Micrographia Part 19

Which History contains things sufficiently strange to be consider'd, as whether the husk were a Plant, growing at the bottom of the Sea before, of it self, out of whose putrifaction might be generated these strange kind of Magots; or whether the seed of certain Bees, sinking to the bottom, might there naturally form it self that vegetable hive, and take root; or, whether it might not be placed there by some diving Fly; or, whether it might not be some peculiar propriety of that Plant, whereby it might ripen or form its vegetable juice into an Animal substance; or, whether it may not be of the nature of a Sponge, or rather a Sponge of the nature of this, according to some of those relations and conjectures I formerly made of that body, is a matter very difficult to be determined. But indeed, in this description, the Excellent _Piso_ has not been sufficiently particular in the setting down the whole process, as it were to be wish'd: There are indeed very odd progresses in the production of several kinds of Insects, which are not less instructive then pleasant, several of which, the diligent _Goedartius_ has carefully observ'd and recorded, but among all his Observations, he has none like this, though that of the _Hemerobius_ be somewhat of this kind, which is added as an Appendix by _Johannes Mey_.

I have, for my own particular, besides several of those mention'd by him, observ'd divers other circ.u.mstances, perhaps, not much taken notice of, though very common, which do indeed afford us a very _coercive_ argument to admire the goodness and providence of the infinitely wise Creator in his most excellent contrivances and dispensations. I have observ'd, at several times of the Summer, that many of the leaves of divers Plants have been spotted, or, as it were scabbed, and looking on the undersides of those of them that have been but a litte irregular, I have perceiv'd them to be sprinkled with divers sorts of little Eggs, which letting alone, I have found by degrees to grow bigger, and become little Worms with leggs, but still to keep their former places, and those places of the leaves, of their own accords, to be grown very protuberant upwards, and very hollow, and arched underneath, whereby those young creatures are, as it were, shelter'd and housed from external injury; divers leaves I have observ'd to grow and swell so farr, as at length perfectly to inclose the Animal, which, by other observations I have made, I ghess to contain it, and become, as it were a womb to it, so long, till it be fit and prepar'd to be translated into another state, at what time, like (what they say of) Vipers, they gnaw their way through the womb that bred them; divers of these kinds I have met with upon Goosberry leaves, Rose-tree leaves, Willow leaves, and many other kinds.

There are often to be found upon Rose-trees and Brier bushes, little red tufts, which are certain k.n.o.bs or excrescencies, growing out from the Rind, or barks of those kinds of Plants, they are cover'd with strange kinds of threads or red hairs, which feel very soft, and look not unpleasantly. In most of these, if it has no hole in it, you shall find certain little Worms, which I suppose to be the causes of their production; for when that Worm has eat its way through, they, having performed what they were design'd by Nature to do, by degrees die and wither away.

Now, the manner of their production, I suppose to be thus, that the Alwise Creator has as well implanted in every creature a faculty of knowing what place is convenient for the hatching, nutrition, and preservation of their Eggs and of-springs whereby they are stimulated and directed to convenient places, which becom, as 'twere the wombs that perform those offices: As he has also suited and adapted a property to those places wherby they grow and inclose those seeds, and having inclosed them, provide a convenient nourishment for them, but as soon as they have done the office of a womb, they die and wither.

The progress of inclosure I have often observ'd in leaves, which in those places where those seeds have been cast, have by degrees swell'd and inclos'd them, so perfectly round, as not to leave any perceptible pa.s.sage out.

From this same cause, I suppose that Galls, Oak-apples, and several other productions of that kind, upon the branches and leaves of Trees, have their original, for if you open any of them, when almost ripe, you shall find a little Worm in them. Thus, if you open never so many dry Galls, you shall find either a hole whereby the Worm has eat its pa.s.sage out, or if you find no pa.s.sage, you may, by breaking or cutting the Gall, find in the middle of it a small cavity, and in it a small body, which does plainly enough yet retain a shape, to manifest it once to have been a Worm, though it dy'd by a too early reparation from the Oak on which it grew, its navel-string, as 'twere, being broken off from the leaf or branch by which the Globular body that invelop'd it, received its nourishment from the Oak.

