times breed in the root, and happen upon hot suns and showers immediately after the sowing; and another worm breedeth in the ear itself, especially when hot suns break often out of clouds. Another

disease is weeds; and they are such as either choke and over-shadow the corn, and bear it down; or starve the corn, and deceive it of nourishment. Another disease is over-rankness of the corn; which they use to remedy by mowing it after it is come up; or putting sheep into it. Another ill accident is laying of corn with great rains, near or in harvest. Another ill accident is, if the seed happen to have touched oil, or any thing that is fat; for those substances have an antipathy with nourishment of water.

670. THE remedies of the diseases of corn have been observed as followeth. The steeping of the grain, before sowing, a little time in wine, is thought a preservative: the mingling of seed-corn with ashes is thought to be good: the sowing at the wane of the moon, is thought to make the corn sound: it hath not been practised, but it is thought to be of use to make some miscellane in corn; as if you sow a few beans with wheat, your wheat will be the better. It hath been

observed, that the sowing of corn with housleek doth good. Though grain that toucheth oil or fat, receiveth hurt, yet the steeping of it in the dregs of oil, when it beginneth to putrify, which they call amurca, is thought to assure it against worms. It is reported also, that if corn be mowed, it will make the grain longer, but emptier, and having more of the husk.

671. IT hath been noted, that seed of a year old is the best; and of two or three years is worse; and that which is more old is quite barren; though, no doubt, some seed and grains last better than others. The corn which in the vanning lieth lowest is the best: and the corn which broken or bitten retaineth a little yellowness, is better than that which is very white.

672. IT hath been observed, that of all roots of herbs, the root of sorrel goeth the farthest into the earth; insomuch that it hath been known to go three cubits deep and that it is the root that continueth fit

longest to be set again, of any root that groweth. It is a cold and acid herb, that, as it seemeth, loveth the earth, and is not much drawn by the sun.

673. IT hath been observed, that some herbs like best being watered with salt water; as radish, beet, rue, pennyroyal; this trial would be extended to some other herbs; especially such as are strong, as tarragon, mustard-seed, rocket, and the like.

674. It is strange that is generally received, how some poisonous beasts affect odorate and wholesome herbs; as that the snake loveth fennel; that the toad will be much under sage; that frogs will be in cinquefoil. It may be it is rather the shade, or other coverture, that they take liking in, than the virtue of the herb.

675. IT were a matter of great profit, save that I doubt it is too conjectural to venture upon, if one could discern what corn, herbs, or fruits, are like to be in plenty or scarcity, by some signs and prognostics in the beginning of the year: for as for those that are like to be in plenty, they may be bargained for upon the ground; as the old relation was of Thales; who, to shew how easy it was for a philosopher to be rich, when he foresaw a great plenty of olives, made a monopoly of them. And for scarcity, men may make profit in keeping better the old store. Long continuance of snow is believed to make a fruitful year of corn an early winter, or a very late winter, a barren year of corn: an open and serene winter, an ill year of fruit these we have partly touched before: but other prognostics of like nature are diligently to be inquired.

676. THERE seem to be in some plants singulari ties, wherein they differ from all other; the olive hath the oily part only on the outside; whereas all other fruits have it in the nut or kernel. The fir hath, in effect, no stone, nut, nor kernel; except you will count the little grains kernels. The pomegranate and pine-apple have only amongst fruits grains distinct in several cells. No herbs have curled leaves but cab bage and cabbage-lettuce. None have doubled leaves,

one belonging to the stalk, another to the fruit or seed, but the artichoke. No flower hath that kind of spread that the woodbine hath. This may be a large field of contemplation; for it sheweth that in the frame of nature, there is, in the producing of some species, a composition of matter, which happeneth oft, and may be much diversified: in others, such as happeneth rarely, and admitteth little variety: for so it is likewise in beasts: dogs have a resemblance with wolves and foxes; horses with asses; kine with buffles; hares with coneys, etc. And so in birds: kites and kestrels have a resemblance with hawks; common doves with ring-doves and turtles; blackbirds with thrushes and mavises; crows with ravens, daws, and choughs, etc. But elephants and swine amongst beasts; and the bird of paradise and the peacock amongst birds; and some few others, have scarce any other species that have affinity with them.

