1 74 NATURAL HISTORY. 



tion of the ordinary time, it is the lustiness of the 

 child ; but when it is less, it is some indisposition of 

 the mother. 



Experiment solitary touching the acceleration of 

 growth and stature. 



354. To accelerate growth or stature, it must 

 proceed either from the plenty of the nourishment, 

 or from the nature of the nourishment, or from the 

 quickening and exciting of the natural heat. For 

 the first excess of nourishment is hurtful ; for it 

 maketh the child corpulent ; and growing in breadth 

 rather than in height. And you may take an expe 

 riment from plants, which if they spread much are 

 seldom tall. As for the nature of the nourishment ; 

 first, it may not be too dry, and therefore children 

 in dairy countries do wax more tall, than where they 

 feed more upon bread and flesh. There is also a 

 received tale, that boiling of daisy roots in milk, 

 which it is certain are great driers, will make dogs 

 little. But so much is true, that an over-dry nou 

 rishment in childhood putteth back stature. Second 

 ly, the nourishment must be of an opening nature, 

 for that attenuateth the juice, and furthereth the 

 motion of the spirits upwards. Neither is it with 

 out cause, that Xenophon, in the nurture of the Per 

 sian children, doth so much commend their feeding 

 upon cardamon, which, he saith, made them grow 

 better, and be of a more active habit. Cardamon is 

 in Latin ^ nasturtium,&quot; and with us water-cresses ; 

 which, it is certain, is an herb&amp;gt;. that whilst it is young, 



