250 NATURAL HISTORY. 



with seeds that are of the weakest sort, and have 

 least vigour. You shall do well, therefore, to take 

 marsh-herbs, and plant them on tops of hills and 

 champaigns ; and such plants as require much mois 

 ture, upon sandy and very dry grounds. As for 

 example, marsh-mallows and sedge, upon hills ; 

 cucumber, and lettuce seeds, and coleworts, upon a 

 sandy plot; so contrariwise, plant bushes, heath, 

 ling, and brakes, upon a wet or marsh ground. This 

 I conceive also, that all esculent and garden herbs, 

 set upon the tops of hills, will prove more medicinal, 

 though less esculent than they were before. And it 

 may be likewise, some wild herbs you may make 

 sallad herbs. This is the first rule for transmuta 

 tion of plants. 



527. The second rule shall be, to bury some few 

 seeds of the herb you would change, amongst other 

 seeds ; and then you shall see whether the juice of 

 those other seeds do not so qualify the earth, as it 

 will alter the seed whereupon you work. As for 

 example, put parsley seed amongst onion seed, or 

 lettuce seed amongst parsley seed, or basil seed 

 amongst thyme seed ; and see the change of taste 

 or otherwise. But you shall do well to put the seed 

 you would change into a little linen cloth, that it 

 mingle not with the foreign seed. 



528. The third rule shall be, the making of some 

 medley or mixture of earth with some other plants 

 bruised or shaven either in leaf or root ; as for ex 

 ample, make earth with a mixture of colewort leaves 

 stamped, and set in it artichokes or parsnips; so 



