The glafs P, Hyde-Park conduit Wdter : In tfifs he 

 fixed a glafs tube ten inches long^ the bore one (ixth 

 of an inch diameter, filled with very fine and white 

 fand, which he kept from falling down out of the 

 tube- into the phial, by tying a fine piece of filk over 

 that end of the tube that was downwards. 



/ 



Upon 

 iinmerfion of the lower end of it into the water, this, 

 by little and little, afcended quite up to the orifice 

 of the tube, and yet in all the ^6 days that it ftood 

 thus, a very inconfiderable quantity of vrater had <yone 

 x)ft; viz. fcarcely 20 grains, though the fand conti- 

 nued moid up to the top till the very lafl:. 

 The water had imparted a green tinfture to the fand 

 quite to the very top of the tube, and in the phial ic 

 had precipitated a greeniih fediment mixed with black. 

 To the bottom and fides of the tube, as far as it was 

 immerfed in the water, adhered pretty much of the 

 green fubftance defcribed above. ■ . .- 

 Other like tubes he filled with cotton, lint, pith of 

 Elder, and feveral other porous vegetable fubftances, 

 fetting fome of them in clear water, others in water 

 tinged with Saflfron, Cochineal, &c. and feveral other 

 trials were made, in order to give a mechanical repre- 

 fentation of the motion and diftribution of the juices 

 in plants, and of fome other pha;nomcna obfervable 

 in Vegetation. 



Several plants being alfo fet in the phials Q, R, S, 

 &c. ordered in like manner as thofe above in Ofto- 

 ber, and the following colder months thofe throve 

 not near fo much ; nor did the water afcend nigh 

 the quantity it did in the hotter feafons, in which the 

 before cited trials were made. 



The refult of all which experiments he gives us in the 

 following obfervations and refleftions : 



1. 



planis of the fame kind^ the lefs they are in bulky 

 fmaller quantity of the fluid mafs in which they 

 Jet is drawn off-y the confumption where the mafs 

 f equal thicknefs^ being pretty nearly proportioned to 

 bulk of the plant. 



t- ■ 



■s 



In effeft, the water feems to afcend up the vefTels of 

 the plants, in much the fame manner as up a filtre ; 

 and it is not to be wondered at, that the larger filtre 

 fliould draw off more water than the fmaller ; or that 

 a plant that hath 'more or larger veffels, (hould take 

 up a greater part of the fluid'in which it is fet, than 

 one that has fewer can. Nor is it ^us noted as a 

 thing very confiderable in itfelf, but chiefly with re- 

 gard to what follows : 





,-^v , . 



J '^^ J^ 





1 ' . 



w 



Much the greater part of the fluid mafs ^ thus dra 

 off^ and conveyed into the plants does not fettle 



ofph 



€e 



« ■ *■ 



► * 4 r 



-• " r 



V -' -. ,. 



f 



That the water in thefe experiments, afcended only 

 through the veffels of the plants is certain, fince 

 fome glaffes, which had no plants in them, though 

 difpofed in the like manner as the reft, did remain, at 

 the end of the experiment, as at firft, and without 

 any diminution of water, and that the greateft part of 

 it flies off from the plant into the atmolphcre, is as 



certain. 



The leaft proportion of the water expended was to 

 the augment of the plant, as 46 or 50 to i j and in 

 fome 100, 200 in i, as 700 to i. ^ :.; 

 Thus fo continual an emiffion of water, in fo great 

 plenty, from the parts of the plant, affords a manifeft 

 reafon, why countries that abound with trees, and 

 the larger vegetables cfpecially, fliould be very ob- 

 noxious to damp, great humidity in the air, and more 

 /requent rains, than others that are more open and 



, free. . ; .; ,; ■ - . /. ■,. , 



The great moifture of the air was a great inconveni- 

 ■ ence and annoyance to thofe who firlt fettled in Ame- 

 rica, which at that time was overgrown with woods 

 and groves ; but as thefe were burnt down and de- 

 ftroyed, to make way for habitations, and the culture 



6 



bf the ^at'th, the air mending, changed into i tcmpcf^ 

 tature more ferene and dry than before. 

