ON DEW, &c. 259 



that such an opinion prevails any where, at pre- 

 sent, except in the^West Indies; but I con- 

 clude, from various circumstances, that it exists 

 -also in Africa, and that it was carried thence 

 by negro slaves to America. It was entertained, 

 however, by persons of considerable rank and 

 intelligence among the ancients ; for Pliny * 

 affirms it to be true, and Plutarch, after making 

 it a subject of discussion in one of his Sym- 

 posia f, admits it to be well founded. 



As moonbeams communicate no sensible heat 

 to the bodies, on which they fall, it seems im- 

 possible, that they can directly promote putre- 

 faction. But still a reason, for ascribing such 

 a power to them, may be derived from their 

 being received by animal substances, at the 

 very time that a real, but generally unnoticed, 

 cause of putrefaction, in warm climates, (and 

 it is in these alone the opinion I am treating of 

 has ever prevailed) is taking place, which ceases 

 to act, as soon as the moon's light is excluded. 



The nights, on which a steady moonshine 

 occurs, must necessarily be clear ; and nights, 

 which are clear, are almost always calmt. A 



* Lib. ii. . civ. f Lib. iii. Prob. x. 



I Mr. De Luc has remarked, that clouds frequently dis- 

 appear soon after sunset. Idees sur la Meteorologie, II. 8. 

 I have often observed this myself, and at the same time 

 another fact of which he takes no notice ; namely, that the 



s 2 



