make their Bodies lighter than the Air (f): Thefe, and a Multitude of other fuch like Things as thefe, I might,

of which, fee Mr. Lowth, Abridg. Vol. 2. p. 794, from Dr. Lifter and Dr. Hulle, who both claim'd the Difcovery thereof. And do both feem to have hit thereupon, without any Foreknowledge of what each other hath difcover'd, as is faid in the laft cited Place, and as I more particularly find by Mr. Ray's Philof. Letters, Printed. Ann. 1718. P. 95, c. By which alfo I find the two ingenious Doctors were very modeft in their Claims, and very amicable in the Matter. In one of Dr. Lifter's to Mr. Ray, he thinks there is a fair Hint of the Darting of Spiders in Ariftot. Hift. An. L. 9. c. 39. And in Pliny, L. 11. c. 24. But for their Sailing, that the Ancients are filent of, and he thinks it was feen first by him. And in another Letter, Jan. 20, 1670, fpeaking of the Height Spiders are able to fly, he faith, The laft October, c. I took Notice, that the Air was very full of Webs, I forthwith mounted to the Top of the highest Steeple on the Minfter, [in York,] and could thence difcern them yet exceeding high above me. Some that fell, and were intangled upon the Pinacles, I took and found them to be Lupi; which Kind feldom or never enter Houses, and cannot be suppos'd to bave taken their Flight from the Steeple.

(f) There are, (I imagine,) divers Animals, as well as Spiders, that have fome Way of Conveyance, as little known to us, as that of Spiders formerly was. Thus the Squillule, pulices Arborefcentes, and microfcopical Animalcules of the ftagnating Waters, fo numerous in them, as to difcolour fometimes the Water, and make them look as if they were tinged Red, Yellow or Green, or cover'd with a thick green Scum; all which is nothing but Animalcules of that Colour. That thefe Creatures have fome Way of Conveyance, I conclude; becaufe moft ftagnating Waters are ftock'd with them; new Pits and Ponds, yea, Holes and Gutters on the Tops of Houfes and Steeples. That they are not bred there by æquivocal Generation, every ingenious, confidering Philofopher will grant; that they have not Legs for travelling fo far, is manifeft from Infpection: And therefore I am apt to think, that they have fome Faculty of inflating their Bodies, or darting out Webs, and making their Bodies buoyant, and lighter than Air; or their Bodies, when dry, may be lighter than Air, and fo they can fwim from Place to Place; or the Eggs of fuch as are oviparous, may be light enough to float in the Air. But then the Viviparous, (as my late inge

I might, I fay, take Notice of, as great Evidences of the infinite Creator's Wifdom: But left I fhould be too tedious, I will confine my Obfervations to the Legs and Wings only. And these, at firft View, we find to be incomparably fitted up for their intended Service, not to over-load the Body, not in the leaft to retard it; but to give it the moft proper and convenient Motion. What, for Example, can be better contriv'd, and made for this Service, than the Wings? Diftended and ftrengthen'd. by the finest Bones, and thefe cover'd with the fineft and lighteft Membranes, fome of them adorn'd with neat and beautiful Feathers (g); and many of them provided with the finest Articulations, and Foldings, for the Wings to be withdrawn, and neatly laid up in their Vagine, and Cafes, and again readily extended for Flight (b).

21

And

nious Friend, Mr. Charles King, fhew'd me the Pulices aquar. arboref. are; thefe I fay,) can't be this Way accounted for. The Cause of these latter Sufpicions was, that in the Summer Months, I have feen the Pulices arboref. and the green on the

Scum Waters, (nothing but Animalcules, as I faid,)

lie in a Manner dry on the Surface of the Waters; at which Time, (as I have fhewn in Book IV. Chap. 11. Note (n),) thofe Animalcules copulate; and perhaps, they may at the fame Time change their Quarters, and feek out new Habitations for their numerous Offspring, as well as themselves.

(g) It is well known to all Perfons any Way converfant in microfcopical Obfervations, that thefe elegant Colours of Moths, and Butterflies, are owing to neat and well-made Feathers, fet with great Curiofity and Exactnefs in Rows, and good Order.

(b) All that have Elytra, Scarabs (who have whole Elytra, or reaching to the Podex,) or the Husλtól, fuch as Earwigs, and Staphylini of all Sorts, do, by a very curious Mechanifm, 'extend and withdraw their membranaceous Wings, (wherewith they chiefly fly;) and it is very pretty to fee them prepare thémfelves for Flight, by thrufting out, and unfolding their Wings; and again withdraw thofe Joynts, and neatly fold in the Membranes, to be laid up fafely in

And then for the Poifing of the Body, and keeping it upright, and fteady in Flight, it is an admirable Artifice and Provifion for this Purpofe; in fome, by four Wings(); and in fuch as have bur two, by Pointels, and Poifes plac'd under the Wings, on each Side the Body.

And lastly, It is an amazing Thing to reflect upon the furprizing Minutenels, Art, and Curiofity of the (k) Joynts, the Mufcles, the Tendons, the Nerves, neceffary to perform all the Motions of the Legs, the Wings, and every other Part. I have already mention'd this in the larger Animals but to confider, that all thefe Things concur in minute Animals, even in the fmalleft Mite; yea,

their Elytra or Cafes. For which Service the Bones are well plac'd, and the Joynts miniftring thereunto are accurately contriv'd, for the moft compendious, and commodious folding up the Wings.