And indeed, if we consider the great care of the Creator in the dispensations of his providences for the propagation and increase of the race, not onely of all kind of Animals, but even of Vegetables, we cannot chuse but admire and adore him for his Excellencies, but we shall leave off to admire the creature, or to wonder at the strange kind of acting in several Animals, which seem to favour so much of reason; it seeming to me most manifest, that those are but actings according to their structures, and such operations as such bodies, so compos'd, must necessarily, when there are such and such circ.u.mstances concurring, perform: thus, when we find Flies swarming, about any piece of flesh that does begin a little to ferment; b.u.t.terflies about Colworts, and several other leaves, which will serve to hatch and nourish their young; Gnats, and several other Flies about the Waters, and marishy places, or any other creatures, seeking and placing their Seeds in convenient repositories, we may, if we attentively consider and examine it, find that there are circ.u.mstances sufficient, upon the supposals of the excellent contrivance of their machine, to excite and force them to act after such or such a manner; those steams that rise from these several places may, perhaps, set several parts of these little Animals at work, even as in the contrivance of killing a Fox or Wolf with a Gun, the moving of a string, is the death of the Animal; for the Beast, by moving the flesh that is laid to entrap him, pulls the string which moves the trigger, and that lets go the c.o.c.k which on the steel strikes certain sparks of fire which kindle the powder in the pann, and that presently flies into the barrel, where the powder catching fire rarifies and drives out the bullet which kills the Animal; in all which actions, there is nothing of intention or ratiocination to be ascrib'd either to the Animal or Engine, but all to the ingeniousness of the contriver.

But to return to the more immediate consideration of our Gnat: We have in it an Instance, not usual or common, of a very strange _amphibious_ creature, that being a creature that inhabits the Air, does yet produce a creature, that for some time lives in the water as a Fish, though afterward (which is as strange) it becomes an inhabitant of the Air, like its Sire, in the form of a Fly. And this, methinks, does prompt me to propose certain conjectures, as Queries, having not yet had sufficient opportunity and leisure to answer them my self from my own Experiments or Observations.

And the first is, Whether all those things that we suppose to be bred from corruption and putrifaction, may not be rationally suppos'd to have their origination as natural as these Gnats, who, 'tis very probable, were first dropt into this Water, in the form of Eggs. Those Seeds or Eggs must certainly be very small, which so small a creature as a Gnat yields, and therefore, we need not wonder that we find not the Eggs themselves, some of the younger of them, which I have observ'd, having not exceeded a tenth part of the bulk they have afterwards come to; and next, I have observed some of those little ones which must have been generated after the Water was inclosed in the Bottle, and therefore most probably from Eggs, whereas those creatures have been suppos'd to be bred of the corruption of the Water, there being not formerly known any probable way how they should be generated.

A second is, whether these Eggs are immediately dropt into the Water by the Gnats themselves, or, mediately, are brought down by the falling rain; for it seems not very improbable, but that those small seeds of Gnats may (being, perhaps, of so light a nature, and having so great a proportion of surface to so small a bulk of body) be ejected into the Air, and so, perhaps, carried for a good while too and fro in it, till by the drops of Rain it be wash'd out of it.

A third is, whether mult.i.tudes of those other little creatures that are found to inhabit the Water for some time, do not, at certain times, take wing and fly into the Air, others dive and hide themselves in the Earth, and so contribute to the increase both of the one and the other Element.

