Necessity of foiling. There is one thing yet very necessary for make your Orchard both better, and more lasting: Yea, so necessary, that without it your Orchard cannot last, nor prosper long, which is neglected generally both in precepts and in practice, viz. manuring with Foile: whereby it hapneth that when trees (amongst other euils) through want of fatnesse to feed them, become mossie, and in their growth are euill (or not) thriuing, it is either attributed to some wrong cause, as age (when indeed they are but young) or euill standing (stand they neuer so well) or such like, or else the cause is altogether vnknowne, and so not amended.

Trees great suckers. Can there be deuised any way by nature, or art, sooner or soundlier to seeke out, and take away the heart and strength of earth, then by great trees? Great bodies. Such great bodies cannot be sustained without great store of sap. What liuing body haue you greater then of trees? The great Sea monsters (whereof one came a land at Teesmouth in Yorkeshire, hard by vs, 18. yards in length, and neere as much in compasse) seeme hideous, huge, strange and monstrous, because they be indeed great: but especially because they are seldome seene: But a tree liuing, come to his growth and age, twice that length, and of a bulke neuer so great, besides his other parts, is not admired, because he is so commonly seene. And I doubt not, but if he were well regarded from his kirnell, by succeeding ages, to his full strength, the most of them would double their measure. About fifty yeeres agoe I heard by credible and constant report, That in Brooham Parke in West more-land, neere vnto Penrith, there lay a blowne Oake, whose trunke was so bigge, that two Horse men being the one on the one side, and the other on the other side, they could not one see another: to which if you adde his armes, boughs, and roots, and consider of his bignesse, what would he haue been, if preserued to the vantage. Also I read in the History of the West-Indians, out of Peter Martyr, that sixteene men taking hands one with another, were not able to fathome one of those trees about. Now Nature hauing giuen to such a faculty by large and infinite roots, taws and tangles, to draw immediately his sustenance from our common mother the Earth (which is like in this point to all other mothers that beare) hath also ordained that the tree ouer loden with fruit, and wanting sap to feed all she hath brought forth, will waine all she cannot feed, like a woman bringing forth moe children at once then she hath teats. See you not how trees especially, by kind being great, standing so thicke and close, that they cannot get plenty of sap, pine away all the grasse, weeds, lesser shrubs, and trees, yea and themselues also for want of vigor of sap? So that trees growing large, sucking the soile whereon they stand, continually, and amaine, and the foyzon of the earth that feeds them decaying (for what is there that wastes continually, that shall not haue end?) must either haue supply of sucker, or else leaue thriuing and growing. Some grounds will beare Corne while they be new, and no longer, because their crust is shallow, and not very good, and lying they scind and wash, and become barren. The ordinary Corne soiles continue not fertile, with fallowing and foyling, and the best requires supply, euen for the little body of Corne. How then can we thinke that any ground (how good soeuer) can containe bodies of such greatnesse, and such great feeding, without great plenty of Sap arising from good earth? This is one of the chiefe causes, why so many of our Orchards in England are so euill thriuing when they come to growth, and our fruit so bad. Men are loth to bestow much ground, and desire much fruit, and will neither set their trees in sufficient compasse, nor yet feed them with manure. Therefore of necessity Orchards must be foiled.

Time fit for foyling. The fittest time is, when your trees are growne great, and haue neere hand spread your earth, wanting new earth to sustaine them, which if they doe, they will seeke abroad for better earth, and shun that, which is barren (if they find better) as cattell euill pasturing. For nature hath taught euery creature to desire and seeke his owne good, and to auoid hurt. The best time of the yeere is at the Fall, that the Frost may bite and make it tender, and the Raine wash it to the roots. The Summer time is perillous if ye digge, because the sap fills amaine. Kind of foyle. The best kind of Foile is such as is fat, hot, and tender. Your earth must be but lightly opened, that the dung may goe in, and wash away; and but shallow, lest you hurt the roots: and the spring closely and equally made plaine againe for feare of Suckers. I could wish, that after my trees haue fully possessed the soile of mine Orchard, that euery seuen yeeres at least, the soile were bespread with dung halfe a foot thicke at least. Puddle water out of the dunghill powred on plentifully, will not onely moisten but fatten especially in Iune and Iuly. If it be thicke and fat, and applied euery yeere, your Orchard shall need none other foiling. Your ground may lye so low at the Riuer side, that the floud standing some daies and nights thereon, shall saue you all this labour of foiling.