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By the Council of the Royal Society 
 of London for Improving of Natural 
 Knowledge. 
 
 Ordered , the BooK^ritten by Robert Hooke,M.^.Fe//oir of this Society^ 
 Entituled^ Micrographia, or fome Phyfiological Delcriptlons of 
 Minute Bodies, made by Magnifying Glaflcs, with Obfervations and 
 Inquiries thereupon. Be printed by John Martyn,^7;7<^ James Alleftry, 
 Printers to the faid Society, 
 
 Novem, 23, 
 
 Brouncker. R 
 
 
MICROGRAPHIA: 
 
 O R S O M E 
 
 Fhyfiologkal Defaiptions 
 
 MINUTE BODIES 
 
 MADE BY 
 
 MAGNIFYING GLASSES- 
 
 .WITH 
 
 Observations and I n q„u i rT e s thereupon. 
 
 By R, HOO KE, Fellow of the Royal Society. 
 
 No/i pojjis oculo quantum contendere Linceus^ 
 
 Nontamen idcirco contemnas Ljppus innngi. Horat. Ep. lib. 1 . 
 
 ( 9 ^, Printed by Jo.Martyn, and Ja. Alkftiy, Printers to the 
 
 K o Y A L S Q c I E T Y, a nd are to be fold at their Shop at the Bek in 
 S. Paufs Church-yard. M DC LX V. 
 

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 Do here moft humbly lay 
 this [mail Prefent at Tour 
 Majepes Royal feet. And 
 though it comes accompa* 
 ny’d with two difadvantages^ihe meannefs 
 of the Author, and of the Subjed^; yet 
 in bo.th 1; am incouraged by the greatnefs 
 of your Mercy and your Knowledge, 
 By the one I am taught, that you can 
 
 A forgive 
 
The Epistle 
 
 forgive the moik J^refumptmm Ofendors: 
 And by the other^ that you will not e- 
 fceevi the lead work of Nature^ or Art-) 
 unworthy jomOhfervation.hmi^^i the 
 mmy felicities that have accompani’d 
 your Majejiies happy Repauration and 
 Government^ it is none of the lead confi- 
 derable, that Philofoghy and Experimental 
 Learning \\2 lVc proffer’d under your Royal 
 Patronage. And as the calm profperity 
 of-your Reign has given us theleifure 
 to follow thefe Studies of quiet re¬ 
 tirement) fo it is jud, that the Fruits of 
 them diould, by way of acknowledge¬ 
 ment p'he ' return’d to your Majejiy. 
 There are. Sir, feveral other of your 
 Subjeds, -of your Royal Society) jtiovj 
 bfehe about' Nobler matters: The Im¬ 
 
 provement of ManufaBures and A^icul- 
 turt) the Jncreafe of Commerce , the Ad- 
 
 f m vigation : In all which 
 afsified by your Majejties Incou- 
 
 Example. Amiddall thofe 
 
 greater 
 
Dedicatory. 
 
 greater Defigns,! here prefume to bring 
 in that which is more f>roJPortionable to 
 the fmalnefs of my Abilities , and to 
 offer fome of the leajl of all vifihle 
 things that Mighty King^ that has ef^a- 
 blifht an Empire over the beft of all//?- 
 vifible things of this World, Minds 
 of Men. i 
 
 Tour Majejties mojlhumbk ’ 
 
 . " ; and mojl obedient - 
 
 SubjeB and Servant^ 
 
 ? 
 
 '> : 
 
 ♦ 
 
 Robert Hooke. 
 
TO THE 
 
 ROYAL SOCIETY- 
 
 Fcer my AJdrejl to our Great Founder and Pa¬ 
 tron^ I could not but think my felf oblig’d, 
 in confideration of' thofe many Ingagements 
 you have laid upon me , to offer theft my 
 poor Labours to this MOST ILLLf-^ 
 STRIOIIS ASSEMBLY YOU have been 
 pleas’d formerly to accept of theft rude Draughts, I have fince 
 added to them fomc Defcriptions-, and fome Conje^hres of' my 
 own. And therefore, together with YOUR Acceptance^ \ muPz 
 aWb beg YOUR pardonP^ht Rules YOU havepreferib d YOUR 
 felves in YOUR Philofophical Progrefs do fcem the beft that 
 have ever yet been practis’d. ‘ And particularly that of avoiding. 
 Dogmatizing , and the ejpoufal of aqy Hypothefts not fufficiently 
 grounded and confirm’d by Experiments. This way feems the 
 moft excellent, and may preferve both Philofophy and Natural 
 Hijiory from its former Corruptions Jn faying which, I may feem 
 to condemn my own Courft in this Treatift ; in which there 
 may perhaps be fome Exprejfions^ which may feem more pofithe 
 then YOUR Preferiptions will permit: And though I defire 
 to have them underftood only as ConjeSiures and Qudiries (which 
 YOUR Method does not altogether difallow)yet ifeven in thoft 
 I have exceeded, ’tir. fit that I fhould declare, that it was not 
 done by YOUR Direftions. For it is moft unreafonable, that 
 YOU fhould undergo the imputation of the faults of my Con- 
 jeHures^ fteing YOU can receive fo [mall advantage reputa¬ 
 
 tion by the Jleight Obfervations of 
 
 YOUR mojl bumble and 
 moji faithful Servant 
 
 ROBERT HOOKE. 
 
7 the great prerogative of Mankind above other 
 Creatures^ that we are not only able to behold the 
 works of Nature^ or barely to our lives by 
 them^ but we hate alfo the flower of confidering, 
 comparing, altering, affifting, and improving 
 them to various ufes.And od thh h the peculiar priviledge of humane 
 Nature in general^ fi ri it capable of being fo far advanced by the helps 
 of Art^ and Experience^ as to make fome Men excel others in their 
 Obfervations^ and Dedubiions^almoft as much as they doBeafls, By the 
 addition of fuch artificial Inftruments and m£thods,t/:>^r^ may beyn 
 fome manner^ a reparation made for the mifchiefs^ and imperfection^ 
 mankind has drawn upon it felf by negligence^and intemperance^ and a 
 wilful and fuperftitious deferting the Prefcripts and Rules of Nature^ 
 whereby every man^ both from a deriv'd corruption^ innate and born 
 with him^ and from Jm breeding and converfe with mentis very fubjeH 
 to flip into all forts of errors. 
 
 The only way which now remains for us to recover fome degree of 
 'thofe former perfections^ feems to befy reCiifying the operations of the 
 Senfe,t/?d }Htmocy^andRcdion^ finceupon the evidencey^he&vtngxh^ 
 the xnxtgyWj^andthe right covcticponAtnct of all thefe^all the lights 
 by which our aCxions are to be guided^ is to be renewed^ and all our com¬ 
 mand over things is to be efiablifjt. 
 
 It is therefore mofl worthy of our confideration^ to recolleC their fe- 
 fever al defeCs^ that fo we may the better underf and how to fupply them^ 
 and by what affifiances we may inlarge their power^and Iccure them in 
 performing their particular duties. 
 
 As for the adorn of our Senfes, we cannot hut obferve them to be in 
 
 a many 
 
The Preface. 
 
 many particulars much outdone hy thofe of other Creatures^ and when 
 at befip be far fhort of the perfection they feem capable of: And theft 
 infirmities of the Senfes arife from a double caufe^ either from thedif- 
 proportion of the Objeft to the Org^na^whereby aninfinite number of 
 things can never enter into them^or elfefrom error in the Perception, 
 that many things^ which come within their reach^ are not received in a 
 right manner. 
 
 7 he like frailties are to be found in the Memory ; we often let many 
 things flip away from us., which deferve to be retain'd ; and of thofe 
 which we treafure up., a great part is either frivolous or falle ; and if 
 good., and fubjlantiaf either in trad of time obliterated, or at befl fo 
 overwhelmed and buried under more frothy notions, that when there k 
 need of them, they are in vain fought for. 
 
 The two main foundations being fo deceivable, it is no wonder, that 
 all the fucceedingworkswhich we build upon them,of arguing, conch- 
 ding,defining.i]udging, and all the other degrees of Reafon, are lyable to 
 the fame imperfedion, being, at befl, either vain, or uncertain: So that 
 the errors of the underftanding are anfwerable to the two other, being 
 dfedive both in the quantity andgoodnefs of its knowledge ; for the li¬ 
 mits, to which our thoughts are conji nd, are fmall in reffed of the vafl 
 extent of Nature it felf ; fome parts of it are too large to be comprehen¬ 
 ded, and fome too little to beperceived. And from thence it muflfol- 
 low,that not having a full fenfation of the Objed, wt mufl he very lame 
 and imperfed in our conceptions about it, and in all thepropofitions 
 which we build upon it ; hence, we often take the fhadow of things for- 
 the fubftance, y^^// appearances/or fimilitudes, fimilitudes 
 for definitions; and even many of thofe, which we think, to be the mofl 
 folid definitions, are rather exprejfions of our own mifguided apprehen- 
 fions then of the true nature of the things thernfelves. 
 
 The effeds of thefe imperfedions art manifefled in different ways,ac¬ 
 cording to the temper and diffofition of the fever al minds of men, fome 
 they incline to grofs ignorance and flupidity, and others to a pre- 
 fumptuous impofing on other mens Opinions, and a confident dog¬ 
 matizing on matters, whereof there h no affurance to be given. 
 
 Thws 
 
The P R E F A C E. 
 
 J i - 
 
 . i 
 
 Thu^ all the uncertainty^ and mifiakes of humane aliions\ 'proceed 
 either from the narrownefs and wandring of our Senfes, from the flipped, 
 rinejl or delufion of our Memory, from the confinement or rdffmefl of 
 our Underftanding, fo that *tps no wonder^ that our power over natud 
 ral caufes and efedis fo flowly improvd^ feeing we are not only, to 
 
 contend with the ohfcurity and difficulty of the things whereonM kwk. 
 and think fut even the forces of our own minds confpife to betray 
 7hefe being the dangers in the procefi "of humane Reafon^ the remedies 
 of them all can only proceed from real, the mechanical, ex¬ 
 perimental Philofophyyrkich ha6 this advantage overthePhilofophy of 
 difcourfe and difputation,t/?jt whereas that chiefly aims at the fubtilty 
 of its ReduUmns and Conclufions / without much regard to the firjl 
 ground-work') which ought to be well laid on ibe Senfe and Merftory ; 
 fo thh intends the right ordering of them alfand the making them fer^- 
 viceable to each other, '' ‘ - 
 
 The firfi thing to be undertaken in this weighty worky is a 'watch- 
 fulnefs over the failings and an inlargemenc of the dominion^ of 
 the Senfes. ■' ' ■ 
 
 * To which end it vs requifite^ firft^ That there fjouldbe d fcriipu- 
 lous choice^and a ftrift examination,. 0 / the reality^ conftancy^ and 
 certainty of the Particulars that we admiuThk is the firfl rife where¬ 
 on truth k to begin.) and here the moji fevere^ andmofl impartial dili¬ 
 gence,) muji beimployed ; the ftoring up of alf without any regard to 
 evidence or ufe,) will only tend to darkriefs and confufton. We muji 
 not therefore efteem the riches of outPhilofophical treafure by the num¬ 
 ber onlyfeout chiefly by the weight mofl vulgar Infiances arenot to 
 be negleSiedfut above alf the moJl inftruSive are to be entertain d ; 
 thefootfleps of Nature are to betracd,)not only in her ordinary courfe, 
 but when Jhe feems to he put to her p.nfts4o make many doublings and 
 turnings, and to ufe fomekiud of .art in indeavonring to avoid our 
 difcovery. 
 
 The next care to he taken,) in reffePi of the Senfes,) is a fupplying (f 
 their infirmities with Inftruments, and,) as it were,) the adding of arti¬ 
 ficial Organs to natural; this in one of them has been of late years 
 
 accom- 
 
The Preface. 
 
 accomplijbt with prodigious benefit to all forts of ufeful knowledge , by 
 the invention of Optical GIoffes, By the means oj Telefcopes, there k 
 nothing fo far diftant but may be reprefentedto our view ; and by the 
 help o/Microfcopes, there k nothing fo fmalf 06 to efcape our inqui-* 
 ry ; hence there k a new vifible World difcovered to the underflanding. 
 By thk means the Heavens are open’d^ and a vafi number of new Stars^ 
 and new Motions,^ and new FroduHtons appear in them,, to which all the 
 antient Afironomers were utterly Strangers. By thk the Earth it felfi, 
 which lyes fo neer us,, under our feet^jfibews quite a new thing to us,, and 
 little particle of its matter,, we now beholdalmofi 06great a 
 variety of Creatures,, os we were able before to reckon up in the whole 
 Univerfei/- felf 
 
 It feems not improbable, but that by thefe helps the fubtilty of the 
 compofition of Bodies, the ftruHure of their parts, the various texture . 
 of their matter, the inftruments and manner of their inward motions, 
 and all the other poffible appearances of things, may come to be more 
 fully difcovered ; all which the antient Peripateticks were content to 
 comprehend in two general and funlefi further explain'd) ufelefl 
 words ofMztitr andFom.From whence there may arife manyadmi- 
 Table advantagespwards the increafe of the Operative, and the Me- 
 chanick Knowledge, to which thk Age feems fo much inclined, becaufe 
 we may perhaps be inabled to difcern all the fecret workings of Nature, 
 almofi in the fame manner as we do thofe that are the produbrions of 
 Art, and are rnanagd by Wheels, and Engines, and Springs, that were 
 devifedby humane'Wit. 
 
 In thk kind I here prefent to the World my imperfebt Indeavours ; 
 which though they fo all prove no other way confiderable,yet, I hope, they 
 may be in forne meafure ufeful to the main Befign of a reformation 
 hiPhilofophyfif it be only by Jhewing, that there k not fo much requir'd 
 towards it,any Jlrength o/lmagination,c>r exabinefs 0/Method,or depth 
 (f Contemipht\on(though the addition of thefe,where they can be had, 
 mufl needs produce a much more perfebi compofure)as almccrt Hand, 
 and a faithful Eye, to examine, and to record, the things themfelves 
 as they appear. 
 
 A?2d 
 
The Preface. 
 
 »• 
 
 • y . - • . 
 
 And I beg my Reader^ to let me take the boldnejl to ajfure hiiri^ 
 that in thisprefent condition of knoveledge^ a man fo qualified^ as'I 
 have indeavour^d to be^ only mth refolution^ and integtity^ andplain 
 intentions of imp laying his Senses aright ^maj venture to compare the reg¬ 
 ality and the ufefulncjl of his fervices^ towards the true Philofophy^ with 
 thofe of other men^ that are of much fir onger^arid more fpecula- 
 
 t\ons ^that fh ail not make ufe of the fame method by. the Senfes. '■ 
 
 The t ruth is^ the Science of Nature has been already too long made 
 only a vrork.Qf the Bczin and the Fancy : It ps now high time that it 
 fljould return to the plainnefi and foundhefl of Obfervacions on ma¬ 
 terial and obvious things. It kfaidof great Empires^ That the beft_ 
 way to preferve them from decay^ is to bring' th'em back to the 
 firft Principles, and Arts, on which they did begin; The fame 
 is undoubtedly true in Philofophy,,that by wandring far away into invi-^ 
 {MeNonons^hasalmoJi quite deflroy d it felf and it can never be re- 
 covered,^ or continued^, butby returning into the fenfible-paths^ 
 in which it did at firfl proceed. ■ ‘ ■ ’ ; 
 
 If therefore the Reader expePls from me any infallible DeduIiionSi 
 or certainty 0/Axioms, I am to fay for niy feIf that thofe flronger 
 Works of Wit and Imagination are above my' weak. Abilities ; or if 
 they had not been fo^ I would notfhave made ufe of them in'thispre^ 
 fent Subjeli before me: Whereever he finds that I have'venturd at 
 any fmallConjeHures., at the caufes of the things that I have ob ferved., 
 Tbefeech him to look, upon them only as doubtful Problems;^;^^ uncer¬ 
 tain ghelfe^, andnot as unquefiionable Conclufions^' or matters of un^ 
 confutable Science ; I have produced nothing here., witi} intent to bind 
 hk underflanding to an implicit confent ; / am fo far from that^ that 
 I defire him., not ahfolutely to rely upon thefe Obfervations of my eyesy 
 if he finds them contradiEiedby the futurt Ocular Experiments of fi¬ 
 ber and impartial Difeoverers. , ' ■ ' ' ■ ’ 
 
 As for my party I have obtained my endy if thefe my frnall Labours 
 pall be thought fit to take up fime place in the large Jlock, 0/ natural 
 Obfervations, which fo many hands are bufie in providing.' If I have 
 contributed the meaneft foundations whereon others may raifi nobler 
 ; ^ b Super-’ 
 
The Preface. 
 
 Superftruftures, lam abundantly fatiified ; and all my ambition 
 that I may ferve to the great Philojophers of thia Age , 06 the makers 
 and the grinders qf my Glaffes did tome ; that I may prepare and fur-- 
 nifh them veith Materials., which they may afterwards order and 
 manage with better skjU^ and to far greater advantage. 
 
 The next remedies in this univerfal cure of the. Mind are to be ap- 
 plyedto the Memory^ and they are toconfiji of fuchDirebiions 06 may 
 inform U 6 ^ what things arebef to be ftor’d up/hr our purpofe,^ and 
 which psthebejlwaycf fo^if^ofingthem,, that they may not only be 
 kept in Mtty^but ready andconvenientpbe at any time produc’d/hr 
 ufe,y 06 occafion foall require. But I will not here prevent my felf in 
 what I may fay in another Bifcourfe , wherein I fhall make an aU 
 tempt to propofe feme Confederations of the manner of compiling a Na¬ 
 tural and Artificial Hiflory,, andoffo ranging and regiflring its 
 Particulars into PhilofophicalTableSj osmay makethem mofiufeful 
 for the raifeng of Axioms and Theories. 
 
 The lafe indeed is the mofe hazardous Enterprize,^ and yet the mojl 
 necefi’ary ; and that is,, to take finch care that the J iidgment and the 
 Reafbn of Man ( which is the third Faculty to be repair d and im- 
 provd') fhouldreceive fuch affifeance,, os to avoid thedangersto 
 which it is by nature mofe fubjeSt, The ImperfeSiions,, which I have aU 
 ready mention^d^ to which it is lyable,, do either belong to the extent, 
 or the goodnefs of its knowledge ; and here the difficulty is the grea¬ 
 ter,, leafe that which may be thought a remedy for the me Jhould 
 prove deftruftive to the other,, leafe by feekjng to inlarge our Know-- 
 ledge, we fhould render it weak, and uncertain ; and leafe by being 
 too fcrupulous and exaSi about every Circumfeance cf it,, we fhould 
 confine and fireighten it too much. 
 
 In both theft the middle wayes are to be taken, nothing k to be 
 omitted, and yet every thing to pafi a mature deliberation No 
 Intelligence from Men of allProfeffeons, and quarters <f the World, 
 to be iF\^ieA,dndyet all to be fo feverely examin’d,tto there remain 
 no room for doubt or infeability ; much rigour in admitting, much 
 ftriftnefe in comparing,andabove all, much flownefe in debating,and 
 
 (T)yne(s 
 
The Preface. 
 
 (hynefs £>2 determinings i^to bepraii/fed. The Underftanding 
 order all the inferiour fervices of the lower Facuitiesbut yet it is to 
 do this only lawful Mafter, and not 06 a Tyrant. Itrnufl not in- 
 croach upon their Offices^ nor take upon it felf the employments which 
 belong to either of them. It muji watch the irregularities of the Sen- 
 feSs but it rnuft not go before thorns or prevent information. It 
 r/2«yi examine^ range, and difpofeo/ the bank, which h laid up in the 
 Memory ; butitmuftbe fare to ^zz/j^ediftindlion between the fober and 
 well colleSed heap, and the extravagant Idea’s, and miftakea 
 Images , which there it may fometirnes Ugh upon. So many are the 
 \\n\sSsUpon which the true Phihfophy depends^ of whichsif any one be loofe, 
 erweak , the whole chain 25 in danger of being dijfolv d ; his to be¬ 
 gin with the Hands and Eyes^ and to proceed on through the Memory^ 
 to be continiiediji the Reafon ; nor is it to fop there^ but to come about 
 to the Hands and Eyes agaks and fo^ by a continual paflage round 
 from one Facuity to another ^ it is to be maintained in life andfrength^ 
 as much as the body of man is by circulation of the blood through the 
 fever alparts of the body^ the Arms^ the Fat^ the Lungs^ the Hearty and the 
 Head, 
 
 If once this method were followed with diligence and attention^ there is 
 nothing that lyes within the power of human Wit (or which is far more 
 tjftHual') of human Induflry\ which we might not compafi ; we might 
 not only hope for Inventions to equalize thofe of Copernicus, Galileo, 
 Gilbert Hai vy, and of others^ whofe Names are almofl lof^ that were the 
 Inventors <f Gun-powder, the Seamans Compafs, Printing, Etching, 
 Graving, Microfeopes, &c* but multitudes that may far exceed them : 
 for even thofe difeoveries feem to have been the produlis of form fuch me¬ 
 thod^ though butimperfeH ; What may not be therefore expelled from it if 
 thoroughlyprofecuted? Talking <3^^/contention of Avgumtrws wmld 
 foon be turndinto labours; all the finedrt'^ms of Opinions^ and uni- 
 vcrfalmetaphyfical natures, which the luxury of fubtil Brains has de- 
 vis d,, wmldquickly vanijlj^ andgheplace to Iblid Hiftories, Experi¬ 
 ments Works. A?td as at firf^ manki?tdlc]l by tafting of the 
 forbidden Tret of Kmwkdge:fo we^ their Po/krity^ may be mpartrcdcord 
 
 by 
 
The Preface. 
 
 by the fame veay^ not only by ht\io\(^\ng*and concemplacing, butbytz^ 
 fting toothofe fruits of Natural knowledge^ that were never yet forbidden^ 
 
 From hence the World may be affijied with variety of Inventions^ new 
 matter for Sciences may be collefted, the old improv’d, and their riiii 
 rubUdaway ; and 06 it 16 by the benefit of Senfes that we receive all our 
 Skill in the works of Nature/o they alfo may be wonderfully benefited by 
 hy and may be guided to an eafter and more exaSi performance of their 
 Offices ; 'tis not unlikely^ but that we may find out wherein our Senfes are 
 deficient^ and as eafily find wayes of repairing them, 
 
 ' ' 7 he Indeavours of Skilful men have been mofl converfant about the 
 ajfifianceof the Eye^ and many noble froduFiions have followed upon it ; 
 and from hence we may conclude,^ that there is a way open d for advancing 
 the operations^ not only of all the other Senfes fiut even of the Eye it felfithat 
 which has been already done ought not to content usfiut rather to incourage 
 U 6 to proceed further y and to attempt greater things in the fame and diffe¬ 
 rent wayes, 
 
 'Tk not unlikely^ but that there may be yet invented feveral other 
 helps for the eye^as much exceeding thofe already found^as thofe do the bare 
 eyefiuch as by which we may perhaps he able to difcover living Creatures in 
 the Moon^ or other Planets,, the figures of the compounding Particles of 
 'matter,, and the particular Schem.atii ms and T extures of Bodies, 
 
 And as GlaiTes have highly promoted our feeing, fo 'tk not improba- 
 blefiut that there maybe found many Mechanical Inventions to improve 
 our other Senfes,, 0/hearing, fmclling, tailing, touching. * 7 knot 
 irnpoffible to hear a whifper a furlongs difiance,, it having been already 
 'done ; and perhaps the nature of the thing would not make it moreim- 
 poffible,, though that furlong ffjould be ten times multiply d. And though 
 fome famous Authors have affirm'd it irnpoffible to hear through the thin¬ 
 ned plate of Mulcovy-glafs; yet Ikpow a wayfiy which tk eafee enough 
 to hear one fpeafi through wall a yard thick. ' It has not been yet 
 -’thoroughly examindfiow far Otocoudicons may be mprovd,, nor what 
 other wayes then may be of qiiickning our hearing,, or conveying found, 
 through other bodies thenthe Ainforthat that k not the 0/2^ medium, 
 
 I canaffurethe Reader ,,thnt I havefy the help of a didended mrc,,prcpa- 
 
 gated 
 
The Preface. 
 
 gaud the found to a very confiderabk diftance in an inftanr, or mth as 
 feeminglj quick, a motion 06 that of lights at leaft^ incomparably fmfter 
 thenthat^ which at the fame time was propagated through the Air ; and 
 thk not only in a fraight line ^ or direVi^ but in one bended in many 
 'angles. 
 
 Nor are the other three foperfeSi^but that diligence, attention, and 
 772 ^;^ mechanical contrivances, may alfo highly improve them. For 
 fence the fehfe of fmelling feems to be made by the fwifc paffage^?/ the 
 Air ( impregnated with the fleams and effluvia of feveral odorous 
 Bodies) through the grifly meanders of the Nofe whofe fur faces are 
 cover'd with a very fenfible nerve , and moilined by a tranfuda- 
 tion from the procefliis maraillares of the Brain , and feme ad~ 
 joyning glandules, and by the rnoife Ileam of the Lungs, with a Liquor 
 convenient for the reception of thofe effluvia and by the adhefeonand 
 mixing of thofe fleams with that liquor^and thereby afeSiing the nerve^ or 
 perhaps by infinuating themfelves into the 'juices of the brain^ after the 
 fame manner^ as I have in the following Obfervations 'intimated^ the parts 
 of Salt topafe through the skins of Efs^ and Frogs. Since^ Ifay^ fmelling 
 feems to be made by feme fluch way^ not 'improbable., but that fome con-- 
 
 trivance., for making a great quantity of Airpafe qu'ick.through the Nofe., 
 m'lght 06 much promote the fenfe of fnell'ing., as the any wayesh'mdr'ingthat 
 pajfage does dull and deferoy it. Several tryals I have made , both of 
 hindring and promoting this fenfe.,and have flucceeded 'in feme according to 
 expectation ; and indeed to me it feems capable of being improvd-, for the 
 judging of the conflitut'ions of many Bodies. Perhaps we may thereby 
 alfo judge other Creatures feem to do) what is wholfomeyvbat poyfon ; 
 and in a word, what are the fl^ecifick. properties of Bodies. 
 
 There may be alfo fome other mechanical wayes found out , of fenfibly 
 perceiving the effluvia of Bodies ; feveral Inflames of which, were it here 
 proper, I could give of Mineral fleams and exhalations ; and it feems not 
 impojflble, but that by fome fluch wayes improved, may be difcovered, what 
 Minerals lye bur'ied under the Earth, without the trouble to dig for them ; 
 fome things to confirm this Conjedure may be found in Agncoh, and other 
 Writers of M'lnera ls, ff caking of the Vegetables that are apt to thrive, or 
 pine, in thofe fleams. c • Whether 
 
The Preface. 
 
 Whether alfothofi fleams^ which feem to ijfueout of the Earthy and 
 mix with the Air ( andfo to precipitate fome aqueous Exhalations^where- 
 with impregnated ) may not be by fome way deteSledbefore they produce 
 the effeSl^ feems hard to determine ; yet fomething of thh kind I am able to 
 difcoverjby an Injirument I contriv'd to fbewall the minute variations in 
 thepreffure of the Air ; by which Iconflantly find^that before , and during 
 the time of rainy weather^ thepreffure of the Air is lefi^ and in dry wea¬ 
 ther , but efpecially when an Eaftern Wind ( which having pafl over 
 vaji traits of Land is heavy with Earthy Particles ) blows^ it is much 
 
 more^ though thefe changes are varied according to very odd Laws. 
 
 The Inftrument is this. I prepare a pretty capaceous Eolt-hcad A with 
 a fmall ftem about two foot and a half long D C 5 upon the end of this D 
 I put on a fmall bended GlafsjOr brazen Syphon D E F ( open at D, E and F, 
 but to be doled with cement at F and E5 asoccafion fervcs) whole ftem F 
 Ihould be about fix or eight inches longj but the bore of it not above half an 
 inch diametetjand very even ^ thefe I fix very hrongly together by the help 
 of very hard Cement, and then fit the whole Glafs A B C D E F into a long 
 BoardjOr FramCjin fuch manner;)that almoft half the head A B may lye buri¬ 
 ed in a concave Hemifphere cut into the Board R. S 5 then I place it fo on 
 the Board RS, as is expreft in the firll: Figure of thefirft Scheme , and fix 
 it very firm and heady in that pofture, fo as that the weight of the Mercury 
 that is afterwards to be put into itjmay not in the leafi: lhake or ftir it 5 then 
 drawing a line X Y on the Frame R T, fo that it may divide the ball into 
 two equal partSj or that it may pafs, as -’twere, through the center of the 
 ball. 1 begin from that^ and divide all the reft of the Board towards UT 
 into inches, and the inches between the 2 5 and the end E (which need not be 
 above two or three and thirty inches diftant from the line X Y) I fubdivide 
 into Decimals 5 then flopping the end F with foft CementjOr foft Waxj I in¬ 
 vert the Frame, placing the head downwards, and the Orifice E upwards 5 
 and by it, with a fmall Funnel, I fill the whole Glals with Qiiicklilver 5 then 
 by flopping the fmall Orifice E with my finger, I oftentimes credl and invert 
 the whole Gfafs and Frame,and thereby free the Quickfilver and Glafs from 
 all the bubbles or parcels of lurking Air, then inverting it as before,! fill it 
 top full with clear and well ftrain’d Quickfilver, and having made ready a 
 fmall ball of pretty hard Cement, by heat made very foft, I prefs it into the 
 hole E, and thereby flop it very faft 3 and to fecure this Cement from flying 
 out afterward,! bind over it a piece of Leather, that is fpread over in the in- 
 fide with Cement, and wound about it whilft the Cement is hot; Having 
 thus faftned it, 1 gently ered again the Glafs after this manner ; I firft let the 
 Frame down edge-wayes, till the edge R V touch the Floor, or ly horizon¬ 
 tal 5 and then in that edging pofture raife the end R S 3 this ! do , that if 
 there chance tobeany Air hidden in the finall Pipe E, it may afeend into the 
 Pipe F, and not into the Pipe D C .‘ Having thus ereded it, and hung it by 
 the hole Q, or fixt it perpendicularly by any other means, I open the end F, 
 
 and 
 
The Preface. 
 
 Gnd by a fmall Sj/phn I draw out the Mercury fo longjtill I find the fiirface of 
 it AB in the head to touch exadily the line XY, at which time I immedi¬ 
 ately take away the Syphon ^ and if by chance it be run fomewhat below 
 the line X Y, by pouring in gently a little Mercury at F, I raife it again to* 
 its defired height, by this contrivance I make all the feniible rifing and fal¬ 
 ling of the Alercury to be vifible in the furface of the Mercury in the Pipe F, 
 and fcarce any in the head A B. But becaufe there really is fome fmall 
 change of the upper fiirface alib^ I find by feveral Oblervations how much 
 it rifes in the Ball, and falls in the Pipe F, to make the difiance between the 
 awo furfaces an inch greater then it was before 5 and the meafure that it 
 falls in the Pipe is the length of the inch by which I am to mark the parts of 
 the Tube Fj orthe Board on which it lyes ^ into inches and Decimals: Ha¬ 
 ving thus jufined and divided it^ I have a large Wheel M N O P, whole 
 outmofi limb is divided into two hundred equal parts 5 this by certain fmall 
 Pillars is fixt on the Frame RT^ in the manner expreft in the Figure. In 
 the middle of this^ on the back fide^ in a convenient frame, is placed a fmall 
 Cylinder, whofe circumference is equal to twice the length of one of thole 
 divifions, which I find anfwertoan inch of afeent, or defeent, of Mercury : 
 This Cylinder I, is movable on a very fmall Needle, on the end of which is 
 fixt a very light Index K L, all which are fo pois'd on the Axis, or Needle, 
 that no part is heavier then another : Then about this Cylinder is wound a 
 fmall Clew of Silk, with two fmall fteel Bullets at each end of it G one 
 of thefe, which is fomewhat the heavier, ought to be fo big, as freely to 
 move to and fro in the Pipe F ^ by means of which contrivance, every the 
 leaft variation of the height of the Mercury will be made exceeding vifible 
 by the motion to and fro of the fmall Index K L. 
 
 But thk id hut one my of Jifeovering the effluvia of the Earth mixt 
 with the Air ; there may be perhaps many othersyvitnejl the Hygrofeope, 
 an Infirument whereby the waterj f earns volatile in the Air are difeerneJ^ 
 which the Nofe it felf is not able to find. This I have deferib'd in the 
 following TraSl in the Defeription of the Beard of a wild Oat. Others there 
 are^ay be difeovered both by the Nofe , and by other wayes alfo. Thus 
 ihefmodk of burning Wood is fmelc, feen, and fuffickntly felt by the 
 eyes: 7he fumes of burning Brimftone are fmelc and difeovered alfo 
 by the defraying the Colours of Bodies , as by the whitening of a red 
 Rofe ; And who knows^ but that the Induflry of man^ following this me- 
 thod.ynay find out wayes of improving this fenfe to as great a degree of per- 
 feUion as it is in any Animaf and perhaps yet higher. 
 
 'Tis not improbable alfofiut that our tafte may be very much improv'd^ 
 either by preparing our tafl for the Body^ as^ after eating bitter things^ 
 W\x\t.pr other Vinous liquors, are more fenfibly tafed ; or elfeby pre¬ 
 paring 
 
The P R E F A c r. 
 
 paring Bodies for our tafi; m the dijfolving of Met ah with acid Liquors^ 
 mak^ them tajiable^ which were before altogether infifid ; thus Lead be¬ 
 comes fweetcr then Sugar^ and Silver more bitter then Galh Copper 
 ^; 7 ^Iron of mojl loathfome tajis. And indeed the bufinejl of this fenfe 
 being to difeover the prefence of dijfolved Bodies in Liquors put on the 
 Tongue^or in general to difeover that a fluid body has fome folid body diffolvd 
 in it^ and what they are ; whatever contrivance makes this difeovery 
 improves this fenfe. In this kind the mixtures ofChymical Liquors af¬ 
 ford many Injlances ; as the fweet Vinegar that is impregnated with 
 Lead may be difeovered tobefo by the ajfufion of a little of an Alcalizate 
 foiution; The bitter liquor of Aqua fortis and Silver may be difeover d 
 to be chargd with that Metals by laying in it fome plates of Copper : 
 ^Tis not improbable alfo^but there may be multitudes of other wayes of difeo- 
 vering the parts diffolvd^ or dijjoluble in liquors ; and what is this difeo¬ 
 very but a kind of fecundary tailing. 
 
 'Tis not improbable alfofbut that the fenfe of feeling may be highly im- 
 provd^ for that being a fenfe that judges of the more grofs and robufl 
 motions of the Particles of Bodies, feems capable of being improv d and 
 aflifted very many wayes. Thus for the dijlinguifhing o/Heat and Coldyihe 
 Weather-glafs Thermometer, which Ihavedeferib'din this follow¬ 
 ing Treatife., do exceedingly perfeR it ; by each of which the leaf varia¬ 
 tions of heat or cold., which the rnoji Acute fenfe is not able to difiinguifh.,are 
 manifefled Thk is oftentimes further promoted alfo by the help of Burn- 
 ing-glaflcs,^jW the like., which colleR and unite the radiating heat. Thus 
 the roughnefs and fmoothnefs of a Body is made much more fenfible by 
 the help of a Microfcope, then by the mojl tender and delicate Hand. 
 Perhaps.,a Phyfitian might., by feveral other t?ing\h\c proprieties, difeover 
 the confiilution of a Body as well as by the Pulfe. I do but inflame in 
 thefeyio fbew whatpoffibility there may be of many cithers., and what proba¬ 
 bility and hopes there were of finding themf-f this method were followed 
 for the Offices of the five Senfes being to deteUi either the fubtil and curi¬ 
 ous Motions^rc^^^^W through all pellucid or perfeRly homogeneous 
 Bodies \ Or the moregrok andvihrmwtVuMt communicated through 
 the Air and all other convenient mediums, TP&it&r fluid or folid: Or the 
 
 effluvia 
 
The Ppn.eface. 
 
 effluvia (f Bodies (liflolv’d in the Air ; Or the particles of bodies dif- 
 folv*d or diflbluble in Liquors, or the more quick and violent flia- 
 king motion r/'heat in all or any of thefe: vrhatfoever does any vpayespro¬ 
 mote any of thefe kinds'of criteria, does afford a way of improving feme 
 onefenfe. And what a multitude of thefe would a diligent Man meet 
 with in hh inquiries ? And this for the helping and promoting the fend- 
 tive faculty only. 
 
 Next^as for the Memory, or retentive faculty-, we may be fufficiently 
 inftrubied from the written Hiftories of civil a&ions, what great affi- 
 fiance may be a forded the Memory.^ in the committing to writing things ob- 
 fervable in natural operations. If a Phyfitian be therefore accounted the 
 more able in his Faculty^ becaufe he has had long experience andpraliice^ 
 the remembrance of which^ though perhaps very imperfeli^-does regulate alt 
 his after aliions: What ought to be thought of that man^ that has not only 
 a perfeli regifter of his own experience fbut is grown old with the experience 
 cf many hundreds of years^ and many thoufands of men. 
 
 And though of late , men.) beginning to be fenfible of this convenience.) 
 have here and there regifired and printed feme few Centuries, yet for the 
 moflpart they are fet down very lamely and imperfectly.) and.) I fear.) many 
 times not fo truly ^ *they feeming.) feveral of them.) to be defigndmore for 
 Oftentation ptiblique ufe .• For.)not to inftanceyhat they do for the 
 mofl partyornit thofe Experiences they have made , wherein their Patients 
 have mifearriedyt is very eafie to beperceiv dyhat they do all along hyper- 
 bolically extol their oven Preferiptions.) andvilifie thofe of others. Not- 
 withjlanding all which) thefe kinds of Hiflories are generally efleernd ufe- 
 fif even to the ableji Phyfitian. 
 
 What may not be expeCied from the rational or deduSivc Faculty 
 that is furnifht with fuch and thofe fe readily d.dd.ptcd) and 
 
 rang'd for ufeqthat in a moment) as ^twere^ thoufands of InflanceS) ferving 
 for the illuftration,determination, or invention, of alrnofl any inquiry^ 
 may be reprefented even to the fight ? How neer the nature of Axioms 
 mufi all thofe Propoficions which are examin'd before fe many 
 nefles ? And how difficult will it be for any^ though never fo fubtilan er¬ 
 ror in Philofophy) to fcape from being difeovefd) after it has indufd the 
 ' touch, andfo many other tryals ? d What 
 
The Preface. 
 
 What kind of mechanical way^ andphyfical invention alfo h there re^ 
 quird^that might not this way be found out ? The Invenrion cf a way to 
 find the Loii^irnde of places k eafily perforrrid^ and that to as great per- 
 fedion as is defifd^ or to as great an acciiratenefs as the Latitude of 
 places can be found at Sea ; and perhaps yet alfo to a greater certainty 
 then that has been hitherto founds as I fj all very ffeedily freely manifeji to 
 the world. The way o/flying in the Air feems principally unpraSiicable^ 
 by reafon of the want of’ ftrength in humane mufcles ; if therefore 
 that could be fupplidjt were J think-) eafietomake twenty contrivances to 
 perform the office o/Wings ; What Attempts alfo I have made for the 
 fupplying that Defebf and my fucceffes thereinr^ which^ I think-) are wholly 
 new^and not inconfiderable^ Ifloall in another place relate. 
 
 ^Tk not unlihly alfo^ but that Chymifts, if they followed thk method^ 
 might find out their fo much fought for Alkaheft. What an univerfal 
 Meniiruum ^ which dijfolves all forts of Sulphureous Bodies, I have 
 difcover d ( which has not been before taken notice of as Juch ) I have 
 ffiewn in the fixtecnth Obfervation. 
 
 What a prodigious variety of Inventions in Anatomy has thk latter 
 Age afforded., even in our own Bodiesfin the very Heart, by which we live^ 
 and the ^mnyrhich k the feat of our knowledge of other things ? witnefl 
 all the excellent Wbrh of Pecquet, Bartholinus, Billius, and many 
 others ; and at home.,ofDoIrorU?Lrvy.,Do5ior Ent.,DoIior Willis, 
 Gliffon. //^Ccleftial Obfervations we have far exceeded all theAn- 
 tie.nts.p)en the Chaldeans and Egyptians themfelves., whofe vaft Plains, 
 high Towers,<3fW clear Air, did not give them fo great advantages over 
 
 as we have over them by our Glafles. By the help of which ^ they have 
 been very much outdone by the famous Galileo, Hevelius, Zulichem ; 
 and-our own Countrymen^ Mr. Rook, BoHor Wren, and the great Orna- 
 mentof our Church and Nationyhe Lord Eifliop of Exeter. And to fay 
 no more in Aerial Difeoveries, there has been a wonderful progrefi made 
 by the Noble Engine 0 / the moft llluftrious Mr. Boyleyvhom it becomes 
 me to mention with all honour., not only as my particular Patron fut as the 
 Patron of Philofophy it felf ; which he every day increafes by his La¬ 
 bours, and adorns by hk Example. 
 
 The 
 
The Preface. 
 
 7ht goodflicceft of all thefe great Men^and many others^ and the ho^ 
 feemingly great obvioufnels of rnoji of their and divers other Inventions^ 
 Tvhich from the beginning of the world have been^ 06 'tvpere^ trodon^ and 
 yet not minded till thefe laji inquifitive j^ges ( an Argument that there 
 may be yet behind multitudes of the like) puts me in mind to recommend 
 fuch Studies^andtheprofecutionof them by fuch methods^ to the Gentlemen 
 of our Nationyrhofe Itilurc makes them fit to undertake, and the plenty 
 of their fortunes itoaccomplifla, extraordinary things in this way. And I 
 do not onlypropofe thkkindof Experimental Philofophy as a matter of 
 high rapture and delight of the rnind^ but even oy a material and fenfi- 
 ble Pleafure. So vafi is the variety of Objefts which will come under 
 their Infpeliions^ fo many different wayes there are e/handling them,, fo 
 great is the fatisfaftion of finding out new things, that I dare compare 
 the contentment which they wilHnjoy,,notonly to that of contemplation, 
 but even to that which mo ft men prefer of the very Senfes them Pelves. 
 
 And if they will pleafe to take any incouragement from fo mean 
 and fo imperfeU endeavours as mine,, upon my own experience^ I can 
 afure themyrithout arrogance,. That there has not been any inquiry or Pra^ 
 blem in Mechanicks, that I have hitherto propounded to my felf but by a 
 certain method ( which 1 may on fome other opportunity explain ) I have 
 been able prefently to examine the pojfibility of it ; and iffo,, as eafily to ex^ 
 cogitate divers wayes of performing it: And indeed it kpofible to do as 
 much by this method in Mechanicks, as by Algebra can be perform'd in 
 Geometry. Nor can I at all doubt,, but that the fame method k as ap¬ 
 plicable to Phyfical Enquiries , and as likely to find and reap thence as 
 plentiful a crop of Inventions ; and indeed there feems to be no fubjeH fo 
 barrenfiut may with thkgood husbandry be highly improv'd. 
 
 Toward the profecution of thk method in'^h.ylioA Inquiries, / have 
 here and there up an handful of Obfervations,, in the colleliion of 
 
 mojiof which I made ufe e/Microfeopes, and fome other Glafles and In- 
 ftruments that improve the fenfe ; which way I have herein taken , not 
 that there are not multitudes of ufeful andpleafant Obfervables,,yet uncoU 
 leliedybvious enough without the helps of Art , but only to promote the ufe 
 (f Mechanical helps for the Senfesfioth in the furveying the already vifible 
 
 Wortd,f 
 
The P R E F A C F. 
 
 Worlds and for the difcovery of many others hitherto unknown^ and to maJ<e 
 myvith the great Conqueror 40 be affected that vee have not yet overcome one 
 World when there are fo many others to be difcovered^ every confiderable 
 improvement (fUddcopes or Microfcopes producing new Worlds and 
 Terra-Incognita our view. 
 
 The Glajfes lufed were of our Englip makedut though very good of the 
 kfnd^ yet far port of what might be expebUed^ could we once find a way of 
 making Glaffes Ellipticaf or of fome more true ffoape ; for though both 
 Microfcopes, and Telefcopcs, 06 they now are^ will magnifie an ObjeSi 
 about a thoufand thoufand times bigger then it appears to the nakede^e ; 
 yet the Apertures of the ObjeSi-glaffes are fo very finalf that very few Rays 
 are admitted^ and even of thofe few there are fo manyfalfe^ that the Object 
 appears dark and indiftinft : And indeed thefe inconveniences are fiich^a^ 
 feem infepar able from Spherical Glaffes^ even when rnofi exaSlly madefiut 
 thtway we have hitherto made ufe of for thatpurpofe us fo imperfeSf^thaipere 
 may he perhaps ten wrought before one be made tolerably good^ andmofi of 
 thofe ten perhaps every one differing in goodnefl one from another^ which us 
 an Argumentyhat the way hitherto ufed us^at leaft^very uncertain. So that 
 thefe Glaffes have a double defeSl'pe oneghat very few of them are exaEily 
 true wrought ; the other ^ that even of thofe that are befl among them^ none 
 will admit a fufficient number of Rayes to magnifie the Objebi beyond a 
 determinate bignefi, Againfi which Inconveniences the only Remedies I 
 have hitherto met with are thefe, 
 
 Firft, for Microfccpes ( where the Objcft we view is near and within our 
 power)thc befl: way of making it appear bright in the Glafjis to caft a great 
 quantity of light on it by means cenvex glafes^iox therebyjthough the aper¬ 
 ture be very fmall^yet there will throng in through it inch multitudes^that an 
 Obje6i: will by this means indure to be magnifi’d as much again as it would 
 be without it. The way for doing which is this. I make choice of fome 
 Room, that has only one window open to the South , and at about three or 
 four foot diftance from this Window.on a Table, I place my A4icrofcope^ and 
 then lb place either a round Globe of Water, or a very deep clear pla^w con¬ 
 vex Glals ( whofe convex fide is turn’d towards the Window ) that there 
 is a great quantity of Rayes collefted and thrown upon the Objed:; Or if 
 the Sun Ihine, I place a (mall piece of oyly Paper very near the Objed:, be¬ 
 tween that and the light 5 then with a good large Burning-Glals I lb colledi 
 and throw the Rayes on the Paper,that there may be a very great quantity 
 of light pafs through it to the Objed: 5 yet 1 fo proportion tha^ light, that it 
 
 may 
 
The P R E F A C E. 
 
 may not finge or burn the Paper. Inftead of which Paper there ' may be 
 made ufe of a fmall piece of Looking-glafs plate, one of whofe fides is made 
 rough by being rubb’d on aflat Tool with very fine fand, thiswill, if the 
 heat be ieifurely caft on it^ indure a much greater degree of heatj and con- 
 fequently very much augment a convenient light. By all which means the 
 light of the SuUj or of a Window, may be fo caft on an Object, aho makeit 
 twice as light as it would otherwife be without it, and that without any in- v 
 convenience of glaring, which the immediate light of the Sun is very apt to 
 create in mofr Objeds 5 for by this means the light is fo equally diffufed, 
 that all parts are alike inlightned ^ but when the immediate nght of the Sun 
 falls on it, the reflexions from fome few parts are fb vivid, that they drowri 
 the appearance of all the other, and are themfelves ahb, by reafbn of the in- 
 equality of light, indiflinft, and appear only radiant Ipots. 
 
 But becaule the light of the Sun, and alfo that of a Window, is in a conti¬ 
 nual variation, and fo many Objeds cannot be view’d long enough by them 
 to be throughly examin’d 3 befides that, oftentimesthe Weather is fo dark 
 and cloudy, that for many dayes together nothing can be view’d: And be- 
 caufe alfo there are many Objeds to be met with in the night, which cannot 
 fo conveniently be kept perhaps till the day, therefore to procure and call: a 
 fufficient quantity of light on an Cbjed in the night, I thought of, and often 
 ufod this. Expedient. 
 
 I procur’d me a fmall Pedeffal, fuch as is deforib’d in the fifth Figure of 
 the firfe Scheme on the fmall Pillar A B, of which were two movable 
 Armes CD, which by means of the Screws E F, I could fix in any part of 
 the Pillar 3 on the undermoft of thelc I plac’d a pretty large Globe of Glals 
 G, fill’d with exceeding clear Brine, ftopt, inverted, and fixt in the manner 
 vifible in the Figure 3 out of the fide of which Arm proceeded another 
 Arm H, with many joynts 3 to the end of which was faftned a deep plain 
 Convex glafs I, which by means of this Arm could be moved to and fro, and 
 fixt in any poffure. On the upper Arm was placed a fmall Lamp K, which 
 could be lo mov’d upon the end of the Arm , as to be fet in a fit pofture to 
 give light through the Ball: By means of this Inftrument duly plac’d , as is 
 expreftin the Figure, with the (mall flame of a Lamp may be caftas great 
 and convenient a light on the Objed as it will well indure3and being always 
 confiant, and to be had at any time, 1 found moff proper for drawing the 
 reprefentations of thofe fmall Objefts I had occafion to obferve. 
 
 None of all which ways (though much beyond any other hitherto made 
 ufe of by any I know ) do afford a fufficient help, but after a certain 
 degree of magnifyingjthey leave us again in the lurch. Hence it were very 
 dcfirable, that fome way were thought of for making the Objed-glals of 
 fuch a Figure as would conveniently bear a large Aperture, 
 
 As for Telefcopes, the only improvement they feem capable of h the 
 increafwg of their length ; for the Object being remote^ there is no thought 
 ^gf welter light then it has ; and therefore to augment the 
 Aperture^ the GlaJ? muji be ground of a very large Inhere ; for^ by that 
 
 e, meanSj 
 

 The Preface. 
 
 mem^he longer the Ghfi be^tke bigger aperture will it bearjf the Glajfes 
 be of an equal goodnejl in their kind. Therefore a fix will indure a 
 much larger Aperture then a three foot Glafi; and a fixty foot Glafiwill 
 proportionably bear a greater Aperture then a thirty^and will oi much ck- 
 cel it alfo a fix foot does a three foot^ as I have experimentally obfervd 
 in one of that length made by Mr. Richard Reives here at London, 
 which will bear an Aperture above three inches over , and yet make 
 the ObjeSt proportionably big and difinSi; whereas there are very 
 few thirty foot Glajfes that will indure an Aperture of more then two in¬ 
 ches over. So that for Telefcopcs, fuppofing we had a very ready way 
 of making their ObjeSt Glajfesof exaSily fjherical Surfaces^ we might., by 
 increafmg the length of the Glaf., magnifie the Objeli to any ajfignable big- 
 nefl. And for performing both thefe., I cannot imagine any way more ea- 
 fie.,andmore exaii., then by this following Enginefy means of which., ary 
 Glajfesy)f what length foever.,may be fjeedily rnade.lt feems the mojl eafie., 
 becaufe with one and the fame Tool may be with care ground an ObjeH 
 Glaji., of any length or breadth requifite , and that with very little or no 
 trouble in fitting the Engine , and without much skill in the Grinder. 
 It feems to be the mojl exalt , for to the very laji firoke the Glafi does 
 regulate and reHifie the Tool toitsexaH Eigure ; and the longer or more 
 the Tool and Glaji are wrought together., the more exalt will both of them 
 be of the defird Figure, Further., the motions of the Glaji and Tool do 
 fo crojl each other , that there is not one point of cithers Surfacefiut has 
 thoufands of crojl motions thwarting itfo that there can be no kind of 
 Rings or Gutters made either in the Tool or Glaji. 
 
 The contrivance of the Engine is, only to make the ends of two large 
 Mandrils lb to move , that the Centers of them may be at any convenient 
 diftance alunder, and that the Axis of the Mandrils lying both in the lame 
 plain produc’d, may meet each other in any affignable Angle 5 both which 
 requifites may be very well perform’d by the Engine deferib’d in the third 
 Figure of the firft Scheme : ^where A B fignifies the Beam of a Lath fixt per¬ 
 pendicularly or Horizontally, C D the two Poppet heads, hxt at about two 
 foot diftance, E F an Iron Ma n dr if \whoit tapering neck F runs in an adapt¬ 
 ed tapering brals Collar 5 the other end E runs on the point of a Screw G 5 
 in a convenient place of this is faftned H a pully Wheel, and into the end of 
 it,that comes through the Poppet head C, is ferewed a Ring of a hollow 
 Cj/lindcrK^ or Ibme other conveniently fhap’d Took of what w'idenefs Oiall 
 
 he 
 
The Preface. 
 
 be thought mofl proper for thecize of Glafles, about which it is to be im- 
 ploy’d ; As, for Objcdl glafles, between twelve foot and an hundred foot 
 long, the Ring may be about fix inches over, or indeed fomewhat 
 more for thofe longer Glafles. It would be convenient alfo, and not 
 very chargeable 3 to have four or five feveral Tools, as one for all Glafles 
 between an inch and a foot, one for all Glafles between a foot and ten foot 
 long, another for all between ten and an hundred,a fourth for all between a 
 hundred and a thoufand foot long, and if Curiofity (hall ever proceed fo 
 far,onefor all lengths between a thoufand and ten thoufand foot long 5 for 
 indeed the principle is fuch,that fuppofing the Mandrils well madCjand of a 
 good length 5 and fuppofing great care be ufed in working and polifhing 
 them,! fee no reafon,but that a Glais of a thoufandjnay of ten thoufand foot 
 long, may be as well made as one of ten ^ for the reafon is the fame,fuppofing 
 the Mandrils and Tools be made fufficiently ftrong, fo that they cannot 
 bend j and fuppofing the Glais, out of which they are wrought, be capable 
 of fo great a regularity in its parts as to refradion; this hollow Cylinder K 
 is to contain the Sand, and by being drove round very quick to and fro by 
 means of a fmall Wheel,which may be mov'd with ones foot, ferves to grind 
 the Glafs; The other Mandril is fliap’d like this, but it has an even neck in- 
 jfiead of a taper onCjand runs in a Collar, that by the help of a Screw, and a 
 joynt madc like M in the Figure, it can be ftill ad juflned to the wearing or 
 wafting neck: into the end of this Mandril is ferewed a Chock N, on which 
 with Cement or Glew is fafined the piece of Glafs Q_ that is to be form’d 5 
 the middle of which Glafs is to be plac’d juft on the edge of the Ring, and 
 the Lath OP is to be fet and fixt ( by means of certain pieces and Icrews, 
 the manner whereof will be fufficiently evidenc’d by the Figure) in fuch 
 an Angle as is requifite to the forming of fuch a Sphere as the Glals is dc- 
 fign’d to be of s the geometrical ground of which being fufficiently plain, 
 though not heeded before, I (hall, for brevities fake, pals over. This laft 
 Mandrills to be made ( by means ot the former, or fome other Wheel) to 
 run round very fwift al(b, by which two crols motions the Glals cannot 
 chufc (if care be us’d ) but be wrought into a mofl: cxadly Ipherical 
 Surface* 
 
 But becauft we are certain^ from the Laws of refraftlon ( which 1 
 I have experiment all) found to be fojby an hjirurnent I fjall prefently dtr 
 feribe') that the lines of the angles of Incidence are' proportio¬ 
 nate to the lines of the angles of RefraSion, therefore if Glafjes could 
 be made of thofe kind of Figures^ or fome other ^ fuch 06 the rnoji incornpa^ 
 table I^es Cartes has invented^ and dernonf rated in hh Philofophical and 
 Mathematical Iforks^we might hope for a much greater perfebiion of Optickj 
 then can be rationally expeUeed from fphericalones] for though^extenspz- 
 ribiis, wefind^ that the larger the Telefcope ObjeFi Glaffes are^ and the 
 Jhorter thofe (f the Microfeope, the better they magnifies yet both of them^ 
 
The Preface. 
 
 befiJi fuch determinate dimenfions , are bj certain inconveniences rendred 
 Unufeful ; for it willbe exceeding difficult to mah and manage a Tube 
 above an hundred foot long, and it will be as difficult to inligliten an 
 ObjeH leji then an hundred part of an inch dijiant from the Objebi Glaji. 
 
 I have not as yet made any attempts ofthat kind^ though Ikjiow two or 
 three way es^ which^ as far as I have yet conftdered^ feem very probabk^and 
 may invite me to make a tryal as foon as I have an opportunity^ of which I 
 may hereafter perhaps acquaint the world. In the Interim^ I Jhalldefcribe 
 the Inflrument I even now mention'd^ by which the refraftion of all kinds 
 of Liquors may be moft exaUly meafufd^ thereby to give the curious an 
 opportunity of making what further tryals of that kind they flmll think, 
 requifite to any of their intended tryals ; and to let them fee that the laws 
 cf RfraHion are not only notional. 
 
 The Inftrumcnt confifted of five Rulers, or long pieces placed togctlicr, 
 after the manner expreft in the fecond Figure of the firft Scheme ^ where 
 A B denotes a ftraight piece of wood about fix foot and two inches long, 
 about three inches over, and an inch and half thick , on the back fide of 
 which was hung afmall plummet by a line ftrctcht from top to bottom, by 
 which this piece was fet exaftly upright,and fb very firmly nxt 5 in the mid¬ 
 dle of this was made a hole or center, into which one end of a hollow cy¬ 
 lindrical brafsBox CC, fafhion'd as I fball by and by defcribe, was plac'd, 
 and could very eafilyand truly be mov’d to and fro 3 the other end of this 
 Box being put into, and moving in, a hole made in afmall arm DDi into 
 this box was faftned the long Ruler E F, about three foot and three or four 
 inches long, and at three foot from the above mention’d Centers P P was 
 a hole E, cut through, and crofs'd with two fmall threads, and at the end of 
 it was fixt a fmall fight G, and on the back fide of it was fixt a fmall Arm H, 
 with a Screw to fix it in any place on the Ruler L M , this Ruler L M was 
 mov'd on the Center B ( which was exadly three foot diftance from the 
 middle Center P ) and a line drawn through the middle of it LM, was 
 divided by a Line of cords into fome fixty degrees,and each degree was fub- 
 dividedinto minutes, fothat putting the crofs of the threads in E upon any 
 part of this divided line, I prefently knew what Angle the two Rules AB 
 and E F made with each other, and by turning the Screw in H, I could fix 
 them in any pofition. The other Ruler alfb R S was made much after the 
 lame manner, only it was not fixt to the hollow cylindrical Box, butjby means 
 of two fmall brais Armes or Ears, it mov'd on the Centers of it, this alfo, 
 by means of the crofs threads in the hole S, and by a Screw in K, could be 
 faftned on any divifion of another line of cords of the fame radius drawn on 
 N O. And fo by that means, the Angle made by the two Rulers, A B and 
 RS, was alfo known. The Brafs box CC in the middle was* fhap'd very 
 much like the Figure X, that is, it was a cylindrical Box ftopp'd clofe at ei¬ 
 ther end,off of which a part both of thefides and bottomes was cutout, lb 
 
 that 
 
The Preface. 
 
 that th'e.Eip.x^ #,heri, .the Pipe and that was joyne d to it^ would contain the 
 Water y^henh.lpdTalf full, and would likewife, without running oVcf, in- 
 dure to inclin’d" to an Angle ^ equal to that of the gfcatefi: refraf^ion hf 
 Water; hnd. no morejwithout running over. The Ruler E F was fiiit ve^> faft 
 to.the PipccVj id that the -Pipe V direded the lengthoF the RulerE F, and 
 the Box and 'Ruler 'were mov’d on the Pin TlT^^^s to make any defi-^ 
 t able Angle with the Ruler A B. The bottom of this PipeV wasftop’d 
 with a fmalhpiece of exactly plain Glafs, which was plac’d exactly per¬ 
 pendicular to the Line of diredion, or Jxis of the Ruler E F* The Pins 
 ahb' T T were drilfd with fmall holes through the and through thole 
 holes was llretcht and faftiied a fmall Wire. There wa's likewile a fmall 
 Pipe ofjTindoofly put on upon the end ofV, and reaching down to 'the 
 light G 5 the Life of which was only to keep any falle Rayes of light from 
 palling through the bottom of V, and only admittingfuch topalsas pier¬ 
 ced througi;! the light^G : All things being placed together in the manner 
 defcrib’d in the Figure 5 that is, the Ruler A B being fixt perpendicular, I 
 fil’d the Box C C with Water^ or any other Liquor, whofe refraflion I in- < 
 tended to try, till the Wire palTing through the middle of it were juft co¬ 
 vered : then I moved and fixt the Ruler F E at any allignable Angle,- and 
 placed the dame of a Candle juft againft the light G ; and looking through 
 the light I, I moved the Ruler Pv S to and fro, till I perceived the light paf 
 ling through G to be covered, as ’twere, or divided by the dark Wife paf 
 ling through P P; then turning the Screw in K, I fixt it in that pofture: 
 
 And through the hole S, lobferved what degree and part of it was cut by 
 the crofs threads in S. And this gave me the Angle of Inclination, APS 
 anfweringto the Angle of Refraftion BPE : for the furfaceof the Liquor 
 in the Box will be alwayes horizontal, and confequently AB will be a 
 perpendicular to it5 the Angle therefore APS will meafure, or be the 
 Angle of Inclination in the Liquor 5 next E P B rauft be the Angle of Re- 
 fraftionjfor the Ray that paffes through the fight G, palles allb perpendicu¬ 
 larly through the Glals Djaplragme at F, and confequently alfo perpendi¬ 
 cularly through the lower furface of the Liquor contiguous to the Glals, and 
 therefore fuffers no refra(ftion till it meet with the horizontal llirfaceof the 
 Liquor in C C, which is determined by the two Angles. 
 
 By means of'thh Inflrument lean withX\t\\c trouble, and a very 
 fmall quantity of any Liquor, examine^ rnojl accurately^ tferefraaion 
 of it , not only for one inclination^ but for all ; and thereby am inabled 
 to make very accurate Tables ; fever al of which I have alfo experimentally 
 made^and find^ that Oylof Turpentine has a much greater Refrabim 
 then Spirit of Wine, though it be lighter ; and that Spirit of Wine 
 has a greater EefraSiion then Water, though it be lighter alfo ; but that 
 fait Water alfo has a greater Refrabiion then frefh, though it be heavier * 
 hut Alluni water has a lejl refrahiion then common Water, thou^:^ hea¬ 
 vier alfo.So that it feems^as to the refraftion made in a Liquor^he lpeci« 
 
 [ fick 
 
The Preface* 
 
 fick gravity h cfno efficacy,Bj this I have alfofounc/^thatlook.^hatpvo^ 
 portion the Sine of the Angle of Inclination ha6 to the Sine of the 
 Angle of Refraftion, correffonJent to it^ the fame proportion have all 
 the Sines of other Inclinatiom to the Sines of their appropriate RefraSlions. 
 
 My way for meafuringhow much a Glals magnifies an Objedt, plac’d at a 
 convenient diftance from my eyejs this. Having redtifi’d the M/croJcope^ to 
 fee the defir’d Objed through it very diftinftly, at the lame time that I look 
 upon the Objedi: through the Glafs with one eyej I look upon other Objeds 
 at the lame diftance with my other bare eyej by which means I am able, 
 by the help of a Ruler divided into inches and fmall parts, and laid on the 
 Pedefial of the Microfeope^to caft^as it were, the magnifi’d appearance of the 
 Objedl upon the Ruler,and thereby exaftly to meafure the Diameter it ap¬ 
 pears of through the Glafs, which being compar’d with the Diameter it ap¬ 
 pears of to the naked eye, will eafily afford the quantity of its magnify¬ 
 ing. 
 
 The Microfeope^ which for the moft part I made ufe of^ was lhap’d much 
 like that in the lixth Figure of the firft Scheme^ the Tube being for the m.oft 
 part not above fix or feven inches long,though, byrealbn it had four Draw¬ 
 ers, it could very much be lengthened, as occafion required 5 this was con¬ 
 triv’d with three Glafles^a fmall Objedf Glafs at A, a thinner Eye Glafs about 
 B, and a very deep one about C: this I made ufe of only when I had oc¬ 
 cafion to fee much of an ObjecTc at once 5 the middle Glals conveying a 
 very great company of radiating Pencils, which would go another way, and 
 throv/ing them upon the deep Eye Glals. Rut when ever I had occafion to 
 examine the Imall parts of a Body more accurately, I took out the middle 
 Glalsjand only made ufe of one Eye Glafs with the Objedt Glafs, for always 
 the fewer the Refradtions are, the more bright and clear the Object appears. 
 And therefore ’tis not to be doubted , but could we make a Microfeope to 
 have one only refradf ion, it would, ceteris paribus^ far excel any other that 
 had a greater number. And hence it is, that if you take a very clear piece 
 of a broken Venice Glals, and in a Lamp draw it out into very Imall hairs or 
 threads, then holding the ends of thefe threads in the flame, till they melt 
 and run into a Imall round Global, or drop, which will hang at the end of 
 the thread 5 and if further you ftick feveral of thele upon the end of a ftick 
 with a little fealing Wax, fo as that the threads frand upwards, and then on 
 a Whetftone firft grind off a good part of them, and afterward on a Imooth 
 Metal plate, with a little Tripoly, rub them till they come to be very 
 fmooth^ if one of thefe befixt with a little foft Wax againft a fmall needle 
 holcjprickd through a thin Plate of Brals, Lead, Pewter, or any other Me¬ 
 tal, and an Objed, plac’d very near, be look’d at through it, it will both 
 magnifie and make fome Cbjedls more diftind then any of the great Micro¬ 
 scopes, But becaufe thefe, though exceeding eafily made, are yet very trou- 
 blclbmeto be us’d,becaufe of their fmalnefs,and the nearnefsof the Obje(ft 5 
 therefore to prevent both thefe, and yet ha ve only two Refraftions, I pro¬ 
 vided me a Tube of Brafs, fliap’d much like that in the fourth Figure of the 
 
 Scheme into thefmaller end of this I fixt with Waxagoocip/;??;^? con¬ 
 vex 
 
The Preface. 
 
 vex Object Glafsjwith the convex fide towards the Objeds and into the 
 bigger end I fixt alfo with wax a pretty large piano Convex Glals, with 
 the convex fide towards my eye, then by means of the fmall hole 
 by the fide 3 I filfd the intermediate fpace between thele two Glafl^ 
 with very clear Water, and with a Screw hopp’d it ip 5 then putting 
 on a Cell for the Eye, , I could perceive an Object more bright then I could 
 when^the intermediate fpace was only fill’d with'Air,but this, for other in^ 
 cofiVeniences, I made but little ufe of. , ;L:; 
 
 * My way for fixing both the Glals and Objed ,fo the Pedeftal moft conye- 
 niently was thus; Upon one fide of a round Pedeftal A ^3 fixth Fi¬ 
 gure of the firft: Scheme fixt a fmall Pillar C C, on thh was fitted a fittall 
 Iron'Ariii D, which could be mov’d up and down, and fixt in any part 6f the . 
 Pillatjby means of a fmall Screw £ 5 on the end of this Arm was a fmall Ball 
 fitted into a kind of focket F,made in the fide of the BmfsRing G, through' 
 which the fmall end of the Tube wasfcrew’d^ By means of which contri¬ 
 vance I could place arid fix the Tube in what poflure I defir’d (which for 
 many Obfervations was exceeding neceftary ). and adjuften'it mod exadly 
 toanyObjedl. ■ 
 
 For placing the Objcd,I made this contrivi^nce 5 upon the end of a fmall 
 brals Link or Staple H H, I lb faftned a round . Plate 11 , that it might be 
 turn’d round upon its Center K, and going pretty ftiff, would (land 
 fixt in any pofture it wasfet y on the fide of this was fixt a fmall Pillar P, 
 about three quarters of an inch high, and through the top of this was thruft; 
 a fmall Iron pin M, whofetop juft ftood over the Center of the Plate 5 on 
 this top I fixt a fmall Gbjedt, and by mfeans of thefo contrivances I was able 
 to turn it into all kind of pofitions, both to my Eye and the Light 5 for by 
 moving round the fmall Plate on its center, I could move it one way, and by 
 turning the Pin M, I could move it another way, and this without flirting 
 the Glals at all, or at leafl but very little : the Plate likewife I could move 
 to and fro to any part of the Pedeftal ( which in-many cafes was very con¬ 
 venient ) and fix it alfo in any Pofition, by means of a Nut N, which was 
 fcrew’d on upon the lower part of the Pillar CC.- All the other Con¬ 
 trivances are obvious enough from the draught,and will need no defcription 
 
 Now though this were the Injirument I made mojl ufe^of^ yet I have 
 made fever al other Try ah with other feW 5 o/Microfcopcs^ which both 
 forvmxtv and form me very different from common ffherical Glaffes. 
 
 I have made a Microfcope with one piece of GlaJ^^ both whofe furfaces 
 were plains. / have made another only with a piano concave, without 
 any kind of rejieRion^ divers alfo by means of refleftion. Ihavemade 
 others 0/Waters, Gums, Refins, Salts, Arfenick, Oyh^ and with 
 divers other mixtures of watery ^;7<^oyly Liquors. And indeed the 
 fubjebi h capable of a great variety; but 1 find generally none more life- 
 ful then that which is made with VNoGh^cd^ fuch ct$I have already de^ 
 fcribd^ What 
 
The Preface. 
 
 W^hat the things are I obfervd^ the following defcriptions will manifefi ; 
 in brief they were either exceeding fmall Bodies, or exceeding fmall . 
 Pores, or exceeding fmall Motions, fome of each of which the Readet' 
 will find in the following Notes^and fuch^ 06 1 prefurne^ ( many ofthem,- 
 atfleajl') will be new, and perhaps not lefi ftrange; Some fpecimen ’af 
 each of which Heads the Reader will find in the fubfequent delineatigd^^^ 
 and^'indeed of fome more then I was willing there flrould be; whiyh'was 
 mafioned by my firfi Intentions to print a much greciter minberMefl^'I^ 
 •have fince found time to compleat. Of fuch thereforeias.Ihad^IfeleSi^- 
 edonly fome few of every Head^ which for fome particular feerndmofiobf 
 fervable^ rejeHing therefi as fuperfluous to theprefent I^efign. 
 
 Whnt each (f the delineated Subjects are^the following defcriptions an- 
 next to each will inform^of which Ifjallherf only once for alf add^ That 
 in divers of them the Gravers have pretty well follow dmy direHions and 
 draughts; and that iri making of thern^ I indeavoured (as far as Iwas 
 able ) firfi to difeover the true appearance ,, . and next to mak^ a plain re-i 
 prefentation of it, ’ This I mention the rather,, becaufe of thefe kind of 
 Objebis there is much more difficulty to difeover the true Jl.mpe , then of 
 thofe vifible to the nakedeye^ the fame ObjeM feeming quite differing^, in 
 one pofition to the Light,, from what it really is, and may be difeover d 
 in another. And therefore I never began to make any draught before by 
 many examinations in feveral lights, and in feveral pofitions to ' thofe 
 lights, I had difeovef d the true form. For it is exceeding difficult in 
 fome ObjeHs, to difiinguijb between a prominency and a depreffion, 
 between a (hadow and a black ftain, or a refie&ion and a whitenefs 
 in the colour. Befides, thetranfparency of mofiObjeHs renders them 
 yet much more difficult then if they were opacous. The Eyes of a Fly in 
 one kind of light appear almofi like a Lattice, drilbd through with abun¬ 
 dance of fnall holes ; which probably may he the Reafon, why the Ingeni¬ 
 ous Dr. Power feems to fuppofe them fuch. In the Sunffinne they look, 
 lik^ a Surface covefd with golden Nails; in anotherpofiure,like a,Sur¬ 
 face Covefd with Pyramids ; in another with Cones ; and in other po- 
 fiures of quite other Jhapes ; but that which exhibits the befi, is the Light 
 colleSied on the Obfebt, by thofe means I have already deferib'd. \. \ 
 
 And 
 
.The Prefacf. 
 
 Afidxhk w06 undertaken inptfifecution of the^pefigniVpMikibe RQ^rf 
 AL^ SOCIETY ha 6 progosdjQ it Jelf.F or^the Members of the AJfemb 
 ving before thein eys f&rnany fatal Infances of the-errors andfaljhoods^in which 
 the greateflpartpf mankindhas'fo long wandred^ becaufe they rely duponxtke 
 fr'ength of humane Eeafon alone:y. .have begun anew to/correSi all 'k^^^ 
 pothefes by fenfe^ as Seametp, do their dead Reckonihgs Coeleftiai 
 Oh(etv-2t\ons;dndtdjhpspurpofe if has been their principal indeawiir en¬ 
 large <is ftrengthen tfeSenfes-^j//MediciIhftru^ 
 ments’^ are proper for their particular worhj\'^¥y thk,means they fndfine 
 redfri'to fuff'ebi^that thofe efebtsof Eodies^whichhave been commonly attrin 
 bated to Qualities, andthofeconfejl’d to fcdceult, are perform'd by the 
 y? 72 ij//Machines of Nature^ which ore not to be difeernd without thefe helps^ 
 feeming themeerproduhis of Motion,Figure,^JTZi/ Mtignitude; and that the 
 Natilral Textures, which fome call the Plaftickfaculty, may be made in 
 'Loovozyvhich a greater perfeFiionof Opticks may 'make difcernable by thefe 
 Glaffesfo as now they are no morepuzgledabout therndhen the vulgar are to 
 concave fowl ^]pt?ieyoTe fiowred'Stu% 4 rr woven And the ends of all thefe 
 Inquiries they intend to be the Plcafurc of Contemplative minds^ but above 
 alhthe eafe and difpatch of the labours-of mens hands.They do indeed neg^ 
 leH no opportunity to bring all the rare things of Remote Countries withiii the 
 compafi of their knowledge andprabiice.But they ftillacknofvledg their inofl 
 iifeful Informations to arifefrom common things., and from diverfifying. 
 their mofl ordinary operations upon them. They do not wholly rejeCi Experi¬ 
 ments of meer light and theory; but they principally aim at fuch., whofe 
 Applications wiirmprowt 2nd facilitate theprefentway o/Manual Arts.- 
 And though fome men., who are perhaps taken up about lef honourable Em¬ 
 ployments., are pleas'd to cenfure their proceedings., yet thg can fbew more 
 fruits 0/ their firji three years., wherein they have affembled.,'then any other 
 Society in Europe can for a much larger {face of timedTk true,fuch un¬ 
 dertakings 06 theirs do commonly meet with fmallincouragerrientbecaufe 
 men are generally rather taken with the plaufible and difeurfive, then the 
 real and the folid part of Philofophy ; yet by the goodfortune of their inflitu- 
 tionyn an Age of all others the mofl inquifitive,t/)^ have been affifled by the 
 contribution and prefence of very many of the chiefNohiYity and Gentry,' 
 
 p dfid 
 
The Preface. 
 
 and Other f:pho are fimecf the moft confiderable in their fever al Profejjtms, 
 But that that yet farther convinces me of the efteem that the rnoretc- 
 
 'iciouQpart of men have of thi^'Soaety^k^ that feveral M(^rchmis^men who 
 "aVi in earnefi(whofe Objed Is meum is imxmyihatgreat Rudder ef humane 
 affairs')have adventur'd confiderable fums of Money,to put in praSiice what 
 fome of our Members have contrived^ and have continued in'their 
 
 good opinions of fuch Indeavours^ when not one of a hundred of themlgar 
 have believed their undertakings feafable. And it h alfofit to beadded^that 
 they have one advantage peculiar to themfelves^that very many of their num¬ 
 ber are mm of Converfe and Traffick; which Is a goodOmen^ that their 
 'attempts will bring Philofophy from words to ^diionffeeing the men ofBufi^ 
 neji have had fo great a fharein their firji foundation, 
 
 ' And of this kind I ought not to conceal one particularGcneroUtyyn^hich more 
 nearly concerns my felf.lt is the munificence of Sir JohnCucler,?;? endowing 
 a LeUurefor the promotion o/Mechanick Arts^to be governed anddirePled 
 byThkSotioiy dihisSouniy Imention for the Honourablqnefs ofthe thing it 
 felfandfor the expeHation which I have of the efficacy of the Example; for 
 it cannot now be objected to them.fhat their Defigns will be efieerned frivolous 
 andsivci.^ when they have fuch a real Teftimonyo/ the Approbation of 
 a Man that k fuch an eminent Ornament of thk renowned City., and one., 
 who.,by Variety, and happy Succefs, of hk negotiations., has given 
 evident proofs., that he k not eafie to be deceiv'd, Thk Gentleman has well 
 obfervd., that the Arts of life have been too long imprifon'd in the dark, 
 Jbops of Mechanicks thernfelvesds there hindred from grom\\ehherhy ig-^ 
 norance.pr felf-intcrefl\and he has bravely freed them from theft inconveni- 
 encesiHe hath not only obligedTr^eitlvcidnfiut Trade itfelf:He has ^done a 
 work, that k worthy 0/London, and has taught the chief City of Commerce 
 inthe world, the right way how Commerce ktobeimprovd, We haif already 
 feen many other great figns of Liberality and a large mind., fromtM fame 
 hand:For by hk diligence about t/jeCorporation for the Voorfiy 'his hono- 
 Table Subferiptions/or the rebuilding of i’t.Paul hk chearful Disbiirf. 
 
 ment for the replanting oflrehnd.,and by marry other fuch publick works, 
 he has fbewn by what means he indeavours to eftablifli hk Memory ^ and 
 now by thk laflgift he has done thatyr>hkh became one of the wlfeft Citizens ’ 
 
 ^ of 
 
T he P R E F A C-E. 
 
 of our Nation to accomplijh^ feeing one of the wirefi: of our Statefmen,the 
 Lord Verulam,^/'y? propounded it. 
 
 But to return to my SubjeSl^from a digrejfionj 'vehich^ Ihopt^my Reader 
 mil pardon me^ fding the Example h fo rare that lean make no ^ more fuch 
 digrejfions, Ifthefe mj fir ft Labours floallhe any wayes 4 ifefulto inquL 
 ring men^ Imuft attribute the incQuragement andpromotion 'of them to a ve^ 
 ’Reverend andhtzvmd VeiLon^oj whom this ought in juftice to be fiaid^ 
 That there is fcarceany one Invention, which‘ this Nation has prO-' 
 duc’d in our Age, but it has fome way or other been fet^ forward by 
 his affiftance. My Readerftlbelieueyvillquickly ghefi^ that 'it is Dr. Wilr 
 kins that I mean.He is indeed a man born for the good of mankind, 
 the honour of his Country. In the Iweetnefs of whofe behaviour,i;2 the 
 calmnefs 0/ his mind, 4 n the unbounded gobdnefs of his heart, we have 
 an evident Inftance^ what the true and the primitive unpaflionafe Religi^ 
 on vpas^ before it was fowred by particular Fadions. In aeword.^ his Ze^ 
 'has^been fo conftant and efteftual in advancing ^ all good and profitable 
 Arcs,tto as one of the Antient RomznsfaidofScipio., That he thanked 
 God that he was a Roman ; becaufe whereever Scipio had been- born, 
 there had been the feat of the ’ Empire of the world: So may ■ I thank 
 God.) that Dr. Wilkins was anS.n^\R\vazn.) for whereever he had livedo 
 ihere'hadbeen the chief Seat 0/generous Knowledge and true Philofor 
 phy. 7 o the truth ofthis.)there are fo many worthy men living that will fuN 
 feribe.) that I am confident.) what Ihavehere faid.) will not be lookEupon^ 
 by any ingenious' Reader.) as a^fmtgynck.) but only as a rteX tefti- 
 mony*' .. ew ^ A' 
 
 ' By the Advice of this Ey^ctWent mm I fir ft fetupo?i thisEnterprife.,yet 
 ftill came to itwith much Rtludimcyfiecaufe Iwas to follow the footfteps of 
 fo eminent a Perfon as Dr.Wfen , whowasthe fir ft that attempted .any 
 thing (f this nature ; whofe original draughts do now mak^oneof the Orna¬ 
 ments of that great Collection cf Rarities in the Kings Clofet. This Ho¬ 
 
 nor, which his fir ft beginrhngs of this kind have receivd.) to be admitted in¬ 
 to the moft famous place of the worldftid not fo much incourage, as the ha¬ 
 zard of coming after E>r. Wren did affright me ; for of him Imuft affirm 
 that.) fence the time cf Archimedes, there fcatce ever met in one man.) in fo 
 
 mat 
 
 O 
 
r.' 
 
 ‘ The ’Preface, 
 
 great a perfe£iion^ fuch a^Mech^imc^l Hand, anJ fo Philpfopfiical 
 
 Mind. •' .j;o\ j^.^o 
 
 But at lajlj)eing affurtdboth by Dr. Wilkins,Dr. 'Wren hrmfelfy 
 that he had given over hk intentions ofprofecuting it^ and not finding that 
 there was any elfe defignd the pur fining ofi itfifiet upon thk undertakings and 
 wa^not a little incouragd to proceed in itsbythe Honour theBojyil Society 
 rva 6 pleas'd to favour me mthftn approving of thofie draughts (which^firom 
 timetotime as lhadan opportunity ofi deficribing') Iprefientedto than. And 
 particularly by the Incitements ofi divers of thofe Noble and excellent Per- 
 fions of its which "^^te my more effecial Friendsswho were not lefi urgent with 
 me for thepublifilnngs then for the profiecution of them. ’ ' 
 
 After Had almofi compleated thefie PiUures and Obfiervations Q ha¬ 
 ving had divers of them ingraven , and was ready to fiend them to the 
 Prejl ) I was infiorrrid ^ that the Ingenious Phyfitian Dr. Henry^ Power 
 had made fever alMicr ofcoYilc^\ ObfervationSswhkh had I not afterwards^ 
 upon our interchangably viewing each others Papers^ found that they were 
 for the moftpart differing from mines either in theSubjeH it fielfi^ or in the 
 particulars taken notice of ; and that his defiign was only to print Obfier¬ 
 vations without PiUureSsI bad even then fupprefled what lhad fio fiarpro^ 
 ceededin. But being further excited by fever al ofi my Friends^ in'comply- 
 ante with their opinionSs that it would not be unacceptable to fever al inqui- 
 fiitive Mens eind hoping alfio , that I fibould thereby dificover fiomething 
 New to the Worlds I have at length cafl in my Mites in^o the vaft Treafiu- 
 ryofi k Philofophical Hiftory. And it k my hope, as well as belief, that 
 thefie my Labours will be no more comparable to the Produftions of many 
 other Natural Philofophers, who are now every where bufiie about greater 
 things ; then my little Objefts are to be compafdto the greater and moTe 
 heautifulW ofks of Nature, A Fleas a Mitts ^ fdnats to anHorfiyan Ele¬ 
 phants or a Lyon. . '(Tvev," 
 
 SOME 
 
I 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 iW-. 
 
 *-yif 
 
 
 •CjjO' -c^^ <tJ^ vi*Jk> <>J^> -C-^ 4t*^ 
 
 M I C R O G R A P H I A, 
 
 OR SOME 
 
 Phyfiological Defcriptions 
 
 MINLITEBODIES. 
 
 MADE BY 
 
 MAGNIFYING GLASSES^ 
 
 WITH 
 
 Observations and I n q_u i r i e s thereupon. 
 
 Obferv. I. Of the Point ofa Jharp fmall Needle^ 
 
 S in Geometry^ the mofl: natural way of beginning is Sshma^ 
 . from a Mathematical point fo is the lame method in fig.io 
 Oblcrvations and Naturalhijiory the mofl: gcnuine.lim- 
 plcj and infiruftive. We mufl: firlf endevour to make 
 letters^ and draw fngle ftrokes true, before we ven¬ 
 ture to write whole Sentences^ or to draw large Pi- 
 lUtres. kwdimVhyfical Enquiries, we mufl: endevour 
 to follow Nature in the more plain and eajie ways fhe 
 treads in the moft fimpk and uncompounded bodies^ to trace her fteps^ and 
 be acquainted with her manner of walking there, before we venture our 
 felves into the multitude of meanders fhe has in bodies of a more complica-^ 
 nature^ left, being unable to diftinguifli and judge of our way, we 
 quickly lofc both Nature our Guide^and otir felves too,and are left to wan¬ 
 der in the labyrinth of groundlels opinions 5 wanting both judgment^ that 
 lights and experience^ that clew^ which Ihould dired our proceedings. 
 
 We will begin thefe our Inquiries therefore with the Obfervations of 
 Bodies of the mofl: (imple nature hrftjand lb gradually proceed to thofe of a 
 more contpounded one.In pi ofecution of which methodjWe fhall begin with 
 a rhyfical point'-) of which kind the Point of a Needle is commonly reckon’d 
 for one ^ and is indeed, tor the moft part, made fo fharp, that the naked 
 eye cannot diftinguifh any parts of it: It very eafily pierceSj and makes its 
 way through all kind ot bodies fbfter then it felt;But if view’d with a very 
 good Microfope^ we may find that the top of a Needle (though as to the 
 
 B fenfe 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 fenle very fiarp) appears a Lroad^blunt^ and very irregular end ^ not re(eni» 
 bling a Cone, as is imagin’d, but onely a piece of a tapering body, with a 
 great part of the top remov’d, or deficient. The Points of Pins are yet 
 more blunt, and the Points of the moft curious Mathematital Inftruments 
 do very feldome arrive at lb great a fiiarpnefs 5 how much therefore can 
 be built upon demonftratiens made onely by the produdbions of the Ru¬ 
 ler and Gompafles, he will be better able to conlider that fhall but view 
 thofe points and lines with a Microjeope. 
 
 Now though this point be commonly accounted the (harpeft (whence 
 when we would exprefs the ftiarpnels of a point the moll: juperlatwely^ we 
 lay. As (harp as a Needle) yet the Microjeope can afford us hundreds of In- 
 ftances of Points many thoufand times (harper: fuch as thole of the hairs^ 
 and brijilesj and claros of multitudes of Infe&s 5 the thorns^ or crooks^ or 
 hairs of leaves^ and other fmall vegetables 3 nay, the ends of the Jiiria or 
 Imall parallelipipeds of Amianthus , and alnmen plumojum 5 of many of 
 which, though the Points are fo lharp as not to be vifible, though view’d 
 with a Aficrojeope (which magnifies the Objedb, in bulk, above a million of 
 times) yet I doubt not, but were we able praUically to make Microfeopes 
 according to the theory of them, we might find hills, and dales,and pores, 
 and a llifhcient bredth, or expanfion, to give all thofe parts elbow-room, 
 even in the blunt top of the veryPoint of any of thefe lb very (harp bodies. 
 For certainly the quantity or extenfion of any body may be Divifible in in^- 
 fnitum^ though perhaps not the matter. 
 
 But to proceed : The Image we have here exhibited in the 
 firfl: Figure, was the top of a Imall and very lharp Needle, whole 
 point a a neverthelefs appear’d through the Microjeope above a 
 quarter of an inch broad, not round nor flat, but irregular and um^ 
 even 5 lb that it feem’d to have been big enough to have afforded a 
 hundred armed Mites room enough to be rang’d by each other without 
 endangering the breaking one anothers necks, by being thruft off on ei¬ 
 ther fide. The liirface of which, though appearing to the naked eye very 
 lmooth,could not neverthelefs hide a multitude of holes andfcratchesand 
 ruggednefles from being dilcover’d by the Microfeope to invefi: it, feveral 
 of which inequalities (as A,B,C, leem’d holes made by fome fmall Ipecks of 
 Ruji 5 and D Ibme adventitious body^ that ftuck very dole to it) were ca- 
 fual. All the refi: that roughen the furface, were onely lb many marks of 
 the rudenels and bungling of Art, So unaccurate is it, in all its produdi- 
 ons, even in thofe which feem mofi: neat, that if examin’d with an organ 
 more acute then that by which they were made, the more we fee oftheir 
 fiape^ the lefs appearance will there be of their beauty : whereas in the 
 works of Nature^ the deepefi: Difeeveries Ihew us the greateft Excellen¬ 
 cies. An evident Argument, that he that was the Author of all thele 
 things, was no other then Omnipotent 5 being able to include as great a va¬ 
 riety of parts and contrivances in the yet Ifnallefl: Difcernable Point, as in 
 thofe vafter bodies (which comparatively are called alfo Points) fuch as 
 the Earthy Sun^ or Planets. Nor need it feem ftrange that the Earth it lelf 
 may be by m Analogic call’d aThyfical Point:For as its body,though now 
 
^ jyalltas : Or oj an inch 
 
4 
 
 Mi CROGR AP HIA. 
 
 found Room in this Plate to have inferted an O you (hould have (een that 
 the letters were not more diftind then the points of Diftinftion, nor a 
 drawn circle more cxadly^^then we have now fliown a point to be a point. 
 
 Obferv, 11. Of the Edge of a Razor. 
 
 Schent.2. .He ftiarpeft Edge hath the fame kind of affinity to the ffiarpeft Point 
 
 Fig. 2. y in Phyficks, as a line hath to a point in Mathematicks ^ and therefore 
 the Treaty concerning this, may very properly be annexed to the for¬ 
 mer. A Razor doth appear to be a Body of a very neat and curious a- 
 Iped, till more clolely viewed by the Microjcope, and there we may ob- 
 lerve its very Edge to be of all kind of ffiapes, except what it (hould be. 
 For examining that of a very (harp one, I could not find that any part of 
 it had any thing of (harpnefs in it 5 but it appear d a rough liirface of a 
 very confiderable bredth from (ide to fide, the narrowed: part not leem- 
 ing thinner then the back of a pretty thick Knife. Nor is*t likely that it 
 (hould appear any otherwife, fince as we juft now (hew’d that a point ap¬ 
 pear'd a circle^ 'tis rational a line (hould be a parallelogram. 
 
 Now for the drawing this fecond Figure(which reprelents a part of the 
 Edge about half a quarter of an inch long of a Razor well fet) I (b plac’d it 
 between the Objeft-glals & the light that there appear’d a refledlion from 
 the very Edge,reprefented by the white line ahcdefln which you may 
 perceive it to be (omewhat (harper then ellcwhere about d^ to be indent¬ 
 ed or pitted about />, to be broader and thicker about c, and unequal 
 and rugged about e, and pretty even between a b and e f Nor was that 
 part of the Edge g h i fmooth as one would imagine fo fmooth bo¬ 
 dies as a Hone and Oyl (hould leave it 5 for befides thole multitudes of 
 (cratches, which appear to have raz’d the furface g h t and to crols 
 each other every way which are not half of them expreft in the Figure, 
 there were (everal great and deep fcratches, or furrows, fuch as g h and 
 i 4, which made the furface yet more rugged, caus’d perhaps by (bme 
 (mall Drift cafually falling on the Hone, or fome harder or more flinty 
 part of the Hone it felf. The other part of the Razor / /, which is poliflf d 
 on a grinding-ftone, appear’d much rougher then the other, looking al- 
 moft like a plow’d field, with many parallels, ridges, and furrows, and a 
 cloddy, as ’twere, or an uneven furface ; nor (hall we wonder at the 
 roughnefles of thofe (iirfaces, (ince even in the moft curious wrought 
 Glallesfor Microfeopes^ and other Optical ules, I have, when the Sun has 
 (hone well on them, diftover’d their furface to be varioully raz’d or 
 (cratched, and to confift of an infinite of (mall broken (urfaces, which re- 
 flefr the light of very various and differing colours. And indeed it feems 
 impoffible by Art to cut the (iirface of any hard and brittle body Imc oth, 
 fince Vvttej or even the moft curious Powder that can be made ufe of, to 
 polifh (iich a body, miift confift of little hard rough particles, and each of 
 them muft cut its way, and confequently leave lome kind of gutter or 
 
 furrows 
 
5 
 
 M I C ROG R A P H I A. 
 
 furrow behind it. And though Nature does feem to do it very readily iii 
 all kinds of fluid bodies, yet perhaps future obfervators may difcovcr 
 even thcfealforugged, it being very probable, aslelfewherelhew, that 
 fluid bodies are made up of fmall folid particles varioufly and flrongly 
 mov’d, and may find reafon to think there is fcarce a furface in rernm na¬ 
 ture perfedly Imooth. The black fpot m I ghefs to be fome fmall 
 fpeck of ruff, for that I have oft obferv’d to be the manner of the working 
 of Corrofive Juyces. To conclude, this Edge and piece of a Razor, if it 
 had been really fuch as it appear’d through the Microfiope^ would fcarcc- 
 ly have ferv’d to cleave wood, much lefs to have cut off the hair of beards, 
 unlcfs it were after the manner that Lucian men ily relates to have 
 
 made ufe of,when with a Carpenters Axe he chop’d off the beard of a fage 
 Philofophcr, whofe gravity he very cautioufly fear’d would indanger the 
 overfetting of his Wherry. 
 
 Oblerv. Ill, Offine Lawn^ or Lirtnen Cloth. 
 
 'T^His is another produd of Art, Apiece of the fineff Lawn I was able 
 to get, fo curious that the threads were fcarce difcernable by the na- 
 ked eyCjand yet through an ordinary Microfcope you may perceive what 
 a goodly piece of coarfc Matting it is 5 what proportionable cords each of 
 its threads are, being not unlike, both in lhape and fize, the bigger and 
 coarfer kind of fingle Rope-yarn^wh^XQ^with. they ufually make Cables. That 
 which makes the Lawn fb tranfparent, is by the Microjcope, nay by the 
 naked eye, if attentively viewed, plainly enough evidenced to be the 
 multitude of fquare ho^es which are left between the threads, appearing 
 to have much more hole in refped of the intercurrent parts then is for the 
 nioff: part left in a latti)^e-window^ which it does a little refemble, onely 
 the crofling parts are round and not flat. 
 
 Thele threads that cofnpole this fine contexture, though they are as 
 fmall asthofe that conffitute the finer forts of Silks, have notwithftanding 
 nothing of their gloffie, plcafant,and lively reflection. Nay, I have been 
 informed both by the Inventor himfelf, and fcveral other eye-witnefles, 
 that though the flax,out ofwhich it is made,has been (by a fingular art, of 
 that excellent Perfon, and Noble Vertuofb, M, Charts Howard^ brother to 
 t]\QDuke ofNorfot/(){b curioufly drels’d and prepar’d,as to appear both to 
 the eye and the touch, full as fine^nd 2.sglojjie^ and to receive all kinds 
 of colours,as well as Sleave-Silk 5 yet when this Silken Flax is twifted into 
 threads, it quite lofcth its former luffer, and becomes as plain and bale 
 a thread to look on, as one of the fame bigneff, made of common Flax. 
 
