OF EARTH.

57

rocks. But to proceed ; we find that most esculent and culinary rootsdo rather chuse a rich, natural, and light mould, inclining to sand, thanwhat is forced or over-mucked; and how much they yield to soil, grow-ing hard, short, and fibrous, and contract the smell and relish of the fer-ments applied to accelerate their growth (for according to the Italianproverb, Ogjii pianta serba della sua radice “ Every plant has a smack ofthe root”) I have already mentioned; so as to confide in dungs, as our vul-gar gardeners about this city do, is no encouragement; and therefore some,not without good reason, prefer the corn and grain which is reaped frommarl, chalk, lime, and other more natural manures, before what is pro-duced from a crop, which, in comparison, grows on a dung-hill; experi-ence also showing, that the cause of smuttinefs many times proceeds fromthe impurity and ranknefs of the drefsing ; and therefore we omit to enu-merate, amongst our soils, stercus humanum, which howsoever preferred bysome before all other, and mentioned by Columella with that of fowl andcattle, does (unlefs exceedingly ventilated and aired) perniciously conta-minate the odour of flowers, and is so evident in the vine, as nothing can

reconcile it

To give some instances of the nature of particular and simple composts,(for so I beg leave to use a solecism) whatever they be, they are by nomeans fit for the earth and use of the husbandman, unlefs, besides theirrichnefs, they be perfectly well digested, made short, sweet, and almostreduced to a crumbling Mould ; so ordered, as not only not to lose anyof their virtue, but to improve it, and to excite, entertain, and commu-nicate heat and vegetative spirits to whatever you apply them : and thatthis is not done per se, that is, by immediate application, without pre-judice (unlefs it be for the hot-bed, which yet has an intermedium of.Mould ) experience tells us, especially in the soil of animals, which is ofall other the most active, as consisting of heterogeneous parts and repug-nances, without which no fermentation could be obtained. Now, since

1 This is the richest species of manure that pofsibly can be introduced into the field. Inflanders they use it with great succefs, either strewed upon the land in the form of powder,or difsolved in water and thrown on with a wooden scoop. In large families, this excel-lent top-drefsing may be easily prepared by filling the pits of the Necefsarm with Moor-fEarth, and in this state it may be put upon the land with great advantage and cleanlinefs.

Vol. II. 3 N