Chap. II. O/Food o/Plakts. 15 



I will not mention, as a Food, that acid Spirit of 

 the Air, fo much talk'd of; fince by its eating afun- 

 der Iron Bars it appears too much of the Nature of 

 Aqua Fortis, to be a welcome Gueft alone to the 

 tender VefTels of the Roots of Plants. 



Nitre is ufeful to divide and prepare the Food, and 

 may be faid to nourifh Vegetables in much the fame 

 Manner as my Knife nourifhes me, by cutting and 

 dividing my Meat : But when Nitre is apply'd to the 

 Root of a Plant, it will kill it as certainly as a Knife 

 mifapply'd will kill a Man : Which proves, that Nitre 

 is, in refpeclof Nourishment, jufl: as much the Food 

 of Plants, as White Arfenick is the Food of Rats. 

 And the fame may be faid of Salts. 



Water y from Van-Helmonfs Experiment, was by 

 fome great Philolophers thought to be it. But thele 

 were deceived, in not obferving, that Water has al- 

 ways in its Intervals a Charge of Earth, from which 

 no Art can free it. This Hypothecs having been 

 fully confuted by Dr. Woodward, no body has, that 

 I know of, maintain'd it fince : And to the Doctor's 

 Arguments I fhall add more in the Article of Air. 



Air, becaufe its Spring, &e; is as neceffary to the 

 Life of Vegetables, as the Vehicle of Water is ; fome 

 modern Virtuofi have affirm'd, from the fame and 

 v/orfe Arguments than thofe of the W r ater-Philofo- 

 phers, that Air is the Food of Plants. Mr. Bradley 

 being the chief, if not only Author, who has pub- 

 lihYd this Phantafy, which at prefent feems to get 

 Ground, 'tis fit he mould be anfwer'd : And this 

 will be eafily done, if I can fhew, that he has anfwer'd 

 this his own Opinion, by fome or all ot his own Ar- 

 guments. 



His firft is, that of Belmont, and is thus related 

 in Mr. Bradley's general Treatife of Hufiandry and 

 Gardening, Vol. I. p. 36. , Who dry'd Two hun- 

 • dred Pounds of Earth, and planted a Willow of 

 ' Five Pounds Weight in it, which he water'd with 



« Rain, 



