The smutty Grains will not grow; for they turn to a black Powder: But when some of these are in a Crop, then, to be sure, many of the rest are infected; and the Disease will shew itself in the next Generation, or Descent of it, if the Year wherein ’tis planted prove a wet one. Weeds, and their Seed, in the Fields where they grow naturally, for Time immemorial, come to as great Perfection as ever, without Change of Soil. These Weeds, with Acorns, and other Masts, Crabs, Sloes, Hips, and Haws, are thought to have been, originally, the only natural Product of our Climate: Therefore other Plants being Exotics, many of them, as to their Individuals, require Culture and Change of Soil, without which they are liable more or less to degenerate. But to say, that the Soil can cause Wheat to degenerate into Rye, or convert, Rye into Wheat, is what reflects upon the Credit of _Laurembergius_: ’Tis as easy to believe, that an Horse, by feeding in a certain Pasture, will degenerate into a Bull, and in other Pasture revert to an Horse again; these are scarce of more different Species than Wheat and Rye are: If the different Soil of _Wittemberg_ and _Thuringia_ change one Species, they may the other. CHAP. XVI. _Of_ RIDGES. The Method of plowing Land up into Ridges is a particular Sort of Tillage; the chief Use of which is, the Alteration it makes in the Degrees of Heat and Moisture, being two of the grand Requisites of Vegetation; for very different Degrees of these are necessary to different Species of Vegetables. Those Vegetables commonly sown in our Fields, require a middle Degree of both, not being able to live on the Sides of perpendicular Walls in hot Countries, nor under Water in cold ones, neither are they amphibious, but must have a Surface of Earth not cover’d, nor much soak’d with Water, which deprives them of their necessary Degree of Heat, and causes them to languish. The Symptoms of their Disease are a pale or yellow Colour in their Leaves, and a Cessation of Growth, and Death ensues as sure as from a Dropsy. The only Remedy to prevent this Disease in Plants is, to lay such wet Land up into Ridges, that the Water may run off into the Furrows, and be convey’d by Ditches or Drains into some River. The more a Soil is fill’d with Water, the less Heat it will have. The Two Sorts of Land most liable to be overglutted with Water, are Hills, whereof the _Upper Stratum_ (or Staple) is Mould lying upon a _Second Stratum_ of Clay; And generally all strong deep Land.