C 227 ) 



the fkin, or the arteries, are comprenbd with the hand, the blood 

 itl'clf does not become thicker. 



After this, I cut the root into many ihiail pieces, botii longitu- 

 dinally and tranfverfely, in order to invefligate, whether thole mi- 

 nute falts, which I deemed to be in the root, could l)e there*difco- 

 vered. For, I \vas perfuaded, that there were in tlie root, Ibme 

 kind of veficles, full of a certain humour or moifi: fubflance, and, that 

 upon the evaporation of the moifture, the ialine particles which 

 abounded in it, concreted together, as 1 have mentioned above. 



Having now plenty of the root, to purfue my experiments, I 

 found, that more than one-third part of it, confided of veficles, 

 arifing at the inner part of the root, and tending towards the exte- 

 rior. In thefe veficles, lay certain minute falts, collected as it were 

 in clufters, fo that frequently, fix or feven appeared together, in a cir- 

 cular pofition : and, where thefe clufters were longer than broad, I 

 judged that, at leaft there were tvv'enty falts in every clufter. 



Thefe particles, in my opinion, when firft formed in the root, are 

 larger ; but, that in the drying, they become fo clofely compacted 

 together, that they each aiTume different fliapes, fome being trian^ 

 gular, fome quadrangular, &c. which I have alfo obferved, in moft 

 things when heaped together promifcuoufly. From hence, at length 

 I gathered, that thefe fmall particles, were no other than very mi- 

 nute falts. 



For my farther fatisfaclion herein, I took fome of thefe very 

 minute falts out of the membranes or vefic-es containing thein, and 

 after wetting them with rain-water, I put them into a very clean 

 glafs, and placed therh over a burning coal, in like manner as I 

 have pradifed in experiments on the globules of meal. I then ob- 

 ferved, that thefe particles, which, for the prefent, I will call mealy 

 particles, and which, before, were globular, now aflumed a fiat 

 ihape of a circular figure. So that, thefe particles may, perhapS;, 



