Section 23

Natural Magic k. 95
Lilly- flowers of a purple colour. The manner whereof, Anatolim fheweth to be this. Ycu muft take ten or twelve Lilly ftalksj abou: iuch time as they be ready to yeeld flowers, bind them all to- gether and hang them up in thefmoak: then will there fpring out of them fome i'mail toots, like unto a Scallion. Therefore when the time of the year ferves to fet them, you mult fteep the ftalks in the Lees of red Wine, till you fee they be throughly Rained wirh that colour: then you muft take them afunder, and fet every oneot them by it felf, watering them ftill with the fame Lees; and fo you fhall have Lillies that bear a purple flower. Cajfianus attempted by the very like means
To produce white Ivy :
He fteeped it in white Marie, and covered the roots of it with the famemorter for eight dayes together, and it brought forth white berries. We may effect the like matters by careful manuring and dreffing of fruits ; for if we apply them with fat and fertile muck, the flowers will be a great deal the better coloured, and may be made blackifh j as we have often proved in Clove-gilliflowers, which we have procured to be fo deep coloured, that they have been even black. And on the contrary
%of. SiClove-giltiflowerS) and Violets will wax of a whiterijh colour^
if ithey be not carefully lookt unto, that either you do not water them well, nor tranfplanc them, nor dig about them, nor feed them with muck ; for by this means Iheophraftus writeth, not only thefe kinds of flowers, but almoft all other, that grow in Woods and Forrefts unregarded, do become whiterifh. But Didymus hath devifed another kind of fleight divers from thefe, whereby to make Rofes and Clove-gilliflowers to become white very fuddenly ; and this is, by fmoaking and perfuming them with brimftone about the time that they begin to open.
Chap. XVI.
How fruits and V lowers may be made to yeeld a better favour then ordinary*
AS it is pretty and delightfome to fee fruits and flowers wear a counterfeit co- lour j fo it is worth our labour to procure in them a more fragrant fmell, then their ordinary kind is wont to afford : which thing we may effect by divers wayes, by planting, by watering, and by other devices. And for example fake, we will
firft fhew, how to make
Limons to become very odoriferous.
If we take that leaft kind of Limons which is called LimonceUum picciolttm, and engraff into a Citron-tree , the flock will infpire the fruit with a very goodly fmell j and the oftner that you fo engraffe it, thefweetcr fmell it will afford, as by daily experience we have tried in our Naples Gardens. So alfo we may procure
Very odoriferous Pears,
by engrafting them upon a Quince-tree, for the flock thereof will lend the fruit a grateful favour. D
Apples may be made more odoriferous, if they be engraffed into a Quince-tree ; and that hereby are procured thofe good- ly Apples which the Athenians call Melimcla. And I iuppofe that the Apple cal- led Appium malum, was produced by the often engrafting of an Apple into a Quince-tree: for the Imellof itisfomewhat like a Quince ; and it is not unlike that Appiw Claudius found it out, and firft procured it by the fame means. Likewife we, have with us great red Apples, and fome of them of a murry colour, which
yeeld
ptf Of the Trodullion of new Tlants.
yield the fame fmc 11 ; and qucftionlcfs could never be produced buc by the fame means. So we have procured
The Centifole %ofeto be more odoriferous.
If you would do (o too, you muft engraffe it into that kind of Rofe, which, by reafonof the fweet fmell of Mu kthat it carries with it, is called Moi'chatu'a; but you mult oftentimes reiterate the engrafting of it again and again : fo (hall i: be more beauurul, and fuller of leave;, and fmell fweeter. But it is beft to engraffe it by Ino.uiation, by clapping the bud of the one upon the bud of the other ; for fo ic will take fooneft, and prove bell. By a Height not much unlike to this we may procure
Vines to fmell of fweet oh.tmentsy *
asPrf.*\*»««fheweth. If you would have the Vine to fmell fwectly, and the place where it groweth, you muft take the branches and cleave them, and pour in iweet ointments into them when you are about to plant them. But your labour will take the better effect, ifyoufirft fteep the branches in fweet oyle, and then plant or engraffe them. I have pra&ifed an eafler and flighter way, befmearing the bran- ches that are to be engraff*d, with Musk, or elfe fteeping them in Rofe- water, if the Musk did not (lay upon them. So alio we could make
Limotts to be as odoriferous as Cinnamon^ by taking the fprigs that arc to be planted, and befmearing them with oyle or the water o: Cinnamon, and dreffing them with much induftry and diligence : And this kind of Limons is nfual amongft us and is termed by the common-people Limon- ceUum incancellatum. There is alfo another device whereby fruits may be made odo- riferous, and roimellof Spices ; and this is, by taking the feeds of them, and fteep- ing them in fwecc water before they be fowed. As for example : If we would procure
Odoriferous Artichocks-)
