iS A Philosophical Discourse

is the Gravel be wet and cold, Lime is preferable: Wherefore the na-ture of the Mould ihould be well examin’d before the Application ; ashere arenout and sandy Earth wants Ligature, and besides consisting otlharp and afperous Angles, wounds and galls, curls and dwarfs ourPlants, without extraordinary Help, to render the Passages more flip"pery and easy; and therefore relenting Chalks, or Chalk-marl, is all®profitable, with Calcinations of Turf\ or Sea-Wreck, where it is atHand; and if the Soil be exceeding bibulous, spread a Layer or Couchof Loam, discreetly mingled at the bottom, to entertain the Moisture*In the mean time, there are yet some Plants which thrive almost 111nothing so well, as in Sand alone, or with very little Mixture, northat of any Dung: So Melons are said to grow in Jamaica ; and somevast Timber-trees have little or no Mould adhering to their Roots; sumis that beautiful Stranger, the J apan-Lilly, calFd by those of Guerirfey (from whence we only have them ) La belle de nuit ; and a cer-tain Palm of the lame Japan , which shrinks and dries at the leafttouch of IVat er , as if it were laid before the Fire, which is, it seem*?the only Remedy that restores it, or the sudden replanting it in Scati sof Iron, or the most burning Sand: But what is Sand it self, h°' v 'ever vulgarly reputed, be not so hot, or interiorly ardent, as ’tis gh enout to be ? Indeed, for being of an open, and loose Contexture, tlSapt to put forth a forward Spring , as more easily admitting theRays; but it does not continue, and is an Infirmity which may be r e "medied with Loam ; which not only unites it closer for the presentbut is capable in time to alter and change its very Nature also, s° 11too hot a Compost be no Ingredient with it.

Here I take Notice, that Husbandmen observe, a too clean andcurate gathering of Stones from off those Grounds which lie aim®cover’d with them, rather impoverishes than improves them ; elpcc‘ a Vwhere Corn is lbwn ; by exposing it to Heat and Cold. Certain st ^that where they are not too gross and plentiful, a moderate Intesspf 1sion of the smaller Gravel , preserves the Earth both warm and 1°°,^and from too sudden Exhalation; whilst the over-fine Grain, or too ra ca Sifting, makes it apt to constipate, and grow stiff upon wetting?as the tender Seedlings can hardly issue through; and this is ament for ignorant Gar diners, who, when they have a fine Fl^ e ^think they can never make the Ground fine enough about them; 'I ^the finer the Plant , or Seed, the finer should the Mould .be whsth^ 0 .tertains it; though when all is done, Trees thrive best, where thave easiest Footing. .

Chalky Grounds come next to be considers!, and they shouldtreated like Gravel, Sand , and Stony, if harsh; but if of the me ^ing kind, ’tis apt to mix with all the forts of Moulds; and being ^less lb husbanded, composes a kind of natural Soil fit for mostsought for, and of admirable Effect in dry Grounds. .

Here now of course something we are to speak concerning . 1 heretions, all reducing of Stone into AJhes being of excellentLime is upon any occasion proper; and indeed all our Composts ADungings serve but to this End, namely, so to qualify and mi* .Soil, as may artificially answer to the varieties of the natural ^ a s^or such a Constitution of it, as the' skilful Husbandman requires - ^

for Instance, (since all Fertility is the result of Mixture contraryQuality) if it want due Heat, to apply Additions of a fiery Na tU ^j

4

i