Of Spina. cap. 149.
A Thorne is called Spina, and is a trée with sharpe prickes, and is as it were armed with prickes against wrongs of them that touch it, as Isid. saith. And by likenesse thereof the ridge bone is called Spina. For the ioynts of the bones in the ridge bone, be sharp as a thorne: and pro∣perly to speake, Spina, the thorne, is the pricke that groweth out of the thorne or of hearbs & trées with pricks, & the prick springeth out of the stocke or of the stalk, & is great next to the trée & stalk, & sharp outward at the point. Thou maist finde the cause therof before in the same booke, where it is treated of trées, and of dispo∣sition of trées in generall.
There it is sayde, that it is not the intent of kind, that trees be sharpe with prickes and thornes: But it happeneth and commeth of vnfastnesse and vnsad∣nesse of the tree, by the which colde hu∣mour is drawen that is but lyttle ••odde. And is drawen and passeth by pores and hoales outwarde, and is hardned by heat of the Sunne, and made a thorne or a pricke, and is made small and sharpe at the ende for scarcitie of matter. And sometime is sharpe, and some deale ben∣ding, as it fareth in briers and rose trées, sometime the point is areared vpright, as it were in Dartes. Oft growing of thornes, is token of barren land vn∣tilled. And it is as it were a generall rule, that all shrubs and trees with ma∣ny thornes and prickes bee wounde and wreathed togethers, and compassed and succoured and defended each with other, and fight against them that they touch, and wounde theyr handes, and none of them hurteth other. And for thicknesse it letteth the comming of the Sun beames and of the dew of heauen, to things that be there vnder. And therefore that which is sowen nigh, or among thornes, thri∣ueth not commonlye. Often handes and feets be wounded with pricking of thornes, and the ach ceaseth not till the thorne be all taken out of the places that be hurt. And for sharpnesse and pricking vnneth thornes be feld or plucked out of the ground without hooke, Bill, Matock, or some other edged toole. And when they bee felde or rooted vp, they be bounde in Fagots and in heapes, and burnt in Ouens and in Furnases.
Also among thornes often be flowers scene, and also much fruit, but thornes be not softned by softnesse of flowres, but when flowres and leaues fall, thornes a∣bide and be more harde. And for thornes be kindly dry, they be soone kindled in the fire, and giue a strong ley, and sparkleth and cracketh, & maketh much noise: and soone after they be brought all to naught, as the Glose saith super Eccle. 7. The Laughing of fooles, is as the cracking of thornes vnder a pot, and that is a vaine thing. Ecclesiastes. 2.
But thornes be not vnprofitable, but they bee good and profitable to manye manner vses. For of thornes men make hedges and pauises, with which men de∣fend