On Vegetation in artificial Media. 121 
wards Mr. Williams, and towards Geological truth and impar- 
tiality, that his wish was do exclude controversy, and merely 
state facts and opinions, for the reader’s own decision; then it 
should be rejoined, that he ought to have considered, ‘what he 
has denominated chapter 3 of vol. i. (pp. 449 to 467), as 
among the useless “ redundancies” of Mr. Williams’s Work, be- 
cause expressly employ ed, in considering and refuting the Theory 
of Count Buffon; in the same manner and on the same princi- 
ples, as the refutation of Dr. Hutton’s Theory, which has thus 
unfairly been kept back. 
Conceiving, sir, that many of your Geological Readers, who 
possess Williams’s 2d Edition, would wish to see the suppressed 
Preface to which I have been alluding, circulated, and preserved 
in your pages, in portions, as room from more important matter 
may allow, I have sent you the Preface, and in case you oblige 
me, by its insertion, | propose to seid you, occasionally, some 
further particulars, calculated to set Mr. Williams’s labours and 
his work, in favourable points of view; and am, 
Your obedient servant, 
Aug. 4, 1817. AN ENGINEER. 
[The Preface of Mr. Williams, referred to in the preceding 
article, will be given in subsequent Numbers. ]—Epiror. 
XVIII. On Vegetation in artificial Media. By Mr.J. Acton. 
To Mr. Tilloch. 
Sir, — Ojsenvine some experiments in your Magazine for 
last month, by Mr. J. Tatum, respecting the effects of vegeta- 
tion on the atmosphere, I beg to call his attention to some 
of my own, made several years ago, with the view of pointing 
out the analogy between the germination of seeds, the vege- 
tation of plants, and the respiration of animals; as also of ex- 
amining a new theory of the forination of carbonie acid gas in 
peculiar situations by seeds, plants and animals, then lately 
published by Mr, Ellis in a small octavo volume; and which 
experiments were published in the late Mr. Nicholson’s Journal 
for July and October 1509. Although my subsequent experi- 
ence has not led me to make any alteration in the conclusions to 
which my labours at that time led me, I cannot help feeling consi- 
derable diffidence with respect to them, from having since been 
compelled by many unfortunate circumstances to relinquish in 
a great degree pursuits so interesting and congenial to the 
inquiring mind. I had pledged myself to follow up those 
experiments by others particularly relating to vegetation, more 
effectually 
