The English Husbandman

Gervase Markham published this manual in 1613, having found that English farmers had nothing of their own to read, only translations of Virgil, Xenophon and French authors whose advice fitted other climates. He starts with the siting of a husbandman’s house, then sorts the soils of the kingdom into simple and compound: black clay, white and grey clay, red and white sand, gravel mixed with flint and pebble, and the mixtures between. For each he names the plough that answers it, how its parts are joined and tempered, and how often the ground must be turned before sowing. Seed corn and harvest follow. Later chapters move outdoors to nurseries, grafting, pruning, the vine, cider and perry, the hop garden, and a garden laid out for pleasure. Markham had farmed himself, and writes like it.