We leave the description of plants, and their virtues, to herbals, and other like books of natural history; wherein mens diligence hath been great, even to curiosity: for our experiments are only such as do ever ascend a degree to the deriving of causes, and extracting of axioms, which we are not ignorant but that some both of the ancient and modern writers have also laboured; but their causes and axioms are so full of imagination, and so infected with the old received theories, as they are mere inquinations of experience, and concoct it not.

Experiment solitary touching healing of wounds.

677. IT hath been observed by some of the ancients, that skins, especially of rams, newly pulled off, and applied to the wounds of stripes, do keep them from swelling and exulcerating; and likewise heal them and close them up; and that the whites of eggs do the same. The cause is a temperate conglutination; for both bodies are clammy and viscous, and do bridle the deflux of humours to the hurts, without penning them in too much.

Experiment solitary touching fat diffused in flesh. 678. You may turn almost all flesh into a fatty substance, if you take flesh and cut it into pieces, and put the pieces into a glass covered with parchment ; and so let the glass stand six or seven hours in boiling water. It may be an experiment of profit for making of fat or grease for many uses; but then it must be of such flesh as is not edible; as horses, dogs, bears, foxes, badgers, etc.

Experiment solitary touching ripening of drink before the time.

679. Ir is reported by one of the ancients, that new wine put into vessels well stopped, and the vessels let down into the sea, will accelerate very much the making of them ripe and potable. The same would be tried in wort.

Experiment solitary touching pilosity and plumage. 680. BEASTS are more hairy than men, and savage men more than civil; and the plumage of birds exceedeth the pilosity of beasts. The cause of the smoothness in men is not any abundance of heat and moisture, though that indeed causeth pilosity; but there is requisite to pilosity, not so much heat and moisture, as excrementitious heat and moisture; for whatsoever assimilateth, goeth not into the hair; and excrementitious moisture aboundeth most in beasts, and men that are more savage. Much the same reason is there of the plumage of birds; for birds assimilate less, and excern more than beasts; for their excrements are ever liquid, and their flesh generally more dry besides, they have not instruments for urine; and so all the excrementitious moisture goeth into the feathers and therefore it is no marvel, though birds be commonly better meat than beasts, because their flesh doth assimilate more finely, and secerneth more subtilly. Again, the head of man hath hair upon the first birth, which no other part of the body hath. The cause may be want of perspiration; for much of the matter of hair, in the other parts of the

body, goeth forth by insensible perspiration; and besides, the skull being of a more solid substance, nourisheth and assimilateth less, and excerneth more ; and so likewise doth the chin. We see also, that hair cometh not upon the palms of the hands, nor soles of the feet; which are parts more perspirable. And children likewise are not hairy, for that their skins are more perspirable.

Experiment solitary touching the quickness of mo tion in birds.

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681. BIRDS are of swifter motion than beasts; for the flight of many birds is swifter than the race of any beasts. The cause is, for that the spirits in birds are in greater proportion, in comparison of the bulk of their body, than in beasts: for as for the reason that some give, that they are partly carried, whereas beasts go, that is nothing; for by that reason swimming should be swifter than running: and that kind of carriage also is not without labour of the wing.

Experiment solitary touching the different clearness of the sea.

682. THE sea is clearer when the north wind bloweth, than when the south wind. The cause is, for that salt water hath a little oiliness in the surface thereof, as appeareth in very hot days: and again, for that the southern wind relaxeth the water somewhat; and no water boiling is so clear as cold water.

Experiment solitary touching the different heats of fire and boiling water.

683. FIRE burneth wood, making it first luminous; then black and brittle; and lastly, broken and incinerate; scalding water doth none of these. The cause is, for that by fire the spirit of the body is first refined, and then emitted; whereof the refining or attenua tion causeth the light; and the emission, first the fragility, and after the dissolution into ashes; neither doth any other body enter: but in water the spirit of the body is not refined so much; and besides part of