The profitable arte of gardening was the first book about gardening published in England, being first published in 1563 under the title A most briefe and pleasaunte treatise, teaching how to dresse, sowe, and set a garden. It was written by Thomas Hill who went on to write the even more successful work, The Gardener's Labyrinth.[1]
To protect against hail, the book advised hanging the skin of a crocodile, hyena or seal.[2]