348 NATURAL HISTORY. 



not the same corn that grew upon the same ground, 

 but the same kind of grain, as wheat, barley, &c. it 

 will prosper but poorly : therefore, besides the rest 

 ing of the ground, you must vary the seed. Another 

 ill accident is from the winds, which hurt at two 

 times ; at the flowering, by shaking off the flowers, 

 and at the full ripening, by shaking out the corn. 

 Another ill accident is drought, at the spindling of 

 the corn, which with us is rare, but in hotter coun 

 tries common : insomuch as the word calamitas was 

 first derived from calamus, when the corn could not 

 get out of the stalk. Another ill accident is over- 

 wet at sowing time, which with us breedeth much 

 dearth, insomuch as the corn never cometh up ; and 

 many times they are forced to resow summer corn 

 where they sowed winter corn. Another ill accident 

 is bitter frosts continued without snow, especially in 

 the beginning of the winter, after the seed is new 

 sown. Another disease is worms, which sometimes 

 breed in the root, and happen upon hot suns and 

 showers immediately after the sowing ; and another 

 worm breedeth in the ear itself, especially when 

 hot suns break often out of clouds. Another disease 

 is weeds, and they are such as either choke and over 

 shadow the corn, and bear it down, or starve the 

 corn, and deceive it of nourishment. Another dis 

 ease is over-rankness of the corn ; which they use to 

 remedy by mowing it after it is come up, or putting 

 sheep into it. Another ill accident is laying of corn 

 with great rains, near or in harvest. Another ill ac 

 cident is, if the seed happen to have touched oil, or 



