16 Of Food o/Plants. Chap. II. 



* Rain, or diftill'd Water; and to fecure it from any 



* other Earth getting in, he covered it with a perfo- 

 ' rated Tin Cover. Five Years after, weighing the 

 ' Tree, with all the Leaves it had borne in that Time, 



* he found it to weigh One hundred Sixty-nine 



* Pounds Three Ounces ; but the Earth was only di- 



* minifh'd about two Ounces in its Weight. 5 



On this Experiment Mr. Bradley grounds his Airy 

 Hypothefis. But let it be but examined fairly, and 

 fee what may be thence infer r'd. 



The Tin Cover was to prevent any other Earth 

 from getting in. This muft alio prevent any Earth 

 from getting out, except what enter'd the Roots, 

 and by them pafs'd into the Tree. 



A Willow is a very thirfty Tree, and mud have 

 drank in Five Years time leveral Tuns of Water, 

 ■which muft necefTarily carry in its Interfaces a great 

 Quantity of Earth (probably many times more than 

 the Tree's (a) Weight, which could not get out, 

 but by the Roots of the Willow. 



Therefore the Two hundred Pounds of Earth not 

 being increafed, proves that fo much Earth as was 

 poured in with the Water, did enter the Tree. 



Whether the Earth did enter to nourilh the Tree, 

 or whether only in order to pafs through it ( by way 

 of Vehicle to the Air), and leave the Air behind for 

 the Augment of the Vv T illow, may appear by examin- 

 ing the Matter ot which the Tree did confiit. 



If the Matter remaining after the Corruption or 

 Putrefaction of the Tree be Earth, will it not be a 

 Proof, that the Earth remained in it, to nourifh and 

 augment it ? for it could not leave what it did not firft 

 take, nor be augmented by what pafs'd through it. 

 According to Arijioile\ Doctrine, and Mr. Bradley s 



(a) The Body of an Animal receives a much lefs Incveafe in 

 Weight than its Perfpirations amount to, as San&orius's Static- 

 Chair demonltrates. 



too, 