 The reafon of which odd Phenomenon feems no other then this, that 
 though the curioufly dreft Flax has its parts fb exceedingly fmall, as to 
 equallize, if not to be much fmaller then the clew of the Silk-worm, efpe- 
 cially in thinnefs, yet the differences between the figures of the confti* 
 tuting filaments are fo great, and their fubffances fo various, that whereas 
 
 C thofe 
 
6 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 thofe 6f t?h€ 3 ilk^ arc fmall^ronnd^ hard^ traf 7 jparent^ and to their bignefs 
 proportionably fb as each filament preferves its proper Figure^ and 
 Confequently its vivid reflexion intire, though twifted into a thread, if 
 not too hard 5 thofe of Flax are flat^ liffther^fifter^2ind lef tranj^arent^ and 
 in twifting into a thread they joyUjand lie fo clofe together,as to lofe their 
 own, and deftroy each others particular reflexions. There Teems there¬ 
 fore three Particulars very requifite to make the fo dreft Flax appear Silk 
 alfb when Tpun into threads. Firft, that the fubftance of it fhould be 
 made more c/ear and tranjparent^ Flax retaining in it a kind of opacating 
 brown, or yellow 5 and the parts of the whiteft kind I have yet obferv’d 
 t\nth the Microfeope appearing white, like flaw’d Horn or Glafi, rather 
 then clear, like clear Horn or Glals. Next that, the filaments fhould each 
 of them be rounded^ if that could be done,which yet is not fb very necef- 
 fary, if the firfl: be perform’d, and this third, which is, that each of the 
 fmall filaments be fiifned'^ for though they be fquare, or flat, provided 
 they be iranfiaretit and ftifl^ much the fame appearances mufl: neceflarily 
 follow. Now, though I have not yet made trialj yet I doubt not, but that 
 both thefe proprretfes may be alfb induc’d upon the FlaXjand perhaps too 
 by one and the fame Expedient, which fome trials may quickly inform any 
 ingenious attempter of, who from the ufe and profit of fuch an Invention, 
 may find fufficient argument to be prompted to fuch Inquiries. As for 
 the tenacity of the fubftance of Flax, out of which the thread is made, it 
 feems much inferiour to that of Silk, the one being a vegetable^ the 
 other an animal fubftance. And whether it proceed from the better corr- 
 coXion, or the more homogeneous conftitution of animal fubftances 
 above thofe of vegetables^ I do not here determine 5 yet ftnee I ge¬ 
 nerally find, that vegetable fubftances do not equalize the tenacity of ani-* 
 md^ nor thefe the tenacity of fome purified mineral fubftances 5 I am 
 very apt to think, that the tenacity of bodies does not proceed from the 
 hamms^ or hooked particles, as the Epicureans^ and fome modern Thilofo^ 
 phers have imagin’d 5 but from the more exaX congruity of the confti- 
 tuent parts, which are contiguous to each other, and fo bulky, as not to 
 be eafily feparated, or fhatter’d, by any fmall pulls or concuffion of 
 heat. 
 
 Obferv. IV. Oj fine mledSilk.^ or Tafety. 
 
 Schem. 
 Fig. I. 
 
 T His is the appearance of a piece of very fine Taflety-riband in the 
 bigger magnifying Glafs, which you fee exhibits it like a very con¬ 
 venient fubftance to make Bed-matts,or Door-matts of,or to ferve for Bee¬ 
 hives, Corn-fcuttles,Chairs, or Corn-tubsjit being not unlike that kind of 
 work, wherewith in many parts in England, they make fuch Utenfils of 
 Straw,a little wreathed,ana bound together with thongs of Brambles. For 
 in this Contexture, each little filament, fiber, or clew of the Silk-worm, 
 foem’d about the bignefs of an ordinary Straw, as appears by the little ir¬ 
 regular 
 
8 
 
 Micro GRAPHiA. 
 
 Obferv. V. Of watered Silks^ or Stuffs, 
 
 For the Productions of art are fuch rude miffhapen things, that when 
 view’d with a Mkrofcope^thcrc is little elfe obfervable,but their deformity. 
 The moft curious Carvings appearing no better then thole rude Rhijian 
 Images we find mention’d in Purchas^ where three notches at the end of a 
 Stick, ftood for a face. And the moft Imooth and burnilh’d furfaces appear 
 moll: rough and unpolifht; So that my firft Realbn why I (hall add but a 
 few obfervations of them, is, their mif-fhapen form ^ and the next, is their 
 ulclelsnels. For why Ihould we trouble our felves in the examination of 
 that form or lhape (which is all we are able to reach with a Mkrofiope) 
 which we know was defign’d for no higher a ule, then what we were able 
 to view with our naked eye ? Why Ihould we endeavour to dilcover 
 myfteries in that which has no llich thing in it ? And like Rabbins find out 
 Cab aliifms^ and enigmas in the Figure, and placing of Letters, where no ' 
 liich thing lies hid ; whereas in naturalioimsthere are fome lb Imall, and 
 lb curious,and their defign’d bufinefs fo far remov’d beyond the reach of 
 our fight,that the more we magnify the objeft, the more excellencies and 
 myfteries do appear 5 And the more we dilcover the imperfeftions of our 
 lenfes^ and the Omnipotency and Infinite perfections of the great Crea- 
 tour. I lhall therefore onely add one or two Obfervations more of artifi¬ 
 cial things^ and then come to the Treaty concerning fuch matters as are 
 the Productions of a more curious Workman, One of thefe,lhall be that 
 of a piece of water’d Silk, reprefented in the fecond Figure of the third 
 Scheme^2is\t appear’d through the leaft magnifying Glals. A B. lignifying 
 the long way of the Stuffjand C D the broad way. This Stuff, if the right 
 fide of it be looked upon, appears to the naked eye, all over fo waved, 
 undulated, or grain’d, with a curious, though irregular variety of brigh¬ 
 ter and darker parts, that it adds no Imall gracefulncls to theGlolsofit. 
 It is lb known a propriety, that it needs but little explication, but it is ob- 
 lervable, which perhaps every one has not confidered, that thole parts 
 which appear the darker part of the wave, in one politionto the light, in 
 another appears the lighter,and the contrary^and by this means the undu¬ 
 lations become tranfient, and in a continual change,according as the po- 
 fition of the parts in refpeCt of the incident beams of light is varied. The 
 realbn of which odd pha;nome?m, to one that has but diligently examin’d 
 it even with his naked eye, will be obvious enough. But he that obferves 
 it with a Mkrofiope^ may more ealily perceive what this Proteus is, and 
 how it comes to change its lhape. He may very ealily perceive, that it 
 proceeds onely from the variety of the Refle&ions of light, which is caus’d 
 by the various Jhape of the Particles, or little protuberant parts of the 
 thread that compofe the furfacc 5 and that thofe parts of the waves that 
 
 appear 
 
Micrograph iaa 
 
 appear the brighter,throw towards the eye a multitude of fmall reflexi¬ 
 ons of light, whereas the darker fcarce aftord any. The reafon of which 
 refleXion, the Microfeope plainly difeovers, as appears by the Figure. In 
 which you may perceive, that the brighter parts erf the, furface confifl: of 
 an abundance of large and ftrong refle^rionSjdenotedby a^a;ayd^a^ &c. 
 for the furfaces of thofe threads that run the long way^ are by the Mecha¬ 
 nical procefs of watering, creas d ox angled in another kind of poXure 
 then they were by the weaving; for by the weaving they are dnely bent 
 round the warping threads 5 but by the watering, they are bent with aft 
 angle^ or elbow^ that is in head of lying, or being"bent the threads:, 
 
 as in the third Figure, are about b^b^b (^b^b^b reprefenting the 
 
 ends,as ’twere,of the crofsthreadsjthey are bent about) they are ereasU 
 on the top of thofe threads, with an angle^ as in the fourth Figure, and 
 that with*all imaginable’variety 5 fo that,whereas before they refleXed 
 the light onely from one point of the round furface, as about they 
 
 now when water’d, refleX the beams from more then half the whole fur- 
 face,as de^de^de^ and in other poXures they return no refleXions at all 
 from thofe furfaces. Hence in one poXure they compofe the brighter 
 parts of the waves,in another the darker. And thefe refleXions are alfo 
 varied, according as the particular parts are Varioufly bent. The reafon 
 of which creafing we lhall next examine 5 and here we muX fetch our in¬ 
 formation from the Mech'anifm or manner of proceeding in this operation 5 
 which, as I have been inform’d, is no other then this. 
 
 They double all the StuX that is to be water’d, that is,they creale it juX 
 through the middle of it, the whole length of the piece, leaving the right 
 fide of the Stuff inward, and placing the two edges, or filvages juX upon 
 one another,and,as near as they can,place the wale foin the doubling ofit^ 
 that the wale of the one fide may lie very near parallel, or even with the 
 wale of the other 5 for the nearer that poXure they lie, the greater will 
 the watering appear 5 and the more obliquely,or acrols to each other they 
 lie, the (mailer are the waves. Their way for folding it for a great wale 
 is thus: they take a Pin,and begin at one fide of the piece in any walcjand 
 fo moving it towards the other fide, thereby direX their hands to the op- 
 pofite ends of the wale, and then, as near as they can, place the two op- 
 pofitc ends of the fame wale together, and fo double, or fold the whole 
 piece, repeating this enquiry with a Pin at every yard or two’s diXance 
 through the whole length 5 then they fprinkle it with watetjand fold it the 
 longways, placing between every fold a piece of PaXboard, by which 
 means all the wrong fide of the water’d Stuff becomes flat, and with little 
 wales, and the wales on the other fide become the more protuberant 5 
 whence the creafings or angular bendings of the wales become the more 
 perfpicuous. Having folded it in this manner,they place it with an inter¬ 
 jacent PaXboard into an hot Prels, where it is kept very violently preX, 
 till it be dry and Xiflf 5 by which means, the wales of either contiguous 
 Tides leave their own impreflions upon each other, as is very mani- 
 feX by the (econd Figure, where ’tis obvious enough, that the wale of the 
 piece A B C D runs parallel between the pricked lines e/, ef^ ef, and as 
 
 D manifeX 
 
10 
 
 Schem, 4 . 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 manifeft to difcern the impreflions upon thefe wales, left by thole that 
 were preft upon them,which lying not exadly parallel with therUjbut a lit¬ 
 tle athwart them, as is denoted by the lines o£^o 0 0 o^gh. gh^gh^ between 
 which the other wales did lie parallel^they are fo varioully^and irregular¬ 
 ly creas’d that being put into that (hape when wet,and kept fo till they be 
 drie, they fo fet each others threads, that the Moldings remain almoft as 
 long as the Stuff lafts. 
 
 Hence it may appear to any one that attentively confiders the Figure, 
 why the parts of the wale 4,fhould appear bright 5 and why 
 the parts b^ b^ b^ b^ fhould appear fhadowed, or dark^ why fbme, as 
 
 fhould appear partly light,and partly dark: the varieties of 
 which reflexions and fhadows are the only caufe of the appearance of wa¬ 
 tering in Silks, or any other kind of Stufis. 
 
 From the variety of refleXion, may alfo be deduc’d the caufe why a 
 (mail breez or gale of wind ruffling the furface of a fmooth water, makes 
 it appear black 5 as alfo,on the other fide, why the fmoothing or burnifh- 
 ing the furface of whitened Silver makes it look black 5 and multitudes of 
 other phsenomena might hereby be folv’d, which arc too many to be here 
 infifted on. 
 
 Obferv, VI, Of[mall Glafs Canes. 
 
 T Hat I might be fatisfi’d, whether it were not poflible to make an 
 Artificial pore 2Ls fi^all as any Natural I had yet found, I made fe- 
 veral attemps with fmall p/pex, melted in the flame of a Lamp, and 
 then very Juddenly drawn out into a great length. And, by that means^ 
 without much difficulty. I was able to draw fbme almoft as fmall as a 
 Cobweb^ which yet, with the Microfiope^ I could plainly perceive to be 
 perforated^ both by looking on the ends of it, and by looking on it againji 
 the light 3 which was much the eafier way to determine whether it were 
 fblid or perforated 5 for, taking a fmall pipe of glafs, and clofing one 
 end of it, then filling it half full and holding it againji the lights 
 
 I could, by this means, very eafily find what was the differing ajpeid of a 
 Jblid and a perforated piece of glafs 5 and fo eafily difHnguifh, without 
 feeing either end, whether Cylinder oi glafs I look’d on, were a folid 
 jiick^^ or a hollow cane. And by this means,l could alfb prefently judge of 
 any (mail filament of glafs, whether it were hollow or not^ which would 
 have been exceeding tedious to examine by looking on the end. And 
 many fuch like ways I was fain to make ufe of, in the examining of di¬ 
 vers other particulars related in this Book, which would have been no 
 eafie task to have determined meerly bv the more common way of look¬ 
 ing on, or viewing the ObjeX. For, if we confider firft,the yqyj faint 
 light wherewith the objeX is enlightened, whence many particles 
 ptzr opacoHs^ which when more enlightned, appeurvery tranjparent^ fb 
 that I was fain to determine its tranjparency by one glafs, and its texture 
 by another Next, the unmanageablenefs of moft ObjeCls^ by reafbn 
 
 of 
 
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 • ^ 
 
 \ 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 V'-' • 
 
 y« 
 
 f 
 
 , . I - _ ; .i 
 
 , ; 
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 \ 
 
 A • ' 
 
 ) 
 
 4 
 
 , /' 
 
 ■ » 
 
 ,/ue; 
 
 cn the) 
 
 ' / 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 C' •> V , *1.:", 
 
 ....krnm .I I . Jh I - ,. --- . -. - .. —it. . r y.- . - I TT ^rt;^„| , ^| 
 
 't 
 
 
M I C R OG R A P H I A. II 
 
 of thmrfr/ahtefsy 5. The dijfladty of fihdi^g the defired poiritj ' and of 
 yladng'Vi (b, as to refledl the light conveniently for the Inquiry,' Laftly, 
 ones being able to view it but with otte eye at once, they will appear ho 
 finall ohjiru&ions^ nor are they e2i{\\y ren/ov d without many contrivan¬ 
 ces. But to proceed, I could not find that water, or fbme deeyly tingd 
 liquors would in finall ones rife fo high as one would exped: 5 and the 
 highefi I have found it yet rife in any of the pipes I have tryM, was to 
 21 inches above the level of the water in the vefld: for though I found 
 that in the finall pipes it would nimbly enter at firfi:, and run about 6 or 
 7 inches upwards 5 yet I found it then to move upwards fo jlow^ that I 
 have not yet had the patience to obferve it above that height of 21 in¬ 
 ches (and that was in a pretty large Fipe^ in comparilbn of thofe I for¬ 
 merly mentioned, for I could oblerve the progrefi of a very deep tingd 
 liquor in it with my naked eye^ without much trouble 3 whereas many of 
 the other pipes were fo very finally that unlefi in a convenient pofiure to the 
 light, I could not perceive them :) But ’tis very probable, that a greater 
 patience and ajfiduity may difcover the liquors to rife^ at lead: to remain 
 jujpcnded.j at heights that I fliould be loath now even to^^e/x at, if at 
 leafi: there be any proportion kept between the height of the afoending 
 liquor, and the bignejs of the holes of the pipes* 
 
 An Attempt for the Explication of this Experiment. 
 
 My Conjedlure, 7hat the unequal height of the Jurfaces of the router^ 
 proceeded from the greater prefure made upon the water, by the Air 
 without the Pipes ABC, then by that within them 3 I fhall endeavour to 
 confirm from the truth of the two following Propofitions : 
 
 The firfi: of which is, That an unequalprejjure of the incumbent Air^ 
 will caufe an unequal height in the water s Surfaces. 
 
 And the fecond is, That in this experiment there is juch an unequal 
 prejjure. '' > 
 
 That the firfi: is true, the following Experiment will evince. For if 
 you take any Vefid fo contrived, as that you can at pleafure either in- 
 creafe or diminifi the prejjure of the Air upon this or that part of the Su- 
 perfeiesoi the water ^ the equality oi the height of thole parts will pre- 
 Icnrly be loji 3 and that part of the Superficies that luftains greater pref 
 fare, will beto that which undergoes the/^. A fit Veflel for 
 this purpole, will bean inverted Glaili Syphon^ fuch an one as is delcri- 
 bed in the Sixth figure. For if into it you put Water enough to fill it as 
 high as A By and gently blow in atD, you lhalWe/?r^ the Superficies 
 and thereby the oppofite Superficies to a conjtderable height^ and 
 by gently jneking you may produce clean contrary elfedts. 
 
 Next, That there is fuch an unequal prejjure ^ I Ihall prove from this, 
 lhat there is a much greater incongruity of Air to Clajs ^andjbme other Bodies^ 
 then there is ofU'^ater to the fame, 
 
 D 2 By 
 
 Sehem, 4 * 
 Fig. I. 
 
 % 
 
12 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 By CongrnHy^ I mean a property of a fluid Body^ whereby any part of it 
 is readily united with any other part^ either of it filf or of any other Simi- 
 lar^fluid^ or folid body : And by Incongruity a property of a fluids by which 
 it is hindred from uniting with any dijflmilar^fluid^orjolid Body. 
 
 This laft propertyj any one that hath been obfcrvingly convcr/ant 
 about fluid Bodies, cannot be ignorant of. For (not now to mention 
 feveral Chymical Spirits and Oyls^ which will very hardly^ if at all^ be 
 brought to mix with one another 5 infomuch that there may be found 
 ibme 8 or 9, or more, feveral diftind Liquors, which fwimming one up¬ 
 on another, will not prefently mix) we need feek no further for Exam¬ 
 ples of this kind in fluids^ then to obferve the drops of rain falling through 
 the air^ and the bubbles of air which are by any means conveyed under 
 the lurface of the water ^ or a drop of common SalJet Oyl (wimming upon 
 water. In all which, and many more examples of this kind that might 
 be enumerated, the incongruity of two fluids is eafily difcernable. And 
 as for the Congruityox Incongruity of Liquids, with foveral kinds of firm 
 Bodies, they have long fince been taken notice of, and called by the 
 Names of Drinefs and Moiflure (though thefe two names are not compre- 
 henfive enough, being commonly ufed to fignifie only the adhering or 
 not adhering of water to fome other folid Bodies)oi this kind we may ob¬ 
 ferve that water will more readily wet fame woods then others 5 and that 
 water ^ let fall upon a Feather^ the whiter fide of a Colworf and fome 
 other leaves, or upon almoft any unlluous^ or fuperficies, 
 
 will not at all adhere to them, but eafily tumble off from them, like a folid 
 Bowl 5 whereas, ifdropt upon Linnen^ Paper^ Clay^ green IVood^ See. it will 
 not be taken off, without leaving fome part of it behind adhering to them. 
 So ^ickfllver^ which will very hardly be brought to flick^to any vegeta¬ 
 ble body^ will readily adhere to, and mingle with, feveral clean metalline 
 bodies. 
 
 And that we may the better finde what the caufe of Congruity and 
 Incongruity in bodies is, it will be requifite to confider, Firfi:, what is the 
 cauje of fluidnefs 5 And this, I conceive^ to be nothing elfe but a certain 
 pulfe or flake oiheat 5 for Heat being nothing elfe but a very /-m^and ve¬ 
 hement agitation o£ the parts of a body (as I have elfwhere made proba- 
 bable) the parts of a body are thereby made lb loofe from one another, 
 that they eafily move any way^ and become fluid. That I may explain 
 this a little by a grofs Similitude, let us fuppofeadifhof fandfet upon 
 fome body that is very much and fhaken with fome quicks and 
 
 Jirong vibrating motion^its on a Alilflonc turn d round upon the under ffone 
 very violently whilfi: it is empty^or on a very fi:iffr»r;/«?-head,which is ve¬ 
 hemently or very nimbly beaten with the Drumfticks. By this means, 
 the fand in the dilh, which before lay like a dull and iinaftive body, be¬ 
 comes a perfe6i:/«7^5 and ye cannofooner make a hole in it with your 
 finger, but it is immediately up again ^ and the upper furface of it 
 hvell d. Nor can you bury a light body^ as a piece of Cork under it, but 
 it prefently emerges or Jwims as twere on the top 5 nor can you lay a 
 heavier on the top of it, as a piece of Lead, but it is immediately buried 
 
 in 
 
MiCROGRAPHlAi 
 
 in Sandj and (as twere) finks to the bottom. Nor can 5^ou make a hok 
 in the fide of the Difli, but the land fhall nw duf of it to a Uikl^ not an 
 obvious profertji 2 i^Mid body^ as foch^ but this dos and’all 
 
 this meeriy caufed by the vehement agitation of the conteining vefler5 
 for by this means, e^r/){and becomes to have avihraUv^ or mo¬ 
 
 tion, ib as no other heavier body can reji on it, irnlefs fifiein'd by feme 
 other on either fide; Nor will it fufier any Body to be beneath it,- unlels 
 it be a heavier then it felf. Another Infiance of the 
 nature of a violent jarring Motion, or afirongand nimble vibrative 
 one, we may have from a piece of iror^ grated on very firongly with H 
 file : for if into that a pin be fcrerdd fo firm and hard, that though it has 
 a convenient head to it, yet it can by no means be mifcrerdd by tjhe fin¬ 
 gers^ if, I lay, you attempt to unlcrew this whilfi^r^rt^ti hythtfile^ it 
 will be found to undoe and turn very ea^ly. The firft of thefe Etamples 
 manifefis, how a body adually drvidedimo fmall parts, becomes A finid: 
 And the latter manifefis by what means the agitation of heat foeafily 
 leofens and unties the parts of folid and firm bodies. Nor need we fup- 
 pofe heat to be any thing elfe, befidcs Inch a motion ^ for fuppofing we 
 could Mechanically produce fiich a one <j/fir 4 and Jirong enough, We need 
 not fpend fuel to melt a body. Now, that I do not Ipeak this altogether 
 groundlefs, I mufi refer the Reader to the Obfervations I have made up¬ 
 on the (hilling fparks of Steel, for there he fliall find that the fame effefts 
 are produced upon fmall chips or parcels of Steel by the flame^^ and by d 
 quicks and violent motion ^ and if the body o^fieel may be thus melted 
 (as I there (hew it may) I think we have little realbn to doubt that al- 
 moft any other may not alfo. Every Smith can infoim one how quickly 
 both his File and the Iron grows hot with filings and if you rub almoft 
 any two bodies together, they will do the fame : And we know, 
 that a fufficient degree of heat caules fluidity^ in forti’e bodies much (bon-, 
 er, and in others later ^ that is, the parts of the body of (bme are (b loofe 
 from one another, and (b unapt to cohere^ and (b minute and little^ that a 
 veryJmall degree of agitation keeps them always in the Jiate of fluidity. 
 Of this kind, I (uppofe, the ^ther^ that is the medium or fluidbodfy in 
 which all other bodies do as it were (wim and move 5 and particularly, 
 the Air^ which Teems nothing elfe but a kind of tin&ure or folution oEter^ 
 refirial and aqueous particles into it, and agitated by it, juft as 
 
 the tin&ure of Cocheneel is nothing but (bme finer diflbluble parts of that 
 Concrete lick’d up or dijjolvd by the fluid water. And from this Notion 
 of it, we may eafily give a more Intelligible reafbn how the Air beciomes 
 (b capable of and Condenfation. For, as xotinBures^otte 
 
 of (bme firongly tinging fubftance may fenflbly colour (bme hundred tbou'^ 
 fand grains of appropriated LiquorSjfo as every drop of it has its proportio¬ 
 nate (hare, and be fenfibly ting’d, as I have try’d both with Logmod 
 and Cocheneel : And as Tome few grains of Salt is able to infe^I^ as 
 great a quantityjas may be found by precipitations^ though not (b eafily 
 by the fight or afie 5 fo the Air. which feems to be but as ’twere a tinUnre 
 or faline^Jnbflance^ dijjolv d and agitated by the fluid and agil ^tker^m&yd\C‘- 
 
14 
 
 MiCROGRAPHIA. 
 
 perfe and expatid it felf into a vafl Jpace^ if it have room enough, and 
 infedjas it were,every part of that fpace. Butjas on the other fidejif there 
 be but {omQ few grains of the liquor, it may extraU all the colour of the 
 tinging fubftance, and may difolve all the Salt, and thereby become 
 much more impregnated with thofe fubftances, fo may all the air that (uf* 
 ficed in a rarifyd (late to fill fome hundred thoufaud fpaces of ^ther, be 
 compris’d in only one^hut in a pofition proportionable denfe. And though 
 we have not yet found out fuch Jirainers for Tinftures and Salts as we 
 have for the Air, being yet unable to Jeparate them from their diflblving 
 liquors by any kind of///re, without precipitation^ as we are able to Je¬ 
 parate the Air from the ^ther by Glafs^ and feveral other bodies. And 
 though we are yet unable and ignorant of the ways of precipitating Air 
 out of the ^ther as we can Tindures, and Salts out of feveral dijjdlvents-^ 
 yet neither of thefe feeming impoijible from the nature of the things, nor 
 fo improbable but that fome happy future induftry may find out ways to 
 efFcft them, nay, further, fince we find that Nature does really perform 
 (though by what means we are not certain) both thefe actions, namely, 
 hyprecipitating the Air in Rain and Dews, and by fepplying the Streams 
 and Rivers of the World with frefh water, jiraind through fecret liib- 
 terraneous Caverns: And fince, that in very many other proprieties they 
 do fe) exadly Jeem of the fame nature ^ till further obfervations or 
 tryals do inform us of the contrary^ we may fafely enough conclude them of 
 the fame kind. For it feldom happens that any two natures have fo ma* 
 ny properties coincident or tho fame, as I have obferv’d Solutions and 
 Air to have, and to be different in the reft. And therefore I think it nei¬ 
 ther impoffible^ irrational^ nay nor difficult to be able to prediff what is 
 likely to happen in other particulars alfo, befides thofe which Obfervation 
 or Experiment have declared thus or thus ^ efpecially, if the circum- 
 fiances that do often very much conduce to the variation of the efieds be 
 duly weigh'd and confiderd. And indeed, were there not a probability of 
 this, our inquiries would be endlefs^ our tryals vain.^ and our greatefi: in- 
 ventions would be nothing but the meer produCls of chance^ and not of 
 Reafon 5 and, like Mariners in an Ocean, defiitute both of a Compajs and 
 the fight of the Celefiialguids^ we might indeed, by chance^ Steer direBly 
 towards our defired Port, but ’tis a thoufand to one but we mifs our aim. 
 But to proceed, we may hence alfo give a plain reafon, how the Air comes 
 to be darkled by clouds^ See. which are nothing but a kind of precipitati¬ 
 on^ and how thofe precipitations fall down in Showrs. Hence alfo could 
 I very eafily, and I think truly, deduce the caufeof the curious (ixangu- 
 lar figures of Snow, and the appearances of Haloes^ d^c. and the ludden 
 thickning of the Sky with Clouds, the vaniJJjing 2 inddifappearing of 
 
 thofe Clouds again 5 for all thefe things may be very eafily imitated in a 
 glafs of liquor^with fome flight Chymical preparations as I have often try’d, 
 and may fbmewhere elfe more largely relate, but have not now time to 
 fet them down. But to proceed, there are other bodies that confifl of 
 particles more Crofi^ and of a more apt figure for cohefton^ and this re¬ 
 quires agitation 3 fuch, I fuip^ofe^. fermented vinous 
 
 Spirits 
 
MlCROGRAPHIAi 
 
 Spirits^ fcveral Chytnical Qjls^ which are much of khi to thole Spirits, Scci 
 Others yet require a greater^ as water^ and fo others ?^Hch greater^ for al<* 
 moft infinite degrees: For, I fuppofe there are verybodies in the 
 world that may not be made aliqnatemis fluid, by fome or other degree of 
 agitation or heat. 
 
 Having therefore in fhort fet down my Notion of a Fluid body, I come 
 in the next place to confider what Covgrnity is, and this, as I laid before, 
 being 2. Relative property o£ a fluid, whereby it may be laid to be likg or 
 nnlikg to this or that other body, whereby it does or does not mix with 
 this or that body. We will again have recourle to our former Experi¬ 
 ment, though but a rude one ^ and here if we mix in the dilh feveral k^nds 
 of lands, Ibme of bigger^ others of lejs and finer bulks, we lhall find that 
 by the agitation the fine fand will ejeB and throw out of it felf all thole 
 bulks of ^m^Wfiones and the like, and thofe will be toge¬ 
 
 ther all into one place 5 and if there be other bodies in it of other natures, 
 thole allb will hefeparated into a place by themlelves, and united ox turn’- 
 hleduip together. And though this do not come up to the higheji proper^ 
 ty of Congruity^ which is a Coh^fion of the parts of the fluid together, or 
 a kind of attra&ion and tenacity^ yet this does as ’twere fi?adow it out, 
 and Ibmewhat relemblc it, for jufl: after the lame manner, I luppole 
 the pnlfe of heat to agitate the Imall parcels of matter, and thole that are 
 of a like bignefi^ 206 figure^ and matter^ will hold, or dance together, and 
 thole which are of a diff ering kind will be thruff oxjhovd out from be¬ 
 tween them 5 for particles that are all fimilar^ will, like lb many equal 
 mujlcalfirings equally firetcht^ vibrate together in a kind of Harmony or 
 unifon‘-y whereas others that are dijjimilar^ upon what account roever,un- 
 lefs the difproportion be otherwife counter-ballanc’d, will, like lb many 
 firings out of tune to thofe unifons, though they have the fame agitating 
 pulfe^ytt make quite diff'ering kinds of vibrations and repercujjions^ lb that 
 though they may be both mov’djyet are their vibrations(o diffetent^znd 
 lb untun d^ as ’twere to each other, that they crofs and jar againft each 
 other, and confequently, cannot agree together, but fly back^bxom each 
 other to their fimilar particles. Now, to give you an inftance how the 
 dijproportionob iom^hodlitsm one refped, m^y bt count er-ballanc d by 
 2i contrary difproportio 7 s ob tbc {2n\f^body \n 2x\ox.bQX refpeft, whence we 
 find that the fubtil vinous Jp 7 rit is congruous^ or does readily mix with wa-^ 
 ter^ which in many properties is of a very dijferjng nature^ we may con¬ 
 fider that a unifon m2y be made either by two firings ob the fame bignefs^ 
 lengthy and tenfion^ or by two firings of the fame bignefi^ but of diff'ering 
 length^2r\d2contrarydifferingtenflon'^ or fiy. by two firings of unequal 
 length and bignefs^ and of a differing tenficn^ or of equal lengthy and diffe^ 
 ring bignefs and tenfion^ and ieveral other fuch varieties. To which three 
 properties in firings^ will correfpond three proprieties allb in find^ or the 
 particles of bodies, their Matter or Subfiance^ their Figure or shape^ and 
 their Body or Bulk: And from the varieties of thelet/ree, may arile in¬ 
 finite varieties in fluid bodies, though al 1 agitated by they2!^/e/J«^ or 
 brative motion. And there may be as many ways of making Harmonics 
 
M I C R O G R A P H I A. 
 
 and Difcords with thele, as there may be with mujicalfirings. Having 
 therefore focn what is the caufo of Congruity or Incongruity, thofe rda- 
 tive properties of fluids, we may, from what has been faid, very eafily 
 colled, what is the of thofe Relative proprieties alfo between fiu^ 
 id bodies and folid 5 for fince all bodies confift of particles of fuch a Sub* 
 fiance^ Figure^ and but in fome they are united together more firm- 
 ip then to be loofened from each other by every vibratt've motion (though 
 f imagine that there is no body in the world, but that fome degree of a- 
 gitation may, as I hinted before, agitate and loofen the particles fo as to 
 ihake them fluid) thofe cohering particles may vibrate in the fame man*- 
 ner almoft as thofe that are loofe and become unijons or difcords^ 'as I 
 may fo fpeak, to them. Now that the parts of all bodies^ though never 
 fo folid^ do yet vibrate^ I think we need go no fnrther for proof, then 
 that ^Z^bodies have fome ofin them, and that there has not 
 
 been yet found any tbirngperfeBly cold: Nor can I believe indeed that there 
 is any foch thing in Nature, as a body whole particles are at rei?, or lazy 
 and unaFlive in the great Theatre of the pf^'orld^ it being quite contrary to 
 the grand Oeconomy of the Univerfe. We fee therefore what is the rea- 
 fon of thQ jympathy or uniting of fome bodies together, and of the anti- 
 patly or flight of others from each other : For Congruity fcems nothing 
 elle but a Sympathy^ and Incongruity an Antipathy of bodies 5 hence fimi- 
 lar bodies once united will not eafily part^ and dijjimilar bodies once dfi 
 joyn d will not eafily unite iig2Lin'^ from hence may be very eafily deduc’d 
 the reafon of thojujpenfion o^water and ^ickfilver above their ufoal fia* 
 tion., as I lhall more at large anon Ihew. 
 
 Thefo properties therefore (alwayes the concomitants of fluid bodies) 
 produce thefe following vifible Ejfetls : 
 
 Firft, They unite the parts of a fluid to its (imilar Solid, or keep them 
 feparate from its dijjimilar. Hence ^ick^filver will (as we noted before) 
 iiick^ to Goldy Silver^ Tin^ Leadj^c. and unite with them : but roul offfrom 
 IVood^ Stone^ Glafs^ See. if never fo little feituatedout of its horizontal le¬ 
 vel and water that will wet fait and dijjolve it, will fijp off from Tallow ^ 
 or the like, without at all adhering‘s as it may likewile be oblerved to 
 do upon a dufiy fuperficies. And next they caule the parts of homogenc- 
 alfluid bodies readily to adhere together and mix^ and of heterogenealyo 
 be exceeding averje thereunto. Hence we find, that two fmall drops of 
 waters on any foperficies they can roul on, will, if they chance to touch 
 each other, readily unite and mix into one f drop: The like may be ob¬ 
 lerved with two fmall of upon a Table or Glals, pro¬ 
 
 vided their forfaces be not dufiy ^ and with two drops of Oyl upon fair 
 water, df^c. And further, water put unto wine^falt water^ vinegar^ Jpirit 
 of ir/W, or the like, does immediately (efpccially if they be fhaken to¬ 
 gether) it felf all over them. Hence, on the contrary, we alfo 
 
 find, that Oyl of Tartar poured upon gymckcfilvcr^ and Spirit of Wine on 
 that Oyls and Oyl of Turpentine on that Spirit^ and Air upon that Oy/, though 
 they beftopt clofely up into a Bottle, and fijaken never fo much, they 
 will by no means long fufler any of their bigger parts to be united or in¬ 
 cluded 
 
^ M 1 G R o G a A P H I-A. 
 
 «:Iuded within any of the other Liquors(by which recited Liquors^fttdy be 
 plainly enough teprefented and thehiore 
 
 fubtil Mthtr above alL) From this ptopeity’tisj that a drop of )n?'^hr ^oes 
 not mingle withj or vanilh into ^ir/bufc is driven (by'ih'at Fluid ^ually 
 protruding it on every fide) andforc’t into as little ai[|jace as it cah poP 
 fibly be contained in^ namely, into a hmnd Clohuk/^ Sei 
 
 ^ed ot thruil: into a ^kbMe'bf the 
 kcjiher ehclbled with [ tVUfet’^^ 
 
 Or almoft any other Liqnor^ is formed into a rotind 'Ball. '' .; ^ ' j' 'y' 
 
 Now the caufe why all thefe included Fluids^ nexvly m’entioriedy Mr a^ 
 many others as are wllolly included Within a heterdgenedus’ 
 pot exalily 6^ ^ Spherical Figure (feeing that if Cauled by thefc^PriiitlpleS 
 'only, it could be of no other) miift proceed from ibi^e 'bthet kthp of 
 prejfnre againft the two oppofite flatted fides. TWs adv^ktitidtl} 
 dentalprefskre may proceed from divers caufes^ and accordingly rhuft"^ 
 the Figure of the included heterogeneous fluid : Fotfebihg tHat a 
 body may be included either with a fluid only, or only with h fdfid, df 
 partly with a fluid, and partly with a Iblid, or partly with one fluid, and 
 partly with another ^ there will be found a vcty great variety 6f feb' tet* 
 minating furfaces^ itiuch differing frorti a Spherical^ according to the, yAti* 
 ous refiftanCe or preflitre that belongs to each of thefo encdttipafllflg hoo¬ 
 dies. • / ' j 
 
 which Properties may in general be deduced from two heads , •zni. 
 Motion^ and For, either this Globular Figure is altered by a 
 
 ralMotion^ fuch as is Gravity ^ or a violent^ fuch as is any accidental molion 
 of the fluids, as we fee in thC rrind ruffling up the wat'er,and the piiHings 
 of Streams^ and foaming of and the like. Gr thirdly, By the 
 
 K ^5 Firmnefs and. Stability the ambient Solid. For if the including 
 Solidhc of an angular or any other irregular Form, the included will' 
 be near of the likg^as a ^'mt^Fot full obwatery^e a Bladder full of Air. And 
 next, if the including or included fluid have a greater gravitf one than 
 anothetjthen will the globular Formbedepreft into an Elliptico-Jpherical i 
 As i^i for example, we foppofo the'Circle A B C in the fourth Figure.^ 
 to reprefont a drop of water^ ^ick:flver^ or the like, included with the 
 Air or the like, which luppoling there were no gravity at all in either of 
 the fluids^ or that the contained and containing'^tx^ of the fame weighty 
 would be equally compreFi into an exadly fpherical body ( the ambient 
 fluid forcing equally againft every fide of it. ) But fuppofing either a 
 greaterin the included, by reafon whereof the parts of it being 
 prefl from A towards 5, and thereby the whole put into mofion , and. 
 that motion being kindred by the refiflance of t\\t fubjacent parts of the 
 ambient,theFigure A D B C 'wWl he: depreji 'inxoxhtElliptico- 
 jpherical^ E G F H. For the fide h detruded to E oy t\\Q Gravityj and 
 B to F by the refiflance of the fobjacent medium: and therefore C muff 
 neceffarily be thruft to and D to H. Or elle, fuppofing a greatCf gravi- 
 ty in the ambient.^ by whole more then ordinary prejjure againft the Under 
 fide of the included globule yB will be forced to F, and by its reflflanceoi 
 
 E the 
 
 tie Air blown under the water^ is unit 
 ambient water. And a parcel of ^ic 
 
Ml C ROGR AP HIA, 
 
 the motion upwards^ the fide A will be deprefi to E, and therefore C being 
 thruft to G and D to the Figure by this means alfo will be 
 
 made an ElUpUco-fpherjcaL Next if a fluid be included partly with one^ 
 and partly with another fluid, it will be found to be ftiaped diverjly , ac¬ 
 cording to the proportion of the gravity and iftcongruity of the 5 fluidr 
 one to another : As in the fecond Figure^ let the upper MM Mho. Airyih& 
 middle L M N 0 be common Oyl^ the lower 0 0 0 be Water ^ the Oyl 
 will be form’d, not into a jl^Z>er/V4/ Figure, fuchas isreprefented by the 
 pricked Line^ but into luch a Figure as L M N O, whole lide L M N 
 will be of a flatter Figure, by reafon of the great difproportion 
 
 between the Gravity of Oyl and Air^ and the fide L O M of a rounder, 
 becaufe of the fmaller difference between the weight of Oyl and Waten 
 Laftly,The^M«/^r Figure will be changed,if the ambient be partly fluid 
 and partly folid. And here the termination of the incompafled fluid to¬ 
 wards the incompaffing is fhap’d according to the proportion of the con- 
 gruity or incongruity of the fluids to the filids , and of the gravity and 
 incongruity of the fluids one to another. As fuppofe the fub jacent me- 
 dium that hinders an included fluids defeentjbe a jblid , as let K: I, in the 
 fourth Figure^ reprefent the fmooth fuperficies of a Table 5 E G F H, a 
 parcel of running Mercury , the fide G F H will be more flatted, ac¬ 
 cording to the proportion of the incongruity of the Mercury and Air to 
 the W'ood^znA of xht gravity of Mercury and Air one to another , The fide 
 G E H will likewife be a little more deprefi: by reafon the fubjacent 
 parts are now at reft,which were before in motion. • ^ 
 
 Or further in the M/W Figure, let A I L D reprefent an including 
 lid medium of a cylindrical lhape ( as fuppofe a fmall Glafs Jar ) Let 
 F G E M M reprefent a contain’d fluids as water 5 this towards the bot¬ 
 tom and fides, is figured according to the concavity of the Glafs : But its 
 upper Surface^ ( which by reafon of its gravity, ( not confidering at all 
 the Air above it, and fo neither the congruity or incongruity of either of 
 them to the Glafs) fhould be terminated by part of a Sphere whofe dia¬ 
 meter fhould be the fame with that of the earth, which to our fenfe would 
 appear a ftraight I/»e, as F G E, Or which by reafon of its having a 
 greater congruity to Glals than Air has, ( not confidering its Gravity ) 
 would be thruft into a concave Sphere^ as C H B, whofe diameter would 
 be the fame with that of the concavity of the Vejfel :) Its upper Surface, 
 I fey, by reafon of its having a greater gravity then the Air, and having 
 likewife a greater congruity to Glals then the Air has, is terminated, by a 
 concave Elliptico-JphericalFiguvCy as C K B. For by its congruity it eafily 
 conforms it fel^ and adheres to the Glafs, and conftitutes as it were one 
 containing body with it, and therefore fhould thruft the contained Air on 
 that fide it touches it,into a JphericalFigure^ as B H C, but the motion of 
 Gravity depreffing a little the Corners B and C, reduces it into the afore- 
 feid Figure C K B. Now that it is the greater congruity of one of the 
 two contiguous fluidsyhen of the other,to the containing filid^thsit caufes 
 the feparating furfaces to be thus or thus figured: And that it is not be¬ 
 caufe this or that figurated fiirface is more proper, natural, or peculiar to 
 
M 
 
 ICROGRAPHIA. 
 
 One of thefe fluid bodies.^then to the otherjwill appear from this ^ that the 
 fame fimds will by being put intodiffering^//^/ , change their firfaces. 
 For the (ame water ^ v/hich in a Glals or wooden Veflel will have a con¬ 
 cave furface upwards^and will rile higher in a fmaller then a greater Pipe^ 
 the lame water, I fay, in the fame Pipes greafcd over or oyled, will pro¬ 
 duce quite contrary efred:s 5 for it will have Oiprotkberant and convex llir- 
 face upwards, and will not rife fo high in fmall, as in bigger Pipes; Nay, 
 in the very lame lolid Veflel. you may make the very fame two contigu¬ 
 ous Liquids to alter their Surfaces 3 for taking a linall Wine-glals,or fuch 
 like Veflel, and pouring water gently into it, you lhall perceive the far- 
 face of the water all the way concave^ till it rife even with the top, when 
 you lhall find it (if you gently and carefully pour in more ) to grow 
 xGYyprotuberant and convex 5 the reafon of which is plain, for that the 
 folid fides of the containing body are no longer extended , to which the 
 water does more readily adhere then the air 5 but it is henceforth to be 
 included with air, which would reduce it into a hemi fphere^ but by reafori 
 oi Its gravity^ it is flatted into an Oval, ^ichsilver 2\^oyN\\\c\i to Glafs 
 is more incongruous then Air ( and thereby being put into a Glafs-pipe^ 
 will not adhere to it, but by the move congruous will be forced to have 
 ql very protuberant furface, and to rile higher in a greater then a lefle^^ 
 Pipe 3 th\s ^ickyilver to clean Mctal^ efpecially to Gold^Silver^TinXead^ 
 8 iCc, Iron excepted,is more congruous then Air , and will not only flick to 
 it,but have a concave Surface like watei\ and rife higher in a lefs, then in a 
 greater Pipe. 
 
 In all theleExamples it is evident, t\\2itt]\Qve\s^v\extraordinary tind. 
 adventitious force^ hyglobular Figure of the contained hetero¬ 
 geneous fluid is altered ^ neither can it be imagined, how it fhould other- 
 wife be of any other Figure then Globular : For being by the heterogene¬ 
 ous fluid equally protruded every wayjwhatfoever part is protuberant^ will 
 be thereby depreji. From thiscaufeit is, that in itsefiedfsit doesvery 
 much refemble a round Spring f fuch as a Hoop.) For as in a round Spring 
 there is required an additional prejfure againft two oppofite fides, to re¬ 
 duce it into an Oval Form, or to force it in between the fides of a Hole^ 
 whole Diameter is lefs then that of the Springs there rhuft be a confidera- 
 ble force or protrujlon againfl the concave or inner fide of the Spring ^ So 
 to alter thisJ^/jeric^/conflituticn of an included fluid body , there is re¬ 
 quired more prefliire againfl oppofite fides to reduce it into an Oval‘s and, 
 to prels it into an Hole lefs in Diameter then it felf, it requires a great er/?r<?- 
 trufion againfl all the other fides. What degrees of force are requifite 
 to reduce them into longer and longer Ovals , or to prels them into lels 
 and lefs I have not yetexperimentally calculated 5 but thus much 
 by experiment I find in general, that there is alwayes required a greater 
 prefliire to clofe them into longer Ovals , or protude them into Imaller 
 holes. The neceflity and realbn of this, were it requifite,! could eafily ex¬ 
 plain: but being not foneceflary, and requiring more room and time 
 then I have for it at prefent, I lhall here omit it 5 and proceed to fhew, 
 that this may be prelently found true, if Experiment be made with a 
 
 E 2 round 
 
20 
 
 Mi crograp hia. 
 
 round Spring (the way of making which trials is obvious enough. ) And 
 with the fluid bodies of Mercury^ Air^ the way of trying which, will 
 
 be fbmcwhat more difficult, and therefore I fhall in brief defcribe it. He 
 therefore that would try with Air , mufl: firfl: be provided of a Glafs-pipCy 
 made of the fhape of that in the fiflh Figure , whereof the fide A B, re* 
 prefents a ftraight Tubeoi about three foot long, Cjteprefents another 
 part of it,which confifls of a round Bubble ^ lb ordered,that there is left a ' 
 pajjage or hole at the top, into which may be faftened with cement leveral 
 fmall Pipes of determinate cylindrical cavities : as let the hol/ow of 
 
 F. "* 
 
 G. 
 
 H. 
 
 I. 
 
 K. 
 
 L. 
 
 M. , 
 
 C^c—' 
 
 > be 
 
 X 
 
 4 
 
 JL 
 
 6 
 
 X 
 
 s 
 
 X 
 11 
 
 h 
 
 _! 
 
 39 
 
 of an inch. 
 
 There may be added as many more, as the Experimenter fliall think fitj 
 with holes continually decreafing by known quantities, fo far as his fenles 
 are able to help him 5 I lay, fo far, becaufe there may be made Pipes lb 
 Imall that it will be impoflible to perceive the perforation with ones na¬ 
 ked eycjthough by the help of a Microfeope^ it may eafily enough be per¬ 
 ceived ; Nay, I have made a Pipe perforated from end to end, lb fmall, 
 that with my naked eye I could very hardly fee the body of it, inlbmuch 
 that I have been able to knit it up into a knot without breaking : And 
 more accurately examining one with my Microfeope^ I found it not lb big 
 as a fixteenth part of one of the Imaller hairs of my head which was of 
 the fmaller and finer Ibrt of hair, lb that lixteen of thefe Pipes bound fag¬ 
 got-wile together, would but have equalized one Angle hair 5 how Imall 
 therefore muft its perforation be } It appearing to me through the Micro- 
 fcope to be a proportionably thickfded Pipe. 
 
 To proceed then, for the trial of the Experiment, the Experimenter 
 muft place the lube A B, perpendicular, and fill the Pipe F ( cemented in¬ 
 to the hole E ) with water, but leave the bubble C full of Air^ and then 
 gently pouring in water into the Pipe A B, he muft oblerve diligently 
 how high the water will rife in it before it protrude the bubble Air C, 
 through the narrow paflage of F, and denote exaftly the height of the 
 Cylinder of water, then cementing in a lecond Pipe as G, and filling it 
 with water , he may proceed as with the former, denoting likewile the 
 height of the of water, able to protrude the C through 
 
 the paflage of G, the like may he do with the next Pipe^zndi the next,€^c. 
 as far as he is able: then comparing the leveral heights of the 
 with the leveral holes through which each Cylinder did force the air (^ha¬ 
 ving due regard to the Cylinders of water in the fmall it will be 
 
 very eafie to determine, what force is requifite to prels the Air in¬ 
 to fuch and fuch<^ hole^ or (to apply it to our prelent experiment^ 
 
 how 
 
21 
 
 Micrograph I a* 
 
 how much of the preflurc of the Air is taken off by its ingrefs into fmal- 
 ler and {mzWcx holes. From the application of which to theentringof 
 the Air into the biggerof the Vejffel^ and into the fmaller of the 
 Pipe, we (hall clearly find, that there is a greater preflure of the air .upon 
 the water in the Vejjelox greater pipe, then there is upon that in the leffer 
 pipe: For fincethe preflure of the air every way is found to be equal, 
 
 ' that is, as much as is able to prels up and fuftain a Cylifider of ^ief^siher 
 of two foot and a half high, or thereabouts, And fince of this preflure 
 (b many more degrees are required to force the Air into a fmallcr then 
 into a greater hole that is full of a more congruous fluid. And lafi:ly, 
 fince thofe degrees that are requifite to preis it in, are thereby taken off 
 from the Air within, and the Air within left with lb many degrees of 
 preflure lelsthen the Air without, it will follow^ that the Airm the lels 
 Tube or pipe , will have lefs preflure againfl: the fuperficies of the water 
 therein, then the Air in the bigger: which was the minor Propolition to 
 be proved. 
 
 TheConclufion therefore will neceflarily follow, viz,. That this une¬ 
 qual preptre of the Air caufid by its wgref into nneqnal holes, is a caufe Effi¬ 
 cient to produce this effe& , without the help of any other concurrent \ and 
 therefore is probably the principal (if not the only) Cjiule of thefe Pheeno- 
 niena. 
 
 This therefore being thus explained, there will be divers Ph<enomend 
 explicable thereby, as, the rifing of Liquors m a Filtre, the rifing of Spirit 
 of Wine, Oyl, melted Talloro, C^c. in the Week^ of a Lamp, ( though made 
 of fmall Wire, Threeds of Asieflus, Strings of Glafs, or the like ) the rifing 
 of Liquors in a Spunge, piece of Bread,Sand, c^fc, perhaps allb the alcend- 
 ing of the Sap in Trees and Plants, through their finall, and Ibme of them 
 imperceptible pores, (of which I have faid more, on another occafion ) at 
 leaft the pafling of it out of the earth into their roots. And indeed up¬ 
 on the confideration of this Principle, multitudes of other ufes of it oc¬ 
 curred tome, which I have not yetfo well examined and digefl:ed as to 
 propound for Axioms, but only as ^cries andConjeLiures which may 
 ferve as hints toward fome further difeoveries^ 
 
 As firfl. Upon the confideration of the congmity and incongruity of Bo^ 
 dies,as to touch, I found alfo the like congruity and incongruity if I may 
 fb fpeak ) as to the Tranfmitting of the Raies of Light; For as in this re¬ 
 gard ,( not now to mention other Liquors) feems nearer of affini¬ 
 ty to Glafs then Airland Air then ^ickyilver ; whence an oblique Ray Out 
 of Glafs, will pafs into water with very Y\tt\e refraction from theperpendi-* 
 cular, but none out of Glafs into Air, excepting a dirett, will pafs without 
 a very great refraction from the perpendicular, nay any oblique Ray un¬ 
 der thirty degrees, will not be admitted into the Air at all. And ff^mckc 
 fiver wiW neither admit oblique or diredt, but refledts all, feeming, as to 
 the tranfmittirtgof the Raies of Light, to be of a quite differing confl:i- 
 tution,from that of Air,Water,Glafs, dv. and to refemble mofl: thofe opa-^ 
 cous and ftrong refledting bodies of Metals; So allb as to the property of 
 cohefion or congruity, Water feems to keep the fame order, being 
 
 more 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 more congruous to Glals then Air j and Air then Quickfilver. 
 
 A Second thing ( which was hinted to me, by the confideration of the 
 included fluids globular form, caufed by the protrufion of the ambient 
 heterogeneous fluid J was, whether the Th£nemena of gravity might not 
 by this means be explainedjby fuppofing the Globe of Earth, Water, and 
 Air to be included with a fluid ^ heterogeneous to all and each of them, 
 fb fubtil, as not only to be every where interflerfed through the Air^ ("or 
 rather the air through it 3 but to pervade the bodies of Glafs , and even 
 the ciofeji Metals^ by which means it may endeavour to detrude all earth¬ 
 ly bodies as far from it as it can 5 and partly thereby,and partly by other 
 of its properties may move them towards the Center of the Earth. Now 
 that there is fome luch fluid,I could produce many Experiments and Rca- 
 Ibns, that do feem to prove it: But becaufe it would ask fome time and 
 room to fet them down and explain them, and to confider and anlwer all 
 the Objections (“many whereof I forefeej that may be alledged againft 
 it 5 1 fhall at prefent proceed to other ^er7e/,contenting my felf to have 
 here only given a hint of what I may fay more elfwhere. 
 
 A Third ^ery then was , Whether the heterogeneity of the ambient 
 fluid may not be accounted a fecondary caufe of the roundnefs or globular 
 formo£ the greater bodies of the world,fuch as are thofe of the Sun^Stars^ 
 and Planets , the Jubflance of each of which feems altogether heterogene- 
 twsxo the circum-ambient fluid dcther } And of this I fhall fay more in the 
 Obfervation of the Moon. 
 
 A Fourth was. Whether the globular form the fmaUer parcels di 
 
 matter here upon the Earthy as that of Fruits^ Pebbles^ or Flints , 
 
 C which feem to have been a Liquor at firfl :) may not be caufed by the 
 heterogeneous ambient fluid. For thus we fee that melted Glafs will be 
 naturally formed into a round Figure ^ fb likewife any fmall Parcel of any 
 pifible body , if it be perfedly enclofed by the Air , will be driven into a 
 glabular Form ^ and,when cold, will be found a filid Ball, ‘This is plainly 
 enough manifefted to us by their way of making foot with the drops of 
 Lead'ry which being a very pretty curiofity^and known but to a very few, 
 and having the liberty of publiftiing it granted me, by that Eminent Vir- 
 tuofo Sir Robert Moray , who brought in this Account of it to the Royal So¬ 
 ciety^ I have here tranferibed and inferred. 
 
 To make fmall fhotof different fizes ; Communicated by his 
 Highnefs P. R. 
 
 T Ake Lead out of the Pigwhat quantity you pleafe,^ melt it dom^ 
 ftir and clear it with an iron Ladle , gathering together the 
 blackijh farts that fwim at top like [cum,, and when you fee the co¬ 
 lour cf the clear Lead to begreernfjf^ut no fooner^flrew upon it Auri- 
 
 pigmentum 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 pigmentum powc/ereJ accordingltodhe .quantity cf. Leady^^about^m 
 much as will lye upon b half Crmnpiece willfewefoAmghteen^^^^ 
 twenty pound weight offomt forts of Lead ; others will retire: 
 kfi. After the Auripigirientuiii\is|?//t in-,fliMhe Leadwelif^pd^ the 
 Auripigmentum will flame: when the flam, k over^ ia^ ^out fonie 
 (f the Lead in a Ladle having alip,\Qr ndtch:i^^^ fotimverd^ 
 entpouring out of the Le 'ad^andbeifi'g wellwdTmed:hmdngfthi\Melted 
 Lead^y^ and with a flichmah form fingle drops. fcLeadyndde^outif 
 the Ladle into water in d Glafs , which if they fall io bemunddM 
 .without tails^ there Auripigmentum enough put in.; andtbetemper: 
 cf the heat k rightotherwife put in more. Then lay two iah cfLron 
 Q or fqme more proper Iron^ioolmadeon purpofef upon a'PMcfwa^ 
 ter .^and place upon them a round Plate of Copper.^ of the fizeahd figure 
 cf an ordinary large Pewter or Silver Trencherthe hollow whereof k to 
 he about three inches over \ the bottom lower thertthe brims abouthalf 
 an inch.^ pierced with thirty., forty., or more fmall holes; thefmdJler the 
 holes are., the fmaller the fhot will be; and the brirrikto be thicker then 
 the bottom.,to conferve the heat the better. Sf i ,0 c'a 
 
 The bottom of the Trencher being fome four inches difiant frum the 
 water in the Pailfay upon it fome burning Coksfto keep the Liaddielu 
 ed upon it. Thenwith the hot Ladle take Ixadoff the Pot where h 
 Jlands melted., and pour it foftly upon the burning Coles o ver the bottom 
 cf theTrencher., and it willimmediately run through the holes into'the 
 water in fmall round drops, Thm pour on new Lead fill as' faft as 
 it runs through the Trencher till all be done; Mowing now"and then 
 the Cotes with hand-Bellows., when the Lead in the Trencher cools fo'as 
 to fop from running. 
 
 Whilf one pours on the Lead, another muf, with another Ladle, 
 thru fed four or fivemhes under water inthe Pail, catch from time 
 to time fome f the fhot,as it drops down, to fee the fzg of it, and whether 
 there be any faults in it. The greatefl care k to hep the Lead upon 
 the Trencher in the right degree of heat; if it be too cool, it will not 
 run through the Trencher, though it fund melted upon it; and thk k to 
 
2'4 M I C R O G R A P H I A. 
 
 be helfedby blmwg the Coals dlittk .^ or pouring on mw Ltad that h 
 hotter.^-but the cooler the Lead^he'larger the'Shot-^ and the hotter ^he 
 fmaller.*^:<vphen ith too hot^ the drop^ mllcrackj-\ndfly ; then you 
 mufl. ftdp pourtngohnexe headlandkt it cool; ^and folongmyou^^ 
 Jervtthe right temper of the heatj the Leadmll conflantly drop into very 
 round Shot-) vpithouffomuch as onedrhh a tail in many pounds. - ' 
 
 \ b<\ Whht all is done.) take your Shot out of the Fail of water.) and put it 
 in a Frying-pan over the fire to dry them , whkkmufl be done^wafily.^ 
 fiill Jhakittgthem that they meh not ; and when they are dry you mc^ 
 feparatethe.fmalLfrom the great , in Pearl Sives made of Copper dr 
 Lattin let into oni another.) into as many fixes as you pleafe.^ But if 
 you wouldhave your Shot larger then the drencher makers them , ydi 
 may)^twith a SticKn making them trickle outcf the Ladle.)ashaih 
 
 ' Lf the Trencher be hiM touch a very little when the Leadfiops from 
 goingibrough ity and be not too coolft will drop again , but it is better 
 not totduch it at all. ■ > 'At the melting of the Leadtakf care that there 
 he no kind of Oyf Greafe^ or the like.) upon the Pots.) or Ladles.pT Tren^ 
 
 cher^M A ^x- ^ ' • Y 
 
 The Chef caufe' of this Globular Figure of the Shot.) feems to bethe 
 
 Auripigmentum; for^ as foon as it is put in among the melted Lead; 
 
 it dofeiiis\ finning brightnefs.) contrahling infiantly d grayijh film of. 
 
 skin upon . it, when you fcurn it to make it clean with the Ladle. S^b 
 
 thatwhenthe Air comes at the falling drop^of the. melted Lead .y that 
 
 skin conflriSis them every where equally: but upon what account.) arid 
 
 whether this be the true caufe.) is left to further difquifition.) ' 
 
 < 
 
 ^Much after this fame manner, when the Air is exceeding cold through 
 whichit pafles, do we find the drops of Rain, falling from the Clouds^ 
 tongdaled into round Hail-ftones by the freezing Ambient. ' ' 
 
 - .To which may be added this other.known Experiment, That if you 
 gently letfaH a drop of upon fraall fand or dujl^ you fhall find, as it. 
 were, an artificial round Jione quickly generated. I cannot upon this oc- 
 cafipn omit the. mentioning of the ftrange kind Grain , which I have 
 obferved ip a fione brought from Kettering in Northanjptonfiireyand there* 
 fore' called by Mafbtis 'Keftering-st-one of which fee the Dcicription. 
 
 Which 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 Which brings into my mind what I long (ince obferved in the fiery Sparks 
 that are ftruck out of a Steel. For having a great defire to fee what was 
 left behind, after the Spark was gone out, I purpofely firuck fire oVer a 
 very white piece of Paper, and oblerving diligently where (bme confpi- 
 cuous fparks went out, I found a very little black fpot nd bigger then 
 the point of a Pin, which through a Microsoft appeated to be a perfed- 
 ly round Ball, looking much like a polifht ball of Steel, infomuch that 
 I was able to fee the Image of the window reflefted from it. I cannot 
 here flay f having done it more fully in another place ) to examine the 
 particular ReafeUs of it, but fliall only hint, that I imagine it to be fome 
 /mail parcel of the Steel, which by the violence of the motion of the 
 ftroke ( moft of which feems to be imprefi: upon thofe fmall parcels ) is 
 made fo glowing hot, that it is melted into a Vitmm^ which by the ambi¬ 
 ent Air is thruft into the form of a Ball. 
 
 A Fifth thing which I thought worth Examination was. Whether the 
 motion ofallkindof Springs, might not be reduced to the Principle 
 whereby the included heterogeneous fluid feems to be moved , or to that 
 whereby two Solids, as Marbles, or the like,are thruft and kept together 
 hyiht ambient fluid. 
 
 A Sixth thing was,Whether the Rifing and Ebullition of the Water out 
 of Springs and Fountains ( which lie much higher from the Center of the 
 Earth then the Superficies of the Sea, from whence it feems to be derived) 
 may not be explicated by the rifing of Water in a (mailer Pipe .* For the 
 Sea-water being ftrained through the Pores or Crannies of the Earth, is, 
 as it were, included in little Pipes, where the preflure of the Air has not 
 fo great a power to refift its riling; But examining this way, and finding 
 in it feveral difficulties almoft irremovable, I thought upon away that 
 would much more naturally and conceivably explain it, which was by 
 this following Experiment: I took a Gla(s-Tube, of the form of that 
 deferibed in the fixth Figure, 2iX\6.ch.w{m^\.yjo heterogeneous fluids^ fuch 
 as Water and Oyl, I poured in as much Water as filled up the Pipes as 
 high as A B, then putting in (bmeOyl into the Tube AC, I depreft the 
 fuperficics A of the Water to E, andB I railed to G, which was not lb 
 highperpendieularly asthefuperficies of the Oyl F, by the fpace F I, 
 wherefore the proportion of the gravity of thele two Liquors was as 
 G H to F E. 
 
 This Experiment I tried with feveral other Liquors, and particularly 
 with frelli Water and Salt (* which I made by dillblving Salt in warn! 
 Water ) which two though they are nothing heterogeneous, yet before 
 they would perfedly mix one with another, I made trial of the Experi¬ 
 ment •• Nay, letting the Tube wherein I tried the Expefiment remain for 
 many dayes, I obferved them not to mix 5 but the fuperficieS of the frefh 
 was rather more then left elevated above that of the Salt. Now the 
 proportion of the gravity of Sea-water, to that of River-water, accord¬ 
 ing to zndVarenius ^ and asT havefiuce found pretty true by 
 
 making trial my fell^ isas46.t0 45. thatis, 46. Ounces of the lalt Wa- 
 
 F tejT 
 
- M 1 C R O G R A P H I A. 
 
 ter will take up no more room then 45. of the frefh. Or reciprocally 
 45 pints of falt-water weigh as much as 46 of frefh. 
 
 But I found the proportion of Brine to frefh Water to be near 13 to 12: 
 Suppofing therefore G H M to reprefent the Sea, and F I the height of 
 the Mountain above the Superficies of the Sea, F M a Cavern in the 
 Earth, beginning at the bottom of the Sea, and terminated at the top of 
 the Mountain, L M the Sand at the bottom, through which the Water 
 is as it were firained , fb as that the frefher parts are only permitted to 
 tranfude,and the faline kept back 5 if therefore the proportion of G M 
 to F M be as 45 1046, then may the Cylinder of Salt-water G M make 
 the Cylinder of Frefh-water to rife as high as E, and to run over at N. 
 I cannot here ftand to examine or confute their Opinion , who make the 
 depth of the Sea, below its Superficies, to be no more perpendicularly 
 mealured then the height of the Mountains above it; Tis enough for 
 me to fay, there is no one of thofe that have aflerted it, have experimen¬ 
 tally known the perpendicular of cither 5 nor fhall I here dctcrmine,whe- 
 ther there may not be many other caufes of the feparation of the frefh 
 water from the fait, as perhaps fome parts of the Earth through which it 
 is to pafs, may contain a Salt, that mixing and uniting with the Sea-lalt, 
 may precipitate it 5 much after the lame manner as the Alk^lizate and 
 Acid Salts mix and precipitate each other in the preparation of Tarta- 
 rum Vitriolatum, I know not alfo whether the exceeding cold (” that 
 muft neceffarily be ) at the bottom of the Water, may not help towards 
 this feparation , for we find , that warm Water is able to difiblve and 
 contain more Salt, then the fame cold 5 infomuch that Brines ftrongly 
 impregnated by heat, if let cool, do fuffer much of their Salt to fubfide 
 and cryftallize about the bottom and fides. I know not alfb whether 
 the exceeding preflure of the parts of the Water one againfl: another, 
 may not keep the Salt from defeending to the very bottom, as finding 
 little or no room to inlert it felf between thofe parts, protruded lb vio¬ 
 lently together 3 or elfe fqueeze it upwads into the fuperiour parts of the 
 Sea, where it may more eafily obtain room for it felf^ amongfi: the parts 
 of the Water , by reafbn that there is more heat and lefs preflure. To 
 this Opinion I was fbmewhat the more induced by the relations I have 
 met with in Geographical IVriter of drawing frefh Water from the bot¬ 
 tom of the Sea, which is filt above. I cannot now Band to examine, 
 whether this natural perpetual motion may not artificially be imitated t 
 Nor can I ftand to anfwer the Objedions which may be made againfl this 
 my Suppofition: As, Firfl, How it comes to pafsjthat there arc fbmetimes 
 fait Springs much higher then the Superficies of the Water? And, Se¬ 
 condly,Why Springs do not run fafler and flower, according to the vary¬ 
 ing height made of the Cylinder of Sea-water, by the ebbing and flow¬ 
 ing of the Sea ? 
 
 As to the Firfl, Infhort, I fay, the frefh Water may receive again a 
 faline Tindure near the Superficies of the Earth, by palling through 
 fbme fait Mnes , or elfe many of the faline parts of the Sea may be kept 
 back, though not all. 
 
 And 
 
MiCROGRAPHIAj 
 
 And as to the Second, The fame Spring may be fed and fupplyed by 
 divers Caverns^ coming from very far diftant parts of the Sea. ^ fb as that 
 it may in one place be high , in another low water 5 and fo by that means 
 the Sprif/g may be equally fupply'd at all times. Or elfe the Cavern may 
 be fo firaight and narrow, that the water not having fb ready and free 
 pallage through it^ cannot upon fo fhort and quick mutations of preflure, 
 be able to produce any fenfible effed at fuch a diftance. Befides that 
 to confirm this hypothesis^ there are many Examples found in Natural Hijio- 
 riansyyi Springs that do ebb and flow like the Sea : As particularly^thofe 
 recorded by the Learned and after him by speed^to be found in 
 
 this IJland: One of which^they relate to be on the Top of a Mountain, 
 by the fmall Village Kilken in Flintjloire , Mark remulus qui Jiatk tempo- 
 rihus pm evomit & reforbet Aquas 5 Which at certain times rifeth and 
 falleth after the manner of the Sea. A Second in Caermardenpnre^ 
 near Caermarden^ at a place called Cantred Bichan 5 ^ui ( ut feribit Gi- 
 raldus) naturali die bk undk deficiens , toties exuberans , marinas 
 imitatur inpabihtates That twice in four and twenty hours ebbing and 
 Bowing, refembleth the unftable motions of the Sea^ The Phenomena 
 of which two may be eafily made out, by fuppofing the Cavern^ by which 
 they are fed , to arife from the bottom of the next Sea. A Third, is a 
 W ell upon the' River Ogmore in Glamorganpjire^ and near unto Newton^ of 
 which Camden relates himfelf to be certified,by a Letter from a Learned 
 Friend of his that obferved it. Eons abefi hinc^ dEc, The Letter is a little 
 too long to be infertedjbut the fubftance is this 5 That this Well ebbs and 
 Bows quite contrary to the flowing and ebbing of the Sea in thofe parts: 
 for kis almofl: empty at Full Sea, but full at Low water. This may hap¬ 
 pen from the Channel by which it is fupplied , which may come from the 
 bottom of a Sea very remote from thofe parts, and where the Tides are 
 much differing from thofe of the approximate fliores. A Fourth,liesin 
 IVejimorlandj near the River Loder 5 infiar Euripi f<epius indie reck 
 proc anti bus undk fluit refiuit , which ebbs and flows many times a day. 
 This may proceed from its being fupplyed from many Channels ^ coming 
 fi'om leveral parts of the Sea, lying fufticiently diftant afunder to have the 
 times of High-water differing enough one from the other 5 fo as that 
 whenfoever it fhall be High water over any of thofe places, where thefo 
 Channels begin, it fhall likewife be fo in the Well 5 but this is but a fuppo- 
 fition. 
 
 A Seventh ^ery was. Whether the dijfolution or mixing of feveral bo* 
 dies, whether tiuid or folid,with faline or other Liquorsjmight not partly 
 be attributed to this Principle of the congruity of thofe bodies and their 
 diflolvents ? As of Salt in Water,Metals in feveral Menjiruums^ Undfuous 
 Gums in Oy Is, the mixing of Wine and Water, d^c* And whether 
 pjtation be not partly made from the fame Principle of Incongruity ? I 
 fay partly^ becaule there are in fome Difi 61 utions,fome other Caufes con¬ 
 current. 
 
 I fhall laflly make a much more feemingly ffrange and unlikely ^ery 5 
 and that is. Whether this Principle, well examined and explained, may 
 
 F 2 not 
 
Micrograph I A* 
 
 not be found a co-effckfit in the moft confiderable Operations of Na¬ 
 ture } As in thofe of Heat^im6. Light^2iY\di confequently,of Karefaifion and 
 Condenfation^ Hardncfs^ and Flmd^efs^PerJpiadty ^dudOpacoupefs^Refrani¬ 
 ons and Colours, &c. Nay,! know not whether there may be many things 
 done in Nature,in which this may not ("befaidtoj) have a Finger? This 
 1 have in fome other paiTages of this Treatife further enquired into and 
 Ihewn, that as well Light as Heat may be caufed by corroJion^v^\\\c\\ is ap¬ 
 plicable to cortgruity^^wd confequently all the reft will be but fuhfequents: 
 In the mean time I would not willingly be guilty of that £rri?r,which the 
 thrice Noble and Learned Verulam juftly takes notice of, as fuch,and calls 
 Vhilofophide Genus Empiricum , qnodinpaucorum Experimentorum Angujiiis 
 & Obfeuritate fundatum eji. Fori neither conclude from one fingle Expe- 
 riment,nor are the Experiments I make ufe of all made upon one Subjeft; 
 Nor wreft I any Experiment to make it quadrare with any preconceiv’d 
 Notion. But on the contrary, I endeavour to be converfont in divers 
 kinds of Experiments, and all and every one of thofe Trials, I riiakethe 
 Standards or Touchftones, by which I try all my former Notions, whether 
 they hold out in weight, and meafurejand touch, &c. For as that Body is 
 no other then a Counterfeit Gold, which wants any one of the Proprie¬ 
 ties of Gold, (" luch as are the Malleableneft, Weight, Colour, Fixtnels 
 in the Fire,Indiflblublenels in Aqua fortisyxnd the like ) though it has all 
 the other 5 fo will all thofe Notions be found to be falfe and deceitful, 
 that will not undergo all the Trials and Tefts made of them by Experi¬ 
 ments. And therefore luch as will not come up to the defired Apex of 
 Perfeftion, I rather wholly re jeft and take new, then by piecing and 
 patchingjcndeavour to retain the old,as knowing liich things at beft to be 
 but lame and imperfedt. And this courfe I learned from Nature, whom 
 we find negledtful of the old Body, and luffering its Decaies and Infirmi¬ 
 ties to remain without repair, and altogether follicitous and careful of 
 perpetuating the Species by new Individuals, And it is certainly the moft 
 likely way to eredl a glorious Strufture and Temple to Nature^ luch as fhe 
 will be found f by any zealous Votary ) to refide in, to begin to build a 
 new upon a lure Foundation of Experiments. 
 
 But to digrels no further from the confideration of the Vh^nomeua,^ 
 more immediately explicable by this Experiment, we Ihall proceed to 
 fhew. That, as to the riling of Water inaF?7rrc3 the rcalbn of it will be 
 manifeft to him,that does take noticcjthat a Filtre is conftituted of a great 
 number of fmall long folid bodies, which lie lb clofe together, that the 
 Air in its getting in between them, doth lofe of its prefture that it has a- 
 gainftthe without them^ by which meansthe Water or Liquor not 
 finding fo ftrong a refiftance between them as is able to counter-ballance 
 the prefliire on its fuperficies without, is raffed upward, till it meet with a 
 prefture of the Air which is able to hinder it. And as to the Riling of 
 Oyl, melted Tallow, Spirit of Wine, &c. in the Week of a Candle or 
 Lamp, it is evident, that it differs in nothing from the former, fave only 
 in this, that in a Filtre the Liquor delcends and runs away by another 
 part 5 and in the Week the Liquor is difperfed and carried away by the 
 
 Flame > 
 
M 
 
 iCROGRAPHlAi 
 
 Flame 5 fomething there is afcribable to the Heat ^ for that it may rarifie 
 the more volatil and fpirituous parts of thofe combuftible Liquors, and fo 
 being made lighter then the Air, it may be protruded upwards by that 
 more ponderous fluid body in the Form of Vapours, but this can be 
 afcribed to the afceniion of but a very little,and mod likely of that on¬ 
 ly which afcends without the Week. As for the Riling of it in a Spunge, 
 Bread,Cotton,above the fuperficies of the fubjacent Liquor 5 what 
 has been faid about the Filtre ( if conlidered ) will eahly fugged a 
 reafon, confidering that all thefe bodies abound with fmall holes or 
 pores. / 
 
 From this fame Principle allb ( viz. the unequal frejjure of the Air a- 
 gainfi the unequal frperficics of the water ) proceeds the caufe of the ac- 
 ceflion or incurlion of any floating body againd the (ides of the con¬ 
 taining Vefiel, or the appropinquation of two floating bodies, as Bubbles 
 Corks^ Stick/o Straws^ &c. one towards another. As for indance. Take 
 a Glals-jar, fuch as A B in the feventh Figure^ and filling it pretty near the 
 top with water , throw into it a fmall round piece of Cork, as C, and 
 plunge it all over in water , that it be wet , fo as that the water may rile 
 up by the fides of it,then placing it any where upon the fuperficies, about 
 an inch,or one inch and a quarter from any fide, and you (hall perceive it 
 by degrees to make perpendicularly toward the neared part of the fide, 
 and the nearer it approaches, the fader to be moved 5 the reafon of 
 which Phenomenon will be found no other then this, that the Air has a 
 greater preflure againd the middle of the fuperficies , then it has againd 
 thofe parts that approach nearer, and are contiguous to the fides. Now 
 that the preflure is greater, may ( as I fhewed before in the explication 
 of the third Figure J be evinced from the flatting of the water in the 
 middle, which arifes from the gravity of the under fluid: for fince, as I 
 (hewed before,if there were no gravity in the under fluid.or that it were 
 equal to that of the upper, the terminating Surface would he spherical^ 
 and fince it is the additional preflure of the gravity of water that makes 
 it lb flat5it follows, that the preflure upon the middle mud be greater thert 
 towards the fides. Hence the Ball having a dronger preflure againd that 
 fide of it which relpects the middle of the fuperficies ^ then againd that 
 which refpeds the approximate fide , mud neceflarily move towards that 
 part, from whence it finds lead refidance, and fo be accelerated^ as the re- 
 fidance decreafes. Hence the more the water is raifed under that part 
 of its way it is palTing above the middle, the fader it is moved ; And 
 therefore you will find it to move fader in E then in D, and in D then 
 in C. Neither could I find the floating fubdance to be moved at all, un¬ 
 til it were placed nponfome part of the Superficies that was fenlibly ele¬ 
 vated above the height of the middle part. Now that this may be the 
 true caufe, you may try with a blown Bladder, and an cxa<dly round Ball 
 upon a very fmooth fide of fome pliable body , as Horn or ^ieksilver. 
 For if the Ball be placed under a part of the Bladder which is upon one 
 fide of the middle of its preflure , and you prels drongly againd the 
 Bladder,you (hall find the Ball moved from tire middle towards the fides.- 
 
 Flaving 
 
30 
 
 Mi CROGRAPHIA. 
 
 Having therefore (hewn the reafon of the motion of any float towards 
 the (ides, the reafon of the incurfion of any two floating bodies will eafi- 
 ly appear : For the riling of the water againft the lides of either of 
 themjis an Argument fufficient^to fhew the preflure of the Air to be there 
 lefsjthen it is further from it^where it is not lb much elevated ^ and there¬ 
 fore the realbn of the motion of the other toward it, will be the lame as 
 towards the fide of the Glafs 5 only here from the fame reafon, they are 
 mutually moved toward each other ^ whereas the fide of the Glafs in the 
 former remains fixt. If alfo you gently fill the Jar fo full with water, 
 that the water isprotuberant above the fideSj the fame piece of Cork that 
 before did haften towards the fides, does now fly from it as fall towards 
 the middle of the Superficies, the realbn of which will be found no o- 
 ther then this, that the preflure of the Air is flronger againft the fides of 
 the Superficies G andH^ then againft the middle I, for fince^ as I Ihewed 
 before, the Principle of congruity would make the terminating Surface 
 Spherical 3 and that the flatting of the Surface in the middle is from the 
 abatement of the waters preflure outwards^ by the contrary indeavour 
 of its gravity 5 it follows that the preflure in the middle muft be lefs then 
 on the fides 5 and therefore the confecution will be the fame as in the 
 former. It is very odd to one that confiders not the reafon of it, to fee 
 two floating bodies of wood to approach each other^as though they were 
 indued with Ibme magnetical vigour 5 which brings into my mind what I 
 formerly tried with a piece of Cork or fuch like body, which I fo order¬ 
 ed, that by putting a little ftick into the fame water, one part of the faid 
 Cork would approach and make toward the flick, whereas another 
 would dilcede and fly awayjnay it would have a kind of verticity, lb as 
 that if the JEqnator ( as I may fo fpeak ) of the Cork were placed to¬ 
 wards the ftick, if let alone, it would inftantly turn its appropriate Pole 
 toward it,and then run a-tilt at it:and this.was done only by taking a dry 
 Cork, and wetting one fide of it with one final 1 ftroak , for by this means 
 gently putting it upon the water, it would deprels the fuperficies on eve¬ 
 ry fide of it that was dry, and therefore the greateft preflure of the Air, 
 being near thofe fides^caufed it either to chafe away,or ellc to fly off from 
 any other floating body, whereas that fide only, againft which the water 
 alcended, was thereby able toattrad. 
 
 It remains only, that I fhould determine how high the Water or other 
 Liquor may by this means be railed in a fmaller Pipe above the Superfi¬ 
 cies of that without it, and at what height it may be luftained: But to 
 determine this, will be exceeding difficult, unlefs I could certainly know 
 how much of the Airs preflure is taken off by the fmalnels of fuch and 
 llich a Pipe,and whether it may be wholly taken off',that isjwhether there 
 can be a hole or pore fo fmall, into which Air could not at all enter, 
 though water might with its whole force 5 for were there llich, ’tis mani- 
 feft., thatthe water mightrile in it tofome five orlix and thirty Englilh 
 Foot high. I know not whether the capillary Pipes in the bodies of fmall 
 Trees, which we call their Jllicrofcopicalpores^mdiy not be fuch, and whe¬ 
 ther the congruity of the fides of the Pore may not yet draw the juyee 
 
 even 
 
MiCROGRAPHlA. 
 
 even higher then the Air was able by its bare prefliire toraile It j- Far, 
 Congruity is a principle that not only unites and holds a body joyned to 
 itj butj which is more, attrads and draws a body that is very near it^and 
 holds it above its ufual height. , 
 
 And this is obvious even in a drop of water fufpended under any Si¬ 
 milar or Congruous body : Forjbefidcs the ambient predure that helps to 
 keep it fuftein’d, there is the Congruity of the bodies that are contigu¬ 
 ous. This is yet more evident in Tenacious and Glutinous bodies 3 fuch 
 as Gummous Liquors, Syrups, Pitch, and Rofin melted, Tar, Tur¬ 
 pentine, Ballbm, Bird-lime,for there it is evident, that theParts 
 of the tenacious body, as I may fo call it, do hick and adhere k) clofe- 
 ly together, that though drawn out into long and very flender Cylinr 
 ders, yet they will not eafily reliiiquifti one another 5 and this, though 
 the bodies be aliqnatenus fluid, and in motion by one another 5 which, 
 to fuch as confider a fluid body only as its parts are in a confufed irregu¬ 
 lar motion, without taking in allb the congruity of the parts one arnong 
 another, and incongruity to fome other bodies, does appear not alittle 
 ftrange. So that befides the incongruity of the ambient fluid to it, we 
 - are to confider alfb the congruity of the parts of the contein’d fluid one 
 with another. 
 
 And tins Congruity ("that I may here a little further explain it ) is both 
 a Tenaceous and an Attradive power 5 for the Congruity, in the Vi- 
 brative motions,may be the caufe of all kind of attradion, not only Ele¬ 
 ctrical, but Magnetical alfb, and therefore it may be alk) of Tenacity 
 and Glutinoufnefs. For, from a perfect congruity of the motions of two 
 diflant bodies, the intermediate fluid particles are feparated and dro- 
 ven away from between them, and thereby thofe congruous bodies are, 
 by the incompafling mediums, compelfd and forced neerer together 5 
 wherefore that attraCcivenefs muft needs be ftronger, when,, by an im¬ 
 mediate contact, they are forc’d to be exaCtly the fame; As I fhewmore 
 at large in my Theory of the Magnet, And this hints to me the reafbn of 
 the fufpenfion of the Mercury many inches, nay many feet, above the ufu¬ 
 al fration of 50 inches. For the parts of ^id^filver^ being: fb very 
 fimilar and congruous to each other, if once united, will not eafily fuffer 
 a divulfion : And the parts of water, that were any wayes heterageneom^ 
 being by exantlation or rarefaCtion exhaiifted, the remaining parts being 
 alfb very fimilar, will not eafily part neither. And the parts of the Glafr 
 being fblid, arc more difficultly disjoyn’d 5 and the water, being fbme- 
 what fimilar to both, is, as it were, a medium to unite both and 
 
 the Mercury together. So that all three being united, and not very diP 
 fimilar, by means of this contaCf, if care be taken that tfic Tube in e- 
 redting be not fhogged, the will remain fufpended, notwith- 
 
 (landing its contrary indcavour of Gravity, a great height above its or¬ 
 dinary Station ^ but if this immediate Contadt be removed, either by a 
 meer feparaticn of them one from another by the force of a fbog, where*’ 
 by the other becomes imbodied between them, and licks up from the 
 furfacc fome agil parts, and fo hurling them makes them air ^ or elfe 
 
32 Micrographia. 
 
 byfome finall heterogeneous agil part of the Water, or Air, orQiiick- 
 filver, which appears like a bubble, and by its jumbling to and fi-o there is 
 made way for the heterogeneous ^ther to obtrude it lelf between the 
 Glafs and either of the other Fluids, the Gravity of Mercury precipitates 
 it downward with very great violence 5 and if the VefiH that holds the 
 reftagnating Mercury be convenient, the Mercury will for a time vibrate to 
 and fro with very large reciprocations^ and at laft will remain kept up by 
 the preflure of the external Air at the height of neer thirty inches. And 
 whereas it may be objeded, that it cannot be, that the meer imbodying 
 of the JEther between thefe bodies can be the caufe,fince the jEther ha¬ 
 ving a free paffage alwayes , both through the Pores of the Glals, and 
 through thofe of the Fluids, there is no reafon why it fhould not make a 
 feparatioti at all times whilft it remains fufpended, as when it is violently 
 difjoynedby a (hog. To this I anfwer, That though the Mther pafles 
 between the Particles, that is, through the Pores of bodies, fo as that any 
 chafme or feparation being made, it has infinite paflages to admit its en¬ 
 try into it, yet fuch is the tenacity or attradive virtue of Congruity, that 
 till it be overcome by the meer ftrength of Gravity, or by a (hog aflifting 
 that Conatus of Gravity, or by an agil Particle, that is like a leaver agi¬ 
 tated by the Mther 3 and thereby the parts of the congruous fubftances 
 ate feparated fo far afunder, that the ftrength of congruity is fo far wea- 
 kenedjas not to be able to reunite them, the parts to be taken hold of be¬ 
 ing removed out of the attradive Sphere, as I may fo Ipeak, of the con¬ 
 gruity 5 fuch, I fay, is the tenacity of congruity, that it retains and holds 
 the almoft contiguous Particles of the Fluid, and fuffers them not to be 
 feparated, till by meer force that attradive or retentive faculty be over¬ 
 come ; But the feparation being once made beyond the Sphere of the 
 attradive adivity of congruity, that virtue becomes of no effed at all, 
 but the Mercury freely falls downwards till it meet with a refiflance from 
 the preflure of the ambient Air, able to refift its gravity, and keep it for¬ 
 ced up in the Pipe to the height of about thirty inches. 
 
 Thus have I gently railed a Steel pendulumhj aLoadftone to a great 
 Angle,till by thefbaking of my hand I have chanced to make a fepara¬ 
 tion between them, which is no fooner made, but as if the Loadftone had 
 retained no attradive virtue, the Pendulum moves freely from it towards 
 the other fide. So vafl: a difference is there between the attradive vir¬ 
 tue of the Magnet when it ads upon a contiguous and upon a disjoyned 
 body; and much more muff there be between the attradive virtues of 
 congruity upon a contiguous and disjoyned body 5 and in truth the attra- 
 divc virtue is fo little upon a body disjoyned, that though I have with a 
 Microjeope ohkrYedvQvy diligently, whether there were any extraordi¬ 
 nary on the fide of a drop of water that was exceeding neer 
 
 to the end of a green flick, but did not touch it, I could not perceive the 
 leafi:', though I found, that as foon as ever it toucht it the whole drop 
 would prefently unite it felf with it 5 fo thatitfeems an abfolute con- 
 tad isrequifite to the exercifing of the tenacious faculty of congruity.. 
 
 Obferv. 
 
Micrograph 
 
 i ) 
 
 Obferv. VII. Of fome Phaenomena (f Qlafs drops], 
 
 i i i ‘ : u . (^ 
 ‘ \r\ 
 
 Hefe Glafi Drops are fraall [parcels of coarfe green Glafs takehf out of 
 the Pots that contain the Metal f as they callit J 'in fufion, upbn tHe 
 end of an Iron Pipe 3 and being exceeding hot, and thereby of a kind of 
 fluggifh fluid Confiftence, are (iiflercd to drop from thence into a Bucket 
 of cold Water, and in it to lye till they be grown fenfibly cold. - ^ 
 
 Some of thefe I broke in the open air, by fnappingoffa little of the 
 Ihiall ftem with my fingers, others by crulhing it with a (mall pair of Fly¬ 
 ers 5 which I had no (boner done, then the whole bulk of the drop flew 
 violently, with a very brisk noife, into itiultitudes of fmall pieces, (bitie of 
 which were as (mall as diifl, though in fome there were remaining pieces 
 
 ^ large,without any flaw at all,and others very much flaw’d, ^which 
 )bing between ones fingers was eafily reduced to duft 5 the(e di- 
 Iperled every way fo violently , that fome of them pierced my skin. I 
 could not find,either with my naked Eye,or a Microfeope^ that any of the 
 broken pieces were of a regular figurc,nor anyone like another ■ but for 
 the moft part thofe that flaw’d off in large pieces were prettily bran¬ 
 ched. , , . 
 
 The ends of others of thefe drops I nipt off whiKf' all the bodies and 
 ends of them lay buried under the water,which, like the former, flew all 
 to pieces with as brisk a noi(e, and as flrong a motion. 
 
 Others of the(e I tried to break, by grinding away the blunt end, and 
 though I took a (eemingly good one, and had ground away neer two 
 thirds of the Ball, yet would it not fly to pieces, but now and then fome 
 fmall rings of it would (iiap and fly off, not without a brisk noi(c and 
 ouick motibn,leaving the Surface of the drop whence it flew very pretti¬ 
 ly branched or creafed, which was eafily dilcoverable by the Microfiope. 
 This drop,after I had thus ground it, without at all impairing the remnant 
 that was not ground away, I cau(ed to fly immediately all into (and upon 
 the nipping off the very tip of its (lender end. 
 
 Another of thefe drops I began to grind away at the fmallet end , but 
 had not worn away on the (lone above a quarter of an inch before the 
 whole drop flew with a brisk crack into (and or (mall dufl:, nor would 
 it have held fo long , had there not been a little flaw in the piece that I 
 ground away, as I afterwards found. 
 
 Several others of thefe drops I covered over with a thin but very tuff 
 skin of IcthyocoUa^ which being veiy tough and very tranfparent,Was the 
 mofl: convenient fubftance for thefe tryals that I could imagine, having 
 dipt,I (ay, feveral of thefe drops in this tranfparent Glue whilft hot, and 
 foffering them to hang by a firing tied about the end of them till they 
 were cold, and the skin pretty tough 3 then wrapping all the body of the 
 
 G drop 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 drop C leaving out only the very tip ) in fine fupple Kids-lcather very 
 clofelyj nipped off thefmall top, and found, asl expefted, that dotwith- 
 ftanding this skin of Glue, and the dole wrapping up in Leather, upon 
 the breaking of the top, the drop gave a crack like the reft, and)gave my 
 hand a pretty brisk impulfe: but yet the skin and leather was fo ftrong as 
 to keep the parts from flying out of their former pofture 5 and, the skin 
 being tranfparent, I found that the drop retained exaftly its former fi¬ 
 gure and polifti, but was grown perfedly opacous and all over flaw’d, all 
 thofe flaws lying in the manner of rings, from the bottom or blunt end, to 
 the very top or fmall point. And by feveral examinations with a Micro* 
 fcopCy of feveral thus broken, I found the flaws, both within the body of 
 the drop, and on the outward furface, to lye much in this order. 
 
 Let A B in the Figure X of the fourth Scheme reprefent the drop caftd 
 over with lUhyocoUa or lfingUfs^2iVidi f by being ordered as is before pre* ' 
 {bribed J crazed or flawed into pieces, but by the skin or cafe kept in its 
 former figure, and each of its flawed parts preferved exactly in its due 
 pofture 5 the outward appearance of it fbmewhat plainly to the naked 
 eye, but much more confpicuous if viewed with a finall fenls appeared 
 much after this fbape. That is, the blunt end B for a pretty breadth, 
 namely, as far as the Ring C C C feemed irregularly flawed with divers 
 clefts, which all feemed to tend towards the Center of it, being, as I af* 
 terwards found , and (hall anon (hew in the defcription of the figure Y, 
 the Bafis, as it were, of a Cone, which was terminated a little above the 
 middle of the drop, all the reft of the Surface from C C C to A Was 
 flawed with an infinite number of fmall and parallel Rings, which as they 
 were for the moft part very round , (b were they very thick and clofe 
 together, but were not fo exaftly flaw’d as to make a perfebi: Ring, but 
 each circular part was by irregular cracks flawed likewife into multitudes 
 of irregular flakes or tiles, and this order was obferved likewife the 
 whole length of the neck, , * 
 
 Now though I could not (b exaftly cut this conical Body thxon^ the 
 Axis^ as is reprefented by the figure Y ^ yet by anatomizing^ as it were, 
 of feveral, and taking notice of divers particular circumftances, I was in¬ 
 formed, that could I have artificially divided a flaw’d drop through the 
 Axis or Center, I (hould with a M/ crojeope Irdye found it to appear much 
 of thisform, where A fignifies the Apex , and B the blunt end, C C the 
 Cone of the Bafis, which is terminated at T the top or end of it, which 
 feems to be the very middle of the blunt end, in which, not only the co¬ 
 nical body of the Bafis C C is terminated, but as many of the parts of the 
 drop as reach as high as D D. 
 
 And it feemed to be the head or beginning of a Pith, as it were, or a 
 a part of the body which feemed more fpungy then the reft, and much 
 more irregularly flawed, which from T afeended by E E, though left vi- 
 fible, into the (mall neck towards A. The Grain, as it were, of all the 
 flaws, that from all the outward Surface A DC C D A, was much the 
 lamcjas is reprefented by the bliick ftjokes that meet in the middle DT, 
 DT,DE,DE, er. 
 
 Not 
 
Micrograph I A. 
 
 Nor is this kind of Grain ^ as 1 niay call it, peculiar to Glaft drops thus 
 quenched 5 for (” not to mention Coperas-fiones ^ and divers other 
 €h^tes and Minerals ^ which I have often taken notice of to be in the 
 very fame manner flaked or grained, with a kind of Pith in the middle J 
 I have obferved the lame in all manner of call Iron , elpecially the coar- 
 ler Ibrt, fuch as Stoves, and Furnaces, and Backs, and Pots are made of .* 
 For upon the breaking of any of thole Subllances it is obvious to ob- 
 ierve, how from theout-fides towards the middle.^ there is a kind of 
 Radiation or Grain much refembling this of the Glafs^drop, but this 
 Grain is moH conlpicuous in Irombullets, if they be broken; the fame 
 Ph<enome>sa may be produced by calling regulus of Antimony into 
 a Bullet-mold, as alfo with Glafl of Antimony^ or with almoll any luch 
 kind of Vitrified Jubflance ^ either call into a cold Mold or poured into 
 Water. 
 
 Others of thele Drops I heat red hot in the firCjand then fuffered them 
 to cool by degrees. And thefe I found to have quite loll all their fnlmi^ 
 nating or flying quality, as allb their hard, brittle and Ipringy texture 5 
 and to emerge of a much Ibfter temper, and much ealier to be broken or 
 Inapt with ones finger-^but its llrong and brittle quality was quite dellroy- 
 cd, and it leemed much of the fame confillence with other green Glals 
 well nealed in the Oven» 
 
 The Figure and bignels of thele for the moH part was the lame with 
 that of the Figure Z ^ that is,all the furface of them was very Imooth and 
 polilht,and for the moH part round, but very rugged or knobbed about 
 D, and all the length of the Hem was here and there pitted or flatted. 
 About D, which is at the upper part of the drop uhder that fide of the 
 Hem which is concave, there ufually was made fome one or more little 
 Hillocks or Prominences. The drop it felf, before it be broken, appears 
 very tranlparent, and towards the middle of it, to be very full of fmall 
 Bubbles, of Ibme kind of aerial fubHance, which by the refradion of the 
 outward lurface appear much bigger then really they are 3 and this may 
 be in good part removed, by putting the drop under the furface of clear 
 Water, for by that means moll part of the refraftion of the convex Sur¬ 
 face of the drop is dellroyed, and the bubbles will appear much Imaller. 
 And this, by the by. minds me of the appearing magnitude of the aper^ 
 ture of the />//, or pupil of the eye, which though it appear, and be there-* 
 fore judged very large, is yet not above a quarter of the bignels it ap-* 
 pears of^ by the lenticular refraiftion of the Cornea. 
 
