STRUCTURE OF WOOD, &C. 
103 
hydrostatic balance, and weighed. Its weight in the water, at Inf l uui f s 
the temperature of 60 ° F. was 2*44 grammes eharcoal, &c. 
When the charcoal was taken out of the water, it was put 
into a cylindrical glass vessel ]§ inch in diameter, and 6 inches 
in height, in which it was thoroughly dried in the stove at a 
temperature of about 2 65 ° F. 
After it had been six hours in the stove, it was taken out, and 
weighed, while still hot, and found to be equal to 6 7 grammes ; 
therefore its specific gravity was 157273. 
We have before shewn, that the specific gravity of the solid 
parts of oak, in the state of seer-wood, is 153440. 
This is certainly very similar to that of charcoal made of the 
same kind of wood ; but we have not yet proved seer -wood to 
be charcoal : on the contrary, we have just seen, that it requires 
100 parts of seer- wood to obtain 43*33 parts of dry charcoal. 
Neither is seer-w-ood simply an hydrure of dry wood, as we 
shall see in the sequel. 
It should seem that the fabric of a plant, which may perhaps 
be nothing but pure charcoal; is always covered with a substance 
analogous to the flesh which conceals the skeleton of an animal. 
This vegetable flesh does not exist in considerable masses ; for 
as the plant is not under the necessity of moving from one place 
to another, in search of nourishment, it has no need either of 
flexible joints in its skeleton, nor of muscles capable of exerting 
a great force - 3 and it probably arises from the circumstances of 
the skeleton and the flesh being very intimately blended 
together, that they are not discriminated and distinguished from 
each other. 
I consider seer-wood as the skeleton of the plant, with the 
flesh, though quite dried, still adhering to it : and as we have 
seen that there are 43*33 parts of charcoal in 100 parts of seer- 
wood, I should say that 100 parts of seer-wood are composed 
Charcoal 43*33 parts. 
Vegetable flesh, dried. . . 56-67 
Making together. ..... 1 00*00 parts. 
The beautiful analyses of Messrs, Gay Lussac and Thenard, 
have shewn us that seer- wood is composed of carbon, hydrogen, 
and oxigen 5 and that two different species of wood analysed 
s by’ 
