WHereas the Kings Ma­jestie, vpon the humble Petiti­on of Charles Mowet, Ed­ward Keeling, and Natha­nael Waterhouse Gent' on the behalfe of themselues, and part­ners, by His Letters Patents vnder the Great Seale of England, bearing date at Westminster the first day of March, in the ninth yeare of his Raigne, of his especiall grace, certaine knowledge, and meere motion, Hath given, and granted for him, his Heires, and Successors, vnto the said Charles Mowet, Edward Keeling, and Na­thanael [Page] Waterhouse, full and free Libertie, Li­cence, Power, and Authoritie, that they, and the Survivor and Survivors of them, their and every of their Executors, Administrators, and Assignes, by themselves, and their Deputies, Servants, Fa­ctors, Workemen or Agents, and none other, should and might at all and every time and times hereafter from time to time, during the Terme of Foureteene Yeares next ensuing the Date of the said Letters Patents, vse, excercise, practise and put in vse, within His Kingdomes of England, Ireland, and Dominion of Wales, at every of their wills, and pleasures, the Misterie, Art, way and meanes, of fertiling and inriching of Areable Grounds, by a mixture in a smale quantitie, of certaine native Materialls with the Seed; farther signifying that His will and pleasure was, and by the said Letters Patents, of His more especiall grace, certain know­ledge, and meere motion, for Him, his Heires and Successors, straitly charging and inhibiting all and every other Person & Persons whatsoever, of what Estate, Degree, or Condition, he or they, or any of them be, that none of them, other then the said Pa­tentees, and the Survivor and Survivors of them, their and every of their Executors and Admini­strators, [Page] Substitutes, Deputies, Workemen, or As­signes, or any of them, doe or should, during the said Terme of Fourteene yeares, use, or practise, directly or indirectly the said Art, way or meanes for fertiling and inriching of Areable Grounds, without the Licence, Consent, and agreement of them the said Patentees, their Executors, Admi­nistrators, or Assignes, or some, or one of them, first had and obtained; And hath by the said Let­ters Patents for Him, his Heires, and Successors, willed and commanded all and singuler Majors, Sheriffes, Iustices of Peace, Bayliffes, Constables, Headboroughes, and other Ministers and Sub­iects of Him, his Heires and Successors, that they and every of them, be from time to time during the terme aforesaid, helping and assisting to the said Patentees, the Survivor and Survivors of them, their and every of their Executors, Administra­tors, Deputies, and Assignes, in all things in and about the accomplishment of His pleasure therein declared, and in the exercise and execution of the same; And that they nor any of them doe at any time hinder, molest, or interrupt the said Paten­tees, or the Survivor or Survivors of them, their or any of their Executors, Administrators, De­puties, [Page] or Assignes, or any of them, in any wife concerning the Premises, as they tender His plea­sure, and would avoid the contrary at their perill, as in and by the said Letters Patents more at large appeareth.

In which Letters Pattents, the particuler naming of the said Materialls, the Preparati­ons of them, the proportions, and manner of mixture, and application of them, aswell to the Seed, as to the Ground, and many other incidents, were wittingly omitted, as reser­ved to the ensuing discourse, purposely in­tended for a full Direction of the Husband­man in the use, exercise, and practise of the said new Invention.

Wherin although the Composition, here­after described consist of ingredients, endow­ed with qualities so specificall, and powerful, in the fruitfulling and inriching of Areable Grounds; and the manner of application ther­of both to the Seed, and Ground, so proper for the endeaymed at; as it might well hope upon the very reading of the same, to gaine beliefe amongst the ingenious and judicious [Page] Husbandmen, without further proofe; yet because many things in discourse, and reason so concluding, as convince most understan­dings, fall out oftentmes to faile in the prac­tise, it desireth no further faith or acceptance from any, then such, as a Demonstrative, ex­perimented successefull truth shall wrest from the most incredulous.

Which experiment that it may bee made without any the least error or mistaking, the Instructions following are set downe in such plainenesse, and so distinctly in the materials, preparation, proportion, applycation, and all other requisite particulers, as none (not too carelesly negligent) can possibly erre.