_Postscript._

A good while since the writing of this Description, I was presented by Doctor _Peter Ball_, an ingenious Member of the _Royal Society_, with a little Paper of Nuts, which he told me was sent him from a Brother of his out of the Countrey, from _Mamhead_ in _Devons.h.i.+re_, some of them were loose, having been, as I suppose, broken off, others were still growing fast on upon the sides of a stick, which seem'd by the bark, pliableness of it, and by certain strings that grew out of it, to be some piece of the root of a Tree; they were all of them dry'd, and a little shrivell'd, others more round, of a brown colour; their shape was much like a Figg, but very much smaller, some being about the bigness of a Bay-berry, others, and the biggest, of a Hazel-Nut. Some of these that had no hole in them, I carefully opened with my Knife, and found in them a good large round white Maggot, almost as bigg as a small Pea, which seem'd shap'd like other Maggots, but shorter. I could not find them to move, though I ghess'd them to be alive, because upon p.r.i.c.king them with a Pinn, there would issue out a great deal of white _mucous_ matter, which seem'd to be from a voluntary contraction of their skin; their husk or matrix consisted of three Coats, like the barks of Trees, the outermost being more rough and spongie, and the thickest, the middlemost more close, hard, white, and thin, the innermost very thin, seeming almost like the skin within an Egg's sh.e.l.l.

The two outermost had root in the branch or stick, but the innermost had no stem or process, but was onely a skin that cover'd the cavity of the Nut.

All the Nuts that had no holes eaten in them, I found to contain these Maggots, but all that had holes, I found empty, the Maggots, it seems, having eaten their way through, taken wings and flown away, as this following account (which I receiv'd in writing from the same person, as it was sent him by his Brother) manifests. _In a moorish black Peaty mould, with some small veins of whitish yellow Sands, upon occasion of digging a hole two or three foot deep, at the head of a Pond or Pool, to set a Tree in, at that depth, were found, about the end of _October 1663._ in those very veins of Sand, those b.u.t.tons or Nuts, sticking to a little loose stick, that is, not belonging to any live Tree, and some of them also free by themselves._

_Four or five of which being then open'd, some were found to contain live Insects come to perfection, most like to flying _Ants_, if not the same; in others, Insects, yet imperfect, having but the head and wings form'd, the rest remaining a soft white pulpy substance._

Now, as this furnishes us with one odd History more, very agreeable to what I before hinted, so I doubt not, but were men diligent observers, they might meet with mult.i.tudes of the same kind, both in the Earth and in the Water, and in the Air, on Trees, Plants, and other Vegetables, all places and things being, as it were, _animarum plena_. And I have often, with wonder and pleasure, in the Spring and Summer-time, look'd close to, and diligently on, common Garden mould, and in a very small parcel of it, found such mult.i.tudes and diversities of little _reptiles_, some in husks, others onely creepers, many wing'd, and ready for the Air; divers husks or habitations left behind empty. Now, if the Earth of our cold Climate be so fertile of animate bodies, what may we think of the fat Earth of hotter Climates? Certainly, the Sun may there, by its activity, cause as great a parcel of Earth to fly on wings in the Air, as it does of Water in steams and vapours. And what swarms must we suppose to be sent out of those plentifull inundations of water which are poured down by the sluces of Rain in such vast quant.i.ties? So that we need not much wonder at those innumerable clouds of Locusts with which _Africa_, and other hot countries are so pestred, since in those places are found all the convenient causes of their production, namely, genitors, or Parents, concurrent receptacles or matrixes, and a sufficient degree of natural heat and moisture.

I was going to annex a little draught of the Figure of those Nuts sent out of _Devons.h.i.+re_, but chancing to examine Mr. _Parkinson_'s Herbal for something else, and particularly about Galls and Oak-apples, I found among no less then 24. several kinds of excrescencies of the Oak, which I doubt not, but upon examination, will be all found to be the _matrixes_ of so many several kinds of Insects; I having observ'd many of them my self to be so, among 24. several kinds, I say, I found one described and Figur'd directly like that which I had by me, the _Scheme_ is there to be seen, the description, because but short, I have here adjoin'd _Theatri Botanici trib. 16. Chap. 2. There groweth at the roots of old Oaks in the Spring-time, and semetimes also in the very heat of Summer, a peculiar kind of Mushrom or Excrescence, call'd _Uva Quercina_, swelling out of the Earth, many growing one close unto another, of the fas.h.i.+on of a Grape, and therefore took the name, the _Oak-Grape_, and is of a Purplish colour on the outside, and white within like Milk, and in the end of Summer becometh hard and woody._ Whether this be the very same kind, I cannot affirm, but both the Picture and Description come very neer to that I have, but that he seems not to take notice of the hollowness or Worm, for which 'tis most observable. And therefore 'tis very likely, if men did but take notice, they might find very many differing Species of these Nuts, _Ovaries_, or _Matrixes_, and all of them to have much the same designation and office.

