1South are very hard, yet they are apt to warp
in their Sap, ſo that they are not ſtrait and
even enough for Service, Moreover, thoſe
which are in their Natures dry and ſlow growers,
are ſtronger than thoſe which are moiſt and
fruitful; wherefore Varro ſuppos'd that the
one were Male and the other Female, and that
white Timber was leſs cloſe and more tractable
than that which has any other Colour in it.
It is certain that heavy Wood is harder and
cloſer than light; and the Lighter it is, the
more Brittle; and the more Knotty the ſtronger.
Trees likewiſe which Nature has endu'd with
the longeſt Life, ſhe has always endu'd with
the Property of keeping longeſt from Decay
when cut down, and the leſs Sap they have, ſo
much they are the Stronger and more Hardy.
The Parts neareſt to the Sap are indeed
harder and cloſer than the reſt; but thoſe next
the Bark have more binding Nerves, for it is
ſuppos'd, in Trees juſt as in Animals, the Bark
is the Skin, the Parts next under the Bark are
the Fleſh, and that which encloſes the Sap, the
Bone; and Ariſtotle thought the Knots in Plants
were in the Nature of Nerves. Of all the Parts
of the Tree, the worſt is the Alburnum, or
Juice, that nouriſhes it, both becauſe it is very
apt to breed Worms, and upon ſeveral other
Accounts. To theſe Obſervations we may
add, that the Part of the Tree which, while
it was ſtanding, was towards the South, will
be dryer than the reſt, and thinner, and more
extenuated, but it will be firmer and cloſer;
and the Sap will be nearer to the Bark on that
Side than on the other. Thoſe Parts alſo
which are neareſt to the Ground and to the
Roots, will be heavier than any of the reſt; a
Proof whereof is that they will hardly float
upon the Water; and the Middle of all Trees
is the moſt knotty. The Veins too, the nea
rer they are to the Roots, the more they are
wreath'd and contorted; nevertheleſs the
lower Parts are reckoned always ſtronger and
more uſeful than the Upper. But I find in
good Authors ſome very remarkable Things
of ſome Trees; they ſay that the Vine exceeds
even the Eternity of Time itſelf. In Popolonia,
near Piombino, there was a Statue of Jupiter
made of that Wood to be ſeen in Cœſar's Days,
which had laſted for a vaſt Number of Years
without the leaſt Decay; and indeed it is uni
verſally allow'd that there is no Wood what
ſoever more durable. In Ariana, a Province
of India, there are Vines ſo large, as Strabo
informs us, that two Men can hardly embrace
its Trunk. They tell us of a Roof of Cedar
in Utica that laſted twelve Hundred and
ſeventy eight Years. In a Temple of Diana
in Spain they ſpeak of Rafters of Juniper, that
laſted from two Hundred Years before the
Siege of Troy quite to the Days of Hanibal.
The Cedar too is of a moſt wonderful Nature,
if as they ſay it is the only Wood that will
not retain the Nails. In the Mountains near
the Lake Benacus, or the Lago di Garda,
grows a Kind of Fir, which, if you make
Veſſels of it, will not hold the Wine, unleſs
you firſt anoint them with Oil. Thus much
for Trees.
in their Sap, ſo that they are not ſtrait and
even enough for Service, Moreover, thoſe
which are in their Natures dry and ſlow growers,
are ſtronger than thoſe which are moiſt and
fruitful; wherefore Varro ſuppos'd that the
one were Male and the other Female, and that
white Timber was leſs cloſe and more tractable
than that which has any other Colour in it.
It is certain that heavy Wood is harder and
cloſer than light; and the Lighter it is, the
more Brittle; and the more Knotty the ſtronger.
Trees likewiſe which Nature has endu'd with
the longeſt Life, ſhe has always endu'd with
the Property of keeping longeſt from Decay
when cut down, and the leſs Sap they have, ſo
much they are the Stronger and more Hardy.
