12 Man. Man, feveral tribes, fuch as the Abyffinians, Negroes, and the inhabitants of New Holland, it is woolly, and moft fo Manding. among the Hottentots. In the like manner, among the white fe in Normandy, as I was affured by an incomparable obferver, Sulzer of Ronneburg, the hair on the whole body is longer and fofter than among other fwine; and even the briftles on the back are very little different, but lie flat, and are only longer than the hair on the other parts of the body. They cannot, therefore, be employed by the brush makers. The dif ference between the hair of the wild boar and the domeftic fwine, particularly in regard to the fofter part between the ftrong briftles, is, as is well known, still greater. animals being fhot for wild fwine; and it has not been till they were opened, and found caftrated, that people were led to a difcovery of their origin, and how, and at what time, they ran away. It is well afcertained, that, before the difcovery of America by the Spaniards, fwine were unknown in that quarter of the world, and that they were afterwards carried thither from Europe. All the varieties, therefore, through which this animal has fince degenerated, belong, with the original European race, to one and the fame fpecies; and fince no bodily difference is found in the human race, as will 'prefently appear, either in regard to ftature, colour, the form of the cranium, &c. which is not obferved in the fame proportion among the fwine race, while no one, on that account, ever doubts that all these different kinds are merely varieties that have arifen from degeneration through the influence of climate, &c. this com parison, it is to be hoped, will filence thofe fceptics who have thought proper, on account of these varieties in the human race, to admit more than one species. "With regard to ftature, the Patagonians, as is well known, have afforded the greateft employment to anthropologifts. The romantic tales, however, of the old travellers, who give to these inhabitants of the fouthern extremity of America a ftature of ten feet and more, are fcarcely worth notice; and even the more modeft relations of later English navigators, who make their height from fix to feven feet, have been doubted by other travellers, who, on the fame coaft, fought for fuch children of Enoch in vain. But we fhall admit every thing faid of the extraordinary fize of thefe Patagonians by Byron, Wallis, and Carteret; the firft of whom affigns to their chief, and feveral of his attendants, a height of not less than feven feet, as far as could be determined by the eye; the fecond, who afferts that he actually measured them, gives to the greater part of them from 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet; to some 6 feet 5 inches, and 6 feet 6; but to the tallet, 6 feet 7 inches: and this account is confirmed by the laft-mentioned of the above circumnavigators. Now, allowing this to be the cafe, it is not near fuch an excefs of ftature 28 that obferved in many parts of America among the fwine, originally carried thither from Europe; and of thefe I fhall mention in particular thote of Cuba, which are more than double the fize of the original flock in Europe. "'I'he natives of Guinea, Madag fear, New Holland, New Guinea, &c. are black; many American tribes are reddish brown, and the Europeans are white. An equal difference is obferved among fwine in different countries. In Piedmont, for example, they are black. When I paffed (fays our author) through that country, during the great fair for fwine at Salenge, I did not fee a fingle one of any other colour. In Bavaria, they are reddish brown; in Normandy, they are all white. "Human hair is, indeed, fomewhat different from fwine's briftles; yet, in the prefent point of view, they may be compared with each other. Fair hair is foft, and of a filky texture; black hair is coarfer, and among "The whole difference between the cranium of a Negro and that of an European, is not in the least degree greater than that equally ftriking difference which exifts between the cranium of the wild boar and that of the domeftic fwine. Thofe who have not obferved this in the animals themfelves, need only to caft their eye on the figure which Daubenton has given of both. "I fhall pafs over (fays our author) lefs national varieties which may be found among fwine as well as among men, and only mention, that I have been affured by Mr Sulzer, that the peculiarity of having the bone of the leg remarkably long, as is the cafe among the Hindoos, has been remarked with regard to the fwine in Normandy. They ftand very long on their hind legs (fays he, in one of his letters); their back, therefore, is highest at the rump, forming a kind of inclined plane; and the head proceeds in the fame direction, fo that the fnout is not far from the ground.' I fhall here add, that the fwine, in fome