[ 201 ] 



. plants, into the bofom of the earth. One obfer- 

 vation 1 will mention, as it is diredly to the pur- 

 pofe: one evening, near the time of the men's 

 leaving work, a fmart fhower of rain came on, 

 which drove them off. They were digging one of 

 the plots where the beans had grown. The fliovver 

 did not lart above half an hour. The next morn- 

 ing, as the men were digging, I obferved the rain 

 had not penetrated above half an inch into the 

 ground at moft; I ordered one of them to dig two 

 or three fpits of the ground that had been dug the 

 day before; it clearly appeared that the rain in the 

 new-dug ground had gone as deep as the fpade, 

 which was full twelve inches. Here then, we 

 clearly fee how, and by what means, the principles 

 of vegetation are acquired, by keeping the land in 

 thorough cultivation. 



Rain, hail, fnow, dews, hoar frofl, and all ths 

 exhalations which occupy the atmofphere, link into 

 and are abforbed by the earth when it is kept in a 

 loofe, light, pulverized ftate; whereas the fame prin- 

 ciples on a compad; hard foil reach no farther than 

 the furface, and are exhaled by the fun and wind, 

 with little or no benefit to the foil they fall on. 



From hence alfo we may learri the modus operandi 

 by which plants in a growing flate may be invi- 

 gorated 



.">; 



