[Sidenote: Of what size to make ditches.] If thou make thy dyche foure foote brode, than wolde it be two foote and a halfe depe. And if it be .v. fote brode, than .iii. fote depe, and so accordynge; and if it be fyue fote brod, than it wolde be double sette, and the 4 rather it wolde fence it-selfe, and the lower hedge wyll serue.
[Sidenote: Stakes for a hedge.] Thou muste gette the stakes of the harte of oke, for those be best; crabtre, blacke-thorne, and ellore be good. Reed wethy is beste in marsshe grounde; asshe, maple, hasel, and whyte-thorne wyl serue for a time. And set 4 [Sidenote: [Fol. 54_b_.]] thy stakes within .ii. foote and a halfe together, excepte thou haue very good edderynge, and longe, to bynde with. [Sidenote: Ethers for a hedge.] And if it be double eddered, it is moch the better, and gret strength to the hedge, and moche lenger it wil last. 8 And lay thy small trouse or thornes, that thou hedgeste withall, ouer thy quickesettes, that shepe do not eate the [Sidenote: Drive the stakes firmly.] sprynge nor buddes of thy settes. Let thy stakes be well dryuen, that the poynt take the hard erthe. And whan 12 thou haste made thy hedge, and eddered it well, than take [Sidenote: Wind in the ethers.] thy mall agayne, and dryue downe thy edderinges, and also thy stakes by and by. For with the wyndynge of the edderynges thou doost leuse thy stakes; and therfore 16 [Sidenote: Then drive the stakes again.] they muste nedes be dryuen newe, and hardened agayne, and the better the stake wil be dryuen, whan he is wel bounden.
[Sidenote: How to pleach a hedge.] If the hedge be of .x. or .xii. yeres growing sythe it was first set, thanne take a sharpe hachet, or a handbyll, and cutte the settes in a playne place, nyghe vnto the [Sidenote: Cut the sets more than half through,] erthe, the more halue a-sonder; and bende it downe 4 towarde the erthe, and wrappe and wynde theym to-gether, [Sidenote: [Fol. 55.]] but alwaye se that the toppe lye hyer than the [Sidenote: and bend them down, but not too low.] rote a good quantytie, for elles the sappe wyll not renne in-to the toppe kyndely, but in processe the toppe wyll 8 dye; and than set a lyttel hedge on the backe-syde, and it shall nede noo more mendynge manye yeres after. And if the hedge be of .xx. .xxiiii. or .xxx. yere of age, [Sidenote: How to pleach an older hedge.] sythe it was fyrst sette, than wynde in first al the 12 nether-moste bowes, and wynde them together, and than cutte the settes in a playne place a lyttel from the erth, the more halfe a-sonder, and to lette it slaue downewarde, and not vpwarde, for dyuerse causes: than wynde the 16 bowes and braunches therof in-to the hedge, and at euery two fote, or .iii. fote, to leaue one set growyng not plasshed; and the toppe to be cut of foure fote hygh, or there-aboute, to stande as a stake, if there be any 20 suche, or els to set an-other, and to wynd the other that be pleched about them. And if the bowes wyll not lye playne in the hedge, than cut it the more halfe [Sidenote: How to pleach a very old hedge.] a-sonder, and bynd it to the hedge, and than shal he not 24 nede for to mende the hedge, but in fewe places, .xx. yeres after or more. And if the hedge be olde, and be great stubbes or trees, and thyn in the bottome, that beastes may go vnder or betwene the trees: thanne 28 take a sharpe axe, and cutte the trees or stubbes, that [Sidenote: [Fol. 55_b_.]] growe a fote from the erthe, or there-about, in a plaine place, within an inche or two inches of the side, and let them slaue downward, as I sayd before, and let the 32 toppe of the tree lye ouer the rote of an other tree, and to pleche downe the bowes of the same tree, to stoppe the holowe places. And if all the holowe and voyde places wyl not be fylled and stopped, than scoure the 36 olde dyche, and cast it vp newe, and to fyll with erthe all the voyde places. And if soo be these trees wyll not reche in euerye place to make a sufficyent defence, than double quicke-set it, & diche it new in euery place that 40 is nedeful, and set a hedge thervpon, and to ouerlay the settes, for eatynge of shepe or other cattel.