A Perfite platforme of a Hoppe Garden, and necessarie Instructions for the making and mayntenaunce thereof, with notes and rules for reformation of all abuses, commonly practised therein, very necessarie and expedient for all men to have, which in any wise have to doe with Hops

Numerous woodcut illus. in the text. Largely printed in black letter. 7 p.l. (first leaf blank except for signature mark), 63, [1] pp. Small 4to, early 20th cent. polished mottled calf by Riviere, triple gilt fillet round sides, spine richly gilt, red morocco lettering pieces on spine, dentelles gilt, a.e.g. London: H. Denham, 1576. Second edition, "nowe newly corrected and augmented," of the first English book on hops. The first edition appeared two years earlier; both editions are very rare. This is "an eminently practical treatise, illustrating the various methods of setting the roots, making the hills and ramming the poles, tying the bine, and its pulling up and preservation, with a number of curious cuts. It was the work of a practical man, written for practical men, and in this respect is far in advance of most of Scot's contemporaries, who were still much interested in the superstitions of the time, and the traditional pseudo-science of the Middle Ages."-Fussell, I, p. 12. Clinch, in his English Hops, a History of Cultivation and Preparation for the Market from the Earliest Times (1919), states that in many respects "the information is as useful today as it was nearly three-and-a-half centuries ago when it was published." Scot (d. 1599), is most famous for his The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584), in which he attacked the general belief in witchcraft and other forms of credulity and superstition, including astrology, alchemy, and Catholicism. For more on Scot and his fascinating life, see ODNB. Fine copy. Signature of T. Barling on first leaf. ❧ Henrey, I, p. 64 & no. 338. McDonald, Agricultural Writers, from Sir Walter of Henley to Arthur Young, 1200-1800, pp. 34-36.