countries, have dege. nerated into races which in fingularity far exceed every thing that has been found ftrange in bodily variety among the human race. Swine with folid hoofs were known to the ancients, and large herds of them are found in Hungary, Sweden, &c. In the like manner, the European Swine, firft carried by the Spaniards, in 1509, to the island of Cuba, at that time celebrated for its pearl fishery, degenerated into a monitrous race, with hoofs which were half a span in length." From thefe facts, our author concludes, that it is ab. furd to allow the vast variety of fwine to have defcend-ed from one original pair, and to contend that the varieties of men are fo many diftin& fpecies. MANDING, 2 large ftate in the interior of Africa, of which the only fatisfactory account that we have is by Mr Park, who, for feveral months, was hofpitably entertained in Kamalia, one of its towns, £tuated in 12° 40' N. Lat. and 6° 40′ W. Long. The government of Manding appeared to our author to be a fort of republic, or rather an oligarchy. Every town is indeed governed by a chief magiftrate called Manfa, which ufually fignifies king; but the chief power of the ftate, in the laft refort, is lodged in the aflembly of these manfas (A). The cafe, however, is different in other countries, which are occupied by people who have emigrated from Manding; for in all the Mandingo ftates near (A) Mr Park, for the most part, writes with remarkable perfpicuity; but we are not fure that here we have not mistaken his meaning. He fays, that the chief power of the ftate is lodged in the affembly of that whole body; but we think, that by the whole body must be meant the body of Manfas, otherwife the government could not be called an oligarchy. Manding near the Gambia, the government is monarchical, tho' the power of the fovereign is by no means unlimited. As Mr Park's route was confined to a tract of country, bounded nearly by the 12th and 15th parallels of latitude, the climate throughout the whole was nearly the fame as that of Manding, and extremely hot: Yet, where the country afcended into hills, he found it com paratively cool and pleafant; though none of the diAricts which he traverfed could be called mountainous. About the middle of June, the hot and fultry atmo. fphere is agitated by violent gufts of wind (called torna does), accompanied with thunder and rain. Thefe ufher in what is denominated the rainy feafon; which conti nues until the month of November. During this time, the diurnal rains are very heavy; and the prevailing winds are from the fouth-welt. The termination of the rainy feafon is likewife attended with violent tornadoes; after which the wind fhifts to the north-east, and continues to blow from that quarter during the reft of the year. When the wind fets in from the north-eaft, it produces a wonderful change in the face of the country. The grafs foon becomes dry and withered; the rivers fubfide very rapidly, and many of the trees fhed their leaves. About this period is commonly felt the har. mattan, a dry and parching wind, blowing from the north east, and accompanied by a thick fmoky haze; through which the fun appears of a dull red colour. This wind, in paffing over the great defert of Sahara, acquires a very ftrong attraction for humidity, and parches up every thing expofed to its current. It is, however, reckoned very falutary, particularly to Europeans, who generally recover their health during its continuance. The truth of this our author experienced both at Kamalia and Pifania, when he had been brought to the very brink of the grave by fickness. Whenever the grafs is fufficiently dry, the negroes fet it on fire; but in Ludamar, and other Moorish countries, this practice is not allowed; for it is upon the withered ftubble that the Moors feed their cattle until the return of the rains. The burning of the grafs in Manding exhibits a scene of terrific grandeur. "In the middle of the night (fays Mr Park), I could fee the plains and mountains, as far as my eye could reach, variegated with lines of fire; and the light reflected on the fky, made the heavens appear in a blaze. In the day time, pillars of smoke were feen in every direction; while the birds of prey were obferved hovering round the conflagration, and pouncing down upon the fnakes, lizards, and other reptiles, which attempted to efcape from the flames." This annual burning is foon followed by a fresh and sweet verdure, and the country is thereby rendered more healthful and pleasant. Though many fpecies of the edible roots, which grow in the West India iflands, are found in Africa, yet our traveller never faw, in any part of his journey, either the fugar cane, the coffee, or the cocoa tree; nor could he learn, on inquiry, that they were known to the natives. The pine-apple, and the thoufand other delicious fruits which the induftry of civilized