,/

.

*&U*6rtJ SZvmarS&eHnant

EX

LIBRIS

JAMES

KELSEY

McCONICA

7
611

A.

Imprimatur hie Liber,

•A.

cui titulus,
The Natural Hifiorj of Oxfordshire.

RA: BATHVRST,

Vice-Cancellar. QXON.

April. 13, 1676.

THE

NATURAL HISTORY

OXFORDSHIRE,

Being an EfTay toward the O^Qatural Hijlory

ENGLAND.

By % T^^LL. D,

Ejc Ails av^-ftfTroi >iyv&Krxo/^V, aM. 'fn ttbM*

KUfvfoi. Arat. in Phxnom.

1^

Printed at the Theat br in 0 XFO R Dt and are to be had there;
And in London at Mr. S. Miller^ at the Star near the
Weft-end of St. Pauls Ghurch-yard. 1677.

The price in fneets at the Prefs, nine fhillings.
To Subfcribcrs, eight (hillings,

.-:-

i ti

■

To the moft Sacred Majefty of

Charles the Second,

<By the Grace of gOX>,

King of Cjreat <Britan, France and Ireland,

"Defender of the FAITH, See*

May it pleafe Your zZMa'jefty,

T had certainly been an unpardon-
able prefumtion for fo mean aperfon
as the Author of this Effay, to have
prefented Your M ajefty with a yet
meaner difcourfe, had not the fub-
ject of it alwaies deferved the notice*
and the Enquirers into it, the favor
of Princes. Thus had Ariflotle in writing his Treatife of
Animals the afsiftance of Alexander • and Tliny the Pa-
tronage of Titus Vejpatian to his Natural Hiftory.

Befide, this attemt feems more juftly to belong to Your
Majefty, than any of their Hiftories to their refpe&ive Pa-
trons, it being fo far from exceeding Your Majefties Do-
minions, that it contains but an Enquiry into one of the
fmalleft parts of them; *vi%. Your alwaies Loial County
and Univerfity of Oxford > whereas their Volumes are
bounded only with the Univerfe.

h Yet

The Efijlle Dedicator/,

Yet what more particularly moved me to prefent it to
Your Majefty, is not only Your favor to Learning in ge-
neral) and efpecially to this place • but much more Your
Majefties exquifit infight into the matter it folf, infomuch
that though the former might have given me fome confi-
dence of Your Majefties acceptance, yet it feems more my
intereft to appeal to Your Judgment, and humbly to im-
plore Your Majefties decifion, Whether if England and
Wales were thus furveyed, it would not be both for the
honor, and profit of the Nation '

Which defign, if Your Majefty think fit to difapprove,
it will yet be fome fatisfadtion to the Author, that he has
fhewed his ready (though mifguided} zeal to ferve his
Country : But if Your Majefty fhall judge it advanta-
geous to the Kingdom, or but any way worthy Your
Majefties diverfion, there {hall none more induftrioufly
and chearfully proceed in itj than

Your Majeslles mofl Loial

and
most obedient

SubjeB,

Rob. Plot.

To the Reader,

T Hough this Eflay has faelVd to fo much greater a Bulk thdft
ever I expecled it could poffibly have done, that I might well
bazz fuperfeded any further addrefs than that ^/Dedication;
yet it being but neceffary to acquaint the Reader with fome matters^
that are general, and will ferve for all other Counties as well as this*
I thought good toput them down briefly asfolloweth.

Andfirfl, that though I dare not pretend the Map of Oxford-*
(hire prefixt to this Eflay, isfo accurate as any I fhallmakg, hereafter ±
yet I dare promife the Reader it far exceeds any we had before ; for
befide that it contains all the M.ercat Towns, and many Paridies 0-
tnitted by Saxton, Speed, &c. it pews alfo the Villages, diftinguifi \
edby a different mark and chara&er, and the tioufes of the Nobili-
ty andGentry, and others of any magnitude within the County j
and all thefe with their bearings to one another, according to the
Compafs.

And as for the diftances, though I dare not promife them Mathe?*
matically exacl (which by rcafon of the rifings and fallings of the
ground, interpolations of Woods, Rivers, &c. I think, farce pof
fible in many places to be given at all) yet fome few of them are as true*
asaftual dimenfuration, and mofi of them asthedoftrin of Trian-
gles, and the beft information, all compared together, could direel
me to put them : So that provided they have not been moved in the
Graving (as I think, they have but little) I take them all feated not
far from the truth.

As for the fcale of miles, there being three forts in Oxford-
ill ire, the greater, lejfer, and middle miles, as almosl every where
elje ; it is contrived according to the middle fort of them ; for thefe I
conceive may be mofi properly called the true Oxford-fhire miles, which
upon aclual dimenfuration at fever al places, I found to contain for
the mofi part y furlongs and a quarter, of which about 60 anfwer a
Degree : Where by the way its but expedient that the Reader take
notice, that I intend not that there are 60 of thefe miles in a degree^
according to the common account ; for reckoning 5280 feet-, (or eight

b 2 fur-

To the Reader.

furlongs) to a mile, as is ufual in England, no lefs than 69 will cor-
refpond to a degree ; upon which account it is and no other, that of
the middle Oxford-fhire miles, each containing 9 furlongs and.a
quarter, about 60 will do it.

According to thefe miles, the degrees of North latitude are divi-
ded into minutes on each fide /^eMap, chiefly made off from the exacl
Northern latitude of Oxford, collected from the many years obfer-
vations of Dr. Banbridg, and at lafi concluded to befeated in the
46 minute of the 5 1 degree, proxime ; the$2nd degree beginning
at the fmall line pajfing through Mixbury, Clifton, north o/Dedding-
ton, the two Barfords, South Nuneton, and between Hoke Nor-
ton and the Lodge; By which divifion 'tis eafie to know to a minute
of a degree, nayqlmoft to a fecond, in what latitude every Town,
Parifti, Village, and Gentlemans Houfe is feated.

Befide, for the Houfes of the Nobility and Gentry, this Map is
fo contrived, that a Foreigner as well as Engli(h-man, at what di-
flance foever, may with eafefind out who are the Owners of moft of
them ; (0 as to be able to fay that this is fuch or fuch a Gentlemans
Houfe: And all this done by Figures put to every fuch Houfe, which
referring again to Figures of the fame value, placed in order over the
Arms in the Limb of /i>eMap, Jhew in the bottom of each Shield the
Nobleman or Gentlemans name, whofe houfe itfc ; their refteftive
Coats of Arms being always placed between the Figure, and Name:
which too (allbutfomefew) are cut in their metals, furs, or colours,
as born by their Owners.

And not only the Shields, but Ordnaries, Charges, Differences,
&c. where they are not too/mall: if Argent, being left white ;
if Or, filled with fmall points; if Gules, lineated perpendicular-
ly, or in pale j if Azure, horizontally, or fefs-ways ; if Vert,
obliquely or bend-ways ; //"Sable, both pale and fefs-ways, as
may bejeenin the Map, which are all the colours made uje of there:
And if ever hereafter I Jball meet with any bearing Purpure, Ten, or
Sanguine ; thefirjl Jhallbe represented with Lines in bend finifter ;
Ten, with lines falter- ways, mixt of Vert and Purpure ; and San-
guine, paly bendy, mixt of Gules and Purpure.

According to this method, not only the Arms of the Univerfity,
all the Colleges, and Towns incorporate in the County (which 1
have placed in the upper margin of /^Map) but on the fides and bot-
tom

To the Reader*

torn, thofeof the Nobility and Gentry, are induslriou/ly ranged iri
Alphabetical order, to avoid the difficulties that might otherwife have
rijen about precedency : which, hefide the ufe above mentioned of
difcovering the Owners of the Houfes, and that they are an orna-
ment to the Map, / hope may alfo have thefe other good effe&s.
i . That the Gentry hereby will be fomwhat influenced to keep their
Seats, together with their Arms, leaft their Pofterity hereafter, not
without reflexions , fee what their Anceftors have parted with.
Andfecondly, Vagabonds deterfd from making counterfeit Paries*
by puting falfe names and Seals to them, both which may be difcover-
edbyfuch Maps at thefe.

To thefe add the ancient houfes of Kings, the principal Seats of
ancient Baronies, ancient Ways, Fortifications, and the fites of
Religious houfes, all di/iinguifi'd as defcrihed by their reffeftive
marks in the Table for that purpofe. All which put together, make
the fum of the Map,£6 Iintendtheyfiallin all others hereafter, fo that
thofe Memento's need ndmore be repeated, fince they are defigned td
be apply ed to all following Maps as well as th'ps,

Tet this Map, though it contains near five times as much as any
other of the County before, partly by reafon of its being the firft /
ever made, and partly becaufe, either of the pure ignorance or ab-
(ence of feme, and over curious pieviflhnefs that I met with amongji
others, is not fo perfecl, / confefs, as I wifh it were ; there being
upon thefe accounts, feme few Arms omitted, and others out of place
at the foot of the Map, and perhaps here and there a Village over-
look'd: wherefore I have entertained feme thoughts of cutting it a-
gain, and per haps fomwhat larger, to be hung up in Frames (with-
out alteration of this for the Book) with all the defeats above-
mentioned fupplyed; provided fuch Gentry a* find their Arms o-
mitted, or any Villages near them containing ten houfes (under which
number I feldom think, them worth notice') pleafe to bring in their
Arms in colours, with the particular bearings and diftances of
their Houfes and Villages, from the mofi noted place near them, to
the Porter or one of the Keepers of the Bodleyan Library, who
will be ready to receive them, or any other Curio fity of Art or Na-
ture, in order to the compiling an Appendix to this Work, to be
Printedapart.

Which is all concerning the Map, but that the Reader alfo note,

that

To the Reader.

that the Right Honorable the Earl of Berkftiire, Lord Lovelace,
&c. are defignedly left out, in regard that though they have Eftates
and Seats in this County, yet their chiefeft, and places of moft com-
mon refidence being elfewhere, I have chofen rather to omit them here,
and to place them in thofe that feem their more defirable Counties.

Concerning the Hiftory it/elf lean advife little more, but that I
undertook, it at firil for my own pleafure, the fuhjeel of it being fo
pleafant, and of fo great variety, that it furprifed me to think, how
many Learned Ages hadpaji (careful and laborious enough in compi-
ling the Civil and Geographical Hi/lories of England) without fo
much as ever attemting that o/Nature or Arts .* itfeeming to be a de-
fign (had the Undertaker beenfuitable) more highly deferving of the
publicktoo, than either of the former, as tending not only t o the ad-
vancement of a fort of Learning fo much negletled in England, hut
of Trade alfo, which I hope in fome meafure is made to appear in the
following Treatife,

Which though fujfeient to juftifie my choice of this fubjeft, yet I
ventured not upon it without the joint approbation of the moft knowing
in thefe matters, fuch as the Honorable Robert Boyle Efq; Dr. Willis,
Dr. Wallis, Dr. Bathurft, &c. wheje celebrated names ferving to
remove the groundlefs fufpitions many had of the attcmt^ I proceeded
to give this Specimen of it : Wherein the Readers only defired to
take notice, that moft of the Curiofities, whether of Art, Nature,
or Antiquities engraven in the Cuts, are fo certain truths, that as
many as were portable, or could he procured, are in the hands of the
Author. But for fuch things as are infep arable from their places, they
remain to hefeen as in the Hislory directed, there being nothing here
mention' d, hut what either the Author has feen himfelf or has recei-
ved unauefticnable teftimony /or it, which for the moft part, if not
alwaies, the Reader will find cited.

/«//»€ Philofophical/w/, / have chiefly embraced the Principles
of Dr. Willis, as the moft univerfally known and received, and there*
fore moft likely (in this inquifitive Age) to he the trueft ; which if I
have any where mif applied (as 'tis manifold odds fome where or other
I may) yet I doubt not but the Learned and fob er Reader will can-
didly accept of thehonefty of my endeavor in excufe of my Error.
But as for the hot-headed half-witted Cenfurer, who perhaps only looks
on the Title of a Chapter,or here and there a Paragraph that makes for

his

To the Reader.

his turn, I mutt and do expecl the la[h of his tongue, it being indeed
hi* bufinefs to find out /^elapfes, and decry all attemts, wherein (for-
footh) he himfelf has not been confulted : But I would have fuch to
know (that if J meet with but proportionable encouragement from the
former*) 'tis not all they can fay or do, Jhall difcourage me from my
purpofe; for if I have erred in anything, I Jhall gladly receive the
calm reproofs of my Friends, and flill go on till I do underjiand my
bufinefs aright, in the mean time contemning the verdift of the igno-
rant and faftidious that throw words in baft.

THE

\

CO

THE

NATURAL HISTORY

OF

Oxford ftiire.

— .i — '•■'■■' i

CHAP. J.

Of the Heayens and Jin '.

OXF 0 RD , being not undefervedly by Mr. Cambdert
ftiled, Our mosl noble Athens , The Mufes feat, and, One
of Englands Pillars ; nay, The Sun, The Eye, &c. It
would have occafion'd as ftrange a remark, as any to be men-1
tion'd in this whole Eflay, had there not fome eminent Celeftiai
Obfervations been made in this C ounty ; efpecially fince that ftu-
pendous Mathematical Inftrument, now called the Telefedpe,kems
to have been known here above 300 years ago. But thefe being
chiefly matters of Art, relating either to the difcovery of the
magnitude, figure, or determination of the motions of the Hea-
venly Bodies, mult be referr'd (as moft proper) to the end of
this Work y if "being my purpofe in this Hifiory of Nature, to ob-
ferve the moft natural method that may be.

2. And therefore I (ball confider, firft, Natural Things, fuch
as either the hath retained t|ie fame from the beginning, or freely
produces in her ordinary courfe ; as Animals, Plants, and the
univerfal furniture of the World. Secondly, her extravagancies and
defefts, occafioned either by the exuberancy of matter, or obfti-
nacy of impediments, as in Monfiers. And then laftly, as (he is
reftrained, forced, falliioned, or determined, by Artificial Ope-
rations. All which, without abfurdity, may fall under the gene-
ral notation of a Natural Hifiory, things of Art (as the Lord
Bacon a well obferveth) not differing from thofe of Nature in
form and ejjence, but in the efficient only ; Man having no power

» De Augm Scient, '&£». cup 2.

A over

% The Statural Hijlory

over Nature, but in her matter and motion, i. e . to put together,
feparate, or fafhion natural Bodies, and fomtimes to alter their
ordinary courfe.

3. Yet neither fhall I fo ftrictly tie my felf up to this method,
but that I (hall handle the two firft, viz,. The feveral Species of
natural things, and the errors of Nature in thofe refpective Spe-
cies, together ; and the things Artificial in the end apart : Method
equally begetting iterations and prolixity, where it is obferved
too much, as where not at all. And thefe I intend to deliver as
fuccin&ly as may be, in a plain, eafie, unartificial Stile, itudiouf-
ly avoiding all ornaments of Language, it being my purpofe to
treat of Things, and therefore would have the Reader expect
nothing lefs then Words : Yet neither fhall my Difcourfe be fo
jejune, as wholly to confift of bare Narrations, for where the
fubject has not at all, or but imperfectly been handled, I (hall beg
leave either to enlarge, or give my opinion.

4. Since then the Celeftial Bodies are fo remote, that little can
be known of them without the help of Art, and that all fuch
matters (according to my propofed method) muft be referred to
the end of this Book : I have nothing of that kind to prefent
the Reader with, that's local, and feparate from Art, but the ap-
pearance of two Parhelia or mock-Suns, one on each fide of the
true one, at En/ham on the 29th of May, early in the morning,
in the year 1673. With them alfo appeared a great circle of
light concentrical to the true Sun, and paffing through the disks
of the fpurious ones, as in Tab. 1. Fig.i. which though I faw
not the Phenomenon, is as truly drawn (for fo it was confeft by
fome that did) as I could poffibly have done it if perfonally pre-
fent ; and yet fo incurious was the amazed multitude, that they
could not fo much as give me ground to guefs at the diameter of
the circle, much lefs whether it were interrupted in fome of its
parts, or interfered (as they ufually are) with any other circles
of a fainter colour.

5. Whether thefe appearances are caufed by reflection or re-
fraction in the Clouds, according to the old Philofophy ; or by
both, in a great annulary cake of Ice and Snow, as Des Cartes • or
by fcmiopaque Cylinders, as M. Hugens deZulichem, will be too
too tedious here to difpute. Let it therefore at prefent fuffice,
that this Phenomenon is worthy our notice, in regard,

1. That

Of .0 XFO%T>~S HI%E. £

i . That no circle paries through the true Suns disk, nor the
fpurious ones found in the interfeclion of two hides? as
in thofe that appeared at Rome, March 20. 1629. »> and
in France, April*). Anno 1666. c

2. That whereas generally fuch mock-Suns appear not fo
bright, nor are fo well defined as the true one is ; thefe
according to the agreement of all, appeared of fo even
and ftrong a light,that 'twas hard to diftinguifti the true
from the falfe, and perhaps might not be inferior to the
Parhelia mention'd by Cardan d, or that lately were feen
in Hungary. I

6. When they appear thus bright and ilhiftrious, Aftrologers
heretofore always prefaged a Triumvirate : thus the Triumvirate
of Anionics , Auguflut, and Lepidus, with all the evils that at-
tended it, was referred to the Parhelia feen a little before ; and
herein Cardan is fo pofltive, that he fears not to affert, That after
fuch an appearance, we feldom (if ever) fail of one, and there-
fore refers the Parhelia feen. by himfelf to the Triumvirate of
Henry the fecond King of France, Charles the fifth, and Solyman
the Turkifh Emperor. And truly, were not thefe to be more
than fufpected of vanity, it werecafieto adapta Triumvirate to
ours : But my Religion, and that God that hath exhorted us, not
to be difmayed at thefigns of Heaven, and folemnly profeffes, that
'tis even He that fruftrates the tokens of the Lyars, and makes the
Diviners mad f, has taught me to forbear/ I fhall therefore add
no more concerning thefe things, but that though moft common-
ly the Parhelia with the true Sun, appear but three in number,
yet that fomtimes more have been feen ; as four g in France? Anno
1666. five h at Rome, Anno 1629. ^ve < ln England, Anno 1233.
and fix k Anno 1525. by Sigifmund the firft, King of Poland \
which are the moft that we read were ever feen at a time, though
Des Cartes endeavors to (hew 'tis poflible there may. be Ceveri.

7. And indeed this had been all I thought I fhould have men-
tioned concerning the Heavens, but that even now while I am
writing this, at Oxon: on the 23d of November, Anno 1675. about
7 at night, behold the Moon fet her Bow in the clouds, of a white

*■ DesCartes Meteor cap. 10 & CnJfend.inEp. adRenerium. « Thilof.Tranfnum.\\. * De remrn Va-
rtetate libxic.jQ. c FhilofTranfnumb.^-j. f lfa. 44. ^.24,25. « Fbilof. Tranf.numb.i^. * Des
Cartel, Meteor, cap. \q. ' Matthew Faris, 17 Henr. III. * Des Cartes Meteor, cap iq. &From07td.Me*
tear. Lib. 6. Art. 2.

A 2 colour,

q. v The ^(jtural Uiflory

colour, entire and well determined, which continued fo for a-
bouthalf an hour after Ifirftfaw it. The reafon why fuch' ap-
pear not of divers colours, as Rain-bows do that are made by
the Sun, has been alwaies afcribed by Philofophers, to the weak-
nefs of the Moons raies, not entring fo deeply into the opacity
of the clouds. But if we may give credit to ' Van: Smnzrtws,
it has once to his knowledge happened otherwife, vi^. in the
year 1593, wnen ^tev a great ftorm of Thunder and Lightning,
he beheld an Iris Lunaris adorned with all the colours of the
Rain-bow. As for ours, though I could not perceive in any
part of it, that it had the leaft ftiade of any colour but white ;
however, I thought it not 'unworthy our notice, not only for
the infrequency of the thing(they never happening but at or near
the Moons full, and then but fo very feldom too, that m Arislotk
profeffes, that hefawbuttwo in above fifty years ; and I know
feveral learned and obferving Men, that never faw fuch an Iris
in their lives) but alfo becaufe of the great clemency of the wea-
ther, that followed upon it at that time of the year ; there fal-
ling not one drop of rain, nor any wind ftirringfor fixtecn days
after, but fo great a ferenity, that the waies were as clean and
paffable then, as we could wifh or ever enjoyed them at Mid-
fummer.

8. From the Firmament (waving all confiderations of the
pure /Ether, of which we know fo little, that I lhall fay nothing)
I naturally defcend to the loweft Heaven, I mean that fubtile Bo-
dy that immediatly incompafles the Earth, and is filled with all
manner of exhalations, and from thence commonly known by
the name of the Atmoffihere. Whether befidcthefe exhalations,
there be any peculiar fimplebody, called Air, Heave to the more
fubtile Philofophers, and confider it here only, as 'tis the fub-
jeft of ftorms, of thunder and wind, of Echo's, and as it has
relation to ficknefs and health.

9. As to Tempefts that have happen'd in this County,though
perhaps there have been fome heretofore attended with as deplo-
rable effe&s as any where elfe • yet becaufe they are no where
tranfmitted to pofterity, I (hall only mention two within our
memory, vi%. The ftorm of wind that happen'd one night in
February, Anno i66*2i which though general (at leaft all over

1 Si'tiTtertUsinEpitom.Vhyf. m E» 'trtr., .* :• mf. Meteor- lib. 3. C*p- 2.

England")

OfOXFO%T),SHlKjE. 1

England)yet was remarkable at Oxoni'm thefe two refpe&s. i .That
though it forced the ftones inwards into the cavity of All-hallows
Spire, yet it over-threw it not. And 21)T* That in the morning,
when there was fome abatement of its fury, it was yet fo vio-
lent, that it laved water out of the River Cherwcll, and caft it
quite over the Bridge at Magdalen College, above the furface of
the River nea- 20 foot high ; which paflage, with advantage of
holding by the College walls, I had then the curiofity to go fee
my felf, which otherwife, perhaps, I friould have as hardly cre-
dited as fome other perfons now may do. But thofe that have
failed, to the Indies can inform them what force Hurricane's and
Turbo' shave, with what violence and impetuofity they take up
whole Seas of water, and furioufly mount them into the air n.
Now that fuch as thefe may alfo happen at Land (though per-
haps for the moft part of lefs ftrength) I think we have little rea-
fon to doubt,fince our own Chronicles inform us, that in Q^Ma-
ties time, within a mile of Nottingham, all the houfes of two
little Parifhes, with their Churches, were wholly born down by
fuchaTempeft ; and the water, with the mud from the bottom
of the River Trent, that ran between them, carryed a quarter of
a mile and caft againft Trees, with the violence whereof they
were torn up by the roots.

10. Of much fuch another Land Hurricane, Bellarmin gives us
a relation fo incredible, that he himfelf premifeth, Quod nifi vi-
difftm non crederem. Vidi (faies he) a vehementijftmo vento effojfam
ingentem terrae molem, eamque delatamfuper pagum quendam, ut fovea
altiffima confpiceretur unde eruta fuerat, iy pagus totus coopertus iy
quafi fepultus manferit, ad quern terra ilia divenerat °. Which be-
ing fufficient (I fuppofe) to evince the poffibility of my ftory, I
proceed to

11. The fecond tempeft of Thunder and Lightning, on the
10th of May, 1666. which though terrible enough to all parts
adjacent to Oxford, yet was mifchievous only at Medley, a well
known Houfe, about a mile or fomwhat more diftant from it ;
two Scholars ofcWadham College, alone in a boat, and new thruft
off fhore to come homewards, being (truck off the head of the
boat into the water, the one of them ftark dead, and the other

n It nuat obfervedby an able Seaman of Briftol, that this luintttuas the fag-end of a Hurricanc> -which
hegan in NViy-England about three hovrsb?f0rt it came hither ; the Sea-men obJerrSdthat it went dinilly t»~
•wards England. " Bellarmin. de afienf.ment. in Deum, Or ad t- cap- 4,

jftuck

6 The Statural Hi/lory

ftuck faft in the mud like a poft, with his feet downward, and
for the prefent fo difturbed in his fenfes, that he neither knew
how he came out of the boat, nor could remember either Thun-
der or Lightning that did effect it. * Others, in another boat a-
bout ten or twenty yards diftance from the former, feltadifturb-
anceand (baking in their boat, and one of them had his chair
ftruck from under him, without hurt. But of this no more, a
full relation of the accident being already given by the Reverend
and Learned X? J ohnWallis Savilian ProfefTor of Geometry in
the Univerfity of Oxford, and publiGi'd in our Englifti Philofo-
phical Tranfa&ions p.

12. What hapned before or after thofe Tern pefts, I was not
fo curious in thofe days to obferve,but it might indeed be wifh'd,
as the learned and obferving Dr 2foi/eadvifesq, thatfome old Al-
manacks were written inftead of new ; that inftead of the con-
jectures of the weather to come, fome ingenious and fit Perfons
would give a faithful account from divers parts of the world, not
only of the Storms, with the antecedents and confequents of
them, but of the whole weather of the years paft, on every day
of the month ; as it was induftrioufly begun above 300 years
ago, by William Merh Fellow of Merton College, who obferved
the weather at Oxford for every day of the month for 7 years
together; vi%. from January Anno Dom. 1337, to January Anno
Dom. 1344. the MS copy of which Obfervations yet remain in
the Bodleyan Library r ; For from hence in time we might exa-
mine upon fome grounds, as the learned Dr Bcale well remarks,
how far the positions of Planets, or other fymptoms or conco-
mitants, are indicative of weathers, and probably be forewarn'd
of Dearths,Famines, Epidemical Difeafes,<£src. and by their caufes
be inftrufted for remedies, or prevention. Certainly from fuch
Calendars we might learn more in few years, then by Obferva-
tions at random all the days of our lives ; and if they might be
had from foreign and remote parts *, we fhould then be in fome
hopes of true Inveftigations of heats and colds, and of the
breadth and bounds of coafting Rains and Winds.

13. Next the Tragedies (it being as agreeable to my Method,
as feafonable to the Difcourfe) it will not be amifs to prefent the

P Fhilofoph.Travfatl.Numb. 13. s Thilofliph. TravfaB-Hvm 90. ' MS.DigfyfiL iy6- * Such ob-
fervations of the leather every day of the month through the "whole year 1671, inert made by Erafmus Bar-
tholine>tfW are printed inter Atta McdkaTho. Bartholini Obf. 130.

Reader

: ofOXFo%p^SHI%Ea y

Reader with fome of the fports of Nature, and entertain him a-
while with the Nymph Echo ; a Miftrefs ihe is indeed that is ea-
fily lpoke with, yet known to few: if therefore I take pains to
acquaint him with her, I hope I fhall not perform a thanklefs of-
fice.

1 4. Firft therefore, that Philechus may not be out in his choice*
whenever he attempts to court her in Oxford-flAre, he muft know
that of thefe there are feveral forts, and may beft, I fuppofe, be
diftinguifh'd by their Objefts, which are^

Single, fuch as return the voice but once ; and thefe again

'Polyjyltabical , fuch as return many fyllables,
words, or a whole fentence.
either « are either <; Tomcat, fuch as return the voice but once, nor

that neither, except adorned with fome pe-
culiar Mufical note.

Manifold, and thefe return fyllables and words, the fame
oftentimes repeated, and may therefore be ftiled Tau-
tological Echoes, which are caufed

either bys^ ,, £ Reflexion.
J ^Double}

15. As for Polyfyllabical articulate Echo's, the ftrongeft and
beft I have met with here, is in the Park at Wood/lock, which in
the day time, little wind being ftirring, returns very diftin&ly
feventeen fyllables, and in the night twenty ; I made experiment
of it with thefe words,

— Quae nee reticere loquenti,
Nee prior ipfa loqui didicit refonabilh Echo.

In the day it would return only the Iaft verfe, but in the night a-
bout twelve by the clock, I could alfo hear the laft word of the
former Hemiftick [loquenti.~\ The objett of which Echo, or the
Centrum phonocampticum, I take to be the hill with the trees on the
fummitoi it, about half a mile diftant from Woodcock, town, in
the way thence to the Right Honorable the Earl of Rochejler's
Lodge : And the true place of the Speaker, or Centrum phonicum,

the

The 5\£atural Hijlory

the oppofite Hill juft without the gate at the Towns end, about
thirty paces dire&ly below the corner of a wall inclofing fome
hay-ricks, near Cbaucers houfe: fome advantage I guefs it re-
ceives from the rivulet that runs as it were in a direct line between
the two centers, and from the pond at the foot of the object
hill ; as alfo from two other hills that run obliquely up to it ;
Which may better be apprehended by the profpeft of the place,
as in Tab. i. Fig. 2*

16. That this Echo makes return of fo many fyllables, and of
a different number in the day and night, being indifputable and
matter of faft *> I proceed in the next place to the reafons of thefe
certainties, which poflibly to every body may not be fo plain.
Firft then, the caufes why fome Echo's return more, and fome
fewer fyllables, I take to lye in the different diftances of the
obje&s (returning the voices) from the places of the fpeakers :
for by experience 'tis found, that if the fpeaker be too near the
objeft, the return is made fo quick upon him, that the£^>o is as
it were drowned in the voice : but if he remove farther from it,
then it begins to be clear and diftincl: ; and if it be a potyjjlla-
bical one, it firft repeats one fyllable, then two, three, four,
five, or more, according as the fpeaker removes farther off it,
which I take to be the only true way of meafuring the proporti-
ons of the fpaces of the ground, requifite for the return of one
or more fyllables. That this is true, I (hall ufe no arguments to
perfwade, bccaufe the experiment is fubjeft to every manstryal ;
and if fo, it muft neceffarily be admitted, that the reafon why
this Echo returns fo much, is becaufe of the great diftance of the
objeft from the fpeaker.

17, What diftance is required to the return of each fyllable,
is beft indeed determined by fuch a procedure, where the object
is fore-known, and the condition of the place will admit of the
experiment: but both thefe being wanting here (Echo's them-
felves being generally firft known, and not the obje&s) I was
forced to make ufe of a new analytical method, and find out the
objeft by the number of fyllables already returned, which being
feventeen in the day time, and twenty by night ; and having be-
fore found by frequent experience, that according to Blancanws s,
no one fyllable will be returned clearly, under the diftance of 24.

* "Blanc ani Echotnetria 7b for em 5 .

Geome-

ofOXFo%$>~SHl%E. 9

Geometrical paces, or 120 feet, I guefs'd that the object could
not be removed lefs than 400 of the former, and 2000 of the
latter. For the better undetftanding of which Analyfis, and for
the Readers more fecure finding of the true diftance of the
fpeaker in any other place, it may be convenient that he take no-
tice, that all Echo's have fome one place whither they are return-
ed ftronger, arid more diftindt than any other, and is always the
place that lies at right angles with the object, and is not too near,'
Of too far off": for if a man ftand at oblique angles with it, the
voice is better returned to fome other perfon at another place1,
than to the fpeaker ; andfo if he ftand too near, or far off, aU
though he do ftand at right angles with it, which is plain by the
diagram, Tab. i.Fig. 3. where

a. is the true place of the fteaker.

a b. the vocal line falling at right angles on the objeft.

cd. places on each hand the true place, and oblique to the object.

e f. places above and below the objecl, whence atfo the voice

comes obliquely to it,
g h. places whence (?tis true) the voice goes in right Angles to

the objett, but g is too far off, and h too near*

Now the fpeaker ftanding in 4* and his voice going in the ftraight
line a b, and ftriking upon the object fo as to make right angles
with it, muft needs return to the fpeaker again in the fame line*
and no farther, becaufe he is fuppos'd to ftand at the two ex-
treams of the whole mix'd line of action i but if he ftand too
near at h, then the Echo repeat's mote fyllables, anddiftinfter at
g than either at h or a, becaufe g is now the extream of the line
0^ action ; for by how much the nearer the fpeaker is to the ob-
ject, by fo much the more forcible he ftrikes it, which caufes the
rebound to be fo much beyond him : and thus if he ftand as much
too far off, asatg, then the Echo repeats more fyllables and di-
ftinfter at h, then either at a or g, becaufe the diftance being too
great from g to b, and the reflexion weak, the Echo muft needs
terminate fo much the (horterat^5 allthefe being fuppofed to
take up the whole line of the voices direct and reflex action, A-
gain, if the fpeaker ftand in c obliquely to the object, the Echo h
better heard at */, than either at a or c ; andfo if he fta"nd at dt
it is better heard ate then any other place : thus if he ftand at e

B above*

io The Zh(jtural Hi/lory

above the objeft, the Echo is beft heard in the valley f, & vice
verfa. All which, may be well enough made out by throwing a
ballagainft a wall, to which, if it be thrown in an oblique line,
it returns not to the thrower but to another place ; and though
the projicient do fo throw it, that it ftrikes at right angles with
the wall, yet (like as in the voice) if heftand too far off, it will
fall as much too iliort in the rebound, as it will exceed if he
(land too near.

i 8. According to thefe grounds I carefully examined this
Echo, and found, upon motion backward, forward, and to each
hand, the true centrum phonicum, or place of the fpeaker, to be
upon the hill at Woodjiock. towns end, about thirty paces below
the corner of the wallaforefaid, direclly down toward the Kings
Majejiies Manor : from whence by meafure to the brow of the
hill, on which my Lord Rocheflers Lodge ftands, are 45^ Geo-
metrical paces, or 2280 feet ; which upon allowance of 24 Geo-
metrical paces, or 120 feet to each fyllable, to my great fatisfa-
ftion I found to be agreeable to the return of 1 9 fyllables, vi%,
one fewer than it returns in the night, and two more than in the
day.

19. The meafure I muft eonfefs had been much more eafie
and natural, could I have began from the obje&, and fo removed
backward accordingly as the Echo gradually increafed in the repe-
tition of more fyllables ; for then I could have given the due
proportion to each, if I had found any inequality upon the in^-
creafe, which I guefs there may be, becaufc the allowance of an
equality feems to fet the objeft too far off by a fyllable or two.
But it not being feafible in this place, I was forced to take the for-
mer courfe ; for in the valley between the two hills, being the
whole medium through which the voice pafles, and the Echo re-
turns it, there is fcarce any fuch thing as an Echo to be found ;
nay, if youftandat the Manor itfelf, which is not far from the
true place of the fpeaker, and fituate almoftas high, and direct
your voice toward the place of the object, you (hall not have the
leaft return ; whence 'tis moft evkknt that I could not ufe that
procedure here, and therefore muft defire '%o he held excufec).
from giving the proportions of (pace, which I fuppofe, accord-
ing to Kircher1 may decreafe , according as the number of fyl-

« Maya Fhonocampticai fretl. y.

lables

' Of OXFO %!&*$ H1%E> n

tables increafe, till I meet with an Echo fit for the purpofe;

20. Thereafon of the difference between day and night, why
it (hould return feventeen fyllables in the one, and twenty in the
other, may lie, I fuppofe, in the various qualities, and confti-
tution of the medium in different feafons • the Air being much
more quiet, and ftock'd with exhalations in the night than day,
which fomthing retarding the quick motion of the voice to the
objeft, and its return to the fpeaker fomwhat more, (by reafon
the voice muft needs be weakned in the reflexion) muft necevTari-
ly give fpace for the return of more fyllables,

2 1 . Amongft other tryals of this Echo, I difeharged a Piftol*
which made a return much quicker then my voice, and (at which
I ftill wonder) with a much different found from that the Piftol
made, whence I can only conclude, that the more forcibly the
Air is ftricken, (as alfo in the projection of a ball) the fooner the
refponfe is made, and that poffibly there may be fome founds
more agreeable to every Echo, than others. And it being my
Lord Bacon's opinion, That there are fome letters that an Echo
will hardly exprefs, and particularly the letter S, which, faies
he, being of an interior and hiffing found, the Echo at Font Cha*
renton would not return u ; hereupon I tryed,as well as his Lord-
fhip, with the word Satan, befi.de many others of the fame ini-
tial, but found the Echo here neither fo modeft or frighted, but
that, though the Devil has been bufie enough hereabout (as ftiall
further be (hewn near the end of this Hiftory) it would readily
enough make ufe of his name.

22. Juft fuch another polyfyllahical Echo we have at Magdalen
College, in the water-walks, near the Bull-work called Dover
Peer ; it repeats a whole Hexameter verfc, but not fo ftrongly as
Woodcock.-' Where the true object of this may be, cannot fo well
be found by meafure, becaufe of the many Buildings interpofing ;
but I conjecture it may be about the publick Schools, or New Col-
lege *. I could gladly, I confefs, have aligned it fomthing fur-
ther off, becaufe I fear that diftance falls fomwhat fhort of our
former account, but the buildings beyond lying all lower then
thofe, it muft by no means be admitted ; which makes me think,
there muft be a latitude allowed in thefe matters, according to the

■ Nat. Hifl. Cent. 3. Numb, aji. * Since, New College hath been advanced * Story higher, A. 1>
167$. this Echo is /omiuhata/ter'J.

B 2 dif-

it The J^atural Hijlory

different circumftances perhaps of time, as well as place ; and
that poffibly Mtrfennu* might not be fo much miftaken, when he
aflignedto each fyllable but 69 feet.

23. Tonical Echo's, fuch as return but fome one particular Mu-
fical Note, I have met with feveral, and do not doubt but they
are to be met with in moft arched Buildings, though fcarce ob-
ferved or noted by any. Such a one is that in the Gate-houfe at
Brafen-nofe College, which anfwers to no Notefo clearly, as to
Gamut. The curious and well built Gate of Vniverfity College,
to none fo well as B mi. The like Note I met with again at Mer-
lon College, in the Vault between the old and new Quadrangles,
and in the large arched Vault of Queens College Gate : Whereas
the (lately arched Stair-cafe leading into Cbriil Church great
Hall, will return all the Notes through the Scale of Mufick. Thefe
I muft confefs are but Echo's improperly fo called, becanfe they
will exprefs nothing that's articulate, and therefore rather fall
under the notation of a Bombws ; jet their caufe being fomwhat
nice and fubtile, I thought not fit to pafs them by, but to take oc-
cafion from hence to advertife the Reader, that there are fome
other inanimate Bodies befide the Load-fione, that though they
have no fenfe, yet have a fort of perception, which I take to be
fufficiently proved from thefe Vaults, that feem to have a kind of
ele&ion to embrace what is agreeable, and exclude all that is in-
grate to them : thus are the very feats in Churches and Chappels
affe&ed with fome peculiar Notes of the Organ ; and I have a
friend (a Violift) whom I dare believe, that fays, his Thigh is
thus fenfible of a peculiar Note, as oft as he lights on it during
his playing. Some have imputed much of this in Buildings, to
the figure and accurate fcruftureofthe Arch, and that where they
have different fhapes and magnitudes, there will be different
tunings alfo: But I do not find it agreeable to experience, there
being another Vault in the entrance into Merton College Chappel,
much lefs, and of a far different figure from that other before
mentioned in the hmt College, which returns very near, if not
exaftly the fame Note : And fo do the Gates of Queens and Vni-
verfity Colleges, than which in height, breadth and length, there
are few more different,

24. It muft therefore rather be referr'd to the pores of the
ftones, which are fitted to receive fome vibrations of the Air,

rather

Of 0XF0%T>~SH1%E. 13

rather than others ; juft as in two Viols tuned to aVnifon, where
the firings being fcrewed to the fame tenfion, and their pores
t put into the fame figure, if you ftrike one, the correfponding
fixing of the other Viol prefently anfwers it : becaufe the firft
ftring being of fuch a tenfion, and having pores of fueh a form,
makes vibrations in the Air, fuitable only to the pores made by
the fame tenfion in the other ftring.

25. As for Tautological Poljiphonou* Echo's, fuch as return a
word or more, often repeated from divers objects by fimple re-
flection, there are none here eminent ; the beft I have met with
is at Ewelme, on the fide of a bank, inaMeddow fouth and by
weft (about a furlong) from the Church : it returns the fame word
three times, from three feveral objects of divers diftances, which
I guefs may be, 1. The Manor, 2. The Church and Hoftital,
And 3d. Colonel Martins houfe. Another there is near Oxford, a-
bout the eaft-end of Chrift Church new walk, that repeats three or
four fyllables twice over ; and a treble one at the moft northern
point of the Fortifications in New Parks j But there being many
better than thefe of the kind no doubt in other places, I fhall re-
fer ve their confideration at large to a better opportunity, and on-
ly take notice here by the way, that thefe are never of many Syl-
lables ; and that always, by how many more they are' of, by fo
many the fewer times they repeat them, becaufe fo great diftance
will be required for their objects, that they muft quickly be re;,
moved put of the reflex action of the voice : for fuppofe but z
fentence of ten fyllables, viz^. Gemitu nemita omne remugit, and
allow, as before, for the return of each fyllable 1 20 feet, the firft
object muft be 1200 feet off; and the fecond, with abatement for
diftance, at leaft 2000 ; and the third, certainly out of the
voices reach, beyond all hopes of any refponfe. Indeed, could
we meet with one of Mcrfennus's Echo's, where fixty nine feet
would return us a fyllable, then fuch an Hemijiick. might be re-
founded three times, or perhaps a whole Hexameter twice < yet
however fmall a fpace maybe found for the clear repetition of
fuch a Verfe, I cannot think it can poflibly be, that any Ecbb
fhould repeat one eight times over : for fuppofe a fmaller diftance
would fuffice, then that allowed by Merfennws, as but 350 yards
to a Verfe of feventeen fyllables, and allowing fome decreafe
for the objects diftances ; yet I do not doubtp but. two or

three

14. The Natural Hiftory

three of the furtheft muft needs be out of the voices a&ion.

26. Much lefs fure can any fingle objecl: perform this, and yet
Jacobus Boiffardus, in his Topography of Rome, reports this to be ^
true upon his own knowledge. On the Appian way (faies he)
amongft many other vafl ruins, which fome think, to have been the
Caftle wherein the Praetorian Soldiers lay, there are many Sepulchers,
cbtufe and [olid Pyramids, (yc. But the moil eminent it of a round
form, made of fquared white Marble, like a Tower, hollow within
and open at the top, erecled in memory of Caecilia Metella : itjiands

in the corner of another wall, in whofe circuit there are carved in Mar*» *
ble, near 200 Bulls heads, whence 'tis called, Capo di Boi. At
the foot of the hill where this Tower (lands, if any man pronounce an
Heroic Verfe, a wonderful Echo there is, that returns it often entirely
and articulately : 1 my f elf, fays he, have heard it repeat the firfl
Verfe of Virgils JEneids diflindly eight times, and afterward often
broken and confufedly. Noplace in the World yields the like Echo w,
isrc. And what if I add, nor that neither, fince befide the natural
impoffibility of the thing, the induftrious Kircher, after he had
ufed all imaginable care in the queft of it, came away unfuccefs-
ful, and found no fuch matter *.

27. But though we have no confiderable Tautological Echo's,
by a fimple refleftion, yet we have others of no inferior account
made by a double one, which alfo arifing from divers obje&s,
though in a different manner, belong to this place. Of thefe,
though there are fcarce any that will return a Trijfyllable, occ?£ion-
ed, I fuppofe, by the nearnefs of the fecondary objefts, yet a clap
with the hands or ftamp of the feet, there are fome will re-
turn eight, nine, or ten times, the noife dying, as it were, and
melting away by degrees with fuch a trembling noife, that I fom-
time thought of the Epithet [tremulous] to difcriminate this fort
of Echo from the reft.

28. At Heddington, in the Garden of one Mr Pawling Mercer
of Oxon: there is a wall of about 40 yards long, built for the
advantage of the Fruit, with divers Niches ; to which, if you
ftand but a little obliquely, fo as to fee the Peers ftanding out be-
tween each two of them, you have the feveral objefts of fuch an
Echo, not above nine or ten foot diftant from each other, which
return a clap with the hand, or a monofyllable (the wind being

w J<*ni Jacob- Boifardi, TtfografhiaHom^p 65, 66. * Magi* Fhoxocamptic*, Pra/uf.2.

quiet

Of OXFORDSHIRE. iS

quiet and ftill) at leaft nine, if not ten or eleven times, but fo
thick and clofe, that even a dijfyllable breeds a confufion : Where
by the way if it be objected, that (the whole wall being but 40
yards, or 120 foot long) according to the afore-limited diftance
for Echo's, a monofylldble fhould not be returned above once at
moft: It is to be noted, thatthefe Echo's made by a double re-
flexion, begin (quite contrary to all others) at the remoteft objecl:
from the corpus fonorum, which in as many as I have yet feen, is
a diftincl: wall, falling on that ; on which the reft of the objefts
are, in right angles ; and this objecl: it is, that firft terminates
the voice, clap, or ftamp ; and from which, by reflection, they
next ftrike the ultimate fecondary objecl;, then the penultimate and
antepenultimate; which, though nearer to the corpus fengrum in
refpett of the fituation of the obje&s, yet are ftill further off
in refpeft of the voice, or other founds motion : whence it
comes to pafs, that the neareft objecl: to the corpus f Quorum is laft
ftricken, and therefore repeats a fyllable as well as any of the
reft, becaufe indeed in that refpeft the furtheft from it.

29. After the voice or clap has ftricken thefe fecondary ob-
jects, by way of acceffion as it were to the corpus fonorum, it is
carryed again by a fecond reflection away from it toward the
primary objecl, and fomtimes over it, as it appears to be in this
Echo at Heddington, where the found feems as it were fomwhat
refrafted, for it is heard quite out qf the place, as is evident to
any one that ftands in the Nortb-eaft corner of the Garden and
fpeaks Wtffatrdf*. who will hear the Echo rather in theHortyard
on the other fide the wall, than in the Garden, which I take
moft certainly to be occafioned by this fecond refleclion ; for let
any one that fufpefts the Echo tq pe really in the Hortyard, and.
not in the Garden, go but into it, and he fliall there find no fuch
matter as an Echo. All which, is more fenfihly explained in
Tab. 1. Fig. 4. where

a. is the place of the fpeakeror maker of any other found.

h, the primary objecl firft terminating the founds and rebelling
it on the?eei'softhe other wall.

c c e c c c. the Peers between ev$ry two Niches that receive the
found refiecled from the primary objecl and make the Echo.

d d d d d d. the lines wherein the voice is carryed back.again 0-
ver the primary objecl, whereby the Echo appears out of its
place. But

\6 The j^jitural Hiftory

But herein let it be noted, that I am not fo fanguine as to exclude
all fears that it may be otherwife, but only fuggeft what feems
moft probable at prefent, cum ammo revocandi, whenever 1 ("hall be
better informed by another, or my own future experience.

30. At New College in the Cloyfters, there are others of this
kind, to be heard indeed on all fides, but beft on the South and
Weft, becaufe on thofe there are no doors either to interrupt or
waft the found : Thefe return a ftamp or voice, feven, eight, or
nine times, which fo plainly is occdfion'd by the Peers between
the windows, that on the Weft and fhorter fide (being but 38
yards long) the returns are more quick and thicker by much than
on the South, where the primary objeft being above fifty yards
removed from the corpus fonorum, and the fecondary ones propor-
tionably further • the returns are much flower and more diftinft,
in fo much that on that fide the Echo will return a di/jyllable,whete-
as on the Weft fide you can have but a monofyllable only. If it
be objected, that according to the rule, 3 8 yards are not enough
for the return of a monofyllable ; I anfwer, that though it may
be likely enough that the return of the primary objeft on that
fide is not heard, yet that there is none of the fecondary ones, or
Peers between the windows,but what are diftant from the fpeak-
er above 40 yards, and therefore may well return ^monofyllable.
And if again it be objefted, that the interval of an Echo muft be
liberum and patens *, and it be further demanded how it comes a-
bout that we have fuch Echo's in Cloyfters, when we can have
none in wells that arecover'd with houfes, becaufe the interval
is clofed at both ends, as this Cloyfter is : It muft be anfwered,
that that rule holds only in narrow intervals clofed up on all fides,
and not in fuch Cloyfters that are open and arched to the top ;
Which may alfo be the reafon why at Magdalen College, where
the Cloyfters are covered with a flat roof, they have but an in-
confiderable Echo, and at Corpus Chrift/'none at all ; notwithftand-
ing they have all other conditions requifite.

31. In the Cloyfter at All-fouls College, in the North and Weft
fides, where no doors hinder, there is much fuch another, which
to the ftamp of ones foot, or clap with the hands, anfwers four
orfivetimes, with a noife not unlike the (baking of a door, and
in nothing differing from the former, but that to the voice it

* BUncani Efhmetria, 1hcorematey 4

makes

OfOXFO^p^SHl^E. ty

makes no refponfe * : arid indeed, it would be matter of won-
der if it fhould, fince no one fide of that Cloyfter comes near
the diftance affigned for the return of a fyllable, whereas that at
Reddington juft equals it> and one fide of New College much ex-
ceeds it.

3 2i Other Echo's there be that belong to this place, as Echo's
upon Echo's^ and fuch as my Lord Verulam1 ftiles back-Echo's |
of which, becaufe I have met with none confiderable, I am con-
tent to pafs them by, having fufficiently, as I fuppofe, by this
time tired the Readers patience with too tedious a confideration
of fo particular a fubjeft, and make hafte to treat of the Air of
Qxford-flnre, as it ftands in reference toSicknefs or Health. But
all Air of it felf being equally pure, and only accidentally good
or bad, accordingly as more or lefs filled with wholfom or noxi-
ous vapors afcending from the Waters, or moift Earths ; 1 refer
its confideration to the next Chapter, to which it feems more in-
timately and originally to belong : it being the opinion of Hippo-
crates^ and on all hands agreed, That Waters are of much more
concernment in reference to health than the Air can be, becaule
they are as it were part of our aliment, and the Air not fo ; and
may be of themfelves fundamentally bad, whereas the Air is only
fo by participation,

* There it much fuch another as this, in the Ball-Court at Corpus Chrifti Coll. i Nat. Hift.Cmt. j>
Num. 24.9, 250.

CHAP*

18 The Natural Hijlory

CHAP. II.
Of the Waters.

THAT Oxford-Jhire is the beft watefd County in England,
though I dare not with too much confidence affert, yet
am induced to believe there are few better ; fmce befide
the five more considerable Rivers of Thame, Ifis, Cherwell, Even-
lode, and Windrujb, there are numbred no lefs than threefcore
and ten at leaft of an inferior rank, befide fmaller Brooks not
worthy notice : And all thefe of fo quick a ftream, and free from
ilagnation, fo clear, and yet fo well impregnated with wholfom
primogenial Steams of Salts and Sulphurs, that few (if any)
vappid and ftinking Exhalations can afcend from them to cor-
rupt the Air. As for (landing Pools, Marifh, or Boggy grounds,
the parents (at leaft occafions) of Agues, Coughs, Catarhs, they
are feweft here of any place to be found : the Soyl for the moil
part lying dry, and water'd only with clear and rapid Fountains.
Infhort, fo altogether agreeable is this County to Cardans z rule ,
Solum ficcum cum aquh currentibu* faluhritatem Aerk efficiunt, that
had he wanted an inftance for confirmation, he might have found
one here moll fuitable to his purpofe. And if plenty of whol-
fom Fifli, fpontaneous produclions of odoriferous Plants, and
the fcarcity of filthy Reptils, be cogent Arguments of the good-
nefs of Waters, Soyls, and confequently of Air, as heretofore
they have been accounted, I know not the place can make better
pretences, as iTiall be fhewn more at large in their proper places.

2. Befide its clearnefs from peftiferous vapors, I take the
fharpnefs we find this Air to be of, to be no fmall argument of
its health and purity. Ariftotle, 'tis true, thought Air mode-
rately warm, but its conflant return to a brisk coldnefs, after it
has been heated either by fire, the Sun, or warm exhalations,
gives us ftrong fufpitions that Vis naturally cold : All natural
Bodies, after they have fuffered violence, returning of themfelves
to their innate condition. To which add, that the Air on the
tops of high Mountains, above the reach of the Clouds and o-
ther warm Exhalations, as 'tis found to be clear, fo 'tis very

» CoTmnent.mliipboc.deAere-, aquis, & loc'u.

cold :

Of OXFO^V^SHI^E. 19

cold ; whence I chink it may not be illogkally concluded, That
the colder the Air, the nearer to purity , and confequentially
more healthy : Which is alfo very fuitable to the do&rine of Hip*
pocrates, who fpeaking concerning the healthy fituation of CI*
ties, fays, That fetch which are placed to cold winds, a ^am f^ to

v£iLia. TO <TY.\Y\£?rn *) •\'VX&> ui '^ ^ "^"^a* yAwta^gratj ----- TO? j xg-

<p*A*5 Cym&ts, £«Aij#i«. i. e. that though their Waters are harfi and
cold, yet for the moftpart they arefweet, and the Inhabitants healthy
and brisk., found, and free from deflwxions. And fo indeed in the
main I find them here, of a very chearful humor, affable, and
courteous in their Deportment ; neither fparing, nor profufe in
their Entertainments, but of a generous temper, fuitable to the
fweet and healthful Air they live in : Whereas the Inhabitants of
fenny and boggy Countries, whofe Spirits are do gg? d with perpetual
Exhalations, are generally of a more fiupid, and unpleafant convex*
fation.

3. That the qualities of Waters and Soyls, together with the
fituations of places to the refpe&ive Quarters of the World,
make them more or lefs healthy,according to the great b Hippocra-
tes, there is no doubt. But to thefe I muft beg the favor of ad-
ding, not only more fwafive but more irrefragable proof; I mean,
the great age and conftant health of perfons that have been lately,
and are now living here : Richard Clifford, not long fince of Bol-
fcot in this County, died at 114 yeafs of age : Brian Stephens,
born at C herlbury, but Inhabitant of Wcodftock, dyedlaft year at
103. Where alfo there now lives one George Green (but born at
Enjbam) in his hundredth year : at Kidlington one Mns Hill was
born, and lived there above an hundred years : and at Oxford
there is living, befide feveral near it, a Woman (commonly called
Mother George*) now in her hundredth year current. The pleafant
fituation of which City is fuch, and fo anfwerable to the great
Reputation it ever had in this refpeft, that it muft not by any
means be paft by in filence.

4. Seated it is on a riling Ground, in the midft of a pleafant
and fruitful Valley of a large extent, at the confluence, and ex-
tended between the two Rivers of Ifis and Cherwell, with which
it is encompafs'd on the Eaft, Weft, and South \ as alfo, with a
ridge of Hills ata miles (or fom what more) diftance, in the form

* Hifpocr. *&< ciifutf ihi-nt n-imt. <> Id, ibid.

C 2 Of

2o « The Statural Hijlory

of a Bow, touching more then the Eaft and Weft points with the
ends, fo chat the whole lies in form of a Theater'- In the Area
ftands the City mounted on a fmall hill, adorned with fo many
Towers, Spires and Pinnacles, and the fides of the neighboring
Hills fo fprinkled with Trees and Villa's, that no place I have yet
feen has equalPd the Profpeft *. 'Twas the fweetnefs and com-
modioufnefs of the place, that (no queftion) firft invited the
great and judicious King Alfred, to felecT: it for The Mufes Seat ; and
the Kings of England ever fince (efpecially when at any time
forc'd from London by War, Plague, or other inconveniencies)
fo frequently to remove hither, not only their Royal Courts, but
the Houfes of Parliament, and Courts of Judicature : Many Synods
and Convocations of the Clergy have been alfo for the fame reafon
held here ; of which, as they have promifcuouily happened in
order of time, take the following Catalogue.

A Catalogue of Parliaments, Councils, and Terms
that have been held at Oxford.

A Parliament held at Oxford, in the time of King Ethelred,
anno 1002.

A Parliament at Oxford, under King Canutus, an. 1 o 1 8.

A Parliament at Oxford, under King Harold Harefoot, anno
1036.

A Conference at Oxford, under King William Rufus, an. 1088.

A Conference at Oxford, in the time of King Stephen.

A Council at Oxford, held againft the Waldenfes, temp. Hen. 2.
an. 1 160.

A Council at Oxford, under King Hen. 2. temp. Tho. Becket
Archiep. Cant. an. 1166.

A generalCouncil at Oxford, at which King Hen. 2 . made his Son
John King of Ireland, an. 1 1 77.

A Parliament at Oxford, ta/Z^Parliamentum magnum, temp,
H. 2. an. 11 85.

A Council at Oxford, temp. Rich. 1.

A Conference at Oxford, in the time of King John.

* Ah a?nomftateJ!tm Bcllofitum JiSum.

OfOXFOXV^SHIXE. 21

A T Parliament held at Oxford, temp. Hen. 3. an. 121 8. which
firftgave occafion to the Barons Wars.

A Council at Oxford, under Steph. Langton Arch-BifiopofCzn-
terbury, an. 1222.

ACouncilat Oxford, an. 1227,

A Council at Oxford, under Stephen Arch-Bifhop of Canterbu-
ry, and his Suffragans? an. 1230. 14 Hen. 3.

A Council at Oxford, temp. Hen. 3. an. 1233.

A Council at Oxford, under Edmund Arcb-Biflop of Cant.

A Council held at Oxford, by the Bifiops, temp. Hen. 3. an. 1241,

A Term kept at Oxford, 3 1 Hen. 3.

A Council at Oxf or d, temp. Hen. 3. an. 1 247.

A Council held by the Bifhops at Oxford, an. 1250^

A Parliament held at Oxford, called Parliamentum infanum,
41 Hen. 3.

A Council at Oxford, an. 1258.

A Parliament at Oxford, an. 1261,

A Parliament at Oxford, an. 1 264.

A Council at Oxford, under John Peckham Arch-Bifhop of Can-
terbury, an. 1 271.

A Council held at Oxford, under Robert Winchilfea Arch-Bifhop
of Canterbury, an. 1290. .

A Parliamentfummon'dat Oxford, 4 Edw. 3.

A Parliament at Oxford, 1 9 Novemb. an. 1382*

A Parliament at Oxford, 6 Rich. 2.

A Term kept at Oxford, n Rich. 2.

A Term kept at Oxford, 16 Rich. 2.

A Convocation of the Clergy at Oxford, by Tho. Arundel
Arch-Bif/jop of Canterbury, an. 1395.

A Parliament at Oxford-, 1 Car. 1. 1625.

A Parliament fummon'd at Oxford, temp; Car. 1. an. 1644,
The Terms kept at Oxford, eodem temp, it being the Kings Head-
Quarters in the late Civil War.

A Parliament at Oxford, 13 Car. 2. an. 166$.

TheTerm kept at Oxford, eodem temp, the Plague being then

at London.

5. Of

iz The Natural Hi (lory

5. Of thefe there is an imperfeft Lift in a MSS. c In Corpus
Ckrijii College Library Oxon. in which there are alfo mentioned
three Synods held in St. Maries Church : A Provincial Chapter of
the Fryars Preachers, and a Council held at Oxon. whofe Votes
were written by Abraham Woodhall. There is alfo a Provincial
Council at Oxford, mention'd in the Catalogue fet before the De-
crees of Gratian. But thefe bearing no date, and in all likely-
hood the fame with fome of the afore-mentioned ; I pafs on to
another Parliament, which though not at Oxford, yet was held
in this County, and therefore I fuppofe not improper for this
place. However, I {hall rather venture the danger of impro-
priety and mifplacing, then omit the taking notice of fo confi-
derablea Meeting, it being the firft Parliament held in the County,
and doubtlefsin England; called it was at Shi ford, now a fmali
Village in the Parifh of Bampton, and (hewing now nothing
adequate to fo great an Affembly*

6. There is a MSS. in Sir Robert Cottons Library, that gives

an account of this Parliament, which, it faies, confifted of the

chief of all Orders of the Kingdom, and was called at Sifford

(now Shlford) m Oxford- pnre, by King Alfred, where the King

as Head confulted with the Clergy, Nobles, and others, about

the maners and government of the people, where he delivered

fome grave admonitions concerning the fame : The words of the

MSS. are thefe,

"Rn Sippopb j-ccen Bancp manic, pele Bifcopr, ec pele Bodepeb, €plerppu&e, ec
Cnihcer egloche :• ISeppar 6ple€lFpicop^Sela5ermuthpij-e, *J ec Klppeb €njlchip&,
€n£le 6eplin£,on englanb he paj- Cynj, hem he £an Iepen, j po hi hepen mihten hu hi hepe
hple&enrcol&en.

i.e. There fate at Shifford many Thanes, many Bijbop, and many
learned Men, wife Earls, and awful Knights ; there was Earl El-
frick very learned in the Law, and Alfred, Englands Herdf-man,
Englands Darling ; he was King of England, he taught them that
could hear him bow they fiould live.

7. To which perhaps may be added, the great Council of
Kyrtlington held there not long after, in an. 977, at which were
prefentKing Edward 'the Martyr, and Sr Dun/Ian Arch-Biftiop of
Canterbury ; and at which died Sidemannus Bifhop of Crediton.
This Council by Sir Henry Spelman d is taken to be the fame men-
tioned by Wigornienfis held at Kyrtlinege, which he gueffes to be

« wt.fol. cp. 173. d H. Spelman Ctmcil. Tom. i. An. fft.f. 495.

now

Of OXFORDS Hl%E. i|

now Katlage in Cambridge-JlAre ; but I rather believe it was held
here, not only for the fake ~of the name, which remains the fame
to this day, but becaufe of the one and only Constitution made
there, vi%* That it fhould be lawful for the Country People to go iri
Pilgrimage to St. Mary o/Abington ; a thing in all Iikelyhood not
fo defrible to the People of Cambridge- fij'ire, as to ours of #x-
ford-fiire fo near the place : Befide, the great reputation that this
place was of in ancient times, feems to juftifiemy plea, it enjoy-
ing as great Privileges, and perhaps being a fitter place in thofe
days for the reception of fuch an Aifembly, then Oxford it felf \
for I find it part of the PorTeffions of the Kings of England, frofri
whom it came to Henry, Son of Edmund Crouchback. Earl of Lan*
cafter and Father to Henry, the firft Duke of Lancasler, by
whofe Daughter and fole Heir Blanch, it came to John of Gaunt
Duke of Aquitane and Lancafler, and was free, 2.Tbelonio,paf[a-
gio, laflagio^pacagio, slallagio, tallagio, tollagio, cariagio,^ terragio?
per totum Regnum, as I find it in an old Charter in the poffeflion
of the Right Worfhipful Sir Tho: Chamberleyne, now Lord of the
Town, whofe Angular civilities in imparting this, and fome o-
ther matters hereafter to be mention'd, I cannot but in gratitude
ever acknowledge.

8. From whence (after fo long, but I hope not unpleafant di-
greffion) I return to the Beautiful Oxford again, a place of fo
fweetand wholfom an Air, that though it muft not be compared
with that of Montpellieri yet upon my own knowledge it has
proved fo advantagious to fome, that it has perfectly recovered
them of deep Confumptions ; and particularly a worthy Friend
of mine, who though he came hither fufticiently fpent, yet with-
out the help of any other Phyfick., within few Months felt a fen-
fible amendment ; and in fewer Tears became of as fanguine a
complexion as the reft of his friends, that had almoft defpaired
of him.

9. Some have thought the Small Pox here more then ordina-
rily frequent, and it muft indeed be confeft, That we are per-
haps as often, though not fo feverely infefted as fome other4
places ; for generally here they are fo favorable and kind, that
be the Nurfe but tolerably good, the Patient feldom mifcarries.
But admit the Obje&ion be truly made, That it is more fubjeft to
the Small Pox than other neighboring Cities about, yet ifbyfo

much

t± The Natural Hi/lory

much the lefs it feel the rage of the Plague, I think the edge of
the charge is fufficiently rebated, 'tis reported amongft the e ob-
fervations of an ingenious Perfon that refided long in the Ifland
Japan, That though the Air be very falubrious there, yet the
Small Pox and Fluxes are very frequent, but the Plague not fo
much as ever heard of; which has often made me reflect on the
year 1665, when the Peftilence wasfpreadina maner all over
the Kingdom, that even then, though the Court, both Houfes
of Parliament, and the Term were kept at Oxford, the Plague
notwithftanding was not there at all.

10. Others again, tell us of the Black. Apife held in the
Caftle here, an. 1577. wnen a poyfon out fleam broke forth of
the Earth, and fo mortally feifed the fpiritsof the Judges, Sheriffs,
Juslices, Gentry and Juries, befide great numbers of others that
attended the bufinefs, that they fickned Upon it and almoft all of
them dyed ; but let it not be afcribed to \\\ fumes and exhalations
afcending from the Earth and poyfoning the Air, for fuch would
haveequally affected the Prifoners as Judges, but we find not that
they dyed otherwife then by the halter, which eafily perfwades
me to be of the mind of my f Lord Verulam, who attributes it
wholly to the fmell of the Goal, where the Prifoners had been
long, clofe, and naftily kept.

1 1 . 'Tis true, that Oxford was much more unhealthy hereto-
fore then now it is, by reafon the City was then much lefs, and
the Scholars many more, who when crowded up in fo narrow a
fpace, and the then flovenly Towns-men not keeping the ftreet
clean, but killing all maner of Cattle within the walls, did ren-
der the place much more unhealthy. Hence 'tis, that we find
fo many refcripts of our Kings prohibiting maftationem grojfarum
lefliarum infra muros, (y quod vici mundentur a ftmi* & fimarm,
bearing date 13 Hen. 3. 2jEdw.i. 12 Edw.y. 37 Hen. 6.g and
all alledging the reafon , quiaper hat maSlationes, isrc aer ibidem in-
ficitur, becaufeby the killing fuch maner of Cattle,, and laying

the dung in the ftreets, the Air was infected. Moreover, about
thefe times the Ifis and Cherwell, through the carelefnefs of the
Towns-men, being filled with mud, and the Common-flioars
by this means ftopt, did caufe the afcent of malignant vapors
whenever therchappened to be a Flood ; for befide its ftirring

• Phi/ofoph. Tranjatt. num. 49. t Nat. Hifi. Cent. ro. mm 914. * MSS.in Arch. Bib- Bod.fol. 90, 91.

the

of 0 XFO %p-S HI1{E. 25

the infectious mafs, great part of the waters could not timely
pafs away, but ftagnating in the lower Meddows, could not but
increafe the noxious putrid fleams. But the former being long
fince remedyed by the care of the Vniverfity, and the latter by the
piety and charge of Richard Fox Bifhop of fVinchefier , and Found-
er of C.C. C.Oxon. who in the year 15 17. cleanfed the Rivers,
and cut more Trenches for the Waters free paflage h ; the Town
hath ever fince continued in a healthful condition ; though I can-
not but believe, but were there yet more Trenches cut in fome
of the Meddows, the .Air might be fomwhat better'd ftill, efpe-
cially during the Winter feafon, when I fear fomtimes Floods
ftay a little too long-, and that not only near Oxford, but in Ot"
moor ; and all along the Ifis from EnJJmm to North-moor, Shiford,
Chimly, and Rotcot, which brings me again to the general confide-
ration of the Waters as well of the whole County as City.

12. That the healthinefs of Waters Confifts in their due impre-
gnation With Salts and Sulphurs, and their continuance fo, in
theif continual motion, is indifputably evinced from the ftinking
evaporations of them upon any ftagnation* Now that the Rivers
here abound with thefc, will be altogether as manifeft as that
they ton, if we confider but the Springs they receive and Earths
they wafri. The Ifis, 'tis true, till it comes to New-bridge, re-
ceives not (that I find) any eminently fait or fulphureou* waters ;
but there it admits the nitrous Windrufh, fo well impregnated with
that abfterfive fait, that no place yields Blanketing fo notorioufly
white, as is made ztWitney, a Mercat Town on that River, and
upon this account the moft eminent in England for that kind of
Trade \ though I am not ignorant, that fome add another caufe
joyntly contributing with the afore-mentioned, to the excellency
of thefe Blankets ; of which more at large when I come to treat
of Arts.

13. Som what lower, zboutCafiirigton, it receives the Even*
lode, a River whofe Banks, efpecially near the Fountain heads,
are very well faturatcd with both the Minerals : witnefs the wa-
ters that rife a little above Sir Thomas Pennyfton's, in the Parifh of
Cornwell, from a fort of Earth that may well pafs for a Marie ;
and the brinifh Bog near Churchill-xm\\, which though upon the
furfaceof the ground feems to have no communication with the

h Hijl. & Ajitiq. Univerf Oxon. Lii.i.pag. i+j.

D ad-

2tf The Statural Hijlory

adjoyning Rivulet, yet being fo near, and the Glebe all there-
about being to be prefumed of a like nature, it mult needs lick
fome of the Mineral in its paffage. About Kingham I was told
of a fulphureout Earth, and that fome of the Waters there were
of fuch an odour ; but whether true or no, I am fure On the o-
ther fide the water, at a place called Bould in the Parity of Id-
bury, it is manifeftly fo ; which being not far from the River, ac
leaft not from the Stream that runs by Fofcot, and fo into it, in
all likely hood may impart to the waters hereabout no mean quan-
tity of its more volatile parts. Upon the Cherwellwt have a fait
Spring runs immediatly into it ; and perhaps the fulpbureout Glebe
of Deddington may fomwhere reach the River. The Banks of the
Thame are fo well fated with fome kind of acid, that no well-
water in the whole Town of the name, will either brew, or lather
with foap : But none of thefe give a tinflure fo high, that they
can be perceived by the moft exquifite palate,but only fo far forth
as may conduce to a due fermentation, and to keep them living :
And yet without doubt from hence it is, that the Thames water at
Sea, in eight months time, acquires fo fpirituous and active a
quality, that upon opening fome of the Cask, and holding the
candle near the bung-hole, its fteams have taken fire like Spirit
of wine, and fomtimes endangered firing the Ship '. Hence 'tis
alfo that its flench is no abfolute corruption, and that after a
third or fourth fermentation, it equals the waters of the Well in
the Haven of Brundufium *, and ftiaks no more ; and though the
Mariners are fomtimes forced to drink it and hold their nofes,
yet upon that account they do not ficken ; whereas all other wa*
ters, as far as has been hitherto obferved, become irrecoverable
upon ftinking, and dangerous to drink.

14. Cardan in his Comment upon Hippocrates k, takes the
plenty and goodnefs of the Fifh, to be a fure indication of the
wholfomnefs of waters. And our Country-man, the ingenious
Dr Browne *, fpeaking of the great fecundity of the River Tibifcut,
admits it into confideration, whether its exceeding fertility may
not be afcribed to the [aline Tinclures it receives from the natural
fait Mines it licks by the way : which opinions if approved, as
rationally they may be, ftiew the health of our waters and the

> Pbilofoph.Tranfan.Num.2f. pag. 495. * Flin. Nat. Hifi./ii. 2. tap. 103. K De Aere Aauis & loeii
fup<rlcxt.-$. * General Defcr:ption of Hungary, pag- io.

rcafon

Of OXFORDSHIRE, ij

reafon of it too : for though we muft not compare our Ifls with
Tibifcus or Brodrack ; the one whereof is faid to confift of two
parts of water, and one of Fijh ; and the other fo replenifh'd with
them, that in Summer when the River is low, the People fay*
The water fmells of Fifh : yet in the year 1674. it gave fo ample
teftimony of its great plenty, that in two days appointed for the
Fifhing of Mr Major and the BaylifYs of the City, it afforded be-
twixt Smthins-Wear, and Woolvercot -bridge (which I guefs may be
about three miles diftant) fifteen hundred Jacks, befide other
Fi(h ; which great fecundity, as it argues the goodnefs of th6
Element, fo 'tis no whether to be referr'd, as to its Original caufe,
but to the various Salts upon which depend the propagation of
all forts of Species's l ; and as far as concerns this part of the Ani-
mal Kingdom^ are plentifully to be found at the bottoms of fome
Rivers.

15. And I faid the rather at the bottoms of Rivers^ not only
becaufe Bodies from Salts have their folidity and weight"1, and
therefore may well be prefumed to refide in the loweft places : but
becaufe I find it the joynt agreement of all the Water-men hereabout
that I have yet talk'd with, that the congelation of our Rivers is
always begun at the bottom, which however furprizing it may
feem to the Reader, is neither unintelligible nor yet ridiculous s
for befide matter of facl: wherein they all confent, vi^. that they
frequently meet the Ice-meers (for fo they call the cakes of Ice
thus coming from the bottom) in their very rife, and fomtimes
in the under-fide including ftones and gravel brought with them
ab imo, it feems upon confideration alfo confonant to reafon : for
that congelations come from the conflux of Salts, before difpers'd
at large, is as plain as the vulgar experiment of freezing a pot by
the fire - and that induration and weight come alfo from thence,
fufficiently appears from the great quantities of them that are al-
ways found in ftones, bones, tefiaceom, and all other weighty bo-
dies n. Now whatever makes things compact and ponderous, muft
needs be indued with the fame qualities it felf, and therefore af-
feft fuitable places ; fo that why ftanding Pools ftiould freez at
the top, might poftibly have proved the greater difficulty of the
two, had not the Learned Dr Willi* already cleared the point, by
(hewing us, that all ftanding waters are more or lefs in a ftate of

^ Williiyde Ferment- cap -2- m Willis tie Ferment, cap. 2. * Wtlbi deFermnt-tap. \i,

D 2 putre-

28 The Statural Hijlory

putrefaction °, with their falls and fulphurs ready for flight, and
in that pofture catch'd by the adventitious cold, are probably
fo congealed at the top of the water. How confonant to truth
this Theory may be, I leave to the Readers judgment and future
experience, and by the way would 'have him take notice, that as
this, fo my other opinions hereafter to be mentioned, are not
magifterially laid down, fo as to juftle out better whenever they
can be brought, but fairly to have their tryal, and fo live or dye.
But as to the matter of Fad, as I cannot but think it hard that
fo many people (liould agree in a ralfity, fo methinks 'tis as diffi-
cult they (hould miftake in their judgments, fince I was told by
one of thefobereft of that calling, that he once knew a Hatchet
cafually fall over-board into the River near Wallingford, which
was afterwards brought up , and found in one of thefe Ice-
meers.

1 6. And fo much for the [alts that give life to the waters, mul-
tiply the Fifii and are the caufe of congelations-, for the watry
Plants it feems have their vegetation from none of thefe, but a
higher principle, which fome will have to be a volatile Niter,
brought along with the fhowers in their paffage through the Air.
Thatfubaqueout Plants have a proportionable growth to thofe on
the Land after a fhower of rain, is alfo the general voice of the
Barge-men; and herein I am the rather inclin'd to believe them,
becaufe 'tis a matter fo much their intereft to obferve ; our water-
men here in thefe (hallow Rivers, praying notfo much for rain to
fill them when low, as that weeds may alfo grow to help keep the
waters when they have them, which will otherwife too foon glide
away, to their no fmall detriment. Some have thought this vi-
gorous (hooting of the aqueous Plants, fo prefently fenfible af-
ter plentiful Ihowers, to proceed rather from the foyls brought
with them from the hills, and impregnated with [alts fit to pro-
mote vegetation ; but the contrary is evident from the former
Paragraphs, for with fuch as thefe the Rivers are daily fated, and
yet this brisk vegetation is wanting till it rains : whence I guefs
that terreslrial and fubaqueous Plants (that I fay not fuch as delight
in uliginout places) have their fprightful (hooting from different
principles 5 and if to the former I (hould aflign a more fix'd,
and to the latter a volatile fait, perchance I might not be much

0 Witt* deFermwnt. cap. %.

out

Of OXFO%T>^S H1\E. 19

out of the way : but it being not fo much my bufinefs to find the
reafons of phenomena? as to give the Reader fuch hints as may
lead his greater fagacity tb do it ; I forbear faying more, & manum
de tabula, only advertifing him, that what has been faid of the
Ifis may be indifferently applyed to the reft of the greater Rivers,
of which neither have I any thing more to add, but an unufual
accident that happened to the CherveelU An. 1 66*, which without
one drop of rain, or any other vifible caufe here, but from great
and fudden fhowers that fell in Northampton-fbire, fwelled to that
vaft height, that in two hours time, not only the Medows Were
o're-flown, Magdalen College cellar drowned, and their raifed
Water-walks covered ; but the River Ifis driven back as far as Ivy-
Hincksey, atleaft a mile from the confluence of the two Eivers.

17. But amongft the many frmWerR i7;ulets, perchance it may
not be unworthy notice. (1 .) That the two confiderable Rivers
of Stour and Oufe, though but fmall here and running but little way
in it, yet rife in this County ; the one at Swalcliff, which goes in-
to the Severn Sea in the weft ; and the other at Fritwell, whence
it runs into the Sea between Lincoln-fiireznd Norfolk'm the eaft of
England. And (2.) that the Fountain-heads of the River Rea
lye for the moftpartin a plain Country, having little more to feed
them, than juft a declivity to facilitate their paffage ; which feems
to argue, that all running waters owe not their continuance to
rain and dews, colle&ed as they fay, on thefpungy tops of hills,
and fent forth again fomwhere in the declivity. And fo do's a
a fmall Spring at Cleydon, that rifes in the ftreet on the fouth fide
of the Town, which continues running all the year, but nioft
plentifully like the Scatebra of Pliny p, in the dryeft weather :
to which add a Well at Ewelme, alfo fouth of the Church, whofe
Springs run loweft in the Winter feafon, and advance in the
Summer remarkably higher ; as 1 am credibly informed from
Lambourn in Berk-fine, all the Springs in that Town moft con-
ftantly do. But I decline all engagement in this great Contro-
verfie concerning the origin of Springs, till my Travels have
fupplyed me with more, and more certain evidences, as well for
the one as other part of the queiiion.

1 8. That Land-firings, and fuch as run but once perhaps in
many years, have their rife and continuance from plentiful (hoW-

t Nat. Hifi- lib. 2. cap. 103.

ers,

}o The Natural Hi/lory

ers, I think we have little reafon to doubt, fince we have them
not at all, or but very weak in any Summer, or the dryer Winters :
fuch are thofe that fore-tell (and naturally enough) the fcarcity
and dearnefs of Corn and Vi&uals ; whereof that of Ajfenton, near
Henly upon Thames, is one of the moft eminent that I know of in
England '; and no queftion is the fame mentioned by Johannes Eu-
feb. Nierembergim % in his Book (as he calls it) of the Miracles of
Nature. In Britannia territorio Chiltrenfi funtfontesmulti,&c. by
which, I fuppofe, he mult mean the Chiltern Country o$ Oxford-
fiire, There are, fays he, many Springs, which in fertile years are
always dry ; but before any dcjeft, as the Harbingers of an approach-
ing dearth , tkefe waters get loofe, and at it were breaking prifon, they
quickly unite into a forcible ftream. And fo they did lately, in An.
16 74. with that violence,that feveral Mills might have been driven
with the Current ; and had not the Town of Henly made fome
diverfion for them, their Fair Mile muft have been drowned for
a confiderabletime. Of thefe there are many in the County of
Kent, which I know not for what reafon they call Nailbourns
there, and prefcribe them (fome will) a certain time for their
running, as once in feven, ten, or fifteen years. But the certain
natural principle of fuch Springs, altogether depending upon
an uncertain caufe, no heed is to be given to fuch kind offtories,^
they being equally as vain as the perfons that broach'd them.

19. Befide thefe conftant and intermitting Rivulets, that al-
ways difcharge themfelves into Seas or Lakes, we have others
here of a peculiar kind that empty themfelves into neither of
them ; but as they firftrofe out of the Earth, fo prefently after
a fhort ftay on it, ingulf themfelves again, and are no more
feen. Two of thefe there are at Shot -over Foreft, both rifing as
I take it on the north fide of the hill ; the one not far from He d-
dington Quarry-pits, is conftantly fed with a double Spring, yet
after it has run about two Bows fhoot, is received by a rocky fub-
terraneous indraught, and appears no more : for though fome have
thought it to come forth again at the Pool of a Mill not far from
it, yet after diligent fearch I could find no fuch matter. Ano-
ther there is not far from Forefi-hill, and I think in the Grounds
of Sir Timothy Tyrrill, which fomtimes in Winter runs with that
violence,and has worn its In-let to fuch a capacity, that it can and
has received an Ox. , DtMiracuLNat./lb.2.t.i6,

20. Other

Of OXFORDSHIRE, p

20. Other waters again are of fo flow a pace, that they feem
rather to fweat than run out of the Earth, part whereof being
fpent in exhalation, and the reft in fating the dry neighboring
Earth, do neither reach the Sea , are received in Lakes, nor
fwallowed up like the former, but of themfelves ate ftopt upon
the very furface. And yet I have obferved, and believe rightly
too, that thefe are the moft durable Land firings we have, wit-
nefs that famous one of this kind at Nettkbed, which I know not
from what old Witch heretofore, by way of derifion, they call
Mother Hibblcmeer ; whereas if we confider how ferviceable (he
has been, being never known to fail them in the dryeft Summer,
and that in a Country fo uncapable of Wells, that there's no fuch
thing to be found in the Parifh, (lie rather merits the efteern of
the Nymph of the place.

2 1 . In Wejiphalia they have a Spring they call their Botderborn r.,
from a noife that it makes at the exit of the water ; whether ours
may defer ve the name, I know not, but fuch a one there is in the
Parifli of Qhmpton, in a wood about a mile foiith -w eft from the
Church, in a place where there are ftones in the form of Cockles J
upon which account hereafter I {hall mention it again* The
Springs, as I remember, are in number three, and the mofrfouthern
one of thefe 'tis that has the humming noife, much like that of
an empty bottle held with the mouth againft the wind,which per-
haps may be a refemblance fo befitting our purpofe, that it may
help to explain the caufeas well as the found : for provided the
channel be large within, and r.he paffage forth fomwhat narrow
like a bottle, the coUifion of the water againft the lips of the
orifice, may well make a noife in a large vault within, efpecially if
the waters be indued with a fpirit, as perad venture anon may be
proved like enough.

22. Which is all I have to fay concerning the flux of Rivulets,
but that one there is at Sommerton makes a fmall Cafcade, or fall
of water about feven foot high ; which were it not in the high-
way, butm a Gentlemans Garden, fome.ufe might be made on't
for divers good purpofes, but as the cafe ftands I think it can
have none, except for experiments of petrifications, for which
fure it cannot but be very excellent, fmce the living blades of
grafs of not above half a years growth, within that fmall time

' Varenii Geog- lib. I. cap. 17. prop. if.

are

5i The U^atural Hijlory

are all covered with ftone, and hang down the bank like fo many
Ificles ; and the Earth it felf over which it glides, as 'twere foli-
ated over with a cruft of ftone like the Mofco petrofo of F err ante
hnperato*. Which brings me to a clofer consideration of waters,
as they are eminently endued with any peculiar qualities, of Pe-
trification, Saltnefs, or Medicinal ufe ; of which in their order as
briefly as may be.

23. Of Petrifying waters, though I doubt not but their kinds
are as various,as the effe&s they produce ; and theeffe&s again, as
the fubjefts they work on ; yet I am inclined to believe that they
all agree thus far, that they proceed in the main from the fame
frock and linage, and are all more or lefs of the kindred of Salts,
which fublimed and rarified in the bowels of the Earth into an
invifible fteam, are received by the waters as their moft agreeable
vehicle, and brought hither to us at the riling of Springs, as in-
vifibly as the particles of filver or gold, when each is diflblved
in its proper menfiruum : where meeting perchance with an am-
bient Air, much colder and chilling than any under ground, in
alllikelyhood are precipitated, and thrown down on fuch fub-
je&s, as they cafually find at the place of their exit, which they
prefently cloath with a cruft of ftone; or elfe (where precipita-
tion or cohefion will not fuftice) they pafs with the waters through
the pores of the fubjefts, and are left behind in them juft as in a
filter.

24. The reafon of which difference may probably be, that
fomeof thtft petrifying fteams or atoms, may be grofs and more
bulky than fome others are, and cannot be held up in the watry
vehicle, without fuch a heat as they have under ground, but fall,
and by reafon of their bignefs, do not penetrate, but adhere to
their fubje&s • whereas others that are fine, more minute and fub-
tile, are eafily fupported in a volatile condition, and pafs with
the waters into the clofeft textures.

25. If any body doubt whether ftones, and fa petrifications,
arife from Salts, let him but confult the Chymifis, and afk, Whe-
ther they find not all /W«r<7/eiBodies,fuch as ftones, bones,ftielIs,
and the like, moft highly fated with the [aline principle ? Some
mixture of Earth and Sulphur 'tis true there is in them, which
give the opacity that moft ftones have ; from which, according as

• Dell Hi[l. Natural. M.2J. cap. 8.

they

0fOXFO%p*SHI%E. %

they are more or lels free, they have proportionable transparency 4
and fom hardnefs too ; as the beft of gems, the Diamant? evinces^
And if he fhall ask what Salts are the apteft to perform this feat
of petrification? though the difficulty of the queftion might well
excufe me, yet Fie venture thus far to give him anartfwer, That
I have frequently feen at Whitftable in Kent-, how their Coperas of
Vitriol is made out of ftones that 'tis more then probable were
firft made out of that : to the Spirit of which Vitriol if you add
Oyl of Tartar? they prefently turn into a nVd and fom what hard
fubftance, not much inferior or unlike to fome incruflations %
which feems to conclude, that from thefe two, all fUch like cort*
ctetions are probably made ? and that could we but admit that
Ocean of Tartar, which Plato1 placed in the center of the Earth*
and thought the origin of all our Springs? the bufinefs of petrifi^
cations were fufficiently clear. To which I alfo add in the be-
half of Vitriol? what's matter of fact, and prevails with me much,
That where-ever I find ftrong Vitriol waters, the petrifying ones
are feldom far oft"; which as far as I have obferved, 1 believe
may be reduced to thefe three kinds that prefently follow.

i. Such as purely of thcmfelves TStpetrifyed? the very body
of water being turned into (tone as it drops from the
rocks, which we therefore commonly call Lapidesflil-*
latitios? and fhall accordingly treat of them in the
Chapter of Stones'? thefe not ftriftly coming under fetri*
fications? where befide the water zxi&faxeou* oefdur? there
is always required a fubject to work on of a diftinft
(pedes from either of the two ; as in

2. Such aspebrifie by incruftation?and are only fuperficial, of

3 . Such as petrifie per minima? or totumper totum ; of both

which I fhall inftantly treat, but of the laft more at

large in the following Chapter.
26. Incruflations? are petrifications made by fuch waters as let
fall their ftony particles, which becaufe either of their own big-*
nefs, or clofenefs of thepores and texture of the Body on which
they fall, are fixt only to the fuperficial parts? as it were, by ag-
gregation? and do not enter the folid body ; of which I have met
with feveral in Oxford-Jhire? and particularly at Sommerton? as
was above-mentioned, where the grafs, being one of xhefluvia^

« Anton- Galataus dtflurmmin itrmibm.

E tilia?

34. The J^atural Hiflory

tilia, is covered over with a foft ftone ; and yet fo, that broken
off, the grafs appeared (for any thing I could fee) as frefh and
green as any other not crufted, nothing of the blade being alter'd
or impaired, which is the neareft incrujlation I ever yet faw : for
though fome of thefe petrified blades of grafs hung down at leaft
a foot in length, yet flipping them off from about the root, I
could take the grafs by the end, and pull it clean out as it were
from a (heath of ftone, fo little of cohefion had the one to the
other : the reafonof which I guefs may be, that the />om of the
Plant pofTeft with its own juice, and already furnifh'd with a
congenial [alt-, might well refufe adventitious ones.

27. And yet far other wife is it, but juft on the other fide the
River at North- Ajhton, in a Field north-weft of the Church, where
either the petrifying water, or plants, are fo different from what
before I had found them zzSommerton, that though there too the
work be begun by adhefion, yet the roots of rufies, graft, mofi, (src.
are in a while fo altogether eaten away, that nothing remains af-
ter the petrification is compleated, but the figures of thofe Plants
with fome augmentation.

28. And petrifications of this kind I frequently meet with,
that happen on things of much different fubft ances, zsjlells, nuts,
leaves of trees, and many times on their moft ligneous parts. In
the Parifh of Sr Clements in the Suburbs of Oxford, about a quarter
of a milediftant, on the right hand of the firft way that turns
eafi-ward out of Marfton-lane, there is a ditch, the water whereof
incrufiates the flicks that fall out of the hedge, and fome other
matters it meets with there : but this is fo inconfiderable, that I
fhould not have mention'd it, but that it has been taken notice of
by fo many before, that my filence herein would have looked like
a defect. Much better for this purpofe is the water of a Pump
at the Crop-Inn near Carfax, in the City it felf, which not only
incrufiates boards fallen into it, but inferts it felf fo intimately in-
to the pores of the wood, that by degrees rotting it away, there
is in the end the fucceflion of a perfect ftone ; and that not with-
out fome courfe reprefentation of the very lineaments of the
wood it felf : Which though I muft confefs to be of fomwhat a
higher kind of petrification than incrufiation, yet it being wholly
performed by acceffion of parts, and continual intrufion into the
open pores of rotten wood, will not amount to the warranty of a
different ffecies. 29. A

Of 0 XFO I^D^HI^E. 35

- 29* A curious pattern I have of this kind, in a piece of wood
given me by Mr Pomfret School-mafter of Woodfiock. (whofe care
in my enquiries I muft not forget) wherein nature has been fo
feafonably taken in her operation, that the method flie ufes is ea-
fily difcovered ; for being interrupted in the midft of her work^
one may plainly fee how the ftony atoms have intruded themfelves,
as well at the center zs/uperficies, and fo equally too into all parts
alike, that 'tis hard to difcern in any part of it, whether ftonc
or wood obtain the better (hare.

,30. Petrifications of this kind are always friable, and though
fomtimes they faintly fhew the grain, yet never, that I could fee,
keep the colour of the wood ; in the fire they are as incombufiible
as any other ftone, andlofe nothing of their extenfion, but their
colour for the moft part feems to alter toward white : in diftil-
led Vinegar they remain indiffoluble , though not without the
motion (as Mr Hook" well obferves) that the fame fpirit has when
it corrodes Corals, yielding many little bubbles, which in all pro-
bability (as he fays) are nothing elfe but fmall parcels of Air dri-
ven out of its fubftance by that infinuating Menflruum, it ftill re-
taining the fame extenfion : but in aqua forth, the Sommerton
cruft was wholly diffolved into a white fubftance, not unlike the
white wa[h ufed by Plaislerers. All of them increafe the bulk of
the fubjeft on which they work ; and moft of them, as the inge-
nious Mr Hook? alfo further notes, feem to have been nothing
more but rotten wood, before the petrification began.

3 1 . But fome others I have fcen of a far nobler kind, that
fhew themfelves likely to be petrifications per minima, and per-
formed with a fteam fo fine, as permeates the very fchematifm and
texture of the body5 that even to a Microfcope feems moft folid,
and muft in all likelyhood be as tenuiou* as the fubtileft effluviums
that come from a Magnet ; fome whereof are fo unlike rotten
wood, that they keep the colour and texture of heart of Oak, and
are fome of them fo hard that they cut Glafs : and with one of
them, that feems formerly to have been apiece of Ground-ajh, I
ftrook fire to light the candle whereby I write this. But I have
nothing more to fay of it here, becaufe I guefs the change not
to have been wrought by water; that therefore I offer not vio-
lence to the Chapter of Earths, by which I think this, and all

» Micograph- O&f. if.

E 2 other

3<* The Natural Hijlory

other of the Vind,l have met with in Oiford-JI/ire have been per-
formed; 1 forbear, and proceed to the other fait waters that are
more eminently fuch, and do not petrifie.

32. And amongft/iw7, we muft remember to reckon all fuch
as are unfit for waftiing, and will not take Soap ; for though thefe
to our taft are not fenfibly fait, yet to our touch (as the Learn-
ed Willi* w notes) they areharfh and unpleafant, which they have
from their too great impregnation with Salts : But what is a much
more certain evidence of it, we do not find any but inftantly
lathers, except fuch as hold an acid fait, and difcover themfelves
fuch upon evaporation. To which may be added this very eafie
Experiment, That if to fimple water, and fuch as before would
lather well, you add fomefew drops of Spirit of Vitriol, or fome
fuch like acid, it prefently refufes to mix with foap : The reafon
of which feems indeed to be no other, but the congrefsof the
acid /alt of the water, with the/xVand alcalizate one of the foap,
which it fo wholly fubdues to its own inclinations, that it will
not permit it any longer to hold the oily parts of the foap, or mix
them with the water ; but now vifibly increafed both in quantity
and weight, by the confiderable acquesl of this new prifoner, it
may alfo perhaps fo fill up the pores and little cells of the water,
that the excluded jiilpbur or oily parts of the foap (as in their fe-
parate nature) are forced to the furface.

33. Many of thefe waters are every where found, and accord-
ing to fome, all Pump waters are fuch • but that they are miftaken,
my experience has taught me, for I have met with fome that will
lather very well.

34. At Henly they are troubled with many of them, but not
fo much as they are at Thame ; for there they have a way to let
them ftand two days, within which time (as I was informed by
my worthy Friend Mr Munday, Phyfitian there) the Vitriol, or
whatever other acid kbe, falls down to the bottom of theVef-
fels that hold them, and then they will wafh as well as one can
dcfirc. But TxTbame, where there is never a Well in the whole
Town whofe water will wafh, or (which is worfe) brew : This
Experiment, for I caufcd it to be tryed, will by no means fuc-
ceed ; fo that were they not fupplyed by the adjoyning Rivulet,
the place muft needs be in a deplorable condition. The reafon, I

w Be Ferment. cap.?.

fuppofe,

Of OXFOXV-S Hl%E. 37

fuppofe, why the acid will not fall, as it do's at Henly and fome
other places, is becaufe thefe waters, befide their fait, *in all pro-
bability alfo hold a crude Sulphur, whofe vifcous particles do fo
tenacioufly embrace it, that it will not admit of any feparation ;
which may alfo perhaps be a hint to the caufe why their Beer will
ftink within fourteen days whenever they attempt to brew with
this water, for where a Sulphur is any thing great in quantity,
and its body opened and exalted by the heat in brewing, and the
a&ive fpirituous particles of Mault, (as I guefs the cafe may have
itfclf here) the frame of that mixtion may probably be loofed,
wherein the fpirits firft taking their flight, the Sulphur will next
begin to evaporate, whofe fteams being fmartly aculeated by the
fait, that then bears the chief fway in thefubjecl:, caufe the ftink
of the Beer that is brewed with fuch water.

35. Other waters there are that are palatably fait, and Suffi-
ciently ftinking without being brewed, and fuch is that before-
mentioned near Churchill-mill ; but I think within the bounds of
the Parifh of Kingham ; The water as it ftands looks of a greenifli
colour, as rooft of the palatably/*// waters do, and to it refort all
the Pigeons in the Country ; which fhould they not do, I (hould
much wonder, fince be/ides its faltnefs it has fuch a ftink, that it
equals the faltflone, and roafteddog too : fo that (hould the Pro-
prietor but build a Dove-houfe here, he might honeftly rob all his
neighbors of their flights ; but that he may not put it to fo invi-
dious a ufe, I (hall divert him anon by a more profitable way*

36. As to the fait that impregnates this water, I do not take
it to be a fimpleone, but fome Mineral concrete both of fait and
fulphur ; for without thefe two be in their exaltation, and become
fo far fluid as to endeavor a divorce from each other, it could ne-
ver acquire fo noifom a fmell. Which concrete (hould I call a

fait Marine, peradventure I might not be much miftaken ; for if
you take but a fmall quantity of thrice calcined Bay falti and
diffolve it in a pint of Well-water, upon diffolution you will
have much fuch an odour, as has been obferved by a late Author
in a fhort account of the Sulphur Well at Knarsborough*.

3 7. Nor hinders it at all that the Sea is fo remote, fince whe-
ther ^ri/zg* have any communication with it or no, fuch marine
falts may be had very well ; for if the Sea grow fait by the Earth

x SimpfoTtf Hydrel'g. Chjtn part. 2.

tnat

38 The Statural Hi/lory

that it licks, which I take to be as certain as that 'tis not fo by
torrefailion ; then if it be poffible we may have fuch Earths, as
give the Seatrxofefalino-fulphureou* tinctures, it's altogether as
poflible we may have fuch waters too, without any neceflity of
fuch communication.

38. If it be objected, That the waters of the Sea fend forth
no fuch flench as we find thefe do, let it be confidered that the
flux of the one, and ftagnation of the other, may well occafion
fuch a difference ; whil'ft the Sea-waters are in their motion, 'tis
true their [alts and fulphurs fo involve one another, that their
mutual imbraces hinder 2W evaporations ; but whenever they come
to ftand but awhile, as they do moft times in the holds of Ships,
then their fulphurs evaporate with as great a ftink, as can be fup-
pofed ours have here at Land ; and this the Ships pump doth fre-
quently witnefs, to the great content of all that travel by Sea? it
being a fure indication of the Ships health, which abundantly
recompences the inconvenience of theftench.

39. Such another I have heard of in the Parifh of Chadling-
ton, in the grounds of one Mr Rawlifon there, not differing in any
thing at all from the former, but only it's fomwhat ftronger of
the marine fait : this I muft confefs I faw not my felf, yet having
my information from fo knowing a Perfon, and of fo unqueftion-
able fidelity as Sir Thomat Pennyfton, I doubt not at all the truth of
thething.

48. A fait firing there is alfo at Clifton near Deddington, with-
in a Quoits caft of the River fide : but its faline particles are fo
fubtilized in the water,, that they fcarcely can at all be perceived
by the palate, and yet it lays them down plentifully enough on
the ftones and Earth over which it paffes. What fort of fait this
is, I care not to determine, becaufe it will be difficult not to
miftake ; for upon evaporation of about a gallon, it yielded a
fait of a urinous taft : which at firft I muft confefs was fo furpri-
zingtome, that I could not but think, that during myabfence,
fome waggifh fellow had either put a trick on me, or elfe that I
might have ufed fome unfit veffel ; whereupon I caufed a new
earthen pot to be bought, well glafed, and then repeated the Ex-
periment very carefully, but found in the end all had been honeft
about me, for I had zfalt again of the very fame taft.

41. How this fliould come about I cannot divine, unlefs from

the

Of OXFORDSHIRE. 5p

thefweatof the Bodies of Animals, it being much tifed in cuti-
cular Difeafes ; but this i think neither can well be, becaufe 'tis
a conftantly running $ri/zg, and would fure carry off what might
be left of that nature : I therefore wholly leave it to the Readers
greater perfpicacity, and (hall content my felf with this fatisfa-
ction, that however improbable the thing may feem, that in the
mean time 'tis an improbable truth.

42 . 1 have often fince wiftfd, that I had tryed this water with
afolutionof Alum, and feen whether it would have given any
thing of that milky precipitation it do's with Vrines'y which be-
ing then quite out of my head, is left to the tryal of fome inge-
nious perfon that lives thereabout; though before-hand I muft
tell him, that I believe it will not fucceed becaufe the urinous fub-
ftance feems not to be copious enough.

43 . Divers might be the ufes of thefe waters, and particularly
of the two firft, as good, or perhaps better than that at Clifton,
for cutkular Difeafes of Men and Beafts?- fome whereof I have
known carry ed out of thefe Inland Countrys to the Sea fide ;
whereas 'tis likely they might (in all the Diftempers for which
we have recourfe thither) with much more eafe have had a re*
medy at home.

44. But tar more profitable muft they furely be, if imployed
to improve poor and barren Lands, which no queftion might
be done by calling them on it. In Chejhire y, near the Salt-pits
of Nantwicb, 'tis yearly practiced thus to brine their Fields ;
which though never done, but after the fall of great ftore of
Rain-waters into their pits, which before they can work again
muft be gotten out , and with it fome quantity of their
brine too , yet even with thefe but brackifh waters do they
fo feafon their adjoyning Lands, that they receive a much more
profitable return, then they could have done from any foil or
dung.

45. In Cornwall and Devon/hire, fo confiderable are their im-
provements by fea-fand, that it is carryed to all parts as far as
they have the advantage of the water, and afterwards 1 0 or 12
miles up higher into the Country on horfes backs : At which I
muft confefs 1 marvel not at all, fince we are informed by an in-
telligent Gentleman of thofe parts % that where-ever this fand is

• » SirHughVhes Jewel-hovfe of Art and Nature, cap. I04. * Fhilofoph. Trdnfacl. Uum. 113.

ufed,

4_o *The Statural Hijlory

ufed, the feed is much and the ftra vv little, (/ have feen, faies he
in fuch a Place, good Barly, where the ear has been equal in length
with theftalk.it grew on} and after the Corn is off, that the grafs
in fuch places turns to Clover. Some of the heft of this fand, he
faies, lies under Ouje or Mud about a foot deep ; and who knows
but there may be fuch a Sand under the briny Bog near Church-
/>/'//- mill, or at Chadlingtcn ? 1 am fure the fait firing at Clifton
comes from a fand ; if fo, and the Farmers thereabout get fuch
Corn and Clover-grafi, I hope I (hall not want the thanks of the
Country.

46. However, I do not doubt but the water will be ferviceable,
either to caft on their Land., as at Nantwich, or to fteep their
Corn in before they fow it, to preferve it from all the inconve-
niencies formerly prevented by brining and liming it, and to
ftrengthen it in its growth.

47. Sir Hugh Plat* tells us, of a poor Country-man who paf-
fing over an arm of the fea with his Seed-corn in a fack, by mif-
chance at his landing fell into the water, and fo his Corn being
left there till the next Ebb, became fomwhat brackifh ; yet fuch
was the neceffity of the Man, that (notwithftanding he was out
of all hope of any good fuccefs, yet not being able to buy any
other) he fowed the fame upon his plowed grounds ; and in fine,
when the Harveft time came about, he reaped a crop of goodly
Wheat, fuch as in that year not any of his Neighbors had the
like.

48. Now let the Owners or Farmers of thefe firings fit down
and confider of what has been faid, and if they fhall think fie,
make tryal of them, wherein, if they meet with fuccefs, I only
beg of them (which I (hall gladly accept as the guerdon of my
labors) that they would be as free of it to their poor Neighbors
that have lean grounds and ill penny-worths, as God has been to
them by me his weak inftrument in the difcovery.

49. Having fpoke of fuch waters as cure faulty grounds, and
cuticular diftempcrs by external application, it followeth, that we
treat of fuch as are, or may be taken inwardly, and defcrve the
repute of Medicinal waters. The firft, and perchance the beft of
thefe, 1 found at Veddington, a fmall Mercat Town, within the
Clofe of one Mr. Lane, where not long fmce digging a Well,

■ Id. loco ci tat*

and

of 0 XFO %T>^S HI%E. +i

and pafling through a blew Clay, adorned with fome glittering
fparks ; and meeting by the way with -pyrites argenteus, and a
bed of Belemnitesy or (as they call them) Thunder-bolts b He
came within few yards to this water, of a ftrong [ulphureows
fmell, the moft like of any thing I can think of, to the water
that has been ufed in the fcouring a foul gun : in weight lighter
than pure Spring-water by an Ijs. in a quart, and yet after feve-
raltryals,I found it fo highly impregnated with a vitrioline fait as
well as fulphur, that two grains of the powder of galls would
turn a gallon of water into a dusky red, inclining to purple ; nor
did they only fo alter the fite and pofition of the particles, as to
give a different colour and confiftence, as it happens in waters
but meanly fated ; but in a quarter of an hour did fo condenfe
and conftipate the pores of the watery vehicle, that the excluded
particles of the Minerals appeared in a feparate ftate, curdled in
theVeffel, and of fo weighty a fubftance, that they fubfided to
the bottom in a dark blue colour.

50. The fediment being great in quantity, I tryed upton red
hot Irons, and fome other ways, to fee whether the falts or fuU
phur? either by colour, fcintillation, or odour, might not by that
means betray themfelves ; but with fmall fuccefs : whereupon I
betook me to diftillation, putting about a quart into a glafs body,
to which fitting a head and clean receiver, I gave an eafie heat,
till there was diftilled off about three or four ounces, which
when poured out, I found had neither fmell, taft, or any other
properties, that might diftinguifh it from any other firing water
diftilled: for with galls it would make no more alteration than any
other fimple common water would. Then ordering the fire to be
flackned, to fee what precipitate it would let fall ; upon filtration.
of what remained in the body, I procured only a pale calx of a
gritty fubftance, (hewing, as it dryed in the Sun, many tran-
fparent particles intermix' d : in taft it had a faint pleafant
piercing, with a gentle warmth diffufed on the tongue ; but pour-
ing on it Spirit of Vitriol, Oyl of Tartar, tec I could not perceive
any manifeft ebullition, fo as to judge whether the fait Contained
in this refidence, were either of the acid or lixiviate kind.

51. Wherefore to come clofer to the point, and taking dire-
ctions from that accurate, Jevere, and profound Philofopher, the
Honorable Robert Boyle Efq; the glory of his Nation, and pride

F of

^x The Statural Hifiory

of his Family ; and to whofe moft fignal Encouragement of the
Dcfign in hand, thefe Papers, in great part, owe their birth : I
took good Syrup of Violets, impregnated with the tinclure of the
Flowers, and drop'd fome of it ii.to a glafs of this water as it
came from the Well; whereupon, quite contrary to my expecta-
tion, not only the Syrup, but the whole body of the water turn-
ed not of ared, but a brisk green colour, the Index of a//xzz/i-
ate, and not that acid Vitriol, which I before had concluded on,
from the infufl on of galls. The Phenomenon at firft was very
furprifing, till I had further weighed the cautious Expreffions of
that Noble Author* 9 and found, that he reftrains the Experiment
of the Syrup of Violets, turning red with acids, with provifion
always they be diftilled Liquors ; and what he feems to hint in a
former Experiment *, that fulphureoutfalts, (fuch as the Vitriol
of this water will anon more plainly appear to be) being of a
quite contrary nature, may have different effecls : which may
alfo be the reafon why this fulphureous water, notwithftanding it
moil: ceYtainly poflfeffes an acidfalt,w'i\\ yet as certainly lather with
foap, and raife a greater fud than other waters commonly do ;
and if put into milk? though boiled up to the height, will not
feparate the more grofs from the ferows parts of it : efecls fo u-
fually following upon fuch. applications, that perhaps till now
they have always been fuppofed, never as yet to have happened
otherwife.

52. But Experience, that great baffler of /peculation, afifuresus
the contrary to be pofiible enough, and brings matter of fact to
confute our fuppofitions in the very tryal of this water, wherein
the great quantity of Vitriol, is yet fo clofe lock'd up by the vif-
cous particles of Sulphur, and thereby rendered fo dull and un-
acYive,that it cannot exert its enmity to (as Dr ' Mayow c) or friend-
ly embraces with (as Dr Willis d) the Mcalizate fait it finds in the
feap ; or fo comprefs the pores of the milk, as thereby tocaufe
a precipitation : but having as it were thus put on the nature of a
fix 'd fait, a&s not upon its like, nor longer enjoys the aftringent
power of an acid.

53. And under this vizorof a fix d Alcaliitwds, thatita&ed
its part, and with Syrup of Violets, gave a green tin&ure ; unlefs

;
b Hift of Cohmf, Exper. 20. * Ibid- Expcr. 10 c Btlktrmk Bathmievfihu.fubfiveia. <> Be Fer-
ment, cap. 11.

we

OfOXFOIW-S'HFRj;. -M

we may allow its fait to be a volatile Alcali, with which alfo that
Syrup turns to the fame colour : to admit fuch a thought 'tis true
is very hard, yet finding but a mile off, at Clifton as above-
mentioned, a Spring ftrangely fated with fuch a kind of/**//; I
adventur'd to try another Experiment of the aforefaid Honorable
Author , and according as he directs % made a folution of fubli-
mate in fair water (the only Criterion I yet know of, that plain-
ly diftinguifhes the two AlcalVs) to which I added this Well-
water, in great, fmall, and the intermediate quantities: but it
anfwer'dnot at all the defign of the Experiment, not giving the
tawny, much lefs the white precipitate : Whence 'tis eafie to con^
elude, that this alfo fucceeds only in difcriminating Chymicalfalts,
as that gredtVirtuofo well obferves, and not in the immediate pro*
dufts of Nature*

54. One thing more I could not but obferve, that notwith^-
(landing the powers of the Vitriol are thus reftrained in reference
to its acting on foap and milk, that yet it has its ufual effoft upon
Iron : for the corrofion of the Pump-rod I muft believe to pro-
ceed from Vitriol, till any one upon better grounds can convince
me, that 'tis, likely it may be from fomwhat elfe ; and yet this
neither do I conceive to be done, but by fuch fleams as afcend
in the Well, and are freed from the .(hackles of Sulphur, much
queftioning whether the Pump-rod under, or near the bottom of
the water, be eaten fo or no.

55. To this add, that although the Sulphur do's exercife fuch
dominion over, and fo clofely knits up the Vitriol^ whil'ft toge-
ther in the water, yet it may and do's too, let go its hold < and
like, what is reported by Henricws ab Beers of his Spadacrene, and
the Sauvenir by Frambefariu* , can hardly be kept within any
bounds, but expires through glafles ftopt never fo clofe ; 'tis
true, I had not the conveniency there of putting it under the
Hermetickfeal, butfo eafiea paflage it made through a good cork
cover'd over with wax, and both bound down with a double
leather, that in fix miles riding it loft all its virtues, not giving
then any tinfture with galls, and having but a faint putrid fmell
of the Sulphur : Whether it loft in weight or bulk, as well as 7/0-
latile Spirits, I muft acknowledge I was not then enough curiou9
to obferve-, but imagine it might, ftnee 'tis plain from its not

« W(l. of Colours. Exper. 40.

F 2 tinging

44 The Natural Hiflary

tinging xvkhgalls, that not only the Sulphur, but alfo the Vitrio-
iine particles exhale with it, and corporeally feiz on the next a-
greeahle fubjccl:, which 'tis manifeft they did on the above-men-
tioned Pump-rod.

$6. Befide the more considerable ingredients of Vitriol and
Sulphur, 'tis evident that this water alfo holds fome (mail qnan*
tity of Naphtha, one ofthe liquid Bitumens, which flies not away
like the two former, but after reparation of the parts, made ei-
ther by precipitation with gilts, or infenfible evaporation, remains
fwiming on the top in a thin skin, variegated as it were with the
colours ofthe Rain-bow, much after the fame maner as 'tis fre-
quently feen upon waters ftanding in boggy grounds, or fuch
places where we dig the bituminous Earths called Peats : But whe-
ther this will burn at all, or with any fuch bright flame exceed-
ing that of fulplmr, as f Hen. ab Heers affirms of fuch a film that
covers the waters of his Spadacrene, if kept all night, I have left
jto fome ingenious perfon thereabout, that has both more (kill and
leifuretotry.

5 7. At Banbury, another Mercat Town about four miles hence,
at Dr Lanes Phyfitian there, Brother to the above-named Mr Lane
of Deddington, and my very good Friend ; there is alfo another
fulphur Well, much like the former in tafte, but not altogether of
fo ftrong a fmell, holding, I fuppofe, either much more fait than
that, oralefs tenacious fulphur'. for here I found not the energy
of the Vitriol fo fetter'd by the vigorous particles of fulphur, but
that it had power to make that hoftile or friendly congrefs with
the lixiviat fait of foap, and fend the oily part to float at top,
making no lather or mixtion with it ; and alfo fo to conftipate
the pores of boiled milk-, as to feparate its parts into curds and
whey. The quantity of fait appeared upon evaporation made
by the faid Dr Lane fince I was there, but how much to a quart
or gallon he fent me no word. This water has alfo a volatile
part, collected by the faid Do&or, which I did not find that Bed-
dington water had ; upon the tongue it feems to have a little
pricking, but nothing that I could perceive of a faltifti taft,
wherefore trying further with a convenient Menfiruum, it atlaft
confeft it felf to be F lores fulphurk, precipitating with the fame
ebullition, fmell, and colour, that fome others did I had from the

lllOpS. f Hen ay Hfers spgJatrettr, cap. 4.

