2 8 8 Anahfis of the Air. 
nium, he fuppofing fire to be a parti- 
cular fluid matter, which maintains its. 
own effcnce, and figure, remaining always 
fire, tho’ not always burning. Religious 
Rhilofophery p. 310.’* 
To the fame caufe alfo, exclufive of the 
air, he attributes the vaft cxpanfion of a 
mixture of compound Aqua fortis and oil of 
CarrawaySy whereas by Exper. 62. there is 
a great quantity of air in all oils. And by 
pouring fome compound Aqua-fortis on oil 
of Cloves^ the mixture expanded into a 
fpace equal to 720 times the bulk of the 
oily that part of the expanfion, which was 
owing to the watry part of the oil and fpi- 
rit was foon contraded 5 whereas the other 
part of the cxpanfion, which was owing to 
the elaftick air of the oily was not all con- 
traded, till the next day, by which time 
the fulphureous fumes had reforbed it. 
The learned Boerhaave would have it, 
that putrefadion is the effed of inherent 
fire. He fays, “ that vegetables alone are 
the fubjed of fermentation, but both 
vegetables and animals of putrefadion 3 
which operations he attributes to very 
different caufes, the immediate caufe of 
fermen- 
