525. First, therefore, you must make account, that if you will have one plant change into another, you must have the nourishment over-rule the seed; and therefore you are to practise it by nourishment as contrary as may be to the nature of the herb, so nevertheless as the herb may grow, and likewise with seeds that are of the weakest sort, and have least vigour. You shall do well, therefore, to take marsh-herbs, and plant them on tops of hills and champaigns; and such plants as require much moisture upon sandy and very dry grounds. As for example, marsh-mallows and sedge, upon hills; cucumber, and lettuce seeds, and coleworts, upon a sandy plot; so contrariwise, plant bushes, heathling, and brakes, upon a wet or marsh ground. This, I conceive also, that all esculent and garden herbs, set upon the tops of hills, will prove more medicinal, though less esculent than they were before. And it may be likewise, some wild herbs you may make salad herbs. This is the first rule for transmutation of plants.

527. The second rule shall be, to bury some few seeds of the herbs you would change, amongst other seeds; and then you shall see whether the juice of those other seeds do not so qualify the earth, as it will alter the seed whereupon you work. As for example, put parsley seed amongst onion seed, or lettuce seed amongst parsley seed, or basil seed amongst thyme seed; and see the change of taste or otherwise. But you shall do well to put the seed you would change into a little linen cloth, that it mingle not with the foreign seed.

528. The third rule shall be, the making of some medley or mixture of earth with some other plants bruised or shaven either in leaf or root; as for example, make earth with a mixture of colewort leaves stamped, and set in it artichokes or parsnips; so take earth made with marjoram, or origanum, or wild thyme, bruised or stamped, and set in it fennel seed, &c. In which operation the process of nature still will be, as 1 conceive, not that the herb you work upon should draw te juice of the foreign herb, for that opinion we have for merly rejected. but there will be a new confection of mould, which perhaps will alter the seed, and yet not to the kind of the former herb.

529. The fourth rule shall be, to mark what VOL. II.-10

example, take from under walls or the like, where nettles put forth in abundance, the earth, which you shall there find, without any string or root of the nettles: and pot that earth, and set in it stockgillyflowers, or wallflowers, &c., or sow in the seeds of thein, and see what the event will be; or take earth that you have prepared to put forth mushrooms of itself, whereof you shall find some instances following, and sow in it purslane seed, or lettuce seed; for in these experiments, it is likely enough that the earth being accustomed to send forth one kind of nourishment, will alter the new seed.

530. The fifth rule shall be, to make the herb grow contrary to its nature; as to make groundherbs rise in height: as, for example, carry camomile, or wild thyme, or the green strawberry upon sticks, as you do hops upon poles, and see what the event will be.

531. The sixth rule shall be, to make plants grow out of the sun or open air; for that is a great mutation in nature, and may induce a change in the seed; as barrel up earth and sow some seed in it, and put it in the bottom of a pond, or put it in some great hollow tree: try also the sowing of seeds in the bottoms of caves; and pots with seeds sown, hanged up in wells some distance from the water, and see what the event will be.

Experiments in consort touching the procevity, and

lowness, and artificial dwarfing of trees. 532. It is certain, that timber trees in coppice woods grow more upright and more free from under-boughs, than those that stand in the fields: the cause whereof is, for that plants have a natural motion to get to the sun; and besides, they are not glutted with too much nourishment; for that the coppice shareth with them, and repletion ever hindereth stature: lastly they are kept warm, and that ever in plants helpeth mounting.

533. Trees that are of themselves full of heat, which heat appeareth by their inflammable gums, as firs, and pines, mount of themselves in height without side-boughs, till they come towards the top. The cause is partly heat, and partly tenuity of juice, both which send the sap upwards. As for juniper, it is but a shrub, and groweth not big enough in body to maintain a tall tree.

534. It is reported that a good strong canvass, spread over a tree grafted low, soon after it putteth forth, will dwarf it and make it spread. The cause is plain; for that all things that grow, will grow as they find room.

535. Trees are generally set of roots or kernels: but if you set them of slips, as of some trees you may, by name the mulberry, some of the slips will take; and those that take, as is reported, will be

G

dwarf trees. The cause is, for that a slip draweth | nourishment more weakly than either a root or kernel.

