112 



^' weight, when it lived on spring-water, 

 *' and still more xohen its food was Thames- 

 *' wafer. From whence" (says Mr. Kir- 

 wan) *' we may deduce that grasses and 

 *' corn, during the time of their growth, 

 '* absorb about one half of their weight 

 •* of water each day, if the weather be 

 *' favourable." 



Secondly, " That the water they thus 

 '* pass nourishes them merely as water, 

 ^* without taking any foreign substance 

 <* into the account, for 3000 grains of 

 ** rain-water, in Doctor Woodward's 

 ** experiment, afforded an increase of 

 ** seventeen grains ; whereas, by Mar- 

 ** graaf's experiments, 5760 grains of 

 " that water contain only one-third of a 

 ** grain of earth. But^ 



Thirdly, " It also follows, that water 

 •* contributes still more to their nourish- 



** meut 



