12
iflue. If Heaven be pleafed to prolong the life of the writer for an-other feafon, he means to employ his bed endeavours, on this im-portant exploration : if not, it is hoped that fome other will aflamethe talk. It is one flep, at lead, to have expofed the popular er-rors on this fubjeft, which are fo prevalent at prefent. A furerfoundation i3 thus cleared for farther invedigation. In the meantime, it may be proper to record the following fmall experiment,though the refult be not conelufive.
On the yth September, one flower-pot was filled with the upperftratum of mofs, which had been dried as before narrated, and after-wards foaked for near fix weeks in cow’s urine, and marked No. I.—No. 2 was filled with the two parcels which had been boiled in limewater; there not being enough of cither to fill the pot. No. 3was filled with the above upper firatum of mofs, intermixed withftrata of fine pit fand ; the fand being about the fixth part of thebulk of the mofs, but perhaps more than the whole weight. No. 4was filled with the above upper mofs unmixed. Grains of wheatwere planted on all the four, and they were placed on the outfide ofa window, facing fouth-cad, in the open air, but under Ihelter ofthe eaves of the houfe. They were all gently moidened ; and keptregularly fo. The plants came up unequally, owing, it was thought,to fome defeft of the feed; but on the id of October, there werethree living plants on each, mod of them in the fecond leaf. Asthe plants were hitherto fed by the farina of the feed, it is not to befuppofed that they derived any fudenance from the fubdance in whichthey grew. After dark, on Saturday the 3d, a furious dorm ofwind and rain from the fouth, came on, and continued all Sunday.On Monday morning, the contents of all the pots were almofi float-ing with the water, from the eaves continually pouring upon them ;and the plants were beat down clofe to the furface. They werethen brought into a room, and expofed to the light, to try if theywould recover, as the excefs of water drained away. One plant onNo. 3, was the only plant which recovered, and made any progrefs;the red either perilhed entirely, or continued weak and ihrivelled toNovember 10th, when, on examination, they were found as follows:
_The contents of No. 1, about ten days before, wasfwarming with
fmall caterpillars, and more minute creeping vermin, the progeny,no doubt, of winged infedts, which the fmell had invited to lodgetheir fpawn there. They were now all gone. Two plants weredill handing, but weakly, and the leaves rolled inward; the rootswere few, weak, and fliort; looking as if they had been bitten. OnNo. 2, there were alfo two living plants, weakly, and the leavesharrow, but not fo much rolled inward as the lad ; the roots werevery little different from the lad, but had rather a less fickly appear-ance. One plant on No. 3 was greatly fuperior to all the red ; ithad four leaves, whereas none of the former had more than two, andthese, though not very broad, were long, and fully expanded; it hadtwo main roots, near two inches long, with a number of Ihort rami-