66 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [anNO 1703. 



Observing how dry the sand was, when poured out of the box, I fancied if a 

 little more water had been put into the sand, or fewer seeds, there would have 

 been a greater increase both of the plants and roots. For which reason I took 

 a glass tube, that was large enough to hold the same conveniently, and hermeti- 

 cally sealed at one end, and about 4 inches long, as here represented in fig. 4, 

 IKLMNO ; in this tube I put 5 or 6 seeds, and laid between each of them a little 

 wet sand, which was very fine and white, and of that sort which is used for 

 making glass, and had always kept dry in my closet for 12 years. I proceeded 

 with this tube as I had done before with my copper-box, having stopped it with 

 a piece of cork, as lpqm. 



On the lOth day I observed that the seed was come to such maturity, that 

 the part which nature intends for the body of the tree, was grown up as high as 

 the cork; and on the 12th day it appeared as in the said figure at rst. I then 

 took the plant out of the glass-tube, when it appeared as in fig. 5, abcdefgh; 

 only this plant had but one root acdh; but others have more, as you have 

 seen at bc. Here pg shows that part which is to be the tree; de the seed or 

 kernel, which being surrounded with its membranes I took them off, the better 

 to expose to view those parts that serve for the nourishment, not only of the 

 root, but of the upper parts of the plant likewise, as also the short string d. 



Fig. 6, KLMN shows a small part of the great root; which appeared as thick 

 and large as the space between k and n, and the small roots appeared growing 

 out of its sides, as is represented between m and n. Thus we may see with the 

 naked eye, how a small particle, no larger than .a coarse sand (as the plant is 

 represented at c, in fig. 23, pi. 2,) is increased in bulk, within the space of 1 1 

 days, as has been already shown in fig. 5, ah gp; and all this is effected by heat 

 and moisture in a close vessel ; a plain demonstration that the plant, and all that 

 belonged to it was actually in the seed ; that is, not only the young plaat, its 

 body, root and fruit, but even its seeds also, to perpetuate the species. 



In December I took another glass tube, longer and larger than the first, as 

 fig. 7f abcdefgh, and stopped both ends with a piece of cork, boring a small 

 hole in the upper cork, and filling the tube a little higher than bg with dry 

 scouring sand, first moistened with a little rain-water. In the upper part of 

 this sand, thus disposed, I set two kernels of an orange brought from Curacao, 

 but some days after they had been out of the orange; so that being drier than 

 the others, they consequently required a longer time before they could sprout 

 out ; yet in the space of 3 weeks, by the warmth of my body only, they ger- 

 minated, as shown in the said fig. bcpg. And pouring out some of the sand, 

 ftith which the seeds were covered, they appeared as ^cg. Between abgh are 