Caffi mus hath declared out of Varro, the manner how to effect ic. You muft take Aruchock-ieeds, and ftcep them for thefpaceof three dayes in the juice of Rofes, or Lillies, or Bayes, or fome other like, and fo to fet them in the ground. Alio you may make Artichocks fmell like Bayes, if you take a Bay-berry, and make a hole in it, and put therein your Anichock-feed, and fo plant it. Palladia* records out of the fame Author, that if you fteep Artichock-feeds for three dayes together in rhe oyle of Bayes, or Spikenard, or Balme-gum, or the juice of Rofes, or of Ma- ftick, and afterward fet them when they are dry, that then the Artichocks that grow our of thofe feeds, will yeeid the fmell and favour of that which the feeds were be- fore fteeped in. florentinut makes
MeUonsof the fragrant fmell of %ofes, after this manner ; by taking Mellon-feeds, and laying them up amongft dry Rofes, andfo planting them one amongft another. I have procured Mellons to fmell like Mu*k: by opening that part whereby the feed fprouts our, and fteeping them in Rofowater wherein feme Musk was diftilled alfo, and fo planting them after two dayes tteeping. So we have procured
Odoriferous Letticey
bv taking the feed of Letrice, and putting it into the feed of a Citron , and lo plan- ting it. After the lame manner, you may learn co make
Flowers grow that {hall fmell of Cloves; if yon take the feeds of tholefl >wers,and lay them in Clove-powder, or the oyle of Cloves, or Clove- water diftilled, and fo fet them : for by this means,the flowers will entertain the fmell and favour of the Cloves. And this I take it, was the cun- ning
Of the TroduBion of new Tlants* $y
the cunning flight whereby our ordinary Clove-gilliflowers were 6x3 produced; for queftionleffe GiUiflowers do grow everywhere or thcmfeives without anyfuch plealant fmeil ; and beGdes, they are of a (mailer affize, and of their own kinde fomewhat wilde. But it fhould leem, that Gardeners did by their induftry ani trimming, bcftow the lmell of Cloves upon them, by lieeping their feeds in Clove- water, or by fuppling them witii the oyle of Cloves, or elie by (ticking Cloves in the roots of them, and to planting them. We may adde to thefe Heights another device,
How to make GirltcJ^grow that (hall not QneU ranhjy and unfavenrily, Sotion hath taught us the way. If, faith he, you cOTet Gariick, and pluck it up agair, ■ both, when the Moon is undensearh the earth, it will not have any bad favour. And Theofhrafini hath taught as a means
How we may procure %j)fes to yield a more odoriferous fmtlly namely, if you take Gariick, and plant it neer your Rofer.
Chap. XVII. How to procure fruits to be fweeter and pleafanter for tajie.
"THere are fome trees, which cannot away with any fear, but if you cur their flock never fo little, or make any other fear in them, prcfently the Air and the excrin- fccal heat get in, and fo the Trees perifh ; for the corruption will fall downward to the root, and fo make the Trees prefently to wither and fade away. Now there are other Trees, which will abide not only a fear, butalfo to have their flock cUfr, and to be bored into ; yea, and by this means too, they will bear fruit more pit i- tifully; as doth the Pcmegranaie-tree, the Almond-tree, and the Apple-tree ; o : all which there is very great ufe. The reafon hereof is this: Their nature add kinde is, to receive fo much nourifhment as is fufficient for them, and to void avva/ hurtful and iuperfluous humours : for as thofe living creatures which fweat mofr, or have fome other iffuc in their bodies, are mod healthful and wont to live longeft ; fo when thel'e Trees have a cut or a fear in them whereby they fweat out, as it were, their hurtful and fuperfiuous moifture, they do more eafily digeft that moifture which is left behind within them ; and the better that the moifture is digefted, the fweeter and pleafanter is their juice. And befides, they will live, if the parts have any continuation at all, though it be never fo little, only if they may bur hang together: and therefore they will eafily defend themfelves from any harm that may happen unto them by the cutting or mangling of any of t^eir parts. We will fhew how ' to procure fruits that fhall be fweter in tafte then ordinarily theit kind is wont to afford, firft by engraffing, fecondly by boring or cutring, and Uft of all by other means. And firft, by engraffing we may procure
Cherries that (hall have in them the relifh of Bayes^ For as we have (hewed before,engraffing may amend thofe defects that are in plants and endue them with better qualities: fo that if you have any fruit that is loarh- foroe, becaufe it is too fweet, do but engraffe it into a bitter Tree, and there will be fuch a medley , that your fruit fhall have a very favoury relifh. Pliny faith, that if you engraffe a Cherry upon a Bay-tree, you fhall have Cherries thence growing, that will have the fmatch of the Bay. PalUdim faith the fame, engrifte a Cherry upon a Bay- tree, and the fruit that grows thence, will have the relifh of the Bay. In my time, there have been feen certain Cherries, in Naples, which they called Bay-cherries, fomewhat bitter, but yet pleafant withal; a moft excellent kinde Oi fruit, far better then aay other cherries, of a very large affize, full of juice, of a very fanguine colour, that have a bitter-fweet tafte, fo that they are neither loathicrrse for their overmuch fweetnefie, nor yet to be refufed for their overmuch biucrnefs. So likewife may be procured
Sweeter
98
Natural Magick. 2>go^ 2.