"58. An-

Of 0 XFO^ID^S >Ht\E. 4*

58. Another of thefe of zfulphureou* fmell that will not take
foap, and turns milk., I found at Bould mtfoe 'Parifli of Idbury,
in part of the pofTeflions of one W Lbggm, a worthy Gentleman,
(whofe affiftance in the tryal of this water, and furtherance in my
other bufinefs,I cannot without ingratitude tver forget t) which
differs from the former only in thrs, that bfefides its tinging red
with powder of Galls, with fpirit of Vrin it tarns white, which
(as I had obferved before at Banbury) that would notdo-: whence
I have ground to fufpeft, that over and beftde the ingredients of
that, here muft in all likelyhoodbe fomthing of Alum \ and in
this opinion I am the more confirmed, fince I am informed, by
the Controverfie between jyWittie and Mr Sympfbn, that Vitthl
and Alum are fomtimes found together, as intheGliff near the
Scarborow Spaw. And that in Sweden g there is a fingte ftohe of
a yellow colour, intermixed with ftreaks of white, and very
weighty, that affords Sulphur, Vitriol, A turn, and Minium j now
that fuch aftone is here, though I dare not aflfert, yet queftion*
lefs there may be fomthing not fo altogether unlike, but whenever
there is occafion of digging there-about again, the ftones and
earth may deferve examination *.

59. I (hould next have proceeded to the waters impregnated
with Vitriol only, but that I am called back to Deddingtm again
by another water of a fetid odour, in ftench much exceeding all
before-mentioned. This I met with in a fmall Clofe behind a
Barn, within a furlong or lefs of that at Mr. Lanes± having the
Houfe where the Vutthy -Court is kept to the Eaft* and the Guild
Weft, and belonging to Ch. Cb. Colt, in Oxon, in fmell fo per-
fectly refembling that of rotten eggs, and accordingly fo ftfdngly
arTefting the fenfe, that I could not fo much as put it to my mouth
without danger at leaflt of {training to vomit. Such a one aa
this is mentioned by Georgiut Agricola h, at the Gaftle of Steutt*
•wold in the Bijboprickof Uildejhtim , within a mile of HafJaj
where, fays he, there is another Spring that fends forth a ftifik,
qualit eft pulvem bombard* exftintti : a defcription fo agreeable
alfo to our fulphur well at Deddington, that as I could not at firft
but Wonder, that two fuch waters fhould be found at places fo
far afunder, (o ftrangly alike ; fo it gave? me a hint, that thefg

< Phil0foph.Tranfaff.Num.21. PW.OlaiWormii, Mupeumdeeodem,cap.^. * At SnowdoWri-hilk
in Carnarvan-shire, there are alfo Jwh Hones, Dr. Merrets F max mum Nat. f-ilj. * Lib.DeNatu-
ra eonum yuie iffiuunt ex terra.

waters

q.6 The D^atural Hijlory

waters in all probability might receive their tinctures from the
fame Minerals, and that their difference might only lye in the
diftances they have from the Mineral bed, or more Colanders the
one may pafs through than the other. Agricola obferves, that
the water at Steurewald fmeW'mg like ours, much like rotten eggs,
not only comes forth ofzMarble Quarry, but that the belchings
of fuch as drink it falling, give alfo the odour of brayed Mar-
hie. Whether ours have either fuch a paflage or effeft, I muft
confefs I cannot inform the Reader ; my Purfe not affording me
to try the one, nor my Stomach the other : However, I could
wifh it had not been ftop'd up, as I hear it is fince my being
there, not only for the ufe it might have, but that Perfons better
qualified than I, might have made the Experiments.

60. Of Vitriolate and Ferrugineous firings ,there are alfo plen-
ty in this County, one at Nether -Worton, and another at North-
Wefton *, within lefs than a Bolts- fhot of each of their Churches ;
both of thefe, befide their tinging with galls, let fall a fediment
of a rufly colour ; only with this difference, that Nether -Worton
fpringismuch the quicker and clearer, though I doubt not the
other might be very well amended, were but little charge be*
flowed on it. - ;.

6 1 . At Shipton under Which-wood there is another of thefe, at
an Inn there whofe fign is the Red-horfe, but fo weakly impregna-
ted with the Mineral, that it fcarce tinges fenfibly with the powder
of galls, yet lays down the rufly fediment in as great quantities
as any of the reft ; and I have met with fome at other places that
have plentifully enough yielded this, which by no means could
ever be brought to confefs any thing of Vitriol, which has begot-
ten a ftrong fufpition in me, that this rufly tMure may probably
be the effluvium of fome other Body, different from, and not of
the chaly beat kind: for were it fo, I cannot imagin but the fait
of Mars muft needs be difcovered. However, herein 1 will
not bepofitive, but propound it only as the fubjeft of a feverer
refearch.

62. And of thefe I was told of a very odd one in the Parifti
of Heddingtoh, near a place called the Wyke (I think) now ftop'd
up, that in the wintertime would flrike with galls, but not in
the fummer : „ whereof may be given this very eafie reafon ' that

* Ifiundanoiber price, near Whites-Oak in tie Pa>ifl: of North-Leigh.

during

OfOXFO%T>~SHl%E. 47

during the time of winter, the pores of the Earth being ftopt, and
the Mineral thereby not permitted to exhale, the water is then
impregnated with it, and gives the tinfture ; whereas in the fum-
mer feafon it expires fo much, that the depauperated water can
fliew nothing of it. That waters do thus alter according to the
Seafons of the Year, I found alfo to be manifeft from the waters
of Deddington, which I found fomtimes lighter* and at other
times heavyer than common water, and to give much difterentye-
diments at divers tryals with the lame materials. And this I
thought convenient to note, not only to excite Men to more cri-
tical Obfervations, but that the curious Explorator may not be
ftartled, in cafe he find them at any time not exa&ly to anfwer.

63. In the Park at Cornbury, not far from the Lodge, in a
pit newly digged, there rifes a firing alfo of a Vitriol kind , co-
louring the mud and earth under it very black ; into this pit, it
being defigned for a conservatory of Eifh, they put over night
fome of feveral forts, but found them next day in the morning
all dead ; which gave me good ground tofufpefl: (having juft be-
fore met with a relation of Dr. Wit ties1, That Carps put into a
Copper Brewing-veffel to be preferved but for one night, were all found
dead in like maner in the morning) that here might be fomthing of
that nature too ; and that the Vitriol wherewith this water is fated,
might rather be that of Venus than Mars : And in thefe thoughts
I was the more confirmed, when I quickly after was informed, of
an odd kind of fteam that rofe hereabout of a fuitable effect*
But of this no more, leaving its further confideration to the
Right Honorable and ingenious Proprietor of the place, and my
Angular good Lord, Henry Earl of Clarendon, a moft effectual
cncourager of thisdefign.

64. To thefe I muft add another fort of 'waters, which though
in taft they refemble milk? muft yet I believe be reduced to this
Head, for I find, notwithftanding their eminent fweetnefs, they
all refufe to lather with foap, and therefore conclude them to hold
fome Acid : Of thefe we have feveral within the City of Oxford,
one at a Pump over-againft the Crofilnn, another near the Mount
in New College Gar den, and a third at the Pump at Buckley Hall,
now the dwelling houfe of one Mr. Bowmam Book-feller, and
feveral other places * : All which, notwithftanding their lacleous

• Anfwer to Hydrologia Chym />. 27. * I heard of fitch another fomwhere near Wardington.

taft,

4.8 ' The Statural Hijlory

taft, 1 guefs may be impregnated with fomthing of Vitriol, which
though of it felf it be a fmart acid, yet its edge "being rebated
with a well concocted fulpbur, turns fweet, and becomes of that
more palatable guft. And herein perhaps I have not guefs'd a-
mifs, fince we are informed by as eminent, as 'tis a vulgar Expe-
riment, that the aufterity that Vitriol gives in the mouth, is cor-
rected by the fumes of Tabacco taken quickly after it ; whofe ful-
phureous particles, fays the Learned Willis k, mixing with the /aline
pontic ones of the Vitriol, create fuch a plea/an t and mellifluous taft.

6$. There are alfo two fmall and very weak (firings, of a la-
fieous colour but no fuch taft, in the way from South-ftokg leading
to Goreing, by the River fide ; not many years fince of great re-
pute in thofe parts for Medicinal ufe, but now quite deferted ;
whether upon account of the ineffectual ufe of them, or becaufe
they are but temporary fprings,y«/> Judice Ik eft : The people will
tell you they were very foveraign, and never ceafed running till
fome advantage was made of the water, and that Providence till
then with-held them not. This water iffues forth from a fat
whitiflh Earth, and has always a kind of unctuous fkin upon it,
yet to the taft I thought it feemed dry and ftiptical, as if it pro-
ceeded from a kind of Lime-ftone, further within the Earth, and
not to be feen.

66. But however the cafe may have it felf there, it is notfo
dubious, that at a Well in Oddington^ there is a water of the
talcarious kind,and proceeding furefrom fome neighboring Lime-
Jione, which befide its dry and restrictive taft, more fignally evi-
dences it felf, in the providential cur e. of a local Difeafe amongft
Cattle, frequently catch'd by their grafing on Otmoor, and there-
fore by the Inhabitants thereabout commonly called by the name
of the Moor-Evil: The Difeafe is a kind of flux of the belly, and
correfponds (in a Man) to what we call a Vyfentery, whereby the
Cattle fo fpend themfelves, that in little time from well and good
liking, they fall in a maner to fkin and bone, and fo dye away un-
lefs prevented ; which is certainly done by giving them dry meat,
and fuffering them to drink of this water only.

6j. Befide thefe we have many other waters, not apparently
(atleaft to fenfe) of any Mineral virtue, yet without doubt have
their tinSiurefrom fomefubterraneous fleam, of a much finer than

* Dc Arima Brutorurrr7cap- 12. De Guftatu,

ordi-

Of 0 XF01{ D-S HI%E. w

ordinary, and therefore unknown texture. Such are thofe in
many places accounted fo foveraign for the Eyes, and cure of in-
veterate Ulcers, after the ineffe&ual tryals of the bed Chirurgi-
ons : Thefe for the moft part, and perhaps not undefervedly, are
commonly ftiled Holy-wells^ not only for the good they have for-
merly done, but for that they feem to be the immediate gift of
God, and defigned for the poor.

6 8. A very eminent one of thefe there is in the Parifh of Sand-
ford, not far from Great Tew, which within the memory of many
thereabout, hath done great cures upon putrid and fetid old fores,
a long time before given over for incurable. Thefe watershzve
with them, according to the obfervations of the ingenious Doftor
Beal l,a kind of aclive fri&ion, but intermingling with their afpe-
rities fuch a pleafant titillation, as invites the Patient to rub On
the tetfive water, and will all along recompence the pain of fearch-
ing the wound, with fuch fpeedy and indulgent degrees of fana-
tion, as mitigates the torment with variety of pleafures.

69. And thus (as I am informed by perfonsof unqueftionable
fidelity, that have often ufed them for their eyes, and in fome o-
ther cafes) do the waters of St. Crojfts in the Suburbs of Oxford,
whofe Well was heretofore, and in fome meafureyet remains, fo
confiderable for fuch like purpofes, that the great refort of peo-
ple to it has given occafion of change to the name of theParifti,
which to this very day we call now nothing but Holy-well.

70. But of much greater Fame was the Well 0? St. Edward,
without St. Clements at Oxford, now quite ftop'd up; but as 'tis
remembred by fome of the antienteft of the Parilh,was in the field
about a furlong S. S. Weft of the Church ; this at leaft was be-
lieved to be fo effe&ual in curing divers diftempers, and there-
upon held to be of fo great fanolity, that here they made vows, and
brought their alms and offerings ; a cuftom, though common e-
nough in thofe days, yet always forbidden by our Anglican Coun-
cils ™, under the name of u/ilpeopjjun^a \Wilveorthunga~\ more right-
ly translated Well-worjbip than Will-worjbip, as is plainly made
appear by the Reverend and Learned Dr. Hammond^, out of an
old Saxon Penitential, and a Saxon Homily ofBi/lop Lupus ; where
the word r<f is rather (hewed to fign'ihe font em, than vohntatem.
Ag-ainft thefe fuperjiitions Co ordinary in thofe days, there are fe-

1 PMof.Tranfici-Num.-j j. m CanonUusful>f.dgaroCan.6o- * Annotat.onEpft.ColoJfc. 2.V.23.

G veral

50 The Statural Hijiory

veral prohibitions in the fore-cited Penitential and Homily. And
of which kind are alfo divers Injunctions to be leen in the Office of
Lincoln^ of Oliver Sutton ; and amongft them, one particularly
againft the worfhip of this Well of St. Edward, without St. Cle-
ments in Oxford, and St. Laurence's Well zx. Peter bur gh^ i&c.

7 1 . And fo much for the Waters, with the Minerals they hold ;
and perhaps too much too in fuch like matters,may fome Man fay,
for an unfkilful Lawyer : However, fince what has been faid, has
not been magifterially impofed, but modeftly only, and timeroufly
conjeftur'd ; and fince I have not invaded another Mans profejfion,
by fo much as naming the Difeafes they may probably cure, ex-
cept where they have a known reputation already, I hope I may
evade the imputations of rafhnefs, or putting my fickle into an-
other Mans Harveft.

CHAP.

Of OXFO%V^HI%E. 51

CHAP. III.
Of the Earths.

OXFORV-SHIRE, fays Mr. Cambden0, is a ftrtik
County and plentiful, the Plains garmjbed with Corn-fields
and Meddows, and the Hills befet with Woods ; jloredint-
very -place not only with Corn and Fruits, but alfo with all kind of
Game for hound and hawk^ and well watered with Rivers plentiful of
Fiji. Which general defcription of the Soil, though in the
main it be true to this day, yet if we come to a more particular
and clofe consideration of it, we (hall find, that though Oxford-
//Are almoft -in every part, where the induftry of the Hufband-
man hath any thing (hewed it felf, doth produce Corn of all forts
plentifully enough ; yet it has much more caufe to brag of its Med-
dows, and abundance of Paftures, wherein (as in Rivers) few
Countrys may be compared, perhaps none preferr'd. And as
to matter of Fruits, 1 think I may better aflert of it what Giral-
du* do*s of Ireland, Pafcuis tamen quam frugibut, gramine, quant
grano, fdecundior Comitate, than groundlefly to commend it over-
much.

2. The Hills, 'tis true, before the late unhappy Wars, were
well enough (as he fays) befet with Woods, where now 'tis fo
fcarcy , that 'tis a common thing to fell it by weight, and not on-
ly at Oxford, but at many other places in the Northern parts of
thefiire ; where if brought to Mercat, it is ordinarily fold for
about one/hilling the hundred, but if remote from a great Town,
it may be had for fevenpence : And thus it is every where butin
the Chiltern Country, which remains to this day a woody Trafr,
and is (as I have very good ground to think) fome of the weflern
part of the great Foreft ftn&pe&erpab, or Kti&pe&erlege, reaching, fays
Leland?, from befide Portu* Limenus'm Kent,z 120 miles wefiward,
which happily falls out to be about this place : To which had
C*far ever arrived, he had never fure left us fuch an account, as
we find in his Commentaries concerning our Woods : Materia, fays
he, cujujque generis, ut in Gallia, prater Abietem (? fagumq, i.e.

« Britan. in Oxford/hire, t Letandi Comment, in Cyg. Cantinvtrbot,imems. ^Ve Bella Galluo,l>h<.
fubinttium.

G 2 that

51 The Natural Hi/lory

that there was here all maner of wood, as in France, except the for
and Beech : of the laft whereof there is fuch plenty in the Chil-
tern, that they have now thereabout fcarce any thing elfe; but
it lies fo far from Oxford, and fo near the River fide, which eafily
conveys it to London Mercat, that 'tis fcarce beneficial to the reft
of the County.

3. As to the qualifications of the Soil in refpeel: of Corn, I
find them in goodnefs to.difter much, and not only according to
their feveral compofitions (being in fome places black, oxreddijb
earth : in others a clay or chalky ground, fome mixt of earth and
[and, clay and [and, gravel and clay, isre.') but chiefly according to
the depth of the mould ox uppermoft coat of the earth, and the
nature of the ground next immediatly under it : for let the up-
permoft mould be never fo rich, if it have not fome depth, or fuch
a ground juft underneath it, as will permit all fuperfluows moifture
to defcend, and admit alfo the hot and com] or table fleams to afcendi it
will not be fo fertile as a much leaner foil that enjoys thefe con-
ditions.

4. Thus have I often-times feen in this County, in all appear-
ance a very good foil, and fuch indeed as would otherwife have
been really fo , lefs fertile becaufe of its fliallownefs , and a
cold Jliffclay, or clofe free-Jlone next under-neath it, than a much
poorer Land of fome considerable depth, and lying over a fand
or gravel, through which all fuperfluows moifture might defcend,
and not ftand, as upon clay or fione, to chill the roots and make
the Cornlangui(h.

5. Where by the way let it be noted, that I faid a cold ftiff
clay or clofe free-Jlone ; for if there be under a fliallow mould, a
clay that's mixed (as 'tis common in the blew ones of this County*)
either with pyrites aureus, or brafi lumps ; or the ftones be of the
warm calcariou* kind, it may neverthelefs be fruitful in Corn, be-
caufe thefe, I fuppofe, do warm the ground, and give fo much
ftrength, that they largely recompence what was wanting in
depth.

6, More poflibly might have been added to this general ac-
count of Earths, and not a little inftru&ive to the Farmers of the
Country, but I found moft of them froward and to flight my
Quire's ; let them therefore thank themfelves if I am not fo ob-
liging : Befide, it feems a bufinefs a little befide my defign, there-
fore

Of OXFO%rD^Hl%E. 55

fore in haft I proceed to a more particular Confideration of Earths
(as before of Waters) holding fome Spirit, Bitumen, or concrete
Juice , and as they are ufeful in Trades, or are otherwife necevTary,
convenient, or ornamental.

7. But herein I flhall not fhew my felf either fo angry or igno-
rant, or fo much either difrefpecl: my fubjeft, or the civilities of
the Gentry for the fake of the clowns, as not in the next place to
treat of luch Earths whofe molt eminent ufes relate to Husbandry,
fince they alfo hold fome concrete Juices (whereby they become
improvements of fuch poor barren Lands) and are therefore
very fuitable to my prefent purpofe.

8. The beft of thefe we call commonly 3for/.y,whereof,though
'twas believed there were none in Oxford-Jbire, yet I met with no
lefs than three feveral forts, and in quantities fufficient enough
forufe. The Britijb Marls were very famous of old, whereof
Pliny" numbers feveral forts ; and of principal note were the
LeucargilU , whereby, he fays, Britan was greatly enriched :
And of this kind, that I guefs may be one, lately difcovered by
the much Honored, and my truly noble Friend, ThomoiStoncr Efq;
of Watlington-P ark^, of which he already has had good expe-
rience : of colour it is whitijh, a little inclining to yellow, not
very fat, and of fo eafie diifolution, that it may be laid on
the ground at any time of the year, and may be as good, I fup-
pofe, for pafiure as arable : this he found at a place near Blunds -
Court, but I think within the Parifti of Shiplake, where upon an-
other account finking a deep pit, amongil: other matters he met
with this MarL

9. Since that, there has lately been another difcovered by that
eminent Virtuojo Sir Tbomat Pennyjion, in his own Grounds in the
Parifhof Cornwell, about a quarter of a mile north-weft of his
Houfe, of a blue colour, and foabfterfive, that it would readily
enough take fpots out of cloaths, and gave its owner fome ground
to hope, thatpoffibly it might be fit for the Fullers ufe ; but he
quickly, upon tryal, difcovered an incurable fault that the Men
of that Trade will never pardon: however, I take it to be fo
rich a Marl, that it may amply recompence the induftry of its
Mafter, if laid on its neighboring barren Hills; which I advife
may be done about the beginning of Winter, that the Frofts and

r THn. Nat. Hi[i. Ub. 17. cap. 6, 7.

Rain

54. The Natural Hijlory

Rain may the better feparate its parts, and fit it to incorporate
with that hungry Soil.

10. Which condition I fuppofe may not at all be required, in
the manure of a light and hollow fort of Marl., lately found by
the worfhipful and induftrious Improver, George Pudfey Efq; of
Elsfield: for in water it diffolves almoft as foon as Fullers earthy
and is naturally of it felf fo hollow and fpungy, that one would
think it were always in the very ferment, and may therefore be
ufed at any fit time of year : of colour when dry, it is of a
whitifh gray, intermixed with fand, and very friable, and may
in all probability be the very fame, with the Marga Candida are-
nofa friabilk, of Hildejbeim, mention 'd by Kentmannus s, and out
of him by Lachmund. Of juft fuch another Marl as this, brittle
and dufty when dry, but fat when wet, we are inform'd there is
at Wexford in the Kingdom of Ireland, by Dr GerrardBoat l fom-
time Phyfitian there ; only thzt that is blue, and this a vvhitidi
gray, and may therefore be fitter for Pafture than Arable. It
being obferved in the Counties of Sujfex and Kent, where Marls
are molt plenty of any places of England, that the gray fuit with
Paftures,andthe£/«e (fuch perhaps as Sir Thomas Penny/Ions') with
Arable belt.

ii. It may therefore be expedient, that thefe new found
Marlsbe thus agreeably tryed, and though they anfwer notexpe^
ftation the firft year, as fome fay they will not % let not their
Owners be thus difcouraged, but ftill continue to make frequent
tryals, of divers proportions of Earth, at all feafons of the
year, with all kinds of Grain upon all forts of Soil, till they
find out the moft fuitable and neceffary circumftances, fo iliall
they in time attain to a knowledge beyond the expectation, and
perchance imitation of their Neighbors. But I forbear to in-
ftruct fuch Ingenious Perfons, as the Owners of the above-
named Marl-pits are : the Orator being accounted little lefs than
a fool, that went about in his Speech to teach Hannibal to
fight.

12. But befide thefe, we have another fort of Earth, of a fat
clofe texture,and greenilli colour, fo well impregnated with fome
kind of fait, that put in the fire, it prefently decrepitates with no

« Kfvtman.nomtnelat.rer.fo/capl. de Margii. ' Boats Nat. Hiftof Ireland, cap- 12. » Plifi.Nat-
Hijf./ii. 17. cap. 8.

lefs

of 0 XFO %p~S Ht%E. |ft

lefs noife than fait it felf; and in neater, after a quick and fub-
tile folution, leaves behind it a kind of brackifh taft, which I
thought might proceed from a fort of Vitriol, and perhaps true
enough* though the water would not tinge with powder of galls J
it takes greafe out of cloaths extreamly well, and would it but
whiten, as Fullers earth doth, I fliould not doubt to pronounce
it the fame with the viridis Saponaria, found near Beichling in
Thuringia, and mentioned by Rentmannws in his colle&ion of
Foffils w. This we have in great plenty in Shot-over Foreft, whefe
'tis always met with before they come to the Ochre, from which
it is feparated but by a thin Iron cruft, and may peradventure be
as ftrickt a concomitant of yellow Ochre, as Chryfocolla (another
green Earth) is faid to be of Gold. At pfefent 'tis accounted
of fmall or no value* but in recompenceof the fignal favors of*
its prefent Proprietor, the Right Worfhipful Sir Timothy lyrril,
who in perfon was pleafed to fhew me the pits, I am ready to
difcover a ufe it may have, that may poffibly equal that of his
Ochre. Which brings me next to treat of iuch Earths as are
found in Oxford-Jhire, and are ufefulin Trade9. *

13. And amongft thefe the Ochre of Shotover, no doubt, may
challenge a principal place, it being accounted the beft in its kind .
in the world, of a yellow colour and very Weighty, much ufed
by Painte r s fimply of it felf, and as often mix'd with the reft of
their colours. This by Flirty x, and the Lathes, was anciently
called Sil, which we have now changed for the modern word
Ochra, taken up as fome think from the colour of the Earth, and
the Greek word *%&<, Pallidum ; or as others, and they perhaps
more rightly, from the River Ochra that runs through Brunfwick^
whofe Banks do yield great quantities of it y ; and from whence!
in all likelyhood we received the name, upon the arrival of the
Angles and Saxons in Britan.

14. They digit now atShotOver on the eaft fide of the Hill,
on the right hand of the way leading from Oxford to Whately,
though queftionlefs it may be had in many other parts of it ; The
vein dips from Eaft to Weil, and lies from feven to thirty feet
in depth, and between two and feven inches thick ; enwrapped
it is within ten folds of Earth, all which mull be paft through
before they come at it ; for the Earth is here, as at moft other

v Cap. 1. Dittrru. » Ylin. Nat. HJft. lib. 33. tap, i». 1 Eneelim dt re Metal, lit. 2.[cap. 20.

places,

5<£ *• The Statural Hifiory

pjaces, I think I may fay of a bulbous nature, fevcral folds of
divers colours and confiftencies, ftill including one another, not
unlike the feveral coats of a Tulip root, or Onyon.
The i . next the turf, is a reddifb earth.

2. a pale blue clay,

3. ayellovpfand.
\ 4. a white clay,

5. an iron /lone.

6. a white, andfomtimes a reddifb Maum.

7. a green, fat, oily kjnd of clay.
• 8. a thin iron-coloured rubble.

9 . a green clay again .

1 o. another iron rubble, almoft like Smiths cinders.
And then the yellow Ochre, which is of two parts.

1 . The /lone Ochre, which we may alfo call native, be-
caufe ready for ufe as foon as 'tis dug : and

2. Clay Ochre, which becaufeof the natural inequality
in its goodnefs, they wafh and fteep two or three

% days in water, and then beat it with clubs on a plank
into thin broadcak.es, of an equal mixture both of
good and bad ; then they cut it into fquares like Tiles,
and put it on hurdles laid on treftles to dry, which
when throughly done 'tis fit for the Merchant.

15. Where perhaps by the way it may be worthy our notice,
how different either the Ochres, or opinions of men concerning
them, are now, from what they formerly were : for whereas
Diofcorides (as quoted by Wormiusz>) commends to our choice the
lighteft earthy Ochre, highly before the other of (lone : We on
the contrary, and not without reafon, prefer the /lone Ochre as
far before the clay. t

1 6. I was told of zyellow Ochre fomwhere between Vuckling-
ton and Witney, that ferves them thereabout for inferior ufes •
and met with it befide at fome other places, but none fo good as
this at Shotover ; .that at Gar/ington being full of blueftreaks, and
afmall parcel (that was (hewn me) taken up about Pyrton inter-
mixed a little too much with red, as if it were now in the tranf-
mutation (fo much fpoke of by Natural i/ls) by the earth and funs
heat ; firft into Rubricks or Ruddle, and thenceatlaft into pnigitk^

Or elie blacky Chalk. » Ol.WmniiMHfruw.^.i,. * Enceljert Metal, eep.20.

17. -Now

Of OXFORDSHIRE, jj

lj. Now that Nature indeed proceeds in this method, lata
almoft perf waded by what I have found in Shotover-hill^nd elfe-
where near it i for within two beds next under the Ochre (nothing
but a white Sand interceding) there lies another of a rhuch red*
derhue, which firft receiving the fteams of the earth, is now in
the way of becoming a ruddle, and in procefs of time when it
grows aduft, may at laft make a change into a black, chalk; which
I fhould not fo eafily have been induced to believe, but that at
Whately Towns end, near the foot of the hill, where lately fome
attempts were made for Coal, they met with a vein of fuch kind
of chalk, which perhaps long before might have been nothing
but ruddle, and as long before that, a yellow Ochre, But whe-
ther Nature proceed thus or no ; or fuppofe thefe are not (as
fome have thought) the feveral gradations of the fame indivi-
dual* yet however, I fhall not be guilty of mif-placing, finceall
three belong to the Painters Trade.

1 8. To which may be added a fort of C&ruleum, which in
Englijh we may render native blue, becaufe naturally produced
by the fteam of fome Mineral^ latent under the afore-mentioned
Marl 2X.Blunds -Court, amOngft which it is found in very good
plenty ; but yet fo thinly coating the little cavities of the earth,
and fome other bodies (of which hereafter) to which it fticks,
that no quantities can be gotten for the Painters ufe, for whom
it would otherwife be very fit, as upon tryal has been found by
the worthy Mr Stonor. Kentmannui b indeed tells us of a cine-
reous fort of 'Earth fom where near Padua,thzt affords fuch a blue ;
but I guefs that ours cannot be (nor perhaps is that) the immedi*
ate production of the ambient Earth, but rather of fome mineral
Or metal below it ; of which more at large in a fitter place.

1 9. Hither alfo may be referr'd a gritty fort of Vmbers found.
in all parts of the County where there are Quarries of Stone : a
courfer kind of them I met with near Witney, and a fomwhat finer
at Bladen Quarry ; thefe fomtimes are found in the feams of the
Rocks, and fomtimes again in the body of the Stone; and not-
withstanding their gritty texture , yet prove ufeful enough to
drejjersof Leather. But yet a much finer than either of the for.
mer, has been lately taken up at Waterperry, in the ground, and
near the Houfe of the Right Worftiipful Sir Thomas Curfon, of fo

* Kerttman d* terris, cap- I .

H riert1

58 fTbe Statural Hijlory

rich and beautiful a colour, that perhaps it might better have
been placed among the Ochres, but that mix'd with Oyl, it turned
darker than that they call Englifi, and much more fo than the
fyruce-Qchre of Shotover Forest.

20. Befidethefe, we have another fine Earth, of a white co-
lour, porous and friable, infipid and without fcent, diflbluble
in water ; and tinging it, of a milky colour, and fom times railing
a kind of ebullition in it ; found frequently in theliffoms or feams
of the Rocks, or {licking to the hollow roofs of them : in (liort,
fo altogether agreeable to what Con r aciu* Gefner c (and out of him
Boetiws de Boot , Calceolarias, Aldrovandus, and Olau* Wormiut)
calls Lac Lun<e, that I could not but think it the very fame. And
to put all out of doubt, I tryed the Experiment of Daniel Major
(who wrote no lefs than a whole Treatife concerning it) and
found according to him, that with Lacca, though I could get
none good, it gave the skin fo florid a whitenefs, that 1 dare pro-
nounce it a good Cofmetick) and upon that very fcore have given
it place here.

21. I obferved it firft near the Worcefier road, about mid-way
between Helton and Sir Timothy Tyrrils, where the Stones taken
up, for I know not what ufe, as alfo at fome places in Whately
field, were all in a maner covered with it. And I met with it
again near Hafeley, in the fields between that and little Milton^
and quickly after at long Hanborough, upon ftones provided for
walling there : I enquired of the Quarry-men what it might be,
whether they had made any ufe, or obfervations of it, but all I
could get would amount to no more, but that it was a fign of a
very good Lime-ftone.

22. Which alfo it feems is its character amongft our Neighbors
in Ireland, where (we are d told) the beft Lime-fione is of a gray
colour, and if broken, has a white duft that flies away from it.
But if we may believe Olam Wormiut, 'tis a fign alfo of fomthing
much better than that, who apprehends it to be nothing lefs than
a certain effect, of Metallick. vapors : Oritur, (faies he, fpeaking of
Lac Lun<eJ avaporibmmetallich, qui indies fub 'tiles vehunt exhaJa-
tiones, qudt ubi per faxa in cavitates exfudaverint, huniido evocalo,
quodficcum efiremanet & in medullam hanc raram, tcneram, (srfiia-
bilem concrefcit. e To which Daniel Major not only agrees, but

J Dtfiguiv Lapidum,tap.6. * BoztsNat.HiJt.ofhel c-io-feSl.^.. « Ol.UermiiMvfaum, cap.4.. '

more

of 0 XFO %T>^S Hl%E. 5P

more particularly adds, that the matter of this Earth proceeds
from the metallick. vapours of filver ore, by fome fermentation
raifed and fublimed, and then condenfed on the fides of the
Rocks.

23. Of which, fays Gefnerf, there are two forts ; the one
groft and gritty, becaufe immature and crude; the other more
perfectly concocted, whiter, lighter, and fofter : And of both
thefe we alfo find here, but whether indicative of filver ore, as iri
the mentioned places by Johan: Daniel Majorg , is the great
queftion. In anfwer whereunto I cannot but add, that though
I fliould be very unwilling, that any Owner, Farmer, or others^
fhould hazard their Fortune upon my weak judgment, without
the advice of ancient and experienced Bermen ; yet that at Shot-
over, befide Lac Lun<z, there are other Symbols of filver Ore.

24. Whereof, if any heed may be given to flirty, the Ochre
before- mention'd may be accounted one : In argeriti {$ auri me-
tallic nafcuntur etiam optima pigmenta Sil ($• cdtruleum ; where by1
Sil he means fuch yellow Ochre, than which, there is no place
we know of in the world that has greater plenty, or of equal
worth. To which we may add a fort of Iron-floiie, which is not
Iron- ore, found peradventurc in as great quantities here, as it is
upon the hills near Schemnitz^m Hungary , the greateft Mine-
town in that Kingdom : where itfeems it is not only a fign of the
Ore, butisalfo of great ufe in melting of it ; whereof faies Dr.
Brown, in his Journey thither, that of a liver-colour is counted
beft h. Now that we have fuch an Ore, though I dare not pro-
mife, yet provided we had in the greateft plenty, the liver-co-
lour'd Iron-flone (I dare fay it) would not fail us.

25. But if Lac Lun<e alone may be a fufficient Index, and if
we are not miftaken in the thing it felfj as I verily think we can-
not be, none of the places already mention'd can fhew it hi
quantity and goodnefs too, equal to a Quarry in the Parifti of
Cornwell, fouth weft and by weft about a hundred yards from the
Right worfhipful Sir Thomas Penny (ions houfe ; where it is found
fo well concocled, and of fo great purity, that the driven Snow
never appeared whiter ; and yet in fo great quantity too, that I
cannGt guefs the Mineral, or whatfoever other metal it be, that

' Defguris Lapidum. tap. 2. * De Latin Luna dijfertath Mtdica. Edit. Annoxdif. h ACCOuntof
his Travels, pag. 92.

H 2 gives

do The ^Qatural Hijlory

gives fo great a fteam as this, can lie very deep, or be very poor :
Yet I fliall not prefume to advife its owner, the eminent Virtuofo
Sir Thomas Pennyfl on, any further to dig in queft of it, than ac-
cording as he (hall want Stone upon other occafions, to fink his
Pit for the future, perpendicular to the Horizon, whereas now he
takes it as it rifes in piano : So that in time, when he is gotten
through the Rock, a more certain judgment may be pad on what
lies under, with little charge or damage to him : Where if in
time he finde a Treafure, I am fure the Difcoverer will not want
his reward, from fo Ingenious, and every way fo accomplifti'd
a Perjon, atleaft in fuch proportion as has alwaies been allowed
by the Societies of the Mines Royal, and Mineral Battery -works.

l6. Befide the notice it gives of Mines, and ufe it has in cover-
ing the blemifhesof the Face, like the Earth Quei of China, men-
tion'd by 1 Kircher ; its Medicinal ufes are very great. For by
Ceorgim Agricola, and Fernante Imperato; the former whereof
calls it Stenomargak, and the latter Agaricus Minerals1: it is
thought to have the virtues of the Samian Earth, and to be very
beneficial in Hopping of blood, andwomens difeafes. Boetitts™
holds it to be a good narcotick, and that it fafely may be given to
procure deep. And Gefner n affirms it to be commonly fold by
the Apothecaries of Lucern, and ufed by Chirurgians to dry gleet-
ing fores ; and that given to Nurfes, it increafes their milk, and
quickly makes their Brefts apparently fwell. And upon this ac-
count it ferves me as a feafonabie tranfition to pafs next to the
Earths of Medicinal 'ufe.

27. Of which the moft likely I have met with yet, is dug a-
mongft the clay they ufe for bricks, in the Parifh of Nettlehed,
not far from the Wind-mill, of as red a colour as Bolus Armenws,
but not like that difcolouring the hands ; ftrongly adhering, if
put to the tongue, but whether provocative of fweat or no, I have
not hitherto been able to perfwade a tryal. However, let it
prove never Co good, I'le not promife the owner any great profit,
becaufe of the humor we have of defpifing our own, and only
admiring and efteeming thofe things that are far fetched and
dearly bought.

28. But quite of another mind was that famous Phyfitian,

i China Wuftrata. k De Natur- Fojjtl- » DeW Hifi. Natural- Lii.e,. tap- 4- n De Lafid. & Gem-
mis, cap. 229. » De Figuris Lapidum, cap. 2.

Mr. Henry

OfOXFO%T>^SHl:RKE. <5i

Mr. Henry Sayer of Magdalene College Oxon, who commonly made
ufe of a cinereous Earth, fomwhat tending to yellow, and finely
chamletted, that he found at the Quarries, in the gullies of the
Rocks in the Parifri of Heddington : with which, as I am inform-
ed by my worthy Friend Mr. Crofs once his Apothecary, and frill
living, he did as frequently, and as well procure Sweats, as with
any of the Forreign earths whatever.

29. To thefe may be added a whitifh fat earth, formerly of
fomeufe in external applications, which they fetch'd, whil'ft the
waters continued in requeft, from the orifice of the afore-men-
tioned faring at Goreing, and phanfied it at leall, to be a very
good remedy for the ach of Corns, and fo me other fuch mala*
dies : but as foon as the waters began to fail, the earth too (though
ftill there remain enough) began to decline in its reputation, and
is now of very little, if of any efteem.

30. There is another white earth of fome ufe in this Coun-
try, which fome will have alfo, as well as Lac Lung, to deferve
the name of a mineral Agaric : it grows for the moft part within
round hollow Flints, to be had almoft every where in the Chilterrt
Country, and good to flop fluxes boiled in milk ; and I was told
by an eminent Phyfitian, has been ufed in Confumptions with
good fuccefs. The ftone in which it grows they call here a Chalk
Egg, and is the fame with the Gecdesof the ancient Naturalifts, of
which, becaufe further in the Chapter of Clones, I forbear to add
more concerning it here.

31 . Hither alfo muft be referred not only the earths that are
found to be foveraign for Mans prefervation, but according to
the Logicalrule of contraries, fuch as often have been his deftru-
ction too : Whereof there are fome in the Parifli of North Leigh,
that fend forth fuch fudden and deadly fteams, that they kill be-
fore the Patient can give the leaft notice, of which they have had
two very deplorable examples.

32. The flrft whereof happened in August, about twenty years
fince, when two men of the place imployed to dig a well, firft
fickned, and wifely withdrew from the work : whereupon it was
undertaken by two others of Wood/lock, men ©f greater rcfolu-
tion and Iefs wifdom ; who before they could do any thing con-
fiderably in it, funk down and irrecoverably dyed in the well i
which quickly being perceived by a woman above, a Miller hard

by

6% The Statural H'ijlory

by was tailed to their afliftance, who as unhappily as willing-
ly defcending to them* alfo fuddenly fell down upon them, and
dyed : To whom,after fome deliberation taken, another ventures
down with a roap about his middle, but he fell from the Lad-
der in juft the fame manner, and chough prefently drawn up by
the people above , yet was fcarcely recover'd in an hour or
more.

33. And now again but lately, on the 20th of Augufi 1674.
upon a buckets falling cafually into a well, on the fouth fide of
the Town, about a furlong from the former, a woman calls her
neighbor, a lufty ftrong man, to go down by a Ladder to fetch
up her bucket, who altogether unmindful of the former acci-
dent, foon granted (as it proved) her unhappy requeft ; for
by that time he came half way down, he fell dead from the
Ladder into the water : the woman amazed, calls another of
her Neighbors, a lufty young man of about eight and twenty,
who haftily defcending to give his afliftance, much about the
fame place alfo fell from the Ladder, and dyed, without giving
the leaft fign of his change, fo fuddenly mortal are the damps of
this earth.

34. Dr. Boat °, in his Natural Biftory of Ireland, gives ac-
count of an accident that happen'd at Dublin, in a well there fo
very like ours,that they fcarcely differ in any circumftance. And
we have a relation in our Pbilofoplical Tranfaftions p, of fuch kind
of damps that happen'd in Coal-mines belonging to the Lord
Sinclair in Scotland. Now though we muft not conclude from
hence, that here muft therefore needs be Coal ; yet, conjoyned
with others I know hereabout, I take it not to be {o unlikely a
fign, but that of all others I know of in the County, I guefs this
may be the moft probable place.

35. For though I think thofe poyfonous and killing fteams
may indeed more immediatly have their rife from a Pyrites, or

. Coperatftone, found here in great plenty where-ever they dig ; a
piece whereof brought me by a friend from thence, upon taft,
proved a Vitriol fo ftrong and virulent, that prefently from my
mouth it foafYe&ed my ftomach, that I confefs for a while I was
fearful of danger : yet, it being the common confent of Natu~
rahfts, that fuch Pyrites are nothing but the efiorefcence of Mine-

o- Cap. iZ.feft. 4. p Ybihf.Tranfatt. Num. 3.

rals.

Of OXFORDSHIRE. d3

rals, latent underneath them in the bowels of the earth, my
conje&ure thereby is not made the lefs valid.

36. With the Pyrites cinereus, or Coperatfione, not unlikely
there may alfo be fome mixture of Arftnic, which advances its
malignity to that deadly ftrength, that no man may approach un-
der pain of death : But that for the future, the infenftble inva-
sions of this fecret enemy may for ever be avoided ; let all work?
men, and fuch as upon any account whatever have occafion to dig
or go down in thefe wells, firft throw down into them a peck of
good Lime, which flaking in the water, and fuming out at the
top, willfo effectually difpel all fuch poifonous vapors, thatthey
may fafely go down, and ftay fome time unhurt.

37. From thefe mifchievous ones of Vitriol and Arfenic, I
proceed to fome other more innocent (alts-, before promifed more
fully to be handled here, with which fome earths being peculiar-
ly qualified, are accordingly difpofedto^e/ri/fe bodies. How all
petrifications are performed by falts, and petrifications per minima,
by their fubtileft fteams, I fuppofe has already fufticiently been
(hewn, as alfo how waters moil: probably erred them : It remains
only therefore now to be proved, that earths as well as waters, do
afford fuch fteams as permeate alfo the moft folid texture.

38. To which purpofe I met with a curious inftance in the
Fields between Clifton and Nuneham-Courtney , of a ftone that
reprefents a found piece of Afh, cut both parallel and tranfverfly
to the pores, and retaining the grain and colour fo well and live-
ly, that no body at fight believes it to be other than a firm and fo-
lid piece of wood ; and yet this was taken out of grounds there-
about, as far from water as one need to wifh. In fliort, the ver-
(ion feemsfo very perfect, its fubjeft appearing to have been ve-
ry found and free from rottenntfs, that either we muft own fuch
petrifications as this, to be truly fuch, and totumfer totum, or elfe
allow that ftones may grow in grain and colour exaftly like
wood.

39. But that the latter of thefe may not fo far take place (though
the poiTibility of the thing muft not be denyed) as to exclude
a poffibility of its being fomtimes otherwife ; I take leave to in-
ftance in another petrification made alfo by an earth, and not by
water, that feems to carry a necefTity with it, of its fubjecls once
being folid wood: for befide, that it flhews the clofe grain of Oak,

and

tf 4- The Natural Hi /lory

and therefore by Naturalifts called Vryites \ it was taken up in
great quantities too, and out of fome of the pieces, (whereof
1 have one) it may be plainly feen where twigs have come forth,
the knots ftill remaining where they were cut off; fo that unlefs
we fly to the (ports of Nature^ and allow her to imitate almoft all
things in ftone, we cannot well avoid a confent, that this was
fomtime really Wood. It was cafually dug up in the Parifti of
Wendlebury, in a gravelly ground not far from the Church, and
is, I believe, the fame Earth mentioned fo good for this purpofe
in our Philofophical Tranfaclions^.

4c. Thus having confidered the principal Earths ufed 'in Huf-
bandry , Tainting, Medicine, (yc. I proceed in the next place to
treat of fome others, lefs in value, and put to inferior ufes : A-
mongft which we may reckon the very uppermoft Turf; which
befide for Bowling-greens, and Grafs-walks in Gardens, is here
not unfrequently ufed by Thatchers, and laid on Mud-walls, and
the top of Houfes, in the place and manner of thofc we call
Ridge-tiles ; not that it is fo good as Thatching (though fome fay
it better refills the winds) but becaufe in fome places Wood is fo
fcarce, that they cannot get (prates to fatten on Thatch ; or elfe
the people fo poor that they care not to buy them.

41. Alfo at fome other places for want of Wood, they make
ufe of another fort of Turf for fewel , not the upper Green*
ficord, but an inferior ftringy bituminous Earth, cut out like Brick?)
for the moftpart from moorifh boggy grounds ; in fome Coun-
tries called Peat-pits, in others Mojfes. The beft of this Turf that
I have feen in Oxford-Jhire, I met with at Mr, Warcup in the Parifti
of North -Moor, but dug as I was informed in Stanton-Harcourt^
about a mile diftance S. Weft from the Church: it lies but one
fpits depth within the ground, and is fuppofed to be at leaft
four foot thick : They cut it in March, and lay the pieces called
Peats to dry on the grafs, fomtimes turning them ; which when
reafonably well done, they then pile up like Wheelwrights felleys,
leaving every where empty fpaces between,that the Air and Wind
paffing through them, they at length may become dry enough for
the fire. They think that the ftringy roots, that together with
the Bitumen, make up the Peats, do never flourifh above the fur-
face : if fo, I am fomthing confirmed in an opinion, that there are

1 Num. 6.

many

Of OXFO%rD~SHI%E. di

many fubterraneous Plants not noted, of which I intend a dili-
gent enquiry r. After the Peats are taken out, they fill up the
ground again with the grafly earth that was firft cut up. And at
Cowley, where they alfo dig them, they ufually leave the depth of
one ffrade-graft at the bottom, as a foundation whereon they may
grow again, which in the fpace of twenty or thirty years, 'tis
obferv'd they will do in the North of England* .

•42. The fcarcity alfo of fireing has induced fome People to
burn a fort of black fubflance, of a grain fomwhat like rotten
wood half burnt, but participating alfo of a Mineral nature, and
therefore by Authors called Met allophy turn, or Lignum foffde s :
put into water, it will not fwim ; and into fire, it confumes but
flowly, and fends forth very unpleafant fumes : it is found in a
Quarry called Langford-fits, m the Parifri of Kidlington, not far
from Thruf, about eighteen foot deep under the Rock, where
there lies a bed about four inches thick. But at Duckl'mgton I
met with a much finer kind, and richer in bitumen ; for though
on the out fide it looks like wood, yet broken, it Chews a fmooth
znd.ft\\mng fuperficies, not unlike to flone-fitch, and put in the
fire, has not near fo ill a fmell. This was dug, and kindly be-
llowed upon me by the Worfhipful William Bayly Efq; who told
mebefide of an Aluminous earth that he fom where alfo found in
his ground. As for the fubftance, Lignum foffde it is thought to
be originally a cretaceous earth, turned to what it is by fubterra-
neons heats, which probably at Kidlington may indeed be great,
becaufe reflefted by the Quarry above it, for that it was never
formerly wood, notwithftanding its fpecious and outward like-
nefs, is plain, from its never being found with roots or boughs, or
any other figns of wood.

43 . At Marjb Balden Heath, and Nuneham-Courtney, they have
a fort of earth of du&ile parts, which put in the fire fcarcely
cracks, and has been formerly ufed by Potters, but upon what
account I know not, now neglected. There is alfo a Clay near
Little Milton that might very well ferve for the Potters ufe. And
at Shotover-hill there is a white clay, the fourth fold of earth in
the way to the Ochre, which during the late wars, in the fiege of
Oxford, was wholly ufed for making Tobacco-fifes there ; and is

r Vid. Nich. Stetunis Vrodrom. * They dig prety good Peats alfo near the Wyke at Heddington ; and
in a bo^gy ground Eaft-ward of Elsfie/d Church. » Ol. Warmii> Mufamm /;£• 2. cap. 6.

I ftill

66 The Natural Hiftory

ftillin part put to chat fcrvice,mixed with another they have from
Northampton-fhire. Itisalfo of excellent life to Statuaries, for
making Moddels, Gargills, or Antkks ; and containing a hard,
but very fmall grit ; mpolifiing Silver, it comes near to Tripela.

44. And fo do's an anonymous very white earth, found in the
feams of the Quarries at Teynton, which at firft 1 concluded a crude
Alabafter, becaufe I found near it a piece that was perfect : but
reducing it into a very fine powder, and putting it over a quick
fire, it would not boil like Alabafter duft, nor keep the colour, but
turned reddifh. Many other tryals were made with it, in Pla-
fticks, Policing, Painting isrc. but my endeavors fucceeded in no-
thing fo well, as in policing fmaller fllver Veflels, that could not
endure bumifhing well', to which it gave a more glorious bright-
nefs than Tripela would, though perhaps not fo lafting ; and not
far behinde that of burnilh'd Plate.

45 . And yet neither this, nor the former will polifh brrfs, nor
any thing elfe that is not of its colour, which has lately engaged
my thoughts in 2 Query, whether in all other Metals the rule does
hold : for I find, that fulphur gives a lufter to Gold; and that
nothing does brighten.Co/^r fo well, as a fort of ftuff they call
rotten ft one, alfo foriithing of its colour.

46. At Teynton alfo, within a fpit of the furface, they dig a
fort of earth they there call Lam, of a whitifh colour inclining to
yellow ; which mixt with fand, and fome other earth, makes the
beft earthen floors for ground-rooms and barns: it diflblves as
quick as Fullers-earth, and were it not for a fault which might
poffibly be help'd, it may ferve their turns perhaps as well as any
they ufe.

47. To thefe may be added another whitifh earth, which cor-
ruptly I fuppofe from its colour is called Which-earth ; mixed with
ftraw, they ufe it for fide-walls and ceilings, and with horfe-
dung it makes mortar for laying of ftones : it feems to be a natu-
ral mixture of lime and fand, found at Thame, Waterperry, and
Adwell, and (lakes in water (like Gypfuni) without any heat.

48. At Milton near Adder bury, Great Tew, and Stunsfield, I met
alfo with another fort of fpungy chalk, which though it will not
flake like the former ; yet at Milton and Adder bury ufed for point-
ing, feems to bindethe ftones of their walls very well : and theirs
at Great Tew being fomwhat finer, ferves as well to white their

rooms

ofOXFO %$>~S HMJB. -67

rooms within (aslfawat Stoerford) as to point walls without rj
but at Stunsfidd there was no body knew of its ufe.

49. Other earths there are that I find in this County,fbr whofe
names, as well as natures, I am quite at a lofs ; whereof there is
one in Sir Thomas Vennyfions Park, which for the ftrangenefs of
its qualities deferves the firft place. Of colour it is extreamly
white, of little taft, and lefsfmell; lying in veins in ayellowifli
clay, like a medulla about the bignefs of ones wrift; taken out
with a knife, it falls into a fine powder, fomwhat gritty, but of
fo very great a weight, that its double at leaft to any other earth
of its bulk ; put in the fcale againft white Marble dusl, itequali'd
its weight, and exceeded that ofAlabafter by almoft a fourth part :
fetin fandin a glafs retort, and driven with a quick and ftrong
fire, it fublimed to the fides of the glafs a little, but ftill preferved
its colourand weight, till put between two Crucibles, one invert-
ed upon the other ; well luted, and ftrongly forced in a wind-
furnace for about two hours,it loft above the moiety of its weight:
for as I well remember, of three ounces put in, there came not out
full one and a half, and yet nothing fublimed in the top of the
Crucible : the colour ftill remained as white as ever, and the bulk
(as near as I could guefs) the fame, but now of a ftrong fait and
urinous taft ; which after folution, filtration, and evaporation,
came at laft, to what people as little underftood, as what became
of its ponderous ingredient.

50. Wetrycd it alfo at Cornwell, in Sir Thomas Penny tf?o«'s
Laboratory, becaufeof its weight with divevsfluxingfalts, in hopes
of fome kind of metalline fubftance, but all* as before, to little
purpofe. So that I cannot tell what to divine it (Tiould be, ex-
cept the Gur of the Adeptifls congealed, which they defcribe in
their Books to be much fuch a thing, which for want of more
time to fpend in its fervice, I leave to the difcovery of future
ages.

5 1 . In the Chalk-pits almoft every where in the South-eaft
parts of Oxford-fljirey they finde a fort of iron-colour'd terra la-
pidofa, in the very body of the chalk, which I think they call
Iron-moulds, and particularly at a place between Brightwell and
Berricki of an oval figure : how they came to be of that (hape,
or at all grow, in a fubftance of fo different a nature as chalk., t
confefs to be a problem beyond my knowledge, as well as the

t 2 ufc

tf 8 The Statural Hiflory

ufe they may probably have, which I alfo remit to pofterity to
find.

5 2. They have an earth about Teynton of a yellowifh colour,
adorned all over with glittering (parks, which unlefs they are
particles of the fpecular (lone, or Englifh Talc, with the former
muft be reckoned amongft the unknown earths.

53. To which add another kind of terra lapidofa found about
Thame, at the bottom of their Quarries, it is much of the colour
of the Turkjfi Rufma, hollow and fpungy, and full of fhining
grains like a fort of Pyrites, but of what nature or ufe I can no
where find. Nor of another fort of Clay found at Hampton-Gay,
holding a grit of a golden colour, much of the nature of Pyri-
tes aureus, only 'tis not found like that in great pieces, which by
our modern Naturalifts are called Brafs lumps.

54. And thus I had concluded the Chapter of Earths, but that
I think it belongs to this place to mention alfo fuch accidents as
attend them ; and therefore muft not be altogether filentof an
eminent Proffett about a mile from Teynton, where from a Hil!
Nor th-eaft from thence, ten Mercat towns mz clear day may plain-
ly be feen. Nor of a fmall Earth-quake, that on the nineteenth
of February, 1665. was obferved at divers places near Oxford-, as
ztBlechington, Stanton St. J ohns,i$c. But it fhall fuffice juft to
mention it, Relations (with the concomitants') of it, being al-
ready publiftied : ' one by the Honorable Robert Boyle Efq; and
the other by the Learned Di.Jobn Walks.

* FhikfTravfaa.Num. io, II.

CHAP.

Of 0 XFO %!D~SHtXEi 69

CHAP. IV. ;

Of Stones.

AS in the Chapters of Waters and Earths; I treated only of
fuch a* eminently held fome fait or fulphur, and were
fome way or other ufeful to Man : I intend in like man-
ner in this of Stones ftriftly to obferve the fame method, and take*
notice only of fuch as either plainly (hew thofe Minerals, and
fupply the nettffities ; or are for the ornament, or delight of Man-
kind.

2. How sW/lones are chiefly made out offatts, with a mixture
of earth and fomtimes of fulphur, was formerly hinted in ano-
ther place. It remains only that I confider them in a more par-
ticular manner, and (hew which they be, and where they are,
that hold any of thefe principles more fignally than other, which
I fuppofe by their effefts may beft be difcover'd.

3. In the Road from Oxford toward London, not far beyond
Tetjwortb, in a hollow way on therifing of a hill, I found a fcft
ftone there-about called Maume , of a whitifh colour ; whofe
fait is fo free from the bonds of fulphur, that with the frofts and
rain it flakes like lime : perhaps half the firing ufed to burn away
the fulphur in other lime-ficne, might ferve the turn here. An Ex-
periment fo very likely to be beneficial to the Country, that I left
it with the Son of the ingenious Improver, Sir Thomat Tipping}
as a thing not unworthy of his Fathers tryal ; but whether he
have at all, or but unfuccefsfully made any* I have not yet had the
favor to hear.

4. In the way to Whitfield, as I rod thither from Tetfveorth, I
found the ways mended with this kinde of fl one, I fuppofe be-
caufe they could get no other, for certainly otherwife there were
nothing more unfit, than a ftone of fo loofe and open a/j// :
much rather with fuch fhould they mend their Lands than High-
ways, that like lime, marks, and chalk, will flake in the Winter ;
which I take for fo fure a mark of its improving quality, that I can-
not but commend it to the tryal of the Country.

5 . And for their encouragement, let me farther tell them, that
at a place called Hornton in the North of this County, they com-
monly

70 The Natural Hi/lory

monly ufe the chippings of the Hone dug there in the Quarry, for
improvement of the Land, and that not without apparent fuccefs :
and yet the ftone is of a much harder kind, than this at Tetf-
vporth and in the way to Whitfield.

6. Amongft fonie MSS. notes of Natural things, I met with one
of a ftone at Oriel College, commonly called (fays the Author)
The [stating ftone, at which the Birds were conftantly pecking
and licking ; as 1 guefs (if ever there were any fuch thing) for
fome kind of faltnefs they found come from it: I fay, if ever
there were any fuch thing, for I find it not in this new, norre-
mains there any tradition of it in the old College, I therefore pafs
it by without further notice.

7. However, in (hort, all ftones have fo much fait in them,,
that in forre meafure they are an improvement of Land, for though
it be fo clofelock'd up with fulphur, that the greateft frofts and
rain will not make the ftones run, yet there is ftill fuch an emiffi-
on of feline fteams, that fome earths have their whole fertility
from them. Thus have I feen Fields cover'd with Flints and
Pebbles,produce better Corn than where there were none, which
perhaps may be a better reafon than what is brought by Pliny u,
why the Foreign Coloni that came to Syracufe to inhabit there,and
praciife Hufbandry ; after they had cleared the ground of all
the ftones, could have no Corn, till they had laid them again on
the very fame ground from whence they had taken them but juft
before.

8. The like maybe obferved in walls and buildings, where fe-
veral forts of vegetables, yea trees of great bignefs, will thrive
and profper remote from the earth, without any further nouriih-
ment, than that they have from the fertile ftones, and lime they are
laid with, alfo made out of Hones.

9. If it be objected that Pebbles and Flints alfo hold z fulphur y
as well as a fait, and that in all probability Corn and other Vege-
tables may receive their flouniliing verdure , rather from the
warm comfortable fteams of that, then the others of fait, I friall
not fo much as contend about it, but gladly accept of the oppor-
tunity by this means to pafs fxom Jlones holding fait only, to fuch
as have alfo a mixture of fulphur.

10. And fuch are all that with fleet, or any other fit body,

; Lib. 17. cap. 4.

Will

Of OXFO%T>~SBt%E. ?t

will ftrike fire, and therefore by a very fir name called Pyrites, un-
der which genu* may be reckon'd not only Pyrites ftrictly taken,
but Flints, Pebbles, Sand, and whatever elfe by any quick and
fudden attrition may have its parts kindled into fparks : of which
as many as I find eminent in their kind, or are fit for ufes; as
briefly as may be.

1 1 . And amongft them (as I think moft due) for the preroga-
tive of its colour, I affign the fir ft place to the Pyrites aureus, or
golden fire-done, whereof they find great plenty in digging of
Wells about Banbury 'And. Cleydon, and fomwhere in the River at
Clifton near Dorchefter : Some of them are taken up in great 'limps
(and arc therefore alfo called Brafl lumps') of uncertain form,
whereof I had very rich ones out of the Well of one Boreman of
Cleydon But thofe from Clifton aforefaid feem to be laminated,
and fome of them (hot into angles like Brijiol Diamants, and are
mentioned by Aldrovandws w, which he calls, Pyrites cum fluoribus
adnafcentibus, and cuju* partes coherent tanquam lapilli angulofi.
Thefe ftrike fire in great plenty, and for that reafon formerly have
been much ufed for Carabines and Pislols, whil'ft If heel-locks were
in fafhion ; and are alfo very weighty, and perhaps hold metal^
which , were it not for the too great proportion of fulpbur
(whence fuch Minerals, faith the Learned Willis x , have chiefly
their concretion) that carryeth it away while it melteth in the
Crucible, by over volatilizing it, which the Mine-men therefore
term the Robber, might otherwife be procured with advantage to
the owner.

12. At A flon Rowant, Nettlebed, and Henly, and indeed all
along the Chiltern Country, they have another fort of Marcha-
fite, within fide of a golden, and without of a darkifh rufty co-
lour, and therefore at fome of the afore-mentioned places called
commonly Crow -iron : this fort, if broken and laid in the air, or
any other moift place, diflblves into a fait that taftes like ink, and
is no queftion the Pyrites of Kentmannws Y, which for that reafon
he terms atramenti parens. And fuch a one is the Pyrites found at
North-Leigh-, brought me thence by my worthy Friend Dr. Par-
rot, which not only like the former gave the taft of ink,, but ex-
posM to the air awhile, became cover'd with a white downy fait
of the very fame taft, which 1 take to be fuch a natural atramentum

w Li6- 4.. cap 3. * De Ferment, cap. <J. y Tit. 2. cap. de Succii efflorefctnUhw-

album*,

j% The !hQatural Hiflory

album, as isfaid by the fame Kentmannws, Efflorefcere e pyrite Gof-
lariano, is1 Radebergenfi z .

13. Next to thefe, in order of nature as well as dignity, comes
the filver Marchafite under confideration, of a white gliftering
colour, and to be had in the bottom of the River between Clif-
ton and Burcot : this ftrikes fire as well as the golden Pyrites, but
notwithftanding itwasexpofed in the fitted places, yet would
never, that I could perceive, fend forth any efflorefcence. An-
other fort of them I met with at Deddington, taken out of the
afore-mentioned 7«^«r Well there, of as glorious a colour as
the former ; but feveral times tryed on the belt. Steel I could get,
would never yield the leaft fpark of fire : whence I rather con-
cluded it to be argentum felium, or Cat -filver, but that it would
not (bine in the dark, or confume in the fire : However, it may
pafs for a fferik nitidum, fo often mentioned by Naturalifis, it
being a glorious nothing, of no kind of ufe.

14. That Flints, Pebbles, and Sands, are alfo Pyrites, needs
no further evidence than that they ftrike fire, a thing fo obvious
to the meaneft Obferver, that to fpend time to prove it, would
be loft time to the Reader ; it (hall fuffice therefore to enumerate
the feveral kinds of each, and chiefly to infift upon fuch as have
ufes.

15. All along the Cbiltern Country of Oxford-fiire, Flints
areas plentiful as any where elfe ; amongft them the black one,
wellpolifh'd, will fupply the place of the Lydianftone ; and at
Henly they ufe them in making of Glafs, of which more anon in
the Chapter of Arts. They are found befide of divers other co-
lours, and fomeofthem h tranfparent, that they feem not only
to imitate, but to be the very fame with Achats. I have one,
found at Dorchefter, about an inch and half fquare, of zflejhco-
louri and fo tranjfarent, that it may well enough deferve the
name of Sardachates. Such as this were alfo (hewn me, by the
truly Ingenious, the Right Honorable James Lord Norreys of i?i-
cot, and found, as I think his Lordfhip told me, fome where
thereabout, and are I do not queftion the very fame (tones, that
Kentmannm a indeed places in his Title of Flints, yet calls them,
Pellucentes Sard<z colore.

16. Of Pebbles there are fome alfo transparent, to be had a-

» 'lit. 2- cap. Sory, & dejuccisefflorefient. » Kentmm- tit 8.

bout

Of OXFO%T>*SH1%E. 75

bout Finslock. and Nuneham- Courtney ; I found them alfo in the
way between Nevo-yate and Enfiam, but none comparable to what
was fhewn me by that great Virtuofo, the Right Worfhipful Sir
Anthony Cope of Hanwell, the moft eminent Artift and NaturaliSi
while he lived, if not of England, moft certainly of this County,
whole Hpufe me thought feemed to be the real New Atlantis,
which my Lord Vifcount Verulam had only in fanfie. The Pebble
I remember was about the breadth of ones hand, of a flat form,
and yet not much lefs than an inch in thicknefs, fo clear and pel-
lucid, that no Chryftal that ever I faw yet excellM it ; fo that had
not its Mafter, the cautious Artift, took care to leave on it part
of its outward coat, few would have believed it had ever been a
Pebble.

1 7. Thefe Pebbles when transparent, make an excellent ingre-
dient for the Glaft-worh; and fo do thofe which arew/?>/7e,though.
not transparent, called by fome Authors by the name of Quocoli,
and perhaps not much different in nature from the Cuogolo of
Ftrrantt Imperato b, and fuch are the Pebbles gathered at Tefino %
with which they make the pureft Glafs at the Moran.

1 8 . There are about Goreing and Nunebam-Courtney, a fort of
Pebbles of a blue-black, colour, that ifpoliflb'd, might fupply
the place of Touch. And about Fawler and Stunsfieldz.it a red-
difli kind, very hard, and for the moft part of an oval Figure,
fo excellent for pitching offirtets and ftables, and for Painters
mullars, that none can be found more fit and durable.

19. After confideration of Flints and Pebbles apart, let
us now take a view of them jointly together, for fo I found
them at C aver/ham, and Greenvil, and in the way from Pufiill
to Stonor-houfe, in clufters together of divers colours, and uni-
ted into one body, by a petrified cement as hard as themfelves,
and moft of them I believe capable of politure *. But the beft of
all are in theClofe at Stonor, of which there are fome fo large
and clofe knit, that could the Ingenious Proprietor, Thomas Sto-
nor Efq; find a way to (lit and polifti them without too much
charge, he might make him rich Chimney-pieces and. Tables of them,
fo far excelling Porphyrie and Marble, that perhaps they might
compare with the beft Ja/per or Achat. For I havefeen fuch as
thefe found about Hampfted, curioufly wrought into handles of

b Dell' Hift. Nat. lib. 24. cap. 16: e Anton. Neri, Hi. 1. cap- 1. * There is a Quarry of this South
of Wohircot Church, but the Cement fo loft, that it will not polish.

K. knives,

74. The Statural Hijlory

knives by that eminent Artift Sir Anthony 'Cope ; to which few*
Achats might be compared, perchance none preferr'd, either in
thepolifh or variety of colours.

2c. The Ingenious Mr. Ray , amongft other Obfervations
made in his Journey through Italy,<£rc. tells us,That in the Church
of the Benediftinesat Ravenna, the Monks did fhew him two
Marble -pillars, for which they faid, the Venetians ofter'd them no
lefs than their utmoft weight in Silver. But the like he fays, he
had feen elfewhere, at the Library at Zurich, and at Verona in our
Ladies Chappel, in the Garden of Seignior Horatio Guifti : their
generation at fifft, fays he, was out of a mafs of fmall Flints
and Pebbles, united by a cement as hard as themfelves, and capa-
ble ofpoliture ; which cement, he gueffes, was feparated by de-
grees from a fluid wherein the ftones formerly lay : which I take .
to be a defcription fo agreeable to ours, that nothing more need
be faid to promote their tryal.

2 1 . Hither alfo muft be reduced a courfer fort of Smirk, dug
up in the pits ziWhately Towns end, of a cinereous colour, hard
and rough, and ftriking fire as well as a Flint. The beft fort of
Smirk ferves for feveralufes ; but ours is fit only to cut the hard-
er fort of ftones, that the fand commonly ufed will not fo well
do, and perhaps for fome other inferior ufes.„

22. And to thefe muft be added the feveral forts of Sands ,
which upon violent motions all ftrike fire, and are commonly,
and fomtimes promifcuoufly ufed, for Building, Hour-glares, and
cutting of Stone. But fome there are of a more peculiar and
confiderable ufe, and fuch is that dug in the Pariffi of Kingham^
which after 'tis wafhed and duly ordered, fo perfectly refembles
Calk-fand, that it ferves and is fold for the very fame : it is not
found in every place, but they have figns (like Miners) to know
where it lies ; vi%. a fort of fluff that looks almoft like rotten
wood, which if they meet with under the Turf, they feldom fail
of the Sand a little deeper ; which they firft cleanfe from rubbifTi,
and the greater ftones, by putting it through acourfe fievc, then
they wafh it in a trough and lay it a drying ; which when fuffici-
ently done, they feparate again by a finer fieve, the courfer part
of it from the finer : the courfer ferves for wheting of fithes, but
the finer fort for fcouring pewter, for which purpofe it feems
'tis fo very excellent , that the Retailers fell it for a penny a

pound,

Of 0 XFO ^V-SHIXM: 7f

pound, which amounts to above twenty (hillings a bufheb

23. Other fands there are alfo of very good ufe, to give a
confiftency and body to glafl ; the naturally whiteft are at Nettle*
bed and S 'hot-over , but the fineft by much at F inflockznd. Ledwell^
which when wafbed and cleanfed , at leaft equal the former*
Thefirft of thefe has been tryed with fuccefs at the Glafs-houfe
ztHenly : and any of the reft, perhaps, might prove as good
Tarfo as any they have from France, or is nfed in Italy, were they
but in place where they might be tryed,

24. From Sands, I proceed to Lapps atenarius, commonly caU
led Free-fione, and ufed in Building ; of which we have as great
plenty and variety in Qxford-fiire, peradventure as in any other
part of England. The Quarry at Heddington, fcarce two miles
from Oxford, fuppliesus continually with a good tort of ftone, and
fit for all ufes but that of fire-, in which, that of Teynton and
Hornton excel it. In the Quarry it cuts very foft and eafie, and
is worked accordingly for all forts of Building ; very porous,and
fit to imbibe lime and fand, but hardening continually as it lies
to the weather.

25. Of it in general, there are two forts ; one that they call
Free-slone, and the other Rag-ftone : but thefe again are fubdi-
vided into feveral fpecies, according as they are cut or put to di-
vers ufes. The Free-fione, if cut cubically into very great blocks.,
is theft by way of eminence called nothing but Ftee-flone ; but if
cut into oblong, or other forts of fquares, of a leffer bulk, they
then call it /[filer; and the fragments of thefe of inequilateral^
multangular Figures, Scabble-burs. The two firft are ufed irt
principal Buildings, and thelaft, if fquared, is fomtimes mixed
with A/hlerm Range -work, or by it felf in that they call Planted-
workm the meaner Buildings : but when not fquared at all* is
commonly thrown in amongft Rag-flone for walling; for which
only, and making lime, that fecond fort is good, except it rifes
flat in the bed, and then 'tis worth the while to hew it for
paving. A

26. Of the Jl one afore-mentioned confifts the grofs of our
Buildings; but for Columns, Capitels, Bafes, Window-lights, Door-
cafes, CorniJ/Ang, Mouldings, (yc. in the chiefeft work they ufe
Burford-ftone, which is whiter and harder, and carries by much
a finer Arris, than that at Heddington: but yet is not fohard as

K 2 that

y6 The Statural Hiflory

that at Teynton, nor will it like that endure the fire, of which
they make Mault-kjlls, and hearths for Ovens ; but then they take
care to furbed the ftone, i. e. fet it edg-v/ays, contrary to the
pofture it had in the bed, for otherwife there will be fome danger
of its flying.

27. Befide the fire, it endures the weather, for of this mix-
ed with another fort dug near Whately, on the Worcefter road fide,
as it paffes betwixt Holton and Sir Timothy Tyrrills, are all the
oldeft Colleges in Oxford built ; as Baliol, Merton, Exeter, Queens,
Canterbury (now part of Cb. Ch.) College, Durham (now Trinity}
College, New College, Lincoln, All Souls, Magdalen, Brafen-nofe,
and the outermoft Quadrangle of St -.John Bapt. Coll. yet it en-
dures not the weather fo well as Heddington, by reafon, I fup-
pofe, of a fait it has in it, which the weather in time plainly dif-
folves, as may be feen by the Pinnacles of New College Chanel,
made of this ftone, and thus melted away.

28. And yet the moifture of water has no fuch power over
it, but that they make of it Troughs and Cijlerns, and now of
late Mefi-fats for Brewing ; firft hinted, 'tis true, by Mr. Bayly of
Duckjington, but pra&ifed by one Mr. Veyfej of Teynton, who had
the firft made him by one Strong a Mafon, which it fecms did an-
fwer expe&ation fo well, that it has fince obtained in many other
places. Of thefe, that generous and courteous Gentleman, Sir
ComptonRead of Shipton under Whichwood, has one that holds a-
bout fixty five bufhels, drawn home with no lefs than one and
twenty horfes ; they ordinarily mejh in it three quarters of Mault,
but can, when at any time neceffity requires, mejh five at a time :
the dimenfions of which Veffel of one fingle ftone, taken within
the hollow and abating its thicknefs, becaufe of its vaft unufual
magnitude, I thought fit to note, and give as folioweth ;

long, 2 yards \.

broad, 1 yard 8\ and 'xan inch.

deep, 1 yard a.

yet much larger than this might be had from the Quarry, were
there ufe for them, or could portage be contrived ; for as I was
informed by many credible witneffes, there was one fingle ftone
dug in this Quarry, containing no lefs than three hundred tuns.
And another in the year 1673. meafured by Mr. Vejfey, of an
> hundred

0fOXFO%$>-SHl\E. 77

hundred and three tuns , accounting fixteen foot cubic to the
tun.

29. Other Quarries there are alio of confiderable ufe, as Bla-
den, Little Milton, Barjord, and Hornton, whereof the laft has
the bell Fire-ftone of any in the County ; fome of it feems to
have Iron-colour'd veins, that receive (as I have feen) a toler-
able poliiri, a-ud is the ftone I mention'd before, whofe chippingt
(laid on it) improve their land, by reafon I fuppofe of the

fait there is in it, which may alfo be the caufe it endures fire
fo well.

30. At Cornbury Park, there was a fort of flow, the Quarry
whereof is now quite exhaufted, that never would fweat in the
moifteft weather, of which the pavement of the Hall'm the houfe
there, ftill remains as a fufticient teftimony : of this, did it rife
in great blocks, might poflibly have been made very good Mill-
ftones, the not fweating being a principal qualification in all Hones
whatever ufed for Corn-mills. .

31. But before we take leave of materials for Building, we
muft not forget that the Houfes are covered, for the moft part in
Oxford-fhire (not with tiles) but flat-ftone, whereof the lighteft,
and that which imbibes the water leaft, is accounted the bed.
And fuch is that which they have at Stunsfietd, where it is dug
firft in thick cakes, about Michaelmafs time, or before, to lye
all the winter and receive thefrofts, which make it cleave in the
(pring following into thinner plates, which otherwife it would not
do fo kindly. But at Bradwell (near the Grove) they dig a fort
of flat -ft one, naturally fuch, without the help of winter, and fo
ftrangely great, that fomtimes they have them of feven foot long,
and five foot over : with thefe they commonly make mounds for
their Clofes and 1 have feen a fmall hovel, that for its whole co-
vering has required no more than one of thefe Hones : and fome
of them are of fo hard and clofe a texture, that I have known
them by Painters of very good (kill, preferr'd before Marble for
grinding their colours.

32. To ftone ufed in Building they fomtimes add L ime, which
becaufe for the moft part, is here made of ftone, muft alfo be
handled in this place ; for which they count the hardeft rag-ftone
beft, but any will make it, fays the Learned WHI'psa^ except fuch

d JV Ferment, cap. 10.

as

78 The Statural Hiftory

as is made up of a reddifli kind of gravel : the bed fign of it
here, as well as in Ireland, has been fufficiently hinted in the
former Chapter, to be that white and frungy kind of matter, that
fticks to thtftones in the caverns of the Rocks, and fo plentifully
found at Cornwell and Whately 5 at Hanborough, Farrier, and in
Ccrnbury Park. Not but that very good Lime may be had from
ftone that ftiews not the leaft of this fign, as at Bladen Quarry,
and many other places, but that none makes better then the ftone
that has it ; except hereafter it may be found true here, what
Lachmund e aflerts of the Bifioprick. of Hildejheim, where the belt
(he fays) is made of the hardeft ftone, quodvaria infe Conchylia
continet, fet full of petrified tt\c\\-t\Qi : for if fo, our beft Lime-
flone muft be at Charleton and Langley • at Little Milton, and Shot-
over Forresl, in the Quarry there on the north fide of the Hill,
not far from the way to Sir Timothy Tyrrills ; at all which places,
the ftone is ftuckfull of Cockles, Efcallops, and Oyslers, of which
more anon in the following Chapter.

33. Befide the ftone that is ufed for the fubftafice, there is o-
ther that ferves for the ornament of Building, a fort of gray
Marble dug in the Parifh of Blechington, in the Lordftiip of the
Right Honorable Arthur Earl of Anglefey, Lord Fr ivy Seal : Of
this there are feveral Chimny-pieces and Pavements, in his Lord-
fiips Houfe there, well worth the notice ; as alfo at the Right
Honorable the Earl of Clarendon's at Cornbury. And of this
are the Pillars of the Portico's at St. Johns College in Oxford. They
make befide of it Tomb-slones and Tables, and of late alfo Mill-
fiones^ good enough for the Oyl-mills ; but not for the Corn-millsy
becaufeof its fuppofed fweating, to which this is fubjedt in rainy
weather, like all other Marbles.

34. Some other ftones there are of inferior ufe, which yet muft
by no means be paft by in filence ; whereof I know one fo like the
Tripoli-Jlone, in colour, confidence, and for all its ufes, that I
cannot but think it of the very fame kind : to fdver it gave that
very lafting brightnefs, that another piece of Plate that was try-
edagainft it, receiv'd from the Gold-fmiths Tripoli-Jicne, and
proved it felf in all refpe&s fo much the very fame ; that would
any thing pleafe us not far fetchM, perhaps there might be no fur-
ther need of fending any more to Africa for it.

« Lach-'Opvx.-nyyi<pi*,Seff. 3. caf. t.

35. Nor

OfOXFO%V-SHl%E. y?

3 5 . Nor muft I forget the Iron-ftone at Shot-over, though oc-
cafionally mention'd, and its ufes delared, in the immediatly
preceding Chapter of Earths : fo called, not from any fuch metal
that it holds, but meerly I fuppofefrom the colour 'tis off. This
Itryed with the Load-fione and Aqua forth, thinking thereby, if
it held any Iron, it muft needs have confeft it to one of thofe
two. But I fince have found the Experiments but ill applyed, for
neither will Cavala (which is the belt Iron-ore) anfwer either of
them : So that I do not now condemn it to be no Iron-ore, upon
thofe grounds as at firft, but from other confiderable differences
it has from the known Iron- ores of Glocefter-flire and Sufex.

36. There is alfo near Thame on Cuttkbrookrfide, another Iron-
colour'' d ft one, but more fpungy than the former, and including
within it a blackifh kind of Cinder \ the moft like, of any thing
I yet have feen, to Magnefta (in the Glafs-houfes, called Man-
ganefe) only it wants of its clofenefs of texture and weight :
what it fliould be, or for what ufe likely, to me I confefs is
wholly unknown, unlefs 1 may call it the Siderites of Pliny f. I
therefore defift to fay more about it, but commend it to the dif-
covery of future ages.

37. At Eyfield-merrymouth, in the Field above the Cave lately
made by Mr. Bray, in the bank near the Brook, I found a ftone of
a light yellow colour, made up of glittering Lamella, or Plates,
which according to the defcription of Georgia Agricola % feems
not unlike the Samian-ftone, found alfo about Uafda in the Bifhop-
rick of Hildejbeime, and good only for polifhing filver and gold*
Such laminated Stones by Nicolas Stenoh are thought to be no-
thing but incruflations, made in the confines o^zfiluid zndfelid, an
opinion that feems to come near to the truth. However it be, it
is fomthing formed, and ma^ well ferve to ufher in the next Cha-
pter, which I have wholly refer ved for formed Jiones.

' Hifl. Nat. lit- 37. c- 10. « Fopium, lib. 5. » In Vrodrom.

CHAP.

80 The Statural Hijlory

CHAP. V.
Of Formed Stones.

AFter Stones made to ferve the neceffnies of Man, and not
brought into form but by the tool of the Artift, come we
next to confider thofe that are naturally formed, and feem
rather to be made for his admiration than ufe. Whereof the
World is beautified with fo great variety, that as on the one hand
I cannot but wonder at the great Providence of God, and his
moft perfect Workmanftiip, that has thus created the Vniverfe for
Mans delight as well as ufe : fo on the other, I cannot but repre-
hend the petulant defpifers of this innocent fort of Learning,
who in derifion have called it, picking of ftones ; as if what the
Omnipotent and moft wife God hath thought lit to create, were
not worth the conlrderation of weak Man. But let fuch malici-
ous Scoffers know, that 'tis their pride and ignorance that has
engaged them in this Cenfure : for as God has created them, fo
fome things muft be written off meerly for information, as well
as others that tend to our advantage. Befide, who knows but
thefe things may have a ufe, that hereafter may be difcover'd,
though not known at prefent. Since then their Exceptions are
fo ill grounded, that they, vanifli in a manner as foon as named,
'tis but juft that I pay them in their own coyn, and flight their
judgment more than they dare do my fuljeft.

2. In the handling whereof, though in a particular Chapter, I
(hall obferve the method of the whole Ejfay : And rirft treat of
fuch formed ftones as either in name, or thing, or both, relate to
the Heavenly Bodies or Air ; and next, fuch as belong to the Wa-
tery Kingdom : After them, fuch as refemble Plants and Animals,
whether in the whole, or parts. And laftly fuch ftones, wherein
contrary to all rule, Dame Nature kerns to imitate Art ; for fo far
from idlenefs (fays a very good Author ') is Nature in the bowels
and dark caverns of the earth, that ftie continually plays the Geo-
metrician there, and prefents us with Bodies, almoft of all kinds,
in ftone .

i Ente/m, Jerc Metallica>cap.f„

3. Amongft

-5

5'

Of OXF0%p~SHI%E> Si

Amongft the flones that have relation to the Heavenly Bo*
dies, the firft place I think may be reafonably given to fueh as
refpeft the greater Lights ; upon which account, fince the Flelio-
trope is not found here, much lefs the Gemma Solis, mentioned
by Pliny k ; The Sehnites or Moon-fione mull: have the precedence,
which we find in great plenty in a bluifh clay that lies above the
Rock at Heddin^ton Quarry,and in digging Wells,^. at Hampton-
Gay and Hanborough.

4. Where by the way let it be noted, that I intend not by the
Moon-fione, the grey Tephrites of Pliny \ that grows like a Crefceriti
by the Greeks called Mend is ; nor that other ftrange ftone men*
tion'd by Pliny 2nd the Poet Marbodem m, corporeally containing
the Figure of the Moon increafing and decreafing, like that in
the heavens : but a ftone fo called, not from its figure, but (as 'tis
honeftly confeft by Qefner n and Agricola °) that only reprefents
the Image of the Moon, in all itsphafes, but beftatfull, juft as it
were in a glafs, and therefore by Authors is fomtimes called alfo
Lapis fpecularis.

5. And thus much will our Sehnites do, if obverted to the
raies of the Moon in right angles ; which if all that is really in-
tended by the name, (for the very fame reafon) I know not why
it may not as well be called the Sun-fione too, fince it equally re-
prefents the one as well as the other.

6. But though it hath nothing of the Moon in figure, yet it
is commonly found of a certain fhape , in circuit hexangulat,
but with two of the fides broader and more deprefied, in the'
form of a Rhomboides, as in Tab. 2. Fig. 1 . a. and therefore the
learned Stenop (which I think its beft name) not unfitly ftiled it
Selenites Rhomboides. Befldes the two larger Rhomboideal fides, it
hath eight others of an oblong fquare, in all making up a decahe-
drum parallelipipedum ; whereof the fquares of the two fhorter
fides of the great Rhomboides, one is fomtimes a rigbt angled ine-
quilateral parallelogram, as in Tab. 2. Fig. 1. and the other af
Rhomboid-, and fomtimes again they are both Rhomboids , but
thofe on the longeft fides of the great Rhomboids? as far as I have
obferved, are always Trapeziums.

7. As to its texture, the grain runs feveral ways, but flits the

k Nat.Hift.l16 37. cap. 10. > Nat. Hi ft. leco citato. ™ Muf<eumCakeo!arium,fecl. 3. ° i>efigurk
l^idnm^cap 2. ° VtNaturnFojJiliumjlib.^. P JnVroctromo.pag. 74..

L eafieft

$z The Statural Hijlory

eafieft of any of them, in ^planum to the more depreffed Rbom-
boideal fides ; which way it may be cut into very thin plates by
Aldrovandu*1*, called Scaiat, for which reafon 'tis called alfo A-
lumen ScaioU ; not that it has thetaft of Alum, or any thing like
it. It breaks alfo another way into fmall threds, of which it
feems chiefly to be compofed, much after the manner of Amian-
tus or Talc, but its parts not fo pliant as either of them : thefe
threds lie for the moft part, clofe and paralel to the longer fides
of the great Rhomboids, as they are defcrib'd in Tab. 2. though
I have feenthem fomtimes alfo parallel to the fhorter ; but they
feem not to be continued the whole bredth of the Rhomboid, but
divided by other parallel lines of a greater diftance, that fom-
times are fubtended to the acute angles of the Rhomboid, but moft
commonly run in a more oblique pofture,as may likcwife be feen
in Fig. 1. a. In thefe lines its parts are alfo eafily feparated, but
breaking (bort off, and nothing fo flexible as they are when bro-
ken as the threds run. According to fome peculiar pofitions
of thefe parts, there are fome of them that really reprefent the
Rain-bow, whereof I have fome with the colours as vivid, as I
ever faw any in a glafs Prifm. Of thefe Aldrovandm had one out
of Cypm, of which he has given us a Cut in his Mufieum' ; but it
being in Mans power to make thefe Rain-hows as he pleafes, I
think even thofe we find thus, to belong of the two rather to ca-
fualty than nature, and therefore pafs them by.

8. There is, 'tis true, a fort of them of a different figure, not
fo eafily to be met with, with only two depreffed fides,and fcarce
any angles, but what are fo obtufe that they deferve not the name,
in the wholealmoftofan Oval form, as reprefented 7d£. 2. Fig. i£.
This fort of Selenites, befides the fhape, is alfo fo different from
the former in texture,that it flits not like that into plates or fcales,
parallel to the moft depreffed fides, but quite contrary parallel
to the thicknefs only ; which I take to be a character abundantly
fufficient, to make it of a different fiecies from the other, though
in the reft of their texture they be much the fame.

9. About the origin of this matter, Authors differ much ; a-
mongftwhom Galen * makes it the dew of Heaven, congeled, as
he fays, by the light of the Moon, and therefore calls it by the
name of Jphrofelinum, but reftrains the performance of the feat

q Mufeum MetaUicumJib. ^ cap. 33. r Lit. ^. cap. 33- • Lib deSimp. Med- ad Paters.

to

0f0XF0e8JD'SHI\E. 83

to Egypt. Encdiu6r thinks it a fort of moifture of the earth, fo
concreted, that like Chryilal it will not diflblve, but remains as
it were an indiffolubie Ice, whence the Germans took occafion to
call it Glacies Marine. But that learned and induftrious inveftiga-
tor of Nature, Georgia* Agricola, differs from them all, and makes
it a product of Lime-Jione and water, Gignitur (fays he) ex[axo
calcvs cum fauca aqua -permifto" ; and thus I find it to grow here
with us at Heddington, in a blue clay that lies over the Quarry,
whofe outermoft cruft is a hard Lime-ftone.

10. The learned and ingenious Steno^ in his Prcdromut, thinks
Chryftalls and Selenites^s, and all other Bodies having a fmooth
furface to have been already hardened, when the matter of the
Earth, or Hones containing them, was yet a. fluid ; if fo, indeed
Agricola muft be out in his aim. But I cannot fee how our bed
of clay at Heddington, above the Quarry at fome places ten foot
thick, could have been a fluid within fome ages paft ; and yet of
the Selenites's of the Rkomboideal Figure, I find fome as fmall as a
Barley-corn., fome about thre? inches, and others again at leaft
half a foot long : fo that they feem rather to have fome fncceffion
of growth, and now to be in fieri ; than to have been all together
already hardened, when the clay that now contains them was but
a fluid. Befide, they then would have been found clofe together,
wrhereas we here meet them fome higher fome lower, and mifc'd
all together little and great ; and the very clay it felf,as 'tis broken
to pieces, feeming fomwhat inclinable to this fort of form.

n. A third fort we have of them alfo found here at Hedding-
ton, in the very fame clay, as alfo at Cor nwell and Hanwell; with
two fides like the former, more deprefled then the other, in com-
pafs alfo hexangular (thethineft fides of them being divided by a
ridge) but in the form, not of a Rhomboid, but an inequilateral
parallelogram, as in 7^. 2. Fig.i. d*. Some of thefewefind
fingle, lying in any poiture, the biggeft fcarce an inch broad, or
above four inches long ; and others joined together in a certain
pofition, with their flatteft fides towards each other, and edges
downward, and their endsconftantly meeting in a center. The
Ingenious Sir Thomas Pennyfton has obferved,that at Cormvell they
generally lye in ternaries, but here at Heddington we find them

t De Lap'tdiimft Gentmit, lit. \cef- $6- a De Natura Fojji/ium, lib. 5. w Prodromi prop. 1. obftr-
vat. i- • There are fuch as thefe in Spain, Thuringia, and Cappadocia. Aldrovand. Itb./y.cap.^.

L 2 often-

84. The Statural Hi/lory

oftentimes more, and not unfrequently irradiating all manner of
ways into the form of a Globe, thcfeveral Selenites, likefo many
radii-, all pointing to the center, as is plainly reprefented by one
half of fuch a globe of them, in Tab. 2. Fig. 1 . c.

12. ,The texture of thefe is fomthing agreeable, and fomthing
different from the Rhomboideal Selenites, for they all cleave in a
planum to the flatteft fides, and feem to confift of fmall threds
like them ; but fome have the threds running obliquely to the
whole fquare, as in the lower part of Fig. 1 .d. others have them
meeting in the middle of the flat in an obtufe angle, as in the up-
per part of the fame Figure.

13. The meeting of which threds f6 in an obtufe angle, I
thought at firft might have very well occafioned that reprefenta-
tion of the gramen fegetum panicula tyarfa, fair panicled corn or
bent-grafs, to be feen in moft, if not all of this kind (which like
z fly ox ftidcr in amber') feem to be included at each end of them,
with the panicles turned contrary to each other : But I quickly
found my felf miftaken, by flitting of feveral, whereby I dif-
covered , that the threds fomtimes ran quite contrary to the
fprezd'mgpanicles of the corn or ben t-grafs (fo very well coun-
terfeited in many of them) and therefore not likely to give that
form : And that the thing it felf was nothing but clay, thus pre-
tily difperfed in the form of a bent ; which befide the pleafure
of the furprizal, gave me another argument againft Steno^s opini-
on, That Selenites1 .r were all hardened, when their beds they now
lie in were nothing but fluids : for it cannot well be conceived
how the clay fhould any way get to be within them, had it not
had a being before thefelenites, and thus included at the time of
their formation.

14. Of 'formed flones, though there are few that have any, yet
fome there are of eminent ufe, and fuch is our felenites or fpecular
Jlone ; good taken inwardly for many diftempers, number 'd up

by Cerutu*7, Aldrovandut* and Galen3 ; and externally to take
away the blemijhes of the face. In ancient times, before the ir^-
vention of glafs, it was of very great ufe for Lanterns and Win-
dows, it being eafily flit into very thin plates, yet loofmg nothing
thereby of its diaphaneity. Of this fays Agricolab, are the

J InMufeoCaletolariQyfeEl.i. * Lib-$. cap.yy Muf.Mttal. a Vt Slthp. Med. fault. My. * DtNa-
turn FoJJilium. Hi, 5.

Church-

Of 0 XFO ^2)-J H1%E. Si

Church-windows made at Cafaick. in Saxony, and Merfeb'urg in
Thuringia, which certainly mnft be of a different fort, from what
is defcribed by Aldrovandm c and Wormiws d : the one whereof
fays 'tis imbrium impatiens ; and the other, humido corruptibilis; I
expofed this of ours many rainy days, but could not find that
from the weather it received any damage, and therefore guefs it
to be the famedefcrib'd by Agricola : I fteeped itlikewife many
days in water, but found not any fenfible alteration of its body,
though it gave the water both an odd fmell and taft. As for Lan->
terns and Windows; Co they anciently ufed it in making of Bee-hives ,-
that through it they might fee the Bees operations, as in glafs^
hives now : an Invention by fome people taken for new, though
very well known in the days of Pliny e.

15. Out of burnt felenites is made the belt gypfum, for Phi"
ftering, Images, Fret-works, isrc When burn'd, it turns to a pure
white Calx, by the Italians called Geffb , from the Latin word
gypfum : Of this they make thofe curious counterfeit Tables^ like
Marble in-laid with divers Pretiews ftones, in the forms of AnU
mats, Plants, isrc. The way of making them is taught us by Kir-
cher f ; but there is a friend of mine has a better method, who in-
tends very fpeedily to make fome attempt to. make them in Eng-
land, and of Englifi materials. And fo much for our firft/braJ
ed ffone Selenites, on which I had not dwelt fo long, but to fup-1
ply the defecls of other Authors, whofe defcriptions df it are
but mean andimperfeft.

16. After the Moon-Jione, the Ail eriae, or Star- ftones, next
offer themfelves to our confideration, which, to avoid the con-
fufion of other Authors, I (hall only call thofe, whofe whole
Bodies make the form of a Star, as inTab. 2. Fig. 2,3, in oppo-
fition to the Aflroites, which in the whole are irregular, but a-
dorned as it were with a Conftellation, as in Fig. 4, 5, 6 and 7.

i 7. The Ajleria, or ftar-slone , otherwife by Gefner 8 called
Sphragh Afteros, or figillum JielU, becaufe of the ufe it is fom-
times put to, is plentifully found in the Fields at Cleydon, the
moft Northern Parilh of the whole County, Northward from
the Church, and particularly on the Furlong called Hore-flone
Furlong ■■ the texture of as many as I have yet feen, feems to be

e Muf. Metal lit,. ±.c. 33. <J In Mufieo, cap 7. 1 Nat. Hift.lit. 21. cap. 14- ' Kircberi Mundw fu6
ttrr. Ub. xz, fea. <;.p«rt. 3. cap. 3. g De Viguru Lapidum, cap. 2.

of

%6 The Statural Hijlory

of thin lamella or plates, lying obliquely to the Horizontal pofi-
tion of the Star, much after the manner of L apis Judaicws, and
their colour various, according to the different Soils they are
found in : whence 'tis , that in Glocefter-fbire and Tork-fiire,
where they are taken out of a blew clay, they are almoftthem-
felves of the fame colour, breaking, as the Ingenious Mr. Lifter
informs us h, Flint-like, and of a dark ftiining politure. InWar-
rvick-ftire they are accordingly, and in fome places alfo of Glo-
cefter-fiire, of a cinereous colour. And here at Cleydon, becaufe
taken forth of a yellowifh earth, of a yellow colour, herein va-
rying from all I had feen before. They differ much alfo from
thofeof other Counties in circumference and foftnefs; for here
we have them ordinarily of above an inch and half, and fcarce
any fo little as an inch in compafs ; than which in thofe Counties
there are but few bigger. And whereas in other Counties they
are fo hard and fo firmly cemented, that 'tis very difficult, if at
all poffible, to feparate them from each other, without fpoiling
the Intagli or workmanftiip of the Stars ; thefe if but fteeped
a night in vinegar, or other (harp liquor, may be divided the next
morning with fafety and eafe.

1 8. And as in colour, circumference, and hardnefs ; fo thefe
fometimes differ from thofe of other places in figure too, as
Tab. 2. Fig. 2. where befide the fculpture that makes up the an-
gles, there is plainly reprefented a rofe, or other uniform figure,
in the middle of it, which I never faw at any other place, nor
indeed are fuch often to be met with there.

1 9. In all other matters, I think thefe Afteri* of Cleydon a-
gree with the accurate defcription of them, by the Ingenious Mr.
Lifter1; all feeming to be fragments, and no intire Bodies, and
found either in one fingle joint, as in Tab. 2. Fig, 2. or in 2, 3,
4, 6, 8, 10, or 1 5 heaped together, as in Fig. 3. making zpenta-
gonous cylindrical column, of which I met with none that were full
an inch long; but however, guefs that about 20 joynts, as in o-
ther places, may go to an inch : every joynt confifls of five an-
gles, which in fome are very obtufe, in others more acute ; the
middle of each angle is a little hollowed, and the edges more
prominent and thick furrowed, by which the feveral joynts are
knit together, their ridges and furrows being alternately let into

1» PhiloJoph.TranJaa.Numt.U2. « Ibid.

one

Of 0 XFO% T>-S H1\E. 8.7

(one another. In the center of theyfoe angles is a fmall hole, con -
fpicuous enough in nioft of them • but in fome I have obferve d
the fmall hole on one fide, and a little prominency on the other,
fit as it were to be let in to the Central-hole of the next joynt, after
the manner of the ridges and furrows of the angles.

20. Many of thefelongeft jointed AfterU, have ceitainjoynts
a thought broader and more prominent than others, dividing the
whole body as it were into certain conjugations, of two, three,
or more joynts ; which conjugations, fays the learned and curious
Obferver, Mr. Lifter k, are marked (as he calls them) with fets
of Wyers, which though I could not perceive in any found at
Cleydon, yet when I put a column of them- into Vinegar, at thofc
very places I could perceive bubbles, Handing as it were at the ori-
fices, where formerly thefe Wyers were in all likelyhood inferted,
by no means otherwife vifible to the eye. And whereas 'tis cer-
tain thatmoft ofthefe in other Counties, if of any confiderable
length, are notftraight, but vifibly bent and inclining; thefe
are not now, or fcarce appear to have ever been fo, though pof-
fibly this may rather be referred to the fhortnefs of thofe I met
with, or ill luck in finding none of the kind, than to any diffe-
rent operation in nature here, from her ufual performances in o-
ther places.

21. They are found alfo about Swerford of the fame colour,
but nothing fo plentifully, or large as thefe at Cleydon, for the
biggeft I found there was fcarce an inch round ; in all other re-
fpeft s they correfpond with them, only the conjugations, made
by the prominence of fome jojnts beyond the reft, are more vifi-
ble in thefe than in any at Cleydon.

22. Of Ailroites Qr flarry-ftcnes, fuch as in bulk are irregular ',
but adorned all over with many ftars, there are no lefs in this
County than four feveral forts : Whereof, in two, the ftars are in
mezgo Rilievo, prominent, and (landing outward, with the ftrice
or ft reaks defcending from the Center at the top, on all fides to
the Rock on which they grow. Some of thefe are of a larger,
2sTab.i.Fig./\. and others of a fmaller kind, asTab.2.Fig.$.
both found in the Quarries of rubble-ftone, dug only for mend-
ing the High-ways, not far from the foot of Shot-over Hill, on
the right hand of the road from Oxford to London? in the Parifh
of Heddington. k Pl)i/of^.Tran/^ loeo „,„„.

23. A

88 The Natural Hi/lory

23. A third fort there is, and indeed the moll beautiful of a-*
ny it has been hitherto my luck to meet with, to be had in the
Fields about Steeple-Barton, firft difcovered to me by a worthy
Gentleman, fince deceafed, theWorfhipful Edward Sheldon Efq;

'to whofe furtherance of my defign I am not a little indebted.
Butthefe, quite contrary to the former, arelntagli, deeply en-
graven like a feaU and ftriated from the prominent edges above
(which for the moft part are Hexagons, and fomtimes Pentagons')
to a center in the bottom, as in Tab. 2. Fig. 6. yet agree with
the former in this, that the Stars of all three are only fuperficial,
and not to be found in the body of the ftone, and have none of
them (that I know of) been any where noted before.

24. To thefe add a fourth fort, imperfectly defcribed by Gef-
ner , and out of him by feveral others ; whofe ftrU, like the third
fort, defcend in a concave, but from edges moft times round, or
quinquangular at the top, and tend to a center not of their own
kind, as in Fig. 6. but fmooth ; and not depreifed, but vifibly
prominent, as in Fig. J. Thefe are found in the afore-mentioned
Quarries of rubble-ftone in the Varifi of Heddington, and are
ftellated not only in the fuperficies of the ftone, but quite through
the whole depth of it, yet not fo that one continued fiar (as fome
have thought) does reach through it ; but many, according to
the thicknefs of the ftone, about ten of them lying in the depth
of an inch, much after the manner of the After i^ or ft ar- ft ones,
only they are not feparate, but joined together, and making as it
were fo many ranges in the ftone, which are clearly reprefented by
Fig. 8 . which (hews the face of fuch a ftone, cut parallel to the
defcentof the ftars in its body, which lie within one another like
fo many cones.

25. Of this fort in France there are fome fo great, as Gefnerm
was informed by PetrwsBelloniut, that they ufed them in building
of Walls and Houfes ; to which ufe 'tis true we do not put ours,
but I fuppofe it is not for want of bignefi, but becaufe we have
much better ftone for that purpofe ; for here we have them like-
wife fo plentifully and great, that we commonly pave our Caufeys
with them, as may be {ten in the Caufy without St. Clements,
leading from Oxford up Heddington hill.

26. Having hitherto confidered thefe ftones apart, and feen

1 DeF'guris Lapidumrcap.z. m Aid-

how

Of 0 XFO^V^SHI^E. S9

how they differ from one another^ let us now con/idcr them all
together in that admired quality of their moving in Vinegar, which
in fome meafure is found in the Aftroites, but is much more fignai
in the Afleride or ftar-iiories : for the Afiroites mud be broken in
very fmall pieces before they will niove, though put in good Vi*
negar, but the Afteria will move not only in a whole joynt, but two
or three of them knit together, which 1 have often feen done by
the yellow ones of Cleydon, though of greater bulk than thofe
of other places ; which joined, with fome other circumftances
anon to be mention 'd, has given me ground to fufpecf, if not
conclude, that though it may be true enough what Mr* Lifter n
has aflerted, as well of 7\\fo(fils, as the ftones Aftroites, that as
many of them as Vinegar will corrode as a Menftruum, do all movd
in it ; yet nOne of them reach the effefts it has on the Afteria, to
which therefore I muft crave leave to allow fomwhat more than
either to the Aftroites or any other fofjds.

27. For befide the progreffive motion to be feen in thofe, the
Afteria has a motion of circumgyration, and moves brisker and
longer than any of them ?- for though it hath been fteeped in
Vinegar three or four days, yet upon infufion of a frefli acid, it
ftill fends forth many little bubbles -as at firft, from underneath
it, in the inftant of its motion ; which feems to argue, that it
has it not wholly from the corrofion of the Menftruum, but in
part at leaft from fome other principle, which I take to be a fpi~
rituows, yet corporeal effluvium, continually flowing from it, when
provoked by an acid.

28. Whereof there is one, which hereafter (hall be publick,
found out indeed by chance at the Houfe of Mr. Wildgofe, Phyfi^
tian at Denton, and an ingenious Chymift, whofe affiftances (in
gratitude) I muft ever own : where not having Vinegar fo ready
at hand, we thought fit to make ufe of another fuitable liquor,
which fo effeftually excited the effluviums of the ftone, that they
afcended in a cloud to the furface of the Menftruum, and there
feded exa&ly in the form of the ftone, and that not only of a fin-
gle joynt, but a whole column of them together : which perfwa-
ded me, that Cardan ° was notfo far out of the way, nor defer ved
fomuch the reproofs of Aldrovandws* and others, forafferting
the motion of fuch ftones to arife, from vapors expelled from

■ Philofoph.Tranfatt.Num&. 100. ° Subtilit- Lib. 5. t Mufaum Metallic-lib. \.cap.6<$.

M them

po The O^atural Hi/lory

them by the power of the Vinegar. Since perhaps his pofition
(though not fo well made out) comes nearer to truth than any
his Animadverters have brought for itfince.

29. After the flones fome way related to the Celeftial Bodies, I
defcend nexttofuch as (by the vulgar at lead) are thought to be
fent us from the inferior Heaven , to be generated in the clouds,
and difcharged thence in the times of thunder and violent powers :
for which very realon, and no other that we know of, the an-
cient Naturalisls coined them fuitable names, and called fuch as
they were pleafed to think fell in the Thunder, Br ontide ; and thofe
that fell in /bowers, by the name of Ombridt : Which though a-
mongft other Authors has been the only reafon why thefe
have had place next the ftellated ftones, yet methinks it is due to
moft of them, by a much better pretence, having fomthing up-
on them that rather refembles zfiar of five points, than anything
coming from the clouds, or the Fifh Echinus ; to the fhell where-
of deprived of its prickles, Vlyffes Aldrovandws^, and fome o-
thers, have compared them, and therefore called them Echinitcs.
However, I think fit rather to retain the old names, though but
ill applyed to the nature of the things, than put myfelfto the
trouble of inventing new ones.

50. Of Brontidi therefore, or Ombridt (call them which you
will) we have feveral forts in Oxford-fiire, which yet all agree in
this, that they are a fort of [olid irregular Hemijf hears ; fome of
them oblong, and having fomwhat of an oval ; others either more
elevated, or depreffed on their bafes. All of them divided into
five farts, moft times inequal, rarely equal, by five rays iffuant
from an umbilicus or center, defcending from it down the fides of
the body, and terminating again fom where in the bafe. They
are never found in beds together, like fome other formed ftones,
nor that I have yet heard of (fays the Ingenious Mr. Ray r ) in
great numbers in one place : but in the latter I muft take leave to
inform him, that though I think it in the main to be true, yet
that at Tangley, Fulbrook., and all about Burford, they are found
in fuch plenty, that I believe it were eafie in a little time, to pro-
cure a Cart-load of the firft fort of them, carefully exhibited in
Tab. 2. Fig. 9, 10.

31. Whole innermoft texture, though it feem to be nothing

1 Muf*um Meta/lic. lib. +. cap. 1. r Obfervacions Topograph. &c. p. 1 i(J.

more

0fQXF0%T>^SHI%E. pi

more than a courfe rubble-ftone, yet is thinly cafed ove?r with a
fine lamia atcd fubftance (the plates lying obliquely) much like
Lapis Judaku6 : In form they are flat* depreiled upon the bafis*
in colour generally yellow, their rays made of a double rank of
traafverfe lines, with void fpaces between the ranks, vifible enough
on the top of the ftone Fig. 9. but not fo diftinguiftiable on
the bottom Fig. 1 o. the whole body of the ftone, as well as the
fpaces included within the rays, being elfewhere filled with Aa-
aulets, much more curioufly wrought by Nature, than by the tool
of the Graver.

32. The ceaterbf thefe rays, by Pl/ay called Modiolus, by A*
riflotle, Vmbilicws s, is never placed on the top of the ftone, but
always inclining to one fide, as that at the bottom do's to the o-
ther ; the Axis lying obliquely to the Hodzpa of the ftone. Which
gave occafion to a Learned Society of Virtuofi, that during the
late Ufufpation lived obfcurely at Taagley, and had then time to
think of io mean a fubjeft, by confent to term it the Polar-fioae;
having ingenioUfly found out, by clapping two of them together,
asfuppofe the Fig. 9, and 1 o. that they made up a Globe, with
Meridiaas defcending to the Hoi izoa, and the Pole elevated, very
nearly correfponding to the real elevatioa of the Pole of the place
where the ftoties are found.

33. The two next, reprefented Fig. 11,12. like the former,
being flat and deprefTed on their bafis, having alfo fome refcm-
blance of a ftar of 5 points, were therefore thought fit to be
placed next. Whereof the 1 1 indeed is a beautiful ftone, found
fomwhereinthe Chiltern about Afioa Rowaat, whofe inner fub-
ftance, though of black. Fliat, to outward view is of a cinereous
colour, and adorned by Nature with fomwhat more than ordi-
nary. For befide the Modiolus, and the iffuing rays made of dou-
ble ranks of poiats, with traafverfe liaes interceding them, it is
alfo fet with other poiats furrounded with double Aanulets, on
each fide thtjloae with a fingle, and from the terminations of the
rays with double ranks. The poiats thus furrounded, are neither
deeply excavated, nor any thing prominent above thtfuperficies of
the ftone ; but the rays as they are but fhort (not extending above
halfway to the rim of the ftoae) fo they are deeply hollowed
down within it, wherein it differs,

' Lit. it Mundo adAlexandrum.

M 2 34. From

pz The Natural Hijlory

33. From that of Fig. 12. found in the Fields about Ifleyi
whofe rays like thofe of the Polar ftones, are made of double
ranks of tranfaerfe lints, whereof the outermoft are much the
longer, and extended likewile to the rim of the fione ; its fub-
ftance alfo like that feems to be a yellow rubble, but not cafed thac
I can perceive with any fuch laminated fwbfc2inct,ox adorned with
Annukts, yet the Umbilicus of fome of them, is more beautiful
than theirs, it being fomtimes divided and foliated like a Rofe.
And fo much for the Bronti* depreffed on their bafts.

35. Let us now proceed to others of a more elevated kind,
whereof thofe expreiTed Fig. 13. found fomwhere in the CbiU
tern, by the Country people called commonly Cap-fiones, from
their likenefs to a Cap laced down the fides, are of any the moft
uniform. For the centers of thefe, both at the top and bottom,
are on all hands equidiftant from the rim of the Jione, and the
rays interceding the centers being alfo equidiftant, cut it exa&ly
into five equal parts ; which in none of the former,nor thofe that
are to follow, either by reafon of their (hape, or eccentricity of
their Modioli, can poffibly be found. The rays of thefe are made
of two rows of points fet pretty deep in the body of the ftone,
out of which you are to fuppofe, according to Aldrovandus (who
refembles this Jione toadifarmed Echinus) proceeded the prickles
that Animal is fenced with.

36. As alfo that other fom what of an oval form, Tab. 2. Fig. 14^
whofe ce;z/£r correfponds with the figure of theflone, and is not
concluded within the rays, as in the former, but is extended in a
ridge to the rim of it : from which center there defcend as it
were double rays, made up of two double fets of points ; which,
expanding themfelves as they draw toward the rim,at about mid-
way are furrounded with fingle Annulets, which each of them
including two points apiece, are therefore all of an oval Figure.
Its fubftance within is a black. Flint, though without it appear of
a cinereous colour, and was found in the Fields between Ewelm
and Brightvpell.

37. At Pyrton I met with another of thefe, a black. Flint with-
in, and cinereous without, of oval figure and/ center like the for-
mer , but the defcending rays from it of a quite different
kind: for whereas they were made of points hollow and deep,
thefe on the contrary are all prominent ; and whereas they de-
scended

ad fKg-9-l-

- ->ur . ritlin. el Jctilp

Of OXFO^^S HI%E. 9]

fcended in double branches and points, which near the rim were
included in oval Annulets ; the double and protuberant points
of thefe , about mid-way to the rim are turned into fingle ,
though much larger ones, as in Tab. 3. Fig. 1. which now de-
fcending in fingle points, and meeting in an Vmbilicm not in the
middle of the bajis, but fo much to one fide, that the branches
upon this account being fome longer fome (horter, and crofling
the bafis in a much different manner, make a figure fomwhat re-
fcmblinga Flwer-de-l'ps, as in Tab. 3. Fig. 2. which had been all
I fliould have faid concerning thefe Bronti*, but that perhaps it
may not be unworthy our notice.

1 . That the protuberancies of this laft fione are all hol-
low, which when broken, look juft like the hollow
points of the former ; which has given me fome
ground to fufpeft, that the deep points of that may
have formerly been eminencies like the raKed points of
this, and are only broken down by the injuries of
time.

2. That none of thefe Bront'ue have been defcribed be-
fore, but the 12 and 13 of Tab. 2. which indeed are
fomwhat like the 8 and 1 o of Aldrovandws c .* and

3. That though fome Authors have thought them the
petrified fhells of the Echinus Spatagus, or Briffu* of
Arislotle, I have reafon to think (as (hall appear in a
fitter place) that they will prove nothing lefs.

38. Befide the Brontioe of the Forreign Naturalisls, we have
others, which herein England we call likewife Thunder-bolts, in
the form of arrows heads, and thought by the vulgar to be indeed
the darts of 'Heaven : which only in conformity to my own Coun-
try (though for as much reafon as the foregoing Brontidt) I have
placed amongft the [tones related to the Heavens.

39. From their form, by all Naturalijls they are called Bele-
mnites, from the Greek word BUquw telum, which indeed there
are fome of them reprefent pretty well. We have of them in
O-xford-fiire of divers forts, yet all of them I find agreeing in
this , that their texture is of fmall Jlrije, or threds radiating
from the center, or rather axh of the Stone, to the outermoft

fnperficies ; and that burn'd, or rub'd againft one another, or

t U6 . 4, cap. 1. p. 455,

fcraped

94. The j\(atural Hijlory

fcraped with a knife^ they yield an odour like rafped Horn.