The Parts neareſt to the Sap are indeed
harder and cloſer than the reſt; but thoſe next
the Bark have more binding Nerves, for it is
ſuppos'd, in Trees juſt as in Animals, the Bark
is the Skin, the Parts next under the Bark are
the Fleſh, and that which encloſes the Sap, the
Bone; and Ariſtotle thought the Knots in Plants
were in the Nature of Nerves. Of all the Parts
of the Tree, the worſt is the Alburnum, or
Juice, that nouriſhes it, both becauſe it is very
apt to breed Worms, and upon ſeveral other
Accounts. To theſe Obſervations we may
add, that the Part of the Tree which, while
it was ſtanding, was towards the South, will
be dryer than the reſt, and thinner, and more
extenuated, but it will be firmer and cloſer;
and the Sap will be nearer to the Bark on that
Side than on the other. Thoſe Parts alſo
which are neareſt to the Ground and to the
Roots, will be heavier than any of the reſt; a
Proof whereof is that they will hardly float
upon the Water; and the Middle of all Trees
is the moſt knotty. The Veins too, the nea
rer they are to the Roots, the more they are
wreath'd and contorted; nevertheleſs the
lower Parts are reckoned always ſtronger and
more uſeful than the Upper. But I find in
good Authors ſome very remarkable Things
of ſome Trees; they ſay that the Vine exceeds
even the Eternity of Time itſelf. In Popolonia,
near Piombino, there was a Statue of Jupiter
made of that Wood to be ſeen in Cœſar's Days,
which had laſted for a vaſt Number of Years
without the leaſt Decay; and indeed it is uni
verſally allow'd that there is no Wood what
ſoever more durable. In Ariana, a Province
of India, there are Vines ſo large, as Strabo
informs us, that two Men can hardly embrace
its Trunk. They tell us of a Roof of Cedar
in Utica that laſted twelve Hundred and
ſeventy eight Years. In a Temple of Diana
in Spain they ſpeak of Rafters of Juniper, that
laſted from two Hundred Years before the
Siege of Troy quite to the Days of Hanibal.
The Cedar too is of a moſt wonderful Nature,
if as they ſay it is the only Wood that will
not retain the Nails. In the Mountains near
the Lake Benacus, or the Lago di Garda,
grows a Kind of Fir, which, if you make
Veſſels of it, will not hold the Wine, unleſs
you firſt anoint them with Oil. Thus much
for Trees.
CHAP. VIII.
Of Stones in general, when they are to be dug, and when uſed; which are the
ſofteſt and which the hardeſt, and which beſt and moſt durable.
ſofteſt and which the hardeſt, and which beſt and moſt durable.
We muſt likewiſe make Proviſion of the
Stone which is to be uſed in our
Walls, and this is of two Sorts; the one proper
only ſor making the Lime and the Cement,
the other for erecting the Building. Of
this latter we ſhall treat firſt, omitting many
Particulars, both for the Sake of Brevity, and
becauſe they are already ſufficiently known.
Neither ſhall we ſpend any Time here in phi
loſophical Enquiries about the Principle and
Origin of Stones; as, whether their firſt Par
ticles, made viſcous by a Mixture of Earth and
Water, harden firſt into Slime, and afterwards
into Stone; or what is ſaid of Gems, that
they are collected and concreted by the Heat
and Power of the Rays of the Sun, or rather
that there is in the Boſom of the Earth certain
natural Seeds as of other Things, ſo alſo of
Stones: And whether their Colour is owing
to a certain proper blending of the Particles of
Water with very minute ones of Earth; or to
ſome innate Quality of its own Seed, or to an
Impreſſion receiv'd from the Sun's Rays. And
though theſe Diſquiſitions might perhaps help
Stone which is to be uſed in our
Walls, and this is of two Sorts; the one proper
only ſor making the Lime and the Cement,
the other for erecting the Building. Of
this latter we ſhall treat firſt, omitting many
Particulars, both for the Sake of Brevity, and
becauſe they are already ſufficiently known.
Neither ſhall we ſpend any Time here in phi
loſophical Enquiries about the Principle and
Origin of Stones; as, whether their firſt Par
ticles, made viſcous by a Mixture of Earth and
Water, harden firſt into Slime, and afterwards
into Stone; or what is ſaid of Gems, that
they are collected and concreted by the Heat
and Power of the Rays of the Sun, or rather
that there is in the Boſom of the Earth certain
natural Seeds as of other Things, ſo alſo of
Stones: And whether their Colour is owing
to a certain proper blending of the Particles of
Water with very minute ones of Earth; or to
ſome innate Quality of its own Seed, or to an
Impreſſion receiv'd from the Sun's Rays. And
though theſe Diſquiſitions might perhaps help