S wetter Apples by engraft** them into a Qutnce Por if you do engraff'e an Apple into a Quince, the Apple will have a relifh like honey: which kinde of fruit the Athenians do therefore call Melimela, becaule they tatte like honey, asD/'^Wrrfheweth. Now we will fhew alio, hew by hus- bandry and skilful dretfing, fruits may be made fweetcr in tafte • namely, by pier- cing or boring the ftock , or Icarrifying it round abour, or by fome other chaftifc- ments, as the Husband-men are wont to call them ; for by theie means, the trees may purge themfelves of their fuperfluous moiliurc , and io they will bear the fwee- tcr fruit. As for example : If you would learn,
How to procttrc the Almond-tree to yield fruit without any bitternefs, Arifiotle hath taught you the way. You muff knock a great nail into the body of the Almondtree,thatthegumof the Tree, which caufeth the bitternefle of the fruit, may drop out by that paflage. And this is fuch a Height that hereby you may tame, as it were, wilde Trees, and alter their nature into a milder kind. Theophra(ttt» faith, that if you dig round about the ftock of the Almond-tree, and bore thorough it about nine inches above the ground, the gum will thereby drop our, and fo the fruit will become the fweetcr by that chaftifement. If you cuteffa bough, or an arm of it, l'othatthcgum may have egreffe that way, and if you wipe away the gum ftill as it cometh forth, and obferve this for two or three years together, you may by this means alter a bitter Almond-trec into a fweet one. For the bitternefTe proceeds from no other caufc, but onely from the fupcrfluity of nourishment and moifturc, which is abated by boring into the Mock : and when once that which is fuperfluous is evacuated, then that which is left, is more cafily concocted, and fo the tree becomes fertile in bringing forth a fweeter and a better fruit. Africans likewife affirmeth, that if yon dig about the ftock of a bitter Almond-tree, and make a hole into it fome four inches above the root, whereby it may fweat out the hurtful moiflnre, it will become fweet. Pliny faith the fame; If you dig round a- bout the ftock, faith he, and bore thorough the lower part of it, and wipe away the humour which there iflueth forth, a bitter Almond-trec will become fwcer. Some there are, who after they have made that hole, do prefently put honey into it, that it may not be quite empty ; for they are of opinion, that the relifh of the ho- ney is conveyed up into the fruir, through the pith, as thorough a Conduit-pipe. As for example fake ; If we would procure
Sweet Citrons ;
(fcr that kind of fruit was not wjpnt to be eaten in Theophraflm time, nor in Athen*- «xtimc, as himfelf reports, noryec inT linies time:) Talladiut hath fhewed, how 10 alter the bitter pith of a Citron-tree into fweet. His words are thefe. It is re- ported that the bitter pithes of Citrons may be made fweet, if you take the Citron- feeds, and ftccp them in honey-water, or elfeinEwes milk, (for this is better) for thefpaceof three dayes before you fet them. Some do bore a hole floaping into the body of a Tree, but not quite thorough it i by which paffagc the bitter humour drops away : This holejbrey make in it about February, and leave it fo, till the fiuic is fafhioned ; but after the fruit is fafhioncd, then they fill up the hole with morter ; and by this device the pith is made fweet. This hath Pont arm fet down in his book called, The Gardens of Hefperides. What is it, faith he, that Art will not fearchlnto ? Cut a thick Vine, and make it hollow on the the top, about thy hand breadth j. but fo, that the brims of the hole be brought round and Something clofe together,fo that the fides be about an inch thick and nomorc.Pour into it and fill it up with liquefied honey, and cover it with a broad ftone that the Sun may not come at it. And when the Vine hath drunk in all that, then fill it up again with the like : and when that is foaked in too, then open the concavity wider, and let the Vine grow : but you muft continually water the tenderfoots thereof with mans water: and you muft be fure that you leave no buds or leaves upon the ftock, that fo there may be no other moi- fture let into it, but the whole Vine may grow up u it were in a fpring of honey. PtBudiw ihcws alfo How
Of the TroduBion of newTlants.
99
How to m even by boring a hole in the middle of the ftbck, and putting into it a woodden wedge befmeared over with honey.
Sweet Cucumbers
may be procured, by fteeping Cucumber feeds in fweet waters,till they have drunk them up : for they being planted, will produce fweet Cucumbers. Tbeofhraftus fhews how to mike fweet Cucumbers, even by the fame fleight ; by fteeping their feed in milk, or elfe in water and honey fodden together, and fo planting them. Columella faith, that a Cucumber will cat very tender and fweet , if you fteep the feed thereof in milk before you fet it. Others, becaufe they would have the Cucum- ber to be the fweeter, do Ikep the feed thereof in honey- water. 'Pliny and Palla- dia do write the fame things of the fame fruit, out of the fame Authors. Cafsianut hath declared out of Varroy how to procure
Sweet Artichockj growing. You mud take the Artichock-fecds, and fteep them in milk and honey, and after you have dryed them again, then fet them, and the fruit will relifti of honey. So you may procure
Sweet Fennel growings For if ycu fleep Fennel' feeds in fweet wine and milk, then will the fruic that grows of thofe feeds, be much fweeter. Or elfe if you put the feeds thereof in dry figs , and fo plant them, the like effect will follow. So you may procure