bis Thermometer with the common mercurial ones, 379 
linen, I applied a piece of ice to a piece of dry flannel which - 
weighed two pennyweights anda half, and furrounded them 
with other ice. After lying together three quarters of an. 
hour, taking the piece of icein my hand and hooking the flan- 
mel toa ae I found a weight of five ounces to bee neceffary 
for pulling it off, and yet fo much of the ice had liquefied AS 
to increaie the weight of the flannel above 12 pennyweights. by 
then weighed the piece of ice, put them tegether again, and 
four hours after found them frozen fo aeinly as to require <8" 
ounces for their feparation, although, from 42 pennyweights 
of the ice, 15 more had melted off: the furface of conta& was: 
at this time nearly afquare inch. I continued them again toge- 
ther for feven hours; but they now bore only 62 ounces, the’ 
ice being diminifhed to 14 pennyweights, and the furface of ° 
contact reduced to about fix-tenths of a f{quare inch. 
Having .feen before that pounded ice abforbs water in very 
confiderable quantity, I fufpected that fomething of the fame 
kind might take place even with entire mafles; and experiment 
foon convinced me, that even apparently folid pieces of ice will. 
imbibe water, flower or quicker according to its {tage of decay. 
I have repeatedly heated fome of my thermometer pieces, and 
Jaid them upon ice, in which they made cavities of confidera- 
ble depth, but the water was always abforbed, fometimes as. 
aft as it was produced, leaving beth the piece and the ea 
dry. 
Thus, though I cannot fufficiently oleh how much I ad-’ 
mire the difcovery that gave rife to-thefe experiments, I have. 
_neverthelefs to lament my not being able to avail myfelf of it 
at prefent for the purpofe I wifhed to apply it to. ! 
That in my experiments the two feemingly oppofite procefies 
of nature, congelation and liquefaction, went on together, at 
Dddz the 
