A True Recipe

land in such a season that it will cause him more damage than profit. Item, how will a farmer know the difference between soils without philosophy? Some are suitable for wheat, others for rye, others for peas, and others for fescues a type of grass or grain. Fescues grown in one field are easy to cook, and right near them, there will be another field from which the fescues produced will never be soft; it is similar with all species of vegetables. Also, there are waters in which vegetables cannot cook, and there are other waters in which vegetables will be soft. In short, it is impossible for me to be able to recount to you how much natural philosophy is required for farmers. And it is not without cause that I have put these propositions before you: for the ignorant acts that I see committed every day in the art of agriculture have caused me many times to torment myself in my spirit, and to grow angry in my own thought, because I see that everyone strives to enlarge themselves and search for means to suck the substance of the earth without working it, and meanwhile, they leave the poor, ignorant people to the cultivation of the said land. From this, it follows that the earth, and what it produces, is often adulterated, and great violence is committed against the bovine beasts that God created for the relief of man.

I pray you to show me some fault committed in agriculture, in order to make me believe what you say.

When you go through the villages, consider a little the manure piles of the farmers; and you will see that they put them out of their stables, sometimes in a high place and sometimes in a low place, without any consideration, but as long as it is heaped up, it suffices for them. And then, take heed at the time of the rains, and you will see that the waters which fall upon the said manure piles carry away a black dye while passing through the said manure, and finding the low part, slope, or inclination of the place where the manure is put, the waters which will pass through the said manure will carry away the said dye, which is the principal and the total substance of the manure. Wherefore, the manure thus washed cannot serve