•58 ANIMALCULA OF INFUSIOISrS. 1» 



It may be proper here to recur to the feeds 

 compofmg fcveral infufions, mentioned before, 

 expofed to the heat of boiling water in veffels 

 hermetically fealed. Two minutes immerfion 

 admitted of full germination, but it ceafed if the 

 heat continued longer : and the like happened in 

 open vefiels, only, thefe could fcarcely bear two , 

 minutes, and the others could bear a little more. 

 At firfl fight, the experiments before us feem 

 difcordant with the former, indicating the vege- 

 tativQ faculty is loft when feeds in water are ex- 

 pofed to 212°, or the heat of boiling water. By 

 attending to the different modes of conduding 

 the experiments, all inconfiftency difappears. In 

 the former fcries, the water was heated till begin- 

 ning to boil ; here, on the contrary, that in 

 which cither the fealed or open velfels were im- 

 merfed two ii;iinutes, did not give the leaft fign 

 of ebullition, and the included water would have 

 required at leaft four or five minutes longer for 

 it; that the feeds vegetated is not furprifmg, 

 while thofe named before did not, fince the 

 one fuffered more heat than the other. 



Such have been my experiments on animals and 

 their eggs, and on feeds and their plants ; which, 

 although not very numerous, feem to bring cer- 

 tain laws of . nature in view, whence we derive 

 fome elucidation of this fubjeft. We collet, in 

 the firft place, that the eggs of the animals ex- 

 amined. 