man (improving the bounties of nature), has brought to fo great perfection in the tropical climates of America, are here equally unknown. He obferved, indeed, a few orange and banana trees, near the mouth of the Gambia; but whether they were indigenous, or were formerly planted there by fome of the white traders, he could not pofi. Mat tively learn. Concerning property in the foil, it appeared to Mr Park, that the lands in native woods were confidered as belonging to the king, or (where the government was not monarchical) to the flate. When any individual of free condition had the means of cultivating more land than he actually poffeffed, he applied to the chief man of the dittrict, who allowed him an extenfion of territory, on condition of forfeiture if the lands were not brought into cultivation by a given period. The condition being fulfilled, the foil became vefted in the poffeffor; and, for aught that appeared, defcended to his heirs. The Mandingoes are a very gentle race of people; cheerful in their difpofitions, inquifitive, credulous, fimple, and fond of flattery. The men are commonly above the middle fize, well fhaped, ftrong, and capable of enduring great labour; the women are good natured, fprightly, and agreeable. The drefs of both fexes is compofed of cotton cloth of their own manufacture; that of the men is a loofe frock, not unlike a furplice, with drawers which reach half way down the leg; and they wear fandals on their feet, and white cotton caps on their heads. The womens dress confifts of two pieces of cloth, each of which is about fix feet long and three broad; one of thefe they wrap round the waitt, which, hanging down to the ancles, anfwers the purpose of a petticoat; the other is thrown negligently over the bofom and fhoulders. Both men and women among the Mandingoes feem to have an invincible propensity to commit depredations on the property of unprotected ftrangers; whilft fuch is the good nature of thofe poor heathens, that they will readily fympathife in the fufferings, relieve the diftreffes, and contribute to the perfonal fafety, of the very ftranger, whom they are bent upon plundering. Among the Mandingoes, the parental and filial affection is remarkably ftrong between the mother and her child; but not fo between the father and his children. This, as Mr Park obferves, is easily accounted for. The fyftem of polygamy, while it weakens the father's attachment, by dividing it among the children of different wives, concentrates all the mother's jealous tenderness to one point, the protection of her own offspring. He perceived, with great fatisfaction too, that the maternal folicitude extended, not only to the growth and fecurity of the perfon, but alfo, in a certain degree, to the improvement of the mind of the infant; for one of the firft leffons, in which the Mandingo women inftruct their children, is the practice of truth. The Mandingo women fuckle their children until they are able to walk of themselves. Three years nurfing is not uncommon; and during this period, the husband devotes his whole attention to his other wives. To this practice it is owing, that the family of each wife is feldom very numerous. Few women have more than five or fix children. As foon as an infant is able to walk, it is permitted to run about with great freedom. The mother is not over folicitous to preferve it from flight falls, and other trifling accidents. A little practice foon enables a child to take care of itself, and experience acts the part of a nurfe. As they advance in life, the girls are taught to fpin cotton, and to beat corn, and are inftructed in other domeftic duties; and the Manding the boys are employed in the labours of the field. Both fexes, whether Bufhreens or Katirs, on attaining the age of puberty, are circumcifed. This painful operation is not confidered by the Kafirs fo much in the light of a religious ceremony, as a matter of convenience and uti lity. They have, indeed, a fuperftitious notion, that it contributes to render the marriage ftate prolific. When a young men takes a fancy to a young girl, and wishes to marry her, it is by no means confidered as neceffary that he fhould make an overture to the girl herself. The first object is to agree with the parents, concerning the recompence to be given them for the lofs of the company and services of their daughter. The value of two flaves is a common price, unless the girl is thought very handfome; in which cafe, the parents will raife their demand very confiderably. If the lover is rich enough, and willing to give the fum demanded, he then communicates his wifhes to the damfel: but her confent is by no means neceffary to the match; for if the parents agree to it, and eat a few kolla-nuts, which are prefented by the fuitor as an earneft of the bargain, the young lady muft either have the man of their choice, or continue