Bare Hunting, 67 



fumes and exhalations of the eafth itfelf* 

 That thefd particles are fubjecft to fuch 

 diffipatiotl Or corruption ^ every Sportfman 

 knows ; for as none of them will retaiil 

 their odour after a certain proportionable 

 time, fo it is daily evident, that this time of 

 their duration is very obnoxious to the vi- 

 ciffitudes of the weather i that the fcent of 

 the animal (as well as her more folid flefh) . 

 will lofe its fweetnefs, fooner or later, ac-^ 

 cording to the difpofition of the ambient 

 air. I have frequently heard the good 

 Houfewives complain, that, againfl rain or 

 thunder, their milk will turn, and their 

 larders taint; and I have as often perceived, 

 that, a ftorm approaching, the fcent will, 

 in a moment, change and vanifh. Nor is 

 the fuddennefs of fuch alteration the leafl 

 wonder, if we take into confideration the 

 fmallnefs of the particles. The fame effi- 

 cient caufe may penetrate and corrupt thefe 

 minute corpufcles in the twinkling of an 

 eye, which requires an hour or a day to 

 operate on bodies of greater bulk and fub- 

 ftance; as the fame fire, or aqua-fortis, will 

 diffolve the filings of fteel in an inflant^ 

 F 2 though 



