1ſubtle Fumes (for the moſt part not aque
ous neither) into which the Fire it ſelf
ſhatters dry Bodies, have no ſuch Spring
in them as the Air, ſince they were unable
to hinder or repreſs the expanſion of the
Air included in the Bladder they ſurroun
ded.
ous neither) into which the Fire it ſelf
ſhatters dry Bodies, have no ſuch Spring
in them as the Air, ſince they were unable
to hinder or repreſs the expanſion of the
Air included in the Bladder they ſurroun
ded.
I remember indeed that the Learned
Foſephus Acoſta, in his Hiſtory of the
Weſt Indies, tells us, That he ſaw in thoſe
parts ſome Grates of Iron ſo ruſted and
conſum'd by the Air, that the Metal be
ing preſſ'd between the Fingers, diſſolv'd
(to uſe his words) to powder, as if it had
been Hay or parched Straw. And I re
member too, that the accurate Varenius
tells us, That in the Iſlands commonly
called Azores, the Air (and Wind) is ſo
ſharp, that in a ſhort time it frets not only
Iron Plates, but the very Tiles upon the
Roofs of Houſes, and reduces them to
duſt. And I have elſewhere mention'd
ſome recent Obſervations of this kinde.
But it may be ſaid, That the above-men
tion'd Authors aſcribe the recited effects
chiefly to the Winds, and that however
the corroſion of the Iron and the Tiles
may proceed not from the Air it ſelf, or
any of its genuine parts, but from ſome
Foſephus Acoſta, in his Hiſtory of the
Weſt Indies, tells us, That he ſaw in thoſe
parts ſome Grates of Iron ſo ruſted and
conſum'd by the Air, that the Metal be
ing preſſ'd between the Fingers, diſſolv'd
(to uſe his words) to powder, as if it had
been Hay or parched Straw. And I re
member too, that the accurate Varenius
tells us, That in the Iſlands commonly
called Azores, the Air (and Wind) is ſo
ſharp, that in a ſhort time it frets not only
Iron Plates, but the very Tiles upon the
Roofs of Houſes, and reduces them to
duſt. And I have elſewhere mention'd
ſome recent Obſervations of this kinde.
But it may be ſaid, That the above-men
tion'd Authors aſcribe the recited effects
chiefly to the Winds, and that however
the corroſion of the Iron and the Tiles
may proceed not from the Air it ſelf, or
any of its genuine parts, but from ſome
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