi: for it is found by certain experience, that wheresoever that Herb groweth naturally of itself, or otherwise is either purposely sown or planted, there in no wise will any Mole abide.  
Thus much I thought good to show you for the use of Medicine, and for clearing of small grounds: now for the annoyances which happen to great, large, and spacious Fields, through the multitude of Moales; there are only three absolute ways for the curing of the same.  
The first is, in the months of March and April, to view where they cast, and go about to make an extraordinary great Hill, in which they build them Nests, which is known by the newness of the Mould; then look for the new trench which leadeth to the same; for as she goeth she returneth: then with your Moale-spade open the trench in diverse places, and then very still and silently, and observing to take the wind, to prevent both hearing and smelling, watch the Mole as she goeth or returneth, which is, Morning, Noon, and Evening, and as soon as you see her cast, strike her with your Moale-speare, made of many sharp pikes, and so cast her up, and kill her. Thus have I seen, by one man, an hundred destroyed in one day.  
The next infallible way for the destruction of Moales is: If you can by any possible means bring in water to overflow and wash your ground, and as soon as the earth is wet over, the Moales will come forth of themselves, and you may gather them up with your hands at pleasure.  
The last (indeed as much approved as any) is to take a live Mole in the month of March, which is their bucking or engendering time, and put it into a deep brass Basin, or other deep smooth Vessel, out of which the Mole cannot creep, and then at evening bury it in the earth up to the brim, and so leave it, and the imprisoned Mole will presently begin to shrike, or complain or call, so that all the Moales in the ground will come to it, and tumbling into the Vessel, they are prisoners also, and the more prisoners, the greater will be the noise; and the more noise, the more Moales will come to the rescue, so that I have seen 50. or 60. taken in one night, and in one Vessel or brass Kettle.  
Now, having thus learned how to destroy the Moales, it is meet you also know how to prevent the coming in of foreign Moales; because though you keep your ground never so clean, yet if your next neighbour be an ill Husband, his field may soon impoyson yours again: therefore to prevent the coming in of any foreign Mole, make but little Furrows or Trenches about your ground, and scatter in them small round Balls made of hempseed, or hempseed and Palmae Christi beaten together, and you shall not need to fear the coming in of any neighbour-Moales, how many soever there be about you.  
Lastly, for the reducing or bringing the ground to the first perfection again (for howsoever some Husbandmen say, More Moale-hills, more ground; yet 'tis certain, that more Mole hills, less good ground) for never yet was sweet grass seen on a Moale-hill; therefore to bring it to perfection, which I mean, to be Meadow-ground, or ground to be mown, which Moale-hills cannot be: you shall first with a sharp Paring-shovell, pair off the swarth about three fingers deep, for fear of hurting the roots of the grass; and then the swarth taken off, dig away the rest of the Mould, and scatter it as small as you can round about the Hill, then take the green swarth, and cutting it artitifically, lay it close, and fast, and level, where you took away the Mould, as if there had never been Hill there: and thus do to all your Hills, though they be never so innumerable; and after all your ground is leveled, as soon as the first shower falleth, run all your ground over with a pair of backe-harrowes, or an Harrow made of a Thorn bush, and it will break the Mould as small as ashes, which will so comfort and refresh the root of the grass, that it will grow in infinite abundance; and the sourness, which was caused, by reason of the Hills, will come again to a perfect sweetness, and the Meadow will be more fruitful than before by many degrees. And thus much for the destruction of Moales, and reducing of the earth to his first goodness.   
FINIS.