20 Vegetable Staticks. 



leaves ; I fet the ftem in a little phial of wa- 

 ter : it imbibed and perfpired in three days 

 |- of an ounce. 



At the fame time I cut off from the fame 

 tree another bearing twig of the fame length, 

 with 12 leaves on it, but no apple; it im- 

 bibed in the fame three days near -| of an 

 ounce. 



About the fame time I fet in a phial of 

 water a fhort ftem of the fame tree, with 

 two large Apples on it without leaves ; they 

 imbibed near \ ounce in two days. 



So in this Experiment, the apple and the 

 leaves imbibe -f. of an ounce ; the leaves 

 alone near |, but. the two large apples im- 

 bibed and perfpired but \ part fo much as the 

 12 leaves; then one apple imbibed the £ part 

 of what was imbibed by the 1 2 leaves ; there- 

 fore two leaves imbibe and perfpire as much 

 as one apple; whence their perfpirations 

 feem to be proportionable to their furfaces ; 

 the furface of the apple being nearly equal 

 to the fum of the upper and under furfaces 

 of the two leaves. 



Whence it is probable, that the ufe of 

 thefe leaves ( which are placed, juft where 

 the fruit joins to the tree) is to bring nou- 



rifhment 