 The caule of all which Phenomena I imagine to be no other then this, 
 That the Parts of the Glafs being by the excelTive beat of the fire kept 
 off and leparated one from another, and thereby put into a kind of llug^ 
 gilh fluid confiftence, are fuffered to drop off with that heat or agitation 
 remaining in them, into cold Water 5 by which means the outfidesof the 
 drop arc prelently cool’d and crujied ^ and are thereby made of a loole 
 texturc,bccaufe the parts of it have not time to fettle thcmlelves leifurely 
 together , and lb to lie very dole together: And the innermoft parts of 
 the drop, retaining Hill much of their former heat and agitations, remain 
 
 G 2 of 
 
Micrographia, 
 
 of a looft textpre alfo,and^accor 4 ing a3 tl^e cold ftrike§ inwards from the 
 bottom and fidesj are qneqchedj asitwerej and made rigid in that very 
 pofture wherein the cold finds them» For the parts of th^cryji being 
 already hardened 5 will not fufFer the parts to fhrink any more from the 
 outward Surface inward 5 and though it fiirink a little by reafon of the 
 fmall parcels of foipe Aerial fubftances difperfed through the matter of 
 the Glafe yet that is not neer fo much as it appears f as I juft now hint¬ 
 ed 5J nor if it were^wonld it befufficient for to confolidate and condenfe 
 the body of Glafs into a tuff and dole texture ^ after it had been fb ex- 
 ceffiveiy rarified by the heat of the glafs-Fiirnace. 
 
 But that there may be fiich an expanfion of the aerial lubftance con¬ 
 tained in thofc little bkbbs or bobbles in the body of the drop, this fol¬ 
 lowing Experiment will make more evident. t 
 
 Take a fmall Glals-Canc about a foot long, feal up one end of it 
 (?^/^5then put in a very fmall bubble of Glafs, almoftof thefhape of 
 an Eflence-viol with the open mouth towards the fealed end ^ then draw 
 out the other end of the Pipe very fmalkand fill the whole Cylinder with 
 water ^ then fet this Tube by the Fire till the Water begifi to boyl, and 
 the Air in the bubble be in good part rarified and driven out ^ then by 
 fucking at the fmalling Pipe^ more of the Air or vapours in the bubble 
 may be fock’d out ? fb that it may fink to the bottom 5 when it is funk to 
 the bottomjin the flame of a Candle,or Lamp^nip up the flender Pipe an'd 
 let it coo]; whereupon it is obvious to obferve, firfi, that the Water by 
 degrees will fubfide and fhrink into much lefs room; Next, that the Air 
 or vapours in the Glafs will expand themfclves fb, as to buoy up the little 
 Glafs: Xhhdly. that all about the infide of the Glafs-pipe there will ap^ 
 pear an infinite number of fmall bubbles,which as the Water grows eoldier 
 and colder will fwell bigger and bigger, and many of them; buoy them- 
 fefyes up aud break at the top. 
 
 Fromtl^sD^r^/>^ of the heat in Glafs drops^that is, by the‘Quenching 
 or cooling Irradiations propagated from the Surface upwards; audi in.-^ 
 wards, by the lines CT, CT, DT, D E,(^c. the bubbles in the drop 
 have room to expand themfelves a little, and the parts of the Glafs 
 tradt themfclves, but this operation being too quick for the fluggiCb parts 
 pf the Glafs, the contradtion is performed very unequally and irregularly, 
 and thereby the Particles of the Glafs,are bent, fomeone way, and feme 
 another, yet fbasthatmofi of them draw towards the Pith or middle 
 T E E E, or rather from that outward: fo that they cannot extmate or 
 unbend themljelves, till fome part of'T E E E be broken and loofcned, 
 for alt the parts about that are placed in the manner of an Arch, and fb 
 till their hold at TEE E be loofened they cannot fly afunder, bidit up¬ 
 hold, and fhelter, and fix each other much like the hones in- a Vault, 
 where each hone does concurre to the flability of the whole Fahriek, 
 and no one hone can be taken away but the whole Arch falls.And wbere-’ 
 ^ver any of thole radiating wedges DTD, are removed, which 
 
 arc the component parts, of this Areh>the whole Fabdekprefendy-falls;to; 
 
 pieces j 
 
MiCROGRAPHIA* 
 
 pieces for all the Springs of the feveral parts are fet at liberty 5 civhich 
 immediately extricate themfelves and tiy afunder every ways .each part 
 by its fpring contributing to the darting of it lelf and fome other -contigu? 
 ous part. But if this drop be heat lb hot as that the parts by degrees can 
 unbend themfelves, and be fettled and annealed in that pofture.and be 
 then fuffered gently to fubfide and cool s The parts by this nealiog lo- 
 fing their fpringinefi 5 conftitute a drop of a more foft but lefs brittle tex* 
 turcjand the parts being not at all under a flexure, though any part of the 
 middle or Pith T E E E be broken,yet will hot the drop at all fly to pieces 
 as before. ^ f 
 
 This Conjecture of mine I fhall indeavour to make out by explain^ 
 ing each particular Aflertion with analogous Experiments: The Aflertions 
 are thefe. 
 
 Firft 5 That the parts of the Clafs, whilfl: in a fluid Confiftence and 
 hot 5 are more ratified, or take up more room, then when hard and 
 cold. • ■ 
 
 Secondly, That the parts of the drop do fuffer a twofold ;contra* 
 Ctioh. 
 
 Thirdly, That the dropping or quenching the glowing metal in the 
 Water makes it of a hard, fpringing, and ratified texture. 
 
 Fourthly , That there is a flexion or force remaining upon the parts 
 of the Glafi thus quenched, froni which they indeavour td extricate 
 themfelves. 1 
 
 Fifthly, That the Fabrick of the drop, that is able to hinder the parts 
 from extricating themfelves, is anaJogus to that of an Arch. 
 
 Sixthly, That the fudden flying afunder of the parts proceeds from 
 their fpringinelk 
 
 * Seventhly, That a gradual heating and cooling doesanneal or reduce 
 the parts of Glafs to a texture that is more loofe, and eafllier to bebro-^ 
 ken, but not fo brittle. 
 
 That the firft of thefe is tf iie may be gathered from this, That Meat is 
 A pi^opert/of a body arijing frbm the motion or agitation rf its parts , and 
 therefore whatever body is thereby toucht mutf neceflaiily receive fbme 
 part of that motion,whereby its parts will be fhaken and agitated^ and fa 
 by degrees free and extricate themfelves from one another, and each 
 part fo moved does by that motion exert a conatm of protruding and diT 
 placing all the adjacent Particles; Thus Air included ina veflel, by be¬ 
 ing heated will burft k to pieces. Thus have I broke a Bladder held 
 over the fire in my hand, With fuch a violence and noife , thatftalmoft 
 made me. deaf for the prefentjand much lurpafled the noife of a. Musketi 
 The like have I done by throwing into the fire fiiuili glafs Bubbles her-^’ 
 inetically fcalcd, with a little drop of Water included in them. Thus 
 Water alfo,orany other Liquorjinclnded in a convenient veflel,by being 
 w-armed 3 manifeftly expands it felf with a very great violence , fbasua 
 break the ftxcngeft vcfld, if when heated it be na?rrovvly imprifoned in 
 
 This 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 This IS very manifeft by the feakdThermometers^ which I have, by feve* 
 ral tryalsj at laft brought to*a great certainty and tendernefs: for I have 
 made fome with ftems above four foot long, in which the expanding Li¬ 
 quor would fo far varyjas to be very neer the Very top in the heat of Sum** 
 mer, and prety neer the bottom at the coldeft time of the Winter. The 
 Stems I ule for them are very thick^ftraightjand even Pipes of GlalSjWith 
 a very Imall perforation , and both the head and body I have made on 
 purpole at the Glals-houle, of the lame metal whereof the Pipes are 
 drawn; thele I can eafily in the flame of a Lamp, urged with the blafl: of 
 a pair of Bellows, feal and dole together, fo as to remain very firm, clofe 
 and even 5 by this means I joyn on the body firfl:,and then fill both it and 
 a part of the Bern, proportionate to the length of the Bern and the 
 warmth of the leafbn I fill it in^with the befl: redtified Spirit of Wine high¬ 
 ly tingd with the lovely colour of Cocheneel^ which I deepen the more 
 by pouring fome drops of common Spirit of Urine ^ which muftnotbe 
 too well redbified, becaufe it will be apt to make the Liquor to curdle 
 and ftick in the fmali perforation of the ftem. This Liquor I have upon 
 tryal found the mofl: tender of any fpirituous Liqu6r,and thole are much 
 more Icnfibly afledted with the variations of heat and cold then other more 
 flegniatick and ponderous Liquors, ancj as capable of receiving a deep 
 tindcure, and keeping it,as any Liquor whatfoever ^ and ( which makes 
 it yet more acceptable ') is not fubjedt to be frozen by any cold yet 
 known. When I have thus filled it,I can very eafily in the foremention- 
 ed flame of a Lamp feal and joyn on the head of it. 
 
 Then, for graduating the flem, I fix that for the beginning of my di- 
 vifion where the furface of the liquor in the ftem remains when the 
 ball is placed in common diftilled water, that is fo cold that it juft begins 
 to freeze and fhoot into flakes 5 and that mark I fix at a convenient place 
 of the ftem, to make it capable of exhibiting very many degrees of cold;, 
 below that which is requifite to freeze water: the reft of my divilions, 
 both above and below this (which I mark with a or nought J I place 
 
 according to the Degrees of Expanfion^ or Contratfion of the Liquor in 
 proportion to the bulk it had when it indur’d the newly mention a freez¬ 
 ing cold. And this may be very eafily and accurately enough done by 
 this following way ^ Prepare a Cylindrical veflel of very thin plate Brals 
 or Silver, A B C D of the figure Z ^ the Diameter A B of whole cavity 
 let be about two inches, and the depth B C the lame 5 let each end be 
 cover’d with a flat and fmooth plate of the lame fubftance, clofely foder’d 
 on, and in themidft of the upper cover make a pretty large hole E F, 
 about the bignels of a fifth part of the Diameter of the other 5 into this 
 faften very well with cement a ftraight and even Cylindrical pipe ofGlals, 
 E F G H, the Diameter of whofe cavity let be exactly one tenth of the 
 Diameter of the greater Cylinder, Let this pipe be mark’d at G H with 
 a Diamant, fo that G from E may be diftant juft two inches, or the lame 
 height with that of the cavity of the greater Cylinder, then divide the 
 length E G exaftly into 10 parts, fo the capacity of the hollow of each 
 of thefo divilions will be part of the capacity of the greater Cylin- 
 
 ^ dcr. 
 
Micrograph lA 
 
 der. This vefiel being thus prepared, the way of marking and gradu¬ 
 ating the 7hermometers may be Very eafily thus performed ; 
 
 Fill this Cylindrical veflcl with the fame liquot wherewith the,T&r^ 
 mometers 2 iVt fill’d, then place both it and the Thermometer you are to 
 graduate^ in water that is ready to be frozen, and bring the furface of the 
 liquor in the Thermometer to the firft marke or [o^o then fb proportion 
 the liquor in the Cylindrical vefiel, that the furface of it may jufi: be at 
 the'lower end of the ffriall glals-Cy finder ^ then very gently and gradu- 
 ally warm the water in which both the Thermometer and this Cylindrical 
 veffelftand, and as you perceive the ting’d liquor to rife in both ftems^ 
 with the point of a Diamond give feveral marks on the ftem of theT/6er- 
 mometer at thofe places, which by comparing the.expanfion in both 
 Stems, are found to correfpond to the divifions of the cylindricahvefle], 
 and having by this means marked fbme few of thefe divifions On the 
 Stem, it will be very eafie by thefe to mark all the reft of the Stem, 
 and accordingly to aflign to every divifion a proper chara(^tera - 
 
 A Thermometer ^ thus marked and prepared, will be the fitteft Inftru- 
 ment to make a Standard of heat and cold that can be imagined. For' 
 being fealed up, it is not at all fubjeft to Variation or Wafting, nor is it lia¬ 
 ble to be .changed by the varying preflure of the Air, which all other 
 kind of Thermometers that are open to the Air are liable to* But to prcH 
 ceed. 
 
 • This property of Expanfion with Heat, and Contraftion vvdth Cold, is 
 not peculiar to Liquors only, but to all kind of folid Bodies allb, efpeci- 
 ally Metalsj which will more manifeftly appear by this Experiment. 
 
 Take the Barrel of a Stopcock of Brafs, and let the Key, which is well 
 fitted to itjbe riveted into itjfo that it may flip,and be eafily turned round, 
 then heat this Cock in the fire, and you will find the Key fo fwollen, that 
 you will not be able to turn it round in the Barrel , but if it be fuffered 
 to cool agaiOj as fbon as it is cold it will be as movable, and as eafie to be 
 turned as before. 
 
 This Quality is alfo very obfervable in Lead^ Tin^ Silver^ Antimony^ 
 Pitch^Rofin^Bees~wax Butter the like, all which,if after they be melted 
 you fufter gently to cool, you (hall find the parts of the upper Surface 
 to liibfidc and fall inwards, lofing that plumpnefs and fmOothnefi it had 
 whilft in fufion. The like I have alfo obferved in the cooling of Glafi 
 of Antimony^ which does very neer approach the nature of GHft, 
 
 But becaule thefe are all Examples taken from other materials then 
 Glafs,and argue only^ that poflibly there may be the like property alfo in 
 Glafs, not that really there is ^ We Ihall by three or four Experiments in- 
 deavour to manifeft that alfo. 
 
 And the Firft is an Obfervation that is very obvious even in thefe very 
 drops,to wit,that they are all of them terminated with an unequal or ir¬ 
 regular Surface , efpecially about the Imallcr part of the drop, and the 
 whole length of the ftem ^ as about D, and from thence to A, the whole 
 Surface, which would have been round if the drop had cool’d Icifiirely, 
 is, by being quenched haftily,very irregularly flatted and pitted 3 which 
 
40 
 
 Mi CROGRAP HIA. 
 
 I (uppole proceeds partly from the Waters unequally cooling and preA 
 fing the parts of the drop, and partly from the felf-contradring or fubfi- 
 ding quality of the fubftance of the Glais; For the vehemehcy of the 
 heat of the drop caufes fuch hidden motions and bubbles in the cold Wa*- 
 ter,that fome parts of the Water bear more forcibly againft one part then 
 againfi another , and confequently do more fuddenly cool thofe parts to 
 which they are contiguous. 
 
 A Second Argument may be drawn from the Experiment of cutting' 
 Glafles with a hot Iron. For in that Experiment the top of the Iron 
 heats 5 and thereby rarifies the parts of the Glafs that lie juif before the 
 crack, whence each of thole agitated parts indeavburing to expand its 
 (elf and get elbow-room, thrufts off all the reft of the contiguous parts," 
 and conhqucntly promotes the crack that was before begun. 
 
 A Third Argument may be drawn from the way of producing a Crack 
 in a found piece or plate of Glals, which is done two wayes, either Firft, 
 by fuddenly heating a piece of Glais in one place more then in another. 
 And by this means Chymifis ufually cut off the necks of Glals-bodies, 
 by two kinds of Inftruments, either by a glowing hot round Iron-Ring, 
 which juft incompafles the place that is to be cut, orelfo by. a Sulphur d 
 Threed,which is often wound about the place where the feparation is to 
 be made,and then fired. Or Secondly,A Glafs may be cracked by cooling 
 it fuddenly in any place with Water, or the like, after it has been all lei* 
 (urely and gradually heated very hot. Both which Vhcenomena feem ma* 
 nifeftly to proceed from the expaujion and contraftion of the parts of 
 the Glais, which is alfo made more probable by this circumftance which 
 I have obferved , that a piece of common window-glafs being heated in 
 the middle very luddenly with a live Coal or hot Iron,does ufoally at the 
 firft crack fall into pieces,whereas if the Plate has been gradually heated 
 very hot, and a drop of cold Water and the like be put on the mid¬ 
 dle of it, it only flaws it, but does not break it alunder immedi¬ 
 ately. 
 
 A Fourth Argument may be drawn from this Experiment j Take a 
 Glals-pipe, and fit into it a folid ftick of Glafs, fo as it will but juft be mo¬ 
 ved in it. Then by degrees heat them whilft they are one within ano- 
 ther,and they will grow ftiffer, but when they are again cold,they will be 
 as ealie to be turned as before. This Expanfion of Glafs is more mani- 
 feft in this Experiment. 
 
 Take a ftick of Glais of a conliderable lengthjand fit it fo between the 
 two ends or forews of a Lath,thatit may but juftealily turn,and that the 
 very ends of it may be juft toucht and lufteined thereby, then applying 
 the flame of the Candle to the middle of it, and heating it hot, you will 
 prefently find the Glais to ftick very fall on thole points, and not without 
 much difficulty to be convertible on them, before that by removing the 
 flame for a while from it, it be fuffered to cool, and then you will find it 
 as ealie to be turned round as at the firft. 
 
 From all which Experiments it is very evident, that all thole Bodies, 
 and particularly Glafs, fullers an Expanlion by Heat, and that a very con- 
 
 fid erable 
 
M 
 
 I C R O G R A P H I A 
 
 (iderable onCjWhilft they are in a ftatc ofFnfion. For f I elfewhere 
 
 mention, beitjg nothing but an of a very firong and qtficl{ paling motion^ 
 
 toherebythe parts arenas it rverejoofened from each other frnd^ confequently leave 
 an interjacent fpace or vacuity ^ it follows, that all thbfe lhaken Particles muft 
 neceflarily take up much more room then when they were at reft, and Jay 
 quietly upon each other. And this is further confirmed by a Pot of boyling 
 Alabajier^ which will manifeftly rife a fixth or eighth part higher in the Pot, 
 whillt it is boyling, then it will remain at, both Before and after it be boy!?- 
 ed.The reafon of which odd Thsnomenon (to hint it here only by the way) 
 is this, that there is in the curious powder of Alabafter, and Other,calciuing 
 Stones, a certain watery fubftance, which is fofixt and included vvith the 
 folid Particles, that till the heat be very confiderable they will hot fly away5 
 but after the heat is increafed to fuch a degree, they break out every way 
 in vapours, and thereby fo (hake and loofen the fitiall corpulles ofthe Pow° 
 der from each other, that they become perfectly of the nature of a fluid bo« 
 dy, and one may move a ftick to and fro through it, and ftir it as eafily as 
 water, and thevapoUrs burft and break out in bubbles juft as in boyling 
 watcr,and the like 5 whereas, both before thofe watery parts are flying 
 away, and after they are quite gone 5 that is, before and after it have done 
 boy ling,all thofe efiedts ceafe, and a ftick is as difficultly moved to and fro 
 in it as in land, or the like. Which Explication I could eafily proVe, had I 
 time 5 but this is not a fit place for it. 
 
 To proceed therefore, I fayjthat the dropping oftthis expittided Body in» 
 to cold Water, does make the parts of the Glafs fuffet a'double contraftiort: 
 The firft is, of thofe parts which are neer the Surface of the Drop. For Cold, 
 as I laid before,contradcing Bodies, that is,^/ the abatement of the agitating fa-- 
 culty the parts falling neer er together the parts next ad joying to the Water 
 muft needs lofe much of their motion, and impart it to the Ambient-^water 
 (which the Ebullition and commotion of it manifefts) and thereby become 
 a folid and hard cruft, whilftthe innerrnoft parts reffiain yet fluid and ex¬ 
 panded 5 whence,as they grow cold alfoby degrees,their parts muft necefla- 
 rily be left at liberty to be condenfed, but becaufoof the hardnefsof the 
 outward cruft,the contraftion cannot be admitted that way^but there being 
 many very Imall, and before inconfpicuous, bubbles in the fubftance of the 
 Glafs,upon the fubfiding of the parts of the Glafsjthe agil fubftance contain¬ 
 ed in them has liberty of expanding it felfa little,and thereby thofe bubbles 
 grow much bigger^which is the fecond Contraftiom And both thefe ate con¬ 
 firmed from the appearance of the Drop it felf: for as for the outward parts, 
 •we foe,firft5that it is irregular and fhrunkjas it were, which is caufed by the 
 yielding a little of the hardened Skin to a Contraftion, after the very out- 
 moft Surface is fettled , and as for the internal parts, one may with ones 
 naked Eye perceive abundance of very eonfpicuous bubbles, and with the 
 Microfeopg many more* . 
 
 The Confideration of which Particulars will eafily make the Third Pofiti- 
 on probablcjthat is,that the parts of the drop will be of a very hard, though 
 of a ratified Texture 5 for if the outward parts of the Drop, by reafon of its 
 hard cruft, will indurc very Jittle Contraftion, and the agil Particles, inclu“ 
 
 H ^ 
 
42 
 
 Micrograph I A. 
 
 dcd in thole bubbles, by the lofing of their agitation, by thedecreale of the 
 Heat,lole alfo moft part of their Spring and Expanfive power^it follows (the 
 withdrawing of the heat being very fudden) that the parts muft be left in a 
 vety loofe Texture, and by realbn of the implication of the parts one about 
 another,which from their lluggilhnesand glutinoulhels I fuppole to be much 
 after the manner of the fticks in a Thorn-bulh,or a Lock of Wool^It will fol¬ 
 low, I fay, that the parts will hold each other very ftrongly together,and in- 
 deavour to draw each other neerer together, and coniequently their Tex¬ 
 ture muft be very hard and ftifl^ but very much rarified. 
 
 And this will make probable my next Polition, That the parts of the Glafi 
 are under a kind oftenjion or flexure ^ont ofwhich they indeavour to extricate and 
 free themfehes^and thereby all the parts draw towards the Center or middle, 
 and would, if the outward parts would give way, as they do when the out¬ 
 ward parts cool leiliirely (as in baking of GlaflesJ) contraft the bulk of the 
 drop into a much left compafs. For fince.as I proved beforCjthe Internal parts 
 of the drop, when fluid,were of a very rarified Texture.and,as it werc,tos’d 
 open like aLockof Wool.and if they were lufi'ered leifurely to cool, would 
 be again preft, as it werCjClole together; And fince that the heat,which kept 
 them bended and open, is removed, and yet the parts not fullered to get as 
 iieer together as they naturally would, It follows,that the Particles remain 
 under a kind of tenjion and flexure , and coniequently have an indeavour to 
 free themlelves from that bending and dijienjion^ which they do, as loon as 
 either the tip be broken, or as loon as by a leifurely heating and cooling, 
 the parts are nealed into another pofture. 
 
 And this will make my next Polition probable,that the parts oftheGlafs drops 
 are contignated together in the form of an Archymd cannot any where yield or 
 be drawn inwards,till by the removing of Ibme one part of itfas it happens in 
 the removing one of the ftones of an Arch)the whole Fabrick is lliatter djand 
 falls to picces,and each of the Springs is left at liberty,fuddenly to extricate it 
 (elf: for fince I have made it probable,that the internal parts of the Glals have 
 a contradive power inwards, and the external parts are incapable of luch a 
 Contradion,and the figure of it being Iphericaldt fbllows,that the fuperficial 
 parts muft bear againft each other, and keep one another from being con¬ 
 dens’d into a left room, in the lame manner as the ftones of an Arch conduce 
 to the upholding each other in that Figure. And this is made more probable 
 by another Experiment which was communicated to me by an excellent Per- 
 (bn,whole extraordinary Abilities in all kind of Knowledg, efpecially in that 
 of Natural things,and his generous Dilpofition in communicating,incouraged 
 me to have recourlc to him on many occafions. The Experiment was this: 
 Small Glaft-balls ( about the bignefs of that reprelented in the Figure ) 
 would,upon rubbing or fcratching the inward Surface, fly all infunder, with 
 a pretty brisk noife, whereas neither before nor after the inner Surface had 
 been thus fcratcht, did there appear any flaw or crack. And putting the pie¬ 
 ces of oneofthofe broken ones together again, the flaws appeared much 
 after the manner of the black lines on the Figure, &. Thele Balls were fmall 
 but exceeding thick bubbles of Glaft , which being crack’d off from the 
 Vuntilion whilft very hot, and fo fuffered to cool without nealing them in 
 
 the 
 
Micrographia* 
 
 the Oven over the Furnace, do thereby f being made of white Glafs, 
 which cools much quicker then green Glals 3 and is thereby made much 
 brittler^ acquire a veryand very brittle texture: fo that if with 
 the point of a Needle or Bodkin, the infide of any of them be rubbed 
 pretyhard, and then laid on a Table ^ it will, within a very little while, 
 break into many pieces with a brisk noife, and throw the parts above a 
 fpan aliinder on the Table; Now though the pieces are not fb foallas 
 thofe of a fulmwating drop, yet they as plainly (hew, that the outward 
 parts of the Glafs have a great Co 7 zatus to fly afunder,were they not held 
 together by the tenacity of the parts of the inward Surface : for we fee 
 as foon as thofe parts are crazed by hard rubbing, and thereby their tena¬ 
 city fpoiled, the fpringineis of the more outward parts quickly makes a 
 divulfion, and the broken pieces will, if the concave Surface of them be 
 further fcratcht with a Diamond, fly again into fmaller pieces. 
 
 From which preceding confiderations it will follow Sixthly, That the 
 fudden flying afunder of the parts as foon as this Arch is any where dilbr- 
 dcred or broken, proceeds from the fpringing of the parts ^ which ,indea- 
 vouring to extricate themfelves as loon as they get the liberty , they per¬ 
 form it with fuch a quicknels,that they throw one another away with very 
 great violence *• "for the Particles that compofe the Cruft have a 
 to lye further from one another,and therefore as foon as the external parts 
 are locfened they dart themfelves outward with great violence, juft as fo 
 many Springs would do, if they were detained and faftened to the body, 
 as foon as they Ihould be lliddcnly loofened^ and the internal parts draw¬ 
 ing inward, they contrad fo violently, that they rebound back again and 
 fly into multitude of fmall ftiivers or fands. Now though they appear 
 not, either to the naked Eye, or the Microfiope^ yet I am very apt to think 
 there may be abundance of fmall flaws or cracks, which , by realbn the 
 ftrong refleding Air is not got between the contiguous parts, appear not* 
 And tnat this may be fo, I argue from this , that I have very often been 
 able to make a crack or flaw, in Ibme convenient pieces of Glals,to appear 
 and dilappear at pleafure, according as by preffing together, or pulling 
 alunder the contiguous parts, I excluded or admitted the ftrong refled^ 
 ing Air between the parts: And it is very probable, that there may be 
 fbmc Body, that is either very rarified Air, or fomething analogous to itj 
 which fills the bubbles of thefe drops ^ which I argue, firft, from the round- 
 nefs of them, and next, from the vivid refledion of Light which they ex- 
 hibite ; Now though I doubt not, but that the Air in them is very much 
 rarified,yet that there is fome in them, to fuch as well confider this Expe¬ 
 riment of the difappearing of a crack upon the extruding of the Air , I 
 flippofe it will feem more then probable. 
 
 The Seventh and laft therefore that I fhall prove, is. That the gradual 
 heating and cooling of theje fo extended bodies does reduce the parts of the 
 Glafs to a loofir and Jofter temper. And this I found by heating them, and 
 keeping them for a prety while very red hot in a fire 5 for thereby I found 
 them to grow a little lighter, and the fmall Stems to be very cafily bro¬ 
 ken and Inapt any where, without at all making the drop fly, whereas 
 
 H 2 before 
 
I 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 before they were lb exceeding hardjthat they could not be broken with¬ 
 out much difficulty 5 and upon their breaking the whole drop would 
 fly in pieces with very great violence. The Realbn of which laft feems 
 to be 5 that the leilurely heating and cooling of the parts does not only 
 waftfome part of the Glafsit felf, but ranges all the parts into abetter 
 order j and gives each Particle an opportunity of relaxing its felf, and 
 confequently neither will the parts hold fo ftrongly together as before, 
 nor befo difficult to be broken ; The parts now more eafily yielding, 
 nor will the other parts fly in pieces , becaufe the parts have no bended 
 Springs. The relaxation alfo in the temper of hardned Steel, and ham¬ 
 mered Metakby nealing them in the fire,leems to proceed from much the 
 fame caule. For both by quenching fuddenly fuch Metals as have vitri* 
 fed parts interfpers’d, as Steel has,and by hammering of other kinds that 
 do not fo much abound with them, as Silver, Brals, the parts are put 
 into and detained in a bended poflure , which by the agitation of Heat 
 are ftiaken, and loofened, and mftered to unbend themfelves. 
 
 Obferv. VIII. Of the fiery Sparks flruck. from a Flint or 
 
 Steel, 
 
 ] T is a very common Experiment, by ftriking with a Flint againfl: a 
 Steeljto make certain fiery and fliining Sparks to fly out from between 
 thole two compreffing Bodies. About eight years fince , upon calually 
 reading the Explication of this odd Phenomenons by the moft Ingenious 
 Des Cartes , I had a great defire to be latisfied, what that Subftance was 
 that gave fuch a fhining and bright Light: And to that end I Ipread a 
 ftieet of white Paper,and on it, oblerving the place where feveral of thefe 
 Sparks ffiemed to vanifh, I found certain very finall, black, but gliftering 
 Spots of a movable Subftance, each of which examining with my Mifero- 
 copej. found to be a fmall round Globule 5 fome of which, as they looked 
 prety fmall, fo did they from their Surface yield a very bright and ftrong 
 reflexion on that/ide which was next the Light, and each look’d almoft 
 like a prety bright Iron-Ball, whofe Surface was prety regular, fuch as is 
 teprefonted by the Figure A. In this I could perceive the Image of the 
 Window prety well, or of a Stick, which I moved up and down between 
 the Light and it. Others I found,which were, as to the bulk of the Ball, 
 prety regularly roundjbut the Surface of them,as it was not very fmooth, 
 but rough,and more irregular, fo was the refleftion from it more fiiint and 
 confufed. Such were the Surfaces of B. C. D. and E. Some of thefel 
 found cleft or cracked, as C, others quite broken in two and hollow, as 
 D. which leemed to be half the hollow (hell of a Granado, broken irre¬ 
 gularly in pieces. Several others I found of other fhapes 5 but that 
 which is feprefented by E, I obferved to be a very big Spark of Fire, 
 which went out upon one fide of the Flint that I ffruck-fire withall, to 
 
 vrhick 
 
M I C R O G R A P H 1 A. 
 
 which it ftuck by the root at the end of which fmall Stem was fafl-en- 
 ed-on a Hemifphere^ or half a hollow Balfwith the mouth of it open from 
 the ftemwards, fo that it looked much like a Funnel^ or an old fafliioned 
 Bowl without a foot. This nighty making many tryals andobfcrvations 
 of this Experiment^ met^among a multitude of the Globular ones which 
 I hadobferved, a couple of Inftances, which are very remarkable to the 
 confirmation of my Hypothecs. 
 
 And the Firft was of a pretty big Ball fafiened on to the end of a fmall 
 fliver of Ironjwhich Compojitum feemed to be nothing elfe but a long thin 
 chip of Iron^onc of whole ends was melted intoa fmall round Globul5the 
 other end remaining unmelted and irregular, and perfe6tly Iron. 
 
 The Second Inftance was not lefs remarkable then the Firfl: 5 for I 
 found, when a Spark went out, nothing but a very fmall thin long fliver 
 of Iron or Steel, unmelted at either end. So that it feeniis, that feme of 
 thefe Sparks are the (livers or chips of the Iron vitrified , Others are on¬ 
 ly the flivers melted into Balls without vitrification, And the third kind 
 are only fmall (livers of the Iron, made red-hot with the violence of th^ 
 ftroke given on the Steel by the Flint. 
 
 He that fhall diligently examine the Vh<£nome7iit of this Experiment, 
 will, I doubt not, find caufeto believe, that the reafbn I have heretofore 
 given of it, is the true and genuine caufe of it, namely. That the spar^ 
 appearifig fo bright m the fallingys 77othifig elje but a piece of the Steel 
 or Flinty but niof commonly of the Steef which by the violence of the frokg 
 is at the fame time fever'd and heatt red-hot , and that fometimes to fuck a. 
 degree y oi to make it melt together into a fmall Globule of Steel 5 and fome¬ 
 times aljb is that heat fo very intenfe^ as further to melt it and vitrifie it 5 but 
 many times the heat is fo gentle y as to be able to make the fiver only red koty 
 which notwithflanding falling upon the tinder (that is only a very curious 
 fmall Coal made of the fmall threads of Linnen burnt to coals and 
 chaFdJI it eafily fits it on fire. Nor will any part of this Hypothefs feertl 
 ftrange to him that confiders, Firff, that either hammering, or filing or 
 otherwile violently rubbing of Steel, will prefently make it fo hot as to 
 be able to burn ones fingers. Next, that the whole force of the fkroke 
 is exerted upon that fmall part where the Flint and Steel firft touch: For 
 the Bodies being each of them fb very hard, the puls cannot be far com¬ 
 municated, that is, the parts of each can yield but very little, and there¬ 
 fore the violence of the concuffion will be exerted on that piece ot Steel 
 which is cut of!' by the Flint. Thirdly, that the filings or (mall parts of 
 Steel‘are ver)^ apt,as it were,to take fire, and are prefently red hot, that 
 isjthere feems to be a very combufible fulphureons Body in Iron or Steel, 
 which the Air very readily preys upon, as foon as the body is a little vio¬ 
 lently heated. * 
 
 And this is obvious in the filings of Steel or Iron cafi: through the flame 
 of a Candle ; for even by that ludden tranfitus of the fmall chips of Iron, 
 they are heat red hot, and that combujlible fulphureons Body is prefent¬ 
 ly prey d upon and devoured by the aereal incompafling Menflruumy 
 whofe office in this Particular I have (hewn in the Explication oi Char- 
 cole, 
 
MiCROGRAPHlA. 
 
 And in profecution of this Experiment^having taken the filings of Iron 
 and Steel, and with the point of a Knife cafi: them through the flame of a 
 Candle, I obferved where Ibme confpicuous fhining Particles fell, and 
 looking oh them with my Microfcope , I found them to be nothing elfe 
 but fuch round Globules, as I formerly found the Sparks ftruck from the 
 Steebby a ftroke to be, only a little bigger 5 and lhaking together all the 
 filings that had fallen upon the fbeet of Paper underneath, and obferving 
 them with the Microfcope, I found a great number of fmall Globules, fuch 
 as the former, though there were alio many of the parts that had remain^ 
 ed untoucht, and rough filings or chips of Iron. So that, it feems. Iron 
 docs contain a very comhuflible fidphyreous Body, which is, in all likeli¬ 
 hood, one of the caufcs of this Vhcenomenon , and which may be perhaps 
 very much concerned in the bufinels of its hardening and tempering ; of 
 which fomewhat is laid in the Delcription of Mufcovy-glafs, 
 
 So that, thefe things confidered, we need not trouble our felves to find 
 out what kind of Pores they are, both in the Flint and Steel, that contain 
 the Atoms of fire , nor how thofe Atoms come to be hindred from run¬ 
 ning all out , when a dore or paflage in their Pores is made by the con- 
 cufiion: nor need we trouble our felves to examine by what Prometheus 
 the Element of Fire comes to be fetcht down from above the Regions of 
 the Air, in what Cells or Boxes it is kept, and what Epimetheus lets it go; 
 Nor toconfider what it is that caufes fo great a conflux of the atomical 
 Particles of Fire,which are faid to fly to a flaming Body, like Vultures or 
 Eagles to a putrifying Carcals, and there to make a very great pudder. 
 Since we have nothing more difficult in this Hypothefis to conceive, firft, 
 as to the kindling of Tinder, then how a large Iron-bullet, let fall red or 
 glowing hot upon a heap of Small-coal, fhould fet fire to thole that are 
 next to it hrfi:; Nor fccondly, is this laflmore difficult to be explicated, 
 then that a Body, as Silver for Infiance, put into a weak Menftruum^ as 
 Acpua fortis Ihould , when it is put in a great heat, be there 
 diflblved by it, and not before, which Hypothefs is more largely explica¬ 
 ted in the Defcription of Charcoal. To conclude, we fee by this In- 
 ftance, how much Experiments may conduce to the regulating of Philo- 
 fophicalnotions. For if the mofi Acute Des Cartes h2i6. applied hirafelf 
 experimentally to have examined what fubfiance it was that caufed that 
 fhining of the falling Sparks firuck from a Flint and a Steel, he would 
 certainly have a little altered his Hypothefs , and we Ihould have found, 
 that his Ingenious Principles would have admitted a very plaufible Ex¬ 
 plication of this Pheenomenon 5 whereas by not examining lb far as he 
 might, he has let down an Explication which Experiment do’s contra- 
 di§. 
 
 But before I leave this Defcription, I mufi not forget to take notice of 
 the Globular form into which each of thefe is mofi curioully formed. 
 hn(it\{\sPh£nomenon^ as I have ellewhere more largely fhewn, proceeds 
 from a propriety which belongs to all kinds of fluid Bodies more or 
 lelsjand is cauled by the Incongruity of the Ambient and included Fluid, 
 which fo ads and modulates each other, that they acquire, as neer as is 
 
 polfible. 
 
/ 
 
MiCROGRAPHlA. 
 
 poflible^ a Jperical or globular form, which propriety and (everal of the 
 Fh£mmena that proceed from it, 1 have more fully explicated in the fixth 
 Obfervation. 
 
 One Experiment, which does very muchilluftratemy pre/ent Explica¬ 
 tion, and is in it felf exceeding pretty, I muft not pafsby; And that is a 
 way of making fmall Globules ox Balls of Lead, or Tin, as fmall almoft as 
 thefe of Iron or Steel, and that exceeding eafily and quickly, by turning 
 the filings or chips of thofe Metals allb into perfedly round Globules. 
 The way, in fliort,as I received it from the Learned Vhyjitian Dolt or I. G. 
 is this 5 
 
 Reduce the Metal you would thus fbape, into exceeding fine filings, 
 the finer the filings are, the finer will the Balls be: Stratlfie thelG filings 
 with the fine and well dryed powder of quick Lime in a Crucible propor¬ 
 tioned to the quantity you intend to make; When you have thus filled 
 your Crucible^ by continual flratifications of the filings and powder, lb 
 that,as necr as may be, no one of the filings may touch another, place the 
 Crucible in a gradual jire , and by degrees let it be brought to a heat big 
 enough to make all the filings, that are mixt with the quick Lime,to melt, 
 and no more , for if the fire be too hot, many of thefe filings will joyn 
 and run together ^ whereas if the heat be proportioned , upon walking 
 the Lime-duft in fair Water, all thofe fmall filings of the Metal will fub- 
 lidc to the bottom in a moft curious powder, confifting all of exadlly 
 round Globules^ which, if it be very fine, is very excellent to make Hour- 
 glafles of. 
 
 Now though quick Lime be the powder that this direftion makes 
 choice of, yet I doubt not, but that there may be much more convenient 
 ones found out, one of which I have made tryal of, and found very effe¬ 
 ctual 5 and were it not for difeovering, by the mentioning of it, another 
 Secret-, which I am not free to impart, I Ihould have here inferred 
 it. 
 
 Obferv. IX. Of the Colours obfervahk in Mufeovy Glafs^ and 
 
 other thinBodies. 
 
 M Ofcovy-glalsjOr jpecularisys a Body thatleems to have as ma¬ 
 ny Curiofities inks Fabrick as any common Mineral I have met 
 with : for firft, It is tranfparent to a great thicknefs: Next, it is com¬ 
 pounded of an infinite number of thin flakes joyned or generated one 
 upon another foclofe 8clmooth,as with many hundreds of them tomako 
 one Imooth and thin Plate of a tranfparent flexible lubfl:ance,which with 
 care and diligence may be flit into pieces lb exceedingly thin as to be 
 hardly perceivable by the eye, and yet even thole, which I have thought 
 the thinnefl, I have with a good Microjeope found to be made up of many 
 
 other Plates, yet thinner 5 and it is probable, that, were our Microfeoper 
 
 much 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 much better, we might much further difeov er its divifibility. Nor arc 
 thele flakes only regular as to the fmoothnels of their Surfaces 5 but third¬ 
 ly 5 In many Plates they may be perceived to be terminated naturally 
 with edges of the figure of a Rhomboeid, This Figure is much more con- 
 Ipicuous in our Englifli talk, much whereof is found in the Lead Mines, 
 and is commonly called spar , and Kanck ^, which is of the fame kind of 
 lubftance with thtSeknitis^ but is feldom found in fb large flakes as that 
 is, nor is it altogether lb tuff, but is much more clear and tranfparentjand 
 much more curioufly fhaped , and yet may be cleft and flak’d like the o- 
 ther Selemtkk But fourthly, this ftone has a property, which in relped 
 of the Mkrofeope^ is more notable, and that is, that it exhibits feveral ap¬ 
 pearances of Colours, both to the naked Eye, but much more confpicu- 
 oufly to the Microfeope 5 for the exhibiting of which , I took a piece of 
 Muficvy-glafs^ and fplitting or cleaving it into thin Plates, I found that up 
 .and down in feveral parts of them ! could plainly perceive feveral white 
 f^cks or flaws, and others diverfly coloured with all the Colours of the 
 Rainbow ^ and with the Mkrojeope I could perceive, that thele Colours 
 were ranged in rings that incompafied the white fpeck or flaw, and were 
 round or irregular, according to the fhape of the fpot which they termi¬ 
 nated ^ and the pofition of Colours, inrclpeftof one another, was the 
 very fame as in the Rainbow, The confecution of thofe Colours from the 
 middle of the fpot outward being Blew, Purple, Scarlet, Yellow, Greeny 
 Blew, Purple, Scarlet, and fb onwards, fbmetimes half a fcore times rc- 
 peated,that is,thcre appeared fiXjfevenjeight.nine or ten feveral coloured 
 rings or lines, each incircling the other, in the fame manner as I have of¬ 
 ten feen a very vivid Rainbow to have four or five feveral Rings of Co¬ 
 lours, that is, accounting all the Gradations between Red and Blew for 
 one; But the order of the Colours in thefe Rings was quite contrary to 
 the primary or innermoft Rainbow^ and the fame with thofe of the fecon- 
 dary or outermofl: Rainbow 5 thefe coloured Lines or Irifes^ as I may fb 
 call them, were fome of them much brighter then others, and fbmc of 
 them alfb ver^ much broader, they being fbme of them ten,twenty, nay, 
 
 I believe, neer a hundred times broader then others ^ and thofe ufiially 
 were broadifh which were neereft the center or middle of the flaw. And 
 oftentimes I found , that thefe Colours reacht to the very middle of the 
 flaw, and then there appeared in the middle a very large fpot, for the 
 mofl: part, all of one colour , which was very vivid , and all the other 
 Colours incompafiing it, gradually afeending, and growing narrower to¬ 
 wards the edges, keeping the fame order, as in the fecundarji Rainbow^ 
 that is,if the middle were Blew, the next incompafiing it would be.a Pur- 
 ple,the third a Red, the fourth a Yellow, as above 5 if the middle 
 were a Red,the next without it would be a Yellow,the third a Green, the 
 fourth a Blew,and fb onvyard,. And this order it alwayes kept whatfb- 
 ever were the middle Colour. 
 
 There was further obfervable in feveral other parts of this Body, ma¬ 
 ny Lines or Threads,cach of them of fbme one peculiar Colour, and thofo 
 fb exceedingly bright and vivid that it afforded a very plcafantobje<^ 
 
 through 
 
Ml GROG RA PHI Ai 
 
 through the Microfcope. Some of thefe threads I have obferved aJ/b to 
 be pieced or made up of feveral (hort lengths of differently coloured 
 e^ds f as I may fo call them ) as a line appearing about two inches lon^ 
 through the Microfiope ^ has been compounded of about half an inch of 
 a Peach coloui'j s of a lovely Grals-grcen, 4 of an inch more of a bright 
 Scarlet^and the reft of the line ofaWatchet blew. Others of them were 
 much otherwife coloured 3 the variety being almoft infinite. Another 
 thing which is very obfervable^ is, that if you find any place where the 
 colours are very broad and conlpicuous to the naked eye, you may, by 
 preffing that place with your finger, make the colours change places,and 
 go from one part to another. , 
 
 There is one Vh£?iomemn more, which may, if care be ufed, exhi¬ 
 bit to the beholder, as it has divers times to me, an exceeding pleafant, 
 
 ^ and not lefs inftrudive Spedfacle 3 And that is, if curiofity and diligence 
 be ufed, you may fo fplit this admirable Subftance , that you may have 
 pretty large Plates ( in comparifon of thofe fmaller ones which you may 
 obferve in the Rings) that are perhaps an ^ or a ^ part of an inch over, 
 each of them appearing through the Microfiope moft curioully, intirely, 
 and uniformly adorned with lome one vivid colour ; this, if examined 
 with the Microfiope , may be plainly perceived to be in all parts of it e- 
 qually thick. Two, three, or more of thefe lying one upon another, ex¬ 
 hibit oftentimes curious compounded colours, which produce fuch a 
 Compofitum , as one would fcarce imagine fhould be the reflilt of fuch in- 
 gredients : As perhaps a faint yellow and a blew may produce a very deep 
 purple. But when anon we come to the more ftriff examination of thefe 
 Vh^nomena^ and to inquire into the caufes and reafons of thefe produfti- 
 ens,we fhall,! hope, make it more conceivable how they are produced, 
 and fhewthemtobe no other then the natural and heceftary effeds ari- 
 fingfrom the peculiar union of concurrent caufes. 
 
 Thefe Phenomena being fb various, and fo truly admirable, it will cer¬ 
 tainly be very well worth our inquiry, to examine the caufes and reafons 
 of them,and to confider, whether from thefe caufes demonftratively evi¬ 
 denced , may not be deduced the true caufes of the produdion of ail 
 kind of Colours. And I the rather now do it, inftead of an Appen¬ 
 dix or Digreflion to this Hiftory, then upon the occafion of examining 
 the Colours in Peacocks, or other Feathers, becaufe this Subjed , as it 
 does afford more variety of particular Colours, fb does it afford much 
 better wayes of examining each circumftance. And this will be made 
 manifeft to him that confiders, firft, that this laminated body is more 
 fimple and regular then the parts of Peacocks feathers, this confifting on¬ 
 ly of an indefinite number of plain and fmooth Plates, heaped up, or in¬ 
 cumbent on each other. Next, that the parts of this body are much more 
 manageable, to be divided or joyned, then the parts of a Peacocks fea- 
 ther,or any other flibftance that I know. And thirdly, becaufe that in this 
 we are able from a colourlefs body to produce feveral coloured bodies, 
 affording all the variety of Colours imaginable: And feveral others, 
 which the fubfequentinquiry will make fiianifeft.- 
 
 I To 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 To begin therefore^, it is manifeft from feveral circumftanceSj that the 
 material caule of the apparition of thele feveral Colours ^ is fbme Lamina 
 or Plate of a tranfparent or pellucid body of a thickncfs very determi¬ 
 nate and proportioned according to the greater or lefs rcfradive power 
 of th^pellucid body. And that this is fo.abundance of Inftances and par¬ 
 ticular Circumftances will make manifeft. 
 
 if you take anyfmall piece of the Mufiovy-glafs , and with a 
 Needle, or fome other convenient Inftrument, cleave it oftentimes into 
 thinner and thinner Lamin£^ you lhall findj that till you come to a deter¬ 
 minate thinnefs of them, they fhall all appear tranfparent and colourleft, 
 but if you continue to fplit and divide them further,you fhall find at laft^ 
 that each Plate, after it comes to fuch a determinate thicknefs, fhall ap¬ 
 pear moft lovely ting’d or imbued with a determinate colour. \{further^ 
 by any means you fo flaw a pretty thick piece, that one part docs begin 
 to cleave a little from the other, and between thofe two there be by any ' 
 means gotten fbme pellucid medium^thok laminated]pe\luc\d bodies that 
 fill that fpace, fhall exhibit feveral Rainbows or coloured Lines, the co¬ 
 lours of which will be difpofed and ranged according to the various 
 thicknefles of the feveral parts of that Plate. That this is fo, isyetyi/r- 
 ther confirmed by this Experiment. 
 
 Take two fmall pieces of ground and polifht Looking-glafs-plate, 
 each about the bignefs of a fhilling, take thefe two dry, and with your 
 fore-fingers and thumbs prefs them very hard and clofe togetherjand you 
 (hall find, that when they approach each other very near, there will ap¬ 
 pear feveral Irifes or coloured Lines, in the fame manner almoft as in the 
 Mufcovy-glafs 3 and you may very eafily change any of the Colours of 
 any part of the iaterpofed body, by prefling the Plates clofer and hard¬ 
 er together,or leaving them more lax 3 that is,a part which appeared co¬ 
 loured with a red, may be prefently ting’d with a yellow, blew, green, 
 purple , or the like, by altering the appropinquation of the terminating 
 Plates.Now that air is not neceflary to be the interpofed body, but that 
 any other tranfparent fluid will do much the fame, may be tryed by wet¬ 
 ting thofe approximated Surfaces with Water, or any other tranfparent 
 Liquor, and proceeding with it in the fame manner as you did with the 
 Air 3 and you will find much the like effed, only with this difference, 
 that thofe compreft bodies, which differ moft, in their refraftive quality, 
 from the comprefting bodies, exhibit the moft ftrong and vivid tin- 
 d:ures. Nor is it neceflary , that this laminated and tingd body fhould 
 be of a fluid fubftance, any other fubftance, provided it be thin enough 
 and tranfparent, doing the fame thing : this the Lamin£of our Mufcovy- 
 glafs hint 3 but it may be confirm’d by multitudes of other Inftances. 
 
 Andfirft, we fhall find, that even Glafs it felf may, by the help of a 
 Lamp, be blown thin enough to produce thefe rh<enomena of Co¬ 
 lours ; which Phanomena accidentally happening, as I have been 
 attempting to frame fmall Glafles with a Lamp, did not a little furprize 
 me at firft, having never heard or feen any thing of it before 3 
 though afterwards comparing it with ' the Phmgmena , I had often 
 
 obferved 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 obferved in thoie Bubbles which Children ule to riiake with Soap-wdter, 
 I did the lefs wonder 5 elpecially when upon Experiment I found, I was 
 able to produce the fame Th(£nohieftd in thin Bubbles made with any 
 other tranlpareiit Subftance. Thus have I produced them with Bubbles 
 of Pitch. Kojin^ Colophony^Turperitifie^ Solutions of feveral Cums.^ as Gum-^ 
 Arabick^ in water, any glutinous Liquor,as Wori^ Wine^Spirit of Wine^ Oyl 
 of Turpentine^ Glare of Snails^ 5 cc. 
 
 It would be needlefs to enumerate the feveral Inflances , thefe being 
 enough to fhew the generality or univerfality of this propriety. ' Only I 
 muft not omit, that we have inflances allb of this kind even in metalline 
 Bodies and animal 5 for thofe feveral Colours which are obferved to fol¬ 
 low each other upon the polifht furface of hardned Steel, when it is by a 
 fufficient degree of heat gradually tempered or Ibftened, are produced 
 from nothing elfe but a certain thin Lamina of a rntrum or titrified part 
 of the MetaljWhich by that degree of heat, and the concurring action of 
 the ambient Aitjis driven out and fixed on the furface of the Steel. 
 
 And this hints to me a very probable ( at lealh, if not the true) caufe 
 of the hardning and tempering of Steel, which has not, I think, been yet 
 givenjnor, that I know of been fb much as thought of by any. And that 
 is this,that the hardnefs of it arifes from a greater proportion of a vitrifi¬ 
 ed Subftance interfperled through the pores of the Steel. And that the 
 tempering or foftning of it ariles from the proportionate or finaller parcels 
 of it left within thofe pores.' This will feem the mote probable, if we 
 confider thefe Particulars. 
 
 Firft, That the pure parts of Metals are of themfelves very flexible 
 and tuff‘s that is, will indure bending and hammering,and yet retain their 
 continuity. 
 
 Next, That the Parts of all vitrified Subftances, as all kinds of Glals,' 
 the Scoria of Metals, d^c. are very hard, and allb very brittle, being nei¬ 
 ther flexible nor malleable ^ but may by hammering or beating be broken 
 into fmall parts or powders. 
 
 Thirdly,That all Metals ( excepting Gold and Silver , which do not 
 fo much with the bare fire, unlefs aflifted by other faline Bodies) do 
 more or lefs vitrifie by the ftrength of fire^ that is, are corroded by a fa- 
 line Subftance, which I elfewhere fhew to be the true caufe of fire ^ and 
 are thereby, as by feveral other ALenflruums^converted into Scoria 5 And 
 this is called, calcining o^them^ by Chimifts. Thus Iron and Copper by 
 heating and quenching do turn all of them by degrees into Scoria^ which 
 arc evidently vitrified Subftances, and unite with Glafs, and are eafily 
 fufible 5 and when cold, very hard, and very brittle. 
 
 Fourthly, Thatmoft kind of Vitrifications or are made by 
 
 Salts, uniting and incorporating with the metalline Particles. Nor do I 
 know any one calcination wherein a Saline body may not,' with very 
 great probability, be faid to be an agent or coadjutor. 
 
 Fifthly, That Iron is converted into Steel by means of the incorpora¬ 
 tion of certain falts, with which it is kept a certain time in the fircs 
 
^2 
 
 M I C R O G P. A P H I a1 
 
 Sixthlyj That any Iron may^ in a very little time, be cafe hardned^ as 
 the Trades-men call it, by caling the iron to be hai dned with clay, and 
 putting between the clay and iron a good quantity of a mixture of Vrwcy 
 Soot^ Sea-falt^ and Horfes hoofs (all which contein great quantities of Sa¬ 
 line bodies) and then putting the cafe into a good ftrong fire, and keep¬ 
 ing it in a confiderable degree of heat for a good while, and afterwards 
 heating, and quenching or cooling it fuddenly in cold water. 
 
 Seventhly,That all kind of vitrify’d fubftancesjby being liiddenly cool’d, 
 become very hard and brittle. And thence arifes the pretty Phcenomefja 
 of the Glafs Drops, which I have already further explained in its own 
 place. 
 
 Eighthly, That thole metals which are not lb apt to vitrifie, do not ac¬ 
 quire any hardnefs by quenching in water, as Silver, Gold, See. 
 
 Thefe confiderations premis’d, will, I fuppofe, make way for the more 
 ' cafie reception of this following Explication of the rh£nomena ofhardned 
 and temper’d Steel. That Steel is a lubftance made out of Iron, by means 
 of a certain proportionate Vitrification of feveral parts, which are lb cu- 
 rioufly and proportionately mixt with the more tough and unalter’d parts 
 of the Iron, that when by the great heat of the fire this vitrify’d fub- 
 ftance is melted, and conlequcntly ratify’d, and thereby the pores of 
 the Iron are more open, if then by means of dipping it in cold water it 
 be fuddenly cold, and the parts hardned, that is, flay’d in that lame de¬ 
 gree of Expanfion they were in when hot, the parts become very hard 
 and brittle, and that upon the lame account almofl as fmall parcels of 
 glals quenched in water grow brittle, which we have already explicat¬ 
 ed. If after this the piece of Steel be held in Ibme convenient hcat,till by 
 degrees certain colours appear upon the lurface of the brightned metal, 
 the very hard and brittle tone of the metal, by degrees relaxes and be¬ 
 comes much more tough and foft 5 namely, the abtion of the heat does 
 by degrees loofen the parts of the Steel that were before llreached or let 
 atilt as it were, and Hayed open by each other, whereby they become 
 relaxed and let at liberty, whence Ibme of the more brittle interjacent 
 parts are thruft out and melted into a thin skin on the furface of the Steel, 
 which from no colour increafes to a deep Purple, and lb onward by thefe 
 gradations or confecutions, White^ Tellow^ Orange^ Minimi^ Scarlet^ Purple^ 
 BlewJVatchet^ &c. and the parts within are more conveniently, and pro¬ 
 portionately mixt 5 and lb they gradually fublide into a texture which 
 is much better proportion’d and clofer joyn’d, whence that rigidnefle 
 of parts ceafes, and the parts begin to acquire their former dn&il- 
 mfs, 
 
 Now,that ’tis nothing but the vitrify’d metal that flicks upon the furface 
 of the colour’d body, is evident from this, that if by any means it be Icra- 
 ped and rubb’d off,the metal underneath it is white and clear^and if it be 
 kept longer in the fire, lb as to increafe to a confiderable thicknels, it 
 may, by blows, be beaten ofFin flakes. This is further confirm’d by this 
 obfervable, that that Iron or Steel will keep longer from rufling which 
 is covered with this vitrify’d cafe : Thus allb Lead will, by degrees, be 
 
 all 
 
M I C R O G R A P H I aV 
 
 all turn’d into a litharge 5 for that colour which covers the top being 
 fcum’d or fhov’d afide^ appears to be nothing elfe but a litharge or 
 vitrify’d Lead. 
 
 This is oblervable alfo in Ibme fort, on Brals, Copper, Silver, Gold, 
 Tin, but is moft confpicuous in Lead ; all thofe Colours that cover the 
 fiirface of the Metal being nothing elle , but a very thin vitrifi’d part 
 of the heated Metal. 
 
 The other Inffanee we have, is in Animal bodies, as in Pearls, Mother 
 of Pearl-fhels, Oyfter-thels, and almofl: all other kinds of ftony fhels 
 whatfoever. This have I alfo Ibmetimes with plealure obferv’d even 
 in Mufclesand Tendons. Further, if you take any glutinous fubflance 
 and run it exceedingly thin upon the furface of a linooth glals or a po- 
 liiht metaline body, you fhall find the like effeds produced: and in 
 general, wherefbever you meet with a tranfparent body thin enough, 
 that is terminated by reflebring bodies of differing refradfions from it, 
 there will be a produdfion of thefe pleafing and lovely colours. 
 
 Nor is.it neccflary, that the two terminating Bodies fhould be both of 
 the fame kind, as may appear by the vitrified Laminfs on Steely Lead^ and 
 other Metals,one furface of Lamina is contiguous to the furface of 
 the Metal, the other to that of the Air. 
 
 Nor is it necefiary, that thefe colour’d Lamins fhould be of an even 
 thicknefs, that is, fhould have their edges and middles of equal thicknefs, 
 as in a Looking-glafs-plate, which circumftance is only requifite to make 
 the Plate appear all of the fame colour , but they may refemble a Lens^ 
 that is, have their middles thicker then their edges 3 or elfe a double con¬ 
 cave^ that is, be thinner in the middle then at the edges 5 in both which 
 cafes there will be various coloured rings or lines,with differing confecu- 
 tions or orders of Colours ^ the order of the firfl from the middle out- 
 w^ards being Red, Yellow, Green, Blew, And the latter quite con¬ 
 trary. 
 
 But further, it is altogether necefiary, that the Plate, in the places 
 where the Colours appear, fhould be of a determinate thicknefs: Firff, It 
 xnufl: not be more then fuch a thicknefs, for when the Plate is increafed to 
 fuch a thicknefs, the Colours ceafe 5 and befides, I have feen in a thin 
 piece of Muficovy-glafis^ where the two ends of two Plates, which appear¬ 
 ing both fingle , exhibited two diftinbe and differing Colours, but 
 in that place where they were united, and conffituted one double Plate 
 (as I may call it) they appeared tranfparent and colourlefs. Nor, Se¬ 
 condly, may the Plates bethen fuch a determinate riz-e, for we 
 alwayes find, that the very outmoff Rim of thefe flaws is terminated in 
 a white and colourlefs Pving. 
 
 Further, in this Produftion of Colours there is no need of a determi¬ 
 nate Light of fuch a bignefs and no more, nor of a determinate pofition 
 of that Light,that it fhould be on this fide,and not on that fide 5 nor of a 
 terminating fhadow, as in the Prlfme, and Rainbow, or Water-ball : for 
 W'c find, that the Light in the open Air, either in or oqt of the Sun-beams, 
 and within a Room, either from one or many Windows, produces much 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 the fame effed : only where the Light is brighteft^ there the Colours are 
 mofl: vivid. So does the light of a Candle 3 colleded by a Glafs-ball, 
 And further , it is all one whatever fide of the coloured Rings be to¬ 
 wards the lights for the whole Ring keeps its proper Colours from the 
 middle outwards in the lame order as I before related 3 without varying 
 at allj upon changing the pofition of the light. 
 
 But above all it is moft oblervable^ that here are all kind of Colours 
 generated in a "pellucid body^where there is properly no liich refradion as 
 Des Cartes fuppofes his Globules to acquire a verticity by: For in the 
 plain and even Plates it is manifefi:^ that the fecond refradion C accord¬ 
 ing to Des Cartes his Principles fifth SeBien of the eighth Chapter 
 of bis Meteors ) does regulate and reftore the luppoled turbinated Glo-- 
 bules unto their former uniform motion. This Experiment therefore will 
 prove liich a one as our thrice excellent Verulam calls Experimentum Cru^ 
 cis^ ferving as a Guideor Land-mark , by which todired ourcourlein 
 the fearch after the true caufe of Colours. Affording us this particular 
 negative Information, that for the produdion of Colours there is not ne- 
 cefiary either a great refradion, as in the Prifme ^ nor Secondly, a deter¬ 
 mination of Light and fhadow, fuch as is both in the Prilme and Glals- 
 ball. Now that we may lee like wife what affirmative and pofitive Inftru- 
 dion it yieldsjit will be neccliary, to examine it a little more particularly 
 and ftridly, v/hich that we may the better do, it will be requifite to 
 premife fomewhat in general concerning the nature of Light and Refra¬ 
 dion. 
 
 And firfi: for Light,it feems very manifeft, that there is no luminous Bo¬ 
 dy but has the parts of it in motion more or left. 
 
 Firfi, That all kind oi fiery burning Bodies have their parts in motion, 
 I think, will be very eafily granted me. That the Jpar^ firuck from a 
 Flint and Steel is in a rapid agitation, I have ellewherc made probable. 
 And that the Parts of rotten Woodyotten Fifhyud the like, are alfo in mo¬ 
 tion, I think, will as eafily be conceded by thofe,who confider,that thofe 
 parts never begin to fhine till the Bodies be in a fiateof putrefadion^ 
 and that is now generally granted by all, to be cauled by the motion of 
 the parts of putrifying bodies. That the Bononian Jlone fhines no lon¬ 
 ger then it is either warmed by the Sun-beams, or by the flame of a Fire 
 or of a Candle, is the general report ofthofothat write of it, and of 
 others that have feen it. And that heat argues a motion of the internal 
 parts,is ( as I laid before ) generally granted. 
 
 But there is one Infiance more, which was firfi fhewn to the Royal So¬ 
 ciety by Mr. Clayton a worthy Member thereof, which does make this Afi 
 fortion more evident then all the reft: And that is. That a Diamond be¬ 
 ing rub'd^firucl(^^ or heated in the dark, fhines for a pretty while after, fb 
 long as that motion, which is imparted by any of thole Agents, remains 
 (in the fame manner as a Glals3rubb’d,ftruck3or(by a means which I fball 
 ellewhere mention ) heated, yields a found which lafis as long as the vi~ 
 brating motion of that fonorous body ) feveral Experiments made on 
 which Stone, are fince publilbed in a Difoourfe of Colours, by the truly 
 
 honou- 
 
MiCROGRAPHlAi 
 
 honourable Mr. What may be laid of thole that ap¬ 
 
 pear in the night,! cannot fo well affirm, having never had the opportuni¬ 
 ty to examine them my felf, nor to be inform’d by any others that had 
 oblerv’d them; And the relations of them in Authors are fo imperfcdt, 
 that nothing can be built on them. But I hope I fhall be able in another 
 place to make it at leall very probable, that there is even in thofe allb a 
 Motion which caufes this efied. That the fhining oi Sea-vpater proceeds 
 from the fame caufe, may be argued fi'om this. That it Ihines not till ei¬ 
 ther it be beaten againfi: a Rock, or be fome other wayes broken or agi¬ 
 tated by Storms, or Oars, or other percujfmg bodies. And that the A- 
 nimal Eriergyes or Spirituous agil parts are very adive in Cats eyes when 
 they Ihine, feems evident enough, becaufe their eyes never Ihine but 
 when they look very intenlly either to find their pi*ey, or being hunted 
 in a dark room,when they feek after their ad verlary, or to find a way to 
 elcape. And the like may be laid of the fhining Bellies of Gloworms^ 
 lince tis evident they can at pleafure cither increale or extinguilh that 
 Radiation. 
 
 It would be fomewhat too long a work for this place Zetetically to 
 examine, and politively to prove, what particular kind of motion it is 
 that muft be the efficient of Light ^ for though it be a motion, yet ’tis 
 not every motion that produces it, lince we find there are many bodies 
 very violently mov’d, which yet afford not fuch an effed 5 and there 
 are other bodies, which to our other lenfes, feem not mov’d lb much, 
 which yet fhine. Thus Water and quick-filver, and mofi: other liquors 
 heated, fhine not 5 and feveral hard bodies, as Iron, Silver, Brals, Cop¬ 
 per, Wood, though very often ftruck with a hammer, fhine not pre- 
 lently, though they will all'of them grow exceeding hot 3 whereas rot¬ 
 ten Wood, rotten Fifh, Sea water, Gloworms, c^c. have nothing of tan¬ 
 gible heat in them, and yet (where there is no frronger light to affed the 
 Senlbryj they Ihine fome of them lb Vividly, that one may make a fhift 
 to read by them. 
 
 It would be too long, I lay, here to infert the dilcurfive prdgrels by 
 which I inquir’d after the proprieties of the motion of Light, and there¬ 
 fore I fhall only add the refult. 
 
 And, Firft, I found it ought to be exceeding quicj^^ fuch as thofe moti¬ 
 ons fermentation and putrefallitfn^ whereby, certainly, the parts are 
 exceeding nimbly and violently mov’d 3 and that, becaufe we find thofe 
 motions are able more minutely to lhatter and divide the body,then the 
 moft violent heats or menfirnums We yet know. And that fire is nothing 
 elle but luch a dijjolution of the Burning body, made by the moft nniver-’ 
 fal menfirmm of all fidphureous bodies^ namely, the Air, we fhall in an 
 other place ofthis Tradate endeavour to make probable. And that, 
 in all extreamly hot fhining bodies, there is a very quick motion that 
 caufes Light; as well as a more robuft that caules Heat, may be argued 
 from the celerity wherewith the bodyes are diflblv’d. 
 
 Next, it muft be a Vibrative motion. And for this the newly mention’d 
 Diamond affords us a good argument 3 fince if the motion of the parts did 
 
 not 
 
MiCROGRAPHIA. 
 
 « 
 
 not returnjthe Diamond muft after many rubbings decay and be wafted; 
 but we have no reafon to fufpedl: the Jatter, elpecially if we confider 
 the exceeding difficulty that is found in cutting or wearing away a Di¬ 
 amond. And a Circular motion of the parts is much more improbable, 
 lince, if that were granted,and they be fuppos'd irregular and Angular 
 parts, I fee not how the parts of the Diamond ftiould hold fo firmly to¬ 
 gether, or remain in the lame fenfible dimenfions, which yet they do. 
 Next, if they be Globular^ and mov’d only with a turbinated motion, I 
 know not any caufe that can imprefs that motion upon the pellucid me- 
 dium^ which yet is done. Thirdly, any other irregular motion of the 
 parts one amongft another, muft neceflarily make the body of a fluid 
 confiftence, from which it is far enough. It muft therefore be a Vibra¬ 
 ting motion. 
 
 And Thirdly, That it is a very Jhort vibrating motion, I think the in- 
 ■ ftances drawn from the fhining of Diamonds will alfo make probable. 
 For a Diamond being the hardeft body we yet know in the World, and 
 confequently the leaft apt to yield or bend, muft confequently alfo have 
 its vibrations exceeding fhort. 
 
 And thefe,I think, are the three principal proprieties of a motion, re- 
 quifite to produce the efledt call’d Light in the C)b)ed. 
 
 The next thing we are to confider, is the way or manner of the traje- 
 Bion of this motion through the interpos’d pellucid body to the eye; 
 And here it will be eafily granted, 
 
 Firft, That it muft be a body JuJceptible and impartible of this motion 
 that will deferve the name of a Tranfparent. And next, that the parts of 
 fitch a body muft be Homogeneous^ or of the fame kind. Thirdly, that the 
 conftitution and motion of the parts muft be fuch, that the appulle of the 
 luminous body may be communicated or propagated through it to the 
 greateft imaginable diftance in the leaft imaginable time 5 though I foe 
 no reafon to affirm, that it muft be in an inftant; For I know not any one 
 Experiment or obforvation that does prove it. And, whereas it may be 
 objeded. That we fee the Sun rifon at the very inftant when it is above 
 the fenfible Horizon, and that we fee a Star hidden by the body of the 
 Moon at the fame inftant, when the Star, the Moon, and our Eye are all 
 in the fame line , and the like Obforvations, or rather foppofitions, may 
 be urg’d. I have this to anfwer. That I can as eafily deny as they affirm^ 
 for I would fain know by what means any one can be afliircd any more 
 of the Affirmative, then I of the Negative. If indeed the propagation 
 were very flow, ’tis pollible fbmething might be difooVered by Eclyp- 
 fos of the Moon 5 but though we fhould grant the progrefs of the light 
 from the Earth to the Moon, and from the Moon back to the Earth a- 
 gain to be full two Minutes in performing, I know not any poflible 
 means to difoover it 5 nay, there may be fome inftances perhaps of Ho¬ 
 rizontal Eclypfes that may feem very much to favour this fuppofition of 
 the flower progreflion of Light then moft imagine. And the like may 
 be faid of the Eclypfos of the Sun, 8cc. But of this only by the by. 
 Fourthly, That the motion is propagated every way through an Homo-- 
 
 geneous 
 
Microcrap HI A. 
 
 'gefieoHs medium by direct or Jiraight lines extended every way like Rays 
 from the center of a Sphere. Fifthly, in an Homogeneous medium this mo¬ 
 tion is propagated every way with equal velocity^ whence necellarily eve¬ 
 ry pulje or vitration of the luminous body will generate a Sphere, which 
 will continually increale, and grow bigger, juft after the fame manner 
 (though indefinitely fwifter) as the waves or rings on the furface of the 
 water do (well into bigger and bigger circles about a point of it, where^ 
 by the finking of a Stone the motion was begun, whence it neceflarily fol¬ 
 lows, that all the parts of thefe Spheres undulated through an Homogene- 
 iwj cut the Rays at right angles. . h . f 
 
 But becaufe all tranfparent mediums are not Homogeneous to' one.' an^ 
 other,therefore we will next examine how this pulle or motion will be 
 propagated through differingly tranfparent mediums. And here, ac¬ 
 cording to the moft acute and excellent Philolbpher Des Cartes^ I (up- 
 pofe the fign of the angle of inclination in the'firft medium to 
 the fign of refraftion in the fecond. As the denfity of the firft, to the 
 denfity of the fecond. By denfity, I mean not the denfity in relpedt of 
 gravity (with which the refractions Or tranlparency of mediums hold no 
 proportion) but in refpedt onely to the traje&ionoi the Rays of'light, in 
 which refpedt they only differ in this 5 that the ohe“ propagates the pulle 
 more eafily and weakly, the other more llowly, but more ftrongly. But 
 as for the pulles themlelves, they will by the refraCcion acquire another 
 propriety, which we (hall now endeavour to explicate. a 
 
 We will fuppole therefore in the firft Figure AC F D to be a phyfieal 
 Ray, or A B C and D E F to be two Mathematical Rays, traje&ed from 
 a very remote point of a luminous body through an Homogeneous tranlpa- 
 rent medium LLL^ and DA, E B, F C, to be Imall portions of the or¬ 
 bicular impulfcs which muff: therefore cut the Rays at right angles 5 thele 
 Rays meeting with the plain furface N O' of a /nedium that yields an 
 eafier tranjitus to the propagation of light, and falling obliquely^on it, 
 they will in the medium M M M be refradted towards the perpendicular 
 of the furface. And becaufe this medium is more’ eafily traje&ed then 
 the former by a third, therefore the point C of the orbicular pulfe F C 
 will be mov’d to H four (paces in the fame time that F the other end of 
 it is mov’d to G three (paces, therefore the whole refradted phlfeGH 
 (hall be oblique to the refi adted Rays C H K and G Ly and the angle G H C 
 (hall be an acute, and fo much the more acute by how much the greater 
 the refradfion be, then which nothing is more evident, for the fign of the 
 inclination is to be the fign of refradtion as G F to T C the diftance be¬ 
 tween the point C and the perpendicular from G on CK, which being as 
 four to three, H C being longer then G.F is longer allb then TiG, there¬ 
 fore the angle G H C is left than G T C. So that henceforth the parts of 
 the puKes GHand IK are mov’d afeew, or cut the Rays 
 angles. ' . \ ^ 
 
 It is not my bufinefs in this place to fet down the reafons why this or 
 that body fhould impede the Rays more,othcrs left: as why Water (hould 
 tranfmit the Rays more eafily, though more weakly than air. Onely thus 
 
 K much 
 
^ f 
 
 Ml CROGR AP HIAi 
 
 much in general Iflball hintjthat I fuppofe the medium M MM to have lefe 
 of the tranfparent undulating fubtile matter, and that matter to be le^ 
 implicated by it, whereas L L L I fuppofe to contain a greater quantity 
 of the fluid undulating lubfl:ance,and this to be more implicated with the 
 particles of that medium. 
 
 But to proceed, the fame kind of obliquity of the Pullcsand Rays will 
 happen alfb when the refrad:ion is made out of a more eafie into a more 
 difeult media 3 as by the calculations of G Qj8c C S R which are refra^ed 
 ftom the perpendicular. In both which calculations ’tis obvious to obfervc, 
 that always that part of the Ray towards which the refradion is made 
 has the end of the orbicular pulfe precedent to that of the other fide. And 
 always,the oftncr the rcfradion is made the (ame way,Or the greater the 
 fingle refradion is, the more is this unequal progrcfi. So that having 
 found this odd propriety to be an inleparable concomitant of a refraded 
 Ray, not ftrcightncd by a contrary refradion, we v/ill next examine the 
 rcfradions of the Sun-Beams, as they are fuffer d onely to pafs through a 
 finall paflagc, obliquely out of a more difficult,into a more eafie medium. 
 
 Let us luppofe therefore ABC in the fecond Figure to reprelent 
 a large Chimical GlaJs~body about two foot long, filled with very fair Wa¬ 
 ter as high as A B, and inclin’d in a convenient pofture with B towards 
 the Sun : Let us further luppole the top of it to be cover’d with an opa- 
 tons body, all but the hole a b^ through which the Sun-beams are fuffer’d 
 to pals into the Water,and are thereby refraded toe d e/jagainft which 
 part, if a Paper be expanded on the outfide, there will appear all the co¬ 
 lours of the Rain-bow, that is, there will be generated the two principal 
 colours. Scarlet and Blue^ and all the intermediate ones which arifo from 
 the corapofition and dilutings of thefe two, that is, c d (hall exhibit a 
 Scarlet^ which toward d is diluted into a Tellovp 5 this is the refradion of 
 the Ray, 7 4 ? which comes from the underfide of the Sun, and the Ray 
 e f fhali appear of a deep Blue^ which is gradually towards e diluted in¬ 
 to a pale Watchet-blue, Between d and e the two diluted coloursi, Blue 
 and Tel/ow are mixt and compounded into a Green 5 and this I imagine to 
 be the reafon why Green is lb acceptable a colour to the eye, and that 
 either of the two extremes are, if intenfe, rather a little ofienfive, name¬ 
 ly, the being plac’d in the middle between the two extremes, and com¬ 
 pounded out of boththofe, diluted alfo, or fomewhat qualifi’d, for the 
 compojition^ arifing from the mixture of the two extremes undiluted^ 
 makes a Purple^which though it be a lovely colour,and pretty acceptable 
 to the eye, yet is it nothing comparable to the ravilhing plealure with 
 which a curious and well tempered Green afFeds the eye* If removing 
 the Paper, the eye be plac’d againd c d^ it will perceive the lower fide 
 of the Sun (or a Candle at night which is much better, becaufeit ©fiends 
 not the eye, and is more cafily manageable) to be of a deep Red^ and if 
 againft ef it will perceive the upper part of the luminous body to be of 
 a deep Blue , and thcle colours will appear deeper and deeper, accc«‘d- 
 ing as the Rays from the lummous body fall more obliquely on the lur- 
 face of the Water, and thereby fuj^r a greater re&adion, and the 
 
 more 
 
1 ' 
 
 xVl I C R O G R A P H I A 
 
 itiore diftindt, the further c d ef \s removed from the trajedting hole. 
 
 So that upon the whole, we ftiall find that thereafon of the Vh£nome- 
 no, feems to depend upon xhtohliquity of the orbicular puljeyo the Lines of 
 Radiation,and in particular,that the Raye d which conlfitutes the^e^r- 
 let has its inner parts, namely thofe which are next to the middle of the 
 luminous body, precedent to tlie outermoff which are contiguous to the 
 dark and imradiatiug fkte. And that the Ray ef which gives a Blue^ has 
 its outward partjnamely, that which is contiguous to the dark Ikie prece¬ 
 dent to the pulfe from the innermoff, which borders on the bright area. 
 of the lunlinous body. 
 
 VVe may obferve further,that the caufe ofthe diluting of the colours to¬ 
 wards the middle,proceeds partly from the wideneis of the hole through 
 which the Rays pals, whereby the Rays from feveral parts Of the lumi¬ 
 nous body, fall upon many of the fame parts between c and/ as is more 
 manifeft by the Figure: And partly alio from the nature of therefradfiori 
 it lelf for the vividnels or flrength ol the two terminating colours, arifing 
 chiefy as we have feen, from the very great diflerence that is betwixt the 
 outlides of thole oblique unduiatious Sc the dark Rays circumambient,and 
 that dilparity betwixt the approximate RaySjdecaying gradually : the fur¬ 
 ther inward toward the middle of the luminous body they are remov’d, 
 the more muff the colour approach to a white ot an undifturbed light. 
 
 Upon the calculation of the refi-adtion and rciiedfion from a Ball of 
 Water or GlalSjWe have much the lame Th£>2V7}ieuay\Q,Vi\e:\y^2iX\ obliquity of 
 the undulation in the lame manner as we have found it here. Which, be- 
 caufe it is very much to our prclent purpofc, and aflords fuch an lujiaucia 
 cruds^ as noone that I know has hitherto taken notice of, I lhall further 
 examine. For it does very plainly and pofitively diftinguilli, and Ihew, 
 which of the two Hypotkefes^chhQr the Cartejian or this is to be followed, 
 by avoiding a generation of all the colors in the Rainbow,where accord¬ 
 ing to the Cartefiau Vriuciplcs there fliould be none at all generated. And 
 ftcondly, by avoiding an inllance that does more clolely confine the 
 caufe of thefc rk^uomeua of colours to this prelent Bypotkefis. 
 
 And firdjfor the Cartejian have this to objed againlf it,That whereas 
 he lays (^Met corum Cap.S.Seti,'^.')Sedjudicaba77/ u??i'ca772(refra& ion efei licet) 
 ad minima requiriy&‘ quidem talem ut ejus ef eCius alia contraria (refraili^ 
 one')non dejiruatur : Na^n experientia docet fifiperfeies NIVIN P (nempe 
 refringentes') FaralleU forent^ radios tantundem per alteram iterum ere&os 
 quantum per unamfrangerenturyiullos coJores depi&uros ^ This Principle of 
 his holds true indeed in aprilme where the refrading furfaCesare plain, 
 butis contradided by the Ball or Cylinder, whether ofWater brGlafs, 
 where the refrading lurfaces are Orbicular or Cylindrical. For if we ex¬ 
 amine the pallage of any Globule or Ray of the primary /m,wc fhall find 
 it to pafs out of the Ball or Cylinder again, with the fame inclination and 
 retradion that it enter’d in withall, and that that laft refradioh by means 
 of the intermediate rededion fhall be the fame as if without any 
 rededion at all the Ray had been twdee refraded by two Parallel 
 flirfaces. 
 
 K 
 
 And 
 
6o 
 
 Schem. 6 
 Fig- S- 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 And that this is true^ not onely in one, but in every Ray that goes to 
 the confHtution of the Primary Iris 5 nay, in every Ray, that fuffers only 
 two refraftions, and one refle( 5 i:ion,by the furface of the round body, we 
 (hall prefently fee moll: evident, if we repeat the Cartefian Scheme^ men¬ 
 tioned in the tenth ScUion of the eighth Chaper o^m8 Meteors^ 
 
 E F K N P in the third Figure is one of the Rays of the Primary Iris, 
 twice refradted at F and N, and once refiedted at K by the furface of the 
 Water-ball. For, firft it is evident, that RF and RN are equal, becaule 
 R N being the refledted part of R F they have both the lame inclination 
 on the furface R that is the angles F R T, and N R V made by the two 
 Rays and the Tangent of R are equal,which is evident by the Laws of re¬ 
 flexion 5 whence it will follow alfo, that R N has the fame inclination on 
 the fiirface N, or the Tangent of it X N that the Ray R F has to the lur- 
 face F, or the Tangent of it F Y, whence it muft neceflarily follow,that 
 the refraXions at F and N are equal, that is, RF E and RN P are equal. 
 Now, that the furface N is by the refleXion at R made parallel to the liir- 
 face at F, is evident from the principles of refieXion 5 for refleXion being 
 nothing but an inverting of the Raysjif we re-invertthe Ray RN P, and 
 make the fame inclinations below the line T R V that it has above, it will 
 be moft evident, that R H the inverle of R N will be the continuation of 
 the line F R, and that L H I the inverfe of O X is parallel to F Y. And 
 HM the inverle of N P is Parallel to EF for the angle R HI is equal 
 to R N O which is equal to R F Y, and the angle R H M is equal to R N P 
 which is equal to R F E which was to be prov’d. 
 
 So that according to the above mentioned Cartefian principles there 
 fhould be generated no colour at all in a Ball of Water or Glafs by two 
 refraXions and one refleXion, which does hold moft true indeed, if the 
 lurfaces be plain, as may be experimented with any kind of prilrne where 
 the two reffaXing lurfaces are equally inclin’d to the refleXing 5 but in 
 this the Phenomena quite otherwile. 
 
 The caule therefore of the generation of colour muff not be what Des 
 Cartes affigns, namely, a certain rotation of the Glohnli£therei^v^\{\c\i 2 iXQ 
 the particles which he fuppoles to conffitute the Fellncid medium^ But 
 Ibmewhat elfe, perhaps what we have lately luppofed, andlhall by and 
 by further profecute and explain. 
 
 ButjFirh: I lhall crave leave to propound Ibme other difficulties of his, 
 notwithftanding exceedingly ingenious Hypothefis^ which I plainly confefi 
 to me leem fuch, and thofeare, 
 
 Firlf, if that light be (as is affirmed, Diopt, cap. i. §.8.) not lb pro¬ 
 perly a motionj'as an aXion or propenlion to motion, I cannot conceive 
 how the eye can come to be lenlible of the verticity of a Globule^ which is 
 generated in a drop of Rain, perhaps a mile off from it. For that Globule is 
 not carry d to the eye according to his formerly recited Principle^ and if 
 not lb,I cannot conceive how it can communicate its rotation^ or circular 
 motion to the line of the Globules between the drop and the eye. It can¬ 
 not be by means of every ones turning the next before him 5 for if lb; then 
 onely all the Globules that are in the odd places mud: be turned the lame 
 
 way 
 
t 
 
M I c ROG R A P H i A. 6i 
 
 way with the firfVj namely, the 5.5. 7.9. burall the Gkh,uJ^ 
 
 interpofited between them in the even places, namelyjthe 2.4.6.§,io.^c*j 
 muft be the quite contrary 5 whence, according to the Carl^efa^ 
 there muft be no diftind: colour generated, but a confu(iqn. Next, fippq 
 th^CartefianClobuli arefuppos’d (j'rinciporumTkilofpph. Part. 5. 
 to be each of them continually in motion about their centers, I pappop 
 conceive how the eye is able to difdnguilh this new generated mqtipn 
 from their former inherent one, if I may fo call that other wherewithjthey 
 are mov’d or turbwated^ from fome other caufe than pefradion. Apd 
 thirdly, I cannot conceive how thefe motions ihould not happen ^rpe* 
 times to oppofe each other, and then, in dead of a rotation^ there wpuld 
 be nothing but a dired motion generated, and confequently no cplpur: 
 
 And fourthly, I cannot conceive, how by the Cartejian Hypothefis it is pof 
 ijble to give any plauhble reafon of the nature of the Colours generated 
 in the thin lamina of thefe our Microfcopical Obfervatiofjs 5 for in many of 
 thefe, the refrading and reflcding furfaccs are parallel to each other,and 
 confequently no rotation can be generated, not is there any necefrity of 
 a (hadow or termination of the bright Rays, fuch as is fuppos’d (chap, 8. 
 
 5 , 5 . Etpreterea obfirvavi umbram quoqne^aut limit at iomm lumink requiri : 
 and chap, 8. §, 9. J to be neceOary to the generation of any diffind co¬ 
 lours 5 Befides that, here is oftentimes one colour generated without any 
 of the other appendant ones, which cannot be by the Cartefian Hy¬ 
 pothecs, 
 
 There muft be therefore feme other propriety of refradion that caufo 
 colour. And upon the examination of the thing, I cannot conceive any 
 one more general, infeparable, andfufficient, than that which I have be¬ 
 fore affign d. That we may therefore fee how exadly our Hypothefs 
 agrees alfo with the Vheenomena refrading round body, whether 
 
 Globe or Cylinder ^ we fhall next fubjoyn our Calculation or pxamen 
 of it. 
 
 And to this end, we will calculate any two Rays: as for inffance 5 let schem, 
 EF be a Ray cutting the Radius C D (divided into 20. parts) in C j6. 5 * 
 
 parts diftant from C, and ef anbther Ray, which cuts the farpe 
 in^ 17. parts diffantjthefe will be refraded to K and k^, and from thence 
 refieded to N and n^ and from thence refraded toward P and p 5 there¬ 
 fore the Arch F f will be 5.*^ 5'. The Arch F R 106^^* 30'. the Arch f 4 
 loi.** 2*. The line F G 6000. and /g 5267. therefore hf, 7:53. therefore 
 F c 980, almoft. The line F K 16024. and / 4 1 545^. therefore N d 196. 
 and n 0 147 almoft,the line Nn 1019 the Arch N n 5.^* 51'. therefore 
 the Angle N;^<?is 34.'^ 43'. therefore the Angle N is 139.*^ 56'. 
 which is almoft 5more than a right Angle. 
 
 It is evident therefore by this Hypothecs ^ that at the fame time that ef 
 touches /EF is arrived at r. And by that timee/ 4 ^ is got to 
 E F K N is got to d^ and when it touches N, the pulfe of the other Ray 
 is got to 0 , and no farther. Which is very fhort of the place it ftiopldhave 
 arriv’d to,to make the Ray np to cut the orbicular pulfe. N 0 at right 
 Angles; therefore the Angle N is an acute Angle, but the quite con¬ 
 trary 
 
62 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 trary of this will happenjif ij.and i8.be calculated in flead of i6.and 17; 
 both which doesmoft exadly agree with the Vh^e^ome^m : For if the Sun, 
 or a Candle (which is better) be placed about E e, and the eye about 
 the Rays E F ef. at 16. and 17. will paint the fide of the luminous 
 objed toward np towards N P Red, But the quite contrary will 
 
 happen when E F is 17. and ef 18. for then towards N P (hall be a Blne^ 
 and towards np a Red^ exactly according to the calculation. And there 
 appears the Blue of the Rainbow, where the two Blue (ides of the two 
 Images unite, and there the Red where the two Red (ides unite, that is, 
 where the two Images are juft difappearing 5 which is, when the Rays 
 E F and N P produc’d till they meet,make an Angle of about 41. and an 
 half 5 the like union is there of the two Images in the Produdiion of the 
 Scciwdary Irfs^ and the fame caufes, as upon calculation may appear 5 
 onely with this difterence, that it is fomewhat more (aint, by reafon of the 
 duplicate reflexion, which does always weaken the irapulfe the oftner 
 it is repeated. 
 
 Now,-though the (econd refradion made at be convenientjthat is, 
 
 do make the Rays glance the more, yet is it not altogether requilite, for 
 it is plain from the calculation, that the pulfe d n is fufliciently oblique to 
 the Rays K N and 4^325 wel as the pulfe/c is oblique to the Rays F K &/'>(, 
 And therefore if a piece of very fine Paper be held clofe againft N n and 
 the eye look on it either through the Ball as from D, or from the other 
 fide, as from B. there (hall appear a Rainbow, or colour’d line painted on 
 it with the part toward X appearing Red^ towards O, Blue 5 the (ame al(b 
 Ihall happen, if the Paper be placed about K43 for towards T (liall ap¬ 
 pear a Red^ and towards V a Blue^ which does exadly agree with this my 
 BlypotheJiSj as upon the calculation of the progrels of the pulfe will moft 
 eafily appear. 
 
 Nor do thefe two obfervations of the colours appearing to the eye a- 
 bout/? differing from what they appear on the Paper at N contradid each 
 other ^ but rather confirm and exadly agree with one another, as will be 
 evident to him that exarnines the reafons (et down by the ingenious; 
 Des Cartes in the 12. Se&, of the 8. Chapter of hk Meteors^ where he 
 gives the true reafon why the colours appear of a quite contrary order 
 to the eye, to what they appear’d on the Paper if the eye be plac’d in 
 fteed of the Paper ; And as in the Prifme, (b alfo in the Water, Drop, or 
 Globe x\\^?hcenomefia and reafon are much the (arhe. 
 
 Having therefore fhewn that there is (uch a propriety in the prifme 
 and water Globule whereby the pulfe is made oblique to the progreflive, 
 and that (b much the more, by how much greater the refradion is, I fhall 
 in the next place confider, how this conduces to the produdion of co¬ 
 lours, and what kind of impreflion it makes upon the bottom of the eye 5 
 and to this end it will be requilite to examine this Hypothefis a little more 
 particularly. 
 
 Firft therefore, if we confider the manner of the pregrefs of the puKe, 
 it will feem rational to conclude, that that part or end of the pulle which 
 precedes the othcr,muft neceflarily be fbmwhat more obtuuded^or impeded 
 
 by 
 
Ml GROG R A P HI A. 
 
 by the refiftance of the tranfparent mcdiuln^ than the other part or end of 
 It which is (iibfequentj whofe way isj as it were, prepared by the other 5 
 efpccially if the adjacent medium be not in the fame manner enlightned 
 or agitated. And therefore(in the fourth Figure of the fixth Iconi(m)th^ 
 Ray A A A H B will have its fide H H more deadned by the refiftance 
 of the dark or quiet medium P P Whence there will be a kind of dead- 
 nels fuperinduc’d on the fide H H which will continually increafe froni 
 
 B5 and flrike deeper and deeper into the Ray by the line BRf, Whence 
 all the parts of the triangle, R B H O will be of a dead Blue colour, and 
 lb much the deeper, by how much the*ncarcr they lie to the line B H H, 
 which ismofi: deaded or impeded, and fo much the more dilute^ by how 
 much the nearer it approaches the line BR. Next on the other fide of 
 the Ray A A N, the end A of the pulfe A H will be promoted, or made 
 llronger, having its pafiage already prepar’d as ’twere by the other parts 
 precedingjand fo its impreflien wil be fironger^And becaufeofitst?/?%/^/- 
 ty to the Rayjthere will be propagated a kind of faint motion into QjCi. 
 the adjacent dark or quiet medium^ which faint motion will fpread fur¬ 
 ther and further into Q_Q_ as the Ray is propagated further and further 
 from A,namely,as far as the line M A,whence all the triangle MAN will 
 be ting’d with a Red^ and that Red will be the deeper the nearer it ap¬ 
 proaches the line M A, and the paler ov yellower the nearer it is the line 
 N A. And if the Ray be continued,!© that the lines A N and B R (which 
 are the bounds of the Redoing Blue diluted) do meet and crofs each other, 
 there will be beyond that interfedion generated all kinds of Greens, 
 
 Now-thefe being the proprieties of every fingle refraded Ray of light. 
 It will be eafie enough to confider what muft be the reiult of very many 
 fuch Rays collateral: As if we fuppofe infinite interjacent be¬ 
 
 tween A K S B and A N O B, which arc the terminating: For in this cafe 
 the Ray A K S B will have its Red triangle intire,as lying next to the dark 
 or quiet but the other fide of it BS will haveno^/7/e, becaufe 
 
 the medium adjacent to it SB O, is mov’d or enlightnedjand confequent- 
 ly that light does deftroy the colour. So likewife will the Ray A N O B 
 lofe its becaufe the adjacent medium is mov’d or enlightned,but the 
 other fide of the Ray that is adjacent to the dark, namely, A HO will 
 preferve its Blue entire, and thefe Rays muft be fo far produc’d as till 
 AN andBR cut each other, before there will be any Green produc’d. 
 From thefe Proprieties well confider’d, may be deduc’d the reafons of all 
 the Pk£nomenaof the prifme^ and of the Globules or drops of Water which 
 conduce to the production of the Rainbow. 
 
 Next for the impreffion they make on the Retina,^ we will further ex¬ 
 amine this Hypothecs : Suppofe therefore A B C D E Fan the fifth Figure^ 
 to reprefent the Ball of the eye: on the Cornea of which ABC two 
 Rays G A C H and K C AI (which are the terminating Rays of a lumi-, 
 nous body) falling, are by the refraClion thereof colleaed or convergd 
 into two points at the bottom of the eye. Now, becaufe thefe termi¬ 
 nating Rays, and all the intermediate ones which come from any part of 
 
 the luminous body, are fuppos’d by fbme fiifficicnt refraClion before they 
 
 enter 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 enter the eyc^ to have their pulfes made oblique to their progreffion, and 
 confequently each Ray to have potentially fuperindued two proprieties, 
 or colourSjWZ,. a Red on the one fide, and a Blue on the other, which not- 
 withftanding are never actually manifeftjbutwhen this or that Ray has the 
 one or the other fide of it bordering on a dark or unmov’d medium 
 fore as foon as thefe Rays are entred into the eye.and fo have one fide of 
 each of them bordering on a dark part of the humours of the eye, they 
 will each of them aftually exhibit fome colour ^ therefore ADC the pro- 
 dudion G A C H will exhibit a S/^e^becaufe the fide C D is adjacent to the 
 dark mediumQ QJD Cjbut nothing of a i^e^jbecaufe its fide A D is adjacent 
 to the enlightned medium A D F A : And all the Rays that from the points 
 of the luminous body arc colleded on the parts of the Retina between D 
 and F fhall have their Blue fo much the more diluted by how much the far¬ 
 ther thele points of colledion are diftant from D towards F 5 and the Ray 
 AFC the production of K C A I, will exhibit a Red^ becaufe the fide A F 
 is adjacent to the dark or quiet medium of the eye A P F A, but nothing 
 of a ^/«e,becaufo its fide C F is adjacent to the enlightned medium C F D C, 
 and all the Rays from the intermediate parts of the luminous body that 
 are collected between F and D (hall have their Redio much the more di¬ 
 luted, by how much the farther they are diftant from F towards D. 
 
