Bacon, Francis, Sylva sylvarum : or, a natural history in ten centuries

Table of contents

< >
[141.] THE BOOK-SELLER UNTO THE READER.
[142.] FINIS.
[143.] NEW ATLANTIS.
[144.] A VVork unfinished. Written by the Right Honorable, FRANCIS Lord Verulam, Viſcount St. Albans.
[145.] TO THE READER
[146.] NEW ATLANTIS.
[147.] The reſt was not perfected.
[148.] Magnalia Naturæ præcipue quoad uſus Humanos.
[149.] FINIS.
< >
page |< < (108) of 389 > >|
142108Natural Hiſtory; ceived, that the keeping of the Sun from the Fruit, may hurt it: But there
isordinary experience of Fruit that gro weth covered.
Quare alſo, whether
ſome ſmall holes may not be made in the Wood to let in the Sun.
And note,
that it were beſt to make the Moulds partible, glued, or cemented together,
that you may open them when you take out the Fruit.
It is a curioſity to have Inſeriptions or Engravings, in Fruit or Trees. This
11503. is eafily performed, by writing with a Needle, or Bodkin, or Knife, or the like,
when the Fruit or Trees are young;
for as they grow, ſo the Letters will
grow more large, and graphical.
--Teneriſque meos incidere Amores
Arboribus, creſcent illæ, creſcetis Amores.
You may have Trees apparelled with Flowers or Herbs by boring holes
22504. in the Bodies of them, and putting into them Earth holpen with Muck, and
ſetting Seeds or Slips, of Violets, Stra wberries Wilde Time, Camomil, and ſuch
like in the Earth, wherein they do but grow in the Tree, as they do in Pots,
though (perhaps) with ſome feeding from the Trees.
As it would be tryed
alſo with Shoots of Vines, and Roots of Red-Roſes;
for it may be they being
of a more Ligneous Nature, will incorporate with the Tree it ſelf.
It is an ordinary curioſity to form Trees and Shrubs (as Roſemary, Juni-
33505. per, and the like) into ſundry ſhapes;
which is done by moulding them
within, and cutting them without.
But they are but lame things, being
too ſmall to keep Figure;
great Caſtles made of Trees upon Frames of
Timber, with Turrets and Arches, were anciently matters of magnifi-
cence.
Amongſt curioſities, I ſhall place Colouration, though it be ſome what
44506. better;
for Beauty in Flowers is their pre-eminence. It is obſerved by ſome,
that Gilly-Flowers, Sweet-Williams, Violess, that are coloured, if they be neg-
lected, and neither Watered, nor new Moulded, nor Tranſplanted, will
turn White.
And it is probable, that the White, with much culture, may
turn coloured, for this is certain, That the white colour cometh oſ ſcarcity
of Nouriſhment;
except in Flowers that are onely white, and admit no
other colours.
It is good therefore to ſee what Natures do accompany what colours;
55507. for by that you ſhall have light, how to induce colours, by producing
thoſe Natures.
Whites are more inodorate (for the moſt part) than Flowers
of the ſame kinde coloured;
as is found in ſingle White Violets, White
Roſes, White Gilly-Flowers, White Stock Gilly-Flowers, &
c. We finde al-
ſo, that Bloſſoms of Trees that are White, are commonly inodorate;
as
Cherries, Pears, Plums, whereas thoſe of Apples, Crabs, Almonds, and
Peaches, are bluſhy, and ſmell ſweet.
The cauſe is, for that the ſubſtance
that maketh the Flower, is of the thinneſt and fineſt of the Plant;
which alſo
maketh Flowers to be of ſo dainty Colours.
And if it be too ſparing and
thin, it attaineth no ſtrength of odor, except it be in ſuch Plants as are
very ſucculent;
whereby they need rather to be ſcanted in their nouriſh-
ment, than repleniſhed, to have them ſweet.
As we ſee in White Satyrion,
which is of a dainty ſmell;
and in Bean-flowers, & c. And again, if the
Plant be of Nature to put forth White Flowers onely, and thoſe not thin or
dry, they are commonly of rank and fulſome ſmell;
as May-Flowers and
White Lillies.
Contrariwiſe, in Berries, the White is commonly more delicate and
66508. ſweet in taſte, than the Coloured;
as we ſee in white Grapes, in white
Raſpes, in white Strawberries, in white Currans, &
c. The cauſe is for

Text layer

  • Dictionary

Text normalization

  • Original
  • Regularized
  • Normalized

Search


  • Exact
  • All forms
  • Fulltext index
  • Morphological index