Chap. III. Of Pasture of Plants. 27 

 one affords the Natural, the other the Artificial Pa- 

 li ure of Plants. 



The natural Pafture alone will fuffice, to furnifh a 

 Country with Vegetables, for the Maintenance of a 

 few Inhabitants ; but if Agriculture were taken out 

 of the World, 'tis much to be fear'd, that thofe of all 

 populous Countries, efpecially towards the Confines 

 of the frigid Zones (for there the Trees often 

 fail of producing Fruit), would be oblig'd to turn 

 Anthropophagi^ as in many uncultivated Regions 

 they do, very probably for that Reafon. 



The'artificial Pafture of Plants is that inner Super- 

 ficies whivh is made from dividing the Soil by Art, 



This does, on all Parts of the Globe, where ufed, 

 maincain many more People than the natural Pafture 

 (a)> and in the colder Climates, I believe, it will not 



be 



(a) The extraordinary Increafe of St. Foin, Clover, and na- 

 tural Grafs, when their Roots reach into pulveriz'd Earth, ex- 

 ceeding the Increafe of all thofe other Plants of the fame Species 

 (that lland out of the Reach of it) above One hundred Times, 

 fhew how vaiily the artificial Pafture of Plants exceeds the na- 

 tural. A full Proof of this Difference, (befides very many I have 

 had before) was feen by two Intervals in the middle of a poor 

 Field of worn-out St. Foin, pulveriz'd in the precedent Summer, 

 in the manner defcrib'd in a Note on the latter Part of Chap. 

 XII. relating to St. Foin. Here not only the St. Foin adjoin- 

 ing to thefe Intervals recover' d its Strength, blofTom'd, and 

 feeded well, but alio the natural Grafs amongft it was as ftrong, 

 and had as flourifhing a Colour, as if a Dung heap had been 

 laid in the Intervals ; alfo many other Weeds came out from the 

 Edges of the unplcw'd Ground, which mint have lain dormant a 

 great many Years, grew higher and larger than ever were ^en. 

 before in that Field ; but above all, there was a Weed amongfr. 

 the St. Foin, which generally accompanies it, bearing a white 

 Flower; {ota&Z^X'xK White Weed, others Lady's Bed/} raw: Some 

 Plants of this that flood near the Intervals, were, in the Opinion 

 of all that faw them, increafed to a thoufand Times the Bulk of 

 thofe of the fame Species, that flood in the Field three Feet ditfant 

 from fuch pulveriz'd Earth. 



Note, Thefe Intervals were each an Hundred Perch long, and 

 had each in them a treble Row of Barley very good. The Rea- 

 fon I take to be this, That the Land had lain (till feveral Years 



afcer 



