THE ENGLISH IMPROVER IMPROVED or the SVRVEY OF HVSBANDRY SVRVEYED Discovering the Improueableness of all Lands: Some to be under a double and Treble others under a Five or Six Fould. And many un&rehy;der a Tennfould, yea Some under a Twenty&rehy;fould Improuement. By Wa: Blith a lover of Ingenuity.

They shall beate their Swords into Plow-shares And their Speares into Pruning Hookes Isa. 2.4. Pictorial frame with military and agricultural motives

 All clearely demonstrated from Prin&rehy;ciples of Reason, Ingenuity, and late but most Real Experiences; and held forth at an Inconsiderable charge to the Profits accrewing thereby, under Six Peeces of Improvement. By Floting and Watering such Land as lieth capeable thereof. By drayning Fen, Reducing Bog, and Regaining Sea-lands. By such Enclosures as prevents Depopulation, & advanceth all Interests. By Tillage of some Land lost for want of, and Pasturing others destroy&rehy;ed with Plowing. By a Discovery of all Soyles and Composts with their nature and use. By doubling the growth of Wood by a new Plantation. The Third Impression much Augmented. With an Additional Discovery of the severall Tooles, and Instruments in their Formes and Figures promised. With a Second Part; Containing Six Newer Peeces of Improvement. Our English Husbandring Claver grasse, and St. Foyn, as high as may be The facilitating the charge and burthen of the Plough, with divers Fi&rehy;gures thereof. The Planting Welde, Woad, and Madder, three rich commodities for Dyers. The Planting of Hops, Saffron and Liquorish, with their Advance. The Planting of Rape, Cole-seed, Hemp, & Flax, and the profit thereof. The great Advance of Land by divers Orchards and Garden Fruits. The Experimenting whereof makes good the Improvement promised. ― Prov. 21.5. The thoughts of the diligent bring abundance. A diligent man shall stand before Kings. Eccl. 9.10. All therefore that thy hand shall find to do, do it with all thy power; for there is neither wisedome nor knowledge in the grave whither thou goest.― London Printed for John Wright, at the Kings-head in the Old-Bayley. 1653.
To the Right Honorable the Lord Generall Cromwell, and the Right Honorable the Lord President, and the rest of that most Honorable Society of the Councill of STATE. Right Honourable,

&Aic;S a Man, or Christian, out of pure love to Mankind, I chuse rather to cast my self at Your Lordships Feet, and come under Your greatest Censure for this high Pre&rehy;sumption, than to omit so necessary a Duty and Discovery as the substance of this discourse Imports; Therefore dare not conceale the least inconvenience that may befall the Publique, but take bolness to present my thoughts that Your non-apprehending the Prejudices hindring Im&rehy;provement, nor clearely your own Capassities to remove them, and may be want of oportunity to consult about these lesser things (though very great in themselves (the practise whereof throughly promoted, might make the greater more easie) compared with our weighty and present affairs, may in some measure be an accidentall cause that Improvements of our Lands go on no better, al&rehy;though materially the cause is in our own sloth, Preju&rehy;dice and ill Husbandry. And though I dare not present this rude Treatise unto Your Honors, to crave so high Patro&rehy;nage, yet I shall adventure these many most humble Re&rehy;presentations of some Prejudices to Improvements that remain founded by a Law; And of some other Obstacles, as firmly rooted by Corruption, that without your Ho&rehy;nors Power, and Wisdoms help therein, the Improve ments here tendred will be in great measure hindred.

To the removall whereof, if Your Honors shall see cause to give incouragement, either by an Addition of such Lawes as shall appear unto you wanting, or Repealing such as hinder, I shall not question but mens spirits will be raised to such Experimenting of the principles of Inge&rehy;nuity, as that wee may see this Common-wealth soon rai&rehy;sed to her utmost fruitfullness and greatest glory.

The particulars here are too many here to discourse at large; I shall therefore take boldness to present some few with some brief reasons to evince the same; and they are very great discouragements to the Ingenuous and Active Prosecution of the Improvements of the Nation.