And I have very lately found several kinds of Excrescencies on Trees and Shrubs, which having endured the Winter, upon opening them, I found most of them to contain little Worms, but dead, those things that contain'd them being wither'd and dry.

Observ. XLIV. _Of the tufted or Brush-horn'd _Gnat_._

This little creature was one of those mult.i.tudes that fill our _English_ air all the time that warm weather lasts, and is exactly of the shape of that I observ'd to be generated and hatch'd out of those little Insects that wriggle up and down in Rain-water. But, though many were of this form, yet I observ'd others to be of quite other kinds; nor were all of this or the other kind generated out of Water Insects; for whereas I observ'd that those that proceeded from those Insects were at their full growth, I have also found mult.i.tudes of the same shape, but much smaller and tenderer seeming to be very young ones, creep up and down upon the leaves of Trees, and flying up and down in small cl.u.s.ters, in places very remote from water; and this Spring, I observ'd one day, when the Wind was very calm, and the afternoon very fair, and pretty warm, though it had for a long time been very cold weather, and the wind continued still in the East, several small swarms of them playing to and fro in little clouds in the Sun, each of which were not a tenth part of the bigness of one of these I here have delineated, though very much of the same shape, which makes me ghess, that each of these swarms might be the of-spring of one onely Gnat, which had been hoorded up in some safe repository all this Winter by some provident Parent, and were now, by the warmth of the Spring-air, hatch'd into little Flies.

And indeed, so various, and seemingly irregular are the generations or productions of Insects, that he that shall carefully and diligently observe the several methods of Nature therein, will have infinitely cause further to admire the wisdom and providence of the Creator; for not onely the same kind of creature may be produc'd from several kinds of ways, but the very same creature may produce several kinds: For, as divers Watches may be made out of several materials, which may yet have all the same appearance, and move after the same manner, that is, shew the hour equally true, the one as the other, and out of the same kind of matter, like Watches, may be wrought differing ways; and, as one and the same Watch may, by being diversly agitated, or mov'd, by this or that agent, or after this or that manner, produce a quite contrary effect: So may it be with these most curious Engines of Insect's bodies; the All-wise G.o.d of Nature, may have so ordered and disposed the little _Automatons_, that when nourished, acted, or enlivened by this cause, they produce one kind of effect, or animate shape, when by another they act quite another way, and another Animal is produc'd.

So may he so order several materials, as to make them, by several kinds of methods, produce similar _Automatons_.

But to come to the Description of this Insect, as it appears through a _Microscope_, of which a representation is made in the 28. _Scheme_. Its head A, is exceeding small, in proportion to its body, consisting of two cl.u.s.ters of pearl'd eyes BB, on each side of its head, whose pearls or eye-b.a.l.l.s are curiously rang'd like those of other Flies; between these, in the forehead of it, there are plac'd upon two small black b.a.l.l.s, CC, two long jointed horns, tapering towards the top, much resembling the long horns of Lobsters, each of whose stems or quills, DD, were brisled or brushed with mult.i.tudes of small stiff hairs, issuing out every way from the several joints, like the strings or sproutings of the herb _Horse-tail_, which is oft observ'd to grow among Corn, and for the whole shape, it does very much resemble those _brushy Vegetables_; besides these, there are two other jointed and brisled horns, or feelers, EE, in the forepart of the head, and a _proboscis_, F, underneath, which in some Gnats are very long, streight hollow pipes, by which these creatures are able to drill and penetrate the skin, and thence, through those pipes suck so much bloud as to stuff their bellies so full till they be ready to burst.

