228 NATURAL HISTORY. 



often watered, in a fruitful ground, with the very 

 luxury of the trees will incorporate and grow to 

 gether. Which seemeth to me the likeliest means 

 that hath heen propounded ; for that the binding 

 doth hinder the natural swelling of the tree ; which, 

 while it is in motion, doth better unite. 



Experiments in consort touching the sympathy and 



antipathy of plants. 



There are many ancient arid received traditions 

 and observations touching the sympathy and anti 

 pathy of plants ; for that some will thrive best 

 growing near others, which they impute to sym 

 pathy, and some worse, which they impute to anti 

 pathy. But these are idle and ignorant conceits, 

 and forsake the true indication of the causes, as the 

 most part of experiments that concern sympathies 

 and antipathies do. For as to plants, neither is 

 there any such secret friendship or hatred as they 

 imagine ; and if we should be content to call it sym 

 pathy and antipathy, it is utterly mistaken, for their 

 sympathy is an antipathy, and their antipathy is a 

 sympathy, for it is thus : Wheresoever one plant 

 draweth such a particular juice out of the earth, as 

 it qualifieth the earth, so as that juice which re- 

 maineth is fit for the other plant ; there the neigh 

 bourhood doth good, because the nourishments are 

 contrary or several: but where two plants draw 

 much the same juice, there the neighbourhood 

 hurteth, for the one deceiveth the other. 



480. First therefore, all plants that do draw 