 Nor does this humidity go off pure and afo^^ but 

 Xifually carries with it many p^rts of the fame nature 

 with thofe whereof the plane confifts ; the craffct in- 

 deed are not fo eafily borne up into the atmofphere, 

 but are ufually depofited on the furfaCe of the leaves, 

 flowers, and other parts of the plants ; whence pro- 

 ceed our mannas, our honeys, and other gummous 

 exfudations of vegetables -, 'but the finer and lighter 

 parts are with greater eafe fent up into the arrtiofphere^ 

 thence they are conveyed to our organs of fmellins', 

 by the air we draw in refpiratiori, and are pleafant 

 or offenfive, beneficent or injurious to us, according 

 - to the nature of the plants fronri whence they arife : 

 and fince thefe owe their rife to the water thaf afcends 

 out of the earth through the bodies of plants, we 

 cannot be far to feek for the caufe why they are more 

 numerous in the air, and a greater quantity of odours 

 is found exhaling from vegetables in warm humid fea* 

 fons, than in any other. 



III. A greater part of the terreftrial matter that is mix- 

 ed with watery afcends up into the plant as well as 

 the water i 



- 



There was much more tefreftrial matter at the end of 

 the experiment, in the water of the glaffes that had 

 no plants in them, than in thofe that had plants. The 

 garden mould diffolved in fome of the glafi~es was 

 confiderably diminilhed, and carried off-, nay, the ter- 

 reftrial and vegetable matter was borne up in the 

 tubes filled with fand, cotton, &c. in that quantity 

 as to be evident even to fenfe ; and the bodies in the 

 cavities of the other tubesj that had their bwer ends 

 immerfed in water, wherein Saffron, Cochineal, &c# 

 had been infufed, were tinged withyellow, purple, &Ci 

 To look abroad a little towards our fhores and parts 

 within the verge of the fea, thefe will prefent us with 

 a large fcene of plants, that, along with the vegeta- 

 blesj take up more mineral matter alfo in great abun- 

 dance J fuch as our Sea Purflain, feveral forts of Al- 

 gas, of Samphires, and other marine plants ; thofe 

 contain common fea falts, which are the fame as the 

 ■ foffil, in fuch plenty, as not only plainly to be diftin- 

 guiflied in the palate, but maybe drawn out of thena 

 in a confiderable quantity ; nay fome affir'nl there arc 

 implants found, that will yield nitre and other mineral 

 lalts. "^"^ : - 



. The vegetable matter, being very ^ne and light, is 

 -furprifingly apt arid difpofed to attend water in all its 

 motions, and follow into each of its recefl£s,as appears 

 not only from the inftances above alledged, but many 

 others percolate it with all the care imaginable, filtre 

 . it with ever fo many filtrations, yet fome terreftrial 

 matter will remain. 



Dr. Woodward has filtred water thro' feveral fl^eets of 

 thick paper, and after that through very clofe fine 

 cloth, twelve times double, and this over and over ; 

 and yet a confiderable quantity of this matter difco- 

 vered itfelf in the water after all. ' 



Now if it thus paffes interftices that are fo very fmall 

 and fine along with the water, it is lefs ftrange it 

 fliould attend it in its paffage through the du6ts and 

 paffages of plants. It is true filtring and diftilling of 

 water interrupts, and makes it quit fome of the earthy 

 matter it was before impregnated withal \ but tl>en 

 that which continues with the water after this, is fine 

 and light, and fuch confequently, as is in a peculiar 

 manner fit for the growth and nourifliment of vege- 

 tables. 



And this is the cafe of rain water- The quantity of 

 terrefl:rial matter it bears up into the atmofphere is not 

 great ; but what it doch bear up is chiefly of that 

 light kind, or vegetable matter, and that too perfeft- 

 ly diffolved, and reduced to fingle corpufcles, all fit 

 to enter the tubes and vefl^els of plants -, on which 



account it is, that this water is fo very fertile and 



prolific 



The- 



