Page:Cynegetica.djvu/83

Rh fumes and exhalations of the earth itſelf. That theſe particles are ſubject to ſuch diſſipation or corruption, every Sportſman knows; for as none of them will retain their odour after a certain proportionable time, ſo it is daily evident, that this time of their duration is very obnoxious to the viciſſitudes of the weather; that the ſcent of the animal (as well as her more ſolid fleſh) will loſe its ſweetneſs, ſooner or later, according to the diſpoſition of the ambient air. I have frequently heard the good Houſewives complain, that, againſt rain or thunder, their milk will turn, and their larders taint; and I have as often perceived, that, a ſtorm approaching, the ſcent will, in a moment, change and vaniſh. Nor is the ſuddenneſs of ſuch alteration the leaſt wonder, if we take into conſideration the ſmallneſs of the particles. The ſame efficient cauſe may penetrate and corrupt theſe minute corpuſcles in the twinkling of an eye, which requires an hour or a day to operate on bodies of greater bulk and ſubſtance; as the fame fire, or aqua-fortis, will diſſolve the filings of ſteel in an inſtant Rh