CHAR III. 



O/Pasture o/Plants. 



CATTLE feed on Vegetables that grow upon 

 the Earth's external Surface ; but Vegetables 

 themfelves firft receive, from within the Earth, the 

 Nourifhment they give to Animals. 



The Pafture of Cattle has been known and un- 

 derstood in all Ages of the World, it being liable to 

 Inipeclion ; but the Pafture of Plants, being out of 

 the Obfervation of the Senfes, is only to be known 

 by Difquifitions of Reafon •, and has (for ought I 

 can find) pafs'd undifcover'd by the Writers of Hus- 

 bandry (a). 



The Ignorance of this feems to be one principal 

 Caufe, that Agriculture, the moft neceffary of all 

 Arts, has been treated of by Authors more Superfi- 

 cially than any other Art whatever. The Food or 

 Pabulum of Plants being prov'd to be Earth, where 

 and whence (b) they take that, may properly be 

 called their Pafture. 



This Pafture I (hall endeavour to defcribe. 



(a) When Writers of Hufbandry, in difcourfing of Earth and 

 Vegetation, come nearefi: to the Thing, that is, the Pafture of 

 Plants, they are loft in the Shadow of it, and wander in a Wil- 

 dernefs of obfcure ExpreiTions, fuch as Magnetifm, Virtue, Power, 

 Specific Quality, Certain Quality, and the like ; wherein there is 

 no manner of Light for difcovering the real Subftance, but we 

 are left by them more in the Dark to find it, than Roots are when 

 they feed on it ; And when a Man, no lefs.fagacious than Mr. 

 Evelyn, has tracM it thro' ail the Mazes of the Occult Qualities, 

 and even up to the Metaphyfics, he declares he cannot determine, 

 whether the Thing he purfues be Corporeal or Spiritual. 



(h) By the Pafture is not meant the Pabulum itfelf j but the 

 Superficies from whence the Pabulum is taken bv Roots. 



Tis 



