241 



they covered it all over. And these branches were 

 so perfect, that one might even discover a kind of 

 leaves and flowers thereon. The experiment has since 

 been frequently repeated, and with the same success. 



A friend of mine shewed me an experiment of the 

 same kind. In a glass placed over a moderate fire, 

 there was a continual budding of silver, iu the form of a 

 branch. When this was clipped off with scissars, 

 and a little crude mercury added, in a small time there 

 arose another branch of true silver, which had sucked 

 in and converted into metallic springs, a considerable 

 portion of the quicksilver. The increment of new 

 silver branches ceased not, as long as the fire was con- 

 tinued and fresh mercury supplied, for the due nutri. 

 ment of this mineral vegetation. The ingredients were 

 only aquafortis, quicksilver, and a small quantity of 

 silver, far less than you may reap in a suiali time from 

 thes^ silver sprigs. Yet far more expence is blowu 

 away in smoke, than can be recovered from this silver 

 harvest. 



Not much unlike this was an experiment made by a 

 gentleman, who kept in a cabinet some pieces of fire- 

 stone from a coal-pit, and some large pieces of crude 

 aiu in-stone, such as it was when taken out of the 

 rock. After a time both these had shot out tufts of 

 long and slender iibres ; some of which were half 

 an inch long, bended and curled like hairs. And as 

 often as these tufts were wiped oil, they sprouted out 

 again. 



But both of these fall short of what is related by a 

 curious naturalist, cc Having extracted the salts out 

 of a quantity of fern-ashes after the common method 

 most of the water being evaporated, I had several 

 pounds of salt, most of which being dried, 1 exposed 

 the rest to the air. Having put it into a large glass, 

 I forgot it for five or six weeks : looking after it then, 

 I was saluted with a pleasing spectacle. The lixivium 



VOL, II, M 



