( 36 ) 



In ftiort^ what is the hardcft mortar, that wUl 

 endure for ages, but a compofition of lime and 

 fand tempert d with water ? 



No one ever iuppofed lime capable of af- 

 fording nutriment towards the fuppoj t of ve- 

 getation. I had a Rrong proof of the ill efrtfts 

 of a profufion of it. I entered into a fward 

 clofe, which had been in grafs nine years. One 

 corner of the clofe was overrun with couch- 

 grafs. I ploughed the who]e fkld wp, and 

 fowed it with oats : but not an oat grew upoa 

 the part where the couch had been. Next 

 year the field was fown v/ith peas ; not % fingle 

 pea grew upon that fpot ! I had obferved that 

 a heap of lime had been depofited in the corner 

 jiowfpokcn of: but it did not ftrike me thac 

 lime was fo great an enemy to vegetation* 

 After tke peas were off, the field was plough- 

 ed three times for a crop of wheat , and I {^zt a 

 man with a fork carefully to pick out every bit 

 of twitch from the corner, and beftowed fom^- 

 thing more of manure upon it than upon any 

 other part of the field. The reft of the field 

 yielded a mofl abundant crop : but ftill upon 

 the unfortunate f^^ot 1 could not get a fingle 



grain 