40. In magnitude and colour they differ much, the biggeft I
have met with yet, being that expreft in Tab. 3. Fig. 3. in length
fomwhat above four inches, and mthickjiefs much about an inch
and *. This was found in the Quarries in the Pariih of Hedding-
ton, hollow at the top about an inch deep, and filled with a kind
of gravelly earth ; and has the rima or chink.-, which Aldrovan-
du* and Boetiws fay all of them have ; but I find itotherwife, as
(hall be fhewn anon. Of colour it is cinereous, inclining to yellow,
and if vehemently rubb'd, is the only one amongft all that I have,
that like Amber takes woflraws, and fome other light bodies.

41 . There are of them alfo of a bluifi colour, found at Great
Rohright in a bluifi clay, of about a fingers length, hollow at
the top, and have fome of them, inftead of one, three clefts or
rim*, but neither fo plain or long as the former, they afcending
from the cu/pis fcarce half up the (tone : two whereof are (hewn
Fig. 4. and the third hidden behind the Sculpture ; which may
make fome amends for that of Fig. 5. which is of colour cine-
reous and hollow at the top, but has no chink at all ; whereof
there was a bed found in digging the Sulphur Well at Mr. Lanes
of Veddington, as was mentioned before in the Chapter of Wa-
ters.

42. To which add a fourth fort, found in great plenty in the
Gravel-pits without St. Clements, in the fuburbs of Oxford, very
few of them hollow at the top like the former, but radiated like
a /for from a clofer center, as in Fig. 6*. which made Gefner*
think it to be the jftrapios of Pliny, though exprefly he fays, 'tis
of a white or azure w, whereas this is always of an amber colour :
yet draws not ftraws, is fomwhat tranfparent, and may therefore
pafs for a fort of Lapis Lyncuriws ; not that it has original from
the urine of that Beaft, for we have plenty of the ftones here and
none of the animals, but from the unpleafant fmell it has when
burn'd or brayed ; like the urine of Cats, or fuch like ramifh
creatures, whereof the Lynx perhaps may be one. Thefe, mod
of them, are made tapering to a point like the former ; yet fom-
times having a blunter ending, and the chink, on both fides, I
thought fit rather to (hew it in that form than the other, as in

* Thefe not being hollow at the top, nor containing any other ftonc, gravel, or earth, fome call the
male Be/emnites : the three former being of the female kind- « De Figurit Lapidim, cap. 5. w Mat.
Hifi.lii. 37. c*f. ix.

Fig. 6.

of o xFO%i>~sm%E. >*

Fig. 6. where the cleft runs not only the whole length of the
ftone, but quite under the end, and half way up the other fide.
- 43. Many are the Medicinal uCes of this done, mentioned by
Boetius , Aldrovandut , and Gefner : Whereof the chief aire,
1. For the tlone, for which (inftead of the Eurrhrfut) 'tis ufed
in Spain and Saxony. 2. For exficcation of wounds in Pruffia and
Pomerania. And 3. for ocular diftempers in Horfes, in all parts
of England.

44. Thus having run through the fuppofltitious ftones from
Heaven, I nextdefcendto the Atmofpbere, or inferior Air, im-
mediatly encompaffing the terraqueous Globe ; which though in-
capable of itfelf to be reprefented inftone, yet having met with
fome related to its Inhabitants, I mean the feathered Kingdom, I
thought fit to give them place before thofe of the Waters.

45. Whereof thefirft and only one, reprefented in Sculpture
Tab. 3, Fig. 7. has perfectly the fhape of an Owls head, which
becaufe not mention'd by any Author that I know of, I thought
good to exhibit, and call Lapk Buboniut ; it is a black, flint with-
in, and cinereous without, and was found near to Hardwick in the
Parifh of Whitchurch.

46. To which I might have annex'd the (lone Hieracites^ found
frequently in the Quarries in the Parifh of Heddington, but is not
the Hieracites mention'd by Fliny™ ', which he fays alternatly
changes its colour ; but of Gefner x, to whofe figure of it, ours is
exa&ly like : but neither his nor ours refembling any thing of a
Hawks, or other Birds feathers, fo much as to deferve a cut, or
the Readers view ; I have faved my felf the expence, and him the
trouble.

47. Next the Air, the flones that concern the Watery Kingdom,
fall in order of Nature under confideration, whereof there are
fome thatfeem to be nothing elfe but meerly concreted drops of
water,fo\md plentifully in the Fields about Kircklingtomnd North-
brook, which I touched on before under petrifications, and pro-
mifed to treat of more largely here. By Authors they are cal-
led Stalagmites, and feem either to be generated of pearls of dew,
fetled on the ftones as they lie in the Fields, which firft being
coated over with the fmall terrene atoms that are flying in the Air,
and by that means kept in their own form for fome confiderable

* L;'£. 37. cap. 10. x Df Figwii LapMum, cap. i$.

time,

p6 The O^tural Hifiory

time, are thus at length fiVd into a friable kind of Hone, by the
petrifying fteam that comes from the earth ; or elfe they are exfu-
dations out of the ftones themfelves, whence are formed thofeex-
crefcenciis like warts in Animals i neither of which feem unagree-
able to their defcription in Tab./}. Fig. 8*

48. But befide the Stalagmites, there are other concretions made
of much the fame materials, viz^. of a cold fort of water i thick-
ned with terrene and petrifying particles ; which yet becaufe of
their different mode of generation, have obtained a different,
and more fuitable name : And fuch are theflone s made of nothing
but fuch water, as it drops from the roofs and caverns of the
Rocks, and therefore called Stalactites , or Lapdes fiillatitii ;
which, if the drops defcend by the fides of the Rocks, and com-
ply with the ufual raggednefs of them, are then indeed of vari-
ous and therudeft forms, and by the work-men called Craume7*
But if the drops defcend from the top of a vault, or any more
prominent part of a Rock, in a direct line and free from the
fides, they are commonly then of a pyramidal form, as in Tab.'}.
Fig. 9. which is the reprefentation o^ftone of about nine inches
long, of a yellowiih colour, as it hung from the Rock in Hed-
dington Quarry, where without doubt it was produced much af-
ter the fame manner, as 1 fides at the ends of fpouts in Winter, by
a gradual defcent and congelation of the drops.

49. Hither alfo muft be referred all forts of Spars, by the
Miners called Cawke, and the Latins, Fluores ; which (fay they)
yet retain fo much of a fluid, that with the heat of fire, like Ice
in the Sun, they melt and flow : an effecf, which though I could
not find it had upon ours without the help of Salts ; yet not
doubting at all, but that once they had been fluids, I could not
but accordingly give them place here.

5 o. Whereof, there is fcarce any Rock whatever, whether
metalline or vulgar, which hasnotfome kind or other of them,
fliot in its feams or other hollows, which according to their diffe-
rent fubjects or matrixes, are fomtimes of different colours, and
frequently of di vets figures.

51. As for colours , I have not obferved above two forts in
Oxford-Jhire, a light yellow, and a Pearl-colour'd white, where -

1 Of thisthcreisaQuarry between Heathropzad Enftm, called Broad-flane Quarry, that has great
plenty. 'V

of

Of 0 XFO ^T>^SHI\E. £7

of there are foriie in the Quarrys near Shot over, fo clear and hard,
that they come not much behind the Briflol-ftones, and are in fi-
gure (though had from the fame Quarry) as various as Viamants ;
fome of them being comprifed in/even, others in nine, others in
eleven, and fome in thirteen planes, as may eafily be computed
from their trigonal, tetragonal, pentagonal, and hexagonal pyramids,
reprefented in Tdb.^.Fig.io. to which, adding theplanes of their
columns, and the planes of their bafts, whereby they are fix'd to
their fubjefts, thofe numbers of Hedr* rftuft needs be concluded*

52. As to the origin and texture of Spars, I take them to be
much of the fame with Chryftals (though we feldom find them
of their hexagonal figure, or their columns ever interceding two
pyramids') and that they differ in lufter and hardnefs according t6
the more clofe or loofe texture of the/tones whereon they fit, and
out of which they have fw eat? as through a ftrainer or colanden
Though it muft not be denyed, but what is arTerted by the inge-
nious and obferving Steno'1 concerning Chryflals, may haveplac£
alfo in the increafe and growth of thefe, which he fays (what-
ever may be the manner of their firft delineation) is by external
appofition of new Chryjlalline matter to the external planes of the
already delineated Chryftal; which he alfo obferves, not to b£
joined to all its planes, but for the moftpartto the//<772wof the
top only ; nor to thefe all at a time, nor in the fame quantity.
Whence it is, that the extream or top planes of Spars as well as
Chryflals, axe feldom of never equal, and not always triangular,
but rifing with unequal fides and angles from the planes of their
columns, as in that feparate piece of Spar or Chryftal near Fig. 10.
which I take to be arguments furn'cieritly concluding the ftmilitudi
of their growth and texture of parts, notwithstanding the planes
of the columns of Spars ate notftreaked, nof fo plainly ihew the
places of appofition, as they do on Chryftal ; which ftreaks, for
the Readers more ready apprehenfion, are therefore cut on the fe-
parate column near Fig. 1 o. though otherwife indifferently to be
underftood either for Spar or Chryjlall.

53. Some of thefe Spars fall fo little fliort, either of Chryftals
or BriflolDiamants, either in lufter or hardnefs, that we may very
welladmit what is faid of them by Aldrdvandtis*, that they are
gemm& inchoate, is- non perjeft*. And that Boetimh in all likely.

1 Vrodrem. de Chryftallo-propo[itionil>. i. 2, 3. * Mufisum Metall.lib. 4.. **/>. 76. b DeLapid.&
Gem. cap. 304..

N hood

98 The Natural Hi/lory

hood may have hit the mark, who doubts not but they are made
of the fame matter with Gems, and therefore gives them place
between Gems and Stones, Inter Gemmat istlapides medium locum
obtinent fluores, fays he : to whom in this matter I readily fub-
fcribe, finding many of them to participate with Gems in lufter,
but with other Stones in foftnefs and brittlenefs ; whence it comes
to pafs, that they will not polifh like other ftones, and are only
fit to be mix'd with other metals, which they render much more
quick in fufwn, than otherwife they are inclined to be of theni-
felves.

54. After Stones fo purely made out of Waters, that they
readily return into fluids again, or have only fuch figures, into
which that Element feems moft naturally to compofe it felf, as the
Stalagmites and Lapides ftillatitii\ come we next to fuch as re -
prefentits Inhabitants, the Fifties of the Sea and frejh Waters too :
of which there are fome of fo great variety of texture, that in
cafe they were not heretofore the fpoils of real Fifies indeed,
and now petrified,requirea much higher principle for their effor-
mation ; concerning which before we attempt any thing, let us
firft confider fome of their particular fhapes, with the places and
poftures they are now found in.

55. Of fuch as refemble any of the frejh water kind, I have
met with only one in this County, which did we but know where
elfe to put it, fhould not be placed here neither ; for it was taken
out of a block of coal (whereof there is none dug in Oxford-fiire)
by the ingenious and obferving Sir Thomas Fennyfion, at his Houfe
at Cornwell ; and feems to reprefent a Carp or Barbel, the belt
of any Fifh I have yet compared it with, and rather indeed the
latter of the two, becaufe of the fhort and thick fcale : It was
broken, in taking it out of the Coal, into feveral pieces, whereof
that is one exaftly engraven Tab. 3. Fig. 11. kindly bellowed on
me by that worthy Gentleman, and by whom the reft are carefully
preferv'd ; which were it not for want of the variety of co-
lours, I fhould take (for the fcales fake) to be the Lepidotes of
Pliny c.

56. Theflones that we find in this In-land Country, having
the fhapes of Sea fijh, are many, but chiefly of the teslaceout kind;
whereof there are fome that lie in a mafs of ftone together, and

* Nat. Hi ft. fib. 37.C. 10.

others

OfOXFO'Rp-SHIXE. 99

Others found in the Fields or Quarries apart. Of thefirft fort
of thefe we have a curious inftance in the pofieffions of the Right
Honorable Henry Earl of Clarendon, at Langley in the confines of
Wbichwood-forreft, where there is a Quarry of very hard ftone,
wholly compofed of a clofe union of Cockles, fcarce any of them
exceeding a Pea in bignefs, and ftreaked circularly to the hinges
of the valves, as in Tab. 3. Fig. 12. they are none of them hol-
low, but firmer within, than they are to the bed of ftone where
they lye ; and yet even to that they are fo clofely knit, that the
mafs receives a very good poliflh, infomuch that his Lordjhip in-
tends to pave the new Cbappel now building at Cornbury with it.

57. This fort of Marble is niention'd by Stenod, and called
(as he fays) by the Italians, Nephiri ; whereof there is alfo a very
good fort at Charleton Towns end, upon the edge of Otmoor *,
differing from that of Langley only in this, that the grofs of the
ftone is fomwhat whiter, the Cockles larger, and not fo thick fet.
However, of fo firm and clofe a texture, that of it they make
Tomb-ftones, Tables, 4&c, fo curioufly fpotted and fet with rings,
that it very much pleafes the eye of the beholder, and has alrea-
dy gotten (though but lately found) a reputation at Oxford and
the parts adjacent.

58. Of this fort of ftone moft certainly it was, though fom-
what perhaps of a fofter kind, and different colour, that Paufa-
nia6 informs us (as quoted by Agricola) the Monument of Pbro-*
news, and many other works, were mede at Megara. Megard
infaxo valdealbo, (sr reliquvs lapidibm molliore, undique infunt con-
cha marina, ex quo iyc. are the words of Agricola e ; for which
very reafon this fort of ftone is there called Concbites, and fince
byjohnfion and Fred: Lachmund* (from the place where found)
Lapis Megaricu*.

59. There is another fort of it in the Quarries near Adderburyt
thick fet with Cockles in their full proportion, as in Tab. 3. Fig.i^t
Some of them are wonderfully Chryftallized, and beautiful to the
eye, but not being fo finely cemented together, but that a knock
will loofen or make them leap from their beds ; and many of them
being hollow, or filled with brittle Spar ; the ftone by no means
will receive a polifri, and upon that account fit for no other work

* InFrodromo. * It is much prized by the Painters ^London, ithavinga grit that Cuts their colours
much better than other Marble. Mr. Aubrty'% notes. * Ve N*tw* Fofplium. Hi. 7. * •Oevr.rtx*p. Hit-
drjbeim.feft.j.caf, 1$.

N 2 than

ioo The Statural Hijlory

than to mend the high-ways, or fome other mean ufes. Nor can
1 inform the owners of thefe Quarries of any better that it may
have, except they (hall think fit to burn it for Lime, for which I
dare promife it muft needs be excellent.

60. And fo is the ftone O/lracomorphos, made of heaps of Oj-
fiers cemented together, and found plentifully enough on Shot*
over hill, not far from the way to Sir Timothy Tyrrils ; of which
I have forbornto give any draught, it being eafily conceived from
the manner of the Cockjes thus heaped, together in the two for-
mer cuts.

61. To thefe fucceed the fiones refembling Sea-fifb of the te-
ftaceou<s kind, not found in clufters after the manner of the former,
but in a feparate ftate : of thefe there are fome curioufly lineated,
and others plain, with but few or no fuch ornaments, which yet
I muft treat of promifcuoufly together, becaufe there are of both
forts in feveral /pedes.

62. Of thefe again fome are of a turbinated form, and others
bivalvular, refembling the double fhell'd kind, joyned together
with a hinge, and yet thefe Tomtimes found all with their (hells
apart, and fomtimes again none of them fo.

63 . Amongft thefe the turbinated or wreathedk'md ofjiones, by
the Greeks called Strombites, from <rp*<pwtorqueo, to wreath (which
is always helically, and for the moft part from the right hand to
the left, and finally from a greater to a fmaller ending) are but
feldom found : However, I have met with both the forts of A-
gricola g, the greater, which he fays is fomtimes nine inches long,
but ours indeed not much exceeding five, of a yhinfuperjicies, as
in Tab. 4. Fig. 1 *. and the lefler wanting of half an inch in
length, but curioufly ftriated, as Fig. 2. both found in the Quar-
ries in the Parilh of Heddington, of a cinereous colour, fomwhat
inclining to yellow, and of a harder confiftence than the ftone
wherein they lye.

64. But as for fuch as reprefent the bivalvular Conch*, fuch as
Cockles, Efcallops, Oyflers, isc. we have very great plenty, as well
of kinds as individuals. The Conchites or Cockle-ftones found
in this County, may alfo be divided into the greater and letter ;
whereof the greater arc fome of them ftriated with large ftri<e,

g Ve NaturaToj[ilium,Ub. 7, * Vtd. Bucchium lapidcum Lcvc Fate Columna, Aquatili*m& terrejhr.
oi/erv.cap. 22.

and

TAB IU

OfOXFO%T>~SHl\E. ioi

and larger furrows, defcending as ic were from a center atthetop,
and expanding themfelves to the rim of the ftone 5 having alfo
fix or {even tranfuerft fimple lines, bent circularly to the hinge or
commiffure of thevalves, as in Tab. 4. Fig. 3. which is a font
without, of a dark cinereous colour, but within, a black, flint ;
found fomwhere in the Chiltern about Henly upon Thames, and
kindly beftowed on me by the ingenious Mr. Munday, Phyfitian
there.

65. Some there are again, whofe ftrice alfo defcend from the
hinge or commiffure, but not in ftraight li;;es, but bent and un-
dulated, and much broader than the former, as in Tab. 4. Fig. 4.
which though in magnitude it fall fhort of the Concha Tridacna of
Aldrovandut (fo called it feems becaufe they made three mouth-
fuls apiece) yet in form it (hews to be fo very like, as may be feen
alfo mjonflon, Tab. 13. that were it not a Hone, I mult pro-
nounce it the fameh. This I found at Great Holrvright in a bluifh
clay, whereof, and of nothing elfe, it feems to be concreted ;
for it do's not much exceed it in hardnefs, and ftill participates
moft of that colour, though covered with a bright and fhining
fubfiance, by the Natural ifts called Hoplites , or Armatura : of
which more anon when I come to Cornu Ammonium, a ftone, the
moftof any adorned with that fubfiance.

66. Another fort there is found at Heddington Quarries, whofe
lines or Jrridezre not drawn like the two former, from the com-
miffure of the valves to the rim, but tranfverfly and circularly
from one fide of the ftone to the other ; the levler circles having
place next the commiffure, and the greater next to the rim of the
ftone, as in Tab. 4. Fig. 5. which feems much to refemble the
Concha rugata of ' Rondoletiu* \ with valves fwelling very high ; of
colour it is cinereous, inclining to yellow, not hollow within, but
a folid [tone, and of much the fame texture with the rubble of the
Quarry.

67. Of the fmaller Conchites there are alfo feveral forts, differ-
ing in colour, lineation and valves ; for at Teynton and about Bur-
ford, where they are found jn the Fields, they are moftof them
yellow^ with their valves riling high and approaching to around *:
but at Glympton, where they are only found in a fpring that rifes

Vid Concliam imbric atom mimmam Aldrorvandi.deTeB.hb.^. cap. 43. ' Rondoktirti deteftaceif, tib.f.

'for

in

tap. 'i 5. * Thefe made red hot and put into drink, are accounted in this Country a prcfent remedy for

ioi The Statural Hijiory

in a Wood about a mile Southward from the Church, they are
much more depreffed and of a cinereous colour ; but both having
their lineations from the commiffure to the riw,they are both there-
fore reprefented under one draught, Tab. 4. Fig. 6.

68. How it Giould come about that thefe C ockle-ftones of Glym-
pton Ihould only be found at the Fountain- head, and no where
lower in the ftream, nor that I could hear of, in the Fields about,
I muft acknowledg to be a knot not eafily loofed. Some have
thought them brought out from amongft the Rocks, at the bot-
tom of the hill where the Spring rifes ; others that they are
formed by a peculiar virtue of the water, as it runs over the
rubble ftones that lye near its exit : for, fay they, if you pick
them never fo clean away, in few months time you (ball have as
many more. And indeed it muft be confeft, that I met with fe-
veral that were only ftriated on one fide, and rubble ftone on the
other ; and fome of them but juft begun to be a little lineated :
However it be, I lliall determine nothing yet, having imployed a
careful and ingenious perfon to watch the increafe and lineations
of thefe ftones, which when throughly underftood, fhall be faith-
fully communicated.

69. Befide thofe of dympon, there are others at Cornwell, in
the Park of the Right Worfhipful Sir Thomas Pennyfton, found in
a bank of yellowifti clay, of a much different form, andtranf-
verfly ftriated, as in Tab. 4. Fig. 7. which though indeed for
the moft part are hard ftones, yet I was (hewed feveral by the
Ingenious Owner of the place, that were nothing but clay, not
differing at all from that in the bed wherein they lye, and out of
which they feem to be formed, but in figure only ; which is alfo
different from all the bivalvular Conch* that I find in Books, or
havefeen in collections of that fort of Shell-fifh.

70. And fo is the figure of the Conchites found in Hornton
Quarry, near approaching to an oval, and fcarce ftriated at all;
which inclines me at leaft to doubt, if not certainly to conclude,
that thefe Cockle-like ftones were never heretofore any real Cockje-
fiells, thus tranfmuted by the penetrating force of petrifying
juices,but that moft of them (as the ingenious Mr. Lifter thinks)
ever were, as they now are, Lapides fui generic differing not only
from one another, but many of them from anything in Nature

* Pbilofok. Tranfaif. Numk. j6.

befide,

Of OXFORDSHIRE. 103

befide, that thefrefti or fait- water can any where afford us. But
before I engage in this great controverfie, let us firft confider a
few more of thtfeftones refembling fl>ell-fifh.

71. And firft, the above -mentioned Conchites found in Horn*
ton quarry, and reprefented in Tab.^. Fig, 8. which is not a
folidftone within (as all the Cocklc-Jiones hitherto defcribed have
been) but hoHow, and filled with fyar ; fomtimes fhot into ir-
regular figures, but for the mod part forked, as in Fig. 9. the
bafts, or place where the branches of the fork are conjoyned, be-
ing rooted (in all that I have yet feen) at the commiffure or hinge
of the valves , and the branches extending themfelves in the
broader parts of the Conchites ; of which operation of Nature I
can give no other account, but that it was firft obferved, by the
Reverend and Ingenious Mr. Clark, Re&or of Vreyton near Ban-
bury, from whom, befide other favors , I received many of
them.

72. After the bivalvular Cockles found always with their
valves clofed together, come we next to confider the other Bi-
valves found never fo, but their valves always apart. And fuch
are the ftones refembling Efcallops, and fome other ftriated Con-
chylia : whereof that reprefented Fig. 10. is the moft curious in
its kind I ever yet faw, found in Heddington quarries by Mr. Hi*
chard Stapley, an ingenious young Man, and learned in thefe mat-
ters, to whom I am beholding not only for this, but for fome o-
ther choice ftones hereafter to be mention'd. Which amongft all
the Peftines or Efcallop-f hells I could find in the Itthyographersjdtft.
refemblesthe Petlen after of Aldrovandu^1. Of colour it is yel-
lowifh, eared on both fides, the lineations from the commiffure to
the rim of the ftone very prominent, and yet having fome o-
ther tranfuerfe lines (not bending to, but from the commiffure')
ftanding upon them, and not pafling through the deep furrows
fo as to joyn with each other,

73. As the tranfuerfe lines do in the next following Peclinites,
Fig. 1 1 . where they are both of equal depth, and very fmall,
thick and fine ; the tranfuerfe lines all of them bent to the commif-
fure, but the othery?ri<£ not meeting together in it, as in the for-
mer and following Efcallops : This ftone is of a light reddifh co-
lour, eared on both fides, and found in the quarries in theparifh
of Heddington. , De +*„*,». ,. eap. c9,

74. And

jO^. The Statural Hi/lory

74. And fo was the next ffone in form of a Peftunculut, oi
little Efcallop, Fig. 12. of a whitifti yellow colour, the ftrU
large and broad, but the tranfuerfe lines fmall, eared like the for-
mer on both fides t Which alio argues, that this ftone was never
heretofore the (liell of a FilTi, and thus call: into ftone by an Ani-
malmold. For the Peclunculi, fays Rondelet'w™, are a diftinct.
fiecies from the Peclines of larger Efcallops, and never have eafs
but on one fide, which indifferently are either on the right or left ;
except that we (hall fay that this Was once the fhell of a young
Feften, not yet come to it's full growth.

75. To this alfo may bereferr'd another of the fame texture,
only fomwhat bigger^ and wanting the ears of a PeStunculites, or
little Efcallop -ftone, Fig. 13. which becaufe it (hews no figns of
its ears being broken off, I fuppofe may either reprefent the Cha-
maftriata P eftiniformis of Aldrovandm n, or elfe the PeSlunculu* of
Belloniws, which (as quoted by the Zoographer Gefner °) he not
only fays has no ears, but has exhibited it in Sculpture.

j6. And fo perhaps may the nextftone, Fig. 14. except we
(hall rather make it the fir ft of the Conchites slriati, or ftreaked
Cockje ftones, which indeed I cannot chufe but aflent too, becaufe
of its bearing tob much on one fide, which T find the Peftinites
of Efcallop ftones do not : and becaufe it cannot be a Tellinitesy
which (hell-fi(h (if at all) is never ftreaked that way. Let it
therefore pafs only for a ftreaked Cockle slone, which are plenti-
fully found not only at Heddingtori, and about Shot-over, but in
the Quarries near Stunsfield, North Leigh, and Little Milton ; and
are placed here, becaufe found like the Efcallop ftones, always with
theif (hels apart.

7 7. Whereof there are fome largef, and as it were heaped up-
on one another, as in Tab. 4. Fig- 1 5 ; and others fingle, as in
Fig.- 1 7. The tzAfiell-fifhofi which kind, called Conchylia ftria-
ia, though thus lineated without, are always, fays Aldrovandus p,
plain and fmooth within, contrary to what we find in thefe Con-
chites ftriati, as is (hewn by Fig. 1 6. which shews the in-fide of
one of thofe ftones, not only lineated from the commiffure to the
rim, but adorned alfo with four or five tranfuerfe fillets, not made
of one, but feveralconjoyned lines, which feems alfo to conclude

» T>eTefidceis,hb.i.cap.l6. " DeTefisceis, lib-^ctp-C*) " D* jiyuati/. /ib. ±f>.$iy p J)e Te-
Paceis,lib.\. "¥■+$•

it

Paesr;1°S-

IL

Of OXFO%(D^SHI%E. id?

it to be Lapis fui generis, and not to have been molded by a filia-
ted Cockd-flell.

78. Befide Cockle and Efcallcp-flohes, there are others that
feem to be of the Oyjler kind, found plentifully in the Gravel-
pits without St. Clements, in Cowley -common, and in a wood near
Wood-eaton 1 amongft them there are fome of an oblongfigure, ve-
ry thick, and of a bluiiTi colour, fuchas that depi&ed Fig. 1 8.
which I guefs may be the fame with the petrified Co'ncha oblonga
craffa, mentioned by Dr. M'erret \ found in Wofcefter-flnre, and
there called Crow-jlones, Crow-cups, or Egg^fiones ; or elfe the
more protuberant part of the Mytulus niger of Aldrovandu* r, of
the Mytulws of Rondeletiut \

79. But others are again of the true Oyjler jhape, called 0 ft r as-
cites, or XiSorpeou, reprefented Fig. 19. fome whereof are blue,
and others reddijh, of the colour of the Gravel out of which
they are taken : Thefe are generally greater, thicker and weigh-
tier, than the true Oyfter-fbell, yet like them feem to be refolved,
according to the opinion of Sterio \ ihtd many little, fljells, the
innermoft being always the greateft, and the outermoft the leas! '
UpOn which very account I could eafily have aflented, that thefe,
and the former, might once indeed have been jhell fijh ; but that
we only find (juftas m the Efcall'ops') the protuberant parts of the

fiells, and never any of the flat ones ; which had they been once
fifhes, we have little reafon to think, could have been thus abfent
from them.

80. We find alfo in Oxford-Jhire a fort of Mytuloides , of
Mufcle-ftones, of an odd kind of figure, and not eafie perhaps to*
be parallel'd, though the teftacebws Kingdom be of large extent i
They are -not hollow, but within a terra lapidbfa of a yellowifh
colour, and cover'd without with a white (Lining kind of Arma-
ture, with oblong linedtions agreeable to the figure of the ftbne, as
in Tab. 5. Fig. i. found in digging a Well in thd Parifh of Cley->
don. To which we may add another fort remarkably fmall, found
InHeddingtoh Quarries, Fig. 2. which finifti my difcOurfe cOrM
cerningfuch/W.yas fefemble the cre^tp^^, or teslaceous Jbtll-
fijh. Whence I proceed

81. To slones reprefentirig the ^.xd^t^] Or the fiell-fift) of

i Pmax return tfatur. Srie. p. ai<J, r pe Teftaceis, lib. 3. c ap> 71- f De Tejtacm,li£. 1. cap 46. * In

Trodromi verf. Ai^lp- 75,76.

O ihS

\o6 The Statural Hiflory

the fofter cruftaceou* hind, fuch as that Tab. 5. Fig.'}, in fubftance
and hardnefs much like a Pebble, and of colour yellowifi-. divi-
ded firft by five pretty ftraight lines, adorned on each fide with
double fets of points, afcending from a protuberant umbilicus in
the bafts of the /lone, to another of like form at the top, but fo-
liatedround in manner of a Rofe : And after again fubdivided by
five other indented lines, terminated before they reach the umbi*
lid ; by which means the fpaces between thefe lines are all penta-
gons, like the outer fcales of lome fort of"Tortoife. Much fuch
another /?07ze as this 1 find in Aldrovandus, in his Book VeTefla-
ceisu, which becaufe he thought refembled the fea Urchin depri-
ved of its outward prickly coat, he calls Echinus lapis fboliatma.
fuisjpinis : But it fceming to me to be much more like the Efirice
marino , ft ritravanclli mari profondi, of ¥ err ante Imperato™, I
chuferathertocall.it Hiftricites,' or Porcupine -Jlone without bri-
ftles. This was found in the Chiltern Country, near Stonor-
houfe, and fent me by the Worshipful Tbo. Stonor Efq; the
Proprietor of the place, and one of the Nobleft Encouragers of
this Defign.

82. And fo was the following curioufly embroider'd ftoner
Fig.Af. much refembling the petrified Riccio marino, or fea Vrchin
oflmperatus x, found in the fame place alfo without prickles, but
much differing from the former in colour and fubftance, as alfo
from the Jlone of that Learned Author : For. whereas he confeflfes
that was but of the confidence of the Lime-flone; ours, though
without of a whit'ifb cinereous colour, within is a hard black, flinty
covered over with thin glittering plates, fet edg-ways to the
ball of the flint, out of which thofe uniform eminencies and de-
prejjures, thofe waved and tranfuerfe Iineationsate all framed.

83. Thefe are found in great plenty in the Ifle of Malta, and
by the Country men there, fays the Ingenious Boccone7, called
Mamelles de Saint Paul, becaufe of the lenticular eminencies and
fmall roundures, that fill the whole furface of the Jlone ; or rather
becaufe they are fomtimes found coupled two and two, as may
be feen m the fculptures of the fame Author. By Boetius and
'Gefner, and all the old Authors, they are called Ova anguina^
Serpents eggs ; perchance becaufe from the bafts there ifliie as it

n T>e TeBaceis lib. 3 . «p. 40. w DelP Hift. Naturale, lib. 2 8. cap i . x Dell' Hifl. Naturale, lib. 1+.C.26.
j Rechenhes &obfrvatii>nsNaturelles: Lett re vingt fxieme-

were

OfOXFO%T>^SHt%E. toy

were five tails of ferpents*, waved and attenuated toward the
upper part of the Hones. They tell us alfo a ftory of its being
engendered from the falivation-znd. /lime of flakes, and call into
the Air by the force of their fibilations, where if taken, has ef-
fects\is wonderful as its generation, and therefore of great efteem
amongft the French Druids. But I care not to fpend my time in
Romance, and therefore proceed

84. To another Echinites, refembling the inner fhell of the
Echinus ovarium or Efculentus, fo called from a fort of quinque-
partite or ftellated eggs, that this kind of Echinus has within it
good to eat. Their outermoft coat is full of Jbarp prickles, upon
which account they are fomtimes called Chaftaignes de Mer, or
fea Chefnuts, becaufe of their likenefs to rough prickles that
encompafs Chefnuts whil'ft they are on the Tree ; for which ve-
ry reafon they are alfo called Heriffons de Mer, fea Hedg-hogs, and
Cardui Marini, fea Thifiles : which rough coat of theirs, when
the Fifh is dead, coming off from them, they then difcover
their inward Jfjell of that curious vporkjuanfiip, that is lively repre-
fented by our (i one, Fig. 5. made up of fo many compartements
and eminencies, and fo regularly difpofed*, that, fays Monfieur de
Rochefort z (who calls them alfo Pommes de Mer, or fea Apples')
the moft ingenious Embroiderer would be much troubled to imi-
tate them. This Echinites ovarius was found in the Parifh of
Teynton, and fent me by my worthy and ingenious Friend Mr*'
Robert Vejfeji, to whom alfo I am beholding for many other mat*
ters mentioned in this Effay.

85. From Teynton alfo was fent me another of this kind,
but much fmaller, not exceeding the Rouncival pea, or French
Hal/Jet in bignefs • and yet with lines of compartement, and o^
ther eminencies as large as the former, but much fewer in num-
ber : to which, whether there be any Animal in Nature whofe
Jlell will exactly, or for the moft part correfpond, I much que-
ftion ; wherefore that it may be examined both at home and a-'
broad, I have caufed it to be engraven, Fig. 6.

86. To which add ^fourth fort with its prickles ftill on, found
plentifully in the Quarries near Shotover-hill, very like to the fifth
fort of Echinus of Arislotle> as depicted by Rondeletius*, whofe
inward fiell it feems is very fmall, but its prickles long and ftub-

* Hiftoryof che Iflcs Antilles, or Caribby Iflands, chap. 19. aft. 13. a Vt Ti'cibu/Jib. 18. cap- 33.

O 2 borri.?

io8 The Statural Hiflory

born, found always in the decpeft waters, and (ticking to Rocks,
much afcer the fame manner as here reprefented in ftone, Fig. 7.
which in conformity to Ariftotle may be called Echinites minutue.
And this had ended my Difcourfe of Stones refembling Shell-
fifi of the crufiaceom kind, but that I am admonifh'd by the
Learned, and defervedly Famous Virtuofi, Ur.HookJ3 and Mr.
Ray c, and fince them by the Ingenious Sicilian Gentleman Mon-
fieur Boccone d,

87. That the /lone commonly ftiled Cornu Ammonit, alfo be-
longs to this place, as being nothing elfe but the petrified Jhell
of the Nautilus, or Coquille de Porcellain ; or as Rondeletius e calls
it, the teftaceou* Polypus. Of thefe we find plenty in the Coun-
ty of Oxford, of different colours, figures, cizes, but all fo curled
up within themfelves, that the place of the bead is always in the
circumference and the tail in the center of the /lone, and therefore
by the Ancients called Cornua Ammonis, for that they refembled
the curled horns of the Ram, worfhipp'd by the name of Jupi-
ter Amman in the defarts of Africa f ; to whom Alexander the
Great having declared himfelf Son, that he might be the more like
fo inhuman a Rather, he affumed the horns of the Ram Deity, as
may be feen on the Imprejjes of fome of his Mony. And fo did
Lyfimachm that fucceeded him in Thrace s, Attila the Hun, and
fome other proud Princes.

88. The places in this County moft remarkable for this ftone,
are 1. The City or Oxford it felf, where, in digging cellars, foun-
dations, (src chiefly in the eaftern parts of it, they are commonly
met with ; whereof fome are fmall, the parts protuberant, and
fwellingtoaround, as in Tab. 5. Fig. 8. others broader and
more depreffed, as in Fig.y. but thelineations of both traved,and
extended from toward the center, to a fingle edged ridge in the
back of the ftone: and therein different from a third fort found
alfo at Oxford, whofe I 'in eat ions are larger, notfo thick nor waved,
and terminated at greztprotuberances on each fide of the ftone, be-
tween which, on the broad back of it, there intercede other /i-
neations, the whole body of the ftone being alfo divided by Su-
tures, in form much refembling the leaves of Oak-> as in Fig.10.
The two latter of thefe are both perforated at the center, and there-
in Micograph.Obfcrv. 17. e Obfervations Topograph. />. 12;. * Recherchs^Ol-firvoiioKsNa'

1urelles,Lettrez%. • De Pi/ciitu, lib. 17. cap. 9. f gnhit. Curt'u de rcb. Geff. Alexandri, HiftoT-lib. 4.
* S^e the Cabinet in the Bodlcyan Libraiy.

fore

Of 0 XFO <R£~S HI%E. id?

fore called by Bauhinws h, Cornua Ammon'pspertv.fa : And all three
adorned with afhining brafen Armature, in lufter equalling that
metal it felf, yet of which in fubftance it has nothing lefs, though
Agricola have affirmed it to be nature rudimentum id met allum face-
re difcentis.

89. BoetiusdeBoot, in his Book deLapidibus iff Gemmis\ thinks
the flone it felf naturally of a ferrugineous colour, which lying in
an Earth fated with an aluminous juice, is changed thereby into
this brafen colour. To which de Laet k in his Supplement, adds,
atr amentum fut or ium ; both which, he fays, joined, give that co-
lour to Iron. For my part, I rather think it may be performed
by Nature, much after the fame manner they guild money at our
Englijb Baths-, if fo, there will be requifite fomthing urinous,
which they always add thereto fuperinducefuch a colour,where-
of more at large when I come into Somerfet-flnre.

90. The ftcond place eminent for produftion of thefe slones,
is the Parifh of Cleydon, where they find them of many more
turns than thofe at Oxford, though not much bigger ; without
Armature, of a yellomjh colour ( like the ^Jltridt before men-
tion'd found at the hmeplace) and differentlyy?r/tf/^, as in Fig.
1 1 . in which theflrU from the innermoft part of the flone are all
fmgle, but many of them divided before they reach the rim of it,"
where they are terminated with a back much more protuberant
than the reft of the flone, but alike flriated.

9 1 . Near Thame, in the Fields Eaftward from the Church, they
fomtimes meet alfo with the Cornu Ammonh, Jlriated fmgly like
the former, near the inner part of the flone, and prefently divi-
ding, but without termination either at any ridge, or othzxprotu-
ber amies in the back ; the divifion being continued to the other
fide of the flone, where 'tis made again into one common linea-
Hon, as in Fig. 12. Of which fort I had fome arches or parts fent
me alfo from Chiflehampton, by the Right Worfhipful Sir John
V'Oyly Baronet, in whom flourifh all the Virtues of that ancient
Houfe. But thefe (not like the former) a hard flone, but fome
of them a kind of Terra lapidofa, or hardened yellow clay, one
degree perhaps above that of the bed wherein they lay; which
(befide Sir Thomas Fenny flons clay Cockles) feem to overthrow

* Joann.Bauhinusde Lapidibtn var'tis in fine Hift. admit abi lis font 'is Bollertps* ' Cap . 24.6. k De La-
fid. & Gemmii, cap. 22.

Steno's l

no The ^dtural Hijlory

Steno's1 firft con je&ure concerning thefe matters: Thai they are
always found in the fame place, of the fame confidence ; and that there
arenofigns amongft them of fooneror later production.

92. And To do the Ophiomorphit's found in a bluifh clay in the
Parifti of Great Rolwright, Eaftward from the Church, whereof
fomeare fo foft, that 'tis eafleto pfefs them afunder with ones
fingers; and others a hard bluifi fione. But though they agree
with the former in the manner of production, they differ as much
in the manner of their lineations, for whereas their §lri# were di-
vided near the rim, fomeof the lineations of thefe come toge-
ther there, and are united in pretty large protuberant knobs on
each fide the back of the done, which in thefe being broad and
fomwhat rifing, is croffed by other arched lines that intercede the
eminencies, as in Fig. 13 «

93. Other Ophiomorpbifs there are, that have only ftraight
iingle ribs, which terminate alfo in ftraight ridges that run along
on each fide the back of the ftone ; between which two ridges,
there rifes a third more prominent one, juft in place as it were of
the Spina dor fain, as in Tab. 5 . Fig. 14. which though not wreath-
ed, but plain like the other lower ridges on each hand it, I take
to be the Cornu Ammonhs criflatum of Johannes Baukinm m. One
of thefe, of about four inches over, and made up of as many
turns,\vzs given me by the Reverend and Learned Dr. John Wallit ;
and there is another amongft the K^'a^o, 0f the Medicin School,
of above eight inches diameter, taken up as they fay fomwhere
abou: Corpus CbrisJi College.

94. There are alfo Orphiomorphit's found fomtimes about
Adderbury, about two miles from Banbury, but fo very feldom,
that though I were there often, I could meet with none of them ;
fo that I cannot inform the Reader whether they are of any pecu-
liar kind, different from what have been already defcrib'd,or no :
However, that the Town has not its name from thefe ftones (as
Mr. Ray thinks) I dare confidently avouch, Adderbury being only
the vulgar name : for in the Court Rolls of New College, (and o-
other Inftruments) to which the Lordfiip of the Town belongs,it is
written Eabberbury, perhaps from St. Ebba the tutelar Saint of the
Church.

95. Thebiggeftof the kind that I have yet met with, was at

1 Ittt aflatude Cards Cnnkar'ne aiJ[ecfocapite}f. 11S. "> Johannes Hauhinus de Ltfidiimvariisin fine
Uiji. admirabilisfontu, Bollcnfis/>. 20.

Clifton

Tab v

ad

PaS-

6

i% £&*. 7tt. y, 12 . *jit. 5.

Of OXFO %<£>*$ Hl%E> til

Clifton near Dorcbefier, but found as I was told at Sandjord near #x-
ford, about eleven inches over, and feventeen pounds in weight ;
having tingle ribs only, without knobs or ridges at the back, which
is plain and even, as in Fig. 15. which though little more thari
half fo big as that mention'd by Dr. Merret of 21 inches diame-
ter *, that he faw in the Garden of one Mr. Rawdon, yet I guefs
it mull needs fo extravagantly exceed the biggeft Nautilus or For-
cellane-Jhell, both in latitude and number of turns, that we muft
be forced to feek out another origin fork.

96. Befide, ks being in-laid with a fmall fort of Conchites, fo
placed in its fides, that they have fegments (if I may fo call them)
within the very bulk or body of the Ophiomorphite, feems flatly
to deny its original from the Nautilus, for had this fallen out by
compreffion of their fliells together, their uniform figures muft
needs have been fpoiled, contrary to what appears as well in the
fione as its draught. Which brings me to confider the great Que-
(lion now fo much controverted in the World.

Whether the/tones we find in the forms of Shell-fifti, be Lapides
fui generis, naturally produce d'by fome extraordinary plaftic
virtue latent in the Earth or Quarries where tbey are found?
Or whether they ratber owe their form and figuration to the
{hells of the Fifties they reprefent, brought to the places
where they are now found by a Deluge, Earth-quake, or fome
other fuch means, and there being filled with mud, clay,
and petrifying juices, have in trail of time been turned into
ftones, as we now find them, fiill retaining the fame Jhape
in the whole, with tbe fame lineations, futures, emincn-
cies, cavities, orifices, points, that they had whiV ft tbey
were fliells ?

97. In the handling whereof, though I intend not any per-
emptory decifwn, but a friendly debate ; yet having according to
the willies and advice of thofe Eminent Virtuafi Mr. Hookand
Mr. Ray, made fome confiderable collections of thefe kind of
things, and obferved many particulars and circumfhnces con-
cerning them : Upon mature deliberation, I muft confefs I am
inclined rather to the opinion of Mr. Lifter, that they are Lapides

* Pinax rerumNaturalium, p. 2i<j. There is another about thatbignefs in the Repofitory of the
"Royal Society, given by the Right Honorable Henry Earl o{ Norwich, Earl Marjhal of England.

' fit

Hi The Natural Hi [lory

fui generis', than to theirs, That they arethut formed in an Animal
mold. The latter opinion appearing at prefent to be prefled with
far more, and more infuperable difficulties than the former.

98. For they that hold thefe slones were thus formed in the
fiells of fijbes, muft fuppbfe either with Stenon, that they were

brought hither by the Deluge in the days of Noah ; or by Tome o-
ther more particular, and perhaps National Flood, fuch as the
Ogygean, or Deucalionian in Greece^ than either of which there is
nothing more improbable.

99. Firft, not by the Flood in the days of Noah, becaufe
that (and for very good reafons too) feems not to have been uni-
verfal, andatmoftto have covered only the continent of Jfia°,
and not to have extended it felf to this then uninhabited Weftern
part of the World.. But fuppofe it were tfniverfal, yet it pro-
ceeded from Rain, which (as Mr. Ray wellobferves) would more
likely have carryed fiells down into thefea, than brought any
upwards from it. And if it be further urged, That the fountains
of the great deep were broken up p, and that the Deluge proceeded
partly from a breaking forth and over-flowing of the fea, which
confequently might bring in the fiells : It may be anfwered, that
the over-flowing, either gradually increafed upon the Earth, or
was violent : if gradually, as it is moft likely (for God caufed not
any wind%o pafs over the Earth till the Waters began to affwage q ;
and befides, the Waters that defcended in Rain, in all probabi-
lity at firft ran down to the Sea, and gavefom^check to its floods')
why fhould we think that any Jbetl-fijb, efpecially of the teftace-
cut kind, whereof there are fome that always ftick to rocks, and
others that have no locomotion, as Oysiers, Mufcles, (yc* but what
is given them by the Waters violence, fhould leave their beds in
the Sea at all, and be carried aloft to the tops of Mountains.
And if violent, then fuch a Flood would have indifferently fcat-
tered all forts of fiells over the whole face of the Earth, efpeci-
ally in all valleys ; whereas we find the ft ones that refemble them
mapy times at the tops of hills, and but in few valleys ; and thofe
not fcattered neither indifferently one amongft another, but fof
the moft part thofe of a kind together; and of the fame kind
too, thofe of different lineations together. Thus at Cor nw ell

■ JnProdromo. * Vt'it Scillingfleti Or/g/'w Sacras, lit'. 3- <■<*/+■ pCen.c7.ver.i1. 9 Gen- cap. 8.
ver, 1,

and

Of OXFO%T>~SHI%E. ttj

and Hornton we find only Conchites or Cockle-iloneS, and thofe
flriated (if at all) from fide to fide tranfverfly, as in 7a£. 4. F/gj
7, 8. And fo at Glympon only Cockle- Hones, but lineated the con-
trary way from the commiffure to the rim, as in Fig. 6. of the fame
Tab. On Copley -common we find nothing but Oftracitcs, fuch as
mTab. 4. Fig. 19. And in the Gravel-pits of St. Clements a mix-8
ture of fuch Oyfler-ftones, and (to which 1 believe it will be hard
to adapt zfiell-/ifij the ftone Bekmnites. The Nephiri or Lapis
MegaticmiX. Langley, is a bed of nothing but Cockles as fmall as
peafe - and that at Charlton the fame, Only the Cockles are fom^
what bigger. So that thefe beds of Cockle-ftones (if they muft
needs have been Jhell-fifi) feem rather to have been their breeds
ing places, where they had aboad for fome confiderable time
(especially where we find them of feveral cizes) than brought hi-
ther in the flood in the time of Noah , which remained on the
Earth but forty natural days, too fmall a time for fo many (hell-fifii
fo difperfed, as they muft be prefumed to be by fo violent a mo-
tion , to get together and fequefter themfelves from all o-»
ther company, and fet them down, each fort, in a convenient
ftation.

1 00. And fecondly, that they fhould be brought by any other
flood is altogether as unlikely, fince we have no other floods de-
liver'd down to us, but the Ogygidn and Deucalionian^ which were
reftrained within Greece. But fuppofe all that can be defired by
the adverfe party, that there Was fomtime or other a National
flood here in England, that did for fome hundreds of years cover
the face of the Land, of which there is no Record deliver'd to
pofterity ; yet that it fhould cover the higheft Hills, or if it did,
that it fhould force the Jhells to their tops, which are weighty
and rather affeft the lowcft places, is a conceffion as hard to be
granted, as that the Mountains (where fuch ftones as refemble
them are now found) were heretofore low places and fince raifed
by Earth-quakes ' a thing by no means to be believed of our Nor-
thern parts, where the Earth -quakes we have at any time are fo
inconfiderable, that they fcarce fomtimes are perceived, much
lefsaffrightenus ; unlefswe fhall groundlefly grant, that in the
infancy of the World the Earth fuffered moreconcuffions, and con*
fequently more mutations in its fuperficies, than it has done ever
fince the Records of time.

fi loi. Yet

ii^ The Statural Hijiory

i o i. Yet granting too that in the Primitive Times there were
fuch ftrange Earthquakes, or elfe that there was fome time or o-
ther fuch a Flood, that did cover our highefi bills, and which
might be fo violent, as to bring Jbells out of the great deep, and
place them on the tops of Mountains ; yet that our formed ft ones,
at leaft the moft of them, were notfalhion'd in fuch molds, but
are Lapides fui generis, maybe ftrongly fufpe&ed from the fol-
lowing reafons.

102. Firft, becaufe I have found fome of them that refemble
Jhell-fijh that always ftick to rocks, and cannot well be prefumed

to have come away with the greateft Flood, unlefs fo violent as to
have brought the Rocks too: and fuch is that engraven Tab. 5.
Fig. 7. which whether it beft reprefent the Echinus quintus of
Ariflotle, or fome fort of Lepas or Patella, equally makes for my
purpofe, neither of them leaving the rock, they ftick too, being
Univalves, and having the rock, it felf inftead of the other.

103. Secondly, becaufe there are many Jbells, and other tefta-
ceous and bony fubftances belonging to Fifb, that rauft alfo have
been left behind upon the ebb of fuch a Flood as well as the reft, of
which we have no ftones that refemble them at all. Such are the
bones of If hales, Sea-horfes, and the bones of all thefquammeous
kind ; the greztflells of the Buccina, Murices, Concha Venerts,an<l
Solenes ; the fword of the Xiphias or Sword-fifi, and almoft all
the cruftaceou* kind, fiich as Crabs, Congers, Lobfters,(src. which
laft having locomotion, I (hould much rather expe&ed to have
found petrified on the tops of Mountains, than any of the teftace-
ous kind, and yet of theft we meet the feweft of any.

1 04. Thirdly, becaufe there are many Stones formed indeed
in the manner of Bivalves,istc which yet refemble no fpecies of
fiell-ftfi now to be found, whereof feveral are above -mention'd.
And this is ingenioufly confefs'd by Fabiws Columnar ', though one
of the Adverfaries of this my prefent opinion : Addemus (fays
he) Pe&unculorum imagines, quarum quafdam non nifi lapideas vi-
dimus, of which that he calls his Mytulo-petlunculm rarior Berbe-
roides, is one. If it be faid, that poflibly thefe Species may be
now loft, I (hall leave it to the Reader to judge, whether it be
likely that Providence which took fo much care to fecure the
works of the Creation in Noah's Flood, fhould either then, or

» Acjuatil. <& Terrejlr. oifervat. cap- 21.

fince,

Of OXFORDSHIRE. m

fince, have been fo unmindful of fome fiell-fi.fi (and of ho 6v
ther Animals') astofufferany one ftecies to be loft.

105. Fourthly, becaufe there are feveral formed fiones, that
no body pretends to know whether to refer, as reprefenting nei-
ther Animals or Plants, either in the whole or parts ; fuch as the
Selenites, Jfttoites, and Belemnites ;# which if thus tacitly confeft
to be Lapides fui genem, and formed by fome htentplafiick. power
of the Earth, why might it not as well produce all the reft ? e-
fpecially fince fcarce any of them are reduced to Animals or Plants
without great inconvenience. Thus they that think the etfterkt
to be nothing but the Spina dor/ales, or tail- bones of fifi petrified
(they confifting, 'tis true, for the moil: part of pieces flicking to-*
gether like Vertebra) neither can tell us of what fort of Fifi), nor
give us any reafonable account why the tail-bones of fuch a parti-
cular Fifi (for the Jfieria of all places are Striated alike, and feem
to have had original from the fame Species) (Tiould be thus petrfc
fied, and not the tail-bones as well of fome others ?

106. And they that fanfie the feveral Species of Brontia to be
nothing clfe but the petrified Jh ells of Echini Spatagi, or Briffl;
would be hard put to it to reconcile the different conditions of
that fhell-fijh and thefe ftones : for firft, the Fifi it felf is but
rarely found, •mhayiot $ vatlvtot, fays 4riftoth\ which is alfo con*
firmed by Rondeletiu<s\ whereas the Stones are plentiful enough.
Again, the Echinus Spatagu* has but few briftlcs, aculek parvh ($r
yark fcptws, fays the fame Rondeletiu* u, and thofe, if we may be-
lieve the Cuts of Authors, but diforderly fet ; which how a*
grecable to our Brontia, Tab. 2. and 3. let any man judge. The
firft of them indeed in the grofs Figure, is like the Heriffbns Spa±
tagi of Boccone™ which he faw in Holland, flat like zfrnall cake ;
but he tells us nothing of fuch numberlefs fmall annulets as there
are in our Stones, which if heretofore the places of fo many
hriftles, but ill agree with the defcription of Rondeletim. Befide
thefe of Oxford-fiire, there are feveral other forts that I have
feen in other Counties (hereafter to be reprefented, in cafe this
Ejfay prove acceptable) which I could heartily wifh the Ingenious
Sttno and Boccone^ or any other Curiofo's, for the better clearing
of this great Controverfie, would undertake to parallel (and fo

* UiB. Animalium,lih.^..caf.^. * Detifcibtu, lit. 18. cap. 31. b Loco citato. w Recherches & oh-
(ervdtiont tiaturelles Lettrez6.

P 2 Of

ii 6 The Statural Hi/lory

of other formed flones J with Jhtlls in all parts anfwerable.

107. They that think the Cornua Ammon'n, or Ophiomorphites.
to have been formerly nothing but Porcellane-fiells, feem alfo to
be prerTed with the like difficulties : for either there are feverai
forts of them not known to (I am furenotdefcribed by) Author^

or elfe our flones muft have their formation from a different mold
than their fiells. For fir ft, theftells feem to be extravagantly
broad at the mouth, as defcribed by Rondektiws zndfonflon, and
not to have more than two other fmall turns at moft ; whereas the
turns of the Ophiomorphit's are proportionable to one another,
and in number many times four or five, and fomtimes fix, if we
may believe Aldrovandus x : Of which difference Chioccm y feems
to have been fo well aware in his defcription of the latter part of
the Mufdtum Calceolarium, that he makes the Cornu Ammonis and
Nautilus lapidem to be quite different things, and defcribes the
latter very broad at the greater end, and with but one turn, fom-*
what like indeed to the Porcellane-fiell.

108. Befide, fo far are fome of our English Opbiomorphif s
from ever having been formed by the fiell of the Nautilus, that
at Huntley-Nab in the North-riding of Tork-fiire, they are found
always included in other great round Jiones, not unlike, fays Mr.
Cambden z, to Cannon bullets. And at Whitby, fays Mr. Hay % in
(tones of a lenticular figure, which if formerly they had been the
pells of Nautili, how they fliould become thus included in flones
aifoof -a determinate figure, is a difficulty more infuperable than
any of the former. Add hereunto that Mr, Cambden b, and fince
him Dr. Cbildrey c plainly avouch, that the Ophiomorphif 's ofCain-
fiam, have fome of them heads, and that in this they differ from

thofe of Torkrfiire : Vidimus aiim lapidem bine delatum ferpentis in
ffiram revohti effigie, cujus caput in circumferentia prominuit, extrema
cauda centrum occupante, are the very words of Mr. Cambden.
Which if I find true when I come into Svmerfet-ftire, will give me,
and I doubt not, others fatisfa&ion beyond all exception; for
that the fiells of the Nautili have any fuch matter, no body yet
has, nor will dare to pretend.

1 09. To which alfo add the greatnefi of fome of thefe fiones,
whereof there are fome it feems near two d foot in diameter, far

* Mufieum Metallieum, lib.^. cap.x. 1 MupeumCakeolarium,fcH:.'i).p.if\6- ' Cambden m Tork-Jhire.
» Topograph. Objervat. p. 114.. >> Cambden in Somerjet-fhire- « Britannia Bacimica in Smerjet/htre.
* Dr. Merret's Pinax rtrum natural, pag. 215.*

ex-

t)fOXFO%p^SHl%E. it;

exceeding, fays Mr. Ray e the bulk of any Jhell-fifh now Jiving in
our fias. To which it it be faidthat molt petrifications are made
either by aggregation^ by intrufton or protrufion of parts, which
always increafethe bulk of the fubjeft : It may be anfwered, that
though fuch augmentation muft be allowed indeed in many cafes,
yet fure it did not fo fall out in the petrification of the Nephiri or
CockJe-fioneixLangley, where the fiones are much lefs than moil
Natural^e/Zy.

no. Fifthly, becaufe that even thofe fiones, which fo exaclly
reprefent fome fort offiell-fijb, as Oyfiers, Cockles, (yc. that there
can be no exception upon the account of figure, but that they
might formerly have been fliells indeed ; at fome places are found
with only one/bell, and not the other. Thus in Cowley-common
we meet only with the gibbous, and not the flat (hell of the petri-
fied Oyfier, and fo of the Efcallop -fiones in the Quarries near
Shot-over ; which had they been once the fliells of Oyfiers and
Efcallops, in all probability had fcarce been thus parted.

in. Sixthly, becaufe I can by no means fatisfie my felf, how
it fhould come to pafs, that in cafe thefe ftones had once been
molded in fliells, fome of the fame kind ftiould be found in beds,
as the Conchites at Langley, Charleton, Adderbury, and others,
fcatter'd as at Glympton and Teynton ; and fo the Oftr aches at Shot-
ever and Cowley. Nor how it ftiould fall out, that fome of thefe
Bivalvulars ftiould always be found with their fliells apart, as the
Ofiracites and Fettines : and others always clofed together, as the
Conchites in all places I have yet feen.

ii2. Laftly, becaufe many of thefe formed fiones feem now to
be in fieri, as the Selenites at Shot-over and Hampton-Gay, the
Conchites zt Glympton and Cornwell-, where within one of the clay
Cockles above-mentioned, I found a little one of fione, not ex-
ceeding a vetch in bignefs ) which had they been formed hereto-
fore by Cockje-fijells, in all likelyhood would both either have
been Stone or Clay. Nor can it befaid they were brought hither
by different floods, becaufe they were both found in the fame
bed, one included in the other. Which is all I have to urge for
this part of the Quefiion, but that in the Bifiboprick^ Hildejheim,
between Mjdd and Eimbec, there is a fort of Ochre that forms
it felf in this manner into the ftape of Oyfiers f : And that Mr. Ray

' Topograph. Obfervations,/>. 127. f LacbmaKdro^K^x"? ft&- J. citf. \.

was

ii 8 The Statural Hifiofy

was informed by a perfon of good credit, of a flone of this na-
ture refembling a Cockje-fiell, found in the belly of a Beef, where
in all likelyhood it bred, and (hot into that figure : Which if true,
fays he, there can be no reafon to doubt, but that thofe in the
Quarries and other places arefo generated.

113. But againft this opinion there are feveral confiderable
objeSlions brought by the ingenious Mr. Hock, Steno and
Boccone, which I {hall next faithfully propound to the bed ad-
vantage, and then fee whether they may not more eafily be
folved, than the arguments on the other fide perhaps are like
to be.

114. Firft, That amongft thofe ftones, there are fome with
the perfe&^e//, in figure, colour and fubftance, {ticking to their
furface ; efpecially, fays Mr. HookJi (difcourfing of thefe mat-
ters} thofe Serpentine or Helical ftones were covered with, or re-
tained the fiining or pearl-colour'' d fubftance of the infide of rffhell ,
which fubftance on fome parts of them was exceeding thin, and might
be eafily rubbed off* on other farts it was pretty thick-, and retained a
white coat, or flaky fubftance on the top, jufl like the out fides of fuch
fhells ; fome of them had very large pieces of tbe {hell, very plainly
flicking on to them, which were eafily broken or flaked off by degrees.
Add hereunto fome particulars mention'd by Stenob. 1. That
there was found a Fearl-bearingfiell in Tufcany, a F earl yet flicking
to the {hell. 2. A piece of the great Sea-nacre [pinna marina] in.
which the filkrlih fubftance within the fhell being con fumed, the co-
lour of that fubftance did remain in the earthy matter which had fil-
led the {hell. 3. That about the City of Volaterra, there are many
beds of earth, not ft ony, which do abound with true Cockle-ihells, that
havefuffefd no change at all, and yet they muft needs have lain there
above ycooyears ; whence it is evident, tbattbat part of Tufcany
was of old time cover' d with the Sea : And why then might not as
well all thofe other places where thefe petrified fiells are found ?
4. To which alfo let me add, that at fome places here in Eng-
land, particularly at Cats-grove near Reading, a place fufficiently
remote from the Sea (of which more at large whenl come into
Berk-fiire) they meet with a bed of Oyfter-fiells both flat and gib-
bous, about 1 2 or 14 foot under ground, not at all petrified, all
of them opened, except fome very few, that I fuppofe haveca-

* Micrograph. Objerv. lj. b InTrodromo.

fually

Of OXFORDSHIRE. ny

fually fallen together ; which how they fhould come there with-
out a Deluge, feems a difficulty to moft men not eafily avoid-
ed.

115. To all which it may be anfwefed, fifft in general with
Mr. Lifter'1, that we will eafily believe that along the (hoars of
moft Countries, fuch as are particularly the (hoars of the Britijb
and Mediterranean Seas, there may all manner of Sea~(kells be
found promifcuoufly included in Rocks or Earth, and at good di-
ftances from the Sea, where the grounds are no higher than the
Volaterran hillock.-, which meeting with fuitable petrifying juices,
may either be wholly petrified, or where the juices are not com-
potent, be only metamorpbofdin part, fome of the fielly fubftance
ftill remaining ; or not changed at all, as in the inftances of
Stenoy and perhaps of Mr, Hcok, for he tells us not where he
found thofe femipetrified Hones.

116. But fecondly, Suppofe he found them in the higheft and
moft In-land Counties, fince he tells us not that he found them
in any great plenty, we can eafily alfo admit that fome fmall
quantities of Jhells thrown away after the Inhabitants had eaten
the fijb, may even there be filled with mud and petrifying juices,
and fo turned either in the whole or part into ftone.

117. And thirdly, provided it be near a great Town or City,
either now flourifhing, or that did fo heretofore, and hath for-
merly been the feat of much aftion ; it may be allowed alfo that
fome quantities of pells may be found, either perfectly or but
imperfedtly petrified, or that have fuffer'd no change at all : which
helps me to a falvo for my own Objection taken from the bed or
true Oyjler-Jhells found near Reading, it having been a Town of
very great aftion during the Invafions of the Danes, who cutting
a deep trench crofs between the Kennet and Thames, and inclofmg
themfelves as it were in an I/land, held it againft King Ethelred,
and Alfred his Brother k a confiderable time ; from whence, in
all probability, the Saxons having removed their Cattle and other
provifions before the Danes arrival, 'tis likely that they might be
ftpplyed from their Navy with Oyflers, which during the time of
the aboad of the Army on Land, might be a very fuitable employ-
ment for it : Which conjefture, if allowed, there is nothing more

1 Vhilofifh. Tranfatt. Hum. 76. * Vid. Hen. Huntingdon, lib. $. & Ajjerium Menrvtn. de rebui gejik
JElfredi.

re-

lib The Natural Hi/lory

required to make out the poflibility of the bed of Oyfters coming
thither without a Deluge, but that Cats-grove was the place ap-
pointed for the Armies repaft.

1 1 8. Secondly, Ihztthefe formed ftones are many of them in
allrefpedts like the Xiv'mg fiell-fifi ; thus fays Boccone, the Her if
fens Spatagi of Jlone {, the Cornua Ammonh or Nautili lapides rn, have
the very marks, characters, eminencies, cavities, and all other
parts alike, with the true living Nautili, and Heriffons /patagi, and
Briffi of Imperato, and Rondelet, which proves, fays he, the body
changed to have been the very fame thing, with that which k living.
But 1 muft tell him, it do's it but very weakly, all arguments
drawn a fimilitudine being the moft inefficacious of all others,
fuch rather illuftrating than proving , rather perfwading than
compelling an adverfaries affent i For how many hundred things
are there in the World, that have fome refemblance of one another,
which no body will offer to think were ever the fame, and parti-
cularly amongft fome other formed fiones hereafter to be mention-
ed. Such are the ftones Otites, ox Auricular es, feveral forts of
Cardites, Lapides Mammillares, Hyfterolithos, ipc. which though
they as exactly refemble thofe parts of Men from whence they
have their names, as any Concbites or Echinites dothofefiell-fft ;
yet no Man that lever heard of, fo much as dreamed thatthefe
were ever the real parts of Men, in procefs of time thus turned
into Hone. As well might we fay, that our Kettering-ftone in
Northamptonshire here in England , was once nothing elfe but
the fpawn of Lobfters ; than which, that I know of, there is no-
thing more like.

119. But fhould it be granted that thefe ftone Herifons fyatagi
were fomtime real fiell-fijh, as reafonably enough perhaps we
may, they being found at Malta, as you come into the Port over-
againft St. Erme n, yet this by no means would conclude that all
others of the form muft needs be fo, that are attended with much
different, and indeed (in refpeel: of having once been fiells) in-
explicable circumftances.

1 20. Thirdly and laftly, That itfeems quite contrary to the infir-
nite prudence of Nature, which is obfervable in all its works and
productions, to defign every thing to a determinate end, and for the
attaining that end, makes ufe of fuch ways as are (as far as the know-

» "Rtchmhes ^ obftrvat. Naturtllts, Lettrt 26. ■ Libro citato, Lettre a8. ° Libro citato, Lettre $6-

ledge

Of OXFORDSHIRE, ni

ledge of man ha* yet been able to reach) altogether confonant and a-
greeableto mans reafon, and of no way or means that doth ccntraditt^
or k contrary to human ratiocination : Whence it has been a general
obfervation and Maxim, that Nature doth nothing in vain. h funis
Ifiy contrary to that great wifdom of Nature, that thefe Jnetilyjbaped
bodies fljould have all thofe curious figures and contrivances f which
many of them are adorned and contrived with J generated or wrought
by a plaftic virtue, fir no higher end than only to exhibit a form °.

i2i. To which I anfwer, that Nature herein afts neither con-
trary to her own prudence, human ratiocination, or in vain, it be-
ing the wifdo'm and goodnefs of the Supreme Nature, by the
Scbool-men called Naturans, that governs and direcls the Natura
naturata here below, to beautine the World with thefe varieties ;
which I take to be the end of fuch productions as well as of mofl
Flowers, fuch as Tulips, Anemones, isc. of w'hich we know as lit-
tle ufe as of formed Hones. Nay, perhaps there may proportion-
ably, number for number, be as many of them of Medicinal or
other ufe, fuch as Selenites, Belemnites, Conchites, Lapitjudaicus,
isre. as there are of Plants : So that unlefs we may fay alfo
(which I guefs no body will) that thefe are produced contrary
to the great wifdom of Nature, we muft not ofjlones.

122. And thus I have given the grounds of my prefent opinion,
which has not been taken up out of humor or contradiclion, with
intent only to affront other worthy Authors modeft conjectures,
but rather friendly to excite them, or any others, to endeavor col-
lections of ' fhell-fift), and parts of other Animals, that may an-
fwer fuch formed Hones as are here already, or may hereafter be
produced : Which when ever I find done, and the reafons alle-
gcd folidly anfwered, I fhall be ready with acknowledgment to
retraft my opinion, which I am not fo in love with, but for the
fake of Truth I can chearfully caft off without the leaft relu-
ftancy.

123. However, in the meantime fince no doubt it will be ex-
pected, upon fo deliberate rejeftion of Animal molds, thatfome
further and more particular account fhould be given of the Pla-
flic virtue, or whatever elfe it is, thateffefts thefe ftapes : I fhall

briefly fet down alfo my prefent thoughts concerning it, which
yet I intend not my felf (much lefs defire the Reader) to em-

• Mr.Hovkf Micrographkt, Obfcrv- 1/.

(L kiaee,

Hi The Statural Hijlorj

brace, any further then 1 (hall find them agreeable to future ex-
perience.

1 24. That Salts are the principal Ingredients onflows, I think
has fofufficiently been noted already, that to »endeavor any fur-
ther evidence of the thing, would be aflum agere in me, and lofs
of time to the Reader : And if of flows in general, much ra-
ther fure of formed ones, it being the undoubted prerogative of
the Saline Principle to give Bodies their figure, as well as folidity
and duration : No other principle that we yet know of naturally
(hooting into figures, . each peculiar to their own kind, but falts ;
thus Nitre always shoots into Pyramids, fait Marine into Cubes,
Alum into ofto, and Sal Armoniac into Hexaedrums , and other
mixt Jalts into as mixt figures.

125. Of thefe fpontaneous inclinations of falts, each pecu-
liar to its kind, we have further evidence in the Cbymical Anato-
my of Animals, particularly in the volatile fait of Harts-horn,
which in the beginning of its afcent is always {een branched in
the head of the Cucurbit like the natural Horn. And we were
told the laft Term by our very Ingenious and Learned Sidleyan-
Profeffor * here in Oxon, That the fait of Vipers afcends in like
manner, and shoots into Jbapes fomwhatlike thofe Animals, pla-
ced orderly in the gfofl. Thus in congelations which are all
wrought by adventitious falts, we frequently find curious ramifi-
cations, as on Glafs-windows in winter, and the figur'd flakes
offhow ; of which Mr. HookJ obferved above an hundred feveral
forts, yet all of them branched as we paint fiars, with fix prin-
cipal Radii of equal length, shape, and make, iffuing from a cen-
ter where they are all joined in angles of 60 degrtes.

126. What fait it (Tiould be that gives this figure, though it be
hard to determin, yet certainly it muft not be a much different
one from that which gives form to our Aflroites and Afleri*,wheie~
of, though the latter have but five points, and therefore making
angles where they are joy ned at the center of 72 degrees ; yet the
Affroites both in tnezgp Rilievo and Intagli, as in Tab. 2. have ma-
ny more. Perhaps there may be fomthing of an Antimonial fait
that may determin Bodies to this $~larry figure, as no queftion it
do's in the Regulut, and the Caput mortuum of the Cinnabar of An-
timony. To luch a fait may alio be referr'd our BrontU or Om-

• Dr. Tbo- MiUington Fellow of All Souls Coll. p Mr. Hioit Micrograph Obferv- 14. Schem. 8.

hridt,

OfOXFO^V-Stil^E. Hi

hide, arid all the Echinites, fome whereof are plainly, all in fome
meziuYefiellatedzt the top.

i 27. The Belemnites which are all Striated from a Centtfi yet
in the whole afleft a pyramidal form ; feem to have fom what alfo
of an Antimcnial, but a more prevalent quantity of a nitrcm

fah.

128. theConchites, Pe£linites,i\nd Oftracites, whether tranf-
verily firiated, or from the commijfures to the hot, feem to own
their origin to urinous falts, which shoot likewife from a Center
(as fuppofefrom the hinges of thefe fiones*) but generally are moft:
extended to one fide, as may be feen in the branched figure form-
ed on the furface of urine by freezing, in Mr. Hooks Micrography"1 5
whofey?ri<£ not obtaining much above the quadrant of a circle,
whatever other difference there may be, in this refpecl at lead is
agreeable to our fiones.

129. To which add the Ophiomorphifs, or Corn u a Ammonite
mod probably formed either by two falts shooting different ways,
which by thwarting one another make a helical figure, juft as two'
Oppofite winds or Waters make a Turbo ; or elfe by fome fimple,
yet Unknown fait, that afters fuch a figure: perhaps the items
and branchings bended in a moft excellent and regular order, like
the ribs of fome of our Ophiomorphit's, obferved by Mr. Hook.*
in Regulvs Martk flellatut, might not a little conduce to the clear-
ing this matter.

130. How near I am to the mark inthefe former Conjectures, I
dare not too temerarioufly refolve : But as to the formation of
the Rkomboideal Selenites,Tab. i.Fig. 1. with a little mote con-
fidence I fhall venture to pronounce it, to come from a Tartareou*
fait in the Earth ; having obferved in the Honorable Kr.BoyPs

way of preparing Tartarized Spirit of Winer, that the Calx of
Tartar being fated with the phlegm atick. part of the Spirit, and
diflblved by the heat ; fetto cool, fomtimes (hoots (I dare noE
fay always) exa&ly into fuch Rhomboideal figures made up of
plates, and the whole Rhomboids fomtimes ifluing out of one an-
other, juft as we find the Selenites often do.

1 3 i . More might have been added concerning fome othef
formed 'y?owj- hereafter to be mention'd ; but I have now only time
to hint my Hypcthefis, which I fuppofe may be fufficiently done

s li.Jan. * Mkrographiaolifcrv.i^ f EfTay i. of the u'nfuccefsfulnefs of Experiments.

Q 2 hi

n^ The Statural Hiflory

in the afore-going inftances ; not intending to profecute it fur-
ther till I have had more experience, which this my prefent at-
tempt ferves to shew the World is yet but fmall. And therefore
I haften on to therefidue of the formed flows, which according to
my method laid down in the beginning of this Chapter (having
done with all fuch as relate to the waters) arethofe thatrefemble
any terrestrial bodies ; andamongft them, firft of fuch as belong
to the vegetable Kingdom.

132. Whereof there are fome that reprefent whole Plants,
and fuch is the Fungites or Tuberoides, found fomwhere in the
Chiltern about Stoke.n-Church-hill, and engraven Tab. 6. Fig. 1.
of a cinereous colour without, but a blackFlint within, and live-
ly reprefenting one of the fungi letbales non efculenti.

133. Others there are that refemble only the parts of Plants?
and fuclris that depifted Tab. 6. Fig. 1. like zBryony-root broken
off' tranfverfly, and fhewing the fibrilldt from the center to the
circumference, with the othery?n'<€ defcending down the fides, and
the annulary divifions ; and all thefe in a ffone fo exactly of the co-
lour of a Bryony-root, that it would be hard to diftinguifh it, were
it not for the weight. This was found in the Quarry-pits of rub-
ble ftone near Shot-over hill. *

134. And others there are again like the Fruits of 'Trees, as in
Tab. 6. Fig. 3, and 4. which in general may be called Lapidespy-
riformes, whereof the firft is a blach^flint found fomwhere near
Bix brand, above eleven inches round, and in bignefs and form
refembling the Bell or King-pear: The other a fort of Pebble?
whitifh without, and yellow within (as manifeftly appears at the
place of the £?rig) in the shape of a Warden-pear, found in the
Parish of U^aterSiock, by the Learned and Ingenious Sir George
Croke, fomwhere near his houfe.

135. In the Parish of Whitchurch not far from Hardwickrhoufc,
I found a hard ftone in the form of an Apricock., with the Rimula
or cleft from the pedicle to theatre, juft as in the true plum, and
as depi&ed Tab. 6. Fig. 5. And in the Quarries of rubble ftone
near Shotover-hill, I met with a kind of ffar, shot exactly in-
to protuberances (and in the whole bulk) like a Mulberry, as in
Fig. 6.

136. On the Cbiltern-K\\\s near to Sherbourn, I found a white
Flint, with another fct in it, in the form of a Luca Olive, as in

Fig. j.

ofOXFOtRp-SHI%E. 115

Fig. 7. To which may be added, the Lapides Judaki or Oxford-
fiire, which though of a much more (lender and longer figure
than any fort of Olive, yet becaufe in other Countries they are
found in that shape, and for that very reafon called fomtimes Py-
renes, and treated on by Authors s amongft flones relating to the*
fruits of Trees, I shall not change their place. We find them
hereof different cizes, from abcut two inches in length and an
inch and half in circuit, downwards to an inch andlefs in length,
and not much above half an inch round : Moft of them have a
kind of pedicle, from which they feem to have had their growth,
and are ridged and channelled the whole length of the Jlone0 the
ridges be'mgpurled with fmall knots, fet in the Quincunx order, as
in Tab. 6. Fig. 8. As to their texture, 1 find it to be very curious,
made up of Lamella or little thin plates, not unlike the flone Se-
lenites ; only thefe are opaque, and the whole bulk of the flone
indeed much different. The Plates, as in the Selenites, feem to
be made up of firings, which in moft of them run three, but in
fome but two ways ; according to the running of thefe firings
the slones willeafily cleave, but generally fome one way rather
than any other, which moft commonly is agreeable to the helical
running of the ridges of knots or furrows between . them, yet all
ways obliquely to the Axis of the ftone, as is perfectly shewn,
Tab. 6. Fig. 9. which reprefents the flone broken the three fe-
veral ways.

137. By Authors they are faid to be of different Sexes, the
leffer and rounder of the feminine, and the greater and longer of
the mafculine gender ; whereof the former is good againft the
flone in the bladder, and the latter againft it in the kidneys, for

which reafons they are fomtimes by Authors called Eurrhei, and
Tecolithi. The greater and longer, fays Gefner ' are rarely found,
but that muft be reftrained to his own Country ; for here in Ox-
ford-Jhire, and particularly in the Quarries of rubble ftone near
Shotover-h\\\, we have plenty of them.

138. There is another fort of them alfo at the fame place,
much more (lender than the reft, plain and fmooth, without ei-
ther ridges or channels, mention'd by Cafalpinus u ; which (and
not the Laphjudaicwi) by him is faid to be the true Tecolithm of

f Gefner it Figum Labium, cap. <j- « Hem loco citato. ■» Andreas Oralpinus ie Metallicis, lib.i-

Pliny™,

n6 The 5\(jttt4ral Hijlory

Pliny w, that breaks and expels the ilone^ if the Patient do but
lick it. Of colour. without, it is a whitifh yellow, and breaks
into Chining white plates oblikely to the axis of the (lone, like the
former, but whether made up of threds running diifering ways,
I could not afford to try, having but one of the kind ; which
was found and given me, befide feveral other matters of the
fame nature, by my very good Friend Edward Tjfon A. M. an
ingenious and induftrious fearcher into the works of Nature and
Arts.

139. Hither alfomuft be referr'd the frefh water Adarce made
at the Cafcadt at Sommerton, which though but a meer incrujlation,
and formed not of it felf, but ad formam alterius, viz. of the
grafs about which it gachers, and therefore none of the Litbo-
pbyta ; yet it having fome form, though but accidental, I have
thought rather fit to mifplace ithere,than omit to (hew the Read-
er how prettily the graft is fhesthed with flone, which is accu-
rately expreffed by Fig. 10,

140. Thus having done with the Lapides <putd«^$, T proceed
to the ffones refembling Animals, either in the whole or parts;
amongft which, fome there are that feem to have been reptils pe-
trified, which poffibly en6ugh coming to the places where they
are now found in flone without the difficulties of a flood, may be
true enough too : though I know fome places in other Counties,
where there are Cocbleomorpbit's ox [nail jl ones fo thick, that they
feem unlikely to have ever been the [foils of that Animal. Jn
Oxfird-ftire indeed I have met with but two, one at Teyntcn, and
another in the rubble Quarries near Sbotover-h\\\, both which be-
ing of the fame ffiape, colour and bignefs, are reprefented toge-
ther under Fig 1 1 .

141. At the fame rubble Quarries we find alfo the Lapides ver->
miculares, or worm-Jlones of two forts, whereof one is of a whi-
tifh yellow colour, not hollow within, and as far as I could per-
ceive of the fame texture with the rubble /lone it felf; fome of
them are of the bignefs of a fmall quill, and he in the rock in mezjo
rilievo irregularly contorted, much after the manner of the Ver*
micchiara, or Alcycnio Milefw oi~F err ante lmperato *, as in Tab, 6.
Fig. 13. whereas the other fort lies in the very body of the

fione-> of a white colour , and regularly curled up like the

w Nat. HH. lib. 37. cap. 10. * DeU'lTi/t. Naturale, lib. 27. cap. 8-

fpring

Of OXFO %<D~SHl%Mi «#

fpring of a Watch* as in Fig. i2<

142. After thofe that concern Reptih, corhe we next to; form-
ed ftones that refemble the parts of four footed beafts, whereof we
meet with one fort in the Quarries at Heddington, fet in the body
of the (lone, the moft like to the head of a Horfe of any thing I
can think of; having the ears, and creft of the mane appearing
between them, the places of the eyes fui'tably prominent, and the
reft of the face entire, only the mouth and noftrih are "abfent in
them all, as in Tab.j. Fig.i. Thefe are plentifully enough found,
and of divers cizes, yet not mention'd that I know of by any
Author, wherefore I have taken the boldnefs to fit them with a
name, and in imitation of other Authors (in the like cafe) flia.ll
call them Hippocephaloides.

143. At Heddington in the fame Quarry there are plenty of
Cardites, ox ftones in the forms of hearts, but by Authors, becaufe
of their bignefs, generally called Bucardites-, or ftones like Bulls
hearts. Thefe at Heddington are all of them of a whitifli yellow
colour, fmooth arid plain, asin Tab; ^, Fig. 2. but there are o-
thers found about Brife-Norton and Witney, that feem to be ribbed
on each fide, as in Fig- 3. Of thefe I had one fent me by my
worthy Friend Robert Ferrot Efq; from North- Leigh, ten inches
round, and near two pounds in weight, which is the biggeft of
the'kind that I ever yet faw, except one that I found at Shetfordj
going up a little hill eaft- ward of the town, about 20 pounds in
weight, though broken half away, curioufly reticulated with a
white-fpar-colour'd /tone, as in Tab. 7. Fig, 4. which being
much too heavy for my Horfe-portage, was afterward upon -my
direction, fetch'd away by that miracle of Ingenuity Sir Anthony
Cope, fince whofe deceafe it is come I fuppofe into the hands of
his equally ingenious Brother Sir John Cope, the Heir of his Vir-
tues as well as Eftate.

1 44. To thefe add the Orchites-, or Lapides tefticulares, that lie
at the foot of Shotover-h\\\, which though indeed they extrava-
gantly exceed thofe parts as well of beafts as men, yet of the tvvo
1 rather thought fit to place them here : Moft of them lie in pairs
coupled together, as in Tab. 7, Fig. 6. and are called Diorchites;
but fomtimes (as it alfo falls out in monftrous Animals) there are
three of them found together, and then we call them TriorchiteSj
whereof there are two or three on the foot of the fame Hill of fo

Vaft*

Il8 The Statural Hi/lory

vaft a bignefs,that I guefs they cannot be lefs than a tun in weighti
I am fure that which lies higheft on the Hill, and is here repre-
fented Fig.$ . is fo much at the leaft. Of thefe all that Weftern
fide of the Hill feems to be compofed, if one may guefs by their
appearance above the ground on each hand the way ; but how
they ihould come there, or with what ^nbnal-mo\d formed (if
not by fome yeaAhrplafiic power in the earth") 1 leave to the fa-
vorers of that opinion to find.

145. Hither alfo I muft refer for the very fame reafon, a fort of
ftone found in the Quarries of rubble ftone near Shotover, com-
pofed as it were of filaments like hair, which yet muft not be the
Polythrix of Pliny x becaufe nor greenifh, nor the Bofirychites of
Zoroaftres, or the Corfoides of the fame Pliny1, becaufe neither
gray nor long. However, let it be a Thrichites (though the word
be differently ufed by Diofeoridesz) and the rather placed here,be-
caufe moft like the fhort hair of beajls : Of colour it is yello wifti,
and each hair (as they appear in the Micro/cope') feems tohe firiated
and channelled its whole length ; but to the naked eye they (hew
themfelves only in columns, which at certain diftances are all joint-
ed, as in Fig. 7.

146- Befide the ftones reprefenting the parts of the Viviparous,
I have met with one that feems to belong to the oviparous Quadru-
pedes, and that is a Bufonites or Toad-Hone, which perhaps may
better deferve its name, than any yet mention'd by other Authors.
For by my Bufonites or Toad-fione, I intend not that fhining po-
\ift\'d fione, firft demonftrated by the Ingenious and Learned Dr.
Merret , in His Majefiies prefence, to be nothing elfe but the
jaw-tooth or grinder of the Lupus marinus, and fo confeft to be
by the Gold-fmiths that fold them. But a certain reddifh liver-
colour'd real y?o/ze,indeed of the form of thofe of the Sharkrfifi?
i. e* like the fegment of nfphere, convex at the top, and concave
underneath, as in Tab. 7. Fig. 8. but found amongft the Gravel
in Magdalen Coll. Walks : and may be fo called (as I prefume the
others are) from fome refemblance they have to the figure of a
Toads skull, not that there comes any fuch thing out of a vexed
toads head, as is commonly and no lefs fabuloufly reported.

147. Ihejlones that refcmble the parts of Men being next to
be confider'd, I fhall begin with thofe that have relation to the

■ Nat Hi ft. /it. 17. cap. 19. 1 idem loco titato. * Lii. 5 cap. 1 14,

ktad*

Of OXFORDSHIRE. n9

head, and fo clefcend in order to the lower parts •■ According to
which method^ the firft that prefents it felf is one of the BrontU^
whofe upper part was defcribed before, feft. 33. of this Chapter*,
where I had alfo (hewn its bafis, but that it fomwhat refembles
part of the lynl<pa,*.or, or bafis of a Mans brain, yet included with-
in its dura Meninx, with the feveral^irj of nerves cut afunder as
they come through it, according as the brain is prepared and in-
verted in Dr. Willis new way of differing it: Befide the
exit of the proce/Tm Mammillares, and feveral jtoir.? of nerves, it has
a fair refemblance of the Cerebellum at a a, 2nd of the Medulla
oblongata at b b, as is plainly reprefented in Tab. 7. Fig. 9. This
was found, asabove-faid, in the Chiltern Country, and much bet-
ter dcferves the name of Encephaloides, than any defcribed by Al-
drovanduth, or others.

1 48. Add hereunto another fort of Jlone, found in the rubble
Quarry near Shotover-hWl, lively reprefenting the Olfattory nerves
or par primum, entire and whole, and not cut off Of thefc there
are many to be found in thek pits of a yellowifh colour, fmooth
without, and I think all of them (for I have broke feveral) hoU
low within,asin7d£. J. Fig. 10.

149. I have alfo 2 Jlone (not unlike 2, pebble*) found fom where
in the gravel near the City of Oxford, of an oval figure, and for
the greateft part of a reddifli colour ; but at one end diftin-
guifh'd, firft with a circle of white, within which is a Zone of
the proper colour of the jlone, and then a round pupilla of white^
in the whole refembling the figure of an Eye obfcured by a Cata-
rafi, as in Tab. 7. Fig. n. This 1 fhould have taken fortheftone
called Beli Oculus, but that Poetiws c exprefly makes the body of
that toleof a white colour : The neareft it comes to any yet
defcribed, is the Leucophthalmm of Pliny, which he plainly fays
is of a reddifh colour, in which yet it carryeth the form of an
Eye both for white and black d ; And fo do's ours, only it wants
the black Pupilla, which we muft fuppofe to be covered by a Ca-
taraft. However, it may pafs for an Ophthalmites, or fome fort
cf Eye-done : whence I proceed to fome others, in shape alfo of
another of our fenfes Organs.

•> Mufawn MetaUieum, lit. 4. c- \. fag. 477. c Boetiuf deBoot, de lapid. & gem. lit- 2. (• 99. * Nai.
Hifi. lit. 37. cap. 10. d Vid. Era/mi Colloquium cui Tit. Peregrinatio Religionit ergo.

R 1^0. Which

ip The Statural Hijlory

150. Which by reafon they fo well refemble the Ears of a Mdn,
though much lefs, asm Tab. 7. Fig. 12. I have made bold to
call them Otites, or Auriculares : Of which we have plenty in the
rubble Quarries near Shotover, in the banks of the High-ways
North of Fulbr ookChmch ; but the mod I faw any where yet, are
in a bank near a firing rifing at Sommerton Towns end, Eaftward
from the Church, in the Lerdfiip of the Worfhipful Richard Fer-
mor Efq?* whofe many ingenious Contrivances about his Houfe,
befide other afliftances he readily afforded me, have eminently
contributed to this Hiftory, as will more abundantly appear in the
Chapter of Arts.

151. From theVpper, I defcend next to fuch formed ftones as
refemble any of the parts of the middle Ventricle-, or Thorax'.
whereof I met with fome on Stokgn-Church Hill., of a Flinty fub-
ftance, ftrangely like to human Paps, or Duggs ; having not only
the Mamma, but Papilla too, furrounded by an Areola, and ftud-
ded withfmall protuberances, as in Tab. 7, Fig. ult. and there-
fore well deferving the name of Mammillares : than which yet I
had once a much better pattern,unhappily loft in the portage, be-
twixt my Chamber and the Gravers.

152. And if we look further into the inner parts, I have ifiont
that fo exquifitely reprefents the Heart of a Man, as \nTab. 8.
Fig. 1 . that at, and near the bafis, there remains the trunck of the
defcending part of the Vena Cava at a, the afcending portion of
the Vena Cava ztb ^ and from the left Ventricle the trunck of the
Arteria magna, tending upwards at c, and a portion of the fame
Artery tending downwards at d. This wasalfo found on the
Hills near Stolon-Church-, being a whitifti kind of Flint, and per-
haps may merit the name of Anthropocardites. Whereunto add
another found in the Gravel near Oxford, by my ingenious Friend
John Banisler M. A. of Magdalen College, which though not fo
exaftly of the shape of a Heart as the former, yet becaufe ftellated
all over from the bafis to the mucro, as in Fig. 2. 1 thought its
admittance would not be ungrateful to the Reader.

153. Other/otftt there are alfo inlikenefs of fome parts of the
Abdomen or loweft Ventricle ; fuch are the slones, Vidymoides, found
in the Quarries of rubble ftone near Shotover-hil], having upon
it both the rugofity, and future of the Scrotum, And Phalloides,
which 1 met with near the Wind-mill at Nettlebed, perfectly re-

prefenting.

1AKVII

pag:^'

Of OXFO%V~SHI%E. 131

preferring the glans and pr<eputium penhhumani ; but without
any fr&num faftened to the urethra ; Of which but of modefty
I have given no fculptures.

154. To thefe add another 'ft one which we may call LaphKit*
phriticns, not from any likenefs either in colour or effeft to the
whitijh green Jioneukd in diftempers of the Kidneys (though the
fignature it carries might perfwade a tryal) but from the colour
and figure it has of the Kidney of an Animal, with a trunck. of
one of the Vreters defcending from the hollow of it, as in Tab. 8.
Fig.^. This fione was lent me by the Reverend and univerfally
Learned Dr. Ralph Bathutft , Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, and
Veanof Wells, one of the moft cordial Encouragers of this de-*
fign ; who found it hanging to an Oyfter by that part which repre-
Tents the Vreter, which was then fo foft that he eafily cut it a~
way with his knife ; but within lefs than an hour (like the Gorgo->
nia of Pliny *) it grew as hard as the reft of the ftone, which I
guefs may be equal to that of a Pebble : preferving, I juppofe, its
native foftnefs whil'ft it enjoyed the faltfieams in the heap of
Oyfters, and not hardning .till expofed to the purer Air ; which
evidently fhews (though' the opinion be exploded of Coral)
that there are indeed fome other Sea things, foft under water, or
whil'ft they enjoy the fteams of it, that as foon as expofed to the
freiher Air, become prefently fionts.

155. Next the ftones that relate to either of the three Ventrfa
cles, come we next tofuch as concern the Artws, or other mem*
hers of the body : Amongft which, I have one dug out of a Quar-
ry in the Parifti of Cornwell, and given me by the ingenious Sir
Thomas Ptnnyilon, that has exactly the figure of the lowermoft
part of the thigh-hcne of a Man, or at leaft of fome other Ani-
mal, with the capita femorh inferiora, between which are the an-
terior (hid behind the fculpture') and the larger pofterior finws, the
feat of the ftrong ligament that rifes out of the thigh, and that
gives fafe paflage to the veffels defcending into the leg : And a lit-
tle above the finws, where it feems to have been broken oflr^ fhew^
ing.the marrow within of a (Lining (par-like fubftance , of its
true colour and figure, in the hollow of the bone, as in Tab. 8^
Fig. 4. In compafs near the capita femora juft two foot, and at
the top above the finws (where the thigh-bone is as fmallas any

* Nat. Hift.lib. 37. cap. 10.

R 2 where)

l}l The Statural Hi/lory

where) about 15 inches ; in weight, though reprefenting fofhort
a part of the thigh-bone, almoft 20 pounds.

156. Which are dimenfions, and a might, fo much exceeding
the ordinary courfe of nature, that by Agricola", C<efalpinu4f,
and Kircher g, fachftones have been rather thought to be formed
either in hollows of Rocks cafually of this figure, and filled with
materials fit for petrification; or by fome other fportive plafiic
power of the Earth, than ever to have been real hones, now petri-
fied.

157. And that indeed there are fiones thus naturally fafhion-
ed, muft by no means be doubted, fince no queftion theftony
teeth of which there are Cart-loads to be had in a Cave near Pa-
lermo, befide others in the shape of leg and thigh-bones, and of
the Vertebrae of the back, are no others than fuchh. None of
them, as the judicious Charles Marquefs of Ventimiglia well ob-
ferved, having any figns ofbollownefs for the place of the marrow?
muchlefsof the marrow it felf.

158. Which has fully convinced me that this ftone of ours was
not fo produced, it having thofe ftgns exquifitly expreffed ; but
muft have been a real bone, now petrified, and therefore indeed
not properly belonging to this place. However, it being now
a ftone, and not coming to my hands whilft I was treating of pe-
trifications, I have rather thought fit to throw my felf upon the
Readers candour , and mif-place it here , as I did the Adarce,
than altogether to omit fo confiderable an inftance.

159. But againftthis opinion of its having been once a real
bone, there lies a confiderable objection, vi^. that it will be hard
to find an Animal proportionable to it, both Horfes and Oxen fal-
ling much short of it. To which if it be anfwer'd, that it may
be much increafed in the petrification ; it may again be reply ed,
that though indeed there be an augment in tome petrifications, yet
that it is not fo mall: for though in ail petrifications there be an
ingrefs of fleams and particles that were not there before, and
therefore either a ceffion of fome other body required, or a ne-
ceffary augmentation ; yet that thofe petrifying fleams are fom-
times fo thin and fine, that they require only the cefficn of fome
Airy or JEthereal atoms contained before in the porous parts of

e DeNaturatoflt/ium.liij. t De MetttUtcisJii.i.caf.ifi. g Kircheri Mundus fubterrm. lib.%.feil.
3. cap. 4. difq- »• ■ Idem loco citato, dijq. i .

the'

the body to be changed, as indeed ic appears to have been in this
in fiance of oux petrified bone : for with it was found a toothy de-
pi fted Fig. 5. in its ex aft bignefs, weighing two ounces and *,
not at all petrified but perfeft bone ftill, rather exceeding than any
thing fhort of it in proportion ; whence it muft neceffarily be con-
cluded, that there could be but little if any augmentation at

all.

1 60. And if it be afked how it fhould come to pais that the
thigh-bone fhould be petrified, and not the tooth, it may be an-
fwered, and that experimentally too, that teeth admit not fo ea-
fjly of any change or petrification, becaufe they are much more
clofely compared fubfiances than any other bones ; whence 'tis,
that we fo often find them found and good, when all other bones
are confumed. Thus at Bathendown, or Bannerdown (the Mons
Badonicut of Nenniui) not far from Bath in Somerfet-Jhire, there
have been Cap fulls of teeth picked up by fuch as followed the
Plough ', but we are told of no other bones found there. And
we are informed by Fazellu<sy in his Hiftory of Sicily, that of
two Giants Sceletons, one found by Johannes a brachih fortibws, in
the Field Gibilo, a mile South of the Town Mazarenum, now
Mazara , and the other by Faults Leontinut, not far from Paler-
mo, that when they came to be touched, all fell into duft but the
denies molares, or the greater teeth called the Grinders k, fufti-
cient Arguments (I had almoft faid) of their unalterable ftate*

161. Since then it feems to be manifeft, that thecizeof the
bone has been fcarce alter'd in its petrification : It remains, that
it muft havebelong'd to fome greater Animal than either an Ox or
Horfe ; and if fo (fay almoft all other Authors in the like cafe) in
probability it muft have been the bone of fome Elephant brought
hither during the Government of the Romans in Britan : But this
opinion too lies under fo great difficulties, that it can hardly be
admitted ; which are briefly thefe.

162. Firft, That we do not find that any of the Roman Au-
thors, who elfewhere are large enough in defcribing the Ele-
phants behavior in fight, and how terrible they were to fome of
the Trans-Alpine Nations, mention any fuch matter in any of
their Expeditions -into Britan* Dion1, 'tis true, fays, That Clou*

' SiWsAnnals, intheLifeof KingArtbw. v Tho. Fazdli dere6tuSicufoDtea*t.prieru,Ij6i.ejp-6,
* Dionis Caffii Rom. Hiji. lib. 60.

dl

IWS

134. The Natural Biflory

dint C<efar, when he was called to the afliftance of the Proetor
Aulm Plautiut, fore preffed by the Britans, then revenging the
death of their flain Prince Togodumnws, amongft other prepara-
tions, gathered together his Elephants, tff <n aMw, $ EAepaVw
«>e;ct«/ft'Agx'n)J are his very words. But Suetonius in his life,
where he is very particular concerning this "Expedition into Bri-
tan, mentions no fuch matter ; nor indeed doth Dion fay, that
he brought them hither with him, only that be gather'd them to-
gether in order to it. But they both agree in this, that he met
with fuch ftormsin his intended paffagc by Sea thither, that he
was forced to put in at Marfeilles, and march by Land quite
through France to Gejforiacum, now fuppofed to be Boulogne,
from whence 'tis true he paffed over to Britan. But f o fwift was
his motion in this Expedition, that they alfo both agree, that he
was returned to Rome again within fix months, a time fcarce a-
greeable with the motion of fo unwildy Creatures as Elephants ;
which in all likelyhood were therefore left behind at Marfeilles,
becaufe hindered by the weather of their Sea portage, and ne-
ver tranfported into Britan at all. Nor find I in other Authors,
that it was ever after attempted. One there was, 'tis true, fent
hither as a prefent by St. Lewis the 9th, King of France, to King
Henry the Third, Anno 1255. which, fays Matthew Bark *, was
the firft feen on this fide the Alps ; and perhaps there may have
been two or three brought for flhew hither fmce : but whether
it be likely any of thefe fhould be buryed at Cornwell, let the
Reader judge.

163. Befide, had this thigh-bone and tooth, and the feveral o-
thers that have been found in England, fuch as the two teeth
taken up at Edulfsnefs in the County of Effex, intheRaign of
King Richard the Firft, that might have been cut into two hun-
dred of an ordinary cizem ; and divers other bones and teeth
found at Chartham near Canterbury*, and Farley near Maidftone
in Kent, whereof I have one now by me, dug up and given me,
by the truly Noble and Ingenious Jacob Lord Aftley, near feven
inches round, and five ounces and I in weight, of which more
when I come into Kent, Had, I fay, thefe bones and teeth been
ever thefpoils of Elephants, we fhould certainly at fome time or

* Matth.Paris/'wRdg. Hr». 3. in Anno Dom. \i^ - m Cembdeu'mTjpx. " cbarthtm news, fet forth
by Ux-Joh- Somner.

other

of 0 XFO %p-S Hl%g, m

other have met alfo with thofe greater Tusks with which they
are armed, of which I have not heard there have been any yet
found in England, nor any thing like them.

164. Add hereunto what prevails with me much, thatilnce
the great conflagration of London, Anno 1666. upon the pulling
down of St. Mary Wool-Church, and making the fite of it into a
Mtr cat --place, there was found a thigh-bone (fuppofed to be of i
WomanJ now to be feen at the Kings-head Tavern at Greenwich in
Kent, much bigger and longer than ours of Hone could in pro-
portion be, had it been intire. We have alfo here at Oxford*, i
thigh-bone that came from London, three foot and two inches
long, which I guefs may be of an agreeable proportion with
ours. And the fame day I brought the tooth from Cornwell, there
were two others happily procured for me by my worthy Friend
Samuel Fowler A. M. dug up in the Parifh Church of Morton Va-
lence, about feven miles from Glocefter, in the way thence to Bri-
fiol, in all points fo exactly like the other from Cornwell, in ridgeq,
cavities, isrc. that had they not differ'd fomwhat in colour, they
could fcarce have any way been diftinguifti'd. Now how Ele-
phants lliould come to be buryed in Churches, is a queftion not
eafily anfwered, except we will run to fo groundlefs a fhift, as to
fay, that poffibly the Elephants might be there buryed before
Chrijlianity florifTi'd in Britan, and that thefe Churches were af-
terward cafually built over them.

165. If it be urged out of Pontics Virunniu6, and fome o-
thers, that the Emperor Claudius was at Glocejler, and that he
built that City after his own name, in memory of the Marriage of
his fair Daughter Genniffa, with Arviragu* then King of Britan °,
where poffibly he might have fome of his Elephants with him,
which might dye and be buried thereabout. It muft be anfwer-
ed, that notwithstanding the name of Claudii Caftrum, now Glo-
cefler, feemsfo much to favor the ftory in hand, that yet in all
likelyhood there was never any fuch matter : For neither Sue-
tonius p, who numbers up all the Daughters that he Had, and
shews how given in Marriage. Nor Vionq, who do's the fame
(who lived in his time, and had born the Office of Conful) remem-
ber any fuch Daughter, or fo difpofed of to Arviragus.

* In the Medicine School. » Pont. VirunniiyBisl, Britan. lib. 4. P Sxeton.tn vita Claudii. itHon.

■ Hiji./.-b.Co.

166. Be-

1^6 The Natural Hi/lory

1(3(3. Befide, how was it poflible that Claudius, who came
hithcr,and was returned again to Rome within fix months, ftiould
findfo much time, as to come up fo far in the Country as G/o-
cejier, much lefs to celebrate fuch a Marriage, and build that City,
fince the fame Dion exprefly fays, that of thofe fix months time,
he was here in Brit an but fixteen days, <*y S>V} Uxaifew ^W c* t?
Bperfavia, wes" i-jrolvot, are his own words r, and thofe fixteen days
in all probability, werefpent in ordering his Army, and joyning
them with the Force* of Plautiu* that lay then at the mouth of
Thames ready to receive him, and in taking of C amulodonum, which
the fame Author aflerts he did that Expedition, and {"o immediatly
returned.

167. But what is inffar omnium in this difficult point,there hap-
pily came to Oxford while I was writing of this, a living Elephant
tobefhewn publickly at the Aft, An.i6j6. with whofe bones and
tcethl compared ours ; and found thofe of the Elephant not only
of a different fhape,but alfo incomparably bigger than c#rs,though
the Beaft were very young and not half grown. If then they
are neither the bones of Horfes, Oxen, nor Elephants, as I am
ftrongly perfwaded they are not, upon comparifon, and from
their like found in Churches : It remains, that (notwithftanding
their extravagant magnitude) they muft have been the bones of
Men or Women : Nor doth any thing hinder but they may have
been fo, provided it be clearly made out that there have been Men
and Women of proportionable ftature in all ages of the World,
down even to our own days.

P68. The Sons of Anak, no queftion, were very great men,
and Goliath for certain was nine foot nine inches high s. We read
alfo of the Sons of the Titans, and of high Giants \ and of Gi-
ants famous from the begining, that were of great ftature and ex-
pert in War ". And (to omit the Fables of the Giants of Mount
Erice near Drepanum in Sicily, 200 cubits high, otTanger in Mau-
ritania 60 cubits w, and of the Giant found (landing in a Rock,
cleft by an Earth-quake in the Iile of Candy, 46 cubits, fuppofed
to be Or ion, or 0tU6 x, and feveral others mentioned by Phlegon *.)
Amongft the Romans, Theutobochws King of the Teutones or Ger-
mans, vanquifh'd by Marim, is reported-by Floru* to be in figne

* Idem loco citato. » i Sam. c. 17. v. 4- ' Judith 16.V.7. ■ Baruch 3. v.26. ""Vtd.Atban.Kirckeri
Mmdumfiibterr.Ub.%fea.i.caf.it. x Plin.Nat. Hift. Itb-J.cap.i6- * Phlegon Tralliamu dt rebus mi-
rabiltbus, cap. 1 1, 12, 17, 18, 19.

triumphi

OfOXFO%t)-SHl%E. 157

phifteftaculum, fo very tall, that he was feeri above all the" Trd-
phees \ which were the fpoils of the Enemies, ufually carryed
alofc upon the tops of fpears. Ndevius Poll'io, fays Pliny z, Was"
fo great a Giant (having no account of his dimenfions) that it
was taken for a wonderful ftrange thing, that when a gteat prefs
of people came running upon him, he had like to have beer!
killed.

169. But to come clofer to the bufinefs, and mora determi-
nate ftatures, the fame Pliny a tells of two others living in the
time of Auguslus, nick-named Pufio and Secundilla, whofe bo-
dies were preferved for a wonder in the Salufiian Gardens, that
were ten foot high : and that in his time there was one Gabbara^
brought out of Arabia, in the days of Prince Claudius the Em-
peror, exaftly of the height of Goliath, viz,, nine foot nine
inches high b ; which being a cize very proportionable to out
bone found at Cornwell, I am rather inclined to believe, that Clau-
dius brought this Gabbara into Britan with him, who poffibly
might dye and lay his bones here, than that ever they belonged
to any Elephant ; except we (hall rather fay, that here alfo Cori~
n<£us, cofin to Brute, might kill one of Gogmagog's race, and that
from him the place doth take his name, as well as the County of
Cornwall.

1 70. Moreover, that there were men heretofore of fuch vaft
ftatures, we have the teftimony of Jofephus c, in his Antiquities
of the Jews, where he tells us of one Eleazar, a Jew born, fent
amongft the Prefents to Tiberius, when Darius the Son of Arta-
banusK'mg of Perfia> after a Peace made, went as a Hoftagc to
Rome, that was full feven Cubits in height. And there is a Sce-
leton d now to be feen in the Town-hall at Lucern, found under
an old Oak in the County of Willifau, near a Village called Rey-
den, within the jurifdi&ion of that City, that gives further con-
firmation, it having all, or moil: of the bones wherein a Man
differs from other Animals , and being above feventeen foot
high.

171. And if we confult the latter ages: of the World, we (hall
ftill find that there were always fome few peifons vaftly exceed-
ing the ordinary ftature of Men ; Job. Cajfanio e, though no fa-

7 Fieri Hi ft. Rom. lib. 3. cap. 3. z Nat:Uift.lib.j. cap.i6- * Idem loco citato. * idem loco citato.
{ Lib-iZ.cap.6. «• KircheriMuTtd.fultterrMli.'&Jett.z.cap..^ c lo. Caflanio MonAftr-deGigantitv*,cap.6.

S vorer

q8 *fhe Statural Hi jlory

vorer of the ftorics of Giants, yet tells us of one that lived a-
bout 150 years fince at Burdeaux in Aquitan, commonly called the
Giant of Burdeaux, whom Francis the firft, King of France, paf-
fing that way, beheld with admiration, and gave efpecial com-
mand that he (hould be of his Guard : but he being a Peafant of
a narrow foul, and not pleafed with a Courtiers life, quitted his
Halbard, and got away by Health to the place whence he came :
Of whom the laid Cajfanio was avTured by an Honorable Perfon,
who had feenhim Archer of the Guard, that he was of fo great
a height, that a Man of an ordinary ftature might go upright
between his legs when he did ftride. And Thuanm f treating of
an Invafion made by the Tartars upon the Polanders, in the Year
1575. tells us of a Tartar flain by one Jacobus Niezabilovius a
Polander, whofe fore-head was 24 inches broad, and his body
of fo prodigious a bulk, that as he lay dead on the ground, his
carcafs reached to the navel of a perfon (landing by him.

172. Geropw Becanusg, Phyfitian to the Lady Mary, lifter to
the Emperor Charles the Fifth, Queen of Hungary and Regent
of the Netherlands, aifuresus, That there dwelt a perfon within
five miles of him ten foot high, and that himfelf faw a Woman
of the fame height. The talleft that I have yet feen in our days,
was alfo a Woman of a Dutch extraction, (hewn publickly here at
Oxford, feven foot and a half high, with all her Limbs propor-
tionable : when (he ftretch'd forth her arm, Men of ordinary fta-
ture might walk under it ; and her hand, from the carpus or wrift
where it is joined to the radius of the arm, to the end of the
middle finger, was full ten inches long. A ftature, 'tis true,
much fhortof any of the afore-mentioned, and indeed I believe
it will be hard to meet with their fellows in thefe parts of the
World, where Luxury has crept in, together with Civility : Yet
if we look abroad amongft the prefent barbarous Nations of both
Indies, where they live ftill according to Nature, and do not
debauch her with the fenfual Delights of the more civilized
World, we (hall find (if the Relations either of Fnglijh or Ho!-,
landers be of any credit) that there are now men and women ad-
equate to them in ftature ; feveral having been feen, efpccially a-
boutthe Straights of Magellan, of ten : and one near the River
of Plateby Tho. Turner, 12 foot high.

I Joe. KAug. Thuani Hift. Tom. 3. lib. 61 . 1 De Gigantomwkt*.

173. whence

Of OXFORDSHIRE. i#

1 73 . Whence 'tis plain, that whether we refpecl: the mof e an-'
cient or modern Times, 'tis poffible enough thefe bones from
Cornwell might be the bones of a man or woman, there being no
decay apparent in the conftitutions of Mankind from the begin-
ning to this day, but what is adventitious and accidentals faving
in the longevity of the antediluvian Patriarchs.

174. Befide this Gigantick. thigh-bone, there is another front
at the foot of Shotover-h\\\, amongftthe Orchites before -mention-
ed^ Seel. 144. thatalfo reprefents one of the Artut-, viz^. the
Leg and Foot of a Man cut off above the ancle, as in Tab.S. Fig.6.
which from the toe to the heel is about a yard long, and per-
haps in the whole may weigh 50 or 60 pounds .* But I take not
this for a petrification as the former, but a ftone formed in this
fliape purely by Nature, which may therefore be termed Andra-
podites, as might all thofc of the kind mentioned by Wormiu* h.
To which alfo may be added the Lapis acetabulum refere /z^whereof
there is plenty on the Chiltern-hWls. And a fort of OJleocolla found
in Utddington rubble Quarries, which fcraped, has the fmell of
burnt bone, and may I fuppofe be the fame mentioned by Gefner *,
that was fent him by Peter Coldeberg, Apothecary of Antwerp.

175. After the Stones that relate to the parts of Animals,
come we laftly to thofe that refemble things of Art, fuch as that
in the form of a button-mold, Fig. 7. whereof there were feveral
found in the very fame Quarry with the thigh-bone and tooth, in
the Parifh of Cornmll, and no doubt did belong to the owner of
thofe bones : And the other in the (hape of the heel of an oldfioo,
with the Lifts plainly to be diftinguifh'd, as in Fig. 8. which
was found fomwhere near Oxford, and given me by the Right
Reverend and profoundly Learned, Thomat Lord Bifhopof Lin-
coln, one of thefirft Promoters of this Defign. But both thefe
I take to be but petrifications, and therefore mif-placed here like
the Adarce and thigh-bone.

1 7 6. But 1 have another fort of button-slone, fent me from
Teynton, which I take to be a meer production of Nature, finely
ftriated from the top as I have feenfome hair buttons, as inFig.y.
and may therefore be called Porpites : Except we (liould rather
take it for a new fort of Echinites, not; yet difcover'd, which

h Mufati Wormian. cap. it,. Jntegrtmpedemhominiiinlapia'em'verjum.fpettandmthal/et Mufeum Calceo-
larium, loh- Bayt. OHvus, p. C%. * Gelher de F<g. Lapid. cap. 12.

