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 doth not easily breake or spoile without much iniury, and keepeth vp a knot for a very long time in his due proportion: but in my opinion, the Leade is ouer-hot for Summer, and ouer-cold for Winter. Others doe take Oaken inch boords, and sawing them foure or fiue inches broad, do hold vp their knot therewith: but in that these boordes cannot bee drawne compasse into any small scantling, they must serue rather for long outright beds, or such knots as haue no rounds, halfe rounds or compassings in them. And besides, these boordes are not long lasting, because they stand continually in the weather, especially the ends where they are fastened together will soonest rot and perish, and so the whole forme will be spoyled. To preuent that fault, some others haue chosen the shanke bones of Sheep, which after they haue beene well cleansed and boyled, to take out the fat from them, are stucke into the ground the small end downewards, and the knockle head vpwards, and thus being set side to side, or end to end close together, they set out the whole knot therewith, which heads of bones although they looke not white the first yeare, yet after they haue abiden some frosts and heates will become white, and prettily grace out the ground: but this inconvenience is incident to them, that the Winter frosts will raise them out of the ground oftentimes, and if by chance the knockle head