An history of the wonderful things of nature set forth in ten severall classes wherein are contained I. The wonders of the heavens, II. Of the elements, III. Of meteors, IV. Of minerals, V. Of plants, VI. Of birds, VII. Of four-footed beasts, VIII. Of insects, and things wanting blood, IX. Of fishes, X. Of man / written by Johannes Jonstonus, and now rendred into English by a person of quality.

CHAP. I. Of Plants in generall.

WEe have seen the Wonders of things without life; Now let us see the Wonders of living Creatures▪ Plants are first in order; not that they are the chief, but because they have that degree in com∣mon to all living Creatures. They have a vegetative soul, producing the nutritive, augmenting, and generative faculties, with all things subordinate to them. And besides, each hath a specificall form of its own being, works by it, and is distinguished from others. Nature hath made up their bodies of certain parts, which Philosophers call the kernel, the pith, the bark of the root, the stock, the boughes, the branches, the flowers, the fruit. As these vary, so is there very great difference in Plants. The Earth is their Mother, their faculty was given by creation; and because qualities are different, it is found ve∣ry various in Plants also. Moses speaks expresly, Let the Earth bring forth grasse, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in it self upon the Earth. But Porta (l. 2. Phytogn. c. 1.) when he had heaped up much ground together, which was cast forth from the foundations of houses, and laid it open to the Ayr; a few dayes after, from the divers qualities of the Earth, divers sorts of herbs sprang forth. He saw these things familiarly in Naples climat

and grounds, some of them must needs marry. The principles of Male and Female are mingled in them. But that which Pliny writes is false, that they are begot by the West wind. They wither that fructifie most, for their nourishment is consumed; and beyond St. Thomas Island, the South wind onely is said to blow, elsewhere onely two winds by courses: And it is certain, that all kinds of Plants do not grow in all places. For near Rome Chestnuts will hardly grow: and about Cimmerian Bosphorus, in the City Particapaeum. King Mithri∣dates and the rest of the Inhabitants wanted the Bay and Myrtill Tree in their solemnities. Some new Plants are found in new-found pla∣ces, as Tobacco lately in America, wild Tobacco was found in the Woods of Thuringia, Libavius l. 4. de orig. rerum. Anaxagoras ascribes it to the ayr that hath in it the seeds of all things, and sends them down in showrs, and they become Plants. Diogenes, to the waters putrifying and mingled with the earth. Others to the winds, bring∣ing them. We ascribe them, to Divine providence, which did not produce each individual plant, but disposed of the best in Paradise, and left the rest without, endowing some with virtues to come forth into the light at their set times. As for their Life, they live by heat in the earth, and dye with cold. Theophrastus l. 2. de Plant. c. 4. testi∣fies, that some of them will spring again; if an Olive Tree be burned to the root, it will grow again: Some will live without the ground, as Onions and Garlick, which being many moneths from the Earth, grow without any nutriment from thence, being fortified by much grosse humour of their own, Marcel. l. 4. histor. medic. mir. c. 12. The forces of Plants are wonderful. It hath been observed, that if men with wands travel where ill Plants grow, the Ulcers will be inflamed, and cured where the Plants are healthful, Mathiol. in Dioscor. Praefat. By touching of Spleenwort, Splenetick people have been helped; and Jaundy-sick, by putting Celandine to their naked feet in their shooes. No man shall be troubled with blear-eyes, so long as he keeps very clean by him the root of the wild sowr Dock. He shall not be troubled with the Strangury any more, who quencheth in his urine the burn∣ing root of Tamarisk. Physitians do diversly dispose them; the Chymists teach us to know them by their signatures; and Porta of Naples thinks, that it is certain, that what part of Man they resemble that they are good for, Sennert. de cons. Chym. c. 18. But of these, more hereafter if God please. Now let us see Nature prodigall in Plants, and opening her Treasures, let us admire with thanks∣giving.