110 - HALES (Stephen).

HALES (Stephen). The Statics of Plants and the Analysis of Air. New Experiments Read to the Royal Society of London. Paris, Debure l’aîné, 1735. In-4 marbled calfskin, decorated ribbed spine (contemporary binding). Head, mouth, and corners worn. Paper slightly yellowed or browned in places, a few rare small pinholes. First French edition of this seminal work in the history of plant physiology, translated from English by Buffon; it was Hales’s first published work. The illustrations consist of 10 fold-out plates containing 20 figures. Originally published in London in 1727 under the title *Vegetable Staticks*, this treatise by Stephen Hales (1677–1761) ranks among the earliest systematic experimental studies of plant nutrition. In it, the author analyzes, in particular, the absorption and circulation of sap, exchanges with the air, and the phenomena of plant transpiration. This translation also includes the appendix published in 1733 in *Haemastaticks*. Buffon’s important preface, which has become famous for its defense of the experimental method, sets forth the scientific principles that would guide his own work as a naturalist.