S 2 is

14.0 The Statural Hi/lory

is wholly left to the Readers choice.

i j j. In the Quarry of rubble ftone near Sbotover -h\)l, I met
with a Spar-lik? ftone, made I fuppofe of the dropings of petrify-
ing water, not unlike to the bags called Manic* Hippocratk, ufed
in filtrations by the Cbymifts, three one above another as they
tifually place them, as in Fig. i o. And in the very fame Quarry
I found a fingle Trocbites of a cinereous colour, fo called from
its likenefs to a wbeel, having rays coming forth of its center,
like the fpoaks of a Cart-wheel from its ftock, hub, or nave :
Thefe are faid to have affinity with the Lafujudaicws in their tex-
ture ', and with the Afteridt in the property of moving in Vine-
gark, neither of which I could well try, having but one, and
that toofetin a rubble ftone of the Quarry They are found
plentifully Northward in Holy- I/land, and in the bottom of the
Chanel of the River Tees l, at Braugbton and Stock, in Torkrfiire,
at Beres ford in Stafford-fiire™, and are commonly there called
St. Cuthberfs Beads, whereof 1 intend Cuts, and (hall treat more
at large when I come to thofe places.

178. At the Parifh of Heat b I met with a reddifh fort of ftone,
intheufual form of zWbet-ftone, as in Tab.S. Fig, ir, about
fbur inches long, very hard, and for both thofe reafons not fit
for ufe : it was given me by Mr. Evans, Reftor of the place, and
faid by him to be taken out of a block of ftone dug in the Quar-
ries thereabout, naturally having grown in that form. And at
Stonor there was given me a crifp'd white ftone, taken up not
far thence, rcfembling a fort of Sweet-meat, not like the Confetti
de Tivoli, but rather of Viterbo mentioned by Aldrovandws n, or a
fort of Sweet-meat we have from Portugal.

1 79. Amongft the fiones, like things of Art, I think I muft
alfo number a fort of globular iron-colour' d balls, taken up about
Cornwell ; whereof I have two given me by Sir Tbotnas Pennyfton ;
the ont plain and fmooth, the other granulated on the out-fide,
not unlike to an Orange, very weighty, and made up within of a
golden ftriated fubftance from the center to the circumference,
shewn in the Hemi/pbere of one of them, Fig. 12. Of thefe there
arcfome fo equally round, as if done by Art ; and fo they are
fays Cambdenat Huntley Nab°, where under the craggy Rocks

l Boet. de Lapid.&Gem.capi.i->. k Geo. Agricola de Natura FoJJilium, cap. 5. 1 Mr. Hay's Topo-
graph, obfervat. />. 116. » Philofoph- Tranfadt- Num. 100. n Mujaum Metallicum, lib. 4. />. 518.
• Cambd. in the North-Riding of Tork-fbire.

they

OfOXFO ^D^SHIXEi 141

they lye fcatter'd here and there of divers bignefles, fo artifi-
cially by Nature shaped round in manner of a Globe, that one
would take them to be great bullets, call fox fiot, to be dis-
charged out of great Ordnance. Such as thefe are alfo mention'd
by J oh. Kentmannws, found inter lapides ^rarios^ which if broken
(fays he) are like the filver or cinereous Martha ftte, out of which
fomtimes brafi or filver are fmeltedp, than which ours are fom-
what of a better colour, but whether poffeft with thofe or a
better metal, I muft confefs I have not tryed, and therefore can-
not inform the Reader.

180. Hither alfo muft be referred a round flone before men-
tioned, chap. 3 feci. 30. containing within it a white fort of
earth, and therefore called Geodes, or the pregnant flone ; differ-
ing from the JEtites in this, that whereas that has within it a
movable flone, by the Naturalifls called Callimws ; this contains
only earth or fand, that moves not at all : The outward cruft of
thefe is fomtimes only an indurated chalk., under which are fome
other folds like the coats of an Onyon ; and when found thus, by
the Inhabitants of the Chiltern (where they are moft plentiful)
they are called chalky Eggs. Others there are of them , whofe
outermoft coats are hard black Flints, fome very thin, and others
thicker, according I fuppofe to the feniority of their generation :
For 1 have fome of them by me whofe coats are not much thicker
than the shell of a Wall-nut, others ftone half way, and others
fo almoft to the very center; and thefe Flint coats black without
fide, and gradually whiter and whiter, as they approach nearer
to the whitifh earth contained within : whence I am almoft per-
fwaded, that however it may be in irregular Flints, that in thefe
the chalky matter does turn into flone, and is the chief principle
of their generation.

181. Upon the Chil tern-hills, near to Sherbourn and Lewkjier,
I found many of the Flints inclining to a Conical Figure. And
in the gravel about Oxford, I have feen fafciated Pebbles, having
as it were Zones ox girdles round them, of different colours from
thofe of the jlones. About Fawler and Stunsfield, the Pebbles
before mentioned, cap. \.fecl. 18. are moft of them ftreaked with
iron-colour' 'd lines, fomtimes inclining towards one another like
the ramifications of a Dendrites ; which though not fo curious as

* Catalog. Vi)jJt!um:,Tit ■ id- deLapid.arariif a naturae ffigiatu.

the

jzj.1 The Natural Hi/lory

the Pietradi figure de bofchiof Ferrantelmperato*, yet fit me well
enough with a tranfition to the Chapter of Vegetables, which im-
mediatly follows.

182. Only Imuftbeg leave firft to advcrtife the Reader, that
what I have afcribed to Dr. Merret concerning the Toad- ftone,
fecl.1^6. 1 have found fince the Printing of that fheet, feeming-
ly alfo given to the Learned Sir George Ent, by the no lefs Learn-
ed Sir Thomas Brown, in the laft Edition of his Pfeudodoxia Epi-
demica V to whether more rightly, let them contend. And that
fince the Printing the beginning of this Chapter, I received from
the Right worfhipful Sir Philip Ear court of Stanton Harcourt, two
kinds of Selenites, though of the fame texture, yet much diffe-
rently formed from any there mention'd ; both of them being
Vodeca'edrums, but the Hedr<e too as much different from one an-
other, as from any of the former: The firft fort of them being
made up of two Rhomboideal hdesfom oblong,2nd as many (hort-
er pentagons ; and two fmall Trapeziums, one half whereof are
reprefented Tab. 8. Fig. 13. And the fecond, of two oblong
Hexagons, four oblong Trapeziums , four oblong parallelograms,
and two large pentagons, one half whereof are alfo reprefent-
ed Fig. 14. In both which it is to be underftood, that the Hedrdt.
at the ends of each ftone, are oppofed by two others like them,
not according to the breadth, but length of the ftone. The two
pentagons at the top of the ftone, Fig. 13. being oppofed by two
others like them, behind the fmall Trapezium at the bottom of it ;
and the fmall Trapezium at the bottom, by another like it behind
the two short pentagons at the top ; and fo the oblong parallelo-
grams, and large pentagons at the ends of the ftone, Fig. 14.

n DslfHifi. Natura!elib.2+. cap- 2+- r PJeudodax. Epidm. lib. 3. cap. 13.

CHAP.

TAB. Vlll . 1

\

bfOXFO%p^SHI%Ea 43

CHAP. VI.
Of Tlants.

NEXT Inanimate things, I proceed to fuch as have Life \
amongft which , firft of thofe that hold the loweft
place, that exercife the moft univerfal, and therefore in-
ferior Faculties, fuch as Herbs, Shrubs, Trees, all which are con-
tained under the general name of Plants : But of thefe I intend
notacompleat Catalogue (that being a fubjeft of it felf large e-
nough for a Volume) but only a (bort account,

i. Of the Indigenous Plants of the County, which yet either

i . Are not defcribed by any Author that we know
of, or

2. Have not been noted by the ingenious Mr. flay,
in his excellent Catalogue, to be of Englifb na-
tural growth ; or

3. Have indeed been noted, which yet remaining
dubious, either as to the certainty of their de-
fcription, or ff>ecifical difference, are cleared in this
County.

2. Of the extraordinary accidents of well known Plants.

3. Of the unufual Plants now cultivated in the Fields, un-
der which head fomwhat of the Husbandry of the
Country.

according to which method I fhall treat of all the three foremen"
tioned Species of Plants ; viz^ Herbs, Shrubs, Trees, fo far forth
as each of them will come up to it. And firft, of thofe (tiled
herbaceous Plants.

1. By which I underftand all and only thofe that are made up
of zfuccuknt and carnous fubftance, that never in any part will
become lignous^ (or hardly any of them retain it all winter) as
Shrubs and Trees do : of which thofe that are indigenous, and not
defcribed by any Author that we know of, are thefe that follow.

2< Viola

■
<

i^ The Natural Hijlory

3. Viola Mania hirfuta major inodora. which large Violet from
a fibrous rootfendeth forth many leaves, each upon his own
foot-ftalk, neither creeping as the common March, nor branch-
ed as the common Dog-violet ; its leaves and (talks are all hairy
efpecially on the back-fide ; they are alfo broader, larger, and
more pointed than the ordinary March Violets, which occafioned
(as fome think) the ingenious Dr. Mtrret to note it by the name
of Viola Trachelii folio s, but that certainly muft be fome diffe-
rent kind, the leaves of ours being all invecked, as in Tab.^.Fig.i.
whereas the Trachelia are all indented : Amongft the leaves grow
hrgeflowers, upon foot-ftalks (as other Violets') of a pale blue
colour, with white lines or rays ifluing from the middle of them,
but wholly withoutyiW. They flower in March and April, and
are commonly but abufively fold to the flops amongft other Vio-
lets, they not being fo good for any of thofe ufes the Apotheca-
ries put them to, as other Violets are. They grow plentifully in
Magdalen College Cops, on Shotover hill, Stow-wood, and many
other places.

. 4. Viola paluftris rotundifolia. From the root of this Plant,
which is white, and at equal diftances knotted (whence only it
fends forth its fibers not downward, but horizontally) arife 3 or
4 (fomtimes more) feeble fmall ftalks, each bearing at its top
only a round leaf, as in Tab. 9. Fig. 2. Among which, about
April come up the slalks of the flowers, flender,like thofe of the
leaves ; the whole Plant being weak, and beholding to the neigh-
boring ones for its fupport. The flowers are all fmall and blue,
which being paft, a long Prifmatical feed-vefel fucceeds, open-
ing its felf when ripe into three parts, and (hewing a rank of
brown feeds, appended to each angle by white Nerves: This is
eafily diftinguiiVd from all other Violets by its native place,
wherein it is fuppofed they will not grow ; and by the fmalnefs
of its flowers, which are confiderably lefs than any of the reft ;
whereunto add the remarkable roundnefs of its leaves, which are
fo far from drawing to points, that the longeft way of them is
from fide to fide. Clufiu* indeed feems to defcribe a Plant like
this, by the name of Viola Alpina altera \ but makes its flower
as much greater, as burs is lefs than the common one; adding
befide, that it flowers about the latter end of June, a month be-

f Pinaxrer.Nat. Bdt«».p.i2^. « C*r.Clnfii?!ant.Hift.c*f>,\i,.

fore

OfOXFOKpSHlXE* 14?

fore which time the Seed of ours is ripe •, which are differences
fo irreconcilable, that we cannot but pronounce ours as diftincl:
from bh$ as from any other Violets before defcribed by Authors,
whereof we have confulted mofi, if not all the beft. It grows
' fparingly in the Boggs about Stow-woodi and on the Banks of
Cheme II between Oxford and. Water-eaton • but moft plentifully at
Chiljwell in Berkshire, amongft the moifteft Boggs.

5. Juncellu* omnium minimus cafitulu Equifeti. This leaft
club-rufh from fmall hairy roots, rifeth no bigger than korfe-hairi
and not above three inches high, bearing at the top a little club^
as in the other club-rufies, but proportionably lefler, as in Tab^
Fig. 3. where alfo it may be obferved, that the rujb rifes fingly
from the root, and not branched, like the Fluitans mentioned
by Mr. Ray u, who had he feen this, would certainly have own-
ed different fiecies's of club-rujhes, which he feems fo much to
doubt. It grows in Binfeji-Common, in the moift ditches next the
River Ifis.

6. Geranium columbinum maximum foliis diffcclis. Or the great
jagged Doves-foot Cranes-bill, differs from the jagged ones of o-
ther writers, in that it is jagged at the firft coming Up, whereas
all others are whole then ; its leaves are alfo Handing on long
foot-ftalks, and much greater than thofe of any other Doves-feet ;
from the middle of which there rife up great jointed ftalks, near
the bignefs of a mans finger, branched, and almoft ftanding
upright a yard in height : At the jojints, which are largely knotted,
are alfo large jagged leaves, which at the top grow very thick,
amongft which ftand the flowers upon fliort foot-ftalks, as in
Tab. 9. Fig. 4. of a bright and red colour, whereas the others
are of a bluifh purple ; the feeds being like thofe of other Doves-
feet. This grows in hedges about Marfton, and on that part of
Botley-Czufey next Oxford, in great plenty.

7. Fentaphyllum reptans alatum foliis profundius ferratis. This
creeping Plant in all refpefts grows like the common Cinque-foil,
but that at the bottom fome leaves are found round and undivid-
ed like Alchimilla, and others dividing themfelves into five, are
jagged but half way : As it increafes in growth, the number of
leaves oftentimes decreafe, bearing four, three, two, and at the
top, one ; all which, have two little leaves or ears at the bottom

0 In Catalog. Plantar- Angl.

T of

\^6 The Natural Hiflory

of the foot-ftalk, like Tormtntill : The flowers are of the big-
nefs and colour of common Cinque-foil, but generally made up
of four leaves, as in Tab.y. F/g. 5, and but very rarely to be
found with five. It grows in the edges of the Corn-fields between
Hockley and the Woods under Sbotover-h'\\\.

8. Orobancbe Verbafculi odore. The root of this Plant is skaly
and obtufe, to which are appended a bundle of complicated Fi-
bers, like thofe of Nidws avis, whence it rifeth up with a foft
round very bxixiltftalk-, feldom eight inches high, fet with thin,
fmall, fhort fkaly leaves like skins, growing clofe to it : At, or
very near the top of which ftalk., grow fomtimes eight or ten
fmall flowers, altogether different from thofe of the common 0-
robancbe, each confuting of four pretty large leaves, within which
are contained as many leffer, as in Tab. 9. Fig. 6. About the

feed veflel (which is round at the bottom, with a narrow neck,
and a hole at the top fomwhat refembling a childs fucking-bottle,
as in Fig. 6. a) ftand fmall chives with purplifh tops, as in Fig. 6.
b. The whole herb, flowers, ftalks and leaves, are at the firft flow-
ering, of a whitifh yellow, or ftraw colour, and being broken
or bruifed, fmell like the root of a Primrofe. It grows at the bot-
toms of Trees in the woods near Stoken-Churcb, and we find it
mention'd infome MS. notes of the famous Mr. Goodyer.

9 . Saxifraga Anglica annua Alfine folio. This fmall annual Sa-
xifrage from a fmall fibrous root, fpreadeth its trailing jointed
ftalks about an inch or two from it, at each joint come forth
fmall narrow leaves as in the other C bickpeed- break fione,
and from the upper joynts toward the end of the ftalks, come
fmall ht rbaceom flowers made up of four leaves, which prove
the cafe for the fmall included feed veffel, as in Tab. 9. Fig. 7.
This Plant differs from the common one-, which is of a light frejh
green, -perennial, and fomtimes roots again at its joynts; in that
its ftalks and leaves are of a brownifi green colour, the Plant an-
nualand nev 'err ept ant: it grows plentifully in the walks of Ba-
liol College gardens, and on the fallow Fields about Heddingtcn
and Cowley, and many other places.

10. To which perhaps I might add two different Lychnis's
from the fylveftrh flore albo Gerardi, obferved this Year by Mr.
Richard Stanley ; one whereof bears a white flower fomwhat lefs
than the common, yet at the center having another little flowery

circle,

TAB.iX

of 0 XFO %$)~S MitJ?t itf

circle, in the middle of which appear feveral fine (lamina, with
yellow longilh apices, whereas the reclining fiamina of the com-
mon Campion have no apices at all • the other alfo bears a white
flower without that flowery circle, but has fiamina crowned with
roundifh purple apices, with the duft whereof the flower it felf
is commonly foiled. But in the firft of thefe the feed veffel not
appearing at all, and in the fecond withering away with the
flower ; We are not fo bold as to make them diftinft ffecies's, not
knowing as yet whence they flhould be propagated. Thefe were
found near Holy-Well in the Suburbs of Oxford, and grow alfo in
the Corn-fields about New-par kj, and as we fuppofe in moft parts
of England. Sedde hoc quaere.

ii. Befide thefe, there is alfo another, of which Authors
write fo obfcurely, that we cannot pofltively fay whether defcri-
bed or no : However, we have ventured to call it Artiplex vulga-
ris finuatafpicata, it not being like the Pes anferinus alter five ra-
rnofior of JohnBauhin, mentioned by Mr. Ray™, in that it bears
its feeds in buttons clofe to the ftalks, like the Fragiferd. This
grows equally common on Dung-hills with the finuata major, a-
mongft which we fuppofe it has hitherto lay hid.

12. As for the Plants defcribed by other Authors, but not no-
ted by Mr. Ray to be of Engli/b growth, we find only thefe in
the County of Oxford, i. Clematis Daphnoides five pervinca major,
in the High-ways betweenWoolvercot and Tarnton, and in feveral
kecgts thereabout. 2. Lagopus major vulgaris Parkinfoni, in
Stair- trW plentifully, and feveral other place s. 3. Oenanthe a-
quatica minor Park., five juncut odoratu6 Cordi, in the ditches a-
bout Medley and Binfey- Common, and almoft every where about
Oxford.

13. Whereunto add fome others indeed noted by Mr. Ray,
but left in doubt whether defatted, or different from one ano-
ther. Such are the Helleborine flore albo, mentioned in his Ap~
pendix x to grow in the woods near S token-Church-, not far from
the road leading from London to Oxford, which becaufe he had
notfeen either flowering, or green, modeftly refufed to determin
whether defcribed or no : But we having had time and curiofity
of viewing it often in flower, find it to be the Helleborine flore albo
of Gerard and Tabern&montanw : Epipaclts anguflifolia of Befler7

w I» Catalog. Vlant.Angl. * In Appendictp. 339. j JacTheod. Tabernxmont- fart. 2. p. 400.

T 2 in

14.8 The U^atural Hi/lory

in his Ucrtm Eyfttttenfis z : Alifma quorundam Cordi a, and Alifma
Cytnbaleanthemon Thaliih. Which Authors, and others, we have
diligently fearched, and by comparing them together, find the
Plant to agree with each Figure, as well as they could do one
with another, had they (as indeed they commonly are) been
Printed from one Plate.

14. The Plants which he doubts whether fpecifically dislintl,
yet found fo in Oxford-fiire, are alfo Helleborine'' s ; the one his
Helleborine flore atro -rubente, and the other Helleborine latifolia
montanac, both plentifully growing on S token-Church hills:
Whereof the former has fmall narrow leaves, fomwhat like the
Paluflm, and growing thicker on the ftalk * whereas thofe of
the Utter are broad and much thinner, the ene alfo flowering a
full month after the other, which we take to be diftinguifhing
CharaEiers enough, though not fo fignally differing in the flowers
as Mr. Ray owns his to do ; our latifolia montana coming nearer
to that of Gerard, then of him or Vodonxut , having purple
flowers, but as deep or deeper than thofe of the Helleborine flore
atro rubente.

15. Of Accidents that are incident to herbaceous Plants, be-
fidewhat I have ^een amongft forreigners in Gardens, I have met
alfo with fome amongft the natives of Oxford-Jbire ; which I guefs
may happen to them (as likewife to all others') moft times through
excefs, or defeel in their nourishment. Thus have I feen the slalkj
of Dyers-weed and Succory, from a round near the root, fpread
themfelves upward into a hroadflat ftalk, as if there were feve~
ral of them fafciated together, occasioned I fuppofe by reafon
of the afcent of to much nourifhment for one ftalk, and yet not
enough for two. The fafciation (if I may be allowed to coyn fuch
a word) being as it were an attempt for two ftaiks, which upon
the afcent of furricient fap, is fomtimes accomplifti'd, the flat
ftalk then dividing into two, asl obferved it this Summer in a
Vraba lutea fdiquh slritlijfimis, and feveral other Plants in the
Gardens.

16. Which accident of Plants the German Virtuofi think only
to happen after hard and late Winters^, by reafon whereof in-
deed the fap being reftrained fomwhat longer than ordinary, up-

* Wort: EyBett. Plant. Vernal. Ord.cf.fbl. 5. , Valer. Cordi Hifl. dcVlant-lib. itaf. 107. •> loh. Tf»a-
lii, HarcyniaSaxono-Thuringica,p- 13. « In Catalog, plant. Angl. * Mifcellan. curiffa Med.Fhyf. Acad.
Nat. Curioforum,An. i.ebferv. 102.

on

Of OXFO^V^HIT^E. i0

on fudden thaws, may probably be feat up mote forcibly and /o-
get her, and fo produce thek fafciated ftalks ; whereas the natu-
ral and graduated afcent would have produced them but fingle-
Yet experience has taught us this prefent year i6j6i that fuch
productions muft by no means be thus reftrained ; the Winter
preceding, in Anno 167$. being one of the mildeft ever known
in England, and yet fajciated Plants as frequent as ever;

1 7. Befide thofe, we have obferved fome others here curioufty
ftriped ; fome of them yellow, as Dens Leonis, C aryophylldta, Vr-
tica urens, isrc. others white, as Papaver fyumeum, Plantago quinque
nervia, Cruciata, Calamintha aquatica, ijrc. Others again differing
from the reft of their kind, not in leaves, but colour of. their
flowers ; fuch are Lamium ruhrum, Lyfimachia [iliquofa magnoflorei
Tr ache Hum minus, Gentianella fugax minor, Anagallvs terreftm, ($•
aquatica five Becahunga, cum mult Is aim, all with white flowers ;
and Hyacinths, we have fomtimes found v/ith red, and white flow-
ers : All which, I guefs accidentally accrew to thefe Plants (their
fpecies's having flowers of different colours) through defecl, or
fome interception of their nourishment^ which occafion difeafes^
and fuch difcolorations both in their leaves and flowers.

1 8. That this is true of all ftriped Plants, is manifeft, in that
fuch dijcolorations may- be procured by artificial fubitra&ion of
the nourishment, vi%. by applying Lime, or other hot dry matter
to their roots ; which drying up, or otherwife ' rendring the
nourijlment unfit, will thus make the Plants ftriped ; as our very
Learned Botanic Profejfor, Dr. Mori/on, informs us he obferved it
in Dulcamara creeping through Lime and other rubbifhof Build-
ings, at the Duh of Orleans his Houfe at Blois, whence not only
ours, but moft other Gardens of Europe have fince been fupplyed
with the white ftriped Dulcamara.

19. Moreover, that fnch ftripings are nothing but difeafe, ap-
pears plainly in that moft, if not all ftriped Plants, are fomwhat
deformed and imperfett in their leaves ; and though ftriped very
lively in the beginning of the Spring, will many of them recover
in fome meafure, at leaft before Autumn, and fome of them have
their leaves at length as green, as the reft of the healthy Plants of
their kind'. Which I take to be manifeft arguments of their fickr
neft, and fuch ftripings to be only difcolorations „and no ornaments
of perfection, though ornaments of our Gardens.

20. To

15© The Statural Hijlory

20. To which if it be objected that 'tis other wife in the Flow-
ers of all the Plants above-mentioned, which though of diffe-
rent colours from the reft of their /pedes, continue fo (till from
year to year, not altering in the Autumn from what they were
kh' Spring: Itmuftbe anfwer'd, that notwithftanding what is
urged be true, yet fuch conftancy will not warrant them of a dif-
ferent /pedes, fince nofeedthey produce will bring more of their
kjnd, but only fuch whofe flowers will be of the ordinary colour ;
which is fo great an imperfection, that we cannot but fufpeft
thefe alfo to be difeafed, and to have their variations only from
thence.

2 1 . Though it muft be confeft, that it's worthy notice too,
that many of thefe Plants feem as ftrong, and flourish as well as
any others, and produce perhaps their Seed as perfect as any :
Why then they fhould be numbred amongft difeafed plants, any
more than a- red hair' d man fhould be accounted fo in England^
Or a black haifd one in Denmark, (where I am informed there
are fo few, that they commonly paint Judas with black, hair as
we do with re d) is a difficulty, I guefs, not eafily avoided ?* e-
fpecially fince the difference of colours in flowers may be occafi-
oned by the different textures of the ftalks of fome certain plants,
as it is in the hair and feathers of Animals, alfo of different co-
lours from the reft of their (j>ecies, as (hall be fully made out in
the following Chapter. It may therefore perhaps be more fafely
concluded, that the different colorations zt leaft of fome of thefe

flowers, may indeed be accidents, but no accidents of difeafe or
imperfeftion.

22. Which is all I have met with concerning wild herbaceous
Plants, and the accidents attending them remarkable in this County,
in the relation whereof 1 have been all along fo careful of not
impofing on the World, that I have mention'd nothing, except
in the F hilofophical part, wherein I have not confulted, and had
the approbation of fome of the moft knowing in the Faculty, fuch
as the Reverend William Brown B. D. and Fellow of Magdalen
College Oxon, Edward Tyfon M. A. John BaniflerM. A. Richard
Stapky B. A. and Mr. Jacob Bobart junior, all eminent Bota*
nifis.

23. Of unufual Plants now cultivated in the Fields, to pafs by
the ordinary red and white Lammas Wheats, black and white Fjes,

the

Of OXFORDSHIRE, tft

the common Barley, Peas, Beans, and Oats , there are feveraJ
worthy notice now Town in this County, that have been fcarce
ever heard of, much lefs ufed in fome others : Where by the way
let it be noted, that the word [unufual~\ is not fo much to be ap-
plyed to this, as other Counties, and that in thefe matters of Huf-
'bandry, I rather write for the information of Grangers, than the
inhabitants of Oxford-Jhire, as I muft hereafter in other Counties
for the information of this: There being many things in each
County thought common there and unworthy notice, that per-
haps in fome others will appear fo ftrange, that they will fcarcely
be believed. And fuch are

24. Triticum (pica mutica rubriim, caule item rubro ; red ftalkt
wheat (miftaken by many for red Lammas') fo commonly called
from the rednefs of hsftraw, efpecially near the joints when the
Corn begins to turn ; which rednefs yet will vanifti for the moft
part away, when it is full ripe. This Corn, as I was informM,
was firft propagated from fome few ears of it pickt out of many
Acres, by one Pepart near Bunftable, about fifty years ago, which
fowed by it felf till it amounted to a quantity, and then proving
Mercatable, is now become one of thecommoneft grains of this
County, efpecially about Oxford; which yet becaufe not known
in many other places, I thought fit at leaft to mention it, and
the rather becaufe of its feldom or nev txfmut ting, a convenien-
cy thatpleafes the Baker and Husbandman both ; and yet itfeems
'tis not now fown about Thame and Watlington fo much as for-
merly , becaufe it brings not fo certain, nor fo good a bur-
then as

25. Triticum (pica mutica albicante, grants rufefcentibus, white
eared red wheat, white Corn, or mixt Lammas, which latter name
I take to be as agreeable as any, becaufe of its participating both
of the white and red Lammas, having a white ear and red grain ;
whereas the white Lammas has both ears and grain white, "and
the red Lammas both red : Nor has this, as I was told, been long
in Oyford-fiire, it being firft advanced like the former from fome
few ears, and at laft being found to yield confiderably better than
moft other wheat, viz,, fomtimes twenty for one, it is now be-
come the moft eligible Corn, all along the Vale under the ChiU
tern Hills, and in far better eftecm than the red ftalk'd wheat,

or,

26. TrU

\^% -- The Statural Hijlory

26. Tritkum (pica ariflath glumi* hirfutps, the long Cone Wheat,
which yet is the beft of any, to be fown in rank, clay Land, its
ffalks being reedy and not fubjeft to lodging ; and by hedges
fides, becaufe the Birds cannot eat it ; for which reafon alfo it
muft be good in Inclofures, befides its being the leaft fubject of a-
ny Corn yet known, to the inconveniency of Wildews : This
fort alfo yields extreamly well, but its Flower being courfe and
not pleafing the Bakers, it is feldom fown but under the men-
tioned circumftances, except fomtimes mixt amongft the other
wheats.

27. Triticum multiplex, five [pica multiplici, double ear'd wheat,
fo named for that it has divers [mall ears iffuing out of the (ides
of the greater, and is fown about Biffiter and Weflonon the Green,
but it not proving agreeable to the foils thereabout, nor advan-
tagious to the Husbandman, it is almoft quite difufed, though
I hear it fucceeds better about Fritwell and Souldern. They fow
alfo a Wheat about Wefion on the Green, which from the hanging
of its ear they call Pendule wheat, but fufpefting that it differs
in nothing from Cone, it being ariflk munitum, andglumis hirfutk?
I forbear as yet to pronounce it any other, though I am told that
the Pendule has a redder and more flender, and Cone a whiter and
fuller ear ; and that Cone endures longer, and Pendule but a very
(hort time here, it yielding for the firft year fomtimes twenty for
one, and within two years after dwindling away, fo as not to be
worth fowing ; which time expiring, they fupply themfelves
again out of Berks-JJ/ire, at Ahington Mercat, whereof more (if
I find it to be a different hind) when I come into that County.

28. All which, 'tis true, in Oxford-Jhireare fo commonly fown,
that they cannot indeed in this refpect be ftiled unufual: but be-
caufe fcarce ever heard of in the South-eaft parts of England, .
I thought it convenient at leaft to hint them. And fo likewife
our

29. Hordeum diflichum precox, or rathe ripe Barly, defervedly
fo called from its early ripening, it having been fomtimes fown
and returned to the Barn again in two months time, and often in
nine or ten weeks- This Barly, 'tis true, is no native of Oxford-

fiire, only much fown here, it being all had either immediatly
or mediatly from Patney in Wilt/hire, whence by fome 'tis alfo
called Patney Barley : Where the foil (as I am told) is of fo pe-
culiar

OfOXFO%T>-SIllXE. ty

culiar a quality, that what-ever other Barly is fown there, it is
turned forthwith into this we call rathe-ripe ; a feat, which they
fay, no other Land will perform. But we are told by Dr. Obil*
drey\ that in the weftern parts of Cornwall, they fow a fort of
Barly near the Sea-fide, which they carry to Mill in eight or
ninerr^J- time after they have foWed it. However, what we
have here comes all from Patney, but is not fo agreeable to our
Oocford-Jhire foil immediatly from thence, as when it has been
fown elfewhere twice or thrice ; after which, it endures not a-
bove three or four years, but degenerates again into common
Barly. Its conveniency notwithftanding is very confiderable in
wet and backward Springs, and moift Autumns, when many o-
ther Countrys lofe their feafons, and fome of the more Northern
ones perhaps their crop, the common Barly there never coming
to be ripe, whereas this may be fown at the latter end of May, and
will come to be ripe in the worft of Summers, This 1 heard
of firft at Gaunt-houfe, (the Paternal Eftate of the Right Reverend
Father in God, John Lord Biftop of Oxon, one of the Nobleft En-
couragers of this Vefign) but met with it after all over the County^
it being generally approved of by all forts of Husbandmen. And
this is the only Barly fown in this County unknown in fome
others.

30. But of Peas there are mzny forts little thought of South-
ward, that poffibly were they known, might prove as agreeable
to the foils there, as here, and as advantagious to the Husband-
man. Such are the Peas called Henly-gray , and another fort
called Red-flanks, for frefti new broken Land ; the Vale-gray for
flrong ; and Hampfhire-Kids for new chalkt Land ; the {mz\\ Rathe-
ripes^ for poor zndgravelly ; and the Cotfwold Pea for four ground.
And of Vetches ; in deep clay Lands they fow the Gore and pebble-
Vetch ; in cold moift grounds the rathe-ripe Vetch ; and Dill or
Lentills, in poor slone-brajh land, which are a good podware for
cattle, and fown in many parts of the County.

31. As for Beans and Oats, they fow only the common that
are every where elfe ; but for Grafts, the ufual name for any Her-
bage fown for Cattle, efpecially If perennial (to pafs by the trU
folium purpureum majws five fativum, Clover-grafs; and Onobrychi*
fyicataflorepurpureo, femine echinato, commonly called Sainft-foin,

' Britannia Baconica in Corn-mall.

U or

ijq. The Natural Hiflory

or Everlafling-grafs ; but according to Dr. Morifon, the true Lu-
cern, now every where known, and therefore nothing concern-
ing the qualities and advantages of i/.) They have lately fown
Ray-grafs, or the Gramen Loliaceum, by which they improve any
cold, four, clay -weeping ground, for which it is beft, but good al-
fo for dryer up -land grounds, efpecially light Jiony, or fandy
Land, which is unfit for SainSf-foin.

32. It was firft fown (as I was told) in the Chiltern parts of
Oxford-fiire, and fince brought nearer Oxford by one Mr Euftace,
an ingenious Husband-man of I/lip, who though at firft laught at,
has been fince followed even by tbofe very perfons that fcorn'd
his Experiment, it having precedence of all other grajjes, in that
it takes almoft in all forts of poor Land, endures the drought of
Summer beft, and in the Spring is the carlyeft grafs of any, and
cannot at that time be over-ftock'd ; its being kept down making
it fweeter, and better beloved by Cattle than any other grafs :
Nay, fomtimes they have been known to leave Meddow hay to feed
on this : but of all other Cattle it is beft for Horfesy it being hard
Hay ; and for Sheep, if unfound, it having been known by expe-
rience to have work'd good cures on them, and in other refpe&s
the beft Winter grafs that grows.

33. As to the manure of it, fome fow but two hufiels on the
Statute Acre, but 'tis beft to fow three, mixt with the trifolium
agrarium Dodon<*i, called Melilot- trefoil, and fomtimes Non-fuch,
becaufe of it felf it is but a thinfpirygnz/?, and will not be of
any bulk the firft year, unlefs thickned by the Trefoil, which fail-
ing by degrees, the Ray or bennet-grafs (fo fome alfo call it)
thickens upon it, and lafts for ever. Of Ray-grafs and Trefoil
thusmix'd together, one at I/lip but lately hadfo advantagious
a crop, that from four Statute Acres, worth not above forty fal-
lings per annum ; befide the keeping fix or eight cattle till holy
Ihurfday, and the feeding ail the Winter following, had twenty
Quarters of Seed worth twenty pounds, and fourteen loads of
fodder, enough to winter five or fix cattle.

34. The fenum Burgundiacum caeruleum UObelii, or Medica legi-
tima Clufiiis? EW0tf«ei,commonly called Lucern. but by the Learn-
ed Dr. Morifon faid to be the true Saintt-join, is alfo fown here,
and found to agree well enough with a rich moift ground, but bet-
ter by much in a warm and dry foil. This ftands recommended

for

Of OXFO\T)-SHI%E. \\i

for an excellent fodder both by Men and Beafts, efpecially Hotfes,
which are purged, and made fat with it in the Spring time in 8 or
i o days. But no more of this, or any other grajfes, they having
all (but Ray-grafs) been already defcribed.
, 35. But befide Grafles, there have fome other Plants been cul-
tivated here of no mean ufe, fuch as Cnicws, five Cartbamwsfati*
vus, manured hafiard Saffron, fomtimes called Saflore, for dying
of fear lets ; and therefore by fome called alfo thefcarlet Flower,
whereof there was once a considerable quantity fown at North-'
Afton by Colonel Vernon, the Seeds being planted in rows about
a foot diftant, for the more convenient howing and keeping it
clean from weeds : In thefe rows it rifes with a ftrong round ftalk
three or four foot high, branching it felf to the top, where it
bears a great open fkaly head, out of which it thrufts forth ma-
ny gold yellow threds of a moft orient and fhining colour, which
they gather every day as fair as they ripen, and dry them well ;
which done, it is fit for fale, and dying of fcarlet,

36. And about Hampton and Clanfield, they make fome profit
of fowing C arum five Careum, or the Carui of thefheps, com-
monly called Caruwaies, which they fow in March or April, as
they do Parfly ; thefirft year (it feems) it bears no Seed, but the
next it feeds and (Tiatters, and fo will hold fix or feven years
without new fowing, or any other care or trouble, befide keep-
ing it from weeds: the encouragement they have to fow it, is
the value put on it ; one pound of this being efteemed by the
Grocers, worth almoft two of that which they have from Lon-
don.

37. And this is all I have met with concerning cultivated pi ants
worthy taking notice of in this County, but that like the wild /«-
digenows o«w,thefe have fomtimes accidents that attend them too :
for fuch, and no other, were the two ears of Wheat branched
from one ftalk, and fix ears of barley from another, found at
Fulbrook. near Burford, and given me by Mr. ?ourden,fmce deceaf-
ed. Nor have I more to add concerning them, but that I find
few that I have mentioned to be noted by Mr. Ray.

38. Next Herbaceous plants, I proceed to the Shrubs, amongft
which I met with but little extraordinary, only the Haw-thorn at
Bampton, in the bowling- green hedge, bearing white berries or haws,
which indeed I take to be a great curiofity : for though in Flowers

U 2 and

irf The Natural Hi jlory

and Animals, white be efteemed by fome zpenuriout colour, and
a certain indication of a fcarcity of nourifljment : Whence 'tis,
fays my Lord Verulam f, that blue Violets and other Flowers, if
they be ftarved, turn pale and white ; Birds and Horfes by age
turn white ; and the hoary hairs of men come by the fame reafon.
And though among Fruits the white for the moft part argues but a
mean concoclion, they being generally of a flajby over-watery taft,
as Pear-plums , the white-harveH plum, white Bullets? iyc%. and
divers forts of pears and apples of that colour. Yet in Berries the
cafe feems to be quite different, as we fee in Goo/berries, Grapes,
Straw-berries, Pafps, whereof the white are by much the more
delicate, and have the better flavor ; which if true, in the whole
Jpecies of berry-bearing Plants (as in probability it may) we have
reafon to conclude that the berries of this Thorn are not acciden-
tally white, through defecl or difeafe as in fome other Plants, but
that they are an argument of its perfection, and that the Thorn
it felf is of a quite different (pedes from all known before, and
may juftly challenge the name of Oxyacanthm bauis albis. Thefe
Berries 'tis true, I faw not my felf, not being there in time of
year for them, but being certified of the truth of it by the com-
mon voice of the Parifb, and particularly by the WorlTiipful
Thomat Hoard Efq; who firft told me of it, and the Reverend
Mr. Philips Arch-Deacon of Salop, and one of the three Vicars
there ; (men of great ingenuity and undoubted veracity) I had
no reafon to queftionthe certainty of the thing.

39. And hither I think may be referred the Glajlenbury Thorn,
in the Park and Gardens of the Right Honorable the Lord Ncr-
reys, that conftantly buds, and fomtimes bloffoms at or near
Chriflmajs : Whether this be a Plant originally of Oxjord-Jhire, or
brought hither from beyond Seas, or a graft of the old ftock of
Glaftonbury, is not eafie to determin. But thus much may be faid
in behalf of Oxford-Jbire, that there is one of them here fo old,
that it is now dying, and that if ever it were tranfplanted hither,
it is far beyond the memory of men.

40. As for the excellent and peculiar quality that it hath, fome
take it as a miraculous remembrance of the Birth of CHRIST, firft
planted by ?ofepho{ Arimathea ; Others only efteem it as an ear-
lier fort of Thorn peculiar to England'. And others again are of

f Sat. Hift. Cent. 1. K.im 93. Z Here except the TtrJegvin and white Pamafin.

*s xj

opinion

ofOXFO<R$>~SHt%E. 157

opinion, that it is originally a foreigner of fome of the fiutherrt
Cou: tries, and fo hardy a Plant, that it ftill keeps its time of
bloffoming (which in its own Country might be about the end of
December*) though removed hither into a much colder Climat.
Whether of thefe is moft probable, 1 {ball not determin, but leave
every Reader beft to pleafehimfelf ; and whatever more can be
faid of it, I (hall referve till I come into somerfet-Jbire, where it is
in greateft reputation, and has been moft obferved.

41 . Whereunto perhaps may be added a kind of* Rofa Caninat
which we have ventured to ftile, humilior fruclu rotundiori, for that
it wants much of the height and ftrength of the common <w,and
has round leaves, and the hips comprefled at the top,and branches
thick fet with fmall prickles between the great ones ; whereas the
common one has both leaves and hip long and pointed,and only a
larger fort of prickles fet at fome diftance : But whether this be not
therofafylveftr is folio glabro,flore plane albo,oijohn Bauhin, to wch
we find it moft agreeable of any defcribed *, we dare not pro-
nounce ; and therefore have not ventured to give it any draught,
but have left it to further enquiry, which that all men may readi-
ly make, they may find it growing plentifully in Magdalene College
water-walks • in the way up Heddington-h\\\ ; and in many other
places near about Oxford. And if judged at length to be that of
John Bauhin : however, we find it not noted by Mr. Ray, and there-
fore cannot be guilty of mifplacing it here.

42. Befide this, I met with no others cither dubious or omit-
ted, butfeveral of rhem difeafed,difcoloured or ftriped ; fuch
as P eridymenum fylveftre (with the more accurate Botanifts, rather
a fubfrutex than a Shrub*) found at Shotover-h'iW ; Cornutficmina
at Water flock', Rubui major vulgaris, in the Lane between Finjiock.
and Fawler ; and Sambucus vulgaris, in the hedges at Cowley, and
near to Oxford ; all which are ftriped yellow, but the lafttom-
what more remarkably than any of the former, the veins only be-
ing yellow, and a\\ the par enchymoita part of the leaf remaining
green, fo that the ftriping reprefents as it were a Network- but
this alfo growing out after fome time like the reft, muft be repu-
ted of the fame kind, and to proceed from the fame caufe. Which
is all I have found obfervable under the fpecies of firubs, ex-
cept it be worthy notice, that in the Chiltern part of Oxford-

* Hi ft. Plant, lib- 14. cap. I,

cantha,

15S The Natural Hi/lory t

Jbire the Rubws Id&m, Framboife, or Rafp-berry bufh, grows
plentifully enough among the woods and hills: and the Oxya-
cantha, or Barberry-buflh, between Vpper and Nether Kiddington.

43. Thus having difpatch'd both Herbs and Shrubs, I come
at length to the Trees, whereof I have met with but one undefcri- •
bed, and that a narrow leaved Elm, which alfo being fmooth, juft-
ly defcrves the name oSVlmws folio anguflo glabro, wherein it dif-
fers not only from the Vlmus minor of Parkinjon and Gerard, but
alfo from their Vlmws folio glabro, whofe Leaves they fay are no-
thing fo large as the Wycb Hafel, but neareft in bignefs, and exact-
ly in the figure of the common Elm \ whereas ours are much lefs,
and of a quite different/gar* ; being narrow, and having a pe-
culiar kind of pointed ending, as exa&ly exprefTed in Tab. 10.
Fig. 1 . Of thofe there are plenty in the Avenues to the Honfe of
the Honorable the Lady Cope, the Relift of the moft Ingenious
Sir Anthony Cope ofHanwell, where there is a whole Walk of them
planted in order, befide others that grow wild in the Coppices of
the Park.

44. As for Trees either not noted, or anyway doubted, I
have met with none here : but of Trees remarkable for fome un-
ufual accident attending them, there are feveral worthy notice.
For of Oaks-, though I found none fo prodigious as fome men-
tion'd by the Learned and Ingenious John Evelyn Efq; in his dif-
courfe of Forres! Trees h ; yet there is one between Nuneham-
Courtney and Clifton, that fpreads from boughs end to boughs
end, 81 foot, in circumference fuppofingthe boughs to fpread
uniformly 243, fhading 560 fquare yards of ground; under
which allowing three fquare yards for a horfe or other beafi, and
two fquare feet for a man ; 1 86 of the former, and 2420 of the
latter, may be (helter'd from the injuries either of fun or rain.

45 . Yet there is a fomwhat bigger Oakxhzn that, at Magdalen
College, near the Gate of the Water-walk?-, whofe boughs (hoot
from the boal fifteen or fixteen yards, which fuppofing they did
fpread of equal length from the trunk, like the rays of a circle ;
the content of ground on which it would drop, would be no lefs
than 768 fquare yards, whereof allowing as before, three fquare
yards of ground for a horfe to ftand on (three yards long, and
one yard broad, feeming a competent proportion) there might

t> Difcourfeof Forreft Trees, cap. 30.

2<;6 horfe s

OfOXFO%V-SHl%E. iyP

25 6 horfes ftand under that Tree ; or allowing as before 2 fquare
feet for a man, 3456 men.

46. Yet at Ricot, in the Park of the Right Honorable the Lord
Norreys, there is an Oak. yet fomwhat bigger then either of the
former, by the Author of Dodona's Grove, cal(ed his Robur Brita-
nicum, which extendeth its branches from the trunk of the Tree
about 1 8 yards, fo that the diameter of its circumference being
36 yards, it takes within its Area 972 fquare yards ; under the
umbrage of which Tree, upon the afore-mentioned proportions,
no lefs than 324 horfes, or 4374 men, may fufficiently be (hel-
ter'd.

47. Andthefeare theTrees moft capacious without ; fomeo-
thers there are that have given (lielter within the hollow of their
trunks : Mr. Evelyn tells us of one-, fom where in Gloccjier- (hire,
that contains within its bowels a prety wainfcoted Room, en-
lighten1 d with windows, and furnifti'd with feats, istc. which I
fuppofe may have given reception to many an honevt Gentleman,
Now though 'tis true we have none put to fo Honorable a ufe, yet
the hollow Oak. on Kidlington-grttn, for the neceflary and pub-
lick fervice it has done , ought perhaps to have preference,
though neither fo great nor gaudy ,• it being frequently ufed be-
fore the death of Judge Morton (before whofe Houfe it flood)
for the Imprifoning Vagabonds and other inferior MalefaSiors, for
the fpace of a night or fo, till they conveniently might be had to
the Goal at Oxford : Of whom,the hollow is fo large within, that ic
would receive eight or ten commodioufly enough, the Tree with-
out being 25 foot round above the fpurs,

48. Juft fuch another Prifon as this, as we are informed by
Johan. Ferdinand Hertoda \ was made in Moravia, in the trunk of
a Willcw 27 foot round, in the Village of Moravan, by a certain
Judge of that C ountry : The extravagant growth of which Tree,
he attributes to the fertility of the whole Marquifate ; whereas I
rather think (not but that the Country may be fertile enough)
the ex tr earn rank growth of that, and of all other Plants fo ex-
ceeding the ordinary couife of Nature, ought rather to be im-
puted to fome more peculiar agreeablenefs of the refpe&ive foils
and Plants, than is ordinarily met with in any other places of the
fame Country where-ever it be.

1 Tartaromafligis Moravia, part- 1. cap. 17.

49. On

160 The Statural Hijlory

49. On Blecbington-green, near the Angel 2nd Crown Inn,
there is alfo an Elm of fo capacious a hollow trunk, that it once
gave reception to a poor great bellyed woman (excluded all the
houfes in the Parijh, to prevent her bringing a charge on it) who
was brought to bed in it of a Son, now a lufty young man, and
living, as they told me, at or near Harwich. And yet neither
this Elm, nor the afore- mentioned Oak-> are either of them fo
big, but that they may be match'd in many other places, in fo
much that I fhould fcarce have thought them worthy my notice,
had it not been for the Strange ufes they were heretofore
put to.

50. And thus I had immediatly pafled on to Elms, but that
I am detained by a parcel of fubttrraneous Oaks, found fome years
fince at the bottom of a Pond on Binfield-beatk in the Parifh of
Shiplake, very firm and found, but quite through to the heart as
black as Ebony ; caufed 1 fuppofe by a Vitriolic humor in the Earth,
which joining with 0a\, the parent of a fort of Galls, might rea-
fonably enough produce fuchan^e^?, as we fee they do always
in the making of Ink.' And that I am not miftaken in this conje-
cture, the Ditches by the Woods fide between this and Caverfiam
will bear me witnefs, the Waters whereof, where they ftand un-
der Oaks and receive their dropings and fall of their leaves, be-
ing turned blacker than any Vitriolic ones I have any where
feen, except thofe of Mr. Tyrrill of Oakley in Buckjngham-
Jbire.

51. And thefe alfo no queftion performed the fame feat to
fome Tuns of Oak. found alfo under a Pond, belonging to the
W6rfhipful Thomas Stonor Efq; of Watlington-P ark, near Blunds
Court, in the Parifh of Rotherfield Pypard, which for the benefit
of the foil , and other conveniencies , being cleanfed in July,
Anno 1 6 75. the Work-men finking it a convenient depth, came
at laft, as it proved, to the top Branches of an Oak.'- relation
whereof being made to the owner the worthy Mr. Stoner, a per-
fon not only curious, but equally generous ; he prefently gave or-
der for a further inquifition, and accordingly employed an equal
number of men to the greatnefs of the work, who finking a fit a-
bout twenty yards over, and about fifty or fixty foot deep, found
many whole Oaks ; whereof one flood upright perpendicular to
the Horizon, the others lay obliquely, onely one was inverted, the

forked

Of OXFO%tD~SHl\E: 161

forked end downward : All of them ^ithrough of a black hiew
\\VeEbony, yet much of the Timber found enough, and fit for
many ufes, feveral of the Trees being a foot or fourteen inches,
and particularly one above three foot diameter, and all receiving
a very good polifh ; and therefore fitter for Joyners in-laid works,
than pales to fet about clofes, to which ufe that was put, which
was found at Binfield.

52. Befide the Trees, all along as they dug, they met with
plenty of Hafel-nuts from within a yard of the furface to the
bottom of the pit, which Times iron teeth had not yetcrack'd ;
and that which amazed me moft of all, I think they lay thicker
than ever they grew : Some of which, as well as the Oaks were
at fome places cover'd with a bluijb Jubilance, much of the con-
fiftence of the flower of Sulphur, and not much unlike to the
fineft blue ft larch ; which is the Coeruleum nativum before mention-
ed in this Hiftory, Cap. 3. Sell. 18. The Oaks had none of them
any roots, but plainly cut off at the kerf, as is ufed in felling Tim-
ber ; The (hells of the Nuts very firm without, but nothing re-
mained within of t\\eKernel, but a (hew of the dry outer rind.
And the blue fubftance not found only upon the Nuts and Oaks,hut
in any other fmall cavities of the Earth, difperfedly here and
there all over the pit.

53. Moreover, there was found a fort of white ft one difperfed
in like manner, in pieces fomtimes as big as ones fift, in colour
fomwhat like to white Marble or Alabafier, but of a much diffe-
rent texture. And near the bottom of the pit a large Stags head,
with the Brow-antliers, as found as the Beam it felf, with two
Roman Vrns, both which were broken by the incurious Work-
men.

54. How the Timber (lioukl be thus dyed as black as Ebony, I
hope I have made no improbable conjecture, nor is it liable that
I know of to any exception, unlefs to a Quaere : Why the Nuts
and Stags head were not dyed fo too ? To which it may be an-
fwered, That the pores of the (hells being clofer than the wood,
and neither the nuts nor the horn having any thing gallijb, the
Vitriol of the Earth could have no power on them, whether it
be wrought by repugnancy or combination, to work that ef-
fect.

55. But how the Timber fhould become thus buryed both

X at

i6i The Natural Htjlory

at Binfield and Blunds Court ? and at the latter how joyned in To
ftrange a mixture, as Hafel-nuts, a Stags head, and Urns ; and
at fom places only, with an Alabaftrine kind of fubftance ? re-
mains yeta knot not fo eafily loofed. However, finceattemts
have fomtimes pleafed, and it has always been acceptable in ma-
gnU voluiffe-, I fliall adventure to propound my prefent thoughts j
ftill referving the liberty to my felf, as well as Reader, of thinking
otherwife when fufficient grounds of change fliall offer themfelves
at any time hereafter.

56. Firftthen, as for the timber dug at Binfield- heath, 'tis
likely that might be feird and buryed there when Societies of men
(which I guefs was not common till the days of King Alfred) un-
der fome Mean, or Lord Paramount, firft chofe to themfelves cer-
tain places of aboad, and promoted Agriculture : which that
they might the better do. they fell'd and buryed the timber which
they could not well burn with the under-wood. Thus, as I have
been informed by a very worthy Perfon, who had it from his
aged Father, did our Grand-fathers ferve their timber in the in-
land parts of Kent to make room for tillage, digging a trench by
each tree after it was fell'd, and fo tumbling it in, its fale not be-
ing worth the portage, even there, fo few years ago. Much ra-
ther therefore might the firft Planters of Binfield-hcnh throw
it into Ponds, or other hollow places ready at hand, to make
room as well for habitation as tillage, in ancienter times : which I
guefs might be done in the Reign of King Alfred, 1. becaufehe
divided the Kingdom into Shires and Hundreds; and 2. becaufe
Binfield gives name to the Hundred (however inconfiderable it be
now) in this woody part of the County.

57. Moreover, that this Timber muft be buryed by defign,
and notcafually over-thrown, either by their roots being loofen'd
by to much wet, occafloned by the obftru&ion of Rivers, as Cam-
den k apprehends thofe Trees were, found in Chatmofs in Lanca-

Jhire : Nor by the over-flowing of any Rivers, nor fall of any"
Torrent, as Steno would have it1 : Nor undermined by fubterrane-
ou4 ftreams, or diffblution of matter underneath them, as Dr.
Jackson m thinks it happened about 1 8 years fince at Bilkely in
Hereford-Jlire, is plain and evident ; for that all the Country here-

* Camden va Lamajkire. x Steno in P>odhwi. concerning the matter of beds. m Philcfoph.Tranf-
acl. Kmn-'ji.

about

ofOXFO %p~S HI%E. irfj

about lies very high, and is as ftony afaft ground, as almoft any
where to be found.

5 8 . It remains therefore, that it muft needs be defignedty bu-
ried, and if in any other places of the heathy as well as in the
pond, may poffibly be difcover'd either by the herbage over them,
which will wither much fooner than any of the reft; as near Yeo-
vil in Somerfet-Jbire , where, as we are informed by the Reverend
and Learned Dr. Beala, the parched part juft over them, will
bear the very length and fhape in grofs of the trees, whence they
have been inftru&ed to find and take up hundreds of Oaks :
Or by the direction of the dew in Summer ; it being obferved in
Cumberland0, that the dew never ftands on any of the ground
under which fuch trees lie ; though poffibly too, on the other
fide we may have no fuch indications here in firm grounds, they
being hitherto obferved only in moors and mojfes.

59. But as for the timber at Blunds Court, as it was found, fo
it requires a deeper refearch, it being very unlikely they fliould
dig fo low, upon the fame fcore as at Binfield, fince timber might
have been buryed on far eafier terms., as formerly in Kent. Much
lefs can it be admitted it fliould be f wallowed by an Earth-quake,
or as the vulgar will needs have it, thus cover'd with Earth by
the violence of a Flood, and particularly by that in the days of
Noah. For in either of thofe cafes, we fhould have found each
tree with roots as well as branches, whereas thefe were plainly
hewen off at the Kerf, as is ufed in felling Timber, the marks of
the Ax ftill remaining upon them.

60. Befide, the feveral other things found in company of thefe
trees, feem to give teftimony of fome other matters. Thefirft
and chiefeft whereof, is that blewifh kind of fubftance, which
I am ftrongly perfwaded is C&ruleum nativum, and the rather,
becaufe found in an AJJj -colour" d Earth. The true Cyprian C<*ru-
hum, or Ultramarine, as is teftified by Rulandws, being found in
terra cinerea ; and the Cdzruleum Pat avinum, m glebis{ubcinereitF;
with whom agrees Kentmannus, as cited above, Chap. 3.^. 18.
And if true C<eruleum, we have reafon to fufpeft a Mine under-
neath ; for then, fays Aldrovandut, is Coeruleum produced, when
fome faline acid humor (fuch as the Vitriol that dies the Trees

» Philofoph. Tranfaft. Numb. 18. °BritamtiaBaconicamCum&erla»d. t Mart.Ruland. Lexic Al~

thtmia.

X 2 black)

\6/\. The Statural Hi/lory

black) corrodes fome metallick. matter or other q ; which fom-
times is Copfer, and fomtimes Gold, as Encelim witneifeth it is at
Lauterberg and Goldeberg in Silefta, in his Book De re Mttallica r;
where he alfo further adds, that Gold is fmelted out of-Geruleum
itfelf.

6r. Dr. Brown alfo tells us, in the account of his Journey
from Comara to the Mine-Towns in Hungary s, that at Schemnitz^
where the filver Ore holds fome gold, and at the fdver Mines in
/Vw, there are Rocks cover'd over with a fair (Inning blue. Ru-
landm1 alfo joins it with a filver Ore at Giefiubelia, and fo does
P/i;zy u : What then fhould hinder but it may be fo here ? fince
I do not doubt it to be the fleam of a mineral ; for when I was at
the bottom of the pit (above 50 foot deep) notwithftanding the
opennefs of trieplt, and coolnefs of the day, no Sun appear-
ing, I found it fo hot, that the drops followed one another on
my face , whence 1 judged the Mine-chamber not to be far
off.

62. Which 1 rather guefs to be of filver than of any other
metal, becaufe of the Alabaflrine or /far- like fubftance found
mixM with it ; wKich, fays Mr. Websler, was in fome places in-
termixtalfo in the beft Silver -mine ever yet found in England, the
Ore whereof held about fixtyfix pounds per Tun w. From all
which it may be concluded, that 'tis probable at leaft that here
may have been formerly fuch a mine, ftopt up as I firft thought by
the Aboriginal Britans, upon the arrival and conquefts of the Ro-
mans ox Saxons, who not being able to recover their Country with-
in the memory of man, it might be loft like the Gold-mine of
Glafs-Hitten'm Hungary, when Bethlem Gabor over-ran that Coun-
try x ; or the Gold-mine of Cunobtline in Effh, difcover'd again
temp. Hen. 4. as appears by the Kings Letters of Mandamus, bear-
ing date 1 1 May, An. 2. Rot. 34. directed to Walter Eitz^Walter
concerning it y ; and fince that loft again.

£3. Till at length they found the Vms, and then 'twas plain
and evident that it muft have been formerly fome Roman Work,
and probably ftill remains fome old Roman Mine, in all likelyhood
ftopt up, when Gallio of Ravenna fent hither with a Legion (the
laft that ever was in Britan) to repel the Pitts and Scots, was fi-

< Mufaum Metallicum^lit.ycap.%. ' Kneel, de re Met allica. cap. 22.. s Account of- his Travels, />. 93,
94. 1 Mart:Rula?idi Lexicon Alcbemi* * Nat. Hift. bb. 7,\> cap. 12. * Hiftory of Metals, cap.i\.
* DiEr<rwnsTn\c\*intoHu7igarj. \ ShJobnPettushhFodinteR'gal.cap 9- {5-13.

nally

Of 0 XFO^D-SHiliE \6i

hally recalled by Valentinian the third, toaffift JEtiu* in Gallia a-
gainft the In-roads of the Francks under Clodion, and to fupport
his then tottering, and quickly after ruin'd Wejlern Empire: At
-what time, fays Mr. Speed7- (but he quotes not his Author) they
buryed alio their Treafures, whereof we have found parcels in ail
Ages ever fince.

6\. And this 'tis likely they might do, firft by throwing in
irteS) which not lying clofe enough immediatly to fupport the
Earth, were after cover'd whh.Hjfels (when the Nuts were fully
ripe, which has occafioned their endurance to this very day) on
which they heaped Earth ; which after fome time finking below
thefurface of the other ground might occafion this Pond, never-
thought to have been any other till the time abovc-mention'd.

65. After the accidents of Oaks, come we next to thofe of
Elms, whereof there ftands one on -SizT^-Common, at the ffurs
next the ground at leaft 6 yards diameter, occafion'd here, as (I
fuppofe) at many other places, by erecting a Turf feat round the
bottom of the Tree, it being elfewhere but of ordinary dimen-
sions. But this is not fo extravagant in the excefs of the growth
of its trunk. near the ground, but there is another more ftrange
for a defect in that place, viz^ a great old Elm growing near the
North-eaft corner of the Bowling-green in Magdalene College
Grove, difbarked quite round, at moft places two foot, at fome
at leaft a yard, or four foot from the ground ; which yet for
thefe many years paft has flourifh'd as well as any Tree in the
Grove.

66. Now how this (hould come to pafs (all frees being be-
lieved to receive their nourifliment between the woodznd barks
and prefently to die upon their fepafatiori) many have admired,
but few attempted to explain, being further difcouraged by the
abfence of thepith, the Tree being within as hollow as a Drum,
and its outmoft furface, where Unbark'd, dead and dry befide.
All which I think had not ftartled me much, but that 1 found it in
our Tranfaftivns a pofkively afferted, that if any circle be drawn
round any common Englifp tree (only Afi excepted) as Oak,,
Elm, Poplar, isrc^ by incifion to the timber (how thin foever the
knife be) fo that no part of the rind or bark, to the very folid
timberbt uncut, the Tree will die from that part upwards.

* Hiftory of Vritan- lib. 6- cap. $4. * Philofoph. Tranfadt Numb. 43.

6j. For

\66 The Statural Hijlory

6 j. For the better clearing of which point, and avoidance of
the attending difficulties, it will be but requifite, though two prin-
cipal parts of our tree be wanting, to reprefent in Sculpture^ at
leaft afextant of the body of an Elm cut tranfverily, together
with the bark, and pith, as well as the woo J, as they all appear in a
Micro/cope: Which without further trouble, or fufpicion of falf-
hood, I have carefully taken out of the Anatomy of Trunks lately
publidi'dbythe accurate and ingenious Dr. Grew, zs'mTab. 10.
Fig. 2. only with fome alteration of the Letters of direttion.
Wherein

AB, CD. reprefent the whole hark, of the tree.
AB. the skin of the bark.
CD one kind offap veffels.
EF. another kind of ftp veffels.
GH. the parenchyma of the barkwherein theVeficuLe
are fo exceeding fmall, at difficultly to be percei-
ved by the Microfcope.
IK, LM, NO, PQ. the great air veffels pojlured chief-
ly in rings on the inner verge of every annual
growth of wood.
rs, rs, rs. thefmallair veffels poslured in crofs bars.
TVW thepith.

XY. the diametral portions , or infertions runing
through the fever al annual rings from thepith.
to the bark-
2Z22. the true wood, having been originally the fap
veffels of the bark-
now the fap veffels in this diagram being only to be found in the
Bark,and thofe paffages intercepted atfo great diftances, as above-
mention'd in our Elm, the great queftion (till returns as difficult
as before, and as far from folution.

68. In the clearing whereof, it muft firft for certain be an-
fwer'd, that its a great miftake (though it have obtained fo long)
that a tree only lives by the afcent of its nouriftiment in or be-
tween the Bark and the Wood, and that trees muft needs die
when once they are bark'd round , here being matter ot faft to
confute thofe opinions. And fecondly, That it is as certain a
truth as the other is a miftake-, that an Elm as well as an Ajb, or

any

Of OXFORDSHIRE. idy

any other tree, whatever Experiments may have been made, may
anddosfonitimeslive afttr 'tis difbarked, and that therefore there
muft be other veffels, beilde thtfap veff'ds of the Bark, capable of
the office of conveying fap, fufficient not only for the life, but
flourishing condition of a tree.

6j. And fwch perhaps are a fort of fmall veffels in the very
febematifm of the wood at zzzz, not perceptible by a Microfcope, it
being on all hands agreed on, that the whole wood of trees, was
all heretofore the fap veffels of the Bark : The Bark every year*
as Dr. Grewh well obferves, dividing into two parts, and diftri-
buting itfelftwo contrary ways ; the outer pan falling off' toward
the fkin at A B, and becoming at length the fkin it felf ; and the
inner part adding it felf to thewocd, xhzparenchymows part there-
of making a new addition to the Injertions at X Y, and the fap
veffels, a new addition to the lignou* parts at zzzz (landing be-
tween the Infert'wns : So that a Rirg of fap veffels in the Bark
this year, becomes a Ring of wood'm the tree the next ; all which
maybe perfectly fcen in the great Oak afore-mentioned, (§. 45.
of this Chapter, and belonging to the fame College) at feveral
places where the rind is bruifed off.

70. And if fo, not unlikely they may fo far retain their anci-
ent office of conveying fap, as to keep a tree alive, though not
augment it, which perhaps may be one different ufe of thefe fap
veffels in the woo;/ from thofe in the bark, thefe being fufficient
for the continuation of ztree, and the others ferving only for its
augmentation : Which if true, and our tree pad its increafe, as
no doubt it has been many years fince ; what need has there been
of any fuch thing as the fap veffels of the barky or indeed of the
bark, it felf?

71. Now that this indeed is certainly fo, feems agreed on
and confirmed by the learned and ingenious Mr. Willughby and
Mr. Raj c; who have made it appear by irrefiftible experience, that
the fap not only afcends between the bark, and the tree, but alfo
through the very fubftance of the wood: And by the accurate
Dr. Grewd, who allows to the wood, as weMfap veffels as air vef-
fels, it being proper to the bark, to have fap veffels only. All

which put together, feem abundantly to difpel all appearing dif*

b Compar. Anatom. of Trunks, c. 3. e Philofoph. Traniadt. tfumb.tfi. d Comparat- Anatom.
of Trunks, cap. 8.

ficulties

i<*8 The Statural Hiftory

Jiculties, and no queftion will fatisfie all unprejudiced Readers
how our tree comes to flourish, though difbark'd all round.

72. But if there fhall be any found fo fro ward, as not to al-
low(againft all experience) thofe minute fap veffels in the fubftance
of the wood, yet the vifible pricked circles between the annual coats
of the wood r, obferved alfoby Uv.lfillughby, Mr. Ray, and Dr.
Tong % which I fuppofe may be the large air veffels of Dr. Grew,
may be fufficient for this purpofe ; efpecially in Elm, where they
are numerous and of two forts, as in Tab. ro. Fig. 2. I K, &c.
rs, is"C It being the office of air veffels, for about a month in March
and ApriV, before the new Jap veffels of the ZwAare fit for ufe, to
convey the fap neceffary for the vegetation of all Plants. And if
fo, in old trees that have done growing, and have no need of the
annual new production of a bark.-, why may it not continually a-
fcend by them frill ?

73. To which if it be objected, that a tree lives as well by ve-
getable air zsfap, and that if the air veffels be continually fill'd with
fap, the tree muft dye on the other fide for want of air : It may

eafily be reply ed, that the ufe of the Infertions or Diametral por-
tions t Fig. 2. X Y, interceding the pith at T V W, and the paren-
chyma of the bark, at G H, all made of fmall kind of bladders
clufter'd together, is for conveyance of air, as well as the air
veffels themfelves. But if it be further urged, that the Diame-
tral portions only ferve to convey it by the bredth, and not the
length of the tree, which makes them inefficient for this pur-
pofe ; we have latitude enough, and can allow the lefftr fap vef-
fels that lye in crofs bars at r s to fupply that defect, and ftill re-
tain all the ranges of the great air veffels at IK, LM, NO, PQ , for
conveyance of the fap, in fuch like Trees as our old Elm.

74. And if it be further enquired, how it comes to pafs that
fome trees do dye upon the lofs of their bark, and all are not pre-
ferved by the help of the fap, or air veffels of the wood : It may
be anfwer'd, and probably rightly enough, that fuch trees as are
young, a growing, have a plentiful ifTue of x\\\nfap between the
bark, and the wood, and that readily bleed when they are wound-
ed or bored, do moft commonly (if not always) certainly dye:
whereas fome of the fame trees when older, pad growing, efpe-
cially if they have a more gummy juice, fuch as Afi, Elm, Lime-

* Philofoph. Tranfaft. tJumi. 43. ^48. » Dr. Grew of the vegetation of Plantsj cap. 1.

tree,

/

Of OXFOXV-SHmE* t#

tree, i$c may live and flourifli many years after their difbarking,
by the faps afcent through thcfap or air veffelsof the wood.

75. Moreover, amongft the accidents that have happen'ct to
Elms, I muft not forget a very pleafant one that fell out at Mid^
dle-Afton, where cleaving of Elm blocks at one Mr. Langffon's7
there came out a piece fo exa&ly reprefenting a fhdulder of Veal,
that it was thought worth while to preferve it from the fire by the
owner of it, by whom it was kindly bellowed on me, as an additi-
on to the reft of my Curiofities of Nature. ,0

76. But the moft remarkable accidents that ever befel trees,
perhaps here, or in any other County, were the foundations of two
eminent Religions houfes both occafion'd by trees. The firft, Ofeney
Abby founded in that place by Robert WOyly the fecond, by reafon
of a certain tree thatftoodin the meddows whereafter he built ; the
Abbey, to which it feems repaired a company of ¥$t$y. as often
as Editha the wife of Robert came to walk that way, which in
company with her maid (lie often ufed to do (as Z^/dWexpreffes
it) to folace her felf ~s : at whofe arrival the Pyes were alwaies fo
clamorous, that/5e took notice of it, and confults with one Radul-
phus Canon of St. Fridtfwid's, what this might fignifie : who am-
ingly advifes, that (he muft build fome Cburcb or Monaflery where
the tree ftood, which^e inftantly procures her Hutbmd to do,
and this Radulphut (her Confeffbry to be made the firft Prior.

77. What tree this was, Leland acquaints us not ; but
that which occafioned the fecond Foundation in the place where
it is, was a triple Elm, having three trunks ifTuing from one rooti
Near fuch a Tree as this Sir Thomas White, Lord Major of London
(as we have it by Tradition) was warned in a Dream he (hould
build aCollege,for the education of Youth in Religion and Learn-
ing : whereupon he repairs to Oxford, and firft met with fom-
thing near Glocefter-Hall that feem'd to ahfwerhis Dream, where
accordingly he ere&ed a great deal of Building. But afterward;
finding another Elm near St. Bernards College, fuppreft not long
before by King Hen. 8. more exa&ly to anfwer all the circumftan-
ces of his Dream, he left off at Glocefter-Hall, and built St. John
Bap. College, which, with the very Tree befide it, that occafion'd
its Foundation, flouriflhestothis day, under the Preftdence of the
Reverend and Learned Dr. Levinz^ z cordial promoter of this

Uejlgn. g Lelandlltinerarivm, Vol.7..pag.\%-,\t).

Y 78. Be-

lyo *The Statural Hijlory

78. Befide the Elms at St. Johns knit together at the root, there
are two Beeches in the way from Oxford to Reading, near a place
called Cain-end, more ftrangely joined together a great height
from the ground: for the bodies of thefe Trees come from diffe-
rent roots, and afcend parallel to the top, but are joined together
a little before they come to bough, by a tranfverfe piece of tim-r
ber entering at each end into the bodies of the Trees, and growing
jointly with them, for which reafon 'tis commonly called the
Callow-tree, though the piece that intercedes them lies fomwhat
obliquely ; How this fhould come to pafs many have wondered,
but the problem I guefs may be eafily folved, only by allowing
the tranfverfe piece of Timber to be one of the boughs of the Tret
to which its lowermoft end ftill joins, which whilft young and
tender, might bear fo hard againft the body of the neighboring
Tree, that with the continual motion of the wind, it might not
only fretitfelf afunder, but gall off the barktoo of the other
Tree ; which clofingup again in calm weather at the rifing of the
fap, might well include fo near a neighbor, firft within its bark',
and after fome time within the wood it felf : which 1 have obferr
ved to have been done but very lately in New College Gardens,
where the boughs of two different Sycomores are thus grown to-
gether, only by bearing hard on one another, and interchangably
fretting away each others bark, and then doling up again at the
rifing of the fap.

79. There have alfo fome accidents befallen the Ajb and Wil-
low, not commonly met with • the former whereof in a Clofe of
one Mr. Coker, of the Town of Biffeter, grows frequently out of
the boal of the other, yet not as 'tis ufual amongft other Trees,
but fo that the roots of the Ajhes have fome of them grown down
through the whole length of the trunks of the Willows, and at laft
fattening into the earth it felf, have fo extended themfelves that
they have burft the Willows in (under, whofe fides falling away
from them and perifhingby degrees, what before were but the
roots, are now become the bodies of the Afies themfelves. But
this happens only to Willows that have been lopt at fix or feven
foot high ; the Willows at Enfion, in the walks near the Rock,
whereof there are feveral about 50 foot high, being incapable I
fuppofe of any fuch accident.

80. Befide this unufual growth of the Aft, I have met with

other

■ ofOXFO^p-SHIT^E. 171

Other accidents that frequently attend it, which becaufe fo much
commended by Pliny h in Maple, in which they are common, 1
think ought much more to be noted in this: And fuch are the
Nodofities called Brufcum and Mollufcum, to be found in Afi as
well as Maple, which when cut, (hew a curled and twining grain ;
the Brufcum th ick and intricate, the Mollufcum being Itreaked in a
more direcl; courfe. With the Mollufcum of Afh there is a whole
Clofet wainfcoted, at the much Honored Mr. Stonor's o^Watling-
/cwPark, the grain of the panes being curioufly waved like the
Gamabe's of Achats. And at the Worlhipful Mr. Reads, of the
Parifti of Ipfden, the Brufcum of an old Afb is fo wonderfully fi-
gured, that in a Dining-table made of it (without the help of
fanfie) you have exactly reprefented the figure of the Filh, we
commonly call a Jack.-, though endeavoring to mend, they have
fomwhat man' d it by Art: and in fome other Tablets the figures
of a Vnicorn, and an old Man from the navel upwards, but nei-
ther of thefe fo plain as the former.

81. Jacobus Gaffarellus, amongft his unheard of Curioftties\
tells us of a Tree found in Holland, which being cut to pieces by a
wood-cleaver, had in one part of it the figure of a Chalice, in
another that of a Priefts Albe, in another that of a Stole ; and in
a word, there were reprefented very near all the ornaments be-
longing to a Priefl : which relation if true, fays he, it muft needs
be confeft, that thefe figures could not be there cafually or by-
chance ; and indeed 'tis very hard to think, howfo many things
pertinent to the fame office, fhould thus meet together without
fome defign of Nature. However, till I am better fatisfied of the
truth of the thing, or convinced by the fight of fome other fuch
Curiofity, I cannot afford to think ours (being altogether inde-
pendent) more than meer accidents.

82. Befide thefe unufuai accidents of whole Trees,ox: their Trunks^
there are fome alfo that have happened to their upper branches
and leaves, whereof the former are fomtimes fafciated, and the
latter ftriped. In willows, and fome other of the fofter woods,
the uppermoft boughs are commonly fafciated, but the beft of the
kind I ever yet faw, was the top-branch of an Aft, which I met
with at Biffeter, not only fafciated, but moft uniformly wreathed
two or three times round. And there is a good example of this

k Nat- HiH lib. 16. cap. i6- I Unheard of Curiofities, chap. 5.

Y 2 na~

I j% The Natural Hi/lory

nature, in a top branch of Holly hanging up in the Gate-houfe of
the Pbyflck-garden, whence 'tis plain, that this happens alfo to
the hardeft woods ; and in both, by the afrent of too much
nourifhment, though in branches of Trees, efpecially fuch as are
not only flat but helically curled, I guefs there concurs fome blaft,
orfome fuch like matter, that contracts the fibers and fo turns
them round, befide the cxcefs in the afcent of their nouriQi-
ment.

83. As for the ftriped leaves of 7rar,as well as thofe of Shrubs,
and herbaceous Plants, I fuppofe they may be met with almoft in
every kind. The greater Maple, mifcalled the Sycomore, was found
ftriped white not many years (ince in Magdalen College Grove,
and tranflated thence into the Pbyflck-garden, where it flourifhes
ftill and retains its slripings ; and I hear of a ftriped Elm fom-
where in Dorfet-Jbire. Dr. Childrey k, and out of him the inge-
nious Mr. Evelyn l, inform us of an Oak in Lanhadron Park in the
County of Cornwall (to omit the painted Oak. in the Hundred of
Eaft') which conftantly bears leaves fpeckled with white. And
there was another of thefe found thisinftant year, 1676. by my
worthy Friend Dr. ThomasTayler, in a place called Frid-wood, in
the Parifh of Borden near Sittingbourn in Kent. But of thefe more
hereafter, when I come into thofe Counties.

84. Of Vnufual trees now cultivated in Oxford-flnre, there
are fome remarkable ; fuch is the Abele-tree, advantagioufly pro-
pagated by Sir George Croke of Waterftock-> which he does, by
cutting flakes out of the more fubftantial part of the wood, which
put into moift ground grow more freely than willows, coming in
three or four years time to an incredible height. And fuch are
the Fir-tree, and the leffer mountain Pine, whereof there are fe-
veral Nurferies planted in the Quincunx order, at Cornbury, in the
Park, of the Right Honorable the Earl of Clarendon, which they
propagate by flips twifted, as well as by Kernels, to that advantage
that there is great hopes of beautiful and Irately Groves of them ;
fuch as I met with at the Right Worfhipful Sir Feter Wentworths at
Lillingston Lovel, where there are three Walks of Firs, moft of
them 20 yards high.

85. Which Parifh, if the Reader look for in the Map of Ox-
fordshire hemuft notexpeft to find,though it belong to the County,

*■ Britannia Bacmica in ComnaalL ' Difcourfeof Foreft Trees, op- 3.

it

Of OXFO%V~SHI%E: 173

it lying five miles within Buchjngham-fiire : as on the other fide
feveral Parishes of Berkshire, Buckingham-Jbire, and Worcejler-
flrire, are placed within 0>ford -fij ire. How thefe things come
to pafs we have little of certainty., but in all probability this
Lillingflcn was accounted in Oxford/lire for the fake of the Lords
Lovels, whofe Inheritance, from the addition, we may conclude
it once was ; who being powerful men in thefe parts, and not un-
likely moil times the Kings Lieutenants, might have permiffion to
reckon this their own Fftate, within their own Jurisdiction as
part of Oxford fiire ; as I fuppofe all other Purifies thus placed
out of the body of their Counties, may alfo have been.

86. From this neceflary, and therefore I hope pardonable di-
greffion, 1 proceed to fome Fruit-trees not ordinary elfewhere,
fuch as the double-bearing Pear-trees : whereof I met with one in
the Parifh of Hafeley, at a place called Latcbford, in the Hort-
yard of Mr. Gooding, called the Pear of Paradice, whofe firft
Crop is ripe about Midfummer, and the fecond at Micbaelmafl.
There is alfo another of thefe, but of a different kind, in the
Parifh of Stanlake at the Chequer-Inn, called the Hundred-found
Pear, which BlofToms at two diftinct times, and bears two Crops,
whereof it has both forts (much like the Fig) upon the Tree at
a time, fome rire, and others green. But in both thefe trees,
the Pears in the fecond Crops are fomwhat lefs than of the firft,
and grow both after a peculiar manner, moft of them, if not all,
coming forth at the ends of the twigs, which are all the pedicles
thev feem to have ; and therefore on the tree they do not hang
downwards, like thofe of the firft Crop, but point up in the air,
or any other way the (hoots direft them.

87. At Corpus Chrifii College they have a fort of Pear-tree, that
bears Fruit in hardnefs little inferior to the younger shoots of
the very tree that bears them ; and therefore not undefervedly by
fome called the Wooden- pear, though in wet years I have known
them pretty foft : but generally they are fo found, and of fo un-
alterable a conftitution, that 1 have now fome by me that were fea-
fonably gather'd, above ten years old, as hard and firm as ever
they were at firft, only fomwhat lefs than when firft gather'd;
for which very reafon, in fome parts otworceiler-p/ire where they
have plenty of them, they are called Long-lafters, being not fub-
jeft to rot like other Pears.

88. And

174- *n°e ^Kat:Ural Hiflory

88. And thus I had finifh'd the Chapter of Flints, but that I
think fit to acquaint the Reader of a further defign I have concern-
ing them, viz. Of enquiring hereafcer into fome other aedknts
of Plants of an inferior quality to any before mentioned ; which
yet perhaps are more abftrufe in their confideration than the more
noted ones are. And fuch are the bkbs or hlislers we find on the
leaves of many Trees and. Shrubs, which fomtimes happen to them
after heat and droughts, and fomtimes too upon cold nipping
weather: but whether thus infected from the air from without,
or by juices within, or by both ; and when by one, or the other,
or both together ? is a Qvejiion requires a great deal of time, and
more feduiity than has yet been afforded, to be but probably fol-
ved.

89. A;idthisl the rather defign, becaufeall that I find certain
concerning them yet, is only that the weak, and free growing
fappy Trees are moft fubjeft to them,and the ftout Ever-greens but
little, if at all: that the infection for the moft part is under, and
the blisler above the leaf, but fomtimes otherwife : that the bli-
fiers fomtimes have Infecls in them, fomtimes bear fungus's on

their tops l, and fomtimes have neither : But what kind oflnfefls
or fungus's they are, that belong to each Plant that have them ?
or whether the fame Plants have not fomtimes different Infetts
and fungus's, efpecially in dry, and wet years? are alfo Quefiions
that require indefatigable induftry, to be in any meafure fatisfied.-

90. And yet even in thefe, if Godgive me life, and I find en-
couragement to proceed in my undertaking, I intend to attempt
fomthing. As alfo to find out how it comes to pafs,that of the

feeds of many Plants, fuch as Oak, Ajh, Elm, Beech-, Tew, Ju-
niper, Hemp, isre. there come tome Plants again that will never
bear feeds, if not timely prevented by our Learned Prcfefor of
Natural Philcfophy, the Ingenious Dr. Millington ; the Learned
Dr. Morifon our Botanic Profeffbr; or the Learned and accurate
Dr. Grew, now reading, writing, and pra&ifing the Anatomy, of
Vegetables.

1 See Mr. Hooks Micrograph. Obfervat. 19.

CHAP.

Of OXFORDSHIRE. i7s

CHAP. VII.
Of 'Brutes.

HAVING done with the Vegetative, I proceed to the
Animal Kingdom , wherein I (hall confider firft , that
part of it that indeed has apprehenfwn of external Qbjefls,
of Fkafures and Pains, and Locomotion to make addrefs to the one,
and fly the other, but is void of reafon ; within which may be
comprehended all manner of Brutes, fuch as Birds, Infefts, Fijhes,
Reptils, and four-footed Beafis, which 1 prefume may be a fuhjeft
fufficient for this Chapter, though as in the former of Plant % I in-
tend only to mention7«<i>, as cither have not been noted before^
are very unufual, or have fomthing extraordinary attending them ;
Leaving what concerns Men for a Chapter by it felf.

1. And herein, as before in the Chapter of Formed ftones (and
as I intend for the future in all other Chapters fo far forth as they
will bear it) I (hall ohferve the method of the whole Efay, ancj
firft treat of fuch Animals as are Inhabitants of the Heavens,thp^
of thofe that belong to the Waters, and laftly of fuch as inhabit
the dry Land; of which in their order.

3 . But amongft the inhabitants of the Air or lowermoft Hea-
ven, it cannot be expe&ed in fo fmall a Cpunty , I (hould produce
many not already noted, fince the feathered JCingdom has been fo.
lately and fo carefully furveyed, py the Learned and induftrious
F ranch Willughby Efq; Nor indeed could I rneet wJth any omitted
by him, except perchance a UttleBird, forntimes feen, but oft -
ner heard in the Park at Woodiiock.-, from the noife that it makes,
commonly called the Wood- cracker : Defcribed to me (fpr I had
not the happinefs to fee it) to be about the PJgnefs of a Sparrow,
with zblut back, and a reddijb breaft, a wide mouth and a long
bill, which it puts into a crack or fplinter of a rotten bough of a
Tree, and makes a noife as if it were rending afunder, with that
violence, that the noife maybe heard at leaft twelve fcore yards,
fome have ventured to fay a mile from the place.

4. Which is alU could find in the County of Oxford omitted by
that careful and ingenious Author^ except I may have leave to

number

iy6 The Statural Hijlory

number the Viabolu* marinwi, or Sea Devih-bird mention 'd by
JohnSion m, and others, and to be feen in the Repofitory of the
Bodleyan Library \ Which though it has fo ill a name, contracted
I fuppofe from its exquifite blacknefs, and the ill it bodes to Sea -
men whenever they fee it; yet is a very beautiful Bird, and has
therefore by fome been numbered amongft the Manucodiata's, and
called the black Bird ot Paradife. But of this no more, becaufe
no inhabitant of the Land, much lefs of this County.

5. Which yet I think I had not forborn to defcribe, had our
Bird been perfeft, it not being to be found in Sculpture in any
Author that I know of : For though 1 did it not in Foreign un-
defcribed Hants growing in our Gardens, well knowing the much
abler Dr. Morifon to be about it : Yet 1 think I may take the liber-
ty to do it in Animals, not hearing of any body elfe nowdefign-
ing fuch a work.

6. And therefore (hall not omit the Hen from the Ifle of St.
Htlen, now living, and in the poffeffion of the Right Honorable
the Lord Norreys, a great lover of Curiofities in all forts of AnU
mats: which for her kind I think may be accounted one of the
yifAfurvxesi and amongft them of the rapacious, carnivorous fort,
having her beak near its end, crook'd after the manner of a Vul-
tur, and ftr iking with her pounces like a Hawk, though her talons
indeed are not much more turned than thofe of a common houfe
Hen.

7. In her head 'tis true (lie is fomwhat like the fecond fort of
Gypaetos of Aldrovandu* n, or the Percnopteros of Johnfion °, be-
ing bald and wrinkled, but not quite to the hinder part of the
head, as they are faid to be ; having from the crown of her head
down to the beginning of her neck-, and fo behind her ears to her
throat, a fort of (lender plume, like brifiles, which (he ere&s or
lets fall at pleafure : in her gorge itio 2nd pounces {\\e is very unlike
them, for though (he be carnivorous, yet her gorge is (lender, and
though (he ftrike with her pounces, they (carce exceed in bignefs
thofe of a common houje Hen, wThereas the gorge 2nd pounces of
the Gypaetos, and Percnopteros, are protuberant and very long ;
nor has (he like them any part of her plume fo difpofed at the
top of her back, as to reprefent a Monks hood, thrown backward
from his head p.

■ DtAvibui./ii.^. tit 2. cat>. 4. » Omithofog.Tom. 1. lib. 2. cap. 10. ° Hifr.Nat. de Avibus, lib. j.
Tit. 1. cap. 2. Art. 4. * Vid Willughbeii Ornitholog. lib. leap. 3 Artie. 8 & Tab. 4,

8. How-

OfOXFO^T>^SHl%E. \77

8. However, for her near refemblance of them in her bead-,
and fome other parts, we cannot but allow her to be a Bird of that
genus, though undefcribed ; and accordingly advife, (lie may be
placed amongft them by future Ornithologies, to which purpofe
let them take the following defcription.

9. Her beak'is ftraight, only at its extremity, where it is turn-
ed like the Vulturs, in length 2 inches J, and her Nares long and
narrow, as in Tab. 1 o. Fig. 3. ThepupilU of her eyes are full and
black, encompaffed with hides of a dark brown colour, bald
and wrinkled to the top of the head, and fo round by the ears
(which are of an irregular oval form) next which ftand the pen-
rue fetiformes as aforefaid ; her gorge not at all protuberant, but
flender ; her wings complicated or folded to her body, reach al-
moft to the end of her train, and exten<ied at full ftretch, have
their extremities diftant about five foot, being fomwhat larger
thanthofe of a Lanar, and containing in each of them ^^Remi-
ges, i.e. befide the five feathers, 29 at leaft or 30 flags : her
thighs and pounces are much likethofeof a common houfeHen,
having the outermoft talon knit to the reft by a memhran. In the
whole, (lie is bigger than a Mofcovy Gofiawk,, from the point of
her beak, to the extremity of her train, above two foot long,
her plume for the moil: part being of an A(h-colour, mixt with
fome white feathers, and growing whiter upon mewing, as thofe
of Hawks do.

10. Other Birds there are here that are but rarely feen, yet
breed in this Country, and are continually with us, and therefore
to be numbred amongft thofe we call perennial. Such are the V-
pupa the Hoopoe, or Hooping-bird; whereof I faw one alive on
Otmoor, and another was given me for the Repofitory of the Bod-
leyan Library (killed fomwhere about Caffenton*) by one Mr. Pain-
ter Alderman of Woodfiock. A Bird it is to admiration beautiful,
being curioufly deck'd with feathers of divers colours, and with
a large creft on its head, as it is exquifitely engraven both by Dr.
Charleton * and Mr. Willughby ; but like the Viabolu* marinm, ne-
ver appearing or being heard (as the vulgar will have it) till im-
mediatly before fome approaching calamity.

11. As for Birds that have cafually flown hither, or come but
at fome certain feafons of the year, by Naturalists ftiled Aves mi-

* OTiomafi.Zotcon- Titul Avts}ClaJfeConorarum.

Z gratorU

jy8 The Statural Hijlory

gratorU, betide Swallows, and fome well known winter Fowl:
The Cormorant has been obferved to come hither about Harvefi
time, whereof there was one killed from St. Maries fteeple (ti-
red with a long flight) An.i6j$. and another young one taken up
in Arncot-fielh fallen down in the Corn,and brought me to Oxford.

12. But what is fom what ftranger, in the year 1644. the Pi-
ca Brafdienfis, or Toucan, whofe beak, is near as big as its whole
body, was found within two miles of Oxford, and given to the
Repofitory in the Medecine-Schcol, where it is ftill to be feen ; which
argues it a Bird of a very rank, wing, there being a neceffity of
its flying from America hither, except we (hall rather fay it might
be brought into England by Ship, and afterwards getting away
might fly hither.

13. Of Birds welljmown of unufua I colours, I have met with
two remarkable examples : the one a white Linnet, given me by
Mr. Lane of Deddington ; and the other a fort of white, zndpy-
td Phefants, kept by the Right Honorable James Lord Norreys of
Ricot 1 Whereof how fome happen to be of different colours from
the reft of their ffecies, efpecially when they have deviated from
their kind by whitenefi, hath been a queftion thought worthy of fe-
vere examination. In the profecution whereof, it hath been ob-
ferved (as before in the Chapter of Plants, §.38.) that whitenefi
often proceeds from a defeft of moifture or nourifhment ; and it
hath been a received opinion concerning Birds, that they may
become white by plucking off their firft feathers, which will caufe
their new ones to come forth of that colour. But befide thefe
ways of art and privation, it is manifeft that Nature her felf fom-
times positively defigns fuch a colour, even in ftecies too that
feldom are of it, many other Animals as well as Birds, having
been produced of that colour unufual to the (pedes, as brisk and
well liking as any others whatever, fuch as white Moles, Rats, Mice^
and fomtimes white Fawns, where there has been neither Buck.
nor Doe of that colour in the Park.

14. And this Iguefs (lie does by giving fome certain Indivi-
duals of each fpecies a fkin of finer and more contrafted/wrs than
others, which will caufe -whitenefi in feathers, hair, Isrc. by not
permitting of the fulphureout particles to expire, which give varie-
ty of colours q ; thus we fee in the cicatrization of wounds where

1 Vtd. Willi fium de Ferment, cap. 2.

the

ofOXFO^-SBlXB. i79

the fkin is drawn together like apurfe,and the/tfmclofed up^ the
hair comes conftantly white : thus the fubtile Veterinarians pro-^
cure white /Jars, or other defired marks in the fore-heads of their
horfes ; and I have feen the fkins of black Grey-hounds powder-
ed with white, or made Ermynefs, by applying wood-ticks to their
(kins when young, both which are performed alfo by cicatrization,
and clofingthe/ww of the (kin, thereby hindering the exhalati^
on of the Sulphur in thofe parts.

15. Which will further appear from an obfervation of my
Lord Verulam's concerning Flowers, whereof the whites for the
moft part are^more inodorate than other colours : And this he
makes out in many Flowers, as fingle white Violets, the white Rofe,
white July-flowers, (src. We find alfo, fays he, that bloifoms of
Trees that are white are commonly inodorate ; as of Cherry, Pear,
and Plum-trees: whereas thofe of Apple, Crab, Almond, and
Peach-trees, are bluftiy, and fmell fweet. The caufe whereof is,
that the texture of thefe Plants producing white Flowers (ex-
cepting fuch as produce white Flowers only, as Lillies * or are
extravagantly fucculent,as the white Satyrion) is fo very clofc and
fine, that it will not permit any fulphureom particles, which are
alfo the caufe of fmell 's r as well as colours, in any meafure to ex-
bale. Which poffibly may be found true, if duly examined, iri
all forts of Animals ; and if fo, we hereby may be profitably in-
ftructed what Beaffs of each kind are leaft offenfive, and fitteft for
theconverfation of men ox women, efpecially Ladies, who com-
monly have great fagacity in fmelling, may hereby be directed in
the choice of their Melitdti or Lap-dogs:.

16. As for pyed Birds that are generally of another colour,
fuch zspyed Phefants, &c. the cafe iseafier, for fuch are produced
either by common colour 'd Hens troden by a white Cockrphefant,
or viceverfa ; which poffibly may have happened alfo by our white
Linnet whether male or female, or in any other Birds of any o-
ther (pedes, as we fee it falls out in Dogs and Horfes, and moft
other Animals.

1 7. And this had been all concerning Birds, but that at Wit-
ney, Anno 1674. I met with an Egg about the bignefs of a Pid-
geons, containing another imperfect one in it, given me by Mr.
Hinton the then Minifter there, which feems to have been in the
way toward fuch an Ovum in Ovo as is mentioned by the Learn-

' Idem in loco citato-

I 2 ed

180 The Natural Hiflory

«d Dr. Harvey, and (hewn by him to that incomparable Prince,
Charles the Martyr, and many others; Vidi inquit Ovum pcrexi-
guum (Fibricius Centeninumvocat, & Noftrates mulieres Gallo a-
fcribunt) crufta teCium, intra aliud Galling ovum majus, perftlum
isr cortice circumcirca obteclum, contineri*. Juft fuch an Egg as
this, pregnant with another, is preferved in the Repofitory of
the King of Denmark* which wasiliewn by his Majefty to The
Bartholine, as heteftificsinhis Epiflles* ; who alfo faw another
in the year i66y u. And Geo. Sebaftian Jungius met with ano-
ther of thefethe nineteenth of June, i6ji w. which are Autho-
rities enough (though more might be brought) to juftifie my
mentioning the thing, though by fome thought inconfider-
able.

1 8. Yet before we take leave of the inhabitants of the Air,
we have fomthing worth notice concerning winged Infecls, and
particularly of the feminine monarchy of Bees, not only the Fro-
gnofiicators, but Concomitants of Eloquence : of their Prophetical
prefages of future Eloquence, we have inftances in Plato, Pindar,
Lucan, and that eloquent Father of the Church St. Chryfoftom, a-
bout whofc mouths, whil'ft Infants, the Bees gathered,and dropt
their hony, thereby fore-telling thofe Rhetorical Endowments they
fliould hereafter be poffeft of, which accordingly came to pafs.

19. But none of thofe, fays the induftrious Butler*, are more
memorable than the Bees of Ludovicus Vives, who being fent in
the year 1520. by Cardinal Wolfey to Oxford, to bepublick Pro-
feforof Rhetorick. there, and placed in the College of Bees (Cor-
pus Chrifti being fo called by the Founder in his Statutes) was
welcomed thither by a fwarm of Bees, which to fignifie the in-
comparable fweetnefs of his Eloquence, fetled themfelves over his
head under the leads of his Study (atthc weft- end of iheCloyfter)
where they continued about 130 years.

20. The truth of tb'usftory appears as well by the general voice of
tbe Houfe, who have received it by tradition, a* by the fecial tefti-
mony of a worthy Antiquary [Mr. Brian Twine] who affirmed [to
Mr. Butler] that he had often heard hh majler, Dr. Benefield (one of
thepublick. Profeflbrs of Divinity) who then had L.Vives\y cham-
ber and ftudy; and Dr. Cole (then Prefident, and in Q. Maries

• De Getter at. Animalium^Exercit. io- deOvictrtht. « E»i(l. Cent. 3. Ep, 42. fcr Epijf :. CM . 4. Ep.
63. u MtfceUoneaCur. Med. Thy], Acad. Nat. Curiojbnmi. An. 1. obferv.^d. w Jbid.An.2. obferv- 2<jO-
* Hiftory of Bees3 Numb. 59.

days

Of OXFO%p-SHl%E. 181

days Scholar of this Houfe) to fay as much, calling thefe Bees, Vi-
ves his Bees.

21. In the year 1630. the leads over Vivcs bit iludy being
pluckt up, [it then being theftndy of Mr. Gabriel Bridges) their
Stall was taken, and with it an incredible mafs of bony : but the Bees*
as prefaging their intended and imminent defiruftion (whereas they
were never known to have /warmed beforej did that Spring (to pre-
Jerve their famous kindj fend down afairfwarm into the Prefidents
garden, which in the year 1633. yielded two /warms; one whereof
pitched in the garden for the Prefident ; the other they fent up as a
new Colony topreferve the memory of this mellifluous Doftor, as the
Univerfity {filed him in a Letter to the Cardinal. Thus far Mr*
Butler.

22. And there they continued, as I am informed by feveral
ancient Members of that Society that knew them, till by the Par-
liament Vifitation, in Anno 1648. for their Loyalty to the King,
they were all, but twoy turned out of their places, at what time
with the reft of the inhabitants of the College, they removed
themfelves, but no further than the Ea/l end of the fame Cloy-
Jier, where as if the feminine fympathized with the mafculineWio-
narchy, they inftantly declined, and came fhortly to nothing.
After the expiration of which ancient Race, there came, 'tis true,
another Colony to the Eaft corner of the Cloy/ier, where they con-
tinued till after the return of his moft Sacred Majefiy that now is :
but it not being certain that they were any of the remains of the
ancient Stock, (though 'tis faid they removed thence to the firft
place) nor any of them continuing long there, I have chofe ra-
ther to fix their period in the year 1648. than to give too much
credit to uncertainties.

23. And thus unhappily, after above fix fcore years conti-
nuance, ended the famous ftock of Vives his Bees, where 'tis
pitty they had not remained, as Virgil calls them, an Immortale
Genit4y. However, fmce they are now irrecoverably loft, it
would not I think be amifs, if the College provided them ano-
ther Colony ; not that I think that Learned Society wants any fuch
monitor of lnduftry, but that itfeems but congruous, they Chould
always have by them the Thing, whereof their whole Houfe is but
the metaphor, the Founder calling it Ahearium, and the Students,

1 Oiargic Lib. 4.

Inge-

iSt The Statural Hi jlory

Ingeniofas apes, dies notlefque Ceram ad Dei honorem, & dukiflua
mella confident cs, ad juamisr unherforum Chriftianorum commodita-
tern. And this I the rather perfwade, becaufe by the new dif-
covery of that excellent method of Bee-houfes and Colonies, they
are freed from moft, if not all the hazards, charge, and trouble
that heretofore attended them : Not to mention the advantage
and profit accrewing by them, which has always been judged fo
confiderable, that there have been feveral Trails written and
publifli'd full of experiments, directions, and methods to be ufed
in the menage of thefe Infecls.

24. But none yet extant that I know of comparable to what
are pra&ifed by John Lad of Over-Wort on, and William Tayler of
Warkworth, who though a Nortbampton-fiire Man, has Apifaclo-
ries'm this County, who profefs (as I am informed by the Reve-
rend Mr. Clark Re&or of Dreyton near Banbury) 1 . That they
can take [warms out of any slockthat'is able, and negle&s to /warm,
without any prejudice to the flock 2. That they can take hony
out of a #w:4without that hazard to the Bees, which (they fay)
the way propofed by the Author of the Colonies is fubjecl: too.

3. That they can fecure any flock from the invafion of Robbers.

4. That they can fo order an old flock.-, that the Bees fhall ga-
ther pure Virgin hony. 5. If a slock be in low condition, they
can preferve and recruit it, fo as it fhall do well. 6. They can
take away a Queen where there is more than one in a hive, and
place her in a Jlock where the Queen is dead, or otherwife want-
ing, and by that means keep the fubjecls together, which would
clfe difperfe. 7. If a Queen wants fubjecls, they can draw out
of feveral flocks fupplies in what number they pleafe, that fhall
fettle under her government. And thefe operations they com-
monly practice, which becaufe profitable to them, they are un-
willing fhould be made too common, which yet they are fo in-
genious as not to deny to communicate to fit perfons upon rea-
fonable terms.

25. Of other flying Infecls, I have minded only the Mufcdt a-
quaticje, fuch as are generated in the waters, and come of Cad-
worms, and therefore called by Johnslon, Phryganides z, quod e
Phryganio Monfeti a (the Caddis of the EngliftS) ortum habeant :

1 Hift. N.-t . delnfeclis, lib. I. tit. 2- cap. 2. art. 2- puncl. 4. * hijctt- five Min. An-Theat. lap. 12. d*
Mufcarum ufu.

Nor

OfOXFOT{T>-SHIXE. 183

Nor fliall I venture to defcribe above one of thefe neither (and
that only as afpecimen of what I intend of the reft, as fall as I can
compafsthe method of their productions) which I think I may
call Mufca e Phryganio ftaxatili, there being a done* as well as a
flick. Caddis, or Cad-worm ; in the generation of which, Nature
feems to obferve the following method. Firft, there appears on
the ftone to which many of them ftick, as in Tab. 10. Fig. 4.
only little bubbles of a glutinous nature, like the /pawn of frogs,
which by the defcent of gravel znd /and that ftick, to them, are
formed into ftone Caddis houfes, including the Animal therefore
called the ilone Caddis ; which after it has continued in its rough-
caftftonehoufe its due time, gets off the- ftone either to the ban}c
of the River, or climes up fome reed, where alfo leaving its
houfte, it becomes a ftye, fomwhat like in fhape to the Mujc<e
toCnfgjft or bifiles Moufeti* ', that come of the ftick. Caddis, only
it is ftiorter, and wants both the Antenna and forked bristly tail ;
butmoft of all like the Breife, only the Briefe is all gray, andthis
has a £/<*<:£. head and dark, brown wings. See its form, Tab. 1 o.

26. Other water F/ys there are that come of fuch worms, cal-
led Ccckr/purs, Rough-coats, Pipers, (src. of which no more at pre-
fent till further obfervation ; but that though at laft they come
to be ftyinglnfecls, yet at rirft they are all of them water Animals,
which puts me in mind of proceeding next,

27. To the Fifies, whereof we have a fort in the River Ifis, f^^
that we call here a Pride, of the long cartilagineous fmooth kind, * %lz
concerning which Authors feem fo obfeure, that I know not whe-
ther it be defcribed at all ; or if it be, it is done fo imperfectly,

that perhaps it may be acceptable if I contrive another. The Fifth
the moft like' it of any I can find, is the Lampetra parva ftuviati-
lis of Rondeletiu6c, rendred by Dr. Charlton d and Dr. Merret",
the Stone-grig : it having a mouth cut neither perpendicularly
downward, nor tranfv-erfly, but hollowed as it were between
two cheeks, without an under jaw, after the manner of Leeches;
on the top of its head it has one, and on each fide /even holes
that fupply the place of gills ; and under the belly a fmall line,
reaching from the' mouth to the exit of its excrement ; it moves

■» Idem. cap. u. c DepiJci6usJ!uviatiI.iap. 24. * Onomaft.Zoic<m.tit.Pi/ces,cap. Lavium. * Pinax
rer. Nat. Briton- p. 188.

by

1S4. The Statural Hijlory

by a winding impulfe of its body, without the help of any other
fins but thepinnuU at the tail, by which it fteers its courfe ; and
thus far it agrees with the Lampetra fluviatili*.

28, But though they agree in fome particulars, they differ in
as many, our Pride being fireakfd from the top of its back down
to the afore-mentioned line at the bottom of its belly, with lines
of a diftinft colour from the reft of its body, like the Pricka ma~
rina of Aldrovandus f, whereof the Lampetra is not faid to have
any : Befide the two pinnuU of the Lampetra, whereof one
ftands on the top of its tail, and the other a little higher on the
back, fome fpace interceding ; the Pride has another underneath
its tail, joyning with the other from above at the tip, making
the whole tail to end like the head of a /pear. Moreover, the
eyes of the Pride are very obfcure, and not fuch plain round
ones as are given the Lampetra, not only in the defer iption but
Cut of Rondeletius \ And though it have a hole in its head, yet it
ftands not as Rondeletiu* defcribes it in the Lampetra, juft in the
middle between the eyes, but more forward in the extremity of
the head, near the upper lip • all which may plainly be feen Tab,
1 o. Fig. 6, and 7. Whence 'tis eafie to conclude, that either this
Fijh has not been defcribed at all, or fo very meanly, that there
was almoft a neceffity of giving another, either of which I fup-
pofe will excufe this attempt.

29. Befide the Pride which we think undefcribed, we have
another fort of Fijb plentiful in the Cherwell (fcarce ever found
in I/is but below the place where the Rivers joyn) that is more
certainly fo ; and that a Fijb of the fquammou* kind, which
they call a Finfcale, fom what like a Roach, only the belly fins, and
the (ingle one at the exit of the excrement, and thofe at the tail
are much redder then thofe of a Roach ; it has alfo a full black eye,
incompafled with a yellow iris, whereas that of a Roch is red; it
is alfo a much deeper and thinner Fifi, but yet neither fo deep or
thin as a Bream ; from which alfo it differs not only in the rednefi
of its fins, but in that the Jingle fin placed next the exit of its ex-
crement, is not continued to the tail as it is in the Bream : Its fins
nt the gills are much whiter than the reft, and that upon the back
of a dirty bluijb colour: its ft ales, efpecially near the back, are
of a greenijh yellow colour, on which from the gills to the tail

t Aldrtvand. dtPifcH>us} lib. 4.. ca}, 13.

there

OfOXFO^D^HI^E. 1S1

there runs a crooked line of points, one on eachfcale, as in Tab*
10. Fig. 8. The Fifies moftlike it of any defcribed, are the Bol-
lerws or Bordeliere, and the Phoxini, Rofe or Roftere of Rondele-
tim%% but that they cannot be thefame is plain from hence, in that
the Bordeliere is confeft to have no teeth, whereas the Finfcalehas
teeth as large as a Roach ; and the Phoxini never to be found
without (pawn , or to exceed half a foot in length, whereas I have
feen Finfcales, even in time of year when one might well have
expected it, without any (pawn ; and fome of them (particularly
the defcribed one, Fig. 8.) from the mouth to the fork, of the
tail a foot long, and four inches and a half in depth, befide many
other differences that might alfo be brought.

30. Which is all I have met with extraordinary amongft the
fquamous kind of Fifb, but that there is a fort of Chub peculiar
to the Evehlode, fome fay exceeding, all equalling the Pearch or
Tench in goodnefs. And that at Lillingflon-Lovell, about fix
years fince were taken two Salmons, one fomwhat above, theo-
ther fomwhat under a yard in length, in a fmall brook, (a branch
of the Oufe) that a man may ftep over, little lefs (as the river
runs) than two hundred miles from the Sea. How thefe Salmon*
fhould come up fo high, has been much wondered at by fome,
fince fo many Mills and Loch ftand in the way on this Rivulet to
hinder them : but to fuch as have either feen, or but read of the
Salmon-leap at Kilgarran in Pembroke-fiire h, or at JVajferfal in the
Rhine, which I fuppofe is much greater, and that they run up that
river above five hundred miles to the Lake of Zugh in Switzer-
land1, perhaps it may not appear fo ftrange ; efpecially if it be
alfo confidered, that our Mills and Locks have mod of them back,
fir earns and lajhers to carry off* the water when it is too plentiful,
over which the leap is but very inconfiderable.

3 1 . I have met with alfo fomwhat remarkable of our frefi wa-
ter fiell- fijh, and particularly of a fort ofGammarut, or Crey-fifl,
found in 5V/or;/ftream,that do's not boil to a briskred colour, but
at beft of a dirty yellowifi red, which I fuppofe muft be attributed
to the badnefsof the water, infected with ill qualities perhaps
by the Moor through which it pafTes, which is very agreeable to
one, of Cardans figns of good water: Vbi aqua bona (fays he)

« Rond.de Pipiius lacujtribus, cap. 8. & de flwviatilibus>cap. 1%. h Camden in Vembr. & Cardigan.
1 Mr. Rays Objervat. Topograph. &c.p. 430.

A a aftaci

\%6 The Statural Hijlory

aflaci debent effe valde rubri, cum coquantur k : whence 'tis eafie to
conclude (if the Symbol be truly put) that where they boyl of a
diferent colour, the water muft needs be naught.

32. 1 found alfo in Ponds at Bradwell, Hanwell, and Shot'
over Forejl, as well as in Rivers, the Mytilmfluminum maximvsfub-
viridit, whereof 1 examined feveral in hopes of the Pearls to be
found in them, mention'd by Sir Hugh Plat in the Appendix to his

Jexvel-houfe of Art and Nature1', but I could not meet with any
with craggy rough cut fides, in which itfeems they are only found
Qours being all of them frnooth) and foloft my labor ; but I hear
they are to be met with in Buckingham Jbire, Montgomery -fl>ire,and
Shrop-fiire, as Sir Hugh alfo informs us, where more fully con-
cerning them, if this defign be encouraged, and I live to travel
and examine the productions of thefe Counties.

33. We have alfo in great plenty all the Cochlea flu'viatiles, or
frefti-water Snails mention'd by Mr. Lifter m, concerning which
I can add nothing, but that his Cochlea fafciata ore adamuffim ro-
tundo (which is fomwhat ftrange) feem to be all viviparous, con-
taining their young within their bodies, cover'd over with fall
before their exclufion, as I found it upon examination in great
numbers of them ; and that I found mod of them this Summer
fwiming above water, dead and (linking, which whether to be
afcribed to the drought, or any other caufe , I am yet uncer-
tain.

34. Amongft the Cochlea marina, zndfiuviatiles, I find all the
Naturalifts to treat of the Cochlea terreftres a, though I think they
fhould rather be put under the title ofReptils ; whereof we have,
one fort met with in Cornbury Parkby Mr. Jacob B 'ob art junior, that
I find not defer i-bed in any of our Zoographers : in (hape (though
not fo big) like the Turbenmagnm of Rondelet0, or the twelfth
Turbo of Aldrovandu* p, having a long Turbinated Jkell rough and
unequal, by reafon of many protuberant ribs thwarting the heli-
cal turns of the fiell, as in Tab. 10. Fig. 9. which was found a-
liveand creeping on the grafs, but what it (hould be I cannot di-
vine, unlefs the fame with the Cagaroles of Spainnnd. Montpellier,
mentioned by Aldrovandus q, which he feems to deicribe to be a

k JnHippoc.de A're Aquis& Lotis, lib. 2. Lett. 14.. hi text. 23. ' Sir Hugh Vhts App p.lii. m Phi-
lofoph.Tranfadl. Numb. 105. ■ Vid. Oefnerum deCoch/earum terreft. dii-erf. fpecieb. lib. 4.. de Ajuatil. &
Aldrovandum.lib 3. de Teftaceis, cap. 30. 0 Rond. de Teftaceif, cap- 16. * Lib. 3. de Teftaceis, cap. 30.
* ldemde Teftaceis, cap. 3 1

Cochlea

0fOXFO%p~SHI%E. 187

Cochlea terrettri* of this figure, but gives no cut of it.

35. Of other Ripfils we have little to fay, but that in the
crdfiipof Blechington, and all the more Northern parts of 0x~

vrd-fiire, no Snakes have been ever or very rarely feen, in fo
much that I met with feveral ancient people about Deddington and
Banbury that fcarce ever faw a Snake in their lives, at leaft not
in that Country. And 21 Blechington 'twas confidently believed,
that a Snake brought from any other place, and put down there,
would inftantly die, till I made the experiment 2nd. found no fuch
matter: Whereupon I got leave (in the abfence of the Family')
to inclofe my Snake in the Court, before the Right Honorable the
Lord Anglefey's houfe, to fee what time would produce, lea-
ving the Gardiner in trull to obferve it ftri&ly, who found it in-
deed, after three weeks time -dead, without any fenfible external
hurt.

