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admitted to it, no more was abforbed $ which is an 

 effect fimilar to that of a mixture of nitrous and 

 common air, which was mentioned before. 



The preceding experiments on the calcination of 

 metals fuggefted to me a method of explaining^ the 

 caufe of the mifchief which is known to arife from 

 frefh. paint, made with white lead (which I fuppofe 

 is aa imperfect calx of lead) and oil. To verify 

 my hypothefis, I firft put a fmall pot full of this 

 kind of paint, and afterwards (which anfwered much 

 better, by expofing a greater furface of the paint) I 

 daubed feveral pieces of paper with it, and put them 

 under a receiver, and obferved, that in about twenty- 

 four hours, the air was diminished between one fifth i 

 and one fourth, for I did not meafure it very exactly. 

 This air alfo was, as I expected to find it, in the 

 higheft degree, noxious ; it did not efFervefce with> 

 nitrous air, it was no farther diminifhed by a mix- 

 ture of iron filings and brimftone, and was made: 

 wholefome by agitation in water deprived of all air. 



I think it appears pretty evident, from the preced- 

 ing experiments on the calcination of metals, that air 

 is ibme way or other diminifhed in confequence of 

 being highly charged with phlogifton, and that agi- 

 tation in water reftores it, by imbibing a great part 

 of the phlogiftic matter. That water has a consider- 

 able affinity with phlogifton, is evident from the 

 ftrong impregnation which it receives from it. May 

 not plants alfo reftore air diminished by putrefaction, 

 by abforbing part of the phlogifton with which it is 

 loaded ? The greater part of a dry plant, as well as 

 ©f a dry animal fubftance, confifts of inflammable 

 air, or Something that. is capable of being converted 



into . 



