7?8 LI Q 
too from the experiments which followed, that a confider- 
able portion of the ice that was melted, was melted in 
confequence of the motions into which the water was 
thrown on being poured into the jar. 
The experiments on which the author builds his refults 
were condudted in the following manner: 45-87 cubic 
inches, or 1 lb. ii£ oz. troy, of water, was put into the 
jar, which was placed in an earthen bowl and furrounded 
with a freezing mixture compofed of ice and common fea- 
falt, by which means the water in the jar was frozen into 
one compaift mafs adhering to its bottom and fides. The 
jar was then removed from the freezing mixture, and 
placed in a mixture of pounded ice and water for 4 h. 
that the cake of ice might be brought to the temperature 
of 32°, when the furface of the ice was covered to the 
height of 0-478 of an inch with ice-cold water before 
pouring in the boiling water. Inltead of a piece of paper 
as before, a wooden difli perforated with many hundreds 
of holes was put on the furface of the ice to defend it 
while the hot water was pouring in, which was done 
through a long wooden tube, flopped with a cork at the 
lower end, but perforated with a number of finall holes in 
the fides, immediately above the cork, to make the water 
iflue horizontally, and not impinge with force againft the 
bottom of the wooden difli, which of courfe floated as the 
water rofe; which tended to leflen the motions in the li¬ 
quid. The difli was then carefully removed from the 
furface of the water. The experiments were varied by 
fometimes leaving the upper part of the jar furrounded by 
the atmofphere, at other times by covering the part occu¬ 
pied by the hot water with cotton, and, at others, by keep¬ 
ing the jar plunged to its brim in melting ice and water. 
The mean quantity of ice melted by hot water in 30', 
when the jar was kept plunged to its brim in melting ice 
and water, was 399^ grains; when furrounded by air at 
the temperature of 41 0 , 456 gr. when furrounded by air 
at the temperature of 61®, 558 a gr. when covered up by 
a thick and warm covering of cotton, 690^ gr. When 
the experiments were fimilar, the mean relults of thofe 
which were made with water at different temperatures 
were as follows. In the experiments in which the part 
of the jar occupied by the water was expofed uncovered 
to the air at the temperature of 6i°, with boiling water 
the quantity of ice melted in 30 minutes was 558t.gr. with 
■water at the temperature of 6i°, 646 gr. with water at the 
temperature of 41 0 , 574 gr. In the experiments in which 
the jar 'was wholly furrounded by pounded ice and water, 
and confequently was at 32 0 , the quantity melted in 30' 
with boiling-hot water was 399! gr. with water at the tem¬ 
perature of 611, 66f gr. with water at the temperature of 
41 0 , 54 1 g r - 
From thefe refults the ingenious author concludes, 
(and certainly his experiments juttify the conclufion,) 
that boiling-hot water is not capable of melting more ice, 
when Jlandhig on its furface, than an equal quantity of wa¬ 
ter at the temperature of 41 0 , or when only 9 degrees above 
freezing—a faft which proves that water is a perfeft non¬ 
conductor of heat, and that heat is propagated in it only 
in confequence of the motions which the heat occafions in 
the infulated and folitary particles of that fluid, by alter¬ 
ing their fpecific gravities. He here obferves, in a note, 
that the infight which this difcovery gives us in regard to 
the nature of the mechanical procefs which takes place in 
chemical folutions, is too evident to require illuftration. 
LIQUIDAM'BAR,./. [a name given by the Spaniards 
in America to this tree, from the liquid gum which it 
diitils.] In botany, a genus of the clais monoecia, order 
^olyandria, natural order of conifers;, (amentacere, JuJf.) 