This small head, with its appurtenances, is fastned on by a short neck, G, to the middle of the _thorax_, which is large, and seems cased with a strong black shel, HIK, out of the under part of which, issue six long and slender legs, LLLLLL, shap'd just like the legs of Flies, but spun or drawn out longer and slenderer, which could not be express'd in the Figure, because of their great length; and from the upper part, two oblong, but slender transparent wings, MM, shaped somewhat like those of a Fly, underneath each of which, as I have observ'd also in divers sorts of Flies, and other kinds of Gnats, was placed a small body, N, much resembling a drop of some transparent glutinous substance, hardned or cool'd, as it was almost ready to fall, for it has a round k.n.o.b at the end, which by degrees grows slenderer into a small stem, and neer the insertion under the wing, this stem again grows bigger; these little _Pendulums_, I may so call them, the litle creature vibrates to and fro very quick when it moves its wings, and I have sometimes observ'd it to move them also, whil'st the wing lay still, but always their motion seem'd to further the motion of the wing ready to follow; of what use they are, as to the moving of the wing, or otherwise, I have not now time to examine.

Its belly was large, as it is usually in all Insects, and extended into nine lengths or part.i.tions, each of which was cover'd with round armed rings or sh.e.l.ls; six of which, OPQRST were transparent, and divers kinds of _Peristaltick_ motions might be very easily perceiv'd, whil'st the Animal was alive, but especially a small cleer white part V, seemed to beat like the heart of a larger Animal. The last three divisios, WXY, were cover'd with black and opacous sh.e.l.ls. To conclude, take this creature altogether, and for beauty and curious contrivances, it may be compared with the largest Animal upon the Earth. Nor doth the Alwise Creator seem to have shewn less care and providence in the fabrick of it, then in those which seem most considerable.

Observ. XLV. _Of the great Belly'd _Gnat_ or female _Gnat_._

The second Gnat, delineated in the twenty ninth _Scheme_, is of a very differing shape from the former; but yet of this sort also, I found several of the Gnats, that were generated out of the Water Insect: the wings of this, were much larger then those of the other, and the belly much bigger, shorter and of an other shape; and, from several particulars, I ghest it to be the Female Gnat, and the former to be the Male.

The _thorax_ of this, was much like that of the other, having a very strong and ridged back-piece, which went also on either side of its leggs; about the wings there were several joynted pieces of Armor, which seem'd curiously and conveniently contriv'd, for the promoting and strengthning the motion of the wings: its head was much differing from the other, being much bigger and neater shap'd, and the horns that grew out between his eyes on two little b.a.l.l.s, were of a very differing shape from the tufts of the other Gnat, these having but a few knots or joynts, and each of those but a few, and those short and strong, brisles. The formost horns or feelers, were like those of the former Gnat.

One of these Gnats I have suffer'd to pierce the skin of my hand, with its _proboscis_, and thence to draw out as much blood as to fill its belly as full as it could hold, making it appear very red and transparent; and this without any further pain, then whilst it was sinking in its _proboscis_, as it is also in the stinging of Fleas: a good argument, that these creatures do not wound the skin, and suck the blood out of enmity and revenge, but for meer necessity, and to satisfy their hunger. By what means this creature is able to suck, we shall shew in another place.

Observ. XLVI. _Of the white featherwing'd _Moth_ or _Tinea Argentea_._

This white long wing'd Moth, which is delineated in the 30. _Scheme_; afforded a lovely object both to the naked Eye, and through a _Microscope_: to the Eye it appear'd a small Milk white Fly with four white Wings, the two formost somewhat longer then the two hindermost, and the two shorter about half an Inch long, each of which four Wings seem'd to consist of two small long Feathers, very curiously tufted, or haired on each side, with purely white, and exceedingly fine and small Haires, proportion'd to the stalks or stems, out of which they grew, much like the tufts of a long wing-feather of some Bird, and their stalks or stems were, like those, bended backwards and downwards, as may be plainly seen by the draughts of them in the Figure.