36. How this fhould come to pafs, is a queflion indeed not
eafie to determin, but certainly it muft not be afcribed to the 7a-
lifmanical figure of the (tone Ophiomorphites to be found about Ad-
derbury, and in moft blue clays, whereof there are plenty in this
Country. Since thefe are to be met with about Oxford too, and
many other places, where there are Snakes enough. Befidc, we
are informed by Cardan r, that Alberta* Magnus had a ftone, that
being naturally mark'd with the figure of a Serpent, had this no
lefs admirable than contrary virtue, that if it were put into a
place that was haunted with Serpents, it would draw them all to
it. Much rather may we fubfcribe to the caufe afligned by Pliny s,
who feems confidently to affert, that the earth that is brackiffj,
and ftandeth much upon Salt-peter, is freer from vermin than any
other. To which we may add (if need be) Sulpbur and Vitri-
ol, whereof there is plenty in thefe parts of the County ; but whe-
ther by one, two, or all thefe, though we dare not pronounce, yen
that it is caufed by fome fuch mineral fleam difagreeable to the
Animal, I think we may be confident.

37. Amongft the inhabitants of the Earth, come we next to
the Quadrupeda, whereof fome are povwu-x*., whole- hooft, fuch
as Affes, Mules, Horfes,o£ which laftkind I met with three remark-
able for their age ; one at Souldern, another at Sherbourn, and a
third at Afton Row ant, each reported to be about forty years old

I T>e Subtilitate, lit. 7. » Nat. Hi[i. lib 17 . cap. 4.

A a 2 apiece.

1 8 S The Statural Hi /lory

apiece. And amongft the Quadrupeda <%»;\«., or cloven -hoofc
Beafts, there was a Hog at Vpper-Tadmerto*, of as ftrangeayfo-
ture as they were of age ; being fed by one Pargiter to fo extra-
vagant a greatnefs, that he came at laft to be near 1 3 hands high,
as it was teftified to me by the Reverend Mr. Whateley, Reftor
of the place , and feveral others who had carefully meafured
him.

38. Of four footed Beafts that chew the cud, they have a fort
of //jeep efteemed in this Country for their conftantly bearing two
lambs at a time, whence they have juftly obtained the name,
though fomwhat an improper one, of double Ews. They are
faid to have been firft brought into this Country by the Worfhipful
James Vxley of Darnford Efq ; where I hear they are (till preferved
by the Right Worfliipful Sir Nicholas Pelham Knight, who with
one of his daughters (a cokeirefi) enjoys that Eflate. 1 heard of
them alfo about Nemngton and Dorchefter, and fome other places
here and there in the County.

39. But there are much ftranger^W/>, though perhaps not fo
profitable, at Ricot in the Park of the Right Honorable the Lord
Norreys, brought hither from fome other parts of England or
Wales, but now breeding here : Of which, fome of them at firft
had fix or eight horns apiece, but the number upon mixture of
their generation with other Jbeep is fince diminifh'd. However,
there remain ftill/nco of them with very firange heads, having each
four horns ; one of them with two larger ones iffuing from the top
of its head, bending forward, and two fide ones coming out
from under its ears, "and bending round towards its mouth, as in
Tab. 10.Fig.10. And the other having two large horns ftanding
prety upright on its head, and two fide ones proceeding from
under the ears like the former, and bending round to the cheeks,
into which they would grow (and fo in the whole kind) were
they not prevented by being timely cut off, as in Tab. 10.
Fig. 11.

40. And as thefe are remarkable for their many horns? there
was another Jbeep once there, that excelled all the reft, in its be-
ing a Vnicorn, having a finglehorn growing almoft in the middle
of its fore-head, 21 inches long, with annulary protuberances
round it, and a little twifted about the middle, as in Tab. 10.
Fig* 12. There was, 'tis true, another little horn grew on the

fame

Of OXFO %p~S HI %E. 189

Tame head , but fo inconfiderable, that it was hid under the
Wool. This head is ft 111 preferved by the Honorable the Lord
Notreys, and is now to be {hen nailed up at Ricot on the North
fide of the Hall.

41. To which may be added zCowof Mris. Dunches, of New-
ington near Dorchefler, more ftrangely prolific, than the Sheep are
ftrange in form, that whirft a Calf, before Che was eleven months
old produced another : which Animals carrying their burthen
no lefs than nine months, we muft either admit that (lie took Bull
at about ten or eleven weeks old, or that the Cow her felf was
at firft brought forth pregnant of another, as Ariftoth reports a
fort of Mice commonly are in a certain place in Perfia, -f jj Uepcnmt

Of tip* toxci) dvoce^afjifvuv efJL@f>vuv} rd Siihta, wf wvovrat, (pcuVera/, 1. e. that

in female Mice differed, the female of-/pring wot found pregnant with
others x. The fame again is reported by Claudius /Elian of the
very fame Animals, near the Cafpian Sea u. And Ariftotle further
acquaints us , that the Fitli Phoxini have fpawn when they
are very little, \kiy.^\ Ivth <po%7voi kwh'/^to. «£«<n are his very words w,
info much that Rondelet adds, ut periti Pifcat ores cum ovk nafci
afirment x.

42. We are informed alfo, that the fame fomtimes happens
in more perfect Animals, by Joan. Baptijla Nierembergius , who
tells us of a certain mare in Spain that brought forth a mule, great
of another y. And the learned and obferving Bartholin z, yet
further acquaints us, that in the Parifh ofVle/lovia near Neoburg in
F'wnia, Joan the wife of Nocholas Piter, a Hufbandman of that
Country, wasdeliver'd of * female ftill-born child, pregnant with
another female, duly placed in the womb about a fpan in length,
with all its parts fo perfect, that the Grand-mother (who diffected
thepregnant infant') believed it had been living.

43. But what yet comes nearer to the bufinefs, we are inform-
ed by David Spilinbergerus, Phyfitian of Leutfchovia, that in the
year 1 663. there was a Cow in Hungary that brought forth a Calf
with a great belly, wherein there was found another Calf "with
all its limbs perfect a. How thefe things fhould come to pafs,
the learned Bartholin gives us his conjecture, vi%. that in fuch/w-
duclions as thefe three laft, Nature at firft intended only twins,

t Hifl. Animal, lib- 6. cap. ult- ■ «fo< £*>'«», lib.ij.cap. 17. ," Hifi-Anim. lib. 6. cap 13. « Rovd.de
Tifcib. fluviatil. cap. 28. 1 In Hift. Nat. lib. 6. cap. 2. * Hifl. Anatom. & Med- rar. Cent. 6. Hifl- ult. &
Epifl. Med Cent- 3. Ep. 2I. » MifceUan. Curiofa Med. PJbyf. Germani*, Ait. \. obferv. 36-

and

ipo The Statural Hijlory

and that by fome error in her procedure, one, of each of thefe,
might be thruft into the belly of the other (as I fuppofe it hap-
pened in fome meafure in the cafe of Lazarus Colloredo and his
Brother Baptijib) over which we may eafily allow a fkin to be fu-
perinduced. But that ever any fuch fecond/>/&$ was brought
into the world, living after the firft, we have noinftance, except
this calf of Newington may pafs for one, which is wholly left to
the readers judgment. For my part, I am rather inclined to
believe that the Cow might take Bull at ten or eleven weeks old,
that being the lefTer wonder of the two, efpecially having lately
received news out of the Country from an intelligent Lady, that
the thing is not fo ftrange, but poflible enough.

44. Hither alfo muft be referr'd the three calves brought forth
by a cow at one time, that I met with at Hardwick. not far from
Biffher, which though a production not frequent, yet is as much
remarkable in that they became all grown cattle, and fo ftrangely
alike, that their very owner himfelf fcarce knew them afunder,
much lefs could I, though I obferved them ftri&ly : whence I was
firmly convinced, that fimilitude was a concomitant as well of
Tergemini as Twins, and held as well in Brutes as rational Ani-
mals.

45 . Nor can I pafs by without admiration, the Deer of Corn-
bury Park, which before His Majeslies wonderful reftoration, be-
ing (in partatleaft) turned into a Cony-warren, the Deer upon ic
had all dwarf heads, the mod of them irregular, as in Tab. 10.
Fig. 13. but if any of them were uniform, as in Tab. 10. Fig.
1 4. yet they were ftill far fhort of growth, feldom exceeding 8 or
10 inches long, though the Deer themfelves were well enough
grown, and warrantable ; the two that bore thofe engraven beads,
being both of them two years a Buck atleaft, and in all other re-
fpe&s well enough liking: which yet as foon as the Warren was
deftroyed by the prefent Proprietor, the Right Honorable the Earl
of Clarendon came again, to have as fair branched-heads as any
Deer whatever in the adjoyningForreft : Which Grange alterations
I cannot guefs to proceed from any other caufe than the infe£lion
of the grafs by the urin and crotizing of the Conies, which being
hotanddry muft rc:ds abate the moifture of the Deer, which
fupplyed matter for the fair heads wherewith before and fince

b Iho. Eorthol. Anatom. Med. rar. Hift 66-

they

Of 0 XFO %p~SHI %E. i9i

they have been as well adorned, as any of their kind.

46. Amongft the Quadrupeda TroAt^'jcroA*, or claw-footed Ani-
mals, I met with nothing fo ftrange as the rib of a Dog, or fom6
fuch like Beaft, fet in a bone interceding two other ribs, that the
inter cojial parts were filled with it, as in Tab. 10. Fig. 15. in fo
much that if all the ribs were thus qualified, the whole chefi of
that Animal muft needs be one bone. This was found about Ox-
ford, and given me by the Right Reverend Father in God, Thomas
Lord Bifhop of Lincoln. And there are two other rifo joyned
in like manner, to be feen in the Repofitory in the Medicin School.
But I find this has happened not only to Beaffs, butfomtimes to
Men, who have been always remarkable for their prodigious
firength ; whereof in their refpe&ive places as I meet them here-
after.

CHAP.

xpx The Natural Hiflory

T

CHAP.. VIII.
Of Men and Women.

H E fubjeft matter of this Chapter being very narrow, ex-
tending it felf only to Man, whom God created Male
and Female, and them only in his own Image, little
lower than the Angels '. It cannot be expefted, that the methods
of the other Chapters can be obferved here, there being no new
ffecies of Men to be produced, or not fufficiently noted already.
All therefore that remains concerning them to be handled here,
will be only the unufual Accidents that have attended them,where-
of, though I have not met with over many in this County, yet
they are enough to be diftributed into fuch as have attended
them,

■

rat or before their birth.
either <in their courfe of life.
C/Vz their death or grave.

2. Before the birtb ofMan,tht Vagitm uterinu^or crying of the
child in the mothers womb, is not ordinarily to be met with,
though we find many examples of the thing in Authors c, to
which may be added one more that lately happened at Heyford
Purcel, where there was a child cryed very audibly in its mothers
womb fomtime before the birtb. For the performance of which
aftion, whether there be a neceffity of the Infants having refpi-
ration whil'ft included in the Amnion ; or whether it may not be
done without it? let the Phyfitians difpute : The matter offaft
fufficeth me at prefent that there was fuch a thing, the people
being frighted with it, and expecting fome calamity fhould foon
attend fuch a Prodigie, pernicious (forfooth) not only to the
place where heard, but to the State it felf. Whereas the learn-
ed Bartholin more rightly notes, that the ruin of Kingdoms de-
pends rather on the wickednefs of the people, living in con-
tempt of God and his Laws, than any fuch vagitvs ; which por-
tends nothing but happinefs to the Infant, the Mother, and State

c Tho.Bi.nholin.HiJl.Anatom.rar. Cent. l. fflft.i.

it

Of OXFORDSHIRE. ipj

it felf : To the Infant, in that it is an Index of its ftrength, and
perfection of ^Organs-, To the Mother, in the certainty that her
child is living, and likely to promote its own exit ; To the State,
which is likely to be bleft with an able fubjeft ' the Vagitws being
nothing but fuch an/o Triumphe, as Livyd reports was made by
the infant in the mothers womb in Marrucink, £. Fabiws Maximum
being the fourth time, and M. Marcellws the third time COSS. So
that if any thing amifs fall out after fuch Vagitws, it muft be im-
puted rather to chance than defign of nature: Let us but mend
our lives, and no fuch matters can hurt us.

3. In the birth of man it is equally ftrange, that the fangs of
the woman in the exclufion of the child have fomtimes aflfefted the
Abdomen of the husband, which yet to fuch as have experiment-
ed the fecrecy of fympatbies , and underftand the fubtilty and
power of effluviums, perhaps may not feem difficult : But that
the Tfltf/zfliould fomtimes fuflfer fuch pains, whil'ft the woman is
well, and before (lie is in labor, is a problem I fear beyond all
hopes of folution. And yet that this has happen'd to fome per-
fins in Oxford is very certain, and that to knowing ones too, very
unlikely to be deceived, and of unqueftionable veracity : where-
of one of them told me (whom I enquired of more particularly
concerning them') that they came upon him when he little thought
of his wife, and that the pangs were very odd ones, fuch as he
never felt in his life ; not like any griping in the guts, but lying
in the mufcles of the Abdomen, which yet he fhould never have
thought to have had relation to his wife, had they not fuddenly,
and beyond expe&ation ceafed, as foon as his wife began to be
in labor. Which makes much for the credit of a relation of the
German Virtuofi*, concerning one Faber ofBuxovil in Alfatia>who
conftantly a&ed the part of his pregnant wife, being taken with vo-
mitings, and fuffering thofe inordinate longings that ufually at-
tend women in that condition, his wife all the while fuffering no
fuch inconveniencies.

4. That fuch fymptoms ftiould be thus tranflated from the wo-
man to the man, the woman remaining well and undifturbed, Dr.

IPrimirofe* thought fo irrational (upon account that natural Agents
firft work on the nearefi objects, and then on the remote/}, and

T. Livii JTtft. ab XJrbeCond. lib. 24. e MifceUania Curiofa Med. Tkyf. German. Art. 2. dbferv. 215.
} Jac. Primiroiii M. D. de vulgi crroribus, in Med. lib, 2. cap. 13.

Bb that

1^4- The Statural Hi jlory

that therefore a woman muft needs be firft affe&ed with her owri
noxious humors) that he looktupon it as no better than a ridicu-
lous error, as indeed I think I fhould have done my felf, but that
I am otherwife perfwaded by fiber men, who well know how to
diftinguifh the manner of the pangs, and the circumftances of
them ; Nor fhould I have ventured to have made this relation,
but that the perfons are living, and ready to juftifie what 1 have
written to any perfon fit to be difcours'd with about fuch matters :
but how they fhould come to pafs, is fo hard to determin, that
I dare not yet attempt it, it being difficult not to err concerning
fuch myjleries of Nature.

5 . That women may bring forth three at a birth appears evident-
ly by the example of the Horatii, and Curiatii ; to whom may be
added, though of unequal rank, the three children of a Tayler
here in Oxford, which he had all at a birth. But to go above
that number fays Pliny s, is reputed and commonly fpoken off as
monflrou6,and to portend fome mif-hap : for confirmation where-
of, he inftances in a Commoners wife of OJiia, who was delivered
at one birth of two boys and two girls ; but this, fays he, was a
moft prodigious token, and portended no doubt the famine that
enfued foon after : i. e. It pleafed God to vifit thofe parts with
famin about that time, there being no more dependence between
the famin and the preceding birth, than there is between the Wars,
Plagues, and Famins, that fomtimes follow Comets • there ha-
ving been (no queftion) as many of them, to which nothing extra-
ordinary has been fubfequent, as to which there has ; and fo of
Births.

6. Witnefs the four children brought all at a time by Elenor the
wife of Henry Deven of Watlington, An. 1675. fince which time
we have yet lived (thanks be to God) in as great health, peace and
plenty, under our good and gracious King, as ever People did,

which God of his mercy continue to us ; whom if we ferve in fin-
cerity, performing unto Him an honeft, faithful, and uniform o-
bedience (though 'tis true our beft performances will be mixed
with much of weaknefs, ignorance, frailties, and recidivations)
we need never to fear the influence of any fuch accidents, though
they much exceed the ordinary courfe of nature.

7. The fame Pliny h informs us, that many men indeed have

« Nat. Wft. lib. 7. cap. 3. * Nit- Hifi. lib. 7. cap. 1 4.

begotten

OfOXFO^V^SHI^E. i9l

begotten children at fixty or eighty years old : for which he in-
ftances in Volufius Satur ninths, who on Dame Cornelia, of the
lineage of the Scipio's, begat Volufiu* Saturninm (who afterward
was Conful) at fixty two years old and upwards, Cato Cenforius,
fays the fame Pliny (anceftor to Cato who flew hinifelf ztVtica')
begat a fon on the daughter of Saloniws his Vaffal, after he was
part: 80 years of age ; and King Ma ffini/fi, another, whom he cal-
led Methymathnws, when he was eighty fix. But as to wome n, he
is pofitive that they are paft child- bearing at fifty, and that for the
moft part their cufiomary purgations ftop at forty.

8. But I met with an inftance.at Sbetford near Banbury, that
proves him plainly miftaken, where I faw and fpoke with one
Catharine Tayler, that had a fon then living and lufty, inthefixti-
eth year of her age, which was teftified alfo to me by many there
about.And I have fince heard of one Good wife Harvey ofSmitben-
green, in the PariUiof Leigh, within three miles of Worcefier?
that is now with child in her fixty third year, which are inftances
wonderful rare, and fcarce heard of in other Countrys ; though
we are informed indeed by Dr. Boat\ that amongft the women
in Ireland, there are feveral found who do not only retain their
Catamenia, but even their fruitfulnefs, above the age of fifty, and
fome till that of fixty years • whereof he tells us, his brother knew
fome, who being above three/core years old, did not only con-
ceive and bring forth children, but nurfed them, and brought
them up with their own milk : which alfo as we are acquainted by
Qui. Fi/o *, is very common in Brafil.

9. As in the child-bearingof women, and the accidents attend-
ing it,l have met with alfo fomwhat extraordinary in their growth,
which muft be ranked among the accidents that have befallen the

fix during their courfe of life ; and fuch is the growth of one
Philippa French, born at Milcomb in this County, now fix or feven
and thirty years of age, and a marryed woman, having all her
parts proportionable, and of good fymmetry, yet wanting half an
inch of a yard in height ' which is fomwhat lower than Manius
Maximum, or M. Tullius, who as Varro reports, were each but two
-cubitsh'igh, and yet they were Gentlemen and Knights of Rome :
but higher then Conopas the Dwarf of Julia, Neece to Auguftus,

' Natural Hiftory of Irelandychap. 2?>fiB. 1. * Gul.Pifo} de India utriufque re Nat , & Med.lib.i \
"I- ' t • ' 3

B b 2 who

io 6 The Statural Hijlory

who as Pliny k tells us, was but two foot high and a hand bredth ;
but he tells us not whether Conopa* were at his full growth, or had
good/ymmetry of parts like our Philippa, it being common enough
for perfons to be very low of ftature, when either their Bo-
dies are awry, or fome of their parts difproportionable to the
reft.

10. And amongft fuch accidents as thefe, we may reckon a
ftrange difiafe that befel Mary the daughter of John Collier of Bur-
ford- who out of the corners of her eyes excluded a fort of con-
gealed matter, which after fome time turned jnto zflony kind of
fubjiance, not unlike the slones, as they were defcribed to me, that

fomtimes come forth of the tumor called Atheroma : which I
therefore guefs to have been only a more exalted kind of Mgilops,
or fiftula lachrymalit, and not to have been caufed by fajcination,
as Lachmund ' thinks the flones were that came forth of the left eye
of Margaret the daughter of Conrad Brandk of Banteln, (lie be-
ing cured of the difeafe by that eminent Oculisl Dr. Turbervil of
Sarum.

1 1 . Yet a much ftranger accident than that befel one Rebeckah
Smith, the Servant-maid of one Thoma* White of Mintfer Lovel,
who being of a robuft conftitution, though fhe feldom eat flefh
(it fcarce agreeing with her) and above 5 o years of age ; after

fie came from the Communion on Palm-funday , April 1 6. Anno
16 71. was taken with fuch a drynefs in her throat, that (lie could,
not fwallow her frittle, nor any thing elfe to fupply the decays
of nature : and in this czftfie continued without eating or drink-
ing, to the amazement of all, for about ten weeks-, vHi to the
29 of June, being both St. Peters, and Witney '-fair day : by which
time being brought very low, her majter enquired and found out
zperfon who gave him an Amulet (for it was fuppofed^e was be-
witch'd) againft this evil ; after the application whereof, within
two or three days time (though I dare not fuppofe there was any
dependence between the medicin and difeafe') (lie firft drank a lit-
tle water, then warm broaths in fmall quantities at a time, and
nothing elfe till Palm-funday again twelvemonths after, when (he
began to eat bread and other food again as formerly (lie had done,
and is now about the age of ftxty, and ftill living at the fame place
ready to teftifiethe truth of the thing, as well as Tho. White and

k Nat.Hifi. lib. 7. cap. 16. ' Fied. Lachmundi, 'Qp*-n%*$.f.cl. 3.W/22.

his

OfOXFO %T>-S HI \E. i9f

his wife, who were all that lived in the houfe with her, and will
confidently aflert (for they carefully obferved) that they do not
believe (lie ever took any thing in thofe ten weeks time, nor any
thing more all the year following but what was above-mention-
ed : wherein I think they may the rather be credited, becaufe
there was never any advantage made of this wonder, which argues
it clear of all juggle or defign.

12. Concerning the death of women, we have two as remark-
able examples, as any perhaps to be met with in Hi/iory, both of
them being confirmations of what Pliny fays of them, that they
much more frequently revive after they have been reputed dead^
than males do *, whence doubtlefs alfo the Proverb, mulieri ne ere-
dot, ne mortu* quidem. Of which recoveries of the female Sex ra-
ther than the male, the fame Pliny offers us a natural reafon, but
I think fit to wave it, efpecially fince the revivifcence of Anne Green,
innocently condemned to dye, and executed at Oxford for the
murther of an abortive Infant, is rather afcribed to the Juftice of
Heaven, than to the ftrength or other conveniences of nature for
fuch purpofe in women rather than men, though it muft alfo be al-
lowed, that God Himfelf makes ufe many times of natural means
in production of the moft wonderful, moft amazing effects. The
Hifiory whereof, as it is taken out of a Chronicle of the late Civil
Wars, by James Heatb Gentleman ro, and the continuation of the
Hifiory of the World, by Dionyfm Petaviut", with fome few ad-
ditions and alterations, take as followeth.

13. In the year 1650. this Anne Green, being a Servant-maid
of the Right Worfliipful Sir Thomas Readof Duns Tew in Oxford-
Jhire, was gotten with child by Comefervant,or other of the fami-
ly (as fie conffantly affirmed when fie had little reafon to lye)
and through over- working herfelf in turning ofmault, fell in tra-
vel about the fourth month of her time: But being but a young
wench, and not knowing what the matter might be,repairs to the
houfe of eafment, where after fome ftraining, the child (fcarce
above a fpan long, of what /ex not to be diftinguifli'd) fell
from her unawares. Now prefently after, there appearing figns of
fome fuch matter in the linnen where fhe lay, and [he before ha-
vingconfeft, that (lie had been guilty of what might occafion

* WJl- Nat lib. 7. cap. <7, m Hifiory of the Civil Wars of England, Scotland) and Ireland, in Anno
1650. " Append. adHifi. D Petavii, in Anno 1650.

her

ip8 The O^Qatural Hijlory

her being with child, afearch inftantly was made, and the Infant
found on the top of the ordure.

14. Whereupon, within three days after ber delivery,^ was
conveyed to the Caftk at Oxford, where forthwith (an Affife being
purchafed on purpofe)fhc was arraigned before Serjeant Vmpton
Crokf, then living but at Mar/ion, who fat as Judge by a Commif-
fion of Oyer and Terminer, and by him fentenced to be hanged ;
which was accordingly executed on the fourteenth of December
in the faid Caftle-yard-, where {lie hung about half an hour, being
pulled by the legs, and (truck. on the breft (as (lie her felf defired)
by divers of her friends ; and after all, had feveral ftroaks given
her on the ftomach with the but-end of a Soldiers Mufket. Be-
ing cut down, (lie was put into a coffin, and brought away to a
houfeto bedijfefted, where when they opened it, notwithftand-
ing the rope ftill remained unlofed-, and ftraight about her neck,
they perceived her breft to rife ; whereupon one Ma/on a Tayler,
intending only an aft of charity, fet his foot upon her breft and
belly ; and as fome fay, one Orum a Soldier ftruck her again with
the but-end of his musket.

15. Notwithftanding all which, when the learned and inge-
nious, Sir William Petty, then Anatomy Profeffor of the Vniverfity,
Dr. Will'ps, and Dr. Clark, now Prefident of Magdalen College,
and Vice-Chancellor of the Vniverfity, came to prepare the body for
diffttiion, they perceived fome fmall ratling in her throaty here-
upon defifting. from their former purpofe, they prefently ufed
means for her recovery, by opening a vein, laying her in a warm
bed, and caufing another to go into bed to ber ; alfo ufing divers
remedies rd^t^iing her fenfeleftneft, Head,Throat, and Breft, in fo
much that within 14 hours, fie began to fpeak, and the next
day talked and prayed very heartily.

16. During the time of this her recovering, the officers con-
cerned in her execution, would needs have had her away again to
have compleated it on her : but by the mediation of the worthy
Voclors, and fome other Friends, with the then Governor of the
City, Colonel Kelfey, there was a guard fet upon her to hinder all
further difturbance, till he had fued out her pardon from the
Powers then in being ; thoufands of people in the mean time
coming to fee her, and magnifying the juft Providence of God in
thusafferting her innocency of murther.

1 7. After

ofOXFOcH$>~SHt%E. 199

1 j. After fome time Dr. Petty hearing^ had difcourfed
with thofe about her, and fufpecYing that the women might fugged
unto her to relate fomthing of ftrange vifwns and apparitions (lie
had feen, during the time fhe feemed to be dead (which they al-
ready had begun to do, telling about that fie faid, fle had been
in a fine green meddow, having a River running round it, and that
all things there glittered like ft her and gold) he caufed all to de-
part the room but the Gentlemen of the Faculty-, who were to
have been at the dijjetlion, and afked her concerning her fenfe and
apprehenfions during the time flie was hanged.

18. To which (he anfwered at firft fomwhat impertinently,
talking as if fie had been then to fujfer. And when they fpake un-
to her concerning her miraculous deliverance, fie answered, that

fie hoped God would give her patience, and the like : Afterward,
when fie was better recovered, fije affirmed, that^e neither re-
membred how the fetters were knocked off, how fije went out of
the Prifon ; when Jhe was turned off the ladder, whether any
Pfalm was fung or not, nor was fie fenfible of any pains that Jhe
could remember : what is moft obfervable is, that (lie came to
her [elf as if fie had awakened out of a fleep, not recovering the
ufe of her fpeech by flow degrees, but in a manner all together,
beginning to fpeak juft where (lie left off on the gallows.

1 9. Being thus at length perfectly recovered , after thanks
given to God, and the perfons inftrumental in it, fi>e retired into
the Country to her friends at Steeple-Barton, where (lie was after-
wards marryed, and lived in good repute amongft her Neighbors,
having three Children afterwards, and not dying as I am inform-
ed till theyear 1659. Which occurrence being thought worthy of
remembrance by the Author of the continuation of the Hiftory of
the World, by Dionyfiws Petavius, who efteemed it no lefs than the
finger of God pointing out the Maids innocency ; and by Mr.
Heath, who thought fit to tranfmit it to pofterity for Gods glory,
and man- caution in judging and punidiing. It would have
been a great omiffion in me to have patted it by untouched.

20. Not long after, vi%. in the year 1658. Elizabeth the [ex -
vant of one Mrs. Cope of Magdalen Parlfi Oxon, was indicted at
the City Sejfions for killing her baflard child, and putting it in the
houfe of ofice ; of which being convicted, fit was condemned
to dye, and accordingly was hanged at green-ditch, the place

ap-

zoo The Natural Hi/lory

appointed for the execution of the City malefactors, where (lie hung
folong, that one of the by-ftanders fcrupled not to fay, that if
(he were not dead, he would be hanged {ox her : hereupon being
cut down (the gallows being very high) {Tie fell with fuch vio-
lence on the ground, that it would have been enough to have
been the death of many another per/on, only to have had fuch a
fall. Being thus cut down,fi>e was put into a coffin and brought
to the George Inn in Magdalen Parifi aforefaid, which when o-
pened, they found perfect life in her, as in the former: where-
upon breathing a vein, and putting her to bed with another young
wench by her, Jhe came quickly to hex felf and might no queftion
have lived alfo many years after ; but having no friends to ap-
pear for her, fie was barbaroufly dragg'd the night following by
the order of one Mallory then one of the Bayliffs of the City,
to Glccefier- green, and there drawn up over one of the arms of
the Trees, and hang 'd a fecond time till fhe was dead.

2 1 . After what concerns women folitarily confider'd, who ac-
cording to the courtefie of England, have always the firft place,
come we next to treat of things unufual that concern women and
men'pywxXy together ; amongft which 1 think we may reckon ma-
ny ancient Cujloms ftill retained here, abolifh'd and quite loft in
moft other Counties : fuch as that of Runningzt the Quinten, Quin-
tain, or Quintel, fo called from the Latin \_Quintws~^ becaufe fays
Minftjeu °, it was one of the Ancient Sports ufed every fifth year
amongft the Olympian games, rather perhaps becaufe it was the lafl
of the wmS-Aou or the quinque certamina gymnaftica, ufed on the
fifth or loft day of the Qlympick$. How the manner of it was then
I do not find, but now it is thus.

22. They firft fet a Pofi perpendicularly into the ground, and
then place a (lender piece of Timber on the top of it on a fpindle,
with a board nailed to it on one end, and a bag of fand hanging at
the other ; againft this boardthey anciently rod wkh/pears ; now
as I faw it at Deddington in this County, only with flrong fiaves,
which violently bringing about the bago{ fand, if they make not
good fpeed away it ftrikes them in the neck or (lioulders, and fom-
times perhaps knocks them from their horfes ; the great defign of
the (port being to try the agility both of horfe and man, and to break
the board, which whoever do's,is for that time accounted Princep

JUVentUtK. • jviinsh. ijiffit ti; ra; yXtirmuinveri*.

23. For

Of OXFO%T>-SHn{E. 201

23. For whom heretofore there was fome reward always ap-
pointed, Eo tempore (fays Matthew Varis) Juvenes Londinenfes,
ftatuto Favonepro bravio, ad Vadium quod Quintena vulgariter did-
tur, vires propria*, is* Equorum curfu*, funt experti : Wherein it
feems the Kings fervants oppofing them were forely beaten ; for
which; upon complaint, the King fined the Cityv. Whence one
may gather that it was once a tryal of Man-hood between two
parties ; fince that, a conteft amon^ft friends who fhould wear the
gay garland, but now only in requeft at Marriages, and fet up in
the way for young men to ride at as they carry home the Bride, he
that breaks the board being counted the beft man.

24. To which may be added the obfervation of Hoc-day,
Hockcday, Hoke-day, Hake-tide, Hoke-Mcnday and Hoke-Tuefday 1
by all agreed to be a Fejlival celebrated in memory of the great
flaughterof the D^es-in the time of King Ethel) ed, they being
all (lain throughout England 'in one day, and in great part by wo~
men q ; whence it came to pafs, that the women to this day bear
the chief rule in this Feasl, flopping all paffagcs with ropes and
chains, and laying hold on paffengers, and exacting fome fmall
mater of them, with part whereof they make merry, and part
they difpofe of topiom ufes, fuch as reparation of their Church,
isrc

25. For which very reafon fome have thought it to be called
Hoke-Tide, from the German or High -Dutch, ^oge?ett, i.e. Tern-
put Convivii, a time of Feafting ; or the Saxon frozen, which
fignifies a Solemn Feaft ; or perhaps rather from the Anglo-Saxon,
fceage ti6, i. e. a high Time, or high Day : Others that thought the
name refpefted the contempt that the Danes now lay under, a-
mongft whom is M.r.Lambard,thought it fo called,^**// frucxcuer&aes,
/'. e. Dies Marti* irriforiut \ perhaps rather from Dopan temnere :
And others, that refpe&ed the manner of the celebration of the
Feasl, chofe rather to derive it from the German I^OCfeeil, which
fignifies obfidere,cingere, incubare\ to compafs about, lay hold
off, isrc. as the women do on the men upon this day.

26. And as about the name, fo about the time Authors differ
much, fome making Hoke-day to be the Tuefday, and others the
Monday fourteenth night after Eafter, and none of them on the

p Matth. Parii fub initium An. 1253. edit Watfiand,p-%6-i,. 1 Vtd.Watfii Glojjarium in Mat. Paris.
'' Perambulation of Kent, in Sandwich, • Vid. Spelman. GSoJfarium inverbo.

C c Danes

201 The Statural Hijlory

Vanes maffacre, which Henry Arch-Deacon of Huntingdon^ ex-
prefly fays was on the Feaft of St. Brice, i. e. the 1 3 of Novem-
ber. That it was formerly obferved on Tuefday, not only Mr.
Lambard, utfupra, but Matthew Paris alfo gives us teftimony, Et
po$J Diem Martis quae vulgar iter Hoke -day appellator, faflum tji
Parliamentum Londini, isrc u. And yet the fame Matthew Park in
another place makes it to fall on the Quinfieme of Eafter, in Quin-
dena Pafch* quoe vulgariter Hoke-day appellator convenerunt Lon-
dini, (src w. which muft needs be Munday ; and the very fame day
it is obferved here at Oxford 'in our times.

27. In fo much that I once thought they might anciently, as
well as now, obferve two Hock-days, one for the women, and an-
other for the men, but that I find the fame Matthew Paris to men-
tion the Monday before Hoke-Tuefday, and not calling it a Hockrday
at all ; viz. Anno 1252. where mentioning King Henry the thirds
taking on him the Crufado, he fays, he did it die Lunje, qu£ ipfum
diem proxime pr^cedit quern Hoke-day appellamm x. However it
were then, h is moft certain that now we obferve two of them here,
on Monday for the women, which is much the more folemn, and
Tuejday for the men which is very inconfiderable ; and yet nei-
ther of thefe perhaps was the dies Martis ligatoria, whatever Sir
Henry Spelman may think y, whereon men and women ufe to bind
one another, that being now celebrated in fome parts of England
on Shrove Tuefday : Much lefs the fame with the Feaft of St. Blafe,
as Minfieuz thinks, when Country women went about and made
good cheer, and if they found any of their Neighbor-women a
Spinning, fet their dijlaff 'on fire ; that Feaft being celebrated on
the third of February, and in all probability upon fome other
grounds.

28. Amongft things of this nature., I think we may alfo reckon
an ancient Cuflom of the Royalty of Enfiam, where it was former-
ly allowed to the Towns-people on Whit-monday, to cut down
and bring away, where-cver the Church -war dens pleafed to mark
it out, by giving the firft chop, as much Timber as could be drawn
by mens hands into the Abbey-yard, whence if they could draw it
out again, notwithftanding all the impediments could be given the
Cart by the fervants of the Abbey (and fmce that by the family

t HtftorHtrwn Litre 6 . fu/> ixitiwn. u Matth. Park in A i. \ 2 5 8. edit.' Wat f.P 96 } . w Idem i* An. 1 j^ ^.
eJ}t.W.i:f.p.<)o\. * M:tth.?amedit.W«tf^.%i^. y VuL Spelman Glojfhium im vcr'w. » jfttifi. rp-
pur «',- tk; yAurms, in verbo-

of

OfOXFO%T>*SHI%E. z*«

of the Lord, it was then their own, and went in part at leaft to
the reparation of their Church ; and by this, as fome will have it,
they hold both their Lammas and Michaelmas Common. But this
Cuftom, now the Timber is almoft deftroyed thereabout, begins
to be fo inconvenient, that if it be not feafonably laid afide, it
will difcourage all people from planting it again, even about their
very houfes - for to what purpofe flbould they do it, when it would
frill be in the power of a malicious Church -war den to give it a
chop, and deftroy it when he pleafes. To prevent which great
evil, I hear the chiefeft of the Farifi have lately combined, where-
in I think they have done well enough, provided always that the
Rights of the Church, (whatever they be) be fully compenfated
fome other way.

29. In the Northern part of Oxford- fine, about Banbury and
Bloxham, it has always been the cuflom at fet times of year, for
young people to meet to be hired as fervants ; which meeting, at
Banbury they call the Mop ; at Bloxham the Statute, where they
all fort themfelves, and carry their badges according as they are
qualified ; the Carters Handing in one place with their whips, and
the Shepherds in another with their crooks ; but the maids, as
far as I could obferve, flood promifcuoufly : which cuftom I had
fcarce I think noted, but that itfeems to be as oldzs our Saviour,
and to illuftrate his Parable in St. Matthews Go/pel % where the
laborers are faid to ftand in the mercat to be hired.

30. And now I have run my felf into Divinity, I cannot but
note an odd cuftom at Stanlake, where the Par/on in the Procefhon
about holy Thurfday, reads a Go/pel at a Barrels head in the Cellar
of the Chequer Inn, where fome fay there was formerly a Hermi-
tage ; others, that there was anciently a Crofs, at which they read
a Gofpel in former times, over which now the houfe, and parti^
cularly the cellar being built, they are forced to perform it in
manner as above.

31. But in matters of Religion there is nothing fo worthy me-
mory as the Chriflian unanimity of the Parifh of Brightwel^where^
through the exemplary Piety, and prudent condudt of that wor-
thy Gentleman, the Worfhipful John Stone Efq; Lord of the
Town, and the Reverend Mr. Piddis, Reclor of the place, and
their Predecefors, and the good difpofition of the people them-

* Matth. 20. V. 3.

C c 2 felves

204. The Statural Hijlory

felves, all matters both of Spiritual and Temporal concern, have
been fo eftedually prefs'd, and prudently menaged,that there has
not been known any fuch thing as an Ale-houfe, a Sttlary, or Suit
of Law commenced within the whole parijh (which is of a large
extent) in the memory of man: which being more for ought I
know than any Parifh in England can fay befide, and fo well wor-
thy the imitation of all other places, I thought fit (for the eternal
honor of its Inhabitants) to recommend it accordingly.

32. Yet but few miles off, at the Town of Watlington, I was
told of a fort of Sectaries , perhaps never heard of in the
world before ; which if fo, is as ftrange as the thing it felf, for
one would have thought there could have nothing been fo abfurd
in Religion, but what muft have needs been embraced already.
Thefe by the reft of the people are called Anointers, from the ce-
remony they nfe of anointing all perfons before they admit them
into their Church, for which they allege the fifth of St. James, v.
the 1 4 and 15. Is there any fick. among you (which it feems they
account all people to be but themfelves) let him call for the Elders
of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oyl
in the name of the Lord ; and the prayer of faith fiall fave the fick.,
and the Lord fh all raife him up-> and if he have committed fins thty
fiall he forgiven him: which Elders amongft them are fome poor
Tradefmen of the Town, and the ov/they ufe, that commonly fold
in the fiops, with which the Profelyte being fmeared over, and
fired with %eal, he prefently becomes a new Light of this Church ;
which I could not but note, thefe people being as remarkably mad,
as thofe of Brightwell are good. Though perhaps fome may
think one Richard Haftings, then of Broughton, and yet living
near Banbury, more religioufly mad than any of thofe ; who with
Origen underftanding the twelfth verfeof the nineteenth Chapter
of St. Matthews Go/pel literally, hath caftrated, and fo made him-
felf an Eunuch for the Kingdom of Heavens fake.

33. And thus much of men and women jointly together in their
lives ; as to what concerns their deaths, I nmft add alfo a Rela-
tion, as ftrange as 'tis true, of the Family of one Captain Wood
late of Bampton, now Brife- Norton, Captain in the late Wars for
the King ; Some whereof before their deaths have had fignai
warning given them by a certain knocking, either at the doer with-
out, or on the table or fielves within ; the number of ftroaks,

and

Of 0XF0V$>~SH1\E. %c?

and diftance between them, and the place where, for the mod
part refpefting the circumftances of the perfons to dye, or their
deaths themfelves, aswilleafily be collc&ed from the following
relation.

34. The firft knocking that was heard, or at leaft obferved,
was about a year after the reftoration of the King, in the after-
noon a little before night, at or upon the door it being then open,
as it was apprehended by Mrs. Elenor Wood, mother to Captain
Bafil Wood, who only heard it, none being then by or about the
boufe but her felf ; at which (lie was very much difturbed, think-
ing it boded fome ill to her or hers, and within fourteen nights
after, (lie had news of the death of her Son in law Mr. George
Smith, who dyed in London.

35 . About three years after that, there were three great knocks
given very audibly to all that were then in the houfe, vi%. to the
aforefaid Mrs. Elenor Wood, Mr. Bafil Wood, and his wife Mrs.
Hefier, and fome fervants : which knocks were fo remarkable,
that one of the maids came from the well which was about twenty
yards from the place, to fee what was the matter ; and Mrs. E-
lenor Wood, and another maid that was within the boufe, faw three
great pans of Lard (hake and totter fo upon a ftelf in the Milk?
houje, that they were like to fall down. Upon this violent knock?
ing, Mr. Bafil Wood and his wife being then in the hall, came
prefently into the milk-houfe to their mother, where rinding her
fomwhat difturbed, and enquiring the reafon, fie replyed, God
Almighty only knew the matter, fit could tell nothing but [he
heard the knocking^ ; which being within doors, Mr. Bafil Wood
concluded muft be for fome of the Family at home, that upon
the door being for a friend abroad'- which accordingly fell out,
three of the family, according to the number of the knocks, dying
within little more than half a year after ; vi%. Mrs. Heiler Wood
wife to Mr. Bafil Wood, a child of Mr. Woods filler, and Mrs. £-
lenor Wood his mother.

36. About Auguft, 1674. Mr. Bafil Wood junior, (onofBa-
fil aforefaid, living at Exeter in Devon-fiire, heard the fame kind
of knocking, at which being difturbed, he wrote word of it to
his Eather here at Bampton in Oxford-fiire ; vix. That one Sun-
day, he and his wife, and her fitter, and his brother, did diftinftly
hear upon a Table in their Chamber as they ftood by it, two fe-

veral

zo6 The Natural Hijlory

veral knocks (truck as it were with a cudgel, one of them before,
and the other after Morning-prayer, a little before dinner : which
Letter was (hewn by Mr. Wood fenior (as the other knockjngs be-
fore the deaths of any that dyed, were before-hand told) to fe-
veral neighboring Gentlemen. After which, within about four-
teen days, Mrs. Hefter JFiWafecond wife of Mr. 'Bafil Wood fe-
nior, and about a quarter of a year after, her Father Mr. Richard
Liffet, dyed both at Bampton ; fince which time they have heard
nothing more as yet.

37. Amongft fuch unaccountable things as thefe, we may
reckon the ftrange paffages that happened at Woodftock.\n Anno
1 649. in the Manor-houk there, when the Commifiioners for fur-
veying the Manor-houfe, Park., Deer, Woods, and other the Ve-
meajnes belonging to that Manor, fat and lodged there : whereof
having feveral relations put into my hands, and one of them
written by a learned and faithful perfon then living upon the
place, which being confirmed to me by feveral eye-witneffes of
many of the particulars , and all of them by one of the Ccmmif-
fioners themfelves, who ingenioufly confeftto me, that he could
not deny but what was written by that perfon above-mention'd
was all true ; I was prevailed on at laft to make the relation pub-
lick (though I muft confefs I have no efteem for fuch kind offto-
ries, many of them noqueftion being performed by combinati-
on) which I have taken care to do as fully, yet as briefly as
may be.

38. October the 13. 1649. the Commiffioners with their fer-
vants being come to the Manor-houfe, they took up their Lodging
in the Kings own rooms, the Bed-chamber and with- drawing Room;
the former whereof they alfo made their Kitchin ; the Council-
hall, their brevp-houfe ; theChamber of Prejence, their place of fit-
ting todifpatch bufinefs ; and a wood-houfe of the Dining-room ,
where they laid the wood of that ancient Standard in the high-
Park-, known of all by the name of the Kings Oak., which (that
nothing might remain that had the name of King affixed to it)
they digged up by the roots. October the 14 and 15 they had lit-
tle difturbance, butonthe 16 there came as they thought, fom-
what into the Bed-chamber where two of the Commiffioners and
their fervantshy, in the fhape of a dog, which going under their
beds, did as it were gnaw the bed-cords ; but on the morrow

finding

0f0XF0%3)^SHlrKE. Z07

finding them whole, and a quarter of Beef which lay on the
ground untouched, they began to entertain other thoughts.

39. Oftob. 17. Somthing to their thinking removed all the
wood of the Kings Oak. out of the dining-room into the Prefence
Chamber., and hurled the chairs and ftools up and down that ;oom :
From whence i: came into the two Chambers where the Cwtthifffa*
ners and their ferv ants lay, and hoifted up their beds feet fo much
higher than the beads, that they thought they fhould have been
turned over and over, and then let them fall down withfnch a
force, that their bodies rebounded from the bed a good diftance,
and then (hook the bed-fteds fo violently, that themfelves con-
fer! their bodies were fore with it. October 1 8. Son- thing came
into the Bed- chamber and walkt up and down, and fetching the
warming-fan out of the with-drawing room, made fo much r.oife
that they thought five bells could not have made more. And
October 1 9. Trenchers were thrown up and down the dining-room
and at them that lodg'd there, whereof one of them being fllaken
by thefhoulder and awakened, put forth his head to fee what
was the matter, but had trenchers thrown at it, Ofiober 20. the
curtains of the bed in the with-drawing room were drawn to
and fro, and the bed/led much fhaken, and eight great pewter
dijhes^nd three dozen of trenchers, thrown about the bed-chamber
again, whereof fome fell upon the beds', this night they alfo
thought whole arm -fulls of the tfcod of the Kings Oak had been
thrown down in their chambers ; . but of that, in the morning they
found nothing had been moved.

40. OSiobeni. The keeper ot their Ordnary and his bitch, lay
in one of the rooms with them, which night they were not di-
fturbedat all. But ORober 22. though the bitch\tnntV d there
again (to whom they afcribed their former nights reft) both they
and the bitch were in a pitiful taking ; the bitch opening but once,
and that with a whining, fearful yelp. October 23. they had all
their cloaths pluckt off them in the with-drawing room, and the
bricks fell out of the chimney into the room-, and the 24th they
thought in the dining-room that all the wood of the Kings Oak had
been brought thither, and thrown down clofe by (heir bed-fids,
which noife being heard by thofe of the with-drawing room, one
of them rofe to fee what was done, fearing indeed that his fel-
low Commiffioners had been killed, but found no fuch matter •

where-

208 The Natural Hiftory

whereupon returning to his bed again , he found two dozen
of trenchers thrown into it, and handiomly covered with the
bed-cloaths.

41. Ottobe'r 25. The curtains of the bed in the with- drawing
room were drawn to and fro, and the bedfted fhaken as before :
and in the bed-chamber glafs flew about fo thick (and yet not a
pane of the chamber windows broken) that they thought it had
rained money ; whereupon they lighted candles, but to their grief
they found nothing but glafs, which they took up in the morning
and laid together. Oclober i^. Somthing walked in the with-
drawing room about an hour, and going to the window opened and
fhut it ; then going into the bed-chamber, it threw great ftones for
about half an hours time, fome whereof lighted on the high-bed,
and others on the truckje-bed, to the number in all of about four-
fcore. this night there was alfo a very great no ife, as though
forty pieces of Ordnance had been (hot off together ; at two fe-
veral knocks it aftonifhed all the neighboring dwellers, which 'tis
thought might have been heard a great way off. During thefe
noifes which were heard in both room^ together, both Commijfion-
ers and fervants were ftruck with fo great horror, that they cryed
out to one another for help, whereof one of them recovering
bimfelf out of a ftrange agony he had been in, fnatch'd up a /word,
and had like to have killed one of his Brethren coming out of his
bed in his fliirt, whom he took for the Spirit that did the mif-
chief: However, at length they got all together, yet the noife
continued fo great and terrible, and (hook the walls fo much, that
they thought the whole Manor would have fell on their heads. At
its departure it took all the g/tf/?away with it.

42. November 1. Somthing as they thought walk'd up and
down the wit h-dr awing room, and then made a noife in the dining-
room : The ftones that were left before and laid up in the with-draw-
ing-room, were all fetch 'd away this night, and a great deal of
glajl (not like the former) thrown about again. November 2.
came fomthing into the with-drawing room treading (as they con-
ceived) much like a Bear, which firft only walking about a quar-
ter of an hour, at length it made a noife about the Table, and
threw the warming-pan fo violently, that it quite fpoiled it : It
threw alfo glafi and great ftones at them again, and the bones of
horfes, and all fo violently, that the bedfted and walls were bruifed

by

Of OX'FO%T>~SHl%E. 20?

by them. This night they fee candles all about the rooms, and
made fires up to the mantle-trees of the chimneys ; but all were
put out no body knew how, the fire, and billets that made it, be-
ing thrown up and down the rooms y the curtains torn with the
rods from their beds, and the bed-poftspulVd away, that the tefler
fell down upon them6 and the feet of the hedged cloven in two :
And upon the fervants in the truchje-bed, who lay all this time
fweating for fear, there was firft a little, which made them be-
gin to ftir ; but before they could get out, there came a whole.
coule, as it were, of ftinking ditch-water down upon them, fo
green, that it made their fiirts and Jheets of that colour too.

43. The fame night the windows were all broke by throwing of
flones, and there was molt terrible noifes in three feveral places
together, to the extraordinary wonder of all that lodged near
them ; nay, the very Cony-ftealers that were abroad that night,
were fo affrighted with the difmal thundering, that for haft they
left their Ferret in the Cony-boroughs behind them, beyond Ro~
famonds well. Notwithftanding all this*, one of them had the
boldnefs to ask in the Name of God, what it was ? what it would
have ? and what they had done, that tbeyjhould be difturbed in this
manner ? to which no anfwer was given, but the noife ceafed for
awhile. At length it came again, and (as all of themfaid) brought
feven Devils worfethan it felf. Whereupon one of them light-
ed a candle again, and fet it between the two chafnbers in the
door-way, on which another of them fixing his eyes, faw the
fimilitude of a hoof ftriking the candle and candle-flick into the
middle of the bed-chamber, and afterwards making three fcrapc3
on the fnuff to put it out. Upon this the fame perfon was fo
bold as to draw his [word, but he had fcarce got it out, but there
was another invifible band had hold of it too, and tug'd with him
for it, and prevailing, (truck him fo violently with the/ww/we/,that
he was ftun'd with the blow.

44. Then began grievous noifes again, in fo much that they
called to one another, got together and went into the Prefence-
chamber , where they faid Prayers and fang Pfalms • notwith-
ftanding all which, the thundring noife ftill continued in other
rooms. After this, November 3. they removed their Lodgings
over the gate ; and next day being Sunday, went to ILwelm,
where how they efcaped, the Authors of the Relations knew not ;

D d but

zio The Statural Hijlory

but returning on Monday, the Devil (for that was the name they
gave their nightly gueft) left them not unvifited; nor on the
Tuefday following, which was the laft day they ftaid. Where
ends the Hifiory (for fo he was ftiled by the people) of the juft
devil of Wood/lock.', the Commifjfi oners and all their dependants
going quite away on Wednefday; fince which time, fays the Au-
thor that lived on the place, there have honeft perfons of good
Quality lodged in the Bed-chamber and mth-draveing room, that
never were difturb'd in the leaft like the Commiffioners .

45. Moftpart of thefe TranfaSlions, during the ftay of thefe
Commiffioners, 'tis true, might beeafily performed by combination,
butfome there are of them fcarce reconcilable to Jugling : Such
as 1. The extraordinary noifes, beyond the power of man to
make, without fuch inftruments as were not there. 2. The faring
down and fpliting the bed-pofls, and puting out fo many candles
and fo great fires no body knew how. 3. A vifible/?^ feen of
a horfes hoof treading out the candle. And 4. a tugging with
one of them for his foord by an invifible hand. A\\ which being
put together, perhaps may eafily perfwade fome man otherwife
inclined, to believe, that immaterial beings might be concern'd in
this bufinefs ; which if it do, it abundantly will fatisfie for the
trouble of the Relation, ftill provided the ffeculat he Theijf, be not
after all, a practical At heifi.

46. And thus, before I am aware, being fallen amongft the
unufual accidents that have happened to men only, the next unac-
countable thing that prefents it felf, is a remarkable Dream of
ThomasWotton Efq; of Boclon Malherb in the County of Kent, Fa-
ther to the famous Sir Henry Wotton Provoft of Eaton, whofc
dreams did ufually prove true, both in fore-telling things to come,
and difcovering things paft. The dream, 'tis true, of which I
am now writing, was had at Boclon in Kent, but the moil impor-
tant concern of it relating to Oxford, I thought fit rather of the
two to place it here ; the particulars whereof, as taken verbatim
out of Sir Henry Cottons lifeb, are briefly thefe.

47. Thh Thomas Wotton, a little before his death dreamed, that
Meliniverfity Treafury was robbed by Towns-men and poor Scho-
lars, and that the number wa6 five. And being that day to vrite
to his Son Henry (then a Scholar of Queens College) at Oxford,

* Inter Reliquias Wottovian/i!.

he

OfOXFO%T>^SHl%E. 211

he thought it worth fo much pains, as by a Pojifcript in his Letter,
to make a flight enquiry of it. The Letter C®hich was writ out of
Kent, and dated three days beforej came to his Sons hands the very
morning after the night in which the robbery was committed ; and when
/^Univerfity and City were both in aperplext inqueft cftheThieves,
then did Mr. Wotton Jhew his Fathers Letter, by which fuch light
was given of thi* work, of darknefl, that the five guilty perfons were
frefently difcovered, and apprehended.

48. Amongft the unufual accidents attending men in their

Lives, we muft alfo reckon all unufual difeafes, fuch as that of

Mr. Evans Re&or of Heath, who had a Ranula under his tongue,

wherein there bred a Hone, I fuppofe e f anguine craffo isr terreftri ;

or as they call it, a Tartar eom humor got together in the veins

under the tongue, fo hard and great that it almoft quite deprived

/wflofhis fpeech ; which he drew away with his own hand, and

as he told me fent it to the Medicin School at Oxford; but upon

fearch I could not find it, nor had the School-keeper ewer heard of

any fuch matter: So that whoever he were that he fent it by,

proved falfe both to him and the Vniverfity ; which I the rather

note, that people hereafter may take more care by whom they

fend fuch matters. Of juft fuch another ftone as this Mr. Lifter

gives us an account in a Letter to his Grace the Arch-Bifiop of

Torkc, cut from under the tongue of zman, and now preferved

in the Repository of the Royal Society, which he chufes to call

Lapis Atheromas, though the place of its birth made him allow

the diftemper to be a Ranula : but for my part, though the Ranula

be always a tumor, and fomtimes perhaps of that fort they call

Atheromata; yet the place giving the difeafe a peculiar name, I think

I ought rather to call it Lapis Ranul&, from the place of its birth,

and thofe only Lapides Atheromath found in that tumor in other

places of the body.

49. To this may be added a large ftone taken out of the bladder
of one Skingley of Oxford, weighing above a pound, and being
ten inches round one way fere, and full eleven the other ; prefer-
ved, and now to be feen in the Medicin School. As alfo a Corn
that grew on the Toe of one Sarney zWheel-wright, of St. AU
dates Yznfh'm. the City of Oxford, Anno 1655. two inches long,
which for the unufual figure and bignefs of it, I have caufed to

e Phiiofoph. Tranfaft. Numb. 83.

D d 2 be

in The 5\Qatural Hiflory

be ingravenof its juft magnitude, Tab. 10. Fig. 16. which isal-
fo to be feen in the Medicin School.

50. Amongft which alfo I think we may number the defcend-
ingtrunck of the Arteria magna, taken out of the body of an an-
aentperfon, by the fkilful Mr. Pointer Chirurgion of Oxford, in
the prefence of Dr. Millington our Sidleyan Profejfor of Natural
Pbilofophy, whofe innermoft coat from above the Emulgents down
to the Iliac branches, is by parcels only (and not continued
throughout) turned into bone, the outer coat remaining foft and
tender inks ordinary irate; which Artery remains to be feen in
the cuftody of Mr. Pointer. Juft fuch another Artery as this, I
find obferved by Fallopius d : and Dr. Willis took another of them
out of a man much ufed to wine and $1 ale drinks* ; who alfo in-
forms us, that in the dijfeclion of one that dyed of an ulcerated
Schirru* in the Mefentery, he found one of the Carotides turned
into bene in the fame mannerf: Befide, above the Emulgents
nearer the heart, there was a portion of this Artery turned into
an annulary bone, perhaps fuch another as was obferved by Dr.
Harvey, and Veflingiws g, in the great Artery of an old man ; but
this I have not feen, it being in the poile/fton of our afore-men-
tion'd Profejfor refiding in London.

54. Amongft other the fore-runners of death and the grave,
we muft not forget extream old age, fuch as thofe above-mention-
ed, §>. 3. of the fecond Chapter ; and of one J often Pierce late of
Witney, better known by much by the name of George Jits, who
lived to the age of an hundred and twelve. Where alfo in the
Tithing of Curbridg there is one William Carter now living, at leaft
a hundred years old, who yet it feems has not lived more abfte-
miouily than others of his rank, nor do's he now at this age take
fo much care, as other people of his health ' he commonly lying
naked amongft the blankets of the Mill where he lives, which ma-
ny times are not over dry ; out of which he will go naked in the
midft of winter, and drink cold water at the Rivers fide.

52. Of accidents in the very point of death, I have met with
none obfervable amongft the Men of this County, nor of any at-
tending them in the Grave, except we may reckon that one, of
pre/ervation from corruption many years after death ; fuch as that

' Gabr.Vallof. Tom. 2. Trail. 9. cap. 14. • Pharmaceut. ratimalis7 fed. 6- caj>.^. f Cereir. Anatom.
cap. 7. * Syntag. Anatom. cap- 10.

of

X

dpao-. 31 a.

OfOXFO%T)~SHI%E. n,

of the body of one that had been Refior of Wendlebury, taken up
in the Church there near forty years after he had been buryed,
whofe flefhyet look'd as red (as I was informed by the Incumbent,
fince alfo dead) as raw beef: which whether it might not be caufed
by the petrifying qualities of the earths and waters about that
Town, would be an experiment worthy the trial of the Ingenious
thereabout ; or about Sommerton or North Aflon, where it would
be eafie to try whether fleflh were fo inclinable to corrupt in 'pe-
trifying waters as others. But if this prove the caufe, all bodies
muft equally be preferved therc,as well as that. Ve quibm quaere.

53. And thus I had finifli'd this eighth Chapter? but that I
muft beg leave to acquaint the Reader, that fince the Printing the
2i §. of it, I have found the Quintan amongft the Roman exerci-
fes (which yet perhaps they might borrow from the Greeks) by
the name of Quintana ; fo called, by reafonthe Romans in their
Tents made firft four ways in manner of a Crofs, to which adding a
fifth on one fide, it was called Quintana *. In this way they fetup
a great Posl about fix foot high, fuitable to the ftature of a man,
and this the Roman Soldiers were wont to affail, with all Inftru-
ments of war, as if it were indeed a real enemy, learning upon
this, by the afliftance of the Campidoftores, how to place their
blows aright. And this they other wife called exercitium ad Pd-
lum; and fomtimes Palaria, the form whereof may be fee n in
Vulturwi * : which pra&ice being in ufe during their Government
here, in all likely hood has been retained among us ever fince, be-
ing only tranflated in times of Peace, from a military, to a fportive
marriage exercife.

* Vid. Guid. VanciroUum, Rer. memoraM/ium, lib. 2. tit- 21 ; * In Auguftanis Monumentis, f . 2 37-

CHAP.

214. The Statural H'tjiory

CHAP. IX.
Of Ms.

THUS having run through all the Natural Bodies I have
met with in Oxford-Jhire, fuch as either Dame Nature has
always retained the fame from the beginning, as Waters,
Earths, Stones, iyc. or freely produces in her ordinary courfe,
as Plants, Animals, with all her extravagancies and defefis, or o-
ther accidents attending : I am come at length, according to my
propofed method, to treat of Arts, and things artificial, that have
either been invented or improved in this County ; whereof firft, of
fuch as have tended to the difcovery of the magnitudes, or de-
termination of the motions of the Heavenly Bodies, whither alfo
muft be referr'd the contrivance of new Periods, of new Hypo-
thefes and their demonfirations. Secondly, I fti all confider Air,
Fire, and water-works, and thence go on to fuch Arts as have a-
ny relation to Earths, Stones, or Plants. In fhort, I fhall here
alfo follow the method of the whole Effay as in fome other Cha-
pters, by the way taking in all Inventions, and improvements that
I have met with in this County, whether in the Mechanick. or
Liberal Arts ; which I intend the whole (cope of the following
Chapter.

■v 2. The firft CeleftialOhfervations in order of time, made here,
that were any thing artificial, I prefume might be done by Robert
Groiihead Bifhop of Lincoln, craffi quidem capitis, fed [ubtills in-
genii, fays Pitfens of him h ; who amongft other his Learned
works, left us Treatifes of the Sphere and the Aftrolabe, with which
no queftion he found out many things that were new to that age :
But becaufe we can inftance in no particulars, let it fuffice as an
evidence of the great probability, that he is highly commended
for his knowledge in Aftronomy and Perfrefiive by Roger Bacon a
Frier minor of Oxon: and fomtime Fellow of Merton College, a
Man of fuch affrighting (kill in Mathematicks, efpecially Perfte-
ftive, thathejuftly deferved the title of Dr. Mirabilis. Nor in-
deed was he out of the way who gave him fo much, flnce had he

* In Anno 1253.

lived

ofOXFO%T>~SHI1{E. us

lived in our days we could have given no lefs, to one who in all
probability was a great Improver at leaft, if not the Inventor of
that ufeful Mathematical Inftrument, fince by GaliUtK and others
called the Telefcope ; of which admirable Invention perhaps Ox-
ford may juftly boaft, and for it expecl: to be celebrated to all po-
fterity. Whicii affertion if made good with all perfpicuity and
clearnefs, without wrefting any words or begging favorable con-
ftrucYion, I think I need not to doubt but on all hands 'twill be
granted, that the obfervations here made as they were new and fre-
quent, foto the vulgar and ignorant, they muft needs be terrible
and amazing.

3. That this Learned Frier underftood all forts of glaffes, and
to order and adapt them to fuch like purpofes (not to cite other
places that might eafily be brought) I think I may with truth as
well as confidence affirm from the unconftrained fenfe of his own
words, in his Book of Perfyeclive. Si vero corpora nonfunt plana
per qu<£ vifm videt, (edffhdtrica ; tunc eft magna diverfitoi, nam vel
cdncavitoi corporis eft ver(ws oculum, vel convexitas '. But, fays
he, if the glaffes be not plain (having treated of them before)
but fpberical ; the cafe is much otherwife, for either the concavity
of the glafs is next the eye, or the convexity, (src. Now that he u-
fed thekglaffes in Celeftial Obfervations, is altogether as evident
from the fame Book.-, where he proceeds in thefe words. De vifwne
frafta, majcra funt, nam de facili patet, maxima poffe apparere mini-
ma, & e contra ; (sr longt difiantia videbuntur propinquiffime, (sr e
converfo : fie etiam facer emws Solem, is" Lunam, (p Stellas defcendere
fecundum apparentiam hie inferiwt, (yc k. Greater things are per-
formed if the vifion be refratled, for [by refraclion'] 'tis eafily
made appear that the great eft things may be reprefented lefs, and
little things as the greateft ; and that things afar off 'may be repre-
fented near : Thus we can make the Sun, and Moon, and Stars, to
all appearance, to come down to us here below, (ye.

4. Again in his Epiftlc ad Parifienfem, concerning the fecret
works of Art and Nature. Poffunt enim fie figurari perfyicua, ut lon-
gifiimepofita, appareant propinquiffima, <& e contrario ; it a quod ex
incredibili diftantia legertmu* literat minutiffimab, ($• numeraremus
res quantumcunque parvas, ($• Jlella* facer emm apparere quo vellemus '.
Clajfes may be fo figured, that things the moil remote may appear

1 PerfpetKv. part. 3. difi. 2. cap . 3. k Uid. dl(t. ultima. l In Ep!fi. adVarijiens, cap. 5.

near',

z\6 The Natural Hi/lory

near; fo that at an incredible distance we may read the fmalleft
Character, and number things though never (ofmall; and laftly,
make Stars appear as near as we pleafe. And thefe things, he
fays at another place, were to the illiterate fo formidable and a-
mazing, ut animus mortals ignorans veritatem non pojjit aliqualiter
fuftinere m .* that no mortal, ignorant of the means, could poffibly
bear it.

•5. Wherein this Learned Francifcan did fo far excel the anci-
ent Magicians, that whereas they reprefented the Moons approach
by their magical charms, he brought her lower with a greater in-
nocence, and with his glajfes did that in truth, which the ancient
Poets always put in a Fable : thus Petroniut brings in his Witch-,
boafting the power of her charms.

— Lundt defcendit imago
Carminibwsdeduftameh.

And Martial n in the Epitaph of PhiUnk enquires,

• Vl

Qua nunc Thejfatico Lunam deducere Rhombo
Qudefciet?

All which put together, it muft neceflarily be confeft, that he had
fome fuch Inftrument, though not fo trimly made, 'tis like, as
our Tele/copes are now. In favor of which truth, much more
might be alleged, did I not think this fufficient to evince it with
unprejudiced Readers, for whofe benefit I have laid down his
words thus at large, and tranflated them (as I alfo intend in fome
other matters) that fuch as have not the opportunity of feeing his
Books, or underftand not his Language, might give their verdict,
as well as thofe that have, or do.

6. Upon the account of thefe, and many other excellent Ex-
periments, exceeding ('tis true) the capacity, but not the malice
of thofe times, he wasaccufed of Magick in its worft fenfe, to
have performed them by the concurrent help of the Devil0, per-
fected as fuch by thofe of his own Fraternity, and thrown into
Prifon by Hieronymus de Efiulo?, General of his Order, afterward
Pope by the name of Nicholas the Fourth, where they fo barba-
roufly treated him, that he was forced to feek redrefs of Clement

■ Perfiediv. part. 3. difl. 3. n Martial. Epigram, lih. 9. Epig. 22. five 30. B Vtd. Hifior. & Antia.
Vniverj. Oxon. Lb- l.f- 138. » ~Bal*iCent. 4 Numb. j}.

the

Of OXFORDSHIRE. i,j

the Fourth, to whom he made complaint not only of his hard
ufage, and fequeftration of his Books, but charge of his Experi-
ments, fome whereof he tells him, efpecially concerning burning
things at any diftance, would amount at leaft to a thoufandmarks-,
Et certe combufiio in omni dislantia confiaret plufquam mille marcat,
antequam fyecula fufficientiafierent ad hocq, are his very words, And
at.another place fpeaking of Mathematical Lnftruments,Inslrumentd
hctcnon funt facia apud Latinos, nee fierent pro ducentisnec trecentis
libr's r, that they would not be made for two or three hundred
pounds : great fums indeed in Bacons time, yet fcarce bearing pro-
portion with his greater attempts.

7. Which made them at laft fo jealous of him, that notwith-
ftanding he wrote a whole Treatife againft the ufe of Magickjj
they would fuffer none to come near him, nor his Books to have
place in their Libraries, infomuch that it almoft repented him of
his Inventions \ which in all probability (not to mention the
humor of the Age, very careful of breaking the Heavenly Seal (as
they called it) which obfeured their myjleries from tne uriWorthy
multitude) was the caufe why he left us no particular Phenomena.
of the motions of the Planets, nor any thing of newfiars ; the
difclofing (uchfecrets producing many inconveniencies. Which
alfo was thereafon (as guefs'd by Dr. Dee u) why he never re-
vealed his fecret of Gun-powder ; not but he efteemed it a confi-
derable Invention, but becaufe he fore-faw the many evils attend-
ing it, which thefe latter ages have feverely felt ; fince brought
into practice by Bertholdut Swartz^ of which more fully in its pro-
per place.

8. So far then was John Lipperfein of Zeland, Metim of Alckr
mar, or Galil*ws himfelf from being the Invent or of the Telefiopei
or firft appljer of it to the Heavens • that perhaps had not Bacon
left his Books to poiterity, with fuch pregnant Indications how'
much might be done that way ; he had been as little able to make
thofe advancements he d\d , as Paulws Middleburgenfis, or Coper-
nicuthzd been, to give occafion for the correction of the Julian
Calendar, or Tropical Tear, confiding of 365 days and 6 hours
(firft contrived, as Bacon informs us, by one Falix w, and only

* InGperif Mitt. part.-], cap. 13. MS.in~Bib.Bod. » hieadem Op. Min.part.^.cap 11. » Contra tfecro-
manticos five denullitate May*, t Vid. Hift. & Antiq.XJniverf.Oxon. Lib. i./>. 138. u Dr. Dee's Annoi'.
in Epift. ad Varlfienfem. * In Liho Fratris Rog. Bacon. Computus Naturalium, diclo^cap.% MS. in Bib/.
Cell.Vmverfitatu Oxon.

E e per*

2i8 The Statural Hiflory

perfe&ed by Csfar) which though not performed till the time of
Gregory the 13th, Anno 1582. yet the firfl motion of its being
done, was certainly made by this Learned Friar to Pope Clement
the 4th, as appears from a fair MS Copy of the fourth part of his
Opus minus in the Bodleyan Library : Where after he has paflio-
natly lamented its errors awhile, he gives this fuccinft account of
it, vi%. that its being greater than the true Solar year, was the
caufe of the going back of the JEquinoxes and Solftices, and then
how all was to be amended.

9. Quod autem hicintendo (fays hex) eft de correttione Calendarii
quoutitur Ecclefia. Julius quidem Casfar in Aftronomia edoclus
complevit ordinem Calendarii fecundum quod potuit in tempore fuo ;
is? ficut K\ ft or\x narrant contra Achorium Aslronomum, & Eudo-<
xum ejus Dcflorem difputavit in Egypto de quantitate Anni Solaris,

fuper quam fundatum eft Calendarium nnftrumjindeficut Lucanus rt-
ftrt, ij>fe dixit

Non meus Eudoxi vincetur faftibus Annus.

Sednonpervenit Julius adveram anni quantitatem quampofuit effe in
Calendario /7o/?/'0 365 dies, <& quart am diei integram, qu<e quartet
col/igitur per quatuor annos, ut in anno Biflextili computetur unus
dies plus quam in aim annis communibus : Manifeftum autem eft per
omnes computiftas, antiquosist novos, fed (9 certificatum eil per vias
Aftronomia?, quod quantity anni Solaris non eff tanta, imo minor ;
(y iftud minus <zftimatur a fapientibus effe quaft 130 pars unius diei,
unde tanquam in 130 annis fuperflue computatur unius dies, qui ft au-
ferretur, effet Calendarium correftum quoad hoc peccatum, i. e.

10. That which I intend here (fays he) is the corrc&ionof
the Calendar now in ufe in the Church. Julius C<efar indeed be-
ing learned in Aftronomy, compleated the Calendar very well for
his time, and as Hiftories tell us, difputed in Egypt againft Acho-
riui, and his Mafter Eudoxus, concerning the quantity of the
Solar year, on which our Calendar is founded, which made Lu-
can bring him in fpeaking to this erM:,

The J ul'idn-iftja linear be proved amifs,
By the Eudoxian Ephemeris.

But Julius never came to the knowledge of the true quantity of*

* 40 MS. h Bib. Sod. in MufxO Protobibliotheiarii f- 327.

the

Of 0 XFO %V~SHI%E. ix9

the year, which he made to confift of 365 days, and a whole
fourth part of a day. which fourth part collected at four years
end, made, that in the Biffextil there was One day more than in
any otheryear : But 'tis manifeft (fays he) to all Aflronomers both
old and new, and 'tis plain from the rules of Astronomy, that the
quantity of the Solar year is not fo much, but lefs, and that as 'tis
judged by wife men, by the 130th part of a day; whence it
comes to pafs,thatin 130 years we have one fuperfluous day,
which were it but taken away, the Calendar would be corrected as
to this error.

1 1. And then he proceeds to fliew, that upon this account
it is that the /Equinoxes and Solstices arc not fixt, but continually
afcend in the Calendar, that in the beginning of the Church they
were not, where they are now in his time ; and in the conclufion
of the Difcourfe, Debet autemnunc temporis remedium apponi pro-
pter iftos errores manijeflos, &c Y. But that now fome remedy muft
be found for thofe palpable errors, and that to take off fcandal
from the Church ; for (fays he) all the learned in Aftronomy know
this, and laugh at the ignorance of the Prelates that fuffer it. Nay^
the Infidel Arabians, Hebrews, and Greek, abhor the folly they fee
in the Chriftians in ordering the time they fet afide for their greater
Solemnities'. But now Ch riftians have fo much fkill in Agronomy,
that they can amend all thefe things. Therefore your Holynefs
(meaning PopeClement) may command, is? invenietk homines qui
prrfdara remedia apponent in hac parte.

1 2. Thus earneftly wrote he for the reformation of the Calen-
dar, not only in this but in feveral other Books ; in 6\\t whereof
he makes alfo this complaint, Non tamen aliquis pr^fumit tradere
Calendarium correclum, propter hoc quod Concilium generate prohi->
bet nc quis mutet Calendzrium, fine licentia fedis Apoftolicsegg/zmz^
// z, i. e. Yet no body prefumes to correct this Calendar, becaufe
it is forbid by a General Council that no man fhould offer to alter
it, without fpecial licenfe firft obtained of the Apoflolick Sea.
Which licenfe I gather at length was given him, for I find him in
the end of the aforefaid Chapter, mentioning a more correct Copy
of a Calendar fent to the aforefaid Pope by his Boy John, than
any he had fent him before. Cumpropter feslinantiam, is1 propter

^ Loco citato {ub finem Paragraph. * In Operit Minor, part. 3. 4°. m$, j„ Bib/iotheca ~Bodleiana*
lap. 67.

E e 2 occa-

220 The Statural Hiftory

occupations in aim magna* & varias, veflrum Exemplar non fuit
ufquequaque correttum, hie ittrum feci tranferibi, isr correxi ; is? b<ec
ideofacio, ut certitudina liter confiderare iff conferre poffitis de hac ma-
teria cum quocunque veliths i. e. becau(e upon the account of haft
and various other bufinefles intervening, your Copy was not fuffi-
cicntly correct, I have corrected and tranferibed it again, that
you might confider and confer about it more certainly with whom
you pleafe. A perfect and fair MS. Copy of which Calendar, I hear
yet remains in the hands of one Mr. Theyer, a Gentleman of G/o-
cesler-fiire.

13. From which, or fome other Calendar of his, PaulwsMid-
dlehurgenfis Biftiop of Foffombrone , in the Dukedom of Vrbiny
ftolehalf of his great Volum, which he calls his Paulina, con-
cerning the true time of keeping Eafter,and. day of the Paffion of
our Lord JESUS ; directed to Pope Leo the Tenth, in order to
the reformation of the Roman Calendar and Ecclefiaflical Cycles^
written juft in the fame order and method generally and particu-
larly as Roger Bacon long before had done to Clement the Fourth ;
and yet full (lender mention (fays Dr. Dee a) doth this Biflop
make of him, though his chief Inftru&or in the beft part of the
matter contained in his Book: In which defign, though the Via-
giary were unfuccefsful , his endeavors being fruftrated for a
time, yet 'twas he that ftirred up Nicholas Copernicus (as the
fame Nicholas honeftly confeffes in an Epi/ile of his to Paul the
Thirdh) moreaccuratly to obferve the motions of the Sun and
Moon, and thence to define the quantities of years and months
more truly than they were before in the Julian Calendar ; upon
whofe foundations Aloyfim^ and the reft of the fumptuous Col-*
legeol Mathematicians at Rome having built their Reformation, it
is eafily deducible that whatever has been done in this matter
from the time of Frier Bacon, to that of Pope Gregory the Thir-
teenth, muft in great meafure be afcribed to him, their whole Re -
formation fcarce differing from his.

14. Only in this (which is well worth the obfervation) that
whereas the Gregorian Reformers reduced the Equinoxes and Sol-
Jlices to the places they fuppofed they held in the time of the Ni-
cene Council? Bacon feems inclinable to have brought them (and

a Dr. Dees proxifal to Queen £/;&>£. and her Co*»ri/conceming the reformation of the vulgar Ca-
lendar. MS. in BMotb. c. C. €. Oxon. lit- Z fol. fc In Prafat. in libros re volutionum.

that

OfOXFO%<D-SHl%£> ut

that moft rationally) to their places, in a much more eminent Zu
poche, vi^ the Winter Sol/ike to the tenth of the Calends of Janu-
ary , and the Vernal JEquincx to the tenth of the Calends of April?
their true places at the time of Chrifts birth : which he proves
by a very cogent Argument drawn from the observations of Pto-
lomy, who lived but 140 years after Chrift ; in whofe time the
Vernal Mquinox was found to be on the eleventh of the Calends o(
April', now allowing, as before, that it afcends in the Calendar a
whole natural day in 1 30 years ; if in Vtolomies t\me it fell on the
eleventh of the Calends of April, it muft needs at Chrifts birth
have been at leaft on the tenth; and fo of the Solftice *. Accord-
ing to which computation they have now gon back in our Calen-
dar fince Chrifts time almoft 13 days, the number 130 days be-
ing fo often to be found in 1676. wanting but 14. Now the /Era
of Chrifts birth being a time of much higher value, and more to
be refpe&ed by Chriftians than the Nicene Council, in what ever1
elle they have exceeded him3 I#am fure in this they have fallen
(liortof his reformation.

15. And (o much for the invention of the Telefcope, and o-
ther Inftruments, by the afliftance whereof he fo nearly defined the
true quantities of the Solar and Lunar years, that he firft gave oc-
cafion to the reformation of the Julian Calendar', wherein if the
Header (with me) be convinced, let him hither refer thofe in-
ordinate Encomiums by Kepler, Fabriciut, and C<?far la Galla,
heaped on GaliUu* for the one ; and whatever elfe of that na-
ture he (hall meet with, given to Paulu* Middleburgenfis, Copernicus,
or Aloyfiws for the other.

1 6. Thus was the Chriftian World firft informed in matters of
A/ironomy by Roger Bacon, and with fo much fuccefs here in En-
gland, that in the next Century we meet with Richard Wallingford
Abbot of St. Albans, and Simon Bredon, both Oxford men, the
moft eminent for their time in the whole World", who for their
fubtilty, and yet clearnefs of demonftration, we find yoaked
with no lefs than the great Albategniws, by Lewk Caerlyon alfo an
Oxford man, in his obfervations of the Eclypfes^ An. Van. 1482°.
where alfo he treats of the oblique afcenfions of the Signs calcula-
ted to the Meridian of Oxford. And quickly after we meet with

* fn Operis Mtn. fart. 3- cap 69. MS. in Eibliatbeca Coll.Vmverf. c 4* Ms 79. inter Codices MS-
Seldeni.\

William

222 The Statural Hijlory

William Rede (after Biflop of Chicheyter) and J ohn E/chenden joint-
ly to carry on this ftudy, as appears from their Treatifes of the
central Eclyps of the Moon, and conjunction of the three fupe-
rior Planets that happen'd An. 1345. and the great conjunction of
Jupiter and Saturn, An. 1365. both which were calculated by
William Rede, and the Prognostications added by J 'ohn Efchenden d :
From which Eclyps, and the firft conjunction, he fore-told the
Epidemical Pejiilence that followed in the year 1349. which be-
ginning in Turky, fpread all over Syria and Greece ; whence it
came into Italy, Spain and France, and at length' into England.
To thefe addjobn Somer and William Wyrcefter, alfo mod eminent
Aflronomers ; the former whereof corrected the Calendar perhaps
yet more accuratly than Bacon e ; and the latter wrote a verifica-
tion of all the fix'd flars, as to their longitude and latitude, for
the year 1440 f. with fome other Agronomical matters, at the in-
ftance of his Patron Sir John Falftoff.

1 7. Great we fee was the ingreafe of this fort of Learning,
even in thofe days, yet that former Ages may not carry away the
whole honor, let us alfo make an eftimate of its modern advance-
ments \ fuch as it received from Thomm Lydiat, formerly Fellow
of New College, and Re&or of Alkerton in this County, who de-
fining a yet truer period than any of the former, of the Sun and
Moons motion (without which, there could be no accurat Syflem
or Calendar of years, months and days) moft happily firft contri-
ved the Oclodefexcentenary Period: ipfe primus, abfit diclo invidia;
noftro feculo obfervavi, are his own words2: Which Period,
though till now not fo certainly known, 'by Learned Antiquity
was called the great year, as is manifeftfrom/o/^tt* his Hiftory
of the Jewsh, where fpeaking of the great advantages our Fvre-
fat hers had in Aslronomy, he fays, Uxlov %w r®ew mw v£y.<$vi «-

$ 0 fuiytt opixvtos 7r?uj/>KTaf. i. e. that 'tis probable God gave them a
longer life, that they might fully underftandthe Theorems of Agro-
nomy, which they could not well do, unlefs they lived fix hun-
dred years ; for the great year, fays he, is accomplifti'd in that
number of years.

8. Which Lydiat found to come fo near the truth, that there

1

a Vol. MS. 176. inter Codices V'tgh- e S?^- *** inter Codices T>igh>™"MS- 5- f MS- '»ter Codices
Laud, 12°. B- 23. « Lydiati Ej>. Ajtronm. de Ami Solaris menfura- * Lib. i- cap. 4. fub.fi/iem-

needed

ofOXFO%p~SHl%E: a}

heeded but the abatement of eight in fix hundred, his truster iod
confifting of 592 years, and that (according to Geminus) of whole
years, whole months, and whole days, as a period ought to do1,
viz* of 592 intire filar years, 7322 entire months (whereof 21 S>
are intercalary*) 216223 entire days, and 30889 entire weeks ^
defining every Lunar month to confift of 29 days, i2h, 44, 3 * 12 ,
44 "", 3V, 1 2V1. And the filar year of 365 ^js, 5h, 47-', 50', 1 6 '", 6c
387 ; or 5h and J* ; or 365 dkjtf and tJ'9 part of a </<jy : So that the'
whole period, or 592 Lydiatean years , do anticipate fo many Julian
ones by five days.

19. According to this^nW found out in i4«. 1605. exceed-
ing the Dionyfian but 60 years, he calculated the middle motions
of thefieven Planets for the «i«e firft periods entirely, and the /^/^
fo far forth as it had gon in his time ; (fome MS* fragments of
which calculations I had lately in my poiTexlion, butnowdifpofed
of to the WorfhipfulDr. Lanphire, Principal of Hart-hall, care-
fully to be prefervedamongftthe reft of his writings. )And in An.
1620. viz. in the laft year of the firft half of his tenthperiod, he
put it forth, with his Menologium, or reformation of the Calen-
dar, which he oppofed to the new, but confuted, abfurd, and
falfe Pomifical Gregorian year, contrived by the fumptuous Col-
lege of Mathematicians at Rome ; and defended it againft the ob-
tractations of/ofeph Scaligerk, a man, 'tis true, of great Learning,
but withal fo confident and imperious, fo abufive and afliiming,
that whenever he wanted Arguments for the fupport of his
caufe, he always fought revenge upon the perfon of his Ad-
verfary.

2c. Which was manifeftly the cafe of modeft Lydiat, whom
in an Epislle to Richard Thomfon (his correfpondent in England)
he calls, thegreateft monfier that ever England produced^ ; and in
another to the fame Thomfon, the veryefi fool in the whole world,
and that 'twas below hi* dignity, nor had he leifure to write againfi
fuch a Beetlem. But herein (as the Reverend Dr. Heylin very well
notes in another cafe) we muft pardon Jofieph ; for had 'not [corn and
contempt heenpart of his Effence, he had neither been a Scaliger, nor
the fin of Julius", who fcrupled not to pafs this rafti cenfure on
the whole Englijh Nation ; that we are, Ferfidi, inflati, fieri, con-

' Periedus debet eomprebendere, o\*t ipi&t, % o'a*s pi**(, v^'ibm &««utbc. Geminus in liiro <j>«<»o^u'«>v
.k Vtd- Lydiati So/is & Luna periodum, inTituto. ' Jef.Sca/igeriEpiflolar./ik ^.Epift- 240. m Jof. $ca-
liger. Epifto/. lib, 3 Episl. 2+1- D CoJmograph.inCald-Ajfy.&Me/opot-fubfinem.

temp tor el.

%l\ The Natural Hi [lory

tempt ores, flolidi, amentes, inert es, inhofpitales,immanes °. In which
very aft yet 1 think he proves nothing, but that mod of thofe
Epithets rather belong to himfelf.

21. If it be objefted that Jcfeph did not fo hxpatrirare, but
that hefpake Honorably of fome of the Englifl\ fuch as Wcttcn,
Savil, Camden ?, Reynolds q: it muft be anfwered, That thefe
touched not the apple of his eye, nor endeavored the ruin of
his great Diana, the Julian Period, of which he conceited him-
felf the Inventor : which yet fince by an indifferent, and that a
competent judge, is given to Robert Lorringe an Englift Biflop of
Hereford, who lived $00 years before Scaligers invention r. 'lis
true, he fitted it to Chronological ufes ; but whil'ft in the midft
of his glorious attempts, behold him (liaken by meek, and modeft
Lydiat, the happy Inventor of a more accurat period, whereby
hefo difturbed and confounded all his fupputations, that (if we
may believe the moft Learned of the Age) he laid his angry Rival
flat upon his back.

22. And fo much concerning the Lydiatean Period, of which,
becaufe fo much already in Print, I ft) all not add more, only in
what years of as many ottbem, as have already been (which pof-
fibly may not be unacceptable to the Reader} the moft confiderable
/Era's of the world have happen'd.

Tears of the World. Tears of the Lydiatean Periods.

The flood. 1^57'

Birth cflfazc. 2109.

Exodus. 2509.

The Temple. 2988.

Empire 0/Nebuchadn. 3401.

Empire of Cyrus. 347 1 .
Empire of Alexander? ,

the Great. \ 5 75'

Empire of Jul. C sefar . 3956.

Baptifm of Chrift. 4<>33'

7^eDionyfianv^ro/? >

r j / C 5^24-
our Lord, 16 20. 3

The year of our Lor d,i6y 6. 5680.

• Jul-Cafar.Scal. ?oetica,liB. ^.cap. i6- ' JofScnlig.Epiftol. U
446. c In Trafat. in Annate t Jac. Vjjini, Archiep. Armachan.

473.

(?)

333.

(4)

141.

(5)

28.

(6)

441.

(6)

511.

(0

123.

(7)

404.

(7)

481.

(7)

296,

(10)

352.

O)

. Epift- 232.

* Ibid. lib. 4. Epift.

23. If

Of OXF0%V-SHl%E. 2zj

23. If I defcend yet lower to perfons now living, we (hall
daily find Aftronomy receiving new advancements, particularly from
the Right Reverend Father in God, Seth Lord Biftiop of Sarum,
one of the moft cordial Promoters of this undertaking : who ra-
ther embracing the opinions of Diogenes, Apolloniu* Myndim^ of
the Chaldees, and at length of Seneca ; That Comets are perpetual
ffars, and carryed about in a continued motion ; than of Kepler, who
thought them ftill produced de Novo, quickly perifhing again ; or
of Gaffendm, who held indeed they might be corpora sterna, but
yet that they always moved in ftraight lines ; he firft propofed
this new Theory of them, viz^ that it was much more probable
they might rather be carryed round in Circles 01 ■ Ellipfes(ehher in-
cluding or excluding the Globe of the earth) fo great, that the
Comets are never vifible to us, but when they come to the Perige's
of thofe Circles or Ellipfes, and ever after invifible till they have
abfolved their periods in thofe vaft Orbs, which by reafon of their
(landing in an oblique, or perpendicular pofture to the eye, he de-
monftrated might well feem to carry them in ftraight lines ; all
circles or ellipfes fo pofited, projecting themfelves naturally into
fuch lines : which Theory was firft propofed in a Letlure here at
Oxford, and afterward fet forth in the year 1 653. The Right Re-
verend Father in God, Seth Lord Biftiop of Sarum, and my very
good Lord, being then Ptofeffor of Aftronomy in this Vniver-

24. In the fame year, the fame Right Reverend, and moft ac-
complifh'd Bifhop firft Geometrically demonftrated, the Copernico-
Elliptical Hypothefis to be the moft genuine, fimple and uniform, the
moft eafie and intelligible, anfweringall /^mwzetftf without com-
plication of motions, by Eccentrics, Epicycles, or Epicyc- Epicycles.
That the Excentricities of the Planets and their Apoge's according
to the Ptolemaic hypothefis, and the Aphelions according to the
Copernican, might all be folved by a fimple Ellipticall'ine, was firft
indeed noted by Kepler, but how their proper andprimary Inequa-
lities, or Anomali* Codtquatdt, fhould thence be demonftrated geo-
metrically, he profeft he knew not, and utterly defpaired it would
ever be done: which ftirred up the Learned Ifmael Bullialdus to
attempt the removal of this difgrace to Aftronomy, which accord-
ingly he thought he had done, finding the method of the Apheli-
ons, and demonftrating (at leaft as he thought) the firft Inequa-

F f hies

i%6 The Statural Hijlory

Uties geometrically, and making Tables; calling his work Aslrono-
miam PhilAaicam.

25. But how far he came fhort of what he pretended, was
fo plainly and modeftly made appear by the Reverend Bifiop, in
a Book which heentituled, Inquifitio in Ifmaelis Bullialdi Ajlrono-
mi<e Philolaic* fundamenta. Edit. Oxonii, 1653. tnat tne ingeni-
ous Bullialdu* himfelf, Cent him a Letter of thanks, and recogni-
tion of his errors. Where alfo he further (hews, that although
Bullialdws had not, and Kepler thought no man could , rightly
calculate the firft inequalities according to the rules of Geometry,
i. e. out of the known middle motions of the Planets (or true
places of the Aphelions') accuratly find a priori, their true or ap-
pearing motions: That yet there were methods by which it might-
be done, whereof he propounded two in the fame Book-, and de-
monftratedthem, which afterwards applying to all the primary
Planets, he fet forth both Elliptical and Circular Aftronomy, fhew-
inghow the Phenomena, according to both Hypothefes, might be
geometrically made out, which he called his Aftronomia Geometrica,
Edit. Londini, An. 1656.

26. The Elliptical Hypothecs has received yet further advance-
ment from Mr. Edmund Rally of Queens College Oxon. a young man,
for his years of prodigious (kill in Agronomical matters, who,
amongft many other excellent performances in that Science to be
met with in our Englijh PhilofophicalTranfaclions % has (hewed us
a direft. and geometrical method for finding the Aphelions-, Excentri-
cities, 2nd proportions of the Orbs of the primary Planets, with-
out fuppofingthe equality of the angle of motion at the other Fo-
cus of the Planets Ellipfts, which has been hitherto always done
amongft Aftronomers1 : From whom I dare promife yet further
improvements, he being lately gon to the Ifle of St. Helen, for the
more advantagious profecution of his Aftronomical ftudies ; from
whofe folitary obfervations there, and comparative ones with Mr.
Flamfted\ here, Aftronomy no queftion will receive confiderable
advancements.

27. To which may be added feveral other improvements this
Science has received from that incomparable perfon Sir Chriflopher
Wren, late Profefjor here : who before any thing of Hugenius ap-
peared onthnfubjeft, from his conftant obfervations of Saturn,

• Philofoph.Tranfadions, Nmk- 116,127,128. l Ibidem. Numb. 128.

ftated

Of OXFO%<D~SHI%E~ iiy

ftated a Theory of that Planet ; and of the Moons Libration, He
has attempted alfo (and perhaps by this time performed) a Sele*
nograpby by meafure, what we have yet of that kind being rather
pictures.) than accurate furveys or maps of the Moon : To this pur-
pofe he contrived a Lunar globe, reprefenting not only the Moun~
tains and Vallepsm folid work, but the feveral degrees ofwhitenefs
and blackpefi on the furface, which if turned to the light, (hews
all the menjirual pbafes of the Moon, with the feveral appearances
that arife from the fhadows of the Hills and Vales.

28. He has made Maps of the Pleiades, and other Telefcopial
flats, and propofed ways to folve the great Queftion concerning
the earths reft or motion by fomefmally^m about the North pole ±
to be feen only in large and well made Telescopes : To which In -
Jlrument he has added many forts of Rete's, /crews, and Apertures,

to take in more or lefs light, by opening and (hutting like the pu-
pil of the eye, according as the Obferver thinks fit ; and has im-
proved the manufacture of grinding good glajfes. He has alfo
made two Telefcopes to open with a joynt after the manner of a
feclor, whereby dijiances may be taken to half minutes, and no
differences found in the fame objervation often repeated, the In-
firument not being lyable to any prejudice by warping or luxation.
He has contrived and hung Quadrants, Sextants, and Radii, much
better than heretofore, by which Agronomical Obfervations may be
made more accurate and eafie. Of all which ingenious and ufe-
ful Inventions, there are much more full and elegant relations, in
the moft accurate Hiflory of the Royal Society" : However, they
being moft, if not all of them found out here, or at leaft whil'ft
their Author was AJlronomy Profejfor in this Vniverfity, I could not
but mention them with relation to this place, as I fhallfome other,
matters which ow their invention to the Nameworthy per/on.

29. And thefe are all the modern advancements in Agronomical
matters I can at prefent think of, onely a late invention of one
R. Holland, a teacher of Mathematicks'm this City for many years,
who has lliewed us a way to get the Angle of Parallax of a Comet
or other Phenomenon at two objervatious to be taken in any one
ftation or place of the earth, and thereby the diftance from the
earth : whereof no more, there being a ftiort account of the
whole contrivance fet forth by himfelf, and printed at Oxford.

■ Hiftory of the Royal Society, Tart. 2.fui> firtem.

Ffa 30. Having

11% The Natural Hijlory

30. Having done with the inventions and Improvements that
concern the Heavens, come we next to thofe belonging to thefub-
lunary World, whereof the fame Ingenious Sir ChriflophexWren
has furnifh'd us with feveral ; as of exquifite fubtilty, fo of ex-
cellent ufe : Such as his contrivance to make Diaries of wind and
weather, and of the various qualifications of the air, as to heats,
colds, drought, moifiure, and weight, through the whole year ; and
this in order to the Hijlory of Seafons : with obfervation, which
are the moft healthful or contagions to men or beafts • which, the
Harbingers of blights, meldews,fmut, or any other accidents at-
tending men, cattle, or grain ; fo that at length being inftrucled in
the caufes of thefe evils, we may the eafier prevent, or find reme-
dies for them.

3 r . Now that a conftant obfervation of thefe qualities of the
air, both by night and day might not be infuperable ; he contri-
ved a Thermometer to be its own Regifter, and a Clock to be annex-
ed to a weather-cock., which moves a Rundle covered with white
Paper ; upon which the Clock moving a black-lead pen/il, the ob-
ferver, by the traces of the penfil on the paper, may certainly
know what winds have blown, during his fleep or abfence, for 1 2
hours together. He has alfo difcover'd many fubtile ways for
eafier finding the degrees of drought, and moislure, and the gravi-
ty of the Atmofphere ; and amongft other Inftruments, has Bal-
ances (alfo ufeful for other purpofes) that fliew the preffure of
the air, by their eafie (I had almoft faid fpontaneous) inclina-

tionsw.

32. He has made Inftruments whereby he has fhewn the Me-
chanical reafon of failing to all winds ; and others of Reffiration,
for {training the breath from thick vapors, in order to tryal whe-
ther the fame breath thus purified will ferve turn again. Which
Experiments, however nice they may feem, yet being concerned
about a fubjecT: fo nearly related to man, that he always lives in it,
and cannot long without it, and is well or ill according to its al-
terations, the minuteft difcoveries of its nature or qualifications
ought to be valuable to us.

33. Wherein yet we have been affifted by nothing more, than
the Pneumatick. Engine, invented here at Oxon: by that miracle of
Ingenuity, the Honorable Robert Boyle Efq; with the concurrent

* Ibidem.

help

Of OXFORDSHIRE, up

help of that exquifite contriver, Mr. Robert Hook, commonly
called the Air Fump ; fo different a thing from the Injirumentum
Magdeburgicum, devifed by Otto Gericke x, an ingenious Conful of
that Republic^ that it can fcarce be reckoned an improvement of
that, but a new Engine ; although it muft not be denyed but the
Magdeburg Experiment gave occafion to its Invention. By the af-
fifta nee whereof, that Noble Philofopher hath accuratly examined
the Elafiical power ', preffure, and weight ; expanfwn and weakpefi
thereupon, of this element ; and thereby found out fo many
things neve, relating to the height and gravity of the Atmofphere,
nature of a Vacuum ; Flame, and Excandefcence of coals, match,
firing of gun-powder ; propagation of ' founh, fluidity, light, freez-
ing, reffiration, (yc. that to give an account of them all according
to the merits of the Experiments , would be to tranferibe the
whole Treatifeof that Honorable Author fet forth on this fubjeft ;
whither I refer the Reader for further fatisfa&ion, and fo to the
reft of his Works upon feveral other fubje&s ; many of his nume-
rous inventions and improvements, wherewith he has fo highly ob-
liged the World, having been made in this place.

34. W hereof I (hall mention no more (it being indeed uncer-
tain as to moft of them, which were made here, which at London,
and which at other places') only the Barometer, a well known In-
ftrument, alfo invented here by the fame Noble Per/on, whereby,
the gravity of the Atmofyhere has been daily obferved by the Reve;-
rend and Learned Dr. John Wallit, for about fix years together :
in all which time he found the Quick-filler in the Tube, never to
afcend much above 30 inches, and never to defcend much be-
low 28, which he takes to be the whole latitude of its variation.
He alfo obferved, for moft of that time, the temper of the air
by a Thermometer, whereof he has ftill the Notes by him, which
are very particular for every day.

35. Which latter infirument, though of very ancient inven-
tion, there having been one of them found by Robert de EluRibws
•graphically delineated, in a MS. of 500 years antiquity at leaft yt
yet it has ftill received other ufeful advancements (befide that a-
bovemention'd) from that curious Artift Sir ChrifiopherWren,
who finding the ufual Thermometers not to give fo exaft a meafure
of the airs extenfion, by reafon the gravity of the liquor as it

* Cafp. Schotti Magia Univer.part. 3. lib. 7. cap. 6. t Mofaical Philofophy; lib. 1 . cap. 1 .

ftands

230 The Statural Hijlory

ftands higher or lower in the Glafs, weighs unequally on the air,
and gives it a contraction and extenfion, befide what is produced
by beat and cold ; he therefore invented a Circular Thermometer, m
which the liquor can occaflon no fuch fallacy, it remaining conti-
nually of one height,znd moving the whole infirument like a wheel
on its axel z.

36. Amongft other Aerotechnick§, here is a Clock lately con-
trived by the ingenious John Jones LL. B. and Fellow ofjefws
College Oxon: which moves by the air, equally expreffed out of
bellows of a cylindrical form, falling into folds in its defcent,
much after the manner of Paper Lanterns : Thefe, in place^of
drawing up the weights of other Clocks, are only filled with air,
admitted into them at a large orifice at the top, which is ftop'd
up again as foon as they are full with a hollow [crew, in the head
whereof there is fet a (mzllbrafs plate, about the bignefs of a fil-
ver half penny, with a hole perforated fcarce fo big as the fmal-
left pins head : through this little hole the air is equally expref-
fed by weights laid on the top of the bellows, which defcending
very flowly, draw a Clcck^line, having a counterpoife at the o-
ther end, that turns a pully-wheel, faftened to the arbor or axis
of the hand that points to the hour: which device, though not
brought to the intended perfeftionof rhe Inventor, that perhaps
it may be by the help of a tumbrel or fufie,yet highly deferves men-
tioning, there being nothing of this nature that I can find amongft
the writers of Mechanicks.

37. To which may be added, a hopeful improvement of that
uncommon Hygrofcope, made of two Veal, or rather Poplar boards,
mention'd in our Englifh Phikfopbical Tranfailions % contrived
by my ingenious Friend John Toung M. A. of Magdalen Hall, who
rationally concluding, that the teeth of the thin piece of brafs
placed acrofs the juncture of the two boards, muft needs in its
paffage from bearing on one fide of the teeth of the pinion, to the
other, upon change of weather, make a ftand as it were in re-
Tpefl: of the motion of the axel of the hand ; thinks a pretty ftift
firing cut on theunderfide, after the manner of a hwefile, placed
flat and not edge-ways, and bearing pretty hard upon an axel ot
Copper, may turn the hand upon change of weather in thtpuntlum
of reverfion, without any more than a negative reft : which be-

1 Hiftory of the Royal Society, part. i.Jubfinem. * Philofoph. Trandidl. Numb. 127.

ing

of 0 XFO <R$>-S HIXE. 231

ingan opinion fo very rational and unlikely to fail, when brought
to the teft, I thought fit to propound it to the Ingenious, though
the Pre/? would not give us leave firft to experiment ic our felves-*
Whence I proceed, .

38. To fuch Afti as relate to the Fire, which I have placed next,
in regard we have knowledge of no other but what is Culinary
that in the concave of the Mcon being only a dream of t\\eJncU
ents. Amongft which, we muft not forget the perpetual, at
leaft long-lived Lamps, invented by the Right Worfhipful Sir
Chriftopher Wren ; nor his Regifters of Chymical Furnaces for keepi-
ingaconftant heat in order to divers ufes ; fuch as imitation of
Nature in the produ&ion of Foff/les, Plants, Infecls ; batching of
Eggs, keeping the motions of Watches equal, in reference to Lon^-
gitudes and Agronomical ufes, and feveral other advantages b.

39. But amongft all the Fire-worh ever yet produced by the
Art of Man, there is none fo wonderful as that of Frier Bacon,
mention'd in his Epiftle ad Parifienjem, where fpeaking of the
fecret works of Nature and Arts, he has thefe words, In omnem
diSiantiam quam volumws poffumusartificialiter,componere ignem,com-
burentem ex [ale Petr<z, (sr aliis c ; which alia, as the Reverend and
Learned Dr.fohnWallis faw it in a MS. Copy of the fame Roger
Bacon, in the hands of the Learned Dr. Ger. Langbain, late Pro-
voft of Queens College, were Sulphur, and Carbonumpulvh : con-
cerning which, after awhile he further adds: Prater h<xc(\.e.
combvfUcnem) funt alia flupenda nature, nam font velutTonitrut, {*?
corufcationes peffunt fieri in aere, imo majore horrore, quam ilia qu<£
fiunt per naturam : Nam modica materia adapta, fc. ad quant it at em
uniu* polUcit, fonum facit horribilem (y corufcationem ojlendit violent
tern, is hoc fit multitmodh quibws Civitasaut Fxercitws deftruatur.

—Igneexfiliente cum fragore in&flimabili Mir a h&c funt fi quh

Jciretuti ad plenum in debita quantitate isr materia.

40. That is, that of Salt-peter, and other matters, viz^. Sul-
phur, and the duft of coal, he could make fire that fhould burn at
what diftance he pleafed ; and further, that with the fame mat-
ter he could make founds like Thunder, and corufcations in the
air more dreadful than thofe made by Nature : For, fays he, a
little of this matter rightly fitted, though not bigger than ones
Thumb, makes a horrible noife, and (hews a violent corufcation,

k Hiftory of the Royal Society, Part.i-futfmim. c JnEpifl.adTarifienfetn.cap ■>'•>.

which

z;i The 3\(jtural Hiftorj

which may be ordered many ways ; whereby a City or Armymzy
be deftroyed— the Fire breaking forth with an unfpeakable noife
--—which are wonderful things, if a man knew exadtly how to
ufethem in due quantity and matter.

41 . Whence 'tis plain, he either invented ox knew Gun-powder ',
though I think we cannot allow him lefsthan the firft, till we
find out an ancienter Author for it *, which if no body ever do's
(as 'tis manifold odds they never will) in all probability it was
invented here at Oxford, where he made the reft of his aflfrighten-
ing Experiments. And that out of his works, Conftantinws Ancklit-
Zen of Friburg6, or Bertholdus Swartz^ '■> and the reft of the Im-
provers, in all likelihood might have their pretended Inventions,
though we allow him not quite fo explicit as in the Copy of the
Reverend and Learned Dr. Langbain, but that as 'tis conjectured
by Dr. Dee f, hefomwhat concealed his Invention in the word
\_alw~\ well knowing it might be dangeroufly deftru&ive to man-
hind.

42. As for Water-works invented or improved in this County,
fome concern profit,and others only pleafure. Of the firft fort,is
anlnftrumentof Sir Chrijlop her Wrens, that meafures the quanti-
ty of Rain that falls, which as foon as 'tis full, empties it felf,
fo that at the years end 'tiseafie to compute how much has fal-
len on fuch a quantity of ground for all that time; and this he
contrived in order to the difcovery of the Theory or Springs, ex-
halations, is-c. And fecondly, other Inftruments whereby he
has fhewn the Geometrical Mechanie of Rowing, viz^ that the Oar
moves upon its Thowle,as a veclis on a yielding//Jcr«w,and found
out what degree of impediment the expanfion of a body to be moved
in a liquid medium ordinarily produces in all proportions, with
feveral other matters in order for laving down the Geometry of
failing, fwiming, rowing, and the fabrick. of Ships g.

43. Hither alfo belong the Locks and Turn-pikes made upon the
River Ifis, the 21 of King James, when it was made navigable
from Oxford to Bercot, which are abfolutely neceflary for that
purpofe, on (hallow rivers that have alfo great falls, to keep up
the water, and give the vejfelszn eafie defcent. For the firft where-

* Baconusfatis cone ejjit, Anno 1292 near 100 years before any of the other pretended Inventions.
4 Vid- Quid. PancirolU rer. memorah. recevs Invent, part. 2. tit. 18- ' Vid. Steph. Foreatulnm J. C. deGaUo-
rumImperio&Philojoph.lib$.ful>finem. ( Dr. Vees Annotations in Epifi. ad Parifie>;fe?n. « Hiftory
of the Royal Sociery, Part, ij'ubfinetru

of,

OfOXPO 1CDJHI %£. i$ ■

of, provided the fall of water be not great, a Lock, will fuffite^
which is made up only of bars of wood called Rimers, fet per-
pendicularly to the bottom of the paffage (which are more or lefs
according to its breadth) and Lockrgates put down between eve-
ry two of them, or boards put athwart them, which will keep
ahead of water as well as the Turn-pike for the paffage of a Barge±
but mull be all pulled up at its arrival, and the water let go till
there is an abatement of the fall, before the boat may pafs either
down or upwards ; which, with the ftream, is not without vio-
lent precipitation ; and again ft it, at many places, not without
the help of a Cap/lain at Land ; and fomtimes neither of them
without imminent danger.

44. But where the declivity of the Channel, and fall of wai-
ter is fo great, that few barges could live in the paffage of them^
there we have Turn-pikes, whereof there are three between 0x-
ford and Bercot ; oneat^ey, another at Sanford, and a third at
Culbam in the Swift-ditch, which was cut at that time when the
River was made navigable ; and are all thus contrived. Firft,
there are placed a great pair of Folding doors, or Flood-gates of
Timber crofs the river, that open againft the ftream and (hut with
it, not fo as to come even in a ftraightline, but in an obtufe angle,
the better to refill and bear the weight of the water, which by how
much the greater it is, by Co much the clofer are the gates preffed ;
in each of which Flood-gates there is a fluse to let the water
through at pleafure , without opening the gates themfelves.
Within thefe, there is a large fquare taken out of the river, built
up at each fide with Free-ftone, big enough to receive the largeft
barge afloat ; and at the other end another pair of Flood-gates,
opening, and (hutting, and having /luces like the former. Which
is the whole Fabrickof a Turn-pike-

45. Attheuppermoft pair of thefe gates the water is ftopt,
which raifes it in the river above, and gives the Vejjels paffage o-
ver the fallows, which when come to the Turn pikes, the Sluces
are firft opened, and the water let in to the fquare or inclofed
fpace between the two pair of gates, where it muft neceffarily
rife (the lower gates being (hut) till at length it comes to be level
with the furfaceof the river above : when this is done, the up-
per ftream then making no fuch preflure on the gates as before^
they are eafily opened by two or three men, and the Vejfds let in

Gg one

234. The Statural Hijlory

one at a time ; which done, they fliut thofe upper gates and /luces
as before : Then they open the puces of the gates at the other end
of the Turn-pike, and let the water by degrees out of the inclofed
fquare till it is funk down, and the Veffel with it, level with the ri-
ver below, and then open the gates themfelves, and let the Veffel
out; the uppers/wall the while being drove too, and kept fo
faft by the water above, that little of it can follow. And thus the
boats go down ftream.

46. But when they return, they are firft let into the inclofed
(pace (where the water (lands conftantly level with that of the low-
er channel') at the lower gates, which as foon as (hut again, the

/luces are opened at theuppermoft gates, and the water let in, till
it rifes with the boat upon it, to be equal with that of the river
above : this done, the upper gates are eafily opened as before,
there being no prefTure upon them, and the boat let out. So that
notwithstanding the Channel has much fteeper defcents where
thefe Turn-pikes are fet, than at any of the Locks, yet the boats
pafs at thefe with much more eafe and fafety. Notwithftand-
ing thefe provisions, the River Thames is not made fo perfectly
Navigable to Oxford, but that in dry times, barges do fomtimes lie
aground three weeks, or a month, or more, as we have had fad
experience this laft Summer ; which in great meafure no doubt
might be prevented, were there a convenient number of Locks, or
Holds for water, made in the River Cherwel above Oxford, to let
down fla/hes as occasion iliould ferve ; and fo again out of the
River Eennet near Reading, the Lodden, ipc*

47. Not impertinent hereunto is a contrivance for Fifh-ponds,
that I met with at the Right Worfhipful Sir Philip Hat court's at
Stanton Harcourt, where the /lews not only feed one another, as
the Ponds of the Right Honorable the Earl of Clarendon at Corn-
bury, Sir Timothy Tyrrils at Shot -over- Forresl, and the worfhipful
BromeWhorwoods ztHolton, istc. and may be fewed by letting the
water of the upper Ponds out into the lower 5 but by afide Ditch
cut along by them, and S luces out of each, may be any of them
emptyed, without letting the water into, or giving the leaft di-
sturbance to any of the reft: which being a convenience that I
never met with before, and perhaps unknown to many, I thought
good to mention.

48. Amongft

OfOXPOT^-StitXE. ft»

r— -

48. Amongft the Wdter -works of Pleafure, we muft not forget
an Engine contrived by the Right Reverend Father in God* John
Wilkins, Jate Lord Bilhop of Chefier, when he was Warden of
Wadham College, though long fince taken thence ; whereby, of but
few gallons of water forced through a narrow Figure, he could
raife a mift in his Garden, wherein a perfon placed at a due di-
ftance between the Sun and the mijl} might fee an exquifite Rdin^
love in all its proper colours i which diftance I conceive was the
fame with that afligned by Des Cartes, vi^, where the Eye of the
Beholder is placed in an angle of 4Z degrees, made by the decuffa-
ticn of the line of Vifion, and the rays of the Sun ; and the Fifure
fuch another as in his Diagram h. But what kind of Instrument it
was that forced the water, I dare not venture to relate, the defcri-
ption given me of it being but lame and imperfect.