 NoWjbecaufe by the refraCtion in the Cornea^^ud Ibme other parts of the 
 eye, the fides of each Ray, which before were almoft parallel, are made 
 to converge and meet in a point at the bottom of the eye, therefore that 
 fide o£ thepulje which preceded before thefe refraCfions, (hall firft touch 
 the Retina, and the other fide laft. And therefore according as this or 
 that fide, or end of the pulfc (hall be impeded, accordingly will the 7«r- 
 prejjions on the Retina be varied 5 therefore by the Ray G A C H re- 
 fra&ed by the Cornea to D there (hall be on that point a ftroke or imprefi 
 fion confus’d, whofo weakeft end, namely, that by the line C D fhall pre¬ 
 cede, and the ftronger, namely, that by the line A D fhall follow. And 
 by the Ray K C AI refraCled to F, there fhall be on that part a confus’d 
 ftroke or imprcffion,whofe ftrongeft part,namely,that by the line C F fhal 
 precede, and whole weakeft or impeded, namely, that by the line A F 
 fhall follow, and all the intermediate points between F andD will re¬ 
 ceive imprelfion from the ‘convergd Rays fo much the more like the im- 
 preflions on F and D by how much the nearer they approach that 
 or this. 
 
 From the confideration of the proprieties of which imprefIions,we may 
 colled: thefe fhort definitions of Colours : That Blue is an imprefjion on 
 the Retina of an oblique and confused pulje of lights whofe rpeakeji part pre¬ 
 cedes^ and vphofeftrongeli follows. And, that Red is an imprejfon on the Re¬ 
 tina of an oblique and confus'dpulfe of light ^ whofe jirongeji part precedes ^and 
 whoje weakeji follows. 
 
 Which propricties,as they have been already manifefted,in the Prifnie 
 and falling drops of Rain, to be the caules of the colours there generated, 
 may be eafily found to be the efficients alfo of the colours [appearing in 
 thin laminated tranfparent bodies^ for the explication of which,all this has 
 beenpremifed. And 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 And that this is fb^ a little clofer examination of the vh£ftemetm and 
 the Figure of the body, by this Hypothefis^ will make evident. ' j 
 
 For firft (as we have already obferved) the laminatecl body tm^ht 
 of a determinate thicknels, that is^ it mufr not be thinner then.iiich a dc^ 
 terminate quantity 5 for I have always obferv'd, that neer the edges 
 of thofe which are exceeding thin, the colours difappear, and the part 
 grows white, nor muft it be thicker then another determinate quantity \ 
 for I have likewife obferv’d, that beyond fuch a thicknefs,no Colours ap¬ 
 pear’d, but the Plate looked white, between which two determinate 
 thicknefles were all the colour’d Rings ^ of which in fome fubftances I 
 have found ten or twelve, in others not half fo many, which I fuppole de* 
 pends much upon the tranfparency of the laminated body. Thus though 
 the confecutions are the fame in the feumm or the Ikin on the top of me-*' 
 tals, yet in thole confecutions the lame colour is not lb often repeated 
 as in the confecutions in thin Glals, or in Sope-water, or any other more 
 tranlparcnt and glutinous liquor 5 for in thele I have obferv’d, Red^ teR 
 lojv^ Green^ Blue^ Purple ^ Red^ellow^Green^Blne^ Purple 5 Red^ellorc^Green^ 
 Blue^ Purple 5 Red^ Fellow^ See, to fucceed each other,ten or twelve times, 
 but in the other more opacous bodies the confecutions will not be half 
 fo many. 
 
 And therefore fecondly, the lammated body muft be tranlparent, and 
 this I argue from this, that I have not been able to produce any colour 
 at all with an epacous body,though never lb thiuw And this I have often 
 try’d, by prefling a fmall Globule of Mercury between two Imodth Plates 
 of Glals, whereby I have reduc’d that body to a much greater thinneft 
 then was requifite to exhibit the colours with a tranlparent body. 
 
 Thirdly,there muft be a confiderable reflecting body adjacent to the 
 under or further fide of the lamina or plate : for this I always found,that 
 the greater that refledion was, the more vivid were the appearing 
 colours. 
 
 From which Oblervations,it is moft evident,that the refledion from the 
 under or further fide of the bodyis the principal caufe of the produdion of 
 thefe colours 5 which,that it is fojand how it conduces to that effed,! (hall 
 further explain in the following Figure,which is here deferibed of a very 
 great thicknefs, as if it had been view’d through the Microfiope j and 'tis 
 indeed much thicker than any APicroJcope(l have yet us’d)has been able to 
 fhew me thole colour’d plates of Glals, or APufcovie-glafs^ which I have not 
 without much trouble view’d with it 5 for though I have endeavoured to 
 magnifie them as much as the Glafies were capable of, yet are they fo ex¬ 
 ceeding thin, that I have not hitherto been able pofitively to determine 
 their thicknels. This Figure therefore I here reprefent, is wholy Hy^ 
 potheticaL 
 
 Let ABCDHFE in the fixth Figure heafrujlum APufcovy-glaJs^ 
 thinner toward the end A E, and thicker towards D F. Let us firft fup- 
 pofe the Ray agh b coming from the Sun, or Ibme remote luminous 
 objed to fall obliquely on thie thinner plate B A E, part therefore is re- 
 fleded back, by eg /j the firft Superficies ; whereby the perpendicular 
 
 L " pulfe 
 
66 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 pulfe a bh after refiedion propagated by c c equally remote from 
 each other with ab^ a b^ fo that *gc^ ox b h h d are either of 
 them equal to a as is alfo c c, but the body B A E being tranlparentja 
 part of the light of this Ray is refraded in the furface AB, and propa¬ 
 gated hy gi k^h to the iurface E F, whence it is reflefted and refraded 
 again by the furface A B. So that after two refradions and one rededion, 
 ttoe is propagated a kind of fainter Ray e mnf^ whole pulfe is not on¬ 
 ly weaker by realbn of the two refradions in the furface A B^ but by rea- 
 Ibn of the time Ipent in palling and repalfing between the two furfaces 
 AB and EF, ef which is this fainter or weaker pulle comes behind the 
 pulle cd^fo that hereby (the liirfaces A B^ and E F being lb neer toge¬ 
 ther, that the eye cannot diferiminate them from one) this confus’d or 
 duplicated pulfe, whole ftrongeft part precedes, and whofe weakefl: fol¬ 
 lows, does produce on the Retina (or the opticli nerve that covers the 
 bottom of the eye) thefenfationofaTe//(C?2r. 
 
 And fecondly, this Tellovp will appear fo much the deeper, by how 
 much the further back towards the middle between c d and c d the Ipu- 
 rious pulle ef\s remov’d, as in 2 where the liirfacc B C being further 
 remov’d from E F, the weaker pulfe e f will be nearer to the middle, and 
 will make an imprellion on the eye of a Red, 
 
 But thirdly, if the two refleding furfaces be yet further remov’d afun- 
 der (as in 9 CD and E F are) then will the weaker pulfe be fo farr 
 behind, that it will be more then half the diftance between cd and cd* 
 And in this cafe it will rather feem to precede the following flronger 
 pulle, then to follow the preceding one, and confequently a Blue will be 
 generated. And when the weaker pulfe is juft in the middle beween two 
 llrong ones, then is a deep and lovely Purple generated 5 but when the 
 weaker pulfe ef is very ncer to c d^ then is there generated a Creen^ 
 which will be bluer^ ox yellower^ according as the approximate weak pulfe 
 does precede or follow the ftronger. 
 
 Now fourthly, if the thicker Plate chance to be deli: into two thinner 
 Plates, as CDFE is divided into two Plates by the lurface GH then 
 from the compofition ariling from the three refledions in the furfaces 
 C D, G H, and EF, there will be generated feveral compounded or mixt 
 colours, which will be very differing, according as the proportion be¬ 
 tween the thicknefles of thole two divided Plates G D H G, and G H F E 
 are varied. 
 
 And fifthly, if thele furfaces C D and F E are further remov’d afunder, 
 the weaker pulle will yet lagg behind much further, and not onely be 
 coincident with the fecond, c d^ but lagg behind that allb, and that lb 
 much the more, by how much the thicker the Plate be , lb that by de¬ 
 grees it will be coincident with the third c d backward allb, and by de¬ 
 grees, as the Plate grows thicker with a fourth, and lb onward to a fifth, 
 fixth, leventh, or eighth, fo that if there be a thin tranlparent body,that 
 from the’greatefi: thinnels requifite to produce colours, does, in the man¬ 
 ner of a Wedge,by degrees grow to the greateft thicknefs that a Plate can 
 be of,to exhibit a colour by the refledfion of Light from fuch a body,there 
 
 lhall 
 
1 G R O G R 
 
 AP HIA. 
 
 fiiallbe geherated feveral confecutions-of colours, whofe order frotn the 
 thin end towards the thick, (hall be Tellvrp^Red^ Vurple^ Bluefireen 5 TeUorp^ 
 Red^PnrpleyBluefireen 5 TellotP^Red^Turple^Blue^Green'-^ TtUow^c, and thefe 
 fb often repeated, as the weaker pullc does lofe paces with its Primary^ 
 or firft pulle, and is (cimidext with a fecond, third, fourth,fifth,fixth.e^4. 
 pulle behind the firft. And this, as it is comcident^ or follows frorn the 
 firft Hypothejis I took of colours,fo upon exeriment have I found it in mul¬ 
 titudes of inftances that feem to prove it. One thing which feems of the 
 greateft concern in this Hypothefis^ is to determine the greateft or leaft 
 thicknefsrcquifitefbrtheleefre&s, which, though I have not been want¬ 
 ing in attempting, yet fo exceeding thin arc thefe coloured Plates, and fo 
 imperfedtour MicroJcopeyhsLtlhnye not been hitherto fuceefsfull,though 
 if my endeavours (hall anfwer my expeftations,! fhall hope to gratifie the 
 curious Reader with fome things more remov’d beyond our reach 
 hitherto. 
 
 Thus have I,with as much brevity as I was able, endeavoured to expli¬ 
 cate at leaft) the caufes of the Phenomena. I formerly re¬ 
 
 cited, on the confideration of which I have been the more particular; 
 
 Firft, becaufe I think thefe I have newly given are capable of expli¬ 
 cating all the Ph^enomena of colours, not onely of thofc appearing in the 
 Trifme^ Water-drop, or Rainbow, and in laminated or plated bodies, but 
 of all that are in the world, whether they be fluid or folid bodies, whe¬ 
 ther in thick or thin, whether tranfparent, or fcemingly opacous, as I 
 fhall in the next Obfervation further endeavour to fhew. And fecondly, 
 becaufe this being one of the tv/o ornaments of all bodies difcovcrable 
 by the fight, whether looked on with, or without a Microfeope^ it feem’d 
 to deferve (fbmewhere in this Trad, which contains a defeription of the 
 Figure and Colour of fbmc minute bodies) to be fbmewhat the more in¬ 
 timately enquir'd into* 
 
 Obferv. X. 0/Mccalline, re^/enters. 
 
 H Aving in the former Difeourfe, from the Fundamental caufe of Co¬ 
 lour, made it probable, that there are but two Colours, and (hewn, 
 that the Fhantajm of Colour is caus’d by the fenfation of the oblique or 
 uneven pulfe of Light which is capable of no more varieties than two 
 that arife from the two fides of the oblique pulfe, though each of thofe 
 be capable of infinite gradations or degrees (each of them beginning 
 from White^ and ending the one in the deepeft Scarlet or TeUow^ the other 
 in the deepeft Blue^ I (ball in this SeUion fet doWn fome Obfervations 
 which I have made of other colours, fuch as Metalline powders tinging 
 or colour'd bodies and feveral kinds of tindures or ting’d liquors, all 
 which, together with thofe I treated of in the former Obfervation will, 
 I fuppofe, comprife the feveral fubjeds in which colour is obferv’d to 
 be inherent, and the feveral manners by which it or is apparent 
 
 La in 
 
68 
 
 Mi c rog R AP H I a. 
 
 in them. And here! fliall endeavour to fhew by what compofition all kind 
 of compound colours are made, and how there is no colour in the world 
 but may be made from the various degrees of thefe two colours, together 
 with the intermixtures oiBlack^^ind White, 
 
 And this being lb, as I (hall anon (hew, it feems an evident argument 
 to me, that all colours whatlbever, whether in fluid or folid, whether 
 in very tranfparent or feemingly opacoHf^ have the fame efficient caule, 
 to wit, (bme kind of refraClion whereby the Rays that proceed 
 from fuch bodies, have their pulfe obliqnated or confus’d in the manner I 
 explicated in the former Seaton 3 that is, a Red is caus’d by a duplicated 
 or confus’d pulfe, whofe ftrongeft pulfe precedes,and a weaker follows : 
 and a Blue is caus’d by a confus’d pulfe,wherc the weaker puKe precedes, 
 and the ftronger follows. And according as thefe are, more ot le(s, or 
 varioufly mixt and compounded, (b arc the fenfatiotis^ and cohlequently 
 the phantafms of colours diverjified. 
 
 To proceed therefore 5 I fuppofe, that all tranfparent colour’d bodies, 
 whether fluid or folid, do confift at lead: of two parts, or two kinds of 
 fubftances, the one of a (ubftance of a fomewhat differing refraBion from 
 the other. That one of thefe (ubftances which may be call’d the tingwg 
 (ubftance, does confift of diftindf parts, or particles of a determinate big* 
 ne(s which arc dijjeminated^ or difpers’d all over the other : That thefe 
 particles, if the body be equally and uniformly colour’d, are evenly 
 rang’d and dilpers’d over the other contiguous body 3 That where the 
 body is deepeft ting’d, there thefe particles are rang’d thickeft, and 
 where ‘tis but faintly ting’d, they are rang’d much thinner, but uniformly* 
 That by the mixture of another body that unites with either of thefcj 
 which has a differing refradfion from either of the other, quite differing 
 effeds will be produc’d,that is,the confecutions of the confus d pulfes will 
 be much of another kind, and confequently produce other fenfdtions and 
 phantafms of colours, and from a Red may turn to a Blne^ or from a Blue 
 to a Red^ See. 
 
 Now, that this may be the better underftood, I (hall endeavour to ex¬ 
 plain my -meaning a little more fenfible by k Scheme t Suppbfe i^e there¬ 
 fore in the (eventh Figure of the fixth Scheme^ that AB CD reprefentsa 
 Veflel holding a ting’d liquor, let 11111 , 8 cci be the clear li^uOfrand let 
 the tinging body that is mixt with it be E E, F F, &€. G G, 
 
 H H, whole particles (whether round, or (bme other determinate 
 Figure is little to our purpole) are firft of a determinate and equal bulk. 
 Next, they are rang’d into the form of of Rquilaterdtriaugu^ 
 
 lar order,which that probably they are fOjand whythey are fo,! (hall elfe^ 
 where endeavour to (hew.Thirdly,thcy are of (uch a natubejas does’eitbet 
 more eafily or more difficultly tranfmit the Rays of light then the liquor 5 
 if more eafily,a Blue is generated, and if more difficultly, a .Ker/ 6t S^arkf. 
 
 And firft, let us fuppofe the tinging particles to be of a fubfrancethat 
 does more impede the Rays of light, W (hall find that^the pulfe ot 
 wave of light mov’d from AD to B’ G, will ptoceed on,thf UUgh the con* 
 taining medium by the pulfes or .waves R K, L L, M M, N N5 O O3 but 
 
 becaufe 
 
 
M 
 
 iCROGRAPHlAi 
 
 becaufc feveral oftheie.Rays that go totke conftitiation of thcfe pulfes 
 will be Hugged or ftopped by the tihging particles EjFjC^H j therefore 
 there (hall be a fecnhdar)/ and weak pulle that (hall follow the Ray, name¬ 
 ly P P which will be the weaker: firftj becaufe it has (iiffer’d many re- 
 ffadions in the impeding body 3 next, for that the Rays will be a little 
 difpers’d or confus'd by reafbn of the refraction in each of the particles^ 
 whether rouf^d ct aj^gnlari^md this will be mote evident, if we a little 
 more clolely examine any one particular tinging Glob'nk, 
 
 Suppofe we therefore A B in the eighth Fgure of the fixth 'Schema^ to 
 reprefcnt a tinging Glvhuk or particle which has a greater refraftion than 
 the liquor in which it is contain’d: Let C D be a part of the pulle of light 
 which \$propAgatedthxou^ the containing medium'^ this pulle will be a 
 little fVopt or impeded by the Globule^ and fo by that time the pulle is 
 pah: to E F that part of it which has been impeded by palling through the 
 Globule^ will get but to L M, and fo that pulfe which has been propa-^ 
 gated through the Globhle^ to wit, L M, N O, P CL, will always come 
 behind the pulfes E F, G H, IK, 
 
 Next, by reafon of the greater impediment in A B, and its Globular Fi¬ 
 gure, the Rays that pals through it will be difpers’d, and very much lcat*> 
 ter’d.Whence C A and D B which before went direB ^Ludparalki.yjWl after 
 the refraftion in A h^dimrge and Ipread by A P, and B CL3 fo that as the 
 Rays do meet with more and more of thefe tinging particles in their 
 way, by lb much the more will the pulfe of light further lagg behind 
 the clearer pulfe, or that which has fewer refradrions, and thence the 
 deeper will the colour be, and the fainter the light that is trajefted 
 through it 3 for not oncly many Rays are refleded from the liirfaces of 
 A B, but thole Rays that get through it are very rhuch dilbrdered. 
 
 By this Hypohejli there is no one experiment of colour that I have yet 
 met with, but may be, I conceive, very rationably Iblv’d, and perhaps, 
 had I time to examine feveral particulars requilite to the demonftration 
 of it, I might prove it more than probable, for all the experiments about 
 the changes and mixings of colours related in the Treatile of Colours, 
 publifhed by the Incomparable Mr. Boj/le^ and multitudes of others which 
 I have obferv’d, do lb ealily and naturally flow from thofe principles,that 
 I am very apt to think it probable, that they own their produdion to no 
 other fetundary caufe ; As to inftance in two or three experiments. In the 
 twentieth Experiment, this Authonr has fhewn that the deep bluijh 
 
 pm'pk-^e^iom be turn’d into a Green^ by Jkalizate Salts^ 
 
 and tda Red by acid 3 that is, a Turpk conlifts of two colours, a deep Red^ 
 and a deep Blue 3 when the Blue is diluted. Or altered, or delfroy’d by 
 acid ^ttluyht ile^becqmes predominant, but When the Red is diluted by 
 and the heightned, there is generated a Green y for of & 
 Red diluted, is made eUlellol^^ and Tellotio and Blue make a Green. 
 
 Now, becaufe the Jpuri&m puHes which caufe a Red and a Blm^ dO the 
 one follow the clear pulley' and the other precede it, it ufually follows, 
 that thofe Saline refracting bodies which do dilute the Colour of the one, 
 do deepen that of ^fhe othen And this Will be ihade mahifeft by aF 
 
 ■ ' Hiofi 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 mofl: all kinds of Purples^ and many forts of Grum^ both thefo colours 
 confiding ofmixt colours, for if we fuppofo A and A in the ninth Figure^ 
 to reprefont two pulfos of clear light, which follow each other at a con¬ 
 venient diftance, A A, each of which has a fpurions pulfe preceding it, as 
 B B, which makes a ^/z/e,and another following it, as C C, which makes a 
 Red^ the one caus’d by tinging particles that have a greater refradlionjthe 
 other by others that have a left refrafting quality then the liquor or 
 Menjirunm in which thefo are diflblv’d, whatfoever liquor does to alter 
 the refradion of the one, without altering that of the other part of the 
 ting’d liquor, muft needs very much alter the colour of the liquor 5 for 
 if the refraction of the dijfolvent be increas’d, and the refraCtion of the 
 tinging particles not altered, then will the preceding Jpunous pulfo be 
 (hortned or ftopt, and not out-run the clear pulfe fo much 3 fo that B B 
 will become E E, and the Blue be diluted^ whereas the other Jpuriouf 
 pulfo which follows will be made to lagg much more, and be further be¬ 
 hind A A than before, and C C will become f and fo the Tellow or 
 Red will be heightned. ^ 
 
 A Saline liquor therefore,mixt with another ting’d liquotjmay alter the 
 colour of it foveral ways, either by altering the reffadion of the liquor in 
 which the colour fwims: or focondly by varying the refradion of the co¬ 
 loured particles, by uniting more intimately either with fome particular 
 cerpufcles of the tinging body, or with all of them, according as it has a 
 congruity to fome more elpecially, or to all alike; or thirdly, by uniting 
 and interweaving it felf with fome other body that is already joyn’d 
 with the tinging particles, with which fiibftance it may have a congruity^ 
 though it have very little with the particles themfolves; or fourthly, it 
 may alter the colour of a ting’d liquor by difijoyning certain particles 
 which were before united with the tinging particles, which though they 
 were fomewhat congruous to thefo particles, have yet a greater congruity 
 with the newly infus'd Saline menflruum. It may likewifo alter the co¬ 
 lour by further diflblving the tinging fiibftance into finaller and fmaller 
 particles^ and lb diluting the colour 5 or by uniting foveral particles togQ- 
 ther as in precipitations, and fo deepning it, and fome fiich other ways, 
 which many experiments and companions of differing trials together, 
 might eafily inform one of. 
 
 From thefo Principles applied, may be made out all the varieties 
 of colours obforvable, either in liquors, or any other ting’d bodies, with 
 great eafo, and I hope intelligible enough, there being nothing in the no^ 
 tion of colour, or in the fuppos’d produdionjbut is very conceivable, and 
 may be poflible. 
 
 The greateft difficulty that I find againft this Hypothejts^ is, that there 
 feem to be more diftind colours then two, that is, then Yellow and Blue. 
 This Objedion is grounded on this reafon, that there are foveral Reds, 
 which diluted^ make not a Saffron or pale Yellow, and therefore Red, or 
 JScarlet feerns to be a third colour diftind from a deep degree of Yellow. 
 
 To which I anlwer, that Saffron affords us a deep Scarlet tindure,which 
 may be diluted into as pale a Yellow as any, either by making a weak fb- 
 
 lution 
 
M I C ROG R A P H I Ai 7I 
 
 lution of the SafTrorij by infufing a fmall parcel of it into a great quantity 
 of liquor, as in fpirit of Wine, or elfe by looking through a very thin 
 quantity of the tindure, and which may be heightn’d into the loveliefl 
 Scarletjby looking through a very thick body of this tindi:ure,or through 
 a thinner parcel of itjwhich is highly i^/pregnated with the tinging body, 
 by having had a greater quantity of the Saffron diflblv’d in a fmaller par¬ 
 cel of the liquor. 
 
 Now, though there may be fbme particles of other tinging bodies that 
 give a lovely Scarlet airo5which though diluted never fo much with liquor^ 
 or looked on through never fo thin a parcel of ting’d liquor, will not yet 
 afford a pale Yellow, but onely a kind of faint Red 5 yet this is no argu¬ 
 ment but that thofe ting’dparticles may have in them the fainteff: degree of 
 Yellow .though we may be unable to make them exhibit it^For that power 
 of being depending upon the divifibility of the ting’d body, if I 
 
 am unable to make the tinging particles fo thin as to exhibit that colour, 
 it docs not therefore follow,that the thing is impoflible to be done 5 now^ 
 the tinging particles of fbme bodies are of fuch a nature, that unlefs there 
 be found fbme way of comminuting them into left bulks then the liquor 
 does difiolve them into, all the Rays that pafs through them muff: neceft 
 farily receive a tindure fb deep, as their appropriate refractions and bulks 
 compar’d with the proprieties of the diffblving liquor muff neceflarily 
 difpofe them to empreft, which may perhaps be a pretty deep Yellow, 
 or pale Red. 
 
 And that this is v\ot gratis di&um^ I fhall add one inffance of this kind, 
 wherein the thing is moff: manifeft. 
 
 If you take Blue Smalt^ you fhall find, that to afford the deepeft Blue, 
 which c£teris paribus\\?LS the greateff: particles or lands ^ and if you fur* 
 ther divide, or grind thofe particles on a Grindftone, or porphyry ffone, 
 you may by commimtting the fands of it, dilute the Blue into as pale a one 
 as you pleafe, which you cannot do by laying the colour thin 5 for where- 
 fbever any fingle particle is, it exhibits as deep a Blue as the whole mafs. 
 Now, there are other Blues, which though never fb much ground, will 
 not be by grinding, becaufe confiftingof very fmall particles, ve¬ 
 
 ry deeply ting’d,they cannot by grinding be aCfually feparated into fmal- 
 ier particles then the operation of the fire, or fbme other diffblving men- 
 Jiruum^hab reduc’d them to already. 
 
 Thus all kind of Metalline colours, whether precipitated^ fublim'd^ caU 
 cind^ or otherwife prepar’d, are hardly chang’d by grinding, as ultra 
 marine is not more diluted 3 nor is Vermilion or Red-lead made of a more 
 faint colour by grinding 3 for the fmalleff: particles of thefe which I have 
 view’d with my greateff: Magnifying-Glafs, if they be well enlightned, ap¬ 
 pear very deeply ting’d with their peculiar colours 3 nor, though I have 
 magnified and enlightned the particles exceedingly, could I in many of 
 them, perceive them to be tranfparent, or to be whole particles, but the 
 fmalleff: fpecks that I could find among well ground Vermilion ^nd Rcd-^ 
 lead^ feem’d to be a Red maft, compounded of a multitude of left and left 
 motes, which flicking together,compos’d a bulk, not onethoufand thou-- 
 fandth part of the fmalleff vifiblc fand or mote. And 
 
72 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 And this I find generally in moil: Metalline colours, that though they 
 confift of parts fo exceedingly fraall^yet are they very deeply ting’d5they 
 being fo ponderous, and having fuch a multitude of terreftrial particles 
 throng’d into a little room 5 fo that ’tis difficult to find any particle tranf- 
 parent or refembling a pretious ftonc, though not impoflible 5 for I have 
 obferv’d divers fuch (hining and refplendent colours intermixt with the 
 particles of Cinnaber^ both natural and artificial, before it hath been 
 ground and broken or flaw’d into VermiliQn : As I have allb in Orpin/ent^ 
 Red-lead^ and Bifi^ which makes me fuppole, that thofe metalline colours 
 are by grinding, not onely broken and feparated actually into (mailer 
 pieces, but that they are alfo flaw’d and bruled ,whence they, for the 
 mofi; part,become opacousfike flaw’d Cryfta) or GlalSjC^c. But for Smalts 
 and verditures^ I have been able with a Microjeope to perceive their par¬ 
 ticles very many of them tranfparent. 
 
 Now, that the others alfo may be tranfparent, though they do notap- 
 pear fo to the Microfiope^may be made probable by this Experiment; that 
 if you take ammel that is almofl: opacous^ and grind it very well on 
 a Vorphyry^ ox Serpentine^ thefmal] particles will byreafon of their flaws, 
 appear perfedly opacous 5 and that ’tis the flaws that produce this opa- 
 conjhef^ may be argued from this, that particles of the fame Ammel much 
 thicker if unflaw’d will appear fomewhat tranfparent even to the eye, 
 and fiom this alfo, that the mofi: tranfparent and clear Cryfial, if heated 
 in the fire, and then foddenly quenched, fo that it be all over flaw’d, 
 will appear opacous and white. 
 
 And that the particles o£Metalline colours are tranlparentjmay be argu¬ 
 ed yet further from this,that the Cryfials,or Vitriols of all Metals,are tranf¬ 
 parent, which fince they confifi of metalline as well as faline particles, 
 thofo metalline onts mufi be tranlparent, which is yet further confirm’d 
 from this, that they have for the mofi part, appropriate colours 5 fo the 
 •vitriol o£ Gold is Yellow 5 of CopperjBluejand fometimes Greeny of Iron, 
 green 5 ofTinn and Lead, a pale White 5 of Silver,a pale Bluc,c^c. 
 
 And nextjthe Solution of all Metals into menflruums are much the fame 
 with the Vitriols^ or Cryfials. It feems therefore very probable, that 
 thofo colours which are made by the precipitation of thofo particles out 
 of the menjiruums by tranfparent precipitating liquors fhould be tranlpa¬ 
 rent alfo. Thus Gold precipitates with oyl of Tartar^ or Jpirit of *Vrine in¬ 
 to a brown Yellow. Copper with fpirit of Vrine into a Mucous blue, 
 which retains its tranfparency. A folution of fublimate (as the fame II- 
 lufirious Authour I lately mention’d fhews in his 40. Experiment) precipi- 
 fates with oyl of Tartar per deliquium^ into an Orange colour’d precis 
 pitate 5 nor is it lefs probable, that the calcination of thofo Vitriols by 
 the fire,fhould have their particles tranfparent: Thus Saccarum Saturniy 
 or the Vitriol of Lead by calcination becomes a deep Orange-colour’d 
 minium yNlilich. is a kind of precipitation by fome Salt which proceeds from 
 the fire ^ common Vitriol calcind, yields a deep Brown Red, c^c, 
 
 A third Argument, that the particles of Metals are tranfparent, is, that 
 being calcifidj and melted with Glals, they tinge the Glafs with tranfpa- 
 
 rent 
 
Ml C ROG R A P H I A* 
 
 rent colouts. Thus the Calx of Silver tinges the Ghls on which it is an¬ 
 neal’d with a lovely YelloWjOr Gold colour^d^r. 
 
 And that the parts of Metals are tranfparent, may be farther argiied 
 from the tranfparency of Leaf-gold, which held againft the light, both 
 to the naked eye, and the Microjeope^ exhibits a deep Green. And 
 though I have never Icen the other Metals laminated fo thin, that I was 
 able to perceive them tranfparent, yet, for Copper and Brafs, if we had 
 the fame convcniency for laminating them,as we haVe for GoldjWe might, 
 perhaps,through fuch plates or leavcs,find very differing degrees of Blue, 
 or Green 5 for it feems very probable, that thdfe Rays that rebound from 
 them ting’d, with a deep Yellow, or pale Red, as from Copper, or with 
 a pale Yellow,as from Brafs, have pall: through them 5 for I cannot con¬ 
 ceive how by refleftion alone thofe Rays can receive a tindfure, taking 
 any H^pothejis extant. 
 
 So that we fee there may a fufficient reafon be drawn from thefe in- 
 frances, why thofe colours which we are unable to dilute to the paleft 
 Yellow, or Blue,or Green, are not therefore to be concluded not to be a 
 deeper degree of them 5 for fuppofing we had a great Company of Imall 
 Globular ellence Bottles,or roundGlafs bubbleSjabout the bigUels of aWal- 
 nut, fill’d each of them with a very deep mixture of Saffion, and that 
 every one of them did appear of a deep Scarlet colour, and all of theiii 
 together did exhibit at a diftance, a deep dy’d Scarlet body. It does not 
 follow,becaufe after we have come nearer to this congeries^ox mafs,and di¬ 
 vided it into its parts, and examining each of its parts feverally or apart, 
 we find them to have much the fame colour with the Whole mafs 3 it does 
 not, I fay, therefore follow, that if wc could break thofe Globules fmaller, 
 or any other ways come to fee a fmaller or thinner parcel of the ting’d 
 liquor that fill’d thofe bubbles,that that ting’d liquor muff: always appear 
 Red, or of a Scarlet hue, fince if Experiment be made,the quite contrary 
 willenfue 5 for it is capable of being diluted into the paleff: Yellow. 
 
 NoWjthat 1 might avoid all the Objeftions of this kind, by exhibiting 
 an Experiment that might by ocular proof convince thofe whom other 
 reafons would not prevail with, I provided me a Prifmatkal Glaf^ made 
 hollow, juft in the form of a Wedge, fuch as is reprefented in the tenth 
 Figure of the fixth Scheme, The two parallelogram fides A B C D, A B E F, 
 which met at a point, were made of the clcareft Looking-glafs plates well 
 ground and polifh’d that I could get^thefe were joyn’d with hard cement 
 to the triangular fides, B C E, A D F, which were of Wood 5 the Tardllelo-* 
 gram bale B C E F, likewife was of Wood joyn’d on to the reft with hard 
 cement, and the whole Prifmatkal Box was exactly ftopt every whexc, 
 but onely a little hole near the bafe was left,whcreby the Veffel could be 
 fill’d with any liquor, or emptied again at pleafure. 
 
 One of thefe Boxes (for I had two of them) I fill’d with a pretty deep 
 tinftureof Aloes^ drawn onely with fair Water, and then ftopt the hole 
 with a piece of Wax, then,by holding this Wedge againft the Light, and 
 looking through it, it was obvious enough to fee the tin(fture of the liquor 
 near the edge of the Wedge where it was but very thin, to be a pale but 
 
 M well 
 
74 
 
 M I C R O G R A P H I A. 
 
 well colc^r d Yellow, and further and further from the edge, as the 
 quor grew thicker and thicker,this tinfture appear’d deeper and deeper, 
 io that near the blunt end^which was feven Inches fromthe edge and three 
 Inches and an half thick 5 it was of a deep and well colour’d Red. Now, 
 the clearer and purer this tindlure be, the more lovely will the deep 
 Scarlet be, and the fouler the tinfture be, the more dirty will the Red 
 appear fo that fome dirty tindures have afforded their deepeft Red 
 much of the colour of burnt Oker or Spamfi brown^others as lovely a co¬ 
 lour as Vermilion y and fome much brighter, but feveral others, according 
 as the tindures were worfe or more foul, exhibited various kinds of Reds, 
 of very differing degrees. 
 
 The other of thefo Wedges, I fill’d with a moffc lovely tinfture of Cop¬ 
 per, drawn from the filings of it,with fpirit of Vrine^ and this Wedge held 
 as the former againfrthe Light, afforded all manner of Blues, from the 
 fainteft to the deepeftjfo that I was in good hope by thele twOjto have pro¬ 
 duc’d all the varieties of colours imaginable 5 for I thought by this means 
 to have been able by placing the two Varallelogram fides together, and 
 the edges contrary waysjtohave fo mov d them to and fro one by another, 
 as by looking through them in feveral places, and through foveralthick- 
 neffes, I fliould have compounded, and confequently have feen all thofo 
 colours, which by other like compofitions of colours would have enfued. 
 
 Butinfteed of meeting with what I look’d for, I met with fomewhat 
 more admirable 5 and that was, that I found my felf utterly unable to fee 
 through them when placed both together, though they were tranlparent 
 enough when afonder , and though I could fee through twice the thick- 
 nefi, when both of them were fill’d with the lame colour d liquors, whe¬ 
 ther both with the Yellow, or both with the Blue, yet when one was fill d 
 with the Yellow, the other with the Blue,and both looked through, they 
 both appear’d dark, onely when the parts near the tops were look d 
 through, they exhibited Greens, and thole of very great variety, as I ex¬ 
 pected,but the Purples and other colours,! could not by any means make, 
 whether I endeavour’d to look through them both againft the Sun, or 
 whether I plac’d them againft the hole of a darkned room. 
 
 But notwithftanding this mifighefling, I proceeded on with my trial in 
 a dark room, and having two holes near one another, I was able, by 
 placing my Wedges againft them,to mix the ting’d Rays that paft through 
 them, and fell on a Iheet of white Paper held at a convenient diftance 
 from them as I pleas’d , lb that I could make the Paper appear of what 
 colour I would,by varying the thicknefles of theWedges,and confequent- 
 ly the tinCture of the Rays that paft through the two holes, and fome- 
 times allb by varying the Paper, that is, infteed of a white Paper, holding 
 a gray, or a black piece of Paper. 
 
 Whence I experimentally found what I had before imagin’d, that all 
 the varieties of colours imaginable are produc’d from feveral degrees of 
 thefe two colours, namely. Yellow and Blue, or the mixture of them 
 with light and darknefs, that is, white and black. And all thole almoft 
 infinite varieties which Limners and Painters are able to make by com¬ 
 pounding 
 
MiCROGRAPHiA* 
 
 pfotlndittg fildfe fev^ral colours fhey bii their Shel^ of Vdads^ arc UG= 
 thing elfej bUf fofiie eom^efiVnih^ made ti}? of feme one Of mofCj of all Of 
 thefe foiir. 
 
 NoWjwhereas it may here again be Obje^fedjthat neither can the Red^ 
 be fftade' otlt of the Yellow^j added together ^or Mid on ih greater or lefi 
 quantity, hotcan the YelloWs be made otit of the Reds though laid ne¬ 
 ver lb thin ^ and as for thO addition of White or Black, they do nothing 
 but either whiten or dafkeii the colours to which they dfe added,andnOt 
 at all make them of any othef kind of cOlotif: asrfotiiiftancc, Vctmilion^ 
 by being tetijfef d with White Lead, dctcsridt at all grow more Yellow, 
 but oUeTy there is made a whiter kind of Red. Nof doeS Yellow Oker^ 
 though laid never fo thick j produce the cofoOf of ThrMilioH^ nor though 
 it be tetiiper’d with Black, does it it all make a Red5 nay, though it be 
 temper’d with White, it will not afford a fainter kind 6f Yellow, liich as 
 rndjitciti^ but onely a Whiten’d ^ClloW 5 hOr Will the Blues be diluted or 
 deepned after the manner I (peak of, as iHdico Will frcver afford fo fine a 
 Blue 'd^'V.Utdm/xrine or Bife n'or will if,tempefd with Vermilion af¬ 
 ford a Green,though each of them be never fo much temper’d with Whife. 
 
 To which I anfwef,that there is a great difference between diluting a 
 colour aud whitening of if 5 for dilufirig a colouf, kto'fnake the colour’d 
 parts more thin, lb that the fihg’d light, which is made by trajedfing 
 thofe ting’d bodies, doe's not feceiWe lb deep a tindfufe 5 bUt whitening 
 a colour is onely an infermixing of many cfe'ar feflefffons* of light 
 amongthe fame ting’d parts, deepning allb, and dafknln'g or blaekingi* 
 colour, ate Very diderent 5 fbr deepning a colour, is to make the light: 
 pafe through a greater quantify of the fame tinging body 5 and darkniug 
 or blacking a colour, is onely interpofing a multitude of dark or black 
 fp’ots among the fame ting’d parts, or placing the colour in a more faint 
 light* 
 
 Firft therefore,to the former of thefe operations,that iSjdiluting and 
 deepning, moftof the colours us’d by the Limners and Painters are in¬ 
 capable of, to wit, Vermtliofr Ited-kird^ audo^r, becaufe the ting’d 
 parts'are fo ex'ceedlng finall, that the nioft cutioUs G'rindffones wuhave, 
 are not able to foparatc them into parts actually divided fo fmall as the 
 ting’d particles are ^ for looking on the mofc curioUfiy ground Ver- 
 mifi'en^ and and Red-kdd^ I could perceive that even thofe fmall 
 corpnfclesoi the bodies they left Were Cottipounded of many pieces, that 
 is, they leemd to* be fmall pieoe^ ebmpounded of a'multitude of lelleit 
 ting’d parts: each piece feemingalmbff like a'piecc of RedGlafs,or ting’d 
 Cryftal all ffa'w’d 5 fo that urilefs the Grindflone could actually divide 
 them into fiUaller pieced then thofe flaw’d particles were, which com¬ 
 pounded that ting’d mote I could fee with my Microjeope^ it would be 
 impoffible to dilute the Colour by grinding, which, becaufe the finefl: we 
 have will not reach to do in Vermilio?r or O'hgr^ therefore they cannot at 
 all, or very hardly be diluted. 
 
 Other colours indeed,. Whole tingd' particlegare fuch as may be made 
 fmaller, by grinding their colour, may be dilutedr Thus feveral of the 
 
 M 2 Blues 
 
Ml CROGRAPHIA. 
 
 Blues may be diluted^as Smalt and Btje and Majiicut^yvhich is YelloWjmay 
 be made more faint: And even Verfuilion it felf mayj-by too much grind¬ 
 ing, be brought to the colour of Red-lead^ which is but an Orange colour, 
 which is confeft by all to be very much upon the Yellow. Now, though 
 perhaps fomewhat of this diluting of Vermilion by overmuch grinding 
 may be attributed to the Grindftone, or muller, for that fome of theii'v 
 parts may be worn off and mixt with the colour, yet there fecms not ve¬ 
 ry much, for I have done it on a Serpentine-ftone with a muller made of a' 
 Pebble, and yet obferv'd the fame effed follow. 
 
 And fecondly, as to the other of thefe operations on colours, that is, 
 the deepning of them. Limners and Painters colours are for the moft part 
 alfo uncapable. For they being for the moft part of aeons 5 and that opa- 
 cQnfncf^ as I faid before, proceeding from the particles, being very much 
 haw'd, unlels we were able to joyn and re-unite thole haw’d particles 
 again into one piece, we lhall not be able to deepen the colour, which 
 fince we are unable to do with moft of the colours which are by Painters 
 accounted opacous^ wc are therefore unable to deepen them by adding 
 more of the fame kind. 
 
 But becaule all thole opacons colours have two kinds of beams or Rays 
 rcfleded from thcm,that is,Rays unting'd, which are onely refleded from 
 the outward lurface, without at all penetrating of the body, and ting’d 
 Rays which are refleded from the inward furfaces or flaws after they 
 have luffer’d a two-fold refradion 5 and becaulc that tranlparent liquors 
 mixt with fuch corpufcles^ do,for the moft part, take off the former kind 
 of refledion 5 therefore thefe colours mixt with Water or Oyl, appear 
 much deeper than when dry,for moft part of that white refledion from the 
 outward lurface is remov’d. Nay, fome of thefe colours are very much 
 deepned by the mixture with fome tranfparent liquor, and that becaule 
 they may perhaps get between thofe two flaws, and lb confequently joyn 
 two or more of thofe flaw'd pieces together^ but this happens but in a 
 very few. 
 
 Now, tofhewthat all this is v\otgratis diBum^ f lhall fet downlbme 
 Experiments which do manifeft thele things to be probable and likely, 
 which I have here deliver’d. 
 
 Forjfirft, if you take any ting’d liquor whatfoever, efpecially if it be 
 pretty deeply ting’d, and by any means work it into a froth,the congeries 
 of that froth lliall feem an opacons body, and appear of the lame colour, 
 but much whiter than that of the liquor out of which it is made. For the 
 abundance of refledtions of the Rays againft thole lurfaces of the bubbles 
 of which the froth confifts, does lb often rebound the Rays backwards, 
 that little or no light can pafs through^ and conlequently the froth ap¬ 
 pears opacons. 
 
 Again, if to any of thefe ting’d liquors that will endure the boiling 
 there be added a fmall quantity of fine flower (the parts of which through 
 the Microjeope are plainly enough to be perceiv’d to confift of tranlpa¬ 
 rent corpnfcles') and buffer’d to boyl till it thicken the liquor, the mafsof 
 the liquor will appear opacons^^und ting’d with the fame colour, but very 
 much whiten'd. Thus 
 
MiC ROGRAPHlAi 
 
 , Thus, if you take apiece of tranfparcnt Clafs that is well colour’dj and 
 by heating it, and then quenching it in Water, you flaw it all over, 
 it will become opacous^ and will exhibit the (anie colour with which the 
 piece is ting’d, but fainter and whiter. • 
 
 Or,, if you take a Ripe of this tranfparcnt Glals, and in the flame of a 
 Lamp melt it, and then blow it into very thin bubbles, then break thole 
 bubbles, and colledi: a good parcel of thole lamjn£ together in a Paper, 
 you Iball find that a fmall thicknels of thole Plates will conftitute an 
 coHs body, and thatrypu may fee through the mals of Glals before, it be 
 thus laminated^ above four times the thicknels; And befides, they will 
 now afford a colour by reflexion as other opacous- (as they are call’d) 
 colours will, but mucji fainter and whiter than that of the Lump or Pipe 
 out of which they were made. 
 
 Thus allb,if you take Vutty^ and melt it with any tranlparent colour’d 
 Glals,it,will make it become an op aeons colour d lump, and to yield a pa¬ 
 ler and whiter colour than the lump by refle(fl;ion. 
 
 1 he lame thing may be done by a preparation of Antimony^ as has been 
 (hewn by the Learned rhyjician^ D'* c. M. in his Excellent Oblervations 
 and Notes on 'i^ery\ Art of Glafs 3 and by this means all tranlparent co¬ 
 lours become opacous^ or ammels. And though by being ground they lole 
 very much of their colour, growing much whiter by realbn of the multb 
 tude of lingle reflexions from their outward furface, as I fhew’d afore, 
 yet the fire that in the nealing or melting re-unites them, and lb re¬ 
 news thofe Jpurious refleXions, removes alfo thofe whitenings of the co¬ 
 lour that proceed from them. 
 
 As for the other colours which Painters ufe, which are tranfparcnt,and 
 us’d to varnilh over all other paintintings, ’tis well enough known that 
 the laying on of them thinner or thicker,does very much dilute or deepen 
 their colour. 
 
 Painters Colours therefore eonfifting moll: of them offolid particles, 
 lb fmall that they cannot be either re-united into thicker particles by 
 any Art vet known,and confequently cannot be deepned 3 or divided ir^- 
 to particles lb Imall as the flaw’d particles that exhibit that colour, much 
 lels into fraaller,and conlequently cannot be diluted'^ It is neceflary that 
 they which are to imitate all kinds of colours, fliould have as many de¬ 
 grees of each colour as can be procur’d* 
 
 And to this purpofe, both Limners and Painters have a very great va¬ 
 riety both of Yellows and Blues, befides leveral other colour’d bodies 
 that exhibit very compounded colours, fuch as Greens and Purples 3 and 
 others that are compounded of leveral degrees of Yellow, or leveral de¬ 
 grees of Blue, Ibmetimes unmixt, and Ibmetimes compounded vvith le¬ 
 veral other colour’d bodies* 
 
 The Yellows,*’from the palefi: to the deepeft Red or Scarlet, which 
 has no intermixture of Blue, are pale and deep Majiicut^ Orpawent^ 
 Englifj Okgr^ brown Obgr^ Red Lead^ and Vermilion^ burnt Englif) Okgr^ 
 at^ burnt brown okgr^ which laft have .a mixture of dark or dirty parts 
 with them, 
 
 Their 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 Their Blues are feveral kinds Swalts^ and VcTditures^ and and 
 ^VhraMdrine^ and Indico^ which laft has many dirty or dark f>arts mter-* 
 
 mixtwithit. r t • t. 
 
 Their compounded colour’d bodies, as Ttn^, and rerdigrefe^ymeh ate 
 
 Greens, the one a Vopingay^ the other a Sea-green ^ then L«^:':>VyhiGh Is a 
 
 very lovely Pfirple% ^ 
 
 To v/hich may be added their Black and White, which th^ alft) 
 
 ufually call Colours, of each of which they have feveral kinds, ftich as 
 Bone Black^^ made of ivory burnt in a dole Veflel, and Blue Blacky, made 
 of the fmall coal o^Wil/ow.ot fome other Woods and Cul/ens earth, 
 which is a kind of brown Black, C^c, Their ufual Whites are either at* 
 tificial or natural iThite Lead, the laft of which is the beft they yet have, 
 and with the mixing and tempering thefe colours together, are they able 
 to make an imitation of any colour A^hatfoever: Their Reds or deep 
 Yellows, they can dilute by mixing pale Yellows with them, and deepen 
 their pale by mixing deeper with them 5 for it is not with Opaoous co¬ 
 lours as it is with tranfparent, whereby adding more Yellow to yellow, 
 it is deepned, but in opacous diluted. They can whiten any colour by mix* 
 ing White with it, and darken any colour by mixing Black, or fome dark 
 and dirty colour. And in a word, moft of the colours, or colour’d 
 bodies they ule in Limning and Painting, are filch, as though mixt with 
 any other of their colours, they prelerve their own hue, and by being in 
 iuch very final parts difpers d through the other colour d bodies, they 
 both, or altogether reprefent to the eye a compojitum of all ^ the eye be* 
 ing unable, by reafon of their fmalnefsjto diftinguifh the peculiarly co¬ 
 lour’d particles, but receives them as one intire compofitutn : whereas in 
 many of thefe, the Merofeope very eafily diftinguifhes each of the com¬ 
 pounding colours diftinft, and exhibiting its own colour. 
 
 Thus have I by gently mixing Vermilion and Bife dry, prodttC d a very 
 fine Purple,or mixt colour,but looking on it with the Microjeope,! could 
 eafily diftinguifh both the Red and the Blue particles, which did not at 
 
 all produce the Pbantajm o£ Purple, 
 
 To fumm up all therefore in a word, I have not yet found any folid 
 colour d bodyjthat I have yet examind,perfeftly opacous , but thofe that 
 are leaft tranfparent are Metalline and Mineral bt^ics, whole particles ge¬ 
 nerally, feeming either to be very fmall, or very much flaw’d, appear 
 for the moft part opacous, though there are very few of them that I have 
 look’d on with a Mkrofeope, that have not very plainly or circumftant}- 
 ally manifefted themielves tranfparent. 
 
 And indeed, there feem to be fo few bodies in the world that are in 
 minimis opacous, that I think one may make it a rational Huery, Whether 
 there be any body ablblutely thus opacous For I doubt not at all (and I 
 have taken notice of very many circumftances that make me of this 
 mind) that could we very much improve the Mkrofeope, we might be 
 able to fee all thofe bodies very plainly tranfparent, which we now are 
 fain onely to ghefs at by circumftances. Nay, the Objeeft Glaffes we 
 yet make ufe of are fuch, that they make many tranfparent bodies to the 
 
 cye:^ 
 
M 1 C R O G R A P H 1 A. 
 
 cyCj feeni opacous through them^which i£ ivc wid^n the Aperture a little^ 
 and caft more light on the objeds, and not charge the Glaflcs fo deen^ 
 will again dilclofe their tranlparency. ' ^ 
 
 Now, as for all kinds of colours that are diilblvable in Water,or other 
 liquors, there is nothing fo manifeft, as that all thofe ting’d liquors are 
 tranfparent 5'^ and many of them are capable'of being diluted said, com-i 
 pounded or mixt with other colours, and divers of them are capable of 
 being very much chang’d and heightned, and fixt with feveral kinds of 
 Saline mer^Jiruumy. Others of them upon compounding, deftroy or vi¬ 
 tiate each others colours, and precipitate^ 'or otherwife very much alter 
 each others tinfture. In the true ordering and diluting^ and deepning 
 and mixings and fixing of each of which, confifts one of the greateft my- 
 Irenes of the Dyers ^ of which particulars,becaufe our Microfeepe affords 
 us very little information,! (hall add nothing more at prefent 5 but onely 
 that with a very few tinftures order’d and mixt after certain ways, too 
 long to be here fet down, I have been able to make an appearance of all 
 the various colours imaginable, without at all ufing the help oi Salts^ or 
 Saline menjiruums to vary them. 
 
 As for the rautation of Colours by Saline menjiruums^ they have al¬ 
 ready been fo fully and excellently handled by the lately mention’d In¬ 
 comparable Authour ^that I can add nothing,but that of a multitude of tri¬ 
 als that I made, I have found them exadlly to agree with his Rules and 
 Theories 5 and though there may be infinite inftances, yet may they be 
 reduc d under a few Heads, and compris’d within a very few Rules. And 
 generally I find, that Saline menjiruums are moft operative upon thofe 
 colours that are Purple, or have fbme degree of Purple in them, and up¬ 
 on the other colours much lefs. The fjurious pulfes that compofe which, 
 being (as I formerly noted) fo very neer the middle between the true 
 ones, that a fmall variation throws them both to one fide, or both to the 
 other, and fo confequently mufi: make a vafi: mutation in the formerly ap¬ 
 pearing Colour. 
 
 Obferv. X I. ^yPigures chfervd in fmall Sand. 
 
 S And generally fecins to be nothing elfe but exceeding Imall Pebbles, 
 or at leaft fbme very fmall parcels of a bigger ftone 5 the whiter kind, 
 feems through the Microfeope to confifl: of fitiall tranfparent pieces of fbme 
 pellucid body, each of them looking much like a piece of Alum^ or Salt 
 Cem'^and this kind of Sand is angled for the moft part irregularly,without 
 any certain fhape,and th.^ granules of it are for .the moft part flaw’djthough 
 amongftmany of them it is not difficult to find fbme that are perfebfiy 
 pellucid^ like a piece of clear Cryftal, and divers likewife moft curioufly 
 Ihap’d, much after the manner of the bigger Stiri^e of Cryftal, or like the 
 fmall Diamants I obferv’d in certain Flints, of which I fhall by and by re¬ 
 late 3 which laft particular feems to argue, that this kind of Sand is not 
 
 made 
 
Ml CROGR AP HIA. 
 
 made by the comminution of greater tranfparent Cryftaline bodies, but 
 by the concretiou or coagulation other fluid body. 
 
 There are other kinds of courfer Sands, which are browner, and have 
 theirparticles much bigger^ thefe, view'd with a Microfeope^ feem much 
 courfer and more opacous fubftanceSjand moftofthem are of fome irregu¬ 
 larly rounded Figures, and though they feem not fb opacous as to the 
 naked eye, yet they feem very foul and cloudy, but neither do thefe want 
 curioufly tranfparent, no more than they do regularly figur’d and well 
 colour’d particles, as I have often found. 
 
 There are multitudes of other kinds of Sands, which in many particu¬ 
 lars, plainly enough difcoverable by the Microfcope^differboth. from thefe 
 laft mention’d kinds of Sands, and from one another: there Teeming to be 
 as great variety ofSandsjas there is of Stones. And ’as amongft Stones fbme 
 are call’d precious from their excellency. To alfo arc there Sands which 
 deferve the lame Epithite for their beauty, for viewing a Tmall parcel of 
 EaJi-IndiaSsind (which v/as given me by my highly honoured friend, Mr. 
 Daniel ColwaU) and, fince that, another parcel, much of the fame kind, 
 I found feveral of them, both very tranfparent like precious Stones, and 
 regularly figur’d like Cryftal, Cornijl) Diaraants, fome Rubies, &c. and 
 alfo ting’d with very lively and deep colours, like Rnbys^ Saphyrs^ Erne* 
 raids^ &c. Thefe kinds of granulsl have often found alfo in Englijh Sand. 
 And ’tis eafie to make fuch a counterfeit Sand with deeply ting’d Glafs, 
 Enamels and Painters colours. 
 
 It were endlefs to deferibe the multitudes of Figures I have met with 
 in thefe kind of minute bodies, fuch as Spherical fival/yramidal^ Conical^ 
 Prifmaticaly of each of which kinds I have taken notice. 
 
 But amongft many others, I met with none more obfervable than this 
 pretty Shell (delcribed in the Figure X. of the fifth Scheme) which, 
 though as it was light on by chance, deferv’d to have been omitted (I 
 being unable to dired: any one to find the like) yet for its rarity was it not 
 inconfiderable, elpecially upon the account of the information it may 
 afford us. For by it we have a very good inftance of the curiofity of Na¬ 
 ture in another kind of Animals which are remov'd, by reafbn of their 
 minutenefi,beyond the reach of our cyesj fb that as there are feveral forts 
 of Infers, as Mites, and others,fb fmall as not yet to have had any names s 
 (fome of which I fhall afterwards deferibe) and fmall Fifties, as Leeches 
 in Vineger 5 and fmal vegetables, as Mofs, and Rofc-Lcave-plants 5 and 
 fmall Mufhroms, as mould: fo are there, it Teems, final! Shel-fifh like- 
 wife, Nature fhewing her curiofity in every Tribe of Animals^ Vege- 
 tablesy zx\d Minerals, 
 
 I was trying feveral fmall and fingle Magnifying Claflcs, and cafually 
 viewing a parcel of white Sand, when I perceiv’d one of the grains exaftly 
 fliap’d and wreath’d like a Shell, but endeavouring to diftioguifti it with 
 my naked cyc,it was fb very fmall,that I was fain again to make ufe of the 
 Glafs to find it 5 then,whileft I thus look’d on it, with a Pin I feparated all 
 the reft of the granules of Sand,and found it afterwards to appear to the 
 naked eye ap exceeding fmall white fpot, no biggpr than the point of a 
 
iVl I C R OG R A P H I A. 
 
 Pin. Afterwards I view'd it every way with a better A/icrofiope^:ind found 
 it on both fidesjand edge-ways, to refemble the Shell of a fmall Water- 
 Snail with a flat fpiral Shell; it had twelve wreathings, c, 8cc. 
 
 all very proportionably growing one lefs than another toward the 
 middle or center of the Shell, where there was a very fmall round, white 
 (pot. I could not certainly dilcover whether the Shell Were hollow or 
 not, but it feem’d fill’d with fomewhat, and tis probable that it might 
 be petrify d as other larger Shels often arc, fiichas are mention’d in the 
 feventeenth ObJervation» 
 
 Obferv. XII, Of Gfavel in Vrine, 
 
 I Havc often oblerv’d the Sand or Gravel of Urine, which feems to be 
 a tartareous fabrtance, generated out of a Saline and a terreftrial lub- 
 ftance (ryflallizld together, ih the form of Tartar^ Ibmetimes flicking to 
 the fides of the Vrinal^ but for the mofl: part finking to the bottom, and 
 there lying in the form of coorfe common Sand 5 thefe, through the Mi-- 
 appear to be a company of fmall bodies,partly tranfparent,^and 
 partly epacous^ fome White, fome Yellow, fome Red, others of more 
 brown and dulkie colours. 
 
 The Figure of them is for the mofl: part flat, in the manner of Slats, 01- 
 fuch like plated Stones,that is',each of them feem to be made up of feve- 
 ral other thinner Plates, much like A/ufeovie Glafs^or Englif Sparryo the 
 laft of which, the white plated Gravel feems moll: likely ^ for they feem 
 not onely plated like that, but their fides lhap’d allb into Rhombs^ Rhom- 
 boeids^2.vA fometimesinto Re&a?/gles and Jquares.l^hQn bignels and Figure 
 may be feen in the fecond Figure of the fixth which reprelentsafout 
 
 a dozen of them lying upon a plate ABC Djlbme of which, as b^ r, d^ 
 feem’d more tegular than the reft, and e, which was a fmall one, ftick- 
 ing on the top of another, was a perfed Rhomboeid on the top, and had 
 four Re^angular fides. 
 
 The line E which Was the meafure of the A/icrofeope^ is 5*2 part of an 
 Englijh Inch, fo that the greatefi: bredth of any of them, exceeded not 
 ds part of an Inch. 
 
 Putting thele into feveral liquors, I found Oyl of Vitriol^ Spirit of 
 Vrineyind leveral other Saline menjirnums to diflolve them, and the firil: 
 of thele in lefs than a minute without £/'^//7tm«,Water,and leveral other 
 liquors, had no fudden operation upon them. This I mention, becaule 
 thole liquors that diflolve them,firft: make them very white, not vitiating^ 
 but rather rectifying their Figure, and thereby make them afford a very 
 pretty objeCl for the Mkrofeopes 
 
 * How great an advantage it would be to fuch as are troubled with the 
 Stone, to find fome menftruum that might diflolve them without hurting 
 the Bladdcr^is cafily imagin’d, fince fome injeUions made of fuch bodies 
 might likewilc diflblve the ftone, which feems mudh of the fame nature. 
 
 N It 
 
82 
 
 Micrograph iA. 
 
 It may therefore, perhaps, be worthy fomePhyficians enquiry, whether 
 there may not be fomething mixt with the Urine in which the Gravel 
 or Stone lies, which may again make it diflblve it, the firft of which feems 
 by it’s regular Figures to have been fometimes Cr^fial/izdout of it. For 
 whether this Crypallization be made in the manner as Alum^ Veter are 
 cryfiallized out ofa cooling liquor, in which, by boy ling they have been 
 dillblv’d 5 or whether it be made in the manner of Tart arum Vitriolatum^ 
 that is, by the Coalition of an acid and a Sulphureous lubftance, it feems 
 not impoffiblejbut that the liquor it lies in,may be again made a dijjolvent 
 of it. But leaving thefe inquiries to Phyficians or Chymifts, to whom 
 it does more properly belong, 1 fhall proceed. 
 
 Obferv. XIII. Of the [mall Diamants, or Sparks in Flints. 
 
 C Hancing to break a Flint ftone in pieces, I found within it a certain 
 cavity all crufted over with a very pretty candied fubftance, Ibme 
 of the parts of which, uponchanging the pofture of the Stone, in refpedi: 
 of the Incident light, exhibited a number of imall, but very vivid re- 
 fieftions 3 and having made ule of my Microfeope^ I could perceive the 
 whole lurface of that cavity to be all befet with a multitude of little 
 Cryjialine or Adamantine bodies, fo curioufly fliap’d, that it afforded a 
 not unpleafing objed. 
 
 Having confidered thofe vivid repercujjions of light,! found them to be 
 made partly from the plain external furface of thefe regularly figured 
 bodies (which afforded the vivid reflexions) and partly to be made 
 from within the fbmewhat pellucid body, that is,from fome furface of the 
 body,oppofite to that fuperficies of it which was next the eye. 
 
 And becaufe thefe bodies were fo fraall, that I could not well come to 
 make Experiments and Examinations of them, I provided me feveral 
 Imall firm of Cryftals or Diamants, found in great quantities in Corn- 
 toalL^nd. are therefore commonly called CorniJJ) Diamants : thefe being 
 very pellucid^ and growing in a hollow cavity of a Rock (as I have been 
 feveral times informed by thofe that have obferv'd them) much after the 
 fame manner as thefe do in the Flint ^ and having befides their outward 
 furface very regularly fhap’d, retaining very near the fame Figures with 
 fome of thofe I obferv’d in the other, became a convenient help to me for 
 the Examination of the proprieties of thofe kinds of bodies. • 
 
 And firft for the RefleXions 5 in thefe I found it very obfervable. That 
 the brightefl: refleXions of light proceeded from within thcpel/ucidhody 5 
 that is, that the Rays admitted through the pellucid fubXance in their 
 getting out on the oppofite fide, were by the contiguous and ftrong re- 
 neXing furface of the Air very vividly refleXed, fo that more Rays were 
 refleXed to the eye by this furface, though the Ray in entring and getting 
 out of the Cryftal had fuller’d a double refraXion, than there were from 
 the outward lurface of the Glafs where the Ray had lufiel’d no reflraXion 
 
 at all 
 
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jVlICROGRAPHlA. 
 
 And that this was the furface of the Air that gave fo vivid a re-perc»f~ 
 Jfott I try’d by this means. I funk half of ajiiria in Water, fo that Only 
 Water was contiguous to the under furtace, and then the internal re- 
 fledlion was (b exceedingly faint, that it was fcarce difcernable. Again, 
 I try’d to alter this vivid rcfleftion by keeping off the Air, with a body 
 not fluid, and that was by rubbing and holding my finger very hard 
 againfl: the under furfacc, fo as in many places the pulp of my finger did 
 touch the Glafs, without any ifjterjacefit air between ^ then oblerving the 
 refleff ion, I found,that wherefoever my linger or Ikin toucht the furfacc, 
 from that part there was no refledion, but in the little furrows or creales 
 of my Ikin, where there remain’d little fmall lines of air,from them was ' 
 return’d a very vivid refledion as before. I try’d further,by making the 
 furface of very pure Quickfilver to be contiguous to the under furface 
 of this pellucid body, and then the refiedion from that was lb exceeding¬ 
 ly more vivid than from the air, as the refiedion from air was than 
 the refiedion from the Water , from all which trials I plainly law, that 
 the ftrong refitding air was the caufe of this Th.^nor}tetion, 
 
 And this agrees very well with the Bypethefts of light and VcUncidho'^ 
 dies which I have mention’d in the defeription of Mufcovy-glaf'^ for we 
 there fuppolc Glafs to be a medinmy^\{\ch does lels refill the pulfe of light, 
 and confequentlyjthat mod of the Rays incident on it enter into itjand are 
 refraded towards the perpendicular 5 whereas the air I fuppofe to be a 
 body that does more refift it, and confequently more are re-percufe'd then 
 do enter it: the fame kind of trials have I made, with Cryflalline Claf^ 
 with drops of fluid bodies, and leveral other ways,which do all feem to 
 agree very exadly with this theory. So that from this Principle well ella- 
 blilh’d , we may deduce feverall Corollaries not unworthy obfervation. 
 
 And the firflis, that it plainly appears by this, that thepfodudion of 
 the Rainbow is as much to be aferibed to the refiedion of the concave 
 (urface of the air, as to the refradion of the Globular drops: this will be 
 evidently manifefl by thefe Experiments, if you foliate that part of a 
 Gla6-ball that is to refied an Iris^ as in the Cartefiak Experiment, above 
 mention’d, the refiedions will be abundantly more flrong. and the co¬ 
 lours more vivid: and if that part of the furface be touch’d with Watet, 
 (carce affords any fenfible colour at all. 
 
 Next we learn, that the great reafbn why pellucid bodies beaten fmall 
 are white, is from the multitude of refiedions, not from the particles of 
 the body, but from the contiguous furface of the air. And this is evident¬ 
 ly manifefred, by filling the Interflitia of thofe powder’d bodies fvith 
 Water, whereby their whitenefs prelently difappears. From the fame 
 rcafbn proceeds the whitenefs of many kinds of Satids, which in the MB 
 crojeope appear to be made up of a multitude of yntlepellucid bodies, 
 whofe brighteft refiedions may by the Microfeope be plainly perceiv’d 
 to come from their internal furfaces ^ and much of the whitenefs of it may 
 be deftroy’d by the afiufion of fab Water to be contiguous to thofe 
 iiirfaces. 
 
 The whitenefs alfb of froth, is for the moft part to be aferibed to the 
 
 N 7. refiedion 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 reflexion of the light ftom the fiirface of the air within the Bubbles^ahd 
 very little to the reflexion from the furface of the Water it felf: for this 
 laft refledion does not return a quarter fo many Rays, as that which is 
 made from the furface of the aitjas I have certainly found by a multitude 
 of ObferVations and Experiments. 
 
 The whitenels of Linnm^ Va^er^ See. proceeds much from the 
 fame reafon^ as the M/crofeope will eafily difeover ^ for the Paper is made 
 up of an abundance oipellucid bodies, which afford a very plentifull re- 
 fledion from within, that is, from the concave furface of the air contigu¬ 
 ous to its component particles 5 wherefore by the affufion of Water,' Oyl, 
 Tallow,Turpentine,^^’."‘all thofc refledions are made more faint,and the 
 beams of light are fuffer’d to trajed & run through the Paper more freely. 
 
 Hence further we may learn the reafon of the whitenels of many bo¬ 
 dies, and by what means they maybe in part pellucid: As white 
 Marble for inftance, for this body is compofed of a pellucid body ex¬ 
 ceedingly flawM, that is, there are abundance of thin, and very fine 
 cracks or chinks amongft the multitude of particles of the body,that con¬ 
 tain in them fmall parcels of air,which do fo re-percu^and drive back the 
 penetrating beams, that they cannot enter very deep within that body, 
 which the Microscope does plainly inform us to be made up of a Congeries 
 of pellucid particles. And I further found it fomewhat more evidently by 
 fome attempts I made towards the making tranlparcnt Marble, for by 
 heating the Stone a little, and foaking it in Oyl, Turpentine, Oyl of Tur- 
 pentine,c^c, I found that I was able to lee much deeper into the body of 
 Marble then before 5 and one trial, which was not with an unduous uib- 
 fiancejfiicceeded better than the reft, of w hich, when I have a better op¬ 
 portunity, I ftiall make further trial. • 
 
 This alfo gives us a probable reafon of the fo much admired Ph^no- 
 menu of the Oculus Mundi^ an Oval ftone, which commonly looks like 
 white Alabafter, but being laid a certain time in Water, it grows pellucid^ 
 and tranfparent, and being foffer’d to lie again dry, it by degrees lofos 
 that tranfparency, and becomes white as before. For the Stone being of 
 a hollow Ipongie nature, has in the firft and laft of thefo appearances, all 
 thofe pores fill’d with the obtunding and refledingair^ whereas in the 
 fecond, all thofe pores are fill’d with a medium that has much the lame 
 refradion with the particles of the Stone, and therefore thofe two being 
 contiguous^ make,as ’twere, one continued medium^ of which more is (aid 
 in the 15. Obfervation. 
 
 There are a multitude of other Ph^enomenaythat are produc’d from this 
 fame Principlcjjwhich as it has not been taken notice of by any yet that I 
 know, fo I think, upon more diligent obfervation, will it not be found the 
 leaft confiderable. But I have here onely time to hint Hypothefesy and not 
 to prolecute them fo fully as I could wilh, many of them having a vaft 
 extent in the produdion of a multitude of Phanomenay which have been 
 by others,either not attempted to be explain’d, or elfe attributed to fome 
 other caufe than what I have affign’d, and perhaps than the right 5 and 
 therefore I (hall leave this to the profocution of fiich as have more leifure: 
 
 onely 
 
M I C R O G R A P H 1 A. 
 
 onely before I leave I muft not pretermit to hint, that by this Prin- 
 ciple,multitadcsofthe of the aitjas about Clouds, Me-^ 
 
 teors, Haloes,S^c, are moft plainly and (perhaps) truly explicable, multi¬ 
 tudes ahb of the Th<emme7ia in colour'd bodies, as liquors, are de- 
 ducible from it. 
 
 And from this I (hall proceed to a fecond eonfiderable Phenomenon 
 which thefe Diamants exhibit, and that is the regularity of their Pigure, 
 which is a propriety not lefs general than the former 5 It comprifing with¬ 
 in its extent, all kinds of Metals, all kinds of Minerals,vtio{t PreciousJiones, 
 all kinds of .y^^/^Xjmultitudes of Earths, almoft all kinds of fluid bodiesi 
 And this is another propiety, which, though a little fuperficially taken 
 notice of by (bme, has not, that I know, been (b much as attempted to 
 be explicated by any. 
 
 This propriety of bodiesjasi think it the moft worthy, and next in or¬ 
 der to be confider’d after the contemplation of thGClobuUr Figure, (b 
 have I long had a defire as wel as a determination to have profecuted it if I 
 had had an opportunity,having long fince propos’d to my felf the method 
 of my enquiry therein, it containing all the allurements that I think any 
 enquiry is capable of: Forjfirft I take it to proceed from the moft fimple 
 principle that any kind of form can come from, next the Globular, which 
 was therefore the firft I fet upon, and what I have therein perform’d, I 
 leave the Judicious Reader to determine. For as that form proceeded 
 from a propiety of fluid bodies, which I have call’d Congruity, or Incon¬ 
 gruity fo I think, had I time and opportunity, I could make probable, 
 that allthele regular Figures that are lb conlpicuoufly various and twri- 
 ous,sind do (b adorn and beautifiefuch multitudes of bodies, as I have 
 above hintcd,arile onely from three or four fevcral pofitions or poftures 
 of Globular particles,and thofc the moft plain,obvious, and neceflary con- 
 jundfions of (uch figur’d particles that are poflible, fo that fuppoling (uch 
 and luch plain and obvious caufes concurring the coagulating particles 
 muft neceflarily compole a body of (uch a determinate regular Figure, 
 and no other 5 and this with as much neceflity and obvioulhe(s as a fluid 
 body encompaft with a Heterogeneous fluid muft be protruded into a 
 Spherule or Globe. And this I have ad oculum demonftated with a com¬ 
 pany of bullets,and fome few other very fimple bodies 5 (b that there was 
 not any regular Figure,which I have hitherto met withall, of any of tho(e 
 bodies that I have above named, that I could not with the compofition of 
 bullets or globules, and one or two other bodies, imitate, even almoft 
 by (baking them together. And thus for inftance may we find that the 
 Globular bullets will of themfclves,if put on an inclining plain,(b that they 
 may run together, naturally run into a triangular order, compofing all 
 the variety of figures that can be imagin’d to be made out of equilateral 
 triangles 5 and fuch will you findjUpon trial,all the furfaces of Alum to be 
 compos’d of: For three bullets lying on a plain, as clofe to one another as 
 they can compole an equilatero-triangular form, as in A in the j.Scheme. 
 If a fourth be joyn’d to them on either fide as clofely as it can, they four 
 eompoft; the moft regular Rhombus confifting of two (equilateral triangles^ 
 
MlCROGRAPHlAi 
 
 as B. If a fifth be joyn d to them on either fide in as clofe a pofition ask 
 can, which is the propriety of the TeA:^«re,it makes a Trapezium^ or four- 
 fided Figure, two of whole angles are 120. and two 60, degrees, as C. 
 If a fixth be added, as before, either it makes ^naqnilateral triangle^.as D, 
 ora Rhomboeid, as E,or an Hex-angular Figure, as F, which is com¬ 
 pos’d of two primary Rhombes, If a feventh be added, it makes either 
 an aquilatero-kexagonal Figure, as G, or fome kind of fix-fided F/- 
 gure, as H, or I. And though there be never fo many placed together, 
 they may be rang’d into fome of thefe lately mentioned Figures, all the 
 angles of which will be either 60, degrees, or 120. as the figure K. 
 which is an (equiangular hexagonal Figure is compounded of 12. Globules, 
 or may be of 25, or 27, or 36, or 42, &c, and by thefe kinds of texture, 
 or pofition of globular bodicSjmay you find out all the variety of regular 
 (hapes, into which the fmoothfurfaces oiAlum are form’d, as upon ex¬ 
 amination any one may eafily find 5 nor does it hold only in luperficies,but 
 in folidity alfo.for it’s obvious that a fourth Globule laid upon the third in 
 this texture, compofes a regular Tetrahedron, which is a very uliial Figure 
 of the Cryfials oi Alum. And (to haften) there is no one Figure into which 
 Alum is obferv’d to be cryftallized, but may by this texture of Globules 
 be imitated, and by no other. 
 
 I could inftance alfo in the Figure of Sea-falt,a\\d Sal-gemykat it is com¬ 
 pos’d of a texture of Globules, placed in a cubical form, as L, and that all 
 the Figures ofthofe Salts may be imitated by this texture of Globules,and 
 by no other whatfoever. And that the forms oiVitriolaxAoi Salt-Feter, 
 as alfo of Cryfial,Hore-froff,bcc. are compounded of thefe two textures, 
 but modulated by certain proprieties: But I have not here time to in¬ 
 fill upon, as I have not neither to ihew by what means Globules come to 
 be thus context, and what thofe Globules are, and many other particulars 
 requifite to a full and intelligible explication of this propriety of bodies. 
 Nor have I hitherto found indeed an opportunity of prolecuting the in¬ 
 quiry lb fai r as I defign’d 5 nor do I know when I may, it requiring abun¬ 
 dance of time, and a great deal of alfiftancc to go through with what I 
 defign’d, the model of which was this ; 
 
 Firft,to get as exadi: and full a colledion as I could, of all the differing 
 kinds of Geometrical figur’d bodies, fome three or four Icveral bodies of 
 each kind. 
 
 Secondly, with them to get as exad a Hiftory as poflibly I could learn 
 of their places of Generation or finding, and to enquire after as many 
 circumftances that tended to the Illuftrating of this Enquiry, as poflibly 
 I could oblcrve. 
 
 Thirdly, to make as many trials as upon experience I could find rc- 
 quifite,in Diflblutions and Coagulations of leveral cryftallizing Salts ^ffbr 
 the necdfull inftruftion and information in this Enquiry. 
 
 Fourthly, to make feveral trials on divers other bodies, as Metals, 
 Minerals, and Stones, by diflblving them in leveral Aienjiruums, and 
 cryflalizing them, to fee what Figures would arilc from thofe leveral 
 Compojitums., 
 
 Fifthly, 
 
Micrograph! A. 
 
 Fitfthly, to make Compofitions and Coagulations of feveral Salts to¬ 
 gether into the fame mais, to obferve of what Figure the prbdudi: of 
 them would be 3 and in allj to note as many circumftances as I fhould 
 judge conducive to my Enquiry. 
 
 Sixthlyj to enquire the clofenels or rarity of the texture of thefe bo¬ 
 dies, by examining their gravity, and their refradion, &c. 
 
 Seventhly, to enquire particularly what operations the fire has upon 
 feveral kinds of Salts, what changes it cdufes in their Figures, Textures, 
 or Energies. 
 
 Eighthly, to examine their manner of diflolution, or ading upon thofe 
 bodies difloluble in them 3 The texture of thofe bodies before and after 
 the procefs. And this for the Hifiory. 
 
 Next for the Solution, To have examin’d by what, and how many 
 means, fuch and fuch Figures, adions and effeds could be produc’d 
 pofiiblyi 
 
 And laftly, from all circumfiances well weigh’d, I fhould have endea¬ 
 voured to have fhewn which of them was moft likely, and (if the infor¬ 
 mations by thefe Enquiries would have born it) to have demonftrated 
 which of them it muft be, and was. 
 
 But to proceed. As I believe it next to the Globular the mod fimple 3 
 fb do I, in the fecond place, judge it not lefs pleafant 3 for that which 
 makes an Enquiry pleafant, are, firft a noble Inventum that promifes to 
 crown the fuccefsfull endeavour 3 and fuch muft certainly the knowledge 
 of the efficient and concurrent caufes of all thefe curious Geometrical 
 Figures bcjwhich has made the Philofophers hitherto to conclude nature 
 in thefe things to play the Geometrician, according to that faying of 
 Plato ^ *0 Or next, a great variety of matter iti the Enqui¬ 
 
 ry 3 and here we meet with nothing lefs than the Mathematicks of nature, 
 having every day a new Figure to contemplate,or a variation of the fame 
 in another body. 
 
 Which do afford us a third things which will yet more fweeten the En¬ 
 quiry ,and that is,a multitude of information 3 we are not fo much to grope 
 in the dark, as in moft other Enquiries, where the Inventum is great 3 for 
 having fuch a multitude of inftances to compare, and fuch eafiewaysof 
 generatingjOr compounding and of deftroying the form,as in the Solution 
 and Cryfiallizatidk of Salts, we cannot but learn plentifull information to 
 proceed by. And this will further appear froih the uriiverfality of the 
 Principle which Nature has made ufe of almoft in all inanimate bodies. 
 And therefore, as the cohtemplation of them all conduces to the know- 
 ledg of any one 3 fb from a Scientiheal knowledge of any one does follow 
 the fatne of all, and every one. 
 
 And fourthly, for the ufefulnefs of this knowledge, when acquir’d, 
 certainly none can doubt, that confiders that it caries us a ftep for¬ 
 ward into the Labirinth of Nature, in the right Way towards the end 
 we propofe our felves in all Philofophical Enquirie^i So that know¬ 
 ing what is the form of Inanimate or Mineral bodies, we fhall be the 
 better able to proceed in our next Enquiry after the forms of Vegeta- 
 
88 
 
 MiCROGRAPHIAi 
 
 tive bodies ^ and laft of all, of Animate ones, that feeming to be the 
 higheft ftep of natural knowledge that the mind of man is capable of. 
 
 Obferv. XIV. Of feveral kinJes of frozen Figures. 
 
 I Have very often in a Morning, when there has been a great hoar-frojl^ 
 with an indifferently magnifying Microfeope^ obferv’d the fmall Stiria^ 
 or Cryftalline beard, which then ufually covers the face of mofl: bodies 
 that lie open to the cold air, and found them to be generally Hexangnlar 
 prifmatical bodies, much like the long Cryftals of Sah-peter^ fave onely 
 that the ends of them were differing: for whereas thofe of Nitre are for 
 the moft part pyramidal^ being terminated either in a point or edge 5 
 - thefeof Froftwere hollow, and the cavity in fome feem'd pretty deep, 
 and this cavity was the more plainly to be feen, becaufe ufually one or 
 other of the fix parallelogram fides was wanting, or at leafi: much fhorter 
 then the reft. 
 
 But this was onely the Figure of the Bearded hoar-frofi , and as for the 
 particles of other kinds of hoar-frofls^ they feem’d for the moft part irre¬ 
 gular, or of no certain fFigure. Nay, the parts of thofe curious branch¬ 
 ings, or vortices^ that ufually in cold weather tarnifh the furface of 
 Glafs, appear through the Microfeope very rude and unfhapen, as do 
 moft ocher kinds of frozen Figures^ which to the naked eye feem exceed¬ 
 ing neat and curious, fuch as the Figures of Skow^ frozen Vrine^ Hail^ 
 feveral Figures frozen in common Water,c^f. Some Obfervations of each 
 of which I (hall hereunto annex, bccaufe if well confider’d and ex- 
 ami nd, they may, perhaps, prove very inftrudfive for the finding out of 
 what I have endeavoured in the preceding Obfervation to fhew, to be 
 (next the Globular Figure which is caus’d by congruity^ as I hope I have 
 made probable in the fixth Obfervation') the moft fimple and plain opera¬ 
 tion of Nature, of which, notwithftanding we are yet ignorant. 
 
 1 . 
 
 Several Obfervables in the fix-branched Figures fornfdmthefur* 
 face of Urine by freezing. 
 
 schem. ». I The Figures were all frozen almoft even with the furface of the 
 >• Vrifie inthe Veftel, but the bigger ftems were a little prominent above 
 that furface, and the parts of thole ftems which were neareft the center 
 (a) werebiggeft above the furface. 
 
 2 I have obferv’d feveral kinds of thele Figures, fome fmaller, no big¬ 
 ger then a Two-pence, others fo bigg, that I have by mealure found one 
 of its ftems or branches above four foot long 5 and of thefc, fome were 
 pretty round, having all their branches pretty neer alike j other of them 
 were more extended towards one fide, as ufuaUy. thofe very large ones 
 
 were 
 

 che-m'.'VIU. 
 
 
iVl I C ROG K A P H lA* 
 
 were, which I have obferv’d in Ditches which have been.foHioffoui 
 water. > r, , 
 
 3 None of all tbefe Figures I have yet taken notice of, had ah^ regu¬ 
 
 lar pofition in refped: of one another, or of the hdes . of the ¥cOH ^ nor 
 did I find any of them equally to exadnels extended every'^y froni 
 the centers. I ‘ i .jnban.r" 
 
 4 Where ever there was a centerjthe branchings from it, ad^ 
 
 ag^ were never fewer, or more then fix, which ufually concurred, 
 or met one another very neer in the fame point or center, i^yhthbugh 
 oftentimes not exabcly 5 and were enclin’d to each other by bn angle, of 
 very necr fixty degrees, 1 fay, very neer, bccaufe, «though having ’’en¬ 
 deavoured to meafure them the mofi: acurately I was able, with the 
 largefi: Compafles I had, I could not find any fenfible variation firom that 
 meafure, yet the whole fix-branched Figure feeming to compofe a folid 
 angle, they muft necefiarily be fomewbat lefs. ? 
 
 5 The middle lines or ftems of thefe branches, a. r, ad^a e, af^ a 
 
 feem’d fbmewhat whiter, and a little higher then any of the intnmediate 
 branchings of thefe Figures 5 and the center was the mod prmi^ment 
 part of the whole Figure, feeming the of a fblid angle or 
 
 each of the fix plains beinga little enclin’d beloiv theflirface of the ZJirm, 
 
 6 The lateral branchings ifiuing out of the great ones, fuch as op^ 
 mq^ &c. were each of them inclin'd to the great ones, by theTame angle 
 of about fixty degrees,as the great ones were one to another, and always 
 the bigger branchings were prominent above the lefs, and the lets above 
 the leaft, by proportionate 
 
 7 The lateral branches (hooting out of the great ones, went all of thena 
 from the center, and each of them wa's parallel to that great branch, next 
 to which it lay ^ fb that as all the branches on one fide were parallel to 
 one another, fo were they all of them to the approximate great branch, 
 SLSp Oj q r, as they were parallel to each other,and fhot from the center, 
 {b were they parallel alfo to the great branch a b, 
 
 8 Some of the ff ems of the fix branches proceeded ftraight, and of a 
 thicknefs that gradually grew (harper towards the end, as ag. 
 
 9 Others of the ftems of thofe branches grew bigger and knotty to¬ 
 wards the middle, and the branches alfo as well as ftems, from Cylinders 
 grew into Plates, in a moft admirable and curious order, fo exceeding re¬ 
 gular and delicate, as nothing could be more, as is vifible in ab^a c, a 
 
 a e, af^ but towards the end of fome of thefe ftems, they began again to 
 grow (mailer and to recover their former branchings, as about n, 
 
 10 Many of the lateral branches had collateral branches (if I niay fb 
 
 call them) as q m had many fuch as f t, and moft of thofe again Jub- 
 collateral^ as v n?, and thefe again had others lefs, which one may call 
 terojubcollateral^ and thefe again others, and they others, in greater 
 Figures, • 
 
 11 The branchings of the main Stems joyn’d not together by any re¬ 
 gular line,nor did one fide of the one lie over the other fide o( the other, 
 
 but the fmall collateral and fubcoUateral branches did lie at top of one 
 
 Q another 
 
M I C R O G R A P H I A '. 
 
 another according to a certain order ot method, which I always obferv’d 
 to be this. 
 
 12 That fide of a collateral or fubcollateral^ 8cc. branch, lay over the 
 fide of the approximate (as the feathers in the wing of a Bird) whofe 
 branchings proceeded parallel to the lafi: biggeft ftem from which it 
 fprung,and not to the biggeft ftem of all, unlefs that were a fecond ftem 
 backwards. 
 
 15 This rule that held in the branchings of the Sexafjgular Figure held 
 alfo in the branchings of any other great or fmall ftem, though it did 
 not proceed from a center. 
 
 14 The exadfnefs and curiofity of the figuration of thele branches, 
 was in every particular fb tranfeendent, that I judge it almoft impoffible 
 for humane art to imitate. 
 
 15 Tailing feveral deer pieces of this Ice^ I could not find any Vrin- 
 OHS tafte in them, but thole few I tailed, feem’d as infipid as water. 
 
 16 A figuration Ibmewhat like this, though indeed in Ibme particu¬ 
 lars much more curious, I have leveral times oblerv’d in regulus martin 
 jiellatus^ but with this difference, that all the Hems and branchings arc 
 bended in a moll excellent and regular order, whereas in Ice the Hems 
 and branchings are ftreight, but in all other particulars it agrees with 
 this, and Icems indeed nothing but one of thele ftars,or branched Figures 
 frozen on Vrine^ diftorted, or wreathed a little, with a certain propor¬ 
 tion : Lead allb that has Arfenick^ and Ibme other things mixt with it, I 
 have found to have its liirface, when liiffer d to cool, figured Ibmewhat 
 like the branchings of Vrine^ but much Imaller. 
 
 17 But there is a Vegetable which does exceedingly imitate thele 
 branches, and that is, Fearn^ where the main ftem may be obferv’d to 
 (hoot out branched, and the Hems of each of thefe lateral branches, to 
 (end forth collateral^ and thole JubcoUateral^ and thole Utero JubcoUate^ 
 ralj 8cc. and all thole much after the lame order with the branchings, di- 
 vifions, and fubdivifions in the branchings of thele Figures in frozen 
 Vrine 5 fo that if the Figures of both be well confideFd, one would ghels 
 that there were not much greater need of a Jemiual principle £or the pro- 
 duftion of Fearn^ then for the produdion of the branches of Vrine^ or 
 the Stella martis^ there feeming to be as much form and beauty in the 
 one as in the other. 
 
 And indeed, this Plant o^Fearn^ if all particulars be well confider’d, 
 will leem of as fimple, and uncompounded a form as any Vegetable^ next 
 to Mould or Mujhromes^ and would next after the invention of the forms 
 of thofe, delerve to be enquir’d into 5 for notwithftanding feveral have 
 affirm’d it to have feed, and to be propagated thereby 5 yet, though I 
 have made very diligent enquiry after that particular, I cannot find that 
 there is any part of it that can be imagin’d to be more feminal then an¬ 
 other : But this onely here by the by: 
 
 For the freezing Figures in Vrine^ I fbund itrequifite, 
 
 Firft, that the Superficies be not difturbed with any wind, or other 
 commotion of the air, or the like. 
 
 Secondly, 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 Secondly^ that it be not too long expoied^ fb as that the whole bulk 
 be frozen.fbr oftentimes^in fuch cafes,by reafon of the fwelling the of Ice^ 
 or from fome other caufe, the curious branched Figures dilappear. 
 
 Thirdly, an artificial freezing with Snow and Salt^ apply’d to the out- 
 fideofthe containing Vefiel, fucceeds not well, unlels there be a very 
 little quantity in the Vcflel. 
 
 Fourthly, If you take any clecr and fmooth Glafs, and wetting all the 
 infideofit with Vrine^ you expofe it to a very (harp freezing, you will 
 find it cover’d with a very regular and curious Figure. 
 
 II. 
 
 ? ? 
 
 Obfervables in figur'd Snow* 
 
 Expofing a piece of black Cloth, or a black Hatt to the falling Snoisp^ 
 I have often with great pleafure, obferv’d fuch an infinite variety of cu- 
 rioufiy figur’d Snovp^ that it would be as impolfible to draw the Figure 
 and fliapc of every one of them, as to imitate exadtly the curious and 
 - Geometrical Mechanifme of Nature in any one. Some coorfe draughts, 
 fuch as the coldnels of the weather, and the ill provifions, I had by me 
 for luch a purpole, would permit me to make, I have here added in the 
 Second Figure of the Eighth Scheme, 
 
 In all which I obferv'd, that if they were of any regular Figures, they 
 were always branched out with fix principal branches, all of equal length, 
 Ihape and make, from the center, being each of them inclin’d to either of 
 the next branches on either fide of it, by an angle of fixty degrees. 
 
 Now, as all thefe ftems were for the mofl: part in one flake exadly of 
 the famb make, fo were they in differing Figures of very differing ones 5 
 lb that in a very little time I have obferv’d above an hundred leveral cizes 
 and Ihapes of thefe ftarry flakes. 
 
 The branches allb out of each ftem of any one of thele flakes, were cx- 
 adbly alike in the fame flake, ib that of whatever Figure one of the 
 branches were, the other five were lure to be of the lame, very exadly, 
 that is, if the branchings of the one were fmall Veral/elipifeds or Plates, 
 the branchings of the other five were^of the lame 5 and generally, the 
 branchings were very conforpiable to the rules and method obferv’d be^ 
 fore, in the Figures on Vrine^ that is, the branchings from each fide of 
 the ftems were parallel to the next ftem on that fide, and if the ftems 
 were plated, the branches allb were the lame 5 if the ftems were very 
 long, the, branches allb were lb, &c, 
 
 Oblerving Ibmeof thele figur’d flakes with a I found them 
 
 not to appear fo curious and exadly figur’d as one would have imagin’d, 
 but like Artificial Figures, the bigger they were magnify’d, the moreir- 
 regularites appear’d in them 3 but this irregularity feem’d afcribable to 
 the thawing and breaking of the flake by the fall, and not at all to the 
 defeat of the p/afiicJ^virtue of Nature, whofe curiofity in the formation 
 of moft of thele“kind of regular Figurcs,fuch as thofe of Salt,Minerfds^c. 
 
 Oh. appears 
 
MiCR OGR AP H lA. 
 
 appears by the help of the Mkrojcope^ to be very many degrees fmaller 
 then the moft acute eye is able to perceive without it. And though one 
 oftheie fix-branched Stars appear’d here below much of the Ihape de- 
 (cribed in the Third Figure of the Eighth Scheme 5 yet I am very apt to 
 thinkjthat could we have a fight of one of them through a Microfcope as 
 ' they are generated in the Clouds before their Figures are vitiated by 
 external accidentSjthey would exhibit abundance of curiofity and neat- 
 ncls there alfo, though never lb much magnify’d: For fince I have ob- 
 (erv’d the Figures of Salts and Minerals to be Tome of them lb exceeding 
 Imall, that I have Icarcely been able to perceive them with the Microfeope^ 
 and yet have they been regular, and fince (as far as I have yet examin’d 
 it) there feems to be but one and the fame caufe that produces both thefe 
 e&dts, I think it not irrational to luppofe that thefe pretty figur’d Stars 
 of Snow^ when at firft generated might be alfo very regular and exad. 
 
 III. 
 
 Several kinds of Figures in Wzter frozen. 
 
 Putting fair Water into a large capacious Veflel of Clafi^ and expofing 
 it to the cold, I oblerv’d after a little time, fevcral broad, flat, and thin 
 lamin£^OY plates of Jte, crofling the bulk of the water and one another 
 very irregularly, onely moft of them feem’d to turn one of their edges to^ 
 wards that fide of the Glals which was next it, and lecm’d to grow, as 
 ’twere from the infide of the Veflel inwards towards the middle, almoft 
 like fomany blades of Fern, Having taken leveral of thefe plates out of 
 water on the blade of a Knife, I obferv’d them figur’d much after the 
 manner of Herring hones^ or Fern blades^ that is, there was one bigger 
 ftem in the middle like the back-bone, and out of it, on either fide, were 
 a multitude of (mailor icicles^ like the fmaller bones,or the fmaller 
 branches in Fern^ each of thele branches on the one fide, were parallel to 
 all the reft on the lame fide, and all of them feem’d to make an angle 
 with the ftem,towards the top, of fixty degrees, and towards the bot¬ 
 tom or root of this ftem, of 120. See the fourth Figure of the 8. Vlate, 
 
 I obferv’d likewife fcveral very pretty varieties of Figures in Water,' 
 frozen on the top of a broad flat iVlarble-ftone, expos’d to the cold with 
 a little Water on it, fbme like feathers, fbme of other fhapes, many of 
 them were very much of the fhape expreft in the fifth Figure of the 
 8. Scheme^ which is extremely differing from any of the other Figures. ■ 
 
 I obferv’d likewife, that the fhootings of Ice on the top of Water, be¬ 
 ginning to freez, were in ftreight prijmatical bodies much like thofe of 
 roch-peter^ that they croft each other ufually without any kind of order 
 or rule, that they were always a little higher then the furface of the Wa¬ 
 ter that lay between them 5 that by degrees thofe interjacent fpaces 
 would be fill’d with Ice alfb, which ufually would be as high as the fur- 
 face of the reft. i • 
 
 In flakes of Ice that bad been frozen on the topof Water to any edn- 
 
 fiderable 
 
MiC R O GR,A P H t A« 
 
 fidcrable thickneis, I obferv’d that both the upper and the under fides 
 of it were curtoufly quilld, furrow’d^ or grain'd, as it were, which when 
 the Sun (hone on the Plate, was exceeding eahly to be perceiv’d to be 
 much after the fhape of the lines in the 6. Figure of the 8. Schefut^ that is,, 
 they confiffed of feveral (freight ends of parallel Plates, which were of 
 divers lengths and angles to one another without any certain order. 
 
