157

Feb: 7. 1677/8.

mr. Henshaw the vice president tooke the Chair.
vpon Reading the minutes of the Last Day mr Hen concerning meldews &c
mr. Henshaw related that his gardner had shewd him a substance wch. fell vpon
his hatt from the cleer sky neither in an euening in the month of December
that vpon examining it he had found it tastlesse and of a substance like
the white or glare of an egge that the same held ouer a candle did harden
and grow white just as the white of an egge, and therefore it seemed probable
that many of those Dews /& glutinous substances/ wch. were taken vpon the Leaues of plants were
dropt vpon them out of the air. Others were of the opinion that they -
might proceed from the exsudation or transpiration or sweating of the plant
to this Purpose mr Hooke mentiond the great transpiration that is obser
uable in all plants and particularly in such as haue been nourished by
water kept in Glasses, for whosoe euer shall examine the consumption
of the water in wch. a plant is nourished and compare it wth the same
quantity of water kept in a glasse by it and also compare the weght
of the Plant to obserue its increase. will find that a very great quantity
of the same is eaten vp as one twere by the plant and the greatest
part of that is againe cast out by insensible transpiration. And
possibly from some vnnatural or vnseasonable blast of wind the na
turall transpiration being stopt that matter may thicken into a kind of sweat
wch. sticking on the surface produced the mildew.


vpon the mention of the microscopicall Expts. Dr. King Related that he had wth
his microscope examined seuerall substances to see whether he could Discouer
those Differences of parts which had been found in blood and milk but
affirmed he could not obserue any such in claretts or red wines nor in any
other wines. But that he had observed in an infusion of wheaten bran in
common water, and also in an infusion of Ginger a great multitude
of those exceeding small animalls. and in this Latter a particular sort
of exceeding small eels. moouing much like those of vineger
That he had examined also the serum of the blood and Raine water but could
not Discouer any animalls in either of those. It was Desired also that It
should be tryd whether white pepper steepd in water would produce any such
small creatures ]
mr. Hooke affirmed that he had found great quanititys of those wormes in Raine wa
ter and that he supposed them to be generated therein from small inuisible

Ref: CELL/RS/HF_159  © Centre for Editing Lives and Letters