The first Prejudice is, That if a Tenant be at never so great paines or cost for the improvement of his Land, he doth thereby but occasion a greater Rack upon himself, or else invests his Land-Lord into his cost and labour gra&rehy;tis, or at best lies at his Land-Lords mercy for requitall; which occasions a neglect of all good Husbandry, to his own, the Land, the Land-Lord, and the Common-wealths suffering. Now this I humbly conceive may be removed, if there were a Law Inacted, by which every Land-Lord should be obliged, either to give him reasonable allow&rehy;ance for his clear Improvement, or else suffer him or his to enjoy it so much longer as till he hath had a proportio&rehy;nable requitall: As in Flanders and else where, in hiring Leases upon Improvement, if the Farmer Improve it to such a Rate above the present value, the Land-Lord gives either so many years purchase for it, or allowes him a part of it, or confirmes more time; of which the Tenant being secured, he would Act Ingenuity with violence as upon his own, and draw forth the Earth to yeeld her utmost fruitfullness, which once being wrought unto perfection, will easily be maintained and kept up at the height of fruitfullness, which will be the Common-wealths great advantage: Some Tenants have Advanced Land from Twenty pounds to Forty pounds per an. and depending upon the Land-Lords favour have been wip'd of all; and many Farmers by this uncertainty have been impoverished and left under great disgrace, which might as well have been advanced.

The second Prejudice is against that great Improve&rehy;ment by floating Lands, which exposeth the Improver to sute of Law for Turning a Watercourse, by Millers or o&rehy;thers, which are minded to molest the Improvement, al&rehy;though the Improvement be ten fold greater than the Prejudice can be, and the Advantage be far more publique than the others pretended loss can be, yet few dare ad&rehy;venture upon the work, for fear of being sued or molested.

Many great Improvements have been, and are to this day hindred and ly dead because the Miller cannot be com&rehy;pounded with at any rate; some I know, whose Improve&rehy;ments might be Ten-fold and more, the Millers Preju&rehy;dice little, if any at all, because your exact husbands so clear all their boggy, low parts, and some time by their large draines break through many springs and issuing wa&rehy;ters, that they carry a better stream unto the Miller than he had before, and his Improvement shall be able to sup&rehy;ply a great part of the Country with Hay and Grass, where was before but little, and may be the Millars mill may be worth five or six pound per an. few worth ten, that usually stand upon these waters, and let him be damnified what e&rehy;ver he can, it is in no proportion to Common wealths loss to such an Improvement.

The third Prejudice is, where all mens Land lie inter&rehy;mixed in Common Fields or Meddowes; The Ingenuous are disabled to the Improving theirs, because others will not, neither sometimes can the Improvement be made u&rehy;pon any, unless upon all joyntly, or else upon an unsup&rehy;portable Charge or Burthen. As also the not cutting straight such watercourses, of such brookes and gutters that are exceeding crooked, which some that would cannot, be&rehy;cause of others interest that will not, abundance of the best land in this Nation is hereby lost, and wonderfull Im&rehy;provements hindered, the waters raised, the lands flou&rehy;ded, sheep rotted, and cattell spoyled, all by this neglect.

The remedies to all the three aforesaid Prejudices, to re&rehy;solve the greatest advantage to the Common-wealth, and then command them either unto a loving Conjunction in the Exchange and Improvement, or else disabling any one to hinder another that is desirous of it, giving such recompence for any dammage he shall make, as shall be ad&rehy;judged reasonable by indifferent men, or competent Judges.

A Fourth is Unlimited Commons, or Commoning without stint, upon any Heath, Moor, Forrest, or other Common; This is a great Prejudice to many poor men, both Cottiers and Land-Holders, who have not of their own to stock their Commons, and so lose all, that have least need, and for whom those Commons were chiefly in&rehy;tended: And also a great hindrance to all; for being with&rehy;out that, every man laies on at random, and as many as they can get, and so Overstock the same, that ordinarily they pine and starve their Goods therein; and once in four or five years you shall observe such a Rot of Sheep, that all that the Oppressor hath gained by eating out his poor Neighbours all the other years, is swept away in one, and so, little advantage redoundeth to any: So that many thousand Acres of Land are as it were useless, which were all men limited according to their Proportion of Land or Dwellings to which the Common is due, the poor that could not stock theirs, might set them, and reap some benefit by them: And were they easily stinted, their Com&rehy;mons might be as good as their own Severals to every man that hath an interest.

A Fifth Prejudice is, A Law wanting to compell all men to kill their Wonts or Moales; the good Husband doth, and the slothfull man neglects it, and thereby raiseth such a Magazine or Nursery, that they cannot be destroy&rehy;ed, but as fast as one destroies them, the other nurseth a fresh supply to fill the Country: the Prejudice is greater than can be reported.

The sixt Prejudice is the not compelling men to plant Wood where they do cut down, then to set again a treble proportion or more to what they do destroy, especially now so much of the gallant Wood of the Nation is expo&rehy;sed to sale: We forget that it is a mighty pillar in the up&rehy;holding this poor Island, and how honorable a custom it is in other Nations, that look what Timber they cut down, they must plant five or ten times as much in stead thereof: And that all men might be compelled to plow their coar&rehy;ser, old mossy, rushy, bankie pasture Lands, being now fittest for it and will be bettered by it, and suffers for want of it, and the Country needs it, and none prejudiced: and for the best land every man left to his own liberty.

