EXAMINATION. 89 



" In the month of August, 1 743, a small parcel 

 of blighted wheat was sent by Mr. Needham 

 to INIartin Folkes, esq.. President of the Royal 

 Society, with an account of his then new dis- 

 covery ; which parcel the president was pleased 

 to give me, desiring I would examine it care- 

 fully. In order so to do, I cut open some of 

 the grains that were become dry, took out the 

 fibrous matter, and applied water to it on a 

 slip of glass ; but could discern no other mo- 

 tion than a separation of the fibres or threads, — 

 which separation I imputed wholly to an elas- 

 ticity in the fibres ; and perceiving no token of 

 life, after watching them with due care, and 

 repeating the experiment till I was weary, an 

 account thereof was written to Mr. Needham ; 

 who having by trials of his own found out 

 the cause of this bad success, advised me to 

 steep the grains before I should attempt to 

 open them ; on doing which I was very soon 

 convinced of his veracity, and entertained with 

 the pleasing sight of this wonderful phenome- 

 non. Since then I have made experiments, at 

 diiferent times, with grains of the same parcel, 

 without being disappointed so much as once ; 

 and particularly on the 4th day of July, 1747, 

 finding some of the same parcel left, I soaked 