The generic characters are—I. Male flowers numerous, on 
a long, conical, loofe, ament. Calyx: involucre, common 
four-leaved ; leaflets ovate, concave, caducous; the alter¬ 
nate ones fhorter. Corolla: none. Stamina: filaments 
numerous, very (hort, on a body convex on one fide, flat 
on the other; antherse upright, twin, four-furrowed, two- 
celled, II. Female flowers at the bafe of the male fpike 3 
L I Q 
heaped into a globe. Calyx : involucre as in the male, 
hut double. Perian.thium s proper bell-lhaped, cornered, 
feveral, connate, warty. Corolla : none. Piftillum : 
germs two, conjoined between each other, and with the 
perianthium ; flyle to each long, awl-fhaped ; ftigma re¬ 
curved. Pericarpium : capfules twin, leathery, beaked, 
one-ceiled, gaping in wards. Seeds: feveral, oblong, glofiy, 
compreffed, ending in a little membrane above.— F.Jfential 
Character. Male calyV: common, four-leaved; corolla 
none; filaments numerous. Female calyx in a globe, 
fourrieaved ; corolla none; flylestwo; capfules many in 
a globe, two-valved, many-feeded. 
Species. 1. Liquidambar ftyraciflua, maple-leaved liqui- 
dambar, or fweet-guin : leaves palmate-lobed ; with the 
finufes-of the bafe of the veins villofe. The trunk of the 
fweet-gum tree is commonly two feet in diameter, ftraight, 
and free from branches to the height of about fifteen feet; 
from which the branches fpread and rife in a conic form 
to the height of forty feet and upwards from the ground. 
Leaves five-pointed, divided into fo many deep ieriions, 
(or fometimes levin,) and fet on long flender petioles: 
they are of a dark-green colour ( with their upper lurfaces 
fliining. A fweet glutinous lubftance exfudes through 
their pores in warm weather, which renders them clammy 
to the touch. In February, before the leaves are formed, 
the bloffoms begin to break forth from the tops of the 
branches into lpikes of yellowifli-red pappofe globular 
flowers, which fwell gradually, retaining their round form, 
to the full maturity of their feed-veffels, which are thick 
fet with pointed hollow protuberances, and fplitting open 
difcharge their feeds. Each cell contains a feed, winged 
atone end, with many fmall grains diftinft from the feed. 
Thele, which Linnaeus calls chaffy corpufcles, according to 
Gaertner are immature germs. There are two capfules in. 
each cell of the ament ; they are grooved, fnining, and 
of a bay-ferruginous colour. Seeds as many as fixteen in 
a capfule, oblong, elliptic, comprefled like a lens. This 
is reprefented on the Plate at fig. 2. 
The wood of this tree is good timber, and is ufed in 
wainfcotting, See. The grain is fine, and fome of it beau¬ 
tifully variegated; but when wrought too green is apt to 
flirink, to prevent which no lefs than eight or ten years 
is fufficient to feafon the planks. From between the wood 
and the bark iifues a fragrant gum, which trickles from 
the wounded trees, and by the heat of the fun congeals 
into tranfparent drops, which the Indians chew,'as a pre- 
fervative to their teeth. It fmells fo like balfam of Tolu, 
that it is not ^afy to diftinguifh them. The bark is alfo 
of Angular ufe to the Indians for covering their huts. 
Native of North America, in low clayey ground. Cul¬ 
tivated in the garden of Compton bifhop of London in 
1688 ; it was lent over from Virginia by Banifter. 
2. Liquidambar imberbe, or oriental liquidambar: 
leaves palmate-lobed ; with the finufes of the bafe of the 
veins fmooth. The leaves of this have their lobes fhorter, 
and much more finuated on their borders; they end in 
blunt points, and are not ferrated ; neither have they 
thofe tufts of hair which are found on the leaves of the 
firft fort. Its native country is unknown. According to 
Mr. Miller, the feeds were lent to Mr. Peyffonel from the 
Levant, to the king of France’s garden at Marli; Monf. 
Richard, the king’s gardener, Cent fome of them to Mr, 
Miller, who cultivated this tree in 1759. 
3. Liquidambar peregrinum. See Comptonia afpleni- 
folia. 
Propagation and Culture. The fweet-gum tree is hardy- 
enough to endure the fevereft cold of this country in the 
open air. It is commonly propagated by layers; but, 
when raifed from feeds, it grows to be a much fairer tree. 
The feeds of this tree, if fown in the fpring, commonly 
remain in the ground a whole year before the plants come 
up; fo that the fureft way to raife them is, to low the 
feeds in boxes or pots of light earth ; which may be placed 
in a fliady fituation during the firft fummer, and in au¬ 
tumn they may be removed where they may have more 