536. All plants that put forth their sap hastily have their bodies not proportionable to their length, and therefore they are winders and creepers; as ivy, briony, hops, woodbine; whereas dwarfing requireth a slow putting forth, and less vigour of mounting.

Experiments in consort touching the rudiments of plants, and of the excrescences of plants, or superplants.

The Scripture saith, that Solomon wrote a Natural History," from the cedar of Libanus, to the moss growing upon the wall;" for so the best translations have it. And it is true that moss is but the rudiment of a plant; and, as it were, the mould of earth or bark.

537. Moss groweth chiefly upon ridges of houses tiled or thatched, and upon the crests of walls; and that moss is of a lightsome and pleasant green. The growing upon slopes is caused, for that moss, as on the one side it cometh of moisture and water, so on the other side the water must but slide, and not stand or pool. And the growing upon tiles, or walls, &c., is caused for that those dried earths, having not moisture sufficient to put forth a plant, do practise germination by putting forth moss; though when, by age, or otherwise, they grow to relent and resolve, they sometimes put forth plants, as wall-flowers. And almost all moss hath here and there little stalks, besides the low thrum.

538. Moss groweth upon alleys, especially such as lie cold and upon the north; as in divers terraces and again, if they be much trodden; or if they were at the first gravelled; for wheresoever plants are kept down, the earth putteth forth

moss.

539. Old ground, that hath been long unbroken up, gathereth moss; and therefore husbandmen use to cure their pasture grounds when they grow to moss, by tilling them for a year or two: which also dependeth upon the same cause; for that the more sparing and starving juice of the earth, insufficient for plants, doth breed moss.

540. Old trees are more mossy far than young; for that the sap is not so frank as to rise all to the boughs, but tireth by the way, and putteth out moss. 541. Fountains have moss growing upon the ground about them :

"Muscosi fontes."

The cause is, for that the fountains drain the water from the ground adjacent, and leave but sufficient moisture to breed moss and besides, the coldness of the water conduceth to the same.

542. The moss of trees is a kind of hair; for it is the juice of the tree that is excerned, and doth not assimilate. And upon great trees the moss gathereth a figure like a leaf.

543. The moister sort of trees yield but little moss, as we see in asps, poplars, willows, beeches, &c., which is partly caused for the reason that hath been given, of the frank putting up of the sap into the boughs; and partly for that the barks of those trees are more close and smooth than those of oaks and ashes; whereby the moss can the hardlier issue out.

544. In clay-grounds all fruit-trees grow full of moss both upon body and boughs, which is caused partly by the coldness of the ground, whereby the plants nourish less, and partly by the roughness of the earth, whereby the sap is shut in, and cannot get up to spread so frankly as it should do.

545. We have said heretofore, that if trees be hide-bound, they wax less fruitful, and gather moss; and that they are holpen by hacking, &c. And therefore by the reason of contraries, if trees be bound in with cords, or some outward bands, they will put forth more moss; which, I think, happeneth to trees that stand bleak, and upon the cold winds. It would also be tried, whether, if you cover a tree somewhat thick upon the top after his polling it will not gather more moss. I think also the watering of trees with cold fountain-water will make them grow full of moss.

546. There is a moss the perfumers have, which cometh out of apple trees, that hath an excellent scent. Query, particularly for the manner of the growth, and the nature of it. And for this expe-riment's sake, being a thing of price, I have set down the last experiments how to multiply and call on mosses.

Next unto moss, I will speak of mushrooms; which are likewise an imperfect plant. The mushrooms have two strange properties; the one, that they yield so delicious a meat; the other, that they come up so hastily, as in a night; and yet they are unsown. And therefore such as are upstarts in state they call in reproach mushrooms. It must needs be, therefore, that they be made of much moisture; and that moisture fat, gross, and yet somewhat concocted. And, indeed, we find that mushrooms cause the accident which we call "incubus" or the mare in the stomach. And therefore the surfeit of them may suffocate and empoison. And this showeth that they are windy; and that windiness is gross and swelling, not sharp or griping. And upon the same reason mushrooms are a venerous meat.

