The works of Francis Bacon, lord chancellor of England.

98 NATURAL HISTORY. CENT. VIII.
briateth less than wine pure. The cause of the rosive; the pine-apple hath a kerr.el that is
former is, for that the wine descendeth not so fast strong and abstersive: the fruit of the brier is
to the bottom of the stomach, but maketh longer said to make children, or those that eat them,
stay in the upper part of the stomach, and send- scabbed. And therefore no marvel, though caneth vapours faster to the head; and therefore ine- tharides have such a corrosive and cauterising
briateth sooner. And for the same reason, sops quality; for there is not any other of the insecta,
in wine, quantity for quantity, inebriate more than but is bred of a duller matter. The body of the
wine of itself. The cause of the latter is, for that cantharides is bright coloured; and it may be,
the sugar doth inspissate the spirits of the wine, that the delicate coloured dragon-flies may have
and malketh them not so easy to resolve into va- likewise some corrosive quality.
pour. Nay farther, it is thought to be some remedy
against inebriating, if wine sugared be taken after Experiments in consort touching lassitude.
wine pure. And the same effect is wrought either 730. Lassitude is remedied by bathing, or
by oil or milk, taken upon much drinking. anointing with oil and warm water. The cause
is, for that all lassitude is a kind of contusion,
Experiment solitary touching the help or hurt of and compression of the parts; and bathing and
wine, though moderately used. anointing give a relaxation or emollition; and the
727. The use of wine in dry and consumed mixture of oil and water is better than either of
bodies is hurtful; in moist and full bodies it is them alone; because water entereth better into
good. The cause is, for that the spirits of the the pores, and oil after entry softeneth better. It
wine do prey upon the dew or radical mois- is found also, that the taking of tobacco doth help
ture, as they term it, of the body, and so deceive and discharge lassitude. The reason whereof is,
the animal spirits. But where there is mois- partly, because by cheering or comforting of the
ture enough, or superfluous, there wine helpeth to spirits, it openeth the parts compressed or condigest, and desiccate the moisture. tused; and chiefly because it refresheth the spirits
by the opiate virtue thereof, and so dischargeth
Experiment solitary touching caterpillars. weariness, as sleep likewise doth.
728. The caterpillar is one of the most general 731. In going up a hill, the knees will be most
of worms, and breedeth of dew and leaves; for weary; in going down a hill, the thighs. The
we see infinite number of caterpillars which breed cause is, for that in the lift of the feet, when a man
upon trees and hedges, by which the leaves of the goeth up the hill, the weight of the body beareth
trees or hedges are in great part consumed; as most upon the knees; and in going down the hill,
well by their breeding out of the leaf, as by their upon the thighs.
feeding upon the leaf. They breed in the spring
chiefly, because then there is both dew and leaf. Experiment solitary touching the casting of the skin
And they breed commonly when the east winds and shell in some creatures.
have much blown; the cause whereof is, the 732. The castingof the skin is by the ancients
dryness of that wind; for to all vivification upon compared to the breaking of the secundine, or
putrefaction, it is requisite the matter be not too caul, but not rightly: for that were to make every
moist: and therefore we see they have cobwebs casting of the skin a new birth: and besides, the
about them, which is a sign of a slimy dryness; secundine is but a general cover, not shaped acas we see upon the ground, whereupon, by dew cording to the parts, but the skin is shaped acand sun, cobwebs breed all over. We see also cording to the parts. The creatures that, cast
the green caterpillar breedeth in the inward parts their skin are, the snake, the viper, the grasshopof roses, especially not blown, where the dew per, the lizard, the silk-worm, &c. Those that
sticketh; but especially caterpillars, both the cast their shell are, the lobster, the crab, the crawgreatest, and the most, breed upon cabbages, fish, the hodmandod or dedman, the tortoise, &c.
which have a fat leaf, and apt to putrefy. The The old skins are found, but the old shells never:
caterpillar, towards the end of summer, waxeth so as it is like, they scale off, and crumble away
volatile, and turneth to a butterfly, or perhaps by degrees. And they are known by the extreme
some other fly. There is a caterpillar that hath a tenderness and softness of the new shell, and
fur or down upon it, and seemethto have affinity somewhat by the freshness of the colour of it.
with the silk-worm. The cause of the casting of skin and shell should
seem to be the great quantity of matter in those
Experiment solitary touching the flies cantharides. creatures that is fit to make skin or shell; and
729. The flies cantharides are bred of a worm again, the looseness of the skin or shell, that
or caterpillar, but peculiar to certain fruit-trees; sticketh not close to the flesh. For it is certain,
as are the fig-tree, the pine-tree, and the wild that itis the new skin or shell that putteth off the
blrier; all which bear sweet fruit, and fruit that old: so we see, that in deer it is the young horn
hath a kind of secret biting or sharpness: for that putteth off the old; and in birds, the young
fig hath a milk in it that is sweet and cor- feathers put off the old: and so birds that have