Observing one of these in my _Microscope_, I found, in the first place, that all the Body, Legs, Horns and the Stalks of the Wings, were covered over with various kinds of curious white Feathers, which did, with handling or touching, easily rubb off and fly about, in so much that looking on my Fingers, with which I had handled this Moth, and perceiving on them little white specks, I found by my _Microscope_, that they were several of the small Feathers of this little creature, that stuck up and down in the _rugosities_ of my Skin.

Next, I found that underneath these Feathers, the pretty Insect was covered all over with a crusted Sh.e.l.l, like other of those Animals, but with one much thinner and tenderer.

Thirdly, I found, as in Birds also is notable, it had differing and appropriate kinds of Feathers, that covered several parts of its body.

Fourthly, surveying the parts of its body, with a more accurate and better Magnifying _Microscope_, I found that the tufts or haires of its Wings were nothing else but a congeries, or thick set cl.u.s.ter of small _vimina_ or twiggs, resembling a small twigg of Birch, stript or whitned, with which Brushes are usually made, to beat out or brush off the dust from Cloth and Hangings. Every one of the twiggs or branches that composed the Brush of the Feathers, appeared in this bigger Magnifying Gla.s.s (of which EF which represents 4 part of an Inch, is the scale, as G is of the lesser, which is only 1/3) like the figure D. The Feathers also that covered a part of his Body, and were interspersed among the brush of his Wings, I found, in the bigger Magnifying Gla.s.s, of the shape A, consisting of a stalk or stem in the middle, and a seeming tuftedness or brushy part on each side. The Feathers that cover'd most part of his Body and the stalk of his wings, were, in the same _Microscope_, much of the figure B, appearing of the shape of a small Feather, and seemed tufted: those which covered the Horns and small parts of the Leggs, through the same _Microscope_, appear'd of the shape C. Whether the tufts of any or all of these small Feathers, consisted of such component particles as the Feathers of Birds, I much doubt, because I find that Nature does not alwaies keep, or operate after the same method, in smaller and bigger creatures. And of this, we have particular Instances in the Wings of several creatures. For whereas, in Birds of all kinds, it composes each of the Feathers of which its Wing consists, of such an exceeding curious and most admirable and stupendious texture, as I else where shew, in the Observations on a Feather; we find it to alter its method quite, in the fabrick of the Wings of these minute creatures, composing some of thin extended membranes or skins, such as the Wings of Dragon-flys; in others, those skins are all over-grown, or pretty thick bestuck, with short brisles, as in Flesh-flies; in others, those filmes are covered, both on the upper and under side, with small Feathers, plac'd almost like the tyles on a House, and are curiously rang'd and adorn'd with most lively colours, as is observable in b.u.t.ter-flies, and several kinds of Moths; In others, instead of their films, Nature has provided nothing, but a matter of half a score stalks (if I well remember the number; for I have not lately met with any of these flys, and did not, when I first observ'd them, take sufficient notice of divers particulars) and each of these stalks, with a few single branchings on each side, resembling much the branched back-bone of a Herring or the like Fish, or a thin hair'd Peac.o.c.ks feather, the top or the eye being broken off. With a few of these on either side (which it was able to shut up or expand at pleasure, much like a Fann, or rather like the posture of the feathers in a wing, whichly all one under another, when shut, and by the side of each other, when expanded) this pretty little grey Moth (for such was the creature I observ'd, thus wing'd) could very nimbly, and as it seem'd very easily move its _corpuscle_, through the Air, from place to place. Other Insects have their wings cas'd, or cover'd over, with certain hollow sh.e.l.ls, shap'd almost like those hollow Trayes, in which Butchers carry meat, whose hollow sides being turn'd downwards, do not only secure their folded wings from injury of the earth, in which most of those creatures reside, but whilst they fly, serves as a help to sustain and bear them up.