547. It is reported, that the bark of white or red poplar, which are of the moistest of trees, cut small, and cast into furrows well dunged, will cause the ground to put forth mushrooms at all seasons of the year fit to be eaten. Some add to the mixture leaven of bread dissolved in water.

548. It is reported, that if a hilly field, where the stubble is standing, be set on fire in the showery season, it will put forth great store of mushrooms,

that sand hath always its root in clay; and that there be no veins of sand any great depth within the earth.

573. It is certain, that some plants put forth for a time of their own store, without any nourishment from earth, water, stone, &c., of which vide the experiment 29.

Experiments in consort touching foreign plants. 574. It is reported, that earth that was brought out of the Indies and other remote countries for ballast of ships, cast upon some grounds in Italy, did put forth foreign herbs, to us in Europe not known; and, that which is more, that of their roots, barks, and seeds, contused together, and mingled with other earth, and well watered with warm water, there came forth herbs much like the other.

575. Plants brought out of hot countries will endeavour to put forth at the same time that they usually do in their own climate; and therefore to preserve them, there is no more required, than to keep them from the injury of putting back by cold. It is reported also, that grain out of the hotter countries translated into the colder, will be more forward than the ordinary grain of the cold country. It is likely that this will prove better in grains than in trees, for that grains are but annual, and so the virtue of the seed is not worn out; whereas in a tree it is embased by the ground to which it is removed.

576. Many plants which grow in the hotter countries, being set in the colder, will nevertheless, even in those cold countries, being sown of seeds late in the spring, come up and abide most part of the summer; as we find it in orange and lemon seeds, &c., the seeds whereof sown in the end of April will bring forth excellent salads, mingled with other herbs. And I doubt not, but the seeds of clove-trees, and pepper seeds, &c., if they could come hither green enough to be sown, would do the like.

much moisture, either watery or oily. And therefore crocus vernus also being an herb that hath an oily juice, putteth forth early; for those also find the sun sooner than the drier trees. The grains are, first, rye and wheat, then oats and barley, then peas and beans. For though green peas and beans be eaten sooner, yet the dry ones that are used for horse meat, are ripe last; and it seemeth that the fatter grain cometh first. The earliest fruits are strawberries, cherries, gooseberries, currants; and after them early apples, early pears, apricots, rasps; and after them damascenes, and most kind of plums, peaches, &c., and the latest are apples, wardens, grapes, nuts, quinces, almonds, sloes, brier-berries, hips, medlars, services, cornelians, &c.

578. It is to be noted, that, commonly, trees that ripen latest blossom soonest; as peaches, cornelians, sloes, almonds, &c.; and it seemeth to be a work of providence that they blossom so soon; for otherwise they could not have the sun long enough to ripen.

579. There be fruits, but rarely, that come twice a year; as some pears, strawberries, &c. And it seemeth they are such as abound with nourishment; whereby after one period, before the sun waxeth too weak, they can endure another. The violet also, amongst flowers, cometh twice a year, especially the double white; and that also is a plant full of moisture. Roses come twice, but it is not without cutting, as hath been formerly said.

580. In Muscovy, though the corn come not up till late spring, yet their harvest is as early as ours. The cause is, for that the strength of the ground is kept in with the snow; and we see with us, that if it be a long winter, it is commonly a more plentiful year; and after those kind of winters likewise, the flowers and corn, which are earlier and later, do come commonly at once, and at the same time, which troubleth the husbandman many times; for you shall have red roses and damask roses come together; and likewise the harvest of wheat and barley.

plants come forth.

eth for the later, and not that the later cometh sooner.

581. There be divers fruit trees in the hot countries, which have blossoms, and young fruit, and ripe fruit, almost all the year succeeding one another. And it is said the orange hath the like with us for a great part of summer, and so also hath the fig. And no doubt the natural motion of plants is to have so; but that either they want juice to spend, or they meet with the cold of the winter; and therefore this circle of ripening cannot be but in succulent plants and hot countries.