pf winter, as I havéfoeWïiin fhë firft chapter, - tógetEer-mA tkê
caüfès öf it. Further, that the fea-frlt diflblves anddetaches ïtfelf
from the adjâGènt falt-groUntis, and,'pàftlyy is carried, thither ‘by
fubterraneous currents, running thro’ the deep frit-mines; of which
kind fome are to be found id Poland, and other parts? feems
to me preferable to any other opinion; although the frgacious
Baron Wolfe cannot entirely come into'it. But what Ï- alledge in
anfwer to thequeflion, why the fea-water does riot Continually
, grow filter, is this ; that exclusive of the immenfe quantity of'
fait, which fhC 'fria dai&T^feî-bÿ the many felt-iwrksûrfFrance,
Spàîn, and' other countries, exclüfive dfrthe rain, Snd the frefh-i
water rivers difcharging themfelves ' into the féa, by which,1 àc-
. cording to the dilpofition of the wife Creator, the balance iscon-
Frefh fprmgs tmüally maintained ; exclufive of all this, it''rs;ihignly credible.
in the bottom . . ; ^ - # 9 ® J
ofthe fea. that frem-water lpnngs lmie out of the hottom of the fea. /The
, poffibility of this admits of no doubt ; but to dfembnftrate thé
reality by any experiment, will be attended with' fqmë'difficulty,
yet the fifhermen living ünderSutid-moer, have mofe'than Bnlie informed
me, that they often find,, in the body of a fkate, watCf erf;
tirely frefh ; which muft always be filch, if this frefhnefs'bc the re-
fult of a kind of filtration, which the water has undergone within
the Body of'the fifh; but this'frefhriefs not being coihmon^ 1 cbn-i-
clude that the fifh has drank in this frefh-water froffi^fpring breaking
out in the bottom of the fea.~ It is obfervable,’ by*fHê way, that
the fea-water on the coaft of Norway, but moftly on the weft-fide,
is known to he pretty full of frit particles, the peafrnts finding no
finall quantities of fibrin me cferts^ahd
.where, by the egrefs and regrefs of the Water, Tome fait is left with
50* sans, the remaining furf, fuch as might on occafion bp colledfed and purified.?!
In Hardanger, on Nord-moer, and fevêral other p'laçës, particularly
in thé diocefe of Drohtheim, the peâfâhts extra# frit from
the-fea-water by boiling; but as this operation is forced, and con-
fumes great quantities of Wood, therefore the few of Norway prohibits
the boiling any more frit than is neceffary to every one for his
domeftic ufesj without the exprefs permiflion of the magiftraey to
make that ufe of-the fuel. About ten years ago, a large frit-work
was begun at Tonfberg on the king’s account, and the fea-water,
after being firft refined, is there boiled ia fuch quantities, that
> feveral
►pveral fhipdoads are,ann^lly exported? tho’;,this is but a fmall
matter- in comparifon^jvi^fi^tyjj (pr more^Jfine'JargpAip^ laden
with fait, ^ f h i c h : com e , y e a r from Spain and France, .for the
fifhery and other iife's-fifi;
p y VII. -
Next to ifsXaknefs, ,.the oil,, orLfetpefi, ;pr„un<dyqufrfefsthe Thefea-wa-
. north-fea^, fs a , remarkable, property. of)ftit, ^e^ecially.asftqednnq-
merabletflioal(s ofj^rge.and finalljfiihj^whieh are bopi ingendeted ’
„and nourifhed tfiere,. ferae,; bp,tfi «for f^d,^andT©f .the benefit (of
.fight, almoft all;countries in. Europe. For i t , is ? not merely
By deypn^jngjipne;.another that the,.fifh .aijerjf^ttenec|f ror by the
i^lifnent they receive from ^ in f in f te ^ u n ^ ^ p fw te p s . .ana other
infers, likewife fjea-grafsy fea-J^ees^ and fugh» vegetables,, .which
are the food appropriated to .particular kinds of .the.inhalpitants of
the fea^ the falt-.waten itfelf,. is from fits’, faltpefi and oily,
that \yhen a ,fhip is on fire, Mug fciar frqm.extinguifhjxSghencreafes
tifejfeme. p.he Chemifts knpwfhowtq exfra# oil
from |aly, and Ariftotle fays,, Qeioniam man fiium pjngtieteft, quod -Arift Probi.
pleuiq demonfrrat, quod in.f^e^S.^ Befides^this, in many plac^'i ^
the bqtmmofetfie rfea is covered with ,a kind-of pndhfohs loam, n r
flime, which, upqneftiqnably^is fpi-pied,from the fuperfluous. roes
.^ndjfpawns.qf the-fim, which cannbt dlprnduce voung,.(fiyr can
.they b,e aUxonfumed by,the other, fifh whilft they jare frefh,. althq'
they hunt fipr s it .with .the'greadeil^eagernefs. .It is mSeovierhot
improbable, that fmall fprmgs ofecurrents' of rocbinil,' -y a bbtha,
fulphun^ or pinOTp^skifluyia of corns,, and .pfherfifhmviand'oleaginous
juices, may arife’m the fea.as well asjthe earth.fi
' f fi ’E C T. f V III.'
T h i s u n ( f tu o u |h e fip f th e te a has p r o b a b ly fom e c o n n e x io n w i t h Noftd^ai ^
its' e ffu lg e n c e ' a n d f e in tilk t io n s , w h e n tlie Water' b e ip g frirre d b y
r q w in g , o r o th e rw ife , ap pears a l l ,o n fir e , w h ic h b y p fifi m a rin e rs fe ofthel^ | | i
M M M o o r ild . I h a v e a lre a d y in th e f ir ft c h a p te r , "in . t re a tin g n f
th e A u r o r a B o re a lis , |q r p o r th - l ig h t , ta k e n o c c a fio n tp q u q te t a p -
ta in H e i tm a n ’ s o p imiQm c o n c e rn in g ,th is p h s e n o p ie n o n , .and^ (b a ll
o n ly o b f^ rv e Jie re , th a t U r b a n H ie r n e , th e ’ S v e d i f h n a tu r a lift,
w h o in a p a ffa g e be fo re c ite d , d e rive s th e fe a -fo lt f f o m th e f u n ,
' -fudges |