A Seventh Prejudice is the want of a through searching of the Bowels of the Earth, a business more fit to be under&rehy;taken by the Honourable Representation of the whole Common-wealth, than by any particular man; Whence are all our Mines of Lead, Tinne, Iron, Coales, and Silver Mines in Wales, were they not once hid, and as uncertain as we are now certain of them? and what should hinder but that in many places else the like may be discovered? as suppose Coal in Northampton, Buckingham, and Oxf. Sh. what a great benefit to those Countries would it be? Nay, if some sorts of Stone could bee but found out in some other parts, what might it arise unto? Nay, say that either Marl, Chalk, or Lime, or some other fat Earth could be found in some other parts where they are wanting, how much would it inrich those parts? And who can say but Sil&rehy;ver may as well be found in other places in Wales or o&rehy;ther parts? I am sure that no man knowes but he that hath searched it, and the hundred thousand part of this Nation hath never yet been tryed.

The Eighth Prejudice may be the many Watermills, which destroy abundance of gallant Land, by pounding up the water to that height, even to the very top of the ground, and above the naturall height, that it lyeth swel&rehy;ling, and soaking, and spewing, that it runneth very much land to a Bogg, or to mire, or else to Flagg and Rush, or Mareblab, which otherwise was as gallant land naturally as could be, I am confident many a thousand a year are thus destroyed, some mills worth above 10 or 12. pound per an. destroy lands worth 20.30. or 40. per an. I know it of my own knowledge, I had some few yeares since a Mill Dam in my land which destroyed one half of a gal&rehy;lant meaddow, meanes was used that it was removed, and that very land is returned to his perfect pureness again.

I prescribe not the utter destruction of all, of some I do, and others to have their water brought to a lower gage, and where they are wanting, Wind-mills erected, as in all the Fen Country are no other, or else incouragement given to some that I am confident are able to discover a com&rehy;pleat way for grinding all sorts of Corn by the strength of horse and man as feasible as malt is. I am able to give some assistance my self to this work, but shall far prefer others thereto, A Gentleman that hath waded so deeply therein as hath discovered publiquely his modell at Lambeth de&rehy;serveth great incouragement.

And the last though not the least is the raign of many abominable Lusts, as Sloth and Idleness, with their Daugh&rehy;ters, Drunkenness, Gaming, Licentious Liberty. Were not the greatest and best, and all men made to be usefull to the body? why continue many men as members cut off from it, as if they were made to consume it, are neither usefull in their bodies, minds, or purses to the common good? how comes City and Country to be filled with Drones and Rogues, our highwaies with hackers, and all places with sloth and wickedness? I say no more but pray some quickning Act to the execution of our Lawes against these worse than heathenish Abhominations.

All which, with many more great annoyances and An&rehy;nusances (though some may think every man will be ready to remove, but we being under such a drowsie Age, that though each particular shall be advantaged as well as the whole body, yet it will not be indeavored as far as I am a&rehy;ble to see into mens minds or practices) are no way possibly removeable, but by Your Honours either compelling them by acting Ingenuity themselves, or else so incouraging o&rehy;thers that are desirous thereof, that None may Prejudice Improvements, by denying any liberty for carrying on the Work, receiving reasonable satisfaction for the Dammage. To which if your Honours please to add but one thing more, to give your best incouragements to all ingenious honest-hearts, some such there are that have more within them than they can express, and many such you need, and the Common-wealth more, whom while you are carefull to countenance, from Hucksters and Impostors, God will either keep you or inable you to discover, but if any one can make A clear discovery of any new Invention for the advance of Lands, Trade or Merchandize, If your Honours please to confirm it to him for a season, to reinburse him&rehy;self a little, it being unconceivable what some Ingenuous men run themselves out herein, I cannot see the least Prejudice to any, but a great incouragement to all, nor can I have the least glance homeward, though plain dealing be a jewell, I finding my poor plain principles will never reach the honour of an intire discovery, if I can either draw any thing to life out of the deep judgements or opinion of the more learned, and have out any thing to a profitable ex&rehy;periment from my own practice, and hereby gain oppor&rehy;tunity to cast it as a Freewill Offering into the Common Wealths Treasury, as the best and all I have to give, is my utmost Emulation. All which humble Proposals, though Unbeseeming me to present, yet a hope will not be thought Unworthy the grave and serious Consideration of Your Honours Wisedome, as being so much conducing to Publique Welfare, in which you are all ingaged; to whom in this your Publique Welfare, in which you are all ingaged; to whom in this your publique relation, I have said so much as I must humbly beg your Honours pardon, and shall say no more because in the succeeding Epistles your particular advantages will be cleared, and in the discourse at large your selves discovered to be as much discovered to be as much concerned and as capeable (in the common-wealths advantage) of as great if not greater Improvement upon all your own particular Estates as any, which I leave before you untill the fittest season for your Lordships Consideration and actings, as may seem to you most conducing to the good of all Concernments. The All-wise God guid you in your great Affaires, and make you gloriously Instrumentall to the prosperity of the Na&rehy;tions; These are and shall be the uncessant and Earnest desires of

Your Honours unworthiest ServantVValter Blith.
The Epistle to the Industrious READER.

