ART. I. 2. 3. 5. NUTRIENTIA. i r 



fruity feem to forward the faccharine procefs of their juices. 

 Thus if forne kinds of pears are gathered a week before they 

 would ripen on the tree, and are laid on a heap and covered, 

 their juice becomes fweet many days fooner. The taking off 

 a circular piece of the bark from a branch of a pear-tree caufes 

 the Iruir of that branch to ripen fooner by a fortnight, as I have 

 more than once obferved. The wounds made in apples by in- 

 fer s occafion thofe apples to ripen fooner ; caprification, or the 

 piercing of figs, in the ifiand of Mrlta, is faicl to ripen them 

 footer; and I am well informed, that when bunches ofgrapts 

 in this country have acquired their expected fize, if the (talk of 

 each bunch be cut half through, they will fooner ripen. 



The germinating barley in the malt-houfe I believe acquires 

 little fweetnefs, till the life of the feed is deftroyed, and the fac- 

 charine procefs then continued or advanced by the heat in dry- 

 ing it. Thus in animal digeflion, the fugar produced in the 

 flomach is abforbed by the Ia6leals as fall as it is made, other- 

 wile it ferments, and produces flatulency -, fo in the germina- 

 tions of barley in the malt-houfe, fo long as the new plant lives, 

 the fugar, I fuppofe, is abforbed as fait as it is made ; but that, 

 which we ufe in making beer is the fugar produced by a chem- 

 ical procefs after the death of the young plant, or which is made 

 more expeditioufly, than the plant can abforb it. 



It is probably this faccharine procefs, which obtains in new 

 hayitacks too hafiily, and which by immediately running into 

 fermentation produces fo much heat as to fct them on fire. 

 The greateil part of the grain, or feeds, or roots, ufed in the 

 diftiileries, as wheat, canary feed, potatoes, are not I believe 

 previoufly fubjecled to germination, but are in part by a chemi- 

 cal procefs converted into fugar, and immediately fubje&ed to 

 vinous fermentation ; and it is probable a procefs may fome- 

 time be difcovered of producing fugar from (larch or meal ; and 

 of feparating it from them for domeflic purpofes by alcohol, 

 which diflblves fugar but not mucilage ; or by other means. 



Another method of increafing the nutriment of mankind by 

 cookery, is by difiblving cartilages and bones, and tendons, and 

 probably fome vegetables, in (learn or water at a much higher 

 degree of heat than that of boiling. This is to be done in a 

 cloie veiTel, which is called Papin's digefter ; in which, it is 

 faict, that water may be made redhot, and will then diflblve all 

 animal fubilances *, and might thus add to our quantity of food 

 in times of fcarcity. This veflel mould be made of iron, and 

 fhould have an oval opening at top, with an oval lid of iron, and 

 larger than the aperture , this lid ihould be (lipped in endways, 

 when the veffel is filled, and then turned, and raifed by a fcrew 



above 