And these are observable in _Scarabees_ and a mult.i.tude of other terrestrial _crustaceous_ Insects; in which we may yet further observe a particular providence of Nature.

Now in all these kinds of wings, we observe this particular, as a thing most worthy remark; that where ever a wing consists of discontinued parts, the Pores or _interst.i.tia_ between those parts are very seldom, either much bigger, or much smaller, then these which we here find between the particles of these brushes, so that it should seem to intimate, that the parts of the Air are such, that they will not easily or readily, if at all, pa.s.s through these Pores, so that they seem to be strainers fine enough to hinder the particles of the Air (whether hinder'd by their bulk, or by their _agitation_, _circulation_, _rotation_ or _undulation_, I shall not here determine) from getting through them, and, by that means, serve the Animal as well, if not better, then if they were little films. I say, if not better, because I have observ'd that all those creatures, that have film'd wings, move them aboundantly quicker and more strongly, such as all kind of Flies and _Scarabees_ and Batts, then such as have their wings covered with feathers, as b.u.t.ter-flies and Birds, or twiggs, as Moths, which have each of them a much slower motion of their wings; That little ruggedness perhaps of their wings helping them somewhat, by taking better hold of the parts of the Air, or not suffering them so easily to pa.s.s by, any other way then one.

But what ever be the reason of it, 'tis most evident, that the smooth wing'd Insects, have the strongest Muscles or movent parts of their wings, and the other much weaker; and this very Insect, we are now describing, had a very small _thorax_ or middle part of his body, if compar'd to the length and number of his wings; which therefore, as he mov'd them very slowly, so must he move them very weakly. And this last propriety do we find somewhat observ'd also in bigger kind of Flying creatures, Birds; so that we see that the Wisdom and Providence of the All-wise Creator, is not less shewn in these small despicable creatures, Flies and Moths, which we have branded with a name of ignominy, calling them Vermine, then in those greater and more remakable animate bodies, Birds.

I cannot here stand to add any thing about the nature of flying, though, perhaps, on another occasion, I may say something on that subject, it being such as may deserve a much more accurate examination and scrutiny then it has. .h.i.therto met with; For to me there seems nothing wanting to make a man able to fly, but what may be easily enough supply'd from the Mechanicks. .h.i.therto known, save onely the want of strength, which the Muscles of a man seem utterly uncapable of, by reason of their smalness and texture, but how even strength also may be mechanically made, and an artificial Muscle so contriv d, that thereby a man shall be able to exert what strength he pleases, and to regulate it also to his own mind, I may elsewhere endeavour to manifest.

Observ. XLVII. _Of the _Shepherd Spider_, or long legg'd _Spider_._

The Carter, Shepherd Spider, or long-legg'd Spider, has, for two particularities, very few similar creatures that I have met with, the first, which is discoverable onely by the _Microscope_, and is in the first and second _Figures_ of the 31. _Scheme_, plainly describ'd, is the curious contrivance of his eyes, of which (differing from most other Spiders) he has onely two, and those plac'd upon the top of a small pillar or hillock, rising out of the middle of the top of its back, or rather the crown of its head, for they were fix'd on the very top of this pillar (which is about the heighth of one of the transverse Diameters of the eye, and look'd on in another posture, appear'd much of the shape, BCD.) The two eyes, BB, were placed back to back, with the transparent parts, or the pupils, looking towards either side, but somewhat more forward then backwards. C was the column or neck on which they stood, and D the crown of the head out of which that neck sprung.

