512 
head, that it is the earth that moves 
round the sun all the while, and look 
wpon all as ignorant in philosophy who 
jinagine the contrary. © But, I say, is it 
absolutely certain, that the earth is 
dancing round the sun, yearly and 
hourly? And we ourselves are whirling 
head over heels, at the rate of a thousand 
miles an hour, at least?” 
In opposition to the Copernican doc- 
trine, thus reasons our philosopher, “* We 
have the testimonies of all our senses, at 
Teast our eves and feeling, that the sun 
moves, and not the earth.’ We see him 
yise in the east, and mounting higher 
every hour. We see the same sun set in 
the west, though we ourselves stand stock 
still. Now wesee him on one side of us; 
by and by we see he is moved to the 
other side. If we keep looking towards 
the east, in the morning he burns our 
Juces, in the evening our backs, unless we 
turn ourselves. Nay, in the longest days, 
we find he almost moves quite round us; 
et “tis we, forsooth, that move all the 
while, though we stand stock still. Nay, 
though in their precarious supposition, 
we should be whirling headlong from 
west toeast, yel we don’t perceive that we 
move round upon our heels, to make the 
sun appear to go quite round us, as he 
almost does in the longestdays. Again, 
we set up marks, we erect dials and gno- 
mons-in all positions, to shew and mea- 
sure his motions; yet we must suppose 
that the dials and gnomons move all the 
while, not the sun; yet these remain mo- 
tionless, not only by all our senses, but 
by all the experiments we can make; and 
this in all parts of the world at all umes.” 
Dissertatzons on the Mosaical Creation, 
“page 370, Svo. 1751. j 
- We here see that this book was printed 
some years after the appearance of Gau- 
dentiv di Lucea, and consequently when 
the author’s mind ought to have been im- 
proved, and his style polished, Instead 
of this he writes upon an astronomical 
subject, with the ignorant presumption of 
a clown, who judges only by his senses, 
and who arrays his coarse ideas in lan- 
uage suited to the meridian of the 
Biche or the stable. Now if after this 
any one can believe that the writer of 
such nonsensical ribaldry upon a philoso- 
phical argument, was the suthor of Gau- 
dentio di Lucea, he may carry his credu- 
Jivy farther and aseribe to the same 
accomplished and vigorous mind, ** Alcte 
phron, or the Minute Philosopher. 
Pancras, May 8, 1811. J. Watgirs, 
4 
Cultivation of Apple-trees for Cider. 
[July 1, 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
"Peren who have resided any length 
*of time ina cyder country, and kuow 
the value of the apple tree to the farmer, 
and at how little expence it ts cultivated, 
must wonder that the growth of it, in 
sufficient abundance for producing cyder, 
should be confined to two or three of our 
counties. It is certainly posgible that 
the soil of tliose selected counties may be 
more peculiarly suited to its culture than 
the rest of England; though, when one* 
observes the cultivation of it extended up 
to the very borders of one county, and 
there stopping short, while in the adjoins 
ing county it is wholly neglected, one 
cannot but suppose that some accidental 
circumstance, rather than any peculiarity 
of soil, must, originally, have thus circum- 
scribed its growth. Yet, however, it is, 
certain that there are soils which are very 
unfavorable to the growth of apple trees, 
and in which, though they may thrive for 
a while, they will seldom attain that age 
and maturity, without which their pro- 
duce will never be sufficient to reward 
either the gardener or the farmer for the 
trouble and expence of rearing them. EF 
believe it is principally where gravel lies 
at a little distance from the surface of the 
earth that the apple tree droops; and 
therefore, where that soil prevails, it is 
loss of labor to plant it in the ordinary 
manner, for though it grows healthily and 
weil until the sap-root reaches the gravel, 
yet the moment it does reach it, the tree 
begins to decay, ceases to bear in any 
abundance, and fecomes fit only for fires 
wood, This happens very soon in many 
places. I remember a gentleman, who 
resiled in the neighbourhood of Brent- 
ford, telling me that he had tried every 
method used in the cyder countries 
(where he had long resided) to rear 
apple-trees in his grounds, and had ap= 
plied them to almost every species of the 
tree, but that owing, as he supposed, to 
the unfavorable natere of the soil, all his 
endeavors had failed; and that of albhthe 
trees he had planted, (and he had planted 
many) not a single one thrived. Here, 
where the soil is I believe of pretty nearly 
the same kind, the same thing takes 
place, and I believe equal difficulty occurs 
in rearing these trees wherever the soil ig 
of the nature I have described: and pro- 
bably there may be other soils besides 
gravel, equally unsuited to the cultivation 
of the apple-tree. But this impediment 
to the growth of these trees does not ap~ 
pear 
