10 A DISCOURSE '

Book I. in less than a Year; Ib Beet-seed, part in the second and third , &c.which upon inspecting the Skins and Membranes involving them, wouldbe hard to give a Reason for. To accelerate this, they use Imbibitionsof piercing Spirits, Salts , Emollients, &tc. not only to the Seeds,but to the Soil, which we seldom find much signify, but either to pro-duce Abortion or Monsters ; and being forc’d to hasty Birth, becomenothing so hardy, healthful and lasting, as the Conception and Birththey receive from Nature. These Observations premised in general ,after I have recommended to our industrious Tlanters the Appendix orTable of the several Sorts of Soil and Tlaces that are proper, or at leastmay seem so; or that are unfit for certain Kinds of Trees (as wellForesters and others, annex’d to this Work) I should proceed to Tar-ticulars, and boldly advance into the thickest of the Forest, did notMethod seem to require something briefly to bespoken of Trees in ge-neral, as they are under the Name of Tlants and Vegetables, especiallysuch as we shall have occasion to discourse of in the following Work;though we also take in some less vulgarly known and familiar, of lateindenizon’d among us, and some of them very useful.

By Trees then is meant, a lignous woody ‘Plant, whose Property isfor the most Part, to grow up and erect it self with a single Stem orTrunk, of a thick and more compacted Substance and Bulk, branchingforth large and spreading Boughs ; the whole Body and external Part,cover’d and invested with a thick Rind or Cortex , more hard and durablethan that of other Parts; which, with expanding Roots, penetrate andfixes them in the Earth for Stability (and according to their Nature) re-ceive and convey Nourilhment to the Whole: And these Terrapin arewhat we call Timber-Trees, the chief Subject of our following Dis-course.

Trees are likewise distinguish^ into other subordinate Species,Fruticis, Frutages and Shrubs ; which are also lignous Trees, thoughof a lower and humbler Growth, less spreading, and rising up in severalStems,emerging from the fame Root, yielding Plenty of Suckers • whichbeing separated from it, and often carrying with them some small Fibreare easily propagated and planted out for a numerous Store : And this(being clad with a more tender Bark or Fibre) seems to differ theFrutex from other arbor ions Kinds; since as to the Shaft and Stemsof such as we account ‘Dwarf and Tumi lo with us, they rife often totall and stately Trees, in the more genial and benign Climes.

Suffrutrices are Shrubs lower than the former, lignescent andmore approaching to the stalky Herbs, Lavender, Rue, &Cc. but notapt to decay so soon, after they have seeded; whilst both these Kindsseem also little more to differ from one another, than do Trees fromthem; all of them consisting of the same Variety of Parts, accordingto their Kinds and Structure, cover’d with some woody hard mem-braneous or tender Rind, suitable to their Constitution, and to protectthem from outward Injuries; producing likewise Buds, Leaves, Bios.fomsmd Flowers, pregnant with Fruit, and yielding Saps, Liquorsand Juices, Lachrymœ, Gums, and other Exsudations, though diver-sirymg in Shape an d Substance , Tast, Odour, and other Qualities andOperations, according to the Nature of the Species ; the various Structureand Contexture of their several Vessels and Organs, whose Office it isto supply the whole Plant with all that is necessary to its Being and Ter-se tf ion, after a fiupendious, though natural, Process ; which minutely,2

I