322 SYLVA BOOK ii 



mission to open the body of it, he found another elm, 

 letting down its stem all the length of this empty 

 case, and striking root when it came to the earth, 

 from whence it deriv'd nourishment, maintains a 

 flourishing top, and has (till now) pass'd for a little 

 miracle, as it still may do for a thing extraordinary, 

 and rare enough ; considering not only its passage, 

 and how it should come there, unless haply some of 

 the samera^ or seed of the old tree (when pregnant) 

 should have luckily fallen down within the hollow 

 pipe, or (as might be conjectur'd) from some sucker 

 springing of a juicy root : But the strange incorpor- 

 ating of the superior part of the bole, with the old 

 hollow tree which embraces it, not by any perceptible 

 roots, but as if it were but one body with it, whilst 

 the rest of the vaginated stem touches no other part 

 of the whole cavity, till it comes to the ground, is 

 surprizing. This being besides very extraordinary, 

 that a tree, which naturally grows taper as it approach- 

 es the top, should swell, and become bigger there 

 than it is below. But this the Doctor will himself 

 render a more minute account of in the next impression 

 of that excellent piece of his ; nor had I anticipated 

 it on this occasion, but to let the world know (in 

 the mean time) how ingenuously ready he is to ac- 

 knowlege the mistake, as he has been successful in 

 discovering it. 



Deer, conies, and hares, by barking the trees in 

 hard Winters, spoil very many tender plantations : 

 Next to the utter destroying them, there is nothing 

 better than to anoint that part which is within their 

 reach, with stercus humanum, tempered with a little 

 water, or urine, and lightly brushed on ; this renewed 

 after every great rain : But a cleanlier than this, and 



