LAWSON, William.   A NEW ORCHARD AND GARDEN:   Or, The Best Way For Planting, Grafting, And To Make Any Ground Good, For A Rich Orchard: Particularly In The North, And Generally For The Whole Common-Wealth... With The Country Hous-Wifes Garden For Herbs Of Common Use: Their Virtues, Seasons, Profits, Ornaments, Variety Of Knots, Models For Trees, And Plots, For The Best Ordering Of Grounds And Walks. As Also The Husbandry Of Bees, With Their Several Uses And Annoyances: All Being The Experience Of Forty And Eight Years Labour, And Now The Third Time Corrected And Much Enlarged...    London: Printed By William Wilson, for George Sawbridge,   1660.          Lawson's A NEW ORCHARD AND GARDEN, first published in 1618, is the earliest garden manual written primarily for the North of England. An even greater significance derives, however, from the inclusion with it of Lawson's THE COUNTRY-HOUSEWIFE'S GARDEN, which was the first English book written specifically for women gardeners. This latter is a distinct work with its own title page, although originally it appears not to have been published separately. It is concerned primarily with herb-growing and bee-keeping, and includes instructions for the laying-out of gardens, illustrated here with two wood-cuts illustrating designs for knot gardens. The text also includes sections under the heading "The Art of propagating plants," and "The Husband-man's fruitful Orchard," the former written by Simon Harward and the latter an anonymous abridged revision of a work first published in 1604. These were first added to the second edition of 1623, which appeared as a part of Gervase Markham's A WAY TO GET WEALTH, and the work was reprinted as part of this compilation several times throughout the remainder of the seventeenth century. Unlike many of the English gardening writers of the 17th century, Lawson did not mostly adapt and translate from French and Dutch works, or those of the even less relevant "ancients." He provided, instead, a "plain and sure way of planting, which I have found good by 48 yeeres (and more) of experience in the North part of England." (from the Preface). "Today there is no difficulty in recognizing this as a sound work by a practical man; his public took the same view..." (Miles Hadfield. a HISTORY OF BRITISH GARDENING, pg. 76). The book must have been heavily used. Copies in their original binding are rare, and the text of most surviving copies, when complete, is usually quite worn and soiled.   4to (18.3 x 14.3 cm); (vi) + 112 (ie 98) pp. with several wood-engraved text illustrations.   Oak Spring Pomona 12 (1676 edition, lacking the Simon Harward); Hunt 209, 258, 307 (other editions); see Henrey 228.          Recent quarter calf with marbled boards; dampstaining on several leaves, but confined to margins on all but eight; the usual thumbsoiling and a few other mild stains; on three of the woodcut illustrations someone has added a few light touches of yellow watercoloring; there is old writing in ink on the parterre illustration; two leaves have clean tears. $1,500.00

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