268 NATURAL HISTORY. 



barley. But this happeneth ever, for that the earlier 

 stayeth for the later, and not that the later cometh 

 sooner. 



581. There be divers fruit trees in the hot coun 

 tries, which have blossoms, and young fruit, and ripe 

 fruit, almost all the year, succeeding one another. 

 And it is said the orange hath the like with us for a 

 great part of summer, and so also hath the fig. 

 And no doubt the natural motion of plants is to have 

 so ; but that either they want juice to spend, or they 

 meet with the cold of the winter ; and therefore this 

 circle of ripening cannot be but in succulent plants, 

 and hot countries. 



582. Some herbs are but annual, and die, root 

 and all, once a year ; as borage, lettuce, cucumbers, 

 musk-melons, basil, tobacco, mustard-seed, and all 

 kinds of corn: some continue many years; as 

 hyssop, germander, lavender, fennel, &c. The cause 

 of the dying is double ; the first is, the tenderness 

 and weakness of the seed, which maketh the period 

 in a small time ; as it is in borage, lettuce, cucum 

 bers, corn, &c. and therefore none of these are hot. 

 The other cause is, for that some herbs can worse 

 endure cold ; as basil, tobacco, mustard-seed. And 

 these have all much heat. 



Experiments in consort touching the lasting of herbs 



and trees. 



583. The lasting of plants is most in those that 

 are largest of body ; as oaks, elm, chestnut, the loat- 

 tree, &c. and this holdeth in trees ; but in herbs it is 



