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of nature. When rocks first emerge out 

 of the sea, they are so polished by the force of the 

 waves, that hardly any herb is able to fix its habita- 

 tion upon them. But crustaceous liverworts soon 

 begin to cover these dry rocks, though they have no 

 nourishment but the little mould arid imperceptible 

 particles, which the rain and air bring thither. These 

 liverworts dying turn into fine earth, in which a 

 larger kind of liverworts strike their roots. These 

 also die and turn to mould ; and then the various 

 kinds of mosses find nourishment. Lastly, these 

 dying yield such plenty of mould, that herbs and 

 shrubs easily take root and live upon it. 



That trees when dry or cut down, may not re- 

 main useless to the world, and lie melancholy spec- 

 tacles, nature hastens on to their destruction, in a 

 singular manner. First the liverworts begin to strike 

 root in them ; afterward the moisture is drawn out 

 of them, whence putrefaction follows. Then the 

 mushroom kind find a fit place to grow on, and cor. 

 rupt them still more. A particular sort of beetle next 

 makes himself a way between the bark and the wood. 

 Then a sort of caterpillar and several other sorts of 

 beetles, bore numberless holes through the trunk. 

 Lastly, the wood peckers come, and while they are 

 seeking for insects, shatter the tree already corrupted, 

 and exceedingly hasten its return to the earth from 

 whence it came. But how shall the trunk of a tree, 

 which is immersed in water, ever return to earth ? 

 A particular kind of worm performs this work, as 

 seafaring men well know. 



But why is so inconsiderable a plant as thistles, 

 so armed and guarded by nature ? Because it is one 

 of the most useful plants that grows. Observe a 

 heap of clay, on which for many years no plant has 

 sprung up; let but the seeds of a thistle fix there, 

 and other plants will quickly eome thither, and soon 

 cover the ground. For the thistles by their leaves 

 attract moisture from the air ; aud by their roots 



