Specimens: Wood and Bark

Leeuwenhoek observed wood and bark for forty years. His observations were thorough enough that Nehemiah Grew wrote in the

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1673 August 15 (Letter 2 [2]) to Henry Oldenburg: on the growth, valves and the transport of sap in pinewood and deal

1676 May 29 (Letter 23 [16) to Henry Oldenburg: cinnamon wood

1680 January 12 (Letter 54 [29] to Robert Hooke: the vessels in the wood of oak, elm, beech, willow, ash, ebony, and box, the transport of sap and valves

1686 April 2 (Letter 90 [49]) to Members of the Royal Society: the growth of the bark

1686 July 10 (Letter 94 [52]) to Members of the Royal Society: wood of oak, pine, and ash

1692 August 12 (Letter 122 [74]) to Members of the Royal Society: deal, pine, lime

1695 May 1 (Letter 143 [88]) to Anthonie Heinsius: vessels in the root wood of the nutmeg tree

1696 June 1 (Letter 166) to Peter Rabus: a brief remark on wood rays in the hazel

1707 July 25 (Letter 270) to Members of the Royal Society: cinchona bark

1716 September 28 (Letter ??? [XXVIII]) to Boerhaave:

Sources

Year	Author	Title
1682	Grew, N.	The anatomy of plants
1948	Iterson, G. van	A Discussion of Leeuwenhoek's Drawings and Descriptions Compared to Malpighi and Grew
1982	Baas, P.	Antoni van Leeuwenhoek and His Observation on the Structure of the Woody Cell Wall
1982	Baas, P.	Leeuwenhoek's contributions to wood anatomy and his ideas on sap transport in plants

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Related letters:

What Leeuwenhoek wrote ...
Wrote Letter L-002 of 1673-08-15 to Henry Oldenburg about the bee, the movement of liquids in wood and food in a louse, and the composition of air
Wrote Letter L-037 of 1676-05-29 to Henry Oldenburg about disagreements with Grew about the structure of wood and a further account of the vessels, fibres, and medullary rays of wood
Wrote Letter L-097 of 1680-01-12 to Robert Hooke about the structure of wood and sperm in fish
Wrote Letter L-173 of 1686-04-02 to members of the Royal Society about the structure of bone, the bark of trees, skin and scales, the moisture evaporating from his body, and a little peeling piece of skin
Wrote Letter L-178 of 1686-07-10 to members of the Royal Society about the growth and durability of wood felled in different seasons and countries, the annual growth rings, and how wooden barrels can be made watertight
Wrote Letter L-220 of 1692-08-12 to the members of the Royal Society about the shaft of a bird's feather as used in a quill, the lens and cornea of the human and calf eyes, 'wood-pipes' in different species of wood, bulrushes, and pine and lime wood
Wrote Letter L-251 of 1695-05-01 to Anthonie Heinsius about weevils, nutmegs and their safe storage, and tobacco seeds and their germination
Wrote Letter L-289 of 1696-06-01 to Pieter Rabus about dowsing rods and the hazel branches used to make them, iron, and loadstone
Wrote Letter L-457 of 1707-07-25 to the members of the Royal Society about cinchona bark and using it as a treatment for fever

Related people:

Henry Oldenburg

Members of the Royal Society

Anthonie Heinsius

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