remarkable for its coldnefs, as the other for its heat, and differs from common fprings in as many degrees.

Thefe accounts I have from the beft authority. General Washington, from whom I had my information, as well as from others, owns the land around the Burning Spring, which he bought for the fake of it.

The accounts of the other fprings I received from a gentleman of undoubted veracity, and of great obfervation, who lately vifited them. He commanded the troops who experienced the benefit of the Oil Spring. He mentioned to me another fpring in the fouth-wefterly part of Virginia, which he had not feen, but of which he had received a particular account from gentlemen of character. It is called the Sweet Spring, from the sweetness of the waters, which have been found efficacious in many diforders, and have given relief when every other attempt has proved ineffectual.

To thefe I may add the great number of falt fprings in America, efpecially on the Ohio, and the rivers which empty into it. There is one spring on the Miffiffippi, from which falt is made fufficient to fupply the whole Ilinois country with that article."

Northborough, July 15, 1782.

Reverend Sir,

HERE is now growing in

THE

an orchard, lately belonging to my honoured father, the Reverend Aaron Whitney, of Petershham, deceased, an apple-tree, very fingular with refpect to its fruit. The apples are fair, and, when fully ripe, of a yellow colour, but, evidently, of different taftes-four and fweet. The part which is four is not very tart, nor the other very fweet. Two apples growing fide by fide, on the fame limb, will be often of these different tastes, the one all four, and the other all sweet. And, which is more remarkable, the fame apple will frequently be four on one fide, end, or part, and the other fweet, and that not in any order or uniformity; nor is there any difference in the appearance of the one part from the other. And as to the quantity, fome have more of the acid and lefs of the sweet, and fo vice verja. Neither are the apples, fo different in their tastes, peculiar to any particular branches, but are found, promifcuoufly, on every branch of the tree. The tree ftands almoft in the midst of a large orchard, in a rich and strong foil, and was tranfplanted there about forty years ago. There is no appearance of the trunk or any of the branches having been ingrafted or inoculated. It was a number of years, after it had borne fruit, before thefe different tastes were noticed; but fince they were firft difcovered, which is about twenty years, there has been conftantly the fame variety in the apples.

For the truth of what I have afferted, I can appeal to many perfon's

3

fons of distinction, and of nice taftes, who have travelled a great diftance to view the tree, and taste the fruit; but to investigate the cause of an effect fo much out of the common courfe of nature, muit, I think, be attended with difficulty. The only folution I can conceive is, that the corcula, or hearts of two feeds, the one from a four, the other from a fweet apple, might fo incorporate, in the ground, as to produce but one plant: or that farina, from bloffoms of thofe oppofite qualities, might pafs into, and impregnate the fame feed. If you should think the account I have given you, of this fingular apple-tree, will be acceptable to the American Academy, please to communicate it.

I am, &c. PETER WHITNEY. Reverend Prefident Willard.

N April 9, 1782, David Beveridge, a feaman, belonging to the floop of war General Monk, was brought into the military hofpital at this place, having been wounded the day before. He was a lad of about nineteen years of age, and in a good ftate of health, at the time of the action between the faid fhip and the HyderAlly. In that action he was in the main-top of the Monk, when he received a musket-ball in his belly from one of the marines on the

quarter-deck of the Hyder-Ally, then within fifteen yards of the Monk. The ball entered his belly about two inches above his left groin, and within an inch of the anterior edge of the left ilium, paffing out two inches on the right of the fpine between the two inferior true ribs, juft touching the cartilage of the inferior angle of the right Scapula. When he came into the hofpital he had bled much, was very weak and cold, had a faultering voice, a cadaverous countenance, and a constant hiccup, while his fæces paffed freely out of the wound in his belly. In this deplorable condition, where neither art nor nature could promife any permanent relief, the only dictate of humanity was to smooth the path of death. Being alfo in great pain, I advised him to take a glafs of Madeira wine, with twenty or thirty drops of liquid. landan. in it, as often as neceffary. He accordingly began, and continued this practice till the thirteenth, finding conftant relief from it. He took no kind of fuftenance all this time excepting wine whey, never having any kind of discharge ab ano from the moment he was wounded, but conftantly fquirting with confiderable force what fæces he had, through the wound in his belly. On the fourteenth he had a common glyfter adminiftered, the greatest part of which alfo came out at the wound, the remainder coming as it went, ab ano, without bringing any fæces. From the fourteenth to the eighteenth he took confiderable quantities of gruel and whey, with a little wine occafionally, having no intestinal discharge whatever but what was made through the wound in his belly. On the eighteenth, as his ftrength was much increased,

