V EG 



deeper and deeper coloured, but will not precipitate 

 to the bottom of the glaffes, as the mineral water will, 

 if there be any confiderable quantity, by reafon of its 

 miich greater fpecific gravity. - On the whole there- 

 fore he concludes very juftly. That there is in all wa- 

 ter a confiderable quantity of the earthy matter. And 

 in order to determine whether the Vegetation of plants 

 was chiefly owing to bare water or not, rather than to 

 the terreftrial matter therein contained, he made with 

 very great accuracy and care feveral experiments. 

 Which experiments, becaufe they were done with an 

 \3ncommon care and cxaftnefs, are a fufficient num- 

 ber of them, and are followed by very ingenious re- 

 flexions, ferving to explicate many difficulties of phi- 

 lofophy, and to fet the whole affair of Vegetation in a 

 very good lights I fliall give the regifter as follows : 

 Anno Dom. 1691, he chofe feveral glafs phials, that 

 were all, as' near as poffible, of the fame fhape and 

 bignefs. After he had put what water he thought fit 

 into every one of them, and taken "an account of the 

 weight of it, he ftrained and tied over the orifice of 

 each phial a piece of j)'archment, having holes in the 

 middle of it large enough to admit the ftem of the 

 plant he defigned to fet into the phial, without con- 

 fining or ftreightening it fo as to impede its growth. 

 His intention in this was to prevent the inclolcd wa- 

 ter from evaporating or afcending any other way than 

 only through the plant to be fet therein. ,: - 



Then he made choice of feveral fprigs of Mint and 



+ * 



E 



other plants, that were, as near as he could pofTibly 

 judge alike found, frelh, and lively. Having taken the 

 weight pt. each,, he placed them in a phial, ordered 

 as above, and as the plant imbibed and drew off the 

 water, he took care to add more of the fanie from 

 time to time, keeping an account of the weight of 

 all be added. Each of the glaffes were, for better dif- 

 tinction, and the more eafy keeping a re^-ifter of all 

 the circumRances; noted witli a different mark or let- 

 ter, as A, B, C, &c. and all fet in a row in theTame"' 

 window, in fuch a manner that all might partake alike 

 of air, light, and fun. 



• t . ^ 



Then they continued from July the 2pth to Oflobe'r 

 the 5ch, which isjuft ^^ days, when he took them,"<5ut, 

 weighed the water in each phial, and the plant like- 

 wile, adding to its weight that of all the leaves that 

 had fallen off, during the time it had flood thus, and 

 laftly he computed how much each plant had gained. 



>*f 



and how much water was fpent upon it. '• ' 



. -, i ' ■ ^he particulars are as follow : ' 



The plant weighed, when put in, July the 2otTi, jiift 

 27 grains; when taken out, Oftober the 5th, '42 

 grains, fo that in the fpace of 77 days It had gained 

 in weight la grains. 



The whole quantity of water, expended durin_ 

 days,' amounts to 2558' grains. Confequently fhe 

 weight of the water had taken up 170 -p®-^ times the 

 grains as much as the plant had gained in weight: - 



'- 



•• 



g the 77 



■. . \i ■■■':• ^ v.- ^^(^ '^'^^JIM ^^^^ pi^iw. h tbe folbwing Ta b l e'*^ 



^ ' 



>v 



^ -. 



f - 



■ \ 



< - 1 



- ■ » 



.. : * ' J. Ut ' i ^-1* - 





[Weight of the 

 plant when firft 

 put into water. 



Weight 





i 



i 



f V ;i- ■ " 



r.v 



r; 



-4 r - 



.water.;.,; ..j 



of the 1 Weight gained by 



; the plant du- 

 -- ring the-/ 77 

 , ^ days. ' •*•- T\ . 



plant when tak- 

 en out of the 



> 



A 



27 grams 



I 



Common Spear-minL . 

 42 grains. 



.1 i 



■ 



1 



15 grains* 



f -* 



f 



« * * 



* 



J- 



1 



B 



rs 



' i 





i-"' K .4- -. - r - - .-' . '- ' 



i,,:v •,- Common Spear-mint^ 



.^ ml 4- .^ ^ ^ ^™ - «n . . ' . - 



28 4- grains. I 45 i grains. I - ; 1 7 t grains.^ ^ 





\ 



,-*•«■ 



^ 



.?f:'#*: 





i 



\ . 





^:,r''^v5 vv 



■ 



28 grains. 



Common Spear-mint, 



I 





- *^-^ 4^S . *.* 





r - 



i 



54 grains. | 



** : ^ . :7* ^.^ ;X> ^ - > , C Air. ,, 



26 grains. 





■ 1 



-1 t 







'.-l.'^j "j 



Common Solanum^ or Nightjhade, 





Weight of the w^-lFroportionof the in- 

 ter expended up- ^creafe of the plant 



to the expence of 

 the water. ■ 



- 'on the plant. 





\\ 



Spring Water, 

 255^ grains. 



V m. 



Rain water. 

 3004 grains 





V, 





Thames water. 

 .2493 grains. 





*\ 



y » 



^ - . 



Spring water. 



■I ' 



• > f 



49 grains, | io6 grains. | 57 grains." j 3708 grains. 





*. y - ' 



E 



» ' i 



I 



'• 



• -*.>. 



f 



^\" 



f 



V V 



i 



- 1 - 



\f 



t 



\ 





i. 



as I to 1 70 -TT 



« 3 



as I to 171 ^. 



I ■•> 



A'-'. * 



- ■ ^ 



-**- 



iiu^-mi- 



- - f 



irf' 





. r 



1 'i 



as I to ^s ii 



as I to 65 



' * * -» .» 



. f 



x-" . 



4. - 

 ' 4 



r 



98 grains. 



I 



fe 



lOI 



rams. 



I 



3 4: grains. 



! 



'1 ' ' 



' ' 



' V 



I 



' ^ ■^ yj 



er, fpring wat 



2501 grains 



as I to 714 *. 



n m *^ -r 



_ — , ^ __ 



The fpecimen D had feveral buds lipon it, * when firft 

 fet into the water 5 thefe, in.fome days, became fair 

 flowers, which were at length fucceeded by berries'. 

 Several other plants were tried, which did not thrive 

 in water, nor fucceed any better than the^Cataputia^ 



loregomg. / . ,..«„.; . — 



The phials F and G were filled, the former' with rain, 



and the .other with fpring water, at the fatne time as 

 thofe above-mentioned were, and ftood as long as they 

 did, but they had neither of them any plant, the de- 

 fign of which was in order to learn, whether any wa- 

 ter exhaled out of the glaffes, otherwife than through 

 the bodies of the plants. ./<. . ; •• ... k- 



The orifices of thefe two glaffes were covered with 



parchment, each piece of it being perforated with an 



■ -^* 



■- i 



hole of the fame bignefs with thofe of the phials above. 

 In thefe was fufpended a bit of ftick about the thick- 

 nefs of the ftem of one of the aforefaid plants, but 

 ncit_re§ching ^OWA to t;l^e |iirface of the inclofed wa- 

 ter, that the water in thefe 'might not have more 

 fcope to evaporate than that in the other phials. 

 Thus they ftood the whole 77 days with the reft, 

 when,' upon examination, none of the water was 

 "found to be wafted, or gone off; though he obferved 

 both ih thefe and the reft, efpecially after very hot 

 •weather, fmall drops of water, not unlikd to dew, 

 adhering to the infides of the glaffes, i. e. that part 

 -of them that was above the furface of the inclofed 

 water, - ■■ ' ^ -^ - 



' i-< 



u s 



The 





