Beschreibung:

Hales (Stephen). Vegetable Staticks: Or, An Account of some Statical Experiments on the Sap in Vegetables: Being an Essay towards a Natural History of Vegetation. Also, a Specimen of an attempt to analyse the Air... , 1st edition, W. & J. Innys & T. Woodward, 1727, 19 engraved plates, old dampstain to blank foremargins with neat repairs to title and first dedication leaf, foremargin of D4 and final 2 leaves slightly frayed, contemporary panelled calf with antique-style calf gilt reback, some edge and corner wear, together with: Hales (Stephen), Statical Essays: Containing Vegetable Staticks; or, an Account of some Statical Experiments on the Sap in Vegetables... , 2 volumes, 3rd edition, W. Innyes & R. Manby, T. Woodward & J. Peele, 1738, 19 engraved plates, pp. 343-346 of volume 1 detached, some old dampstaining to endpapers at front and rear of volume 2, contemporary calf gilt, joints of volume 1 cracked, all 8vo Hales's important and pioneering works influenced de Saussure, Black, Lavoisier, Priestley and others. 'He was the first to realise that carbon dioxide was applied to plants by the air and formed a vital part of the plant's food supply... he was also a pioneer of public health. He supported the temperance movement and was responsible for the introduction of the 'gin laws'. He was inventor of artificial ventilation... [and] developed methods of measuring unfathomable depths, for distilling freshwater from the sea, and for the preservation of meat and water on voyages' (PMM 189).