unmarried, for fhe cannot afterwards be given to another. If the parents fhould attempt it, the lover is then authorised, by the laws of the country, to feize upon the girl as his flave. At the celebration of a marriage, no religious ceremony feems to be practifed. A fele&t number of people are indeed invited to the wedding, and feafted; but confummation conftitutes the marriage; for towards the morning, the new married couple are always difturbed by the women, who af. femble to inspect the nuptial fheet (according to the manners of the ancient Hebrews, as recorded in Scripture), and dance round it. This ceremony is thought indifpenfably neceffary; nor is the marriage confidered as valid without it. The Mandingoes, and indeed all the negro ftates, whether Mahomedan or Pagan, allow a plurality of wives. The confequence is, that the wives frequently quarrel among themfelves. When this happens, the hufband decides between them; and fometimes finds it neceffary to adminifter a little corporal chaltisement before tranquillity can be reitored. But if any one of the ladies complains to the chief of the town, that her husband has unjustly punished her, and fhewn an undue partiality to fome other of his wives, the affair is brought to a public trial. In thefe palavers, however, which are conducted chiefly by married men, our author was informed, that the complaint of the wife is not always conf. dered in a very ferious light; and the complainant her. felf is fometimes convicted of ftrife and contention, and left without remedy. If the murmurs at the decifion of the court, the magic rod of Mumbo Jumbo loon puts an end to the bufinefs. See MUMBO JUMBO in this Suppl. A child, among them, is named when it is feven or eight days old. The ceremony commences by having the infant's head; and a difh called dega, made of pounded corn and four milk, is prepared for the guefts. If the parents are rich, a fheep or a goat is commonly added. This feaft is called ding koon lee, "the child's head fhaving." During Mr Park's flay at Kamalia, he was prefent at four different feats of this kind, and the ceremony was the fame in each, whether the child belonged to a Bufhreen or a Kafir. The fchoolmafter, who officiated as pricft on thofe occafions, and who is 2 neceffarily a Bufhreen, fuft faid a long prayer over the Maning, dega; during which, every perfon prefent took hold of the brim of the calabath with his right hand. After this, the fchoolmafter took the child in his arms, and faid a fecond prayer; in which he repeatedly folicited the bleffing of God upon the child, and upon all the company. When this prayer was ended, he whispered a few fentences in the child's car, and fpit three times in its face; after which he pronounced its name aloud, and returned the infant to the mother. This part of the ceremony being ended, the father of the child divided the dega into a number of balls, one of which he diftributed to every perfon prefent. And inquiry was then made, if any perfon in the town was dangerously sick; it being ufual, in fuch cafes, to fend the party a large portion of the dega, which is thought to poffefs great medical virtues. The Mandingoes have no artificial method of divi ding time. They calculate the years by the number of rainy feafens. They portion the year into moons, and reckon the days by fo many funs. The day they di vide into morning, mid day, and evening; and further fubdivide it, when neceffary, by pointing to the fun's place in the heavens. Our author frequently inquired of fome of them, what became of the fun during the night, and whether we fhould fee the fame fun, or a different one, in the morning? But that fubject appeared to them as placed beyond the reach of human inveftigation; they had never indulged a conjecture, nor formed any hypothefis, about the matter. The moon, by varying her form, has more attracted their attention. On the first appearance of the new moon, which they look upon to be newly created, the Pagan natives, as well as Mahomedans, fay a fhort prayer; and this feems to be the only vifible adoration which the Kafirs offer up to the Supreme Being. This prayer is pronounced in a whifper; the party holding up his hands before his face: its purport is to return thanks to God for his kindness through the existence of the past moon, and to folicit a continuation of his favour during that of the new one. At the conclufion, they fpit upon their hands, and rub them over their faces. tention is paid to the changes of this luminary in its monthly courfe; and it is thought very unlucky to be gin a journey, or any other work of confequence, in the last quarter. An eclipfe, whether of the fun or moon, is fuppofed to be effected by witchcraft. The ftars are very little regarded; and the whole ftudy of aftronomy appears to them as a ufelefs purfuit, and attended to by fuch perfons only as deal