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and cannot support themselves; as vines, ivy, brier, briony, woodbines, hops, climatis, camomile, etc. The cause is, as hath been partly touched, for that all plants naturally move upwards; but if the sap put up too fast, it maketh a slender stalk, which will not support the weight: and therefore these latter sort are all swift and hasty comers.

Experiments in consort touching all manner of composts, and helps of ground.

595. THE first and most ordinary help is stercoration. The sheeps dung is one of the best; and next the dung of kine: and thirdly, that of horses, which is held to be somewhat too hot unless it be mingled. That of pigeons for a garden, or a small quantity of ground, excelleth. The ordering of dung is, if the ground be arable, to spread it immediately before the ploughing and sowing; and so to plough it in: for if you spread it long before, the sun will draw out much of the fatness of the dung: if the ground be grazing ground, to spread it somewhat late towards winter; that the sun may have the less power to dry. As for special composts for gardens, as a hot bed, etc. we have handled them before.

it up.

596. THE second kind of compost is, the spreading of divers kinds of earths; as marle, chalk, sea sand, earth upon earth, pond earth; and the mixtures of them. Marle is thought to be the best, as having most fatness; and not heating the ground too much. The next is sea sand, which no doubt obtaineth a special virtue by the salt: for salt is the first rudiment of life. Chalk over-heateth the ground a little; and therefore is best upon cold clay grounds, or moist grounds but I heard a great husband say that it was a common error, to think that chalk helpeth arable grounds, but helpeth not grazing grounds; whereas indeed it helpeth grass as well as corn: but that which breedeth the error is, because after the chalking of the ground they wear it out with many crops without rest; and then indeed afterwards it will bear little grass, because the ground is tired out,

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It were good to try the laying of chalk upon arable grounds a little while before ploughing; and to plough it in as they do the dung; but then it must be friable first by rain or lying. As for earth, it composteth itself; for I knew a great garden that had a field, in a manner, poured upon it; and it did bear fruit excellently the first year of the planting: for the surface of the earth is ever the fruitfullest. And earth so prepared hath a double surface. But it is true, as I conceive, that such earth as hath salt-petre bred in it, if you can procure it without too much charge, doth excel. The way to hasten the breeding of salt-petre, is to forbid the sun, and the growth of vegetables. And therefore if you make a large hovel, thatched, over some quantity of ground; nay, if you do but plank the ground over, it will breed salt-petre. As for pond earth, or river earth, it is a very good compost; especially if the pond have been long uncleansed, and so the water be not too hungry: and I judge it will be yet better if there be some mixture of chalk.

597. THE third help of ground is, by some other substances that have a virtue to make ground fertile, though they be not merely earth; wherein ashes excel; insomuch as the countries about Etna and Vesuvius have a kind of amends made them, for the mischief the irruptions many times do, by the exceeding fruitfulness of the soil, caused by the ashes scattered about. Soot also, though thin spread in a field or garden, is tried to be a very good compost. For salt, it is too costly; but it is tried, that mingled with seed-corn, and sown together, it doth good and I am of opinion, that chalk in powder, mingled with seed-corn, would do good; perhaps as much as chalking the ground allover. As for the steeping of the seeds in several mixtures with water to give them vigour, or watering grounds with compost-water, we have spoken of them before.

598. THE fourth help of ground is, the suffering of vegetables to die into the ground, and so to fatten it; as the stubble of corn, especially peas. Brakes cast upon the ground in the beginning of winter, will make

it very fruitful. fruitful. It were good also to try whether leaves of trees swept together, with some chalk and dung mixed, to give them more heart, would not make a good compost; for there is nothing lost so much as leaves of trees; and as they lie scattered, and without mixture, they rather make the ground sour than otherwise.

599. THE fifth help of ground is, heat and warmth. It hath been anciently practised to burn heath, and ling, and sedge, with the vantage of the wind, upon the ground. We see that warmth of walls and inclosures mendeth ground: we see also, that lying open to the south mendeth ground: we see again, that the foldings of sheep help ground, as well by their warmth as by their compost: and it may be doubted, whether the covering of the ground with brakes in the beginning of the winter, whereof we spake in the last experiment, helpeth it not, by reason of the warmth. Nay, some very good husbands do suspect, that the gathering up of flints in flinty ground, and laying them on heaps, which is much used, is no good husbandry, for that they would keep the ground warm.

600. THE sixth help of ground is by watering and irrigation; which is in two manners; the one by letting in and shutting out waters at seasonable times: for water at some seasons, and with reasonable stay, doth good; but at some other seasons, and with too long stay, doth hurt: and this serveth only for meadows which are along some river. The other way is, to bring water from some hanging grounds, where there are springs, into the lower grounds, carrying it in some long furrows; and from those furrows, drawing it traverse to spread the water. And this maketh an excellent improvement, both for corn and grass. It is the richer, if those hanging grounds be fruitful, because it washeth off some of the fatness of the earth; but howsoever it profiteth much. Generally where there are great overflows in fens, or the like, the drowning of them in the winter maketh the summer following more fruitful: the cause may be, for that it

keepeth the ground warm, and nourisheth it. But the fen-men hold, that the sewers must be kept so as the water may not stay too long in the spring till the weeds and sedge be grown up; for then the ground will be like a wood, which keepeth out the sun, and so continueth the wet; whereby it will never graze to purpose that year. Thus much for irrigation. But for avoidances, and drainings of water, where there is too much, and the helps of ground in that kind, wê shall speak of them in another place.

A

NATURAL HISTORY.

CENTURY VII.

Experiments in consort touching the affinities and differences between plants and inanimate bodies.

601. THE differences between animate and inanimate bodies, we shall handle fully under the title of life, and living spirits, and powers. We shall therefore make but a brief mention of them in this place. The main differences are two. All bodies have spirits, and pneumatical parts within them; but the main differences between animate and inanimate, are two: the first is, that the spirits of things animate are all continued with themselves, and are branched in veins, and secret canals, as blood is: and in living creatures, the spirits have not only branches, but certain cells or seats, where the principal spirits do reside, and whereunto the rest do resort: but the spirits in 'things inanimate are shut in, and cut off by the tangible parts, and are not pervious one to another, as air is in snow. The second main difference is, that the spirits of animate bodies are all in some degree, more or less, kindled and inflamed; and have a fine commixture of flame, and an aërial substance. But inanimate bodies have their spirits no whit inflamed or kindled. And this difference consisteth not in the heat or coolness of spirits; for cloves and other spices, naptha and petroleum, have exceeding hot spirits, hotter a great deal than oil, wax, or tallow, etc. but not inflamed. And when any of those weak and temperate bodies come to be inflamed, then they gather a much greater heat than others have uninflamed, besides their light and motion, etc.

602. THE differences, which are secondary, and proceed from these two radical differences, are, first,

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