and

and as the wounds were confiderably contracted, and looked well, I ordered another injection to be administered gently, when, for the firft time in eleven days, he had a natural ftool. From this time he had no further discharge of fæces through his wound; his excretions became as regular and as natural as ever they were; his wounds fuppurated and healed kindly; his ftrength returned; and he was exchanged nearly as well as ever, on the thirtieth.

That the ball had paffed through the colon is obvious, from the difcharge of perfect fæces, and of the injection adminiftered, ab ano. That his life depended upon our not meddling with the wound, and upon keeping him quiet and eafy, is alfo

plain; as the leaft removal of the orifice in the inteftine from the orifice through the abdomen, which were fo happily opposed to each other, muft have been attended with a fatal discharge of the fæces into the abdomen. That the diaphragm and lungs were perforated is plain, from the course of the ball, and his profufe hæmoptoe. That furgeons may be too officious, as well as too tardy; and that where they are not certain of the utility of their operations, they had better leave even the most defperate disorders to the management of nature, ever provident, and generally adequate, are points remarkably enforced in this particular cafe.

An Account of a new Method invented by the Earl of Dundonald, for purifying Sea Salt.-From Tranjactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Vol. I.

TH

HE Earl of Dundonald's procefs for purifying fea-falt proceeded upon this obfervation, That the common fea-falt poffeffes a confiderable mixture of ingredients, which render it, in a great degree, unfit for preferving victuals. These ingredients appear, by experiment, to be nauseous, bitter and carthartic falts, having an earthy basis, (magnefia falita and magnesia vitriolata or Epfom falt) which are intimately mixed with the proper fea-falt.

To purify common falt, by diffolving it in water, decompounding the bitter falts, and precipitating their earthy bafis, by adding a fixed alkali, whether foffil or vegetable, is a tedious procefs, and by far too expenfive to be employed for œconomical or mercantile purpofes. It is even imperfect; as it is almost impoffible, after that procefs, to feparate from the fea-falt the Glauber falt, or vitriolated tartar, or falt of Sylvius, which are produced according as the foffil or vegetable alkali is used.

Lord Dundonald obferved, That hot water faturated with fea-falt, will ftill diffolve a great part of the bitter earthy falts. His method, therefore, of purifying the common falt from thefe bitter falts is, To take a conical veffel, having a hole

in the fmall end of it, which is to be undermoft; to place it, filled with common falt, in a moderate heat; to take one twentieth part of the falt contained in it, and putting it in an iron pan, to diffolve it in its proper proportion of water, fo that the water fhall be completely faturated with the falt; and then to pour this folution boiling hot on the falt in the conical veffel, which is to be purified. The boiling water being already faturated with fea-falt, will diffolve no more of it, but will diffolve much of the bitter earthy falts; and this folution will gradually drop out at the hole in the bottom of the cone. When it ceases to drop, the fame process is to be repeated by means of fresh portions of the fame parcel of falt, already partly purified, till it be brought to the required degree of purity. Lord Dundonald reckons, that three fuch washings make the common falt of this country purer than any foreign falt; that each washing makes it 4

times purer than before; fo that (difregarding fractions) after the fecond washing it will be 20 times, after the third 91 times, after the fourth 410 times, and after the fifth 1845 times purer than at first.

The fuperiority of falt thus purified to common falt, is equally obvious to the tafte, and by its effect in preferving fish, flesh, and butter; for it hath been often and carefully tried. Lord Dundonald conceives, that the fimplicity, facility, and cheapnefs of this method of purify

ing

Method above defcribed.