&Iic; Shall here through thy good acceptance of my former mean Peece, and earnest Importunity for the shaddowes or Pictures of those severall Tooles I offered, and some other particular additionall waies of Improvement I promised to discover, present them all unto thee if God shall please to assist it to the Compleatment; wherein I shall a little by way of Reparation in some parts underbuild, and some lean to, or less necessary, quite pull down of the old work, and yet not deface it neither, although by my hands it will never be uni&rehy;formable, onely may be wholsome and keep warm in Winter: I shall there&rehy;fore forbear to mention here any of the particulars therein handled, but refer thee to the Book it self; yet shall let them know (besides some illu&rehy;strations upon some of the former passages) I shall clear my promise in all particulars as to the Land Improvement, & give in as clear a discovery of the Tooles as I can in their severall figures. And by way of Addition, or as second part, I shall hold forth how thou maiest make great, and may be greater Improvements than have as yet been usually made in Eng&rehy;land upon thy Lands divers other waies.

As First, in the Mystery of Planting all sorts of fruits, with the speediest raising them to perfection.

Secondly I shall endeavour the facilitating the great weight and burthen of the Plough, and give you the description of some formes most suitable unto ease and speed, and hope thereby to take off a considerable strength and charge from the Husbandmans daily toil.

Thirdly, give in the best experienced way of planting Hemp and Flax, Rape and Cole-seed, Oad, Hops, Saffron, Licorish, and some other of our English wealth.

Fourthly, I shall endeavour to discover by what meanes we may possi&rehy;ble raise the benefit of the Clover grasse, St. Foine La-lucerne to the nearest president to France and Flanders, for worth and quality, as our English climate and best husbandly experience will admit.

