Chap. VIII
Of the Vine, and of his ordering.
For as much as the nature, temperature, and clymate, of our soyle is not so truely proper and agréeing with the Vine as that of Fraunce, Italy, Spaine, and such like, and sith wée haue it more for delight, pleasure, and prospect, then for any peculyar profit, I will not vndertake Monsiuer Lybaults painefull labour, in discribing euery curious perfection or defect that belongs thereunto, as if it were the onely iewell and commoditie of our kingdome, but onely write so much as is fitting for our knowledge touching the maintaynance, increase, and preseruation thereof, in our Orchards, Gardens, and other places of recreation.
Of planting or setting the Vine.
First then to speake of the planting or setting of the Vine, your greatest diligence must be to séeke out the best plants, and if that which is most strange, rare, great and pleasant be the best, then is that grape which is called the Muskadine, or Sacke grape, the best, and haue their beginning either from Spaine, the Canary Ilands, or such like places: next to them is the French grape, of which there be many kindes, the best whereof is the grape of Orleance, the next the grape of Gascoynie, the next of Burdeaux, and the worst of Rochell, and not any of these but by industry will prosper in our English gardens: when therefore you chuse your plants, you shall chuse such of the young cyons as springing from the olde woode, you may in the cutting cut at least a ioynt or two of olde woode with the young: for the olde will take soonest, and this olde woode must be at least seauen or eight inches long, and the young cyon almost a yard, and the thicker and closer the ioynts of the young cyon are, so much the better they are: and the fit time for cutting and gathering these sets are in midde-Ianuary, then hauing prepared, digged, and dunged your earth the winter before, you shall at the latter end of Ianuary take two of these sets, or plants, placing them according to this figure:
And lay them in the earth slope-wise, at least a foote déepe, leauing out of the earth, vncouered, not aboue foure or fiue ioynts, at the most, and then couer them with good earth firmely, closely, and strongly, hauing regard to raise those cyons which are without the earth directly vpward, obseruing after they be set, once in a month to wéede them, and kéepe them as cleane as is possible: for nothing is more noysome vnto them then the suffocating of wéeds: also you shall not suffer the mould to grow hard or bind about the rootes, but with a small spade once in a fortnight to loosen and breake the earth, because there rootes are so tender that the least straytning doth strangle and confound them. If the season doe grow dry, you may vse to water them, but not in such sort as you water other plants, which is to sprinckle water round about the earth of the rootes, but you shall with a round Iron made for the purpose somewhat bigger then a mans fingar, make certaine holes into the earth, close vpon the roote of the Vine, and powre therein either water, the dregges of strong-Ale, or the lées of Wine, or if you will you may mixe with the lées of Wine either Goats-milke, or Cowes-milke, and power it into the holes and it will nourish the Vine excéedingly, and not the Vine onely, but all sorts of dainty grafted Plumbes, especially Peaches.
Of proyning the Vine.
Now for proyning the Vine, you shall vnderstand that it is euer to be done after the fall of the leafe, when the sappe is desended downeward, for if you shall proyne, or cut him, either in the spring, or when the sappe is aloft, it will bléede so excéedingly, that with great difficulty you shall saue the body of the trée from dying: and, in proyning of the Vine you shall obserue two things, the first, that you cut away all superfluous cyons and branches, both aboue and below, which either grow disorderly aboue, or fruitlessely below, and in cutting them you shall obserue, neither to cut the olde woode with the young cyon, nor to leaue aboue one head or leader vpon one branch: secondly, you shall in proyning, plash and spread the VINE thinnely against the wall, giuing euery seuerall branch and cyon his place, and passage, and not suffer it to grow loosely, rudely, or like a wilde thorne, out of all decency and proportion: for you must vnderstand that your Grapes doe grow euer vpon the youngest cyons, and if of them you shall preserue too many, questionlesse for want of nourishment they will lose their vertue, and you your profit. Now if your Vine be a very olde Vine, and that his fruit doth decay, either in quantitie or proportion; if then you finde he haue any young cyons which spring from his roote, then when you proyne him you shall cut away all the olde stocke, within lesse then an handfull of the young cyons, and make them the leaders, who will prosper and continue in perfection a long time after, especially if you trimme the rootes with fresh earth, and fresh dunge. Againe, if you be carefull to looke vnto your Vine, you shall perceiue close by euery bunch of grapes certaine small thridde-like cyons, which resemble twound wyars, curling and turning in many rings, these also take from the grapes very much nutriment, so that it shall be a labour very well imployd to cut them away as you perceiue them.
Experiments of the Vine.
Now from the Vine there is gathered sundry experiments, as to haue it tast more pleasant then the true nature of the grape, and to smell in the mouth odoriferously, or as if it were perfumed, which may be done in this sort: Take damaske-Rose-water and boyle therein the powder of Cloaues, Cynamon, thrée graines of Amber, and one of Muske, and when it is come to be somewhat thicke, take a round goudge and make a hole in the maine stocke of the Vine, full as déepe as the hart thereof, and then put therein this medicine, then stopping the hole with Cypresse, or Iuniper, lay gréene-waxe thereupon, and binde a linnen cloath about it, and the next grapes which shall spring from that Vine will tast as if they were preserued or perfumed.
If you will haue grapes without stones, you shall take your plants and plant the small ends downeward and be assured your desire is attained.
The Vine naturally of himselfe doth not bring forth fruit till it haue béene thrée yéeres planted: but if euening and morning for the first month you will bath his roote with Goats-milke or Cowes-milke, it will beare fruit the first yéere of his planting. Lastly, you may if you please graft one Vine vpon another, as the swéet vpon the sower, as the Muskadine grape, or gréeke, vpon the Rochell or Burdeaux, the Spanish, or Iland grape, on the Gascoyne, and the Orleance vpon any at all: and these compositions are the best, and bring forth both the greatest and pleasantest grapes: therefore whensoeuer you will graft one grape vpon another, you shall doe it in the beginning of Ianuary, in this sort: first, after you haue chosen and trimmed your grafts, which in all sorts must be like the grafts of other fruits, then with a sharpe knife, you shall cleaue the head of the Vine, as you doe other stockes and then put in your graft, or cyon, being made as thinne as may be and sée that the barkes and sappes ioyne euen and close together, then clay it, mosse it, and couer it, as hath béene before declared.
The medicining of the Vine.
If your Vine grow too ranke and thicke of leaues, so that the sappe doth wast it selfe in them, and you thereby lose the profit of the fruit, you shall then bare all the rootes of the Vine, and cast away the earth, filling vp the place againe with sand & ashes mingled together: but if the Vine be naturally of it selfe barraine, then with a goudge you shall make a hole halfe way through the maine body of the Vine, and driue into the hole a round pible stone, which although it goe straitly in, yet it may not fill vp the hole, but that the sicke humour of the Vine may passe thorrow thereat: then couer the roote with rich earth, and Oxe dunge mixt together, and once a day for a month water it with olde pisse, or vrine of a man, and it will make the trée fruitfull: if the Vine be troubled with Wormes, Snailes, Ants, Earewigges, or such like, you shall morning and euening sprinckle it ouer with cowes-pisse and vinegar mixt together & it will helpe it: & thus much for ordering the Vine.