[continued]
good & proper for molding. For if it is big, pass it through a sieve, and if it is not yet fine enough, wash it, & when the water will be a little rested, empty the one which is still troubled in some separate vessel. The big ones will fall down quickly to the bottom of the first vessel, but the one which will have come from the troubled water, placed separately, having taken residence, will be very fine. And then, if it does not have enough bond, grind it well dry on porphyry, & you will render it impalpable, & which will have bond just like chalk. Then, if it seems to need it, you will reheat it, & will crush it again & mix it with salts, or linen, or burned felt or ashes of paper & similarly washed things.
Terre fondue of potters
Grind it in a mortar mustard mill with some water, & and render it impalpable, dry it & next moisten it with salt water, which gives strength to u all sands to withstands several casts.
Orange trees
In Italy, particularly in the coldest areas like Lombardia, people plant the orange trees inside squared wood planters. The planters are larger at the bottom than at the top. People make handles on each side, where they attach straps in order to carry the planter, like one carries the gout sufferers, because if one used wheels to roll them one would damage the garden’s paths. Every two year they remember to open the sides of the planters and meticulously cut & trim the ends of the orange tree’s roots, which are dry. Otherwise, the roots find the wood of the planter, tighten on it & they double over themselves & the ends dry & the tree dies. Once trimmed, the roots gain new space to expand, without encountering resistance from the wood of the planter. That is why it is better to join the sides of the planter with screws & not with nails, to avoid shaking the soil when one opens them.