hen to speake of the planting or setting of the Vine, your
greatest diligence must be to seeke 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:

{Illustration}

And lay them in the earth slope-wise, at least a foote deepe, 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 weede
them, and keepe them as cleane as is possible: for nothing is more
noysome vnto them then the suffocating of weeds: 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 lees of
Wine, or if you will you may mixe with the lees of