And Lastly, shall take boldness, with my good friend M. Samuell Hartlips leave, to paraphrase a little upon most of those deficiencies in husbandry which his friend charges us withall, of which we have more than a good many, and not so few as he speakes of, and reduce so many of them that I have not spoke to already in my first Edition, unto Practicall husbandry that fall under any of my experiences (which though they bee but coarse and mean, yet have been gained hardly, by many toilsome tedious Journeyes, and very great and large expences) and for the fur&rehy;ther light and help to the clear understanding of the Mystery of Im&rehy;provement (for so I call it, and so it will be found when thou commest to the reall practise of it, and may be more mysterious then thy princi&rehy;ples, customes, and experience will reach unto) I would direct thee a little to consider, what hath been written in this kind by former gal&rehy;lant Instruments worthy of perpetuall honour. Mr. Markham did ex&rehy;cellently for his time, so did Mr. Gouge in his Husbandry; Mr. Tuffer rimes out his experiences to good purpose, and in all their bookes thou maist find out many things worth thy observation. Sir Francis Bacons Naturall History is worthy high esteem, it is full of rarities and true Philosophy, Sir Hugh Plats Adams art revived is of good report, I never yet could gain the sight of it, though Mr Gabrell Plats discovery of hidden Treasure is very ingenuous, and could'st thou but fathom his corn-setting Engine, and clear it to thine own and others apprehensions, it would be of excellent use without question: but for the Country Far&rehy;mer Translated out of French, with some two or three other little books, I can find but little Edification or Addition to our own English expe&rehy;riences, what other men can find out of them I know not, but leave to thee to discover, but for the rest they have been a great and clear light to our Horizon: yet among some of them, one is worthy reprehension, which is their large observations of season: signes and planets, forgetting God the maker of them and blesser of all things, as if Seeds, Herbs and Plants were to be sowen in the Moon or Planets, which should they be observed they had need produce a double profit, because not half of any would be sow'd or planted. These times have let in so much light as will discover the vanity hereof. But I must not forget Mr Samuell Hartlips peeces lately put forth as discoveries made to him of great advancements o&rehy;ther Countries have made unto themselves thereby, both which in some particulars are naturall, and suitable, and experimentall in this Nation, and of great advantage, and merit high esteem from all, and in other particulars I know not but why most of them also may be so applied and experimented too, as to raise a good, commendable, and profitable advan&rehy;tage if they fall into the hands of ingenuous husbandry. I have therefore endeavoured to make my thoughts as legible as I can concerning them, as well as all other the aforesaid, though not to so good purpose as I should, yet to provoke the more Ingenuous to correct them to their own advan&rehy;tage, although I shall render my self subject to various opinions, and though doggs bark I pass not, if the Ingenuous Reader will not con&rehy;demn before hearing: my design shall not be to contend against former mi&rehy;stakes, New discoveries will admit some of them; but I shall perswade all men to a thorough triall of what they find most probably advantage&rehy;ous unto them: And what by my self shall be here held forth are most of them experimented to thy hand at my proper cost and charge without the assistance of any other purse or person, & so visible that thy own eyes shall be thy Judges, and the rest shall be so clearly held forth by irrefragable demonstration and evident conviction of the places where, and the persons by whom, as thou needest not scruple; it is time, the world is full of conceits and phantasies, nor can my self challenge immunity there from; yea reason it self hath neer beguiled me till Experience hath conclu&rehy;ded the question: And there is a naughty generation of men that have brought an ill report upon Ingenuity through their pretences of great abilities in Enginreeship, and great experience of raising and drawing water, floating lands, oyling corn, advising strange compositions for Seed and Land, pretending great advantages by Chimistry, yet have or could not bring forth the fruit of their great undertakings, some through want of meanes to accomplish their work, not wisely forecasting at first what it would cost; others indigent in their principles, having seen or done something, therefore thought they could doe all things; and o&rehy;thers through a base spirit of deceit, and may be some for want of Pati&rehy;ence to try the issue: all which have brought a scandall upon Ingenui&rehy;ty. Though I verily beleeve much may be done by many of the aforesaid meanes, and more will be discovered by unthought of waies, many men having so good inventions and very able to advise great things for the Common-wealths advantage, yet may not be able of themselves to bring forth the same to publique experience; such may and do deserve some publique incouragement. A base privacy of Spirit hath so tain&rehy;ted us that few can vouchsafe publique service any publique honour, nor publique Instruments a publique recompence: Yet still look thou out to duty, charge not Ingenuity as an innovation, but act vigorously in thy station; good husbandry is as the sinnews and marrow that holds toge&rehy;ther the joynts of common good; all workmanship without Invention re&rehy;solves it self into the workmans belly; for though a new world hath been of late discovered, yet there is not an occupation or trade of finding them, nor are our English people very active in searching after them; Study Improvements, which though they may not be said to be either Father or Mother to Plenty, yet it is the Midwife that facilitates the birth. See what shiftings people make for livelihood, how many severall callings doe men make, and yet unmake the main: The exercising these projections accompanied with a blessing (if I may so call them without offence) will open a way to the relief of thousands. The Common-wealth is low, and misery and penury will follow if we do not rouze the sluggard, and post after Industry, pursue all advantages of Improvement whatsoe&rehy;ver: It is a great argument to quicken me to the more speedy publication of this third Edition, & the rest of the new additions to it; & though I here hold forth most of my own experiences, & may be said to be a Trumpeter of my own praise, yet if thou wilt but consider, First, that many of these particulars have been wrought as particular Rules or instructions to private friends as my own experiences, & to alter them will make so great an alteration in the whole, as my present occasions wil not suffer. And Se&rehy;condly, because I find so great abuse by some mens high affirmations, pro&rehy;ving but conjectures, as hath brought Ingenuity under the scandal of pro&rehy;jects & new devises, which men will scorn to deem them so when they are made experiments. And thirdly, because the subject, though poor & plain to be discoursed, and great proof made thereof to good perfection, yet when thou commest to the thorough practise thereof, thou shalt find it so ambiguous, as notwithstanding, all my allusions to my own experience will be little enough, and then thou wilt excuse me. And could the Au&rehy;thour have been thus supplied, it is great odds whether this Peece had rendered it self unto the hæzzard of acceptance or disgrace in so rude a manner; I should have added much more, but that the Epistle might have swelled into a volume, and therefore chose rather to divide what I had to have spoke to the particular rankes of men whom it most con&rehy;cernes, and so have distributed to each a portion as I conceived most sui&rehy;table to work their spirits into a flexibleeness of practise and accep&rehy;tance, which if they set unto experimenting, I hope they will raise such fruit thereby, as to witness to, or be Credentialls of my Frontispeece. Although I indeavour so mainly to work my Improvements out of the Belly of the Earth, yet am I neither of the Diggers mind, nor shall I imi&rehy;tate their practice, for though the poor are or ought to have advantage upon the Commons, yet I question whether they as a society gathered together from all parts of the Nation could claim a right to any parti&rehy;cular Common: And for their practice, if there be not thousands of pla&rehy;ces more capable of Improvement than theirs, and that by many easier waies, and to far greater advantages, I will lay down the Bucklers: Nor shal I countenance the Level principles of Parity or Equality, which they seem to urge from the begining, till I see the heads of Families and Tribes, Judges and Governors, Lords and Princes of whole Countries, blotted out of the first or succeeding generation; unless they bring us to the new Jerusalem, or bring it down to us, when we shall not need to trouble our selves about greater or lesser, or any distinction of person, places, or estates, any more, but this Parity is all I endeavour, to make the poor rich, and the rich richer, and all to live of the labour of their own hands. And thus clearly demonstrating what I have pre&rehy;mised, I hold my self disobliged in all my promises, except in this which will be fitter to be presented in a Volume of it self, after some good proof given to the world of thy industry in improving thy lands, viz. Some speciall directions when thy Lands are improved, how to use them or stock them to the best advantage of the Common-wealth and thy profit, and therein shall indeavour these five or six particulars, First to hold forth the best way or meanes of breeding or rearing all sorts of cattle, sheep, beasts, or Horse. Secondly, to shew the way of Cow-keeping, Dayrying, or raising most Cheese and Butter. And thirdly the waies of Grazing and feeding all sorts of Cattell; All which are three staple Advantages of the Nation, and will hold hands with Tillage, Corning, Trade, and Merchandize; and shall add, Fourthly how to raise a great advantage out of Goates and Conneys, for your har&rehy;der stocking Lands, and some two or three more particulars, that thou maiest not be wanting in the usage of thy land as well as in the Im&rehy;provement of it, and it shall strive excedingly to dismystery them all; and in the fift and last place shall proportion all with the most suitable&rehy;ness I can to those severall lands by which they may advance the highest profit and greatest increase, and all as largely and plainly dis&rehy;covered, as I am able. By a wellwisher Of prosperity to each self, which is the Common Wealth,