in magic. Great at. Their notions of geography are equally puerile. They imagine that the world is an extended plain, the termi nation of which no eye has difcovered; it being, they fay, overhung with clouds and darkness. They defcribe the fea as a large river of falt water, on the farther fhore of which is fituated a country called Tohaubo doo ; "the land of the white people." At a distance from Tobaubo doo, they deferibe another country, which they allege is inhabited by cannibals of gigantic fize, called Koomi. Mr Park fays he has converfed with all ranks and conditions of negroes on the fubject of their faith, and that he can pronounce, without the finallett fhadow of doubt, that the belief of one God, and of a future ftate of reward and punishment, is entire and univerial among them. Manding, them. It is remarkable, however, that, except on the very great expedition, by fteeping the hide firft in a Ma appearance of a new moon, as before related, the Pagan mixture of wood aches and water, until it parts with the natives do not think it neceffary to offer up prayers and hair; and afterwards by ufing the pounded leaves of a fupplications to the Almighty. They reprefent the tree, called goo, as an aftringent. Deity, indeed, as the creator and preferver of all things; but in general they confider him as a Being fo remote, and of fo exalted a nature, that it is idle to imagine the feeble fupplications of wretched mortals can reverfe the decrees, and change the purposes, of unerring wifdom. The concerns of this world, they believe, are committed by the Almighty to the fuperintendance and direction of fubordinate fpirits, over whom they fuppofe that certain magical ceremonies have great influence. A white fowl, fufpended to the branch of a particular tree, a fnake's head, or a few handfuls of fruit, are offerings which ignorance and fuperftition frequently prefent, to deprecate the wrath, or to conciliate the favour, of these tutelary agents. The Mandmgoes feldom attain extreme old age. At forty, most of them become grey haired, and covered with wrinkles; and but few of them furvive the age of fifty-five, or fixty. Yet their difeafes appeared but few; fevers and fluxes being the most common, and the moft fatal. For thefe they generally apply faphies, i. e. charms, to different parts of the body; though fometimes, on the firft attack of a fever, the patient is, with great fuccefs, placed in a fort of vapour bath. The other diseases which prevail among the negroes, are the yaws, the elephantiafis, and a leprofy of the very worft kind, together with the Guinea worm, which they attribute to bad water. When a perfon of confequence dies, the relations and neighbours meet together, and manifeft their forrow by loud and difmal howlings. A bullock or goat is killed for fuch perfons as come to affift at the funeral; which generally takes place in the evening of the fame day on which the party died. The negroes have no appropriate burial places, and frequently dig the grave in the floor of the deceased's hut, or in the fhade of a favourite tree. The body is dreffed in white cotton, and wrap. ped up in a mat. It is carried to the grave, in the dusk of the evening, by the relations. If the grave is without the walls of the town, a number of prickly bushes are laid upon it, to prevent the wolves from digging up the body; but our author never observed that any ftone was placed over the grave as a monument or memorial. With refpect to employment, the men cultivate the ground, or catch fish in large rivers; while the women manufacture cotton cloth. It is only the fpinning and the dyeing, however, that are performed by the women; for the web, which is feldom more than four inches broad, is wove by the men in a loom made exactly upon the fame principle as that of Europe. As the arts of weaving, dyeing, fewing, &c. may eafily be acquired, those who exercise them are not confidered in Africa as following any particular profeffion; for almost every flave can weave, and every boy can few. The only artifts which are diftinctly acknowledged as fuch by the negroes, and who value themselves on exercifing appropriate and peculiar trades, are the manufacturers of leather and of iron. The first of these are called Karrankea (or as the word is fometimes pronounced Gaungay). They are to be found in almost every town, and they frequently travel through the country in the exercife of their calling. They tan and dress leather with The manufacturers in iron are not fo numerous as the Karrankeas; but they appear to have studied their business with equal diligence. The negroes on the coaft being cheaply supplied with iron from the European traders, never attempt the manufacturing of this article themselves; but in the inland parts, the natives fmelt this ufeful metal in fuch quantities, as not only to fupply themfelves from it with all