CENTURY VIII. 9 



it may be, the fish will eat the pleasanter, and may fall 

 to breed. And it is said, that Colchester oysters, which 

 are put into pits where the sea goeth and cometh, (but 

 vet so that there is a fresh water coming also to them 

 when the sea voideth,) become by that means fatter 

 and more grown. 



Experiment solitary touching attraction by similitude 

 substance. 



704. The Turkish bow giveth a very forcible shoot ; 

 nsomuch as it hath been known that the arrow hath 

 pierced a steel target, or a piece of brass of two inches 

 thick : but that which is more strange, the arrow, if 

 it be headed with wood, hath been known to pierce 

 through a piece of wood ,of eight inches thick. 1 And 

 it is certain that we had in use at one time, for sea- 

 fight, short arrows, which they called sprights, without 

 any other heads, save wood sharpened ; which were 

 discharged out of muskets, and would pierce through 

 the sides of ships where a bullet would not pierce. 

 But this dependeth upon one of the greatest secrets 

 in all nature ; which is, that similitude of siibstance 

 will cause attraction, where the body is wholly freed 

 from the motion of gravity : for if that were taken 

 away, lead would draw lead, and gold would draw 

 gold, and iron would draw iron, without the help 

 of the loadstone. But this same motion of weight 

 or oravitv f which is a mere motion of matter, and 



O t V 



hath no affinity with the form or kind) doth kill the 

 other motion, except itself be killed by a violent mo 

 tion ; as in these instances of arrows ; for then the 

 motion of attraction by similitude of substance be- 



i Sandys, p. 50. 



