164 Original Letters of Dr. Franklin. 



ently gratified, and had his majesty sent me a Marshall's 

 stair, I think I should scarce have been so proud of it as I 

 am of your esteem, and of subscribing myself with sinceri- 

 ty, dear Sir, Your affectionate friend, and 



humble servant, 



B. FRANKLIN. 



11 Philadelphia, May 3. 1753. 



Dear Sir, 



I received your essay last post, and my presses being at 

 present engaged in some public work that will not admit of 

 delay, I have engaged Mr. Parker to print it out of hand at 

 New- York. You may expect to see it done in two or 

 three weeks. The pacquet was not sealed, and 1 observed 

 that the tables showing the culture of sundry fields were 

 not with the rest of Mr. Jackson's papers. Perhaps you 

 did not design them for the press. 



I wish the Barbary barley may grow. I have some of it 

 and sowed it ; but it seemed to me to have been cut too 

 green. I have formerly heard it reckoned the finest barley 

 in the world, and that it makes a great part of the food of 

 the inhabitants. 



I think I have never been more hurried in business than 

 at present ; yet I will steal a (ew minutes, to make an ob- 

 servation or two on Mr. Todd's ingenious letter to you. 



1. The supposing a mutual attraction between the par- 

 ticles of water and air, does not seem to me to be introdu- 

 cing a new law of nature ; such attractions taking place in 

 many other known instances. 



2. Water is specifically eight hundred and fifty times 

 heavier than air. To render a bubble of water then spe- 

 cifically lighter than air, it seems to me that it must take 

 up more than eight hundred and fifty times the space it did 

 before it formed the bubble ; and within the bubble should 

 be either a vacuum, or air rarified more than eight hundred 

 and fifty times. If a vacuum, would not the bubble be im- 

 mediately crushed by the weight of the atmosphere ? And 

 no heat we know of will rarify the air any thing near so 

 much ; much less the common heat of the sun, or that of 

 friction by the dashing on the surface of the water. Be- 