(i) For the keeping the Body fteady and upright in Flight,: it generally holds true, (if I miftake not,) that all bipennated Infects have Poifes joyn'd to the Body, under the hinder" Part of their Wings; but fuch as have four Wings, or Wings with Elytra, none. If one of the Poifes, or one of the leffer auxiliary Wings be cut off, the Infect will fly as if one! Side overbalanc'd the other, until it falleth on the Ground; fo if both be cut of, they will fly aukwardly, and unfteadily, manifefting the Defect of fome very neceffary Part. These Poifes, or Pointells are, for the most Part, little Balls, fer at the Top of a flender Stalk, which they can move every Way at Pleasure. In fome they ftand alone, in others, (as in the whole Flesh-Fly Tribe,) they have little Covers or Shields, under which they lie and move. The Use, no doubt, of thefe Poifes, and fecondary leffer Wings, is to poife the Body, and to obviate all the Vacillations thereof in Flight; ferving to the Infect, as the long Pole, laden at the Ends with Lead, doth the Ropedancer.

(k) As all the Parts of Animals are mov'd by the Help of thefe; fo there is, no doubt, but the minuteft Animals have fuch like Parts: But the Mufcles and Tendons of fome of the larger Infects, and fome of the leffer too, may be feen with a Microscope.

the

the Animalcules, that, (without good Microscopes,) efcape our Sight; to confider, I fay, that thofe minuteft Animals have all the Joynts, Bones, Mufcles, Tendons and Nerves, neceffary to that brisk and fwift Motion that many of them have, is fo ftupendous a Piece of curious Art (1), as plainly manifefteth the Power and Wifdom of the infinite Contriver of thofe inimitable Fineries. But having nam'd thofe minute Animals, Why fhould I mention only any one Part of their Bodies, when we have, in that little Compass, a whole and compleat Body, as exquifitely form'd, and, (as far as our Scrutiny can poffibly reach,) as neatly adorn'd as the largest Animal? Let us confider, that there we have Eyes, a Brain, a Mouth, a Stomach, En

(1) The minute Curiofities, and inimitable Fineries, obfervable in those leffer Animals, in which our beft Micro-' fcopes difcover no Botch, no rude ill-made Work, (contra-1 ry to what is is in all artificial Works of Man,) Do they not far more deferve our Admiration, than thofe celebrated Pies, ces of humane Art Such as the Cup made of a PepperCorn, by Ofwald Nerlinger, that held 1200 ivory Cups, all gilt on the Edges, and having each of them a Foot, and yet affording Room for 400 more, in the Ephem. Germ. T. 1. Addend. ad Obf. 13. Such alfo was Phaeton in a Ring, which Galen thus reflects upon, when he speaks of the Art and Wifdom of the Maker of Animals, particularly fuch as are finall, Quanto, faith he, ipfum minus fuerit, tanto majorem admirationem tibi excitabit; quod declarant Opifices cùm in corporibus parvis aliquid infculpant: cujus generis eft quòd nuper quidam in Annulo Phaetonta quatuor equis invectum fculpfit. Omnes enim equi franum, os, & dentes anteriores habebant, &c. And then having taken Notice, that the Legs were no bigger than thofe of a Gnat, he fhews. that their Make did not come up to thofe of the Gnat; as alfo, faith he, Major adhuc alia quadam effe videtur artis ejus, qui Pulicem condidit, Vis atque Sapientia, quod, &c, Cùm igitur Ars tanta in tam abjectis animalibus appareat, quantam ejus Vim ac Sapientiam in praftantioribus ineffe putabimus 2 Galen. de Uf. Part. L. 17, 6. 1. fin.

trails, and every other Part of an animal Body, as well as Legs and Feet; and that all thofe Parts have each of them their neceffary Apparatus of Nerves, of various Mufcles, and every other Part that other Infects have; and that all is cover'd and guarded with a well-made Tegument, befet with Briftles, adorn'd with neat Imbrications, and many other Fineries. And lastly, Let us confider in how little Compafs all Art and Curiofity may lie, even in a Body many Times lefs than a fmall Grain of Sand (m); fo that the leaft Drop of Water can contain many of them, and afford them alfo fufficient Room to dance and frisk about in (#).a

Having furvey'd as many of the Parts of Infects as I care to take Notice of; I fhall in the next Place fay fomewhat of their State, and Circumftances of Life. And here I fhall take Notice only of two Things, which have been only hinted at before; but will deferve more particular Confideration here, as being Acts of a wonderful Inftinct; namely, Their Security of themselves against Winter; and their fpecial Care of preferving their Species.

(m) It will in fome Measure appear, how wonderfully minute fome microfcopical Animalcules are, by what follows in the next Note. But because more particular Examples would be endless. I fhall refer to the Obfervations of Mr. Leuwenhoeck, and others, in the Philof. Tranf. and elfewhere.

(2) It is almoft impoffible, by Reafon of their perpetual Motion, and changing Places, to count the Number of the Animalcules, in only a Drop of the green Scum upon Water; but I guess I have fometimes feen not fewer than 100 frisking about in a Drop no bigger than a Pin's Head. But in fuch a Drop of Pepper-water, a far greater Number; thefe being much lefs than thofe.

CHAP.