Whose faithfull servant isWalter Blith.
To the Honorable the Souldiery of these Nations of England, Scotland, & Ireland. Gent. Commanders or Souldiers.

&Iic;T may be thought strange to direct an Epistle of this nature to you, as conceived by most, least capable of being Instrumentall of advancing the common good in this nature; yet knowing strange things are wrought by contraries, and finding the best husbands (through my observance) among those who have been least conversant therein, have not the least hopes of you; yet from a Principle of charity too, lest that your learning your fingers to fight, and discontinuance of your callings, might disuse your bodies and minds so from labour, as to discourage you from your callings, have thought fit to let you know, You also may be very capable to doe good service to your present Gene&rehy;ration in this design: And though many say you are more likely to lengthen out the War to prevent Improvements, I am of better hope, and sure, that the Armies late progresses have manifested the contrary, yet I shall humbly take the boldness to press your speeding as full an end thereto as you are able, both for your own good, and these Reasons. 1 Because of the gooness and welcomness of a Calm after a Storm, no less will be a setled Peace after so great a War, and a little breathing will recover strength and spirits.

2 Because you need not fear want of good Imployment afterward: This piece will open many doores for that, and I am confident Activity and Ingenuity will much inlarge our Quarters, and make this Nation Rehoboth, and with good husbandry indeed would more comfortably maintain hundreds of thousands more than are allready born, and I hope you will learn to hate Idleness wholly, as love Liberty dearly.

3 And lastly, because your selves are interested and possessed of many lands, and those such too as will admit of great Improvement with wise management, and some of them as great as by this discourse is here proposed; and though you may conceive your late lands designed for your pay were highly surveied, and to all advantages to raise them, yet those advantages of Improvement were not to be considered, nor indeed could be discovered by them which understood them not; nor was any of them purchased at any other rate than the present va&rehy;lue to be then set and let to present Tenants; which Lands are as full of vast Improvements as any lands in England: for all which causes I need press no more, but in the honour I bear to a Souldiers name, which God himself hath ho&rehy;noured by stiling himself a Man of War, although I take no pleasure in War, otherwise than in submission to Gods will, and the accomplishment thereof, which is not to be resisted or repined at for the satisfaction of our inclination to ease, peace, or rest; upon this account or any other, I beseech you (so long as necessities command you to it) to preserve alway a good Conscience within; for although hopes of Victory without may carry man through great hardships, yet your peace with God reaches up to heaven, and cannot be scaled with Ladders, nor undermined with batteries, being founded upon a Rock, nor starved with famine, a good Conscience being a continuall Feast. Mr. Fuller in his holy War gives this description of a good souldier, That he that is most couragious in War, is quiet and painfull in Peace, and comfortably betakes himself to his calling: The wiel&rehy;ding of the sword hath not made his Spirit unwieldy for his private Calling. And I having this opportunity to distribute this mean peece into the World, thought good to offer a Portion amongst you the Honourable Souldiery, as for Edificati&rehy;on how you may turn Improvers too, also humbly to desire your assistance in the work so far as in you lieth, to remove some grievances and Impediments of the Common-wealths advantage, largely discovered in the other Epistles, which brevity causes me to omit, and so no more but humbly pray you study how to serve your present generation in extolling Gods glory, endeavouring the com&rehy;mon-good, and in the interim abandon privacy of spirit. Remember Christs Coun&rehy;sell, view the promised Land, and rejoyce to think of that day when your swords shall be turned into Ploughshares, your speares into pruning hooks, and Christ only be exalted in the Earth, and you brought back again to sit under your own vines and figtrees, eating the of fruit your own labours, and enjoy one another in Peace; which once accomplished, here is cut out work for you, some to till the Land, and others to feed the Cattell, as from the beginning, so will this be the lasting Improvement. Then will the God of Peace keep them in perfect Peace, whose minds are stayed on him, And Emanuell will break in pieces all that gather against him, which is the Confidence and full Expectance of

