A Further Account of Some Rock-Plants Growing in the Lead Mines of Mendip Hills, Mention'd in the Philosophical Transactions, Numb. 129. by the Ingenious Mr. John Beaumont jun. of Stony-Easton in Sommerset Shire

A further account of some Rock-plants growing in the Lead Mines of Mendip Hills, mention'd in the Philosophical Transactions, Numb. 129, by the ingenious Mr. John Beaumont jun. of Stony-Easton in Somersetshire. SIR, I Sent two Letters, some years since, to Mr. Oldenburg, in which I gave him an account of certain Rock-plants which I had observ'd to grow in the Lead mines of Mendip-Hills in Somersetshire: which Letters he Printed in his Philosophical Transactions, Numb. 129. I then complain'd of my want of an Artist, whereby I might have furnish'd him with the design of those Rock-plants which I here describe; such design being little less than absolutely necessary, for giving a clear and satisfactory Apprehension of the things there express'd: Wherefore my present Residence being in London, and being gratified in that respect by the skilful hand of the ingenious Richard Waller Esquire, a Member of the Royal Society; I conceiv'd (tho' I had now little to add to the descriptions of those Rock-plants which I formerly gave) that this curious design which I here present you, would not be unacceptable to those Persons, whose Genius leads them to consider these things. The particulars set forth in these Figures, more than what have been observ'd by other men, in reference to those Rock-plants, are as follows. 1. A Curious Radix somewhat more entire than elsewhere to be found, on which those Rock-plants sometimes grow, tho' it be manifest that they often grow also from plain Roots. 2. Several diversified tops of other Radix's. 3. The manifest tapering of those Rock-plants. 4. Bores of those Rock-plants, with four, six, and seven inlets in them; together with other differences in their Rays, and Joynings. The particular Explanation of the Figures you will find beneath, tho' it be but short, and not so full as the descriptions I have given of those Rock-plants in my former Letters, to which I remit the Curious Reader. The main consideration concerning these figur'd Stones, which I call Rock-plants, is, whether they are parts of Plants, or Animals petrifyed, or lapides sui generis, to which latter opinion I incline: Indeed the figur'd roots on which these Rock-plants sometimes grow (as appears by the impressions of Rays on their tops, answering to those in the Joyns of the Plants, and by the impressions of oval Joyns there) may give us some suspicion that they once belong'd to an Animal, whether it were a species of the Stella Arborescens, or some other; but those trunks of stone Plants which you will find in the design, cannot be looked upon as parts of Animals, with the least shew of probability, and I think them almost as hardly reducible to any known species of Vegetables; considering that besides the bores of some of these with four, five, six, and seven inlets in them, and besides their admirably diversified joynings, scarce either of them to be matcht in any Vegetable; I have by me above twenty, if not thirty spe- ties of these Rock plants, differing outwardly from each other in their Joyns, Knots, and Sutures, all observing a wonderful regularity, and not one of them to be parallel'd by any Vegetable that I know of in nature. To answer this by saying that all these species are lost, I doubt will satisfie few, especially when we consider that these Rock-plants are not peculiar to any one place, as to Mendip-Hills, &c. but are generally found whereever Lead-Mines are (and sometime where there are no Mines) as well in England, as in foreign Countries; and therefore tho' we may suppose that some particular species of Plants growing only in some determinate place may happen to be lost; we cannot well imagine how so many species diffus'd through so many parts of the whole earth, should all happen to be lost together: So that upon the whole this seems to me a considerable objection, against those who maintain that all figur'd Stones in the Earth are petrefactions of Plants or Animals, to which Opinion Steno, in his dissertation concerning Solids naturally contain'd within Solids, adheres. In which Tract many ingenious things are said as well in reference to such petrefactions, as to the frame and several changes of the Earth in general, from whence many aptite Queries may be drawn to be proposed to judicious Miners in all parts who seem the most likely men for helping to bring these points to a determination, they being the best able to give an account of matter of Fact. I cannot but take notice here that Mr. Hooke, a worthy Member of the Royal Society, and well known among the ingenious of Europe, has a long time been of that opinion which steno endavours to make out, and as Mr. Oldenburg declares in his Preface to his Translation of Steno, a long time before Steno's book came forth, he had Discourses ready upon that very Argument, which by reason of some Avocations he had not let his last Hand to: And we may hope, that notwithstanding this Anticipation may be some discouragement, he may some time be prevail'd with to, com- communicate them to the Publick; this being an Argument which requires more Hands than one to bring it to a clear issue, and highly deserving the Considerations of the most Ingenious. I am, London July 3d. 1683. SIR, Your very Humble Servant, John Beaumont. THE EXPLANATION OF THE FIGURES FIGURE 1. 1. An Entire Radix. a a Foreseams in two of the feet wanting in Mr. Lister's Figures. 2. The same Radix inverted. 3. A broken piece of a Radix with Rays on the top. 4. The inside of the same. 5. A Plate of a Radix with the impression of an oval joint on the top. 6. The top of a Radix with Rays, and the Plates curiously wrought. 7. The inside of the same. 8,9,10,11,12. Other tops of Radix's. 13,14,15,16,17,18,19. Several sorts of Plates that compose the Radix's. 20. A Rock-plant growing from a plain root, branched several ways and tapering. 21,22. Two trunks of Rock-plants tapering, and with marks of branches torn off. 23. A Rock-plant with oval Joyns growing twisting. 24. Another Plant with oval Joyns growing on a scabrous root. 25. A trunk of a Rock-plant growing without joyns, like Coral. 26. Sprouts of Mineral Coral growing in a heap together. 27. An intorted heap of Rock-plants growing on a piece of Lime-stone Rock, somewhat resembling the others, being thick set with edges, but having no Joyns. 28,29. Two pieces of the Summitates or Fastigia mentioned by Mr. Lister in the Philosoph. Transact. Numb. 100. 30,31. Two single Joyns of Rock-plants with seven Inletts in the Bore. 32,33. Two single Joyns with six Inletts in the Bore. 34,35,36. Three Joyns with five Inletts in the Bore. 37,38. Two single Joyns with four Inletts in the Bore. 39. A single oval Joyn, the oval in the upper part of it, standing clear contrary to the oval in the lower part. 40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55. Round and oval single Joyns, differing in their Rays, and other ways of Joynting.