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A certain yellowish loamy earth , which had been brought to me withsome orange-trees out of Italy , was reduced to a bright soft sand, appear-ing more gemmy than in the other loams.
Chalk resembled fine white flour, and some of it sparkled, especiallythe harsher sort; but the tender, not.
Fullers-earth appeared like gum tragacanth; a little wetted, seem-ingly swelled, yet glistering ; but, when reduced to a fine dust, becamea smooth sand.
Tobacco-pipe earth, not much bruised, was just like white starch;washed and well-dried, it resembled the whitest flour of wheat a littlecandied. I had not the opportunity of examining the several sorts ofmarls; so I proceed to the dungs.
Neats-dung (the cattle fed only with fodder, or little grafs, for it wasin the winter I made my observations) appeared to be nothing but strawsin the entire substance, and colour a little altered, save what a certainslippery mucilage gave them, sprinkled with a glistering sand like atomsof gold; but, upon washing and drying again, the tenacious mattervanished, and the straws appeared separated and clear.
Sheeps-dung was much like the former, only the spires and blades of afine short grafs were conglomerated and rolled up into pellets, aboutwhich the glew was lefs viscous, but it pafsed also away in the lotion.
Swines-dung had the resemblance of dirty bees-wax, mingled withstraws and husks, which seemed like candied Eringo, and some likeAngelica roots.
The soil of horses appeared like great wisps of hay and little straws,thin of mucilage, and which, being washed, was easily to be discernedby a naked eye.
Deers-dung much resembled that of sheep.
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3 II