49. Nor can Ipafs by unmentioned, a Clock that I met with
at Hanwell, at the Houfe of the Right worftiipful Sir Anthony
Cope, that moves by water, and (hews the hours, by the rife of a
new guilded Sun for every hour, moving in a fmall Hemisphere of
wood, each carrying in their Centers the number of fome hour
depi&ed black. ; as fuppofe of one a clock, which afcending half
way to the Zenith of the arch, fhews it a quarter paft one, at the
Zenitbhzlf hour; whence descending again halfway towards
the Horizon, three quarters paft one ; and at laft abfconding under
i:, chere prefently arifes another guilded Sun above the #ori^)tf at
the other fide of the arch, carrying in its center the figure two :
andfo of the reft. Which ingenious device, though taken out
of Bettinus l, who calls it, aquarii Automates ingenioftffimi horari-
am operationem : yet being fince improved by that ingenious Per/on^
and applyed to other ufes, particularly of a Pfeudo-perpetual mo-
tion made by the defcent of feveral guilt bullets upon an indented
declivity, fucceffively delivered by a wheel much of the fame fa-
brick with the Tympanum of the Water-clock-, fo that they feem ftill
the fame : I could not but in juftice take notice of it*

50. There are fome other Water-works at the fame Sir Anthony
Copes, in a Houfe of diver fion built in a fmall l/land in one of the
Fijh-ponds, Eaft ward of his houfe, where a ball is toft by a column
of water, and artificialj^Wm defcend at pleafure ; within which
they can yet fo place a candle,thzt though one would think it muft

* Dei Cartes Meteoror.caf.%. ' Marti Bettim JErariiThilofoph.Mathemat.Tam-zExodw^. &ult.

G g 2 needs

27,6 The Statural Hiflory

needs be overwhelmed with wate r, it (hall not be extinguifht, fac.
But the Waterworks that furpafs all others of the County, are
thofeof Enfton, at the Rock firft discovered by Tho. BufhellEXq;
about 4 or 5 and forty years fince, who cleanfingthe Spring then
called Goldwell, though quite over-grown with bryars and bufhes,
to place a Ciflern for his own drinking, met with a Rock fo won-
derfully contrived by Nature her felf, that he thought it worthy
of all imaginable advancement by Art.

51. Whereupon he made Cifterns, and laid divers Pipes be-
tween the Rocks, and built a houfeover them, containing one
fair room for banquetting, and feveral other fmall Clofets for divers
ufes, befide the rooms above ; which when finifht in the year
1636. together with the Rock, Grove, Walks, and all other the
appurtenances, were all on the 23d of Augufl, by the faid Tho.
Buftel Efq; prefented to the then Queens moft excellent Majefty,
who in company with the King himfelf, was gracioufly pleafed to
honor the Rock not only with her Royal Prelence, but commanded
the fame to be called after her own Princely Name, HENRIETTA :
At which time as they were entring it, there arofe a Hermite out
of the ground, and entertain'd them with a Speech ; returning
again in the clofe down to his peaceful Urn. Then was the Rock
prefented in a SWganfwer'd by an Echo, and after that a banquet
prefented alfo in a Sonnet, within the Pillar of the Table ; with
fome other Songs, all fet by Symon Ive.

52. Which firuclure, with all the Ingenious Contrivances a-
bout it, continued in a flourilhing condition for fome few years,
till the late unhappy Wars coming on, it became wholly neglect-
ed, and fo fenfibly decayed, till at laft it lapfed (being next door
to ruinc) into the Hands of the Right Honorable and truly Noble
Lord, Edward Henry Earl of Lichfield, Lord of the foil; who
in the year 1 674. not only repaired the broken Ciflerns and Pipes,
but made a fair addition to it, in a fmall Ifland fituate in the paf-
fage of a Rivulet, juft before the building fet over the Rock;
which though the laft in erection,is yet the firft thing that prefents
it felf in the exterior Profteft of the whole work, Tab. 11. where-
in the Figures,

1.1. Shew the water of the Rivulet.

2.2. The Ifland in the middle of it,

3. 3. the

0fOXFO<Hp-SHl%E. ztf

3.3. the Pales round it /landing on afione wall.

4. An artificial Rock ereftedin the middle of the Ifland, co*
vered with living aqueous Plants.

5. The Keeper of the Water-works that turns the Cocks.

6. A Canopy of water caff over the Rock, by

7. an Inftrument of Brats for that purpofe.

8. A Column of water rifmg about 14 foot, defigned totofs
a Ball.

999999. The fir earns of water from about 30 Pipes^r round
the Rock, that water the whole Ifland, and fportively wet
any perfons within it ; which moft people ^riving to avoid,
get behind the Man that turns the Cocks, whom he wets with

10. flfpont of water that he lets fly over hh head ; or elfe if
they endeavor to run out of the Ifland over the bridge, with

11. 12. which are two other Spouts, whereof that reprefented
at a 1 i,ftrikgs the legs, and that at 12 the reins of the back,

1 3 . The Bridge over the water lying on two treftlcs.

14. The fteps leading into the Grove, and toward the Houfe,
where you pafs by

15. a Table of black. Marble.

16. AC iftern offione, with five fyouts of water iffuing out of
a ball of brafs, in which a fmall Spaniel hunts a Duck, both
diving after one another, and having their motion from the
water.

17. The way up into the banquetting-room over the Rock,
and other Clofets, &c.

1 8. Thepajfage between the Ciftern and Building.

1 9 . The iron grate that gives light to the Grot within.

20. Thepajfage down to the Grot.

2 1 . Thewindows of the Banqueting-room.

22. The Grove and Walks behind and on each end of the
Building.

53. Being now comedown into the Grot by the paffage 18,
Tab, 1 1 . and landing at the bottom of the slairs, Tab. 12. a. on
a large half pace before it bb. The Rock, prefents it felf made up
of large craggy fiones with great cavities between them, ccc isre. out
of which flows water perpetually night and day, dafhingagainft
the Rocks below, and that in great plenty in the dryeft Seafons,

though

2,58 The Statural Hijlory

though fed only with a fingle Spring riling in a piece of ground
call'd Ramfall, between Enslon and Ludfton. The natural Rock, is
about 10 foot highland fo many in bredth ; fome fewftelves of
lead*/*/, and the top ftones only having been added (eafily to be
diftinguifht by their drynefs) which have advanced it in all about
14 foot high.

54. In the half pace juft before the Compartment e e e, upon
turning one of the cocks at/ rifes a chequer hedge of water, as they
call it, ggggl and upon turning another, the two fide columns
of water, h h, which rife not above the height of the natural rock;
and of a third, the middle column i, which afcending into the
turn of the Arch, and returning not again, is received into hidden
pipes provided for that purpofe : Into one whereof, terminated
in a very fmall Ciflern of water behind a flone of the rock. , and ha-
ving a mouth and Languetjuft: above its furface, the air being for-
ced into it by the approaches of the water, a noife is made near
refembling the notes of a Nightingale : But when that pipe is fil-
led there is then no more finging, till the water haspaft away by
another pipe in the lower part of the rock, which when almoft done,
there is heard a noife fomwhat like the found of a drum, perform-
ed by the milling in of air into the hollow of the pipe, which is
large, and of copper, to fupply the place of the water now al-
moft gon out ; which don, the Nightingale may be made to fing
again.

55. From the turned roof of the rock, by help of the brafs
inftrument k-> and turn of a cock in one of the clofets above, they
can let down a canopy of water //; from the top alfo they can
throw arched [pouts of water eroding one another, and dafliing
againft the walls, oppofite to thofe of their rife, as at m n and op ;
and others that rife out, and enter in again to the roof at fome di-
ftance, never falling down at all at q r and s t. Which falls of
water miy be alfo delicatly feen, turning the back upon them as
well as looking forward, by help of a Looking- glafs placed in the
wall oppofite to them, which could not be poiTibly reprefented
in the Cut. And fome of thefe waters (1 muft not fay which) be-
ing often ufed by way of [port to wet the Vifitants of the Grot,
that they might not avoid it by running up the flairs, and fo out
into the Grove, by turning a cock in another of the Clofets, they
can let fall water fo plentifully in the door u u, that mofrpeople ra-
ther

Of OXFO%T)-SEl%Et ii9

ther chufe to ftay where they are, than pafs through it : which is
all concerning the inner Profpecl of the Rock ; what remains being
only a reprefentation of the Arch of ftone w w built over it, with
two Niches xy one of each fide5and the grate s^at the top, through
which they look down out of the Banqueting-rcom into the Grot.
Of which no n'ore, but that behind the Rock there is a Cellar Tor
keeping Liquors cool, or placing Mufick., tofurprife the Auditors ;
and behind that the Receivers of water to fupply the Pipes, (yc

56. To thefe fucceed the Arts relating to Earths, which either
refpeft the Tillage, or Formation of them. How many forts of
Soils I met with in Oxfordfbire, viz^ Clay, Chalk, and others from
their different mixtures called Maum,Red-land,S our aground, Stone-
hrafi,S tony, Sandy, and Gravelly,were enumerated amongft Earths,
Chap. 3. It remains that we here give a particular account, by
what Arts they are tilled to the beft advantage. And firft of
Clay,

57. Which if kind for Wheat, as mod of it is, hath its firft
tillage about the beginning of May ; or as foonas Barly Seafon
is over, and is called the Fallow, which they fomtimes make by
a cajiing tilth, i. e. beginning at the out fides of the Lands, and
laying the Earths from the ridge at the top. After this, fome fhort
time before the fecond tilth, which they caMJiirring, which is
ufually performed about the latter end of June, or beginning of
July, they give this Land its manure ; which if Horfe-dung or
Sheep- dung, or any other from the Home-Jlall, or from the Mixen
in the Field, is brought and fpread on the Land juft before this
/koH^ploughing : But if it be folded (which is an excellent ma-*
nure for this Land, and feldom fails fending a Crop accordingly
if the Land be'in tillage} they doit either in Winter before the
fallow, or in Summer after it is fallowed. And thefe are the manures
of Clay Land in the greateft part of Oxford-flire, only in and
near the Chiltern ; where befide thefe, it is much enriched by a
foft mellow Chalk that they dig from underneath it : when it is
{lined it lies again till the time of fo wing Wheat, except in a moift
dripping year, when runing to thiftles and other weeds, they fom-
times give it afecondftirring, before the lafi for fowing.

58. All which tillages they are very careful to give it as dry as
may be, ridging it up twice or thrice for every cajiing tilth (/. e. in
the'xr ftirring, and for fowing , beginning at the top of the Land

and

24.0 The Natural Hiftory

and laying the Earth ftill upwards to the ridge') by which means
both Land and Corn lie dryer, warmer, and healthier, and the
Succeeding Crop becomes more free from weeds. After it is thus
prepared, they fow hw\thWheat,wh\ch is its proper grain ; and if
it be a ftrong ftiff Clay, with that they call Cone-wheat : and the
next year after (it being accounted advantagious in all tillage to
change thegrain) with Beans ; and then ploughing in the bean-
brufiat All- Saints, the next year with Barly; and amongft the
feveral forts of that grain, if the Land be rank, with that they
call [prat -Barly ; and then the fourth year it lies fallow, when they
give it Summer tilth again, and fow it with Winter Corn as before.
But at moft places where their Land is call into three Fields, it lies
fallow in courfe every third year, and is fown but two : the firft
with Wheat, if the Land be good, but if mean with Mifcellan, and
the other with Barly and Pulfe promifcuonfly. And at (omeplaces
where it lies out of their hitching, i. e. their Land for Pulfe, they
fow it but every fecond year, and there ufually two Crops Wheat,
and the third Barly, always being careful to lay it up by ridging
againft winter ; Clay Lands requiring to be kept high, and to lie
warm and dry, ftill allowing for Wheat and Barly three plowingsy
and fomtimes four, but for other grains feldom more than one.
When at any time they fow Peas on this Land, the beft Husband-
men will chufe the Vale-gray as moft proper for it ; and if Fetches,
the Gore or Pebble-vetch : But if focold a weeping Clay that unfit
for thefe, then they improve it with Ray-grafs.

59. As for the Chalk- lands of the Chiltern-hills, though it re-
quires not to be laid in ridges in refpeft of drynefs, yet of warmth
it doth: when defigned for Wheat, which is but feldom, they
give it the fame tillage with Clay, only laying it mfour or fix fur-
row'd Lands, and foiling it with the beft mould, or dung but half
rotten, to keep it from binding,wh\ch are its moft proper manures ;
and fo for common Barly and winter Vetches, with which it is much
more frequently fown, thefe being found the more Suitable grains.
But if it be of that pooreft fort they call white-land, nothing is fo
proper as ray-grafs mixt with Non-fuch, or Melilot Trefoil, accord-
ing as prefcribedin Chap. 6. §. 33.

60. If the Land be of that fort they call Maumy, confiding of
a mixture of White-clay and Chalk, and fomwhat of Sand, which
caufes it to work fo fhort if any thing dry, it is commonly fown

with

Of 0 XFO%fD~SHl%E. 2+i

with all forts of Wheat, Mifcellan, Barly, (src. having the fame til-
lage, and requiring to be kept high, and to lie dry and warm as
the Clay doth, only its moft proper manure is the rottenesl dung $
and as they fow Beans next after Wheat in clay grounds, in this
they judge Peas a more agreeable grain, and take care in their
feed-time that the weather be fair, and fetled ; for if there happen
but afmart fhower prefently after they have fown^ it will bind
fo fall:, that the feed in great part will be utterly loft ; whereas if
they have but one or two dry nights, all fucceeds well enough*

6 1. If Bed-land , whereof there are fome quantities in the
North and Weft of Oxford-fiire, it muft have its tillage as foon in
the year as pofiibly may be, before the clay, where they are in
competition, becaufe it will not endure the fcorching tillage that
clay will do, and therefore muft have it before the Sun get to near
the Crab : if it be moift when fallowed, fo it be not too wet, it is
the better. This never requires a double ftirring^ nor muft be
made toofineznd. light, for then it runs to May-weed, or Matherni
as they call it ; yet the manure for clay does very Well with it, but
the mixt manure of Horfe-dung and Cove-dung together, they fay
does beft of any : Nor is the Sheep-fold amifs either Winter or
Summer, which muft all be applyed before fiirring, and ploughed
in ; if for wheat, about the latter end of July, or beginning of Au-
guft; if for barly, later in the year, as the time and feafon gives
leave. This Land, like clay, bears wheat, mifcellan, harly-, and^y,
in their order very well, and lies fallow every other year, where it
falls out of their hitching.

62. There is another fort of ground in this County which they
call Sour-land, which muft have its tilth according to its ftate and
condition when they fet about it ; if it have a faongfwarth on it,
then they caft to give it a fallow, when the Sun is prety well en-
ter''d Cancer ; and this they call a fcalding- fallow, which kills the
grafs roots, and makes the Land fine ; But if it be light, and as
they term it, hath little skin on the back, they either leave it for
cooler tillage, or plough it early in the year as foon as their clay is
fallow td,2.nd then there will faring fome fpiring-grafs that will keep
it from fcorching in the Summer ; for if they fuffer it to be fcorch-
ed when it is light before, all their Art and Manure will never pro-
cure a good Crop of it.

Hh 63. The

2/^.z The Natural Hijlory .

63. The Sheep- fold is good for this Land winter and fummer,
they manure it alfo with the Dung-cart, if near home, before the
slirring ; but Pidgeons dung is the mod proper for this fort of foil,
becaufe it is for the moft part very cold Land, and fo is Mault-dufi
in a larger quantity, both fown with the winter-corn and ploughed
in with it, for then it lies warm at the roots of the Corn all win-
ter, and correfts the crudities of the rains and fro/is, makes the
Corn cover the ground fooner than ordinary, and holds the moi-
fture of the Spring longer with it ; and in (hort (if thus order-
ed) brings a certain Crop. It muft not be ftirred or fown very
wet, for then it proves uneafle both for Man and Beaft, nor will
it be kind for Corn, it being then very hard to cover it with the
barrows. It is a good Land for wheat or mifcellan, when it is fine,
efpeciallyif in condition for zfcalding fallow, and accordingly is
fown with that and barly by turns to change the grain ; and when
it falls in a Peas quarter, feldom fails of a good burthen, though
fomtimes it doth not kid very well, which yet poffibly may be
prevented by fowingthe Cotfwold Pea, which I guefs the moft a-
greeable to this fort ok ground'. But if too wet for thefe, the rath-
ripe Vetch is fitteft for it.

64. In fome parts of the County they have another fort of Land
they call Stone-brafi, confifting of a light lean Earth and a fmall
Rubble-ftone, or elfe of that and four ground mixt together, which
are alfo tilled according to their prefent condition ; for if they be
grafte, which they otherwife czMfwardji, they fallow them pretty
late, but not fo hot and fcorchingzs four ground, becaufe they will
not bear fuch tillage : But if they befcary, as they word it, i. e.
have no skjn or fward upon them, they either fold them in winter,
and the Jbeeps dung with addition of fome hay feeds, will help them
to get grafie ; or elfe they lay upon them in the beginning of the
faring, old thatch 01 fir aw, or the moft ftrawy part of the dung-
hill, earth out of ditches, the Jlovelings of a dirty Court, or the
like., which fpread thin will aflift the grafs in its growth ; which
muft necefTarily be had, for they hold it (in fome parts of the
County at leaft) for a general Rule, that if thefe forts of Land have
not (ward on them before they are fallowed, they will by no means
bring a kind Crop, but great ftore of Mony-wort , May-weed ,
i$c.

65. This done in September, Oclober, November, and fomtimes

in

ofOXFO%T>'SHl%E. . 243

in December, they fallow them as theiryWr^ direct, and if in ei-
ther of the two laft months, are called Winter -fallows, and are ne-
ver ftirred at all, but fowed with Barly upon the fecond earth irt
the beginning of fowing, becaufe then they work moft kindly, and
will bear cold weather better than when more finely tilled. Thefe
Lands will alfo bear Wheat and Mifcellan indifferently well in a kind
year, but not fo well as clay, four-ground, or red-land ; but they
bear a fine round barly and thin ikin'd, efpecially if they be kept
in heart : They lie every other year fallow (as other Lands') except
where they fall among the Peas quarter, and there after Peas they
are fown with Barly, and lie but once in four years. Thefe are
fownalfo many times with Dills or Lentils, and when quite worn
out, or foppor that they will bear nothing elfc to advantage,they
are yet fit for Ray-grafs mixt with Trefoil, as prefcribed above in
the Chapter of Plants.

66. There is a fort of tillage they fomtimes ufe on thefe Lands
in the faring time, which they call ftreak.- fallowing ; the manner
is, to plough owe furrow and leave one, fo that the Land is but
half of it ploughed, each ploughed furrow lying on that which
is not fo : when it is (lined it is then clean ploughed, and laid (o
fmooth, that it will come at fowing time to be as plain as before.
This is done when thefe Lands are not fwardy enough to bear clean
tillage, nor callow or light enough to lie to get fward, the intent is
to keep the Sun from fcorching them too much : But in moft
places they think this way of tillage wears* their Z,<Wtoofaft,and
therefore feldom ufe it.

6j. Asfor finny Land, whereof there is but little can be pro-'
perly fo called but in the Chiltern Country, they give it for Wheat,
Peas, and Barly, much the fame tillage and manure, they do Clay
in other places, adding the advantage of chalking it, which they
have not elfewhere for then clay grounds, by which they much
enrich it for fome years, {o that it bears excellent wheat, barly,
feas • of which laft thofe they call Hampjhire-kids , if the Land
be new chalkt, are counted moft agreeable ; where by the way let
" it be noted, that I faid but for fome years, for when once the
manure by chalk is worn out, the Land is fcarce recoverable by
any other, whence 'tis Proverbial 'here, as well as fome other parts
of England, That chalkt Landmakes a rich Father but a poor Son,
thereby intimating the ruin of the Land in the end, it becoming

Hh 2 at

244 ^oe ^Cj^ural Hifiory

at laft only fit for Ray-grafs, mixt with Trefoil as above.

68. Laftly, then finely and gravelly light ground, hasalfo much
the fame tillage for wheat and barly, as clay, (src. only they require
many times but two ploughings, efpecially if for wheat, except the
fallow be run much to weeds, and then indeed they fomtimes afford
\taftirring, elfe none at all . Itsmoft agreeable grains -die, white,
red, and mixt Lammas wheats, and mifcellan, i. e. wheat and rye to-
gether, and then after a years fallow, common or rathe-ripe barly '-
fo that it generally lies frill every other year, it being unfit for
hitching, i. e. Beans and Peas, though they fomtimes fow it with
whiter Vetches ; and if ever with Peas, the fmall rathe-ripes are ac-
counted the bed : Its moil agreeable manure is of ftraw, from the
Clcfe or Mhen half rotten, which keeps it open, and fufTers it not
to bind too much, where fubjeft to it ; but if otherwife, the rot-
teneft dung is the beft.

69. Whereof, as upon all other Lands before mention'd, they
lay about 1 2 loads upon a common Field acre, i. e. about 20 upon
a Statute acre ; but I find the bufinefs of manuring Land to have a
great latitude,Uen doing it here many times not according to their
judgment, but according to the quantities they have, fo that where

the quantities of manure are but fmall and the tillage is great, the
cafe is much otherwife, than where both tillage and manure are
in a contrary condition. But however the cafe (land, I find this
a general Rule amongft them, that they always foil that Land firft
and beft, which is to bear three Crops ; one on the tillage, another
of beans and peas, and a third of barly, on the beans or peas brufh ;
all which depend upon the fingle manure given it when it lay fallow
for wheat ' though I have known this order frequently inverted
by the beft Husbandmen on their richeft Lands, fowing barly firft,
then peas or beans, and their wbeai laft, for which they allege this
very good reafon,That wheat following the dung Cart on their beft
Land, is the more liable to fmut.

70. And fo much for the ordinary Manures of this County,
there being two others yet behind, viz^ Chippingsofslone, and woolen
rags, not altogether fo common, which I have therefore thought
fit to confider apart ,• theirs! whereof I met with at Hornton near
Banbury, where the chippings of the (lone they hew at their Quarry,
proves a very good manure for their Ground thereabout, and is
accordingly madeufe of, by reafon no doubt of a filt that flone

holds

OfOXFO%T>^Hl^E. m

holds, which being diflblved by the weather-, is imbibe d by the
Earth, as hinted before in Chap. 4. of this Effay.

7 r. The 2d fort I firft obferved about Watlington, and the two
Britwels, where they ftrew them on their Land with good fuccefs ;
& I have heard fince of feveral other places where they do the fame.
To this purpofe they purchafe Taylers fhreds, which yet retain-
ing fomwhat of the fait of the Fulling- earth with which they were
dreft, do well enough ; but I judge them not fo good as other
old rags firft worn by men and women, which muft needs befide be
very well fated with urinous fa Its, contracted from the freat and
continual perftiration attending their Bodies. And in this Opini-
on I am confirmed by Sancl. Sancloriut, who is pofitive, that our
infenfible evacuations, tranfcend all ourfenfible ones put together k, to
that eycefs, that of eight pounds weight of meat and drink, be taken
by a man in one day, bk infenfible transpirations ufe to amount to five \
Now if fo, our deaths muft needs be fo filled with a well rectified
fait, left behind in the percolation of the fleams of our bodies, that
there can be nothing more rational, if well confidered, then that
they fliould be a very fit manure for Land, when unfit for other
ufes.

72. As to the quantities of Corn fown on the fldtute Acre, they
differ much in proportion to the richnefsof m?annefsofthe land;
about two bufiels of wheat and vetches, two buf/jels and \oibarly,
oats, and peas, and a quarter of ^2/7* fufficing the poorer ; where-
as the richer Land mil take up three bufiels or more of wheat or
vetches, three bufiels and \ or upwards of barly, oats, peas, and
fomtimes fix bufiels of beans : Yet I have known fome able Huf-
bandmen afford more Seed to their poor than rich Land, giving
this reafon, That the Seed in the rich does Hilar t i. e. fprout into
feveral blades and fpread on the ground, whereas on the poor
Land its fprouts come all fingle, which therefore, fay they, re-
quires the more feed.

73. In the choice of their feed they have a double re fpeft,
firfcto the grain itfelf, andfecondly to the AWit grew on. As
to the firft, they take care that it be clear of all manner of feeds ;
that it be handfom round Corn, of an equal cize, which fome of
them call Even fiooting Corn, or well brefied ; fuch Corn being for
the moft part full of kernel, and the likelieft to give ftrongrcots.

k S. Sznclorli Medic'ma: Statiae, Lib. i.fett.i. Aphorism. 4. ' Ibid Aphorifm 6-

And

2^,6 ' The Natural Hiflory

And in refpeft of the foil, they conftantly choofe Corn that grew
on landoi a quite different nature from that it is to be /own on ;
but in general,, they defire it from land that is weW'm heart, and
rich in its kind. If they are to fow wheat upon tillage,zhey choofe
wheat fown before upon bean Stubs, and when they fow upon peas
or bean Hubs, wheat fown before on tillage ; for Clay ground they
have their feed from Red-land or Chalk. , is vice verfa ; for the o-
ther foils, that from Clay is efteemed the beft, though that from
Red-land is little inferior; for barly they count that beft which
comes of new broken laud', and for the reft, none fo good as
thofe that come from the richeft foils.

74. Before they fow, if the place be fubject to the annoyan-
ces of Smutting, Meldews, Birds, istc. they take care to prevent
them either in the preparing or choice of their grain. Againft
fmutting they both brine and lime their Corn, fome making their

brine of urin and fait ; or elfe fow red-ftraw^d wheat, which is the
leaft fubjeft to it of any. To prevent meldews, fome fow prety
early, judging Corn moft fubjeft to that annoyance when fown
late ; or elfe make choice of the long bearded Cone, that being the
lcaft fubjecl: of any wheat yet known to the inconveniencies of
meldews, and of being eaten by Birds, and therefore alfo fitteft
to be fown in fmall Inclojures, as noted before in the fixth Cha-
pter.

75 . In Sowing they have their feveral methods, vi%, the (ingle
Caft, the double C ajl ; and as they call it about Burford, the Hack-
ney bridle, or riding Caff. The fingle Caft fows a Land at one bout ;
the double Caft is twice in a place, at two different bouts, viz.
once from furrow to ridge, and afterwards from ridge to furrow.
The Hackney bridle is two cafts on a Land at one time, and but
once about, though I find thefe two latter fomtimes confounded,
their names being interchangably applyed in different parts of the
County. The fir ft way is feldom ufed amongftthem, only by the
ancienteft Seeds-men ; the fecond is their ufual and moft certain
way ; the laft, though the neweft faChion, is but feldom ufed yet,
though fome have tryed it with good fuccefs, and perhaps may
hereafter bring it more in praftice, it having more fpeed than the
double Caft to recommend it to ufe. They have alfo a way of fow-
ing in the Chiltern Country ,which is called fowing Hentings, which
is done before the Plough, the Corn being caft in a ftraight line

Jiift

OfOXFO%V-SHl1\E, itf

juft where theplougb muft come, and is prefently ploughed m. By
this way of /owing they think they fave much feed and other
charge, a dexterous Boy being as capable of fowing this way out
of his hat, as the moft judicious Seeds-man. But of this way
more hereafter, when I come into Buckingham-fiire.

76. Thus having run through, the Tillage, Manures, Quantities
and choice of Seed, and the feveral ways of fowing the Soils of
this County, I proceed to the lnflruments ufed in their tillage : A-
mongil which, the Plough being the beft, becaufe the moftufeful
Engine in the World, deferves the firft place ; of which there
are two forts ufed in Oxford-fbire, the Foot, and Wheel-plough ;
whereof the firft is ufed in deep and Clay Lands, being accord-
ingly fitted with a broad fin fhare, and the Horfes going always in
a firing and keeping the furrow, to avoid poching the Land ; and
the fecond'm the lighter and ftony Land, the Horfes either going in
a firing, or two a breaft, according as thought moft fuitable to
the tillage in hand m : This Plough when ufed in ftony Land, is
armed with a roundpointed fhare, having alfo near the chep of the
Plough a fmailyfoz to cut the roots of the grafs, for in this Land
the broad fin jumps out of the ground. The foot plough does beft
at the henting, i. e. ending of a Land, it going clofe up to a hedge,
and not being fubje'cc to over-throw ; whereas the wheel plough,
if care and difcretion do not meet in the holder, is apt to over-
throw there, the Land being ridged ; but goes much morelight-
fom and eafie for the Horfes than the foot plough doth, which is
the fum of the Conveniences and Inconveniencies of both.

77. After Ploughing and Sowing, they cover their Corn with
Harrows, whereof fome have 4, 5, or 6 bulls, or /pars apiece, each
of them armed with five tines, and of a fquare form a$ at moft o~
ther places. But at Whitfield, near Sir Thomat Tif pings, I faw a
great weighty triangular Harrow, whofe tines ftood not in rows
after the manner of others, its ufe being in ground much fubjecl to
Quitch -grafs, whofe roots it feems continually palling between the
tines of other Harrows, are not fo eaflly dragged forth by them, as
this, whofe tines ftand not in rows, and is drawn with one of the
Angles fore-moft, after the manner of a Wedge : Yet I could not
find it anfwer'd expectation fo well as to obtain in other places,
moft thinking the great fquare Bull harrow, drawn by the fecond

" On light Land fome count the treading of double Cattle advantageous to it.

bull

1$ The Statural Hijlory

bull on the near fide of the harrow, to take the Grafs much better
than that.

78. But the worft ground to harrow of all others is new broken
Land, the parts of its furrows being commonly fo faft knit to-
gether by the roots of the grafs, that though great charge and
trouble be afforded in the harrowing, yet after all it will notfo
difperfe the Corn, but that it will come up as it fell, thick and in
ranks between the furrows, and fcarce any where elfe. To pre-
vent thefeinconveniencies, the Ingenious Mr, Sacheverel, late of
Bolfcot, deceafed, contrived a way of howing the earth from the
turf as foon as a little dryed, thereby firft laying his ground even
and then fowing it; by which means his feed not only fell and
came up equally difperft in all parts alike, but he found that a
quantity confiderably lefs, did this way ferve the turn. Which
Experimentht often made with good approbation, the charge of
bowing not exceeding that of harrowing, which without it muft
be great, whereas after it, one crofs tine covers the Corn well e-
nough. ,

79. After harrowing, if it hath been fo dry a time, that the
ground has rifen in clods that cannot be broken with harrows, they
commonly do it with a beetle, or big flick ' But a much quicker
way is that I met with about Biffeter by a weighty Roll, not cut
round, but octangular, the edges whereof meeting with the clods,
would break them effectually, and with great expedition. I was
fhewed alfo at Bolfcot another uncommon Roll, invented by the
fame Mr. Sacheverel above-mentioned, cut neither fmooth nor to
angles, but notched deep and pretty broad, after the manner of
a Tejfella or Lattice, fo that the protuberant parts remained al-
moft as bi'g as the foot of a Horfe, by which being large and weigh-
ty, he could fo firmly prefs his light Land fubjeft to Quich-grafs
and other weeds, and fo fettle the roots of the Corn, that it would
come up even and well ; whereas if it had been left hollow it
would certainly have been choaked, and came to little ; He aflert-
ed, that it alfo excelled a fmooth Roll, efpecially if the Seafon
proved dry and windy, in that, when a Field is rolled fmooth,
the wind is apt to blow the Earth from the Corn, whereas by this
the ground is laid fo uneven and full of holes, like Chequer -work*
that what the wind blows from the ridges, ftill falls into the hollows
between them, and on the contrary gives the Corn the better root.

80. I have

OfOXFQ%cD^Ht%E. 24.9

So. I have heard of another fort of Roll, of a large diameter,
and weighty, fet the whole length with edged plates of Heel, pro-
minent from the body of the Roll about an inch and half; thus
contrived for the quicker cutting of turf, which drawn firft one
way, and crofs again at right angles, cuts the turf into fquares, in
bignefs proportionable to the diftanceof the edged plates on the
Roll, requiring no farther trouble afterward, then to be pared
off the ground with a turfing Spade, which feems to promife well
for the cutting out of Trenches, Drains, (yc. But this I have not
feen, nor has it that I know of, been yet experimented by the in-
genious Inventor : However, I thought fit to offer it to the confi-
deration of Improvers, and the rather becaufe it affords me a
fmooth tranfition from the confederation of the Arable, to the
Meddow and Pa/lure Lands.

8 1 . For the Meddow grounds of this County, as they are numer-
ous, fo they are fertile beyond zWpreference, for they need no 0-
ther compos! to be laid on them, than what the Floods fpontaneoufly
give them, and therefore the Reader muft not expert any methods
or rules concerning that affair here : Nor concerning the remedies
of annoyances, fuch as Sour-grafs, Moffes, Rufies, Sedges, (src for
I find none of our meddows much troubled with them. As for
their Vp- lands, when they prepare them for grafs, they make them
as rich as they can with their molt fuitabkyoi/j-, and lay thenl alfo
dry to keep them from Rufies and Sedges ; if any thing boggy,
they ufually trench them ; but that proves not furficient, for
the trenches of boggy grounds will fwell, and fill up of them*
felvcs.

82. To prevent which inconveniency, I know an ingenious
Husbandman, that having dug his trenches about a yard deep and
two foot over, firft laid at the bottom green Blackthorn bullies,
and on them a flratum of large round ftones, or at leaft fuch as
would not lie clofe ; and over them again, another flratum of Black:
thorn, and upon themy?;w, to keep the dirt from falling in be*
tween, and filling them up : by which means he kept his trench
open, and procured fo conftant and durable a drain, that the land
is fince funk a foot or 1 8 inches, and become firm enough to fup-
port carriages.

83. As for the Graffes fown in this County, I have little more
to add concerning them, but what was faid before in the Chapter

Ii of

250 The Statural Hijlory

of Plants, only that it has been found molt agreeable that Sancl-
foin, Ray-grafs,istc. benotfown prefently after the Early, Oats-,
or whatever other Grain it be fowed with, but rather after the
Corn is come pretty high, fo that it may (belter the feed horn the
heat of the Sun, which, as is apprehended at leaft, is fomtimes
prejudicial. And that in the Chiltern Country, after they have
eaten oft their Ray-grafs or Sancl-join, they find it advantagious
to fold it with Sheep, as other Corn-lands : which I thought good
to note, it being, as I am informed, but lately practifed.

84. Amongft Arts that concern formation of Earths, I (hall
not mention the making of Pets at Marjh-Balden, and Nuneham-
Courtney ; nor of Tobacco-pipes of the White-earth of S 'hot- over ,
fince thofe places are now deferted. Nor indeed was there, that
I ever heard of, any thing extraordinary performed during the
working thofe Earths, nor is there now of a very good Tobacco-
pipe Clay found in the Parifti ofHorfpath, fince the Printing of the
third Chapter of this Hifiory. Let it fuffice for things of this
nature, that the ingenious John Dwight, M. A. of ' Chrift Church
College Oxon. hath difcovered the myjlery of the ftone or Co-
logne Wares (fuch as D" Alva Bottles, Jugs, Noggins) heretofore
made only in Germany, and by the Dutch brought over into En-
gland in great quantities, and hath fet up a manufacture of the
fame, which (by methods and contrivances of his own, altogether
unlike thofe ufed by the Germans) in three or four years time he
hath brought it to a greater perfection than it has attained where
it hath been ufed for many Ages, infomuch that the Company of
Glafs-fellers, London, who are the dealers for that commodity, have
contracted with the Inventor to buy only of his Englifh manufa-
cture, and refufe the foreign.

85. He hath difcovered alfo the myffery of the Heffian wares,
and makes Veffels for reteining the penetrating Salts and Spirits
of the Chymifts, more (erviceable than were ever made in England,
or imported from Germany it felf.

86. And hath found out ways to make an Earth white and
tran fpa rent as Porcellane, and not diftinguiftiable from it by the
Eye, or by Experiments that have been purpofely made to try
wherein they difagree. To this Earth he hath added the colours
that are ufual in the colour'd China-ware, and divers others not
feen before. The (kill that hath been wanting to fet up a manufa-
cture

Of OXFORDSHIRE. m

Slure of this tranfparent Earthen-ware in England, like that of
China, is the glazing of the white Earth, which hath much puz-
zel'dthe Projeclor, but now that difficulty alfo is in great meafure
overcome.

$j. He hath alfo caufed to be modelled Statues or Figures of
the faid tranfparent Earth (a thing not done elfewhefe, for China
affords us only imperfect, mouldings*) which he hath diverfified
with great variety of colours, making them of the colours of Iron,
Copper, Brafs, and party-colour' d, as fome Achat-ftones. The con-
siderations that induced him to this attempt, were the Duration
of this hard burnt Earth much above brafs, or marble, againft all
^z'rand Weather', and the foftnefs of the matter to be modelled,
which makes it capable of more curious work, than ftones that are
wrought with chifels, or metals that are caft. In (hort, he has fo
far advanced the Art Plaslick., that 'tis dubious whether any man
fince Prometheus have excelled him, not excepting the famous Da-
mophilut, and Gorgajm of Pliny n.

88. And thefe Arts he employs about materials of Engli/b
growth, and not much applyed to other ufes ; for inftance, He
makes the ftone Bottles of a Clay in appearance like to Tobacco-pipe
clay, which will not make Tobacco-pipes, though the Tobacco-pipe
clay will make Bottles ; fo that, that which hath lain buryed and
ufelefs to the Owners, may become beneficial to them by reafon of
this manufacture, and many working hands get good livelyhoods ;
not to fpeak of the very considerable y^tf?* of Engli/fr Coyn annual-
ly kept at home by it.

89. About Nettle-bed they make a fort ofbrickfo very ftrong,
that whereas at moft other places they are unloaded by hand, I
have feen thefe (hot out of the C art after the manner of ftones to
mend the High-ways, and yet none of them broken ; but this I
fuppofe muft be rather afcribed to the nature of the Clay, than to
the skjll of the Artificer in making or burning them, and Should
therefore have been mention'd in the Chapter of Earths.

90. At Caverftjam, near the Right Worfhipful Sir Anthony
Cravens (and at fome other places) they make a fort of brick
22 inches long, and above fix inches broad, which fome call
Lath-bricks^ by reafon they are put in the place of the Laths or
Spars (fupported by Pillars') in Oafts for drying mault, which is

• ttut.Hifi-lib.^.cap.\1.

Ii 2 the

I

252, The Natural Hiflory

the only ufe of them, and in truth I think a very good one too ;
for befide that they are no way liable to fire, as the wooden Laths
are, they hold the heat fo much better, that being once heated, a
fmall matter of fire will keep them fo, which are valuable advan-
tages in the Profeffion of Maulting.

9 1 . And which brings me to the Arts relating to Stone, they
have lately alfo about Burford, made their Mault kills of Jione ;
the firft of them being contrived after an accident by fire, by Va-
lentine Strong, an ingenious Mafon of Teynton, much after the
manner of thole of brick, which for the benefit of other Coun-
ties where they are not known, I have caufed to be delineated fo
far forth at leaft, as may be direction enough to an ingenious
Workman, in Tab. 13, Fig. 1,2. whereof the firft Figure (hews
the front of fuch a Kill, and the Letters

a. The Kill bole.

b. The Pillars thatfupport the principal Joifts.

c. The /loping away of the in fide of the Oaft.

d. The ends of the Joifts.

e. Theftaces between the Joifts/or the Laths.

And the fecond Figure-, the fquare above, immediatly fupporting
the Oaft-hair and the Mault, wherein the Letters

f f. Jhew the Flame- ftone.

g g. The Pillars on which the principal Joifts lie.

h h. The principal Joifts.

i i. Tbefiorter Joifts.

kk. The Laths between the Joifts.

1 1. The (faces between the Laths.

Which firft Kill of Valentine Strong, built after this manner in
ftone, fucceeded fo well, that it hath fince obtained in many o-
ther places ; nor do I wonder at it, for befide the great fecurity
from/re, to which the old Kills were very fubjeft, thefe alfo dry
the mault with much lefs/we/, and in a fhortertime, than the old
ones would do ; infomuchthat I was told by one Mr. Trindar, an
ingenious Gentleman of Weft-well, who fhewed me a fine one of
his own at Holwell, that whereas he could formerly dry with the
ordinary Kill but two Quarter s in a day, he can now dry fix, and
with as Utile fuel. Now if Mauh-kMs or Oafts made with ordi-
nary

of 0 XFO %p~S Ht%E> .*#

nary (lone prove foadvantagious, what would one of them do, if
the Joijls and Laths at leaft were made of the Cornifi warming-flone,
that will hold heat well eight or ten hours ? or of Spanijh Ruggi-
ola's, which are brozdplates like tiles, cut out of a Mountain of
red fait near Cardcna, which being well heated on both fides, will
keep warm 24 hours °?

92. To which may be added the Invention of making Glaffes
of Hones, and fome other materials, at Henly upon Thames, lately
brought into England by Seignior de Cofta a Montferratees, and car-
ryed on by one Mr. Raven/croft, who has a Patent for the fole
making them ; and lately by one Mr. Bifiop. The materials they
u(ed formerly were the blacked Flints calcined, and a white Chri-
ftalline fand, adding to each pound of thefe, as it was found by
folution of their whole mixture, by the ingenious Dr. Ludwell
Fellow of Wadham College, about two ounces of Niter, Tar tar -, and
Borax.

93. But the Glaffes made of thefe being fubjeft to that unpar-
donable fault called Crizelling, caufed by the two great quanti-
ties of the Salts in the mixture, which either by the adventitious
Niter of the Air from without, or warm liquors put in them,
would be either increafed or diffblved ; and thereby indnre a Sca-
hrities or dull roughnefs, irrecoverably clouding the tranfparency
of the glafs • they have chofen rather fince to make their glaffes
of a great fort of white Pebbles, which as I am informed they
have from the River Po in Italy ; to which adding the aforemen-
tioned falts, but abating in the -proportions, they now make a fort
of Pebbleglafs, which are hard, cjurable, and whiter than any
from Venice, and will not Crizel ,' but endure the fevereft trials
whatever, to be known from the former by a Seal fet purpofelv
on them.

94. And yet I guefs that the difference, in refpefr ofCrizeling.
between the prefent Glafs and the former, lies not fo much in the
Calx, the Pebbles being Pyrites (none but fflch I prefume being fit
for vitrification) as well as the Flints; but rather wholly in the a~
batement of the falts, for there are fome of the Flint glaffes frricl-
ly fo called (whereof I have one by me) that has endured all try -
als as well as thefe lafi. But if it be found otherwife, that white
Pebbles are really fitter for their turns than black Flints, I think

• See Mr. WiUu&hbfs Voyage through Spain, p. 471 .

they

254- Vbe ^C.aturalHiJlory

they have little need to fetch them from Italy, there being enough
in England of the fame kind, not only to fupply this, but per-
haps Foreign Nations. Which is all concerning Arts relating to
Jione and glafs ; except it be alfo worth notice, that Venerable Bede
of this Vniverfity, firft brought Building with/lone, and Glafiwin-
dows into England*.

95. Whence according to my propofed/zze/iw/, 1 proceed to
the Arts relating to Plants; amongft which, the firft that prefent
tbemfelves, are thofe that concern the Herbaceous kind. Of this
fort we may reckon that ingenious Experiment rmdcm^une, 1669.
by my worthy Friend/oi>/z Wills M. A. and Fellow of Trin. Coll.
Oxon. in order to find in what meafure Herbs might perfpire, where-
in he made ufe of the following method. He took two glafs Vials
with narrow necks,each holding ontpound 8 ounces, and 2 drachms
of water, Avoir de po'-s weight : into one of thefe glaffes filled
with water, he nut a fprig of florifhing Mint (which before had
grown in the water) weighing one ounce ; the other glafs he alfo
fill'd with water, and expofed them both in a window to the Sun.
After ten days time, he found in the bottle where the mint was,
only five ounces and four drachms of water remaining, and no more,
fo that there was one pound 'two ounces and fix drachms fpent, the
mint weighing fcarce two drachms more than at firft.

96. From the other Glafs, where water was put of the fame
weight, and no mint, he found the Sun had exhaled near one
ounce of water, and therefore concluded it drew but fo much out
of the firft glafs, at leaft not more .* So that allowing one ounce for
what the Sun had exhaled, there was in thofe ten days fpent by
the mint, one pound one ounce fix drachms of water ; and the mint
being increafed in weight only two drachms, 'twas plain the mint
had purely expired in thofe ten days, one pound one ounce 2nd four
drachms, that is, each day above an ounce and half, which is more
than the weight of the whole mint. Whence he concluded, that
what Malpighiws fo wonders at in his Book Be Bombyce, vi^ that
thofe Animals willfomtimes eat in one day, more than the weight
of their bodies, is out- done by every fprig of mint, and moft o-
ther Herbs in the Field,wh'ich every fummers day attraft more nou-
riftiment than their own weight amounts too.

» Vtd. Comment, in Camnn Phaleucium Joban- Seldeni, before Hoptons Concordance of years.

97. Which

OfOXFO%T>~S-HI\E. in

97. Which thel^me ingenious^r/o/zatleaftqueftionsnot (and
therefore willies tryals may be made) of the Tithyrnali, EfuU ,
and efpecially of Pinguicula and Ros Solk, which laft fucks up
moifture fatter than the Sun can exhale it,and is bedewed all over
at Noon-day, notwithstanding its power .• Nor doubts he but
that Wormwood, and all other Plants that are very hot, and of
ftrong fmells, expire as much, if not more than Mint.

98. There are alfo feveral Arts, ufed about the Corn in this
County, whii'ft in the blade, zndjlraw, that belong to this place,
fuch as eating it off with Sheep, if too rank., to make it grow
ftrong and prevent lodging : whii'ft the Corn is young they alfo
weed it, cutting the thislles with a hook ; but rattles they hand-
weed as foon as in flower, and fo they do cockles when they in-
tend the Corn for feed. If the Crows toward Harveft are any
thing mifchievous, as they many times are, deftroying the Corn
in the outer limits of the Fields, they dig a hole narrow at the;
bottom, and broad at thetop, in the green fwarth near the Corn,
wherein they put duff, and cinders from the Smiths forge, mixt
with a little Gun-powder, and in and about the holes iWck feathers
(Crow -feathers if they can get them) which they find about Bur-
ford to have good fuccefs.

99. They cut their Wheat here rather a little before, than let
it ftand till it be over-ripe ; for if it be cut but a little too foon,
the fiock. will ripen it, and the Corn will be beautiful, whereas if
it ftand too long, much will fhatter out of the head in reaping, e-
fpecially if the wind blow hard, and that the beft Corn too ; the
worft only remaining, which will be pale in the hand, an unpar-
donable fault where the Baker is the Chapman. In reaping Whedt
and Rye they ufe not the fide, but a fmooth edged hook., l&ying
their Corn in fmall hand-fulls all over the Field; I fuppofe that it
may the fooner dry, in cafe wet come before they bind it, which
they do in very fmall fieaves, and very loofc in comparifon of
fome other Counties : They fiock. it rafter- wife, ten /leaves in a
fiock.-, which if fet wide in the but-end, will be very copped and

fharp at the top, and will bear out rain beyond hope, or almoft
credit.

100. They count their Barly ripe (as they do their Wheat')
when it hangs the head and the slraw has loft its verdure, which
they mow with zfithe without a cradle, never binding but raking

it

irf The Statural Hiflory

it together, and cocking it with a fork. , which js ufually a trident,
whofe teeth ftand not in a row, but meet pyramidally in a center at
the ftaff: _They let it lie in the fwathe a day or two, which both
ripens the Corn and withers the weeds. Oats, and all mixed Corns
called Horfe-meat, are Harvefted fomtimes with two reaping books,
whereof the manner is thus : The Workman taking a hookjn each
hand, cuts them with that in his right hand, and rolls them up
the while with that in his left, which they call bagging of Peas :
Others they cut with a reaping hook, fet in a fiajf about a yard
long, and then they cut and turn the Peas before them with both
hands till they have a wad, which they lay by, and begin again ;
and this they call cutting with the slaff-hook.' But the fithe they fay
is much the fpeedieft way, which if ufed with care, cuts them as
well and clean, as either of the other.

i c r . After the fithe they wWboth Beans and Teas, and fo turn
them till they are throughly withered and dry, and then cockznd
fit them for carriage, only with this difference, that Beans while
they are cockedand carryed, have the \oofe /talks pickt up by hand,
the rake being apt to beat the Beans out of the pods, as they are
drawn up againft the leg. All forts of Cocks are beft made of
a middleingci^e, and well top'd ; the advantages are, that thefe
are apprehended at leaft totakelefs wet with the fame rain than
greater, and will dry again without breaking ; whereas the great
cocks, after rain, muft be pulled to pieces, which cannot be done
without great lofs, for in the opening and turning much Corn
will be beaten out, and that certainly the beft too.

102. If their Corn be brought home a little moifler, or greener
than ordinary, or the weeds be not let lie to be throughly (hrunk
or wither'd, that they fufpect. it may heat in the Barn more than
ordinary (for it is kind for C orn and fodder to heat a little) then
they draw a Cubb or Beer-lip (which others call the Seed-cord')
up the middle of the mow ovftack. , and through the hole that this
leaves, the heat will afcend and fo prevent mow-burning ; Or if it
heat in the Barn beyond expe&ation, and be like to do amifs,
they then pull a. hole in the middle from the top to the bottom,
which will alfo help it much. They draw an old Axel-tree of a
Cart up a Hay-rick to the fame purpofe, if they think their Hay of
the greeneji, or over moift when ftack$d.

103. But

Of 0 XFO %T>~SHI%E> %%f

103. But the beft contrivance I ever yet faw to prevent theyfre-
ing of Ricks of Hay, or Saincl-foin, I met with at Tufmore, at the
Worfhipful Richard Fermors Efq; where they let in [quart pipes
made of boards of a foot diagonal, to the middle of their Hacks-)
to give them Air perpetually ; the number of pipes bearing proj
portion to the bignefs of the Ricks? which no queftion may alfo
be as rationally apply ed to Hacks of Corn, whenever thought fub-
jeft to the fame danger.

1 04. To preferve their Ricks of Corn lyable to rats and mice,
they commonly place them in this Country, on /landers and caps of
Jlone ; the ganders being four Obelifcs about two foot high, and the
caps as many Hemifphericalflones placed upon them, with the flat
fides downwards, on which having laid four ftrong pieces of
Timber, and other Joijis to bear up the Corn, they place their Riches,
which then are not annoyed by mice or rats (at lead notfo much)
as flacks on the ground, by reafon the Hemifpherical ftones being
planums at the bottom, though they may poffibly afcend the/land*-
ers well enough, yet can fcarce get up the caps, whofe broad bot-
toms hang fo over them in piano Hori^ontis, that they muft needs
fall in the attempt.

105. The Cart they moft ufe to bring home their Corn, is the
two-wheeled long Cart, having fiambles over the fiafts or thills,
a Cart Ladder at the breech, and hoops over the wheels, on which
they will lay great and very broad loads, though it go not fo fe-
cureand fteady as a Waggon, which notwithstanding that advan-
tage is of but little ufe here, only amongft Carriers, Isrc. They
ufe alfo a fort of Cart they Call a Whip-lade, oxWhip-cdrt, whofe
hinder part is made up with boards after the manner of a Dung-
cart, having alfo a head of boards, andjbambles over the thills ;
which head being made fo as to be taken out or left in, the Cart
may be indifferently ufed to carry dung or other matters ; dung,
when the head is in, and Corn, iyc. when taken out.

106. About Banbury moft of their Carts have Axel-trees of
Iron, made fquare at one end and roundat the other j at the fquare
end they are made faft into one of the wheels, and move round
together with it ; and at the other end they move within the box
of the wheel, and the wheel round them too: With this fort of
Axel fome are of opinion that the C art moves much lighter for the
Cattle, than with a wooden one, to whom I (liould much rather

K k affent,

258 The Statural Hijlory

aflent, did the round end of the Axel move in a box of brafs, and
were the places where the Cart refts on it, lined with brafs plates,
for then a fmall matter of oil (as 'tis in the oiling of fo//*-) would
caufe the heavieft weight to be moved with great eafe : however
as they are, much lefs greafe ferves the turn ; and one of them
made of good tough iron, will laft a mans age, and iomtimes two,
whereas the wooden ones are frequently at reparations : nor does
there any inconveniency attend them that I could hear of, but that
the wheels have not fo much room to play to and fro on thefe, as
on the others of wood, and therefore not fo good where either
the ways or Cart-routs are deep.

107. Their way in this Country to bring the com from the firaw,
is for the moft part by the flail, only in Come places when their
wheat is very fmutty, they have a way of whipping it firft, and then
threjbing it afterwards : their manner of whipping is ftriking the
corn by a handful at a time, againft a door fet on its edge ; and
when a fieaf is thus whipt, they bind it up again for the flail :
which way indeed is troublefom and tedious , but by this means
the fmut bags or balls are prefer ved unbroken, and by the ftrength
of a good wind, and care in the raying, moft part of them may
be gotten forth, and the wheat left clear.

108. But before they threfh Rye, they fomtimes take care to
prefer ve fome of the flraw whole or unbroken, to ferve for flraw-
works ' which I fhould not have thought worth mentioning, but
that we have an Artift herein Oxford, the ingenious Robert Wife-
man, excellent for fuch matters, beyond all comparifon ; and yet
he modeftly owns, that he faw work in Italy that gave him a hint
for his Invention, but knows not whether that Artift (but believes
rather the contrary) ufes the fame procedure that he does or no :
However, if it muft not be allowed his Invention, yet becaufe he
has improved it to fo great an excellency, I cannot but let the World
know, that though heprofeffes nothing extraordinary in the dying
of his colours, yet by certain method, of firft fcraping the flraw,
and cutting it into fmall (quare pieces, none longer than the 20th or
30th part of an inch, he can lay them on wood, copper or filver (firft
prepared for the purpofe) in fuch order and manner, and that
with great expedition, that thereby y^ereprefents the ruins of Build-
ings, Profpecls of Cities, Churches, (yc. upon dreffmg or writing
Boxes, or Boxes for any other ufe.

109. He

ofOXFOKQ-SHlXn, tip

109. He alfo reprefents in a molt exquifite manner, both the
Irijh and Bredtb Jiitch in Carpets and Screens, which he makes of
thisy?/w nw£.for the more curious Ladies ; and with thefe he co-
vers Tobacco boxes, or of any other kind, whether of wood or me"
tal, puting the Arms of the Nobility and Gentry, if defired, upon
the tops or ellewhere : And all thefe with the colours fo neatly
fhadedofi, from one another, that at due diftance they flbow no-
thing inferior to colours laid with a Penfil. When thefe Tr off eels, &c.
are made, he can and does frequently wafti his work with common
water, leting it continue at leaft an hour underneath it ; theh drys
it with z/funge, and beats it with a wooden mallet as thin as may
be, and then lays it on his boxes, giving it laftly fo curious* zpolifi,
that no varnifhing excels it : which work, though made of fuch
minute fquares ofjlraw, will endure portage, and any other as
fevere ufage, as moll other materials ; none of them being to be
gotten oft by eafie means, but will admit of wafiing and polifi-
ing again, when at any time foul, as well as at the firft.

no. Which is all concerning Corn, whil'ft in the blade or
flraw, what remains relates to the feparating the feed from the
chaff, and preserving it in the Jlores. As to the firft, they either
do it in a good wind abroad, or with the fan at home, I mean
the leaved fan ; for the kneefdn, and calling the corn the length df
the Barn, are not in ufe amongft them. They that have but fmall
quantities, when no wWisftirring, will do it with z fleet j the
manner thus : Twoperfons take a fleet, and double it at the featri,
then rolling in each end a little, and holding one hand at the top,
and the other a foot or 1 8 inches lower* they ftrike together and
make a good wind, and fome fpeed. But the wheel fan fives a
mans labor, makes a better wind, and does it with much more ex-
pedition.

in. They prefer ve it in their slores, as well as ricks, from mice
and rats by many ordinary means ufed in other places .* but I met
with one way fomwhat extraordinary, performed by a peculiar
fort of Rats-bane, that kills no creatures but thofe for which it is
defigned, except poultry ; fo that it is an excellent remedy, efpeci-
ally within doors, where Fowls feldom come, or any other place
where they may be kept from it ; all Cats, Dogs, (sre tailing it
without hurt. To fecure their Corn from mulling, I have heard
of fome that have laid it in Chambers mixt with Pebble-Jlones of the

K k 2 larger

2tfo The Statural Hijlory

lar ger c\zt ftratum fuper ftratumy v'17^ after every fix inches thick-
nefs of Corn, zfiratum of Pebbles, placed about a yard diftance
from each other, then Corn again to the fame thicknefs, and fo
S SS to ten lains apiece : by which method, as I was told, Corn
had been preferved fweet and free from muft, ten years together,
only removing it once a year, and laying it again as before ; and
in the Summer time when the weather was dry, fetting open the
windows in the day time and (hutting them at night,

112. To recover it from mufiinefs, to its priU'mfweetnefs, fome
have laid it out all night,th'm fpred on cloaths,to receive the Even-
ing and Morning dews, with fo good fuccefs, that being dryed a-
gain next day in the Sun, the ill fmell has been quite removed.
And thus I have done with the moft uncommon Arts] have met
with concerning Plants related to Husbandry, and the whole Her-
baceou* kind * where by the way let it be noted, as mChap. 6.^.23.
that thefe Arts are called uncommon, not fo much in refpecl: of
this, as of other Counties, where indeed they will feem fo : and
that I have written of them rather for the information of grangers,
than the Inhabitants of Oxford-Jhire, as I muft hereafter in other
Counties, for information of this. Wherein if through my own
ignorance, or frowardnefi of fome Husbandmen (I dare not fay all)
I have failed of that accuracy, that might otherwife have been
expected, I beg the Readers pardon, and promife amendment in
the following Counties, provided I have encouragement to go on
in my defign.

113, After the Herbaceous Plants, come we next to confider
, the Shrubs and Subfrutices, amongft which I met with one, per-
haps I may fay fcarce heard of curiofity, though it have been an
Experiment frequently performed many years fincc, not only by
thofe excellent Gardeners and Botanifts, the two Bobarts, Father
and Son ; but as I have heard alfo by the Reverend and Ingenious
Robert Sharrock. LL D, and Fellow of New College, who after
many unfuccefsful tryals of grafting one Fruit upon another,
made at laft a very pleafant one, and to good advantage too, upon
different Vines, which in fo great meafure anfwer'd their hopes,
that they have now fignal proof in the Phyfick. Garden of the
white Frontiniac grafted upon the Par fly Vine, growing and bear-
ing very well ; and to this advantage, that they think the early
ripening ftock of the Parfly Vine, to conduce fomwhat to the

earlyer

Of OXFORDSHIRE. itit

carlyer ripening of the white Frontiniac, naturally late.

114. They have alfo grafted the early red-clu/ler or Currant-
grape, upon that large, luxuriantly growing Vine, called the Fox-
grape, which feems to produce much fairer and ftronger Fruit;
than that grape isufually upon its own flock* And divers other
Experiments of this nature they fay may eafily be made, as well
to have w/>/7e and black, or other varieties, as they have already
broad leaved and narrow leav'd, early grapes and late ones, on the
fame flock ' But this is not to be done by prefent amputation, as
in other Fruits, the wood being not fufficiently folid to bear it.

115. As to the Arts relating to Trees, the chiefeft are thofe of
the Planter and Gardener making curious Walks, and Tipiary work}
of them ; fuchis the Dial cut in Box in New College Garden^ the
Kings armsfind the College coat of arms there,and at Exeter College;
befide the other Garden knots of Box in both thofe Colleges, and
in Brafen-nofe College Quadrangle ; to which add the Guards at the
Pbyflckgarden gate of Gigantick. fixture, arid feveral other Topia
in the fame Garden, all formed of the Tew tree. Of Walks, the
moft curious I have met with in this County, are thofe elegant
ones of Trees of various kinds in Cornbury Park.', and (to omit
the numerous Walks in and about the Vniverfity) thofe of Firs at
Sir Peter Wentworths at Lillingslon Lovel, and the pleafant Vifla
at Sir Timothy Tjrrils, from a fhort walk of Trees toward the Chil-
tern hills ; and for a clofe Walkthtxt is a fine one lately defigned in
Grimes-ditch, near Ditchley , a feat of the Right Honorable Edward
Henry Earl of Lichfield's, about half a mile in length.

1 1 6. For Garden walks, I think one of the longeft I met with^
was at the Worfhipful Mr. Clerks at Aslon Rbwant. And for a
defcent, there are none like the Walks at Roufham, in the Garden
of the Worlhipful Robert Dormer Efq; where there are nolefs than
five one under another, leading from the garden above, down to
the r/Wfide, having peps at each end, and parted with hedges of
Codlings, isrc. But of all that 1 ever met with, there is a Walk at
the Worlhipful Mr. Fermors of Tufmore, the moft wonderfully
pleafant, not only in that it is placed in the middle of a Fifi-pond,
but fo contrived, that {landing in the middle no Eye can perceive
but it is perfectly fir eight, whereas when removed to either end,
it appears on the contrary fo ftrangely crooked, that the Eye does
not reach much above half the way,

t\j. Which

%6z The Natural Hijlory

117. Which deception of fight moft certainly arifes from a
bow in the middle, which feems only an ornament, and the inca-
pacity of the Beholder of feeing both parts of the Walk at one
time ; which that it may be the better apprehended, fee the man-
ner of it, Tab. 1 3 . Fig. 3 . where the letter a (hews the walk from
the garden tending toward that in the Fifi-pond, b the place of
the beholder, c the femicircle or bow oppofite to him, d e the two
ends of the walk.: Now the beholder being placed in b, and ha-
ving the bow before him, is not commonly fo wary as to find,that
if the lines fghi were continued, they would decujjate and not
fall into straight lines, nor that the walks themfelves would do the
fame, becaufe be fees but one ftraight part of the walk b d at
one time, and the other b e at another time, which when feen to-v
gether at either end, plainly meet in an angle, and by reafon of
the fide hedges terminate the fight at little more than half way,
at kl.

1 J 8. Hither alfo belong the methods whereby they order their
Woods in this County, which if Vnder-woods in or near the Forreft
ofWhichwood, they commonly fell not till twenty years growth ; but
in the'Chafe near by it, fomtimes at feven or eight : dividing them
into Acres and Braids (or bredths) every Acre containing forty
braids, a braid 'being one pole long and four broad ; into which
they thus divide their Woods for the better fale of them to the
meaner fort of people, fome buying ten, others twenty, and fome
thirty braids or more.

119. In the Chiltern Country they fell their Under-wood Co-
pices commonly at eight or nine years growth, but their tall wood,
or Copices of which they make talljhids, billet, (src. at no certain
time; nor fell they thefe Woods all together,but draw them as they
call it, almoft every year fome, according as their wood comes to
be of a fit fcantling for tall Jhid or billet, cutting every Jhid of
tall wood four foot long befide the kerf, and the billet three foot
four inches, according to the Statutes of the 7 of Edw. 6. 7. and
the 43 of Q^ Eliz^. 14. which ought alfo according to the fame
Statutes, whether round bodyed, half round, or quarter cleft y to be
of a certain number of inches about, according as named or mark-
ed of fo many Casl, as may be feen particularly in the Statutes at
large. Which is all concerning Arts relating to Plants, except
it fhall be thought worthy notice, that they ufe ropes in this Coun-
try,

OfOXFO%T>^SHl%E. ify

try, made of the bark of the Tilia famina folio minore , fmall
leav'd Lime or Linden tree, in fame Countrys called Bad ; whence
the ropes are alfo called Bafien ropes ; but of thefe no more, the
Tree neither growing, nor the ropes being made in this County, but
only ufed here.

120. Of Arts relating to Brutes, I have met with none extra-
ordinary concerning the winged Kingdom, but the new fort of boxes,
or Colony hives for Bees, flrft invented, I fuppofe, by the Right
Reverend Father in God John Wilkins, late Lord Bithop of Che-
(ier ; notwithstanding the pretentions of John Gedde Gent, and
his feven years experience : for I find one of them fet up in
Wadham College Garden (where it ftill remains) when the faid ac-
complifh'd Bifhop was Warden there above twenty years fince.
For Fijb, I was (hewed the model of a Net contrived by the in-
genious Sir Anthony Cope, that feemed likely to catch all found
within fuch acompafs.

i2r. Relating to four footed Beafts , the ingenious Richard
Fermorof Tufmore Efq; (hewed me a pretty contrivance to avoid
the incumbrance of Oat tubs in Stables, efpecialiy where they are
any thing ftreightned in their room, by letting the Oats down from
a loft above, out of a vejfel like the Hopper of a Mill, whence they
fall into a fqmrepipe let into the wall, of about four inches diago*
nal, which comes down into a Cup-board alfo fet into the wall, but
with its end fo near the bottom, that there (hall never be above a
gallon,or other dcfirable quantity in the cup-board at a time, which
being taken away and given to the Horfes, another gallon prefentjy
fucceeds ; fo that in the lower part of the Stable where the Horfes
frand, there is not one inch of room taken up for the whole pro-
vision of Oats ; which contrivance has alfo this further conveni-
ence, that by this motion the Oats are kept conftantly faeet (the
taking away one gallon moving the whole mafs above) which laigl
up any other wife in great quantities grow frequently tnufty.

122. The fame ingenious Gentleman has alfo applyed the fame
contrivance, with fome little alteration, to the feeding of his Swine,
which have conftaritly their meat from fuch a veffel like the hopper
of a Mill placed over the sly, into which having put a certain
quantity of beans, enough to fat fo many Hogs, they continually
defcend to about half way down the ily in a large fquare />//><?,
which then divides it felf into fix fmaller ones, which terminate

each

264. Tbc Natural Hi [lory

each of them in a fmall trough, no bigger than juft to admit the
nofeoi a Hog, and come all of them with their ends to near the
bottom, that there is never above a handful of beans or fo, in each
trough at a time, which taken away by the Hogs, there follow fo
many handfulls again, but never more ; lo that having alfo drawn
a fmall Rivulet of water through they?)/, the daily trouble of fer-
vants waiting on them is not only faved (for they need never come
near them till they know they we fat) but the Hogs themfelves are
alfo made hereby uncapable of fpoiling a bean, by trampling or
pilling amongft them as in moft other flies, they never having a-
bove a handful at a time,and thofe in a trough too fmall to admit
any fuch means of waft.

123. Hehas thoughts alfo of applying the fame contrivance
to the feeding of his Hounds ; and has made /rails for Oxen, by
fparsof wood defcending perpendicularly from the utmoft rim
of the rack., and nailing boards on them half way up before the
Oxen, that they cannot fpoil by trampling, or any other means,
the leafty??w or grafs, all that go befide their mouths falling ftill
within the boards nailed upon the (pars, which when come to any
quantity, is returned into the rack, as fweet and good, as when
put there at firft. Which being matters of Architecture relating to
Beafts, bring me next to treat,

124. Of Artst\\z.t refpe£t Mankind, and firft of Architecture,
wherein we have many remarkable Curiofities, as well in the Coun-
try as Vniverfity ; fome whereof are of an inferior, others of a
more Honorable rank and quality. Of the firft fort are feveral Mills
that I have met with in this County, tew ce perhaps to be found elf-
where in England-, fuch is that at the fame ingenious Mr. Fermors
at Tufmore, which with one horfe and man (who is carryed round
as it were, in a Coach-box behind the horfe) performs at pleafure
thefe very many offices. Firft, it grinds Apples the common way
for Cider. And fecondly Wheat, which it fijts at the fame time in-
to four different fineneffes. Thirdly Oats, which it cuts from the
husk, and winnows from the chaff, making very good Oat-meal.
Andlaftly makes Muftard, which indeed is ameer cur iofity. And
all thefe it performs feverally, or together, according as defired.

125. At Hanwell, in the Park, there is alfo a Mill ere&ed by the
ingenious Sir Anthony Cope, of wonderful contrivance, where-
with that great Virtuofo did not only grind the Corn for his Houfe,

but

Of OXFORDS BIT^E. %6-j

but with the fame motion turned a very large Engine for cutting
the hardeft ftone, after the manner of Lapidaries ; and another
for boaring of Guns : and thefe, as in the Mill at Tufmore, either
feverally or all together, at plcafure.

126. To thefe add the Mills for making French Early , erected
fome years fince upon the river near Caverjham, by one Mr. Bur-
naby, but are now carryed on by one Mr. Nelthrop of London,
Merchant : They are four in number, and differ from other Com
mills chiefly in the following particulars. 1 . In that they have
always double tackling. 2. The ftones not being the Cologne, but
ordinary white ftones ; which thirdly, are both of them cut the
fending way : and fourthly, the uppery?o/ze or runner, hung about a

hands breadth diftant from the lower or bed ftone, alfo called the
Legier. They put in the Corn, about half a bulTiel at a time, not
at the eye, but round the hoops at the (ides of theftones ; they ftop
the /pout or tunnel, and let the Mill lun juft an hour, for if the
Corn ftay longer the heat will turn kyellow : then they let it out,
and fever the bran and flower from the Corn, and put it up again
into another 777/// of the fame kind, and let it run in the fame man-
ner another hoar, and the work is finished.

127. Hither alfo muft be referred the Mault Kills of Henly, fo
thriftily contrived, thatthe Kill holes are placed in the backs of
their Kitchin Chimneys, fo that drying their mault with wood, the
fame fire ferves for that, and all the other ufes of their Kitchins be-
fide. To this place alfo belongs a fort of Oasl made about thirty
years fince by one Philips a Baker of Magdalen Varijf) Oxon, who
having a very great Oven, made it plain at the top and plaifter'd
it over, whereon laying mault, he dryed it with the fame fire that
heated his Oven for the bread, and thus made the belt mault that
Oxford afforded, and of neceffity the cheapeft, for the fire coft
him nothing. I have heard alfo of the fame method ufed at Henly
on the Thames ; and thefe, as fome have ventured to aflert, gave
the firft hints to the Invention of that fort of Kills whereby they
dry mault with coal ; but herein I dare not be too confident, not
knowing of what (landing thofe Kills are, otherwife the thing
feems to be likely enough.

128. Thus having run through thofe of inferior rank, I come
next to the remarkable curiofities of Architecture in our moQtftately
buildings, and that have a more immediate relation to mankind

Ll than-

%6 6 Tbe Natural Hi/lory

than any before mentioned, whereof fome are private, others
publick', and may both be confidered either in the whole or parts.
Of private buildings, the moft eminent in this County, are the
Seats of the Right Honorable the Earl of Anglefey, Lord Privy
Seal, at Blechington, the Earl of Clarendon at Cornbury, the Earl
of Lichfield at Ditchley, the Earl of Rochefier at Adderbury, the
Countefs of Down atWroxton, the Lord Vifcount Say and Seal at
BrOughton, the Lord Vifcount Falkland at Great Tew, the Lady
Abergavenny at Sherbourn, the Lord Norreys (His Majefties Lord
Lieutenant of Oxford-Jhire) at 7?ico/, the Lord Carrington at ZW~
B>e/, and of the Honorable James Herbert Efq; at Tythrop in Oxford-
Jhire, though of Kingsey Parifh in the County of Buckingham.

129. Whereunto might be added fever al ilruflures of the mi-
nor Nobility, that fhew a great deal either of paft or prefent Ma-
gnificence, fuchas that of the Right Worflbipful Sir Anthony Cope
late of Hanwell, of Sir John Cope at Bruern Abbey, Sir Tho. Spencer
at Tarnton, Sir Tho. Chamberleyn at Northhrook.-, Sir Francis Wen-
man at Thame-? ark. and Cafwel, Sir 77>o. f o£Z> at Addtrbury, Sir ytftf-
/tej> Craven at Caverjham, Six William Glyn at Amerfden, Sir /?o-
bertjenkjnfon at Walcot, Sir William Walter at Sarefden, Sir Thomas
Penyfton at Cornwel, Sir Compton Read at Shipton under Which-
wood, Sir John D'Oyly at Chijlehampton, Sir Edward Norreys at
Wefton on thegreew, Sir George Croke at Watersloh-> Sir i^i/i/* H<*r-
«wr/ at Stanton Harcourt. And of the worftiipful 7/w. Stonor at
Watlington Parkand Stonor, Efq; Robert Dormer at Roufiam, Efq;
Richard Fermor at Tufmore and Sommerton, Efq; /o/w S/o/ze at
Brightwel, Efq; /oitfz C7er£. at i4#o« Rowant, Efq; 77>o. #0077/ at
Cm/, Efq; Arthur Jones at Chafleton, Efq; Zfoy// Brookjat North- Aflcn,
Efq; and the feats of the Families of Knolles at Rot her field Grays,
and B/oh/z/ at Maple^Durham, Efqs; To which add the Parfonage
Houfe of the Re&ory of Chinncr, little inferior to fome of the
aforementioned, either in greatnefs, commodioufnefs, or elegancy of
Building.

130. And yet amongft all thefe eminent private Structure s,
could I find nothing extraordinary in the w/>o/e .* But in the parts,
the Kitchin of the Right Worfliipful Sir /V>/7//> Harcourt Knight,
of Stanton Harcourt, is fo ftrangely unufual, that by way of #/W-
<//e one may truly call it, either a Kitchin within a Chimney, or a
Kitchin without one ; for below it is nothing but a large [quare,

and

OfOXPO%<D~SHl%,E. i67

and octangular above afcending like a Tower, the fires being made
againft the walls, and thefmoak. climbing up them, without any
tunnels or difturbance to the Cookj ; which being ftopped by a
large conical roof at the top, goes out at loop-holes on every fide
according as the wind Cits j the loop-holes at the fide next the jpzW
being (hut with falling doors, and the adverfe fide opened.

131. Thefpacious Stair- cafe at Blechington-houk is alfo re-
markable,not only for that it ftands on an Area of 30 foot fquare,
but for its rarity too, it being not perhaps at all, at leaft not eafie
to be met with amongft the writers of Architeclure : .wherefore^
though I cannot approve of its contrivance in all particulars, yet
for the fake of its magnificence-, and variety from moft, if not all
others, I cannot in jufticc but afford it a fliort defcription.

132. It being placed therefore backward, oppofite to the moft
honorable entrance of the Houfe, between two wings that extend
themfelves beyond it, and the grofs of the Pile, you enter upon
it having paft by the ball, and other offices ufually placed by it, at
the door-way A, Tab. 13. Fig. 4. and land upon the half pace 1,
which together with the reft marked 234, iyc are 6 foot J fquare:
The figures in their natural order (hew how you afcend from one
half pace to another, by afcents of 7lfteps, each about 5 inches J
deep, and near 10 inches J broad : The half paces marked with
the fame figure lye on the fame level, and therefore as 4 is the
higheft half pace in this firft Scheme of it, fo it is the loweft in the
fecond,7tf£. 13. Fig. 5.

133. In which alfo the order of the figures (hews the manner
of afcent juft as in the former, only it muft be obferved, that as
the afcent to the half pace 4 in the firft Scheme, was fuppofe from
Eaft and Weft, fo the afcent higher from it in the fecond, is to North
and South : Of which two Schemes placed alternatly over one an-
other, the whole ft air -cafe is framed from bottom to top, which
iseafily apprehended, if you but imagine the half pace 4 in the
fecond Scheme, to be placed over 4 in the firft, and fuch another
frame as is delineated in the firft Scheme to be placed on the fe-
cond : The Letters V V ihew the vacancies that open a Pro/peel
from the top to the bottom of the whole ftair-cafe, and abed
Ihew the places of the doors into the rooms at each corner of
it.

LI 2 134. In

2<S8 The Statural Hiftory

134. In (liort, this fl air -cafe feems to be a compofition of 4
half-pace- open-newel'd fair-cafes, as may eafily be perceived by
the figures^ 123, 123,123, 123, and 567, 567, 567, 567 , only
communicating in the middle ; which indeed (hews very magni-
ficently, but has this inconvenience, that there is no paflage from
one room into another though on the fame floor, without going up
and down many fteps ; as in Scheme the fecond, if from a to b,
andfoof the rooms of any of the other fides, you have no paf-
fage but from 6 to 7, and fo down again to 6, i. e. 14 fteps. But

if you are to go from corner to corner, as fuppofe from a to c, or
b to d, & vice verfa, whether you pafs round the fides, or over
the middle halfpace^ you cannot do it, without afcending and
defcending in all twenty eight fteps.

135. Ofpublick Buildings, the moft eminent in the County
are certainly thofe of the Colleges and Halls, the FublickScboolsr
Library and Theater in the Vniverfity of Oxford-, of which yet in
the whole I (hall give no account, their magnificence and outward
Architetlure being already fufficiently (hewn,by the exquifite hand
of Mr. David Loggan, C halcographer to the Vniverfity, in his Cuts
of them all lately fet forth. It (hall fuffice me therefore to give
a fuccincl: account of fome particular parts of them, whether in
the /lone or Timber-work) fcarce to be met with elfewhere, or
known to few.

136. Of the firft fort is the flat floor offlone over the paffage
between the Right Reverend the Provotts Lodgings, and the Chap-
pel at Queens College, born up only by the fide walls without any
pillar, though confifting of divers ftones not reaching the walls,
which yet indeed may very well be, fince as I am informed by the
fame Right Reverend Frovoft, and Bi/hop of Lincoln, who pulled
up the boards of the room above to view the curiofity ; the Jlones
are all cuneoform, and laid like that they czWjlraight Arch-work,

137. The Roof of Merton College Treafury is alfo an odd piece
of f one- work-, being all made of Ajhler, yet flooping to an angle
(only more acute than ufual) like roofs made of Timber : It has,
'tis true within, three inequidiftant arched ribs of flone thatfeem
to fupport the Fabrick, which is about 20 foot long, but thtf ones
not reaching from rib to rib, and feeming to be laid like common

s pavementboth within and without, make many to wonder that it
does not fill in : but the ffones being pretty thick, and cut as they

call

of 0 XFO %$)■£ Hl%£. x69

call it, with an arching joint, muft neceflarily lye as firm ("and for
the very fame reafon) as thofe at Queens College do, and fo moft
certainly they would, were the arches quite removed. There is
alfo much fuch another roof over a little Oratory or Cbapptl in the
Church of North Leigh in this County.

138. Asfo«- arched roofs of fione, that of the Divinity School
is a fine piece of Architecture ; and fo is that of the ftately ftair-
cafe leading into Chrisl-Church great hall. The Phyfickgarden gate
is a curious piece of ruftick.rock?work. ; and the Porich at St. Maries,
the Vniverfity Church, is a well contrived thing. And were it not
improper amongft thefe to mention zftruclure of fo inferior a qua-
lity, as New College houfe of Eafement, commonly called the long-
boufe, I could not but note it as a ftupendious piece of buildings it
being fo large and deep, that it has never been emptyed fince the
foundation of the College, which was above 300 years fince, nor
is it ever like to want it.

139. The Portico's on the Eafi and Weft fides of the Neve Qua-
drangle at St. Johns College, built by the moft Reverend Father in
God, William Laud Arch-Buliop of Canterbury, fupported with
■pillars of Blecbington Marble, are well worthy notice ; and-fo is
the Cloyfter at Magdalen College, the Butterefles without being
curioufly adorned with Hieroglyphical Imagery.

1 40. The erecl: Southern declining Vial over ^11 Souls College
Chappel, is a neat piece of work, fo curioufly contrived by Sir
Chriftopher Wren, that though it ftand high, yet by the help of two
half rays, and one whole one for every hour, one may fee to a mi-
nute what it is a clock* the minutes being depicted on the fides of
the rays, vi%. 1 5 on each fide, and divided into fives by a diffe-
rent character from the reft.

141 . The Cylindrical Dyal in Corpus Chrifti College Quadrangle,
let at right angles with the Horizon (the common feclions whereof,
with the hour circles (except the Meridian circle which divides it
by the axis') as alio the Mquinottial, are all Ellipfis) is a fine old
piece of Gnomonicks ; of which no more, becaufe its Contriver
Mr. Robert Heggs, Fellow of theCollege, has already written of it^.
And the Dials made upon a pile of Books on Neve College Mount,
with Time on the top, exaftly pointing out from what Quarter
the wind blows, upon the 32 Points of the Compafs, depi&ed on

' Tr*8. deHorohgiii, Lib. 4:. cap. 4. MS- in BH>liatA.C.C,C-

270 The Statural Hijlory

z Cylinder of ft one, is an ingenious contrivance.

142. There are many lofty fares about the Country as well as
City, built all of Free-ftone, and of exquifite workmanftiip, fuch
as thofe of Bampton, Witney, Burford, Bloxham, Spelsbury, Kidling-
ton, (ye. but that which excels all the reft is the /pire of St, Mary's
in Oxford, the Vniverfity Church, the Battlements whereof were
repaired, and thus thick fet with Pinnacles as it now ftands, by
Dr. .ffi/zg Dean of Chrift Church, then Vice-Chancellor of the Vni-
verftty, afterwards Biiliop of London.

143. For Towers, that of Merton College is a large well built
thing; and fo is that of the Schools, but more remarkable, for
that it is .adorned on the inner fide next the Quadrangle, with all
the orders of Pillars. But for a neat plain piece of work, that
of Magdalen College excells all I have yetfeen, adorned on the top
with well proportion'd Pinnacles, and within with a moft tunable
fweet ring of bells.

MiramTurrim egregiam facro JEre fonantem.

144. Amongft curiofities in Timber-work. ■> we may reckon fe-
\e12Xfcreens in College Chappels 5 fuch as that of Magdalen College,
that of Cedar at Lincoln College, and another at Corpus Chrijii now
erecting. There is zn Altar rail at Ml Souls College of curious
workmanftiip, and to this place belongs the Tomb of St. Fridef-
wide, ftill remaining at Chrifl Church, the top whereof is wood,
and a fine old piece of work : But not comparable to the Tomb
of fair Rofamund at Godjiow, in the Chapter-houfe of the Nuns
there, which according to the defcription of Ranulph Higden
feems to have been alfo of wood, and of wonderful contrivance,
ciftaejufdempuelU (fays he, having fpoken before of her death and
Epitaph,zna\ of the Amoufs between her and K. Henry the fecond)
vix UpedalU menfur<x.,fedmirabili6 architeliur*. ibidem cernitur, &crm
i. e. That her cheft coffin or tomb was there to be feen, not above
two foot long, or perhaps rather fquare, but a ftupendous piece
of workmanftiip, in qua (fays the fame Author at the fame place)
confliclus Pugilum, geftws animalium, volatm avium, faltws pifcium
abfquehominps impulfu confyiciuntur, i. e. where in might be feen
the conoids of champions, the geftures of animals, the flights of birds,
withfifies leaping, and all done without the affiftance of man.

1 Ravulphi Higden polychron. Ub.-].inHtn.2,MS.fol.inBil>. Bod-

145. By

Of OXFO %T>^S HI %E. lyi

145. By what means this was effected ; we are not informed by
the afore-cited Author, but the Learned Tboma6 Allen M. A. of
Glocefler-hall, thought it might be done by a fort of Looking-glafs,
whofe ftru&ure he found mentioned in an ancient MS, De Arcarivs
& Secretin, with this Title, Speculum in quo uno vifu apparebunt
multdt imagines moventesfe. To be made thus, accipefixidembene
profundam, & pone infundo ejus frtculum commune, fc. convexum, po-
ftea> isre. Take, fays the Author, a deep box, and place in the bot-
tom of it a common ccnvexglafi, then take 6 or 7 other convex
glajfeso? the fame bignefs, and fcrape off the lead \_plumbum is
the word] in the concave part with a knife ; where by the way the
Author advifes, that finceit is very hard to get the lead clean off
without breaking thcglafs, that Quick-fiver be made ufeof, to a-
noint the lead to get it off.

146. Thcfe glajfes when made clean, he orders to be put into
the box, fo as they may ftand obliquely in divers pofitions, in this
manner : When the firft glafs is put in the bottom, the fecond
muft be fo put, that one fide of it muft touch the firft glafs, and
the oppofite fide be diftant from it an inch, & fie (fays he) oblique
pones in pixide. In the top there muft be put one cleanfed glafs as
the firft, plain and not obliquely, fo that nothing muft be feen but
the uppermoftg/d/}, into which if you look, you (hall fee as many
Images as glaffe s ; and if turned round, how one Image always
ftandsftillin the middle, and the reft run round it, as if they
went about to dance. Of which contrivance, though I underftand
not fome particulars, yet I thought fit to mention them, becaufe
they may poffibly meet with a Reader that may, and tranflate them
too as well as I could, for the benefit of them all. As for thofe
that have opportunity, and are defirous of feeing the Latin Copy,
they may find it in a Mifcellaneom MS. in Mr. Seldens Library3. For
my part, all that I can add concerning it, is, that I have feen a
fort of Cabinets of this nature, that by the help of glajfes placed
obliquely havefhewn fuch prety profpecls.

147. The great bivalve wooden windows in the upper Gallery of
the Theater, are fo ingenioufly contrived, that notwithstanding
their great weight, yet can never fink fo as to be brought out of
fquare, as 'tis ufual in fuch windows, for the Iron bars crofting them
from fide to fide, not being fet at right angles, but diagonallyhke

* 4° MS. 79. in Biblioth. Selden.

flruts

zyz The Natural Hifiory

ftruts or braces-, as in Tab. 13. Fig. 6. mult neceffarily bend or
break before the window can fink. Nor are the round windows be-
low unworthy confideration, being contrived to admit air in foul
weather, yet not one drop of rain ; for being opened and fet ob~
liquely,?& in Tab. 1 8. Fig. 7. it receives the rain within at a, and
cafts it out again at b ; much lefs will it admit rain any ways when
Jhut, itclofing within its/r/3weatthe top, and without it at the
bottom.

148. It was an excellent device, who ever firft contrived it, of

making flat floors or roofs of fhort pieces of Timber, continued to

a great bredth without either Arch-work®? Pillar tofupportthem,

being fuftained only by the fide walls and their own texture ; for

by this means many times the defecl of long timber, or miftakes of

Workmen, are fupplyed and rectified without any prejudice to the

Building' Of this fort of work we have an example in the Schools,

in the floor of the upper moft room of the Tower ', but to be feen

Only in the room underneath where the Records of the Vniverfity

lye. There is alfo a diagram of fuch work in the Architecture fee

forth by Sebaftian Serlj \ for which reafon I think I (hould fcarce

have mention'd it, but that the Reverend and Learned Dr. John

Wallit, Savilian Profeiior of Geometry here, was the firft that de-

monftrated the reafon of this work, and has given divers forms

of it befide the fore-mentioned, in his Book De Motu, whence I

have taken the diagrams^ Tab. 13. Fig. 8,9,1 o, 1 1, 1 2 u. to make

them more publick ; upon the two firs! whereof depend the three

laft, and all others of the kind what ever, whether made up of

quadrats or oblongparallelograms, of which there are fome other

forms in the fore-cited Book De Motu, befide that engraven Fig.

10. confifting of great and fmall Quadrats ; or Triangles alone,

as Fig. 11. or mixt with Hexagons, as Fig. 12. to which Book

I recommend the Reader for further fatisfa&ion concerning them.

149. But of all the flat floors having no Pillars to fupport it,

and whofe main beams are made of divers pieces of Timber, the

moft admirable is that of the Theater in Oxford, from fide wall to

fide wall 80 foot over one way, and 70 the other, whofe Lockages

being fo quite different from any before mentioned, and in many

other particulars perhaps not to be parallel'd in the World, I have

taken care to reprefent an exaft draught of it, Tab. 14. Fig. 1 .

t S.'b.Ser/ii ArchiteilLib. i. dtOcom. cap. I. u Walliti Mctbamca five de Motu, Parte 3. devcile
cap. 6. frop. 10.

150. Where-

TAB. l^.

ipa(r.^7*

Of OXFO\V^Hl%E. ift

150. Wherein a a a zndbbb (lie w the walls of the Theater that
fupport this frame of timber, and the places of the pilafters of the
rail and ballifier round it ; ccc and ^/^/^/ the leads and pipes let
down into the wall for conveyance of water ; eee and /// the
wall plate ov lintel, and places of its joints ; ggg the girders of
the femi circle, each fupported by a King piece or C t own p of cut oft*
athhh, and lcrewed into the binding beam i i i ; which is fom-
what different from the reft of the binding beams k.k.k> III, mm mi
nnn, having (everal prick-pofts let into it at 0000, befide the
King-pofts that fupport this and the reft at ppppp, isfc. The Let-
ters qqq fhew thepurlines between the binding beams, not fet right
againft one another becaufe of room to turn the /crews whereby
they are faftened, and rrrr two dragon (perhaps rather Trigon)
beams or braces lying under the joifts ss ss ss, (src. the true lengths
and diflances whereof, and of all other pieces of timber and places
whatever, are all (hewn by the fcale Fig. 2.

151. And fo are the lengtbs and diflances of the feveral pieces
of timber fet over this flat floor, fuch as the principal rafters tttt,
the Crown polls or King pieces uuuu, the prick pofts www, braces
or punchons xxx, by all which together the binding beams, girders,
joifls, (src. are all held up as it were by an Arch above, as in Tab.

14. Fig. 3. which is the whole band of Timber that ftands next
the femi circle, having prickpoffs and different lockages from the
reft of the four bands, as is fufficiently reprefented by one half of
one of them, Tab. 14. Fig. 4.

152. Which is all I think need be fa id concerning this fine
piece of Timber-work.-, only that there are crofs braces between the
middle Crown pofts as they ftand in a line from the front to the fe-
micide, as h reprefented Tab. i\.Fig.$. mark'd with the letters
yyyyyy DOtn here, and as they ftand Fig. 1 . And that it was con-
trived by our Englifh Vitruvius, the Right Worfhipful and Learn-
ed Sir Christopher Wren% and worked by Richard Frogley an able
Carpenter ; and both thk, and the tlone-work.too, at the fole charge
of the moft Reverend Father in God Gilbert, by Divine Provi-
dence, Lord Arch-Biftiop of Canterbury, Primat of all England,
and Metropolitan, who finifhing, and having endowed i/witha
competent Eflate for its reparations forever, It is like to ftand a
moft magnificent and lafting monument of his Graces Munificence,
and favor of good Learning to all pofterity .

Mm 153. There

zj^ The Statural Hiflory

153. There are feveral other roofs in this Vniverfity alfowell
worth the noting, whereof fome are flat or under -pit eke J, as the
roof of the great Hall at Chrift Church College, and the roofs of the
Chappels and Halls at Magdalen College and New College ; others
due proportioned, or over-pitched, fuch as itjefws, Wadham, Corpus
Cbriji'h Exeter, and Oriel Colleges • which yet having nothing ex-
traordinary either in their contrivance or workmanfhip, I pafs
them by, and proceed next,

154. To fome remarkable pieces of Painting that we have here
at Oxon ; arrtongft which (to omit the deformation of a Cdefars head
to be feen in the Schools, brought into fhape by a metalline Cylin-
der, and feveral others of the kind at Sir Anthony Copes ; and that
Painting itfelf was firft brought into England by Venerable Bede of
this Vniverfity w) I take the Painting of the Theater to be well
worth examination : for in imitation of the Theaters of the anci-
ent Greeks and Romans, which were too large to be covered with
leadot tile, fo this by the Painting of the fiat roof within, is repre-
fented open : and as they ftretched a cordage from Pilafier to Pila-
fier, upon which they drained a covering of cloth, to protect the
people from the injuries of the weather, fo here is a cord-molding
guilded, that reaches crofs and crofs the houfe both in length and
bredth, which fupporteth a great reddifh Drapery, fuppofed to
have covered the roof, but now furPd up by the Genii round about
the Houfe toward the walls, which difcovereth the open Air, and
maketh way for the defcent of the Arts and Sciences, that are con-
gregated in a circle of clouds, to whofe affembly Truth defcends,
as being follicited,and implored by them all.

155. For joy of this Fefiival fome other Genii fport about
the Clouds, with their Feftoons of Flowers and Larvrels, and pre-
pare their garlands of Lawrels and Rofes, viz. Honor and Pleafure
for the great lovers and ffudents of thofe Arts: and that this affem-
bly might be perfectly happy, their great enemies and difturbers,
Envy, Rapin, and Brutality, are by the Genii of their oppofite Vir-
tues,vi%. Prudence, Fortitude,2.n& Eloquence, driven from the focie-
ty, and thrown down head-long from the Clouds : The report of
the affembly of the one, and theexpulfion of the other, being pro-
claimed through the open and ferene Air, by fome other of the
Genii, who blowing their tftf/io^Trumpets, divide themfelves into
the feveral Quarters of the World. Hitherto in grofs.

* Vid. Co?mi:e>it. in Carmm. fhaleuctum, Job. SMeni, before Hoptons Concordance of Years.

156. More

V

V

A

A

A

^\

V

r

''

J-;

Of 0 XFO ^V-SHIXE* %y$

156. More particularly the circle of Figures confifts firftof
Theology, with her Book with jevenfeals, imploring the affiftance
of Truth for the unfolding of it. On her left hand is the Mofai*
cal Law vailed, with the Tables of Hone, to which (lie points
with her Iron rod. On her right hand is the Goftel^ with the Crofs
in one hand, and a Chalice in the other, In the fame divifion
over the Mofakal Law is Hifiory, holding up her Pen as dedicating
it to Truth, and an attending Genius with feveral frdgme nts of old
Writing, from which Hie collects her Hiftory into her Book : CM
the other fide, near the Goffel, is Divine Poefy with her Harp of Da-
vids fafhion.

157. In the triangle on the right hand of the Go/pel, is alio
Logickm a pofture of arguing ; and in another on the left hand of
the Mofaical Law, is Mufickwkhher antick. Lyre, having a Pen in
her hand, and paper of mufick. notes on her knee, with a Genius
on her right hand (a little within the partition of Theology*) play-
ing on a flute, being the emblem of the moft ancient mufick,', and
on the left (but within the partition for PhyficlQ VramatickPoeJ),
with a z//'^0rreprefentiiigC0wz&/y, a bloody dagger for Tragedy, and
the reed pipe for Paftoral.

158. in the fquare on the right fide of the Circle , is Law, with
her ruling fcepter, accompanied with Records, Patents, and Evi-
dences on the one fide ; and on the other with Rhetcrick' by thefe
is an attending Genius with the fcale s ofjutlice ; and z figure with
a Palm branchy rhe emblem of reward for virtuous aclions ; and the
Roman Fafces, the marks of Power and Punifhment* Printing, with
zCafe of Letters in one hand, and a Form ready let in the other,
and by her feverzlfteets hanging as a drying.

159. OntheleftfidetheCirc/eoppofiteto Law isPbyfick, hold-
ing the knotty ftaff of Efculapius, whhaferpent winding about it;
The Botanift imploring the affiftance of Truth in the right under-
ftanding of the nature of her Plants : Chymislry with a Retort in
her hands : and Chyrurgery preparing her felf to finifh the dif-
feftingof ahead, which hath the brain already opened, and held

before her by one of the Genii.

1 60. On the other fide of the circle oppofite to Theology, in
thrctfquares are the Mathematical fciences (depending on demonftra-
tion, as the other on Faith) in the firft of which is fiftroncmy with
the Celeftial globe, Geography with the terrefirial, together with

M m 2 three

27<S The Statural Hi ftory

three attending Genii ; having Arithmetick. in the fquare on one
hand, with a paper of figures- Optick with the Perfpeftive-glafs ;
Geometry with a pair of compajfes in her left, and a Table with Geo-
metrical figures in it, in her right hand : And in the fquare on the
other hand, Architecture embracing the capitel of a column, with
compaffes, and the norma or fquare lying by her ; and a workman
holding anothery^wdre in one hand and zplumb-line in the other.

1 6 1. In the midft of thtte fquares and triangles (as defcending
from above) is the figure of Truth (king on a c/cW, in one hand
holding a /Vw- branch (the emblem of Victory) in the other the 5m/7,
whofe brightnefs enlightens the whole circle of figures, and is fo
bright, that it feenis to hide the face of herfelf to the fieflators be-
low.

162. Over the entrance of the front of the Theater are three
figures tumbling down ; firft Envy with herfnaky hairs, [quint eyes,
hags breafts, pale venomous complexion, firong but ugly limbs, and ri-
vet'd skin, frighted from above by the fight of the fhield of Pal-
las, with the corgons head in it, againft which (lie oppofes her
fnaky trefes,but her fall is fo precipitous, that (he has no command
of her arms.

163. Then Rapine with her fiery eyes, grinning teeth Jbarp twangs,
her hands imbrewed in blood, holding a bloody dagger in one hand,
in the other a burning Flambeau, with thefe Inftruments threatning
the deftru&ion of Learning, and all its habitations, but is over-
come and fo prevented by a Herculean Genius, or Power. Next that
is reprefented brutifli fcoffing /g7zor/27z«,endeavoring to vilifie and
contemn what (lie underftands not, which is charmed by a Mer-
curial Geniws with his Caduceus. Which is the fum of what is
defigned by the painting of the Theater, for the moft part thus de-
fer i bed <by William SoperM.. A. of Wadham College-, after of Hart
Hall, only with fome few additions and neceffary alterations.

1 64. Befide thepainting of the Theater, there are other fine
pieces perhaps as well worthy notice, fuch are the Refurreclions at
Magdalen and All-fouls Colleges, both of Fullers work; though
the latter indeed be fomwhat defaced. The written Piclure of his
Majefty King Charles the firft, in St. Johns College Library, taking
up the whole Book of Pfalms in the Engli/l tongue ; and the writ-
ten Piclure of King James, and the Arms of England (as now
born) taking up the whole Book of Pfalms in the Latin, in the

hands

OfOXFO%T>~SHl%E. %yy

hands of Mr. Moorhead Rector of Bucknel, are pretty curiofities,
and much admired.

165. And fo is the Cat painted over one of the compartments in-
cluding the Arms of the Vniverfity, in the South fide of the gal-
lery at the Schools, for her looking directly upon all her Beholders,
on what fide foever they place themfelves ; which common, yet
furprizing effecT: of the Painters Art, is caufed, fays the ingenious
Honoratu* Faber x, in all Piftures whatever of this nature, by their
turning the nofe to one fide and the eyes to the other ; whence it
comes to pafs that fuch Piftures feem to look to the right fide, be-
caufe indeed the eyes are turned that way ; and to the left in like
manner, becaufe the point of the noje is turned to the left : where
by the way he alfo notes, that 'tis neceffary that all fuch piftures be
drawn on flat tables, fo that the Beholder perceive not that the eyes
of thepifture are turned contrary to the nofe ; which he muft needs
do if the eyes of the portrait were convex, Concluding, that no
figure can be made in Rilievo thus to look every way.

166. To this place alfo belongs the Invention of drawing pi-
ftures by Microfcopical glafes by Sir Christopher Wren y, and the In-
vention of Mr. Bird Stone-C utter or Carver of Oxford, of fink-
ing a colour a confiderable depth into the body of polifh'd white
marble, by application of it to the out-fide only, fo that the fame
Figures delineated without, (ball be as perfectly reprefented with-
in, deeper or (liallower, according as he continues his applica-
tion to the furface a longer or lliorter while *. And if we may
take in Etching, which ispainting in Copper, there is a Very cu-
rious and fpeedy way alfo invented,by the fo often mentioned Sir
Chriflopher Wren a. And which borders frill on thefe, in the Sta^
tuaries Trade, we can fhew two excellent pieces of Art, in the Sta-
tues of Brafs of King Charles the firft, and his Queen Henrietta^
placed in the Niches over the gates of the new Quadrangle in Saint
John Baptift College Oxon. *

167. In fome other Trades yet inferior to thefe, there have
been made alfo confiderable Inventions and Improvements, fuch as
that of weaving (ilk. (lockings, firft invented by one Mr. William
LeeU. A. of this Vniverfity, who being marryed and poor, and
obferving how much pains his Wife took in knitting a pair offtockr

* HmoratiFabri Trafl. de Homine,Ub. z.prop.^. (uifinem. 1 Hiftoryof the Royal Society, Part.
2 fubfinem. l Philofoph.Tranfaft. Numi. 7. » Hift.of the Royal Society, Part. 2. fubfinem.

irJgs9

278 The Statural Hi/lory

ings, puthimfelf on chinking of a nearer way : whereupon ha-
ving obferved the contrivance of the flitches by unravelling a
flocking, he defigned a Loom accordingly, which fucceeded fo
well, that (with but fmall alteration) it remains the fame to this
very day.

168. And 'tis confidently vouched, that the Engine for cut-
ting of bandies of Knives, we commonly buy cut into thofe va-
rious figures,was firft invent ed^ndi practiced here in Oxford by Tho-
ma6 Pierce a Cutler, whofe apprentice now practices the fame Art
in London : But not with fo much accuracy as Robert Alder ano-
ther Cutler of Oxford, who only by obfervanceofthe others work,
andlongftudy, atlaft found it out alfo, and hath improved it
much: which two laft, as I am informed, are the only two per-
fins that can do this in England, perhaps I may fay ith' World.
Nor can I pafs by the Invention in the Coopers Trade, of making
barrels without hoops, whereof I found a ftecimen in St. Ebbs
Parifti Oxon. though 1 know the Invention belongs to another
place, of which more whenl come thither.

169. For Improvements, 'tis certain that the Blanketing trade
of Witney is advanced to that height that no place comes near it ;
fome I know attribute a great part of the excellency of thefe
Blankets to the abflerfive nitrous water of the R'werWindrufi where-
with they are fcoured, as was mentioned before, cap. 2, §. 12.
but others there are again that rather think they owe it to a pecu-
liar way of loofe (pinning the people have hereabout, perhaps they
may both concur to it : However it be, 'tis plain they are efteem-
ed fo far beyond all others, that this place has engroifed the whole
trade of the Nationtox: this Commodity ; in fo much that the wool
fit for their life, which is chiefly fell wooll (oft* from Sheep-skins^)
centers here from fome of the furthermoft parts of the Kingdom,
MQ from Rumney-marfi, Canterbury, Colchefter, Norwich, Exeter,
Leicefter, Northampton, Coventry, Huntington, &c. of which the
Blankgters, whereof there are at leaft threefcore in this Town, that
amongft them have at leaft 150 Looms, employing near 3000 poor
people, from children of eight years old, to decrepit old age, do
work out above a hundred packs of wool per week.

170. This Fell wool they feparate into five or fix forts, z/i^.
long fell wooll, head wooll, bay wool, ordinary, middle, and tail wooll:
Long fell wooll they fend to Wells, Taunton, Tiverton, &c. for ma-
king

0fOXF0%p~SHl'KE. t7>

king worfled ftockings ; of head wool and bay wool, theymake the
blankets of 1 2, 1 1 , and i o quarters broadband fomtimes (end it,if
ic bear a good price, to Kederminfter for making their Stuffs, and
to Evefiam, Tarjhore, &c. for making jam blockings ; or into Effex
for making Bays, whence one fort of them I fuppofe is called bay
wool: of the ordinary and middle they make blankets of 8 and 7
quarters broad ; and of thefemixt with the courfer locks of fleece
wooll, a fort of ftufT they call Duffields (which if finer than ordi*
nary,they make too of fleece wooll) of which Duffields and blankets
confifts the chief Trade of Witney*

171. Thefe Duffields, fo called from a Town in Brabant, where
the trade of them firft began (whence it came to Colcbtfter, Brain -
try, isrc. and fo to Witney') otherwife caWtdflags, and by the Mer-
chants, trucking cloth ; they make m pieces of about 30 yards long,
and one yard \ broad, and dye them red or blue, which are the co-
lours beft pleafe the Indians of Virginia and New England, with
whom the Merchants truck them for Bever, and other Furs of fe-
veral Beafts, (yc the ufe they have for them is to apparel them-
felves with them, their manner being to tear them into gowns of a-
bout two yards long, thrufting their arms through two holes made
for that purpofe, and fo wrapping the reft about them as we our
loofe Coats. Our Merchants have abufed them for many years with
fo falfe colours, that they will not hold their glofs above a month
wear ; but there is an in geniox* perfon of Witney that has improved
them much of late, by fixing upon them a true blue dye, having
an eye of red, whereof as foon as the India m (ball be made fenfi-
ble, and the difturbances now araongft them over, no doubt the
trade inthofe will be much advanced again.

172. Of their beft tail wooll ohcy make the blankets of 6 quar-
ters broad, commonly called cats, which (erve Sea-men for their
Hammocs, and of their worft they make Wednel for Collar-makers,
"wrappers to pack their blanckets in, and tilt-cloths for Barge-men.
They fend all the forts of Duffields and Blankets weekly in waggons
up to London, which return laden with fell wooll from Leaden-hall,
and Barnaby-flreet'm Southward whether 'tis brought for this pur-
pofe from moft places above-mention'd ; Gxford-fiire and the ad-
jacent Counties being not able to fupply them.

1 73. There are alfo in this Town a great many E ell-mongers,
out of whom at the neighboring Town of Bampton, there arifes

an-

280 The Natural Hijlory

another considerable trade, the Fell-mongers fheep- skins, after
dr effe d and drained, being here made into wares, viz^. Jackets,
Breeches, Leather linings, i$c. which they chiefly vent into Berkr
fiire, VVilt-Jhire, and Dorfit-Jfrire, no Town in England having a
trade like it in that fort of ware.

1 74. Which two trades of the Towns of Witney and Bampton,
are the moft eminent, that are too, the moftpeculiar of this Coun-
ty. The Mauhing trade of Oxfordznd Henly on Thames, 'tis true
are confiderable, and Burford has been famous time out of mind
for the making of Saddles ; and fo has Oxford had the reputation
of the beft Gloves and Knives, of any place in England ; butthefe
trades being not peculiar to the places where they are pra&ifed, I
therefore pafs them by without further notice.

175. But the Starch trade of Oxford, though indeed it be not
great, yet being practiced in few places, and the method known
to fewer how it is made, its difcovery perhaps may be acceptable
to fome, I (hall not therefore flick to give a fhort account of it.
Let them know therefore, that the fubftance we commonly call
Starch, notwithftanding its pmewhitenefs, is made of the fhorteft
and worft Iran that they make in the Meal flops, worfe than that
they fell to Carriers to feed their Horfis ; This they fteep in a water
prepared for that purpofe (by a folution at firft of Roch-Alum, a-
bout a pound to a Hogshead, which will laft for ever after) for ten
or fourteen days in great tubs ; then 'tis taken and wajhed through
a large Ofier basket over three other tubs, the fower water of the fe-
condtub wafhing it into the firft ; and the fower water of the third,
into the fecond; and clear water from the Pump wafliing it into
the third.

1 76. Where by the way it muft be noted, that only Pump wa-
ter will ferve the turn to give it this laft waflnng, and continue
the waters fowernefs for ever after, by reafon I fuppofe of the in-
cifive particles of fait to be found in moft Pump waters (which are
plain from their not taking Joaf) that are apt to work upon and
feparate the fineft flower yet flicking to the bran (notwithftanding
the mill and fieve") which at laft becomes slarch.

177. What remains in the basket at laft after the three wajhings,
is thrown upon the dung-hill, which, as they have found of late,
becomes a very good manure for meddow land, and fliould there-
fore have been mentioned in the 70 §. of this Chapter, amongft

the

Of OXFO\T>~SHl%E. 281

the uncommon manures. And the fat flower thus wafhed from the
Iran, is let ftand again in its own water for about a week, then be-
ing all fetled at the bottom, it is ftirred up again and frefh Pump
water added, and ftrained from its fmalleft bran through a Lawn
fieve ; which done, they permit it to fettle again, which it does
in one day, and then they draw off' the water from it all to a fmall
matter .* then ftanding two days more, it at laft becomes fo fixt*
that with a burchen broom they fweep the water left at the top,
(which is a (limy kind of matter) up and down upon it to cleanfe
it from filth, and then pouring it off, they wafli its furface yet
cleaner, by dafhing upon it a bucket of fair Pump water.

178. Which done, they then cut it out of the tubs in great
pieces with flharp trowels, and box it up in troughs, having holes
in the bottom to drain the water from it, always puting wet cloths
between the wood and it, for the more commodious taking it out
of the troughs again to dry, which they do within a day ; laying
it firft on cold bricks for about two days, which fuck away a great
deal of moiilure from it, and after over a Bakers oven four or five
days together, which will dry it fufficiently, if intended only to
be ground to powder for bairns it is chiefly here ; but if intended
to be fold asjlarcb, they then ufe a fiove to give it the fiarch- grain,
which the oven will not do.

179. From the inferior, I proceed to the fuperior Arts and Sci-
ences, and others inftrumental to them, for in thefe too, there
have been many Inventions and Improvements made in this Vniver-
fity. In enumeration whereof, if we begin fo low as the very
Elements of Speech, we (hall find that the Reverend and Learned.
Dr. Walln, Savilian Profejjbrof Geometry here, firft obferved and
difcovered thePhyfical or Mechanical formation of all founds in
Speech, as plainly appears from his Tie'dt'ifedeLoquela, prefiVd
to his Grammar for the Englijb Tongue , firft publifh'd in the
Year 1653.

1 8c. In purfuance whereof, foalfo found out a way whereby
he hath taught dumb per fons (who were therefore dumb becaufe
deaf) not only to underftand what they read, and by writing to
exprefs their minds, but alfo to (feak and read intelligibly, ac*
cording to directions for the artificial pofition and motion of the
Organs of Speech, and thereby alfoaffifted others who have fpoken
very imperfectly. Of which no more, there being a particular

N n account"

28z The Statural Hijlory

account given by bimfclf in our EnglifiPbilofopbicalTranfaftions,
of July iS. 1670 b.

1 8 1. 1 know that the Right Reverend Father in God John Wil-
kins, late Lord Bifhop of Chefter, hath alfo laid down the diftinft
manner of forming all founds in Speech, and fhewed in Sculpture
which letters are Labial, Lingual, Nafal,isec. and how the Epiglot-
tis, Larynx, A(pera Arteria, and Oefophagus, conduce to them.
Since him, in the Year 1669. the Reverend and Ingenious Wil-
liam Holder D.D. publifh'd an Effay of Inquiry into the Natural
Production of Letters, together with an Appendix to inftruft per-
fons deaf and dumb c. Yet whether either of thefe, with advan-
tage of what Dr. Wallis did before, have with more accuracy of
judgment performed the fame, I dare not by any means take up-
on me to determine.

182. The fame Dr. Wallis hath alfo, with great fagacity, de-
ciphered many things written in Cypbers, of very intricate and
perplext contrivance, beyond what hath been known to have been,
done by any other, whereof there be Examples of many in a
MS. Book, of his, referved in the Archives of the Bodleyan Li-
brary.

183. Add hereunto the ingenious Invention of a Vniverfal Cha-
racter, or Philcfophical Language, firft contrived here at Oxford by
Mr. George Valgar no Wl. A, who in the Year 1656. endeavoring
to improve the Art of Short-hand beyond what others had done,
by expreffingthe auxiliary Particles of the Englijb Language, by
diftinft points and places about the radical or integral words, after
the manner that 'tis done by prefixes and fuffixes in the Hebrew ;
found at laft that there was no way to diftinguilh the affixed points
which he intended to be ufed really, from thofe ufed before in the
common way of Short-band (where not only the Capital Chara-
cter, bwtpoints about it were Alphabetical^) but by making theprin-
cipal Char after it felf, to which they were to be acceffary, not Al-
phabetical but real.

1 84. Thus having formed Tables both of Integrals and Parti-
cles, tobeexpreffedby fingle Characters, he perceived at length,
that he was gone unawares further than ever he intended, having
not only improved the Art of Short-hand, but alfo difcovered a
real Character equally applicable to all Languages : And after he

* PhilofophTranJadtMw/J.di. * Philofoph.Tranfaft NW.+7-

had

Of OXFORDSHIRE. 283

had purfued the defign of a dumb Cbaracler a confiderable time*
at laft he perceived that it would naturally refolve it felf into a
Language, having this advantage over any Character, that we
may ufe our known Alphabet to exprefs it, whereas in a Character
the figures muft be new. At length having digefted his whole con-
trivance into a Synopfis, he communicated it to feveral Learned
Men, whofe approbation and certificates procured him good en-
couragement ; but he met with no Man that took fo much pains
to underftand the Novelty, or fo zealous to have it finifhed and
come abroad, as the Reverend and Learned Dr. John Wilkjns late
Lord Bifhop of Qhefier, then the worthy Warden of Wadham
College.

