5. _Vegetables are not form'd of Water; but of a certain peculiar Terrestrial Matter._ It hath been shewn, that there is a considerable Quantity of this Matter contain'd both in Rain, Spring, and River-water: That the much greatest part of the fluid Mass that ascends up into Plants, does not settle or abide there, but passes through the Pores of them, and _exhales_ up into the Atmosphere; That a great part of the Terrestrial Matter, mix'd with the Water, passes up into the Plant along with it; and that the Plant is more or less augmented in proportion, as the Water contains a greater or smaller Quantity of that Matter. From all which we may very reasonably infer, that _Earth, and not Water, is the Matter that constitutes Vegetables_. The Plant in E, drew up into it 2501 Grains of the fluid Mass; and yet had received but Grains 3 and a half of Increase from all that. The Mint in L, though it had at first the disadvantage to be much less than that in I; yet being set in Water wherewith Earth was plentifully mix'd, and _that_ in I, _only in Water_ without any such additional Earth, it had vastly outgrown the other, weighing at last 145 Grains more than that did, and so having gain'd about twice as much as that had. In like manner that in K, though 'twas a great deal less when put in than that in I, and also was impair'd and offended by Insects; yet being planted in Water wherein Earth was dissolved, whereas the Water in which it stood had none, it not only over-took, but considerably surpass'd the other; weighing at last 29 Grains more than that in I, and yet had not expended so much Water as that, by above 2400 Grains. The Plant in N, tho' at first a great deal less than that in M; yet being set in the foul crass Water that was left in the Still, after that, in which M was set, was drawn off, in Conclusion had gain'd in weight above double what that in the finer and thinner Water had. The Proportion of the Augment of that Plant that throve most was, to the fluid Mass spent upon it, but as 1 to 46. In others, 'twas but as 1 to 60, 100, 200; nay, in the _Cataputia_, 'twas but as 1 to 714. The Mint in B took up 39 Grains of Water a-day, one day with another; which was much more than the whole weight of the Plant originally; and yet, with all this, it gain'd not one fourth of a Grain a-day in weight. Nay, that in H took up 253 Grains a day of the Fluid: Which was near twice as much as its original Weight, it weighing, when first set in the Water, but 127 Grains. And, after all, the daily Encrease of the Plant was no more than Grains 2-15/56.