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fwelling, if the liquid, Avhich is at the extremity of the fting, or can 

 by any means be expelled from thence, penetrates \N'ithin the fenfi- 

 tive part of the ikin, and there touches or wounds any of the vef- 

 fels ; whereupon fome acute fait, which this liquor contains, prin- 

 cipally produces tlie pain and fwelling we experience ; and this I 

 rather take to be the cafe, becaufe, on examining Nettles which had 

 palled their full growth, I found that the juice in many of the ffings 

 was dried up, whereas thofe that were ftill growing were not only 

 quite full of juice, but fome of it iflued from their points ap before 

 mentioned. And I obferved the points of thofe which had come 

 to their full growth, to be for the moft part broken, which I attri- 

 buted to the wind agitating the leaves, and ftriking the llalks one 

 againft another. 



I know many people fay, that if we boldly grafp a Nettle it will 

 not Ring, but the only reafon is this, that if we feize a Nettle with 

 the whole hand our lingers are clofe together, fo that the Nettle 

 only touches the Ikin on the infide of our hands and fingers, which 

 is generally fo thick and tough that the flings cannot pierce it, but 

 are either blunted or broken, and therefore we feel no efFe<ft on the 

 infides of our fingers, much lefs the palms of our hands ; but the 

 parts between our fingers, where the Ikin is thin and foijt, are thofe 

 liable to be injured. 



In order to Ihew the formation of the ftings of the Nettle, I 

 liave caufed drawings to be made of them from the microfcope. 

 , Kate XVUT. fg. 24, ABODE, is the fting of a Nettle, as it 

 gro'N^s on the leaf or flalk, -when in its moft flourifhing ftate. At 

 C is to 1)0 fcen a round drop or globule, being part of the juice with 

 which the cavity of the fting is filled. A B 1) E is a foft, green, 

 flexible part, which has this appearance while on the plant, but, 

 when feparated from it, in a little time more than half of it dries 

 away. BCD is the fting itfelf, which is very tranfparent when 

 filled with juice. 