185. The laft thing he attempted in his Tables, was the re^
ducing the /pedes of Natural Bodies to the rules of Art, the rea-
fon of which delay, was becaufe he perceived that they occurred
but feldom in common difcourfe, and that there was but little
Grammatical difficulty about them, though in number they much
excelled all the other /imp le notions, which make the body of a
Language : His judgment then being, and as far as I can perceive,
ftill remaining unfhaken, notwithstanding what has been done
fince, that from a few general words allowed to be radical, the
names of the inferior ftecies (\\ou\d be made off by compofition, ad-
ding to the general and radical word, one, or fomtimes more fuch
vrords taken from the Table of Accidents as might defcribe the in-
tended fiecies, and difference it from all others, and fomtimes
alfo to allow Periphrafes.

1 86. And this In/iitution, as he takes it to be grounded upon
nature and necefftty, as appears more or lefs in all Languages, fo he
thinks it approved by the higheft Examples that ever Art was : For
God Himfelf named the firft Man, though a fingle Individual, not
by a word of zfirft, but (econd infiitution ; and Adam as a perfeft
Philofopberimhat'mghis Maker, named all living Creatures not by
words of a first infiitution, antecedently infignificative, but by
fuch as by an antecedent infiitution, might be apt to exprefs fom-
thing of their nature, for otherwife the common opinion of DU
vines that Adam gave names to the Creatures according to their na*
tures, would be abfurd.

187. Which Infiitution he takes alfo to have this further dd±
vantage, that the name of any fingle /pedes may be known with-

N n 2 out

Z84. The Natural Hiftory

out obliging the Learner to carry in his memory all the Predica-
mental Series of its fellow Species ; fo that names of common ufe
may be known, pafling by others that are notfo, which to Learn-
ers is as great an encouragement, as the obtruding things not ne-
cefiary is a difcouragement to them. According to this Inftitu-
tion, he publifhed a Specimen called Ars Signorum, in the Year
1660. containing but 500 Radicals, all the V articles being brought
from the Radicalsby which they are refolved ; every Radical, ex-
cept the genera intermedia being Monofyllables , and all things elfe
being made off from theft by compofition, which is allowed here in
its fulleft latitude,- Quidlibet cum quolibetpro re nata, provided the
fimple terms\oofe nor change nothing of fignification, by compofi-
tion.

188. But the Reverend and Learned Dr. John Wilkins, who
throughly underftood and commended his labors in the former
part of the work, thinking perhaps that this way of compofition
would produce too long words, or that the various conceptions of
Men, muft needs caufe different compofitions and defcriptions of the
fame things , and thence unavoidably bring mifunderftandings
(which yet Mr. Dalgarno thought might be avoided by ftating of
notions and a collection of Formula's') did not approve of this In-
Jliiution ; declaring his judgment to be, that all the/pecies of Na-
tural Bodies (according as he owns, was fuggefted to him by that
moft learned and excellent perfon Dr. Seth Ward, the prefent Bi-
fhop of Salisbury * ) ought to be provided for as Radicals, by a
regular enumeration of them according to the Theories of the
Schools.

1 89. Nor did he approve of his rejection of a Character, lince
a graceful one might be contrived more proper for Brachygraphy,
and equally convenient for many Nations, with the common al-
phabet : Nor of his bringing the Particles from the Radicals by
which they are refolved ; judging perhaps their compofition, be-
fide the reducing fome of them handfomly, more troublefom than
that, of learning a fnall, yet fufficient number of them difpofed
regularly infchemes, and noted with fmaller Characters than thofe
of Integrals. All which may be collected from the learned Effay to-
wards a real Character, or Philofophical Language, put forth by that
highly ingenious perfon then Dean of Rippon, An. 1668.

* Effay towards a Real Character, in the Epiftle to the Reader.

190. In

OfOXFOcBS>~SHl:RE. 28*

190. In which, though 'tis true the number of Radicals are
near 3000, yet are they fo ordered by the help of a natural method \
that they may be moreeafily learned and remembred than 1000
words otherwife difpofed of, upon which account they may be
reckoned but as 1000, For the Signa (they are fo methodical-
ly contrived) they may be all learned inlefs than an hour, were
they twice as many ; the difficulty therefore muft be in the figna-
ta, but thefe being drawn up in fchemes, fo that one notion will
clearly depend upon another, they feem to be a perfect artificial
memory, rather than require any help to be remembred. Not-
withftanding it leaves a large fcope, enough for derivation and com-
paction, as may be feen by the Tables, where feveral words, though
no Sjnonoma's to it, may be made off from a Primitive, as Queen,
Crown, Scepter, Throne, from the Radical [King] ; and fo from the
Primitive, \_Jbeef\ are made off, ram, ewe, lamb, weather, mutton,
bleat, fold, flock, Jbepherd-, (src. which compofitions are clear,
though the greateft difficulty of the Language confifts in thefe.

191. Yet I ftiall not offer to determine which of thefe is to be
preferr'd, leaving that wholly to the Readers judgment, who may
confult both Treatises : It being fufficient for me, that a Vniverfal
Character and P bilofophical Language can be no more reckoned a-
mongft the Defiderata of Learning, and that the defect was firft
fupplyed here at Oxford; the Contrivances of both being firft
founded here, and both grounded upon rational and folid princi-
ples, with greater advantages of facility, than can be believed
poffible to any that have not made tryal. And this is all con-
cerning Letters and Language, but that/o/fa Bafmiloke alfo an Ox-
ford man, Figuras Gr^corum numerates in Angliam portavit, is ea-
rum notitiam fuh familiar ibws fignificavit, de quibus flgurh hoc maxu
me admirandum-) quodunicafiguraquilibetnumerwfignificatur, quod
non eft in Latino vel in Algorifmo d.

192. In Logic k. the tubule Johannes Duns Scotut, Fellow ofMer-
ton College, was the Bather of the Seel: of the Reals; and his
Scholar e Gulielmws Occham, fomtimes falfly printed Holran, of
the fame Houfe, Father of the Seel: of the Nominals, betwixt whom
as the ftory goes, there falling out a hot Difpute (Scotu* being
thenDean of the College, and Occham zBacbelor Fellow) where-

* Matth. Paris, tijft Angl.inAnno 1252. pag. 835. Edit. Watfiana. * VtJ. Johannis Lclandi col-
fr&anea dt Viris Illnfiribus.

in

z86 The Statural Hijlory

in though the latter is faid to have obtained the better, yet being
but an inferior, at parting fubmitted himfelf with the reft of the
Bachelors to the Dean in this form, Domine quidfaciemws, as it
were begging punilhment for their boldnefs in arguing ; to whom
Scotus returning this anfwer, he, isrfacite quidvultis. They forth-
with brake open the Buttery and Kitchin doors, taking all they
could meet with, making merry with it all night: Which, Vis
faid, gave occafion to their obferving the fame diverfion to this
very day, whenever the Dean keeps the Bachelors at Di/putations
till twelve at night, which they now commonly call a Black,
night.

193. Roger it* Smffet ', alias Swinfhead, of the fame College, was
the firffc Contriver of the Art Calculator) in difputation, wherein
'fays the Learned Selden, Multiplicath particulis negatives & traje-
ftkper effe, & non effe, Calculo (which was Beans and Peas) opus
erat, quotieserat difputandum*. But others who have confulted
more Of his Works than I fuppofe Mr. Selden ever did, rather think
this Ait Calculator), to be fome way he had to determine the^ro-
portionsof matters capable of proportion or degrees, fuch as aclion,
motion, reaction, intension, remiffion, istc. whereof the Reader, if he
think it worth while, may further fatisfie himfelf from his Print-
ed Works ; fuch as his Introduclorium in Calculationem, his Calcu-
lationes cum Qusjl. de Reaclione, his Treatifes de intenfione & remiffi-
one, maximo is" minimo ; to which add, M. Baffani Politi, Introdu-
florium in C alculationes Swijfet, moft of which, if not all, are in
Merton College Library .

1 94. The fame Roger Swijfet found out many things in Mathe-
maticks, which no body found before him, is perpaucipofi eumjam
Inventa comprehendere valuerunt, fays Pitfem of him f. And the
Honorable Robert Dudley of Cbrift Church College Oxon (made Duke
by the Emperor g, with the Title of Northumberland here in En-
gland, whereof he fanfied himfelf wrongfully deprived) contri-
ved many Engines and Mathematical Infiruments not known be-
fore, now in thepofleffion of the Great Duke oiTufcany, to whofe
Anceslorshe applyed himfelf in his difcontent, by whom he was
fuccor'd and highly valued for his great Learning, and with whom
his Children now remain to this day in Wealth and Honor, retain-

* Vid Comment, in Carmen Thaleucium, Job. Se/deni, before iloptons Concordance of Years- f Vid.
Pitfei Relatione; Hift. de rebus Angl. prafertimde Seriptoribus in An. 1350. ' Hift. & Antiquitates Vni-
verfttatis Oxon- per Anthonium a Wood, lib. 2 /><ȣ. 275.

ing

Of 0 X FO^'S HI%E. 187

ing the Titles of Dukzs of Northumberland and Earls of Warwick.
and Leiceiler ; which Titles others fay, and perhaps more right-
ly too, were conferred on them by the Pope, in whofe Quarrel
they were pretended at leaft to have been loft \

195. Of later years the highly ingenious Sir Chriftopher Wreni
in the year 1 66S. firft found out a Straight line equal to a Cycloid
and the parts thereof, as is clearly made appear in his behalf by
the Right Honorable and Learned, the Lord Vifcount Brounckeri
Chancellor to Her Majefty, and Prefident of the Royal Society ; a,nd
the Reverend and Learned Dr .John Wallk '. The fame Right Wor-
fhipful and very learned Perfon Sir Chrislopher Wren, found out
alfo feveral new Geometrical Bodies,thzt arife by the application of
two Cylinders and one Lenticular Body, fit for grinding one ano-
ther ; by whofe mutual attrition will neceffarily be produced a Co*
noides Hyperbolicum, and two Cylindroidea Hyperbolica : The £«-
gine whereby this may be done being reprefented in Sculpture in
our Pbilofophical Tranfafiions, and defigned for grinding Hyperbo-
lical glajfes k. He alfo firft obferved that zplainjiraight edged ChU
fel, fet any way obliquely to a Cylinder of wood, did necevTarily
torn it into a Cylindroides Hyperbolicum Convexo-concavum, the fe-
verzl feSiions whereof are accuratly demonftrated by the Reverend
and Learned Dr. JohnWalli* our Englifh Archimedes \

196. The fame Dr. John Wallis, Savilian ProferTor of Geome^
try in this Vniverfity, intheyear 1656. publiftied his new method
called his Arithmetick of Infinites, for the more expedite and ef-
fectual enquiry into the Quadrature of Curvilinear figures, or o-
ther difficult Problems in Geometry ; and therein, amongft other
things (at the Scholium of his 3 8 Propofition) fhewd the way of
comparing slraight and crooked lines, which gave occafion to Mr.
William Neil (in purfuance thereof) intheyear 1657. to find out
(the firft of any Man) a flraight line equal to a Curve, of which
we have an account in the Pbilofophical Tranfafiions of Novemb.\j.
i«73ffl.

197. The fame Reverend and Learned Dr. JohnWallit, a-
mongft his other numerous and new Performances in Arithmetick.
and Geometry, firft demonftrated the impoffibility of fquaringthe
Circle, Arithmetically, according to any way of notation yet ge-

fc Exltinerario]oh. Bargravc,?. T. p. l$?r abend. Ecckfi<eChrifti Cant. Mi penes feipfum. ' Philofoph
Tranfaft. Numb- 98- k ibid. Numb. 53. ^Walltfii Mechanica,five de Moturfart.T. de CakukCentri gra-
vitate, cap. 5. Ptop. 32. m Philofoph. Tranfadt. N«»i. 98.

nerally

ifg The Statural Hiftory

ncrally received n, and what kind of new notation muft be intro-
duced to exprefs it, with divers methods of fquaringthe Circle,
Ellipfis, and Hyperbole, fo far as the nature of Numbers will bear ,
having apply 'd his method of Infinites in order thereunto ; as alfo
for rectifying of Curve-lines, plaining of Curve -fur faces, fquaring
of innumerable forts of Curve- lined figures, plain and folid (a-
mongft which are a multitude of figures of infinite length, andyf-
nite content) determining their Centers of Gravity, and other ac-
eidents,

198. He has alfo adjufted the ftrength of percuffions and reflexi-
ons (or repercuffions') and other motions to Geometrical meafures,
deduced from principles of Elafiicity ; and has eftimated the ar-
tificial force acquired in all forts of Mecbanick Engins, deduced
from our common principle of the Reciprocation of Strength and
time ; with many other improvements of Aritbmetick, Algebra,
Gtometry, Methanicks, and other parts of Matbematicks, in his
Arithmetic^ of Infinites, his Treatife of the Cycloid, with that ad-
joyned of the reclificat ion of Curves ; his Treatife of Motion, and
other his Printed Works.

199. In Muftck. (which is Aritbmetick adorned with founds)
to pafs by a Harpfechord 'that I met with at Sir Tbo. Penyfions with
Cats-gut ftrings. It hath been lately obferved here at Oxford, that
though Viol or Lute ftrings rightly tuned do affect one another,
yet moft of them do it not in all places alike, as has till now been
fuppofed : for if the leffer of two Oftaves be touched with the
hand or bow, each half of the greater will anfwer it, but will
ftand ftill in the middle ; and if the greater of the two 0 Raves be
touched on either of its halves, all the leffer will anfwer it, but if
touched on the middle, the leffer will not ftir any where at all. So
if the leffer ftring of two fifths be touched on either of its halves,
each third pzrt of the greater will anfwer it, but if on the middle
they will not ftir ; and if the greater of two fifths be touched on ei-
ther of its thirds, each half of the leffer will anfwer it, but if in
the divifions they will not ftir : and foof twelfths, fifteenths, istc

200. Which Phenomena I fhall always gratefully acknowledge
were firft difcovered to me by the ingenious Thomas Pigot B. A.
and Fellow of Wadham College, which have alfo been obferved for
about thefetwo^r^by the no lefs ingenious William NobleU. A.

* Vtd. Aritl:tn:ticamInjinitorum,Prop.\^, cttmSchtliofetpi.

of

Of OXFO%fD-SHl%E. a8p

of Merlon College : The folution whereof in all their Cafes, as re^
ceived from the learned and accurate hand of the Reverend Nar*
cijfa Mar/h D. D. and Principal of St. Alban Hall, one of the moft
cordial Encouragers of this Defign, take as followeth : which
though fo exquifitely done, that it feems not capable of much ad^
dition or amendment, yet he modeftly will have called but a (hort
Efiay touching the (efteemed) Sympathy between Lute or Viol
firings.

201. Wherein he firft lays it down as a Pofiulatum, that if two
Lute or Viol brings be rightly tuned, the one being touched with
the hand or bow, the other will anfwer, or tremble at its motion,
which holds alio in fome meafure in Wire firings ; and between Or-
gan pipes and Viol firings, but not between Wire and Viot firings.
For the clearer folution of which Phenomenon in all its cafes, he has
laid down thefe two following Principles.

Princip. i. That firings which areVnifons are of the fame \ ord

proportionable length, bignefl, andtenfion \fo that by how much

any firing is longer than other, ceteris paribus, by fo much

fmaller, or more tended ; and by how much bigger, by jo much

Jfjorter or more tended mufi it be, to render them Vnifons, wch

will appear in the following Cafes.W hereunto he premifeth^

That in firings moved by an equal force^ through a like medium,
the difference of motion does arife from the difference of magni-
tude and tenfton, wherefore (the force and medium being alike) he
Premifeth i. Thatfirings of the fame ci^move equally faff,
becaufe they cut the Air with the fame facility. Hence

2. That the greater any firing is in diameter (or circumfe-
rence) thefiower it moves (and on the contrary) becaufe it
finds the greater refiftance in the Air.

3. That firings of the fame length and tenfion move to the fame
diflance, becaufe they have the fame comfafito play. Hence

4. That the longer, or lefs tended, any firing is, the farther it
moves (and on the contrary) becaufe of the greater com-
pafl it can fetch.

Whence he infers this Conclufion,
That (in firings moved through the fame medium) the fwiftnefi of
motion does arife from the greater force, and /e/?cize or bignefs;
the comfafi of vibration, from the greater length (or force) and

O o iefi

290 The Statural Hiftory

/?/? tenfion ; and the quicknefs or frequency of vibration, from the
greater or fmfter motion, and le/s compafs.

202. This premifed, he proceeds to his firft Hypothefis, and
fhews, that if AB and C D, Tab. 15. F/g.i. be equal in length,
as in Viol firings, what founds and vibrations they will produce ac-
cording to their different bignefs and tenfion in the following

&/ 1. LetAB=(i. e. beequalto)£ D, Tab. 15. Fig.i. have
the fame cize and tenfion, and be touched with an equal force,
they will vibrate to equal diftances EG=IK(perpr<emi[fam 3)
in the fame time (perpr<*m. 1.) whereby ftriking the ^4/V in-
to alike arches, or arftfai' of equal circles, with the fame brifk-
nefs, and alike quick or frequent returns of their vibrations,
they will produce the fame found, and fo be unifons, 1 to 1,
vibration.

Caf 2. Let A B=C P, Fig. 1. have the fame cize and a greater
tenfion, 'twill with the fame force, vibrate proportionably to
alefs diftance (perpr^emif. 4.) in zjborter time (perpr*m.i.)
as, if double the tenfion, to half the diflance EF=[EG or
/ZF, in half the J/we ; ftriking the tfir into an drc/> of a great-
er circle (and that fo much the greater, as ^4 B is a chord of
fewer degrees to^GZ?, the lefs) which doing brifk and
fmartly with a quick return, becaufe of the little compafs it
fetches, 'twill beget a found fo much the more acute, as its
vibrations (are fhorter, and thereby) come thicker and oft-
ner ; i.e. of double the acute/ie/s, or an upper cflave to C
1/ 2 to 1 vibration.

Caf. 3. Let ^4 B=C~D, Tab. 15. ^fg. 2. have a greater riband
the fame tenfion, it will with the fame /orce, vibrate to the
fame distance E'G~IK (per pr<*m.y.) but in a longer time
proportionably (perpr*m. 2. J as, if it be double in diame-
ter (and foin circumference, i. &. quadruple in bulk) in twice
the time ; ftriking a Note fo much the more grave, as its vi-
brations return flower and feldomer, and are thereby fewer,
i. e. twice as grave, or an under ofiave to CD, 1 to 2 vibra-
tions.

Caf 4. Let A B=C P F/£. 2. have as much greater a cize as
tenfion, it will, with an equal /orce, vibrate to a lefs diflance

pro-

ofOXFO%p~SHt%E. z$i

proportionally ; as if double the cize and tenfwn, to half
the diftance E F*4 E C or IK in the fame time (per Caf 2 . is1
3 .) and fo keeping touch in their vibrations, they will ftrike
unifons 1 to 1 vibration.
Caf. 5. Let A B=C D Fig. 2. have as much greater cize as lefs
tenfwn, 'twill with the fame force vibrate to a greater diftance
proportionally, in a time greater in a duplicat proportion ;
as if double the cize, and but half the tenfwn, to double the
diftance E H—z EC or / K, in quadruple the time (per Caf.
2. isr 3.) and fo will ftrike an under difdiapafon or 15th to C
D, 1 to 4 vibrations ; as on the contrary C D to A B an up-
per., 4 to 1 w'^r.

Whereby the way he gives notice, that when he fpeaks of firings'
(of a different ci^e) being moved by the fame or an equal force
(which is alfo to be underftood in all the following cafes where not
expreft) that he means it that way their gravity does propend,
viz* downward in thofe that are Horizontally ftreined, left their
proper gravity might be thought to caufe a difference.

203. Thus having abfolved hisftrft Hypothefis concerning firings
of equal length, he proceeds to his fecond, and (hews that if
A B and C D, Fig. 3. be unequal in length, as in moft Lute-ftringsi
what vibrations and founds they will produce, according to their
different cizes and tenfwn alfo in the following Cafes*

Caf 1. Let AB> (i. e. be longer than) CD, Tab. 15. Fig* %i
have the fame cize and tenfion, it will with an equal force,
vibrate proportionably to a greater diftance Qerpr^m.^.J
in a greater time (perprxm. 1.) as if twice as long to double
the diftance, LN=iLM\ For AL.LNnCL. LM. ((y AN.
CM::NL. ML. [per 4. 6. Euc.'] ergo Arch. AN^Arc. CMD)
and that in twice the time ; ftriking the air into an arch of a
circle of double the Radius ; by which double flower re-
turn of its vibrations^twill produce a found twice asgrdz/e,
or an under oclane to CD. 1 to 2 vibrations.

Caf 2. Let AB> CD Fig. 3. have the fame cize, and a i tenfwn
as much greater as 'tis longer, 'twill with an equal force, vi-
brate to the fame diftance LM(perpr*m.(\. velper Caf 1. Hyp.
2. isfCaf.2. Hyp.!.) in the lame time Cperpreem. 1.) ftriking
the air (with alike brilknefs) into an arch of a circle, fo*

Oo 2 much

zpz The Statural Hi/lory

much greater proportionally, as CD is the chord of fewer
degrees, and fo will produce alike founds or unifons. i to i
vibration.
Caf 3 . Let AB > CD, Fig. 3 . have the fame cize and a tenfion
as much /<?/$, as 'tis longer ; 'twill vibrate to a difiance, and
in a /Z777e greater in a duplicate proportion Cper proem. 4. &>• 1 ..
w/jter C^ r*Hjfp. 2. &>• C0/2. Hjp.i.) as, if being double,
it has but half the tenfion to quadruple the difiance L0=/\. LM
in quadruple the //V»e, and fo will produce 2 found 4 times
as grave, or an under difdiapafon to CD 1 to 4 z/i^r.
Gj/! 4. Let AB> CD, Tab. 15. Fig. 4. have a a^asmuch
greater as 'tis longer, and the fame tenfion. 'twill vibrate to
a greater difiance proportionably (per proem. ^. velper Caf. 1.
Hj>/>. 2. J in a ///»* greater in a duplicate proportion (per proem.
2. W/er &/ 3. H)/>. 1 .) as if double in length and c«£, to
double the diftance PR— 2 Pfljn quadruple the time ; and fo
will ftrike an under difdiapafon or 1 5th to CD. 1 to 4 vibr.
Caf. 5. Let AB> CD, Tab. 15. Fig. 5. havead^as much
lefs as *tis longer, and the fame /e«//o« ; 'twill with the fame
force, vibrate to a greater diftance proportionably (per proem.
4. w/ Caf. 1 . #?/>. 2.) as if twice as long to double the di-
ftance TX=2 TV, in the fame time (per proem. 2. J and fo keep-
ing pace in their vibrations will ftrike unifons, 1 to 1 . vibr.
Caf. 6. Let AB> CD, Fig. 4. have both cize and tenfion as much
greater as 'tis longer, 'twill vibrate to the fame difiance PQ^
(per proem. 4. z/e/ Caf 2. Hyp. 2. J in a longer /zwze proportion-
ably (per proem. 2.J as if double the cize, in twice the time,
and fo will ftrike an under oftave, 1 to 2 vibrations.
Caf. 7. Let AB> CD, Fig. 5. have both cize and tenfion as
much /e/J, as 'tis longer ; 'twill vibrate to a diftance greater
i. in a duplicate proportion Qer. Caf. 3. /jite, 2. J in a ///we pro-

portionably greater Cper pram. 2. J as if double the length,
it has but half the cize and tenfion, to quadruple the diftance
TT—$TV'm twice the /i«e,and fo will ftrike an under oftave
1 to 2 vibr.
Caf 8. Let AB > CD, Fig. 4. have a a'^e as much greater, and
a /e«/?otf as much lefs as 'tis /eager ; 'twill vibrate to a diftance
greater in a duplicate proportion Cper Caf. 3. ##>. 2. J in a
time greater in a triplicate proportion Cper proem. 2. J as if dou-
ble

Of OX FO%!D~S HI%E. r9;

ble in length and cize, and but half fo much tended, to qua^
druple the distance PS=$PQJn octuple the time ; and fo
willftrike an under trifdiapafon, or a 22d, i to 8. vibr.
Cafe 9 Let AB > CD, Fig. 5 . have a cize as much lefs, and a ten*
fion as much greater as 'tis longer ; 'twill vibrate to the fame
diftance TVCper Caf 2. /%>. 2.J in a time proportionably /*/5
Cperpram. 2. velCaJ. 3. #j//>. i.J as if half the cize in half
the time ; and thereby will ftrike an upper oclave, 2 to 1
vibr.

All which £<*/«, may be thus briefly expreffed (putting 7" for Ten-

fion, D for the Cize or Diameter, and L for the /o?gM of the firing:)

fuppofing £^=1 to be the acutene/s of the found propofed (to

which you compare the reft) the acutenefs in the other cafes com-
pared to it, will be in the proportions following refpectively.

u *,a <;C^J- 2- a- 4. 5.

Hypoth.i.2j_^ aT j 2T t _iT ^

„4 , C^L 2. 3. 4. 5.

Eypoth.z.X t _, 2T _, «v. _X_ _^ T

ZL*2D +* 2L*»D '*

6. 7. 8* 9

aT . iT ._, \\ j 2T

51 _.«

■*" ^ — r"~ — »• ~~— — ~«

2L*2D 2LxjD 2L*2D • 2L*jD

The reafon of which manner of expreffion, depends on this *
that (in Proportions expreffed after the manner of Fraftions)
increasing that above the line, doth increafe the value (and fo doth
the increafe of Tenfion, increafe the acutenefs :) But increafing that
under the line, doth diminijh the value (and fo doth the increafe of
the length, and the increafe of the cize, diminijb the Acutenefs) in the
fame proportion. Which may ferve for a brief demonfiration of the
whole.

By which may be judged of, all other more mixt or compound
Cafes, which are infinite, according to the divers unequal pro-
portions, of length, bignefs, and ten/ion ; but being all made out
of, or founded on thefe7 they will all hold true in Analogy to
them.

204. From many of which Cafes 'tis plain and eafie, that the
Jympathy and confent of firings lies not wholly in their like ten/ion

and

ap^ Wi Statural Hijlory

and formation of />or«, as was fuppofed §. 24. of thefirft £,6<2~
/fer of this Book. Whence alfo 'tis equally cafie to make thefe
three following Illations*

it That firings agreeing in either lengthy bignefs, or tenfwn, can
be made unifons but four ways. 1 . If they be of the fame
length, bignefs, and tenfwn Cper Caf.i. Hyp.i.J 2. Of the fame
length, and one a cize and tenfwn equally greater than the o-
ther (per Caf^.HypA.J 3. Of the fame cize, and one a length
and tenfwn equally greater (per Caf. 2. Hyp. 2. J 4. Of the
fame tenfwn, and one as much longer as 'tis left (per Caf. 5.
Hyp* 2.) and after the fame manner when they difagree in
ail three, as will be obvious to the confidering : Wherefore
unifons are always firings of the fame, or a proportionable
length, bignefs, and tenfwn.

2. That unifons may be moved by the fame force, in the fame
time ; or being moved by the fame or an equal force, will
vibratein the fame time ; as is manifeft in the fore-mention- ,
ed Cafes, to which all others bear Analogy.

3, That oclaves being moved by the fame or an equal force, the
upper will vibrate in half the time, that the under does, or
twice to its once Qw Caf 2 is 3. Hyp. 1 . is- Caf 1, 6, 7, (y
9. Hyp. 2.J wherefore they can by no force be made to vi-
brate together ; for as much as the fame firing (being of the
fame length and tenfwnj always vibrates in the fame time ; a
greater force only making it fly out to a greater difiance, or
fetch a greater compafs in its vibrations, and thereby move
(but not vibratej falter, />er Concluf. posl Prjemiffa*. And
thefame is verified concerning all other Notes.

205. Having done with his firfi Principle, with the Hypothefes,

and feveral Cafes attending it, the fame Reverend and Learned

Dr. N. M„ proceeds to his fecond Principle, viz. That all tuned

firings either are or confifi of unifons, which will plainly appear from

thedivifionof the Monocbord ; where,

1. Vnifons are as AB to BC, Fig. 6. 1 to 1 part, or vibration, per

Illationemi. iy 2.

2 . A Diapajon or Oclaves, as BCto CD, Fig. 7. 1 to 2 Vnifons, or

2 to 1 Vibrat.per Illat. 3.

3. A Diapente, or perfect fifths, as CD to VE, Fig. 8. 2 to 3
Vnifons, or 3 to 2 vibrat. 4. A

4. A Diatefferon, or fourths, as DE to EF, Fig. 9. 3 to \Vni-
fons, or 4 to 3 vibrat.

5. A Ditone, or greater thirds, as EF to FG, Fig. 10. 4 to 5
Vnifons, or 5 to 4 z/i/irtf/.

6. A Semiditone, or lefler thirds, as FG to G#, Fig. h. 5 to 6
Vnifins^ or 6 to 5 vibrat.

7. A Viapafon with a Diapente, or twelfths, as 7/f to #£,
Fig. iz. 1 to 3 Vnifons, or 3 to 1 vibrat.

8. A Difdiapafon or fifteenths, as M#to AT0, Fig. 13. 1 to 4IV-
tf*y<;w, or 4 to 1 vibrat.

And fo for the reft, whereof the chief may be expreffed on one
line, Fig. 14.

rAB. AC.orAC.CG

or AD. AG, are
AC. AD. or v4£. ^4G.
AD.AE.
AE.AF
AF. AG.
mere<AD.AF.
AC. AF.
AB. AD. or AB. BE.

or AC. AG.
AB.AE.oxAB.BF.

or AB.CG. >IS'

AB. AF. orAB.BG.ij.
AB.AG. i9.

8.

5-

4.

3m*

3ml
6.

10.

-12.

;b

206. And thus much for his Principles, whence he goes on to
fome fpecial or particular Proportions, in drder to demonftrate the
late obferved Phenomena, which immediatly follow.

Prop. 1. If two firings be tuned Vnifons AB. BC. Fig. 6. and
either be touched with the hand or bow, the other willanfwer it-,
by trembling at its motion.

For the Air being put into an arched figure and motion by the firing
that is touched, rolls away to the other, which finding of a lengthy
bignefs, and tenfion, that are the fame, or proportionable {per ll~
lat. i.)it eafily (by the force it received from the touched firing)

imprints

2p6 The fhQatural Hiftory

imprints both figure and motion into it, In the ftrfl Cafe (perCaf. i.
H,p.\. Trine, i.) orelfe communicates its motion only, inthey£-
cond, (per Mat. 2.) whereby the next undulation of Air, from the
touched firing, taking it juft at its return, and in like manner the
confequent ones, and moving it as before, they continue their
vibrations together, pajfibas <equi4, Q^ E. D.

Prop. 2. If the leffer of Wo Oftaves BC, be touched Fig. 7.
each half of the greater C2, 2D will anfwer it, the middle 2
fiandingslill ■ which he thus demonftrates.

About CD wraploofly 3 mrrowftrips of paper, one in the middle
2, the other betwixt Ci and 2D (exemp.gr. in p and q) then with
the finger or bow ftrike BC, or any part of it, and you will fee the-
papers in p q, dance and play up and down and about the firing,
'twixt Ci and iD, but that in 2 ftand ftill. Whence it is evident,
that CD moves in its two halves, by two difiincl motions. Which
he thinks occafioned by the arched Airs, nulling with the force of
BC againft all CD, and moveing it fomwhat forward out of its
place ; but finding it of a difproportionate lengtb, bignefs, and
tenfion, to be excited by fo quick vibrations, as may correfpond
with thofe of BC, and the undulations whereinto they ftrike the
Air (by which alone it caufes any firing to vibrate) per Mat. 3.
the fecond undulation of the Air from BC meets CD juft at its re-
turn (CD's vibrations to BC's, and the Airs undulations caufed
thereby, being as 1 to 2) whereby it is beat back, and rebounds
from 2 towards BC} when the third undulation from BC occurring,
forces it forward again ; whereupon (not being able to move
backward nor forward) the undulations break and roll away to
each fide, towards CandD. Which parts Ci. 2 D being Vnifons
to BC, per Princip. 2. it eafily moves them per Prop. 1. and fo,
(though Des Cartes denys it °) they apparently vibrate mpq (vid.
Fig. i$. j by two difiinft motions, Q^E. D.

Prop. 3 . If the greater of two Oftaves CD be touch on either of
its halves C2. 2D. all the leffer will anfwer it, but if on the
middle 2 itwillfiir no wbzre. Which is thus demonftrated.

About BC, Fig. y. wrap loofly onefirip of paper, then with the
finger or bow, ftrike CD on either half, Ci or 2 D, and you will fee

1

• Pes cartes Mu/. Comp- f- 5.

the

Of 0XF0%T>~SH1XE- %9 J

the paper dance and play as before, and that in all parts of B(j
alike ' but if you ftrike it on the middle 2, the paper will not ftir.
The reafon whereof feems to be, that Ci. 2D being Vnifons to
BC,per Princip. 2. if either be touched, BC will anfwer it, per
Prop. 1. But CD having a difproportionate/e/zgM, bignefsnnd. ten-
fion to BC : if Touched in 2 (whereby the whole firing is equally
moved) it cannot affeft it, by reafon of their different vibrations ;
as in the former Proportion, £. E. D.

Note that this, and (efpecially) the following Experiments,
muft be tryed curioufly by a gentle touch of the siring (only fo
hard as to make the papers move ) and that with a bow rather than
the finger : For if CD be touched boldly in 2 (with the finger he
means, not the bow J by reafon of the ftrong motion communica-
ted to its parts (and happily divided there,which perhaps may be
the caufe too, why,ifyoU ftrike it with the bow in 2, it fends forth
forth a fcreaking broken found) BC will tremble, but with a mo-
tion nothing fo brisk, as when touched with but half the force any
where elfe.

Prop. 4. If thelejfer of two Fifths, CD Fig. 8. be touched on
either of its halves C2. 2D, each third part of the greater D
X, XZ,ZE, will anfwer it, but if in the middle 2 they will
not ftir. Which will plainly appear,

By laying papers as before, on /, x, 3, ^, v, if then you ftrike CD
on C2 or 2D, you'l fee the papers on /, 3, v, frisk and daunce,
while thofe on x and^ftand ftill, but if you ftrike it on 2 none
will move. Demonslratio eadem eft cuntfuperioribws, for Ci . 2D are
Vnifons, and CD an 0 clave, to DX, JfZ, ZE,per Prim. 2.

If it be demanded, wherefore DZ or Jl£ ('which are Vnifons
to CD per Princip.2.) do not vibrate when it is touched in 2. He
anfwers, if DZ, then by the fame reafon XE alfo,and fo XZ would
at the fame time be moved by contrary motions, as in Fig. 16.
Q^E.A.

Prop. 5. If the greater of two fifths DE be touched, Fig. 8. on
either of its thirds DX, XZ, ZE, each half of the leffer Ci.
2D, will anfwer it : but if in the divifions XZ,they will not ftir.

Experimentum & demonftratio inftituuntur utfupra, DX^ XZ, ZE, be-
ing Vnifons to C2. 2D, and oclaves to CD, per Princip. 2.

Pp If

298 The Natural Hiflory

If it be ask, why, when DE is touchton Xor Z, whereby the
conterminous parts feem principally to be moved, CD does not
vibrate, which is Vnifon to it. He anfwers, that if all CD could
tremble, then beating the Air back again on DE, it would at once
fhake DZ and XE (Vnifons to CD) as in the former Prof of. QJL.A'.

Prop. 6. If the kffer of two twelfths IK, Fig. 12. be touched,
each third fart of the greater, Ka, a b, b L, will move ; but
in the dwifions, a b fiandfiill. On the contrary, if the
greater be touched en its parts, K a, ab, b L, all the lefs will
tremble ; but if on the divifions a b, it will not fiir.

Experimentum (sr Demonfiratio ut ante, IK. being a Vnifon to K a, a b,
b L,perPrincip. 2.

Prop. 7. If the kffer of two fifteenths, MN Fig. 1 3. be touched,
the greater will move in all its quarters N c, c 4, 4 d, d O,
but not in their divifions, c 4 d. On the contrary, if the
greater be touched on either of its quarters N c, c 4, 4 d, d O,
all the lefs will move ; but if on the divifions c 4 d, it will
fiandfiill.

Experimentum & demonflratio infiituuntur ut fupra. MN being
Vnifon to Nc, c4, /[.d,dO, per Princip. 2.

207. Thus having cleared the late obferved Phenomena men-
tioned above in §. 199. he infers the following Corollaries.

1 . That all Confonancy Cor Sympathetick. motion of firings J
is made by Vnifons, that is, 1 moves 1, and noti. 2, or 2.3,
isre. as appears from the fore-going Proportions. Hence

2. That each firing at the due touch of another, will tremble in
as many places as it contains Vnifons thereunto, whether to
the whole or its parts. So a lower oftave in 2, each half be-
ing Vnifon to the higher ; a lower fifth in three, and the
higher in two, they being as 3 Vnifons to 2, i£rc Hence

3. That all tuned firings whatever C whether thirds fourths,fifths,
fixths, i&c.) will anfwer each other more or lefs, at the due
touch of their Correfpondents : But the tremor or vibration
in fome of them being made in many places at the fame time
( according to the number of the Vnifons, per Corol. 2 .J and
therefore not great, where the part moved is but (hort (per

• Caf 1. Hyp. 2. Princ.i.) it cannot always be difcerned by

the

ofOXFO*Hp~SHl%E. i?p

by thefenfe, but follows by a parity of reafon ; contrary to
what Des Canes p afferts, that fuch vibrations are found on-
ly in upper thirds and fifths.
208. From the fame Principles may be (hewn how a Man may
ftrike any two Notes with his mouth at the fame time. For ifa Man
open his mouth in two places at once, as AB to BC, Fig. 1 7. or as
1 to 2 both in length and bredth, and then force out the breath
ftrongly againft them (thus opened) fo that the found be all begot-
ten there (as in whittling) you will hear diftincY and perfect
oflaves,per Princ. 2. And fo fecondly,if a Man can open his lips as
BC toCD,Fig. 1 8. or as 2 to 3 in length & bredth,and do as before,
he will ftrike fifths, per Princip. 2. And after the fame manner for
the reft of the Notes, according to the divifion of the Monochord.
2.09. According to which Hypothecs one Hooper here of Oxford
could fo clofe his lips, as to fing an ottave at the fame time. And
I know two other perfons now living here, that can do it though
their lips feem not to be fet in that pofture, yet they Unit them fo
clofe that they can by no means pronounce any thing articulate.
"But he that excels them all, and indeed to a miracle, is one Mr,
Jojhuah "Dring, a young Gentleman of Hart-hall, who lings a Song
articulatly,orepatulo,2nd all in oSlaves fo very ftrongly ,& yet with-
out much ftraining,that he equals if not excels theloudeft Organ*

210. By what means he performs this, is hard to guefs, unlefs
the Epiglottis and Vvula be both concerned in it, one founding the
upper, and the other {he lower ollave ; or either of them apart, o-
pening unequally as 1 to 2 in Fig. 1 7. or which is moft likely of
the three, by an unequal application of the Vvula to the Epiglot-
tis. For his own part he can give but little account of it himfelf
only that he performs it in the lower part of his throat, and that
it came cafually on him atfirft, upon draining his -voice ; yetmuft
it not be reckoned a meer cafualty neither,for he rings thefe oftaveS,
or otherwife (and both very ftrongly) according to pleafure.
And this is all I know of new, concerning the Mathematicks, ex-
cept there be any thing of Chorcgraphy in the Map of Oxford-fiire
prefixt to this Ejpty, that may be thought worthy the name of a
new Contrivance.

211, In Natural Pbilofophy* Medicine and Anatomy, there have
alfo been many new Inventions and Improvements, made of later
years in this Vniverfity, which as they promifcuoujly fell out in order

rM*Jic* Compend.f. <j.

Pd 2 of

300 The Statural Hijlory

of time, immediatly follow. The Honorable and Ingenious Ro*
bert Dudley Efq; formerly of Chrifi Church aforementioned, titu-
lar Duke of Northumberland, was the firft Inventor of the Pulvis
Cornacbinut, being a mixture of Diagridium, Tartar, and Diapho-
retic Antimony, with cream of Tartar, the proportions varying /ro
re nataq ; a Medicine of fuch general and excellent ufe, that Mpr-
cui Cornachinut (from whom it has its name) wrot a whole Trea-
tife concerning it,commending it to the World as highly ufeful in
all Difeafes whatever, requiring Purgation.

212. Nor doubt I in the leaft, notwithstanding the pretenfions
of the famous Thomas Bartholin, and Olaus Rudbeck, but that the
ingenious Mr. JoIHffof th\sV niverftty, firft of Wadham, and af-
ter of Pembroke College, was the firft Inventor of that fourth fort
of Vejjels, plainly differing from the Veins, Arteries, and Nerves,
now commonly called the Lympheducls: That he knew them about
the beginning of June, An. 1652. we have the teftimony of the
learned and famous Dr. Gliffon, to whom he difcovered them,
coming to Cambridge to take his Doclors degree r;at what time,fays
the Learned Dr. Walter Charleton, 'tis plain from Bartholins own
Book fet forth in May, 1653. tnat ne fcarce ever dreamt of them \

213. Yet 1 know the Learned Bartbolin, amongft his Anatomi-
cal Hi/lories, tells us he firft found them the 15th of Decemb. 1651.
and again, the 9th of January, and 28 of Febr. 1652'. and that
the Learned Qlam Rudbeckhys, He firft difcovered them in Octo-
ber and November, 16 $0 u. both anticipating the date of Dr. Glif-
fon. But I have been frequently told by my worthy and learned
Friend, Dr. Robert Stately, an eminent Phyfitian, and one of un-
queftionable fidelity, Contemporary with Mr. Jollijf'&t Pembroke
College till Oxford was made a Garrifon for the 7fi/2g,about the Year
1642. that they were often (hewn to him by the fame Mr. Jolliff
while they were Students there. To which add the Teftimony of
the fore-cited Dr. Charleton }thzttheCe Vejjelswere known & com-
monly talked of amongft the Fellows and Candidats of the Famous
College of Pbyfitians in London, many years before they heard any
news of them from beyond Sea w. Not to mention that Dr. Higb-
more teems to have noted fomthing of them, though veiled under
a different name and defcription.

1 Vid. ]o Schroderi Pharmicop. Medico-Chym. lib. z. cap. 77. r Fran.Gliflonii zAnatom. Hepatis,
cap. 31. » Gualt. Charletoni OEconom. Animal. Exercit . 9. ' Tho. Bartholini Hiftoriar. Anatom. Rar.
Cent. 2 . Hifi. 48 . u Rudbeckii EpiR. ad Bartholin, dc Vafis Serofit,p. U • w Idem loco citato. Vid. etiam E-
//fl.Timoch. Clark, M.V. Philofoph. Tranfaft. Numb. 35.

214. The

OfOXFO%T>~SHI%E. 501

214. The fame Learned Dr. Highmere, formerly of Trinity
College Oxon. was the firft that we know of that treated of the ftru-
dure of Mans body, adapting it to the then new received Doftrine
of the circulation of the Blood; for the proof whereof hefeerris
chiefly to have intended his piece of Anatomy, dedicating it to the
Author of the Invention, the famous Dr. Harvey : Wherein he has
feveral new Cuts of the Spleen, Pancreas, Teftes, (jrc of which,
though moft have fince received confiderable Improvements from
others, yet it muft be acknowledged that he deferved very well
for his diligent and laborious fearch into them all, but more par-
ticularly for his firft difcovery of the new duclm for the carriage of
the feed 'from the Teftes to the Paraftat* x, and for his new defcri-
ptions of the Veffels and Fibres of the Spleen, by the ancient Ana-
tomifls held to be Veins y, and of the intricate plexus of the Para-
ftat<e, (sre r.

215. In Natural Philojophy,. the famous Dr. Willis of Chrift
Church College Oxon. and Sidleyan Profeffor of Natural Philofophy
in this Vniverfity, firft taught us, that the Generations, Perfections,
and Corruptions of Natural Bodies, whether Mineral, Vegetable, or
Animal; and fo likewife of Bodies Artificial, do depend upon
fermentations, raifed from the different proportions and motions
of Spirit, Sulphur, Salt, Water, and Earth, which he has confti-
tuted the ultimate fenfible principles of mixed bodies a. According
to which, in his Book deFebribut, he has given us the Anatomy of
Blood, and declared the true caufes and nature of fermentations m
the juices, and upon them built his moft rational Do&rine of Fe-
vers, intermittent, putrid and malignant, with particular inftances
and obfervations concerning them, much different from the ways
of the Ancients : to which he has fuperadded the Spagyrical A-
natomy of Vrin.

216. In Anatomy (wherein he had the affiftance of the defer-
vedly famous, Sir Christopher Wren, Dr. Mlllington, Dr. Edmund
King, Dr. Mafters, but chiefly of Dr. Lower*) his method of dif-
fering the Brain is new, and moft natural; and fo exact, that
there is fcarceany one part in it, but what has received confider-
able advancements from him. To mention all would beendlefs,
let it therefore fuffice, that after his defcription of the Palace in

* Corp. Human. Aifquifit.Anatom. Lib. \ -part. ^. cap. 2. 1 Ibid, part. 5. cap 3. 2 Ibid- part 4.. cap. 2.
■ / 1 Libro de Ferment.

general,

}ot The Statural Hiflorj

general, he has allotted the feveral appartments to the faculties of
the fenfitive Soul: His placing the Spirits to ferve to voluntary
aftions in the Cerebrum, and thole that ferve Involuntary in the
Cerebellum, is a noble and ufeful dijeovery.

2 1 7. His affigning the cortical part for generating Spirits, and
the feat of Memory ; the Medullary, or Corpus callofum, for the o-
perations of the P bant a fie ; the Corpus ftriatum for the common
fenfe ; the Medulla oblongata, apromptuary for the Spirits, for per-
forming the office of Senfation, and ftontaneous motion ; and the
Prominentia orbiculares, and their Epipbyfes-, for conveying the
imprejfes of thepaff/ons, and natural infiincl, between the Cerebrum
and the Cerebellum, are highly ingenious and his own ; and fo is
his, and Dr. Lowers joint difcovery of the curious plexus, of the
Vertebral and fpinal Veins and Arteries ; their Neurologia is alfo
moft elaborate and no lefs admirable,tracing the Nerves from their
very fource, and following them through all the Meanders of the
Body, and thence (hewTingus the reafon of the. fecret Jympathies -
of the parts.

218. And although Dr. Willis was not the firft that mention'd
two Souls in a Man, vi%. the Senfitive and Rational • yet there is
no body has proved it fo well as himfelf ; as likewife that the fenfe*
the is igneous ; and that there are two parts of it, thefiammea and
lucida: Where he difcourfes of the manner how the Soul performs
its operations in us ; he does it, as indeed he has done all, with
the greateft Improvements within the compafs of Wit and Reafon :
And having fully difcovered the Hypoftafis of the fenfitive Soul, its
affeclions and fenfes ; he further obliges Mankind with a moft ratio-
nal account of the difeafes feated in it, and the Nervous Juice, ac-
cording to the different parts of the Brain, and the Syflema nervo-

fum ' placing Cepbalalgies in the Meninges ; Lethargies, fomnolen-
tia continua^ Coma, Car us, Pervigilium, and Coma vigil, in the An~
fraflus and Cortical part of the Brain ; the Incubus in the Cerebellum:
Then defcending to the Corpus callofum, he finds the Sprits there
fomtimes hurled round into Vertigoes, fomtimes exploded in
Spafms, Convulfwns, Epilepfies, fomtimes eclypfed in Apoplexies.

219. In the Corpora firiata, and Medulla oblongata, if the ffi-
rits that ferve to motion be difturbed, thence he (hews come like-
wife Spafms and Convulfwns ; if thofe that ferve to fenfation, do-
lor ; if either, or both, are impeded or deftroyed, the Palfie :

And

OfOXFO%<D~SHl%E. $fg

And as the fenfitive Soul is the feat and organ of the Rational, fo
the ill conftitntion of that (he obferves) proves oftentimes trie
diforde'r of the other : For the Animal faints being fpirituo-faiine,
if they are inflamed, they produce a Fhrenfie ; if acid, Melancholy,
if acrout, like Aquaftygia, Madnefs ; if z/a'/zW, Stupidity. In dif-
courfing of which diftempers, his /Etiologies of the various^m^
poms? his methods of cure, and forms of prefcriptions, are found-
ed upon far more rational principles, than ever Greece taught us.
And how far Antiquity, and later Ages too, were miftaken in their
notions of divers other difeafes ; his evincing Hyfterical and #y/>o-
chondriacal 'affeclions ; the Co/ic, Gout, Scurvy, fome fort of Aflh-
ma's, the Tympanitis, with c^err ; either wholly, or in part to bt
Nervous, does plainly demonftrate.

220, Nor has the Pathological part of Phyfick. been only hap-
py in his labors ; but the Pharmaceutical part likewife highly im-
proved in the Inventions of his Spiritus Sali* Armoniacifuccinatus,
Syrup of Sulphur, preparation of Steel without Acids, and from
thence of his artificial AciduU : In general, this part of Phyfick.
has been fo far advanced by him, that what was formerly Empiri-
cal, and but lucky hits, is now become moft rational, by his
making the operations of Chaihartic, Emetic, Diaphoretic, Cardiac,
and Opiat ^ed7a*tfe.y,intelligible by Mechanical Explications ; having
fubjoined to each moft neatand artificial Formula's, as well Chy-
tnicalzs others; a Province but meanly adorned by the Ancients,
though of infinite ufe. And where Nature is exorbitant in any
of thefe Evacuations^ he has likewife taughtus how to check and
reduce her ; adding for the better illuftration of the whole, a new
Anatomy of the Stomach, Inteftines, Qula^ Veins, and ArterleSi

221. Which he has feconded with a further difco very and ra-
tional account of Thoracicznd Epatic Medicines, and of the Dif-
eafes belonging to thofeparts ; difcourfing alfo ofVenefecllon, flop-
ping of Hemorraghies, of Iffues and cutaneous Diftempers ; In all
which it may be obferved, what is almoft peculiar to him ; that
there is nothing trivial, moft new, and all moft ingenious. To
which add, that the organs of Refpiration, which have been the fub-
jefl of fo many Learned Pens of late, are beft underftood, from
his moft elegant defer iptions, and beautiful Cuts. But it is too
difficult a task to give a juft account how far Phyfick.-, Anatomy, Chy~
miSlry^ and Philofophy, ftand indebted to him for their Improve-

mentSi

306 The ^(atural Hi/lory

licular Repofitories or Bags, near the exit of the Intejlinum reclum,
wherein they keep thofe humors or liquors, that are the Vehicles of
their refpe&ive [cents.

229. This he firft obferved in a male Pol-cat he diffe&ed here
at Oxford, Febr. 4. 1 674. and was further confirmed therein the
fecond of March in the year following, 1675. in a female Pol-cat,
at the opening whereof I was prefent my felf ; fince which times,
he has found the fame in a Fox differed in the prefence of Dr.
Grew ; and fince again in Weafeh, Cats, iyc. the veficles or little
bags being found by pairs, one on each fide the gut ; and accord-
ing to the bignefs of the Animals, largeft in the Fox, and lead in
the Weafel.

230. Thofe of the Pol-cat were about the bignefs of Peas, of
a fomwhat oblong figure-, and a yellowifh colour, and feemed to
confift of a double fubftance, glandulous and membranous ; the mem-
branous toward the necks of the bags being cover'd with glandu-
les, but toward the fundus wholly membranous, reprefenting upon
being emptied., orbicular mufcular Fibres, which he fuppofes by
contraction force the contained bumor out into the gut.

231. The ufe of the Glandules he doubts not to be, to feperate
the humor from the mafs of blood (zllfecretions in the Body being
performed by the help of Glandules') and the necks of the bags lm-
mediatly emptying themfelves into thegut, without any continued
duclus ; and being placed near the Sphincler Ani, made him think
the contained humor in refpeft of the Animal, to be excrementitious.
In this Pol-cat it was of fomwhat a thick confiftence, for the mod
pzrtwhite, but in fome places of a greenijhye How colour, and up-
on preffing out, of fo ftrong a [cent, that I could fcarce (I well re-
member) endure the room ; which once removed from the body,
we could not perceive any confiderable ill frnell in any of the o-
therparts.

232* In a Cat that he differed (which was but a young one,
and a female) the bags when blown up were not above the cize of
ordinary Peas, feated like the former on both fides the inteftinum
re&um, juft under \\\t Sphincler Ani, which covering them, he fup-
pofes might both occafion their not being noted before, and help
in the expreffion of the humor out, which (he obferved in the
Cat) was not into thegut, but in the limb or margo Ani, the orifices
of the bags terminating there, fo that he plainly perceived them

before

Of OXFO %T>^SHt%E. $1

before he began to diffecl: her : The Glandules that feperate the hu-
mor from the mafs of Blood, and tranfmitted it into the bags? af-
forded a pleafant fight, there being feven fmall round ones placed
in a circle about the veficles, the humor within not being confider-
able but for the fietor.

233. Such Glandules (which he thinks hold the nature of E-
munclories) he has likewife obferved in Rabbits, but with no con-
fiderable cavity, the liquor whereof he rationally gueffes may give
the ranck taft we find about thofe parts after they are roafted 1
He thinks alfo fuch like Glandules axe found in Mice and Rats, and
obferves that in fome Animals they are found more glandulous, in
others with a more fignal bag or cavity. And analogous to thefe
/cent-bags in Quadrupeds, he believes thofe Glandules feated on the
rumps of Fowls, whofe excretory veffels may be thofe little protube-
rances or pipes we obferv eon them; whence 'tis alfo (as in Rob'
bits) that we find the rumps of Fowls ftrongeft tailed, and to par-
take moft of the natural [cent of the Fowl.

234. That all Animals conferve their peculiar [cents in fuch
like parts, though he dares not afTert ; yet if the analogy that Na-
ture obferves in forming moft of theparts, of moft Animals alike,

; be fufficient Logick. to warrant an inference, he thinks it highly
probable that 'tis fo in moft ; and that fliould they be found in
Man (which he has not yet had opportunity to Experiment) it
might be worthy enquiry how far Fiftula's, Tenefme's, (pc. might
be concerned in them. Which is all I have met with new relating
to this County, in Medicine, Anatomy, or Natural Philofophy. For
to mention the many and new Experiments of the Famous Mr.
Boyle (did we diftinftly know which were made here) would be
endlefs, and to recapitulate the New Difioveries (if there be any in
this Ejfay) but a vain repetition.

■if '1 1 i

Og 2 CHAP,

}o8 The Statural Hijlory

C H A P. X.
Of Jntiquities.

AN D thus having finifh'd the Natural Hijlory of Qxford-
finre, I had accordingly here put a period to my Efay,
but meeting in my Travels with many considerable Anti-
quities, alfo relating to Arts, either wholly pall by both by Lt~
land and Camden, or but imperfeftly mention 'd ; and finding
that I may as well alfo note them in other Counties hereafter, as let
them alone : I have been perfwaded to add (becaufe perhaps a
digreffion that may be acceptable to fome) what I have met with
in this kind, whether found under ground, or whereof there yet
remain any foot-fteps above it ; fuch as ancient Mony, Ways, Bar-
rows, Pavements,Vrns, ancient Monuments of ftone, Fortificati-
ons, isrc. whether of the ancient Britans, Romans, Saxons, Vanes,
Normans. Of which in their order,

2. Leaving the Antiquities and Foundations of Churches and
Religious Houfes, their Dedications, Patronages, and foundation
Charters ; with theped/grees and descents of families and Lands,
isrc. as fufficient matter for another Hiftorian, and as too great a
task., and too much befide my defign, for me to attempt. How-
ever, \ have taken care in the M^prefix'd to this Efay, to put a
mark, for the fite of all Religious houfes, as well as ancient ways
and Fortifications, exceipt Brocfeley and Saucomb, both mention'd
in the Catalogues of Harpsfield g and Speedh, which I could not
find out, though I fought them diligently.

3. Of Britifb Antiquities that are certainly fuch, I have met
with none here but fome pieces of their Mony ; whereof, as much
as I find not defcribed before, I have caufed to be delineated,
Tab. 15. Fig. 19,20,21. Of which the firft no doubt is a Coin of
King Cunobelin, a King here in Britan at the time of the birth of
our Saviour CHRIST; it (hewing a #br/e, and his Infcription on
one fide, and an Ear of Corn and CAMV on the reverfe ; inti-
mating the place of its coinage to be Camulodunum, the Royal City
and feat of Cunobelin.

« CatalogusAZdiumReligiofar. in fine Hi ft- Angl. EccUfiaft. b Hiftory of Great Britan. /H>.y cap. 21.
fubfinem. >

4. Omden

6fOXF0%p~SHI!KE. to?

4.. Camden, 'tis true, has defcribed a Coin of the famzRing,
not differing in the reverfe at all from this ; but the Injcription of
ours varies from his, in that the final Letter O, is not plac'd in a
line with the reft of the preceding Letters under the Horfes feet,
but juft before his breafi ; the Horfe having alfo a /pica or ear of*
Corn (or fomc fuch like thing) placed over his back, Fig. 19*
which is not to be found in any of his. This was dug up at
Wood-Eaton this prefent Year 16 j6. near the Houfe of the Wor-
ftiipful/0/fo AWy£Efq;amongftold Foundations, and kindly be-
llowed on me by the fame worthy Perfin*

5. At the fame time and place, the fmall one next engraven*
Fig. 20. was alfo dug up, but whether of the fame King or no,
does no where appear, it having nothing upon it but fomwhat
like a Chalice, and a crooked lineation, under which there is alfo
a forked kind of Figure, and a fmall Crefcent j unlefs the affirmative
may be collected from the laft of thefe, the Crefcent being to be
met with on Cunobelins mony, as is plain from Mr. #zWe«,and fo
on the mony which he thinks carries the name of the City Callenai
alias Gallena, now Wallingford1 : Whereof though I can give no
better account, I however thought fit to give a draught of it, be-
caufe poffibly it may meet with a Reader that can;

6. But for the third, that feems adorned with two faces on the
obverfe, and an ill (Tiapen Horfe and a 'wheel underneath him on the
reverfe, Fig. 2 r . dug up at Little Milton, now in the poffeffion of
my Reverend and Learned Friend, Mr. Obadiah Walker the wor*
thy Mafter of Vniverfity College ; I take, notwithftanding the
want of an Infcripion, to be a coin of Prafutagus, King of the
Iceni, mention'd by Tacitus, who out of hopes of preferving his
Kingdom and Houfe quiet after his death , made the Emperor"
Nero, and his two daughters, Co-heirs of his Fortunes. And
that the two faces are of him and his valiant Queen Boodicia \
otherwife called by the fame Tacitus, Boudicea1, and Voadicam,
who in revenge of her own daughters ill ufage by the Romans, af-
ter thedeceafe of her husband, raifed an Army againft them, ut->
terly vanquifh'd the ninth Legion, fack'd Camulodunum and Veru*
lam, and flew no lefs then feventy thoufand of them".

7. And the ground of this conjecture, I take from the reverfe

1 See Camdens general Hiftory of Brit an. k TacitiAnnalium^tib.i^.cap.^i. ' Ibidem cap, 35. */»
Liir. Tacit. deJuliislgricoUvita^ap. 16. a Taciti Aanalium,lib.i^. cap.tf,

with

^io The Statural Hijlory

with the Horfe and wheel under him, moft times found on the
Coins of the fame Boodicia, where her name is ftamp'd on them,
as may be feen both in Mr. Camdemnd Mr. Speed's Hiftories : by
the horfe and wheel intimating perhaps their great ftrength to lie in
their Ejfeda, a fort of Chariot much ufed by the Britans'm War,
as is teftified by Cafar °, and particularly by Tacitws of this very
Boudicea, vi%. that (he was drawn in a Chariot, with her daugh-
ters placed before herp, when (lie came to fight Suetonius then
Proprietor of Britan. Or elfe perhaps by this time having learn-
ed of the Romans the neceflity and convenience of making mili-
tary ways, and other paffages for Carriages through the Woods and
marifi grounds • in memory of the faft, after the manner of the
Romans, as may be feen on the mony of Trajan, Hadrian r, (src.
they might put thefe horfes and wheels on their Coin.

8. Which is all I know remarkable in thefe Br itijh pieces, but
that they are all hollowed to a concave on. one fide, and convex on
the other (a concomitant of moft, if not all Britifi coin) and
that they are all gold, or at Ieaft Eletirum, as moft of the Britijb
mony we now find is, which is a fort of metal compounded of
gold and filver, and this done either by nature, or proportioned
by the Artifi. That there is fuch a metal as natural Eleclrum, we
have not only the teftimony of Pliny s, who fays, 'tis found com-
monly in trenches and pits. But of Servius l, and St. Ifidore
Bifhop of Sevil, the latter whereof aflerts, that the natural E-
leclrum is of great value, Quod naturaliter invenitur inpretio habe-
tur, are his very words, for that it is more pure then any other
metal, and that if poifon be put into a veflel made of it, it makes
a hifling fparkling noife (as Pliny alfo witneffes) and cafts it felf
into femicircles, refembling Rain-bows, as well in colours as fi-
gure u.

9. To which add the teftimony of Peter Martyr, a perfon of
unqueftionable credit and veracity, who himfelf faw a great piece
of pure natural Eleclrum, fo heavy, that he was unable to move
it one way or other, much lefs to lift it with both hands from the
ground: they affirmed (faies he) that it weighed above 300
pounds, at eight ounces to the pound, and that it was found in

Of OXFORDSHIRE. 311

the Houfe of a certain Prince, and left him by his Ancefiors.
And albeit, that in the days of the Inhabitants then living, it was
no where digged, yet knew they where the Mine of it was, but
were very unwilling to difcover the place ; yet at length they did,
it being ruinated and ftopt with (tones and rubbiih ; being much
eafier to dig then Iron mine, and might be reftored again, if Mi-
ners, and others fkilfnl therein, were appointed to work it w.

1 o. Some fuch natural Eleclrum feems alfo to be hinted in the
Civil Law, and to have been mixed with Silver. Neratius re-
porting that Proculus gave fentence, that it was no matter in a Le-
gacy of Eleclrine vejfels, how much Silver or Eleclrum was in
them , but whether the Silver or Eleclrum exceeded ? which
might eafily be perceived by ocular infpe&ion ; or if fo equally
mixt that it could not be done, that then recourfe was to be had
to the Eslimat of the Teftator, amongft which fort of veffels he
ufually accounted them x. Whence 'tis eafie to colleft, that the"
Eleclrumhere fpoke of, can be no artificial mixture of filver and
gold, again mixed with filver ; but a natural metal before it mix-
tion with filver.

1 1 . Moreover, that there is alfo an artificial Eleclrum, is as e-
videntfrom the Inftitutesot the Emperor Juji in 1 an y,and Q± Flor.
Tertullian z: made by intermingling gold and filver, according to
the natural mixture ; which according to Serviws and St. Ifidore %
was of gold'm a triple, but according to Plinyh and Monfieur Sa~
vot c, in a quadruple proportion, to one of filver ; vi%. 19 Carats
J of gold, and 4 Carats and :} of filver ; which as the fame Savot
teftifies, were the proportions obferved by the Emperor Sevens
Alexander, and Lewis the Twelfth of France, by an Ordinance
made at Blok, of Nov. 19.1506. {ovthcFrench gold.

1 2 . Which very proportions I fhould be willing to think our
Britifi coins to have ; only I guefs the Britans had, and made ufe
of, as little Art as might be : Wherefore I am enclinedto believe
them rather native Eleclrum, dug and coined thus according as
they found it, either richer or poorer ; for I havefeen fome pie-
ces of this fort of mony, much richer in gold then fome others are.
That gold and filver Mines were worked here in Britan in thofe

* Petri Maityris AngleriideOrbeN<rvo,T>ecad.i.cap.^. * fl.De Auto Afgentoj&e. IJCg.Yediailu^Ne-
rat'uu. 1 Jnftitut. de Rerum divifwm, §. Si duorum. * ,<? Septi?nii Florent. Tertulliani Lib. adverf. Her-
mog.cap.i^. & adverfa Praxean. cap. 27. " Lock fupra citatis. b Loco citato. « Lovis Savot de la
Matiere des Medalles antiques, ipart.chapitre 9.

ancientef

y% The Statural Hi '/lory

ancienter days, is plain out of Tacitus : Fert Britannia (fays he)
Aurum is Argentum, isr alia met alia, pretium vitlori<ed. And
Prince Galgacus chief Captain of the Britans, now beat Back as
far as Mount Grampius in Scotland, in his fpeech (before the fight
with the Proprietor Agricola) exciting them to indignation againft
the Romans ; amongft other things tells them, that thefe were the
men that had taken from them their fertile Soil, their Mines, and
trading Towns : Neque enim Arva nobis, aut metalla, aut Tortus
funt, quibws exercendis refervemur e . Now all gold whatever con-
taining (pmefelver more or lefs, and the Britans not being able to
refine it then, as in after Ages, were neceflitated to coin ElecJrum
after this manner.

13. That they had and coined fi her in thefe early times, is
alfo plain from Mr. Camden, Mr. Speed, (yc. who have given us
draughts of filver Coins of Cunobelin, Venutius King of the Bri-
gantes, and Caraflacus King of the Silures, both which make not
a little for the reputation of my conjecture § § 62 and 63 of the
fixth Chapter of this Ejfay, the Mines there mention'd, in all pro-
bability, being fome of thofe fpoken of by Tacitus, and perhaps
firft belonging to the aboriginal Britans, and after to the Ro~
mans.

14. To this if it be objected out of Cdefars Commentaries, that
the Britans then ufed only Copper (and that imported) and Iron
rings inftead of mony f ; and that this gold might either be alfo
imported, or the Mines difcover'd after the conquefts of the
Romans. It may rationally be anfwer'd, that Cdefars account of
the State of Brltan (as has been (hewn alfo before in another cafe,
Chap. 3.§. 2. of this Ejfay') is as imperfect as his Victories or Tra-
vels in it were. For we find in Mr. Speed a gold coin of King
Cajfrvellaun, who was King here in Britan at Coefars arrival ; befide
the Romans came then not to enrich, but to fpoil Britan, how un-
likely it is therefore they fhould fupply them with gold, or find
them Mines fo early, let the Reader judge.

1 5 . Whereunto it may be added (as Tacitus informs us) that
Coefar rather difcovered then conquered Britan ; that he rather
frightened the Inhabitants on the (hoars, than got footing there :
Quanquam proffer a pugna ter merit Incolas, ac littore potitusfit, pot eft

< TadWinvitaJulii AgricoU, caj>. I*, f UiJtm cap. 51. < Julii Cffar. Comment. Jt Btll$ Galil-
eo, lit. 5.

in

OfOXFO%T>~SHI\E. &

videri oflendifepofteris, non tradidijfe s, are his very words of him t
And that whatever he pretended at Rome, he got little here but
dry blows,- and the honor of having led an Army hither*

a« ezpaTOYAvaj lir ax>%i c&fo/, fays DionCaffiusof his firft Expedition .
And Tacitus rather more than lefs of his fecond-, who brings in"
Caraclacus encouraging his Britifh Army to recover their Liberty ;
and in order thereunto, calling upon the names of their An-
cejlors, Qui Diftatorem Cdefarem pepulifentt that had driven theDi-1
ftator Cdcfar out of the Land1.

1 6. Add further hereunto what Strabo delivers concerning his
Expeditions into Britan, OvSiv fjya. ^^alaf^©. , tifli *gpwu&to mi
iroXv t« yii<r«, that he did nothing gre^/, nor went far up into the
IJ!andk. And that Tacitus further confeffes him beaten hence:
for fpeaking concerning the arguments the Britans ufed amongft
themfelves to perfwade the Revolt under Voadica, he fays they
brought this as a main one, that could they ftiew but the cou-
rage of their Anceftors, Recefuros (7. e. Romanos} ut Divus Julius
receffijfet1 : intimating, that his fudden departure hence was little
better than a flight. Not to mention what Quintilian fays of one
M. Aper, that he met with an ancient Britan, that avowed to him,
that he was in the Britifi Camp when they beat C<efar from the
fhore ra ; and that Lucan fays of him exprefly,

Territa qudefitis ofiendit terga Britannia n.

1 7. After whofe departure, the Britans, fays Tacitus, enjoyed
along Peace, lying forgotten by the R omans all the days of Au~
guftus, Tiberius, and Caligula °; fo unlikely were the Romans to
help Caffivellaun or Cunobelin to this Gold or Eleclrum : Nor indeed
is it probable they would do it after, in the time of Claudius, when
they had footing here ; not only for that mony and riches are the in*-
centives to rebellion, and the very finews of near, but becaufe had
they thought it fit either then or before, we fliould certainly have
heardon'tinfome of their writings.

18. Of Roman Antiquities yet remaining in this County, (to
wave the ftories of Molmutius and Beline) the moft confiderabk
of any, are their pub lick, ways, whereof though there are feveral,

e Tacitui in vita Ju'ii Ai,ricol<t, cap. n . <■ Dionk Cajffii, Rom. Hift, lib. 39. > Tacit: A'tnalium, lib. I i.
cap. 34.. * Strabon.Qeograph.lib.^.. ' Tacitus in vita Agricol<e,cap. 15. m ¥ab- Ouincliliavi deOra-'
toribus Dialog, cap. 1 7. n ^n. Lutani de Bello Civili, lib. 2 . v. 572. ° 7rf«/« r» vita~AgricoU, cap. 1 3-

R r and

ji/j. The Natural Hijlory

and of different/orm* and materials, andthofetoo broken down,
and difcontinued by ploughing and other accidents ; yet by their
pointing, and after a diligent/cru/itfj', I hope I (hall render at leaft
a probable account of them.

19. But before I defcend to particulars, it will beneceifary I
think to acquaint the Reader, that of thefe amongft the Romans
fome were called publicly w* ^0^v> and others Vicinal?. And
that the firft fort of thefe were otherwife called (as reckon'd up
by Taboetiws^ by thefe other different names, Regime (by the
Greeks 0«*Ahh$) Pr<£tori<£7 Confulares, Militares, Privilegiatdt, Illu-

ftres, frequentat<e, Celehres, Eximidi, (pc. and after by the Conque-
ror William* in the Laws he confirmed of St. Edwards, Qhemini
majores, from the French Chemin, as may be fcen by the Laws of
the fame King Edward* : of which fort we had in all but four in
England ; Watling-ftreet, the Fofs, Ihnild-ftreet, and Erming-
ftreet ; whereof two ftretched themfelves from Sea to Sea the
length of the Land, and the two other the bredtb ; all mifdemea-
nors committed in thefe,falling under the cognizance of the King
himfelf. Pax autem quatuor Cbeminorum Qntellige majorum) fub
majorijudicio continetur s ?

20. Befide thefe, there were many others of like ereUion,
though of lefs extent, by the ancient Romans called Vicinales,
quod in vicos ducebant, i. e. from Colony to Colony, from slation to
Ration ; which were alfo publick., if compared with the more pri-
vate Agrarian ways \ And thefe were after by King William cal-
led Qhemini minores, and were the ways (as exprefly defcribed
in the Laws of St. Edward the Confejfor^) de Civitate ad Civitatem,
de Burgh ad Burgos, ducentes, per quos Mercata vehuntur, & cetera
negotia fiunt,is-c. all mifdemeanors committed in thefe, falling
under the cognizance of the Earl, or chief military Governor of
theCounty, or of his Vice-Comes or Sheriff.

21. It will alfo be expedient to inform the Reader, that both
the Majores and Minores were fomtimes raifed, and fomtimes le-
vel with the ground u, and fomtimes trenched; and the raifedcnes
fomtimes only of earth, and fomtimes/xn/e*/*, efpecially in moift
and boggy grounds ; though it muft alfo be acknowledged that

* ff Nequidinlotopubl ' vel Mnerefiat-LPrator ait^.viarum. 1 Ju/iusTabtet. in Epbemerid. Hijfor.
* AtZMotopixGul. Lambard. inter L.L.boni Regis Edoard- LL. 12, 13. 'Ibidem. * fi. Ne quid in loco,&c.
L&§.quibutfuf>ra. • Web. Bergier Hiftoiredet grands Cbtminsde L' Empire. Liv.%- chopitrt 17. "Ibid.
Cbapitre 7.

we

Of 0 XFO %T>~SHI%E. )iy

we fomtimes find them paved, where there was little need : which
I guefs might be done to exercife the Soldiers and commonpeople
of the Country, leaftby lying idle they fhould have grown muti-
nous, and affe&ed alterations in the State. But where they were
indeed laid through meers and low places, and neceffity compel-
led them to rjufeandjCwye them, we have the exaft method of
making them, laid us down by Statius x.

Hicprimus labor inchoare Sulcos,

Et refcindere limites, (sr alto , .

Egeflu penitut cavare terras : " .__ _ \

Mox hau/las aliter replere foffas !.*' . l

Etfummogremiumparare dorfo,

Ne nutent Sola, ne maligna fedes

Et prejfis dubium Cubile [axis.

i. e. that they firft laid out the bounds, then dug trenches, remo-
ving the falfe earth : then filled them with found earth, and paved
them with {lone, that they might not fink or otherwife fail.

22. Of the four Bafilical, Confular, or Pr&torian ways, or Che*
mini majores, I have met with but one that paffeth through this
County, the difcovery whereof yet I hope may prove acceptable,
becaufe not defenbed before, or its footfteps any where noted
by Sir//. Spelman,Mr. Camden, or any other Author that I have
read or could hear of: whereat indeed I cannot but very much
wonder, fince it is called by its old name at very many places
[Ikenildvpay~\ to this very day. Some indeed call it Icknil, fome
Acknil, others Hackney, and fome again Hackjngton, but all intend
the very hmeway, that ftretches it felf in this County from North-
eaft to South-weft ; coming into it ("out of Bucks) at the Parifh
of Chinner, and going out again over the Thames (into Berks)
at the Parifh of Goreing, lying within the County in manner and
form, and bearing to the Farijhes and Villages placed on each
hand, as defcribed in the Mjp prefixed to this Effay, by two {ha-
ded parallel lines made up of points, which I have chofe, to (hew
that this way is not caft up in a ridged bank,orlaid out by a deep
trench, as fome others are ; defcribed alfo in the Map by two con-
tinued parallel lines, that the Reader, or fuch as pleafe to view
them hereafter, may know where to expe&a bank, or trench, and

Where nO lUch matter. , Papin.Surc. Statii Silvar.JJb.*. i» viaQomitian.

R r 2 23. The

p6 The Statural Hi/lory

23. Thereafon, ifuppole, why this way was not raifed, is,
becaufe it lies along under the Chiltern hills on a firm faft ground,
having the Hills themfelves as a fufficient dire&ion : Which is all
worth notice of it, but that it paffes through no Town or Village
in the County, but only Goreing ; nor does it (as 1 hear) fcarce
any where elfe, for which reafon 'tis much ufed by ftealers of
Cattle : and fecondly, that it feems by its pointing to come from
Norfolk and Suffolk, formerly the Kingdom of the Iceni, from
whom moft agree (and perhaps rightly enough) it received its
name lcenild> or Ikenild; and to tend the other way Weft-ward,
perhaps into Devon-Jhire and Cornwall, to the Lands end. So
much miftaken is Mr. Holinfied in his defcription of this way7,
who fanfied it began fomwhere in the South, and fo held on to-
ward Cirnecefter, and thence to Worcester, Wicomb, Brimicbam,
Lichfield, Darby, Chefterfield, and crofling Watling-slreet fom-
where in Torkrjhire, ftretched forth in the end to the mouth of
the Tine at the main Sea. Yet the Learned Mr. Vugdale z feem-
ing to favor this opinion in his defcription of Ickje-ftreet that
paffes through Warwick-fiire, I fufpend my judgement till I have
feenmoreof both.

24. Amongftthe many Vicinal ways, or Chemini minores, we
have but one neither here, of all thofe mentioned by Antoninus in
his Itinerary, and that is part of the Gual-Hen, which fignifies in
Brittilh antiquum Vallum, that went between Pontes, now Cole-
brook? and the old City Caleva, or rather as it was written in
the ancienteft Books, Gallena* ; to which our Fore-fathers ad-
ding the word, Ford, by reafon of the ftiallownefs of the Ri-
ver there, and changing the letter G into W (a thing frequently
done by the Saxons b) it was at length called j>aUcn5apop&, now more
contraftedly Wallengford.

25. Which 'tis plain flood not formerly where it now doth,
this old Vallum, or high ridged way, pointing down from be-
tween Mungewell and Nune ham -Warren on. Oxford-Jbire fide the Ri-
ver, as defcribed in the Map, near a mile below the Town as it is
now feated ; whereabout, in all likely hood, on the other fide the
River ftood that part of the City containing the 1 2 Parities, laid
defolate by a great Plague that reigned there, temp.Edw.%. Which

t Raph. Holm/bed's defcriptionof Britan,lil>. i. cap. 19. z Antiquities of Warwick-fare in Barlick-
•umy Hundred, pag. 568. ■ See Burton's Commentary on Antoninus hk Itinerary. Itinere -j . a Regno
Londiniitm. * See Rich. F<rr/?rg#»yAntiquities of the E nglifh Nation, cap- 5 . frb finem.

great

of 0 X F 0<H$)'S H I%E> i pf

great blow it could never recover (though much endeavored by
Rich. 2.) the Bridges of Abington and Dorchefier being alfo about
that time built, which diverted the Trade another way, whereas
before there was no paflage over the Thames but here at Walleng-
ford c.

26. This Valium or ridged Bank, now called Grimes-dike, as
it runs towards Pontes, yet remains very high, but is but fingle
till it comes to the Woods near Tuffield, alias Nuffield, where it
appears double with a deep trench between, like the ways near
Piperno and at Porto in Italy d ; which induces me to believe, that
that part next Wallengford was once fo too, and therefore ftill
called Grimes-ditch, the trench in all likelyhood being filled up
with one of the banks thrown into it upon the increafe of Agri-
culture, perhaps at firft defigned only to carry off the water, and
the two banks on each fide for the carriages 'twixtthe Jiations * ;
thofe from Wallengford 'to Pontes going upon one Bank, and thofe
from Pontes to Wallengford 'upon the other, fo that there could be

.nodifturbanceby meeting on the way. From Tuffield, I was
told, it held on its courfe through the thick Woods, andpafled
the River below Henly into Berk-fiire again, but the Woods fcarce
admitting afoot paflage, much lefs for a Horfe, I could not con-
veniently trace it any further.

27. There feems alfo to have been caft up another Roman way,
between the old City of Alceslerm the Parilh of Wendlebury (di
which more anon in its proper place) and the City of Calleva,
whereof there is part to be (een to this day running quite crofs
Otmoor, as defcribed in the Map, and coming out of the Moor un-
der Beckjey Park^ wall 3 which 'tis plain, has been paved (as in-
deed it had need) by the {tones yet found upon, and about the
ridge, and no where elfeon the Moor. From Beck.ly it paries on
to, and may plainly befeen in the Wood near Stackers, where cut-
ting the London road to Worcejler, it goes plainly through the fields
to Stafford- Grove, and thence over Bayards watering-place, to-
ward Heddington Quarry pits, leaving Shotover-hill on the left,
and the Pits on the right hand.

28. At the foot of Shotover-hill it enters Magdalen College Cop-
pices, and thence through Brafen-nofe College Coppices, over the

' Vid. LelandiComme7it.inCy&neamCantionemin<verbtCalcVa. * Vid. Leon. Bapt. Alberti de re 2E-
difc . lib. 4.. cap. f . * Ibidem.

Eajiern

318 The Natural Hijlory

Easlernyzrt of Bullington- green, as I gather by its pointing, for
it is not to be feen there, it having been ploughed down as well
mthegreen, as fields thereabout, as may be feen by the marks of
the ridge and furrow yet remaining upon it ; whence 1 guefs it paf-
fes on towards the two Baldens, and fofor Wallingford; going
over the River at Benfon, alias Benfmgton, where it may be {ttn
again running JT^ of the Church, and is there called by the name
of Medlers-bank.

29. If it be asked why this way 'twixt Wallengfordznd. Alee-
fier was laid fo crooked ? it is plain, 'twas for the convenience of
taking Oxford in the way as occafion fhould ferve. For though I
could not difcover the diverticulum tending toward Oxford in the
way from Wallengford, yet in the way from Alcefier it remains at
fome places yet plain and evident, coming out of the main road
about the Par ifh of BecHey, and palling more Wejlward through
Stow-wood, and more particularly through the grounds ftill cal-
led Principal (for that they were formerly the Principal Coppices
before the dif-forrefting that Wood) where the way is to be (een.
entire and perfeft, having formerly beenpaved, as appears by a
ditch cut through the bank, in a divifion of thefe grounds, where
the ftones lie arcb-wife in form of the bank, there being none nei-
ther like them in the fields thereabouts.

30. Coming almoft as far as Elsfield, where it is now deeply
trenched between two bank?, like fome part of Grimes-dike men-
tioned above, it is broken down and difcontinued, I fuppofe by
ploughing, but points juft upon Heddington, whereof the hollow
lane afcending into the Town, near Mr. Pawlings new Buildings,
perhaps may be a part ; and the deep way between two green
banks a little on this fide Heddington,another; and the hollow way
on the brow of Heddington- hill, another piece of it. Out of
which there feems alfo another way to have branched about the
top of the hill, which paffing through the grounds 'twixt that
and Mar/ion-lane, where it is plain to be feen, by its pointing (hews
as if it once parTed the River above Holy-well Church, ftraight up-
on St. Giles's, or the old Bellofitum, now Beaumont ; where about
Thoma* Rudburn in his Chronicon Hydenfe, fays, anciently before
its reftoration by Mlfred, the Vniverfity was feated : Qu<e Vniver-
fitat Oxoniae quondam (fays he, having before difcourfed of its
refloration by flLlfred) erat extra Portam Borealem ejufdem Vrbh, isr

erat

Of OXFO%T>^SHI%E. 3*9

erat principalis Ecclefia totiws Cleri, Ecclefia SancliJEgidii extra ean-
demportam *. Which two put together, perhaps may make as
much for the Antiquity of this place, as need be brought for it.

31. Befide, this branch out of the way 'twixt Alcefler and
Walkngford pointing toward Oxford^ I muft not forget there is
another that feems defignedly made for a pafTage hither immedi-
atly from Alcefter, whereof there is a part ftill remaining about
Hoke? whence it panes through the fields to the purlue grounds,
where it cuts the Worcester road, and fo into Vrun/hil, formerly
a part of the Forrefi of Stovp-wood, where about fourteen years
fincc there were feveral Roman Vrns and Coins dug up ; beyond
which place I could not trace it, it being ploughed down in the
following grounds, which yet is the beft conjecture I can make of
it, unlefs we (hall rather fay it was only laid this way to avoid
Otmoor'in the winte r feafon, when it is ufually underwater; and
that it turned about again (as indeed it feems to point) and joyn-
ed with theforemention'd to Walleng ford and Oxford.

32. Nor muft it be omitted, that the people hereabout call
that part of this way that lies through Otmoor, by the name of
Akeman-ftreet, fuppoflng it to have come from Wallengford, and
to have pafled on by Alce/ier to Banbury ; to which name of theirs,
and courfe of the way, Mr. Camden feems to afford his tacit con-
fent e : wherein I wonder they, but more that he, (hould be fo
much or'e-feen, fince he could not but know, that neither end of
fuch a way could tend toward Bathe, the old ace-mannej--ceaj-cep, or
Vrbs Mgrotorum hominum ; nor they, that the true Kce-manncr-rcpaec,
comes near indeed to AlcesJer, but paffing through the County
quite another way, both the City and way leading to it, having
their names from the Jickperfons, or men with aches , travelling on it
thither,

33. The true Akemanftreet then, or as fome call it Akehamftreet,
and others Akermanjireet, coming out of Buckjngbam-fiire, en-
ters this County at a Village called B lack- t horn ,whence itpaffes on
without any raifed bank, clofe by Alcejler as far as Chefierton, as
defcribed by the (haded or pointed lines in the Map : whence it
goes to Kirklington Towns end, and fo over the River Cherwell
near Tackley, and thence in a ftraight line to WoodttockrVark, which
it enters near Wooton-gate, and partes out again at Mapleton-well

* Chromcon Hj/denfe MS. inter xnun'pw* Qxonitnf. ' Vid- Camd. Britan. in Comit. Oxon.

near

}zo The Statural Hi jlory

near StunsfieldftWe, whence it holds on again as far as Stunsfteld;
and all this way on a raifed bank.-, as defcribed in the Map by two
parallellines ; where breaking off (but ftill keeping its name) it
goes on over the Evenlode to Wilcot, and fo to Ram/Jen ; a little
beyond which Village, at a place called Witty-green, it may be
feen again for a little way ; but from thence to Aftally^over Aftall-
bridge, and fo through the fields till it comes to Brodwel-grove, it
is fcarce vifible, but there 'tis as plain again as any where elfe,
holding a ftraight courfe into Glocesler-fiire, and fo towards Bath
the old Akgmancefter.

34. And out of this Akemanflreet, as moft other fuch ways,
there are feveral branches • vi%. two near Kirklmgton ; one at
the Towns end, which though prefently discontinued, yet points
juft upon the Port way running Eaft of Northbrook, the two Hey-
fords, Sommerton, and Souldern, for fix miles together ; and an-
other, that by its pointing feems to have come out of Akeman-
ilreet, nearer the place where it pafles the River Cherwel, crofling
the Port way, and running at the broadeft place, fcarce a mile di-
ftant from it, as far as FritwelU where on the North fide of the
Town it inclines toward the Port way, as if it joyned with it again
fomwhere about Souldern, both of them pointing upon the For-
tifications called Rainsborough (perhaps a corruption of Romans-
borough') near Charleton in Northampton-Jhire : whence in all pro-
bability it went to Vennonh, alias Bennonk, an old Roman ftation,
by the Saxons after called Claycefter, in the confines of Warwick,
and Leicester -Jhires ; and fo on to the Rat<e of Antoninus, or Ragdt
of Ptolomy, now Leicester f.

35. This fecond branch of Akgmanslreet, about Fritwell they
czWWattle-bank; but in an old Terrier of Sir Thomas Chamberleyns,
it is called Avefdich, perhaps a corruption of Offa's-ditch, the
great King of the Mercians, whofe Kingdom might at firft be ter-
minated here, though I find he extended it at length as far as
Ben/on, as thinking it for his honor zndproftt both, that the Weil-
Saxons flhould have nothing North or Weft of the Thames*: Or
if ancienter than Offa, it might perhaps be a pratentura, or fore-
fence of the Romans, raifed againft the Britans (or vice verfa)
who might poflibly be pofleft of the Port way before.

36. Yet I rather believe they might be both of them ancient

f Vid. Ttolomai Geograph Edit. per Pet- Bertium. « Fid. Camd. Britan. in Com, Oxon.

ways,

OfOXFO%T>~SHl%E. pi

ways, though fo near together, for we read that the Romans-,
where thewflj' was not well laid out, or was longer than needed ;
did commonly (to keep the people from idlenefs, and the Soldi-
ers from mutinies') lay them firaiter and better • as Galen wit-
neffeth that Trajan did in Italy : hStt. P w$i) fmimt « to^an^vms 2k
riv, octcuJ^* ciwro't-ov tii&tv TtfA.vofjfyj@i h ? j. e. that where the way was
longer than needed, he cut out another jhorter, which pofiibly
might alfo be done here, the Port way being much (horter and
more direft then Avefdich, to the place whither they both feem
to hold on their courfe : which may alfo be the reafon of the
two Ikgnild ways under Stoken Church hills, there being about
Lewkner and AftonRowant, an upper and lower Ikenild way.

37. Befide thefe, there are yet two other branches coming out
of Akemanjireet ; one in Wood/lock Park, near Col: Cooks Lodge^
whence it runs toward the trees called Oak. and Afh, not far from
Glympton, where it is difcontinued ; and where to be met with a-
gain I could no where find • fo that all I can fay of it is, that
towards the end it points North-wed towards En/Ion and Chipping*
norton, and feems to have cut another fuch like way near Upper
Kiddington, which has its period there, as far as I could learn, but
runs as far as Ditchley the other way, where the ridge turns to a
ditch by the name of Grimes-dike (as that near #^//e/zg/W) and
gives name I fuppofe to Ditchley that (lands upon it, a Seat of the
Right Honorable Edward Henry Earl of Lichfield's, whence it
runs in that manner fair and vifible for about half a mile ; but
before it comes to Charlbury, turns again to a ridge, very high and
lofty at a place called Baywell, where it enters into Cornbury
Pdr£.butfcarce vifible there ; yet as I was told, to be found again
in the woods beyond it, and that it pointed toward Ramfden, where
at firft (as I guefs) it branched out of Ak?manftreet.

38. But whether this, and the other before-mentioned tend-*
ed, is hard to guefs, no Roman Jiation lying near this place, unlefs
I may be allowed to conjecture by their pointing, at a great di-
ftance, which muft needs be very uncertain. However, becaufe
a guefs perhaps may better pleafe than to fay nothing, I conjeclurc
the way by Ditchley may tend either toward Vennoni*, and Ratdi,
as the Port way and ^z/f/^/Vy6afore-mention'd were thought to do,
or elfe toward Tripontium, now Toucejier in Northampton-Jfnre %

S f and

321 The Natural Hiftory

and that from Woodfiock. to ward Mandueffedum, now Manchesler in
Warwickrjbire, or rather the old Etocetum, now the Wall in vSVd/-
fordfiire.

39. Which are all the raifed banks or deep trenches that I met.
with in Oxford-fiire, except the two banks with a /rewc/6 between
them (therefore called dike-bills') South and by Weft of Vorche*
tier, which I cannot imagin part of any Roman way, becaufe ex-
tended only as a ftringto a great bow of the River Ifis, as defcribed
in the Map ; but rather a Fortification, fuch as P. Oftoriu* Proprie-
tor herein Britan under Claudius, is faid by Tacitus to have made
on the Rivers Antona and Sabrina* • or elfe fome of the Out-
works of the Fortifications on Long-Witenham hill on the other
fide the water, which perhaps was the Sinnodunum l of the an-,
cient Britans.

40. Nigh to the raifed ways thus call: up by the Romans, they
placed the Tumuli, or Sepulchres of their Generals, or fuch o-
ther valiant perfons as dyed in the wars; it being forbid by the
Law of the 1 2 Tables to bury within their Cities or Stations. Ho-
minem mortuum in Vrbe ne fepelito neve urito k : And by a penal
Refiript of the Emperor Hadrian l. Now the reafon why they
placed them on the military ways, rather then elfewhere, is given
us by Camden, viz^. that Paffengers might be put in mind, that as
thefe here buryed were fomtimes mortal men, that they them-
felves are no better now m : whence perhaps the formula ftill ufed
on Tombs, Sifte Viator, and monumentum d monendo.

41. But I guefs that there could not but be fomwhat more in't,
for as it was accounted the greateft dijhonor imaginable to lie un-
buryed, fo it was a great reputation to the perfon deceafed to be co-
ver'd with a large Tumulus, which 'tis like might in part at leaft
be the reafon of their placing them fo near the public ways, that
Paffengers might continually add to the heap, it being look'd up-
on as piety in them fo to do ; nor fufficed it to throw on a fingle
handful of earth, but (as may be colle&ed from Horace') ufually
three. For in Archytats requeft to the Mariner, that he would not
fuffer his Body any longer to lye on the floar unburyed, he makes
it part of his plea, that notwithftanding the fwift motion of Sea-
men, yet he might find time enough to throw 3 handfuls of duft.

* Taciti Annal lib. ii. t*p. $1. l Vid. Leldnd. Comment, in Cigntarn C*nt. in verbo Sinnidumtm.
1 Ex Legibus 12. Tab.de Jure Sacrorum. Vid. etiamCicer.de L.L. lib. a. ' ff. Di Sepulcbroviolato. L.
Prator a:t, §. Divus Hadrianus. » Vid. Camdeni Britan- m Com. Wilts.

Qua?-

of 0 XFO^p^S Hl%E. 323

Quanquam fe ft in at, non eft mora longa, licebit
Injetlo terpuhere curras n.

42. Which way of burial under Conical hillocks-, whether na-
turally compofing themfelves into that Figure by the fall of the
Earth, or defi^nedly fo made by the Soldiers ■, was fure very an-
cient ; for from their being placed without Cities, I find them
called by the Greeks, vp*^p*te«w Koyoi, and upon High-ways, Rpjtcmb^
for that the God Mercury had the charge of ways ; as his other
name Ero'A®. like wife imports.

We find alfo Achilles in Homer, complaining how fmall a Tumulu*
he had made for his beloved Patroclws,

0

Awi' 'S-hxeivJax, tg7ov} p <&•£.

and intreating ?#0/£ ftiould come after to raife it higher, which
defire of his was pioufly performed by the fucceeding Greeks,
who raifed it to fo great a height, that they defigned it for a Sea-
mark to thofe that fhould fail the Helle/font.

and this I find here, and at all other places, they always perform-
ed x&wn* Si S ww r ; and fo again in the erection of the Tumulus
over Hefior*, by pouring on earth or Jlones ; the worda?«»M a9
Euftathiws informs us, being fomtimes ufed abfolutely, proytw'fih'
%fi *7i -T&vefoi c. i. e. (in the mod critical fenfe) for humare.

43. It was alfo very ancient amongft the Romans, not only for
Princes, as Virgil witneifes,

fait ingens montefub alto
Regis Dercenni terreno ex agger e huflum.
Antiqui Laurenth, opacaque like teclum u.

with whom agrees Lucan,

Et regnum cineres exslruclo monte quiefcunt™.

n <£.HoratiiFlacCarminum,lib, i-Cdtli. ° Horn. Odyff. (J.'-t. v.471. * Horn. Iliad. fiiZ.ty. V 24$.
1 Hom-Odyf fald.v 80. ' Hom.lliad. p,%. •$>'• v.257. ' jbid. p,%u. v. 8oi- l Vid. Euftathii Schol.
in Horn. J JEneid. lib. 11. v. 8jo. w An. Lucani rharfaliafive de bello Civili, lib. 8- fub fintm.

Sf 2 but

.324- The Natural Hiflory

butalfofor meaner perfons ; for thus we find /Eneas burying his
Nurfe Cajeta, .

At piws exequ'w Mneas rite folutit.
Aggere compofito tumuli, (src x.

Nay fo very ancient was it, that Pliny fays exprefly, it was long
in ufe amongft them before Burning, Ipfum cremare apud Romanos
nonfuit vetem inftituti ; terra condebantur, i. e. that they always
interred them, till they began to underftand that the bodies of
their men flain in the wars afar off, were fomtimes taken forth
from under their Tumulty and barbarofly abufed y, as Florus ac-
quaints us the Germans ferved the body of the Conful Varus, a-
mongft other indignities offer'd the Romans : Ipfiws quoque Confu-
te Corpus, quod militum pietas abdiderat, ejfoffum7-.

44. To prevent which barbarity for the future, they ordained
burning before tumulation,as was ufed always amongft the Greeks ;
for we find in Homer, that the body of Heftor (as well as Patro*
clus) was firft burned, and his calcined white bones then gather*
ed by his Friends and put in an Vrn.

'Ose'x A^/>(sb Asjpyfo H&enyi/tfloi eTccgpl it a &C,

and then follows their raifinga tumulus over him, which itfeems
was of ftones,

ouulap uta^Gg

andyetexprefledas where made of Earth, by pouring them on,

45 . It was a uf ual cuftom alfo amongft th e Northern Nations,
in their fecond Age, which they called ^0tg0lD> or ^oelff tijfc Tu-
mulorum Mtai ; thus to bury their dead under earthen hillocks,
Arenam & ten am exaggerando ufque dum injuslam monticuli exfurge-
rent altitudinem, fays Wormius of the Danes d ; and of thefe he
fays they had two forts, the Rudiores, which, ex fola terra inro-
tunditatem & Conumcongeftaconslabant, i. e. that were made only
of Eartb, caft up in a round conical figure, which were fet up in
memory of any ftout Champions that had deferved well of their

* Rneid. lib. 7.v-<j. y plin. Secund. Nat. Hill. Kb. 7. cap. 54. * L. An. FltriRerum Rom. lib. 4. c. ill
» Hom.Iliad-£l".a.v.j<)T). * I6idemv-T)j, 798. £ Uidemtv. 801. * OlaiWormii, Monument. Da-
me, lib. 1. cap. j.

Country.

OfOXFOXV-SHmjS. 52*

Country. And the Ornati, which were encompaffed with a circle
of fiones, fee up only for their Generals, or fome other great
Perfons e.

46. And thefe they fetover the Bodies without burning them
(as they had formerly done in their first age, which they called
ffiotfolt), or T&itttiiZ ti)U> ALtatignea*) the manner being as Mr.
Camden informs us, for every Soldier remaining alive after a
field fought , to carry his head-piece full of earth , towards
making the tombs of their fellows that were flaing, Xgo'<V)Tgj5 to oSf/**,
fundentes tumulum, after the manner of the Greeks.

47. But the Romans here in Briton, having little reafon to ex-
pert more favor then they found in Germany ; whenever any Con-
ful, or eminent Warrior dyed in fuch an Expedition, firft burned
them on the level near the via firata, or militaris ; by which
means having deprived their exafperated Enemies of all hope of
being able to abufe the dead bodies ; they more-over endeavored

x to prevent the very Scattering their ajbes in haft, the whole Army
calling on them pure grafjy turfs, cut from the furface of the
ground, which probably indeed may be the very reafon (as the
learned and ingenious Mr. Dugdale h guefles) why there appears
not any hollo wnefs whence the earth was taken that rai fed thefe
Tumuli.

48. Whereof here in Oxford-Jhire I have met with two kinds ;
one placed, as above, on the Pr<etorian ways ; and the other fort
not fo, yet both commonly called Burrows, alias Barrows, from
the Saxon Beops, collis, acervut, whence our word to bury \ Hence
alfo the raifed banks, made for Conies to hide themfelves, fays
Sir Henry Sptlman, were alfo called Berries K Of the firft fort is
the hillock in the Parifh of Fritwell, called Ploughly-bill, {land-
ing juft within Oxford-Jhire on the Portwayy and (which isfom-
what more then ordinary) giving name to the Hundred wherein it
ftands.

49. And there is another on the Weft fide of that branch of
Ahsmanfireet that comes out of Woodftock.??itV, clofe by the Ri-
vulet over which that way pafles ; but the moft eminent on Ake-
manfireet, is that they call Aflall Barrow, ftanding high and lofty >
which I conceive might be the Sepulcher of fome confiderable/'er-

e Ibidemlib. icap.6. ' ibidem cap.y. « Vid. Camd. Brit an. in Com. Wilt. h Mr. Vugdale's AnrM
quities of IVarioick^fhire, in Knightlow Hundred. ' Vid. Gu/tel.St>mneri,Diftionar. Saxonic'o Latino Ait&l
in verbo. k Vid. spelmamiGloJ/arium in'verLo'Ber^ium.

fin,

y.6 The Natural Hiflory

fon, atleaft of great repute amongft the common people that paft
that way ; there being another, not far off upon the fame way,
on the edge of Oxford-fiire, incomparably lefs.

50. Upon thefe their High-ways it was alfo ufual amongft them
to place pillars of Jione, whereon they inferibed the diftances
from the regal Cities, Stations, and Mutations, whence thephrafe,
adtertium, quartum, vel quintum, ab Vrbe lapidem, i. e. fo many
miles from the City, And of thefe I think the ftone, that yet lies
on a bankclofeby Akemanftreeiway, not far from Aftall Barrow,
to have been a remnant, and raoft likely of any the pedejial of
fuch a Pillar : unlefs we (hall rather think it to have been zpedeftal
to a Uatue of Mercury, made with four (ides and without arms,
from thence called 'n*?*^©*, x«Mdf, or Cylleniws \, and in old time
Herm<e, which were alfo ufed every where to be fet up near high-
ways ; and if in crofs roads, with as many heads as there were
ways, ut interdum etiam quatriceps confpiceretur m.

5 1 . Whatever it were, no doubt this, and the fore-mention'd
Barrows, were of Roman ere&ion ; but as for Kenners Barrow near
Sbipton under Which-wood, the large Barrow at Stanton- Harcourt,
and that other (if it be one) called Adwel Cop ; I think rather
ere&edbythe Britans or Danes, for that near no high-ways, but
in the open fields, as Saxo-Grammaticu* n, and Wormitvs fay they
made them : Non folum in campi* & pram occurrunt Tumuli, fed (sr
in Silvh ist Luck, (yc. ° i. e. that they have them not only in the
fields and meddows, but in the woods andgroves too.

52. More particularly, as for Kenners barrow and Adwel cop,
I think them erefted but for inferior Captains, though perhaps e-
minent Soldiers, becaufe they are of the rudiores, exfola terra : But
for that at Stanton Harcourt, if a Danijh Monument, it was cer-
tainly a memorial of fome greater Per/on, becaufe of the Jlones
fet near it, of whichtnore anon in another place; though it be
poflible too that thefe may be Roman, it being cuftomary for them
to fet up fuch Trophees, at the utmoft bounds of their Victories, or
where they could not conveniently advance them further, as Dion
teftifies, the Roman General Drufas did at the River Albis, **»<>»■**
siiotKcZpiwpnotV, i.e. that he fet Trophies and returned: which Tro-
phies of his, Floras fays exprefly, were only a Tumulu* : Nam Mar.

1 Lavim Torrentii Comment, in Horat.Flac. lib. lOde 10. m Ibidem. n SaxonisGammaticiHift'Da-
Mt<a, lib. 8. " Olai Wormii Monument- Dank. lib. 1. caj>. 6. v Dioais Caffu Rom. Hift. lib. ^.fub initium.

coman-

Of OXFO%p~SHl%E. 3*7

comannorum fpolils infignibw quendam editum tumulnm in Trcphxi
modum excoluit, are his very words q concerning the fame Expe-
dition of Drufits.

53. However ic were, 'tis certain the Reformer of thefe, are
much different from thofe ere&ed on the viae militares, for I found
them trenched round, and particularly that of Adwel cop-, with
two or three circumvallations, part whereof are ftill vifibie on the
South-eaft fide of it, infomuch that I queftion whether there
were not fome Camp, with this Trophie perhaps of Viclory erefted
within it, of which more anon when I come to fpeak ptofeffed-
ly, of the ancient Fortifications yet remaining in this County.

54. Of other Roman Antiquities that I can certainly call fuch>
the moft eminent1 met with is a part of their pavemtnt made of
fmall bricks or tiles, not much bigger than dice ; whereof the
Roman Generals, amongft their other baggage, were ufed to carry
a quantity fufficient to pave the place, where they fet the Pr*tori-
um or Generals Tent, or at leaft fome part of it, which is parti-
cularly witnefled of Julias Crffar, In expeditionibm tejfella, isrft-
cliliapavimenta, circumtulifle r.

5$. Thefe if made of fmall Cquare Marbles, of divers natural
colours, were called Lithoftrota ; butif of fmall brkfo or tiles*, ar-
tificially tinged with colours, annealed zndpolifib'd, Pdvimenta
tefellata, or opwi Mufivumr; and both Afarota *j for their not be-
ing to be fwept, but wiped with zfpunge. As for ours plough-
ed up fom where about great Tew, and engraven Tab. i$. Fig^st.
I take it for certain to be of the fecond fort , it confiding of a
matter much fofter than Marble, cut into fquares fomwhat bigger
then dice, of four different colours, 9tj^ blut, while, yellow, and
red, all polijhed, and orderly difpofed into works ; the colours
of the fquares being reprcfented in the Cut, as thofe of the Arms
in the Map.

56. There was much fuch another Pavement ploughed up at
Steeple* Aflon, confuting likewife of fquares of divers colours, and
fet in curious/gara-, but as defcribed to me by the Reverend
Mr. Greenwood, Reftor of the place, not cubkklikc the former,
but oblong fquares fet perpendicular to the Horizon. That thefe
Pavements were Roman, I think there's no doubt, notwithftand-

1 L- An.Flori Rer.Roman.lib. $.cap.\2. t Suetonim invitajuhidejarls. ' Salrttafii Annot. l»Sti'
tm.in-vitaJuUi Ctfaris. l Plm.SecH/Ji. Mrt/^,36. c, 3$.

ing

;z8 The Statural Hiftory

ing found near no Roman Jiation, and far enough removed from
any Roman high-way ; ("except the branches of Akgmanflreet from
from Ram/Jen and WoodftocK, might happily pafs thefe places:) but
I guefs not fet here till they wholly pofleft themfelves of this
Southern part of Britan, and might fecurely enough pafs their
Armies any where ; and therefore cannot afford them any high-
er antiquity than the time of Agricola the Lieutenant of Vefpafiany
who compleated the Roman Conquefts ; or at moft of Pauling
that defeated Boadicea.

5 7. Under the Sepulchral monuments, or tumuli afore- mention-
ed, railed by the Romans over their dead in memory of them,
they placed the more immediate receptacles of their ajbes, or at
leaft fome part of them, as much as could be faved in the Vat uftri-
num ; for they were not fo curious as fome have imagined, to
fcrape together all the bones and aJkesoU the Corpses may be eafily
collected from thefmalnefs of ?\\VrnsJoxLt Family ones. Yet over
all their Vrns they raifed not fuch a tumulus-, for we find them ma-
ny times in level ground, though containing the remains of noble
Perfons, as may be gueffed by the Lamps, Lachrymatories, and Vef-
fels ofOyls, or Aromatical Liquors fomtimes found with them.

58. Of which fort of Veffels, \ prefume that odd fafhioned
glajl, depicted Tab. 15. Fig. 23. muft needs be one, found in
a place called bufiy Leas, betwixt Brigbtwel and Chalgrave, be-
ing part of the poffeffions of that right worthy Gentleman, John
Stone of Brightwel Efq; furrounded with no lefs than twelve of
thofeVrns, Tab. 15. Fig. 24. both which, amongft many other
fignal favors, were kindly beftowed on me by the fame worthy
perfon. That the Earthen pot, Fig. 24. is a Roman Urn, I take to
be fo plain, that it would not need proof, though one of the
four Regal high-ways were much farther removed than Ikenild way
is, which comes upalmoftto Ewelm, not far from this place.*
But whether this glafs contained a lamp, were a Lacbrymatorie, or
a veffel containing water, or fome Aromatical liquor, is the great
queftion next to be determined.

59. That the Bodies of great Perfons were ufually accompa-
nied with Lamps after death, is plain from the Civil Lave u, and
to interr Lamps with them, was heretofore fo frequent, that For-
tunim Licetu* has written a whole Book, De reconditk Antiquorum

■ 8 T>e ManumiJJis Tejfamento, L. Mavix.

Lu-

rAB. XV

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^afji ifl II III: (I'^'i-fitee ^isg

OfOXFO%2>~SHI%E. yi9

Lucernls, amongft which he mentions one out of Baptifta Porta^
called Lucerna Nefidea (from the Ifland where found in Craterc
Neopolitano fitaj which was included within a glafi, and placed
in a Marble Tomb™, upon the fame account (I fuppofe) that in-
deed all others were ; both as a Symbol of the quality of the per-
fon there interr'd, and for the fake of the foul, which they thought
did not fo quite defert the body, but that it relied with it in the
grave x.

60. But that ours was fuch a glafs including a lamp, I dare not
conclude, more than that it is barely poffible it might be fo, it
feeming much rather likely to have been zphiala Lachrymatoria, or
tear-bottle, wherein the furviving Friends of the deceafed, col-
lected thofe paffionate expreffions of their grief, andufually bu-
ryed with them, as is fomtimes fignified in old Infer iptions, by
fomefuch expreffion as, Cum lachrymis pofuere1 ; only it is of a
much different figure from any of thofe defcribed in Job* Bapt.
Cafalim z, and Vaulws Aringhws a.

6 1 . And therefore I rather believe it to have been one of thofe
veffels containing fome Aromatical liquor, fuch as they ufually in-
terred with the Vrns of Noble Families^, and perhaps a glafs of
the fame kind with thofe three found in a Roman Urn, preferved
by Cardinal Farnefe, and mentioned by Vigeneric: Except we
fhall rather think it the veffel for the Aqua lufiralk fprinkled by
the Prieft on the Vrns, to expiate for the fmaller faults of the de -
ceafed»d, which pofiibly they might after bury with them, which
waters were otherwife called arferidt aqu<£, and by the Greeks,
^wa Aw»fa, or £&k»«b no7s vexfoTt <7GJBv£i>$jo» e ; But I rather incline
to the former of the two, becaufe there feems a kind of white fub-
Jiancc yet' remaining between the two aw* of the glafi (it being a
vefel of a peculiar make, one glafi as it were including another')
which poffibly might be the fediment of fomefuch Aromatical li-
quor when dryed away.

62. Alfo in the Parifh ofWendlebury I faw a great fquareflone,
hollowed round in the middle, dug up in or near the old City of
Aldcefter, in which there wasfet a glafs bottle fitted to it, con-
taining nothing but fomwhatlike afhes, and cover'd over above

* Bapt.Torta Magi* Nat. Lib-M.cap.ult. * Fortunii Liceti de recondith Antiauorum Lucerms,L'&1-
cap- 6, (§■■]. T V'dJohan.Bapt.CaffaliumdeVr(>e,i^RitiiusRomanorum, cap. 21. * Ibidem. a fault
u4ringhi Roma fubterranea, lib. %. cap. 22. •> Sir Thomas Brown's Hydriotapbia, cap.%. ' Ibidem cap.'z .
* Job Bapt. Caja/itts de Urbe & ritibut Romanorum, cap. 22. e Vtd.'job.Meur[iHmde}unere,cap.\\.

T t with

^o The Statural Hijlory

with another broad flat Hone : This Urn I faw at a houfe in the
Town, where 'tis ufed for a Hog-trough, but the glafi had been
broken long before, nor could I get any certain defcription of it ;
however, I guefs it fome fuch like veffel with that defcribed a-
bove, and placed there upon the fame or like accounts. There
have been feveral other Vrns<A{o taken up at divers other places,
particularly in the old Mine at Blunds Court above-mention'd,
Chap. 6. §.63. at a place called Drunfiil notfar from Wood- Eat on,
but belonging, as I was told, to the Pariih of Marfion, near the
ridged way that comes from Noke ; and three in one Mr. Finches
.houfe at the Mercat-phce in Henly, and one in the high-way that
leads towards the North at the Towns end, not far from Ancaftle,
which argues thofe places fome of the firft Roman habitations,'
though no recorded garifons.

63. Nor indeed is there any fuch to be found in this County,
though it cannot but be acknowledged that Oxford it felf muft be
a noted place, before the departure of the Romans at leaft, if the
Roman way thither defcribed in the Map, prove fo good an ar-
gument to the Reader as my felf. Where by the way perhaps it
may not be unworthy notice, that Oxford is mention'd by the Ara-
bian Geographer, Sharif oP Edr/fi, or Adrift (of whofe works
the Geographia Nubienfis tranflated by Gab. Sionita, and Job. He%^
ronita, is too fhortan Epitome) by the name of e^ia^c Ozcfort *,
withal adding,that it ftands on the fame river with London (which
river he calls *<>-2>L-L, Retandah f) 40 miles above it f, which fhews
that Oxford was always a Town of good repute, in the rcmoteft
places, as well as times.

64. As for the antiquity of the Vniverfity, befide what was al-
leged §. 30. of this Chapter, I think it very confiderable what
remains upon record in Magdalen College Library, in an ancient
MS of Walter Burley's Fellow of Merton College, (Tutor to the
Famous King Edw. 3. and defervedly ftiled Dr. Profundus') upon
the Problem {Complexio rara quare fanior~] he has thefe words
(which fhonld indeed have been mentioned before, Chap. 2. §. 3.

