of E A R T R, &c. • i 5

tides promiscuously blended, sunk down, and subsiding according totheir sped sick Gravity, settled in the Beds and Strata we now every^here find them. But of this, and other Effects of the Deluge, seethelearned T>o5tor'% Ejsay. - '

I begin with what commonly first presents it self under the removedTurf, and which, for having never been violated by the Spade, or .re-ceived any foreign mixture, we will call the Vif'gin-Earth', not that°f the Chymijls , and the Searchers after the 5P hilofofhers Stone ; butas we find it lying about a foot deep, more or less, in our Fields, beforeyou cOmeto any manifest alteration of Colour or Perfection. ThisSur-sece-mould is*the best, and sweetest, being enriched with all that theAir, Dews, Showers, and Celestial Influences can contribute to it Fortis with good Earth, as with excellent IVat er, that’s the best, whichV’ith least difficulty receives all external qualities \ for the Fatness ofthis ^Dnder^turf Mould, being drawn up by the kindly, warmth of‘thebun to the Superficies, spends - but little of its Vigor in the Grafs andtender Verdure which it produces, and easily nourishes without dissipa-ting its Virtue, provided no rank Weeds, or predatitious Plants ( don- 'lummating their Seeds ) be suffered to grow and exhaust it; but main-tains its natural force, and is therefore of all other uncultivated Mouldsthe most grateful to the Husbandman.

Now as the rest of incumbent and subjacent Earths approach thisin vertue, so are they to be valued ; and or these there are several kinds,distinguishable by their several Constitutions .* The best of which isblack, fat , yet porous, light, and sufficiently tenacious, without anymixture of Sand or Gravel, rising in pretty gross Clods at the first'breaking up of the Plough; but with little labour and exposure falling topieces, but not crumbling altogether into Dust, which is the defect of amore vicious sorts Of this Excellent black* Mould (fit almost for anything without much manure) there are three kinds, which differ inHue and Goodness.

’she next layer in series to this, is usually mixt with a sprinkling ofStones, somewhat hard, yet friable, and when well aired and stirred,is not to be rejected; the looseness of it, admitting the refreshment ofShowers, renders it not improper for Trees and Plants, which requiremore than ordinary Moisture. Declining from this in perfection, is thedarkijh gray or tawny, which the deeper you mine, riles vein’d withyellow, and sometimes reddish, till it end in pale ; and if you penetrateyet farther, commonly in Sand, and a gritty Stone.

Ot a second Class, is Mould of an obscure Colour also, more delicateGrain, tender, cheffum and mellow 5 clear of Stones and Grittinefs,with an eye of Loam' and Sand, which renders it light enough, yetmoist ; of all other the most desirable for Flowers, and the CoronaryGarden.

To this we add a yet more obseure and sandy Mould, accompaniedWith a natural Fattiness; and this, though rarer, is incomparable foralmost any sort of Fruit-Trees.

A third participates of both the former, fattifh, yet interspersedwith small Flints' and Pebbles, not to be altogether neglected.

A 'fourth is totally sandy', and that of divers colours, with sometimesa bottom of Gravel, now and then Rock, and not seldom Clay ; and,as the Foundations are, so is it more or less retentive of Moisture, andtolerable for Culture: But all Sand does easily admit of Heat and Moisture,

and