 The caufe of all which regular Figures (and of hundreds of others^ 
 namely of Salts^ Minerals^ Metals^ 8cc. which I could have here inferred^ 
 would it not have been too long) feemstobe deducible from the fame 
 Princip}es,which I have (in the 13. hinted only, having not 
 
 yet had timeto compleat a Flicory of them. But indeed (which I there 
 alfo hinted) I judge it the fecond ffep by which the Pyramid of natu¬ 
 ral knowl^ge (which is the knowledge of the form of bodies) is to 
 be afeended: And whofoever will climb it, 'muff be well furnifh’d 
 with that which the Noble Vernlam calls Scalam Intelleidus 5 he muff 
 have fcaling Ladders, otherwife the ffeps are fo large and high, there 
 will be no getting up them, and confequently little hopes of attaining 
 any higher ffation, fuchas to the knowledge of themoff fimple principle 
 of Vegetation manifeff ed in Mould and Mufhroraes, which, as I elfe* 
 where endeavoured to fhew, feems to be the third ffep 5 for it feemsto 
 me, that the Intelled: of man is like his body, deffitute of wings, and 
 cannot move from a lower to a higher and more fublime ffation of know- 
 ledg,otherwife then ffep by ffep^nay even there where the way is prepar'd 
 and already made pafTible , as in the Elements of Geometry^ or the like, 
 where it is fain to climb a whole ferks of Propofitions by degrees, before 
 it attains the knowledge of one Probkme, But if tliealcent be high, dif¬ 
 ficult and above its reach, it muff have recourfe to a novum organum^ 
 fbme new engine and contrivance, fome new kind of Algebra^ or Analy’- 
 tick^ Art before it can flirmount it* 
 
 pbfcrv, XV, (7/Kettcring-ftone, and of the pores (f InznU 
 mate bodies, 
 
 T His Stone which is brought from Kettering in Northamptonshire 
 
 digged out of a Quarry, as I am inform'd, has a grain altogether 
 admirable, nor have I ever feen or heard of any other ffone that has the 
 like. It is made up of an innumerable company of fmall bodies, not all 
 of the fame cize or fhape, but for the moff part, not much differing from 
 a Globular form, nor exceed they one another in Diameter above three 
 or four times, they appear to the eye, like the Cobb or Ovary of a Her^ 
 ring^ or feme fmaller fifties, but for the moff part, the particles feem 
 fomewhaf lefs, and not fb uniform 5 but their variation from a perfeft 
 globular ball,fcemsto be only by the preflure of the contiguous bals which 
 have a little depreft and protruded thofe toucht fides inward, ahd forc'd 
 
 the 
 
 Schm. 
 
 rig- I- 
 
^4 Micrographia. 
 
 the other fides as much outwards beyond the limits of a Globe 5 juft as 
 it would happeOjif a heap of exadly round Balls of loft Clay were heap’d, 
 upon one another ^ or, as I have often feen a heap of fmall Globules of 
 ^kksilver^ reduc’d to that form by rubbing it much in a glaz’d Vcflel, 
 with feme llimy or lluggifti liquor, fuch as Spittle, when though the top 
 of the upper Globules be very neer fpherical, yet thole that are preft 
 upon by others, exadly imitate the forms of thefe lately mention’d 
 grains. 
 
 Where thefe grains touch each other, they are lb firmly united or 
 fettled together, that they leldom part without breaking a hole in one 
 or th’other of them, lueh as ^3 c, c, &c. Some of which fradtions, 
 
 as rf, where the touch has been but light, break no more then 
 
 the outward cruft,*^ or firft (hell of the ftone, which is of a white colour, 
 a little dalh’d with a brownilh YclloWjand is very thki,like the Ihell of an 
 Egg; and I have leen Ibme of thofe grains perfedtly relemble fome kind 
 of Eggs.both in colour and lhape: But where the union of the contiguous 
 granules has been more firm, there the divulfion has made a greater 
 Chaim, as at in lb much that I have obferv’d Ibmc of them quite 
 broken in two, as at r, c, c, which has difeovered to me a further refem- 
 blance they have to Eggs,they having an appearance of a white and yelk, 
 by two differing fubftances that envelope and encompafs each other. 
 
 That which we may call the white was pretty whitilh neer the yelk, 
 but more dulkie towards the Ihcll 5 Ibme of them I could plainly per* 
 ceivc to be Ihot or radiated like a Vyrites or fire-fione 5 the yelk in Ibme 
 I law hollow, in others fill’d with a dulkie brown and porous lub- 
 ftance like a kind of pith. 
 
 The Imall pores, or interfiitia e e e e betwixt the Globules, I plainly 
 law,and found by other trials to be every way pervious to air and water, 
 for I could blow through a piece of this ftone of a confiderable thicknels, 
 as ealily as I have blown through a Cane, which minded me of the pores 
 which Des Cartes allow his materia jubtilis between the ethereal globules. 
 
 The objedt, through the Microfeofe^ appears like a Congeries or heap 
 of Pibbles, fuch as I have often feen call up on the Ihore, by tha work¬ 
 ing of the Sea after a great ftorm, or like (in lhape, though not colour) 
 a company of Imall Globules of Quickfilver, look’d on with aMiertfiope^ 
 when reduc’d into that form by the way lately mentioned. And per¬ 
 haps, this laft may give Ibme hint at the manner of the formation of the 
 former ; For luppofing Ibme Lapidefeent lubftance to be generated, or 
 fome way brought (either by Ibme commixture of bodies in the Sea it 
 lelf^ or protruded in, perhaps, out of Ibme jubterraneous caverns) to the 
 bottom of the Sea,and there remaining in the form of a liquor like Qulck- 
 lilver, heterogeneous to the ambient Saline fluid, it may by the working 
 and tumblings of the Sea to and fro be jumbled and comminuted into 
 fuch Globules as may afterwards be hardned into Flints, the lying of 
 which one upon another, when in the Sea, being not very hard, by rca- 
 Ibn of the weight of the incompaffing fluid, may caufe the iindermoft to 
 be a little,though not much, varied from a globular Figure. But this only 
 by the by. After 
 
M I C R OG R A P HI A. $5 
 
 Aftei* what manner this Ketterwg-ftom fhould be generated I cannot 
 learn, having never been there to view the place, and obferve the cir- 
 cumftances 5 but it Teems to me from the ftrudlurc of it to be generated 
 from Tome fubflance once more fluid, and afterwards by degrees growing 
 harder, almoft after the fame manner as I fiippofed the generation of 
 Flints to be made. . 
 
 But whatever were the caufe of its curious texture, we may learn this 
 information from it 5 that even in thole things which we account vile^ 
 rudcjand coorfe. Nature has not been wanting to fhew abundance of cu- 
 riolity and excellent Mechanifme. • . j =. ? 
 
 We may here find a Stone by help of a Mkrofcope^ to be made up of 
 abundance of fmall Balls, which do but jufc touch each other, and yet 
 there being lb many contadi:s,they make a firm hard mals, or a Stone much 
 harder then Free-ftone. 
 
 Next, though we can by a Microfcope dilcern fb curious a fhape in the 
 particles, yet to the naked eye there fcarce appears any fuch thing*^ 
 which may afford us a good argument to think, that even in thofe bodies 
 allb, whole texture we are not able to dilcern, though help’d with Micro^ 
 fiopes. there may be yet latent lb curious a Schematifme^ that it may abun¬ 
 dantly fatisfie the curious learcher, who fhall be To happy as to find Ibme 
 way to dilcover it. 
 
 Next, we here find a Stone, though to the naked eye a very dole one, 
 yet every way perforated with innumerable pores,which are nothing elfe 
 but the between thofe multitudes of minute globular particles, 
 
 that compofe the bulk it felf, and thefe pores are not only difcover’d by 
 the Microfcope^ but by this contrivance. 
 
 I took a pretty large piece of this done, and covering it all over with 
 cement, fave only at two oppofite parts, I found my fdf able, by blowing 
 in at one end that was left open, to blow my lpittle,with which I had wet 
 the other end, into abundance of bubbles, which argued thefe pores to 
 be open and pervious through the whole ftone, which affords us a very 
 pretty inftance of the poroulhefs of fome leemingly dole bodies,of which 
 kind I lhall anon have occalion to fubjoyn many more, tending to prove 
 the fame thing. 
 
 I mud: not here omit to take notice, that in this body there is not a 
 vegetative ^2iC\x\tY that Ihould fo contrive this ftrudfure for any peculiar 
 ule of Vegetation or growth, whereas in the other inftances of vegetable 
 porous bodies, there is an anima^ or forma informans^ that does contrive 
 all the Strudures and Mechanifmes of the condituting body, to make 
 them fubfervient and ulcfull to the great Work or Fundion they are to 
 perform. And fo I ghels the pores in Wood, and other vegetables, in 
 bones,and other Animal fubdances,to be as fo many channelsjprovided by 
 the Great and Alwife Creator, for the conveyance of appropriated juyees 
 to particular parts. And therefore,that this may tend, or be pervious all 
 towards one part,and may have impediments,as valves or the like, to any 
 other 5 but in this body we have very little reafon to lulped there fhould 
 be any llich defign, for it is equally pervious every way, not onely for¬ 
 ward. 
 
Ml GROG RAP HI A. 
 
 ward, but backwardsjand fide-ways,and feems indeed much rather to be 
 HomogmQom or (imilar to thofe pores, which we may with great proba¬ 
 bility believe to be the channels of pellucid bodies, not diredted, or more 
 open any one way, then any other, being equally pervious every way. 
 And, according as thefe pores are more or greater in refpedl of the in- 
 terjiitial bodies^ the more tranlparent are the lb conflituted concretes , 
 and the finaller thofe pores are, the weaker is the In^pulfe o£light com- 
 iBunicated through them, though the more quick be the progrels. 
 
 Upon this Occafion^ I hope it will not be altogether unfeafonable, if I 
 propound my conjedlures and H^pothejfs about the medium and con¬ 
 veyance of light. 
 
 I fuppofe then, that the greateft part of the Interjiitia of the world, 
 that lies between the bodies of the Sun and Starrs, and the Planets, and 
 the Earth, to be an exceeding fluid body, very apt and ready to be 
 mov’d,and to communicate the motion of any one part to any other part, 
 though never fo far diftant; Nor do I much concern my felf, to deter¬ 
 mine what the Figure of the particles of this exceedingly fubtile fluid 
 medium mufl: be 5 nor whether it have any interftitiated pores or vacui- 
 ties,it being fufficient to folve all the Phenomena to fuppofe it an exceed¬ 
 ingly fluid, or the moft fluid body in the world, and as yet impoflible to 
 determine the other difficulties. 
 
 That being fo exceeding fluid a body,it eafily gives pajflage to all other 
 bodies to move to and fro in it. 
 
 That it neither receives from any of its parts, or from other bodies 5 
 nor communicates to any of its parts, or to any other body, any impulle, 
 or motion in a dired line, that is not of a determinate quicknefs. And 
 that when the motion is of fuch determinate fwiftnels, it both receives, 
 and communicateSjOr propagates an impulfe or motion to any imaginable 
 diftance in freight lines, with an unimaginable celerity and vigour. 
 
 That all kind of Iblid bodies confift of pretty maflie particles in re- 
 fpeft of the particles of this fluid medium^ which in many places do lb 
 touch each other,that none of this fluid medium interpofes much after the 
 fame mannner (to ufe a grofs fimilitude) as a heap of great (tones compaft 
 one great congeries or mafs in the midfl: of the water. 
 
 That all fluid bodies which we may call tangible^ arc nothing but Ibme 
 more fubtile parts of thofe particles, that ferve to conftiture all tangible 
 bodies. 
 
 That the water, and fuch other fluid bodies, are nothing but a 
 congeries of particles agitated or made fluid by it in the fame manner as 
 the particles of Salt are agitated or made fluid by a parcel of water, in 
 which they are diflblv’d, and fubfiding to the bottom of it, conflitutc a 
 fluid body, much more mallie and denfc, and lefs fluid then the pure 
 water it felf 
 
 That the air on the other fide is a certain company of particles ofquite 
 another kind, that is, fuch as are very much fmaller, and more eafiely 
 moveable by the motion of this fluid medium much like thole very fub¬ 
 tile parts oiCochenelpsiVid other very deep tinging bodies,where by a very 
 
 fmail 
 
MlCROGRAPHlAi 
 
 feiall parcel of matter is able to tinge and diffnle it feif over a very great 
 quantity of the fluid diflblvent s or fomewhat aftef that maniwrj 
 unoaki andfuch like minute bodiesj or ftcam?, are obfervdto tiqge a 
 very great quantity of alr^ onely this laft fimilitude b deficient in que 
 propriety, arid that is a perpetuity or continuance in that ft^te of com’ 
 mixture with the air, but the former does inorn necriy approach tq the 
 nature and manner of the air? being difiblv'd by this fluid or SJhen 
 And this Similitude will further hold in thefe proprieties, that as thoft 
 tinfturesmaybeinereafed by certain bodiesjfo may they be precipitated 
 by others ^ as I fhall afterwards fiiew it to be very prohable^ that the like 
 accidents happen even to the Air it lelf 
 
 Further, as theie Iblutions and tinr^ures do alter the nature of thefe 
 fluid bodies,as to their aptnefs to propagate a motion or impuife through 
 them, even lb does the particles of the Air^ Water, and other fluid bpr 
 dies, and of Clafs, Cryflal, which are commixt with this bulk of the 
 
 alter the motion of the propagated pulfe of light; that is, where 
 thefe more bulkie particles are more plentifull, and confequently a lefier 
 quantity of the jEther between them to be mov’d,there the motion muft 
 peceflarily be the fwifter,though not fo robufl:, which will produce thole 
 cfFeds, which I have (I hope) with Ibme probability^ alcribed to it in 
 the digrellicn about Colours, at the end of the pn Mufi 
 
 eovy-glaf^, 
 
 Now, that other Stones, and thpfe which have the cloleft and hardefi: 
 textures, and leem (as far as we are 'able to difeoter with our eyes,' 
 though help’d with the beft Mkrofiopes') freefl: from pOrcs, are yet not*= 
 withftandjng repJenilh’d with them s an Inftance or two will, I fuppofe, 
 make more probable. 
 
 A Very Iblid and unflpw’d piece of cleer white Marble ^ if it be well 
 polilh’d and glaz’d, hasfo curipully fmooth a furface, that the befl: and 
 mofl: polilh’d lurface of any wrougfit-glafi, feems not to the naked eye, 
 nor through a Microfeope^ to be more friiobth, and lel^ potous. And yet,- 
 that this hard plole body is replenjlh’d with abundance of pores, I think 
 thefe following Experiment? will fufiicieptly prove. 
 
 The firfl: is. That if you take fuch a piece, and for a pretty while bo}d 
 It in Turpentine and Oyl of Turpentine, you lhall find that the ftone will 
 be all imbu’d with it 5 and whereas before it look’d more white,but more 
 opacous, now it Will look more grealic, but be much more tranfparent, 
 and if you let it lie but a little while, and then break off a part of it, you 
 {hall find the un^uous body to have penetrated it to fucb a determinate 
 depth every way within the fiirfacc. This hiay be yet eafier try’d with a 
 piece of the fame Marble^ a little watm’d in the firc,and then a little Pitch 
 or Tarr melted on the top of it ^ for thefe black bodies, by their fnfinU"’ 
 atiflg themfelves into the invifible ppre? of the ftone, ting it with fq black 
 a hue, that there can be no fiarther doubt of the truth of this aflertion, 
 that it abounds with fmall irriperceptibk pores. 
 
 Now, that other bodies will aifo fink into the pores Of Matbk^ befidcs 
 nnUnguSj I have try’d, and found, that a very Blue tinffure made in 
 
 p 
 
^8 M I C R O G R A P' H I A . 
 
 jpiritofVrifte would very readily and eafily fink into it, as would alfo 
 feveral tindures drawn with Jpirit of tVine. 
 
 Nor is Marble the only feemingly clofe ftonejWhich by other kinds of 
 Experiments may be found porous 5 for I have by this kind of Experi¬ 
 ment on divers other ftones found much the fame effcd, and in fbme, in¬ 
 deed much more notable. Other ftones I have found fo porous^ that with 
 the Microfcope I could perceive feveral fmall winding holes, much like 
 Worm-holesjas I have noted in fome kind of rurheck:ftone^ by looking on 
 the furface of a piece newly flaw’d off5 for if otherwife, the furface has 
 been long expos’d to the Air, or has been feraped with any tool, thofe 
 fmall caverns arc fill’d with duft^and difappear. 
 
 And to confirm this ConjtUure^ yet further,! fhall here infert an excel¬ 
 lent accountjgiven into the Royal Society by that Eminently Learned Phy- 
 fician,Doflor Goddard^o^ Experiment,not lefs inftrudivejhen curi¬ 
 ous and accurate, made by hirafelf on a very hard and feemingly dole 
 ftone call’d Oculus Mntidi^ as I find it preferv’d in the Records of that 
 Honourable Society. 
 
 A fmall ftone of the kind, call’d by fome Authours, Oculus 
 Mundi^ being dry and cloudy, weigh’d 5 Graim. 
 
 The fame put under water for a night, and fomewhat more, 
 became tranfparent ,* and the fuperficies being wiped dry, 
 weighed 6 ^ Grains. 
 
 The difference between thefe two weights, o ^ofa Gram, 
 
 The fame Stone kept out of water one Day and becoming 
 cloudy again weighed, 5^^ Graines. 
 
 Which was more then the firft weight, of a Grain, 
 
 The fame being kept two Days longer weighed, 5^ Graines. 
 
 Which was lefs then at firft, o-^ of a Grain, 
 
 7 2.36 
 
 Being kept dry fomething longer it did not grow fenfibly 
 lighter. 
 
 Being put under water for a night and becoming again tranf- 
 parent and wiped dry, the weight was, 6^ Grains,^ the fame 
 with the firft after putting in water, and more then the laft 
 weight after keeping of it dry, of a Grain. 
 
 Another Stone of the fame kind being variegated with milky 
 X9hite and gray like fome forts of Agates^ while it lay under water, 
 was alwaies invironed with little Bubbles, fuch as appear in 
 
 water 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 water a little before boyling, next the fides of the Veflel. 
 
 There were alfo fome the like Bubbles on the Surface of the 
 water juft over it^as if either fome exhalations came orit of it, 
 or that it did excite ibme fermentation in the parts of the. water 
 contiguous to it. 
 
 There was little fenfible difference in the tranfparency of this 
 Stone,befbrc the putting under water, and after: To be fui^e the 
 m\}ky-white parts continued before, but more difference in 
 weight then in the former. For whereas before the putting 
 into the water the weight was Grams, After it had lyeu 
 in about four and twenty hours the weight was 20^ Grain^s^ fo 
 the difference was, 1 4 Graines, 
 
 The fame Stone was infufed in the water fcalding hot, and fo 
 continued for awhile after it was cold, but got no rnore weight 
 then upon infufing in the cold, neither was there any fenfible 
 Difference in the weight both times. 
 
 In which Experimentjthcre are three ObfcrvableSjthat feem very rnani-s 
 feflly to prove the poroufnefs of thefe feemingly clol'e bodies; the hrll: 
 js their acquiring a tranfpareney, and lofing their whitenefs after fieeping 
 in water, which will feem the more firongly to argue it, if wh^t I have 
 already laid about the making tranfparent, or clarifying of fome bodies, 
 as the white powder of beaten Glafs, and the froth of fome glutinous 
 tranfparent liquor be well confider’d ^ for thereby it will feem rational 
 to think that this tranfparency arifos from the inhnuation of the wafer 
 (Vvhich has much the lame refraction with fuch ftony particles, as may be 
 difooverd by Sand view’d with a Microjcope)into thofo pores which were 
 formerly repleat with air (that has a very difiering refraCtion, and con- 
 fequently is very refleCtive) which feems to be confirm’d by the focond 
 Obforvable, namely, the increafo of weight after fteeping, and decreafo 
 upon drying. And thirdly,leem’d yet more fenfibly confirm’d by the mul¬ 
 titude of bubbles in the laft Experiment. 
 
 Wefind alfo moft Acid Salts very readily to diffblvc and feparate the 
 parts of this body one from another 5 which is yet a further Argument to 
 confirm the poroufoefs ot bodies, and will Icrve as llich, to (hew that 
 even Glals alio has an abundance of pores in itjfince there are feveral li¬ 
 quors, that with long (laying in a Glals, will fo Corrode and cat into it, as 
 at laft, to'make it pervious to the liquor it contain’d, of which I have 
 feen very many Inftances. 
 
 Since therefore we find by other proofs, that many of thole bodies 
 
 P 2 which 
 
lOO M ICR OGR AP H lA. 
 
 which we think the moft folid ones^ and appear fo to our fight, have not- 
 withftanding abundance of thofe grofl'er kind of pores, which will ad¬ 
 mit feveral kinds of liquors into them, why (hould we not believe that 
 Clafs, and all other tranfparent bodies abound with them, finCe we have 
 many other arguments, befides the propagation of light, which feemtq 
 argue for it } 
 
 And whereas it maybe objcded, that the propagation of light is nO 
 argument that there are thofe atomical pores in glafs, fince there are Hj/- 
 pothefes plaufible enough to folve thofe Vh£nomtna^ by fuppofing the 
 pulfe onely to be communicated through the tranfparent body. 
 
 To this I anfwer, that that Hypothejis which the induftrious Moreanus 
 has publifh’d about the flower motion of the end of a Ray in a denfer 
 iuedmmyhcn in a more rare and thin,feems altogether unfufficient to Iblve 
 abundance of Vhanomena^ of which this is not the leaft confiderabkjthat 
 it is impoflible from that fuppofition, that any colours ftiould be gene¬ 
 rated from the refraftion of the Rays 3 for fince by that Hypothejis the 
 undulating pulfe is always carried perpendicular, or at right angles with 
 the Ray or Line of diredRon, it follows, that the ftroke of the pulfe of 
 light, after it has been once or twice refrafted (through a PrifmCjfor ex¬ 
 ample) muft affedl: the eye with the fame kind of ftroke as if it had not 
 been refraded at all. Nor will it be enough for a Defendant'of that Hy^ 
 pothefs^ to fay, that perhaps it is becaufe the refradions have made the 
 Rays more weak, for if fo, then two refradions in the two parallel fides 
 of a g^adrangular Prijme would produce colours, but we have no fuch 
 Vh^nemena produc’d. 
 
 There are feveral Arguments that I could bring to evince that there 
 arc in all tranfparent bodies fuch atomical pores. And that there is fiich 
 a fluid body as I am arguing for, which is the medium^ or Inftrument, by 
 which the pulfe of Light is convey’d from the lucid body to the en- 
 lightn’d. But that it being a digreflion from the Obfervations I was re¬ 
 cording, about the Pores of Kettering Stone^ it would be too much fuch, 
 if I fhould protrad it too long 3 and therefore I fhall proceed to the 
 next Obfervation, 
 
 Obferv. X V L Of Charcoal, or burnt Vegetables. 
 
 C HarcoaljOr a Vegetable burnt black,afibrds an objedbo left pleafant 
 than inftrudive 5 for if you take a fmall round Charcoal,and break 
 it fhort with your fingers, you may perceive it to break with a very 
 ftnooth and fleck furiace, almoftlikethefurfaceof blackfealing Wax^ 
 this furface, if it be look’d on with an ordinary Microfeope^ does manifeft 
 abundance of thofe pores which are alfo vifible to the eye in many kinds 
 of Wood^ rang’d round the pith, both a in kind of circular order, and a 
 radiant one. Of thefe there are a multitude in the fubftance of the Coal, 
 every where almoft perforating and drilling it from end to end 5 by 
 
 means 
 
MiCROGR APHl A. loi 
 
 means of which^ be the Coal never fb long, you may eafily bIo>v through 
 it 5 and this you may prefcntly find,by wetting one end of it with Spittle^ 
 and blowing at the other. ' ' ) 
 
 But this is not all, for befides thofe many great and confpicuous irre¬ 
 gular fpots or pores, if a better Microfcope be made ufe of, there' will ap¬ 
 pear an infinite company of exceedingly fmall, and very regular pore% 
 lb thick and fo orderly fet, and fo clofe to one another, that they leave 
 very little room or fpace between them to be fill’d withafolid“body,for 
 the apparent 'interjiitia^ or feparating fides ofthefe pores leem lb thin in, 
 
 Ibmc places, that the texture of a Honey-comb cannot be more porous. 
 
 Though this be not every where lb, the intercurrent partitions in 
 fomc places being very much thicker in proportion to the holes. - 
 Mofi: of thefe fmall pores Teem’d to be pretty round, and were rang’d 
 in rows that radiated from the pith to the bark^ ' thej all of them 
 leem’d to be continued open pores, running the whole length of the 
 Stick 5 and that they were all perforated, I try’d by breaking off a very, 
 thin (liver of the Coal crofs-ways, and then with my Microfcope^d\\\g<^nt- 
 ly furveying them againfi: the light, for by that means I wa^ able to fee 
 quite through them. 
 
 Thele pores were (b exceeding fmall and thiekjthat in a line of them, 
 part of an Inch long, I found by numbring them no lefs then 150. 
 fmall pores 5 and therefore in a line of them an Inch long, mufl: be no leff 
 then 2700. pores, and in a circular area of an Inch diameter, mufl: be 
 about 5725550. of the like pores, (b that a Stick of an Inch Diameter, 
 may containe no lefs then feven hundred and twenty fivethonfand,' be- # 
 
 fides 5 Millions of pores,which would, I doubt not, feem even incredible, 
 were not every one left to believe his own eyes. Nay, having fince ex¬ 
 amin’d Cocus^ blac\ arid green Ebony^ Lignum I found, that all 
 
 thefe Woods have their pores, abundantly fmaller then thole of foft light 
 Wood 5 in fo much, that thofe of Guajacum (eem’d not above an eighth 
 part of the bignels of the pores of Beech, but then the Interjiitia were 
 thicker 5 fo prodigioully curious are the contrivances, pipes, or (luces by 
 which the Succus nutritius^ or Juyce of a Vegetable is convey’d from 
 place to place. 
 
 This Obfervation (cems to affbrd us the true reafon of feveral Phe¬ 
 nomena of Coals 5 as r 
 
 Firfi, why they look black, and for this we need go no further then, 
 the scheme^ for certainly, a body that has fo many pores in it as this is di(^ 
 cover’d to have, from each of which no light is refleded, mufl: neceflarilyi 
 look black, cfpccially, when the pores are fomewbat bigger in proporti¬ 
 on to the intervals then they are cut in the Scheme^ black being nothing 
 el(e but a privation of Light, or a want of reflection 5 and wherefover 
 this reflecting quality is deficient, there does that part look black, whe¬ 
 ther it be from a poroulhels of the body, as in thisInflancCjOr in a deadning 
 and dulling quality, (uch as I have obferv’d in the Scoria of Lead, Tin, 
 
 Silver, Copper, r , ' 
 
 Next, wc may alfo as plainly lee the reafon of its Ihining quality, and 
 
 that 
 
2 Micrographia. 
 
 that is from the even breaking off of the ftiek, the (olid interfiitia, 
 having a regular termination or furface, and having a pretty ftrong re- 
 flefting quality^ the many fmall reflexions become united to the naked 
 eye, and make a very pretty fliining furface. 
 
 Thirdly jthe reafon of its hardneis and brittlenels feems evident/offince 
 all the watery or liquid fubfl:ance that moifln’d and toughn'd thole Inters 
 ftitia of the more (olid parts, are evaporated and remov’d, that which 
 is left behind becomes of the nature almofl: of a ftone, w hich will not at 
 allj or very little,bend without a divtdfion or folution of its continuity. 
 
 It is not my defign at prefent, to examine the ule and Mechanifine of 
 thele parts of Wood, that being more proper to another Enquiry 3 but 
 rather to hint, that from this Experiment we may learn, 
 
 Firft, what is the caufe of the blacknels of many burnt bodies, which 
 we may find to be nothing elle but this 3 that the heat of the fire agi¬ 
 tating and ratifying the watcrifh, trar.fparcnt, and volatile water that is 
 contain’d in them,by the continuation of that aXionjdoes fo totally expel 
 and drive away all that which before fill d the pores, and was dilpers’d 
 allb through the folid mals of it, and thereby caus’d an univerlal kind of 
 tranlparency, that it not onely leaves all the pores empty, but all the In- 
 terjiitia allb lb dry and opacous^ and perhaps alfo yet further perforated, 
 that that light onely is reflected back which falls upon the very outward 
 edges of the pores, all they that enter into the pores of the body, never 
 rcturniag, but being loft in it. 
 
 Now, that the Charring or coaling of a body is nothing elle, may be 
 cafily believ’d by one that (hall confider the means of its produXion, 
 which may be done after this, or any fuch manner. The body to be 
 chart’d or coal’d, may be put into a Crncible^Votyyx any other Veflel that 
 will endure to be made red-hot in the Fire without breaking, and then 
 cover’d over with Sand, fo as no part of it be lufler’d to be open to the 
 Air, then let into a good Fire, and there kept till the Sand has continu’d 
 red hot for a quarter, half, an hour or two, or more, according to the 
 nature and bignels of the body to be coal’d or chart’d, then taking it out 
 of the Fire,and letting it ftand till it be quite cold,the body may be taken 
 out of the Sand well chart’d and cleans’d of its waterilh parts 3 but in the 
 taking of it out, care muft be had that the Sand be very neer cold, for 
 elle, when it comes into the free air, it will take fire, and readily burn 
 away. 
 
 This may be done allb in any dole Veflel of Glals, as a Retort^ or"the 
 like, and the leveral fluid fubftances that come over may be receiv’d in 
 a fit Recipient^ which will yet further countenance t\i\s Hypothejis : And 
 their manner of charring Wood in great quantity comes much to the lame 
 thing, namely, an application of a great heat to the body, and prelerving 
 it from the free accels of the devouring air 3 this may be eafily learn’d 
 from^ the Hiftory of Charring of Coal, moft excellently delcrib’d and 
 publilh’d by that moft accomplilh’d Gentleman, Mr. John Evelin^ in the 
 ICO, 101,105, pages of his Sylva^ to which I lhall therefore refer the cu¬ 
 rious Reader that defires a full information of it. - 
 
 Next 
 
M I C R O G R A P H 1 A. 
 
 Next, We may learft what part t)f the Wood it is that is the comhuflible 
 matters for (ince we (hall find that none, or very little of thofe fluid fub- 
 ftances that are driven over into the Receiver are combyjiible^ and that 
 moft of that which is left behind is fo, it follows, that the (olid ifiterjiitia 
 of the Wood are the combnflibh matter. Further, the reafon why un- 
 chair’d Wood burns with a greater flame then that Which is charr d, is as 
 evident, becaufe thofe waterifh or volatil parts iifuing out of the fired 
 Wood, every way, not onely (hatter-and open the body, the better for 
 the fire to enter, but ifiuing out in vapours or wind, they become like 
 fo many little (soUpks^ or Bellows, whereby they blow and agitate the 
 fir’d part, and conduce to the morefpeedy and violent confumption or 
 diflolution of the body. 
 
 Thirdly, from the Experiment of charring of Coals (whereby we fee 
 that notwithffanding the great heat, and the duration of it, the (olid 
 parts of the Wood remain, whileft they are prefervdTrom the free aceefs 
 of the air undiffipated) v^e may learn,that which has not,that I know of^ 
 been publifh’d or hinted, nay, not fo much as thought of, by any ^ and 
 that in (hort is this. 
 
 Firfr, that the Air in which we live, move, and breath, and which en- 
 compafles very many, and cherifhes mofr bodies it encompafles, that this 
 Air is the z^/ez^r^/z^/jOruniverlal diflblvent of all Sulphureous bodies. 
 
 Secondly, that this aBion it performs not, till the body be firfr fufii^ 
 ciently heated, as we find requifite alfo to the diflolution of many other 
 bodies by (everal other men^ruums. 
 
 Thirdly, that this a&ion of diflolution, produces or generates a very 
 great heat,and that which we call Fire 5 and this is common ahbtomany 
 diflblutions of other bodies, made by meujiruums^ of which I could give 
 multitudes of Infrances. 
 
 Fourthly, that this a&ion is perform’d with fo great a violence, and 
 does fo minutely adf, and rapidly agitate the fmallefr parts of the com* 
 hujiible that it produces in the diaphanous medium oi the Air, the 
 
 action or pulfe of light,which what it is, I have ehe-where already (hewn. 
 
 Fifthly,t^<«t the dijjolution of fulphureous bodies is made by a fubfrance 
 inherent, and mixt with the Air, that is like, if not the very fame, with 
 that which is fixt inSalt-peter^ which by multitudes of Experiments that 
 may be made with Saltpeter I think,moft evidently be demonftrated* 
 
 Sixthly, that in this dijjolution of bodies by the Air, a certain part is 
 united and mixt, or diflolv’d and turn’d into the Air, and made to fly up 
 and down with it in the fame manner as a metalline or other body dif 
 folv’d into any menjiruums^ does follow the motions and progrefles of 
 that menjiruum till it be precipitated. 
 
 Seventhly, That as there is one part that is diflbluble by the Air,fo are 
 there other parts with which the parts of the Air mixing and uniting, 
 do make a Coagulum^ or precipitation^ as one may call it, which caufes 
 it to be (eparated from the Air, but this preapitate is (b light, and in 
 fo fmall andrarify’d or porous clufters, that it is very volatil, and is eafily 
 carry’d up by the motion ofthe Air,though aftervvards,whcn the heat and 
 
 agitation 
 
4 . Micrographia. 
 
 agitation that kept it rarify’d ceafes^it cafily concktifcs^and commixt with 
 other indiflbluble parts, it fticks and adheres to the next bodies'it meets 
 withall ^ and this is a certain Salt that may be extra( 2 red out of SooU, 
 
 Eighthly, that many indiflbluble parts being very apt and prompt tp 
 be rarify’d, and lb, vphUeft they continue in that heat and agitatioDyare 
 lighter then the Ambient Air, arc thereby thrufl: and carry’d upwards 
 with great violence, and by that means carry along with them, not onely 
 that Saline concrete I mention’d before, but many terreflrial, or indii^ 
 (bluble and irrarefiable parts, nay, many parts alfo which are diflblubjc, 
 but are not fufler’d to flay long enough in a fufficient heat to make them 
 prompt and apt for that adion. And therefore we find in Soot^ not onely 
 a part, that being continued longer in a competent heat, will be di(; 
 (blv’d by’the Air, or take fire and burn 5 but a part alfb which is fixt, ter¬ 
 reflrial, and irrarefiable. ^ * 
 
 Ninthly, that as* there are thelc feveral parts that will rarifie and fly, 
 or be driven up by the heat, fo are there many others, that as they are 
 indiflbluble by the aerial menfiruum^^o are they of fuch fluggifh and grofs 
 parts, that they are not cafily rarify’d by heat, and theretbre cannot be 
 rais’d by it ^ the volatility or fixtnels of a body leeming to confift only in 
 this, that the‘One is of a texture, or has component parts that will be 
 eafily rarify’d into the form of Air, and the other, that it has fuch as will 
 not,without much ado,be brought to fuch a conftitution 3 and this is that 
 part which remains behind in a white body call’d Afhes, which contains 
 a ftibflance,or 4S’4/^,which Chymifls call ^/ 4 ?//Vwhat the particular natures 
 ofeachofthefe bodies are, I (hall not here examine, intending it in an¬ 
 other placc,but (hall rather add that this H^pothejts does fo exadly agree 
 with all Vhanomena of Fire, and fo genuinely explicate each particular 
 circumftance that I have hitherto oblcrv’d, that it is more then probable, 
 that this caufe which I have aflign’d is the true adequate, real, and onely 
 caufe of thofe Thanemena 3 And therefore I (hall proceed a little fur^- 
 ther, to fhew the nature and ufe of the Air. 
 
 Tenthly,therefore the diflblving parts of the Air are but few,that is,it 
 (eems of the nature of thofe Saline menflrnums^ or fpirits, that have very 
 much flegme mixt with the fpirits, and therefore a fmall parcel of it is 
 quickly glutted, and will diflblve no more 3 and therefore unlefs fbme 
 frefhpart of this ntenfiruum be apply’d to the body to be diflblv’d, the 
 a^fion ceafes, and the body leaves to be diflblv’d and to Ihine, which is 
 the Indication of it, though plac’d or kept in thegreateft hcato whereas 
 Salt-peter is a menfirmm^ when melted and red-hot, that abounds more 
 with thofe Diflblvent particles, and therefore as a fmall quantity of it 
 will diflblve a great fulphureous body, fb will the diflblution be very 
 quick and violent. 
 
 Therefore in the Eleventh place, it is obfervable, that, as in other 
 folutions, if a copious and quick fupply of ffefti menjiruum^ though but 
 weak, be poured on, or applied to the diflbluble body, it quickly con- 
 fumes it ; So this menjirmmoi the Air, if by Bellows, or any other fuch 
 contrivance, it be copioufly apply'd to the fhining body, is found to 
 
 diflblve 
 
MiCROGRAPHIA. 
 
 diflblve it as foon, and as violently as the more flrong mefiflruiitft of^ 
 melted N/Yre. ’ [’ 
 
 Therefore twelfthly, it feems reafbnable to think that there is no fuch 
 thing as an Element of Fire that fhould attradtor draw up the flame, ot 
 towards which the flame fhould endeavour to afcend out of a defire or 
 appetite of uniting with that as its Homogeneal primitive and generating 
 Element ^ but that that fhining tranfient body which we Call Flame^ is 
 nothing elfe but a mixture of Air, and volatil lulphureous parts of diflo- 
 luble or combuftible bodies, which are adfing upon each other whil’fi: 
 they afcend, that is, flame feems to be a mixture of Air, and the com¬ 
 buftible volatil parts of any body, which parts the encompafiing Air 
 does diffblve or work upon, which adfioojas it does intend the heat of the 
 aerial parts of the diflolvent,lb docs it thereby further rarifie thole parts 
 that are adf ing, cr that are very neer them, whereby they growing much 
 lighter then the heavie parts of that Menfirmm that are more remote,arc 
 thereby protruded and driven upward, and this may be eafily obferv'd 
 alfb in difiolutions made by any other menjirnnm^ efpecially fuch as either 
 create heat or bubbles. Now, this adfion of the or Air^ on the 
 
 difibluble parts, is made with fuch violence, or is fuch, that it imparts 
 fuch a motion or pulfe to the diaphanous parts of the Air, as I have elfe- 
 where fhewn is requifite to produce light. ^ 
 
 This Hypothejls I have endeavoured to raife from an Infinite of Obfer- 
 rations and Experiments, the procels of which would be muck too long 
 to be here inferred, and will perhaps another time afford matter copious 
 enough for a much larger Difeourfe, the Air being a Subjedt which 
 (though all the world has hitherto liv’d and breath’d in,and been uncon* 
 verfant about)has yet been fo little truly examin’d or explain’djthat.a di* 
 ligent enquirer will be able to find but very little information from what 
 has been (till of late) written of it: But being once well underftood, it 
 will, I doubt not, inable a man to render an intelligible, nay probable, if 
 not the true reafon of all the Th^nomena of Fire, which, as it has been 
 found by Writers and Philofophers of all Ages a matter of no finallidifT 
 ficulty, as may be fufficiently underftood by their ftrange Hjpothefes^ and 
 unintelligible Solutions of fome few Vh<enornena of it, fo will it prove a 
 matter ofnofmall concern and ufein humane afiairs,aslfhallelfewhere 
 endeavour to manifeff when I come to fhew the ufe of the Air in relpi; 
 ration, and for the prefervation of the life, nay, for the confervation and 
 reftauration of the health and natural confiitution of mankind as'well as 
 all other aereal animals^ asalfo the ufes of this principle or propriety of 
 the Air in chymical, mechanical, and other operations. In this place I 
 have onely time to hint an Hypothefis^ which, if God .permit me life, and 
 opportunity, I may elfewhere profecute, improve and publifti. In the 
 meantime, before! finifh this Difeourfe, I muff pot forget to acquaint the 
 Reader,that having had the liberty granted me of making fome trials on 
 a piece of Lignum fojjile fhewn to the Royal Society, by the eminently 
 Ingenious and Learned Phyfician, Dodor Ent^ who receiv’d it for a Pre- 
 fent from the famous Ingeniofo Cavalliero de ?o%zi^\t being one of the faired 
 
 and 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 and beft pieces of Ligmm fojjile he had feen, Having (I fay) taken a 
 fmall piece of this Wood, and examin’d it, I found it to burn in the open 
 Air almoft like other Wood, and infteed of a refinous fmoak or fume, 
 it yielded a very bituminous one, fmelling much of that kind of lent; But 
 that which I chiefly took notice of, was, that cutting off a fmall piece of 
 it, about the bignefs of my Thumb, and charring it in a Crucible with 
 Sand, after the manner I above preferib’d, I found it infinitely to abound 
 with the fmaller fort of pores, lo extreme thick, and fo regularly perfo¬ 
 rating the fubftance of it long-ways, that breaking it off a-crofs, I found 
 it to look very like an Honey-comb, but as for any ofthe fecond,or 
 bigger kind of pores, I could not find that it had any 5 fo that it feems, 
 whatever were the caufe of its produftion, it was not without thofe 
 fmall kind of pores which we have onely hitherto found in Vegetable bo¬ 
 dies r and comparing them with the pores which I have found in the Char¬ 
 coals that I by this means made of feveral other kinds of Wood, I find it 
 refemble none fo much as thofe of Firr, to which it is not much unlike in 
 grain alfb, and feveral other proprieties. 
 
 And therefore,what ever is by fome, who have written of it,and parti¬ 
 cularly by Fraucifeo Stelluto^v^ho wrote a Treatile in Italian of thatSub- 
 jed,which was Printed at Ron/e^ 1637. affirm’d that it is a certain kind of 
 Clay or Earth, which in trad of time is turn’d into Wood,I rather fufped 
 the quite contrary, that it was at firfl: certain great Trees of Fir or Pine, 
 which by fbme Earthquake, or other cafualty, came to be buried under 
 the Earth,and was thcre,after a long time’s refidence(according to the fe¬ 
 veral natures of the encompafling adjacent parts)either rotted and turn’d 
 into a kind of Clay, or petrify d and turn’d into a kind of Stone, or elfc 
 had its pores fill’d with certain Mineral juices,which being ftayd in them, 
 and in trad of time coagulated, appear’d, upon cleaving out,likc fmall 
 Metaline Wires, or elfefrom fbme flames or fcorching forms that are the 
 occafion oftentimes,and ufually accompanyEarthquakes,might be blafied 
 and turn’d into Coal, or clfe from certain fubterraneeus fires which are 
 affirm’d by that Authoiir to abound much about tliofe parts (namely, in 
 a Province of Italy ^ call’d Vmbria^ now the Dutchk of Spoletto^ in the 
 Territory of Ti^^/ijanciently call’d TSv^/^^r^and between the two Villages of 
 Col/ejeccoand Rofaro not fardiftant from the high-way leading to Ron/e^ 
 where it is found in greater quantity then elfewhcre)are by reafon of their 
 being encompafled with Earth, and fb kept clofe from the diflblving Air, 
 charr’d and converted into Coal. It would be too long a work to de*- 
 feribe the feveral kinds ofpores which I met withall, and by this means 
 difeovered in feveral other Vegetable bodies ^ nor is it my prefent defign 
 to expatiate upon Inftances of the fame kind, but rather to give a Spe¬ 
 cimen of as many kinds as I have had opportunity as yet of obferving, re- 
 ferving the profecution and enlarging on particulars till a more fit op¬ 
 portunity 5'and in profecution of this defign, I fhall here add; 
 
 b 
 
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 M -V\. \ 
 
 i 
 
 
 Oblerv. 
 
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Sch e-mi's. 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 Obferv, XVII. O/Petrify’dwood,Wot/?^rPemfy’dbodies.- 
 
 O F this fort of fubflance, I obferv’d fcveral pieces of very differing 
 kindsj both for their outward fliapc, colour, grain, hard- 
 
 nefs, fome being brown and redifh 5 others gray, like a Hone 5 others 
 black, and Flint-like : fome foftdike a Slate or Whetftone, others as hard 
 as a Flint, and as brittle. That which I more particular examiif d,was a 
 piece about the bignefs of a mans hand, which leem’d to have been a part 
 of fome large tree, that by rottennefs had been broken off from it before 
 hbegantobepetnfycl. 
 
 And indeed, all that I have yet feen, feem to have been rotten Wood 
 before the petrifadcion was begun; and not long fince, examining and 
 viewing a huge great that feemkl with meer age to be rotten as it 
 (food, I was very much confirm'd in this opinion 5 for I found, that the 
 grain, colour, and fhapeof the Wood, was exaftly like this petr/ffdfub- 
 fiance 5 and with a Microfeope^ I found, that all thole Microfcopicai pores, 
 which in fappy or firm and lound Wood are fill’d with the natural or in¬ 
 nate juices of thofe Vegetables, in this they were all empty, like thofe 
 of Vegetables charrd 5 but with this difference, that they feem'd much 
 larger then I have feen any in Char-coals nay, even then thole of Coals 
 made of great blocks of Timber, which are commonly call'd Old-coals. 
 
 Thereafon of which difference may probably be, that the charring of 
 Vegetables, being an operation quickly perform’djand whilefl the Wood 
 is fappv,the more fblid parts may more eafily flrrink together, and con- 
 tra( 5 t the pores or interfljtia between them, then in the rotten Wood, 
 where that natural juice feems onely to be wafh'd away by adverHitious 
 or unnatural moiffure ^ and fo though the natural juice be wafled froiri 
 between the firm parts, yet thofe parts arc kept afunderby the adve^ti* 
 tious moyftures, and fo by degrees fettled in thofe poftures. 
 
 And this I likewile found in t\\e petrify d Wood, that the pores Were 
 fomewat bigger then thofe of Charcoal^ each pore being neer upon half 
 as bigg again, but they did not bear that difproportion which is exprefl 
 in the tenth Scheme^ between the fmall fpecks or pores in the firfl Fi^ 
 gure (which reprefenteth the pores of Coal or Wood charr’d) and the 
 black fpotsof the lecond Figure (which reprefent the Yike Alicrofcopical 
 pores in the/?e^r/j 5 /W Wood) for thefe laft were drawn by a Microfeope that 
 magnify'd the objedfc above fix times more in Diameter then the Micro¬ 
 feope by which thole pores of Coal were oblerv'd. 
 
 Now, though they were a little bigger, yet did they keep the exact 
 figure and order of the pores of Coals and of rotten Wood, v/hich laff: 
 alfb were much of the fame cize. 
 
 The other Oblervations on this petrify d fubffance, that a while fince, 
 by the appointment of the Royal Society^ I made, and prelented to them 
 an account of, were thefe that follow, which had the honour done them 
 
 Q 2 by 
 
Micrographi a. 
 
 by the moft accomplifh’d Mr. Evelin^ my highly honour’d friend, to be 
 inferted and publiftied among thofe excellent Obfervations wherewith 
 his Sylva is repleniih’d, and would therefore have been here omitted,had 
 not the Figure of them, as they appear d through the Microjhope been 
 before that engraven. 
 
 This Petrify d fubftance refembled Wood, in that 
 
 Firft, all the parts of it Teem’d not at all diflocated^ or alter’d from 
 their natural Pofition, whil’ft they were Wood, but the whole piece re¬ 
 tain’d the exaO: lhape of Wood, having many of the confpicuous pores 
 of wood ftill remaining pores, and (hewing a manifeft difference vifible 
 enough between the grain of the Wood and that of the bark, efpecially 
 when any fide of it was cut fmoothand polite 5 for then it appear’d to 
 have a very lovely grain, like that of fbme curious clofe Wood. 
 
 Next (it refembled Wood) in that all the fmaller and (if I may fb call 
 thofe which are onely vifible with a good magnifying Glafs) Microfeopi* 
 cal pores of it appear (both when the fubftance is cut and polifh’d tranf 
 verjly and parallel to the pores of it) perfectly like the Microfeopical^oicB 
 offcveral kinds of Wood, efpecially like and equal to thofe of fcveral 
 forts of rotten Wood which I have fince obferv’d, retaining both the 
 fhape,pofition and magnitude of fuch pores. It was differing from Wood : 
 
 Firft, in being to common water as 34 to i. whereas there arc 
 few of our Englijh Woods, that when very dry arc found to be full as 
 heavie as water. 
 
 Secondly, in hardnef being very neer as hard as a Flint 3 and in fbme 
 places of it alfb refembling the grain of a Flint: and, like it, it would 
 very readily cut Glaft, and would not without difficulty, efpecially in 
 fome parts of it, be fcratch’d by a black hard Flint: It would alfb as rea¬ 
 dily ftrike fire againft a Steel, or againft a Flint, as any common Flint. 
 
 Thirdly, in the clofenefoi it, for though all the Microfcoptcal pores of 
 t\i\s petrify d fubftance were very confpicuous in one pofition ,yet by al¬ 
 tering that pofition of the polifh’d furface to the light, it was alfomani- 
 feft, that thofe pores appear’d darker then the reft of the body, onely 
 becaufe they were fill’d up with a more dufkie fubftance, ajid not be- 
 caufe they were hollow. 
 
 Fourthly, in its incombnfiiblenef^ in that it would not burn in the fire 5 
 nay,though I kept it a good while red-hot in the flame of a Lamp, made 
 very intetife by the blaft of a fmall Pipe, and a large Charcoal, yet it 
 Teem’d not at all to have diminifh’d its extenfion 5 but only I found it to 
 have chang’d its colour, and to appear of a more dark and dufkie brown 
 colour 5 nor could I perceive that thofe parts which Teem’d to have been 
 Wood at firft, were any thing wafted, but the parts appear’d as folid and 
 clofe as before. It was further obfervable alfo, that as it did not conlume 
 like Wood, fo neither did it crack and flie like a Flint, or fuch like hard 
 Stone, nor was it long before it appear’d red-hot. 
 
 Fifthly, in its diJfMle^ef-, for putting fome drops of diftill’d Vinegar 
 upon the Stone, I found it prefently to yield very many Bubbles, juft like 
 thofe which may be obferv d in fpirit of Vinegar when k corrodes coraU^ 
 
 though 
 
Micrograph! A. to 
 
 though perhaps many of thofe fmall Bubbles might proceed from fome 
 fmall parcels of Air which were driven out of the pores of this petrify d 
 fubftance by the infinuating liquid menfnmm. 
 
 Sixthly, in its rigidnefs and friability^ being not at all flexible but 
 brittle like "a Flint, inlbmuch that I could with one knock of a Hammer 
 break off a piece of it, and with a few more, reduce that into a pretty 
 fine powder. 
 
 Seventhly, it feem’d alfo very differing from Wood to the touch^feel^ 
 
 7fig moro cold then Wood ufually does, and much like other clofe ftones 
 and Minerals. 
 
 The Reafons of all which Vh£nor>iena feem to be. 
 
 That t\{\spetrify d Wood having lain in fome place where it was well 
 (bak’d with petrifying water (that is, fuch a water as is well impregnated 
 with fiony and earthy particles) did by degrees feparatejCither by (train¬ 
 ing and filtration^ or perhaps,by precipitation^ cobefion or coagnlationfibxxnr 
 dance of (tony particles from the permeating water, which (tony par- 
 ticlesjbeing by means of the Huid vehicle convey’d.notonely into they^//- 
 crofcopical pores, and fo perfectly (toping them up, but alfo into the pores 
 or interjiitia^which may, perhaps, be even in the texture or Schematifme 
 of that part of the Wood, which, through the Microjeope^a^pears mo(t lb- 
 lid, do thereby fo augment the weight of the Wood, as to make it above 
 three times heavier then water, and perhaps, fix times as heavie as it was 
 when Wood. 
 
 Next, they thereby (b lock up and fetter the parts of the Wood, that 
 the fire cannot eafily make themflieaway.but the action of the fire upon 
 them isonely able to Char thofe parts, as it were, like a piece of Wood,if 
 it be clos’d very fafl: up in Clay,and kept a good while red-hot in the fire, 
 will by the heat of the fire be chart’d and not confum’d, which may, per¬ 
 haps, alfo be fomewhat of the caule, why the petrijy'dfuhdance appear’d 
 of a dark brown colour after it had been burnt. 
 
 By this intrufion of ihtpetrifying particles, this fubftance ahb becomes 
 hard and friable'-^ for the fmaller pores of the Wood being perfedfly 
 wedg’d, and ftuft up with thofe ftoiiy particles, the fmall parts of the 
 Wood have no places or pores into which they may Aide upon bending, 
 and confequently little or no flexion or yielding at all can be caus’d in 
 fuch a fubffance. 
 
 The remaining particles likewife of the Wood among the ftony par¬ 
 ticles, may keep them from cracking and flying when put into'the fire, 
 as they are very apt to do in a Flint. 
 
 Nor is Wood the onely fubftance that may by this kind of tranfmuta-- 
 tien be chang’d into ftone 5 for I my folf have feen and examin’d very 
 many kinds of fubffances, and among very credible Authours, we may 
 meet with Hiftories of fuch Metamorphofes wrought almoft on all kina 
 of fubftances, both Vegetabk and Animal^ which Hiftories, it is not my 
 buCnefs at prefent, either to relate, or epitomifcy but only to fet down 
 fome Obfervation I lately made onfeveral )/dnd oipetrify d Shels, found 
 about Keinjham^ which lies within four or five miles of Briflol^ which are 
 commonly call’d Serpentinc-jiones. Exami- 
 
no 
 
 Ml CROGRAPHIA. 
 
 Examining feveral of thefe very curioully figur’d bodies (which arc 
 commonly thought to be Stones form’d by fome extraordinary Tlajlick^ 
 virtue latent in the Earth itfelf) I took notice of thefe particulars ; 
 
 Firftj that thefe figured bodies, or ftoncs, were of very differing fub- 
 ffances, as to hardnefs; fome of Clay, fome Marie, fome foft Stone, al- 
 mofi: of the hardnefs of thofe foft ftones which Mafons call Fire^ftone, 
 others as hard as Portland ftone, others as hard as Marble, and fome as 
 hard a a Flint or Cryftal. 
 
 Next, they were of very differing fubftances as to tranfparency and 
 colour, fome white, fome almoft black, fome brown, fome Metalline, or 
 like Marchafites, fome tranfparent like white Marble, others like flaw’d 
 Cryff aljfome gray, fome of divers colours 5 fome radiated like thefe long 
 petrifyd drops^ which are commonly found at the Peal{^^ and in other 
 fHbterraneous caverns^ which have a kind of pith in the middle. 
 
 Thirdly, that they were very different as to the manner of their out¬ 
 ward figuration ^ for fome of them feem’d to have been the fubftance 
 that had fill’d the Shell of fome kind of Shel-fifh 5 others, to have been 
 the fubftance that had contain’d or enwrapp’d one of thefe ShelSjOn both 
 which,the perfed impreflion either of the infide or outfide of fuch Shells 
 feem’d to be left, but for the mofi: part, thofe impreffions feem’d to be 
 made by an imperfed: or broken Shell, the great end or mouth of the 
 Shell being always wanting, and oftentimes the little end, and fometimes 
 half, and in fome there were impreffions, juft as if there had been holes 
 broken in the figurating. imprinting or moulding Shell ^ fbmc of them 
 feem’d to be made by fuch a Shell very much bruled or flaw’d, infomuch 
 that one would verily have thought that very figur’d ftone had been 
 broken or brufed whilft a gelly, as ’twere, and (b hardned, but within 
 in the grain of the ftone, there appear’d not the leaft fign of any fuch 
 brule or breaking, but onely on the very uttermoft fupcrficies. 
 
 Fourthly, they were very difrerent,as to their outward coverings fome 
 having the perfed Shell, both in figure, colour, and fubftance, flicking 
 on upon its furface, and adhering to it, but might very eafily be fepa* 
 rated from it, and like other common Cockle or Scolop-fiels^ which fome of 
 them moft accurately refembledjWere very diftbluble in common Vinegar^ 
 others of them,efpecially Serpentine^ or HelicalJioneswQve cover'd 
 
 or rerained the fhining or Pearl-colour’d fubftance of the infide of a Shel, 
 which fubftance, on fome parts of them, was exceeding thin, and might 
 very eafily be rubbed off^ on other parts it was pretty thick, and re¬ 
 tained a white coat, or flaky fubftance on the top, juft like the outfides 
 of fuch Shells 5 fome of them had very large pieces of the Shell very 
 plainly flicking on to them, which were eafily to be broken or flaked off 
 by degrees: they likewife, fome of them retain’d all along the furface of 
 them very pretty kind of futures^ fuch as are obferv’d in the Ikulls of fc- 
 veral kinds of living creatures, vv^hich futures were moft curioully fhap’d 
 in the manner of leaves, and every one of them in the fame Shell, exadly 
 one like another, which I was able to difeover plainly enough with my 
 naked eye, but more perfedly and diftindjy with my Microfeope 5 all 
 
 thefe 
 
M I C R 6g R A P H I Aj ill 
 
 thefe futures^ by breaking feme of thefe flones^I found to be 
 or boundings of certain diaphragms.ot partitions^whieh feem'd to divide 
 the cavity of the Shell into a multitude of very proportionate and regu¬ 
 lar cells ox caverns^ thefe Dxaphragms^m many of them, I found very per-, 
 fed and compleat, of a very difiind fubftance from that which filfd the 
 cavities, and exadlly of the fame kind with that which covered the out- 
 fide, being for the moft part whitifh, or mother-of-pearl colour'd. 
 
 As for the cavities between thofe Diaphragms^ I found fome of theni 
 fiird with Marie, and others withfeveral kinds of hones, others, for the 
 moft part hollow, onely the whole cavity was ufuafty covered ovef 
 with a kind of tartareous petrify d fubftance, which ftuck about the fides,' 
 and was there (hot into very curious regular P igures, juft as, fartar^ or 
 other diftblv’d Salts are obferv'd to ftick and cryfallw about the fides of 
 the containing Veflels; or like thofe little which I before ob*' 
 
 ferved to have covered the vaulted cavity of a Flinty others had thefe 
 cavities all lin’d with a kind of metalime or marckafiedihg fubftance, 
 which with a Microjeope I could as plainly fee moft curioufty and regu¬ 
 larly figured, as I had done thofe in a Flint. 
 
 From all which, and feveral other particulars which I obferv’d, I ean*^ 
 not but think, that all thefe, and moft other kinds, of ftony bodies which 
 are found thus ftrangely figured,do owe their formation and figuration, 
 not to any kind of VUflick^ virtue inherent in the earth, but to the Sheils 
 of certain Shel-fifhes, which, either by fome Deluge, Inundation, Ea.rth-^ 
 quake, or fome fuch other means, came to be thrown to that place, and 
 there to be fill’d with fome kind of Mudd or Clay, or petrifyivg Water, 
 or fome other fubftance, which in trad of time has been fettled toge^ 
 therand hardned in thofe fhelly moulds into thofe fhaped fubftances we 
 now find them 5 that the great and thin end of thefe Shells by that Earth*' 
 quake, or what ever other extraordinay caufe it was that brought them 
 thither, was broken off, and that many others were otherwile broken, 
 bruifed and disfigured f that thefe Shells which are thus Jpiralihd^And fe^ 
 pa rated with D/d'/? we/, were fome kind of Nautili or Vorc^lane 
 
 and that others were fliells of Cockjes^Adufcles^Vermincles^ Scolops^^^c, of 
 various forts ^ that thefo Shells in many, from the particular nature of the 
 containing or enclos’d Earth, or fome other caufe, have in trad of time 
 rotted and mouldred away, and onely left their imprellions, both on the 
 containing and contained fubftances^ and fo left them pretty lopfeouf 
 within another^ fo that they^ may be eafily feparatied. by a.knpc^or two 
 of a Hammer. I hat others of thefe ^Shclls, according to theuhature 
 of the lubftances adjacent to them, have, by a long continuance in 
 that pofture, been petrify'd and turn’d into the nature of ftone, )uft as I 
 even now obforv’d feveral forts of Wood to be. That oftentimes the Shell 
 may be found with one kind of fubftance within, and quite another 
 without, having, perhaps, been fill'd in one place, and afterwards tranfta^ 
 ted to another, which I have very frequently obferv’d in ^ockjoj Mufek^ 
 Veriwinek^ and other (hells, which I have found by tfie Sea fide.’ Nay, 
 further, that fome parts of tfte fame Shell may be fill’d in one plgee, and 
 
 fome 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 fome other caverns in another, and others in a third,or a fourth, or a fifth 
 place, for fb many difiering fubflances have I found in one of thefe pe¬ 
 trify'd Shell8,and perhaps all thefe differing from the encompaffing earth 
 or ftonc ^ the means how all which varieties may be caus’d, I think, will 
 not be difficult to conceive, to any one that has taken notice of thofe 
 Shells, which are commonly found on the Sea fhore : And he that fhall 
 throughly examine feveral kinds of fuch curioufly form’d hones,will (I 
 am very apt to think) find reafon to fuppofe their generation or forma¬ 
 tion to be afcribable to fome fuch accidents as I have mention’d, and 
 not to any Flajiick. virtue : For it feems to me quite contrary to the in¬ 
 finite prudence of Nature, which is obfervable in all its works and pro- 
 dudions, todefign every thing to a determinate end, and for the attain¬ 
 ing of that end, makes ufc of liich ways as are (as farr as the knowledge 
 of man has yet been able to reach) altogether confonant, and moft 
 agreeable to man’s reafon, and of no way or means that docs contradid, 
 or is contrary to humane Ratiocination 5 whence it has a long time been 
 a general obfervation and maxime^ that Nature does nothing in vain 5 It 
 feems, I fay, contrary to that great Wifdom of Nature, that thefe prettily 
 fliap’d bodies fhould have all thofe curious Figures and contrivances 
 (which many of them are adorn’d and contriv’d with) generated or 
 wrought by a Tlafiick^ virtue^ for no higher end khen onely to exhibite 
 fuch a form ^ which he that fhall throughly confider all the circumftances 
 of fuch kind of Figur’d bodies, will, I think, have great reafon to be¬ 
 lieve, though, I confefs, one cannot prefently be able to find out what 
 Nature’s defigns arc. It were therefore very defirable, that a good col- 
 ledion of fiich kind of figur’d ftones were colleded ^ and as many par¬ 
 ticulars, circumftances, and informations colleded with them as could be 
 obtained, that from fuch a Hiftory of Oblervations well rang’d, ex¬ 
 amin’d and digefted, the true original or produdion of all thofe kinds 
 of ftones might be perfedly and ffirely known, fuch as are Thunder- 
 fiones^ Lapides St eU ares^ Lapides Judaici^Sind multitudes of other, where¬ 
 of mention is made in Aldrovandus Wormius^ and other Writers of 
 Minerals. 
 
 Obfov. XVIIL Schcmacifme or Texture (f Cork, and 
 of the Cells and Fores offome other fuch frothy Bodies, \ 
 
 I Took a good clear piece of Cork, and with a Pen-knife ftiarpen’d as 
 keen as a Razor, I cut a piece of it oft^ and thereby left the furface of 
 it exceeding fmooth, then examining it very diligently with a Micro- 
 fcope^ me thought I could perceive it to appear a little porous 3 but I 
 could not lb plainly diftinguifh them, as to be fure that they were pores, 
 much lefs what Figure they were of: But judging from the lightneffand 
 yielding quality of the Cork, that certainly the texture could not be lb 
 
 curious. 
 
MicrographiA. 
 
 curious, but that pofTibly, if I could ufe fome further diligence, I might 
 find it to be difcernable with a Microfco^e^ I with the fame Ifiarp Pen- 
 knife, cut off from the former fmooth fiirface an exceeding thin piece of 
 it, and placing it on a black objeft Plate, bccaufe it was it felf a white 
 body, and cafting the light on it with a deep pla^o-convex Glafs^ I could 
 exceeding plainly perceive it to be all perforated and porous,much like 
 a iHoney-coihb,but that the pores of it were not regular^ yet it was not 
 unlike a Honey-comb in thefe particulars. 
 
 Firfi:, in that it had a very little folid (iibfiance, in comparifon of the. 
 empty cavity that was contain’d between, as does more manifeftly appear 
 by the Figure A and B of the X I. for the Interjiitia^ or walls 
 
 (as I may fo call them) or partitions of thofe pores were neer as thin iri 
 proportion to their pores, as thole thin films ofWaxina Honey-comb 
 (which enclofe and conlfitute the fexangtdar cells') are to theirs. 
 
 Next, in that thefe pores, or cells, were not very deep, but confifted 
 of a great many little Boxes, feparated out of one continued long pore, 
 by certain Diaphragms^ as is vilible by the Figure B, which reprefents a' 
 fight of thofe pores fplit the long-ways. . ft .si, 
 
 I no Iboner dilcern’d thefe (which were indeed the firlf microfioptdHl* 
 pores I ever law, and perhaps,that were ever feep,»forI’had not met with 
 any Writer or Perfon, that had made any mention ofithem before this) 
 but me thought I had with the dilcovery of them, prefentl.y>hinted tc^me 
 the true and intelligible reafbn of all the Phenomena of Cork, As, ' " ■ 
 Firfl:, if I enquir’d why it was fb exceeding light a body? my Micro^ 
 fcope could prefently inform me that here was the fame reafbn evident that ■ 
 there is found for the lightnefs of froth, an empty Floney-comb, Wool, 
 a Spunge, a Pumice-ffone, or the like, namely, a very fmall quantity of a 
 fblid body, extended into exceeding large dimenfions. 
 
 Next, it leem’d nothing more difficult to give an intelligible reafbn^ 
 why Cork is a bodyfb very unapt to fuck and drink in Water, andcon- 
 fequently preferves it felf, floating on the top of Water, though left on it 
 never fo long ; and why it is able to flop and hold air in a Bottle,though 
 it be there very much condens’d and confequently prefles very ftrongly 
 to get a paflage out, without fuffering the leaft bubble to pafs through 
 its fubftance. For, as to the firfl, fince our Jldicrofcope informs us that the 
 fubflance of Cork is altogether fill’d with Air, and that that Air is per- 
 fedlly cnclofed in little Boxes or Cells diftind: from one another. It feems 
 very plain, why neither the Water, nor any other Air can eafily infinu- 
 ate it felf into them, fince there is already within them an intus exijiens^ 
 and confequently, why the pieces of Cork become fb good boats for 
 Nets, and floppies for Viols, ot other clofe Veffels. 
 
 And thirdly, if we enquire why Cork has fuch a fpringinefs and fwel- 
 ling nature whem comprels’d ? and how it comesS to fuffer fb great a com- 
 preflion, or feeming penetration of dimenfions, fo as to be made a fob- 
 (lance as heavic again and more^ bulk for bulk, as it was before comprep 
 (ion, and yet fuffer’d to return, is found to extend it felf again into the 
 fame (pace? Our Merofeope will cafily inform us, that the whole mals 
 
 R confifts 
 
Ml CROGR AP HIA. 
 
 confifts of an infinite company of fmall Boxes or Bladders of Air, which 
 isafubftance of a fpringy nature, and that will fuffer a confiderable con- 
 denlation (as I have feveral times found by divers trials, by which I have 
 moft evidently condens’d it into lels then a twentieth part of its ufual di- 
 menfions neer the Earth, and that with no other ftrength then that of my 
 hands without any kind of forcing Engine,fuch as Racks,Leavers, Wheels, 
 Pullies, or the like, but this onely by and by) and befides, it feems very 
 probable that thofe very films or iides of the pores,have in them a Ipring- 
 ing quality, as almofi: all other kind of Vegetable fubfi:ances have, fo as 
 to help to reftore themfelves to their former pofition. 
 
 And could we fo eafily and certainly difcovcr .the Schematifme and 
 Texture even of thefe films,and of feveral other bodies,as we can thefe of 
 Cork 5 there feems no probable reafbn to the contrary, but that we might 
 as readily render the true reafon of all their Ph£uomena 5 as namely,what 
 were thecaufe of the fpringinefs, and toughnefi of fbme, both as to their 
 flexibility and reftitution. What, of the friability or brittlenefs of fome 
 others, and the like 5 but till fuch time as our Mcrofeope^ or fbme other 
 meanSjCnable us to dilcover the true Schematifmzud Texture of all kinds 
 of bodies, we muff grope, as it were, in the dark, and onely ghefsatthe 
 true reafbns of things by fimilitndes and comparifons. 
 
 But, to return to our Obfervation. I told feveral lines of thefe 
 pores, and found that there were ufually about threefcore of thefe fmall 
 Cells placed end-ways in the eighteenth part of an Inch in length,whence 
 I concluded there muff be neer eleven hundred of them, or fcmewhat 
 more then a thoufand in the length of an Inch, and therefore in a fquare 
 Inch above a Million, or 1166400. and in a Cubick Inch,above twelve 
 hundred Millions, or 12 59712000. a thing almoft incredible, did not our 
 Microfcope afliire us of it by ocular demonff ration, nay, did it not difco- 
 %^er to us the pores of a body, which were they diaphragm dfikc thofe of 
 Cork, would afford us in one Cubick Inch, more then ten times as many 
 little Cells, as is evident in feveral charrd Vegetables 5 fo prodigioufly 
 curious are the works of Nature, that even thefe confpicuous pores of 
 bodies, which feem to be the channels or pipes through which the 
 nutritius^ or natural juices of Vegetables are convey’d, and feem to cor^ 
 refpond to the veins, arteries and other Veffels in fenfible creatures, that 
 thefe pores I fay, which feem to be the Veflels of nutrition to the vafieft 
 body in the World, are yet lb exceeding fmall, that the Atoms which Epi-. 
 curus fancy’d would go neer to prove too bigg to enter them, much more 
 to conftitute a fluid body in thcm.And how infinitely fmaller then mufi: be 
 the Veflels ofa Mite, or the pores of one of thofe little Vegetables 1 have 
 dilcovered to grow on the back-fide of a Rofe-lcaf, and fhall anon more 
 fully deferibe, whofe bulk is many millions of times lefs then the bulk of 
 the fmall fhrub it grows on 5 and even that fhrub, many millions of times 
 lefs in bulk then feveral trees (that have heretofore grown in England^ 
 and are this day flourifhing in other hotter Climates, as we are very cre¬ 
 dibly inform’d) if atleafl: the pores of this fmall Vegetable fhould keep 
 any fuch proportion to the body of it, as we have found thefe pores 
 
 of 
 

 
 \ 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 f 
 
 :■ j 
 
 I * 
 
 ( 
 
 i 
 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 
 /.■ 
 
 } 
 
 4 
 
 - « 
 
 
Schcm'.Xi. 
 
 Fig;l. 
 
Ml 
 
 CROGRAPHiA 
 
 6f other Vegetables to do to their bulk. But of thefe pores Thrive laid 
 more eifewhere. i 
 
 To proceed then, Cork Teems to be by the tranfverfe conftitution of 
 the pores, a kind of F’twgus or Mufhrome, for the {lores lie like To many 
 'Rays tending from the center, or pith of the tree, outwards yfo that if 
 you cutoff a piece from a board of Cork tranTYerlly, to the flat of it^ 
 you will, als it werc,fplit the pores, and they will appear juft as they are 
 expirefs d in the Figure B of the X L Scheme. But if you Thave off a 
 very thin piece from this board, patallel to the plain of it, you will cut 
 all the pores tranfrerfly, and they will appear almoft as they are exprefs’d 
 in the Figure A, fave onQ\y xht ioYid a will not appear To thick 
 
 as they are there reprefented. 
 
 So that Cork Teems to fuck its nouriihment from the Tubjacent bark of 
 the Tree immediately, and to be a kind of excrefcence, or a Tubftance 
 diftinff from the Tubitances of the entire Tree, fomething nnalogus to 
 the Mufhrome, or MoTs on other Trees, or to the hairs on Animalsi And 
 having enquir’d into the Hiftory of Cork, I And it reckoned as an 
 excrefcency of the bark of a certain Tree, which is diftind: from the two 
 barks that lie within it, which are common alTo to other trees, That tis 
 fbme time before the Cork that covers the young and tender fprouts 
 corned to bedifcernable. That it cracksjflawsjand cleaves into many great 
 chahs, the bark underneath remaining^entire 5 That it may befeparated 
 and remov’d from the Tree, and yet the two under-barks (Tuch as are 
 alfb common to that with other Trees) not at all injur’d, but rather 
 helped and freed from an external in juiy. Thus JonJiomS’ in Dendrologia^ 
 fpeaking de Subere^ fays. Arbor eft proceru^ Ligmtm efl robujium^ dempto 
 cortice in aqtm non Jitfitat^ Cortice in orbem detra&o juvatur^ crafeefeens 
 enimprisfiringit Jirangulat^ intra triennium iterum repletnr : Caudex ubi 
 adolefcit crajjus^ cortex fuperjor denfus carnojus^duos d?gitos crajjus^fcaber^ 
 rimofus^ d'’ qni niji detrahatur dehifeit^ alioque fubnafeente expeliitur^ inte¬ 
 rior qui fitbejl novellm it a rubet ut arbor minio piBa videatur. Which 
 Hiftories,if well confider’d, and the tree, Tubftance, and manner of grow¬ 
 ing, if well examin’d, would, I am very apt to believe,much confirm this 
 my conjedture about the origination of Cork. 
 
 Nor is this kind of 1 exture peculiar to Cork onely 5 for upon exami¬ 
 nation with my Microfeope^ I have found that the pith of an Elder, or al¬ 
 moft any other Tree, the inner pulp or pith of the Cany hollow ftalks of 
 feveral other Vegetables: as of Fennel, Carrets, Daucus, Bur-docks, 
 Teafels, Fcarn, fome kinds of Reeds, &c. have much Tuch a kind of 
 Schematifme^ as I have lately fhewn that of Cork, faVe onely that here 
 the pores are rang’d the long-ways, or the fame ways with the length of 
 the Cane,whereas in Cork they are tranfverfe. 
 
 The pith alTo that fills that part of theftalk of a Feather that is above 
 the Qui I, has much Tuch a kind of texture, fave onely that which way Ib- 
 cver I Tet this light fubftance, the pores Teem’d to be cut tranTverfly 3 fb 
 that I ghcTs this pith which fills the Feather, not to confift of abundance 
 of long pores feparated with Diaphragms, as Cork does, but to be a kind 
 
 R 2 of 
 
3 Ml CROGRAPHIA. 
 
 of fblid or hardned froth^or a congeries of very (mall bubbles confolidatcd 
 in that form^into a pretty ftiffas well as tough concrete^and that each Ca¬ 
 vern, Bubble, or Cell, is diftindly feparate from any of the reft, without 
 any kind of hole in the encompafting films, fo that I could no more blow 
 through a piece of this kinde of (ubftance,then I could through a piece of 
 Cork, or the found pith of an Elder. 
 
 But though I could not with myMicrojcope^ nor with my breath, nor 
 any other way I have yet try'd, diftover a paflage out of one of thole 
 cavities into another, yet I cannot thence conclude, that therefore there 
 are none liich, by which the Snccus nutritius^ov appropriate juices of Ve¬ 
 getables, may pafs through them , for, in fcveral of thofe Vegetables, 
 whifft green, I have with my Microfcope^ plainly enough dilcover’d thefe 
 Cells or Poles fill’d with juices, and by degrees fweating them out: as I 
 have al(b oblerved in green Wood all thofe long Microfcopical pores 
 which appear in Charcoal perfedfly empty of any thing but Air. 
 
 Now, though I have with great diligence endeavoured to find whe¬ 
 ther there be any (lich thing in tho(e Microfcopical pores of Wood or 
 Piths, as the Valves in the heart,veins,and other paflages of Animals,that 
 open "and give paflage to the contain’d fluid juices one way, and fhut 
 themfelveSjand impede the paflage of fuch liquors back againjyet have I 
 not hitherto been able to fay any thing pofitive in it 3 though,me thinks, 
 it (eems very probablc,that Nature has in thefe paflagcs,as well as in thole 
 of Animal bodies,very many appropriated Inftruments and contrivances, 
 whereby to bring her defigns and end to pals,which ’tis not improbable, 
 but that Ibme diligent Oblervcr, if help’d with better Microfcopes^ may 
 in time deted. 
 
 And that this may be lb, fcems with great probability to be argued 
 from the ftrange Phienomena of fenfitive Plants, wherein Nature feems 
 to perform feveral Animal adions with the fame Schematifm or Orginiza^ 
 tion that is common to all Vegetables, as may appear by fome no left 
 inftrudive then curious Obfervations that were made by divers Emi¬ 
 nent Members of the Royal Society on Ibme of thele kind of Plants, where¬ 
 of an account was delivered in to them by the moft Ingenious and Excel¬ 
 lent Pkyfcian^ Dodor Clark^^ which, having that liberty granted me by 
 that moft Illuftrious Society, I have hereunto adjoyn’d. 
 
 Obfervations on the Humble and Senfible Plants in M' Chiffin s 
 Garden in Saint Park-) niade Auguft the 1661. 
 
 Prefent^ the Lord Brouncker^ Sr, Robert Moray^ Dr. Wilkins^ 
 Mr. Evelin^ E>v,HenJhaw^ andE>p, Clark* 
 
 There are four Plants, two of which are little fhrub Plants, 
 with a little fhort ftock, about an Inch above the ground, from 
 whence are fpread feveral fticky branches, round, ftreight, and 
 
 fmooth^ 
 
M I C R OG R A P H 1 A. II 7 
 
 fmooth in the diflanccsbetween the Sprouts, but juft under the 
 Sprouts there are two fharp thorny prickles, broad inthe leo* 
 ting on, as in the Bramble, one juft under the.'Sprout, the other 
 
 on the oppofite fide of the branch; ■'rijoi.. m:;' , 
 
 •' The diftances betwixt the Sprouts are ufiaally fonhetKirig 
 more then an Inch, and many upon a Branch, according to its »• 
 length, bd they grew fo, that if the lower Sprout be on tk left 
 ^fide of the Branch, the next above is on the right, and foto die 
 end, not fprouting by pairs. .'' T'io’. ' j.: ';!, Ii. 
 
 At die end of each Sprout are generally four fprigsi,' twoat 
 the Extremity, and one on each fide, juft under it. At thcifirft 
 fprouting of thefe from the Branch to the Sprig where the leaves 
 grow, -they are full of little Ihort white hairs, which wear bff as 
 the leaves grow, and'then they arc fmooth as the Branch.'ff < o 
 
 Upon each of thefe fprigs, are, for the mbft part, eleven pair 
 of leaves, neatly let into the uppermoft part ofthe litde Iprig, 
 exaftly one againft another, as it were in little articulatiom, fuch 
 -as Anatomifts aW-Enarthrifis, where the round head pf a Bone 
 is received into another fitted for its motion; and ftanding very 
 fitly to fhut thcmfclvcs and touch, the pairs juft above them 
 doling fomewhat upon them, as in the Ihubfprig; fo is the 
 little round Pedunculus of this leaf fitted into a little cavity of 
 the fprig, vifible to the eye in a Iprig new pluck d, or in a fprig 
 
 withered on the Branch, from which the leaves eafily fall by 
 
 « ‘ 
 
 touching. 
 
 The leaf being almoft an oblong fquare, and fee into the 
 dunculus^ at one of the lower corners, receiveth from that not 
 onely a Spine^ as I may call it, which, paffing through the leaf^ 
 divides it fo length-ways that the outer-fide is broader then the 
 inner next the Iprig, but little fibres paffing obliquely towards 
 the oppofite broader fide, ftem to make it here a little mufcular, 
 and fitted to move the whole leaf, which, together with the 
 whole fprig, are fet full with little fhort whitifh hairs. 
 
 One 
 
Il8 MiCR O G R AP H I A. 
 
 One of thefe Plants, whole branch feem’d to be older arid 
 more grown then the other, onely the tender Sprouts of it, after 
 the leaves are (hut^ fall and hang down; of the other, the whole 
 branches fall to the ground, if the Sun fhine very warm,upcn the 
 firft taking off the Glafs, which I therefore ,call the humble Plant. 
 
 The other two, which do never fall, nor do any of their 
 branches flagg and hang down, fhut not their leaves^ .but upon 
 fomewhat a hard ftroke ; the (talks feem to'grow up from a root, 
 and appear more they are round and frnoofh; without 
 
 any prickle, the Sprouts from them have feveral pairs of fprigs, 
 with much lefs leaves then the other on them, and have on 
 each fprig generally feventeen pair. 
 
 Upon touching any of the fprigs with leaves on, all the leaves 
 on that fprig contrafting themfelves by pairs, joyned their up¬ 
 per fuperficies clofe together. 
 
 Upon the dropping a drop of Aqua forth on the fprig be^ 
 twixt the leaves, / f all the leaves above (hut prefently, thofc 
 below by pairs fucceffively after, and by the lower leaves of the 
 other branches, / &c. and fo every pair fucceffively, 
 
 with fome little diftance of time bctwixt,to the top of each fprig, 
 and fo they continu’d fhut all the time we were there. But I re-* 
 turning the next day, and feveral days fince,found all the leaves 
 dilated again on two of the fprigs; but fromwhere the Aqua 
 forth had dropped upwards, dead and withered; but thole' be¬ 
 low on the fame fprig, green, and clofing upon the touch, and 
 arc fo at this day, Auguji 14. 
 
 With a pair of Sciffiers, as fuddenly as it could be done, one 
 of the leaves b b was clipped oft in the middle,upori which that 
 pair, and the pair above, clofed prefently, after a little interval, 
 d then t e, and fo the reft of the pairs, to the bottom of the 
 fprig, and then the motion began in the lower pairs, / /, on the 
 other fprigs, and fo fhut them by pairs upwards, though not 
 with fuch diftinft diftanccs. 
 
 Under 
 
Micrographia. i 
 
 llnder'-a pretty large branch with its fprigs on, there lying 
 a large Shell betwixt two and three Inches bel6w it^ there Was 
 rubbed on a ftrong fented oyl, after a little time all the leaves on 
 that fprig were fhut, and fa they continued all the time of oilr 
 ftay there,but at my rcturne the next day, 1 found the pofitiori 
 of the Shell alter d, ’ and the leaves expanded as before,'^ and 
 doling upon the touch. 
 
 Upon the application of the Sun-beams by a Burnihg-glafs^ 
 the more humble Plant tell, the other fhut their leaves. '' 
 
 We could not fo apply thefnioak of Sulpher^ asto'Haveany 
 Vifible eft^a from that, at two or three times trial; buton ano» 
 ther trial,the fmoak touching the leaves,it iiicceeded. - ' ^ 
 
 The humble Plant fell upon taking oft' the Glafs wherewith k 
 Was covered. ‘ ' 
 
 Cutting off one of the little Sprouts, two or three drops of 
 quor were thruft out of the part from whence that was cut,Vefy 
 deer, and pellucid, of a bright greenifh colour, rafting at firft i 
 little bitterifh,but after leaving a licoriftidike tafte in my moutfi.^ 
 Since,going two or three times when it was cold, I took the 
 Glaffes from the more humble Plant^md. it did not fall as former- 
 
 t 
 
 ly, but fhut its leaves oncly. But coming afterwards, when tile 
 Sun (hone very warm, as foon as it was taken oft^ it fell as 
 before. 
 
 Since I pluck'd oft^ another fprf g, whofe leaves were all iliut.^ 
 and had been fo fome time, thinking to obferve the liquor 
 fhould come from that I had broken oft, but finding none, 
 though with preffing,to come, I, as dexteroufly as I could, pulfd 
 off one whole leaves were expanded, and then had upon the fhut- 
 ting of the-leaves, a little of the mention’d liquor, from the end 
 of the fprig 1 had broken from the Plant. And this twice fuc- 
 ceflively, as often almoft as I durft rob the Plant. 
 
 But my curiofity carrying me yet further, I cut off* one of 
 the harder branches of the ftronger Plant, and there came of the 
 
 liquor,- 
 
120 Micrographia. 
 
 liquor, both from that I had cut, and that I had cut Jt from, 
 without preflure. ' 7 
 
 ■ Which made me think, that the motion of this Plant upon 
 touching, might be from this, that there being a conftant 
 courfe betwixt every part of this Plant and its root,either by a r/V- 
 culation ofthisliqiior,or a conftant prefling of the fubtiler ptos 
 of it to every extremity of the Plant. Upon every preflure,from; 
 whatfoever it proceeds, greater then that which keeps it up, the 
 fubtile parts of this liquor are thruft downwards, towards its ar^' 
 ticulations of the leaves, where, not having room prefently to get 
 into the fprig,the little round pedunculus^ from whence the Spine 
 and thofe oblique I.mention’d rife, being dilated, the 
 
 Spine and Fibres (being continued from it) muft be conrrafted 
 and fhortned, and fo draw the leaf upwards to joyn with its fel¬ 
 low in the feme condition with it felf, where, being clofed,thcy 
 are held together by the Implications of the little wh’itifti hair, as 
 well as by the frill retreating liquor, which difrending the Fibres 
 that are continued lower to the branch and root, fhorten them 
 above; and when the liquor is fo much forced from the Sprout, 
 whofe Fibres are yet tender, and not able to fupport themfelves, 
 but by that tenfnefs which the liquor filling their interfiices gives 
 them, the Sprout hangs and flags. 
 
 But, perhaps, he that had the ability and leifure to give you 
 the exaft Anatomy of this pretty Plant, to Ihew you its Fibres^ 
 and vifible Canales^ through which this fine liquor circulateth, 
 or is moved, and had the faculty of better and more copioufly 
 exprefling his Obfervations and conceptions, fuch a one would 
 eafily from the motion of this liquor, folve all the Phjenomena^ 
 and would not fear to affirm, that it is no obfeure fenfation this 
 Plant hath. But I havefaid too much, I humbly fubmit, and am 
 ready to frand correfted. 
 
 I have not yet made lb full and latisfadlory. Obfervations as I dedre on 
 this Plant, which feems to be a Subje(rc that will afford abundance of 
 
 information. 
 
M I C R O G R A P H 1 A '. 
 
 information. But as farr as I have had opportunity to examine itj have 
 difebvered with my Aficrofeop'e Very curious ftrudures and contrivances^ 
 bui: defigning much more accurate examinations and trials^both with rriy 
 Idtcrojcope^ and otherwife, as fcon as the feafon will permit, I (hall not till 
 then add any thing of what I have already taken notice of, but as farr as 
 I have yet obferv’d,! judge the motion of it to proceed from caufes very 
 differing from thofe by which Cut-ffringSjOr Lute-ftrings,the beard of a 
 wilde Odt'^ or the beard of the Seeds of Geranium^ Mofeatum^ or Musk: 
 graf and other of kinds of Crafjes-biU^mbvG themfelves. Of which I fhdl 
 add more in the fubfequent Obfervations on thofe bodies. 
 
 Gblerv^.’ X I.X.' O/jz Vhiit gr^ing in the blightedpry^dlo^ 
 o/bamask-rofe-leaves. Bramble-leaves, and fome other ) 4 nct 
 
 T Have forfeveral years together, in the Moneths of 
 7 and September (when any of the green leaves o^Rofes begin to dry and 
 grow yellow) obferv’d many of them, efpecially the leaves of the old 
 (hfubs of Damask:Rofes^ all befpecked with yellow ftaihs, and the uhdef- 
 fides juft againft therh, to have little yellow hillocks of a gummousfub- 
 ftance, and fevefal of them to have fmall black fpots In the midft of thofe 
 yellow ones, which, to the naked eye, appear’d no bigger then the point 
 of a Pin, or the fmalleft black fpot or tittle of Ink one is able to make 
 with a very fhafp pointed Pen. 
 
 jExaminihg thefe with a I was able plainly to diftinguiihjUp 
 
 and down' the furface, feveral fmall yellow knobs, of a kind of yellowifh' 
 red gummy fubftahee, out of which I perceiv’d there fprung multitudes 
 of little cafes or black bodies like Seed-cods, and thofe of them that 
 were quite without the hillock of Gunim, difclos’d themfelves to grow 
 but’ of it with a fmall Straw-cqlour’d and tranfparent ftem, the which 
 (eea andftem appear’d very like thofe of common Mofs (which I elfc- 
 ^here,dek:ribe)but that they were abundantly left, many hundreds of 
 fhem'being hot abfie to e^alizc one fingle feed Cod of Mofs. 
 
 d have often doubted whether they were the feed Cods of fome little 
 plant, or fbme kin 3 of fmall Buds, or the Eggs of fome very fmall Infed:, 
 they appear’d of a dark bro\vhifh red, fome almoft quite black, and of a 
 Pigufemuch refembling the feed-cod of Moft, but their ftalks on which 
 they grew\vere of a very fine tranfparent fubftance, almoft like the ftalk 
 of moujd, blit that they feem’d fomewhat more yellow. 
 
 That which makes me to fuppofe them to be Vegetables, is for that ! 
 perceiv’dmany of thofe hillocks bare or deftitiite, as if thofe bodies lay 
 yet conceal’d,as CVln others of them,they were juft fpringing out of their 
 gummy hillocks,^ which all feem’d to fhoot diredfly outwards, as at A. In 
 btherV^‘sat B,' I fbuhd“ them jhft gotten out,with very little or no ftalk,^' 
 
 S and 
 
122 M ICR O G R A P H I A. 
 
 and the Cods of an indifferent cizefjbut in othcrs^as C, I found them begin 
 to have little fhort ffalks, or ffems ^ in others^ as thofc ftems were 
 grown bigger^ and larger 5 and in others, as at E, F, H, L K, thofc 
 
 ftems and Cods were grown a great deai bigger, and the ffalks were 
 more bulky about the root, and very much taper’d towards the top, as 
 at F and L is moft vifible. 
 
 I did not find that any of them had any feed in them, or that any of 
 them were hollow, but as they grew bigger and bigger, I found thofe 
 heads or Cods begin to turn their tops towards their roots, in the fame 
 manner as I had obferv’d that of Mofs to do 5 fo that in all likelihood. 
 Nature did intend in that pofture, what fhe does in the like feed-cods of 
 greater bulk, that is, that the feed, when ripe, fhould be fhaken out and 
 difpcrfed at the end of it, as we find in Columbine Cods, and the like. 
 
 The whole Oval OOOO in thefecond Figure of the 12, Scheme 
 reprefents a fmall part of a Rofe leaf, about the bignefs of the little Oval 
 in the hillock, C, marked with the Figure X. in which I have not par^ 
 ticularly obferv’d all the other forms of the furface of the Kofe-leaf, as 
 being little to my prefent purpofe. 
 
 Now, if thefe Cods have a feed in them fo proportion’d to the Cod, as 
 thofc of Vinks ^ and Carnations^ and Columbines^ and the like, how unima¬ 
 ginably fmall muft each of thofe feeds necefl'arily be, for the whole 
 length of one of thelargeft of thofe Cods was not ^ part of an Inch 5 
 fome not above , and therefore certainly, very many thoufand of 
 them would be unable to make a bulk that fhould be vifible to the naked 
 eye 5 and if each of thefe contain the K^<ftments of a young Plant of the 
 fame kind, what muft we fay of the pores atijd conftituent pifits of that } 
 
 The generation of this Plant feems in part,afcribable to a kind of Mil¬ 
 dew or ^^^tjWhereby the parts of the leaves grow fcabby, or putrify’d, 
 as it were, fb as that the moifture breaks out in little fcabs or fpots, which, 
 as I faid before, look like little knobs of a red gummous fubftance. 
 
 From this putrify’d fcabb breaks out this little Vegetable 5 which may 
 be fomewhat like a Mould or Mo^ ^ and may have its equivocal genera¬ 
 tion much after the fame manner as I have fuppofed Mofs or Mould to 
 have, and to be a more fimple and uncompounded kind of vegetation, 
 which is fet a moving by the putrifa&ive 2ind fermentative heat, joyn’d 
 with that of the ambient aerial, when (by the putrifaftion and decay of 
 fome other parts of the vegetable, that for a while ftaid its progrefs) it is 
 unfetter’d and left at liberty to move in its former cctirfe, but by reafon 
 of its regulators^ moves and ads after quite another manner then it did 
 when a coagent in the more compounded machine of the more perfed 
 Vegetable. 
 
 And from this very fame Principle, I imagine the Mifeto of Oaks, 
 Thorns, Appletrees, and other Trees, to have its original: It feldom or 
 never growing on any of thofe Trees,till they begin to wax decrepidjand 
 decay with age, and arc peftcr’d with many other infirmities. 
 
 Hither alfb may be referr’d thofe multitudes and varieties of Mufiroms^ 
 foch as that,call’d Jews-ears^ all forts oigray znd green Mofles, 8cc. which 
 
 infeft 
 
MiCROGRAPHlA. 
 
 infeft all kind of TrecSjfhrubsjand the likejcfpecially when they coriie to 
 any bignefs. And this we fee to be very much the method of Nature 
 throughout its operations, ptitrifa&ive Vegetables very often producing a 
 Vegetable ofa much lefs compounded nature, and of a much inferiour 
 tribes and putrefaflive ^n\m2i\ fubdances degenerating into fome kind of 
 animal production of a much inferiour rankjand ofa more fimple nature* 
 Thus we find the humours and fubfiances of the body,upon patrifaUi^ 
 on^to produce firange kinds of moving Vermine: the ptitrifMon of the 
 Himes and juices of the Stomack and Cuts, produce Worms almpfi; like 
 Earth-worms,the Wheals in childrens hands produce a little Worm^calfd 
 a ivhcal-worm : The bloud and milk, and other humours, produce other 
 kinds of Worms, at lead, if we may believe what is deliver’d.to.us^^by 
 very famous Authors 3 though, I confels, I have not yet been able toi did 
 cover fuch my lelfi , 
 
 And whereas it may feem drange that Vhiegar^ Meal^ mudy Casks , 8cc» 
 are obferv’d to breed their didering kinds of InfeCts, or living creatures, 
 whereas they being Vegetable fubdances, feem to be of an inferiour kind^ 
 and fo unable to produce a creature more noble, or of a more com^ 
 pounded nature then they themfelves are of, and fo without fome con¬ 
 current leminal principle, may be thought utterly unfit for fuch an ope¬ 
 ration 3 I mud add, that we cannot prefently pofitively fay, there are 
 no animal fubdances, either mediately, as by the foil or fatning of the 
 Plant from whence they fprungjOr more immcdiatelyjby thereal mixture 
 or compofi'tion of fuch fubdances, join’d with them 3 of perchance fome 
 kind of InfeCt, in foch places where fuch kind of pntrifying or firme^ 
 if 7 g bodies are, may, by a certain indindb of nature, ejeid fome fort of fo- 
 minal principle, which cooperating with various kinds of pntrifywg fub- 
 dances, may produce various kinds of Infeds,or Animate bodies; For we 
 find in mod forts of thofe lower degrees of Animate bodies, that the 
 putrifying fubdances on which thefo Eggs, Seeds, or fominal principles 
 arc cad by the Inle^f, become, as it were, the Matrices or Wombs>that 
 conduce very much to their generation, and may perchance alfoto their 
 variation and alteration, much after the fame manner, as, by drange and 
 unnatural copulations, feveral new kinds of Animals are produc’d, as 
 Mulesy and the like, which are ufually call'd Mondrous, becaufe a little 
 unufual, though many of them have all their principal parts as perfeftly 
 fliap’d and adapted for their peculiar ufes, as any of the mod perfect 
 Animals. If therefore the putrifywg body,on which any kind of leminal 
 or vital principle chances to be cad. become fomewhat more then meer- 
 ly a nurfing and fodering helper in the generation and produdion of 
 any kind of Animate body, the more neer it approaches the true nature 
 ofa Womb, the more power will it have on the by-blow itinclofes. But 
 of this fomewhat more in the defeription of the Water-gnat, Perhaps 
 fome more accurate Enquiries and Obfervations about thefe matters 
 might bring the Quedion to fome certainty, which would be of no fmall 
 concern in Natural Philofophy. > . 
 
