ſpread into many places within the knot, which if continually they be not plucked vp, they will ſpoile the whole knot it ſelfe; and therefore once in three or foure yeares at the moſt, it muſt be taken vp and new ſet, or elſe it will grow too royniſh and cumberſome. Hyſſope hath alſo been vſed to be ſet about a knot, and being ſweete, will ſerue for ſtrewings, as Germander: But this, although the rootes doe not runne or creep like it, yet the ſtalkes doe quickly grow great aboue ground, and dye often after the firſt yeares ſetting, whereby the grace of the knot will be much loſt. Marierome, Sauorie, and Thyme, in the like manner being ſweete herbes, are vſed to border vp beds and knots, and will be kept for a little while, with cutting, into ſome conformity; but all and euery of them ſerue moſt commonly but for one yeares vſe, and will ſoone decay and periſh: and therefore none of theſe, no more than any of the former, doe I commend for a good bordering herbe for this purpoſe. Lauander Cotton alſo being finely ſlipped and ſet, is of many, and thoſe of the higheſt reſpect of late daies, accepted, both for the beauty and forme of the herbe, being of a whitiſh greene mealy colour, for his ſent ſmelling ſomewhat ſtrong, and being euerliuing and abiding greene all the Winter, will, by cutting, be kept in as euen proportion as any other herbe may be. This will likewiſe ſoone grow great and ſtubbed, notwithstanding the cutting, and betides will now and then periſh in ſome places, eſpecially if you doe not ſtrike or put off the ſnow, before the Sunne lying vpon it diſſolue it: The rarity & nouelty of this herbe, being for the moſt part but in the Gardens of great perſons, doth cauſe it to be of the greater regard, it muſt therfore be renewed wholly euery ſecond or third yeare at the most, becauſe of the great growing therof. Slips of Iuniper or Yew are alſo receiued of ſome & planted, becauſe they are alwayes green, and that the Iuniper eſpecially hath not that ill ſent that Boxe hath, which I will preſently commend vnto you, yet both Iuniper and Yew will ſoon grow too great and ſtubbed, and force you to take vp your knot ſooner, than if it were planted with Boxe. Which laſtly, I chiefly and aboue all other herbes commend vnto you, and being a ſmall, lowe, or dwarfe kinde, is called French or Dutch Boxe, and ſerueth very well to ſet out any knot, or border out any beds: for beſides that it is euer greene, it being reaſonable thicke ſet, will eaſily be cut and formed into any faſhion one will, according to the nature thereof, which is to grow very ſlowly, and will not in a long time riſe to be of any height, but ſhooting forth many ſmall branches from the roote, will grow very thicke, and yet not require ſo great tending, nor ſo much periſh as any of the former, and is onely receiued into the Gardens of thoſe that are curious. This (as I before ſaid) I commend and hold to bee the beſt and ſureſt herbe to abide faire and greene in all the bitter ſtormes of the ſharpeſt Winter, and all the great heates and droughts of Summer, and doth recompence the want of a good ſweet ſent with his freſh verdure, euen proportion, and long laſting continuance. Yet theſe inconueniences it hath, that beſides the vnpleaſing ſent which many miſlike, and yet is but ſmall, the rootes of this Boxe do ſo much ſpread themſelues into the ground of the knot, and doe draw from thence ſo much nouriſhment, that it robbeth all the herbes that grow neare it of their ſap and ſubſtance, thereby making all the earth about it barren, or at leaſt leſſe fertile. Wherefore to ſhew you the remedy of this inconuenience of ſpreading, without either taking vp the Boxe of the border, or the herbes and flowers in the knot, is I thinke a ſecret knowne but vnto a few, which is this: You ſhall take a broad pointed Iron like vnto a Sliſe or Cheſſill, which thruſt downe right into the ground a good depth all along the inſide of the border of Boxe ſomewhat cloſe thereunto, you may thereby cut away the ſpreading rootes thereof, which draw ſo much moiſture from the other herbes on the inſide, and by this meanes both preſerue your herbes and flowers in the knot, and your Boxe alſo, for that the Boxe will be nouriſhed ſufficiently from the reſt of the rootes it ſhooteth on all the other ſides. And thus much for the liuing herbes, that ſerue to ſet or border vp any knot. Now for the dead materials, they are alſo, as I ſaid before diuers: as firſt, Leade, which ſome that are curious doe border their knots withall, cauſing it to be cut of the breadth of foure fingers, bowing the lower edge a little outward, that it may lye vnder the vpper cruſt of the ground, and that it may ſtand the faſter, and making the vpper edge either plain, or cut out like vnto the battlements of a Church: this faſhion hath delighted ſome, who haue accounted it ſtately (at the leaſt coſtly) and fit for their degree, and the rather, becauſe it will be bowed and bended into any round ſquare, angular, or other proportion as one liſteth, and is not much to be miſliked, in that the Leade