* Perhaps written e>j_i^,«£ Ozcfort, (by a tranfpofition of the Letters which many times oc«

curs in words of difficult found; infead of o»-J>JCl£ Oczfart. f frj A ly *<*<'>«fr feems ro

be a fault of the Scribe : whereas the Author probably intended to have it read ^_^VJL> TJmize, or

lamife. ' Sharif o/' EJrlfi Geograpk. MS. Arab, penes Revert* J. Edw. P<ko\ S. T- P. & Ecfhf Cath.
Cbriji. Oxon. Csnonkum.

of

of 0 XFO^p^S Hl%E> gg

of this Effay) concerning the healthy fituation of Oxford, and its
fele&ion by Students, for the feat of the Mufe s : Notanda, inquit,
funttria, quod Civ kzsfana eft in Borea is in Oriente fiplantata eft
aperta, is in Auftro is Occident^ montofa ; propter pur it at em Bo-
reae, is Orientis, is putrefaclionem Auftri is Occidentis : ficut
Oxonia, qu<£pe.: induftriam Philofophorum de Grxciz fuerat ordina-
ta 8, i. e. that a healthy City mull be open to the North and Eaft,
and mountanous to the South and Weft ; by reafon of the purity
of the two former quarters, in refped of the latter : juftas Oxford
is feated, which was fele&ed by the Philofophers that came from
Greece.

6$ . And that according to the rules of their great Mafter Hip-
pocrates, who requires no other, but the very fame fituation for
a healthy City h. But about what time it was thefe Philofophers
arrived, though I dare not be too confident, yet in all probabili-
ty they might be fomeof thofe Grecians brought over by Theodo-
rm the Greek Arch-bifliop of Canterbury, about the year 66S\
^whom 'tis like he placed here to inftruft the Saxon youth ; for we
find Venerable ZWe,and St. Johnde Beverlaco (alwaies reputed of
this Vniverftty) to have been his Scholars ; and fo Tobias Bifhop of
Eocbefter,znd Albinws Abbot of St. Auguftins Cant, who are faid to
have underftood the Greek. Tongue as well as their native

one k.

66. Not to mention that Britan was known to the Greeks be-
fore the arrival of the Romans ; for otherwife Polybiws could ne-
ver have hoped to have defcribed Britan, or the method there ufed
in ordering Tin, as we find he defigned, having promifed to

Write, *%* % 'Bfsrta.piHcip vttmv, ^ irit TV wfliiipii wm,mAi*i \A Which

Book though loft, yet Strabo * bears us witnefs, that therein hfi
refuted the Errors of Vic^archut, Pytbiatand Eratofthenes, con-
cerning the magnitude of Britan, who were alfo Greek Authors
(that it feems had written fomthing concerning this Ifland) and
much ancienter than himfelf. Nor to note fecondly, that the
French Druids (who had their Learning out of Britan') in things
of common concern; ufed the Greek Cbarafter™; which how

« Inproblematibtu Arifot fecu»dumJaboremMagiftriWz\terBar]ey, ad ordinem<LAlphabeti. MS.6^. in
Bib. Coil. B. M- Magdal.Oxon fol. 12 b. * Mn«5»f tufjxutT^e/iiat t* hMH . xj Is *'»«thPi«{ <? '^^"•it- Hip-
pocrat Oper. feci. 3. cap. «fe< tcipui i/'Ajt«», -riimi. ' Godwinus de Tr*fulib-Ang.in'vitaTheodori. hMattb.
Parker de Anttqtiitate Ecclef. Briton- in vita Theod. ' ptlybii Megal- Hifloriar. lib. 3./*. 209 Edit. If. Ca-
faub. An. 1619. * Strabon Gtograpb. lib. 2- pat,. 104. Edit. Cafaub, parti, An, 1620. m "}ul.C<e(arii
Comment, de bello Gallic, lib, 6.

T t 2 they.

fiz The Natural Hijlory

they ftiould come by without the learning of the Greeks (which
poflibly might be brought over by fome of their Philofophers who
accompanyed the Merchants trading for 7/«,and feated themfelves
here) let the Reader judge.

67. But for the Bijhopick. of Oxon, it is but of late erection,
taken out of that of Lincoln by King Hen. 8. and of no longer
Handing than his days, notwithstanding what we meet with in
the Decretals of Pope Gregory ; where we find two Refcripts of
Pope Alexander the Third, about the year 1 1 5 8. directed to the
Bifhopof Oxon. and others", it being but a miftake (though to
be found in all the Copies, I could meet with) of Oxonienfi, for
Exonienfi, as plainly appears in the fourth Book, of the fame De-
cretals °, compared with the places afore-cited.

6$. Yet the ancienteft Town of the whole County I take to
be Henley, fo called from the Brittifi Hen, which fignifies old, and
Lley a place, and perhaps might be the head Town of the people
called Ancalites, that revolted to Cdtfar p : it was alfo called Han-
leganz^ and Hannelurg, as appears by an Infyeximu* of (^Eliza-
beth, granted this Corporation. And there is a place near it, ftill
called Ancajile (weft of the Town where the Wind-mill now
ftands) which is but the Norman name, importing the fame with
the Saxon Hanneburg. If it be objected, that Aldbury near Ricot
in this County (according to vulgar tradition) is the mother of
Henly, and confequentially older ; it may be anfwer'd, that its
probable indeed that Chriftian Henley may be younger than Ald-
bury, in refpect of a Church firft built there, but upon no other
account.

69. And the Town of Watlington feems of no fmall antiquity,
provided its age do but anfwer its Etymologie ; for by its name it
feems alfo to have been an old Britijh City, which according to
Strabo, were nothing elfe but groves fenced about with trees cut
down, and laid crofs one another, within which they built them
Jheds both for themfelves and Cattle. Pfo*** 3 *&t»9 Iwr °« <tyup»,

xaAu^omxBj'Tttf) $ m, ^oox)f/^c<i« xa.?ttsaG|t*<A/V<H ^, are his very words .*
which manner offence the Saxons after called patelaj- Crates, hur-
dles or wattles, within which mound building them tents or co-

.

0 Decret de film Prei&yteror. ordin. <& non. c. Tropofuit. &de officio, ejr poteft.juft. deleg. c. Caufam.
« Decret. <jtii fdii fint legitimi, c> Caufam. ' fulii C«f oris Comment ar. de ielloGallico, lii.y * Strabofik
Ceo graphite ,lib. 4..

T verings,

Of 0 XFO %T>^SHIXE. ^

verings, by the Saxons alfo called F^el r - from one of thefe, or
both, 1 guefs this Town took its name.

70. As alfo the Prxtorian or Confular way, called Watlingftreet,
and Wattle-bank here in Oxford/hire, thefe in all probability be-
ing made the fame way, that Hadrian is faid to have made bounda-
daries (where Rivers were wanting) between barbarous people,
Stipitibws magnh in modum muraltsfeph funditm jatik atque con-
nexh\ i. e. with great fiakfs fet faft in the ground, and knit to-
gether 'tis like with fmaller wood woven between ; which if hap-
pily made ufe of in thefe ways to keep up the earth at firft,
might well invite the Saxons to name them Wattleing-jlreet*, Wat-
tle-bank, isrc

7 1 . Juft upon the meeting of Akemanslreet way, and the Port
way from Wallengford, there are alfo fome foot-fteps of that decay-
ed ancient slation, by Camden called Akheiier, ftill remaining^
which he gueffes fo called, as one would fay an oldTown \ But I
have met with fomenotes in a MS. now by me, that fays it was
the Seat of Ahftu* the Emperor, who having trecheroufly flain
his Friend and Mafter, the Emperor Caraufiws, bafely ufurped
Britan for himfelf, calling this his new Seat after his own name,
Alefti Caftrum, fince Alcheiler or Aldcefier : but it feems by the
ftory that it florifh'd not long, for Conftantiws Chlorus being fent
againft him by the Emperors Dioclefian and Maximian*, and by
the benefit of a mift, landing privatly fomwhere on the South
(hoar, near the IJle of Wight (whether Ahftws came to prevent it)
gave him battle, defeated, and put him to flight towards this
his chief Fortrefs, but was over-taken and flain by Afclepiodotuit,
one of Con$~lantiu4\ Captains (as this Author will have it) here
at Elsfield u near Oxon, (which he alfo would have a corruption of
AleSlus -field} before he could reach it.

72. For the credit of this relation, it having no foundation
in the Roman ftory, I (hall wholly leave it to the Readers judge-
ment ; yetihall add thus much for its reputation, that the Roman
military ways lye very agreeable to it ; for on fuppofition> this
conf/ift happened about Regnum, now Ring-wood; or Clanfentum,
now Southampton, the Roman ways lye directly thence to Venta
Belgarum, now Winchefter ; and fo to Callena, now Wallengford,

* Gul.SirmneriDiBionariumSaxonico-Lat-tjingl.inverbis. f AttiuiSpartiantninHaelriario. l Cdmd.
Britan. inOxon. " MS. penes Authorm.

accord-

«^ The Statural H'tjlory

according to the Itinerary of Antoninus* ; and thence clofe by
Elsficld toAlchefier, as defcribed in the Map, and in §§. 2 7. and
28. of this Chapter.

73. Which is all I find remaining of the Romans here, but
fome parcels of their Mony found at many other places, particu-
larly near Dorcbefter not far from Dih-hills, near the Fortification
at Idbury, and Madmarflon-hill in the Parifti of ' Svalcliff, inclofed
with a double vallum ; which I therefore judge to have been Ro-
man works. There is alfo a fmail circumvallation in a Wood South
and by Weft of Harpfden Church, near which place there has alfo
been Roman mony dug up (whereof there is fome in the poffeffion

of the Worfhipful Hall Efq;) and fo likewife about Hor-

lej, Swerford, Chippingnorton, Teynton, and a Village called Sinet
near Burford, Stratton-Audley, Fringford and TuJ more, and moft
of them, of the Emperors between Cocceiws Nerva, and Theodofms
thefecond, exclufively. ■ . *

74. After the departure of the Romans came the Saxons into
Britan, and after them the Danes, who alfo made them Works Co
indiftinguifhable from the Romans (otherwife than by the Roman
mony found near them, as in the former Paragraph) that they can
fcarce be known afunder: So that whatever of thefe Fortificati-
ons (at moft places in this County abufively called Barrows) have
no Roman mony found at or near them, I think we muft conclude
either Saxon or Danijh ; Saxon if fquare, and if round Danifi ;
for fo 1 find them diftinguifh'd in a MS, Hiftory of Ireland by
E. S. whereof the fir ft fort he calls Falkmotes, i. e. places for the
meeting of the folk, or people, upon the approach of the enemy 3
and the latter Danerathes, i. e. hills of the Danes made for the
fame purpofex, though I very much queftion whether I (hall find
thefe forms ftri&ly obferved in all places hereafter.

75. Yet I find Tadmerton-Caslle, and Hooknorton Barrow not
far from it, agreeable to this rule ; the former being large and
round, and the other fmaller and rather a quinquangle than a fquare;
both of them caftup (the great round one by the Danes, and the
lefs fquare one by the Saxons) about the year 914, when the
Danes in the time of Edward Senior being grown ftrong and nu-
merous, came forth of Northampton and Leicefter, and made great
(laughter of the Englijh- Saxons at ^oc^meretune, fays J oh. Brom-

* See Burtoft's Map of Antoninus his Itinerary. * Hiftory of Ireland, MS ptnes Autborem.

ton,

Of 0XF0%<D~SH1%E, &

ton, /4w. io.of Edw.Seny. at ^ofieuertune, hysFlorentiusWi-
gornienfis, which he caHs Fi7/^/?z Regiam z, now Hokg-norton.

j6. As for Cbaftleton barrow, by the above-mention'd rw/e, it
fhould be a Fortification of the Danes, perhaps caft up about the
year i o 1 6. at what time Edmund Ironfide met Canutus the Danijh
King hereaboUw, and defeated him after a long and bloody Bat-
tle, fought at a place called Seorftan by fob. Bromton \ Sterne/ion
and Scerufdan by Matth. Wefimin/ter \ Scearslan by Florentws Wi~
gornienfis c and Simon of Durham d, and Sejerftan by Wormiut %
fromfejer vifloria, and yftjfl /j/>« ; whereof all the reft feem but
corruptions, there being feveral fuch in Denmark^nd Norway cal-
led by that name to this day * : which though they all fay ex-
prefly was in Hwinclia or Huiccia, i. e. Worcejler-Jhire, yet I verily
believe it with Camden,to be that (lone not far off, called Fourfiire
Hone (or clfe that other near it) parting four Counties, whereof
Worcejier-fhire is one.

77. And as for the Entrenchments in Merton Woods, 1 guefs
them caft up by King Mthelred, or the Danes in the year 871. at
what time fays Floren.Wigornienfis, King /Etbelred and his Bro-
ther JElfred, cum paganhpugnantes apud S^ZVttUtlZ e, fighting with
the Danes at Mereton (as 1 find this town was anciently written in
the Leigier Book o'lEnJbam f) overcame them,and put their whole
Army to flight. That the Danes had fomwhat to do hereabout, is
further evinced, from one of their (purs in the hands (if I mif-
remember not) of George Sherman, of the Town of Biffeter not
far from this place, which I took no care to get engraven, becaufe
already done by Olaus Wormiut*, where the Reader may fee the
exaft figure of it : All which put together, and that this place is
near the meeting of two military ways , I am pretty well fa-
tisfied that this Battle between JEthelred, his Brother ALlfred, and
the Danes, was much rather here, than at Merdon in Wilt-fiire, as
fome have thought it.

78. And if AdwellCop may pafs for a Fortification, as the En-
trenchments about it on the South-eaft-fide feem to promife,I guefs
it made about the year 1 o 1 o, when the Danes, as Simeon of Dur-
ham teftifies, came forth of their Ships in the month of January,

T In ckrmieo Johan. Bromton. Abbot. Jornalens, in An. 10. Ed. Sen. * Florentim Mgornienfis in Anno
914- * Chroniconjo. Bromton Abb- Jam. iwuitaEdmundiFer.lat. b Matth. Wcftmon. F lores Hi Bar. in
An.ioib. « f lor. Wigor. in An. citato. d Simeon Dunelmenfis Hift. de geftis Reg. Ang. in eodem. * Ol.
Worm. M»n. Van. lib- <;■ Monumentoncm inter Ripenfia f. p. 343. c Floren. Wigornenfis in An citato- ' E
HegiBrode En/ham, MS penes ReverendiJJtmum Decanum & Capitulum Ecclef* Cathedral. Cbrift. Oxonia.
« Qlai Wormii Monument. Vamcor- lib. 1 . cap. 7. p, 50. Fig. E.

and

7^6 The Statural Hi jlory

and paffing through the Chiltern Woods,came to Oxford and burnt
it\ ere&ing perhaps this fortified Barrow in the way, where 'tis
like they might meet with fome oppofition, and loofe fome prin-
cipal Captain. As alfo upon Shotover-hill, where rhere feems to
have been two other little Barrows, on the left hand of the road
from Oxford to London ,that fhould I confefs have been mention'd
before in §. 5 1 . of this Chapter.

79. But as for the large fquare Entrenchments on Callow-hills
in the Parifti of Stunsfield (which yet 'tis poflible too may have
been an old Britift town, fuch as defcribed by C<efar, Oppidum vo-
cant cumfj/lvas impedita6vallG atquefofia. munierunt\ it being much
larger than any of the reft, and having deep holes within, I fup-
pofe, to preferve water") the fmall Fortification under Cornbury
Park-wall , and the large one called Beaumont , near Mixbury-
Church, encompaffed with a ditch 1 70 paces one way, and 128
the other ; I can give no account of them, but that in general 'tis
like they were works of the Saxons, thefe being aWfqua re, though
the laftby its name fhould indeed be Norman.

8 o . And fo again for the Fortification commonly called Round-
caftle, weft of Begbrook Church, but in the Parifh of Bladen,
and Lineham Barrow (between which and Pudlycot, a Seat of the
ancient Family of the Lacy's, there is a paflage under ground
down to the river') I can fay little of them, but that in general 'tis
moft probable they were made by the Danes (they being both
round) but upon what particular occafion , I could no where
find.

81. Befide the circles of Earth caft up by the Danes, there
are others of slone in many places of this Nation, and particular-
ly one here in the very bounds of Oxford-fiire, near Chipping-nor-
ton, in the Parifh of Little Rollwright, the ftones being placed in
manner and form, and now remain as exactly engraven Tab. 16.
Fig. 2222, in a round of 'twixt 30 and 40 paces over ; the tai-
led: of them all (which may be zfeak for the reft) being about fe-
ven foot high. North of thefe, about a Bolts-fhootoff, on the
other fide the hedge, in the County of Warwick.-, ftandsonefin-
gly alone, upwards of nine foot high, in form as defcribed Fig.
1 . and Eaft ward five others, as in Fig. 3 . about two furlongs off,

* Simeon Dunelmenfistde geftis'Reg. Avg. in Anno ioio. ' Jutii Cafar'u Comment arior.de MoGalli-
co, lib. 5.

the

OfOXFO\T>~SHI\E. 33?

the higheft of them all about nine Toot alfo ; meeting formerly at
the top (as drawn by Mr. Camden) with their tapering ends, al-
moft in fhape of a wedge, fince whofe time there are two of them
fallen down from the reft. Of which ancient Monument (or what
ever elfe it be) he gives us in brief this following account k. -

8 2. Not far from Burford (he {hould have faid Chipping-norton^
for Bu rford cannot be lefs then 7 or 8 miles from it) upon the ve-
ry border of Qxford-flAre, is an ancient Monument, to wit, cer-
tain huge (tones placed in a circle : the common people call them
Rollrich-ftones, and dream they were fomtimes men, by a mira-
culous Metamorphofis turned into hard ftones. The higheft of
them all, which without the circle looketh into the Earth, they call
the King,becaufe he (hould have been King of England (forfooth)
if he had once feen Long-Compton, a little Town lying beneath,
and which one may fee if he go fome few paces forward.

83. Other/z/eftanding on the other fide, touching as it were
one another, they imagin to have been Knights mounted on horfe-
hack., and the reft the Army. Thefe would I verily think*
fays he, to have been the Monument of fome Victory, and happily
cre&ed by Rollo the Dane, who afterward conquer 'd Normandy ;
for what time he with his Vanes troubled England with depredati*
ons,we read that the Danes joyned Battle with the EngliJ/j at Hoch-
norton, a place for no one thing more famous in old time, than for
the woful (laughter of the Engliflj in that foughten Field under
the Raign of King Edward the elder.

84. That this Monument might be erefted by Rollo the Dane, or
rather Norwegian, perhaps may be true , but by no means about
the time of Edward the elder ; for though it be true enough that
he troubled England with depredations, yet that he made them in
the days of King Alfred, I think all the ancient Hijlorians agree,
An. 897. according to Florilegus \ but according to Abbot Brom*
tonm a much better Author, in the year 875, near 40 years before
that (laughter of the Englijb in King Edwards days, as will plain-
ly appear, upon comparifon of this with the 75. §. of the fame
Chapter.

85. Therefore much rather thanfo, (hould I think he ere&ed
them, upon a fecond Expedition he made into England-, when he

* Britannia iaOxford/h. \ Matth. Wefimonaft. in An. citato. m Joban. Bromten A&b.Jorn. in vita
A-uredi.

Uu wa9

y& The D^amal Hi/lory

was called in by King /Ethelftan toaflift him (as Thomas of Walfin-
gham witneffes ) againft fome potent rebels that had taken
arms againft him n ; whom having vanquifhed, and reduced into
obedience to their Prince, and perhaps too (lain the defigned
King of them (who poflibly might be perfwaded to this rebellion,
upon a conditional Prophefie of coming to that honor when he
fhould fee Long-Compton) might erect this Monument in memory
of the Fafl ; the great fingle ftone for the intended Ring, the five
flones by themfelves for his principal Captains, and the round for
the mixt multitude (lain in the Battle, which is fomwhat agreeable
to the tradition concerning them.

86. But if I may give my opinion what I really think of them,
(though I do not doubt much but they muft be a Danijh or Norwe-
gian monument") I can by no means allow the round or other flones
to be Sepulchral monuments : For had the Cirque of flones been any
fuch memorial, it would certainly have had either a tumulus in the
middle, like the monument near the way to25trcfein Seland, and
of TUttgtJeen Mitt not far from it °, and another near &oef$il& * ;
or a ftone Altar, as in the notable monument of HaraldHyldetand
near JLtitZ in Seland p, placed there, fays Wormiws (in another
part of his Book) eo fine ut ibidem inmemoriam defuntti quotannis
facra paragantur, that they might yearly offer Sacrifices in memo-
ry of the defunct, at the place of his inhumation. But neither
of thefe are within Rollright Cirque, nor could that curious and
learned Antiquary the Worfliipful Ralph Sheldon of Beoly Efq;
(one of the nobleft Promoters of this defign) who induftrioufly
dug in the middle of it (to fee whether he could meet any ]ym-
bols or marks-, either who might erect it, or for what end or pur-
pofe) find any fuch matter.

87. For the very fame reafon, it is alfo as certain that it can-
not have been any place of judicature, fuch as was ufed in old
time in the Northern Nations, whereof there is one fo great in
Seland, as defcribed by Wormim, that it takes up no lefs than fix
and forty great flones of ftupendious magnitude within its cir-
cumference q, and fo does Rollright and more too ; but then it
has no ftone (nor I fuppofe ever had) erected in the middle for
the Judge to fit on, as thofe always had. Befide thefe Fora, or

• Tho.dtWal[inghamTpodigmaNtuflri*tf*kinititm. • QlaiWormiiMon.Danic. lib.i.caf.^. * Idem
hb. i.cap.6- * Idemlib. l-cap. 5. *» Qlai Warmii Mon. Danic.lit. leap. 10.

places

Of 0 XFO ^D^SHI^E. x?

places of Judicature, (by the Danes called ^ttlggTj feem always to
have had their muniments offtone, either of a Quadrangular or
Oval Figure, and not to be entered but at two fides, as that at
^Djetijitlgmention'd by Wormiut*, whereas ours is circular, and
fhews no figns of fuch gates.

88. Which perhaps might occafion the Learned Dr. Charleton,
to judg it rather a Trophie, or Triumphal pile, fet up as a Monument
of fome great Viftorie f, to whom though I cannot but fomwhat
incline, yet am verily perf waded, that at the fame time it might
ferve alfo for the Eleclion and Inauguration of a King ; and much
rather than the great and famous monument of fstone^ettg on Sa->
lesbury Plain ; the very difparities betwixt it and thofe in Ben-
mark, brought by himfelf \ being not to be found here.

89. For befide that it is placed (as all fuch Courts of the
Danes were) 1. Upon anting ground, for the advantage of pro*
ff>ecl (that the common people affembled to confirm thefurrrages
or votes of the Electors by their univerfal applaufe, and congratu-
latory acclamations, might fee and withefs the folemn manner of
Election:) 2. Made of huge flows of no regular Figure. And
thirdly, Having no Epigraph or Infcription cut or trenched in the
Hones, as carrying a fufficient evidence of its defignment and ufe,
in the figure of ksplatform; It is but a jingle Cirque of ftones with-
out Epislyles or Architraves, few of them very high on which
the Electors might eafily get up to give their fujfrages, as was ufii*
ally done in the Northern Nations ; whereas ^toue^eng is made
up of three circles at leaft (fome fay four') and the Jlones of each
circle joyned with Architraves, whereof there is no example to be
found in thofe Countrys.

90. Now that the Northern NatioristfwdWy erefted fuch Cirques
of rude ftones for the elellion of their Kings, is fully teftified by
Olaut Wormius, Reperiuntur inquit in his oris loca quaedam in quibm
Reges olim folenni creabantur pompa, qude cincla adhuc grandibu4
faxh, ut plurimum duodecim, cenfyiciuntur, in medio grandiore quo-
dam prominent e, cui omnium fuffragw Eleftum Regem imponebant',
magnoque applaufu excipiebant. Hie isr Comitia celebrabant, (y dt
Regni negotii* confultabant. Regem vero defignaturi Electores Sa-
xk infifiebant forum cingentibws, decreti firmitudinem pronunciantes u;
i. e. as Englifhedby Dr. Charleton w.

r Ibidem- » Dcxftor Charleton 's Stone Heng reftored to the Danes, pag. 4^'. t Idem pdg. f4- tf o/
Wormri Monument. Dank. lib. 1. cap. 12. " Stone-Heng reftored to the Vane$,pag. 48.

U u 2 91* In

3^.0 The Statural Hifiory

9 r . In this County arc beheld certain Courts of Parliament, in
which Kings heretofore were folemnly elected, which are fur-
rounded with greatftonesjor the moft part twelve in number, and
one other ftone exceeding the reft in eminency, fet in the middle ;
upon which (as upon a Regal Throne') they feated the new ele-
cted King, by the general fuftrage of the ArTembly, and inaugu-
rated him with great applaufe and loud acclamations. Here they
held their great Councils, and confulted about affairs of the King-
dom: But when they met together to nominate their Kings, the
Electors hood upright on the Jiones environing the Court, and gi-
ving their voices, thereby confirmed their choice.

92. The very fame pradice of the Northern Nations, with the
Ceremonies of it, are alfo briefly fet down by Saxo Grammatics,
Lefiuri Regem veteres affixis humo Saxkinfijlerefuffragiaquepromere
confueverunt , fubjeclotum lapidum firmitate, fafli conflantiam omina*
turi x, i. e. that the Ancients being about to choofe their King,
ufed to ftand upon (tones fixed in the ground, and thence give
their votes, by thefirmnefs of the jiones on which they ftood, ta-
citly declaring the firmnefs of their AH. Which manner of ele-
ction is alfo proved of them, by Crantzius-, Meurfiu*, and Bern*
hardus Mai in cor t de Archicancellariis y.

93. Which places of election itfeems were held fo /acred, as
further teftified by Worm'u^, and out of him by Dr. Charleton %
that in times of peace the Candidate King, was obliged de Jure
there to receive his Inauguration, the place and ceremonies being
accounted effential parts of his right to Soveraignty, and the votes
of his Eleftors much more valid and authentick for being pro-
nounced in the ufual Forum.

94. But if it happened the King fell in a Foreign expedition by
the hand of the enemy, the Army prefently got together a parcel
of great Jlones,zt\d fet them in fuch a round, as well fomtimes per-
haps for the interment of the corps of the deceafed King, as e/e-
ttion of his fuccejfor. And this, 'tis like, they did, 1 . Becaufe
they efteemed an eletlion in fuch a Forum, a good addition of 7i-
tle. And fecond, with all expedition, becaufe by the delay of
fuch eletlion too long, irreparable damages many times accrewed
to the Republick. thereupon b ; which practice of the Danes they

* Saxon. GramrnaticiHifi.J>anorum,lib. i. fubmitium. 1 De qu'tbui vide Olnum Wamium, Mon. t>*n.
ljb.\.caf.\i- » Ibidem fubfijtem. • Storn-H«ng reftored to the f>*?HS,f. 48. h Ol. Wormii M«». D*».
'ib.i.cap.\2.fubfi?iem.

both

of 0 XFO'Hp^ Ht%E. f£

both confirm, by the authorities of Stephana Stephanie, in his
Commentaries on the firft Book of Saxo Grammaticas's Hiftory of
Denmark, and Soaningiusz grave and faithful Writer of that Na*
tion, though what they cite of the latter (if that be all be fays)
fcarce proves quite fo much.

95. Befide the erection of Stones in Foreign Nations upon the
lofs of one King, and eleclion of another, what if I ftiould add
that its alfo very likely that the fame might be done at the Invefli*
ture of a Conqueror into a new acquired Principality : Thus why •
might not Rollo, either being compelled as z younger brother, to
leave Denmark, or Norway, as was appointed by the Lave of the
former Kingdom, and to feek him a new feat c • or forced from
the latter for Piracy by King Harold Harfager, as in the Chronicle
of Norway d ; I fay, why might not Rollo after good fuccefs againft
rhofe he invaded (as Walfingham fays exprefly he was e, though
in another place) be elected Kingby his followers, and be inaugu-*
rated here, as well as there, within fuch a circle of Jiones, which
bearing his name co this very day, and he being acknowledged
both by Bromton* and Florilegu* 8 to have beaten the Saxons., and
to have tarryed in this Nation a whole Winter, it is highly pro-
bable he might be.

96. For if we enquire into the origin of the name of this
Cirque of Jiones, we (hall find that &fetd& or !Rift fignifies a King-
dom, and fomtimes a King, as €yn nitty frato, the Queen, or Kings
woman h : Whence 'tis plain, chat thefe Jiones feem (till to be cal-
led the Jiones of King Rollo, or perhaps rather of Rollo' $ King-
dom, for it was cuftomary for them to have fo many Cirques of
Jiones as Kingdoms, though in the fame Country. Thus, as Wqt*
mim teftifies, there are three at this day in the Kingdom of Den-
mark', one in Seland, another in Schoneland, and a third in the
Cimbrick Territory, becaufe thefe were anciently three diftinct
Principalities, and under the dominion of as many Kings1, as 'tis
certain England was alfo about this time.

97. And if this conjecture may be allowed to take place, we
arefupplyed alfo with a reafon why we have no tumulws in or neaf
this monument, there being no King or eminent Commander flain,
but only a conqueft of the enemy in or near this place, intimated

' ThoWalfmgham'sYpodignatleuftri* in principle, * Vtd. Cbronictn. tionatgicum- * TbtWatfingharrlt
Ypodigma Neujlri* inprineip. ' Job. Bromtcm Abbat- Jornal. in An.%-]^. * Matth. Weftmon- in An- 897.-
* Vtd- Petri Dafyfodii Diifionat. Lot. Gerphm. invert. Rigxe- * 0/ Wmrmi Men- Pan. hi- i-ttf. ia-

by

34-fc *Tbe Natural Hijlory

by the fiveflones meeting in a point at the top ; which perhaps*
may be the difpofition intended by Saxo Grammaticus, and out of
him by Wormius, Cuneatoordine, which he fays exprefly fignified,
Equeslrium acies ibidem, vel prope,fortunatim triumphafek i.e. that
Knights or Horfe-men there, or near the place, obtained a glori-
ous Viftory.

98. Yet againft this conjefture I fore-fee there lye two objections
worth removal. 1 . That in thefe Cirques of flones defigned for
the elettion of Kings, there was always a &Oflgftolen moft times
bigger than the reft placed in the middle of it, as intimated above,
§.90. Andfecondly, that had this place been at firft defigned
for the Inauguration of a Danifb or Norwegian King, and fuch
places been fo effential to a good title, as pretended above, §.93.
certainly all the Kings of the Vanijb race that reigned after here
in England, would have been either crowned here, or at fome
other fuch Forum ; whereas we have no fuch Bottgftolett in the
middle of the Cirque • and befide, find Canutus with great fole-
mnity Crowned at London, Harold Barefoot here at Oxford (not
far from this Cirque) and Hardi-Canute likewife at London.

99. To which it may be replyed, that though not placed in
tht Cirque, yet here is a ftongftolett not far off, which 'tis like,
was not necefTary fliould be fet within it ; for I find the place
where the new eleftedfcmg ftood and (hewed himfelf to the peo-
ple, at the Forum for this purpofe at %tixt in Seland, to have been
without the Area, as our &ottgttolen is. -Area faxh undique cincla
Coronationi Regum deputata vicinum habet Collem, cut Coronate jam
infi/iebat jurapopulo daturus, iy omnibus confpiciendum fepr debit urut\
i. e. that the Area encompaiTed with flones defigned for the Coro-
nation of their Kings, had a Hill near it, whence the new Crown-
ed King gave Laws, and Chewed himfelf to thepeople ; it feeming
indifferent from hence , and another fuch like hillock called
CfOUebarolilOV, whereon the King alfo ftood, at the place of
fuch ele&ion near Lundie in Scania m, whether he afcended a ftone
or mount of earth; within, or without the Area, fo he thence
might be feen and heard by thepeople.

100. And to the fecond Objection it may be reafonably an-
fvvered, that the Danes by this time having gotten the whole
Kingdom, and fuch capital Cities as London and Oxford were,

* Idem lil>. i.cap.y. » ldtmlii 1 cap 5. *> Idem lii.U cup a.

«fe might

Of OXFOXV-SHIXE. j4j

might well change the places of their Coronations : Befide, Canute
and the reft were much greater perfons, and more civilized than
Rollo and his crew, can be prefumed to have been ; for befide that
he lived above a hundred years before them, we find him (though
the fon of a Norwegian %ty\i, or Earl) a great Pyrate at Sea n, and
little better then a Robber by Land ; well might he therefore be
contented with this Inauguration, after the old barbarous fafhion,
having gained no City wherein it might be done with greater fo-
lemnity.

i o i . But as for the fiones near the Barrow at Stanton- Harcourti
called the Devils Coits, I fhould take them to be appendices to
that Sepulchral Monument, but that they feem a little too far re-
moved from it ; perhaps therefore the Barrow might be caft up
for fome Saxon, and the fiones for fome Britans (lain hereabout
Caut vice verfaj at what time the Town of e^ney-ham, about a mile
off, as Camden informs us, Was taken from the Britans by Cuth-
wolf the Saxon °. Which is all I can find worthy notice con-
cerning them, but that they are about eight foot high, and near
the&j/efeven broad ; and ..that they feem not natural, but made
by art, of a fmall kind of fiones cemented together, whereof
there are great numbers in the Fields hereabout ; which makes
thus much for the conje&ure concerning thofe at Stone-Hcng,
that they may be artificial, it being plain from thefe, that they
could, and did do fuch things in the ancienter times.

1 02. There ftands alfo a ftone about half a mile South-weft of
Enfion Church, on a Bank by the way-fide between Neat-Enfion
and Fulwell, fomwhat flat, and tapering upward from a broad
bottom, with other fmall ones lying by it ; and another near the
road betwixt Burford and Cbipping-nor ton, which I guefs might
be ere&ed for the fame purpofe with the two former, as above-
mention M : Unlefs we (hall rather think, both tbefe and them to
have been fome of the Gods of the ancient Britans, as the Reve-
rend and Learned Dr. Stillingfleet thinks it not improbable thofe
Pyramidal fiones-) mention'd by Camden in Torkrjbire, called the
Devils boltsp, fomtimes were. Andfolikewife Stone-Heng in
Wilt/hire, which he judges neither to be a Roman Temple, nor Da-
nijb Monument, but rather fomwhat belonging to the Idol Marh^

* VidckronhonNorwegicum. • Vid.CamdBritan.h Oxfordjh- * Idem i* Com. E&&.

34.4. The Statural Hifiory

lis, which Buxtorf faith the Rabbins called D'Sip n'3 ^^^w Koli**\
of which more hereafter when I come into that County ; and into
Ketf/, where of Kits-coty-boufe, which I take to be an Antiquity
of the fame kind.

103. That the Britanslong before the arrival of the Romans,
were acquainted with the Greeks, has fufficiently I guefs been
made appear already, §. 66. of this Chapter ; and that long be-
fore that they were known to the Phoenicians, and all the Eailern
Countries, is plain out of Strabo r, and Bochartws ', and by com-
parifon of the Learning and Religion of the Druids, with thofe of
the Indian Brachmans. Now that it was the ancient cuftom of all
the Greeks tofetup unpolifi' 'dftones inftead of Images, to the ho-
nor of their Gods, we have the teftimony of Paufanias in thefe

WOrds #n* 5 *n mhcuongft, , <& To?i moiv E.M.ec<, ti^s fig&SV aVri aLyxh^f-

$?%* dpy>\ hi&>i\ i.e. that unhewn ftones amongft all the Grecians,
had the honor of Gods inftead of Images ; more particularly the
fame Author aflerts, that near the Statue of Mercury there were 30
fquare ftones, TgTe^roi *A9oi r&<*wm, which the Pharii worfhipt,
and gave to every one of them the name of a Goda.

1 04. That the Arabians and Paphians alfo worflhip'd fuch like
Gods, is like wife witnefled by Maximums Tyr i'i6. A&IG01 eiSvai^r,

ovnvccSi esKoTSbt,' 3 Si aytXng.0 eTSbv, PuG©. 1m ttt^ayev^-. Fa<p/ois?i fMv A-
9£P$tw i«!s ittf&s *xi' 8 5 ayai\(J& vx. ay (I^ooj: aMfti t^ *i >mejL[Uix Awxj •

i.e. that the Arabians worfhip'd he fcarce knew what God , but
that he faw amongft them was only a fquare flone ; and that the
Paphians wordiip'd Venus under the reprefentation of a white
Pyramid.

105. And Herodian defcribing the Worjhip of HeUgabalus at
Emefa in Phoenicia, faith, that he had no kind of Image after the
modern Greek, or Roman fafhion made by mens hands, *'G©*

Si mi £?i fJJiyr&t y&'m&iv i^ipgp™, A^'jew eis o^uVeT*, xwoa^s ew/7&T 2*^51 *>

i. e. but a great ftone round at the bottom, and lefleningby de-
grees toward the top, after the manner of a Cone. To which
add, that Peter della Valle, in his late Travels into the Indies,
faith, that at Ahmedabad there was a famous Temple of Mahadeu*
wherein there was no other Image but a little column of ftone af-

* Job. Buxtorfii Lex. Talmud- in v. Markplis. t strabonis Geographic, lib. \pag. 1 75> Edit. If- Cafaub.
Paris, <^An. 1620. * Sam. Bocharti Ceog.Sacr.part.2H6. I. cap. 39. c n*«n»»i* A%a4>&.pag. 228. E<#/.
Silburg. " /bidem. w Max. TyriiDifJert. Pbllofoph.tf. p tf*).. Edit- Dan- Heinpi. * Herodiani Hifto-
riar-lii 5-p<srg. 114. Edit Hen. Stepbani.

ter

OfOXF 0^ D,S HI%E. 34*

ter a Pyramidal form ; which Mahadeu, he faith, in their Lan-
guage fignifies the great Godyn And after this fafhion, he faith,
'tis the cuftom of the Brachmans to reprefent Mahadeu *.

1 06. All which being put together, efpecially as recommend-
ed by fo Learned a Perfon as the Reverend Dr. Stillingfleet ■, have
prevailed with me much : However, the Reader is free toufe his
judgment, whether they are memorials of the dead, as common-
ly thought, or reprefentations of the Deities of the ancient Bri+
tans, given them by fome Companions of the Eaftern Merchants,
trading hither for Tin, to the C affiterides .

107* Other Antiquities contemporary, with the fiones above-
mentioned, I met with none here in Oxford-Jhire, but thofe three
Rings lincked one within another, and engraven by miftake a lit-
tle out of their place, Tab. 16. Fig. 4. for that they are not like to
be Britijb or Roman, I think is pretty certain. The Britans, 'tis
true, ufed Rings inftead of Mony, yet as C<efar teftifies, they were
only of Iron*. And though the Romans, amongft their other
dona militaria, did ufually give Calbeos b, five armillas, bracelets^
yet they were conftantly I find, either of gold or filver ; where-
as ours, as in number, are of three different materials ; the largeft
copper? the fecond iron? and the leaft green glafs, or fome Hone of
that colour.

108. It remains they muft therefore be either Saxon or Vanift,
but whether of the two, we muft not hope to determin, fince we
find fuch rings ufed by both Nations. That the Saxons had fuch
bracelets, is plain from King JElfred, who notwithftanding he
came to the Kingdom, long habituated as it were to rafines and
murders, yet brought it before his death into fo good a pofture-,
(as is learnedly made out, and by what degrees he did it, in that
excellent Hlslory of his Life, now in the Prefs*) that he could, and
did hang up fuch bracelets of gold in the high- ways, which no
Traveller dared touch. ^Elfredus per publicos aggeres, ubi femitde
finduntur in qua drum, Armillasjubebat aureat> appendi, utViantium
aviditatem irritaret, cur non effet qui ea6 acciperet, fays Florilegut
of himc. Where, by the way, perhaps it may not beamifs to
note, that thefe Rings were drawn out of the River Cherwel with
a Fifhing-net, near Hampton Gay, not far from the meeting of

I Pet- delta Valle Viaggi, f. 3 Lett. 1 . $.15. p. 107. * Ibidem. * "Jul. Cafarii Comment, de bello GaUicoj
lib 5. b VidSexti?omp.Fefli,Fragment.libro-$. t Matth.Weftmon. Flora Hifl. in An.%<)i.

X x fuch

^6 The Natural Hi/lory

fuch ways at Kirkl'ington, and kindly beftowed on me by my wor-
thy Friend Mr. B arry, amongft fome other matters of like nature,
though notfo fit to be mention'd here.

109. And that the Danes alfo made the fame Experiment of the
innocency of their people,and of Univerfal peace & freedom from
rapine, is as manifaft out of Saxo Grammatics, who fays exprefly
of F rot ho the Great, Vt uniufcujufque rem familiar em afurum incur fu
tutam pr&Siaret, Armillam unam in Rupe, isrc* . i. e. that he might
preferve every mans Goods from the fpoils of thieves and robbers,
hung up a bracelet of gold on the rock, called after his own name,
Frothonhpetram • and another in the Province of Wig, threatning
great feverity to the Prefidents of thofe Countries, if they flhould
be taken away. They ufed them alfo (like the Romans) as re-
wards of valour, as appears from the proffer of King Roricut, of
his fix bracelets to any man that would undertake the Champion of
the Sclavi (his Enemies) challenging any man in his Army e ; and
fomtimes too as rewards of Wit, .as the fame Author informs us,
Wiggo being honor'd with a great Armilla by Rolvo Krage, for a
Jeft f; zadRefo, by GotoK'mg of Noway, ideo tantum quod eum
cultim iy familiar ius habuijfet g.

no. Thefe ArmilU, the Danes and other Northern Nations
accounted fo facred, that as Bartholin informs us outof Arngri-
mws, the I/landers ufually fwore upon them, Cujus religionis fuit
ritws, utjur amentum prsftituri, adhibithsteflibus Annulum in Ara De-
orum ajfervari folitum, & in for 0 Judiciali ajudice fupremo in bra-
chio geftatum, hoftiarumque fanguine illinitum, attretiarent b, i. e.
that the manner of people to befoorn was, that before witnefi they
ftiould lay their hands on a certain Ring, ufually kept upon the
altar of their gods, worn upon the arm of the Chief Juftice (whence
'tis plain it was an Armilla') and fmeared over with the blood of
their Sacrifices. And Ethelwerdus and Ajferiws both acquaint us,
that King Mlfred having gotten confiderable advantage over the
Danes, made them fwear (befide on his own Reliques) in eorum
Armilla facra, quod c£ter arum Regionum Regibus fecere nunquam1,
i. e. upon their holy bracelet, which they had never done before
to the Kings of any other Nation.

i Saxon. Gram. Hift. Dan. lib. 5 . p. 46 Edit. Operin. e idem lib. 3 . pag. 24. D. ' Idem lib. 2 . pag. 16 C.
e Idem lib. 8. /lag. 83. C- h Tho .Bartholin/ Schedion de tArmtllii veterum, §. 7./. 98. ' Chronicorum E-
thelvierdijib.if. in An. 876. vid- etiam Ajferium Menevenf. ineodem An-

in. Which

of 0 XFO%$)~S Hl%E, 547

in. Which ArmilU it feems were fomtimes fingle, and fom-
times curioufly link'd together. Thus the fix bracelets of King
Roricus above-mentioned, are faid to have been, ita mutuh nexi-
bus involutes ut ab invicem fequeilrari nequirent, no Jorum inextrica-
biliter ferie coh<£rentek, i.e. fo inextricably involved one within
another, that ihere was no parting them. The Learned Bartho-
lin alfo informs us, that fomtimes the Armilla had a Ring hung
to it. Eft tamen ArmilU fuus quandoque circuits 1 1 And that when
rings are thus hung to bracelets, there is always fome my fiery, in it,
quo d annuli Armillk ferejungantur non caret myfterio m. Where by
ArmilU he means $M'a> or ^y&pma., ornaments for the wrifts,
and by annuli and circuli, ornaments for the fingers : ArmilU id
brachio fr<*ftant, quod digim annuli n, i. e. that bracelets have the
fame ufe on the wrift, that rings have on the finger.

112. Now that ours was an Armilla, is plain enough, for
that the great Coffer ring is of fomwhat above three inches dia-
meter, and big enough to encompafs any ordinary mans wrift ;
the letter iron one, and green ring of glafs, being additional orna-
ments, efpecially the latter, which queftionlefs was put on to re-
prefent an Emrauld ; that fort of slone, as Pignorius and Bartho-
lin both teftifie, being much ufed in bracelets ° : which makes me
think it the bracelet but of fome ordinary perfon, the Armilla it
felf being coffer, with which, faith Bartholin, only the vulgar1
adorned themfelves, ArmilU <zreje, flebedt cenfendde funt p,and the
affendent glafi but a counterfeit Jewel.

n^. For eminent places in this County, during the Govern-
ment of the Saxons and Vanes in Briton, we may reckon firft Ban-
bury, then called Baneybypis, where Kenric, the fecond Weft-Saxon
King, about the year 540, put to flight the Britans, fighting for
their lives, eftates, and all they had q. After the Conqueft, about
the year 1 1 25. it was ftrengthned with a Caftle by Alexander the
then great Bifhop of Lincoln ; and fince that, Jan. 26. i° MarU,
made a Burg or Burrough confifting of a Bayliff, 1 2 Aldermen,
and 1 2 Burgeffes, in recompence of their faithful fervice done to
the faid Queen Mary (as 'tis expreftin their Charter) in manful-
ly refilling John Duke of Northumberland that rebelled againft
her ; whence 'tis plain this Town was ever zealou* in matters of

k Sax Cram.Hift. Pan./ii. ^.p.i^.D.Edit.Operini. ' Tko. Bartholin. Schedion de Arm. Vet. §4.^.41.
" ldem§ \-inprincip. n Ibidem. ° Vid. Laurentium Pignoriumde Seivis. Et Bartholin. Schedion de Ar~
mill- §. 3./*. 37. ? Idem%. 3. de Armillarum materia, p. 32. * camd. Bntan< in Oxf.

X X 2 RC*

34-S The Statural Hifiory

Religion, of what perfwafion foever they were , heretofore as
well as now. Since again on the 8 o1June,Jac. 6, it was made
a Major Town, confiding of a Major, 12 Aldermen, and 6 Capi-
tal'Burgejfes.

114. And fecondly, Ben/on, alias Benefingtune* , which Ma-
rian (fays Camden) calls villam Regiam, the Kings Town, and re-
porteth that Ceaulin, the third King of the Weft-Saxons, about the
year 572, took it from the Britans, which his fucceflbrs kept
200 years after, till they were difpofleft again by Offa the great
King of the Mercians1, And thirdly, though Dorcbetfer has
its name from the Britifi Dour , which fignifies water , and
therefore called by Leland, Hydropolk ; and feems to have been
known to the Romans by the many found thereabout, and the La-
tin termination Ce(ler, which, fays Leland, the Saxons apply ed to
Cities as well as Fortifications* ; yet it never came to its height till
Birinus, an. 614. was feated there as Bifhop of the Weil-Saxons,
by Cymjelre their King, whom he had newly Baptized, and Of-
wald King of Northumberland, God-father to Cynigelfe1.

115. About this time the Town of Berencefter, alias Bernce-
fter, in Saxon Bupenceartep, and' Bepnacej-cep, which I take to have
been its primitive names, feems alfo to have been raifed, and to
have taken its name ,as fomehave thought, from the fame Bifhop
Birinus, quafi Birini ca/lrum : But I much rather believe it fo cal*
led from Bern-woo d, or For reft, mention 'd by Bede", F/orilegus,
and Wigornienfis w, upon the edge whereof it was then feated,
nor is now far off it ; after which perhaps from St. Eadburg, to
whom the Priory there was, and Parifh Church is now dedicated,
it changed its name to Burgcefter, and fince that to Burcefter, now
Bijfeter.

116. The Town of Bur ford, in Saxon Beoppopb, feems alfo to
have been a place of good Antiquity, but moft remarkable for a
battle fought near it, about the year 750% perhaps on the place
ftill called Battle-edge, Weft of the Town betwixt it and Upton ;
between Cut bred or Cuthbert, a tributary King of the Weft-Saxons,
and Etbelbald the Mercian, whofe infupportable exactions the for-
mer King not being able to endure,^ came into the Field againft

* Will.Malmesbur'tenf. dc geflis Reg. Ang.lib. i. cap- 2- r Cam Jew Britan. inCom.Oxon. f Lelandi
Comment. inCygneam Cant. inv. Hydrtpolis. r Ven.Beda Hift. Ecde fun Gent. Ang.M>A-cap.7> v Chro-
no/ogiaSaxonka, in An. 921. • Mat.Weftmon. & Florent.Wigorn. in An. 918. * Rog. Haveden Anna/.
Part. priori in An. cit at.

him,

OfOXFO ^D-S HI %E> 34.9

him, met, and overthrew him here about Burford, winning his
Banner wherein there was depi&ed a golden Dragon7 ; in memo-
ry of which Viftory, perhaps the custom (yet within memory) of
making a Dragon yearly, and carrying it up and down the Town
in great jollity on Midfummer Eve, to which (I know not for
what reafon) they added a Gyant, might likely enough be firft
inftituted.

117. After the Conqueft, I find it the Town of Robert Rati of
Gloceiler, bafe SontoKingi&wry the Firft, to whofe Son William
I have feen an Original Charter granted him by King Henr. 2. gi-
ving to this his Town of Bureford, Gildam & omnes confuetudints
quas habent liberi Burgenfes de Oxeneford; moft of which it has
iince loft, and chiefly by the over-ruling power of Sir Lawrence
Tanfield, Lord chief Baron in Queen Elizabeths time : Yet it ft ill
retains the face of a Corporation, having a common Seal, isrc. the
very fame with Henley, as defcribed in the Map, if they differ not
in colours, which I could not learn.

118. As for Wuduftokg, or Wudettoc, Sax. pu&ercoc (i. e. locus
fylveftw*) now Wood/lock, it feems to have been a feat Royal ever

fince the days of King Mlfred, it appearing by a MS. in Sir John
Cotton's Library , that he tranflated Boetiut de Confolaticne
Philofophi<e,K.\\exel. Nay, fo confiderable was it in the time
of K ing Mtheldred, that he called a Parliament there, and En-
acted Laws, to be i^een amongft that collection of ancient Laws fet
forth by Mr.Lambard*. Whence it may almoft be certainly conclu-
ded, that here muft have been a houfe of the Kings of England,\ong
before the days of King Henry the Firft ; who yet 'tis like indeed
was the firft that inclofed the Park, with a wall, though not for
Deer, but all foreign wild Beafls, fuch as Lyons, Leopards, Camels >
Linx's, which he procured abroad of other Princes; amongft
which more particularly, fays William of Malmesbury, he kept a
Porcupine, hifpidi* feth cooper tarn, qua* in Canes infeftantes natura-
liter emittunth, i.e. cover'd over with fharp pointed Quills,which
they naturally frioot at the dogs that hunt them.

119. Of the Town of Thame, anciently Tamerrop&a, I could
find little, till about the time of Edward Senior, An. 92 i> when
the Danijh Army out of Huntingdon came hither and erefted fome

1 Camd.BritaninCom.Oxon: * MS.inBMioth.Cott<mi<ma) fubOthone A. * AfX»<"<>t*i*Gu/. Lam-
bard, fol. 82- b Will. MalmesburienJ. dt Henr. i. lib. 5.

kind

250 The Statural Hifiory

kind of Fortification ; but at this time it feems it was fo confider-
able, that it had the reputation of a Burg ; for King Edward com-
ing againft it the fame year, his Army is faid to have befieged the
Burg and taken it, andto have flain the Vanifi King, EarlTo5ior;
and Earl CDannan Kisfin, his brother, and all others whatever with-
in the Town c. And again, An. 1010. when the Danes over-ran
moft of this part of England, we find this Town amongft others
to have fuffered much by them d.

120. Qhippingnorton, anciently Ceapan-neptunc, was alfo moft
certainly a Town of note in the Saxons days, as one may gather
from its name, it being fo called from Ceapan Emere, to buy or
cheapen, fo that it implies as much as Mercat Norton, or Norton
where the people ufually cheapened Wares. And Whitney, now
Witney, feems to have been a Town of good repute before the
Conquesl, it being given about the year 1040. to the Church of
St. Swithins Winton : with eight other Manors, by Alwinm then
Biflhop of that See, who for his over-familiarity with Emma Mo-
ther to K. Edward 'the Confefor, was caufelefly fufpected of Adul-
tery with her : Of which fufpition Queen Emma purging herfelf
and him by the Fire Ordeal, of walking bare-foot over nine red-
hot plough -Jbares without hurt; in thankfulnefs ('tis faid) they
each gave nine Manors to the Church of Winchester, which are all
named by Mr. I>ugdale, Witney being one of thofe given by Al-

winu6 e.

121. And the neighboring Town of Bampton,zncknt\y Bemcune,
feems to be of much about the fame antiquity, yet neither can I
find any higher Record of it, than of Leofric Chaplain to King
Edward thsConfeffor, who ^#.1046. upon the union of the Bi-
fhopricks of Criditon and Cornwal, and both of them tranflated to
Exeter, whereof he was made the firft Bifeop, quickly after gave
to this his new Church his lan& aes Bemcune f9 to which it belongs to
this very day.

122. Which is all I could meet with of the Towns of Oxford-
shire before the Conquejl (for after long fearch I could find no-
thing of Deddington, till about the Reign of King Edw. 2. where-
of when I come to fpeak of the Caslle there) concerning which
I could have added much more, and brought their Hifiory down

1 ChronologiaSaxonica, in An- 92 1. d Joh.Bromton Abb/jornal'tn An.citat. c Monafiici A»gUcani,
VtL 1 . inter Addenda,pag. 980. t E Cod. vet. MS- in Bib. Bodfol. Med. 120. inprincip.

to

Of OXFO\T)^Hl%E. £*

to thefe times, as above in Banbury; only that, and' whatever
elfe is worthy notice of them, may be found in fome other modern
■Hiftories.

123. Yet before we come to the times fince the Conquefl, let us
firft remember that the Town of Iflip, Sax. Gighcrlepe, or Gibcrlepe;
muft needs be of good repute in thofe days, for Camden fays ex-
prefly, and fo do feveral other Authors, that King Edward the
Confejfor was born there, which they prove from his original
Charter of Restoration of the Abby of Weslminsler, wherein he
gives to this his new Church the Town of Iflip, with the additi-
onal Claufe of [the place where he was bornl~\ which though, 'tis
true, I could not find in Mr. Dugdale h, yet here remaining fome
foot-fteps of the ancient Palace, and a Chappel now put to pro-
fane ufe, called the Kings Chapel, and the Town ftill belonging to
the Church of Weflminfter, there is no great doubt to be made of
the thing, tradition it felf being not like to be erroneous in a mat-
ter of this nature, though there were no fuch Charter to prove
the thing alleged, which yet we have reafon to believe there is,
or was, though not produced by Mr. Dugdale.

124. In the Chapel above-mentioned, not many years fince,
there flood (as was conftantly deliver'd down to pofterity) the
very Font, wherein that Religious Prince, St. Edward the Confef-
for, received the Sacrament ofBaptifm : which, together with the
Chapel, in thefe latter days being put to fome indecent at leaft, if
not profane ufe, was carefully and pioufly refcued from it, by
fome of the Right Worfhipful Family of the Browns of Nether
Kiddington, where it now remains in the garden of that worthy
Gentleman Sir Henry Brown Baronet, fet handfomly on a pedefial
as exaftly reprefented Tab. 1 6. Fig. 6. and adorned with a Poem
rather pious than learned, which yet I think I had put down,
but that it is imperfeft.

125. Which holy King Edward was the firft to whom Was
granted the gift of Sanation, only with the touch of his hand, of
the Difeafe called the Struma, or Scrofula, and in Englifti upon
this account, the Kings Evil; which as a mark of Gods moft efpe-
cial favor to this Kingdom, has been tranfmitted with it, as an he-
reditary gift to all his Succeffors : Every facred hand in all Ages ever
fince, that has held the Scepter of this moft happy and now flo-

* Camd. Briton. inCom.Oxon. fc Vid- Monaff icon Angl.voil. p. 59.

rifhing

tfi The J^atural Hiftory

rifhing Kingdom, having been fignally bleftby divers and undoubt^
ed Experiments of healing that Difeafe.

126. Before they touch for this diftemper, they have always
Prayers read futable to the occafion, both which when performed,
the King forthwith beftows on every Patient, a piece of Angel-
gold pur pofely coined, and put upon a white ribbon to be hung a-
bout the neck ; which as long as worn preferves the virtue of the
touch, though Dr. Tooker will have it only, Sanitate fymb wlum in-
choate, & Eleemojyn* facr<e monumentum1, i. e. a mark that the
Cure is already begun, and a lading memorial of the Kings chari-
ty and piety to the poor patients.

127. However it be, that this was the cuftom ab initio, I take
to be plain from that piece of Gold of King Edward the Confeffbr,
Tab. 16. Fig. 5. found in St. Giles's field in the Suburbs ofOxon.
having the initial letters of his name over the hinder part of the
head, and two fmall holes through it, as if defigned to be hung
on a ribbon for the purpofe above-mention'd, the holes being
ftrengthened with Gold Wire fattened round them, and to the
piece it felf, much after the fafhion of the eye of a mans doublet,
as exa&ly defcribed in the Figure, utfupra' which piece was lent
me by that courteous Gentleman Sir John Roleman Baronet, in
whofe poffeflion it now remains at his Houfe near Northam-
pton.

128. From King Edward the Confeffbr s being born at 1/lip, 'tis
eafie to colleft, that his Father King JEthelred muft neceffarily
have had a Royal Seat there, as in all probability likewife at Hed-
dington near Oxford; for though Tradition now goes, that it was
but the Nurfery of the Kings Children, whereof there remains
yet upon the place fome figns of foundations in a Field near the
Town, called Court-cloje ; yet it is plain, that King JEthelred did
fomtimes at leaft refide there himfelf, for he concludes a Char-
ter, or fome fuch like Injirument, wherein he grants Privileges to
the Nionaftery of St. Fridefwide here in Oxon. of his own Refio-
ration, in Englifh thus, C^tSllJntilegetDajJiDit^at^eDinton, and
after in Latin, Scripta fuit hdec Cedula juffu prxfati Regit in villa

Regia qu<£ appellatur, die oftavarum beati Andre* Apofloli,

hi* confencientibu* p quifubtm notati videntur. Ego /Ethel-

redus Rex hoc privilegium, (frck.

* Gul.Tookpri CharifmafivedonumSanatitmitjReg.Aiig.ccclitMconccflum- k Monafticon Anglican. Vol.
y inter addenda, t>w- 08+.

129. Be-

OfOXFO^V^SHI^E. w

129. Befide thefe, the Kings of England had feveral other
feats within this County (not to mention again that Wcodjlockwus
one, or that old Alcesler was the feat of Aleclut) fuch as Beau-
mont, juft without the fuburbs of Oxford, the Birth-place of the
valiant King Richard the Firft. Langley, upon the edge of the
ForeftofWbichwood, a feat, as Tradition has deliver'd it down
to us, of the unhappy King John, who perhaps during the time
of his Refidence here, might indeed build the Caftle of Bampton,
which alfo Tradition informs us was ot his foundation. And
Evpelm, built indeed by William De la Pool Duke of Suffolk-, who
marrying Alice the daughter and heir of Thomas Chaucer, had a
fair Eftate hereabout ; but after, upon the attaindure of John
Earl of Lincoln, and Edmund his brother, Grand-children to the
Duke, it came to the Crown in the days of King Henr. 7. and was
afterward made an Honor, bylayingunto it the Manor of WaU
lengford, and feveral others, by King Hen. 8. All which houfes are
mark'd out in the Map, by the addition of a fmall Imperial Crown
placed fomwhere near them.

130. As all places that gave title to ancient Barons, moft of
whofe Families long fince have been extinguifh'd,are mark'd with
a Coronet \ fuch are, 1. The Baronies by ancient Tenure, which
were certain Territories held of the King, who ftill referved the
Tenurein chief to himfelf : whereof the ancienteft in this Coun-
ty were rhofeof Oxford and St. Valeric, the head of the latter be-
ing the Town of Hok?-Norton % both given by the Conqueror to
Robert WOyly who accompanied him out of Normandy*. 2. The
Barony of Arfic, belonging to Manafer Arfic, who florifh'd An.
1103. 3 Hen. 1. the head of which Barony was Coggs near Witney,
Summerton and Hardmck in this County, being other members of
it. 3. The Barony of Hedindon, now Heddington, given the
25 of Henr. 2. to Thomas Baffet in Fee-farm, whofe Son Gilbert
the Founder of Bifeter Priory, in the firft year of Richard the
Firft, was one of the Barons that attended at the Coronation. And
thefe are all the Baronies of ancient Tenure that were heretofore
in Oxford- /hire.

131. In the beginning of the Reign of King Edward the Firft,
there were feveral other able w7e«fummon'd as Barons to Parlia-
ment, that had not fuch Lands of ancient Tenure, as thole above

« Camd. Briton, in Com. Oxon. * Monaftiam. Jtngl. vol. 2 p.

Yy had,

354. The Natural Hi/lory

had, which were therefore ftiled Barons by W> its of Summons to
Parliament. The firft of thefe in Oxford-Jhire was William de
Huntercomb (whofe feat ftill remains by the fame name in the Pa-,
rifh of Tujfield) who was fummoned to Parliament by the Kings
Writ, bearing date the 23 of Edw. 1. The fecond, I find, was
Joh. Gray of Rotherfield, whofe Anceflors being of a younger
Houfeof Walter Grey Arch-Biftiop of Tork, had Rotherfield given
them, befide many other poffefftons by the faid Arch-Biftiop : He
was fummoned firft to Parliament the 25 of Edrv. 1.

132* Andfo was thirdly, his next Neighbor Ralph Pipard of
the other Rotherfield, in the fame year of the fame King, their
feats having now almoft quite changed their names, forthofe of
their owners ; one of them feidom being called otherwife than
Pipard or Pepper , and the other Grays. Alfo fourthly, John
Baron Lovel, of Minfter-Lovel, whofe anceflors though Barons by
tenure many years before, as feifed of the Barony of Caflle-Cary in
Somerfet-Jhire, yet dif-pofleft of that I know not by what means,
received fummons to Parliament whil'ft feated here at Min§ier,
25 of Edrv. 1*

133. The fifth of thefe Barons was Hen. le lyes, who having a
grant of Sherbourn here in Oxford-Jhire from Richard Earl of Corn-
wall, temp. Henr. 3. which Sherbourn had formerly been a part of
the Barony of Robert deDruis, was fummoned to Parliament the
28 of Edw. 1 . And fo was fixthly, John de la Mare of Garfmg*
ion, the very fame year. To which fhould be added, the Barons
by Letters Patents of Creation, fo firft made about the 11 of Rich. 2.
But of thefe, whofe Barony is now vacant, there is only, feventh-
ly, the Lord Williams, folemnly created Lord Williams of Thame
the firft of April, 1 MarU, who had alfo fummons the fame time
to the Parliament then fitting, but his Patent it feems was never
enrolled.

134. For this account of thefe Baronies, I acknowledge my
felf beholding to that Learned Antiquary, William Dugdale Efq;
Norroy King at Arms, in whofe elaborate Volumes of the Baronage
of England, the Reader may receive more fatisfa&ion concerning
them. Yet befide thefe, as the people will have it, the Manor of
Wilcot was the head of a Barony, one of the Barons whereof, as
tradition tells them, lies buryed under a fair Monument in North-
Leigh Church: But the Writings of the prefent Proprietor, my

worthy

0fOXF0%p~SHlrkE. &

worthy Friend Mr. Cary of Woodcock, (whom yet I found incli-
ned to believe fome fuch thing) being at London, whereby other-
wife it poflibly might have been proved, and the teftimony of the
people being too weak an evidence to build upon ; 1 have rather
chofen to forbear, then add a Coronet to the place.

135. Befide the Saxon and Danifh Fortifications above-men-
tioned, there are others here in Oxford-Jbire of a later date, either
quite rafed, or in a manner ufelefs, and fome of them too, known
but to few ; wherefore I have thought fit to give this ftiort ac-
count of them* To pafs by therefore the Cattle of Oxford, fo
well known to be built by Robert d'Oyly who came in with the Con-
queror, and the Caftles ofBampton and Banbury fpoken of before :
thefirft thatprefentsit felf to my confideration, is the old Caftle
of Deddington, formerly Vathington g, which I take to be ancient;,
and the very place no queftion to which Aymer de Valence, Earl of
Pembroke, brought Piers de Gave/ion the great Favorite of King
Edward the Second, and there left him to the fury of the Earls of
Lancafter, Warwick. ■> and Hereford, who carrying Urn to Warwick.-,
after fome time,caufed him to be beheaded in a place called Blakr
law, in their own prefenceh.

136. Secondly, the Caftle of Ardley, the Foundations where-
of are yet to befeen in a little Wood weft of the Town, which if
any heed may be given to the tradition of the place, florifh'd a-
bout the time of King Stephen: and fo perhaps thirdly, might
Chipping-norton Caftle; free leave being g^ven at the beginning of
his Reign, to all his Subjects to build them Caftles, to defend him
and'them againft Maud the Emprefs,wh\ch at laft, finding ufed fom-
times againft himfelf he caufed no lefs than eleven hundred of
thefe new built Ciftles to be rafed again, which no-doubt is the
caufe we find no more of them, but their bare Foundations and
Trenches.

1 3 7. But fourthly, the Caftle of Middleton, now Middleton-
flony, was none of thefe, for I find Richard de Camvil had Li-
very given him of Middleton Caftle in Oxford-flAre (which muft
needs be this) the tenth of King John, as part of his own Inhe-
litanceby defcent from his Father K And fifthly, as for the ru-
ins of old Fortifications at Craumerfi, or Croamijb Giffard near

* Thom/udelaMoorinHift. vita & mortis EdtJ.I. inprindpio. •> Jbidem. ' See Mr. Dxgdale's Ba-<
ronage of England. v«l- 1- Bar. Camvil.

Yy 2 WaU

y$6 The Natural Hijlory

Walkngford, I take them either for the foundations of that wooden
Tower ere&ed by King Stephen, in the year 1139. when he befieged
Maud the Emprefs, and her Brother Robert Earl of Gloce/ier in
Wallengford Cafile k, or elfe of the Cajlle 0$ Craumerfe, or Croamifi
it felf, built by the fame King Stephen at another fiege of Walleng-
ford, An. 1153. which Henry Fitz^Emprefi endeavoring to raife,
and bringing King Stephen to great ftraits, they came atlaft to
an accord concerning the Kingdom of England1.

1 38. There are fome other Antiquities of yet later date, that
I have met with in Oxford-Jhire ajfo perhaps worthy notice, fuch
as that odd bearded Dart, Tab. 16. Fig. 7. having the beards iffu-
ing from it, not as ufually one againft another, but one lower and
the other higher, perhaps thus contrived for its eafier paflage in,
and as great or greater difficulty to get it out of a body ; which
were it not for the too long diftance of time, I (hould be willing
to take for the Materis, Matam, or Matara, the Britijh long Dart,
which were ufually thrown by thofe that fought in Effedk m : But
theftemof it being wood, and not very hard neither, I cannot af-
ford it to be above 200 years ftanding, or thereabout : Nor can
I add more concerning it, but that it was found fomwhere about
Steeple Barton, and given me by the Worfhipful Edward Sheldon
Efq;

139. Yet thcfione engraven Tab. 16. Fig. 8. dug up in the gar-
den, and now in the poneflion of the Right Worihipful Sir Tho-
mas Spencer Baronet, a moft cordial Encourager of this under -
tahjng, can fcarce be allowed fo ancient as that, the Character up-
on it in Rilieve work being certainly China: Forunlefswe may
imagin it brought thence in the days of King Mlfred, by Swithe-
lin Bilhop of Sher bourn, Qui detulit ad Sanftum Thomam in India
Eleemofynai Regit Aluredi, {& incolumk rediit D, i. e. who carryed
the offerings of King Alfred to the Church of St. Thomas in India,
and returned fafe, we can by no means allow it to have been here,
180 years ; that Country having been quite loft again to this We-
Jlern part of the world, till Vafquez^ Gama was fent by Emanuel
King of Portugal to make new difcoveries, in the year 1497. In
which year, though he recovered the way again to the Eaji Indies,
yet Fernanda* Andradiws difcover'd not China till 1517 °. So that

* ChrovicaGervafii Dorobornen/ii, & Flwen. Wigorv. in An. citato. ' Chron.Gerv. Dorobom.in An.
eitat. a Jul.c*far. comment. deMoGattkOitib.^. ■ Jab Bromton Ab.Jorn. Jv An.i^.RefX Abtrtdi.
• Hitronymi Ojorii Hift. Luftan. lib. 1 1 .

pro-

Of 0 XFV %T>~SHi %£> |j?

provided xKisfione (which in very unlikely) were brought thence
by forae of Andradiu* his company the very firft voyage, yet it
can be (with us) but 160 years -Handing.

140. As for the Stone it felf k is of an odd kind of texture,
and colour too, not unlike (to fight) to fome fort ofcbeefev exact-
ly of the figure and bignefs as engraven an the Table ; and moft
likely of any thing to have been one of their Togra\ or Stamp,
wherein the chief perfons of the Eafiern Countries ufually had their
names cut in a larger fort of Cbaracler, to put them to any In/iru-
ments at once, without further trouble. That they have fuch
kind offlamps, is clearly teftined by Alvures Semedo, in his jBi|-
fiory of China : Tbey Print, lays he, liktwife with Tables of fione,
but this manner of Printing fervts only for Epitaphs, Trees, Moun-
tains, isrc. of which kind tbey have very many Prints ; the fiones
which ferve for thii ufebeingalfo of a proper and peculiar fort v, as ours
feems to be : So that in all probability the letters on this ftone con-
tain only the name, and perhaps the office, or other title of fome
perfon of Quality, and therefore hard to be found out ; and that
it was brought hither by fome Traveller of the Honorable Family
of the Spencers, and either cafually loft, or carelefly thrown out
as a thing of no value.

141. And thus with- no fmalltoil and charge, yet not without
the affiftance of many Honorable Perfons, whole names in due time
lhall be all gratefully mentioned, I have made ffcift to finifh this
specimen of Oxford-Jhire ; which I am fo far from taking for a per-
fect Hijlory, that I doubt not but time and fevere obfervation (to
which 1 hope this £^ov will both encourage and direft) may pro-
duce an Appendix as large as this Book, ', For that new matter will
daily prefent it felf, to be added to fome one or other of thefe
Chapters, I am fo fenfibly convine'd. that even fince the Printing
the firft Chapter of this Treatife, I have found here at home juft fuch
another Echo, as at Mr. Pawlingszt Heddington, in the Portico's
of the new Quadrangle at St. John Baptift's College. And fince my
writing the fecond, my worthy Friend Dr. Tho. Taylor has found
fo ftronga Chalybeat Spring in F nlling-mill-bam-fir earn neat Ofeney
Bridge^ that notwithstanding laft hard Winter (when the greateft
Rivers were frozen) this continued open and fmoaking all the
time, tinging all the fiones by reafon of its not running, nor

* F.iAhares Semedo, Hifl. Chin. part, i.eap.6. [ubfinem*

mix-

}5& The Statural Hi/lory

mixing with other water, with a deep rufty colour. And third-
ly, fince the Printing the 48 §. of Chap. 8. I have feen a Lapis
KanuU taken out from under the Tongue of one Johnfon a
Shoo-maker (by the skilful Mr. Pointer Chirurgion) here in
Oxford.

142. Which is all I have at prefentto offer the Reader, but
that he would take notice, 1. That in Chap. 2. §.69, where I
mention a Well to eminent heretofore for curing diftempers, in the
Parifh of St. Crojfes, that it has given it the more lafting name of
Holy-well-, that I intend not that Well of late eredlion (though
perhaps the water of that is as good) and now molt ufed, but an
other ancienter Holy- well behind the Church, in Mr. Nevil's Court
before his houfe. And that fecondly, notwithftanding the au-
thority of the Learned Dr. Hammond (with whom a man need
not much be aftiamed to err) fome will have, that he calls the
Well of St. Edward in the Parifh of St. Clements, rather the Well of
St. Edmund, for which I find the very fame authority alleged, that
Dr. Hammondbrings q. And laftly to beg of him, that though
in general he find me unequal to my defign, and many particulars
of this£^ perhaps ill placed, and worfe expreffed, that yet
in confideration that this is my firft attempt (wherein many Incon-
veniencies could not be fore-feen? which may hereafter be avoid-
ed) he would candidly accept of the fmcerity of my intention,
with all imaginable endeavor of amendment for the future, in lieu
and excufe of my prefent Inabilities.

} Vid. Hiji & Antiq. Uaiverf- Oxon. lib. 7,$ag. 10. e o/. I.

FINIS.

ERRATA.

IN the Map, the Crown belonging to Ewelm, is mif-placed at Benfon\ and the mark for
Banbury Caftle wanting. In Tab. 7. Fig. 9. for bb read aa; and for reread bb. Inthe
Book, p. 34. line 4. for war*/?, r. meereft. p. 56. 1. i4.forp<*rf/, r. forts, p. 98. 1. 8. r. with
metals, p. 1 Ji.l. 29. r. white Cone. p. 155. 1. 18. for Hampton, x.Bamfttn. p.231. 1. 27. r.
adapata. p. 253, 1, jl, r. »»<J*c*. p. 280. 1. 2. X.ftnined, p, 323. 1. 32, r.r<r£««.p. 344, 1. 31,
r.' V^Jtu-m.

THE

INDEX,

Wherein the firft Figure fignifies the Chapter,
the reft that follow, the Paragraph.

A.

ABele Tree in Oxford-Jhire. cap. 6.
Paragraph. 84.
AdwellCop, an ancient Fortifi-
cation, c. io. par. 51, 52, 53, 78.
Air-pump , invented at Oxford, c. 9,

par. 33.
Air of Oxford-Jhire healthy, proved
from the nature of the foil, wa-
ters, manners, and long life of
its Inhabitants, c. i.far. 1, 2,3.
Air of Oxford (fee Oxford) healthy,
proved from its curing Confumti-
ons. c.2. far.%.

Frequency of the Small-pox,

no argument to the contrary.

far. 9.

Nor the Black Aflize. par. 10.

Not fo healthy formerly, par.u.

Akemanflreet-way. c. 10. par. 2j,&c,

Aldcefier, the feat of the Emperor A-

letius. par. 71.
Anatomy improved at Oxford, c 9-

par. zi/\,&c.
Antiquities, BritifJj. c. 10. par. 2, &c.
fee Coins.

Roman, par. r 8, &c. fee Barrows,
Buryals, Coinsj Pavements,
Ways.
Saxon and Daniff). par. 74, &c
Architecture, fee Buildings.
Ardly Caftle ,when built, c. j o. par.i 36.
Armill<e, Rings or Bracelet s, the ancient

ufeof them, par. 107, &c.
Arfic, an ancient Barony, par. 1 30.
jirteria magna defcendens, turned part-

ly into bone, c. %.par. 50.
Afhes growing in Willows, c. 6. far. 79.
Black Affi%e- at Oxon, c 2. par. io#
Ajlall barrow, a Funeral Monument,

e. 10. par. ^9.
After ia, Star-ftones,f. 5. par. \6, &c.
Move in Vinegar, and why, far.
26, &c.

Afiroites lapis ', Starry -{tones, far. 22.

AJironomy advanced at Oxford, by Lord

Bifhop ofSarum, c. 9. par. 23.

By Sir Chrijiopher Wren, par. 27.

Mr. Hallyot Queens Coll. par. 26 •

Mr. Holland, par. 29.

AtriL lex vulgaris, fisff, not yet defcri-

bed, c. 6. far. 1 1.
Avefditch,an ancient High-way, c. 10.
. /»r. 35,35.

Axel- trees tor C arts made of Iron, c. 9.
par, 106.

B.

Roger (Frier) Bacon his excellent Dis-
coveries, c. 9. far. 2, &i.

Why accufed of Magick, par. 6-.

B amp ton given to the See of Exeter

before the Conqueft, c. 10. par. m.

The Caftle there, built by King

John, far. 125.

Banbury, afhortHiftory of it, c. 10.

par. 113.
Barly with fix ears on one ftalk, c . 6.

tAr- 37-
Rathe-ripe Barley, par. 29.

Barometer, invented at Oxford, c. 9.

pari 34.
Barons, by Writs of Summons to Par-
liament, c. 10. far. 131, &c.
Ancient Baromes in Oxfordjh. par. 130.
Barrels without hoops, c. 9. par. 168.
Barrows, or Barrow- hills, c. 10. par. 48,

^c. item par. 78, &c.
Beaumon, the Birth-place of King iv/-

chardthcY\r&,c. 10. par. 129.
Bees, an emblem of Eloquence, c.j.
par. 18.

The Hiftory of thofeover hud.
Vives his S'udy in Corpus
Chrifli Coll. par. 19, &C.
The improvement and manage-
ment of them in Oxford- fjjire,
far. 24.
A new fort of Hives for them,
c. 9. fart 120.
Z z Belemnit is

Beltmnitts lapis, Thunderbolts
I 'Paragraph 38,^.

Their ule in Medicine, /ar.43.
Ben/on, an account of it before the

Conqueft, c. 10. far, 114,
Birds, lee Diabolus marinus, Hooping-

bird, Toucan, Wood-cracker.
Bijfeter, an account of it before the

Conqueft, c. 10. par. 11^.
Blanketing-trade at Witney, c- 9. par.

169, (3 c.
Native Blue in Oxford-Jhire, c. 3. /w.

1 8. lee Caruleum nat.

The INDEX.

, cap. 5,

Cffar never entred Britan fofar as Ox-
ford-/hire, cap. 3. paragraph 2.

Beaten out by the Britans,c.io.
par. 14, £fc.

xyirs Calculator 1 a fljogeri Sffijjtt, c. 9.
par. 193.

Calendar reformed by Tho.Lydiat, c.9.
par. j p.

Gregorian reformation of the Calendar,
taken from Roger Bacon, c. 9. par.

■d Calendar or regifter of weather, its
ufe, c. 1. far. 12.

Boggy grounds, how drained, c.9. par. Caleva, now Walkngford, c.xo. par.

81,82. 24, 2f.

Thigh-bone of a prodigious bignefs ^ Calf of ir months old that brought

petrified c. 5. par. 158. forth another, c. r.par.^x.

Bracelets, the ancient ufe of them, c . How it is poffible to be fb, par.

10. Par. 1 07, (§c% 42,43.

Br afs lumps, cap. 3. par. 53. item. c. 4. 7£r« Calves cai\ at once, all three li-

/>* r .11. Ving to be of full growth, par. 44.

Bricks made to fupply Laths in Malt- Caraways, an improvement of Land,

kills, c. 9. par. 90. c. 6. par, 36.

Strong Bricks made at Nettlebed, par. Cardites lapit^ c. f.par. 143, 171.

$9. Carts, of what fafhionuied in Oxford-"

The Parifli of Brightrvell has had no Jhire, c. 9. par. 105.

Ale-houfe, Sectary, or fuit at Law, With Iron Axel-trees, par. 106,

within memory or man, c. S.par.95. Cafiles, when and by whom built in

Britain known to the Greeks, long be- Oxford-Jhire, c. 10. par. 13 r, 6?r.

fore the Romans came, cap> 10, /w. C^o$ how feparated from the Corn

66. in Oxfordshire, c p. par. no.

Bronti(et Thunder- [tones, c. 5. par. 29, Chalk eggs, c.^.par.iSo.

&c. Black Chalky c. -3. par. 16, 17.

Called alfo Polar-Jlones, par. 3 2; Chaslleton Barrow, a Danijh Fortifica-

Buboniua laffc, c. ;.^r, 45.

Bufonites lapis, par. 146.

Buildings eminent in Oxfordshire, c.9:
par. 128, tff.

Burford, the reafon why they carry a
Dragon about the Town on Mt£
Jummer-eve,c. 10. par. n6.

tion, r. 10. par. 76.
A fA/W born with another in its
womb, cj.par. 42.

Heard to cry in the Mothers

womb, c. %.par. 2.
Portends no mif-fortune, ibid.

Four Children at a birth, c.S.par. 5-, 6.
Privileges granted them, /<*r. Child-birth, the pangs affecling the
117. Husband, par. 3 , 4.

The ancient and Roman way of Burial, China ware, the way to make it found

c, 10. jter. 40, &c.
Button-molds petrified, c. $. par.ijf.

Stone Cadtvorms (fee Mufca 2 Phryganio

faxatili) c. 7. par. 2 5 .
Caruleumntiivum,c. 3 par,\S. itemc.
6. par. 5 2 .

A fign of Silver Ore, par. 60,
&c.

out at Oxford, c. 9. par. 85.
Chipping-norton, its antiquity, c. 10.
/>ar. 120.

The Caftle when built,/w. 135.
Chubs in the River Evenlode equalling

Pearch in goodnefs, c . 7. ^^r. 30.
Clemath daphnoids, &c. of Englifli

growth, c. 9. par. 10.
A C/fl^ that moves by the Air, c. 9.
par. 19.

By water, par. a.9.

Coals,

The INDEX.

Coals, where likely to be found in Ox-

ford-Jhire, c. $.par. 34.
Cechlea fluviatiles, viviparousj cap. 7.

Taragraph $$.
Cochleomorphites lapis, c. $.par. 140.
Conchites lapis, c» 5. par. 56, &c.

Good tor Tables, &c . ibid.
A Cormorant killed at Oxford, c. 9. par.

11.
Vulvis CornAch'mui invented by R.Dud-
ley titular Duke of Northumberland,
c. 9. par. 211.
A Corn two inches long, c . 8. /w. 4? .
Corw, how managed in Oxjord-Jhire
when green, c. 9. par. 98.

How in Harveit, far. 99, efc.
How preferved in the Bam from

heating, par. 102.
How from Mice in the Rick,

far. 104.
How threfhed when fmutty,

par. 107.
How preferved from Mice and

of feveral men killed by them, cap*
3 . Paragrap ^31, fee.

Are a fign of Coals there-

abouts,/w. 34.
Are remedyed by calling in
Quick-lime, par. 36.
Death, fome odd prefigniheations of

it, c. %.par- 33, fee,
Deddington Caifle, c- 13. par. 135.
Deer of Cornbury Par\ defective in
their horns, when made a Warren,
f. j.p r.45.
Devils Coits. a Funeral Monument, c;
10. par. 101.

Made of artificial ftone, /^.
The juft Devil o{ Woodftck, c. 8. ^r,

37,<irf.
Diaboliu mar in us, Sea Devils- bird, <\

7. /*r. 4.
Dial ax. All Souls College, c. 9 . par. 1 40.

Corpus Chrifti Coll. par. 141.
Dorcheper, an account of it before thd
Conqueft, c. 10.par.114.

muftinefs after threfhing,/w. Robbery Difcovered by a Dream:

ill.

Cornburj Park, fee Deer.

C<?/7/tf t_s4mmonis,af.par. 87, ete.

Bodies why not Corrupted when bury-

ed,c. $.par.?2.
Cofbieticks, or Medicines beautifying

the skin, f. 3./^. 20.
Councils held at Oxford, c. 2. par. 4.

At Kirtlington, par. ~j-
Britifh C<y«£, <•. iopar. 3,4, Cfo .£.

Roman frww, /w. 73.
AC^wofKing^warrftheConfefTor, Isar/As (fee Soils) fit for Husbandry,

8. par. 46.
Dudleys Dukes of Northumberland,

Earls of Warwick and Leicejler, in

Italy, c. 9. par. 149.
Dumb 6c deaf perfbns taught to fpeak,

f . $>p*r. 1 80.
Z)^ A/#x, a Roman Fortification, c4

1©. £>tfr. 39.

fuch as he gave when he touched
for the Kings-Evil, cio.par. 1 27.
Craume,c. 5. par. 48.
Crej-fjh at Saiford, c. 7. par. 31.

Their different colours, when
boiled , (hew the different
goodnefs of waters, ibid.
Crowshow frighted from mifchiefing

Corn, c9.par.9S.
Crow-iron, c. 4. par. 12.
Cufloms ufed in Oxford- /hire. See 2?ar-
ford, Enjham, Hoke- tide, Qui nten,
Stanlake.

D.

c. 3 . par- 8, <fe-r. fee Maries.
Medicinal, c. 3. />4r. 27, fee.
Serving for Statuaries, Tobac*
co pipes, Potters, polifhing
filver, fee. par. 43, 44.
Earths ferving for Earthen floor?*
Ceilings, fide-walls, whiting and
pointing walls, far. 46, fee.
Earths fit for painting. See native
Blue, Lac Luna, Ochre, Pnigitis,
Ruddle, Umber.

Sending forth poifbnous fleams,

See Damps.

Yetundefcnbed, c 3 par. 4.9, fed

A green fort of Earth at sbotover-hjlL

par. 12.

A bearded Dart found at Steeple-Bar- Ear then-wares, as Juggs, Bottles, Por-

ton, c. 10. par. 138. . cellane, the way how to make them

Damps at North Leigh,\rith an account difcovered at Oxfordf.9 par- 8 4. fee.

Zz 2 An

The INDEX.

An Earthquake at Stanton St. $ohnsy

c.3. far. 54*
Echimites lafit) c 5. far. 82,^.
£chos , their feveral forts, c . 1 . far.

14.

Returning twenty Syllables at
Wo odftock, far. 1 J . at M*gtf.
Co#. />*r. 22.

How to find the place of the
fpeaker, and the place re-
turning the voice,far. 1 6,fac.

Tonical , or returning a cer-
tain Mufical Note, c. 1. far.
23.

Tautological, or returning the
fame word feveral times,
fir. 25-.

Returning often the lame inar

Failing, Rebecca Smith failed ten
weeks, c. 8. far. 11.

Began to eat after the applica-
tion of an Amulet, ibid.
Fellmongers , a pretty confiderable

Trade at Witney, c. 9. far. 173.
Feveel, fome unulual forts of it in Ox-
ford-fare, c. 3. far. 41, 42.
Finfcale, a Fifh not yet defcnbed, c .

7. par. 29.
Fir-tret* planted in Oxford-fb're , c.

6. par. 84.
Fijhes, See Finfcale, Mytilns, Pride.
Fifh ponds, a new contrivance to few
them, c. 9 far. 47.

ticulate found, at Hedding- Flints, tranfparent like Agats, c. 4.

ton, far. 25. at New Coll. far.

30. at All-fouls Cell. par. 3 1. at

S. Joh.Baft. Coll.c- 1 far. 141 .

An Egg with another within it, c. 7.

p*r. 17.
King .Edfa;. the Conf. born at JJllf, c.
10. far. 123.

His Fo/rt frill remains at Sir H.

Browns Bar. far. 1 24.
Firft cured the Kings Evil, far.
125.
EleBrum, a mixt metal of Gold and
Silver found in England, cap. 10.

far. 15.

Black, their ufe, ibid.
A great F/^W in the River Cherwett,

c. 2. par. 17.
Fortifications in Oxford-fiire,c.\o.par.
73, <&*.

At CroamiJh,Giffard, far. 137.

In Merton Woods, where King

JEtbelred beat the Vanes, far.

11-
Freeftone, the feveral forts, f . 4. ^^r.

24,25.

Rivers Freeze firft at the bottom, r . 2.

far. 15.

5". par. j 3 2.

/4r. 8, <fer

EKiftical hjfothefis of the Planets mo- Fungites lapis, c
tions, firft. demonftrated at Oxford,
c.y. par. 84, #f. G.

An Elm whofe trunckis fix yards dia-
meter, <r. 6. /or. 65. Garfmgton, an ancient Barony, c 10.

An Elm flourifhing without Bark or par. 133.

pith, ibid. Geodes lapis, c. 5. par. 180.

How it's poffible to live fb, par. New Geometrical Bodies invented by
66,&c. Sir chriftopher Wren, c.y. ^r.195.

An Elm having three trunks out of Geranium columbinum, &c. not yet de-
one root, c. 6. par. 77.

A narrow leaved Elm not yet defcri
bed, par. 43

fcribed, c. 6. par. 6.
Giants, a Difcourfe of them, c.f.par.

168, &c.
Glajfes made of Flints, cy.par.92, &c.
Found together with Urns, their
ufe, c. 10. far. 57, fac

Encephaloides lapis, c. f. par- 147.
Enquiries to be made by the Author

about Plants, c. 6. par- 88, &V.
En/ham, thecuftom of thatRoialty, Glajfenbury thorn, c. 6. par. 39, 40

c 8. par. 28.
Ewelm a Roial Seat, f. 10. par. 1 29.

The Echo there, c 1. /w. 25.
Double Ewes, ox Ews that always yean

two Lambs at once, c . 7 /w. 3 8.

Grapes, meliorated by grafting, r. 9.

/w. 113,114.
Grimes-ditch, a Roman w ay, f. xo. par.

26.
Robert Grofled Bifhop of Lincoln, a

great

the INDEX,

great Aftronomer, c. 9 . par. 2.
Gual Hen, a Roman way, c. 10. par. 24.
Gunpowder, an Invention of Frier i?a«

ft?«, cap. 9. Paragraph 7, 39) 40.
Gar, c. 3. /4r. 50.

/.

he -niters, cap. 2. Paragraph if.
Jkenildjlreet-vpay, c. 10 far. 22, 23.
Several Improvements by Sir Chrifta"
pherWren, c. 9. par. 30, 31, 32, 33,

3f,3s»42»l66'I95.

By Dt.Wallit, c.9. far. i<}6,&c.
By Mr. Drvigbt in Earthen
wares, />«r. 84,^.
Injection of Liquors into the veins of

Animals, c.9. far. 222.
St. John Baft. Coll. how it came to be
built, c.d.far. 77.
fl£T, how prefer ved from heating, 7™ Lunaris feen at 0xfW, ft I. far.j.

H.

Harrows, a new fort of them, ft 9.

par. 77-
Harvefling, the manner of it in 0x-

fordjhire, ft 9. par. 99,8 c.
A Hawthorn with white berries, ft 6.

jfrar. 38.

Iron moulds, c. 3. /Mr. $1.

Iron Hone, c.\. par. 35, 36.

.//?*)> the Birth-place of King Edward

the Confeflor, r. 10. far. 123.
ARoialSeat, /ar. 128.
L^tf Judaic its, c. 5 . /»4r. 136, &c.
Junceilfts omnium} &c. notyetdefcri-

bed, c 6. far. 5.

c. 9. far. 103.
Htddingiony a Seat of King Edw. the
Conf c. 10. />«r. 128.

An ancient Barony, far. 130.
The Echo there, c. i.far. 25.
HtUeborine flore albo, c. 6. par. 1 3.
Atro rubente, far. 14.
Latifolia montana, ibid.
A Heno£ the Iflandojt St. Helen fe-

fcribed, c. j.par. 67, &c.
Henly,the ancienteft Town in Oxford-

fhire.c. 10. far. 68.
Htppocephaloides lapis, ft f: far. 142.
Hijlr kites lapis, par. 8i.
A new fort of Hives for Bees, c. 9. par.

120.
Hoggs, an ingenious way of giving

them meat, c.9. par. 122.
A Hog near 1 3 hands high, c. 7. />ar.

73-

Hoke-norton barrow, an ancient For-
tification, ft 10. par. 75.

Hoke-norton an ancient Barony, />dr.
131.

Hoke-tide, or Hoke-Munday, ft 8.
^ar. 24)<£rr.

Hoofing- bird, c. 7. par. 10.

Hordeum diHicum precox, c 6. far. 9.

Horfes forty years old, c7.par.3j.

Ancient fioufes of the Kings, in 0*-
fordfhirt, c. 10. />«r. 1 28.

Husbandry of Arable Land in Oxford- Lagopus major vulgaris Parfyn/oni, c.6.

Xi

Kgnntrs barrovt, a Funeral Monument,

c. 10. par. $1, 52.
Northern ./£/»£/ how anciently elect-
ed and inaugurated, c. 10. ^/*. 88,

9o,e£v.
Kirtlingtom anciently part of the pof-

feflions of the Kings of England,

c. 2. par. 7.

Its ancient Privileges, ibid.
A Kitchin without a Chimney, c 9.

far. 136.
Knives, their carved hafts firft made

at Oxon. ft 9. />4r. 168.

L.

LacLtin* found in Oxfordfb. c. 3 . />ar.
20, &c.

Afignof Silver Ore, par. 22,23.
Its ufe in Medicine, par. 26.

fore, c.9. par. ?6,&c

Of Pafture Land, par. 8 1, e£v.
Of Corn when green, par. 98.
When ripe, par. 99.
Huntercomb, an ancient Barony j ft 10.

/>ar. iji.
The Hygrofcope improved,ft9./w.37.

/>«r. 1 2.
Langley, anciently a Roial feat, ft io.

par. 129.
Philofophical Language. See Univer-

fal Character.
Lightning, fhange effe&s of it, c . 1 .

far. 11.

Aaa Lignum

The INDEX.

Lignum fojfile, c. 3. par. 42.
LiUingJtone Lovely why in Oxford-

flyire, c.6. far. 85.
Limey the fitteit itoncs to make it, e.4.

par. 32.
Quickzlime y reft ifies the malignancy

of Damps, c. 3. par. 36.,
A white Linnet, c. 7. par. r 3 .

Mytilus fiuminum maximusfubviridn,
not found to have Pearl in them j
c.j. far. 32.

2V.

Ntfbriticm lapis , c*/..y. Taragrafb
154.
Thereafonofitswhitenefs, />ar. Ha/el- Nuts found fifty foot under
14, 1 f. ground, <\ 2./w. 52.

Loc^j to keep up waters* See Turn-

pikes. 0.

Lucern. See SainBfoin.
Lychnis, afortofthemnotyetdefcri- Oajis. See Mali-kills.

bed, c.6: par. 10. 0^» away to difpofe them conveni-

LymphtduUs^ firftdifc overed at Oxon. cntly in ftablesj c 9. par. 1 2 r .

f. 9. par. 212.

M

Malt-kills of ftone very advantage-
ous, c 9. par. 92.

New contrivances of them. p<?r.
127.
Mamillary laf if, c. 5. ^ar. iri.
Marble at Blechington, c 4. par. ■$•$'.
A new way of painting it, c. $.
far. 166.
Marchafite. (See Pyrites) c. 4. f<ar. 1 2.
Mar/, the feveral forts of it, c,$.far.

Yellow Ochre at Shotover-htU, c. 3. par.
13, Cfc,

Align of Silver Ore, far. 24.

Oenantbe minor aquatica, Park. c. 6.
/><*r. 1 2.

Ophiomorphitts lapis, c. 5. ^?r. 92, £ft\

Ophthalmitis lapis, far. 149.

Orchites lapis, c. 5. jtar. 144.

Orohanche verbafculi odore, not yet de-
scribed, c.6. far.%.

Ojeney ^Abby how it came to be built,
c.6. far. 7 '6.

Ofteocolla, c. y, par. 174.

OHraches lapis, par. 79.

Ofiracomorphos Lafti, par.6o.

Mathematicks improved at Oxon> c, 9. Otites lapis, c. 5. par. 150

par. 194, Gfc.
Mawn, a good foil, c. 4. /w. 3,4,$.
Men apt for generation till eighty, c .

8. par» 7.

Of a great Age,par. 54.
Merton Coll. the reafbn of £tec£ »igfo

there, e.g. far. 192.
Mejh-fats, very good ones made of

Burford ftone, c. 4. far. 27.
Middleton-itony, the Caftle there, c.io.

par. 1 7.
it////* of a rare contrivance, f . 9. _/>*r.

124, &c.
Minfter Lovel, an ancient Barony, c.

10. par. 133.
Artificial ^///j-, c. 9. far. 24.
Money. See Coyns.
Moon- (loon. See Selenites.

Ova anguina, c. 5. /»<ar. 83.

0.xr», a pretty contrivance to feed

them, c. 9. /w. 123.
Oxford, how fituated at prefent, c. 2.
^w. 4.

How anciently, c.io. far. 30.
Its prefent fituation healthy, c.

10. far. 64.
Parliaments and Councils held

there, f. 2. /-ar. 4.
WhenmadeaZ/wz-w//^, f. 10.

/w. 65.
When the Bifhoprick was foun-
ded, /><zr. 6 j.
Oxford-Jlnre has more Pafture than a-
rableLand, c. 3. par. 1.

P.

Moor- Evil, how cured, f. 2. ^*r. 66.

Mufca. i PhrjganioJaxatili,c j.far. 2?. Painting , an account of that at the
Mufuk , new difcoveries in it, with Theater at Oxon. c 9, far. 154, Sfc.
their denionftrations , ^/». 9. far. Some that is remarkable elfe-

199* where, /w.164, 165.

Parhelia,

Tk INDEX,

Parhelia* or Mock-funs, feen at En- Plants ftriped, c. 6. par. 17, 42.
flam, cap. r. Paragraph 4. How procured, 'Paragraph 1%.

Their fignification, /-ar. 6. Is their difeafe rather theu per-

Tarliaments held at Oxford, c. 2 ^r. 4. fection, par. 19, &<;,

The firft in England held at River Plant} grow fenfibly after raiiii
Shi ford, par. 5, 6. and why, c. 2. /w. 16.

Tafiure-land, how manured in Oxford- Plants cultivated in Oxford-Jlrire) that

are not in Tome other Counties. See
Barley, Caraways , Lucern, Pear-
trees, Peas, Ray-grafs, Rofa can't*
na, fee . baftard Saffron, San&foin,
Wheat.
Plants, enquiries to be made by the
Author about them, c . 6. par. 8 S^fec.
Peafe, the forts of them in Oxjord- Ploughly.hiU, a Funeral Monument,

/hire, c.6. par.30. c. 10.par.4S.

Peat found in Oxford-Jhire, c. 3.par.a.i. Ploughs, the Ieveral forts of them uled

their way of menagingit, ibid. in Oxford-Jhire, c.$. par.-] 6.

Pebbles transparent, c. 4. par. 16. their PnigitU, or black chalky. /w. 16,17.
ufe, far. 17, 18. Porcellane ware, the way to make it in-

Cemented with Flints make vented at Oxford, c. 9. par. 86.
excellent Chimney pieces , Tort way, c. 10. par. 35,36.
Tables, OV. par. 19,20. Pride, a Fifh doubted whether yet de-

Pettinites lapU, c. 5. par. 72, &c. fcribed, c. 7. par. 27, 28.

Pentaphyllum reptans alatumfoliu pro- Profyebl at Teynton, c 3. par. 54.

fundius (erratis, c.6. par. 7. Pyrites aurem, c4.par.11, 12.

Period of years , a more acurate one . t^Argentem , par. 13.

found out by Tho. Lydiat, c. 9. par. Pojfonotts exhalations how remedyed,

/hire, c.9. par. Si, fee.
Roman Pavermnts in Oxford/hire,

c. 10. par. $4,<£r£-
Tear -trees , an unufual fort of them
bearing twice a year, c. 6. par. 86.
Bearing a Pear hard and dura-
ble like wood, par. 87.

c.3. par. 36.

*L

Quarries at Burfird, c. 4. par. 26.
KtHedd'.ngton, par. 24.
Elfewbere, par. 29,30.
Qumten, a Sport ufed in Oxford- Shin
at Weddings, as they carry home
the Bride, c. 8. par. 21, fee. 53.

R.

17, <&•£.

Ter[piration of Plants difcovered. at

Oxford, c. o. /w. 9 5.
Petrifications , whence they proceed,
t. 2. />£/•. 23, fee.

Their ieveral forts, />ar. 25, fee.
item, c. 5. ^r. 47,<£rf.
Petrified honey c. 5. /w. i/8.
Petrified wood , cap. 3. par. 38, 39.

?VfW c. f. par. 175.
Thalloides lapis, c. 5 . /'^r. 153.
The[ants>with white and pyed feathers,

f. 7. par. 13.
PicJures, drawn by Microfcopical Rainsborough, an ancient Fortifkati-
glafTes, <:. 9. /w. 166. on, c. 10. par. 34.

Remarkable ones of K. James Lapis Ramila, c lO.par. 141.

andK. Charles, par. 164. fyfyberry buffi grows commonly in the

Another of a Cat looking leve- Chi Item part of Oxford-/!) ire, c. 6.
ralways, par. 165. par. 42.

Tlants,not yQtdc{cxihcd,c.6.par.3.fee. Ray-grafs, an improvement of Land,
Not yet noted whether ot En- c. 6. par. 31, & e.

glijh growth, par. 12. When the b~ft timetofowit,

Doubted whether yet defcri- c.9. par. S3.

bed,par. i3» 14. Rib of a Dog of an unufual make, c 7.

Plants fafciated, c.6. par. 15. />#r. 46.

Not only after hard Winters, ito?£j,theancientufeoftheminthefe
par. 16. Northern Countries j. IQ par. 107, fee

A a a 2 fl/wr/

the INDEX.

Rivers running into the ground, c. 2.

far. 19-
Robber, c.\.far. n.
Robbery difcovered by 2. Dream, c. 8.

far. 46

Silver Ore, where likely to be found

See Ctvruleum nativum.
Singing, two oftaves,or fifths, fung

by the fame perfon at the fame

time, c. 9. par. 208, &c.

Rolls, of an unufual make for tilling Slat-flones ferving for covering hou-

Land, c. 9. far. 79, 80. fes, c. $.far. 31.

Roll-rich ftones, c. 10. far. 8 r. Good for grinding colours, ib.

Not a Funeral Monument, far. Smiris its ufe, c . 4 . far. 2 1
86.

Nor a Court of Judicature,

far. 87.
Built by Rollo the Norman, far.

83. at his inauguration, far.

95> <&*•
Roofs of Stone of rare contrivance,

c. 9. ftfr. 136, Gfc.
.Ro/>« made of the barks of Trees, c .

9. par. 119.
lb/2 canina, <fe* • c. 6. /ar. 40.
Rofamond's Tomb, r. 9. par. 144, &c.
Rot herfield Grays, an ancient Barony,

c. 10. par. 131.

Snails, a fort of them not yet defcri-
bed, c. j. par. 34.

Snakes y none to be found in the Nor-
thern parts of Oxford-Jhire, c. 7.

Soils (See Earths) of a fmall depth,
why fome fertil, others not, c. 3.
far. i,&c.
Sfars, c. f. far. 49, jo, Ji.

Their original, far. 52.
Their ufe, /tar. 53.
Speech, improved by Dr. WaUis,
far. 179.

By Dr. Wilfyis, /w. 181.

c. 9.

RotherfieldPifard an ancient Barony, Spire fteeples, c. 9. ^r. 14

/w. 132.
Rubrick, or ruddle, c 3. far. 16.

S.

Baftard Saffron, c. 6. far. 35.
Sainftfoin, far. 31, 34.

How managed, c. 9. par. 83.
Salmons at LfllingHone Loa/<?/,how they

come thither, f . 7. par. 30.
Sand, its ufe. c. 4. far. 22, 23.
Saxifraga Anglica, &c. not yet defcri-

bed,c. 6. far. 9

Springs, their original, c. 2. /ar. 17.
A Chalybeat Spring befide Oxford, c.io.

far. 141.
Land Sf rings, c. 2. par. 18.

Sweating out of the Earth, and
for the moft part imbibed a-
gain,p<*r. 20.
A Stags head found 50 foot under-
ground, c. 6. far. 53.
Stair-cafe at Blechington defcribed, c.p.

far. i3i»<£rc.
Stalatlites lapis, c. J. p4r. 48.
Stalagmites lapis, far. 47.

Sent-bags, difcovered in moft ftrong Stanlake , the Parfon reads a Gofpel

far.

fented Animals, at Oxon, c 9

228, &c.
Seftaries, a new fort of them at Wat-

lington, c. 8. far. 32.
Selenites lafti, the feveral forts, c. J.

far. 3, 8} ri, 182.

Its ufe, far- 14, 1 5-
Servants, how hired, c. 8. par. 29.
A iSfojp with only one horn, r . 7. par.

40.
Sheef with 8 or 10 horns apiece, far.

_ 39-

Sher bourn an ancient Barony, f. 10.

par. 133.
«S/7^ Stockings, the way of weaving

them difcovered at Oxford, c. 9. far.

167.

every-Holy Thurfday, on a Barrels

head in the Cellar of the Chequer

Inn, c. 8. far. 30.
Starch-trade at Oxford, an account of

it, c. 9. far. 172, e?f.
Star (lone. See A fieri a.
Excellent Statues in Brafs of King

Charles I. and his Queen, <r. 9. /ar.

166.
•SVowe-r an improvement of Land, '.4.

p4r. 7, 8. heme. 9. /><*r. 70.
Stones refembling Fifhes, as a Barbel f

c 5- tar- 5f*

Cockles fingly, far. 64, Cfr. 76.
Cockles in clufters, par. 56,8V.

Their ufe, ibidem.
Efcallops, c. f.far. 72.

Mufcles,

The INDEX.

Mu'cles, par. 80.

Oifters, par. 60, 78, 79.

A Porcupine, par. 81.

A Rams horn, par. 87. &c.

Snakes, par. 92.

ASea Urchin, par. %2H&c.
How Stones refembling Shell- fjljes ac-
quire that form, c. 5. par. 96, £?c.
3>0»« refemblir-g Plants, as,

an Apricock, c. 5. ^w. 135.

A Briony root,/w. 133.

A Mulberry, par. 135-.

Luca-Olives, jw, 136.

Pears, par. 134.

Toad-ftools,/w. 132.
Stones refembling living Creatures, or
fome parts of them, as a

Bullocks heart, e. 5 par. 143.

A Horfe head, par. 142.

An Owls head, par. 45 .

Snails, par. 140.

The Tefticles, par. 144.

A Toads head, par. 145.

Worms, par. 141.
iSiflWJ refembling fome part of man,
• ashis Brain, c. %.par. 147.

Br eaft, par. 151.

Ear, par. 150.

Eye, />dr. 149.

Foot, par. 1 74.

Glans penis humani, par. 153.

Heart, far. 1J2.

Kidneys, /vsr. 154.

Olraftory nerves, par. 148.

Scrotum, par. 153

at Tarnton, c. 10. Paragraph 139.
Straw-work, of a new contrivance^

f. 9. /><7/\ I08.

Strombites, or wreathed ftones, r. f.
^«7r. 53 .

T.

Tadmerton Cafile a I>47zi/ft Fortificati-
on, c. 10. /ar. 75.
7W&& of a prodigious bignefs, c. 5. /w.

i59, i^3»r^4-
Telef cope, known to Frier Z?df<?», «•.£.

JMT. 2, d^C.

Thame an ancient Barony, f. 10. ^>4r.

'33-

Its antiquity, par. up.

The Well-waters, when brewed,
ftink, c. 2.par.34..
Theater atOxford, its contrivance,^.
9. par. 147, &c.

An account of the Tainting,
par. 154, £?f.
Thermometer invented $00 years agO$

c. 9. par. 35.
Thigh-hones of a prodigious bignefs,
<r. J. par. X5J, i<f4.

Whether really the bones of a
man, par. 157.
Thunder. See Lightning.
Thunder-bolts. See Belemnltes.
Thttnder-ftones . See Brontias.
Tillage. See Husbandry.
Tobaccopipe-claj at Shotover-hill, f. 31*

JVo»m reprefenting Buttons, r. j./«r. Toucan, an American Bird found be-

fide Oxford, c. 7. par. ii.
To rver s at 0*<?w, c. 9.^. 143.
Britifh Towns how built, f. 10. par. 75.
Transfusion of Blood invented at Oxford,

c. 9. par. 223.
Trees ok a vaft bignefs. f. 6./W.44, fifa
That have been put tooddufes,

par. /tf, fee.
Buryed under the ground at

B infield- heath, pur. so.
Where dyed black, and why,

ibid.
Found fifty foot under ground

at RotherJield-Pipard,par. 5 1.
How, and on what account bu-
ryed under ground , par. 55,
&c.

175.

The heel of a (hoo, par. 176.
Awheel, par. 177.
Stones naturally globular ; fome
fmooth, fome granulated, c. 5. par.

*79>

Stones voided out of the Eyes, c. 8.
par, 10.

Bred under the Tongue, par.

48. itemc. 10, par. 141.
Taken out of a mans bladder

that weighed above a pound,

c. S.par. 49.
Made by art, c . 1 o . par. I o 1 .
Worshipped by the ancient

Britans, par. 102, &c.
Set up in the high-way, tolhew

the number of miles, par. 50. Two Trees joyned together after an
A Stone with Chine fe Characters found odd way, c. 6. par. 78.

Bbb TV-

The IN

Tr'icb'ues lafii, c. 5. ^Paragraph 145.

Tripoli -ft one , c. 4. /><*/•. 34.

Troc bites lapis, c. f.par. 177,

7Vf laid onhoufes inflead of ridge-
tiles, c 3. /w. 40.

Serving for tewel, far, 41.

Turn-pikes to keep water up, c. 9 . />/«".
43, efc. *

f.

VaghitsVterinuSyc. %.par. \.

No ill omen, ibid.
Vermicular it lapit , c. 5 .-par. 141.
F;«^j- meliorated by grafting, c. 9. par.

113,114.
Viola Martin, 6c. not yet defcribed,

c, 6. .par. 3,4.
Ludovicm Vives his Bees, ff. 7.^r. 19.
Umber, c. ^.par. 19,
V niverfal CharaBer invented at Oxford,
c. 9. par. 183, G?c.

Improved there, /^r. 188, Off.
#r»j, c. 10. pur. 57,62.

Found at Rotherfield-Pipard
fifty foot under ground, c. 6.

wr

Walk*, and other curioiities in Trees,

c. 9. /w. 115, eft.
Waters in Oxford Jlnre healthy,proved
from the abundance of Fifh, c. 2.
/w. 14.

From their impregnations with
Salts and Sulphurs, par. 12,
13,15.
Waters petrefying. See Petrifications.
Why fomewill not bear Soap,

c. 2. par. 32.
How remedied at Henly,par.$q.
Strongly impregnated with Salts
at Church-hill Mill, par. : ?.
At Chadlington, par. 39.
At Clifton, par. 40,
What ufe they may be put to. par.

43,^. -
W iters Medicinal at Beddington, c.z.
par. 49.

At Banbury, par, yj.
At I&urjipar- 5 8.
Curing Eyes and Ulcers, /w. 57,

&c. item c. 10. par. 14.2.
Chalybeat, c. 10. par. 141.
Vitriolate,t. 2.pr. 60, 6c.
Tailing like Milk, par. 6a, .
White like Milk, par. 65.
Waters, a note of their goodnefs, c.f.

par. 31.
Water-works, c. 9. par. 42, drr.

AtJB»/?o»delcribed, par. 50,6c.
Wat ling- ftreet,} why fo called, f. 10.
Wattle-bank, ) par. 70..
Watlington an ancient Town, with the

reafon of its name, />4r. 6p.
Roman ways, their feverai forts, 1. 10 ♦
par. 18, 6? £. See Akeman-ftreet, Avef-
ditch, Grimes-ditch, Ikenild-street,
Port -way.
Wheat with two ears on one ftalk, c. 6.
par, 37.

The feverai forts of it cultivated
in Oxford- /hire, not fo in fbme
other Counties, par. 23, fee.
Dr. Willis, an account of hisdifcove-
ries in Anatomy and Phyfick, c. 9.
par. 215, 6c.
A great Wind at Oxford, c. l.par. 9.
Witney given to St. SmthinsWinton
before the Conqueft, c~\o, par. 1 20.
Woollen rags an improvement of Land,

c.j.par. 70,71.
Women bearing Children till 63. c, 8.
par. 8.

Revive oftner then men, two ex-
amples in Oxford-Jhire, par.
12, 6c.
A Woman of extream little growth,
not a yard high, yet all parts pro-
portionable, c. 8. par. 9.
Wood petrified, c. ^-par.^S, 39.
Sold by weight, ^<ar. 2.
How ordered in Oxford-Jhire,c9,
par. 118, 119.
model acker, a Bird not yetdefcribed,

c. 7. par. 3.
Modjhckt the Echo there, c. l.par. 1 $.
When made aSeat Royal, c. 10.
par. n 8.

FINIS.

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