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any frosty particles it may have imbibed, and 

 render it nearly equal to the temperature of the 

 air of the house. 



For this purpose, many houses have cisterns 

 erected within them, to receive the rain water 

 collected at the eaves ; these, if conveniently 

 placed, and properly contrived, are certainly 

 useful ; yet they should be so constructed at 

 bottom, as to let off the superabundant water, 

 else it will soon, by being stagnant, emit a most 

 disagreeable smell through the house, and con- 

 tribute much to the noxious damps exhaled by 

 the fire from the other parts ; did the bottom 

 terminate in the form of a truncate inverted 

 cone, with a pipe leading to any outward, un- 

 frequented situation, I think it would be an 

 improvement ; as it would admit the collected 

 sediment to pass freely off with the superabun- 

 dant water. 



Rain water is in general thought to be the 

 most proper for plants, as it is believed to con- 

 tain a much larger portion of the food of vege- 

 tables, than any other ; because, being exhaled 

 from the earth and sea, by the action of the sun, 

 it carries along with it large quantities of the 

 natural salts so necessary to the life of vegeta- 