 But that pntrifying animal fobdances may produce animals of an inferior 
 
 S 7 kind. 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 kind, I fee notaay lb very great a difficulty, but that one may, without 
 much abfurdity,admit: For ab there may be multitudes of contrivances 
 that go to the making up of one compleat Animate body 5 fOjThat fome 
 of ceadjntors^mthQ perfed exiftence and life of it, may be vitiated, 
 and the life of the whole deftroyed, and yet feveral of the conftituting 
 contrivances remain intire,! cannot think it beyond imagination or poffibi- 
 lity^ no more then that a like accidental procels,as I have elfwhere hinted, 
 may allb be fuppoled to explicate the method of Nature in the Met amor- 
 phojis of Plants. And though the difference between a Plant and an Ani¬ 
 mal be very great, yet I have not hitherto met with any fo cogent an Ar¬ 
 gument, as to make me pofitive in affirming thefe two to be altogether 
 Heterogeneous ^2Lnd of quite differing kinds of Nature; And befides.as there 
 are many Zoophyts^ and (enfitive Plants (divers of which I have feen, which 
 are ofa middle nature,and feem to be Natures tranfition from one degree 
 to another, which may be oblerv’d in all her other pahages, wherein fhe 
 is very feldom obferv’d to leap from one ftep to another) fo have wejin 
 fome Authors, Inftances of Plants turning into Animals, and Animals into 
 Plants, and the like, and fome other very ftrange (bccaufe unheeded) 
 proceedings of Nature^ fomething of which kind may be met with, in 
 the delcription of the Water-Gnat^ though it be net altogether fo direft 
 to the prefcnt purpofe. 
 
 But to refer this Difoourfe of Animals to their proper places, I (hall 
 add, that though one ftiould fuppofe, or it fhould be prov’d by Obferva- 
 tions, that feveral of thefo kinds of Plants are accidentally produc’d by a 
 cafoal putrifa&ion^ I fee not any great reafon to queftion, but that, not- 
 withftanding its own produftion was as ’twere cafual, yet it may germi¬ 
 nate and produce feed, and by it propagate its own, that is,a new Species. 
 For we do not know, but that the Omnipotent and All-wife Creator 
 might as diredlly defign the ftrufture of fuch a Vegetable, ' or foch an 
 Animal to be produc’d out of fuch or llich a putrifaBion or change of 
 this or that body, towards the conftitution or ftrufture of which, he 
 knew it ncceftary, or thought it fit to make it an ingredient ^ as that the 
 digeftion or moderate heating of an Egg, either by the Female, or the 
 Sun, or the heat of the Fire, or the like, Ihould produce this or that Bird 5 
 or that TutrifaBive and warm fteams fhould,out of the blowings,as they 
 call them, that is, the Eggs of a Flicjproduce a living Magot, and that,by 
 degrees, be turn’d into an Aurelia^ and that, by a longer and a propor¬ 
 tion’d heat, be tranfinuted into a Fly. Nor need we therefore to fuppofo 
 it the more imperle^f in its kind, then the more compounded Vegetable 
 or Animal of which it is a part 5 for he might as compleatly furnifti it 
 with all kinds of contrivances neceflary for its own exiftence, and the 
 propagation of its own Species, and yet make it a part of a more com¬ 
 pounded body; as a Clock-maker might make a Set of Chimes to be a 
 part ofa Clock, and yet, when the watch part or ftriking part are taken 
 away, and the hindrances of its motion remov’d, this chiming part 
 may go as accurately, and flrike its tunc as , exactly, as if it were ftill a 
 part of the compounded Automaton, So, though the original caufe, or 
 
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 MlCROGRAPHIAi 
 
 leminal principle from which this minute Plant on Rofe leaves diid ^pring*^ 
 were^ before the corruption caus’d by the Mill-dew, a component part 
 of the leaf on which it grew, and did fei-ve as a coagent in the produdi- 
 on and conftitution of it, yet might it be fb confuinmate, as to produce a 
 feed which might have a power of propagating the ^me fpeciesrthe works 
 of the Creator lecming of liichan excel lency,that though they are unable 
 to help to the perfefting of the more compounded exiftence of the greater 
 Plant or Animal,they may have notwithftanding an ability of ading fingly 
 upon their own internal principle, Co as to produce a Vegetable body^ 
 though of a lefs compounded nature, and to proceed fo farr in the me^ 
 thod of other Vegetables, as to bear flowers and feeds, which may be ca*- 
 pabale of propagating the like. So that the little cafes which appear to 
 grow on the top of the flender ftalks, may, for ought I know, though t 
 fhould fuppofe them to fpring from the perverting of the ufiial courfe of 
 the parent Vegetable, contain a feed, which, being fcatter’d on other 
 leaves of the fame Plant, may produce a Plant of much the fame kind* 
 
 ' Nor are Damafk-Rofe leaves the onely leaves that produce thefq 
 kinds of Vegetable fproutings, for I haVe obferv’d themalfoin feveral 
 other kinds of Rofe leaves, and on the leaves of feveral forts of Briers, 
 and on Bramble leaves they are oftentimes to be found in very great 
 cluflers 5 fb that I have found in one clufter,three,four3 or five hundred of 
 them, making a very confpicuous black fpot of fcab bn the back fide of 
 the leaf. 
 
 Obferv. XX. Of blue Mould, of the firjl Prmciptes of Ve^ 
 getatmanfmgfrom?utteik&.ion. 
 
 T He Blue and White and feveral kinds of hairy mouldy fpots, which' 
 areobfervableupon divers kinds ofputriJ)ahodics^ whether Ani-^ 
 mal fubfl:ances,or Vegetable,fuch as the fkin, raw or drefs’d, flcfh,bloud, 
 humours, milk, green Cheefe, or rotten fappy Wood, Or Herbs, 
 Leaves, Barks, Roots, d^c, of Plants, are all of them nothing elfe but fe¬ 
 veral kinds of fmall and varioufly figur’d Muftiroms, which, from conve¬ 
 nient materials in thofe pntrifyivg bodies, are, by the concurrent heat of 
 the Air, excited to a certain kind of vegetation, which will not be un¬ 
 worthy our more ferious fpeculation and exafnination, as I fhall by and 
 by (hew. But, firft, I muft premife a fhort defcriptioii of this Spetimn^ 
 which I have added of this Tribe, in the firft Figure of the XII. Scheme^ 
 which is nothing elfe but the appearance of a fmall white fpot of hairy 
 mould,multitudes of which I found to befpeck & whiten over the red co¬ 
 vers of a fmall book, which, it feems, were ofShceps-fkin,that being mote 
 apt to gather mould, even in a dry and clean room, then other Ieathers<.; 
 Thefe f^ts appear’d,through a goodMicrofiopeyo be a Very pretty lhap’d 
 Vegetative body, which, from alitloft the fame part Of the Leather, (hot: 
 
 out 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 out multitudes of fmall long cylindrical and tranfparent ftalks^not exad- 
 ly ftreightjbut a little bended with the weight of a round and white knob 
 that grew on the top of each of them ^ many of thele knobs I obferv’d 
 to be very roundj and of a fmooth furface, fuch as A d^c. others 
 fmooth likewifcjbut a little oblong^as B 3 feveral of them a little broken, 
 or cloven with chops at the top, as C ^ others flitter d as ‘twere, or flown 
 all to pieces, as D D. The whole fubftance of thefc pretty bodies was 
 of a very tender conltitution, much like the fubftance of the Ibfter kind 
 of common white Mufhroms, for by touching them with a Pin, I found 
 them to be brufed and torn ^ they feem’d each of them to have a di- 
 ftindt root of their own 5 for though they grew neer together in a duller, 
 yet I could perceive each ftem to rife out of a diftind part or pore of the 
 Leather, Ibme of thefe were Imall and (hort, as feeming to have been but 
 newly fprung up, of thefe the balls were for the mofi: part round, others 
 were bigger,and taller,as being perhaps of a longer growth,and of thefe, 
 for the moft part, the heads were broken, and fome much wafted, as E 3 
 what thefe heads contain'd I could not perceive 3 whether they were 
 knobs and flowers, or feed cafes, I am not able to lay, but they leem’d 
 moft likely to be of the fame nature with thole that grow on Mulhroms, 
 which they didjfome of them, not a little relemble. 
 
 Both their fmell and tafte, which are adive enough to make a fenlible 
 imprellion uponthofe organs, are unpleafant and noifome. 
 
 I could not find that they would fo quickly be deftroy’d by the adual 
 flame of a Candle, as at firft fight of them I conceived they would be,but 
 they remain’d intire after I had paft that part of the Leather on which 
 they ftuck three or four times through the flame of a Candle^ lb that, it 
 Icems they arc not very apt to take fire, no more then the common v/hite 
 Mulhroms are when they are lappy. 
 
 There are a multitude of other lhapes, of which thefe Microfcopical 
 Mulhroms are figur’d, which would have been a long Work to have dc- 
 feribcd,and would not have fuited fo well with my defign in this Treatife, 
 onely,amongft the reft, I muft not forget to take notice of one that was a 
 little like to, or refembled, a Spunge, conlifting of a multitude of little 
 Ramifications almoft as that body does, which indeed feems to be a kind 
 ofWater-Mufhrom, of a very pretty texture, as I elfe-where manifeft. 
 And a fecond, which I muft not omit, becaufe often mingled, and neer 
 adjoining to thefe I have deferib’djand this appear’d much like a Thicket 
 of bulhes, or brambles, very much branch’djand extended,lbme of them, 
 to a great length,in proportion to their Diametcr,like creeping brambles* 
 
 The manner of the growth and formation of this kind of Vegetable, is 
 the third head of Enquiry,which, had I time,! fliould follow: the figure 
 and method of Generation in this concrete feeming to me, next after 
 the Enquiry into the formation, figuration, or chryftalization of Salts, to 
 be the moft fimple, plain, and eafie, and it feems to be a medium 
 through which he muft neceflarily pals, that would with any likelihood 
 inveftigate the forma informans of Vegetables; for as I think that he Ihally 
 find it a very difficult talk, who undertakes to difeover the form of Sa¬ 
 line 
 
M I C R O G R A P H 1 Aj 127 
 
 line cryftallizations, without the coDfideration and prefclcnce of the na¬ 
 ture and rcafon of a Globular fornij and as difficult to explicate this con¬ 
 figuration of Mufliroms, without the previous confideration of the form 
 of Salts 5 lb will the enquiry into the forms of Vegetables be no lefs, if 
 not much more difficulty without the fore-knowledge of the forms of 
 MufhromSy thefe fevcral Enquiries having no lefs dependarice one up¬ 
 on another then any feleft number of Propofitions in Mathematical Ele¬ 
 ments may be made to have. 
 
 Nor do I imagine that the fkips from the one to another will be'found 
 very greaty if beginning from fluidityy or body without any formy we 
 defeend graduallyytill we arrive at the higheft form of a bruite Animafs 
 Souly making thelfeps or foundations of our Enquiry, Fluidity. Orhicu- 
 lation^ Fixation^ Augulization^ or Cryjlalii%atiou Germination or Ebulli¬ 
 tion. Vegetatiori^Vlantanimation^ Animation^ Senfition^ Imaginatiofi, 
 
 NoWy that we may the better proceed in our Enquiry, It will be re- 
 quifite to confider: 
 
 Firfty that Mould and Mufhroms require no leminal property, but the 
 former may be produc'd at any time from any kind of putrijying Animal, 
 or Vegetable Subftanceyas Flefhydv. kept moifi: and warmyand the latter, 
 if what Mathiolus relates be true, of making them by Arty are as much 
 within our command, of which Matter take the Epitomie which Mr. 
 Parkjufon has deliver'd in his Herbal^ in his Chapter of Jpfujlwoms^ becaufe 
 I have not Mathiolus now by me : Vnto thefe Mujhroms (laith he) may 
 alfo be adjoynd thofe which are made of Art (ir/^ere^Mathiolus makes men¬ 
 tion) that grow naturally among certain foues in NapleSy and that the 
 fiones being digged up^ and carried to Rome, and other places^ where they 
 Jet them in their IVine Cellars.^ covering them ivith a little Earth^and jff'inkc 
 ling a little warm water thereon^ would within four days produce Muforoms 
 fit to be eaten^ at what time one will: As alfo that Mufldroms may be made 
 to grow at the foot of a wilde Poplar Tree, within four days after ^ warm 
 water wherein fome leaves have been dijjblvdJljall bepour d into the Root 
 (which muji be flit) and the jiock^ above ground, 
 
 Nexty that as Mufhroms may be generated without feedy fo does it 
 not appear that they have any flich thing as feed in any part of them 5 for 
 having confidered feveral kinds of them, I could never find any thing ini 
 them that I could with any probability ghefs to be the feed of ity fo that 
 it does not as yet appear (that I know of) that Muflbroms may be ge ¬ 
 nerated from a feed, but they rather feem to depend merely upon a con¬ 
 venient conftitution of the matter out of which they are made, and a 
 concurrence of either natural or artificial heat. 
 
 Thirdlyythat by feveral bodies (as Salts and Metals both in Water and 
 in the air, and by fevcral kinds of fublimations in the Air) aduated and 
 guided with a congruous heat, there may be produc’d feveral kinds of 
 bodies as curioufly, if not of a more compos’d Figure 5 feveral kinds of 
 rifing or Ebulliating Figures feem to manifefi:^ as witnefs the fliooting 
 in the Redlification of fpirits of Vrine^ Hart-horn^ Bloud^ &c. witnefs alfo 
 the curious branches of evaporated diflolutions, feme of them againfl: 
 
Ml crographia; 
 
 the fides of t^ containing Jar; others handing up^ or growing an end; 
 out of the bottom, of which I have taken notice of a very great variety. 
 But above all the reft, it is a very pretty kind of Germinatibii which is af¬ 
 forded us in the Silver Tree, the manner of making which with Mercury 
 and Silver, is well known to the Chyiiiifts, in which there is an Ebullition 
 or Germination; very much like this of Miilhrbms, if I have been rightljr 
 inform’d bf it. 
 
 Fourthlyo I have very often taken notice of, and alfb bbferv’d with a 
 Micrhpopej certain excrefcehcies or Ebullitioris in the (huff bf a Candle, 
 which, partly from the flicking of the fihoaky particles as they are car- 
 ryed upwards by the ciirirent of the ratify’d. Air and flame, and partly 
 alfo from a kind of Germihatiori or Ebullition of fome aftuatcd un&uous 
 parts which creep^^losg arid hlter through (bme fmall ftririg of the Week; 
 are formed into prett^ rburid arid uniforni heads, very much refembling 
 the form bf hooded Mulhfbms, which, being by any means expos’d to the 
 frefhAir, or that air which encompafles the flame, they are prefcntly 
 lick’d up arid devour’d by it, and vahilhi 
 
 The fealbrl of which rhanomenon feems to me,to be rip other then this i 
 
 That when a converilent thread of the Week is fb bent out by the fides 
 of the Ihuff that are about half an Inch or more, remov’d above the 
 bottom,or loWefl: part of the flamejand that this part be whblly included 
 in the flame 5i theOyl (for the feafbn bf filtration, which I have clfe- 
 where rendred) being coiitinualy driven up the fhuffj is driven like- 
 wife into this ragged] berided-erid, and this being remov’d a good 
 diftarice^ as half an Inch or more, above the bottom of the flame, the 
 parts of the air that pafles by it, are already, almoft fatiated with the dif^ 
 Iblution bf the boiling undtuous fleams that ifliied out below, and there¬ 
 fore are riot briely glutted, that is, can diflblve no more then what they 
 are already adfmg upon, but they carry up with them abundance of 
 uridtuous arid footy paftiriles, \yhich mcctirig with that rag bf the Week; 
 that is plentifully fill’d with Oyl, andonely fpends it as fafl as it evapo¬ 
 rates, and not at all by diflblutibn or burning, by means of thefe ftcamy 
 parts of the filterated Oyl ifluing out at the fides of this ragg, and being 
 inclos’d with an air that Is already fatiated and cannot prey upon theiri 
 nor burn them, the afcending fboty particles are flay’d about it and fix’d; 
 fbas that about the end of that tagg or filament of the fnuff, whence the 
 greatefl part of the fleams iflfue, there is conglobated or fix’d a round 
 and pretty uniform cap; much refembling the head of a Muflirom; which; 
 ifit beof any great bignefs, you may bbferve that its undetfide will be 
 bigger then that which is above the ragg br flem of it 5 for the Oyl that is 
 brought into it by filtration,being by the bulk ofthe ca:p a little fhelter’d 
 from the heat of the flame; does by thaf means ifliie as much out from be- 
 rieath from the ftalk or downwards, aHt does upwards, and by reafbn of 
 the great accefs of the adventitious fmoak froin beneath,it increafes riiofl^ 
 that way. That this may be the true fcafbri of this Phkndmefjonl I could 
 produce many Arguments and Experiments fo make it probable; As, 
 
 Eirfl, that the Filtration carries the Ojd to the top of the Week;at leafl 
 
M I C ROG R A P H I A. 
 
 as high as thefe raggs^ is vifible to one that will obfcrve the fnuff of a 
 burning Candle with a Microfcope^ where he may fee an Ebullition Or 
 bubbling of the Oyl, as high as the iiiufi looks black. 
 
 Nextjthat it does fteam away more then burn ^ I could tell you of the 
 dim burning of a Candlcj the longer the fnuff be whidi arifes from the 
 abundance of vapours out ot the higher parts of it. 
 
 And, thirdly, that in the middle of the flame of the Candle, heer the 
 top ofthe fnulf,thefireor diflblving principle is nothing neer fo Ifrong,- 
 as neer the bottom and out edges ofthe flame, which may be obferv’d by 
 the burning afunder of a thread;, that will firfl: break in thofe parts that 
 the edges of the flame touch, and not in the middle. 
 
 And I could add feveral Obiervables that I have taken notice of in the 
 flame of a Lamp aduated with Bellows, and very many others that con¬ 
 firm me in my opinion, but that it is nor fo much to my prefent purpole, 
 which is onely to coniider this concreet in the fnuff of a Candle, fofarr 
 as it has any refemblance of a Miifhrom, to the confideration of which, 
 that I may return, I fay, we may alfo obferve: 
 
 In the firft place, that the droppings or trillings of Lapidelcent waters 
 in Vaults under ground,feem to conlfitute a kind of petrify'd body,form’d 
 almofl: like fbme kind ofMufhroms inverted,in fo much that I have feen 
 Ibme knobb’d a little at the lower end, though for the moft part, indeed 
 they are otherwife fhap’d,and taper’d towards the end, the generation of 
 which feemsto be from no other reafon but this, that the water by Ibak- 
 ing through the earth and Lime (for I ghefs that fubffance to add much 
 to it petrifying quality) docs fb impregnate it felf with ftony particles, 
 that hanging in drops in the roof of the Vault, by reafon that the 
 leaking of the water is but flow, it becomes expos’d to the Air, and there¬ 
 by the outward part of the drop by degrees grows hard, by reafon that 
 the water gradually evaporating the ftony particles neer the outfides of 
 the drop begin to touch, and by degrees, to dry and grow clofer toge¬ 
 ther, and at length conftitute a cruft or ftiell about the drop 5 and this 
 (baking by degrees, being more and more fupply’d, the drop grows 
 longer and longer, and the fides harden thicker and thicker into a 
 Quill or Cane, and at length, that hollow or pith becomes almoft ftop’d 
 up, and folid: afterwards the (baking of the petrifying water, finding no 
 longer a paflage through the middle, burfts out, and trickles down the 
 outfide, and as the water evaporates, leaves new fuperinduc’d fhells^ 
 which more and more fwell the bulk of thofe Iceicles 5 and becaufe of 
 the great fupply from the Vault, of petrifying water, thofe bodies grow 
 bigger and bigger next to the Vault, and taper or fharpen towards the 
 pointy for the accefs from the arch of the Vault being but very f]ow,and 
 confequently the water being fpread very thinly over the furface of the 
 Iceicle, the water begins to fettle before it Can reach to the bottom, or 
 corner end of it ^ whence, if you break one of thefe, you would almoft 
 imagine it a ftick of Wood petrify it having fo pretty a refemblance of 
 pith and grain, and if you look on the outfide of a piece, or of one 
 whole, you would think no left, bbth from its vegetable roundnefsand 
 
 T tapering 
 
Igo Micrograph I A. 
 
 tapering form^ but whereas all Vegetables are obferv’d to flioot and 
 grow perpendicularly upwards 5 this does (hoot or propend directly 
 downwards. 
 
 By which lad: Obfervablesj we fee that there may be a very pretty 
 body fhap’d and concreeted by Mechanical principles^ without the lead: 
 (hew or probability of any other feminal formatrix. 
 
 And (ince we find that the great reafbn of the Th<efjomefia of this pret¬ 
 ty petrifaBion^ are to be reduc’d from the gravity of a fluid and pretty 
 volatil body impregnated with dony particles, why may not the Vham- 
 mena of Ebullition or Germination be in part poflibly enough deduc’d 
 from the levity of an impregnated liquor, which therefore perpendicu¬ 
 larly afeending by degrees, evaporates and leaves the more folid and 
 fix’d parts behind in the form of a Mulhrom, which is yet further diverfi- 
 fy’d and fpecificated by the forms of the parts that impregnated the li¬ 
 quor, and compofe or help to conditute the Mudirom. 
 
 That the foremention'd Figures of growing Salts, and the Silver Tree, 
 are from this principle, I could very eafily manifed 5 but that I have not 
 now a convenient opportunity of following it, nor have I made a (uffici- 
 ent number of Experiments and Oblervations to propound, explicate,and 
 prove fo ufcfull a iheory as this of Mufhroms; for, though the con¬ 
 trary principle to that of petrify d Iceicles may be in part a caufe 5 yet 
 I cannot but think, that there is fomewhat a more complicated caufe, 
 though yet Mechanical, and polfible to be explain’d. 
 
 We therefore have further to enquire of it, what makes it to be fuch a 
 liquor, and to afeend, whether the heat of the Sun and Air, or whe¬ 
 ther that of firmentiation and putrifaCiion^ or both together 5 as alfb whe¬ 
 ther there be not a third or fourth 5 whether a Saline principle be not a 
 confiderable agent in this bufinels alfo as well as heat 5 whether allb a fixa¬ 
 tion, precipitation or fettling of certain parts out of the aerial Mufhrom 
 may not be allb a confiderable coadjutor in the bufinefs. Since we find 
 that many pretty beards 01 Jiiri£ of the particles of Silver may be preci¬ 
 pitated upon apiece of Brals put into ^folution of Silver very much di¬ 
 luted with fair water, which look not unlike a kind of mould or hoar 
 upon that piece of metal, and the hoar frod looks like a kind of mould 5 
 and whether there may not be feveral others that do concurr to the pro- 
 duddon of a Mufhrom, having not yet had fufficient time to profecute ac¬ 
 cording to my defires, I mud referr this to a better opportunity of my 
 own, or leave and recommend it to the more diligent enquiry and exa¬ 
 mination of fuch as can be maders both of leifurc and conveniencies for 
 fuch an Enquiry. ^ 
 
 And in the mean time, I mud conclude, that as far as I have been able 
 to look into the nature of this Primary kind of life and vegetation, I can¬ 
 not find the lead probable argument to perfwadc me there is any other 
 concurrent caufe then fuch as is purely Mechanical, and that the effeds 
 or produdtions are asneceflary upon the concurrence of chofe caufes as 
 that a Ship, when the Sails are hoid up, and the Rudder is fet to fuch a 
 pofitionjlhouldjwhen the Wind blows* be mov’d in luch a way or courfe 
 
 to 
 
 I 
 

 i ' r 
 
M I C R O G R A^P H 1 A. 
 
 to that or t’other place ^ Or, as that the brufed Watch, whicl^ I men¬ 
 tion in the defeription of Mofs, fhould, when thofe parts which hindred 
 its motion were fallen away, begin to move, but after quite another man¬ 
 ner then it did before. 
 
 Obfcrv. XXL Of Mofs, and fever al other frnall vegetative Sub^ 
 fiances. 
 
 M Ols is a Plant, that the wifeft of Kings thought neither unworthy 
 his fpeculation, nor his Pen, and though amongft Plants it be in 
 bulk one of the fmallefl, yet it is not the lealf confiderable: For, as to its 
 fhape, it may compare for the beauty of it with any Plant that grows, 
 and bears a much bigger breadth 5 it has a root almolfl: like a feedy Parl- 
 nepjfurnifh’d with frnall ftrings and fuckers, which are all of them finely 
 branch'd, like thofe of the roots of much bigger Vegetables ^ out of this 
 fprings the ffem or body of the Plant, which is fbmewhat ^adrar?gular^ 
 rather then Cylindrical^ moff curiouflyor ffrung with Imall creafes, 
 which run,for the moft ip^axt^^arallel the whole ftem 5 on the fidcs of this 
 are clofe and thick fet, a multitude of fair,large,well-fhap’d leaves, fbme 
 of them of a rounder, others of a longer fhape, according as they are 
 younger or older when pluck’d, as I ghefs by this, that thofe Plants that 
 had the flalks growing from the top of them, had their leaves of a much 
 longer fliapc, all the furface of each fide of which, is curioully cover’d 
 with a multitude of little oblong tranfparent bodies, in the manner as 
 you fee it exprefs’d in the leaf B, in the X 111 . Scheme. 
 
 This Plant, when young and fpringing up, does much refcmble a Hoiif- 
 Ieek,having thick leaves,almbft like that, and feems to be fbmwhat ofkirl 
 to it in other particulars 5 alfb from the top of the leaves, there flioots out 
 a fmall white and tranfparent hair, or thorn: This ftem, in timc,come to 
 fhoot out into a long/oundand even flalk, which by cutting tranfverfly, 
 when dry, I manifeftly found to be a flifi, hard, and hollow Cane, or 
 Reed, without any kind of knot, or hop, from its bottom, where the 
 leaves encompals’d it, to the top, on which there grows a large feed cafe, 
 A, cover’d with a thin, and more whitifli fkin, B, terminated in a long 
 thorny top, which at firft covers all the Cafe, and by degrees, as that 
 (wells, the fkin cleaves, and at length falls O^F, with its thorny top and all 
 (which is a part of it) and leaves the feed Cafe to ripen, and by degrees, 
 to (hatter out its feed at a place underneath this cap, B, which before 
 the (eed is ripe, appears like a fiat barr’d button, without any hole in the 
 middle^ but as it ripens, the button grows bigger, and a hole appears in 
 themiddle of it, E, outofwhich, in all probability, the feed falls; For 
 as it ripens by a provifion of Nature, that end of this Cafe turns down¬ 
 ward after the fame manner as the ears of Wheat and Barley ufually do 5 
 and opening feveral of thefc dry red Cafes, F, I found them to be 
 
 T a quite 
 
MiCROGR AP H I A. 
 
 quite hollowjwithout any thing at all in them ^ whereas when I cut them 
 afunder with a (harp Pen-knife when green, I found in the middle of this 
 great Cafe,another fmaller round Cafcjbetwcen which two,the vnerfiices 
 were fill’d with multitudes of ftringie fibres^ which feem'd to fufpend the 
 lefler Cafe in the- middle of the other, which (as farr as I was able to dip 
 cern) feem’d full of exceeding fmall white feeds, much like the feed-bagg 
 in the knop of a Carnation, after the flowers have been two or three 
 days,or a weekpfallen off, but this I could not fo perfeftly difeern, and 
 therefore cannot pofitively affirm it. 
 
 After the feed was fallen away, I found both the Cale, Stalkjand Plant, 
 all grow red and wither, and from other parts of the root continually to 
 fpring new branches or Hips, which by degrees increafed, and grew as 
 bigg as the former, feeded, ripen’d, fhatter’d, and wither’d. 
 
 I could not find that it obferv’d any particular (eafons for thele feveral 
 kinds of growth, but rather found it to be fpringing, mature, ripe, feedy, 
 and wither’d at all times of the year j But I found it mofi: to flourifti ana 
 increafe in warm and moifi: weather. 
 
 It gathers its nouri(hments,for the mofi: part,out of fome Lapidefeent^ot 
 other fubfiance corrupted or chang’d from its former texture, or fub- 
 ftantial form^ fori have found it to grow on the rotten parts of Stone, 
 of Bricks, of Wood, of Bones, of Leather, 
 
 It oft grows on the barks of leveral Trees, fpreading it folf, fometimes 
 from the ground upwards, and fometimes from fome chink or cleft of 
 the bark of the If ee, which has fome putriffd fubftance in it, but this 
 foems of a diftind kind from that which I obferv’d to grow on putriffd 
 inanimate bodies, and rotten earth. 
 
 There are alfo great varieties of other kinds of Mofles, which grow on 
 Trees, and feveral other Plants, of which I fhall here make no mention, 
 nor of the Mols growing on the fkull of a dead man, which much re- 
 fomblcs that of Trees. 
 
 Whether this Plant docs fometimes originally Ipring or rife out of cor- 
 ruption,without any difleminated feed, I have not yet made trials enough 
 to be very much, either pofitive or negative ^ for as it feems very hard to 
 conceive how^thefeed fhould be generally di^ers’d into all parts where 
 there is a corruption] begun, unlels we may rationally fuppofe, that this 
 feed being fo exceeding lmall,and confequently exceeding lightjis there¬ 
 by taken up, and carried to and fro in the Air into every place,and by 
 the falling drops of rain is wafh’d down out of it, and fo difpers’d into all 
 places, and there onely takes root and propagates, where it finds a con¬ 
 venient foil or matrix for it to thrive in, fo if we will have it to proceed 
 from corruption, it is not left difficult to conceive. 
 
 Fir ft, how the corruption of any Vegetable, much left of any Stone or 
 Brick, fhould be the Parent of fo curioufly figur’d, and fo perfeft a 
 Plant as this is. But here indeed, I cannot but add, that it feems rather to 
 be a produftof the Rain in thofe bodies where it isftay’d, then of the 
 very bodies themfelves, fince I have found it growing on Marble, and 
 Flint 5 but always the AficroJfopCy ifnot the naked eye, would difoover 
 fome little hole of Dirt in which it was rooted. Next, 
 
Ml c R d GR A P H I A. 
 
 Nextjhow the corruption of each ofthofe exceedingly dj dering bodies 
 (hould all confpire to the produiiion of the fame Flantjihat is^that Scones^ 
 Bricksj Woodj or vegetable fubftancesj and Bones, leather. Horns, or 
 animate fubftances, unlefs vve may with Ibmc plaiihblehefs lay, that Air 
 and Water are the coadjutors, or ajl Winds 
 
 and that thereby the bodies (though whil’ft they retain’d their fubftan- 
 tial formsjwere of exdceeing difi'ering natures3yet)lincc they are diOblv’d 
 and mixt into another, they may be very Howogeveot^^thcy being almoft 
 rcfolv d again into Air, Water,and Earth, retaining,perhaps, one part of 
 their vegetative faculty yet entire, which meeting with congruous af* 
 fiftants, fuch as the heat of the Air, and the fluidity of the Water, and 
 fuch like coadjutors and conveniences, acquires a certain vegetation for 
 a time, wholly differing perhaps from that kind of vegetation it had 
 before. 
 
 To explain my meaning a little better by a grofs Similitude: 
 
 Suppofe a curious piece of Clock-work, that had had feveral motions 
 and contrivances in it, which, when in order, would all have mov’d in 
 their defign’d methods and Periods. We will further fuppofe, by fome 
 means, that this Clock comes to be broken, brufed, or ptherwjfe difor- 
 dered, fo that feveral parts of it being diflocated, are impeded, and fo 
 ftand hill, and notonely hinder its own progreffivc motion, and produce 
 not the effect which they were dehgn’d for, but becaufe the other parts 
 alfo have a dependence upon them, put a hop to their motion likewife 5 
 and fo the whole Inftruraent becomes unferviceable,, and not fit for any 
 ule. This Inftrument afterwards, by fome (baking and tumbling, and 
 throwing up and down, comes to have feveral of its parts fliaken out, and 
 feveral of its curious motions, and contrivances, and particles all fallen 
 afunder 5 here a Pin falls out, and there a Piljar, and here a Wheel, and 
 there a Hammer, and a Spring, and the like, and among the reft, away 
 falls thofe parts alfo which were brufed and diforder’d, and had all this 
 while impeded the motion of all the reft 5 hereupon feveral ofthofe other 
 motions that yet remain, whole fprings were not quite run down, being 
 now at liberty, begin each of them to move,thus or thus, but quite after 
 another method then Before, there being many regulating parts and the 
 like,fallcn away and loft. Upon this, the Owner, who chances to hear 
 and obforve fome of thefe effe(fts5 being ignorant of the Watch-makers 
 Art, wonders what is betid his Clock, and prefently imagines that 
 ibme Artift has been at work, and has fet his Clock in order, and made ^ 
 new kind of Inftrument of it, but upon examining circiimftanees,he finds 
 there was no foch matter, but that the cafual flipping out of a Pin had 
 made feveral parts of his Clock fall to pieces, and that thereby the 
 ftacle that all this while hindred his Clock, together with other ufefiill 
 parts were fallen out, and fo his Clock was ftt at liberty. And upon 
 winding up thofo fprings again when run down, he finds his Cluck to go, 
 tut quite after another manner then it was wont heretofore. 
 
 And thus may it be perhaps in the bufinefs of Mofs and Mould, and 
 Mjolhroms, and feveral other fprnitaneous kinds of vegetations, which 
 
 may 
 
Micrograhp I a. 
 
 may be caus’d by a vegetative principle^ which was a coadjutor to the 
 life and growth of the greater Vegetable, and was by the deftroying 
 of the life of it ftopt and impeded in performing its office 5 but after¬ 
 wards, upon a further corruption of feveral parts that had all the while 
 impeded it, the heat of the Sun winding up, as it were, the fpring, lets it 
 again into a vegetative motion, and this being lingle,and not at all regu¬ 
 lated as it was before(when a part o f that greater machine the priftine ve- 
 getable)is mov’d after quite a differing mannenand produces effeds very 
 differing from thofe it did before. 
 
 But this I propound onely as a conjedure, not that I am more cnclin’d 
 to this Hypothejis then the feminal, which upon good reafon 1 ghefs to be 
 Mechanical allb^ as I may elfewhere more fully Ihcw: But becaule I may, 
 by thisjhint a pollible way how this appearance may be Iblv’d 5 liippoling 
 we Ihould be driven to confefs from certain Experiments and Oblervati- 
 ons made, that liich or luch Vegetables were produc’d out of the cor¬ 
 ruption of another, without any concurrent leminal principle (as I have 
 given fomc reafon to fuppofe, in the defeription of a Microfcopical Mulh- 
 rome) without derogating at all from the infinite wifdom of the Creator. 
 For this accidental produdion. as I may call it, does manifeft as much, if 
 not very much more, of the excellency of his contrivance as any thing in 
 the more perfed vegetative bodies of the world, even as the accidental 
 motion of the Automaton does make the owner lee, that there was much 
 more contrivance in it then at firft he imagin’d. But of this I have added 
 more in the defeription of Mould,and the Vegetables on Role Ieaves,c^r. 
 thole being much more likely to have their original from luch a caule 
 then this which I have here delcribed. In the 13. Scheme^ which indeed I 
 cannot conceive otherwile of, then as of a moft perfed Vegetable, want¬ 
 ing nothing of the perfedions of the moft confpicuous and vafteft Vege¬ 
 tables of the world, and to be of a rank fo high, as that it may very 
 properly be reckon’d with the tall Cedar of Lebanon^ as that Kingly 
 Botanift has done. 
 
 We know there may be as much curiofity of contrivance, and excel¬ 
 lency of form in a very fmall Pocket-clock, th^t takes not up an Inch 
 fquare of roomjas there may be in a Church-clock that fills a whole room 5 
 And I know not whether all the contrivances and Mechanijms requilite 
 to a perfed Vegetable, may not be crowded into an exceedingly left 
 room then this of Moft, as I have heard of a ftriking Watch lb Imall, 
 that it lerv’d for a Pendant in a Ladies ear 5 and I have already given 
 you the delcription of a Plant growing on Rofe leaves, that is abundant¬ 
 ly fmaller then Mols^ infomuch, that neer 1000. of them would hardly 
 make the bignefr of one fingle Plant of Mols. And by comparing the 
 bulk of Mols, with the bulk of the biggeft kind of Vegetable we meet 
 with in Story (of which kind we find in fome hotter climates, as CuinCy 
 and Brajiky the ftock or body of Ibme Trees to be twenty foot in Dia¬ 
 meter, whereas the body or ftem of Mofs, for the moft part, is not above 
 one lixtieth part of an Inch) we lhall find that the bulk of the one 
 will exceed the bulk of the other, no left then 2985984 Millions, 
 
M 
 
 iCROGRAPHIA. 
 
 OX 29859^40000003 and fuppoJing tlie prbdirdioh on .a Rofe leaf to Re 
 ^ Plantj we fhall have of thofe Indian Plants to exceed a produ< 3 :ion of 
 thefarae Vegetable kingdom nolels then 1000 times theformef number 
 (o prodigiouOy various are the works of the Creatorjand io AlHhffident 
 {s he to perform what to man would feem unspoffible, they beitig both 
 alike cafie to himj even as one day, and a thoufaird years are to him as 
 one and the fame time. ' . ^ ; 
 
 I have taken notice of fuch an infinite variety of thofe fmaller kinds of 
 vegetations, that fliouldihave defcribed every one of them jthey would 
 almoft have fill'd a Volume,and prov d bigg enough to have madea new 
 Herbal, fuch multitudes are there to be found in moifi: hot weather,' 
 efpecially in the Summer time, on all kind of putrifying fubftances, which, 
 whether they do more properly belong to the Cl^fis of Jkujhroms^ or 
 Moulds^ or Mojjes^ I fhall not now difpute, there being forae that;leent 
 more properly of one kind , others of another, their colours and 
 magnitudes being as rhuch differing as their Figures and fubftances. ‘ 
 
 Nay, I have obferv’d^that putting fair Water (whether Rain-water or 
 Pump-water, or Alaji-dew^ or Snow-water, it was alraod all one) I hav« 
 often obfervd, I fay, that this Water would, with a little ftanding, tarnifh 
 and cover all about the fides of the Glafs that lay under water, with a 
 lovely green ybut though I have often endeavour’d todifeover with my 
 JUicrofcope whether this green were like Mofs,or long ftriped Sea^weed,' 
 or any other peculiar form, yet fo ill and imperfedfc are our Mkrafiopesy 
 that I could not certainly diferiminate any. - , i ; 
 
 Growing Trees alfo, and any kinds of W’oods, Stones, Bones, that 
 have been long expos d to the Air and Rain, will be all over cover d with 
 a greenifh feurff,which will very much foul and green any kind of clda'ths 
 that are rubb’d againft it 5 viewing this, I could not Certainly perceive 
 in many parts of it any determinate formjthough in many I could perceive 
 a Bed as ’twere of young Mofs, but in other parts it look'd almoft like 
 green bufhes,and very confus’d,but always of what ever irregular Figures 
 the parts appear’d of, they were always green, arid feem’d to be eithef 
 fome Vegetable, or to have feme vegetating principle. 
 
 ’ ' ' 
 
 Obferv. XXII. Of common Sponges, and feveral other Spongie 
 fibrous bodies e 
 
 > ■ 
 
 . ■' t ■ • 
 
 A Sponge is commonly reckon’d among the ZoophpSj or Plant Ani¬ 
 mals 5 and the texture of it,which the Mkrofeope difeovers, feems to 
 confirm it 5 for it is of a form whereof I never obferv’d any other Vege¬ 
 table, and indeed,it feems impoffible that any fhould be of it,Tor it con- 
 fifts of an infinite number of fraall fhort fibres^ or nervous parts, much of 
 the fame bignefs, curioufly jointed or contex’d together in the form 
 of a Net, as is more plainly manifeft ^by the little Draught which I have 
 
 added 
 
M I C R O G R A P H I A. 
 
 added, in the third Figure of the IX. Scheme^ of a piece of it, which you 
 may perceive reprefents a confus’d heap of the fibrous parts curioufly 
 jointed and implicated. The joints are, for the moft part, where three 
 fibres onely meet,for I have very feldom met with any that had four* 
 
 At thefe joints there is no one of the three that feems to be theftock 
 whereon the other grow, but each of the fibres are, for the moft part, of 
 an equal bignefs, and feem each of them to have an equal fhare in the 
 joint 3 the fibres are all of them much about the fame bignefs, not fmaller 
 towards the top of the Sponge, and bigger neerer the bottom or root, as 
 is ufiiall in Plants, the length of each between the joints, is very irregu¬ 
 lar and different 5 the diftance between fome two joints, being ten or 
 twelve times more then between fome others. 
 
 Nor are the joints regular, and of an equitriagonal Figure^ but,for the 
 moft part, the three fibres lb meet, that they compofe three angles very 
 differing all of them from one another. 
 
 The mefhes likewife, and holes of this reticulated body, are not lefs 
 various and irregular: fome bilateral^ others trilateral^ and quadrilateral 
 Figures 3 nay, I have obferv'd fome mefhes to have 5,6,7,8, or 9. fides, 
 and fbrae to have onely one, fb exceeding various is the Lufus Natura in 
 this body. 
 
 As to the outward appearance of this Vegetative body, they arefb 
 ufiiall every where, that I need not deferibe them, confiffing of a fbft 
 and porous fubftance, reprefenting a Lock, fometimes a fleece of Wooll 5 
 but it has befides thefe fmall microfeopical pores which lie between the 
 fibres^ a multitude of round pores or holes, which, from the top of it, 
 pierce into the body, and fometimes go quite through to the bottom. 
 
 I have obferv’d many of thefe Sponges, to have included likewife in 
 the midft of their fibrous contextures, pretty large friable ftones, which 
 muft either have been inclos’d whil’ft this Vegetable was in formation^or 
 generated in thofe places after it was perfeftly fhap’d. The later of which 
 foems the more improbable, becaufe I did not find that any of thefe ftony 
 lubftances were perforated with the fibres of the Sponge. 
 
 I have never feen nor been enform’d of the true manner of the grow¬ 
 ing of Sponges on the Rock^whether they are found to increafe from little 
 to greatjlike Vegetables,that is, part after part, or like Animals, all parts 
 equally growing together, or whether they be matrices or feed-baggs of 
 any kind of Fifties, or fome kind of watry Infeft , or whether they are at 
 any times more foft and tender, or of another nature and texture,which 
 things, if I knew, I ftiould much defirc to be informed of: but from a 
 curfory view that I at firft made with my Mkrofeope^ and fome other 
 trials,! fuppofed it to be fome Animal fubftance caft out, and faftned up¬ 
 on the Rocks in the form of a froth, or congeries of bubbles, like that 
 which I have often obferv’d on Rofemary, and other Plants (wherein 
 is included a little infedi:) that all the little films which divide thefe 
 bubbles one from another,did prefently,almoft after the fubftance began 
 to grow a little harcler,breakjand leave onely the thread behind, which 
 might be, as ’twere, the angle or thread between the bubbles, that the 
 
 great 
 
M I C R O G R A P H i A. 1^7 
 
 great holes or pores obfervable in thefe Sponges were made by the eru¬ 
 ption of the included Heterogeneous fubdance (whether air, or fbmc 
 other body, for many other fluid bodies Will do the fame thing) which 
 breaking out of the lefTer, were colleded into very large bubbles, and 
 lb might make their way out of the Sponge, and in their paflage might 
 leave a round cavity 5 and if it were large,might carry up with it the ad¬ 
 jacent bubbles, which may be perceiv'd at the outfide of the Sponge, if 
 it befirll throughly wetted, and fufferd to plump it felf into its natural 
 form, or be then wrung dry, andfuflerd to expand it fdf again, which it 
 will freely do whifftmoifl:: for when it has thus plump’d it felf into its 
 natural (hape and dimenfions, ’tis obvious enougluthat the mouths of the 
 larger holes have a kind of lip or rifing round about them, but the other 
 fmaller pores have little or none. It may further be found, that each of 
 thefe great pores has many other fmall pores below, that arc united unto 
 it, and help to conftitutc it, almofl: like fo many rivulets or fmall dreams 
 that contribute to the maintenance of a large River. Nor from this 
 Hjipothefis would it have been difficult to explicate, how thofe little 
 branches of Coral^ fmal Stones^ shells^ and the like, come to be included 
 by thefe frothy bodies: But this inded was but a conjedlure ^ and upon 
 a more accurate enquiry into the form of it with the Mterofeope^ it feems 
 not to be the true origine of them 3 for whereas Sponges have onely 
 three arms which join together at each knot, if they had been generated 
 from bubbles they mud have had four. 
 
 But that they are Animal Subfiances, the Chymical examination of 
 them feems to manifed, they affording a volatil Salt and fpirit,like Harts^ 
 
 Horn^ as does alfo their great drength and toughnefs, and their fmell 
 when burn’d in the Fire or a Candle, which has a kind of flediy fcnt,not 
 much unlike to hair. And having fince examin’d feveral Authors con¬ 
 cerning them,among others,! find this account given by Bellonius^ in the 
 X I. chap, of his 2*^ Book, De Aquatilibus. spongi£ recentes^ fays he, a ftccis 
 longe diverfa^fcopulis aqua marina ad duos vel tres cnbitosyionnunquam i^ua-- 
 tuer tantum digitos immerjts^ ut fungi arboribus adharent^ fir dido quodam 
 jucco aut mucofapotius fanie refertaytjque adebfetida.ut vel eminus naufeam 
 txcitet, continetur autem in cavernis^ quas inanes in ftccis ^ lotis Spongiis 
 cernimus : Putrispulmonis modo nigra conjpiciuntur^ verum qua in fublimi 
 aqua nafeuntur multo magis opaca nigredine frffuja Junt. Vivere quidem 
 Spongias adharendo Aridoteles cenfet : abfolute vero minime : fenjumque 
 aliquem habere^ vel eo argumento (jnquif) credantur, quod dificiUime ab- 
 firahanturytifi clanculum agatur:Atq'^ ad avulforis accejjum Ha contrahantur^ 
 ut eas evelkre difficile fit^ quod idem etiam faciunt quotiesflatus tempefla- 
 tijque urgent, Puto autem illk fuccum fordidum quern Jupra [diximm car¬ 
 ms loco a natura attributum fuijje : atque meatibs^ latioribus tan- 
 quam inteflinis aut interaneis uti, Caterum pars ea qua Spongia cautibus 
 adharent eft tanquamfolii petiolus^ J quo veluti collum quoddam gracile in- 
 cipit! quod deinde in latitudinem diflujum capitis globum facit, Recentibus 
 nihil eft fiftulofum^ hajitantque tanquam radicibus. Superne omnes propemo- 
 dum meatus concreti latent: inferne verb quaterni aut quini patent^per qnos 
 
 V em 
 
1 
 
 igS 
 
 M 
 
 ICROGRAPHIA. 
 
 eas figere exiflimamus. From which Defcription, they feem to be a kind 
 of Plant-Animal that adheres to a Rockj and thefe fmall fibres or threads 
 which we have defcribed^ feem to have been the Veliels which (’tis very 
 probable) were very much bigger whiFfl: the Interfiitia were hll’d (as 
 he affirms) with a mucous^pulpy or flelhy fubftance 5 but upon the drying 
 were ffirunk into the bignefs they now appear. 
 
 The texture of it is fuch, that I have not yet met with any other body 
 in the world that has the like, but onely one of a larger fort of Sponge 
 (which is prelerv’d in the Mufieum Harveanum belonging to the moft 
 Illuftrious and moft learned Society of the rhjficia^s of London) which is 
 of a homey, or rather of a petrify d lubftance. And of this indeed, the 
 texture and make is exadly the fame with common Sponges, but onely 
 that both the holes and the fiihres^ or texture of it is exceedingly much 
 bigger,for fome of the holes were above an Inch and half over, and the 
 fibres and texture of it was bigg enough to be dihinguilhed cafily with 
 ones eye, but confpicuoufly with an ordinary fingle Microficofe. And thefe 
 indeed, feem’d to have been the habitation of fome Animal ^ and ex¬ 
 amining Arijiotle^ I find a very confbnant account hereunto, namely, that 
 he had known a certain little Animal, call’d Vinnothera^ like a Spider, to 
 be bred in thofe caverns of a Sponge,from within which,by opening and 
 clofing thofe holes, he infhares and catches the little Fiihes 5 and in ano¬ 
 ther place he fays, That’tis very confidently reported, that there are cer¬ 
 tain Moths or Worms that refide in the cavities of a Sponge,and are there 
 nourifhed ; Notwithftanding all which Hiftories,! think it well worth the 
 enquiring into the Hiftory and nature of a Sponge, it feeming to promife 
 Ibme information of the Veffels in Animal fubftances, which (by reafon 
 of the folidity of the interferted flefh that is not eafily remov’d, without 
 deftroying alfo thofe interfpers’d Veflels ) are hitherto undifeover’d 5 
 whereas here in a Spongc,the Parenchyma^it fecms,is but a kind of mucous 
 gelly, which is very eafily and clcerly wafh’d away. 
 
 The reafon that makes me imagine, that there may probably be fome 
 fuch texture in Animal fubftances, is, that examining the texture of the 
 filaments of tann’d Leather, I find it to be much of the fame nature and 
 ftrength of a Sponge 5 and with my Microjeope^ I have obferv’d many fuch 
 joints and knobs, as I have deferibed in Sponges, the fibres alfb in the hol¬ 
 low of feveral forts of Bones, after the Marrow has been remov’d, I have 
 found fome what torefemble this texture, though, I confefs, I never yet 
 found any texture exactly the fame, nor any for curiofity comparable 
 to it. 
 
 The filaments of it are much fmaller then thofe of Silk, and through 
 t\\Q Microfeope appear very neer as tranfparent, nay, fome parts of them 
 I have obferv’d much more. 
 
 Having examin’d alfo feveral kinds of Mufhroms, I finde their texture 
 to be fomewhat of this kind, that is, to confift of an infinite company of 
 fmall filaments, every way contex’d and woven together, fo as to make a 
 kind of cloth, and more particularly, examining a piece of Touch-wood 
 (which is a kind oijem-ear, or Mufhrom, growing here in England 
 
 on 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 on feveral forts of Trees, fuch as Elders, Maples, Willows, and is 
 commonly call’d by the name of Spunks but that we meet with to be 
 Ibid in Shops, is brought from beyond Seas) I found it to be made of an 
 exceeding delicate texture: For the fiibftance of it feels, and looks to 
 the naked eye,and may be If retch’d any way,exa6i:ly like a very fine piece 
 of Leather, orwafii’d Leather, but it is of fbmewhat a browner 
 
 hew, and nothing neer fo firongbut examining it with my Microfeope^ 
 I found it of fomewhat another make then any kind of Leather, for 
 whereas both chamois^ and all other kinds of Leather I have yet view’d, 
 confifi: of an infinite company of filaments, fomewhat like bufhes inter¬ 
 woven one within another, that isjof bigger parts or If ems, as it were, and 
 fmaller branchings that grow out of them f, or like a heap of Ropes ends, 
 where each of the larger Ropes by degrees feem to iplit or untwifi, into 
 many Imaller Cords, and each of thofe Cords into (mallet Lihes, and 
 thofe Lines into Threads, and thefe firangely intangled, or inter¬ 
 woven one within another : The texture of this Touch-wood feems 
 more like that of a Lock or a Fleece ofWoofforiteonfifts of ^n infinite 
 number of fmall filaments, all of thenl, asfarr as I could perceive, of the 
 fame bignels like thole of a Sponge, but that the filaments of this were 
 not a twentieth part of the bignefs of thole of a Sponge 5 and I could not 
 fo plainly perceive their joints, or their manner of interweaving, though, 
 asfarrasl wasablc todilcern with that MicrofiopeX had, I fuppolekto 
 have Ibmekind ofrelemblance, but the joints are nothing neer lb thick, 
 nor without much trouble vifible. 
 
 The filaments I could plainly enough perceive to be even,round,cylin- 
 drical,tranfparent bodies,and to crofs each other every way, that is, there 
 were not more leem’d to lie horizontally then perpendicularly and thwart¬ 
 way, fo that it is fomewhat difficult to conceive how they fliould grow 
 in that manner. By tearing off a fmall piece of it, and looking on the 
 ragged edge, I could among leveral of thole fibres perceive fmall joints, 
 that is, one of thofe hairs Iplit into two, each of the lame bignels with the 
 other out of which they feem’d to grow, but having not lately had an 
 opportunity of examining their manner of growth, I cannot pofitively aR 
 firm any thing of them. 
 
 But to proceed, Thefwclling of Sponges upon Wetting, and the riling 
 of the Water in it above the furface of the Water that it touches, are 
 both from the lame caufo, of which an account is already given in the 
 fixth Obfervation. 
 
 The lubftance of them indeed, has fo many excellent propertiesjfoatce 
 to be met with in any other body in the world, that I have often won¬ 
 dered that fo little ufe is made of it, and thofe onely vile and fordid 5 
 certainly, if it were well confider’d, it would afford much greater con- 
 veniencies. 
 
 That ulc which the Divers are laid to make of it, foetns, if true, 
 very ftrange, but having made trial of it my felf, by dipping a fmall piece 
 of it in very good Sallet-oyl,and putting it m my mouth,and then keep¬ 
 ing my mouth and nofe under water,I could not find any fuch thing 5 for I 
 
 V 2 was 
 
MiCR O GR AP H I A. 
 
 was as foon out of breath^as if I had had no Sponge^nor could I fetch my 
 breath without taking in water at my mouth 5 but I am very apt to 
 think, that were there a contrivance whereby the expir’d air might be 
 forc’d to pafs through a wet or oyly Sponge before it were again infpir’d, 
 it might much cleanfe, and ftrain away from the Air divers fuliginous 
 and other noifome fleams, and the dipping of it in certain liquors might, 
 perhaps, fo renew that property in the Air which it lofes in the Lungs,by 
 being breath’d, that one fquarefoot of Air might lafta man for refpirati- 
 on much longer, perhaps,then ten will now ferve him of common Air. 
 
 Obferv. XXIII. Of the curious texture o/Sea-weeds. 
 
 F Or curiofityand beauty, I have not among all the Plants or Vege¬ 
 tables I have yetDbferv’d,feen any one comparable to this Sea-weed 
 I have here deferib’d, of which I am able to fay very little more then what 
 is reprelented by the fecond of the ninth Scheme : Namely, that 
 
 it is a Plant which grows upon the Rocks under the water, and increales 
 and fpreads it felf into a great tuft, which is not onely handfbmely 
 branch’d into feveral leaves, but the whole furface of the Plant is cover’d 
 over with a moft curious kind of carv’d work, which confifts of a tex¬ 
 ture much refembling a Honey-comb 5 for the whole furface on both fides 
 is cover’d over with a multitude of very fmall holesjbeing no bigger then 
 To many holes made with the point of a Imall Pinn, and rang’d in the 
 neateft and moft delicate order imaginable, they being plac’d in the man¬ 
 ner of a ^incunx^ or very much like the rows of the ey es of a Fly, the 
 rows or orders being very regular, which way foever they are obferv’d: 
 what the texture was, as it appear’d through a pretty bigg Magnifying 
 Mkrojeepe^ I have here adjoin’d in the firft Figure of the 14. Scheme, 
 which round Area A BCD reprefents a part of the furface about one 
 eighth part of an Inch in Diameter : Thole little holes, which to the eye 
 look’d round, like fo many little (pots, here appear’d very regularly 
 Ihap d holes, reprelenting almoft the lhape of the foie of a round toed 
 (hoe, the hinder part of which, is, as it were, trod on or cover’d by the 
 toe of that next below it^thele holes feem’d wall’d about with a very thin 
 and tranlparent fubftance, looking of a pale ftraw-colour ^ from the edge 
 of which, againft the middle of each hole, were fprouted out four fmall 
 tranlparent ftraw-colour’d Thorns, which leem’d to protect and cover 
 thole cavities, from either fide two, neer the root of this Plant,, were 
 Iprouted out feveral fmall branches of a kind of baftard Coralline^ curi- 
 oufly branch’d, though (mail. 
 
 . And to confirm this, having lately the opportunity of viewing the 
 latge^Plant (if I may fo call it) of a Sponge petrify of v/hich I made 
 mention in the laft Obfervation,, I found, that each of the Branches 01 
 Figures of i^ did,, by the range of its pores, exhibit juft fuch a texture, 
 
 w • ” ' ' f 
 
 the 
 
 4. 'i v«» iV 
 
Sch&rri:Xnn. 
 
Micrograph! a . 
 
 the rows of pores crofiing one another, much after the manner as the 
 rows of eyes do which are defcrib’d inthe 26.Scheme: Coratline aifo, and 
 feveral forts of white Coral^ I have W'ith a Alicrofcope obferv’d very cii- 
 rioufly ftiap’d. And I doubt not, but that he that fliall obferve thefe 
 feverai kinds of PJants that grow upon Rocksi, which the Sea fome- 
 times overflows, and thofe heaps of others which are vomited out of it up¬ 
 on the fliore, may find multitudes of little Plants, and other bodics,which 
 like this will afford very beautifull objefts for the Mkrofcvpc 5 and this 
 SpecimenheiVQ is adjoin'd onely to excite their curiofities who have op¬ 
 portunity of obferving to examine and colleiff what they find worthy 
 their notice 5 for the Sea, among terreffrial bodies, is alfo a proljfic\ 
 mother, and affords as many Inffances oi jf ontafieoits generations as ei¬ 
 ther the Air or Earth. 
 
 Obferv. XXIV. Of the furfaces o/Rofemary, anJ other leaves^ 
 
 T His which is delineated within the circle of the fecond Figure of the 
 14. Scheme j is a fmall part of the back or under fide of a leaf of 
 Rofemary, which I did not therefore make choice of, becaufe it had any 
 thing peculiar which was not obfervable -with 2i Mkrofeope in feveral 
 other Plants, but becaufe it exhibits*at one view, ^ - 
 
 Firft, a finooth and fhining furface, namely, A'R/ which is' a part of the 
 upper fide of the leaf, that by a kind of hem or doubling of the leaf ap¬ 
 pears on this fide. There are multitudes of leaves, whefe furfaces are 
 like this fmooth, and as it were quilted, which look like a curious quilted 
 baggof green Silk, or like a Bladder, or fome fuch pliable tranfparent 
 fubffance, full fluffed out with a green juice or liquor 5 the furface of 
 Rue, or Herbgrafl, is polifh’d, and all over indented, or pitted, like the 
 Silk-worm s Egg,which I ffiall anon deferibe 5 the Imooth furfacesof other 
 Plants are otherwife quilted. Nature in this, as it were, expreffing her 
 Needle-work, or imbroidery. 
 
 Next a downy or bufhy furface, fuch as is all the under fide almofl^ 
 appearing through the Mkrofeope much like a thicket of bufhes, and with 
 this kind of Down or Hair the leaves and flalks of multitudes of Vege¬ 
 tables are covered 5 and there feems to be as great a variety in the fliape, 
 bulk, and manner of the growing of thefe fecundaiy Plants, as I may call 
 them (they being, as it were, a Plant growing out of a Plant, orfome- 
 what like the hairs of Animals) as there is to be found amongft fmall 
 fhrubs that compofe bufhes y but for the moft part, they confift of fmall 
 tranfparent parts, fome of which grow in the fhape of fmall Needles or 
 Bodkins,asontheThifl:le,Cowag-ecod. and Nettley others in the form of 
 Cat s clawsjas in Gliders, the beards of Barley, the edges of feveral forts' 
 of Grafs and Reeds, in other,as ColtsfootjRofe-campion, Aps, Poplar^ 
 Willow, and almofl all other downy Plants, they grow in the form of 
 bufhes very much diverfify d in eacffpardcular Plant, That which I have 
 
 before 
 
 141 
 
Ml CROGRAHP I A. 
 
 before in the i9.0bfervation noted on Rofe-leavcs, is of a quite differ¬ 
 ing kind^ and feems indeed a real Vegetable, diffind from the leaf. 
 
 Thirdly, among thefe (mall bulhesare obfervable an infinite company 
 of fmall round Balls, exadly Globular, and very much refembling Pearls, 
 namely, CCCC, of thefe there maybe multitudes obferv’d in Sage, 
 and feveral other Plants, which I fuppofe was the reafbn why Athan^us 
 Kircher fuppofed them to be all cover’d with Spiders Eggs, or young 
 Spiders, which indeed is nothing dfe but fome kind of gummous exfii- 
 datioOjWhich is always much of the fame bignefs. At firft fight of thefe,I 
 confefs, I imagin’d that they might have been fome kind of matrices^ox 
 nourifhing receptacles for fome fmall Infed, juft as I have found Oak- 
 apples, and multitudes of fuch other large excrefcencies on the leaves 
 and other parts of Trees and fhrubs to be forFlyes, and divers other In- 
 feds, but obferving them to be there all the year, and fcarcc at all to 
 change their magnitude, that conjedure feem’d not fo probable. But 
 what ever be the ufe of it, it affords a very pleafant ob jed through the 
 Microfeope^ and may, perhaps, upon further examination, prove very 
 luciferous. 
 
 Obferv. XXV. Of the flinging points and juice o/" Nettles, and 
 fome other venomous Plants, 
 
 A Nettle is a Plant fo well known to every one,as to what the appear¬ 
 ance of it is to the naked eyCjthat it needs no defcription^and there 
 are very few that have not felt as well as feen it 5 and therefore it will be 
 no news to tell that a gentle and flight touch of the fkin by a Nettle,does 
 oftentime, not onely create very fenlible and acute pain, much like that 
 of a burn orfcald,but often allb very angry and hard fwellings andinfla- 
 mations of the parts, fiach as will prefently rife, and continue fwoln di¬ 
 vers hours. Thefe obfervations, I fay, arc common enough, but hov/ the 
 pain is fo fuddenly created, and by what means continued, augmented 
 for a time, and afterwards diminifh’d, and at length quite exftinguifh’d, 
 has not, that I know, been explain’d by any. 
 
 And here we muft have recourfe to our Mkrofeope^ and that will, if 
 almoft any part of the Plant be looked on, fhew us the whole furface of 
 it very thick fet with turn-Pikes, or fharp Needles, of the fhape ofthofe 
 reprefented in the 15. Scheme and firft Figure by A B, which are vifible 
 alfo to the naked eye 5 .each of which confifts of two parts very diftindt 
 for fhape,and differing alfb in quality from one another. For the part A, 
 is fhaped very much like a round Bodkin,from B tapering till it end in a 
 very fharp point 5 it is of a fubftance very hard and ftiff, exceedingly 
 tranfparent and deer, and, as I by many trials certainly found, is hollow 
 from top to bottom. 
 
 This I found by this Experiment,' I had a very convenient Micro- 
 
 fcope 
 

Mic ROGRAPHlAo I 
 
 fcope with a (ingle Glafs which drew about half an Inch^this I had faftned 
 into a little frame, almofi: like a pair of Spedacles, which I placed before 
 mine eyes, and fo holding the leaf of a Nettle at a convenient diftancc 
 from my eye, I did firfi:,with the thrufting of feveral of thefe bridles into 
 my (kin, perceive that prefently after I had thruft them in I felt the burn-* 
 ing pain begin , next I obferv d in divers of them, that upon thrufting 
 my finger againft their tops, the Bodkin (if I may fo call it) did not in 
 the leaft bend, but I could perceive moving up and down within it a cer¬ 
 tain liquor, which upon thrufting the Bodkin againft its bafis, or bagg B, 
 
 I could perceive to rife towards the top, and upon taking away my hand, 
 
 I could fee it again fubfide, and (brink into the bagg 5 this I did very 
 often, and faw this Th£nomenon as plain as I could ever fee a parcel of 
 water alcend and de(cend ina pipe of Glals. But the bafis underneath the(e 
 Bodkins on which they werefaft, w^re made of a more pliable fubftance, 
 and looked almoft like a little bagg of green Leather, or rather refem- 
 bled the (hape and furface of a wilde Cucumber, or cucumeris 
 and I could plainly perceive them to be certain little baggs, bladders,or 
 receptacles full of water, or as I ghe(s, the liquor of the Plant, which was 
 poifonous, and thole (mall Bodkins were but the Syringe-pipes, or Gly- 
 fter-pipes, which firft made way into the (kin, and then ferved to convey 
 that poifonous juice,upon the prefling of thofe little baggs, into the in¬ 
 terior and fenlible parts of the (kin,which being (b difeharg'd, docs cor¬ 
 rode, or, as it were, burn that part of the (kin it touches 5 and this pain 
 will fometimes laft very long, according as the impreflion is made deeper 
 or ftronger. 
 
 The other parts of the leaf or furface of the Nettle, have very little 
 confiderable, but what is common to moft of thefe kinds of Plants, as the 
 ruggednefs or indenting, and hairinels, and other roughnefles ofthelur- 
 face or out-fide of the Plant, of which I may fay more in another place. 
 As I (hall likewife of certain little pretty deer Balls or Apples which I 
 have obferved to ftick to the (ides of thefe leaves, both on the upper and 
 under fide, very much like the (mall Apples which I have often oblerv’d 
 to grow on the leaves of an Oak call'd Oak-apples which are nothing but 
 the Matrices of an Infedc, as I eKewhere (liew. 
 
 The chief thing therefore is, how this Plant comes, by fo (light a touch, 
 to create fo great a pain^and the rea(bn of this feems to be nothing eKcjbut 
 the corrofive penetrant liquor contain'd in the fmall baggs or bladders, 
 upon which grow out thole (harp Syringe-pipes, as I before noted 5 and 
 very con(bnant to this, is the realon of the pain created by the fting of a 
 Bee, Wafp, as I elfewhere (hew: For by the Dart,which is likewi(e a 
 
 pipe, is made a deep paflage into the (kin, and then by the anger of the 
 Fly, is his gaily poifonous liquor in jc(fted 5 which being admitted among 
 the fenfible parts, and fo mix'd with the humours or flagnating juices of 
 that part, does create an Ebullition perhaps, or effervefiens^ as is ufually 
 obferv'd in the mingling of two difiering Chymical faline liquors, by 
 which means the parts become fwelf d, hard, and very painfull 3 for 
 thereby the nervous and fenfible parts are not onely ftreteh’d and (train’d 
 
 beyond 
 
^ M ICROGRAPHIA. 
 
 beyond their natural tone^ but are alfo prick’d, perhaps, or corroded by 
 the pungent and incongruous pores of the intruded liquor. 
 
 And this feems to be the reafon, why Aqtta fortis^ and other faline li- 
 quors^ if they come to touch the fenfitive parts, as in a cut of the Ikin, 
 or the like, do fo violently and intollerably excruciate and torment the 
 Patient. And ’tis not unlikely, but the Inventors of that Diabolical pra¬ 
 ctice of poilbning the points of Arrows and Ponyards, might receive 
 their firft hint from fome luch Inftance in natural contrivances, as this of 
 the Nettle: for the ground why fuch poifon’d weapons kill lb infallibly 
 as they do, leems no other then this of our Nettle’s ftinging 5 for the Pon- 
 yard or Dart makes a paflage or entrance into the fenfitive or vital parts 
 of the body, whereby the contagious fubftance comes to be dillblv’d by, 
 and mix’d with the fluid parts or humours of the body,and by that means 
 ^reads it felf by degrees into the whole liquid part of the body, in the 
 lame manner, as a few grains of Salt,put into a great quantity of Water, 
 will by degrees diflfule it felf over the whole. 
 
 And this I take to be the reafon of killing of Toads, Frogs, Efls, and 
 Icveral Filhes, by ftrewing Salt on their backs (which Experiment was 
 Ihewn to the Royal Society by a very ingenious Gentleman, and a worthy 
 Member of it) for thofe creatures having always a continual exfudation, 
 as it were,offlimy and watry parts,fweating out of the pores of their Ikin, 
 the faline particles, by that means obtain a vehicle yN\\\ch. conveys them in¬ 
 to the internal and vital parts of the body. 
 
 This feems alfo to be the reafon why bathing in Mineral waters are 
 fuch foveraign remedies for multitudes of difl:empers,efpecially chronical, 
 for the liquid 8c warm vehicles of the Mineral particlesjwhich are known 
 to be in very confiderable quantities in thofe healing baths,by the body’s 
 long flay in them, do by degrees ftcep and infinuate themfclves into the 
 pores and parts of the lkin,and thereby thofe Mineral particles have their 
 ways and paflages open’d to penetrate into the inner parts, and mingle 
 thcmfolves with the Jiagnant juices of the foveral parts, befides,many of 
 thofo offenfive parts which were united with thofe jiagnant juices, and 
 which were contrary to the natural conflitution of the parts, and fo be¬ 
 come irkfome and painfull to the bodyjbut could not be difeharged, be- 
 caufe Nature had made no provifion for fuch accidental mifehiefs, are, by 
 means of this foaking, and filling the pores of thelkin with a liquor, af¬ 
 forded a paflage through that liquor that fills the pores into the am¬ 
 bient fluid, and thereby the body comes to be difoharged. 
 
 So that ’tis very evident,there may be a good as well as an evil applica¬ 
 tion of this Principle. And the ingenious Invention of that Excellent 
 perfon, Dodlor Wren^ of injeding liquors into the veins of an Animal, 
 feems to be reducible to this head ; I cannot flay, nor is this a fit place, to 
 mention the foveral Experiments made of this kind by the mofl incom¬ 
 parable Mr. Boyle^ the multitudes made by the lately mention’d Phyfician 
 Do(flor Clark^j the Hiflory whereofj as he has been pleas’d to commu¬ 
 nicate to the Royal Society^ fo he may perhaps be prevail’d with to make 
 publiquehimfolf; But I fhall rather hint, that certainly, if this Principle 
 
 were 
 
M I C ROG R A P H 1 Ai 
 
 were well confider’d^there might, belides the further improving ofBath- 
 ing and Syringing into the veins, be thought on feveral ways, whereby 
 feveral obftinate diftcmpers of a humane body,fuch as the Gout,Dropfie^ 
 Stone, might bemafter’d, and expcll’d^ and good men might make 
 as good a life of it, as evil men have made a pcrverle and Diabolical. 
 
 And that the filling of the pores of the fkin with fbme ^vaAvehick^ is 
 of no fmall efficacy towards the preparing a paflage for feveral kinds of 
 penetrant juices, and other diflbluble bodies, to infinuate themfelves 
 within the ikin, and into the fenfitive parts of the body, may be, I think, 
 prov’d by an Inftance given us by Bellonius^ in the 26. Chapter of the 
 fecond Book of his Obfervations , which containing a very remarkable 
 Story I have here tranlcrib*d : Cum ChamMeonk nigri radices (fays he) 
 apud Pagum qnendam Livadochorio nuncupatum erui curaremus^ plurimi 
 Cr£ci Turcie [peBatumvenerunt quid erueremus^ eas vero fiujiulatimfe- 
 cabamus^ filo trajjciebamus utfacilim exjiccari pojjent, ^urc<e in eo ne- 
 gotio occupatos nos videntes^ jimiliter eas radices traBare d^ ficare volue^ 
 runt: at cum fimmm cjjet jejius^ d^ omnes Judore maderent^ quicunque 
 earn radicem manibus traB aver ant jiidoremque abjierferant^ aut faciem dk 
 giftsfeaipferant^ tantam pruriginem its lock quos attigerant pojieaJenJerunt^ 
 Ht aduri viderentur, Chamcslconis enim nigri radix ea virtute poUet^ ut 
 ti applicata ipfam adeo inflammet^ ut nec fqnill£^ nec urtic<e uUce centejtma 
 parte it a adurent: At prurigo non adeo celeriter fife prodit, Poji unam aut al^ 
 ter am porro koram^ (inguli variis faciei locis cutem adeo injiammatam ha¬ 
 bere ccepimus ut iota fanguinea videretur^ atque quo magis earn confricaba- 
 mus^tanta magis excitabatur prurigo. Fonti ajjidebamusfubplatano^atque ini¬ 
 tio pro ludicro habebamus d> ridebamus : at tandem illi plurimum indtgnati 
 junt^ nifi ajjeverafiemus nunquam expert os tali virtute earn plant am poUere^ 
 
 hand dubte male nos multafient. Attamen nofir a exctfatio fiat ab illk facili- 
 tts Accept a .fum eodem in com mo do nos dfieBos conjpicerent. Mir urnfane quod 
 in tantillo radice tarn ingentem efiicaciam nofiro malo expertiJumus. 
 
 By which obfervation of hisjit feems manifeft,that their being all cover’d 
 with fweat who gather’d and cut this root of the black Chameleon Thifble, 
 was the great reafon why they fuffer d that inconvenience, for itiecms the 
 like circumftance had not been before that noted, nor do I find any men¬ 
 tion of fuch a property belonging to this Vegetable in any of the Her- 
 bals I have at prelent by me. 
 
 I could give very many Obfervations which I have made of this kind, 
 whereby I have found that the befl way to get a body to be infinuated 
 into the lubffance or infehfible pores of another, is firff, to find a fluid 
 vehicle that has Ibme congruity,both to the body to be inlinuated,and to 
 the body into whole pores you would have^the other convey’d. And in 
 this Principle lies the great myllery of ftaining feveral forts of bodies, as 
 Marble, Woods, Bones, d'c. and of Dying Silks, Cloaths, Wools, Fea-’ 
 thers, d^c. But thefe being digrelTions, I (hall proceed to : 
 
 Obferv. X X V 1.Cowage,<7^^^ the itching (feration effome bodies^ 
 
 T^Here is a certain Down of a Plantjbrought from the Eafi-lndies^aWd 
 . ^ commonly, though very improperly. Cow-itch^ the reafon of which 
 
 X miftake 
 
 14? 
 
Micrographi a. 
 
 miftake ismamfcft enough from the defcription of itjwhich Mr. Varkinfon 
 (etsdownin his Herbal^ Tribe XI. Chap. 2. Phajlolusjiliquahirjuta 5 The 
 hairy Kidjjey-bean^ called in Zurratte where it grows^ Couhage: tVe have had 
 (fays he) another of this kjnd brought us out of the Eaft-Indies^ which being 
 planted^ was in Jhew lihg the former^ but came not to perfection ^ the unkindly 
 feafon not fuffering it to Jhew the flower'.^ hut of the Cods that were brought^ 
 fome were Jmaller^Jhorter^ and rounder then the Garden kind‘s others much 
 longer^ and many growing together^ as it were in clujiersjiand cover'd all over 
 jfiith a brown Jhort hairinej^ffo fine^ that if any of it be rubb'd^ or fall on the 
 back^ of ones hand^ or other tender parts of the sh^n^ it will caufe a kind of 
 itching^ but notJirong^ nor long induring^ but paijing quickjy away^ without 
 either danger or harm 5 the Beans were fmaller then ordinary^ and of a blacks 
 Jhining colour. 
 
 Having one of thefe Cods given me by a Sea-Gaptainj who had fre^ 
 quentcd thole parts, I found it to be a fmall Cod, about three Inches 
 long, much like a Ihort Cod of French Beans^ which had fix Beans in it, 
 the whole furface of it was cover’d over with a ve^ thick and fliining 
 brown Down or Hair, which was very fine, and for its bignefs ftiff5 
 taking fome of this Down, and rubbing it on the back of my hand, 1 
 found very little or no trouble, only I was fenfible that feveral of thefe 
 little downy parts with rubbing did penetrate, and were funk, or ftuck 
 pretty deep into my fkin. After I had thus rubb’d it for a pretty while, 
 I felt very little or no pain, in fo much that I doubted, whether it were 
 the true Couhage ^ but whil’ft I was confidering, I found the Down begin 
 to make my hand itch, and in fome places to fmart again^ much like the 
 dinging 01 a Flea or Gnat, and this continued a pretty while, fo that by 
 degrees I found my fkin to be fwell’d with little red puftules, and to 
 look as if it had been itchie. But fuffcring it without rubbing or feratch- 
 ing, the itching tickling pain quickly grew languid, and within an hour 
 I felt nothing at all, and the little protuberancies were vanifh’d. 
 
 The caufe of which odd Phenomenons I foppofe to be much thefartie 
 with that of the dinging of a Nettle, for by the Microfcopey I difcover’d 
 this Down to confid of a multitude of fmall and flender conical bodies, 
 much refembling Needles or Bodkins, fuch as are reprefented by A B. 
 CD. E F. of the fird Figure of the XVI. Scheme , that their ends AAA, 
 were very fharp, and the fubdance of them diff and hard, much like the 
 febdance of feveral kinds of Thorns and crooks growing on Trees. And 
 though they appear’d very clcer and tranfparent, yet I could not per¬ 
 ceive whether they were hollow or not, but to me they appear’d 
 like folid tranfparent bodies, without any cavity in them 5 whether, 
 though they might not be a kind of Cane, fill’d with fome tranfpa¬ 
 rent liquor which was hard ned (becaufe the Cod which I had was very 
 dry) I was not able to examine. 
 
 Now, being foch diff^ fharp bodies, it is eafie to conceive, how with 
 rubbing they might cafily be thrud into the tender parts of the skin,and 
 there, by reafon of their exceeding finenefs and drinefs, not create anyj 
 confiderable trouble or pain, till by remaining in thofe places moidned 
 with the humours of the body, fome caudick part dicking on them, or 
 
 redding 
 
\ 
 
 Micrographia« 
 
 refiding within them might be diffolv’d and mix’d with the ambient juices 
 of that place, and thereby thofe fibres and tender parts adjoyning be¬ 
 come affedcd, and as it were corroded by it 5 whence, while that adi- 
 on lafis, the pains created are pretty fharp and pungent, though Igiall^ 
 which is the efl'ential property of an itching one. 
 
 That the pain alfo caufed by the flinging of a Flea, a Gnat, a Flie, a 
 Wafp, and the like, proceeds much from the very fame caufe, I elfewhere 
 in their proper places endeavour to manifeft. The flinging alio of fhred 
 Horfhair, which in meriment is often flrevv’d between the iheets ofa Bed^ 
 feems to proceed from the fame caule^ 
 
 Obferv. X X V n. Of the Beard of a wilde Oat, and the ufe that 
 may be made of it for exhibiting always to the Eye the temperature 
 of the. Air^ as todrinefi and moifiure, 
 
 'T His Beard of a wild Oat^ is a body of a very curious flrud:ure,though 
 to the naked Eye it appears Very flight, and inconfiderable, it being 
 only afmall black or brown Beard or Briflle,which grows out of the fide 
 of the inner Husk that covers the Grain of a wild O^t^the whole length of 
 it,when put in Water, fo that it may extend it felf to its full length,is not 
 above an Inch and a half,andfor the mofi: part fbmewhat fhorter,but when 
 the Grain is ripe, and very dry, which is ufualy in the Moneths of 
 and Augnfi^ this Beard is bent fomewhat below the middle, namcly,about 
 f from the bottom of it, almofl to a right Angle, and the under part of 
 it is wreath’d lik a With 5 the fubfiance of it is very brittle when dry, alid 
 it will very eafily be broken from the husk on which it grows. 
 
 If you take one of thefe Grains, and wet the Beard in Watcrjyou will 
 prefently lee the (mail bended top to turn and move round, as if it were 
 fenfible, and by degrees, if it be continued wet enough, the joint or knee 
 will flreighten it felf 5 and if it be fiificr’d to dry again, it will by degrees 
 move round another way, and at length bend again into its former 
 poflurc. 
 
 If it be view’d with an ordinary fingle it'will appear like 
 
 a fmall wreath’d Sprig, with two clefts ^ and if wet as before, and 
 then look’d on with this Microfeope^ it will appear to un wreath it felf^ 
 and by degrees,to ftreighten its knee, and the two clefts will become 
 ftreight, and almofl: on oppofite fides of the fmall cylindrical body. 
 
 If it be continued to be look’d a little longer with a Microfeope^ it 
 will within a little while begin to wreath it felf again, and foon after 
 return to its former pofture, bending it felf again neer the middle, into 
 a kind of knee or angle. 
 
 Several of thofe bodies I examin’d with larger Microfeopes^ and there 
 found them much of the make of thofe two long wreath’d cylinders de¬ 
 lineated in the fecond Figure of the 15. Scheme^ which two cylinders re-" 
 
 X 2 prefent 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 prefcnt the wreathed part broken into two picces^whereof the end A B is 
 to be (uppos’d to have join’d to the end C fb that E A C F does repre- 
 fent the whole wreath’d part of the Beard, and E G a iinall piece of the 
 upper part of the Beard which is beyond the knee, which as I had not 
 room to’infert, fo was it not very confiderable, either for its fornijOr any 
 known property 5 but the under or wreathed part is notable for both: 
 As to its.form, it appear’d, ifit were look’d on fide-ways, almoft like a 
 Willow, or a fmall tapering rod of Hazel^ the lower or bigger half of 
 which onely, is twifted round ieveral times,in feme three, in others more, 
 in others lels, according to the bignefs and maturity of the Grain on 
 which it grew, and according to the drinefs and moilfure of the ambient 
 Air, as I (hall (hew more at large by and by. 
 
 The whole outward Superficies of this Cylindrical body is curioufly 
 adoi^ned orrfluted with little channels, and interjacent ridges, w little 
 protuberances between them, which run the whole length of tfie Beard, 
 and are ftfeight where the Beard is not twifted ,and wreath’d where it is, 
 juft after the fame manner: each of thofe (ides is befet pretty ^ick with 
 fmall Brides or Thorns, (bmewhat in form reftmbling that o^Vorenpines 
 Quills, fuch 2Lsaaaaam the Figure 5 all whofe points are direfted like 
 (bmany Turn-pikes towards the fmall end or top of the Beard, which is 
 therealbn, why, if you endeavour to draw the Beard between your fin¬ 
 gers the contrary way, you will find it to ftick, and grate, as it were, 
 againft the (kin. 
 
 The proportion of the(e finall conical bodies aaaaa to that whereon 
 they grow, the Figure will (ufficiently (hew, as alfo their manner of grow- 
 ing,their thicknefs, and neerne(s,to each other, as, that towards.the root 
 or bottom of the Beard, they ?re more thin, and much (horter,in(bmi:jch 
 that there is ulually left between the top of the one, and the bottom of 
 that next above it, more then the length of one of them, and that to¬ 
 wards the top of the Beard they grow more thick and .clofe (though 
 there be fewer ridges) (b that the root, and almoft half the upper are 
 hid by the tops of thole next below them. 
 
 I could not perceive any tranfverfe pores, qnlefs the whole wreath’d 
 part were feparated andeleft,in .thofe little channels^by the wtCfithing m--^ 
 to fo many little firings as there were ridges, which was very difficult tp 
 determine, but there were in the wreathed part two very conipicuous 
 channels or clefts, which were continued from the bottom F to the el¬ 
 bow E H, or all along the part which was wreath’d, which feem’dto di? 
 vide the wreath’d Cylinder into two parts, a bigger and a lels .5 the bigger 
 was that which was at the convex fide of the knee, namely, on the (ide A^ 
 and was wreath’d by O Q O O O 5 this, as it (eem’d the broader, (b 
 did it alfo the longer, the other P P P PP, which was nfually purs’d or 
 wrinckled in the binding of thekneCjas about Ejfeem’d both the (hotter 
 and narrower, (b that at firft I thought the wreathing and unwreathing 
 of tjie Beard might have been caus’d by the (hrinking orfwefijng of that 
 part 5 but upon further examination,! found that the clefts, ^ L L,werc 
 ftuft up with a kind of Spohgie fiibftance, which, for the moft part, wa? 
 
M I C R O G R A P H i A. 
 
 ' Very confpicuQVis jiecr the knee^.as in the cleft KK, when the Beard was 
 dry 5 upqn the difeovery of which. I began to think, that it was upon the 
 fwelUng of this porous pith upon the^accefs ofmoihure or water that the 
 Beard,being inade longer in the Enidft,was ftreightnedjand by the fhrink- 
 ing or fubliding of the parts of that Spongie fubftance together, when 
 the water orjmoifture was exhal’d or dried, the pith or middle parts 
 growing fhorter, the whole became twifted. 
 
 But this I cannot be pofitivem, for upon cutting the wreath’d part in 
 many places tranfyerfly, I was not fo well fatisfy’d with thelhape and 
 manner of the pores of the pith; for looking on thefe tranfverfe Sections 
 with :2L-'veYY g&od Microfeope^^ found that the ends of thofe tranf 
 verfe Se^fions -appear’d much of the manner of the third Figure of the 
 1^. Scheme ABCFE, and'the middle or pith CC, feem’d very full of 
 pores indeed, but all of them feem’d to run the long-ways. 
 
 Ihis'Figure plainly enough fliewsin what manner thole clefts, Kand L 
 divided the wreath’d Cylinder into two unequal parts, and alfoofwhat 
 kind of fubffance the whole body conlills, for by cutting the fame Beard 
 in many places, with tranfverfe Seflions, I found much the lame ap¬ 
 pearance iwith this exprefs’d 5 lb that thofe pores feem to run, as in mofi: 
 other fuch Cany bodies, the whole length of it. 
 
 The clefts ot this body'KK, and LT,Teem’d (as is allb exprefs’d in 
 the Figure) to wind very oddly in the inner part of the wreath 5 and 
 in feme parts of them, they feem’d Huffed, as it were,with that Spongie 
 lubHance, 'which I juft now deferibed. 
 
 This jfo oddly conftituted Vegetable fubftance, is firH (that I have 
 jnet with) .taken notice of by Porta^ in his Natural Magkk^^ as a, 
 
 ^hiug known to children and Juglers, and it has been call’d byfome of 
 rtbofe laft named perfbns, the better to cover their cheat, theLeggof an 
 Arahjan,Spjder^ or thtLeggo£ an inchanted Egyptian Fly^ and has been 
 uled by them to make a Iniall Index, Crofs, or the like, to move round 
 upon tbe. wetting of it with a drop of Water, and muttering certain 
 words. 
 
 But the ufe that has been made of it, for the difeovery of the various 
 -ConHitutions of the Air, as to drinefs and moiftnefs, is incomparably 
 beyond any other s for this it does to admiration: The manner of con¬ 
 triving it fo, as to perform this great effed, is oncly thus : 
 
 Provide a good large Box of Ivory, about four Inches over, and of 
 what depth you fhall judge convenient (according to your intention 
 of making ufe of one, twOjthreCjOr more of thefe fmall Beards,ordered in 
 the manner which I fhall by and by defcribejlet all the fides of this Box be 
 turned of Bafket-work (which here in London is eafily enough procur’d) 
 full of holes,in the manner almoft of a Lettice, the bigger, or more the 
 holes are,the betterphat fo the Air may have the more free paflage to the 
 inclofed Beard,and may the more eafily pafs through the Inffrument ^ it 
 will be better yetjthough not altogether 10 handfom,if inffeed of the Bal- 
 ket^work on the lides of the Box,the bottom and top of the Box be join’d 
 together onely with three or four fmall Pillars, after the manner repre- 
 
 fented 
 
1^0 M I C R O G R A P H I A. 
 
 fented in the 4.Figure of the 15. Scheme, Orjif you intend to make ufe of 
 many of thefe fmall Beards join’d together, you may have a (mall long 
 Cafe of Ivory, whofe fides are turn’d of Bafket-work, full of holes, which 
 may be fcrew’d on to the underfide of a broad Plate of Ivory,on the other 
 fide of which is to be made the divided Ring or Circle, to which divifi* 
 ons the pointing of the Hand or Index, which is moved by the conjoin’d 
 Beard, may fhew all the Minute variations of the Air. 
 
 There may be multitudes of other ways for contriving this fmall Infiru- 
 ment, fo as to produce this effedl:, which any one may, according to his 
 peculiar ufe, and the exigency of his prefent occafion, eafily enough con¬ 
 trive and take, on which I fhall not therefore infift. The whole manner of 
 making any one of them is thus: Having your Box or frame A A B B, fitly 
 adapted for the free paffage of the Air through it,in the midfi: of the bot¬ 
 tom B B B, you mufthave a very fmall hole C, into which the lower end of 
 the Beard is to be fi xd,the upper end of which Beard a hjs to pafs through 
 a fmall hole of a Plate, or top A A, if you make ufe onely of a fingle one, 
 and on the top of it is to be fix’d a fmall and very light Index fg^ made 
 of a very thin lliver of a Reed or Cane 5 but if you make ufe of two or 
 more Beards, they muft be fix'd and bound together, either with a very 
 fine piece of Silk, or with a very fmall touch of hard Wax, or Glew, which 
 is better, and the Index fg^ is to be fix’d on the top of the fecondjthird, 
 or fourth in the fame manner as on the fingle one, 
 
 Now,becaufe that in every of thele contrivances, the Index fg^ will 
 with feme temperatures of Air, move two, three, or more times round, 
 which without fome other contrivance then this,will be difficult to difiin- 
 guilhjthercfore I thought of this Expedient; The Index or Handfg^ be¬ 
 ing rais’d a pretty way above the furface of the Plate A A, fix in at a 
 little diftance from the middle of it a fmall Pin h, fo as almoft to touch 
 the furface of the Plate A A, and then in any convenient place of the 
 furface of the Plate,fix a fmall Pin, on which put on a (mall piece ofPapcr, 
 or thin Paft-board, Vellom, or Parchment, made of a convenient cize, 
 and fhap’d in the manner of that in the Figure exprefs’d by i 4 ? fo 
 that having a convenient number of teeth every turn or return of the 
 Pin 4 may move this fmall indented Circle, a tooth forward or back¬ 
 wards. by which means the teeth of the Circle, being mark’d, it will be 
 thereby very eafic to know certainly, how much variation any change 
 of weather will make upon the fmall wreath’d body. In the making of 
 this Secundary Circle of Vellom, or the lik.^ great care is to be had, that 
 it be made exceeding light, and to move very eafily, for otherwife a fmall 
 variation will fpoil the whole operation. The Box may be made ofBrafs, 
 Silver, Iron, or any other fubfiance, if care be taken to make it open 
 enough, to let the Air have a fufticiently free accefs to the Beard. The 
 Index alfb may be various ways contrived, fo as to (hew both the number 
 of the revolutions it makes, and the Minute divifions of each revolution, 
 
 I have made feveral trials and Infiruments for difeovering the drinefs 
 and moifiurc of the Air with this little wreath’d body,and find it to vary 
 exceeding fenfibly with the leaft change in the conftitution of the Air, as 
 
 to 
 
Micro GRAPHiAi 
 
 to drinefs and moifl-urej fo that with one breathing upon it, I have made 
 it untwift a whole bout, and the h/dex or Hafid has fhew’d or pointed td 
 various divifions on the upper Face or Pving of the Inftrument, according 
 as it was carried necter and neerer to the fire, or as the heat of the Sun 
 increafed upon it. 
 
 Other trials I have made with Cut'ftringSjbut find them nothing neer 
 fo fcnfible, though they alfo may be fo contriv’d as to exhibit the 
 changes of the Air, as to drihefs and moifiure, both by their flretching 
 andfhrinking in length, and alfo by their wreathing and unwreathing 
 themfelves 5 but thefe are nothing neer fo exad or fo tender,for their va- 
 rying property will in a little time change very much. But there are fe- 
 veral other Vegetable fubftances that are much more fenfiblethen even 
 this Beard of a wilde liich I have found the Beard of the feed of 
 Mulk-grafs, or Geramuw mofehatum^ and thole of other kinds of Crams- 
 bil feeds, and the like. But always the fmaller the wreathing fubftance 
 be, the more fenfible is it of the mutations of the Air, a conjedure at 
 therealbn of which I fhall by and by add. 
 
 The lower end of this wreath’d Cylinder being ftuck upright in a little 
 fbft Wax, fo that the bended part or Index of it lay horizontal^ I have 
 oblerv’d it always'with moilfure to unwreath it felf from the Eafi: (For 
 inftance)by the South to the Wefi:,and lb by the North to the Eafl: again, 
 moving with the Sun (as we commonly lay) and with heat and drouth 
 tbre-twift, and wreath it felf the contrary way, namely, from the Eaft, 
 (for inftance) by the North to the Weft, and'lb onwards. - ^ ‘ ^ 
 
 The caufe of all which Th£nomena^ leerhs to be the differing texture 
 of the parts ofthele bodies, each of them (clpecially the Beard of a wilde 
 Oat^ and of Alos^-grafs feed J feeming to have two kind of fubftances,onc 
 that is very porous Joofc,and IpongiCjinto which the watry fteams of the 
 Air may be very eafily forced,which will be thereby fwell’d and extend¬ 
 ed in its dimenfions^ juft as we may obferve all kind of Vegetable fub- 
 ftance upon fteeping in water to fwell and grow bigger and longer. And a 
 fecond that is more hard and clofe,into which the water can very little,or 
 not at all penetrate, this therefore retaining always very neer the fame 
 dimenfions, and the other ftretching and Ihrinking, according as there* 
 is more or lefs moifture or water in its pores, by reafon of the make and 
 ftape of the parts, the whole body, muft neceflarily unwreath and 
 wreath it felf < 
 
 And upon this Principle, it is very eafie to make fcveral forts of con¬ 
 trivances that Ihould thus wreath and unwreath themfelves, either by 
 heat and cold, or by drinels and moifture, or by any greater or lefs force, 
 from whatever caule it proceed, whether from gravity or weight, or 
 'from wind which is motion of the Air, or from fome Ipritiging body, 
 or the like* 
 
 This, had I time, I fhould enlarge much mOre upon ^ fot it leems to me 
 to be the very firft fqotftep of Senfition^ .and Animate motion, the moft 
 plain,fimple,and obvious contrivance that Nature has made ufe of to pro¬ 
 duce a motion, next to that,of Rarefaftion and Concjenlation by heat 
 
 and 
 
Micrograhpia. 
 
 and cold. And were this Principle very well examin d, I am very apt to 
 think, it would afford us a very great help to find out the Mechafiifm 
 of the Mufcles, which indeedjas farr as I have hitherto been able to ex¬ 
 amine, feems to me not fo very perplex as one might imagine,cfpecially 
 upon the examination which I made of the Mufcles of Crabf^LobJiers^and 
 (everal forts of large Shell-fifhjand comparing my Obfervations on them, 
 with the circumftances I obferv'd in the mufcles of terrefirial Animals. 
 
 Now, as in this Inftance of the Beard of a wilde Oat^ we fee there is 
 nothing elfe requifite to make it wreath and unwrcath it felf, and to 
 ftreighten and bend its knee, then onely a little breath of moift or dry 
 Air, or a finall atome almofl: of water or liquor, and a little heat to make 
 it again evaporate 5 for, by holding this Beard, plac’d and fix’d as I be¬ 
 fore diredted, neer a Fire, and dipping the tip of a (mall fhred of Paper 
 in well redify’d fpirit of Wine, and then touching the wreath’d Cjflm- 
 drical part,you may perceive it to untwill: it lelf^ and prelently again,up^ 
 on the avolation of the fpirit, by the great heat, it will re-twill: it fel^ 
 and thus will it move forward and backwards as oft as you repeat the 
 touching it with the fpirit of Wine, lb may, perhaps, the Ihrinking and 
 relaxing of the mufcles be by the influx and evaporation of fome kind 
 of liquor or juice. But of this Enquiry I (hall add more ellewhere. 
 
 Obferv. XXVIII. Of the Seeds o/Venus looking-glafi^ or Corn 
 Violet. 
 