Your quondam brother, fellow Souldier, and very ServantWalter Blith.
To the Book &Gic;O tell the World of Wealth that's got with ease, Of certain profit (gain most men doth please) Of Lands Improvement to a treble worth, A Five, a tenfold Plenty's here held forth; The greedy Land-Lord may himself suffise, The toyling tenant to estate may rise, The poor may be enricht, England supplyid For twice so many people to provide; Though this a Paradox may seem to you, Experience and Reason proves it true; By floating dry, and purging Boggy Land, The Plough old Pasture betters to your hand; Directions to Inclose, to all mens gain, Minerals found out, Land rich'd with little pain; Woods ordred so, in few years yeeld such store, So large, so good as you'l desire no more. In fine, all Land in each Capacity, In which it lies, made Pleasant to your eye.

P.W.
To the Author. &Tic;He way is new my friend thou seem'st to go; We should incourage Art; But thou must know Thoul't meet With Criticks, and backbiting foes; Bad men the best of Works will still oppose: If but what only pleaseth all mens sight Should come abroad, no Work should come to light; Good is made better by Community, It's Publique good to quicken industry: Thou'st spent thy time, thy Paines with great Expence On Countries Good, for love not Recompence; Let others read, I'le labour what I can To imitate this Compleat Husbandman.

A true Friend to thee, as thou to all,

P.W.
To Captain W. Blith upon his Improved Improver. &Fic;Ew, upon search amongst the multitude Of human race appear, who are endu'd With such a noble Genius, as by art Can heighten Nature, Fewer this impart: For 'tis an Axiom unto most unknown, That that's the best of good which most is shown; Unless some Patents for the same requite With publique recompence their private mite. How then ought all to Count this Author rare! Who by experience and observant care, Knows how to husband grounds to their best use, And doth to publique light what's known produce! Who clearly aims in what he doth unfold At Common good still adding new to old. He gave us heretofore to understand The Art of floating and of Watering Land, Taught us how Fens and Bogs we ought to drain, How each one might by fair Enclosure gain, How antient Pasture might by tillage mend, Till'd ground by Grazing to improvement tend; What soyl and compost for each ground is good. And what waies further best the growth of Wood. To these this third Edition doth discover The most approved means to husband Claver, The art of planting Liquorish descries, Of Madder, Woad, and Weld for richer dies: The Planting Cole-seed, Flax and Hemp's declar'd And how the Ploughs expences may be spar'd. How of especiall use ground may be made For Gardens and for Orchards, is displaid Which this Survey of husbandry discovers At easie Rates but not without endeavours; Improveth Land, to three or five Degrees, Held forth most plain, not kept within skies; But casts it all in such a curious mould To raise from one to ten, yea Twentyfold: Lastly the Souldier doth example yield, How he should till as well as fight the field, How swords should turn to plough-shares, when warres cease, And what imployment suits with times of peace.

Thine upon the pub&rehy;lique score

T.C.
To the Husbandman, Farmer, or Tenant.

