Sir Anthony Fitzherbert, one of the judges in the court of common pleas, was the first person on record who attempted to enlighten English husbandman, by writing on the art of agriculture. In 15.34, he published a treatise called The Book of Husbandry, and another in 1539, entitled, The Book of Surveying (117d Improve ment. The Book of Husbandry contains minute direc tions for ploughing, managing, and cropping land, to gether with a full account of the diseases which affect horses and other animals, and the method of curing them. The Book of Surveying relates to castles, woods, parks, mills, and other branches of property ; and also contains numerous advices concerning the best way of impro ving arable land.
Sir Anthony Fitzhelbert, laying it down as a primary' principle, that the majority of husbandman live by the plough, describes the several implements generally used in his time for tilling the ground. Ile then points out the other articles that belong to a team of horses ; and when speaking of carts and wagons, very properly recommends that the wheels on which they arc mount ed should be shoed or bound about with iron ; whence it may be inferred, that wheels altogether composed of wood Were at that time commonly used. It would ap pear, that the husbandman, in Fitzherbert's days, com bined a knowledge or every profession ; for among the appendages of a plough, we find an ax, hatchet, hedge bill, auger, flail, spade, and shovel, particularly enumera ted. It is also recommended, that young husbandman should learn to make their yokes, stools, and all manner of geare, lest the purchase of these articles should be too costly' for them. Fitzherbert seems to have preferred oxen above horses in executing rural labour, though he frankly admits that horses will go faster than oxen on even and light ground, and that they are quicker for all sorts of carriage work.—" And over and beside all this boke," says he I will aduise him to rise betime in the morning, according to the verse be fore spoke of, ¬, sanetV ca t, et ditat sorgere mane, and to go about his closes, pastures, fieldes, and spe cially by the hedges, and to haue in his purse a payee of tables, and whan he seeth any thing, that wolde be amended, to wryte it in his tables ; as if he fynde any horses, mares, beastes, shepe, swyne, or geese, in his pastures, that be not his owns and perauventure thoughe they be his owns, he wolde not have them to goo there, or to fynde a gap, or a sherde in his hedge, or any water standynge in his pastures uppon his grasse, Nvherby he may take double hurte, hoax fosse of his grass(', and rutting or his shepe and values. And also of standynge water in his collie tickles, at the landes codes or sydcs, and howe he %vold bane his landes plowed, donged, starred, Or sow en ; and Ilk come wed ed or shortie, or his cattell shifted out of one pasture into another ; and to hike what dy ching, (1111‘ sc ttyng, or plashing, is necessary to be had ; and to ouersee his shepeherd, how he handleth and ordreth his sliep•ond hi, seruantes howe they plows end do they r ss arkes ; or if any gate be broken down, or want ally statics, and go not lyglitly to open and tyne, and that it do not traise, and that the wind 's blowe it not open with many mo necessary thynges that are to be luked upon. For a man taw aye wanderynge ur goinge aboute somewhat, Iyndeth or seeth that is amysse, and wolde he amended.
And as soune as he seeth any suche defames, than let hym take oute his tables, and write the dclautcs. And whan he cornmeal home to diner, supper, or at nyght, than let hym call his bayly, or his heed seruante, and suo shewe hym the defautes, that they may be shortly amended. And whan n i.. amended, than let him put it out of his tables. Fur tuns used 1 to don x or xi yeres and more ; and thts let hyni use dayely, and in shorte space he shall seat: nioche thynges in good order, but dayely it wyll have mendynge. And yt he cantle not wryte, litre him nycke the delautes vppun a stycke, and to shewe his bayely, as I sayde before. Also take hede, bothe erly' and late, at all tymes, w hat matter of people resorte and connue to thy house, and the cause or theyr coninlynge, and specially if tney bryngc with them pytchers, cantles, tancardes, bottelles, bagges, wallettes, or busnell pokes ; for, if thy seruauntes be not true, they maye duo thee great hurte, and them selfe lyttel auanntage ; wherhi•e they would be well loked vppon. And he that bath ii true seruarnitcs, a man seruauntc, and an other a woman scruatinte, he hath a great trea sure ; for a trewe scruaunte wyl do justly hym self, and if he se his klowes du amysse, he wyl byd them do no more SO, fOr, it they do, he wyll Shme his master thcrof; and it he do not this, he is not a trewe set- uant." An hundred years, however, elapsed, after the publi cation of sir Anthony Fitzherbert's book, before any thing further appeared really deserving the attention of husbandman. During the commonwealth, a period lavourable to genius and enterprise, and when numbers or persons appeared upon the stage of life, whose names would never have been heard of had not such a change of government occurred, Walter lily the, Gabriel Mattes, and other enlightened men, illustrated the art of hus bandry in the most satisfactory manner. lilt the's writ ings, in particular, contain a great deal of sound sense, and not badly' expressed, on almost every branch of husbandry-. The first part of his Improvir Improved, published 1652, contains what he calls six pieces of im pros ement : 1. On floating and watering land ; 2. On draining fen and boggy land, and regaining land from the sea ; 3. On such enclosures as prevent depopulation, and advance all interests; 4. On tillage of land kept too lung in grass, and pasturing others destroyed with ploughing ; 5. Discovery of all sorts and composts, with their nature and use ; 6. On doubling the growth of wood by new plantations.—'che second part contains six newer pieces of improvement : 1. On the of clover and St Fop); 2. On lessening the charge and hurthen of the plough, w ith divers the tea; On planting wild woad and ; 4. On planting imps, sallron, and liquorice; 5. (ni planting of rape, coleseed, hemp and flax, and the profit the G. On the great ance of land by divers orchard and garden fruits. Bating the dedication to my Lord Protector, and other public bodies, the w hole of the improver In/iroced (now become a scarce book,) might be reprinted with mani fest ad the's principles, which are ? cry correct, will be ascertained by perusing the first chapter of his Fourth Piece of ImproNement, wherein he directs how to plough and crop old pasture land.