 F Rom the Leaves, and Downs, and Beards of PlantSjWe come at laft to 
 the Seeds ^ and here indeed feems to be the Cabinet of Nature,where- 
 in are laid up its Jewels. The providence of Nature about Vegetables,is in 
 no part manifefted more,then in the various contrivances about the feed, 
 nor indeed is there in any part of the Vegetable lb curious carvings, and 
 bcautifull adornments, as about the feed , this in the larger forts of feeds 
 is moft evident to the eye 5 nor is it lels manifcfl: through the Merofeope^ 
 in thofe feeds whofe fhape and lirudure, by realbn of their ImalneS, the 
 eye is hardly able to diftinguifh. * ' 
 
 Of thefe there arc multitudes, many of which I have obferv’d through 
 a Microfeope^ and find, that they do, for the moll part, every one afibrd 
 exceeding pleafant and beautifull objeds. For befides thbfethat have 
 various kinds of carv’d furfaces, there are other that have Imooth and 
 perfedly polilh’d lurfaces, others a downy hairy lurface 5-fomc* are 
 cover’d onely withalkin, others with a kind offhell, Others with both^ 
 as is obfervable alfo in greater feeds. = ■ - 
 
 Of thefe feeds I have onely delcribed four forts which may lerve as a 
 Specimen of what the inquifitive obfervers are likely to find among the 
 reft. The firft of thefe feeds which are deferibed in the 17. Scheme^ are 
 thofe'Of Corn-Violets, the leed is very fmall, black, and lining, and, to 
 the naked eye, looks almofl like-'a very Imall Flea, But through the 
 
 Mivrofcopc 
 


 V 
 
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 y' tablet 
 
 , ■ A 
 
 k* • . 
 
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 \ I 
 
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 •'- : '1 
 
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Sch cm. XVI! I 
 
 ■! 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 Mic rofiope^ it Jippears a large body, cover'd with a tough thick and bright 
 rcflcfting fkin very irregularly ihrunk and pitted, infomuch that it is al~ 
 moft an impoffibility to find two of them wrinkled alike, fo great a va¬ 
 riety may there be even in this little feed. ^ 
 
 This, though it appear’d one of the moft promifing ieeds for beauty to 
 the naked eye,yet through the Microfcope it appear’d but a rude miftiapen 
 feed, which I therefore drew, that I might thereby manifeft how unable 
 we are by the naked eye to judge of beauteous or lels curious microjcopi- 
 cal Objefts, cutting fome of them in funder, I oblerv’d them to be fiird, 
 with a greenifh yellow pulp, and to have a very thick hulk, in propor¬ 
 tion to the pulp* 
 
 Obferv. XXIX. Of the Seeds 
 
 T Hele pretty fruits hete reprefented, in the 18. Scheme^ are nothing 
 elfe^but nine feveral feeds of Tyme, they are all of them in differs 
 ing pofturejboth as to the eye and the light 5 nor are they all of them ex¬ 
 actly of the lame Ihdpe, there being a great variety both in the bulk and 
 figure of each feed 5 but they all agreed in this,that being look’d on with 
 a Microfcope^ they each of them exadtly relembled a Lemmon or Orange 
 dry’d, and this both in lhape and colour. Some of them are a little 
 rounder, of the fliape of an Orange, as A and B, they have each of 
 them a very confpicuous part by which they were join’d to their little 
 ftalk,and one of them had a little piece of ftalk remaining on 3 the oppd- 
 fitefide of the feed, you may perceive very plainly by the Figure,is very 
 copped and prominent, as is very ufual in Lemirions, which prominencies 
 are exprefs’d in D, E and F. ' . . r 
 
 They leem’d each of them a little creas'd or wrinckled, but E was 
 very conlpicuoully furrow’d, as if the inward make of this feed had been 
 fomewhat like that of a Lemmon alfo, but upon dividing leveral feeds 
 with a very lharp Pen-knife, and examining them ’ afterward, I found 
 their make to be in nothing but bulk differing from that of Peas,that is,to 
 have a pretty thick coat,and all the reft an indifterent white pulp, which 
 feem’d very dole 5 lb that it feems Nature does not very much alter her 
 method in the manner of inclofing and preferving the vital Principle in 
 the feed, in thefe very Imall grains, from that of Beans, Peas, €^r. ;, 
 
 The Grain affords a very pretty Objedt for the Microfcope^ namely, a 
 Difhof Lemmons plac’d in a very little room 3 IhouldaLemmonorNut 
 be proportionably magnify’d to vyhat this feed of Tyme is,it would make 
 it appear as bigg as a-large Hay-teekVand it would be no gteat wonder to 
 fee Homers Iliads^ and Homer and all, cramm’d into fuch a Nut-ftiell. We 
 may perceive even in thele Imall Grains, as well as in greater, how cmi'’ 
 ous and carefull Nature is in preferving the feminal principle of Vege- 
 table bodies, in what delicate, ftrong and moft convenient Cabinets Ihc 
 
 Y lays? 
 
MfCROGRAPHl A. 
 
 kys^th^tti and cldfcs th(?rti irt a |>ulp for their fa for prof edion out^ 
 
 ward dangers, and for the foppJy of convenient alimental juice, when 
 the heat of the Sun begins to animate and “move thefe little antamaum 
 or Engines 5 as if foe wouId,froni the ornaments wherewith foe has deckt 
 thefe Cabinets, hint to us^ that in them foe has laid up her Jewels 
 aM Mafter-pieces. And this, if we are but diligent in obferving, we 
 foall find her method throughout. There is no curiofity in the Elemental 
 kingdom, if I may fo call the bodies of Air, Water, Earth, that are com¬ 
 parable in form to thofe ofMinerals^ Air and Water having no format 
 all, unlefs a potentiality to be form’d into Globules 5 and the clods and 
 parcels of Earth are all irregular, whereas in Minerals foe does begin to 
 Geometrize^ and pradife, as ’twere, the firfl: principles of MechanicJ{Sy 
 foaping them of plain regular figures, as triangles, Iquarcs, &c, and te- 
 traedrons^ cubes, But none of their forms are comparable to the 
 more compounded >ones^of Vegetables, For here foe goes a ftep further, 
 forming them bothofmOfe complieated foapes, and adding alfo multi¬ 
 tudes of curious Mcchanick contrivances in their ftrudure^for whereas in 
 Vegetables there was no determinate number of the leaves or branches, 
 nor no exadly certain figure of leaves, or flowers,or feeds, in Animals all 
 thofe things are exadly defin’d and determin’d 5 and where-ever there 
 is cither an excels or defed of thofe determinate parts or limbsjthere has 
 been fortie impediment that has Ipoil’d the principle which was mod re¬ 
 gular .* Here we foall find, not onely mod curioufly compounded foapes, 
 but mod dupertdious Mechanilms and contrivances, here the ornaments 
 'arc in the highed perfedion, nothing in all the Vegetable kingdom that 
 is comparable to the deckings of a Peacock ^ nay,to the curiofity of any 
 feather, as I elfewhere foew 5 nor to that of the Imalled and mod dclpi- 
 cable Fly. But I mud not day on thefe Ipeculations, though perhaps it 
 were very well worth while for one that had leifure,to fee what Informa¬ 
 tion may be learn’d of the nature,or ufe,or virtues of bodies,by their feve- 
 ral forms and various excellencies and properties. Who knows but Adam 
 might from fome Inch contemplation, give names to all creatures? If at 
 lead his names had any fignificancy in them of the creature’s nature on 
 which he impos’d it 5 as many (upon what grounds I know not) have 
 llippos’d: And who knowsjbut the Creator may,in thofe charaders,haV€ 
 written and engraven many of his mod myderious defigns and counfels, 
 and given man a capacity, which, affided with diligence and kidudry^ 
 may be able to read and underdand them. But not to multiply my di- 
 grdfion more then I can the time^ 1 will proceed to the nextj^ which is, 
 
 ' Obfcrv* XXX. Of the &4<5&^Poppy. , , 
 
 ’He (mall feeds df Poppy, which are deferibed in the 19. Schtmt^ both 
 for' their Ihialnefe, multiplidty and pretmnes^, as allbfbr their ad- 
 lairable foporifick quality^ deferve to be taken notice of among the 
 
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M I c R OG R A P H i Ai 
 
 Other microfcopical feeds of Vegetables: For firft, though they grow in a 
 Cafe or Hive oftentimes bigger then one of thefe Figures of the micro- 
 y?c>/7r4/appearance3 yet are they for the moft part fo,yery little^ that they 
 exceed not the bulkofafmaIlNitt5being not above % part of an Inch in 
 Diameter, whereas the Diam.eter of the Hive of them oftentimes exceeds 
 ‘two IncheSjfb that it is capable of containing neer two hundred thoufand, 
 and fo in all likelihood does contain a vaft quantity, though perhaps not 
 that number. Next, for their prettinefs, they may be compar’d to any 
 microfcopical feed I have yet feen 5 for they are of a dark brownifh red 
 colour, curioufly Honey-comb’d all over with a very pretty variety of 
 Net-work, or a fmall kind of imbofment of very orderly rais’d ridges, 
 the furface of them looking not unlike the infide of a Beev’s ftomack. But 
 that which makes it moft confiderablc of all, is, the medicinal virtues of 
 it, which are fuch as are not afforded us by any Mineral preparation 5 and 
 that is for the procuring of deep, a thing as neceflary to the well-being 
 of a creature as his meat, and that which refrefhes both the voluntary 
 and rational faculties, which, whil’ff this affeftion has feis’d th€body,are 
 for the moff part unmov’d, and at reft. And, methinks. Nature docs 
 feem to hint fome very notable virtue or excellency in this Plant from the 
 CLiriofity it has beftow’d upon it. Firft, in its flower, it is of the higheft 
 fcarlet-Dye, which is indeed the prime and chiefeft colour, and has been 
 in all Ages of the world iHoft highly efteem’d ; Next, it has as much cu- 
 riofity fhew’d alfo in the hufk or cafe of the feed, as any one Plant I have 
 yet met withall 5 and thirdly, the very feeds themfelves, the Microjeope 
 difeovers to be very curioufly fhap’d bodies, and laftly. Nature has 
 taken fuch abundant care for the propagation of it, that one fingle feed 
 grown into a Plant, is capable of bringing fome hundred thoufands of 
 feeds. 
 
 It were very worthy fome able man’s enquiry whether the intention of 
 Nature, as to the fecundary end of Animal and Vegetable fubftances 
 might not be found out by fome fuch chara(fters and notable impreftions 
 as thefe, or from divers other circuraftances, as the figure, colour, place, 
 time of flourifhing, fpringing and fading, duration, tafte, fmell, For 
 if fuch there are (as an able Phyfician upon good grounds has given me 
 caufe to believe) we might then, infteed of ftudying Herbals (where fb 
 little is deliver’d of the virtues of a Plant, and left of truth) have re- 
 courfe to the Book of Nature it felf, and there find the moft natural, 
 ufefull, and moft cffeftual and fjDecifick Medicines, of which we have, 
 amongft Vegetables, two very noble Inftances to incourage fuch a hope, 
 the one of the Jefiite porvder for the cure of intermitting Feavers^diud the 
 other of the juice of Poppy for the curing the defe(ft of fleeping. 
 
 Y X 
 
 Obferv, 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 
 Obferv. XXXI. 0/Purflane-fccd. 
 
 T Hc Seeds of Furjlane (eem of very notable (hapes, appearing through 
 the Microfiepe fhap’d Ibmewhat like a nautilus or Vorcelane (hell^ as 
 may be feen in the XX. Scheme^ it being a (mall body^ coyl’d round in 
 the manner of a Spiral 5 at the greater end whereof,which reprclents the 
 mouth or orifice of the Shell, there is left a little white tranlparent (ub- 
 ftance, like a (kin, repreiented by B B B B, which (eems to have been the 
 place whereunto the ftem was join’d. The whole (urface of this Coclca 
 or Shell, is cover’d over with abundance of little prominencies or buttons 
 very orderly rang’d into Spiral rows, the (hape of each of which (eem’d 
 much to refemble a Wart upon a mans hand. The order, variety, and 
 curiofity in the (hape of this little feed, makes it a very plealant objedfe 
 for the Mij:roJc0pe^ one of them being cut afundcr with a very (harp Pen¬ 
 knife, difeover’d this carved Ca(ket to be of a brownilh red, and (bme- 
 what tranlparent fubftance, and manifefted the infide to be fill’d with a 
 whiti(h green fubftance or pulp, the Bed wherein the feminal principle 
 lies invelof d. 
 
 There are multitudes of other (eeds which in (hape rejprclent or imi¬ 
 tate the forms of divers other forts of Shells; as the (eed of Scurvy- 
 graf^ very much re(embles the make of a Concha Venerea^ix kind of Purce- 
 lane Shell, others reprefent fcveral forts of larger fruits, fweat Marje- 
 romeand Pot-marjerome repre(ent Olives. Garret feeds arehke a cleft: 
 of a Coco-Nut Hulk 5 others are like Artificial things, as Succory (eeds 
 are like a Quiver full of Arrows, the (eeds of Amaranthus are of an ex¬ 
 ceeding lovely (hape, (bmewhat like an Eye; The (kin of the black and 
 (hrivlcd feeds of Onyons and Lceks,are all over knobbed like a Seals (kin. 
 Sorrel has a pretty black ihining three-lquare feed,which is picked at both 
 ends with three ridges, that are bent the whole length of it. It were al- 
 moft endlels to reckon up the feveral fhapes,they are (b many and (b va¬ 
 rious ; Leaving them therefore to the curious ubferver, I (hall proceed to 
 theOblervations on the parts of Animals. 
 
 Obferv. XXXll. \0fthe Figure offeveralforts cf Hair, a/jJof 
 the texture cf the fkin, 
 
 V iewing (bme of the Hairs of my Head with a very good MicrofcopCy 
 I took notice of thefe particulars; 
 
 I. That they were, for the moft part. Cylindrical ^ (bme of them were 
 (bmewhat rr^^//f4/,but generally they were veryneer round,fuch as are 
 reprefented in the fecond Figure of the •y.Schemt^^j the Cylinders EE E. 
 nor could I find any that had (harp angules. 
 
 2. That 
 
M icrographia. 
 
 2. That that part which was next the topj was bigger then that which 
 was ncerer the root. 
 
 3* That they were all along from end to end tranfparent^ though not 
 very clectj the end next the root appearing like a black tranfparent pie(:e 
 of Horn, the end next the top more brownj fomewhat like tranfparent 
 
 Horn. 
 
 4. That the root bf the Hairs were pretty fmooth, tapering inwards, 
 almoft like a Parfneb, nor could I find that it had any filaments, or any 
 other veflels, luch as fibres of Plants. 
 
 5. That the top when fplit (which is common in long Hair) appear’d 
 like the end of a ftick, beaten till it be all flitter’d, there being not onely 
 two fplinters, but fometimes half a (bore and more; 
 
 6 . That they were all, as farr as I was able to find, fblid Cylindrical 
 bodies, not pervious, like a Cane or Bulrufh ^ nor could I find that they 
 had any Pith, or difi:in(Stion of Rind, of the like, fuch as I had obferv’d irt 
 Horfe-hairs, the Brillles of a Cat, ihe Indian Deer’s Hair, C^r. 
 
 Obfervations on fever al other forts cf Bzlr, 
 
 For the Brifles of a Hogg, I found them to be firft a hard tranlparenf 
 horny fubftance, without the lead appearance of pores or holes in it 5 and 
 this I try’d with the greateft care 1 was able, cutting many of them with a 
 Very (harp Razor, fb that they appear’d, even in the Glals, to have a pret¬ 
 ty fmooth fur face, but fomewhat waved by the fa wing to and fro of the 
 Razor, as is vifible in the end of the rrifmatical body A of the fame 
 Figure, and then making trials with caufing the light to be caft ontheni 
 all the various ways I could think of, that was likely to make the pores 
 appear, if thete had been any, I was not able to difebver any^ 
 
 Next, the Figure of the Brifles was very various, neither perfedly 
 round, nor fliarp edg’d, but Prifmatical^ with divers fides, and round 
 angles, as appears in the Figure A. The bending of them in any part 
 where they before appear'd eleer, would all flaw them, and make then! 
 look white* 
 
 TheMuftacheosofaCat (part of one of which is teprefented by the 
 (hort Cylinder B of the fame Figure) feem’d to have, all of them that I ob- 
 {erv‘d,a large pith in the middle, like the pith of an Elder, whofe texture 
 was fb dole, that I was not able to dilcover the leaft fign of pores, and 
 thole parts which leem to be pores,as they appear’d in one pofition to the 
 light, in another I could find a manifeft reflediom to be caft from them. 
 
 This I inftance injto hint that it is not fafe to conclude any thing to be 
 politively this or that, though it appear never lb plain and likely when 
 look’d on with a Mkrofiope in one pofture, before the fame be exaniin’d 
 by placing it in fcveral other politions. 
 
 And this I take to be the realbn why many have believed and aflerted 
 the Hairs of a man’s head to be hollow, and like lb niany fmall pipes per¬ 
 forated from end to end* 
 
 Now, though I grant that by an Analogic one may fuppofe them Ib^ 
 
 and 
 
1^8 Mi CROGRAHP I A. 
 
 and from the Volonian difeafe one may believe them fuch.yetl think we 
 have not the leaft encouragement to either from the Microfeope, much lels 
 pofitively to aflert them fuch. And perhaps the very cflence of the Phea 
 Tolontca may be the hairs growing hollow, and of an unnatural con- 
 ftitution. 
 
 And as for the Analogk^ though I am apt enough to think that the hairs 
 of leveral Animals may be perforated fomewhat like a Cane, or at leaft 
 have a kind of pith in them,firft,becaure they feem as ’twere a kind of Ve¬ 
 getable growing on an Animal, which growing,they lay, remains a long 
 while after the Animal is dead, and therefore Ihould like other Vege¬ 
 tables have a pith 3 and fecondly, becaufe Horns and Feathers, and Por¬ 
 cupine's Quils, and Cats Brides, and the long hairs of Horfes,which come 
 very neer the nature of a mans hair,reem all of them to have a kind of pith, 
 and fomc of them to be porousjyet I think it not (in thefe cafes, where we 
 have luch helps for the fenfe as the Microfeope affords) fafe concluding 
 or building on more then we fenfibly.know, lince we may,with exami¬ 
 ning, find that Nature does in the make of the fame kind of fubflance, 
 often vary her method in framing of it: Inftances enough to confirm this 
 we may find in the Horns of fevcral creatures; as what a vaff difference 
 is there between the Horns of an Oxe,and thofc of Ibme forts of Staggs 
 as to their fhape } and even in the hairs of feveral creatures, we find a 
 vaft difference 3 as the hair of a man’s head feems, as I faid before, long^ 
 Cylindrical and fometime a little Prifmatical^ folid or impervious, and 
 very fmall 3 the hair of an IndianDter (apart of the middle of which is 
 deforibed in the third Figure of the fifth Scheme^ marked with F) is big¬ 
 ger in compals through all the middle of it,then the Brille of an Hogg,but 
 the end of it is fmaller then the hair of any kind of Animal (as may be 
 feen by the Figure G) the whole belly of it, which is about two or three 
 Inches long, looks to the eye like a thread of courfo Canvals, that has 
 been newly unwreath’d, it being all wav’d or bended to and fro, much 
 after that manner, but through the A/icroJeope^ it appears all perforated 
 from fide to fide,and Spongic, like a fmall kind offpongy Coral, which is 
 often found upon the Englijh fhores 3 but though I cut it tranfverfly, I 
 could not perceive that it had any pores that ran the long-way of the 
 hair: the long hairs of Horfes C C and D, feem Cylindrical fomewhat 
 pithy 3 theBrillesof a Cat B, arc conical and pithy; the Quils of Por¬ 
 cupines and Hedghoggs, being cut tranfverlly, havea whitifh pith, in the 
 manner of a Starr,or Spur-rowel: Piggs-hair ('A) is fomewhat triagonal^ 
 and feems to have neither pith nor pore; And other kinds of hair have 
 quite a differing ftrudiure and form. And therefore I think it no way 
 agreeable to a true natural Hiftorian, to pretend to be fo (harp-fighted, 
 as to foe what a pre-conceiv’d Hypothejis tells them Ihould be there.where 
 another man, though perhaps as feeing, but not foreftall’d, can difoover 
 no luch matter. 
 
 But to proceed 3 I obforv’d fevcral kind of hairs that had been Dyed, 
 and found them to be a kind of horny Cylinder^ being of much about the 
 tranlparency of a pretty deer piece of Oxe horn 3 thefe appear’d quite 
 
 through- 
 
M i c R O G R A P H i A,i 
 
 throughout tang d with the colours the}^ exhibited. And. ’tb, l;lk.ely3tha;; 
 thofe haira.being boyl’d or fteep d in thofe very hot ting’d llq^uors. in thq.' 
 Dy e-fat, And the hibftance of the hair being much hke th^t of afl OjjC'Ci’ 
 Horn,, the^ penetrant liquor does fo fat moIlifiie,and fofte.n th,c, {ubftajgLCp^' 
 that it finks into the very center of it, and fo the tiog:d conie, to 
 mbed and united with the very body of the hahjanddo not (a^fonxe h;^y& 
 thought) only hick onupon the outward Ihrface. ^Andthhdtefejingc^ 
 Horn will make mote probable s for we fhall hnd % that a^dqn, that^e 
 water will infinuate it felf to a pretty depth withitt the fi^face, of it,* 
 efpecially if this penetrancy' of the water be m,uch. helped hjf/the. 
 that ate ulhally mix’d with the Dying liquors. Now.- whqre4s, $d]k,nw,y 
 be dyed .orting’d into all kind of colours without;' boding ^h dippj^ng ijn-| 
 to hot liquors, I ghefs the reafon.- to be two-fold: f iirftj becawfe the filg- 
 ments, ot fimll cylinders of Silk,, are abundantly foaUer and hnetj and (o 
 have a much lels depth to be penetrated then mofl kind of hahi*'. S and 
 next, becaufe the fubftance or matter ol Silk> is; iiouch more like a Glew 
 then the iubfiance of Hair is. And that I have teafon, to. Ihppofo; 
 Firft, becaufe when it is fpun or drawn out of foq Worm, it is a perfeft 
 glutinous fubftance, and very eafily flicks and cleaves to any adjacent 
 body, as I have feveral times obferved, both in $ilk-WQifnisand Slpiders, 
 Next, becaufe that I find that water does eafily difiolve and moJIifie the 
 fiibllance again, which is evident from their manner of ordering thole 
 bottoms or pods of the Silk-worm before they are able fa unwind thejm,.if 
 is no great wonder therefore,if tholeDye^ qr ting'd liquors do very quickr 
 Jy mollifie and tinge the furfaces of lo finall and fo gliiduons a.‘body. 
 And we need not wonder that the colours appear fo lovely fo the one^ 
 and lb dull in the other, if we view but the ting’d, cylfoder^ of both 
 kinds with a good Mi^rofcQp^ 5 for whereas the fubftanee of Htfoat befoi^ 
 but a dirty dufkilh white fomewhat tranfparqnt, the hlainents.of Silk have 
 a mod lovely tranlparency and cleernefi, the dj^rence between thole 
 two being not much lels then that between a piece of Horn, and a piece 
 of CryftaU the one yielding a bright and vivid reflexion from, the con¬ 
 cave fide of the cylinder^ that is, from the concave forfaCq of the Air 
 thatincompaflb the back-part of the cylinder 5 the other yielding a dull 
 and perturb’d reflcdlion from the feveral HeUtQgemom parts that comr 
 pofe it. And this difference will be manifefr.enough to the eye,if y ou get a 
 couple of finall Cylinders, the finaller ofCryfral Qlafs^the other of Horq, 
 and then varnilhing them over very thinly with fome trahfparcnt, colour, 
 which will reprefent to the naked eye much the:fame.kihd of objefc which 
 isreprefented to it from the filaments of Silk and Hair by the help of the 
 Murofiope, Now, fince the threads of Silk and S^rge are made up of a 
 great number of thefe filaments, we may henceforth ceafe to wonder at 
 the difference. From much the lame reafon proceeds the vivid,aitd love¬ 
 ly colours of Feathers, wherein they Very farr e?tceed the natural as well 
 as Artificial colours ofhair,of which I fhall fay more in its proper ^plape. 
 
 The Teguments indeed of creatures are all of them adapted to the pe^ 
 tuliar ufe and convenience of that Animal which they inwrap 3 and very 
 
 much 
 
M I C R O G R A P H I A. 
 
 much alfo for the ornament and beauty of it, as will be moft evident to 
 any one that fhall attentively confider the various kinds of cloathings 
 wherewith moft creatures are by Nature iavefted and cover’d. Thus I 
 have obferved, that the hair or furr of thofe Northern white Bears that 
 inhabite the colder Regions, is exceeding thick and warm : the like have 
 I obferv’d of the hair of a Greenland Deer, which being brought alive to 
 London^l had the opportunity of viewing 5 its hair was fo exceeding thick, 
 long and foft, that I could hardly with my hand, gralp or take hold of 
 his Ikin, and it feem’d fo exceeding warm, as I had never met with any 
 before. And asfortheornamentative ule of them, it is moft evident in a 
 multitude of creatures,not oncly for colour, as the Leopards, Cats,Rhein 
 Decr,C^c. but for the ftiapc, as in Horfcs manes, Cats beards,and fcveral 
 other of the greater fort of terrcftrial Animals, but is much more conlpi- 
 cuous, in the Veftments of Fifties, Birds, Infers, of which I ftiall by and 
 by give fome Inftances. 
 
 As for the (kin, the Alkrofcepe difoovers as great a difference between 
 the texture of thofe feveral kinds of Animals, as it docs between their 
 hairs, but all that I have yet taken notice of, when tann’d or drefs’d, are 
 of a Spongic nature, and (cem to be conftituted of an infinite company 
 of (mall long'fihres or hairs, which look not unlike a heap of Tow or 
 Okum 3 every of which fibres (ecm to have been fome part of a Mulcle, 
 and probably, whifftlthe Animal was alive, might have its diftinift fundi- 
 on, and Icrvc for the contradion and relaxation of the (kin, and for the 
 ftretching and (hrinking of it this or that way. 
 
 * And indeed, without (uch a kind of texture as this, which is very like 
 that of Spunk^^ it would feem very ftrange, how any body fo ftrong as the 
 (kin of an Animal uiually is, and fo clofc as it feems, whil’ft the Animal is 
 living, (hould be able to (uffer fo great an extenfion any ways, without at 
 all hurting or dilaccrating any part of it. But,fince we are inform’d by the 
 MicroJcopCy that it confifts of a great many (mall filaments, which are im¬ 
 plicated, or intangled one within another, almoft no otherwife then the 
 hairs in a lock of Wool, or the flakes in a heap of Tow, though not alto¬ 
 gether fo loofc 3 but the filaments arc here and there twifted,as twere,or 
 interwovenjond here and there they join and unite with one anothcr,fo as 
 indeed the whole (kin feems to be but one piecc,we need not much won- 
 dcr.’And though thefe fibres appear not through ai^/Vr^<?/>f,exadly joint¬ 
 ed and contex’d,as in Sponge 3 yet,as I formerly hinted, I am apt to think, 
 that could we find fome way of difoovering the texture of it, whil’ft it in¬ 
 verts the living Animal,or had fome very eafie way of (eparating the pulp 
 or intercurrent juices, fuch as in all probability fill thofe Interflitia^ with¬ 
 out dilacerating, brufing, or otherwife fpoiling the texture of it (as it 
 feems to be very much by the ways of tanning and drefiing now us’d) we 
 might difeover a much more curious texture then I have hitherto be^n 
 able to find 3 pcrhaps,fomewhat like that of Sponges. 
 
 * That o^chamoife Leather is indeed very much like that of Spun^^ lave 
 onely that the filaments (eem nothing neer fo even and round, nor alto¬ 
 gether fo (mall, nor has it fo curious joints as ^/>»» 4 has, fome of which I 
 
 have 
 
MicrogrAphi a. 
 
 have lately difcovcr’d like thofe of a Sponge, and perhaps all thele three 
 bodies may be of the fame kind offubfrance, though two of them indeed 
 are commonly accounted Vegetable (which, whether they be fo or 
 no, I (hall not now difpute) But this leerns common to all three, that 
 they undergo a tanning or dreffing, whereby the interfpers’d juices are 
 Wafted and walk’d away before the texture of them can be dilcover’d. 
 
 What their way is of dreffing, or curing Sponges, Iconfefs, I cannot 
 learn 5 but the way of drelfing is, by boiling it a good while in a 
 
 ftrong Lixivium^ and then beating it very well 5 and the manner of dref- 
 ling Leather is Efficiently known. ® 
 
 It were indeed extremely delirable, if fuch a way could be found 
 whereby the Paremh^ma or tlelh of the Mufdes, and feveral other 
 parts of the bod,ymight be walk’d, or wafted clean away,without vitia¬ 
 ting the form of x\\^fibrom parts or vefiells of it, for hereby the texture 
 of thofe parts, by the help of a good Mkrofeope^ might be moft accu¬ 
 rately found. 
 
 But to digrels no further, we may, from this dilcovery of the Micro- 
 fiopcy plainly enough underftand how the ffiin, though it looks fo dole 
 as it docs, comes to give a paftage to lb vaft a quantity of excrementitious 
 fubftances, as the diligent SauBorim has excellently obferved it to do, in 
 his mtduina jlatica 5 for it leems very probable, from the texture after 
 dreffingjthat there are an infinit of pores that every way pierce itjand that 
 thofe pores are onely fill’d with fome kind of juice, or fome very pulpy 
 foft fubftance, and thereby thefteamsmay almoft aseafily find a paftage 
 through luch a fluid vehicle as the vaporous bubbles which are generated 
 at the bottom of a Kettle of hot water do find a paftage through that 
 fluid medium into the ambient Air. 
 
 Nor is the Ikin of animals only thus perviouSjbut even thofe of vegetables 
 allb feem to be the lamefjfor otherwife I cannot conceive whyjiftwo Iprigs 
 of Rofemary (for Inftance) be taken as cxadly alike in all particulars as 
 can be, and the one be let with the bottom in a Glals of water, and the 
 other be let juft without the Glals,but in the Air onely, though you ftop 
 the lower end of that in the Air very carefully with Wax, yet lhall it 
 prefently almoft wither, whereas the other that feems to have a fupply 
 from the Eb jacent water by its fmall pipes, or microfcopical pores, pre- 
 lerves its greennefs for many days, and fometimes weeks. 
 
 Now, this to me, feems not likely to proceed from any other caufe then 
 the avolation of the juice through the Ikin^ for by the Wax,all thofe other 
 pores^'of the ftem are very firmly and dofely ftop’d up. And from the more 
 oriels porouEelsof the fkins or rinds of Vegetables may, perhaps, be 
 fbmewhat of the reaEn given, why they keep longer green, or fooner wix 
 ther, for we may obferve by the bladdering and craking of the leaves of 
 BaySjHolly, Laurel, that their Ikins are very cloE, and do not fuffer 
 fo free a paftage through them of the included juices* 
 
 But of this, and of the Experiment of the RoEmary, I lhall elEwhere 
 more fully confider,it Eeming t© me an extreme luciferous Experiment, 
 Ech as Eems indeed very plainly to prove the Schematifm or ftrudturd 
 
 Z of 
 
 i^i 
 
Ml CROGR AP HIA. 
 
 \ 
 
 of Vegetables altogether and as neceflary^ that (water and 
 
 warmth being apply’d to the bottom of the fprig of a Plant) fbme of it 
 fhould be carried upwards into the ftem, and thence diftributed into the 
 leaves^ as that the water of the Thames covering the bottom of the Mills 
 at the Bridge foot of London^ and by the ebbing and flowing of it, paf- 
 fling ftrongly by them, fhould have fbme part of it convey’d to the 
 Ccfterns above,and thence into feveral houfes and Cefterns up and down 
 the City. 
 
 Obferv. X X X11L Of the Scales (f a Soal, and other Fijhes. 
 
 H Aving hinted fbmewhat of the Ikin and covering of tcrreftrlal Ani¬ 
 mals, I (hall next add an Obfervation I made on the fkin and Scales 
 of a Soal^ a fmall Fifh, commonly enough known 5 and here in Fifties, as 
 well as other Animals, Nature follows its ufual method, framing all parts 
 fo, as that they are both ufefull and ornamental in all its compofures, 
 mingling utile and duke together, and both thefe defigns it feems to 
 follow,though our unaflifted fenfes are not able to peceive them: This is 
 not onely manifeft in the covering of this Fifh only, but in multitudes of 
 others,which it would be too long to enumerate,witnefs particularly that 
 fmall Sand Shell, which I mention’d in the X I. Obfervation, and infinite 
 other fmall Shells and Scales, divers of which I have view’d. This fkin I 
 view’d, was flead from a prettylarge Soal^ and then expanded and dry’d, 
 the infide of it, when dry, to the naked eye, look’d very like a piece of 
 Canvafs,but the Microfcope difcover’d that texture to be nothing elfe,but 
 the inner ends of thofc curious Scolop’d Scales I, I, I, in the fecond Figure 
 of the XXI. Scheme^ namely, the part of G G G G (of the larger repre- 
 fcntation of a Angle Scale, in the firft: Figure of the fame Scheme) which 
 on the back fide, through an ordinary Angle Magnifying Glafs, look’d 
 not unlike the Tyles on an houfe. 
 
 The outfide of it, to the naked eye, exhibited nothing more of orna¬ 
 ment, fave the ufiial order of ranging" the Scales into a triagonal 
 onely the edges feem’d a little to fhine, the finger being rubb’d from the 
 tail-wards towards the head, the Scales feera’d to flay and raze it 5 But 
 through an ordinaay Magnifying glafs, it exhibited a moft: curioufly 
 carved and adorned flirface, fuch as is vifible in the fecond Figure^ each 
 of thofe (formerly almoft imperceptible) Scales appearing much of the 
 fhape I, I, I5 that is, they were round, and protuberant, and fomewhat 
 fhap’d like a Scolop, the whole Scale being creas’d with curioufly wav’d 
 and indented ridges,with proportionable furrows between^each of which 
 was terminated with a very fharp tranfparent bony fubfcancejWhichjlike 
 fb many fmall 1 urnpikes, feem’d to arm the edges. 
 
 The back part K K K was the fkin into which each of thefe Scales 
 were very deeply fix^d, in the curious regular order, vifible in the fecond 
 
 Figure, 
 
\Scbem, 
 
 XKJ 
 
V> ; 
 
Schc in; 
 
M I C R O G R A P H i A. 
 
 Figure, The length and (hape of the part of the Seale which was buried 
 by the fkin^is evidenced by the firft Figure-^ which is the reprefentation of 
 one of them pluck'd out and view’4 through a good Microfeope^.mmc\y^ 
 the part L F G G F L, wherein is alfo more plainly to be feen^the manner 
 of carving of the fcclopt part of every particular ScalCjhow each ridge or, 
 barrEEE is alternately hollowed Or engraven, and how every gutter. 
 between them is terminated with very tranfparent and hard pointed' 
 fpikes, and how every other of thefe, as A A A A, are much longer;then 
 the interjacent ones, D D D. 
 
 The texture or form alfo of the hiddei^ part appears, namely,’th#., 
 middle part,G G G, Teems to conlid of a great number of fmall quills ’* 
 or pipes, by which, perhaps, the whole may be nourilhed 5 and the (ide 
 parts F F confift of a more fibrous texture^ though indeed the whole 
 Scale feem’d to be of a very tough grilly rubfl:ance,like the larger Scales 
 of other Fifhes. 
 
 The Scales of the fkin of a Dog-fifli (which is us'd by fuchas work in 
 Wood,for the fmoothing of their work,and confifts plainly enough tatbe 
 naked eye,of a great number offmall horny points)through the Microfeope '■ 
 appear'd each of them curioufly ridg’d, and very neatly carved 5 and in¬ 
 deed, you can hardly look on the fcales of any Fifh, but you may difeover 
 abundance ofeuriofity and beautifying^ and not only in thefe Fifhes,but in 
 the fhells and crufts or armour of moft forts of Marine Animals fb invefted. 
 
 Obferv. XXXI V, Oj.tht Sting of a.Bce, 
 
 T He Sting of a Bee^ delineated in the fecond Figure of the XVLSche/ne^ 
 feems to be a weapon of offence, and is as great an Inftance, that 
 Nature did realy intend revenge as any, and that firft, becaufc there 
 feems to be no other ufe of it. Secondly, by reafbh of its admirable fhape, 
 feerning to be purpofely fhap'd for that very end. Thirdly,from the vi- 
 ruicncy of the liquor it eje(fts, and tlie fad effeds'and fymptoms that fol¬ 
 low it. 
 
 But whatever be the ufe of itjCertain it is,that the ftrlidfure of it is very 
 admirable 5 what it appears to the naked eye, I need not deferibe, the 
 thing being known almoft to every one,but it appears through the Micro- 
 fiope, toconfiftof two parts, the one a fheath, without a chape or top, 
 fhap'd almoft like the Holftcr of a Piftol, beginning at and ending 
 at ^,this fheath I could moft plainly perceive to be hollow, and to con^ 
 tain in it, both a Sword or Dart, and the poifbnous liquor that cables the 
 pain. The fheath or cafe Teem d to have feveral joints or fettihgs together, 
 marked by fg hih^lmno^ it was arm'd moreover necr the topg wirhfd- 
 Veral crooks or forks (^p qrft^ow one fide, and ^pqr.ft »)e)n the other, 
 each of which Teem'd like To many Thorns growing on a briarj or Father 
 like fb many Cat's Claws 5 for the crooks themlelves Teem'd to be' little 
 fharp tranfparent points or claws^ growing out of little protuberanciejf on 
 
 Z 2 the 
 
1^4 
 
 Micrograhpia. 
 
 the fide of thefheath, which, by obferving the Figure diligently, is eafic 
 enough to be perceiv’d; and from feveral particulars, I fuppofe the Ani¬ 
 mal has a power of dilplaying them, and (hutting them in again as it 
 pleafes, as a Cat does its claws, or as an Adder or Viper can its teeth 
 or fangs. 
 
 ' The other part of the Sting was the Sword, as 1 may fo call it, which 
 is fheath’d, as it were,in it, the top of which a h appears quite through at 
 the (mailer end, juft as if the chape of the (heath of a Sword were loft, 
 and the end of it appear’d beyond the Scabbard 5 the end of this Dart('<i) 
 was very ftiarp, and it was ^rm’d likcwile with the like Tenterhooks or 
 claws with thofe of the (heath, (lich sls (v xy^ xy % z) thefe crooks, I am 
 very apt to think, can be clos’d up alfo, or laid flat to the (ides of the 
 Sword when it is drawn into the Scabbard,as I have (everal times oblerv’d 
 it to be, and can be (pred again or extended when ever the Animal 
 pleales. 
 
 • The confideration ofwhichVery pretty ftru6i:urc,has hinted to me,that 
 certainly the u(e of thefe claws (eems to be very confiderable, as to the 
 main end of this Inftrument, for the drawing in, and holding the fting in 
 the flefh ^ for the point being very (harp, the top of the Sting or Dagger 
 (4 b) is very eafily thriift into an Animal’s body,which being once entred, 
 the Bee, by endeavouring to pull it into the (heath, draws (by rcafon of 
 the crooks ( v xy ) and ( xyzz') which lay hold of the (kin on either 
 fide) the top of the (heath Jr v) into the (kin after it, and the crooks 
 ty and r, z;, being entred, when the Bee endeavours to thruft out the 
 top of the fting out of the (heath again, they lay hold of the (kin on ei¬ 
 ther fide, and (b not onely keep the (heath from (liding back, but helps 
 the top inwards, and thus, by an alternate and fucceflive retracing and 
 emitting of the Sting in and out of the (heath, the little enraged creature 
 by degrees makes his rcvcngfull weapon pierce the tougheft and thickeft 
 Hides of his enemies, in fo much that (bme few of thefe ftout and relb- 
 lute (bldiers with thefe little engines, do often put to flight a huge mafty 
 Bear, one of their deadly enemies, and thereby (hew the world how 
 much more confiderable in Warr a few (kilfull Engineers and re(blute 
 (bldiers politickly order’d, that know how to manage fuch engines, are, 
 then a vaft unweildy rude force, that confides in, and adls onely by, its 
 ftrength. But (to proceed) that he thus gets in his Sting into the (kin, 
 I conjefture, becaule, when I have obferv’d this creature living, I have 
 found it to move the Sting thus, to and fro, and thereby alfo, perhaps, 
 does, as ’twere, pump' or force out the poilbnous liquor, and make it 
 hang at the end of the (heath about b in z drop. The crooks, I (uppolc 
 al(b to be the caufe why the(e angry creatures, haftily removing them- 
 iclves from their revenge, do often leave thefe weapons behind them, 
 (heath’djcas ’twere, in the flefh, and, by that means, caufe the painfull 
 (ymptoms to be greater,and more lading,which are very probably caus’d, 
 partly by the piercing and tearing of the (kin by the Sting, but chiefly 
 byihe corrolive and poifonous liquor that is by this Syringe-pipe con¬ 
 vey’d among the fenfitive parts thereof and thereby more eaiily gnaws 
 
 and 
 
MiCROGRAPHiA. 
 
 and corrodes thofe tender fibres : As I have (hewed in the deferiptioh 
 of a Nettle and of Cowhage. 
 
 Obferv. XXXV. Of the contexture and Jhapeof the particles of 
 Feathers, 
 
 * - > 
 
 E xamining feveral forts of Feathers^ I took notice of thefe particulars 
 in all forts of wing-Feathers, efpecially in thofe which ferv’d for the 
 beating of the air in the adion of flying. 
 
 That the outward (urface of the Quill and Stem was ofa very hard,ftifi3 
 and horny fubltance, which is obvious enough, and that the part above 
 the Quill was fill d with a very white and light pith, and,with the Micros 
 jeope^ I found this pith to be nothing elfe, but a kind of natural congeries 
 of (mall bubbles,the films of which feem to be of thelame fubftance with 
 that of the Quill, that is, of a ftifftranfparent horny fubfiance. 
 
 Which particular feems to mCjVery worthy a more ferious confiderationy 
 For here we may obferve Nature,as ’twere,put to its (hifts, to make a fub- 
 ftance,which (hall be both light enough,and very fiiffand firong,without 
 varying fi om its own efiabli(h d principles, which we may oblerve to be 
 fuch, that very firong bodies are for the mofi part very heavie al(b, a 
 ftrength of the parts ulually requiring a denlity, and a denfity a gravity 3 
 and therefore (hould Nature have made a body (b broad and fo (trong as 
 a Feather, almofi, any other way then what it has taken, the gravity of it 
 mufi necefiarily have many times exceeded this 3 for this pith (eems to be 
 like fd many fiops or cro(s pieces in a long optical tube, which do very 
 much contribute to the ftrength of the whole, the pores of which were 
 fuch, as that theyfeem’d not to have any communication with one ano* 
 ther, as I have elfewhere hinted. 
 
 But the Mechanifm of Nature is ufually fo excellent, that one and the 
 fame fubftance is adapted to ferve for many ends. For the chief ufe of 
 this, indeed, feems to be for the (upply of nourifhraent to the downy or 
 feathery part of the fiem 3 for ’tis obvious enough in all forts of Feathers, 
 that *tis plac’d juft under the roots of the branches that grow out of ei¬ 
 ther fide of the quill or fialk, and is exaftly (hap’d according to the rank¬ 
 ing of thole branches, coming no lower into the quill, then juft the be- 
 ginning of the downy branches, and growing onely on the under fide of 
 of the quill where thole branches do fo. Now, in a ripe Feather (as one 
 may call it' it feems difficult to conceive how the Sueem nutritius fhould 
 be convey’d to this pith 3 for it cannot, I think, be well imagin’d to pals 
 through the lubftance of the quill, fince, having examin’d it with the 
 greateft diligence I was able, I could not find the leaf!: appearance of 
 pores 3 but he that (hall well examine an unripe or pinn’d Feather, will 
 plainly enough perceive the Veflel for the conveyance of it to be the thin 
 filmy pith (as tis call’d) which pafles through the middle of the quill. 
 
 As for the make and contexture of the Down it felf, it is indeed very 
 
 rare 
 
i66 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 rare and admirable, and fuch as I can hardly beUcve,that the like is to be 
 difcover’d in any other body in the world 5 for there is hardly a large 
 Feather in the wing of a Bird,but contains neer a million of diftindl: parts^ 
 and every one of them fhap’d in a molt regular & admirable foniijadapt- 
 ed to a particular Defign : For examining a middle ciz’d Goole-quill, I 
 eafily enough found with my naked eye^that the main ftem of it contain'd 
 about 300. longer and more Downy branchings upon one fide, and as 
 many on the other of more ftiff but fomewhat fhorter branchings. Many 
 of thefe long and downy branchings, examining with an ordinary iT//- 
 crofeope^ I found divers of them to contain neer 1200. fmall leaves (as I 
 may call them, llich as EF of the firft Figure of the 23. Scheme) and as 
 many flalks 5 on the other fide, luch as IK of the lame Figure, each of 
 the leaves or branchings, E F, feem’d to be divided into about fixteen or 
 eighteen fmall joints, as may be feen plainly enough in the Figure, out of 
 molt of which there leem to grow fmall long fibres^ luch as are exprels’d 
 in the Figure, each of them very proportionably lhap’d according to its 
 pofition,or plac’d on theftalk E F^ thole on the under fide of it, name- 
 ly, 15 2, 3,4, 5,6, 7,8,9, &c, being much longer then thofe dircftly op- 
 polite to them on the upper 5 and divers of them, fuch as 2,3,4,5,d,7,8,9j 
 d^c. were terminated with fmall crooks, much relembling thole Imall 
 crooks,which are vifible enough to the naked eye, in the leed-buttons of 
 Bur-docks. The ftalks likewife, IK on the other fide, leem’d divided into 
 neer as many fmall knotted joints,but without any appearance of firings 
 or crooks,each of them about the middle K,feem’d divided into two parts 
 by a kind of fork, one fide of which, namely, K L, was extended neer 
 the length of K I, the other, M, was very Ihort. 
 
 The tranlverle Sedtions of the Hems of thefe branchings, manifelled 
 the lhape or figure of it to be much like I N O E, which confilled of a 
 horny flein or covering, and a white feemingly frothy pith, much like the 
 make of the mainllemof a Feather. 
 
 The ule of this llrange kind of form,is indeed more admirable then alt 
 the reft, and fuch as delerves to be much more ferioully examin’d and 
 conlider’d, then I have hitherto found time or ability to do ^ for certain¬ 
 ly, it may very much inftrudl us in the nature of the Air, elpccially as to 
 Ibme properties of it. 
 
 ^ The ftems of the Downy branches IN O E, being rang’d in the order 
 vifible enough to the naked eye, at the diftance of I F, or fomewhat 
 more, the collateral ftalks and leaves (if I may lb call thole bodies I new:* 
 ly dclcribed) are fo rang’d, that the.leaves or hairy ftalks of the one fide 
 lie at top, or are incumbent on the ftalks of the other, and crols eacb ... 
 other, much after the manner exprels’d in the lecond Figure of the 
 2^. Scheme^ by which means every of thole little hooked fibres of the 
 leaved ftalk get between the naked ftalks, and the ftalks being full of 
 knots, and a prety way dif-join’d fo as that the fibres can eafily get be¬ 
 tween them, the two parts are lo clolely and admirably woven together, 
 that it is able to impedc,for the greateft pajrt, the tranlcurfion of the Air , 
 and though they are fo exceeding fmall, as that the thicknefs of one of 
 
 thele 
 
Sch cm: XXIL 
 
 
 ^ an. inch 
 

 : 
 
 
 ri 
 
 
 / 
 
 ’-'I 
 
 \ 
 
 / 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
M I C R d G k A P H I Ai 
 
 thcfe ftalks amounts not to a 500. part of an Inch, yet do they compo/e 
 fb ftrong a texture, notwithflanding the exceeding quick and violent 
 beating of themagainft the Air. by the ftrength of the Birdswing, they 
 firmly hold together. And it argues an admirable providence of Nature 
 in the contrivance and fabrick of them 5 for their texture is fuch, that 
 though by any external in jury the parts of them are violently dif-joyn’dj 
 lb as that the leaves and If alks touch not one another, and confequently 
 leveralof thefc rents would impede the Bird’s flying ^ yet, for the moft 
 part, of themfelves they readily re-join and re-contex themfclves,and ate 
 eafily by the Birds flroking the Feather, or drawing it through its Bill, all 
 of them fettled and woven into their former and natural poflure, for 
 there are fuch an infinite company of thofe fmall fibres in the under fide 
 of the leaves, and mofl: of them have fuch little crooks at their endsjthat 
 they readily catch and hold the Ifaiks they touch. 
 
 From which flrange contexturc,it feems rational to fiippofe that there 
 is a certain kind of mefli or hole fo fmall, that the Air will not very eafily 
 pafs through it, as I hinted alfb in the fixth Obfervation about fmall Glals 
 Canes, for otherwife it feems probable, that Nature would have drawn 
 over fomc kind of thin film which fhould have covered all thofe almofl: 
 Iquare mefhes or holes, there feeming through the Microfeope to be more 
 then half of the furface of the Feather which is open and vifibly pervi¬ 
 ous 5 which conjeifrure will yet feem more probable from the texture of 
 thebrufhie wings of the Tinea argentea^ or white Feather wing’d moth, 
 which I fliall anone deferibe. But Nature, that knows befi: its own laws, 
 and the fevcral properties of bodies,knows alfo bell: how to adapt and fit 
 them to her defigned ends,and whofo would know thofe properties, muft 
 endeavour to trace Nature in its working, and to fee what courfe fbe 
 obferves. And this I fuppofcwill be no inconfiderable advantage which 
 the Schematifms and Structures of Animate bodies will afford the dili¬ 
 gent enquirer, namely, mofl: fure and excellent inftrudions, both as to 
 the practical part of Mechanic^ and to the Theory and knowledge of the 
 nature of the bodies and motions. 
 
 Obferv. XXXVI. 0/Pcacoks, Ducks, and other'Pczthm of 
 changeable colours6 
 
 'T^He parts of the Feathers of this glorious Bird appear, through the 
 Microfeope^ no lels gaudy then do the whole Feathers 5 for, as to the 
 naked eye ’tis evident that the Item or quill of each Feather in the tail 
 lends out multitudes of Lateral branches, fuch as A B in the third Figure 
 of the 29. Scheme reprefents a fmall part of about ^ part of an Inch long, 
 and each of the lateral branches emit multitudes of little fprigs, threads 
 or hairs on either fide of them, fuch as C D, C D, C D, fo each of thofe 
 threads in the appears a large long bodyjConfifting of a multi- 
 
Micrograph I A. 
 
 tude of bright rcfieding parts, whofe Figure ’tis no cafie matter to de¬ 
 termine, as he that examines it (hall find 5 tor every new pofition of it to 
 the light makes it perfcdtly feem of another form and lhapejand nothing 
 what it appear’d a little before, nay, it appear’d very differing oft- 
 times from fo feemingly inconfiderable a circumftance, that the inter- 
 pofing of ones hand between the light and itjmakes a very great change, 
 and the opening or (hutting a Cafemcnt and the like, very much diverfi- 
 fies the appearance. And though, by examining the form of it very many 
 ways, which would be tedious here to enumerate, I fuppofe I have diP 
 cover’d the true Figure of it, yet oftentimes, upon looking on it in ano¬ 
 ther pofture, I have almoft thought my former obfervations deficient, 
 though indeed, upon further examination, I have found even thofe alfo 
 to confirm them. 
 
 Thefe threads therefore I find to be a congcrhs of finall Lamin£ or 
 plates, as e e e e e, 8cc. each of them fhap’d much like this oi ab c 
 the fourth Figure part a c being a ridge, prominency, orftcm, and 
 b and d the corners of two fmall thin Plates that grow unto the finall 
 ftalk in the middle,fo that they make a kind of little feathery each of thefe 
 Plates lie one clofe to another,almofi: like a company of Hoping ridge or 
 gutter Tyles^ they grow on each fide of the ftalk oppofite to one another, 
 by two and two, from top to bottom, in the manner cxprefs’d in the 
 fifth Figure, the tops of the lower covering the roots of the next above 
 them 5 the under fide of each of thefe laminated bodies, is of a very dark 
 and opacous fubftance, and luffers very few Rays to be trajeded, but re- 
 fleds them all toward that fide from whence they come, much like the 
 foil of a Looking-glafs, but their upper fides feem to me to confift of 
 a multitude of thin plated bodies, which are exceeding thin, and lie ve¬ 
 ry clofe together, and thereby, like mother of Pearl (hells, do not one-* 
 ly refled a very briik light, but tinge that light in a moft curious man¬ 
 ner 3 and by means of various pofitions, in refped of the light, they re¬ 
 fled back now one colour, and then another, and thofe moft vi¬ 
 vidly. ..j;. t 
 
 Now, that thefe colours are om\y fantajlical ones, that is, fuch as arife 
 immediately from the refradionsof the light, I found by this, that water 
 wetting thefe colour’d parts,dcftroy’d their colours,which feem’d to pro¬ 
 ceed from the alteration of the refledion and refradion. Now, .tfibiigh 
 I was not able to fee thofe hairs at all tranfparent by a common light, yet 
 by looking on them againft the Sun, I found them to be ting’d with a 
 darkifh red colour, nothing a-kin to the curious and lovely greensand 
 blues they exhibited. 
 
 What the realbn of colour feems to be in fuch thin plated bodies, I 
 have elfewhere (hewn. But how water caft upon thofe threads deftroys 
 their colours, I fuppofe to be perform’d thus. The water falling upon 
 thefe plated bodies from its having a greater congruity to Feathers then 
 the Air,in(inuates it felf between thofe PlateSjand (b extrudes theftrong 
 refieding Air, whence both thefe parts grow more tranfparentjas the Mi~ 
 crojeope informs, and colourlefs alio, at beft retaining a very faint and 
 
 dull 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 dull colour. But this wet being wafted away by the continual evapora¬ 
 tions and fteams that pals through them from the Peacock, whifft that 
 Bird is yet alive, the colours again appear in their former lufter, the/«* 
 terjiitia of thele Plates being fill’d with the ftrongly reflefting Air. 
 
 The beauteous and vivid colours ofthe Feathers of this Bird, being 
 found to proceed from the curious and exceeding ftnalnels and fineneS 
 of the refleifting parts,we have here the realbn given us of all thole gau- 
 deries in the apparel of other Birds allb, and hov/ they come to exceed 
 the colours of all other kinds of Animals, bcfideslnfefts^ for finee(as we 
 here.and elfewhere alfo Ihcw) the vividnefs of a colour, depends upon 
 the finenels and tranfpjrency of the refleding and refrading parts 5 and 
 fincc our Microfcepe difcovers to us, that the component parts of feathers 
 are luch,and that the hairs of Animals are otherwile, and fince we find 
 alfo by the Experiment of that Noble and moft Excellent Perlbn I former¬ 
 ly named 5 that the difference between Silk and Flax, as to its colour^ is 
 nothing elfe (for Flax reduc’d to a very great finenels of parts, both 
 white and colour’d, appears as white and as vivid as any Silk, butloles 
 that brightnefs and its Silken alpedf as loon as it is twifted into threadjby 
 realbn that the component parts, though very Imall and fine, are yet pli¬ 
 able flakes, and not cylinders, and thence,by twifting, become united in¬ 
 to one opacous body, whereas the threads of Silk and Feathers retain 
 their luftre, by preferving their cylindrical form intire without mix¬ 
 ings fo that each refleded and refraded beam that compofes thegloli 
 of Silk, preferves its own property of modulating the light intire) ^ And 
 fince we find the fame confirm’d by many other Experiments ellewhcre 
 mentioned, I think we may fafely conclude this for an Axiome, that 
 wherefoever we meet with tranfparent bodies, Ipun out into very fine 
 parts, either deer, or any ways ting’d, the colours refulting from luch a 
 compojition muft neceftarily be very glorious, vivid, and deer, like thole 
 of Silk and Feathers. This may perhaps hint Ibme ulefull way of making 
 other bodies, befides Silk, be fufceptible of bright tindures, but of this 
 onely by the by. 
 
 The changeable colour’d Feathers allb of Ducks, and leveral other 
 Birds, I have found by examination with my Microfeope^ to proceed from 
 much the fame caules and textures. 
 
 Obferv. XXXVII. Of and fevered other 
 
 fefts. 
 
 T He foot of a Fly (delineated in thefirft Figure ofthe 2:^, Scheme, 
 which reprefents three joints, the two Tallons, and the two Pattens 
 in a flat pofture 5 and in the fecond Figure of the fame Scheme^ which re- 
 prelents onely one joint, the Tallons and Pattens in another pofture) is 
 of a moft admirable and curious contrivance, for by this the Flies are in- 
 abled to walk againft the fides of Glals, perpendicularly upwards, and to 
 
 A a contain 
 
170 
 
 Micrographi a. 
 
 contain themfelves in that pofture as long as they pleafe^nay^to walk and 
 fufpend themfelvcs againft the under furface of many bodies^as the ceiling 
 of a room, or the like, and this with as great a feeming facility and firm- 
 nels, as if they were a kind Antipodes^ and had a tendency upwards, as 
 we are fure they have the contrary, which they alfo evidently difcover, 
 in that they cannot make themfeives fo light, as to ftick or fufpend them- 
 felves on the under furface of a Glafs well polilh’d and cleans’d 5 their 
 fiifpenfion therefore is wholly to be afcrib’d to fome Mechanical contri¬ 
 vance in their feet, which, what it is, we fhall in brief explain, by (hew¬ 
 ing, that its Mechanhin confifts principally in two parts, that is, firft its 
 two ClawSj'or Tallons, and fecondly, two Palms, fattens, or Soles. 
 
 The two Tallons are very large, in proportion to the foot, and hand- 
 fbmly (hap’d in the manner defcrib’d in the Figures^ by A B, and A C, 
 the bigger part of them from A todd^ is all hairy, or brilled, but to¬ 
 ward the top, at C and B fmooth, the tops or points, which feem very 
 (harp turning downwards and inwards, are each of them mov’d on a joint 
 at A, by which the Fly is able to open or (hut them at pleafure, (b that 
 the points B and C being entered in any pores, and the Fly endeavouring 
 to (hut them,the Claws not onely draw one againft another,and (b faften 
 each other, but they draw the whole foot, G G A D D forward, fo that 
 on a (bft footing, the tenters or points G G G G, (whereof a Fly has about 
 ten in each foot, to wit,twoin every joint) run into the poresjif they find 
 any, or at lead: make their way ^ and this is fenfible to the naked eye, in 
 the feet of a Chafer^ which, if he be fuffer’d to creep over the hand,^ or 
 any other part of the (kin of ones body, does make his fteps as fenfible to 
 the touch as the fight. y 
 
 But this contrivance,as it often fails the Chafer^ when he walks on hard 
 and clofe bodies, fo would it alfo our Fly, though he be a much lefler, 
 and nimbler creature, and therefore Nature has furnifh’d his foot with 
 another additament much more curious and admirable, and that is, with 
 a couple of Palms, Pattens or Soles D D, the flrudture^f which is this: 
 
 From the bottom or under part of the lafi: joint of his foot, K, arile 
 two fmall thin plated horny (ubftances, each confiding oftwo flat pieces, 
 D D, which feem to be flexiblojlike the covers of a Book, about F F, by 
 which means,the plains of the two (ides E E,(do not always lie in the lame 
 plain, but may be fometimes (hut clofer, and fo each of them may take a 
 little hold themfeives on abody^ but that is not al],for the under (ides of 
 thefe Soles are all befet with (mall brides, or tenters, like the.Wire teeth 
 ofaCardul'ed for working Wool, the points of all which tend for¬ 
 wards, hence the two Tallons drawing the feet forwards, as I before 
 hinted, and thefe being applied to the furface of the body with all the 
 points looking the contrary way, that is, forwards and outwards, if there 
 be any irregularity or yielding in the fiirface of the body, the Fly fu- 
 fpends it felfvery firmly and cafily,without the accels or need of any fuch 
 Sponges fill’d with an imaginary as many have, for want of good 
 
 Glafles, perhaps, or a troublefome and diligent examination, fuppos’d. 
 
 Now, that the Fly is able to walk on Glafs, proceeds partly from fome 
 
 ruggednels 
 
T^T 
 
 4 
 
 Microgkaphia. 
 
 ruggednelsof thefurface: and chiefly from a kind of tarnifli, or dirty 
 Imoaky fubftance, which adheres to the furface of that very hard body 5 
 and though the pointed parts cannot penetrate the fubftanccofGla^^yet 
 may they find pores enough in the tarnifli, or at leaftmake them. 
 
 This Strudure I fomewhat the more diligently fijrvey’d-, becaule I 
 could not well comprehend^ how, if there were luch a glutinous matter 
 in thofic fuppofed Sponges, as moil (that have ,obferv’d that Ob/cd in a 
 Microjcvpe) have hitherto belicv’d^how^ I fay^ the Fly could fo readily un*- 
 glew and loofen its feet; and, becaufc I have not found any other crea¬ 
 ture to have a contrivance any ways like it 5 and chiefly, that we might 
 not be caflupon unintelligible explications of of Nature, 
 
 at leafl: others then the true ones, where our fenfes were able to furnifli 
 us with an intelligible, rationall and true one. ' ’ 
 
 Somewhat a like contrivance to this of Flies fhall we find in mofl other 
 Animals, fuch as all kinds of Flies and caie-wing'd creatures 5 nay, in a 
 Flea, an Animal abundantly fmaller then this Fly. Other creatures, as 
 Mites, the Land-Crab, have onely one fmall very fliarp Tallon 
 at the end of each of their legs, which all drawing towards the center or 
 middle of their body, inable thefe exceeding light bodies to fufpend and 
 faflen thcmfelves to almofl: any furface. 
 
 Which how they are able to do, will not feem flrange, if we confider, 
 firft, how little body there is in one of thefe creatures compar’d to their 
 fiiperficies, or outfidcjtheir thicknefs, perhaps, oftentimes,not amounting 
 to the hundredth part of an Inch: Next, the flrength and agility of thefe 
 creatures compar’d* to their bulk, being, proportionable to their bulk, 
 perhaps, an hundred times frronger then an Horfe or Man. And thirdly, 
 if we confider that Nature does always appropriate the inffruments, fb 
 as they are the mofl: fit and convenient to perform their offices, and the 
 mofl Ample and plain that poflibly can be 5 this we may fee further veri- 
 fy’d alfb in the foot of a Louie which is very much differing from thofel 
 have been deferibing, but more convenient and neceflary for the place 
 of its habitation, each of his leggs being footed with a couple of fmalf 
 claws which be can open or fhut at pleaftu e, fhap’d almofl like the claws 
 of aLobfler or Crab,but with appropriated contrivances for his peculiar 
 ufe, which being to move its body to and fro upon the hairs of the crea¬ 
 ture it inhabits, Nature has furnilh’d one of its claws with joints, almofl 
 like the joints of a man s fingers, fb as thereby it is able to encompafs or 
 grafp a hair as firmly as a man can a flick or rope. 
 
 Nor, is there a Icfs admirable and wonderfull Mechanifm in the foot 
 of a Spider, whereby he is able to fpin, weave, and climb, or run on his 
 curious ftranfparent clew, of which I fhall fay more in the defeription of 
 that Animal. 
 
 And to conclude, we fhall in all things find, that Nature does not 
 onely work Mechanically, but by fuch excellent and mofl compendi¬ 
 ous, as well as flupendious contrivances, that it were impoffible for all 
 the reafbn in the world to find out any contrivance to do the fame thing 
 that fhould have more convenient properties. And can any be fo fottifh, 
 
 A a 2 as 
 
 \ 
 
172 
 
 M I C R O G R A P H I A. 
 
 as to think all thofe things the productions of chance? Certainly, ci¬ 
 ther their Ratiocination muft be extremely depraved,or they did never 
 attentively confider and contemplate the Works of the Al-mighty. 
 
 Obferv. XXXVIIL Of the StruHure and motion of the Wings 
 ^Flics, 
 
 '^He Wings of all kinds of InfeCts, are j for the moft part, very 
 beaiitifull ObjeCts, and afford no lefs pleafing an ObjeCl to the mind 
 to (peculate upon,then to the eye to behold. This oftheblueFly,among 
 the reft, wants not its peculiar ornaments and contrivances 5 it grows 
 out of the Thorax^ or middle part of the body of a Fly, and is feated a 
 little beyond the center of gravity in the body towards the head, but 
 that Excentricly is curioufly balanc’d 5 firft, by the expanded Area ofthc 
 wings which lies all more backwards then the root, by the motion of 
 them,whcreby the center of their vibration is much more backwards to¬ 
 wards the tail of the Fly then the root of the wing is. What the vibra- 
 tive motion of the wings is, and after what manner they are moved, I 
 have endeavoured by many trials to find out: And for the firft manner 
 oftheir motion, I endeavoured to obferve feveral of thofe kindoffmall 
 Ipinning Flies, which will naturally fufpend thcmfelves, as it wer£, pois’d 
 and fteady in one place of the air, without rifing or falling, or moving 
 forwards or backwards, for by looking down on thofe, I could by a kind 
 of faint fhadow, perceive the utmoft extremes of the vibrative moti¬ 
 on of their wings, which fhadow, whil’ft they fb endeavoured to fufpend 
 themfelves, was not very long, but when they endeavour’d to fiie fbr- 
 wards,it was fomewhat longer, next,! tried jt,by fixing the leggs of a Fly 
 upon the top of the ftalkof a feather, with Clew, Wax, d^c, and then 
 making it endeavour to flie away 5 for being thereby able to view it in 
 any pofture, I collected that the motion of the wing was after this man¬ 
 ner. 1 he extreme limits of the vibrations were ufually fomewhat about 
 the length of the body diftant from one another, oftentimes ftiorter,and 
 fometimes alfb longer ^ that the formoft limit was ufually a little above 
 the back,and the hinder fomwhat beneath the belly 5 between which' two 
 limits, if one may ghefs by the found, the wing feem’d to be mov’d for¬ 
 wards and backwards with an equal velocity: And if one may (from the 
 fhadow or faint reprefentation the wings afforded, and from the'cbnfide- 
 ration of the nature of the thing ) ghefs at the pofture or mafiner 
 of the wings moving betweeen them,it feem’d to be this; The wing 
 being fuppos’d placed in the upmoft limit, feems to be put fo that the 
 plain of it lies almoft horizontal^ but onely the forepart does dip a little, 
 or is fomewhat more depreft^ in this pofition is the wing.vibrated 
 or mov’d to the lower limit, being almoft arrived at'the dower li¬ 
 mit , the hinder part of the wing moving fomewhat fafter then the 
 
 former. 
 
Micrograph! A. 
 
 formcij the Area of the wing begins to dip behind, and in that poflure 
 feems it to be mov’d to the upper limit back again, and thence back 
 again in the firfl: pofturcjthe former part of the Area dipping again,as it is 
 moved downwards by means of the quicker motion of the main ftem 
 which terminates or edges the forepart of the wing. And thefe vibrati¬ 
 ons or motions to and fro between the two limits feem fo fwift, that ’tis 
 very probable (from the found it affords, if it be compar'd with the vi¬ 
 bration of a muiical firing, tun’d unifon to it) it makes many hundreds, 
 if not fbme thoufands of vibrations in a fecond minute of time. And, if 
 we may be allow’d to ghels by the found, the wing of a Bee is yet more 
 fwift, for the tone is mnch more acute, and that, in all likelihood, pro¬ 
 ceeds from the exceeding fwift beating of the air by the fmall wing. 
 And it feems the more likely too, becaufe the wing of a Bee is lefs in pro 
 portion to its body,then the other wing to the body of a Fly 5 fo that for 
 ought I know, it may be one of the quickcfl V\hv 2 i.tmgjpof 7 taneoHs moti¬ 
 ons of any in the world 5 and though perhaps there may be many Flies in 
 other places that afford a yet more fhrill noife with their wings, yet ’tis 
 moft probable that the quickeft V\hx'AX\ugjpontaneous motion is to be 
 found in the wing of fbme creature. Now, if we confider the exceeding 
 qiwcknefs of thefe Animal fpirits that muff caufe thele motions, we cannot 
 chufe but admire the exceeding vividnels of the governing faculty or 
 Anima of the Infed, whioh is able to difpofe and regulate fo the the mo¬ 
 tive faculties, as to caufe every peculiar organ, not onely to move or adl 
 fo quick, but to do it allb fo regularly. 
 
 Whiffi: I was examining and confidering the curious Mechamfm of the 
 wings, I oblerv’d that under the wings of moft kind of Flies, Bees, 
 there were plac’d certain pendulums or extended drops (as I may fo call 
 them from their relembling motion and figure) for they much refembled 
 a long hanging drop of fome tranfparent vifeous liquor 5 and I oblerved 
 them conftantly to move juft before the wings of the Fly began to move, 
 fb that at the firft fight I could not but ghefs, that there was fome excel¬ 
 lent ufe^ as to the regulation of the motion of the wing, and didphancy, 
 that it might be fbmething like the handle of a Cock, which by vibra¬ 
 ting to and fro,might,as ’twere-open and fhut the Cock,and thereby give 
 a paflage to the determinate influences into the Mufcles 3 afterwardsjUp- 
 on fome other trials,! fuppos’d that they might be for fome ufc in refpira- 
 tion, which for many reafons I fuppofe thofe Animals to ufe, and, me 
 thought, it was not very improbable, but that they might have conve¬ 
 nient paflages under the wings for the emitting, atleaft,of the air, if not 
 admitting, as in the gills of Filhes is moft evident 3 or, perhaps, this Ten- 
 dulum might be Ibmewhat like the ftaff to a Pump, whereby theft crea¬ 
 tures might exercift their Analogus lungs, and not only draw in, but force 
 out,the air they live by; but thefe were but conjedurcs,and upon further 
 examination feem’d left probable. 
 
 The fabrick of the wing,as it appears through a moderately magnify¬ 
 ing M^crofiope to be a body confifting of two parts,as is vifible in the 
 
 /^.Figure of the 2'^,Sehsme'^2ind by the ^.Figure of the 26.Scheme'-) the one is 
 
 a quilly 
 
 173 
 
174 
 
 Micrograhpia. 
 
 a quilly or finny fubftancCjConfifting of feveral long^flender and varloufly . 
 bended quills or wires^ fomething refembling the veins of leaves > thele 
 are, as "twerCjthe finns or quills which ftiffen the whole ylrea^ and keep 
 the other part diftended, which is a very thin tranfparent Ikin or mem¬ 
 brane varioufly folded, and platted, but not very regularly^ and is be- 
 fides exceeding thickly beftuck with innumerable fmall brides, which 
 are onely perceptible by the bigger magnifying Mkrofeope^ and not 
 with that neither, but with a very convenient augmentation of fky- 
 light projected on the Objeft with a burning Glafs, as I have clfewhere 
 fhew d, or by looking through it againd: the light. 
 
 In deed of thefe fmall hairs, in feveral other Flies, there are infinite of 
 fmall Feathers, which cover both the under and upper fides of this thin 
 film as in almod all the forts of Butterflies and Moths: and thofo fmall parts 
 are not onely fhap’d very much like the feathers of Birds, but like thofo 
 variegated with all the variety of curious bright and vivid colours ima¬ 
 ginable 5 and thofo feathers arc likewifo fo admirably and delicately 
 rang’d,as to compofe very fine flourifhings and ornamental paintingSjlike 
 Turkie and Ferjian Carpets,but of far more furpafling beauty, as is evident 
 enough to the naked eye, in the painted wings of Butterflies, but much 
 more through an ordinary Microfeope. 
 
 Intermingled likewifo with thefo hairs, may be perceived multitudes 
 of little pits, or black lpots,in the exended membrane, which feemto be 
 the root of the hairs that grow on the other fide 5 thefo two bodies feem 
 difpers’d over the whole furface of the wing. 
 
 The hairs are befl: perceiv’d, by looking through it againfl: the light, 
 or, by laying the wing upon a very white piece of Paper, in a conve¬ 
 nient light, for thereby every little hair moft manifeftly appears 5 a 
 Specimenlo^ which you may obforve drawn in the fourth Figure of 
 the 2^, Scheme^ AB, CD, EF whereof reprefent fome parts of the 
 bones or quills of the wing, each of which you may perceive to be 
 cover’d] over with a multitude of feales, or brifles, the former A B, 
 is the biggefl: ftem of all the wing, and may be properly enough call’d 
 the cut-air, it being that which terminates and ftiffens the formofl: edge 
 of the wing ^ the fore-edge of this is arm’d v/ith a rriultitude of little 
 brifles, or Tenter-hooks, in fome flanding regular and in order, in 
 others not 3 all the points of which are direded from the body to¬ 
 wards the tip of the wing», nor is this edge onely thus fring’d, but 
 even all the whole edge of the wing is cover’d with a fmall fringe, 
 confiding of Ihort and more flender brifles. ■ . 
 
 This Subjefd, had I time, would afford excellent matter for the con¬ 
 templation of the nature of wings and of flying 3 but, becaufe Fmay, 
 perhaps, get a more convenient time to profecute that fpeculation, and 
 recoiled feveral Obfervations that I have made of that particular. I fhall 
 at prefent proceed to 
 
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Obfcrv. ‘ X X X1 X. Of the Eyes and'Hett'd'of a ‘Gre^^'drOhe^Flyy 
 and offeveral other creatures. 
 
 i 
 
 I took a large grey that had a largejheadj lauta finall and 
 
 llender body in proportion to it.^and eutting’off its head^ I fix’d Jt with 
 the forepart or face upwards upon my Objeft Plate ,(this. l .made choice' 
 ofrather then the head ofa great blue Fly^bpciaufe my enquiry being.noWf 
 about the eyesj found this Fly to have^ firft the biggefl: clufters of eyes, 
 in proportion to his head, of any (mall kind of Fly that I have yet (ecn, it 
 bcingjornewhat inclining towards the make of the \2LXgQ Dragon-Flies. 
 Next, becaufe there is a greatep variety in the^. knobs or balls of each 
 clufferjthen is of any fmall Fly) Then examining it according to my, ufual 
 manner, by varying the degrees of light, and altering its polition .to each 
 kinde of light, I drew that reprefentation of it which is delineated in 
 the 'i\. Scheme^ and found thefe things to be as plain and evident, as 
 notable and pleafant. - 
 
 Firf^ that the greatefi: part of the face,tiay,of the head, was nothing ehc 
 but two large and pr^;^«^en//?/Ftinches,orpri?w/»e^/partS5A B C D E Ajthe 
 furface of each of which was all cover’d over, or fhap’d into a multitude 
 of finall Hen/iJpheres^Tpl^c d in a triagonal order^that being the clofeft and 
 moft compared, and in that order, rang’d over the whole furfaceof the 
 eye in very lovely rows^between each of which, as isneceflary, were left 
 long and regular trenches, the bottoms of every of which, were perfeftly 
 intire,and not at all perforated or drill’d through, which I moft cer.tainly 
 was aflured of, by the regularly rehedfed Image of certain Objefts which 
 I mov’d to and fro between the head and the light. And by examining 
 the Cornea or outward fkin, after I had ftript it off from the feveral fub- 
 ftances that lay within it,and by looking both upon the infide and againft 
 the light. 
 
 Fiext^ that of thofe multitudes of Hemijphcres^ there were obfervable 
 two degrees of bignefs, the half of them that were lowcrmoft,and look’d 
 toward the ground or their own leggs, namely, C D E, C D E being a 
 pretty deal fmaller then the other, namely, A B C E, A B C E, that look’d 
 upward, and fide-waySjOr foreright,and backward, which variety I have 
 not found in any other fmall Fly. 
 
 Thirdly^ that every one of thefe Hemijpheresyis they feem’d to be pret¬ 
 ty neer the true ftiape of a Hen/ijphere^ fo was the furface exceeding 
 fmooth and regular, refledfing as exadt, regular, and perfedt an Image of 
 any Objedt from the furface of them, as a fmall Ball of Quick-filver of 
 that bignefs would do, but nothing neer fb vivid, the refiedfion from thefe 
 being very languid, much like the refiedfion from the outfide of Water, 
 Glafs, Cryftal, d^c. In fb much that in each of thdh Hemijpheres^l have 
 been able to difeover a Land-fcape of thofe things which lay before my 
 
 \vindow. 
 
M 1 C R O G R A P H I A. 
 
 window, one thing of which was a large Tree, whofe trunk and top i 
 could plainly difcover, as I could alfo the parts of my window, and my 
 hand and fingers, if I held it between the Window and the Objeft^ a 
 finall draught of nineteen of which, as they appear’d in the bigger Mag- 
 nifying-glafs to rcfled the Image of the two windows of my Chamber, 
 are delineated in the third Figure of the 23. Scheme, 
 
 Fourthly^ that thefe rows were fo difpos’d, that there was no quarter 
 vifible from his head that there was notTome of thefe Hemijpheres direded 
 againft 5 fo that a Fly may be truly laid to have au eye every way^ and to 
 be really circumjpeB, And it was further obfervable, that that way where 
 the trunk of his body did hinder his profpeft backward, thefe protube¬ 
 rances were elevated, as it were, above the plain of his fhoulders arid 
 back, fb that he was able to fee backwards alfo over his back. 
 
 Fifthly^ in living Flies, I have obferv’d, that when any fmall mote or 
 duft:,which hies up and down the air, chances to light upon any part of 
 thefe knobs, as it is lure to ftick firmly to it and not fall, though through 
 the Microjcope it appears like a large ftone or ftick (which one would ad- 
 mire,efpecially fince it is no ways probable that there is any wet or gluti¬ 
 nous matter upon thefe HemijpheresJout I hope I fhall render the realon in 
 another place) fo the Fly prefently makes ufe of his two fore-feet in ftead 
 of eye-lids, with which, as with two Brooms or Brufhes, they being 
 all beftuck with Brifles, he often fweeps or brulhcs off what ever hinders 
 the prolpcft of any of his Hemijpheres^ and then, to free his leggs from 
 that dirt,he rubs them one againft another,the pointed Briftes or Tenters 
 of which looking both one way, the rubbing of them to and fro one 
 againft another, docs cleanfo them in the fame manner as I have obferv’d 
 thofe that Card Wool, to cleanfe their Cards, by placing their Cards, fo 
 as the teeth of both look the fame wayjand then rubbing them one againft 
 another. In the very fame manner do they brufh and cleanfc their bodies 
 and wings, as 1 fhall by and by fhew 5 other creatures have other contri¬ 
 vances for the cleanfing and cleering their eyes. 
 
 Sixthly^ that the number of the Vearls or Hemijpheres in the clufters 
 of this Fly, wasneer 14000. which I judged by numbering certain rows 
 of them feveral ways, and cafting up the whole content, accounting 
 each clufter to contain about feven thoufand Pearls, three thou fand 
 of which were of a cize, and confequently the rows not fo thick, and 
 the foure thoufand I accounted to be the number of the fmaller Pearls 
 next the feet and probofeis. Other Animals I obforv’d to have yet a 
 greater number, as the Dragon-Fly or Adderbolt : And others to have a 
 much left company, as an Ant^ &;c. and feveral other fmall Flics and 
 Infers. 
 
 Seventhly the order of thefe eies or Hemijpheres was altogether curi¬ 
 
 ous and admirabk,they being plac’d inallkind of Flies,and aerial 
 in a moft curious and regular ordination of triangular rows, in which or¬ 
 der they arc rang’d the neereft together that pofiibly they can, and con¬ 
 fequently leave the leaft pits or trenches between them. But in shrimps^ 
 Cra'^Jhes^ Lobjiers^ and fiich kinds of Crfjiaceous wsixer hnmab^lhzvc 
 
 yet 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 yet obfcrv’d them rang’d in a quadrangular order, the rows cutting each 
 other at right Snglesjwhich as it admits of a lefs number of Pearls in equal 
 furfaces ^ fo have thole creatures a recompence made them, by having 
 their eyes a little movable in their heads, which the other altogether 
 want. So infinitely wife and provident do wc find all the Dilpenlations in 
 Nature, that certainly Epicurus^ and his followers, muft very little have 
 confider’d them, who afcrib’d thofe things to the production ofchance, 
 that wil.to a more attentive conliderer,appear the products of the highefi: 
 Wildom and Providence. 
 
 Upon the Anatomy or DifleCtion of the Head, I obferv’d thefe par¬ 
 ticulars ; 
 
 Firfi:, that this outward Ikin, like the Cornea, of the eyes of the greater 
 Animals, was both flexible and tranlparcnt, and feem’d, through the^^/i- 
 croJcopCj perfectly to relemble the very fubftance of the Cornea of a man s 
 eye, for having cut out the clufter, and remov’d the dark and mucous 
 fluff that is fubjacent to it, I could fee it tranfparent like a thin piece of 
 fkin, having as many cavities in the infide of it, and rang’d in the lame 
 order as it had protuberances on the outlidejand this propriety,1 found the 
 fame in all the Animals that had it, whether Flies or Shell-Filh. 
 
 Secondly, I found that all Animals that I have oblerv’d with thofe kind 
 of eyes, have within this Cornea^ a certain deer liquor or juice, though jn 
 a very little quantity, and, 
 
 I oblerv’d thirdly, that within that deer liquor, they had a kind of 
 dark mucous lining, which was all fpread round within the cavity of the 
 duffer, and feem’d very neer adjoining to it, the colour of which, in 
 fome Flies,was grey, in others, blacky in others red ^ in others,of a mix’d 
 colour 5 in others,rpotted 5 and that the whole duffers, when look’d on 
 whil’ff the Animal was living, or but newly kill’d, appear’d of the fame 
 colour that this coat (as I may fb call it) appear’d of, when that outward 
 fkin, or Cornea^\^ 2 iS remov’d. 
 
 Fourthly, that the reff of the capacity of the duffers was in fbme, as 
 in Dragon Flies, hollow, or empty 5 in others fill’d with fbme kind 
 of fubffance 5 in blue Flies,with a reddifh mufculous fubffance, with fibres 
 tending from the center or bottom outwards 3 and divers other,with va¬ 
 rious and differing kinds of fubff ances. 
 
 That this curious contrivance is the organ of light to all thofe various 
 Crufiaceous Animals, which are furnifh’d with it, I think we need not 
 doubt, if we confider but the feveral congruities it has with the eyes of 
 greater creatures. 
 
 As firff, that it is furnifh’d with a Cornea a tranfiarent humour 
 with a uvea or retina^ that the Figure of each of the fmall Hemrjpheres are 
 very Spherical^ exadly polilh’d, and moff vivid, lively and plump,when 
 the Animal is living,as in greater Animalsjand in like manner dulljflaccid, 
 and irregular, or fhrunk,when the Animal is dead. 
 
 Next, that thofe creatures that arc furnifh’d with it, have no 
 other organs that have any refemblance to the known eyes of other 
 creatures 
 
 B b Thiraly, 
 
178 
 
 MiCROGR AP H I A. 
 
 Thirdlyjthat thole which they call the eyes of CrabSjL^fterSjShrimps, 
 and the like, and are really lb, are Hemijpherd^ almoft \mhc fame man* 
 ner as thefe of Flies are. And that they really are fo, I have very often 
 try’d, by cutting off thefe little movable knobs, and putting the creature 
 again into the water, that it would fwim to and fro, and move up and 
 down as well as before, but would often hit it felf againft the rocks or 
 Clones 5 and though I put my hand juft before its head, it would not at 
 all ftart or fly back till I touch’d it, whereas whifft thofe were remain¬ 
 ing, it would ftart back,and avoid my hand or a ftick at a good diftancc 
 before it touch’d it. And if in crujiaceous Sea-animals, then it (eems very 
 probable alfojthat thefe knobs are the eyes in cruJiaceous^nCedcs, which are 
 alfb of the fame kind, onely in a higher and more adive Element 5 this the 
 conformity or congruity of many other parts common to either of them, 
 will ftrongly argue,their crujiaceous armour,their number of leggs,which 
 are fix, befide the two great claws, which anfwer tothe wings in Infedls^ 
 and in all kind of Spiders, as alfo in many other Inftfts that want wings^ 
 we (hall find the compleat number of them, and not onely the number, 
 but the very fhape, figure, joints, and claws of Lobfters and Crabs, as is 
 evident in Scorpions and Spiders, as is vifible in the fecond figure of the 
 j \.Scheme^2iX\di in the little Mite-worm,which I call a Land-crab,de(crib‘d 
 in the fecond Figure of the 35. Scheme}:t\xt in their manner of generation 
 being oviparous, &c. And it were very worthy obfervation, whether 
 there be not fomc kinds of transformation and metamorphofis in the fe- 
 vcralftates of crujiaceous water-animals, as there is in fevcral forts of In- 
 feds 5 for if fuch could be met with,the progrefs of the variations would 
 be much more confpicuous in thofe larger Animals, then they can be in 
 any kind of Infeds our colder Climate affords. 
 
 Thefe being their eyes, it affords us a very pretty Speculation to con¬ 
 template their manner of vifion, which, as it is very differing from that of 
 biocular Animals, fb is it not lefs admirable. 
 
 That each of thefe Pearls or Hemijpheres is a perfed eye, I think we 
 need not doubt, if we confider onely the outfide or figure of any one of 
 them, for they being each of them cover’d with a tranfparent protube¬ 
 rant Cornea^ and containing a liquor within them, refembling the watry 
 or glaffie humours of the eye, muft neceflarily refrad all the parallel 
 Rays that fall on them out of the air, into a point notfarr diftant within 
 them, where (in all probability) the Retina of the eye is placed,and that 
 opacous, dark, and mucous inward coat that (I formerly fhew’d) I found 
 to fubtend the concave part of the clufter is very likely to be that tu- 
 nick or coat, it appearing through the Microjeope to be plac’d a little 
 more than a Diameter of thofe Pearls below or within the tunica cornea. 
 And if fo, then is there in all probability, a little Pidure or Image of the 
 objeds without, painted or made at the bottom of the Retina againft 
 every one of thofe Pearls, fo that there are as many impreflions on the 
 Retina or opacous (kin, as there are Pearls or Hemijpheres on the clufter. 
 But becaule it is impolfible for any protuberant furface whatlbever, whe- - 
 tht^pharial or other, fo to refrad the Rays that come from farr remote 
 
 lateral 
 
Micrograph I A. 
 
 lateral points of any Objed as to colled them againjand unite them each 
 in a diftind pointjand that onely thofe Rays which come from feme poiric 
 that lies in the of the Figure produc’d^' are. fo'accurately'rer 
 Traded to one and the lame point again, and(thdt theRays,th'efur-I 
 thcr they are remov’d, the more.imperfed is tReir 'refraded* cQnflucncef5. 
 It follows therefore, that onely the Pidure of thole parts of the-external 
 objeds that lie in, or neer, the Axk of each He^/Jphere^ are dilcerna'bjy 
 painted or made on the Retina of each Hen/jfphere^ and that thereforb 
 each of them can diftindlyfenfate or fee onely thole parts which are very 
 neer perpendicularly oppos’d to it, or lie in , or neer its .optick 
 Now, though there may be by each of thele eyerpearlsja reprelentation 
 to the Animal ofa whole Hcmijphere in the fame manner as ioia man seye 
 there is a pidure or lenfation in the Retina of all the objeds lying almoft 
 in an Hemijphcre 5 yet, as in a man’s eye allb,! there are but lome verv" 
 few points which liyng in, or neer, the optick Axk arediftindly diR 
 cern’d; So there may be multitudes of Pidures made of an Objed ia 
 the leveral Pearls, and yet but one, or fome very few thataredilfind^ 
 The reprefentation of any objed that is made in any other Pearl, but that 
 which is diredlyjOr very neer diredlyjOppos’dsbeing altogether confus’d 
 and unable to produce a dilfind viliom , lii u , 
 
 So that we fee, that though it ha^s pleas’d the All-wife Creatofyto in-? 
 due this creature with fuch multitudes of eyes, yet has he not indued it 
 with the faculty of feeing more then another dreature^ Tot whereas this 
 cannot move his head,at leaft can move itvery little,without moving his 
 whole body, biocular creatures can in an inftant (or the twikk^ng 
 eye^ which, being very quick, is vulgarly uledin the fame lignificatidn) 
 move'their eyes fo as to dired the i optick Axis 10 any point .5. nor is; it; 
 probable, that they are abletofee:attentivelyatohe,time morothen one 
 Phyfical point 5 fot though there be a.diftind Image made in every eye,* 
 yet ’tis very likely,that the obferving faculty is only imploy’d about Ibme 
 one objed for which they have moft concern. ;i ■‘ ^ 
 Now, as we accurately diftinguifh the fite .oripofition of an Gbjed 
 by the motion of theMufcles of the eye requifite to put the optick Line 
 in adired pofition,and confufedly by the pofition ofthe imperfedPidure 
 of the objed at the bottom of the eye 3 lb are thefe crufiaceom creatures 
 able to judge confufedly of the pofition of objeds by the Pidure or im- 
 preffion made at the bottom of the oppofite Pearh and diftindly by the- 
 removal of the attentive or obferving faculty, from one Pearl tOjan'otherjt 
 but what this faculty is^as it requires another place, fo a much deeper fpc*» 
 culation. Now,becaufeit were impofiible,even with this multitude of eye- 
 balls,to fee any objed dill:ind(for as I hinted beforejOnely thofe parts that 
 lay in,or veryneerjthe'optick Lines could be fojthe Infinitely wife Creator 
 has not left the creature without a power of moving the head a little in 
 Aerial crujiaceous animals,and the very eyes alfb in crujiaceous Seihanimkls, 
 fb that by thefe means they arcinabled to dired fome optick line or other 
 againfi: any objed,and by that means they haveithe vifive facility as Com-^ ^ 
 pleat as any Animal that can mo Ve its eyes*. |[ j I'lo wm Ji 
 
 B b 2 Diftances 
 
i8o 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 Diftances of Objedts allb, ’tis very likely they diftinguifh, partly by 
 the cemfonant impreffiotis made in fome two convenient Pearls, one ifl 
 each clufter, for, according as thofe congruous impreffions affedl:, two 
 Pearls neerer approach’d to each other, the neerer is the Objedt, and 
 the farther they are diftant, the more diftant is the Objedt: partljr alfo 
 by the alteration of each Pearl, requifite to make the Senfation or Pidturc 
 perfedt ^ for ’tis impoffible that the Pidbures of two Objedbs, varioufly 
 diftant, can be perfedbly painted, or made on the fame Retina or bottom 
 of the eye not altered, as will be very evident to any one that (hall atten*- 
 lively confider the nature of refrafiion. Now, whether this alteration 
 may be in the Figure of the Cornea^m the motion of acceft or recels of the 
 Retina towards the Cornea^ or in the alteration of a cruftaline humour, if 
 fiich there be, I pretend not to determine 5 though I think we need not 
 doubt, but that there may be as much curiofity of contrivance and ftru- 
 diure in every one of thefe Pearls, as in the eye of a Whale or Elephant, 
 and^^thejalmighty’s Fiat could as eafily caufe the exiftence of the one as 
 the other, and as one day and a thoufand years are the fame with him,lb 
 may one eye and ten thoufand. 
 
 This we may be lure of, that the filaments or fenlative parts of the 
 Retina muft be moft exceedingly curious and minute, fince the Whole 
 Pidbure it felfis fuch^ what muft needs the component parts be of that 
 Retina which diftinguilhes the part of an objedt’s Pidbure that muft be 
 many millions of millions lelsthen that in a man s eye ? And how exceed* 
 ing curious and fubtile muft the component parts of the medium that 
 conveys fight be, when we find the inftrument made for its reception or 
 refradion to be fo exceedingly fmall ? we may,I think, from this IpeCuIa- 
 tion be lufficiently dilcouraged from hoping to difeover by any optick or 
 other inftrument the determinate bulk of the parts of the medium thzt 
 conveys the pulfe of light, fince we find that there is not lels accurate- 
 ncls Ihewn in the Figure/ and polilh of thole exceedingly minute lenti¬ 
 cular lurfaces, then in thole more large and conlpicuous lurfaces of our 
 own eyes. And yet can I not doubt, but that there is a determinate bulk 
 of thofe parts, fince I find them unable to enter between the parts of 
 Mercury, which being in motion, muft neceflarily have pores, as I lhall 
 ellewhere Ihew, and here pals by, as being a digreflion. 
 
 As concerning the horns F F, the feelers or Imellers, G G, the 
 bafeh H and I, the hairs and brides, K K, I lhall indeavour to de- 
 Icribe in the ObfervSion, / . 
 
 1 T' y 'h . . . ‘ 
 
 i 
 
 to D O •n^’’ ' Jf ? j tu/ fi >tTn .. I . . ■ j - 1 . . .. j ti II. I ^0 .1 , ,,. , I. 
 
 ' !') Obiferv. 'XL. Of tbeTeethof aSnziL i 
 
 I Have little more to-add of the Teeth of a Snail, befides the Pidure 
 dfi% which is reprefented in the iitit Figure of the Scheme^ fave 
 that hisberided body,-A'B C D E Fwhich»leem’d falhioned Very much 
 like a row of fmall teeth, orderly pliife ’4 in the Gums, and looks as if it 
 •nCl . u were 
 
 4 
 
MicrographIa. 
 
 were divided into fevcral fmaller and greatbr black teeth^ was nothing 
 but one fmall bended hard bone^which was plac'd in the upper jaw of the 
 mouth of a Houfe-Snailj with which I oblerv’d this very Snail to feed ort 
 the leaves of a Rofe-tree, and to bite out pretty large and half round 
 bits, not unlike the Figure of a ( C ) nor very much differing from it in 
 bignefsj the upper part A B C D of this bone, I found to be much whiter, 
 and to grow out of the upper chap of the SnaiLG G G,and not to be any 
 thing neer fo much creas’d as the lower and blacker part of it H 11 H K K H 
 which was exadly (hap’d like teeth, the bone growing thinner, or taper¬ 
 ing to an edge towards K K K. It feem'd to have nine teeth, or prominent 
 parts IK, IK, IF, &i\ which were join’d together by the thinner inter¬ 
 pos’d parts of the bone. The Animal to which thele teeth belong, is a 
 very anomalous creature, and Teems of a kind quite diftindf from any 
 other terreftrial Animal or Infed, the Anatomy whereof exceedingly diF 
 fering from what has been hitherto given of it I fhould have inferted,but 
 that it will be more proper in another place. I have never met with any 
 kind of Animal whofe teeth are all join’d in one, fave onely that I lately 
 obferv’d, that all the teeth of a Rhinocerot, which grow on either fide 
 of its mouth, are join’d into one large bone, the weight of one of which 
 I]fbund to be neer eleven pound Haverdupois, So that it feems one of 
 the biggeft fort of terreftrial Animals, as well as one of the fmalleft, 
 has his teeth thus ftiap’d. 
 
