127

(2)

He affirmed that he could /easily/ quickly shew an that Expt. that would plainly con
fute that assertion, and that was that he could take may dew and putt
it into a glasse and seal it vp hermetically and then by ordering
the glasse in such a way as he well knew he could in
time produce therein an animall 6 inches long wch. should continue
to grow to that bignesse and that the said animal should in

longer decay and vanish againe.

And when it was inquired of him whether he could doe it wth. may
dew Distilld he said not. because that was spirit of may dew & not
may dew. and . . .
the vice presid: affirmed that he had formerly had a creature produced
in may dew but that the glasse was neither stopd nor hermetically
sealed. but that it was rather supposed that it had come in by the
mouth of the glasse. he added moreouer that may dew might
well be supposed to be a body full of the seads of Liuing creatures
since it was gatherd at a proper time of the year ^ /vpon wheat & other vegetables/ and since the
animall could not be produced when any operation had been done
vpon the said dew that might destroy the said seminall
principles . . . swimming in it as he had before confessd
there could be noe conclusion drawn from that argument.

When he further vrged that he would shew an Expt. that he could
by washing black pepper wth. Distilld water wash out the said
animalls from their cells in the Rind of the pepper it was desired
that he would against the next Day prouide some such pepper &
such water as should be needfull. though it was beleiued that
the effect would in noe wise follow such an operation -

After this discourse the said mr. O Hill read a Discourse of his
about the method the Society ought to take in their proceeding much differing from what they now followed
penned . . . purpose the contents of wch were

Ref: CELL/RS/HF_129  © Centre for Editing Lives and Letters