• 6a S a I b . r ^ L ' . h i s t o r ï
bears to- the circumference of th^globé^andd^will' ftill be 'more
diminifbedj in proportion as .the feTfaceM TounÄbÄ f^,; ÏS larger
than'the diameter ; Gorifider then, (JNre mayc®mpare fmall things
tb great) that if a potter were to maleife'/globe of êm , and
finooth it-whfift it was moift^with all imaginable eére, rthen *fêt' it
gfofr to dry-^sMt pofiible "thht the foft fliouM becbffiehha-rd, that
the hard ftibuld become equally compadt, and the texture, exactly
■ uniform, without fuch rifings and fallings,MicK' emih’^fcies'.and
depreffions, as we may now-fee mm the globe;? Would'there foe’ no
parts-which would project ~ part farther than' the reft ? I conclude
therefore, that the earth’s indurating into a fuperfieies, uneven in
the fame degree as our prefent' globes was the 'naturalI refult of ä
„ mafs of'Kétorogenéqus matter, unequally difperfed;-paflmg-ffom a
ftate of liquidity, into a ftate of folidity and harflnefs. iT b return,-
s e c t . vx. . Sand is o f ^various ufe, and according-"as- ft is differently con-
I mean, frefti or fait, of a cryftal or^fpar; bafts,■' fmooth*
or rough and angular, tranfparent or opaque, pure or "mixed;* it is
chofen by artifts for ceding eaetals/; making glafs^cutting and polifli-
ing marble and ftee-ftone, fixing of cement, and the like; but ft
is chiefly uféfiul in Gornwall (according to the common -opinion)'%
matters of hufbandry, and therefore colleäed^a't' a gréktcxp'ènce
from the neareft fca-coaft, although indeed it is, generally fprakingv
not the fand, but the mixtures we find with "'the land;- vJ’nich
tilize the^iahd' upon which the^'a^carried. For land being only
ä congeries o f pebbles, or little grains of ftöne, -can do little^m'ofe
than keep the ground loofe and brittle, and this will göbut la little
way towards giving the hulbandman a good crop; 'it is to the fnixture
ofifek, flime, {hells and Coral, that weowe fertility^, v........
Sea-fin#; Sea-fand has greatly the advantage of river-fend ^agriculture,
and the {aker the better, but all fand that is waflied by the fea,
is not equally proper for manure» In Mount s-bay, on the
beach between Penzance and the Mount, we obferve that when
the North wind blows, and die water .is • finooth, we meet
with a fine, light, bpening fend, good for corn fand grafs; for
the lea then moving gently, and equably, whilft the North wind
blows from the ftiewe, drives the lighted; fend foremoft, into a
truck, courfe; or chanel by itfelf, and gives leave to the more
impure, and gravelly parts of thofe fends, to fettle feparately and
farther back; but when the wind blows from the South, and the
fea is- turbulent, it confounds fend and gravel together, making
a mixture utterly unfit for htrfbandry. In other fituations the
wind that blows off land muff for the feme reafon, difpofe the fea
to leave behind it the beft fend.
Blown
O F ; m O R tN l W A L L '. # | -
^tnd, * which has beendong expofeditoThe-divis good for Blown fini
Jfttfe, iifis ^felfis^Eeffo »wafted hy^vi'nd faheK-eito, and it’s lime fo
,'g-vapouratgd; but^take\tfre dikmfi/ed^Lcolourlt^ia'iid*,textured fend,
^waftied byltherlMw^^i|%;i^l cowered from the a'ir,' ‘ knd-the-huf-
.bandmanris^weliffeWarded bothftn GOrniand^lSfs; 'The'dime mixed Slim/fand.
* if th^produfts.ofoputrifited'lfea’ves-j^wood,
"and anifoal remSainfej’ -will much, ('but if the offcafts
^frift-ampingtm'Ml^'lorV^he fedifc^p^of mine's,# their1 Acrimonious 1
4mS^‘j|are Mortal * enemf^to ‘ vegetatiorj#— When fend is SpL/y-find.
o f (^{plarry cafearicAis- jj 1 wild Iferm^ttwith'1' 'a&ids
^fhefend of Heyl and'Offbme othfAplaces; will) .’theft it a&s'Ps liffie,
jand dobs-of ritfedf'fertilize fthe ground -in proportion >tdMie linxf!,
-which it contain®.5; ^Better ftill is that fend whithfts plentifully mixed1 sfielly fend,
with fhells and their .fragments, for.ftas {hells 'ate o f »the -ifature of
lime, moulded and fixed into a'{hell*by an undtuaOfs fc'e'rffeftt, focH
fend, in .proportion'to the {heMslit^containSjf‘.^Ml?give the 'feat' o£^%
lime and the fatnbfrof oil to 'the fandfft is1 laidmpon. \Ofefthis fend ’
they have fome in the iflands of Bcilly^ which /'goodiMiufoandmen ,
fifind their iaccount in# preferring (though at a^reatbr^ diftance) to
sthear other‘fends. In Cornwall, Whitfend-bay fand’ inSennan pa-;
riih has-’ fome fragments of fhells, and'fometimes entire foiall*4 ens:«
among'if, rifes -and pda)® tip and down- v^>aqua forth, and ‘makes ^
ftfmpSdratef effervefeence like fpar', brat: that which' ha's the moft
fiiells,|as- far as I am yet informed;/is that- Of Porcurnow
near the- Land’s-End, which plays brifldy, .make? ar-Hpdfiderable , ƒ
coTlndtation,' diffolveS in aqua fort is, and crackles much in the fire.
^All thefe-fands hhvefobre {hells at fome times* than .other; ;according^
&s th& winds'hivKheeft more or left favourable to th|LTO'M'^ev‘i^:
; But the beft of all our Cornifh fends, is that which is irifimafely L„a.
mixed with coral : In places where this Cifofejlefit xftaaj^-e’ is found^™ i
it is taken up by a large bag of the ftrongeft'ca‘fWa$, "to the mobth.
of which is* fitted an iroh hoop or frame'TOt-keeping it open, and
i finking it to-the-bottom of the1 "fea, lo as it ma^ ’^ S P e the fend ^
and coral- Is it is dredged along by the barge^hbh. A bai(gb4 6 ad is
mfually deliverd for ten {hillings^ - bt; lefsrifme%fer the pfece of d'red- .
ging, and where the land is good a barge-lbad will drefs arfaege q f
ground; it is ufed more for corii^fhan'paftute'Vgfounds. The ferti^ .
drzingjquality of coral is-owing to the feme caufe'.aS^that of Ihells.,^
for itls% f the feme limy nature, and makes a.fttohgo^ervbfcence
with acids, and, being, mordlfolidr than--ffid’ls,Conveys a greater
quantity of fermenting earth ip equal {pace, -Befides; i&does netj
feiflblve in the ground as»foon ‘a&mells, but'decayfog mdfe gradu-'
ally continues longer to ’’impart-!fts. warmth to the juices of the
* Sand blown up from the fea^fliore upon thb laiittV adjoining.'
earth.