Large expectation, he disposes neat
At measur'd distances, that air and fun,
Admitted freely, may afford their aid,
And ventilate and warm the swelling buds.
Hence fummer has her riches, autumn hence,
And hence ev'n winter fills his wither'd hand
With blushing fruits, and plenty not his own *.
Fair recompenfe of labour well beftow'd,
And wife precaution, which a clime so rude
Makes needful still, whofe fpring is but the child.
Of churlish winter, in her froward moods
Discov'ring much the temper of her fire.
For oft, as if in her the stream of mild
Maternal nature had revers'd its course,
She brings her infants forth with many fmiles,
But once deliver'd, kills them with a frown.
He therefore, timely warn'd, himself supplies
Her want of care, fcreening and keeping warm
The plenteous bloom, that no rough blast may sweep
Miraturque novos fructus et non fua poma.
I
His garlands from the boughs. Again, as oft
As the fun peeps and vernal airs breathe mild,
The fence withdrawn, he gives them ev'ry beam,
And spreads his hopes before the blaze of day.
To raise the prickly and green-coated gourd,
So grateful to the palate, and when rare
So coveted, else base and difesteem'd-
Food for the vulgar merely-is an art
That toiling ages have but just matur'd,
And at this moment unaffay'd in song.
Yet gnats have had, and frogs and mice, long fince,
Their eulogy; thofe fang the Mantuan bard,
And these the Grecian, in ennobling strains;
And in thy numbers, Phillips, fhines for aye
The folitary fhilling. Pardon then,
Ye fage difpenfers of poetic fame!
Th' ambition of one meaner far, whofe pow'rs,
Prefuming an attempt not lefs fublime,
Pant for the praife of dreffing to the taste
Of critic appetite, no fordid fare,
A cucumber, while coftly yet and scarce.
The stable yields a ftercoraceous heap, Impregnated with quick fermenting falts, potent to refift the freezing blast:
For ere the beech and elm have caft their leaf
Deciduous, when now November dark
Checks vegetation in the torpid plant
Expos'd to his cold breath, the task begins.
Warily therefore, and with prudent heed,
He feeks a favor'd spot; that where he builds
Th' agglomerated pile, his frame may front
The fun's meridian disk, and at the back
Enjoy close shelter, wall, or reeds, or hedge
Impervious to the wind. First he bids spread
Dry fern or litter'd hay, that may imbibe
Th' ascending damps; then leifurely impose,
And lightly, shaking it with agile hand
From the full fork, the faturated straw.
What longest binds the closeft, forms secure
The fhapely fide, that as it rifes takes,
By juft degrees, an overhanging breadth,
Shelt'ring the bafe with its projected eaves,
Th' uplifted frame, compact at ev'ry joint,
And overlaid with clear translucent glass,
He fettles next upon the floping mount,
Whose sharp declivity fhoots off secure
From the dafh'd pane the deluge as it falls.
He fhuts it close, and the firft labor ends.
Thrice muft the voluble and restless earth
Spin round upon her axle, ere the warmth,
Slow gathering in the midft, through the fquare mass
Diffus'd, attain the furface: when, behold!
A peftilent and most corrofive steam,
Like a grofs fog Boeotian, rising fast,
And faft condens'd upon the dewy fash,
Asks egress; which obtain'd, the overcharg'd
And drench'd conservatory breathes abroad,
In volumes wheeling flow, the vapor dank,
And purified, rejoices to have loft
Its foul inhabitant. But to affuage
Th' impatient fervor which it first conceives
Within its reeking bofom, threat'ning death
To his young hopes, requires difcreet delay.
Experience, flow preceptress, teaching oft
The way to glory by miscarriage foul,
Muft prompt him, and admonish how to catch
Th' aufpicious moment, when the temper'd heat, Friendly to vital motion, may afford
Soft fomentation, and invite the feed.
The feed, selected wifely, plump, and smooth,
And gloffy, he commits to pots of fize
Diminutive, well fill'd with well-prepar'd
And fruitful foil, that has been treafur'd long,
And drank no moisture from the dripping clouds:
These, on the warm and genial earth that hides
The fmoking manure, and o'erfpreads it all,
He places lightly, and as time subdues
rage of fermentation, plunges deep
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