318 HISTORY OF 



orchard trees. And, lastly, in the same kind trees that bear 

 a sour fruit outlive those that bear a sweet fruit. 



An Observation. 



Aristotle noted well the difference between plants and 

 living creatures, in respect of their nourishment and repara 

 tion : namely, that the bodies of living creatures are con 

 fined within certain bounds, and that after they be come to 

 their full growth, they are continued and preserved by 

 nourishment, but they put forth nothing new except hair 

 and nails, which are counted for no better than excrements ; 

 so as the juice of living creatures must of necessity sooner 

 wax old ; but in trees, which put forth yearly new boughs, 

 new shoots, new leaves, and new fruits, it comes to pass 

 that all these parts in trees are once a year young and 

 renewed. Now, it being so, that whatsoever is fresh and 

 young draws the nourishment more lively and cheerfuHy to 

 it than that which is decayed and old, it happens withal, 

 that the stock and body of the tree, through which the sap 

 passeth to the branches, is refreshed and cheated with a 

 more bountiful and vigorous nourishment in the passage 

 than otherwise it would have been. And this appears 

 manifest (though Aristotle noted it not, neither hath he ex 

 pressed these things so clearly and perspicuously) in hedges, 

 copses, and pollards, when the plashing, shedding, or lop 

 ping, comforteth the old stem or stock, and maketh it more 

 flourishing and long lived. 



Desiccation, Prohibiting of Desiccation, and Integration of 

 that which is desiccated and dried. 



To the second article. The History. 



1. Fire and strong heats dry some things and melt 

 others. 



&quot; Limus ut hie durescit, et haec ut cera liquescit, 

 Uno eodemque igne?&quot; 



How this clay is hardened, and how this wax is melted, 

 with one and the same thing, fire ? It drieth earth, stones, 

 wood, cloth, and skins, and whatsoever is not liquefiable; 

 and it melteth metals, wax, gums, butter, tallow, and the like. 



2. Notwithstanding, even in those things which the fire 

 melteth, if it be very vehement and continueth, it doth at 

 last dry them. For metal in a strong fire (gold only ex- 

 cepted), the volatile part being gone forth, will become less 

 ponderous and more brittle ; and those oily and fat sub- 