These eyes, to appearance, seem'd to be of the very same structure with that of larger _binocular_ creatures, seeming to have a very smooth and very protuberant _Cornea_, and in the midst of it to have a very black pupil, incompa.s.sed about with a kind of grey _Iris_, as appears by the _Figure_; whether it were able to move these eyes to and fro, I have not observ'd, but 'tis not very likely he should, the pillar or neck C, seeming to be cover'd and stiffen'd with a crusty sh.e.l.l; but Nature, in probability, has supply'd that defect, by making the _Cornea_ so very protuberant, and setting it so cleer above the shadowing or obstructing of its prospect by the body, that 'tis likely each eye may perceive, though not see distinctly, almost a _Hemisphere_, whence having so small and round a body plac'd upon such long leggs, it is quickly able so to wind, and turn it, as to see any thing distinct. This creature, as do all other Spiders I have yet examin'd, does very much differ from most other Insects in the Figure of its eyes; for I cannot, with my best _Microscope_, discover its eyes to be any ways k.n.o.bb'd or pearl'd like those of other Insects.

The second Peculiarity which is obvious to the eye, is also very remarkable, and that is the prodigious length of its leggs, in proportion to its small round body, each legg of this I drew, being above sixteen times the length of its whole body, and there are some which have them yet longer, and others that seem of the same kind, that have them a great deal shorter; the eight leggs are each of them jointed, just like those of a Crab, but every of the parts are spun out prodigiously longer in proportion; each of these leggs are terminated in a small case or sh.e.l.l, shap'd almost like that of a Musle-sh.e.l.l, as is evident in the third _Figure_ of the same _Scheme_ (that represents the appearance ot the under part or belly of the creature) by the shape of the protuberant _conical_ body, IIII, &c. These are as 'twere plac'd or fasten'd on to the protuberant body of the Insect, which is to be suppos'd very high at M, making a kind of blunt cone whereof M is to be suppos'd the _Apex_, about which greater cone of the body, the smaller cones of the leggs are plac'd, each of them almost reaching to the top in so admirable a manner, as does not a little manifest the wisdom of Nature in the contrivance; for these long Leavers (as I may so call them) of the legs, having not the advantage of a long end on the other side of the _hypomochlion_ or centers on which the parts of the leggs move, must necessarily require a vast strength to move them, and keep the body ballanc'd and suspended, in so much, that if we should suppose a man's body suspended by such a contrivance, an hundred and fifty times the strength of a man would not keep the body from falling on the breast. To supply therefore each of these leggs with its proper strength, Nature has allow'd to each a large Chest or Cell, in which is included a very large and strong Muscle, and thereby this little Animal is not onely able to suspend its body upon less then these eight, but to move it very swiftly over the tops of gra.s.s and leaves.

Nor are these eight leggs so prodigiously long, but the ninth, and tenth, which are the two claws, KK, are as short, and serve in steed of a _proboscis_, for those seem'd very little longer then his mouth; each of them had three parts, but very short, the joints KK, which represented the third, being longer then both the other. This creature, seems (which I have several times with pleasure observ'd) to throw its body upon the prey, insteed of its hands, not unlike a hunting Spider, which leaps like a Cat at a Mouse. The whole Fabrick was a very pretty one, and could I have dissected it, I doubt not but I should have found as many singularities within it as without, perhaps, for the most part, not unlike the parts of a Crab, which this little creature does in many things, very much resemble; the curiosity of whose contrivance, I have in another place examin'd. I omit the description of the horns, AA, of the mouth, LL, which seem'd like that of a Crab; the speckledness of his sh.e.l.l, which proceeded from a kind of feathers or hairs, and the hairiness of his leggs, his large _thorax_ and little belly, and the like, they being manifested by the Figure; and shall onely take notice that the three parts of the body, namely, the head, breast, and belly, are in this creature strangely confus'd, so that 'tis difficult to determine which is which, as they are also in a Crab; and indeed, this seems to be nothing else, but an Air-crab, being made more light and nimble, proportionable to the _medium_ wherin it resides; and as Air seems to have but one thousandth part of the body of Water, so does this Spider seem not to be a thousandth part of the bulk of a Crab.