’Tis needless to bring stronger Arguments, than the Doctor’s Experiments afford, against his own vulgar Opinion, of Plants distinguishing the particular Sort of terrestrial Matter, that, he says, is proper to each Sort of Vegetable, in these Words; viz. ‘Each Sort takes forth that peculiar Matter that is proper for its own Nourishment, the rest lying all quiet and undisturb’d the while.’
He says, that great Part of the terrestrial Matter, mixed with the Water, passes up into the Plant along with it; which it could not do, if only the peculiar Matter, proper to each Plant, did pass up into it: And after he has shewed how apt the vegetable Matter is to attend Water in all its Motions, and to follow it into each of its Recesses; being by no Filtrations or Percolations wholly separable from it; ’tis strange he should think that each Plant leaves the greatest Part of it behind, separated from the Water which the Plant imbibes.
There are, doubtless, more than a Million of Sorts of Plants, all of which would have taken up the Water, and had each as much Right to its Share, or proper Matter in it, as the Doctor’s Plants had; and then there would be but a very small (or a Millionth) Part of it proper to each of his Plants: And these leaving all the rest behind, both of the Water wherewith the Glasses at first were filled, when the Plants were put into them; and also of all the additional Water daily supply’d into them afterwards; I say, so much more terrestrial Matter brought into these Glasses, in Proportion to the added Water, and so very small a Part as could be proper to each of his plants being carried off; there must have remain’d in these Glasses a much greater Quantity of terrestrial Matter at the End of the Experiment, than remained in the Glasses F or G, which had no Plants in them, nor any Water added to, or diminished from them; but the quite contrary appear’d. ‘And the Water in the Glasses F and G, at the End of the Experiment, exhibited a larger Quantity of terrestrial Matter, than any of those that had Plants in them did. The Sediment at the Bottom of the Glasses was greater, and the Nubeculæ diffused thro’ the Body of the Water thicker.’ Had the Cataputia insum’d, with the Two thousand Five hundred and One Grains of Water, no more than its proper Share of the vegetable Matter, it could not have attained thence an Increase of Three Grains and a Quarter, nor even the Thousandth Part of One Grain. But he found ‘this terrestrial Matter, contained in all Water, to be of Two Kinds: The one properly, a vegetable Matter, but consisting of very different Particles; some of which are proper for the Nourishment of some kind of Plants, others for different Sorts,’ &c.
This, indeed, would have been a most wonderful Discovery, and might have given us a great Light, if he had told us in what Language and Character these proper Differences were stamp’d or written upon the vegetable Particles; which Particles themselves, he says, were scarce visible. Certainly it must be a great Art (much beyond that of Dr. Wallis) to decypher the Language of Plants, from invisible Characters.
But that this Dream may deceive none, except such who are very fond of old Errors, there is an Experimentum Crucis which may convince them; viz. At the proper Season, tap a Birch-tree in the Body or Boughs, and you may have thence a large Quantity of clear Liquor, very little altered from Water; and you may see, that every other Species of Plants, that will grow in Water, will receive this; live and grow in it, as well as in common Water. You may make a like Experiment by tapping other Trees, or by Water distilled from Vegetables; and you will find no Species of Plants, into which this Water will not enter, and pass through it, and nourish it too; unless it be such a Species as requires more Heat than Water admits; or unless the peculiar Vessels of that it has first passed through, have so altered the vegetable Particles contained in that Water, as that it acts as Poison upon some other particular Species.
The Doctor concludes, ‘That Water is only the Agent that conveys the Vegetable Matter to the Bodies of Plants, that introduces and distributes it to their several Parts for their Nourishment: That Matter is sluggish and inactive, and would lie eternally confin’d to its Beds of Earth, without ever advancing up into Plants, did not Water, or some like Instrument, fetch it forth, and carry it unto them.’
That Water is very capable of the Office of a Carrier to Plants, I think the Doctor has made most evident; but as to the Office of such an Agent as his Hypothesis bestows upon it, it seems impossible to be executed by Water. For it cannot be imagined, that Water, being itself but mere homogenial Matter, void of all Degrees of Life, should distinguish each Particle of vegetable Matter, proper and peculiar to every different Species of Plants, which are innumerable; and when ’tis to act for the Wheat, to find out all the Particles proper to that sort of Grain, to rouse only those particular Sluggards from their Beds of Earth, letting all the rest lie quiet and undisturbed the while. This Agent frees the Wheat-Particles from their Confinement, and conveys, introduces, and distributes them, and only them, into the several Parts of the Wheat.
Since ’tis unreasonable to believe, that Water can have such extraordinary Skill in Botany, or in Micrography, as to be qualified for a sufficient Agent in such an abstruse Matter, I conceive Water to be only an Instrument or Vehicle, which takes up indifferently any Particles it meets with (and is able to carry), and advances them (or the Pabulum they yield) up into the First Plant, whose Root it comes in Contact with; and that every Plant it meets with does accept thereof, without distinguishing any different Sorts or Properties in them, until they be so far introduc’d and advanc’d up into the vegetable Vessels, that it would be in vain to distinguish them; for whether the terrestrial Matter, Plants imbibe with the Water, will kill or nourish them, appears by its Effects; but which cannot be foreknown or prevented without the Help of Faculties, which Plants are not endow’d with.
Mr. Bradley seems to have carried this Error farther than any Author ever did before; but he supports it by Affirmations only, or by such Arguments (I cannot say Reasons; for no Reason can be against any Truth) as go near to confute the very Opinion he pretends to advance by them.
He ascribes to Vegetables the Sense of Taste, by which he thinks they take such Nourishment as is most agreeable to their respective Natures, refuting the rest; and will rather starve, than eat what is disagreeable to their Palate.