neceffary weapons and inftruments, but even to make it an article of commerce with fome of the neighbouring states. During our au thor's ftay at Kamalia, there was a fmelting furnace at a fhort distance from the hut where he lodged, and the owner and his workmen made no fecret about the manner of conducting the operation; and readily allowed him to examine the furnace, and affift them in breaking the iron-ftone. The prosefs it is needlefs to describe; though it be proper to obferve, that the mass of metal obtained by it was rather fteel than iron. Most of the African blacksmiths are acquainted also with the method of fmelting gold, in which procefs they use an alkaline falt, obtained from a ley of burnt corn-ftalks evaporated to drynefs. They likewife draw the gold into wire, and form it into a variety of ornaments, some of which are executed with a great deal of taste and ingenuity. The reafon The reader will obferve, that in the extracts which we have made from Mr Park's interesting travels, the terms African and Negro are frequently ufed as if all Africans and Negroes were Mandingoes. is, that the Mandingoes were not only the most numer ous tribe which he vifited, but were also spread over all that tract of country which he traversed. MANIANA, a small negro kingdom lying between 12° and 14° North Lat. and between the meridian of Greenwich and 10 and 30 Weft Long. Its inhabitants, as Mr Park was informed by a variety of people in many different kingdoms, are remarkable for cruelty and ferocity; carrying their refentment to their enemies fo far as never to give quarter, and even indulging themfelves with banquets of human flesh. Hence the inhabitants of Baibarra, who carried on with them a long and bloody war, and must of course be well ascertained of the fact, call them Ma dummulo, which fignifies men eaters. MANURE is fo effential to agriculture, that the want of it, or an improper manner of ufing it, is the principal caufe of the fterility of a country. We have therefore treated of manures and their action at fome length in the article AGRICULTURE in the Encyclopadia; but as the theoretical part of that difquifition relts in a great measure on the doctrine of phlogifton, which is now exploded, it may not be improper to refume the fubje&t here. Experience however being, after all, the only guide which the farmer can fafely and confidently follow, instead of amusing our readers with theories of our own, we fhall lay before them the observations of a man who seems to have united theory with practice. * Memain "The use of manures (fays M. Parmentier *) has of the Roya been known in all ages, but we are yet far from having Society of any clear and precife ideas of the nature of the juicesgriculture, which Paris. tion, ought to have been greatly weakened by the fol- Manure. lowing timple reflection. Suppofing that falts existed in garden mould, they would be very foon diffolved by the rain, and carried away, towards the lower ftrata of the earth, to a depth to which the longeft roots would not reach. Indeed the famous experiment of Vanhelmont would have been fufficient to have deftroyed the above opinion, if it did not generally happen that we are no fooner fet free from one error than we fall into another not lefs extraordinary. The furprising effects of vegetation brought about by the overflowing of water, and in the neighbourhood of falt marthes, and the infinite number of inhaling capillary tubes obferved up. on the furface of vegetables, led to an opinion that the air and water, abforbed by the roots and leaves of plants, were only vehicles loaded with faline matter, analogous to the vegetables nourished by them. Manure. which are deftined for the nourishment of vegetables, and of the manner in which they are tranfmitted to their organs. The writers on agriculture, who have endea voured to explain thefe matters, perceiving falts in moft plants, were perfuaded that thefe falts, by the help of water and heat, paffed, in a faline form, through the vegetable filter. These first philofophers did not hefitate to confider every thing that has been done by the industry of man, to improve the nature of land, and its productions, as merely forming refervoirs of these falts, which they confidered as the principle of fertility. This opinion was fo well established among the improvers of land, that, to this day, many of them have no object in view, in their operations, but to difengage falts; and, when they attempt to explain certain phenomena which take place in their fields or orchards, they talk confidently about the nitre of the air, of rain, of fnow, of der, and fogs; of the fults of the earth, of dung, of marle, of lime, of chalk, &c. and make use of those vague terms, oil, fulphur, fpirit, &c. which ought henceforward to be banished from our elementary books on agriculture. "Among the authors who