







288 



Anatyfis of the Air* 





nium, " he fnppofing fire to be a parti.' 

 << cular fluid matter, which maintains its 

 " own etfence, and figure, remaining always 

 " fire, tho* not always burning. Religious 

 " Thilofopher, p. 310." 



To the fame caufe alfo, exclufive of the 

 air, he attributes the van: cxpanfion of a 

 mixture of compound Aquafortis andw/of 

 Can away s, whereas by Exper. 62. there is 

 a great quantity of air in all oils. And by 

 pouring fomc compound Aquafortis on oil 

 of Cloves, the mixture expanded into a 

 fpace equal to 720 times the bulk of the 

 oil y that part of the cxpanfion, which was 

 owing to the watry part of the oil and/pz- 

 rit was foon contracted ; whereas the other 

 part of the cxpanfion, which was owing to 

 the elaftick air of the oil, was not all con- 

 traded, till the next day, by which time 

 the fulphureous fumes had reforbed it. 



The learned Boerhaave would have if, 

 that putrefaction is the effect of inherent 

 fire. He fays, " that vegetables alone are 

 " the fubject of fermentation, but both 

 " vegetables and animals of putrefaction > 

 " which operations he attributes to very 

 l< different caufes, the immediate caufe of 



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