Doe Onely Breake The Vpper Part Of The Ground To Rayse Vp The Weedes, Grasse, & Old Stubbes Of Corne Stalkes With Their Rootes.

The which after a day or twoes [drying] drying in the Sunne, being scrapte vp into many small heapes, to saue them labour for carrying them away; they burne into ashes.

( And whereas some may thinke that they vse the ashes for to better the grounde; I say that then they woulde eyther disperse the ashes abroade; which wee obserued they doe not, except the heapes bee too great: or els would take speciall care to set their corne where the ashes lie, which also wee finde they are carelesse of.) And this is all the husbanding of their ground that they vse.

Then their setting or sowing is after this maner. First for their corne, beginning in one corner of the plot, with a pecker they make a hole, wherein they put foure graines with that care they touch not one another, (about an inch asunder) and couer them with the moulde againe: and so through out the whole plot, making such holes and vsing them after such maner: but with this regard that they bee made in rakes, euery ranke differing from other halfe a fadome or a yarde, and the holes also in euery ranke, as much. By this meanes there is a yarde spare ground betwene euery hole: where according to discretion here and there, they set as many Beanes and Peaze: in diuers places also among the seedes of 'Macocqwer', 'Melden' and 'Planta Solis'.

The ground being thus set according to the rate by vs experimented, an English Acre conteining fourtie pearches in length, and foure in breadth, doeth there yeeld in croppe or ofcome of corne, beanes, and peaze, at the least two hudred London bushelles: besides the 'Macocqwer, Melden', and 'Planta Solis': When as in England fourtie bushelles of our wheate yeelded out of such an acre is thought to be much.

I thought also good to note this vnto you, if you which shall inhabite and plant there, maie know how specially that countrey corne is there to be preferred before ours: Besides the manifold waies in applying it to victuall, the increase is so much that small labour and paines is needful in respect that must be vsed for ours. For this I can assure you that according to the rate we haue made proofe of, one man may prepare and husbane so much grounde (hauing once borne corne before) with lesse the foure and twentie houres labour, as shall yeelde him victuall in a large proportio for a twelue moeth, if hee haue nothing else, but that which the same groud will yeelde, and of that kinde onelie which I haue before spoken of: the saide groud being also but of fiue and twentie yards square. And if neede require, but that there is ground enough, there might be raised out of one and the selfsame ground two haruestes or ofcomes; for they sowe or set and may at anie time when they thinke good from the middest of March vntill the ende of Iune:

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