The other day, two Gentlemen belonging to [ 'N' deleted] the Province of new Hampshire in New England (whence they came not long since) & imploy'd by that Colony to his Majesty here, answer'd me, that in the Winter the Coldest Wind that blowes in their Country, is the Northwest: & being ask'd again, what was their hottest Wind in Summer, they told me it was likewise the Northwest; at which Answer being surpris'd, I ask'd them whether they could give any Reason of so odd a Phænomenon. Whereto they answer'd, that they ascrib'd it to the large Tract of the Continent, & the great [ 'Forrest' deleted] Woods that lay to the Northwest, which Woods, they said, in the Winter, had their Branches, through which the Wind past, all laden with Snow: & in the Summer, they said, the close Air of the Valleys, & the thick steams that fill'd it, would conceive so intense a Heat, that sometimes <in the heat of Summer,> when a sudden puff of Wind blew upon their Faces from those sultry vales, it seem'd to them as if it came out of the Mouth of a furnace, & would be ready to overcome them with the Faintness produc'd by the Heat & vapours it brought along with it.

An inquisitive Gentleman, whose Curiosity led Him to visit <some>[replacing 'the'] Iron Mines that are in and near [ 'the' deleted] a Mountain['s' originally at end of word deleted] in Switzerland called [space of 10-12 characters] (subject to the Canton of Bern) was by the Owner of the Mine, who perceiv'd Him[altered from 'he'] to be vers'd in Mineral Affairs, & lodg'd in his own House: & because the Physician (for so the Relator is) [ 'h' deleted] came to see [ 'as well' deleted] not only the Oars but the <rare> Plants, with which that Mountain is said to abound; the Mine master inform'd Him of severall Particulars worth observation about them, & among other <things> told Him, that there grew an Herb which gather'd at a convenient time & suffer'd to dry would shine in the night like rotten Wood; & that tho' He had divers times made Tryal of it, yet He had never done it successfully <above>[replacing 'But'] once or twice; but that then <it>[replacing 'the Herb'] fully answer'd his expectation; & to convince his Guest, that this Shining Vertue was no fabulous thing, He lodg'd Him in a handsom Room, from whose Cieling this Plant was suspended, which gave my Relator the opportunity to observe that it [ 'shin'd' deleted] gave a Light much like that of rotten Wood, which lasted all night, till the greater Light of the Morning made it disappear. This He <nightly> observ'd during 3 or 4 nights that He lodg'd in that House, & about this Plant, thô He could not answer all my Queries, yet He reply'd to some by telling me first that at the place it self the Herb had not yet a Name: [ 'b' deleted] 2. that it was not unlike an old Cut I show'd Him in a Book of Gesners, of a Plant growing in Switzerland, which the Author calls in high dutch [space of 12-14 characters] & in Latine [space of 23-25 characters] & is somewhat like [space of 21-23 characters] 3. that this Plant did not begin to shine, till it had hung in the Air