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wax. Mod of thofe that I had Town in the garden 
came up in June following 1767, and by the middle 
of September were 6 inches high. 
This gave me fome hopes that I fhould not labour 
in vain as I had done before ; for part of the fame 
parcel of ever-green oak acorns which failed, I 
had given to Sir Thomas Sewell the year before to 
low, and he allures me that not one of them came up 
with him. I likewife difcovered, though too late, 
that the Spanilh chefnuts, which failed, had been kiln- 
dried ; this is a common pradtice in Spain, to prevent 
their fprouting by the damp heat in the hold of the 
fhip. 
I fhould not, my Lord, be fo particular in explaining 
the caufe of my difappointment, but to fhew the care 
that is neceflary to be taken by perfons abroad in the 
choice of the feeds, as well as the date they ought to 
be in, if they expedt they (hould anfwer the great end 
we propofe. 
Before I mention the method in which I treated 
thefe acorns, I mud obferve to your Lordlhip, that 
though I have formerly been fo fuccefsful as to pre- 
ferve both acorns and chefnuts for the fpace of ayear 
in bees wax, feveral of which have afterwards vege- 
tated, and fome of them are now grown into trees ; 
yet I always found that many of them were rotten 
when they were taken out of the wax; which made 
me fufpedt that it was owing to the too great heat of 
the melted wax, that fo many of them were dedroy- 
ed. This put me on thinking of the following me- 
thod to guard the feeds to be preferved from too great 
heat, which I have now the pleafure to fhew your 
Lordfhip and the red of the Royal Society the good 
effedts of. 
After 