FIrst then, the Soyle being supposed to bee such, as with the vsuall Husbandries of Dunging, Marleing, Lyming, Foulding, &c. will returne in some good measure in his sea­son a multiplyed Cropp of the Graine therein sowed; you must give unto it the ordinary Tillage, according to the Nature of the Sone, and use of the Countrey.

[Page]Your Seed being Wheat, Rye, Barley, or of what other sort soever, must be well chosen, and cleansed from light Corne, and whatso­else mixture of any Damagefull thing, with an abatement of the fourth part of the Seed, you usually gave in your former courses of Husbandry, and yet you shall (by the bles­sing of God) finde your Corne as thicke and strong, as if you had given the whole propor­tion of Seed.

Vpon every Bushell of Winchester mea­sure, containing eight Gallons, being laid up­on a Table or Course sheete Bedwise, powre (as on a Bed of Wooll) so much of Rape­seede Oyle, as will well moysten the said Seede, stirring and tossing the Corne so oyled to and fro, untill it bee well moistned and made fit to receiue and joyne it selfe with a­ny drie matterialls, which shal be added ther­to, in Flower or powders.

A Bushell of seede will take about a quart of Oyle.

[Page]Then take one Quart of the Flower of Beanes, being first M [...]ulted. One quart of the powder of Rapeseede Cakes after the Oy [...]e is pressed out; One quart of burnt Lyme new from the Kilne, quenched with Vrine, and sifted; or so much of each of them in equall parts, as may well cover and encompasse the said Seede.

The Flower and Powders aforesaid must bee very well stirred and mingled together one with another, which done, strow them upon your Bushell of Oyled Corne, tumbling and tossing them and the graine one with another, or shaking them togeather upon the saide course sheet, untill the Corne have licked upp, and united it selfe with the Flower and Powders, which will soone bee done.

Your Seede thus ordered, and (as it were) clothed with the Flower and Powders a­foresaid, may presently bee sowed, or kept unsowed, Ten, Fifteene, or Twenty dayes, [Page] before it will growe, or take other harme, as hath beene tryed.

In, on after your sowing, if your ground be poore, and you have plenty of the said drie Materialls, you may strowe or throwe upon one Acre of Ground about two Bushels more or lesse of the said Flower and Powders, as you conceive your Ground better or worse.

This mixture aforesaid, imployed as here described with the Seede, and upon the Ground, will really alone performe the in­tention without any further addition, as hath beene often experienced.

But that the Husbandman may bee fully furnished with all such experimented helpes, as tend to this end. And because, for the pre­sent, there may bee in some places want of the said Materialls, or some of them; let him further know, that in lieu of them (though not so powerfull) may be used the materi­alls following.

[Page]As in want of the Oyle, you may use so much of the strongest Woort.

In stead of the Flower of Beanes, so much of the Flower of Barley Mault ground very small; and for your Powder of Rape Oyle Cakes, as much of the powder of Pigeons dung dried and sifted, or of the powder of Sheepes Turdles drie: or so much of your Kilp Ashes, or Berillia, where it may bee had; or so much of Pot Ashes; or where Woad is set for dying of Wooll, so much of Woad past drie and brought into Powder: these in e­quall proportions mingled all or some of them, with all or some of the former first de­scribed Flower and Powders, may be succes­fully used, either in the dressing of the Oyled Seede, or in the strowing the ground sowed therewith, as aforesaid. But the Sheepes Tur­dles must be thus prepared.

Take so much of the said Turdles as you purpose to use, and lay them bedwise in such a thickenesse, as being moistened lightly with Vrine, it may gather a heate, and grow incli­nable [Page] to Putrefaction or Rottennesse; and so let it rest, untill it become somewhat drie. Then with a Rake, or some other fitting in­strument, stirre and tosse your bedd well, and being againe layd Bedwise, moysten it with Vrine as before, and let it so rest untill it grow againe drie: then stirre and tosse it a­gaine, and lay it as before Bedwise, and moi­sten it with Vrine. So continuing from time to time this course of moistning, drying, and stirring the said Bedd, untill the Turdles bee throughly putrifyed and rotten; so as they fall into powder: then let them drie, and take the powder for your use. The elder and more rotten the Turdles bee, the more effectually they worke.

