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knowledgments. This cursory acquaintancé of the subject will, 1 trust, hold me through, and be, some excuse for what may be, termed by some puerile doubt. But I cannot help being warm in my opinion, that vegetables,-in general, do imbibe some small matter, of salt, or why is such a very pungent taste observed in the essen~ tial oil of plants, and the particularly stimu- lating smell? Why in the burning of vege- tables do we always discover such quantities of alkali? If this is generated by the igneal pro- cess when art is employed, and by some other when nature, what becomes of the prodigious portions which must have been generated P— These questions, from me, are better than my opinion, because most prudent from one whose chemical and philosophical knowledge is insuf- ficient to hazard such a questionable doctrine. But it seems a pity a noble Earl, who lately. dis< played such shining abilities, should stop short of this intimation. However, this, or its answer, nas little to do with the mere practical farmer: every experiment, and every observation, shows that such salt doth exist, and that the union. of an acid.with it forms a neutral body, which somehow acts either as a principal or agent, along. with others, for the great purpose of vey getation. Although, at present, this and many other hidden treasures remain couched in, ope: