in the Pyrites. 231 



in their frejh and unburnt ftaie, or firft produced 

 therein by the acl of incineration and burning? M. 

 Lemery the younger, reafoning from the poflibility 

 of the thing, affirms the firft ; as from iron being 

 contained in all upper garden-molds, whence plants 

 muft derive their nutritious juices: again, from 

 iron, by means of water, changing to a fait or vi- 

 triol ; to which might be added, that vegetable 

 waters may affect what a formal acid vitriol falc 

 cannot ; as fufficiently appears from that macerat- 

 ing water, prepared for the ufe of iron-plates, from 

 the fermented acetous juice of corn, of which we 

 lhall fay fomething in the chapter on vitriol. Af- 

 ter this, M. Lemery fets about examining the mat- 

 ter of fact, yet without alledging any one folid 

 proof; only denying the allegations and conclu- 

 fions of his antagonift, and, at Jaff, anfwering his 

 objections. M. Geoffroy undertakes to defend the 

 laft \ and here he chiefly afks, how' tis poffible for 

 fuch a vicriolic vegetable juice not to affect the tafte, 

 as a fingle grain of vitriol may ferve to impregnate 

 ieveral meafures of water. Though the dilpute 

 fecms to be but tamely managed on both fides, yet 

 it muft be allowed that the former has the advan- 

 tage, at leaft in point of anfwering objections, tho' 

 not that dexterity at defending his own pofuion ; and 

 that, though I have always fufpected the original 

 of this iron in plants to be rather in their incinera- 

 tion, yet I cannot hitherto find proofs fufficient to 

 fatisfy myfelf, much lefs another, about it. And 

 here the queftion is not, whether the iron-particles 

 do, or do not actually lodge in the fubftance of the 

 plant, the linfeed oil, fcf*. but rather, whether 

 the linfeed oil, and the clay, or loam, do, by the 

 operation, yield any iron, which before was neither 

 in the one nor the other : for, M. Geoffroy readily 

 allows, that both in the loam and oil, there is al- 



Q^4 ready 



