ioo S Y L V A BOOK in 



4 flame of a lamp, very intensely cast on it by a blast 

 4 through a small pipe ; yet it seemed not at all to 

 4 have diminished its extension ; but only I found it to 

 4 have chang'd its colour, and to have put on a more 

 4 dark and dusky brown hue. Nor could I perceive 

 4 that those parts which seem'd to have been wood at 

 4 first, were any thing wasted, but the parts appear'd 

 4 as solid and close as before. It was farther observ- 

 4 able also, that as it did not consume like wood, so 

 4 neither did it crack and fly like a flint, or such like 

 4 hard stone ; nor was it long before it appear'd red-hot. 



4 Fifthly, in its dissolubleness ; for putting some 

 4 drops of distilled vinegar upon the stone, I found it 

 4 presently to yield very many bubbles, just like those 

 4 which may be observed in spirit of vinegar when it 

 4 corrodes coral ; tho' I guess many of those bubbles 

 4 proceeded from the small parcels of air, which were 

 4 driven out of the pores of this petrify'd substance, 

 4 by the insinuating liquid menstruum. 



4 Sixthly, in it's rigidness, and friability ; being not 

 4 at all flexible, but brittle like a flint ; insomuch, that 

 4 with one knock of a hammer I broke off a small 

 4 piece of it, and with the same hammer quickly beat 

 4 it to pretty fine powder upon an anvil. 



4 Seventhly, it seem'd also very differing from wood 

 4 to the touch, feeling more cold than wood usually 

 4 does, and much like other close stones and minerals. 



4 The reason of all which phaenomena seems to be, 



4 That this petrified wood having lain in some 

 4 place where it was well soaked with petrifying 

 4 water (that is, such a water as is well impregnated 

 4 with stony and earthy particles) did by degrees se- 

 4 parate, by straining and filtration, or perhaps by pre- 

 4 cipitation, cohesion or coagulation, abundance of 



