374 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO IJdg. 



While making these experiments, Mr. E. wrote to Dr. Linneus, of Upsal, 

 for his opinion of them, and for his method of presei-ving seeds in long voyages, 

 His answer considers the great danger that attends seeds in warm voyages, in the 

 same light with governor Ellis, and he communicated a very probable method 

 of preserving seeds in long voyages, which, he says, has never failed. The fol- 

 lowing is an extract of his letter, dated the 8th of Dec. 1758, from Upsal. 

 " Seeds may be brought from abroad in a growing state, if we attend to the 

 following method :" " Put the seeds into a cylindrical glass bottle, and fill up 

 the interstices with dry sand, to prevent their lying too close together, and that 

 they may perspire freely through the sand ; then cork, the bottle, or tie a blad- 

 der over the mouth of it. Prepare a glass vessel, so much larger than that 

 which contains the seeds, that when it is suspended in it, there may be a vacant 

 space on all sides of about 2 inches distance between both glasses, for the follow- 

 ing mixture ; 4 parts of nitre, and one-5th part of equal parts, of common salt, 

 and sal ammoniac : these must be well pounded, and mixed together, and the 

 spaces all round between the outer and inner glasses well filled with it. This 

 saline mass, which should be rather moist, will always be so cold, that the seeds 

 in the inner glass will never suffer, during their voyage, from the heat of the 

 air. This experiment has been tried, and has not failed." 



As to the acorns before- mentioned, sent to Georgia, on the 27th of Nov. 

 1758, Mr. E. prepared 7 parcels of the acorns of the cork-bearing oak or ilex, 

 in the following manner : 



N° 1, 15 acorns, each covered over singly with a stiff solution of gum arabic, 

 and afterwards rolled up in gumed paper. N° 2, 13 do. each rolled uj) in a thin 

 cover of common yellow bees- wax, softened before the fire, and rolled up after- 

 wards separately, in white paper. N^ 3, 10 do. each rolled up as before, in wax, 

 and afterwards each covered with a coat of brewers loam moistened with a thick 

 solution of gum arabic. N*^ 4, 5 do. each coated with gum arabic, and after- 

 wards with whiting moistened with a thick solution of gum arabic. N° 5, 25 do. 

 each coated with gum arabic, and afterwards with brewers loam moistened with 

 a thick solution of gum arabic. N° 6, 3 do. each covered with gardeners graft- 

 ing mummy, consisting of a mixture of bees-wax, rosin, and pitch. N*' 7, 10 

 do. each covered with fullers earth made into a paste, with a stiff" solution of 

 gum arabic. 



These 7 parcels were all put into chip boxes, filled with dry house-sand, and 

 afterwards put into a tight cask ; and they arrived in Gtrorgia in April following. 

 Grt)vernor Ellis, in his letter, dated from thence. May 6, 1759, says, of all 

 these experiments, none succeeded but the parcel N° 3. which had first been 

 covered with bees-wax, and afterwards with a paste made of loam and dissolved 

 gum arabic. We even find, that those that were covered with a thin coat of 