So much of the aforesaid Materialls as bee necessary, are every where to be had, though in some parts further of, and dearer then in other.

That which may seeme most difficult to be got in some places, is the Rape Oyle and Rape Cakes, which yet by the late disper­sing [Page] of that Husbandry into most Shires, is not hard to bee had. But if it be found any where lacking, any wealthy Husbandman may (hiring of a servant from some of the Oyle Workes) Convert some of his Greene­sword to that use, and so furnish himselfe, and neighbours aboundantly, and cheape, and to his owne very great profit; and in the meane time, some other of the former Ingre­dients may be used in stead thereof.

And this may suffice for Direction.

The skilfull Husbandman by what hath beene said, will take occasion as experience shall guide him, to fit and accommodate things, as hee shall finde most behoofefull, though now and then varying from what is formerly prescribed.

There bee sundrie other Materialls which are knowne to be of great force in the fruit­fulling of Areable Grounds; and might bee easily drawne to this imployment, where­unto the former Flowers, Ashes, and Pow­ders bee applyed. But because these are to [Page] be had but in small proportions, and but in fewe places, they are purposely omitted, as not answering the vniversalitie of this In­tention.

There be other moystures to supply that of Rape Oyle, or of the Woort, for moyste­ning the Seede, and other Ashes and Pow­ders for cloathing the Seede, and strowing upon the Ground, which prepared accor­ding to Art, are upon no light prosumpti­ons, conceived as powerfull in fruitfulling and inriching Areable Grounds, as the other formerly named: But because as yet they have not beene so farre, and fully experi­mented, as to be offered as a certaintie, their mention is now forborne; but shall (God willing) upon some further tryalls, be com­municated for the publicke good.

Although by that which hath before been said by way of Direction in this new Course of Manuring, the Husbandman cannot but observe many benefits arising thereby, above those growing by the ordinary Tillages vsed; [Page] yet shall it not be amisse to say something in particular of that also.

In this way, the trouble of Foulding, the labour of carrying great quantities of Dung, Lyme, Marle, &c. and the spreading thereof is spared, and the fetching of some of them divers myles, and at great prices; Whereas the quantities of these Materialls used in this way are so small, as will cost little, and so light as the carriage will be easie, and the ap­plying them to the Seede and ground, askes little more trouble then the very sowing of the Seede it selfe.

The Dunging, Foulding, Marling, Ly­ming, &c. formerly bestowed upon the Ara­ble Grounds, may now be converted to the fruitfulling of the Greenesword.

A fourth part of your Seed is saved, which will neere, if not wholly, countervaile the charge of the Materialls.

The Flowers, Ashes, and Powders encom­passing [Page] the Seed, moistened as aforesaid, de­fendeth it from the devouring of Fowle, Mise, Wormes, &c.

The poorer sort, who want Cattell to breed, and money to buy Soyle, shall in this course, with little or no charge supply that want.

In this husbandrie, you may Sow the same Ground every yeare, and so spare the more to Meadow and Pasture.

Besides the generall good to the Common wealth, it will better all Tythes of Graine, to the benefit of Incumbents, and others to whom the Tythes be due.

A fewe yeares experience will (no doubt) bring to light many other Commodities ari­sing by this invention, not now thought of, but for the present these may serve.

For Conclusion, when you have care­fully and exactly followed the Directions [Page] aforesaid, and (it may be) in some things bet­tered them, take heed you doe not so depend upon these outward meanes, though never so good, as to forget the Cause of Causes.

But looke up unto God, from whom all good, for a blessing upon your Labours; and know that rebelling against him, all things will rebell against you

Whereas if you obey, all the good bles­sings of God shall come upon you, and over­take you.