Large expectation, he disposes neat
At meafur'd distances, that air and fun,
Admitted freely, may afford their aid, And ventilate and warm the fwelling 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 fo rude Makes needful still, whose spring 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 ftream of mild Maternal nature had revers'd its course, She brings her infants forth with many fimiles, 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 blaft may fweep
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 Again, as oft As the fun peeps and vernal airs breathe mild, The fence withdrawn, he gives them ev'ry beam, And spreads his hopes before the blaze of day.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 raife the prickly and green-coated gourd, So grateful to the palate, and when rare So coveted, elfe bafe and difefteem'd- Food for the vulgar merely-is an art That toiling ages have but just matur'd, And at this moment unaffay'd in fong.
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 praise 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, And potent to refift the freezing blaft: 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 fpot; 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 fpread Dry fern or litter'd hay, that may imbibe Th' afcending damps; then leifurely impofe, And lightly, fhaking it with agile hand From the full fork, the faturated straw.
What longest binds the closeft, forms fecure The shapely fide, that as it rifes takes, By just degrees, an overhanging breadth, Shelt'ring the base 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 shoots off fecure From the dafh'd pans the deluge as it falls. He shuts it close, and the first labor ends. Thrice must the vòluble and restless earth
Spin round upon her axle, ere the warmth, Slow gathering in the midft, through the square mafs Diffus'd, attain the furface: when, behold!
A peftilent and most corrofive steam,
Like a grofs fog Boeotian, rifing fast, And fast condens'd upon the dewy fash, Afks egrefs; which obtain'd, the overcharg'd And drench'd confervatory 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 discreet delay. Experience, flow preceptrefs, teaching oft The way to glory by miscarriage foul,
Must 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, felected wifely, plump, and smooth, And gloffy, he commits to pots of size Diminutive, well fill'd with well-prepar'd
And fruitful foil, that has been treasur'd long, And drank no moisture from the dripping clouds ; Thefe, on the warm and genial earth that hides The smoking manure, and o'erspreads it all, He places lightly, and as time fubdues The rage of fermentation, plunges deep
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