eir owne natures, doe hardly bring forth any Wheate, yet vpon some
of the best sands and vpon the flintie grauels, I haue seene these two
Wheates grow in good abundance, but being seldome it is not so much to
be respected.
{SN: The choise of seede Rye.}
After your Wheate you shall make choise of your Rie, of which there is
not diuers kindes although it carrie diuers complections, as some
blackish, browne, great, full and long as that which for the most part
growes vpon the red sand, or red clay, which is three parts red sand
mixt with blacke clay, and is the best Rie: the other a pale gray Rie,
short, small, and hungry, as that which growes vpon the white sand, or
white clay and white sand, and is the worst Rie. Now you shall
vnderstand that your sand grounds are your onely naturall grounds for
Rie, as being indeede not principally apt for any other graine,
therefore when you chuse your Rie for seede, you shall chuse that which
is brownest, full, bould, and longest, you shall haue great care that it
be free from weedes or filth, sith your sand grounds, out of their owne
naturall heat, doth put forth such store of naughtie weeds, that except
a man be extraordinarily carefull, both in the choise and dressing of
his Rie, he may easily be deceiued and poyson his ground with those
weedes, which with great difficultie are after rooted out againe. Now
for your seedes to each soyle, it is euer best to sow your best sand-Rie
vpon your best clay ground, and your best clay-Rie vpon your best sand
ground, obseruing euer this generall principle, not onely in Rie, but
euen in Wheat, Barly, Pease and other graine of account, that is, euer
once in three yeeres, to change all your seede, which you shall finde
both to augment your encrease and to returne you double profit.
{SN: The choise of seede-Barly.}
Now for the choise of your seede-Barly, you shall vnderstand, that for
as much as it is a graine of the greatest vse, & most tendernesse,
therefore there is the greatest diligence to be vsed in the election
thereof. Know then that of Barly there be diuers sorts, as namely, that
which wee call our common Barly, being long eares with two rankes of
Corne, narrow, close, and vpright: another called spike or
batteldore-Barly, being a large eare with two rankes of Corne, broad,
flat, and in fashion of a batteldore: and the third called beane-Barly,
or Barly big, being a large foure-square eare, like vnto an eare of
Wheate.
Of these thr
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