have attacked, and combated with moft fuccefs, the opinion that the fruitful nefs of foils, and the aliment of vegetables, refide in faline substances, must be reckoned Eller and Wallerius. Thefe philofophers examined, by every means which chymistry at that time could furnish, the various kinds of earth proper for cultivation, and also thofe fubftances which have always been confidered as the most powerful manures, without being able to obtain, from any of them, any thing more than mere atoms of falt. "Animated with the fame zeal, and taking advantage of the inftructions found in their writings, I thought it neceffary to determine, by experience, whether, as has been afferted, there really exit neutral falts in earths; and alfo, whether thofe earths are more fertile in proportion to the quantity of fuch falts they contain. With this view, I lixiviated, by means of diftilled water, many species of cultivated earths, taken in various states, from fresh earth to that which had been impoverished by the growth of several crops; I also tried dung, redu. ced more or lefs into the ftate of mould; and likewife the most active manures, fuch as the offal of animal fubitances rotted by putrefaction; but in none of thefe, however carefully analyzed, were found any falts in a free ftate. They contain indeed the materials proper for forming falts, but if they contain any ready formed, it is merely by accident. "The refearches of Kraft, and thofe of Alton, were not attended with different refults. Having fown fome oats in afhes, not lixiviated, and in fand strongly impregnated with potash and with faltpetre, and having found that the oats did not grow, they concluded that neutral falts, and alkalies, not only retarded the growth of vegetables, but that they abfolutely prevented it. It is well known that in Egypt there are districts where the earth is entirely covered with fea-falt, and thefe diftricts are quite barren. It is probably owing to this property of fea-falt, that the Romans were accuftomed to fcatter large quantities of it over fields where any great crime had been committed, and of which they wifhed to perpetuate the remembrance, by rendering the part barren for a certain time. "The idea that falts had great influence in vegetaSUPPL. VOL. II. Part I. "To the experiment of Vanhelmont, which was repeated by many accurate obfervers, fucceeded those of modern philofophers; from which it clearly appeared, that plants could grow, and produce fruit, in the air of the atmosphere, and in diftilled water, alfo in pure fand, in powdered glass, in wet mofs or fponge, in the cavity of fleshy roots, &c. and that plants which had nothing but the above-mentioned fluids for their nourishment, gave, when fubmitted to chymical analyfis, the fame products as thofe which had undergone their process of vegetation in a foil perfectly well manured. It was also obferved, that the moft barren foils were rendered fertile when they were properly fupplied with water by canals; and the efficacy of irrigation was repeatedly evinced in different ways: from these observations was formed the following fyftem, that water rifes in plants in the form of vapour, as in diftillation; that air introduces itself into their pores; and that, if falts contribute to the fruitfulness of foils, it is only in confequence of their containing the two fluids above mentioned in great abundance." Our author, after making many experiments upon various foils and falts, and after attending minutely to the procefs of vegetation, thinks himfelf warranted to maintain, "that faline fubstances have no sensible effects in promoting vegetation, except inafmuch as they are of a deliquefcent nature, have an earthy bafis easily decompofed, and are used only in fmall quantity. In those circumftances they have the power of attracting, from the immenfe refervoir of the atmosphere, the vapours which circulate in it; these vapours they retain, along with the moisture that is produced from rain, fnow, dew, fog, &c. which moisture they prevent from running together in a mafs, or from being loft, either by exhaling into the air of the atmosphere, or by filtering itself through the inferior ftrata of the earth, and there. by leaving the roots of vegetables dry; they diftribute that moisture uniformly, and tranfmit it, in a flate of great divifion, to the orifices of the tubes defined to carry it into the texture of the plant, where it is afterwards to undergo the laws of affimilation. As every kind of vegetable manure poffeffes a viscous kind of moisture, it thereby partakes of the property of deliquefcent falts. In fhort, the preparation of land for vegetation has no other object in view but to divide the earthy particles, to foften them, and to give them a form capable of producing the above mentioned effects. It is fufficient, therefore, that water, by its mixture Y with |