9
have described different species of ants, expatiated on their poli-tical economy, on their foresight and sagacity, and particularlyon their skill in constructing magazines and habitations, proofagainst the rain and damp : But no description has been givenof those stvarms of careless Emmets, who live in a mire, withoutappearing to provide any other food or lodging than what themosses, growing upon it, afford them. Such multitudes of short-lived insects, brought forth, and dying, where all substances arelong preserved, must contribute somewhat to the bulk of themass. It might have been expected, therefore, that the formicacid would not have escaped those chemists, who have so fondlyexpected to discover vegetable acids in peat moss.
But to return to our experiments.—It having been reported,that the late celebrated Dr Black found that moss-water hadthe quality of preserving substances immersed in it from corrup-tion, two fresh oak leaves were sunk in a vial filled with thewater obtained as above said, which was close corked up. Atthe end of a week, the leaves were become.flaccid and discolour,ed, and the water very fetid.
Ten ounces of both the upper and under portions of the moss,after being fully dried, were separately submitted to combustion.The upper appeared to consist entirely of fragments of the plantslittle corrupted ; was of a light-brown colour, and lay loose andunconnected. A small part of it w r as inflamed by a lighted can-dle, put on an iron plate, and the remainder laid round the in-flamed part in small portions at a time, as the former were con-sumed ; and thus the whole was consumed in a short time. Theunder consisted of a mixture of undecayed fibres and disorganiz-ed matter. A great part of it, formed into little balls like peas,was of a darker colour than the other, and not more than halfthe bulk. It was ignited with much more difficulty ; and whenmore w r as added, the fire was extinguished. After repeated un-successful attempts to keep the inflammation alive, the iron platewas placed over a coal fire ; and when it heated, the moss wasconsumed by laying it on in small quantities as before. The re-sidue of both was white ashes: the only apparent difference was,that the ashes of the upper peat lay light and feathery', the othermore compact. When both were divested of unconsumed mat-ter, the weight of the lower, was to that of the upper, as 5 to 4.
A quantity of both the upper and the under were separatelyboiled for an hour in lime water. This made both of a darkercolour, and less bulky ; the fibrous parts were not decomposed,but more weak and brittle. A part of the liquid, squeezed fromthe moss after boiling, was gradually' poured round the roots ofa young plant, and evidently promoted a more vigorous growth.1 he colour of the moss was also darkened, and its fibres weak-ened by steeping a week in cow urine.
Hie lower side of this moss, which has probably' been first