&Tic;O you of all others I might spare this paines, you the very practitioners, you that trade in Husbandry, of some of you I have high things to report, both for your industry and activity; and though I am confident all men are thirsty enough after profit and increase, yet few studiously industrious in this design; though some esteem it matter of greatest moment, yet you will not all be found patronizers hereof; there is such a scandall and prejudice among many of you against new projections, that I shall beseech you to take a loving ad&rehy;monition in two or three particulars, The first is an Epidemicall disease (and little less are the succeeding) and it is a great mischief to your selves and the Common-wealth, and that is such an immoderate plowing your land; some plow far more than they can Til or Ma&rehy;nure, and others all they have in common, though never so much, others plowing so oft and low, that they draw out the marrow of it, and these are the great Improverishers of your gallant old pasture, though fit enough to plow, & might be best advanced thereby with mode&rehy;ration; but into both these extremes men are so apt to run so fast, that I desire to stop their course a little, and shall make bold to tell them, that when half or one third part of so much land as many of you Till, shall with that very soyl, and half the labour and seed saved, yeeld you as much corn as all that great quantity scramblingly husbanded, that then you are ill husbands; which you wil confess if that you wil but grant me that which no man wil deny, that one Acre purely husbandryed (and what need any be otherwise, or any break up more than he is able well to compass) will be as good as two or three in many mens ordinary pra&rehy;ctise, but in some of your whole-sale husbandmen that plow all before them, four or five A&rehy;cres will not ballance one purely husbanded, then judge so much land preserved from impoverishment, so much seed and cost preserved, and yet as great increase, whe&rehy;ther the opposite actors be not enemies to themselves, families and Common-wealth. The second abuse is want of good tillage, wee lose our hopes excedingly by this; and herein we must both have respect to season, land, and corn; for good seasons at all times cannot be expected, yet of two evills chuse the least. I am confident better sometimes lose the land, than land, seed, and all your labour, as many do that outslip the season: but for prevention, begin earlier; I am confident though it may admit of some inconveniencies some&rehy;times, yet at other times is out of question, but generally both Summer and Winter seed&rehy;time carries it away, sure it hath these advantages, that if it prosper not, you may sow it a&rehy;gain, or if the latter part of seed time at Michaelmas time prove wet, you are well, ha&rehy;ving sowed before, or the latter part of seed-time in the Spring prove dry, as most oft it doth, you have prevented that, and what is the great danger of growing proud in Winter, that is to mee a vertue, and if in the Spring, it is easily taken down also; and if thou fearest weeds, I am of opinion that the stronger and thicker any corn is, it preserves it self the best from weeds; but there is a Medium in all things, too thick sowing may be as bad, but this ever observe, that the earlier thou sowest, the thinner thou maiest sow thy winter corn, and summer too, if the season be good, and land dry and sound: And secondly, to your land you must have respect too, Land in good tilth, in good heart and sound, in a good sea&rehy;son, will out-cast its very marrow, through the Lords blessing expect fruit enough: Men much wrong their corn in not giving their Lands sufficient workmanship, I am not precise in the number of Plowing nor Harrowing, but just so much and no more than preserves the Land from weedes, and best brings the land into such a composition that your land mould well. I shall not justify the old Proverb, here, No balkes no corn, I say not balkes, all corn, even cleanly plowing is most commendable and most profitable; to some grain more til&rehy;age, to some less is required, yet to none no less than may both cover well and yield good bot&rehy;tome and rooting to the Corn. And thirdly for your Corn, some graines require more tillage, others less; some will better bear a drier season, some a wetter; some grain more subject to one weed than to another, some grain will do best with two summers, and others with one: In all which consider and advise thy self as much as thou canst of the nature of them all, and make out what experiences thou canst thy self, and somewhat incline to the most ingenu&rehy;ous usage and custome of thy Country. In some cases a good custome is instructive; but I'll be brief here, that I may be a little larger elsewhere following. The fourth and last abuse is a calumniating and depraving every new Invention; of this most culpable are your mouldy old leavened husbandmen, who themselves and their forefathers have been accu&rehy;stomed to such a course of husbandry as they will practise, and no other, their resolution is so fixed, no issues or events whatsoever shall change them, if their neighbour hath as much corn of one Acre as they of two upon the same land, or if another plow the same land for strength and nature, with two horses and one man, as well as he, and have as good corn, as he hath been used with four horse and two men, yet so he will continue: Or if an Improve&rehy;ment be discovered to him and all his neighbours, hee'l oppose it and degrade it; What forsooth saith he, who taught you more wit than your forefathers, would they have neglected so great advantage if there had been any? they kept good hospitality, and made shift to breed up many children, &c. and I know not what simple chaff to blind themselves; this proud un&rehy;teachable spirit an ingenious man abhorrs, which banes and poysons the very plenty of our Nation. These prejudices both upon your minds and practises which boult you out from wealth and glory, my dear friends and fellow husbandmen, I pray you lay aside, and doe but in charity walk with me a little through this discourse, and I shall hope to satisfy that there is no other end but common good proposed, The poor, thy posterity, and all Inte&rehy;rest advantage here intended by him that is as studious of thine, the Common wealths Improvement, as his own.

W.B.