STUDY III. 141 



** capillary tubes. Dilated by heat, it afcends 

 " through the wood, and re-defcends through the 

 «' rind, following in it's diredion the vertical co- 

 ** lumn of the air which imprefles that direflion. 

 " Hence it is that all vegetables rife perpendicu- 

 " cularly, and that the inclined plane of a moun- 

 *^ tain can contain no more than the horizontal 

 *' plane of it's bafe, as may be demonftrated by 

 " Geometry. Befides, the Earth is an ill-afforted 

 '^ garden, which prefents, almoft every where, 

 *' ufelefs weeds, or mortal poifons, 



" As to the animals, which we know better, 

 *' becaufe they are brought nearer to us, by fimilar 

 '' affedlions, and fimilar wants, they prefent ftill 

 *' greater abfurdities *. They proceeded, at firft, 

 " from the expanfive force of the Earth, in the 

 " firft Ages of the World, and were formed out of 

 " the fermented mire of the Ocean and of the 

 " Nile, as certain Hiflorians aflure us ; among 

 " others Herodotus, who had his information 

 " from the Priefts of Egypt. Moft of them are 

 " out of all proportion. Some have enormous 

 ** heads and bills, fuch as the toucan ; others long 

 *' necks and long legs, like the crane : thefe have 

 '^ no feet at all, thofe have them by hundreds ; 



* The reply to this is in Study VI. 



"^ others 



