DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49977#0173
KITCHEN GARDENING UNDER ELIZABETH AND JAMES I. 151
translation. A list of names of pears in his handwriting is also
preserved by his descendants, which shows how much attention
he gave to this fruit. Bulleyn, in his work on Health,* mentions
a “kind of peares growing in the City of Norwich, called black
friers’ peare—very delicious and pleasant, and no lesse profitable.”
“A phisition of the same citye called doctoure Marseilde, said he
thought those peares without all comparison were the best that
grow in any place of England.”
Bulleyn also remarks on the cherries growing in Norfolk.
“ In the county of Kent be growing great plentye of the fruite.
So are there in a towne near unto Norwich, called Ketreinham.”t
It is probably to the influence of the Huguenots in these two
counties, that the improvement in fruit culture—especially of the
cherry—is owing. To these foreigners we may also ascribe the
advance in hop-growing, which about this time was coming into
favour. Several varieties of cherry were grown ; the best known
were the Flanders or Kentish, the Spanish, “ Gascoigne,” and
Morello, also a variety called “ Luke Warde’s cherry, because he
was the first that brought the same out of Italy.” J Parkinson
describes thirty-five named varieties. Sir Hugh Platt gives an
account of what he calls “ a conceit of that delicate knight,” Sir
Francis Carew, at Beddington, when Queen Elizabeth visited him
there. He covered a cherry tree with canvas kept damp, to
retard the fruit, only removing “ the tent when assured of her
Majesties coming, so that she had cherries at least one moneth
after all cherries had taken their farewell of England.”
The garden or tame sort “ of Plummes are of diuers kindes,
some white, some yellow, some blacke, some of the colour of a
chesnet, and some of a lyght or clear redde; and some great, and
some small; some sweet and dry, some fresh and sharpe, wherof
eche kinde hath a particular name. The wilde Plummes are
least of al, and are called slose, bullies, and snagges.” § It is
evident from this description that the number of plums had
greatly increased. John Tradescant was a great grower of plums,
as of all fruit. He || “ hath wonderfully laboured to obtain all the
* A new Book entituled the Gouernement of Healthe. William Bulleyn,
1558.
J Ketteringham. J Gerard. § Byte’s Herbal. || Parkinson.
translation. A list of names of pears in his handwriting is also
preserved by his descendants, which shows how much attention
he gave to this fruit. Bulleyn, in his work on Health,* mentions
a “kind of peares growing in the City of Norwich, called black
friers’ peare—very delicious and pleasant, and no lesse profitable.”
“A phisition of the same citye called doctoure Marseilde, said he
thought those peares without all comparison were the best that
grow in any place of England.”
Bulleyn also remarks on the cherries growing in Norfolk.
“ In the county of Kent be growing great plentye of the fruite.
So are there in a towne near unto Norwich, called Ketreinham.”t
It is probably to the influence of the Huguenots in these two
counties, that the improvement in fruit culture—especially of the
cherry—is owing. To these foreigners we may also ascribe the
advance in hop-growing, which about this time was coming into
favour. Several varieties of cherry were grown ; the best known
were the Flanders or Kentish, the Spanish, “ Gascoigne,” and
Morello, also a variety called “ Luke Warde’s cherry, because he
was the first that brought the same out of Italy.” J Parkinson
describes thirty-five named varieties. Sir Hugh Platt gives an
account of what he calls “ a conceit of that delicate knight,” Sir
Francis Carew, at Beddington, when Queen Elizabeth visited him
there. He covered a cherry tree with canvas kept damp, to
retard the fruit, only removing “ the tent when assured of her
Majesties coming, so that she had cherries at least one moneth
after all cherries had taken their farewell of England.”
The garden or tame sort “ of Plummes are of diuers kindes,
some white, some yellow, some blacke, some of the colour of a
chesnet, and some of a lyght or clear redde; and some great, and
some small; some sweet and dry, some fresh and sharpe, wherof
eche kinde hath a particular name. The wilde Plummes are
least of al, and are called slose, bullies, and snagges.” § It is
evident from this description that the number of plums had
greatly increased. John Tradescant was a great grower of plums,
as of all fruit. He || “ hath wonderfully laboured to obtain all the
* A new Book entituled the Gouernement of Healthe. William Bulleyn,
1558.
J Ketteringham. J Gerard. § Byte’s Herbal. || Parkinson.