Next Morning The Distillation,
So Far From Being Affected By The Attempt To Stop The Supplies,
Supposing They Had Come Up Through The Branch From The Tree,
Was Increased To A Drop Every 5 Seconds, Or 12 Drops Per Minute,
Making 1 Pint (16 Ounces) In Every 24 Hours.
I then cut the branch
so much that, during the day, it broke; but they still went on
at
The rate of a drop every 5 seconds, while another colony
on a branch of the same tree gave a drop every 17 seconds only,
or at the rate of about 10 ounces 4-4/5 drams in 24 hours.
I finally cut off the branch; but this was too much for their patience,
for they immediately decamped, as insects will do from either a dead branch
or a dead animal, which Indian hunters soon know, when they sit down
on a recently-killed bear. The presence of greater moisture in the air
increased the power of these distillers: the period of greatest activity
was in the morning, when the air and every thing else was charged with dew.
Having but one day left for experiment, I found again that another colony
on a branch denuded in the same way yielded a drop every 2 seconds,
or 4 pints 10 ounces in 24 hours, while a colony on a branch untouched
yielded a drop every 11 seconds, or 16 ounces 2-19/20 drams in 24 hours.
I regretted somewhat the want of time to institute another experiment,
namely, to cut a branch and place it in water, so as to keep it in life,
and then observe if there was any diminution of the quantity of water
in the vessel.
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