158 Of St. Foin. Chap.XIL 



cular Tap-foot: It is faid to defcend Twenty or 

 Thirty Feet. I have been inform'd, by a Perfon of' 

 undoubted Credit, that he has broken off one of thefe 

 Roots in a Pit, and meafured the Part broken off* 

 and found it fourteen Feet. 



This Taproot has alfo a Multitude of very long 

 horizontal Roots at the upper Part thereof, which fill 

 all the upper Stratum, or Staple of the Ground; and 

 of thoufands of St. Foin Roots I have feen taken up, 

 I never found one that was without horizontal Roots 

 near the Surface, after one Summer's Growth; and 

 do much wonder how Mr. Kerkham fhould be fo mis- 

 taken, as to think they have none fuch. 



Alio thefe Tap-roots have the horizontal ones alt 

 the Way down; but as they defcend, they are dill 

 lriorter and fhorter, as the uppermoft are always the 

 longell. 



Any dry Ground may be made to produce this 

 noble Plant, be it never fo poor; but the richefl Soil 

 will yield the mod of ir, and the bed. 



Chalk, to {lop the Roots from running deep; elfe, they fay, the 

 Plants fpend thernfelves in the Roots only, and cannot thrive in 

 thofe Parts of them which are above the Ground. I am almoft 

 aihamed to give an Anfwer to this. 



'Tis certain that every Plant is nourilhed from its Roots (as an 

 Animal is by its Guts) ; and the more and larger Roots it has, the 

 more Nourilhment it receives, and profpers in proportion to it. 

 St. Foin always fucceeds where its Roots run deep; and when it 

 does not fucceed, it never lives to have long Roots; neither can there 

 ever be found a Plant of it, that lives fo long as to rvot deep in 

 a Soil that is improper for it: Therefore 'tis amazing to hear fuch 

 Reafoning from Men. 



An under Stratum of very ftrong Clay, or other Earth, which 

 holds Water, may make a Soil improper for it; becaufe the 

 Water kills the Root, and never fuffers it to grow to Perfection, 

 or to attain to its natural Bulk. The belt St. Foin that ever I faw, 

 had nothing in the Soil to obftrucl: the Roots, and it has been 

 found to have Roots of a prodigious Depth. If there be Springs 

 near (or within feveral Feet of) the Surface of the Soil, St. Foin 

 will die therein in Winter, even after it has been vigorous in the 

 firft Summer ; and alfo after it hath produced a great Crop in the 

 fecond Summer, 



If 