 Obferv. X LI. Of the Eggs o/Silk-worms ,other Infects, 
 
 T He Eggs of Silk-worms(one of which I have delcrib’d in the lecond 
 Figure of 25. Scheme') afford a pretty Objed: for a Microfeope that 
 magnifies very much, efpecially if it be bright weather, and the light of ai 
 window be caft or colleded on it by a deep Convex-glafi^ or Water-ball. 
 For then the whole furface of the Shell may be perceiv’d all cover’d over 
 with exceeding Imall pits or cavities with interpofed edges, almoft in the 
 manner of the furface of a Poppy-feed,but that thefe holes are not an hun¬ 
 dredth part fcarceofitheirbignels^ the Shell,when'the young ones were 
 hatch’d (which I found an eafie thing to do, if the Eggs were kept in a 
 warm ^lace) appear’d no thicker in proportion to its bulk,then that of 
 an Hen s or Goos’s Egg is to its bulkjand all the Shell appear’d very white 
 (which feem’d to proceed from its tranfparency) whence all thofe pit- 
 tings did almoft vanifh^ fb that they could not, without much difficulty, 
 be difeern’d, the infide of the Shell feem’d to be lin’d alfo with a kind of 
 thin filmjnot unlike (keeping the proportion to its Shell)that with which 
 the (hell of an Hen-egg is lin’d 5 and the (hell it felf feem’d like common 
 Egg*fhells, very brittle, and crack’d. In divers other of thefe Eggs I 
 could plainly enough, through the fhell, perceive the fmall Infed lie 
 coyled round the edges ofthe fhelL The fhape of the Egg it fcif, the 
 Figure pretty well reprefents ('though by default of the Graver it does 
 
 not 
 
 181 
 
i 82 
 
 MiCROGRAPHIA. 
 
 not appear fo rounded, and lying above the Paper, as it werCjas it ought 
 to do) that is, it was for the moft part pretty oval end-ways, fomewhat 
 like an Egg,but the other way it was a little flatted on two oppofite fides. 
 Divers of thefe Eggs, as is common to mofl: others, I found to be bar¬ 
 ren or addle, for they never afforded any young ones. And thofe I 
 ufually found much whiter then the other that were prolifick. The 
 Eggs of other kinds of Oviparous Infers I have found to be perfe^fly 
 round every way,like fo many Globules,of this fort I have obferv’d fom» 
 Ibrts of Spiders Eggs, and chancing the lafl: Summer to inclofe a very 
 large andcurioufly painted Butterfly in a Box, intending to examine its 
 gaudery with my Mkrofeepe^ I found within a day or two after I inclos'd 
 her, almoft all the inner furface of fhe Box cover'd over with an infinite 
 of exactly round Eggs, which were huck very faft to the fides of it, and 
 in fo exadly regular and clofe an order, that made me call to mind my 
 Bypothep^ which I had formerly thought on for the making out of all the 
 regular Figures of Salt,which I have elfewherc hinted , for here I found 
 all of them rang’d into a moft exadt triagonal order, much after the man¬ 
 ner as the Hemijpheres arc place on the eye of a Fly 5 all which Eggs I 
 found after a little time to be hatch’d, and out of them to come a multi¬ 
 tude of fmall Worms, very much refembling young Silk-worms, leaving 
 all their thin hollow (hells behind them, fticking on the Box in their tri- 
 dgond pofture ^ thefe I found with the Microfeope to have much fuch a 
 fubftance as the Silk-worms Eggs, but could not perceive them pitted. 
 And indeed, there is as great a variety in the lhape of the Eggs of Ovi¬ 
 parous Infefts as among thofe of Birds. 
 
 Of thefe Eggs, a large and lufty Fly will at one time lay ncer four or 
 five hundred, fo that the increafo of thefe kind of Infefts muft needs be 
 very prodigious^ were they not prey’d on by multitudes of Birds, and de¬ 
 ft roy’d by Frofts and Rains 5 and hence ’tis thofe hotter Climates between 
 the Tropicks areinfefted with foch multitudes of Locufts, and fuch other 
 Verminc. 
 
 Obferv. XL 11. Of a blue Fly, 
 
 t 
 
 T His kind of Fly,whcreofa Microfcdpical Pifture is delineated in the 
 firft Figure of the 26, Scheme^ is a very beautifull creature, and has 
 many things about it very notable 5 divers of which I have already partly 
 deferib’d, namely, the feet, wings, eyes, and head, in the preceding 
 Obforvations. 
 
 And though the head before deferib’d be that of a grey Drone-Fly^ 
 yet for the main it is very agreeable to this.’ The things wherein they 
 differ moft, will be eafily enough found by the following particulars: 
 
 Firft, the clufters of eyes of this Fly, are very much (mailer then thole 
 of the Dron-Fly^ in proportion to the head. 
 
 And 
 
\ 
 
 / 
 
 
 X 
 
 
 h- 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 
 V 
 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 And'nextj all^thc eyes of each clufter feem’d much of the lame bignels 
 one with another, not differing as the other, but rang’d in the fame tri- 
 agon^il order. 
 
 Thirdly, between thele two duffers, there was a fcaly prominent 
 front B, which was arm’d and adorn’d with large tapering fharp black 
 brides, which growing out in rows on either fide, were fo bent toward 
 each other ncer the top, as to make a kind of arched arbour of Brides, 
 which almoft cover’d the ioimtx front, . ; j 
 
 Fourthly, at the end of this Arch, about the middle of the face, on a 
 prominent part C, grew two fmall oblong bodies, D D, which through 
 a Microfeopc look’d not unlike the Pendants in Lillies, thele feem’d to be 
 jointed on to two Imall parts at C, each of which feem’d again jointed 
 into the front. 
 
 Fifthly, out of the upper part and outlides of thele horns (as I may 
 call them, from the Figure they are of^ in the 24. Scheme^ where they 
 are marked with F F) there grows a lingle feather, or brulhy Bride, E E, 
 fomewhat of the lame kind with the tufts of a Gnat, which 1 have before 
 defciibed. 
 
 What the ufe ofthefekind of horned and tufted bodies fhould be, I 
 cannot well imagine,unlels they ferve for Imelling or hearing,though how 
 they arc adapted for either, it feems very difficult to deferibe they, arc 
 in almoff every leveral kind of Flies of lb various a fhape^ though certain* 
 ly they are fome very edential part of the head, and have Ibme very 
 notable office aflign’d them by Nature, linceinall Ipleds they are to be 
 found in one or other form. 
 
 Sixthly, at the under part of the face F F, were feveral of the former 
 Ibrt of bended Brides 3 and below all, the mouth, out of the middle of 
 which, grew the probofeis G H I, whichjby means of feveral joints,where¬ 
 of it leem’d to conlift, the Fly was able to move to and fro, and thrufl: it 
 in and out as it pleas’d 5 the end of this hollow body (which was all over 
 cover’d with fmall Ihort hairs or brides) was, as ’twere, bent at FI, and 
 the outer or formoft fide of the bended part H I, dit, as it were, into 
 two chaps, H I, H I, all the outfide of which where cover’d with hairs, 
 and pretty large brides, thele he could, like two chaps, very.readily 
 open and Ihut, and when he feem’d to fuck any thing from the furface of 
 a body, he would Ipread abroad thofe chaps, and apply the hollow part 
 of them very dole to it. 
 
 From either fide of the Frobofeis^ within the mouth, grew two other 
 Imall horns, or fingers, K K, which were hairy, but fmall in this Figure 5 
 but ofanotherlhape, and bigger in proportion, in the 24. .where 
 
 they are marked with G G, which two indeed feem’d a kind of fmdlers, 
 but whether lb or not, I cannot pofitively determine. , ' 
 
 The Fhorax or middle part of this Fly, was cas’d,* both above arid be¬ 
 neath, with a very firm cruft of armour, the upper part more round, and 
 covered over with long conical brides,all whofe ends pointed backwards5 
 out of the hinder and .under part of this grew out in a clufter fix leggs, 
 three of which are apparent in the Figure,the other three were hid by the 
 
Micrograhp I a. 
 
 body plac'd in that pofturc. The leggs were all much of the lame make, 
 being all of them cover’d with a ftrong hairy fcale or flieJj juft like the legs 
 of a Grabb or Lobfterjand the contrivance of the joints feem’d much the 
 famc ^^ each legg feem’d made up of eight parts, i, 2,3,4, 5.6,7, 8, to 
 the eighth or laft of which, grew the foies and claws, defcribed before 
 inihc ^^•Ohfervation, 
 
 Out of the upper part of this trunck grew the two wings, which I men¬ 
 tion'd in the 38. Obfirvation^ confifting of a film, extended on certain 
 finall ftiff wires or bones: thefe in a blue Fly, were much longer then 
 the body, but in other kind of Flies they are of very differing propor¬ 
 tions to the body. Thele filmsjin many Flies,were fb thinjthatjli ke feveral 
 other plated bodies (mention’d in the ninth Obfervation) they afforded 
 all varieties of fantaftical or tranfient colours (the reafbn of which I have 
 here endeavoured to explain) they fccm’d'to receive their nourifhment 
 from the ftalks or wires, which feem’d to be hollow, and neer the upper 
 ■part of the wing L L feveral of them feem'd jointed, the fhape of which 
 will fiifficiently appear by the black lines in the fecond Figure of the 
 26. Scheme^ which is a delineation of one of thofc wings expanded di- 
 rcftly to the eyes. 
 
 All the hinder part of its body is cover’d with a moft curious blue fhi- 
 ning armour,looking exactly like a polifh’d piece of fteel brought to that 
 blue colour by annealing, all which armour is very thick beffuck with 
 abundance of tapering brifles, fuch as grow on its back, as is vifible 
 enough by the Figure. 
 
 Nor was the infide of this creature left beautifull then its outfide, for 
 cutting off a part of the belly, and then viewing it, to fee if I could dift 
 cover any Veffels, fuch as are to be found in a greater Animals, and even 
 in Snails exceeding manifeftly,! found,much beyond my expe6(:ation,that 
 there were abundance of branchings of Milk-white veflcls,no lefs curious 
 then the branchings of veins and arteries in bigger terreftrial Animals,in 
 one of which,! found two notable branches, joining their two main ftocks, 
 as it were, into one common dn&Ms 5 now, to what veins or arteries thefe 
 Vcffells were analogus^ whether to the vena porta^ or the meferauk^ mf- 
 fills^ or the like, or indeed, whether they were veins and arteries, or vafa. 
 
 properly fb called, I am not hitherto able to determine, having 
 not yet made fufficient enquiry 5 but in all particulars, there feems not to 
 be any thing lefs of curious contrivance in thefe Infedfs, then in thofe 
 larger terreftrial Animals, for I had never feen any more curious branch¬ 
 ings of Veflells, then thofe I obferv’d in two or three of thefe Flics thus 
 opened. 
 
 It is a creature aftive and nimble, fb as there are very few creatures 
 like^ it, whether bigger or fmaller, in fo much, that it will fcape and 
 avoid a fmall body, though coming on it exceeding fwiftly, and if it fees 
 any thing approaching it, which it fears, it prefently fquats down, as it 
 wcre,that it may be the more ready for its rife. 
 
 Nor is it left hardy in the Winter, then aftive in the Summer, induring 
 all thcFrofts, and furviving till the next Summer, notwithftanding the 
 
 bitter 
 
MicrographIa; 
 
 bitter cold of our Climate 5 nay^ this creature will indure to be frozen^ 
 and yet not be deftroy’d/or I have taken one of them out of the Snow 
 whereon it has been frozen almofl: white^ with the Ice about it^ and yet 
 by thawing it gently by the warmth of a fire, it has quickly reviv'd and 
 flown about. 
 
 This kind of Fly feems by the fleams or tafle of fermenting and 
 putrifying meat (which it often kiflesjas twere^ with mprobefeis as it trips 
 over it) to be flimulated or excited to eject its Eggs or Seed on it, per¬ 
 haps, from the fame reafon as DogSjCatSjand many other brute creatures 
 are excited to their particular lufls, by the fmell of their females, when 
 by Nature prepared for generation 5 the males feeming by thgfe kind 
 of fmells, or other incitations, to be as much neceflitated thereto, as 
 Aqua Regis flrongly impregnated with a folution of Gold,is forced to pre-** 
 cipitate it by the affufionof fpirit of ‘or a folution oi Salt of 
 
 ‘Tartar, 
 
 One of thefe put in fpirit of Wine^ was very quickly feemingly kill'd, 
 and both its eys and mouth began to look very red, but upon the taking 
 of it out, and fufferingit to lie three or four hours, and heating it with 
 the Sun beams cafl through a Burning-glafs, it again reviv'd, feeming, as 
 it were, to have been all the intermediate time, but dead drunk, and'af* 
 ter certain hours to grow frefli again and fober. 
 
 — ^) > 
 
 Obferv. XL 111. Of the Water-InfeflicjrGnaCe/ ‘ > 
 
 T His little creature, deferibed in the firfl Figure 2j. Scheme^ 
 was a fmall foaled or crufled Animal, which I have often obferv'd- 
 to be generated in Rain-water 51 have alfo obferv’d it both in Pond and 
 River-w^ater. It is fltppos’d by fome, to deduce its firfl original from the 
 putrifadlion of Rain-water, in which,if it have flood any time open to the 
 air, you fhall feldom mirs,all the Summer long, of flore of them frilking 
 too and fro. 
 
 'Tis a creature, wholly difiering in (hape from any I ever obforv’d, nor 
 is its motion lelsflrange; It has a very large head, in proportion to its 
 body, all covered with a (hell, like other teflaceens Animals, but it dif¬ 
 fers in this, that it has, up and down feveral parts of it, feverai tufts of 
 hairs, or brifles, plac'd in the order exprefs’d in the Figure y It has twO' 
 horns,whichfeem’d almofl like the horns of an Oxe,inverted,and, as neer 
 as I could ghefs,were hollow,with tufts of brillesjiikewdfo at the top;thefo 
 horns they could move eafily this or that way,and might, perchance, be 
 their noflrils. It has a pretty large mouth, which foem'd contriv’d much 
 like thofo of Crabs and Lobflcrs,by which, I have often obforv’d them to 
 feed on water, or fome imperceptible nutritive fubflance in it.= 
 
 I could perceive, through the tranfparent fliell,while the Animal for- 
 Viv’d, feveral motions in the head, thorax, and belly, very diflindly, 
 
 C c of 
 
i8^ 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 of differing kinds which I mayjperhapSj elfewhere endeavour more ac¬ 
 curately to examine, and to fhew of how great benefit the ufcofa Mi- 
 rrofcope rmy he for thedifcovery ofNature’scourfein the operations per¬ 
 form’d in Animal bodies, by which we have the opportunity of obferving 
 her through thefe delicate and pellucid teguments of the bodies of Infeiffs 
 acting according to her ufual courfe and way, undifturbed, whereas, 
 when we endeavour to pry into her fecrets by breaking open the doors 
 upon her, and difibdfing and mangling creatures whifft there is life yet 
 within them, we find her indeed at work, but put into ftich diforder by 
 the violence offer’d, as it may eafily be imagin’d^how differing a thing we 
 fhould find,if wecouldjaswe can with a Microfeepe^m thefe fmaller crea¬ 
 tures, quietly peep in at the windows, without frighting her out of her 
 ufual byas. 
 
 The form of the whole creature, as it appear’d in the Microfcope^ niay, 
 without troubling you with more defcriptions, be plainly enough per¬ 
 ceiv’d by the Scheme^ the hinder part or belly confifting of eight feveral 
 jointed parts, namely, ABCDEFGH, of the firft Figure^ from the 
 midfl: of each of which,on either lidedfliied out three or four fmall brifles 
 or hairs, T, I, I, I, I, the tail was divided into two parts of very differing 
 make v one of them, namely, K, having many tufts of hair or brifles, which 
 feem’d to ferve both for the finns and tail, for the Oars and Ruder of this 
 little creature, wherewith it was able, by frifking and bending its body 
 nimbly to andfrOjto move himfelf any whithetjand to fkull and fleer him- 
 felfas he pleas’d:,the other part, L, feem’d to be,as ’twere,the ninth divifi- 
 on of his belly,and had many fingle brifles on either fide. From the end V, 
 of which, through the whole belly, there was a kind of Gut of a darker 
 colour, M M wherein, by certain Perifialtidemotions there was a kind 
 of black.fubftance mov’d upwards and downwards through it from the 
 orbicular part of it, N,(which feem’d the Ventricle px {iom2ic\\)io the tail 
 V,and fo back again, which perifialtick^ motion I have obferv’d alfb in a 
 Loufe, a Gnat, and feveral other kinds of tranfparent body’d Flies. The 
 ihorax or cheft of this creature O O O O, was thick and fhort, and pret¬ 
 ty tranfparent, for through it I could fee the white heart (which is the 
 colour alfb of the bloud in thefe, and mofl: other Infedfs) to beat, and 
 feveral other kind of motions. It was beftuck and adorn’d up and down 
 with feveral tufts of brifles, fiich as are pointed out by P, P, P, P, the 
 head CLwas likewife beffuck with feveral of thofe tufts, S S S 5 it was 
 broad and fhort, had two black eyes, T T, which I could not perceive at 
 all pearl’d, as they afterwards appear’d, and two fmall horns, RR, fiach 
 as I formerly deferib’d. 
 
 Both its motion and reft is very ftrange, and pleafant, and diftering 
 from thofe of moft other creatures I have obferv’d, for, where it ceafes 
 from moving its body, the tail of it feeming much lighter then the reft 
 of itsbody,and a little lighter then the water it fwims in, prefently boys 
 it up to the top of the water, where it hangs fufpended with the head al¬ 
 ways downward 5 and like our Antipodes^ if they do by a frifk get be¬ 
 low that fuperficies, they prefently afeend again unto it, if theyceafe 
 
 moving, 
 
S^ch&nv. }QCVU 
 
 •'fr.v-'. 
 
MiG R O GR A P H t A. 
 
 nloving, until they tread, as it wcte^ under that fuperficies with their 
 tails 5 the hanging of thefe in this pofture, put me in mind of a cer¬ 
 tain creature I have feen in London^ that was brought out of America^ 
 which would very firmly fufpend it lelf by the tail, with the head down- 
 wardsjand was faid to deep in that pofture, with her young ones in her 
 falfe belly, which is a Purfe, provided by Nature for the produ^iop, 
 nutrition, and prefervation of her young ones, which is defcribed by Tifi 
 in the 24. Chapter of the fifth Book of his Natural Hiftory of Brafd. r 
 
 The motion of it was with the tail forwards,drawing its felf backwards, 
 by the friiking to and fro of that tuft which grew out of one of the 
 ftumps of its tail. It had another motionjWhich was more (utable to that 
 of other creatures, and that is, with the head forward ^ for by the moving 
 of his chaps fif I may fo call the parts of his mouth) it was abletomove 
 it felf downwards very gently towards the bottom, and did,as ’twercjeat 
 up its way through the water. 
 
 But that which-was moft oblervable in this creature, was, its Meta- 
 morphofis or charigC5for having kept feveral of thefe Animals in a Qlafs of 
 Rain-water,in which they were produc’d, I fQund,after about a fortnight 
 or three weeks keeping, that feveral of them hew away in Gnats,leaving 
 their hulks behind them in the water floating under the furface, the 
 place where thefe Animals were wont to refide, whifft they were in¬ 
 habitants of the water; this made me more diligently to watch\ them, to 
 fee if I could find them at the time of their transformation 5 and not Jong 
 after, I obferv’d feveral of them to be changed into an unulual fhape, 
 wholly differing from that they were of before, their head and body hcr- 
 ing grown much bigger and deepen but not broader, and their belly, or 
 hinder part fmaller, and coyfd, about this great body much'of the fafhi-^ 
 on reprefented by the prick’d'line in the Iccond Figure of the 27. Scheme^ 
 the head and horns now fwam uppermofi:, and the whole bulk of the bo¬ 
 dy feem’d to be grown much lighter^ for when by my frighting of it, it 
 would by frilking out of its tail (in the manner exprefs’d in the Figure 
 by B C) fink it .felf below the furface towards the bottom 5 the body 
 Would more fwiftly re-afcend, then when it Was in its former lhapc. 
 
 . I ftill marked its progrefs from time to timejand found its body flill to 
 grow bigger and bigger. Nature, as it were, fitting and accoutring it 
 for the lighter Element, of which it was now going to be an inhabitant 5 
 for,by obferving one of thefe with my Aiicrofcope^ I found the eyes of it 
 to be altogether differing from what they feem’d before, appearing now 
 ull over pearl’d or knobb’d, like the eyes of Gnats, as is vifible in 
 the lecong Figure by A* At length, I law part of this Creature to fwirni 
 above, and part beneath the furface of the water, below which though 
 it would quickly plunge it lelf if I by any means frighted it,and prefently 
 re-alcend into its former pofture^ after a little longer cxpedation, I 
 found that the head and body of a Gnatjbegan to appear and ftand cleer 
 above the furface, and by degrees it drew out its leggs, firftthe two for^ 
 moftjthen the other,at length its whole body perfed: and entire appear’d 
 out of the hulk (which it left in the water) Handing on its leggs upon 
 
 C € 2 the 
 
i88 
 
 4 
 
 Mi CROGR AP HIA. 
 
 the top of the water, and by degrees it began to move^ and after flew. 
 
 about the Glafs a perfeft Gnat. ^ i . ri 
 
 . • I have been the more particular, and large in the relation or the tranf- 
 formation of divers of thefe little Animals which I obferv’d, becaufeil 
 have not found that any Authour has obferv’d the like 5 and becaufe the' 
 thing it felf is fo flrange and heterogeneous from the ufual progrefs of 
 other Animals, that I judge it may not onely be pleafant, but very 
 ufefull and neceflary towards the compleating of Natural Hiftory. 
 
 There is indeed in Pifo^ a very odd Hiftory, which this relation may 
 make the more probable 5 and that is in the 2. Chapter of the 4. Book of 
 his Natural Hiftory of Brap^ where he fays^Porro prater tot documentafer- 
 tilitatis circa vegetabilia (^feufitiva marina tdlnris amnla^accidit ilind^ 
 qnodpancis h Paranambucenfimilliaribus.pifcatoris mcnm citra intentiomm 
 contingat infigi vadispetroffs,& loco pifcis fpongia^coralla^aliafqHe arbnfcnias 
 marinas cap/. Inter hac inufitaU forma proditjpongiofa arbidcHla^fefquipedis 
 longitudinis^brevioribHs radicibHS^ lapideis nitens vadis^ & rnpibus infixa^ 
 erigitnrque in corpus JpongioJum moUe oblongum rotundumturbinatum: intus 
 miris cancellis alveisfabricatum^extnsantem tenaci glutineinfar Apum 
 propolis nndique veJiitum,ofiofatispatulo6'‘profundoinfHmmitater€Mo^ 
 JfcHt ex altera iconumprobe depiBa videre licet (fee the third and fourth 
 I^igures of the 27. Scheme,') It a ut Apiarium marinum vere dixeris , prima 
 ^enim intuitu e Mare ad terram delatum^vermiculis fcatebat c^rnleis parvis, 
 ^qui mox a calore Jblis inMuJcas^vel Apespotius^eajqi^ exiguas ^ nigras tranf 
 formebantur^ circumvolantefque evanejeebant^ita ut de eorum mellifcationt, 
 nihil cerii confpici datum fnerit^ cum tamen carofa materia propolis Apum^ 
 que cell<e manifejle apparerent^atque ipja mellis qualifcunque jubjiantiaprocul^ 
 dubio urinatoribus patebit, ubi curiofms inquifiverint hdc apiaria^ eaque in 
 natali folod^ falo diverjis temporibus penitius lujirarint. ^ f 
 
 Which Hiftory contains things fufficiently ftrange to be confider’d, as 
 whether the hulk were a Plant, growing at the bottom of the Sea before, 
 of it felf, out of whofe putrifadion might be generated thefe ftrange kind 
 of Magots^ or whether the feed of certain Bees, finking to the bottom, 
 might there naturally form it felf that vegetable hive, and take root, 
 or, whether it might not be placed there by fome diving Fly 5 or, 
 whether it might not be fome peculiar propriety of that Plant,whereby 
 it might ripen or form its vegetable juice into an Animal fubftanceor, 
 whether it may not be of the nature of a Sponge, or rather a Sponge of 
 the nature of this, according to fome of thofe relations andjconje<fturcsI 
 formerly made of that body, is a matter very difficult to be determined. 
 But indeed ,in this dcfcription,the Excellent Pifo has not been fufficiently 
 particular in the fetting down the whole procefs, as it were to be wilh’d: 
 There are indeed very odd progrefles in the produd:ion- of feveral kinds 
 of Infedls, which are not lels inftriidlive then plealant, feveral of which, 
 the diligent Goedartius has carefully obferv*d and recorded, but among 
 all his Obfervations, he has none like this, though that oi the Hemerobius 
 be fomewhat of this kind, which is added as an Appendix by Johannes 
 Mey, 
 
 I have 
 
Ml GROG R A PHI A. 
 
 Ihavcjformy own particular, befidcs fevcrai of thole mention’d by. 
 him, oblerv’d divers other circumflanees,perhaps, not much taken notice 
 of^ though very common, which do indeed afford us a very coercive argu^ 
 ment: to admire the goodneis and providence of the infinitely wile Crea- 
 torin his moft excellent contrivances and difpenlations.Ihave obler.v’djat' 
 leveral times of the Summer,that many of the leayes of divers Plants .have 
 been fpottcd,or, as it were fcabbed, and looking on the underfidcs of 
 thofe of them that have been but a litte irregular, I have perceiv’d them 
 to be Iprinkled with divers forts of little Eggs,which letting alone,I have 
 found by degrees to grow bigger, and become little Worms with Jeggs^ 
 but Hill to keep their former placesjand thole plaees of the leaves,of their' 
 own accords, to be,grown very protuberant upwards, and very;hollow,, 
 and arched underneath, whereby thofe young creatures are, as it were, 
 Ihelter’d and houled from external injury ^ diyers-lcaves I have oblerv’d 
 to grow and fwell fo farr, as at length perfedlly to inclofe the Animal, 
 which, by other obfervations I have made, I ghels to contain it, and be^ 
 come, as it were a womb to it, fo long, till it be fit and prepar’d to be 
 tranflated into another Hate, at what time, like (what they fay of) Vi¬ 
 pers, they gnaw their way through the womb that bred them 5 divers of 
 thefe kinds I have met with upon Goolberry leaves, Rofe-tree leaves^ 
 Willow leaves, and many other kinds. 
 
 There are often to be found upon Rofe-trees and Brier bulhes, little 
 red tufts,which are certain knobs or excrelcenciesjgrowing out from the 
 Rind, or barks of thofe kinds of Plants, they are cover’d with ftrange 
 kinds ofthreads or red hairs, which feel very loft, and look not unplea^ 
 (antly. In moft of thefe, if it has no hole in it, you lhall find certain little 
 Worms, which I fuppofe to be the caufes of their produdion 5 for when 
 that Worm has eat its way through, they, having performed what they 
 were defign’d by Nature to do, by degrees die and wither away. 
 
 , NoWjthe manner of their production,! llippofe to be thus 3 that the Al- 
 wife Creator has as well implanted in every creature a faculty of know¬ 
 ing what place is convenient for the hatching,: nutrition, and prefervati- 
 on of their Eggs and of-fprings, whereby they are ftimulated and direCied 
 to convenient places, which becom, as ’twere the wombs that perform 
 thofe offices: Ashehasallb fuited and adapted; a property to thofe 
 places wherby they grow and inclofe thofe feeds, and having inclofed 
 them, provide a convenient nourifhment for them, but as foon as they 
 have done the office of a womb, they die and wither. 
 
 The progrels of inclofure I have often obferv’d in leaves, which in 
 thofe places where thofe feeds have been caft, have by degrees fwell’d 
 and inclos’d them, fo perfeCcly round, as not to leave any perceptible 
 paftage out. 
 
 F.rom this feme caufe, I fuppofe that Galls, Oak-apples, and feveral 
 other productions of that kind, upon the branches and leaves of Trees, 
 have their original 5 for if you open any of them, when almoft ripe, you 
 lhall find a little Worm in them. Thus, if you open never fo many dry 
 Galls, you ftiall find either a hole whereby the Worm has eat its paftage 
 
 out. 
 
MiCROGR AP HI'A. 
 
 out, or if you find no paflage, you may^by broking or cutting the 
 find in the middle of it a fmall cavity, and in it a fmall body, which does 
 plainly enough yet retain a fhape, to manifefc 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-ftring,as 'twercjbeing broken off from the leaf or branch 
 by which the Globular body that invelop'd it, received its nourifhment 
 
 from the Oak. ' . ' . 
 
 And indeed,if we confider the great care of the Creator in the difpen- 
 fations of his providences for the propagation and increafe of the raccjnot 
 onely of all kind of Animals, but even of Vegetables, we cannot chule 
 but admire and adore him for his Excellencies, but we fhall leave off to 
 admire the creature, or to wonder at the ftrange kind of adfing in feveral 
 Animals, which feem to favour fo much of reafon 5 it feeming to me moft 
 manifeff,that thofe are but adiings according to their ftrudfures, and liich 
 operations as fuch bodies, fo compos’d, muft necefl'arily, when there are 
 fuch and fuch circumftances concurring, perform; thus,whenwe find Flies 
 fwarming,about any piece of flefh that does begin a little to ferment^But- 
 terflies about Colworts,and feveral other leaves,which will ferve to hatch 
 and nourifh their young 5 Gnats, and feveral other Flies about the Wa-» 
 ters, and marilhy places,or any other creatures, feeking and placing their 
 Seeds in convenient repofitories, we may, if we attentively confider and 
 examine it, find that there are circumftances fufficient,upon thefuppofals 
 of the excellent contrivance of their machine,to excite and force them to 
 aft after fuch or fuch a manner^ thofe fteams that rife from thefe feveral 
 places may, perhaps, fet feveral parts of thefe little Animals at work,even 
 as in the contrivance of killing a Fox or Wolf with a Gun, the moving 
 of a ftring, is the death of the Animal'5 for the Beaft, by moving the flefh 
 that is laid to entrap him, pulls the ftring which moves the trigger, and 
 that lets go the Cock which on the ftcel ftrikes certain fparks of fire 
 which kindle the powder in the pann, and that prefently flies into the 
 barrel, where the povyder catching fire rarifies and drives out the bullet 
 which kills the Animal 3 in all which aftions, there is nothing of intention 
 or ratiocination to be aferib’d either to the Animal or Engine, but all to 
 the ingenioufhels of the contriver. 
 
 But to return to the more immediate confideration of our Gnat: 
 We have in it an Inftance, not ufual or common,fof a very {kdngc ' 
 hi OHS creature, that being a creature that inhabits the Air, does yet pro¬ 
 duce a creature, that for fbme time lives in the water as a Fifh, though 
 afterward (which is as ftrange) it becomes an inhabitant of the Air, like 
 its Sire,in the form of a Fly. And this, me thinks, does prompt me to pro- 
 pofe certain conjeftures, as Queries, having not yet had fufficient oppor¬ 
 tunity and leifure to anfwer them my felf from my own Experiments 
 or Obfervations. 
 
 And the firft is. Whether all thofe things that we fuppofe to be bred 
 from corruption and putrifaftion, may not be rationally fiippos’d to have 
 their origination as natural as thefe Gnats, who, *tis very probable, 
 were firft dropt into this Water, in the form of Eggs. Thofe Seeds or 
 
 Eggs 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 Eggs muft certainly beveryfmallj which fo final I a creature as a Gnat 
 yields, and therefore- we need not wonder that we find not the Eggs 
 themfelves, fome of the younger of them, which I have obferv’d, having 
 not exceeded a tenth part of the bulk they have afterwards come to 5 and 
 nextjl have obferved fome of thofe little ones which muff have been gene* 
 rated after the Water was inclofed in the Bottle, and therefore moft pro¬ 
 bably from Eggs, v/hercas thofe creatures have been fuppos'd to be bred 
 of the corruption of the Water, there being not formerly known any 
 probable way how they fhould be generated. 
 
 A fccond is, whether thefe Eggs are immediately dropt into the Water 
 by the Gnats themfelves, or, mediately, are brought down by the falling 
 rainfor it feems not very improbable,but that thofe fmall feeds of Gnats 
 may (being, perhaps, of fo light a nature, and having fo great a propor¬ 
 tion of furface to fo fmall a bulk of body) be ejefted into the Air, and 
 fo, perhaps, carried for a good while too and fro in it, till by the drops 
 of Rain it bewafh’dout of it. 
 
 A third is, whether multitudes of thofe other little creatures that arc 
 found to inhabit the Water for fome time, do not, at certain times, take 
 wing and fly into the Air, others dive and hide themfelves in the Earthy 
 and fb contribute to the increafe both of the one and the other Element. 
 
 A good while fince the writing of this Defeription, I was prefented by 
 Doctor Peter BalJ^ an ingenious Member of the Royal SocictyyNnh. a little 
 Paper of Nuts, which he told me was fenthim from a Brother of his out 
 of the Countrey,from Mumhead in Devo^Jhire^ fome of them were loofe, 
 having been, as I fuppofe, broken off, others were ffill growing faff on 
 upon the fides of a fHck, which feenf d by the bark, pliablenefs of it, and 
 by certain ftrings that grew out of it, to be fome piece of the root of 
 a Tree 5 they were all of them dry’d, and a little fhrivelfd, others more 
 round, of a brown colour 5 their fhape was much like a Figg, but very 
 much fmaller,fome being about the bignels of aBay-berry^others,and the 
 biggeff, of a Hazel-Nut. Some of thefe that had no hole in them, I care¬ 
 fully opened with my Knife, and found in them a good large round white 
 Maggot, almofl: as bigg as a fmall Pea, which leem'd fhap’d like other 
 Maggots, but ftiorter. I could not find them to move, though I ghefs’d 
 them to be alive, becaufo upon pricking them witha Finn, there would if 
 fuc out a great deal of white mucous matter,which feem’d to be from a vo¬ 
 luntary contradion of their fkin 5 their hulk or matrix confifled of three 
 Coats,like the barks of Trees, the outermofl: being more rough and fpon- 
 gie, and the thickefl:, the middlemoff more clofe, hard^ white^ and thin, 
 the innermofl: very thin,feeming almofl: like the fliin within an Egg’s (hell. 
 The two outermofl: had root in the branch or flick, but the innermofl: 
 had no flem or procefs, but was onely a Ikin that cover’d the cavity of 
 the Nut. All the Nuts that had no holes eaten in them, I found to con¬ 
 tain thefe Maggots, but all that had holes, I found empty, the Maggots, 
 
Ml CROGRAHP I A. 
 
 it feems, having eaten their way through^ taken wings and flown away, 
 as this following account (which I receiv'd in writing from the fame per- 
 fonj as it was fent him by his Brother) manifefls. In a moorifl) blacky 
 Peatjf mouldy with fome fmall veins of whitijh yellow Sands^ npon occafon 
 of digging a hole two or three foot deepj at the head of a Pond or Pooly to 
 fit a. Tree in^ at that depths were founds about the end of Odober 1663. in 
 thofi very veins of Sand^ thofi Buttons or Nuts^ jiicking to a little loofi 
 fiick^^ that is^ not belonging to any live Iree^ andfomeofthemalfofree by 
 themfilves. 
 
 Four or five of which being then open d, fome were found to contvin 
 live Infers come to perfeBion^ moji likg to flying Ants, if not the fame 3 in 
 others^ Infills^yetimperfeB^ having but the head and wings form'd^ the refi 
 remaining a foft white pulpy JubJiance, 
 
 NoWjas this furnifties us with one odd Hiftory more^very agreeable to 
 what I before hintedj lb I doubt not, but were men diligent oblervers, 
 they might meet with multitudes of the fame 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 wtXQ.animarum plena. And I have oftenjwith 
 wonder and plealure,in the Spring and Summer-time, look'd clofe tOjand 
 diligently on, common Garden mould, and in a very fmall parcel of it, 
 found llich multitudes and diverfities of little reptiles femt in hulksjOthers 
 onely creepers, many wing’d, and ready for the Air 3 divers hulks or ha¬ 
 bitations left behind empty. Now, if the Earth of our cold Climate be lb 
 fertile of animate bodies, what may we think of the fat Earth of hotter 
 Climates?, Certainly,the Sun may there, by its aftivity, caufe as great a 
 parcel of Earth to fly on wings in the Air, as it does of Water in fteams 
 and vapours. And what fwarms muft we fuppofe to be fent out ofthofe 
 plentifull inundations of water which are poured down by the lluccs of 
 Rain in luch vafi: quantities ? So that we need not much wonder at thole 
 innumerable clouds of Locufls wjth which Africa^ and other hot coun¬ 
 tries are lb peltred, lince in thofe places are found all the convenient 
 caufesof their produdlion, namely, genitors, or Parents, concurrent re¬ 
 ceptacles or matrixes,and a lufficient degree of natural heat and moidure. 
 
 I was going to annex a little draught of the Figure of thofe Nuts lent 
 out of Devonflnre , but chancing to examine Mr. Tarkinjons Herbal 
 forlbmething elle, and particularly about Galls and Oak-apples, I found 
 among no lelsthen 24. feveral kinds of excrelcencies of the Oak, which I 
 doubt not,but upon examination,wiIl be all found to be the matrixes of 
 lb many leveral kinds of Infers 3 I having obferv’d many of them my lelf 
 to be Ibjamong 24.'leveral kinds, I lay,I found one delcribed and Figur’d 
 diredly like that which I had by me,the Scheme is there to be leen,the de- 
 feription, becaule but Ihort, I have here adjoin’d Pheatri Botamci irib,i6, 
 chap, 2. There groweth at the roots of aid Oaky in the Spring-time^ and 
 fimetimes alfb in the very heat of Summer^ a peculiar kj^ol of Mifirom or 
 Excrefcence^ call’d Uva Quercinaj^eZ^w^ out of the Earthy many growing 
 one ejefe unto another^ of the faflyion of a Grape^ and therefore took^ 
 the name , the Oak-Grape, and Is of a PurpljJh colour on the eutfide^ 
 
S ch . 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 and vphite within lih^ ^^ilk.y the end pf Summer hecometh hard 
 
 and waodj. Whether this be the very fame kind, I cannot affirm, but 
 both the Picture and Defcription come very neer to that I have, 
 but that he recms not to take notice of thehollownefsor Worm, for 
 which 'tis mofi: obfervable. And therefore 'tis very likely, if men 
 did but take notice, they might find very many differing Species of thefe 
 Nuts, Ovaries^ or Matrixes , and all of them to have much the fame 
 defignation and office. And I have very lately found feveral kinds of Ex- 
 crefcencies on I rees and Shrubs, which having endured the Winter, up“ 
 on opening them, I found moft of them to contain little Worms, but 
 dead, thofe things that contain’d them being wither’d and dry. . 
 
 Obferv. X LIV. Of tht tufted or Brujh-horrid Gnat^ 
 
 - r * i 
 
 T His little creature was one of thofe multitudes that fill our Englifl 
 air all the time that warm weather lafts, and is exadly of the fhape 
 of that I obferv’d to be generated and hatch’d out of thofe little Infers 
 that wriggle up and down in Rain-water. But,though many were of this 
 form, yet I obferv’d others to be of quite 'Other kinds 5 nor were all 
 of this or the other kind generated out of Water Infers, for whereas I 
 obferv’d that thofe that proceeded from thofe Infedfs were at their full 
 growth, I have alfo found multitudes of the fame fhape,but much fmaller 
 and tenderer feeming to be very young ones, creep up and down upon 
 the leaves of Trees, and flying up and down in fmall clufters, in places 
 very remote from v/ater ^ and this Spring, I obferv’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 con¬ 
 tinued frill in the Eaft, feveral fmall fwarms of them playing to and fro 
 in little clouds in the Sun, each of which were not a tenth part of the 
 bignefs of one of thefe I here have delineated, though very much of the 
 fame fhape, which makes me ghefs, that each of thefe fwarms might be 
 the of-fpring of one onely Gnat, which had been hoorded up in fbme fafe 
 repofitory all this Winter by fome provident Parent, and were now, by 
 the warmth of the Spring-air, hatch’d into little Flies. 
 
 And indeed, fb various, and feemingly irregular are the generations or 
 produdlions of Infeffs, that he that (hall carefully and diligently obferve 
 the feveral methods of Nature therein, will have infinitely caufe further 
 to admire’the wifdom and providence of the Creator 5 for not onely the 
 fame kind of creature may be produc’d from feveral kinds of ways, but 
 the very fame creature may produce feveral kinds: For,as divers Watches 
 may be made out of feveral materials, which may yet have all the fame 
 appearance,and move after the fame mannetjthat is,fliew the hour equally 
 true, the one as the other, and out of the fame kind of matter, like 
 WatcheSjmay be wrought differing ways^ and,as one and the fame Watch 
 
 D d may. 
 
194 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 may, by being diverfly agitatedj or mov’d^by this or that agent3''or after 
 this or that manner, produce a quite contrary effed : So may it be with 
 thele moft curious Engines'of Infed’s bodies^ the All-wife God of Nature, 
 may have fo ordered and difpofed the little Automatons^ that when nou- 
 rilhed, aded, or enlivened by this caufe, they produce one kind ofefled, 
 or animate (hape, when by another they ad quite another way, and ano¬ 
 ther Animal is produc’d. So may he fo order feveral materials, as to 
 make them,by feveral kinds of methods, produce fimilar Automatons, 
 
 But to come to the Defeription of this Infed,as it appears through a 
 crofeopepi which a reprefentation is made in the 2^,Scheme, Its head A, is 
 exceeding fmall, in proportion to its body, confifting of two clufters of 
 pearl d eyes B B, on each fide of its head, whole pearls or eye-balls are 
 curioully rang d like thofe of other Flies :> between thcfe,in the forehead 
 of it, there are plac’d upon two fmall black balls, C C, two long jointed 
 horns, tapering towards the top, much refembling the long horns of 
 Lobifers, each of whofe ftems or quills, D D, were brifled or brufhed 
 with multitudes of fmall ftiff hairs, ifiuing out every way from the feve¬ 
 ral joints, like the firings or fproutings of the herb Horje-tail^ which is 
 oft obferv’d to grow among Corn, and for the whole fhape, it does very 
 much refemble thofe hrujh)/ Vegetables ^ befides thefe, there are two other 
 jointed and brifled horns, or feelers, E E, in the forepart ofthe head, and 
 a probofeis^ F, underneathjWhich in fome Gnats are very long, (freight 
 hollow pipes, by which thefe creatures are able, to drill and penetrate 
 the fkin, andjthence, through thofe pipes fuck fo much bloud as to (tuff 
 their bellies fo full till they be ready to burfl. 
 
 This fmall head,with its appurtenances,is faftned on by a fhort ncck,G, 
 to the middle ofthe thorax^ which is large, and leems cafed with a ftrong 
 black fhel,H IK, out ofthe under part of which, ifliie fix long and (lender 
 legs, L L L L L L, fhap d juft like the legs of Flies, but (pun or drawn out 
 longer and flenderer,which could not be exprefs’d in the Figurc,becau(e 
 of their great length 5 and from the upper part, two oblong, but flender 
 tranfparent wings, M M, (haped fomewhat like thofe of a Fly,undcrneath 
 each of which, as I have obferv’d alfo in divers forts of Flies, and other 
 kinds of Gnats, was placed a (mall! body, N, much refembling a drop 
 of fbme tranfparent glutinous fubftance, hardned or cool’d, as it was al- 
 moft ready to fall, for it has a round knob at the end, which by degrees 
 grows flenderer into a fmall ftem.and neer the infertion under the wing, 
 this ftem again grows bigger j thefe little Pendulumsps I may fo call them, 
 the litle creature vibrates to and fro very quick when it moves its wings, 
 and I have fometimes obferv'd it to move themalfb, whil’ft the wing lay 
 ftill, but always , their motion feem’d to further the motion of the wing 
 ready to follow 5 of what ufe they are, as to the moving of the wing, or 
 otherwife, I have not now time to examine. 
 
 Its belly waslarge,as it is ufually in all Infers, and extended into nine 
 lengths or partitions, each of which was cover’d with round armed rings 
 or (hells 5 fix of which, O P QR S T were tranfparent, and divers kinds 
 ofPeriJiaUicli motions might be very eafily perceiv’d, whil’ft the Animal 
 
 was 
 
f 
 
Micrograph [A, 
 
 Was alive, but efpccially a fhiall deer white part V, fceiuecl to beat Jlke 
 the heart of a larger Animal. The laft three divifios, W X Y, w ere co¬ 
 ver’d with black and opacous fhellj. To conclude, take this creature 
 altogether, and for beauty and curious contrivances, it may be compared 
 ‘ with the largeft Animal upon the Earth. Nor doth the Alwife Creator 
 feem to have Ihewn lefs care and providence in the fabrick of it, then iti 
 thofe which feem molt confiderable. 
 
 Obferv. X L V. Of the great Belly d Gnar or female Gnat* 
 
 T He fecond Gnat, delineated in the twenty ninth Scheme^ is of a 
 Very differing fiiape from the former^but yet of this fort alfo,! found 
 feveral of the Gnats, that were generated out of the Water Tnfed : the 
 wings of this, were much larger then thole of the other, and the belly 
 much bigger, fhorter and of an other Ihape, and, from leveral particu” 
 Jars, I ghelf 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 veiy Ifrong 
 and ridged back-piece, which went alio on either fide of its leggs^ about 
 the wings there were feveral joynted pieces of Armor, which Teem’d cu- 
 rioully and conveniently contriv’d, for the promoting and Ifrengthning 
 the motion of the wingsnts head was much differing from the otherjbeing 
 much bigger and neater lhap’d, and the horns that grev/ out between his 
 eyes on two little balls, were of a very differing lhape from the tufts of 
 the other Gnat, thefe having but a few knots or joynts, and each of 
 thofe but a few, and thofe Ihort and ftrong, brilles* The formoff: horns 
 or feelers, were like thole of the former Gnat. 
 
 One of thele Gnats I have liiffer’d to pierce the Ikin of my hand, with 
 Its probofeis^ 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 tranfparent 5 and 
 this without any further pain, then whil ft it was finking in its probofeis^ as 
 it is allb in the flinging of Fleas; a good argument, that thele creatures 
 do not wound thefkin, and fuck the blood out of enmity and revenge, 
 but for meer neceffity, and to fatisfy their hunger- By what means this 
 creature is able to fuck, we lhall fhew in another place* 
 
 Obferv. XL VI. Of the white featherwin^d Moth or Tinea 
 Argentea, 
 
 T His white long wing’d Moth, which is delineated in the ’:^o,Scheme^ 
 afforded a lovely objedt both to the naked Eye,and through a Mi- 
 crofiope : to the Eye it appear’d a fmall Milk white Fly with four white 
 
 D d 3 Wings 
 
1^6 
 
 MiCROGR A P H I A. 
 
 Wings 3 the two formoft fomewhat longer then the two hindermofl, and 
 the two fhorter about half an Inch long, each of which four Wings fecrn’d 
 toconfiftof two fmall long Feathers^ very curioufly tufted, or haired on 
 each fide, with purely white, and exceedingly fine and fmall Haires^ pro¬ 
 portion’d to the ftalks or ftems^ out of which they grew, much like the 
 tufts of a long wing-feather of fome Bird, and their 11 : alks or ftems - were, 
 like thofe, bended backwards and downwards, as may be plainly feen by 
 the draughts of them in the Figure. 
 
 Obferving one ofthefe in my Microfiope^l found,in the firfi: place, that 
 all the BodyjLegs, Horns and the Stalks of the Wings, were covered over 
 with various kinds of curious white Feathers, which did, with handling 
 or touching, eafily rubb off and fly about, in fo much that looking on my 
 Fingers, with which T had handled this Moth, and perceiving on them lit¬ 
 tle white fpecks, I found by my Mkrofeope^ that they were leveral of the 
 fmall Feathers of this little creature, that ftuck up and down in the ru- 
 gojities of my Skin. 
 
 Next, I found that underneath thefe Feathers, the pretty Infedf was co¬ 
 vered all over with a crufted Shell, like other of thofe Animals, but with 
 one much thinner and tenderer. 
 
 Thirdly, I found, as in Birds allb is notable, it had differing and ap¬ 
 propriate kinds of Feathers, that covered feveral parts of its body. 
 
 Fourthly, furveying the parts of its body, with a more accurate and 
 better Magnifying Microfcope^ I found that the tufts or haircs of its Wings 
 were nothing elle but a congeries, or thick fet duffer of fmall vimina or 
 twiggs, refembling a Imall twigg of Birch, ffript or whit’ with which 
 Brufnes are ufually made, to beat out orbrufhoff the cluit from Cloth 
 and Hangings. Everyone of the twiggs or branches that compofed the 
 Brufh of the Feathers, appeared in this bigger Magnifying Clafs (of which 
 E F which reprefents part of an Inch, is the fcale, as G is of the lefler, 
 which is only 3) like the figure D. The Feathers alfb that covered a 
 part of his Body, and were interfperfed among the brufh of his Wings, I 
 found,in the bigger Magnifying Glafs, of the fliape A, confifting of a ftalk 
 or ftem in the middle, and a feeming tuftednefs or brufhy part on each 
 fide. 'The Feathers that cover’d moff part of his Body and the ftalk of 
 his wings, werCjin the fame Microfeope^ much of the figure B, appearing of 
 thefhape of a fmall Feather, and feemed tufted : thofe which covered 
 the Horns and fmall parts of the Leggs, through the fame Microfeope^ ap¬ 
 pear’d of the fhapeC. Whether the tufts of any or all of thefe fmall 
 Feathers, confifted of fuch component particles as the Feathers of Birds, 
 I much doubt, becaufe I find that Nature does not alwaies keep, or ope¬ 
 rate after the fame method , in fmaller and bigger creatures.- -And 
 of this, we have particular Infiances in the Wings of feveral creatures. 
 For whereas, in Birds of all kinds, itcompofes each of the Feathers of 
 which its Wing confifis, of fuch an exceeding curious and moft admirable 
 and ftupendious texture, as I elfe where fhew, in the Obfervations on a 
 Feather ^ we find it to alter its method quite, in the fabrick of the Wings 
 ^ of thefe minute creatures, compofing fome of thin extended membranes 
 
 or 
 
Schem.\xxx . 
 
Micrograph I A. 
 
 or fkins, fuch as the Wings of Dragon-flys 5 in others^thofe fkinsarc'all 
 over-grown^ or pretty thick befhickj with fhort brides, as in Flefh-flies 5 
 in others, thofe filmes are covered, both on the upper and under iide^ 
 with final 1 Feathers, plac’d* almofrlike the tyles on a Houfe, and are 
 curioufly rang’d and adorn’d with mod: lively colours, as is ob- 
 fervable in Butter-flies, and leveral kindsof Moths; In others, inftead of 
 their films, Nature has provided nothing, but a matter of half a fcore 
 ll:alks(if I well remember the number^ for I have not lately met with any; 
 of thefe flys, and did notjWhen I firft obferv’d them, take fufficient notice 
 of divers particulars^ and each of thefe flalks, with a few Angle branch^-^ 
 ings on each fide, refembling much the branched back-bone of a Herring 
 or the like Fifh, ora thin hair’d Peacocks feather, the top or the eye 
 being broken ofl. With a few of thefe on either fide(which it was able to 
 (hut up or expand at plealure, much like a Fann, or rather like the po- 
 jffure of the feathers in a wing, which ly all one under another, when 
 (hut, and by the fide of each other, when expanded) this pretty little 
 grey Moth (for fuch was the creature I obferv’d, thus wing’d) could ve¬ 
 ry nimbly, and as it feem’d very eafily move its, corpufcle ^ through the 
 Aitjfrom place to place. Other Infers have their wings cas’d, or cover’d, 
 over,with certain hollow fhells, fhap’d almoft like thofe hollow Trayes, 
 in which Butchers carry meat, whofe hollow fides being turn’d down¬ 
 wards, do not only fecure their folded wings from injury of the earth, 
 in which moft of thofe creatures refide, but whilfl: they fly,, fervesasa, 
 Kelp to fijflain and bear them up.‘ And thefe are oblervable in Sc'arabecs 
 and a multitude of other terreffrial crujlaceous Infedfs 5 in which we may 
 yet further obferve a particular providence of Nature. 
 
 Now in all thefe kinds of wings, we obferve this particular, as a thing ^ 
 moft worthy remark, that where ever a wing confiffs of difeontinued ^ 
 parts, the Pores or ir/fcrjiitia between thofe paits are very feldom, either 
 much bigger,or much fmaller, then thefe which we here find between the 
 particles of thefe brufhes, fo that it fhould feem to intimate, that the 
 parts of the Air are fuch, that they will not eafily or readily, if at all, pafs 
 through thefe Pores, fo that they feem to be firainers fine enough to hin¬ 
 der the particles of the Air (whether hinder’d by their bulk, or by their 
 agitation^ cir mlatwn ^rotation or j{77duUtion , I fjiall not here determine) 
 from getting through themjandjby that meansjferve the Animal as well.if 
 not better, then if they were little films. I fay, if not better, becaufel 
 have obferv’jd that all thofe creatures, that have film’d wings, move them 
 aboundantly quicker and more firongly,fuch as all kind of Flics and Sca- 
 and Batts, then fuch as have their wings covered with feathers, as 
 Butter-flies and Birds, ortwiggs, as Moths, which have each of them a 
 muchflow'er motion of their wings 5 That little ruggednefs perhaps of 
 their wings helping them fomewhat,by taking better hold of the parts of 
 the Air, or not fuflering them fo eafily to pafs by, any other way then one. 
 
 But what ever be the reafbn of it, tis moft evident, that the fmooth 
 wing’d Infed:s have the ftrongeft Mufclesor movent parts of their wings, 
 and the other much weaker 5 and this very Infeft, we are now deferibing, 
 
 had 
 
 \91 
 
1^8 
 
 Mi CROGR AP HIA. 
 
 had a very {mall thorax or middle part of his body, if compar’d to the 
 length and number of his wings 5 which therefore, as he mov’d them ve^* 
 ry flowly/o muft he move them very weakly. And this laft propriety do 
 we find fomewhat obferv’d alfo in bigger kind of Flying creatures,Birds 3 
 fo that we lee that the Wifdom and Providence of the Alhwife Creator^ 
 is not lefsftiewn in thefe fmall defpicable creatures. Flies and Moths, 
 which we have branded with a name of ignominy, calling them Vermine, 
 then in thofe greater and more remakable animate bodies, Birds. 
 
 I cannot here ftand to add any thing about the nature of flying, 
 though, perhaps, on another occafion, I may fay fomething on that lub* 
 jedt, it being luch as may delcrve a much more accurate examination and 
 ferutiny then it has hitherto met with 3 For to me? there feems nothing 
 wanting to make a man able to fly, but what may be eafily enough fup- 
 ply’d from the Mechanicks hitherto known, fave onely the want of 
 ftrength, which the Mufcles of a man feem utterly uncapable of, by rea* 
 fbn of their Imalnels and texture, but how even ftrength ahb may be me* 
 Chanically made, an artificial Mufcle fo contriv’d,that thereby a man (hall 
 be able to exert what ftrength he pleafes, and to regulate it alfo to his 
 own mind, I may elfewhere endeavour to manifeft. 
 
 Obferv. XLVII. Of the Shepherd Spider, or long hg^d 
 
 Spider* 
 
 / 
 
 ^pHeCarter,Shepherd Spider,or long-legg’d Spider,has, for two parti- 
 cularities, very few fimilar creatures that I have met with 3 the firft, 
 which is difcovcrablc onely by the Microfiope^ and is in the firft and Ic- 
 Cor\d Figures of the Scheme^ plainly deferib’d, is the curious contri¬ 
 
 vance of his eyes, of which (difciring from moft other Spiders) he has 
 onely two, and thofe plac’d upon the top of a fmall pillar or hillock,rifing 
 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 tranfverfe Diameters of the eye, and look’d on in 
 another pofture,appear'd much of the (hape, BCD) The two eyes, ■ B B, 
 were placedback to back, with the tranfparent parts,or the pupils, look¬ 
 ing towards either fide, but fomewhat more forward then backwards* 
 C was the column or neck on which they ftood, and D the crown of the 
 head out of which that neck fprung. 
 
 Thefe eyes,to appearance, feem’d to be of the very lame ftrudture with 
 that of larger binocular creatures, feeming to have a very fmooth and ve¬ 
 ry protuberant Cfir/?e<«,and in themidft of it to have a very black pupil, 
 incompaffed about with a kind of grey Iris, as appears by the Figure 3 
 whether it were able to move thefe eyes to and fro, I have not obferv’d, 
 but ’tis not very likely he ftiould,the pillar or neck C, feeming to be co¬ 
 ver’d and ftiffen’d with a crufty (hell 3 but Nature,in probability,has flip- 
 
 ply’d 
 
Schem IXXJ 
 
 
 

 V 
 
M I C R 0‘G R A RH'1 A. 
 
 ply’d thatdefedVj by making the Cornea fo very prbtuberdntj'alod fctting 
 it fb deer above the fliadowing or obftruding of its prpipedi: by the body^' 
 that'tis likely each eye may petceivejthough'nbt ree,diftindl:lypalmon: a 
 Hemifikere^ whence having fo fmall and round a body plac’d hpbn fucH 
 longleggs, it is quickly able fo to wind, andturfr it, as to fee.any thing 
 didindh This creature, as do all other Spiders I liaVe yet exai^in’d, .does 
 very much differ from moft other Tnfedts in^ the'Figure of'lts eyes’^'for 
 I cannot, with my beft Microfeope^ dircoVer‘'itsoyes to te any wa'yy 
 knobb’d or pearl’d like thofe of other Infedfs/^'^ i i b..: ' 1 
 
 The fecond Peculiarity which’is obvjbus t6'the%ye, is alfo very re^' 
 markable, and that is the prodigious length of its Ibggs/ in proportion to 
 its fmall round body, each legg of this I drew, being above^ fix teen times 
 the length of its- whole body, and there are'lomO \VhidK’ hayie them yet 
 longer, and others that feem of the fame kind,that have them a great deal 
 (hotter^ the eight leggs are each of them jointed, juft like thole of a 
 Crab, but every^ of the parts^^are-fpun put-prodigioully longerin.yro*'- 
 portion ^ each of thefe leggs are tefmiriaf ed in-a ftriall ‘cafe'or"ft]elI,,fllap’^ 
 almoft like that of a Mulle-lhell, as is evident in the third Fd^Upe of the 
 fame Scheme (that reprefents the appearance of the under part or belly 
 of the creature) by the lhape of the protuberant conical body, III I, ^cl 
 Thele are as ’twere plac'd or faften’d on to the protuberant body of the 
 Infed, which is to be fuppos’d very high at M,making a kind of blunt Pone 
 whereof M is to be luppos’d the Apex^ about which greater cone of the 
 body,the fmaller cones of the leggs are plac’d,each of them alrtiOft reach-^ 
 ing to the top in fo admirable a manner, as does not a little manifeft’the 
 wifdom of Nature in the contrivance 5 for thele long Leavers (as I may lb 
 call them)of the legs,havingnot the advantage of a long end on the other 
 fide of the hj/pomochlion or centers on which the parts of the leggs move^ 
 muff: neceflarily require a vaft ftrength to move jthem', and keep the 
 body ballanc’d and lufpended, in (b much, that if we Ihould fuppole a 
 body fufpended by fuch a contrivance, an hundred and fifty 
 
 man s 
 
 times the ftrength of a man would not keep the body from falling on the 
 breaft. To fupply therefore each of thele leggs with its proper ftrength. 
 Nature has allow’d to each a large Cheft or Cell, in which is included a 
 very large and ftrong Mufcle, and thereby this little Animal is not onely 
 able to lufpend its body upon left then thefe eight, but to move it very 
 fwiftly over the tops of graft and leaves. ^ , ,, 
 
 Nor are thele eight leggs lb prodigioufly ibrigf Blit thelffinth, and 
 tenth, which are the two claws, K K, areas fliqrtj^nd fefvp in fteed of a 
 prohojeis^ for thofe leem’d very little longer then his mouthy each pf them 
 had three parts, but very Ihort , the joints'R K, 'which reprelented 
 the third, being longer then both the other. This.: creature, feem$ 
 (which I have feveral times with pleafure obferv’d) to throvy its body 
 upon the prey, infteed of its hands, not unlike a hunting Spider, which 
 leaps like a Cat at a Moufe. The whole Fabrick was a!i very pretty one, 
 and could I have differed it,! doubt not but Iftiould have found as ma¬ 
 ny lingularities within it as without,perhaps, for the moft part,not unlike 
 
 the 
 
200 
 
 Micrograhpia. 
 
 the parts of a Crab, which this little creature does in many things^ very 
 much refenible, the curiofityof whofe contrivance,! have in another place 
 examin’d. I omit the defeription of the horns, A A, of the mouth,XL, 
 which ieem’d likethat'of a Crab the fpecklednefs of his (hell, >vbich 
 proceeded from a kind of feathers or hairs, and the hairinefs of his jeggs^ 
 his large and' little belly, and the like, they being manifefted by 
 
 the Figure 5 and (hall onely take notice that the three parts ofthe body, 
 namely, the head,breaft,and bellyjare in this creature ftrangely confus’d, 
 fo that Vis difficult to determine which is which,as they are alfo in a Crab ^ 
 and indeed, this (eemsto be nothing elle, but^an Air-crab, being made 
 more light and nimble, proportionable to the medium wherin itrefides 5 
 and as Airjfeems to have but one thoufandth part of the body of Water,(b 
 does this Spider (eem not to be a thoufandth part of the bulk of a Crab. 
 
 » 
 
 iu 
 
 
 
 'i i ^ \ 
 
 t 
 
 1 • 
 
 --r-r'*- 
 
 ' Tij 
 
 ; 
 
 
 
 
 Obfecyl :X L V111,^' Of the hunting Spider ,^;^^fever al other Jorts 
 (f Spiders. / = 
 
 T He jhamting Spider X a fmall grey Spider, prettily befpeck’d with 
 .black (^ts all over its body, which the Microfeepe difeovers to be a 
 kind of,feathers like thofe. on Butterflies wings, or the body>’ofthe 
 white Moth I lately deferib’d. Its gate is very nimble by fits, fometimes 
 running, and fometimes leaping, like a Gralhopper almoft,then (landing 
 (till,,and fettiug itfelf on its hinder leggs, it will very nimbly turn its 
 body, and look round it felf every way ; It has fix very confpicuous 
 eyes, two looking diredlly forwards, plac’d juft before 5 two other, on 
 either fide of thole, looking for]ward and fide-ways^and two other about 
 the middle of the top of its back or head, which look backwards and 
 i^de-wards;ythe(efeem’d to be'the biggeft. The furface of them all was 
 very blackjfpha^rical,.purely poli(h’d,refle(fting a very clcerand diftind: 
 Image of all the ambient objeds, fuch as a window,a man’s hand,a white 
 Paper, or the like. Some other properties of this Spider, obferv’d by the 
 moft accomplifh’d Mr. Evelyn^ in his travels in Italy^ are moft empha¬ 
 tically fet forth in the^Hiftory hereunto annexed, which he was pleas’d 
 upon my defire to fend me in writing. 
 
 } ^ J . J J I , . V 
 
 ’ Of all the forts of Infefts, there is none has afforded me 
 more divertifements then the Venatores^ which arc a fort of Lufi^ 
 that have their Denns in the rugged walls, and crevices of our 
 houfes ; a fmall brown and delicately fpotted kind of Spiders, 
 whole'hinder leggs are longer then the reft. 
 
 Such I did frequently obferve at /Jowe, which efpying a Fly 
 at three or four yards diftancc^upon the Balcony (where I ftood) 
 
 would 
 
M i C R O G R A P H 1 A. 201 
 
 would not make direflly Co her, but craul under diefRail, tilt 
 being arriv’d to the Antt^odcs^ it would fteal up, feldom’^i flings 
 its aim ; but if it chanced to want any thing of being perfeftly 
 oppofite,would at firft peep, immediatly Aide down again, till 
 taking better notice, it would come the next time exaftly upon 
 the Fly s back: But, if this hapn’d not to be within a compe¬ 
 tent leap, then would this Infed move fo foftly, as the very 
 ftiadow of the Gnomon feem’d not to be more imperceptible, 
 unlefs the Fly mov’d; and then would the Spider move alfo in 
 the fame proportion, keeping that juft time with her motion,as 
 if the fame Soul had animated both thofe little bodies ; and 
 whether it were forwards, backwards, or to either fide, without 
 at all turning her body, like a well mannag’d Horfe: But, if 
 the capricious Fly took wing, and pitch’d upon another place 
 behind our Huntrefs, then would the Spider whirle its body fb 
 nimbly about, as nothing could be imagin'd more fwiftby 
 which means,(he always kept the head towards her prey,though 
 to appearance, as immovable, - as if it had been.a Naifdriven 
 into the Wood, till by that indifcernable progrefs (being ar¬ 
 riv’d within the fphere of her reach) (he made a fatal leap. 
 
 (fwift as Lightning) upon the Fly, catching him iii the pole, 
 where (he never quitted hold till her belly was full, and then 
 carried the remainder home. I have beheld them inftruftihg 
 their young ones, how to hunt, which they would fometimes 
 difeipline for not well oblcrving ; but, when any of'the old 
 ones did (as fometimes) mifs a leap, they would run put of 
 the field, and hide them in their ■ crannies, as alham’d,' and 
 haply not be feen abroad for four or five hours after ';- fo^^lp 
 long have I watched the nature of this ftrange Infeft; the cOn-^ 
 tcmplation of whole fo wonderfull fagacity and addrefs has 
 ' amaz’d me; nor do I find in any chafe whatfoever, more pun¬ 
 ning and Stratagem obferv’d: I have (bund fome of thefe Spi^i 
 ders in my Garden, when the weather (cowards the Spring) 
 
 E e is 
 
202 
 
 M 
 
 I C R O G R A P H I A. 
 
 is very hot, buc they are nothing fo eager of hunting as tlicy 
 
 arc in 
 
 f 
 
 There are multitudes of other Ibrts of Spiders, whofe eyes, and moft 
 other parts and properties, are fo exceedingly diferent both from thofe 
 I have delcrib’d, and from one another, that it would be almoft endlels^ 
 at lead: tpo long for my preient Efiay, to deferibe them,as Ibme with fix 
 eyes, plac’d in quite another order 5 others with eight eyes 5 others with 
 fewer, and fome with more. They all feem to be creatures of prey, and 
 to feed , on other fmall Infers, but their ways of catching them feem very 
 differing ; the Shepherd Spider by running on his prey 5 the Hunting Spi¬ 
 der by leaping on itjOther forts weave Nets, or Cobwebs, whereby they 
 cnlhare them, Nature having both fitted them with materials and tools^ 
 and taught them how to work and weave their Nets, and to lie per¬ 
 due, and to watch diligently to run on any Fly, as fbon as ever en¬ 
 tangled. ' • ! 
 
 Their threadi or web feems to be fpun out of Ibrae vifeous kind of 
 excrement, lying in their belly, which, though foft when drawn out, is, 
 prefently by reafbn of its fmalnefs, hardned and dried by the ambient 
 Air. Examining feveral of which with my Microfiofe^ found them to ^p-, 
 pear much like white Horf-hair, or fome fuch tranfparent horny fubfiance,' 
 and to be of very differing magnitudes, fome appearing as bigg as a 
 Pigg’s brifle, others equal to a Horfs-hair ^ other.no bigger then- a man’s 
 hair, others yet fmall er. and finer. I obferv’d further, that the radia¬ 
 ting chords of the web were much bigger, and fmoother thenthofe that 
 were woven round, which feem’d frnaller,and all over knotted or pearl’d, 
 with (mail tranlparent Globules, not unlike fmall Cryftal Beads oq feed 
 Pearls, thin ftrung on a Clew of Silk 3 which, whether they were fb.'fpun 
 by the Spider, or by the adventitious moifiure of a fogg (which! have 
 obferv’d to coverall thefe filaments with fuchCryrtallineBeads)^!vyill 
 not now difpute. r - . • 
 
 Thefe threads were fome of them fo fmall, thaTEcould very pfaifify, 
 with the Microjeope^ difeover the fame cocifecutions of eoloiars as in* a 
 Trifme^ and they feem’d to proceed from the fame caufe,with,co¬ 
 lours which I have already defcrib’d in thin plated bodies.' ' ^ • 
 
 Much refembling a Cobweb, or a confus’d lock of th^ Cylin¬ 
 ders, is a certain white fubftance which, after afe^gj may be;ob^r.y’d 
 to fly up and down tfie Air 5 catching feveral of thefe, and examining 
 them^ with my Microfeope^ I found them to be much of the fatiie form, 
 looking moftlike to a flake of Worfted prepar'd to be fputryj,.tliough 
 by what means they fhould be generated, or produc’d^ is nqtt ^fily 
 Imagined; they were of the fame weight, or very little heavier then the 
 Air 3 and tis not unlikely, but that tliofe great white clo^idsj that>aJ)jifear 
 all the'Suihmer time, may be of the fame fubftance^, , 
 
 •f r 
 
 i > 
 
 dhferv, 
 
 9 
 
Micrograph! A* 
 
 Obferv* XLIX. Of an Anc or Pifmire, 
 
 T His was a creaturcj more troiiblefom to be drawn, then any of the 
 reft, for I could not, for a good while, think of a way to make it 
 luffer its body to ly quiet in a natural pofture, but whil’ft it was alive^ 
 if its feet were fetter d in Wax or Glew , it would fo twift and wind its 
 body, that I could not any wayes get a good view of it 5 and if I killed 
 it, its body was fo little, that I did often ipoile the fhape of it, before I 
 could throughly view it; for this is the nature of thefe minute Bodies, 
 that as roon,almoft, as ever their life is deftroy’d', their parts immediate¬ 
 ly ihrivel, and lofe their beauty 5 and fo is it alio with fmall Plants, as I 
 inftanced before, in the dclcription of Mofs. And thence alfo is the rea- 
 fon of the variations in the beards of wild Oats, and in thofe of Mufk- 
 grafs feed, that their bodies, being exceeding fmall, thofe fmall-variations 
 which are made in the furfaces of all bodies, almoft upon every: change 
 of Air, efpecially if the body be porous, do here become fenfible, where 
 the whole body is fo fmall, that it is almoft nothing but furface 3 for as in 
 vegetable fubftances, I fee no great reafon to think, that the moifture of 
 the Aire(that, fticking to a wreath’d beard, does make it untwiftJlhould 
 evaporate, or exhale away, any fafter then the moifture of other bodies, 
 but rather that the avolation from, or accefs of moifture to, the furfaces 
 of bodies being much the lame, thole bodies become moft fenfiblc of it j 
 which have the leaft proportion of body to their furface. So is it allb 
 with Animal liibftances , the dead body of an Ant, or fuch little creature,' 
 does almoft inftantly Ihrivel and dry, and your objeft lhall be quite an¬ 
 other thing, before you can half delineate it, which proceeds not from the 
 extraordinary exhalation, but from the fmall proportion of body and jui¬ 
 ces, to theufual drying of bodies in the Air, efpecially if warm. . For 
 which inconvenience, where I could not otherwife remove it, .1 thought 
 of this expedient. " i : . 
 
 I took the creature, I had delign’d to delineate, and put it into’a drop 
 of very well reftified Ipirit of Wine,this I found would prefently difpatch, 
 as it were, the Animal, and being taken out of it, and lay’d ona paper^ 
 the Ipirit of Wine would immediately flyaway,^ and leave the .Animal 
 dry, in its natural pofture, or at leaft, in a conftitution, that it might eafi- 
 ly with a pin be plac’d, in what pofture you dclired to draw.itj,^ and the 
 limbs would lb remain, without either moving, or Ihriveling. 'And. thus I 
 dealt with this Ant, which Ihave here delineated, 'which wason^ bf ma¬ 
 ny, of a very large kind, that inhabited under the Roofs of a Tree, froiii 
 whence they wpuld lally out in great parties, and make moft grievous 
 havock of the Flowers and Fruits, in the ambient Garden, arrcfrctijrn 
 back again very expertly, by the fame wayes and paths they'went, d ^ 
 It was more then half the bignefs of an Earwig, 'of a dark brown, or 
 teddilh colour, with long legs, on the hinder of which it would ftan'd- 
 
 E e 2 up. 
 
 205. 
 
204 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 upjand raife its head as high as it could above the ground, that it might 
 Hare the further about it, juft after the fame manner as I havealfo ob- 
 lerv’d a hunting Spider to do; and putting my finger towards them, 
 they have at firft all run towardsitjtillalmoft at it 5 and then they would 
 ftand round about it, at a certain diftance, and fmell, as it were, and con- 
 fidcr whether they ftiould any of them venture any further, till one more 
 bold then the reft venturing to climb it,all the reft, if I would have fuffer- 
 ed them, would have immediately followed ; many fuch other feeming- 
 ly rational actions I have obferv’d in this little Vermine with much plea- 
 lure,which would be too long to be here related, thofe that defire more 
 of them may fatisfie their curiofity in Ligens Hiftory of the Barhadoes. 
 
 Having infnar’d fcveral of thefe into a fmall Box, I made choice of the 
 talleft grown among them, and feparating it from the reft,I gave it a Gill 
 of Brandy, or Spirit of Wine, which after a while e’en knock’d him down 
 dead drunk, fo that he became movelefi, though at firft putting in he 
 ftruggled* for a pretty while very much, till at laft, certain bubbles iflu- 
 ing out of its mouth, it ceafed to move 5 this ( becaufe. I had before 
 found them quickly to recover again, if they were taken out prelently ) 
 IfulFered to lye above an hour in the Spirit 3 and after I had taken it 
 out, and put its body and legs into a natural pofture, remained move- 
 leis about an hour , but then , upon a ludden, as if it had been awa¬ 
 ken out of a drunken fleep, it fuddenly reviv’d and ran away 5 be¬ 
 ing caught, and lerv’d as before, he for a while continued ftruggling and 
 ftriving,tiil at laft there ifliied feveral bubbles out of its mouth,and then, 
 animam expirajjet^ he remained movelels for a good while 3 but 
 at length again recovering, it was again redipt, and fuffered to lye Ibme 
 hours in the Spirit^ notwithftanding which, after it had layen dry 
 Ibme three or four hours,, it again recovered life and motion ; Which 
 kind of Experiments, if prolecuted, which they highly deferve, feem 
 to me’of no inconfiderable ule towards the invention of the Latent 
 'Scheme^ (as the Noble Vernlam calls it) or the hidden, unknown Texture 
 of Bodiei ^ _ 
 
 Of what Figure this Creature appear’d Microfeope ^ the 
 
 52 . Scheme ( notfo carefnUyr. graven as it ought) will repre- 
 fent to tire,eye, namely. That it had. a,large bead A A, attheupper 
 end of which were two protuberant eyes, pead’d like thofe of a Fly, 
 butfmaller B B 3 out of theNofc,or fbremoftpart, iftiied two horns CC, 
 offa fhapeTiifficiendy differing from-thofe of a blew Fly, thpugff indeed 
 they ieerpi to be bodi the lame kind of Organ, and to lerve for a kind 
 of Imeiliin'g 3 beyond 1 thefe were two indented jaw.^O D, whichbeo- 
 pen di fide^wayes, and/was able to gape them afander yeiy wide , and 
 the end's of them being armed with teeth,, whicktne^ting went between 
 each other, it was:abie to grafp and hold a heavy body, three op four 
 times thc'bulk and Weight of its own body; It had ^ only fix legs, ,ihap d 
 like thofe, of aFly^rlwhich, as I Ihewed before, is an Argument th^t it is a 
 wingeddnfeft, land thoughl could not'Perceive any %nof, them In the 
 ihiddlelpart.of its body which fear’d to conlift.Qf^hrce, joints or pic^ 
 
 -■ ... 3 ' ' ces 
 
Micro GRAPHiAi 
 
 ces E F G, out of which fpi ung two legs, yet ’tis known that there are 
 of them that have long wings, and fly up and down in the air. 
 
 The third and lafl: part of its body III was bigger and larger then 
 the other two, unto which it was joyn’d by a very fmall middle, and 
 had a kind of loofe.jliell, or another diftinft part of its body H, which 
 feem’d to be interpos’d, and to keep the thorax belly from touch- 
 ing. 
 
 The whole body was cas’d over with a very ftrong armour, and the 
 belly III was covered likewife tvith multitudes of fmall white fhining 
 brifles 5 the legs, horns, head, and middle parts of its body were beftuck 
 with hairs allb, but fmaller and darker. 
 
 Obftrv. L. Of thewandringMite, 
 
 ] N September and 1661. I oblerv’d in feveral of thelc 
 
 little pretty Creatures to wander to and fro,and often to travel over 
 the plains of my Window. And m September 2^Ti6.0&ober, 1663. I ob- 
 ferv’d likewife feveral of thefe very lame Creatures traverfing a window 
 tit London^ and looking without the window upon the liibjacent wall, I 
 found whole flocks of the lame kind running to and fro among the fmall 
 groves and thickets of green mols, and upon the curioully fpreading ve¬ 
 getable blew or yellow mols, which is a kind of a Muflirome or Jews- 
 ear. 
 
 Thefe Creatures to the naked eye leemed to be a kind of black Mite, 
 but much nimbler and ifronger then the ordinary Cheefe-Mites ^ but 
 examining them in a Mjcrofcope , I found them to be a very fine crufied 
 or Iheird Infeff, much like that reprefented in the firffc Figure of the 
 three and t^KtiQth Scheme^ with a protuberant oval Ihell A, indented 
 or pitted with an abundance of fmall pits , all covered over with little 
 white brifles, whofe points all direfted backwards. - 
 
 It had eight legs, each of them provided with a very fharp tallon, or 
 claw at the end, which this little Animal, in its going, faftned into thd 
 pores of the body over which it went. Each of thefe legs were beftuck 
 in every joynt of them with multitudes of fmall hairs, or (" if we re- 
 Ipcdc the proportion they bore to the bignefs of the leg ) turnpikes, all 
 pointing towards the claws. 
 
 The T^<7r4A:,or middle parts of the body of this Creature,was exceed¬ 
 ing fmall, in relpefl: both of the head and belly , it being nothing but 
 that part which was covered by the two fhells B B, though it feem’d to 
 grow thicker underneath: And indeed, if we confider the great 
 variety Nature ufes in proportioning the three parts of the body, 
 the Head^ Thorax^ and Belly J we fhall not wonder at the Imall pro¬ 
 portion of this Thorax^ nor at^the vaifer bulk of the belly, for could 
 we exactly anatdmile this little Creature, and obferve the particular de- 
 figns of each part, we fhould doubtlels, as we do in all her more ma¬ 
 nageable 
 
io(> 
 
 Micrographi a. 
 
 nageable and tradable fabricks, find much more reafon to admire the 
 excellency of her contrivance and workmanfhip, then to w^onder^^ it was 
 not made otherwife. 
 
 The head of this little Infed was fliap d fomewhat like a Mite’s, that 
 isjit had a long fnout, in the manner of a Hogs, with a knobbed ridge 
 running along the middle of it, which was beftuck on either fide with 
 many Imall brifles, all pointing forward, and two very large pikes or 
 horns, which rofe from the top of the head, juft over each eye, and 
 pointed forward allb. It had two pretty large black eyes on either fide 
 of the head EE, from one of which I could lee a very bright refledion 
 of the window, which made me ghels, that the Cornea of it was fmooth, 
 like thole of bigger Inlcds. Its motion was pretty quick and flrong, 
 it being able very ealily to tumble a done or clod four times as big as its 
 whole body. 
 
 At the fame time and place, and divers times fince, I have obferved 
 with my Microfcope , another little Inled, which, though I have not an¬ 
 nexed the pidure of, may be worth noting, for its exceeding nimblenels 
 as well as fmalnels 5 it was as Imall as a Mite, with a body deep and 
 ridged, almofi: like a Flea 3 it had eight blood-red legs, not very long, 
 but llender 3 and two horns or feelers before. Its motion was fo exceed- 
 ing quick, that I have often lofi: fight of one I have obferved with my 
 naked eye 3 and though, when it was not frighted, I was able to follow 
 the motions of Ibme with my Microfcope 3 yet if it were never fo little 
 ftartled, it polled away with luch Ipecd, and turn’d and winded it felf 
 Ib quick, that I fhould prefently lofe fight of it. 
 
 When I firll: oblerv’d the former of thefe Infeds, or Mites, I began to 
 conjedure, that certainly I had found out the vagabond Parents of thole 
 Mites we find in Cheefes, Meal, Corn, Seeds, mufty Barrels, mufty Lea¬ 
 ther, thefe little Creatures, vvandring to and fro every whither, 
 might perhaps, as they were invited hither and thither by the mufty 
 fteamsof feveral putrifying bodies, make their invafions upon thofe new 
 and pleafing territories , and there fpending the remainder of their life, 
 which might be perhaps a day, or thereabouts, in very plentiful and rio¬ 
 tous living, might leave their olf-fpring behind them, which by the 
 change of the Ibil and Country they now inhabite, might be quite al¬ 
 ter’d from the hew of their primogenitors^ and, like Mores tranflated into 
 Northern European Climates, after a little time, change both their skin 
 and fhape. And this feems yet more probable in thefe Infeds, becaule 
 that the Ibil or body they inhabit, leems to be almoft half their parent, 
 for it not only hatches and brings thofe little eggs, or feminal principles, 
 to perfedion, but feems to augment and nourilh them allb before they 
 are hatch’d or fhaped 3 for it is obvious enough to be obferv’d, that the 
 eggs of many other Inleds, and particularly of Mites, are increas’d in 
 bulk after they are laid out of the bodies of the Inleds, and plump’d 
 Ibmetimes into many times their former bignels, fo that the bodies they 
 are laid in being, as it were, half their mothers, we lhall not wonder that 
 it Ihould have fuch an adive power to change their forms. We find by 
 
 relations^ 
 

 fr.*-.*^** 
 
 
 V»1 
 
 m 
 
 -ll'* 
 
MiCROGRAPHIA# 
 
 relations how much the Negro Women do befmeer the of-fpring of the 
 Spamard^ bringing forth neither white-fkinn'd nor blacky but tawny 
 hided Mnlattos. 
 
 Now, though I propound this as probable, I have not yet been fo farr 
 certify’d by Obfervations as to conclude any thing, either pofitively or 
 negatively,concerning it. Perhaps,fome more lucky diligence may pleafe 
 the curious Inquirer with the difeovery of thisjto be a truth,which I now 
 conjefture, and may thereby give him a fatisfadory account of the caufe 
 of thofe crcaturcs,whore original Teems yet To obfeure, and may give him 
 came to bclieve,that many other animate beings, that Teem alfo to be the 
 mere produd of putrifadion, may be innobled with a Pedigree as anci¬ 
 ent as the firft creation, and farr exceed the greateft beings in their nu¬ 
 merous Genealogies. But on the other fide, if it Ihould be found that 
 thefe^or any other animate body,have no immediate limilar Parent,! have 
 in another place let down a conjedural Hypothejls whereby thofe 
 nomer/a may likely enough be fojv’d, wherein the infinite wifdom and 
 
 providence of the Creator is no lels rare and wonderfull. 
 
 / 
 
 Obferv. LI. 0ftheCp‘2h-\\ktInfeSi» 
 
 F \ Eading one day in Septemb, I chanced to obferve a very fmal creature 
 i creep over the Book I wasreadingjvery flowly,having a Microfeepe 
 by me,I obferv’d it to be a creature of a very unufual form,and that not 
 lels notable 5 fuch as is defcribkl in the fecond Fjgnre of the 33. Scheme, It 
 was.about the bignefe of a large MitejOr fbmewhat longerjit had ten legs, 
 eight of which, A A A A, were topt with veryfharp claws, and were thofe 
 upon which he walk’d. Teeming fhap’d much like thofe of a Crab, which 
 in many other things alfo this little creature refombled 5 for the tv/o 
 other clawSjB B, which were the formed: of all the ten,and feem’d’to grow 
 out of his head,like the horns of other Animals,were exadly form’d in the 
 manner of Crabs or Lobfters claws, for they were Ihap’d and jointed 
 much like thofo reprefened in the.and the ends of them were fur- 
 nilh’d with a pair of claws or pincerSjC C,which this little animal did open 
 and fhut at pleafure ; It foem’d to make ufe of thofe two horns or claws 
 both for feelers and holders 5 for in its motion it carried thefe aloft ex¬ 
 tended before, moving them to and fro, juft as a man blindfolded 
 would do his hands when he is fearfull of running againft a Wall, and if I 
 put a hair to it, it would readily take hold of it with thefe claws, 
 and foem to hold it faff. Now, though thefe horns foem’d to ferve him 
 for two ufesjuamclyjfor feeling and holding, yet he Teem’d neither blind, 
 having two Imall black fpots, D D, which by the make of them, and the 
 bright refledtion from them Teem’d to be his eyes ^ nor did it want other 
 hands, having another pair of claws, E E, very neer plac’d to its mouth, 
 and Teem’d adjoining to it. _ 'i 
 
 The whole body was cafed over with armonr-fliells, as is ufuall in all 
 
 thole 
 
2o8 
 
 Micrograhpia. 
 
 thofc kinds of crujiaceous creatures, efpecially about their bellies, and 
 feem’d of three kinds ^ the head F feem'd cover’d with a kind of kraly 
 (hell, the thorax with two fmooth (hells, or Rings, G G, and the belly 
 with eight knobb’d ones. I could not certainly find whether it had under 
 thefe laft (hells any wings, but I fufpeft the contrary 5 for I have not found 
 any wing’d Infe^b with eight leggs,twoof thofe leggs being always con¬ 
 verted into wings, and, for the moft part, thofe that have but (ix, have 
 wings. 
 
 This creature, though I could never meet with more then one of 
 them, and fo could not make fo many examinations of it as otherwife I 
 wouldjldid notwithftanding,by reafon of the great curiofity that appear’d 
 to me in its (hape, delineate it, to (hew thatjin all likelihood, Nature had 
 crouded together into this very minute Infed, as many, and as excellent 
 contrivances, as into the body of a very large Crab, which exceeds it in 
 bulk,perhaps,fome Millions of times 5 for as to all the apparent parts,there 
 is a greater rather' then a lefs multiplicity of parts,each legg has as many 
 parts, and as many joints as a Crabs, nay,and as many hairs or brides, and 
 the like may be in all the other vifible parts 5 and ’tis very likely,that the 
 internal curiofities are not le(s excellent: It being a general rule in Na¬ 
 ture’s proceedings, that where (he begins to difplay any excellency, if 
 the fubjed be further fearch’d into, it will manifeff, that there is not le(s 
 curiofity in thofe parts which our (ingle eye cannot reach, then in tho(e 
 which are more obvious. 
 
 Obferv. L 11. Of the frnall Silver-colour d Book-worm. 
 
 A S among greater Animals there are many that are (baled, both for 
 ornament and defence, lb are there not wanting fuch al(b among the 
 lefier bodies of Infeds^ whereof this little creature gives us an Inftance. 
 It is a fmall w'hite Silver-fhining Worm or Moth,which I found much con- 
 verfant among Books and Papers, and is fuppos’d to be that which cor¬ 
 rodes and eats holes through the leaves and covers s it appears to the 
 naked eye, afmall gliftering Pearl-colour’d Moth,which upon the remov¬ 
 ing of Books and Papers in the Summer, is often obferv’d very nimbly to 
 feud, and pack away to (bmc lurking cranney, where it may the better 
 proted it (elf from any appearing dangers. Its head appears bigg and 
 blunt, and its body tapers from it towads the tail, (mailer and fmaller,be¬ 
 ing (hap’d almofi: like a Garret. 
 
 This the .Mcr^op/Wappearance will more plainly manife(l:,which ex- 
 hibits,inthe third Figure of the ^'^.Schewe^ a conical body, divided into 
 fourteen feveral partitions,being the appearance of fo many (everal (liels, 
 or (hields that cover the whole body, every of thefe (hells are again co¬ 
 ver’d or tiled over with a multitude of thin tranlparent fcales, which, 
 from the multiplicity of their refleding (urfaces,make the whole Animal 
 appear of a perfed Pearl-colour. 
 
 Which 
 
 r 
 
MicrographiA^ 
 
 Whichjby the wayjmay hint us the reafon of that fo much admired ap¬ 
 pearance of thofe fo highly eflcem’d bodies, as allb of the like in mother 
 of Pearl-fhells, and in multitudes of other fhelly Sea-fubflances 5 for they 
 each of them confiding of an infinite number of very thin fhells or Ja- 
 minated orbiculations, caufe fiich multitudes of refledions, that the com- 
 pofitions of them together with the refledions of others that are lb thin 
 as to afford colours (of which I eifewhere give the reafon) gives a ve- 
 ry'pleafant refledion of light. And that this is the true caufe5feems likely, 
 firft, becaufe all thofe fo appearing bodies are compounded of multitudes 
 of plated lubftances. And next that^by ordering any trafparent fubdance 
 after this mannetjthe like VhiHfiomena may be produc’d , this will be made 
 very obvious by the blowing of Glafs into exceeding thin fhells, and 
 then breaking them into fcales,which any lamp*worker will prelently do 5 
 for a goodquantity of thefe fcaleSjlaid in a heap t6gcther,have much the 
 fame refomblance of Pearls. Another way, not lefs indrudive and plea- 
 font, is a way which I have feveral times done, which is by working and 
 tolling,as twere, a parcel of pure crydalline glais whild it is kept glowing 
 hot in the blown flame of a Lamp5|for,by that means,that purely tranlpa- 
 rent body will be lb divided into an infinite number of plates, or Imall 
 drings, with interpos’d aerial plates and fibres^ that from the multiplicity 
 of the refledions from each of thofe internal furfaces, it may be drawn 
 out into curious Pearl-like or Silver wire, which though fmall, will yet 
 be opacous‘5 the fame thing I have done,.with a compofition of red 
 phon andTnrpet2ti?7C^ and a little Bee s Wax, and may be done likewifo 
 with Birdlime, and fuchlike glutinous and tranfparent bodies: But tore- 
 turn to our defoription. 
 
 The Imall blunt head of this Infed was furnifli’d on either fide of it 
 with a cluder of eyes, each of which foem’d to contain but a very few, in 
 comparifon of what I had obferv’d the cluders of other Infeds to abound 
 with ^ each of thefo cluders were befet with a row of fmall briOes, much 
 like the cilia or hairs on the eye-lids, and, perhaps, they forv’d for the 
 lame purpofo. It had two long horns before, which were ftreight, and 
 tapering towards the top, curioully ring’d or knobb’d, and brifled much 
 like theMarlh Weed, call’d Horfe-tail, or Cats-tail, having at each knot 
 a fring’d Girdlc,as I may fo call it, of fmaller hairs, and feveral bigger and 
 large? briflcs,here and there difpers’d among them; befides thefe, it had 
 two itiorter horns, or feelers, which were knotted and fring’d, juft as the 
 former, but wanted brides, and were blunt at the ends 5 the hinder part 
 of the creature was terminated with three tails, in every particular re- 
 lembling the two longer horns that grew out of the head; The foggs of 
 it were foal’d and hair’d much like the reft, but are notexpreft’d in this 
 Figure^ the Moth being intangled all in Glew, and fo the leggs of this 
 appear’d not through the Glafs which looked perpendicularly upon 
 the back. ^ 
 
 This Animal probably feeds upon the Paper and covers of Books, and 
 perforates in them foveral finall round holes, finding, perhaps, a conve¬ 
 nient nourifliment in thofe hulks of Hemp and Flax, which have pafs’d 
 
 F f through 
 
210 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 through lb many fcourings, wafhingSjdreflings and dryings, as the p^rts 
 of old Paper muft neceflarily have fufFer’d, the digeftive facultyjit feems^ 
 of thefc little creatures being able yet further to work upon thofc ftub- 
 born parts, and reduce them into another form. 
 
 And indeed, when Iconfider what a heap of Saw-duft or chips this 
 little creature (which is one of the teeth of Time) conveys into its in* 
 trals. I cannot chufe but remember and admire the excellent contrivance 
 of Nature, in placing in Animals fuch a fire, as is continually nouriftied and 
 fupply’d by the nlaterials convey’d into the ftomach, and fomented by the 
 bellows of the lungs, and in fo contriving the moft admirable fabrick of 
 Animals, as to make the very (pending and wafting of that fire, to be 
 inftrumental to the procuring and colleding more materials to augment 
 and chcrifti it fclf, which indeed feems to be the principal end of all the 
 contrivances obfervable in bruit Animals. 
 
 Obferv. LI 11. Of a Vltz. 
 
 '’^He ftreagth and beauty of this fmall creature, had it no other rela- 
 tion at all to man, would deferve a defeription. • 
 
 For its ftrength, the Microfeope is able to make no greater difcpvcries 
 ofit then the naked eye, but onely the curious contrivance of itsleggs 
 and joints, for the exerting that ftrcngthjis very plainly manifefted, fuch 
 as no other creature, I have yet obferv’d, has any thing like it 5 for the 
 joints of it are fo adapted ,that he caOjas ’twerCjfold them fhort one with¬ 
 in anothcr.and fiiddcnly ftretch,or fpring them out to their whole lengthy 
 that is, of the fore-leggs, the part A, of the 34. Scheme, lies within B, 
 and B within G, parallel to, or fide by fide each others but the parts 
 of the two next, lie quite contrary, that is, D without E, and E with¬ 
 out F, but parallelalfo, but the parts of the hinder leggs, G, H and J, 
 bend one within another, like the parts of a double jointed Ruler, or 
 like the foot, legg and thigh of a man 5 thefe fix leggs he ditches up al¬ 
 together, and when he leaps, fprings them all Out, and thereby exerts 
 his whole ftrength at once. ■ h;: ■ ., 
 
 But, as for the beauty ofit, the Microfeope manifefts it to b/q oyer 
 adorn’d with a curioully polifli’d fuitof fable Armour, neatly! jointed, 
 and bclet with multitudes of (harp pinns, (hap’d almoft like, {porcupines 
 ^ills, or bright conical Steel-bodkins 5 the head is on eithetjfidejbeau- 
 tify’d with a quick and round black eye K, behind each of .which al(b 
 appears a fmall cavity, L, in which he feems to move to and Ifq a cer¬ 
 tain thin film befet’with many fmall tranlparent hairs,which probably may 
 be his ears 5 in the forepart of his head, between the two forc-leggs, He 
 has two (mall long jointed feelers, or rather fmellers,’ M M, which have 
 four joints^and are hairy, like thole of leveral other creatures 5 .between 
 thele, it has a (mall probofek, or probe^ N N O, that feems to c<;Hafift pf a 
 
 tube^ 
 

 
 1 
 
 'I 
 
 i 
 
 \ 
 
 
 » 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 j 
 
 
 I 
 
2II 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 tube N N, and a tongue or fucker which I have perceiv’d him to flip 
 in and out. Befides thefe, it has alfo two chaps or biters P P, which are 
 fomewhat like thofe of an Ant ^ but I could not perceive them tooth’d 5 
 thefe were fhap’d very like the blades of a pair of round top’d Scizers 
 and were opened and (hut jufl: after the fame manner 5 with thefe Inflru- 
 ments does this little bufie Creature bite and pierce the Ikin ^ and fuck 
 out the blood of an Anlmaldeaving the Ikin inflamed with a frnall round 
 red Ipot. Thefe parts are very difficult to be difcovered, becaufe, for 
 the mofl: partj they lye covered between the fore-legs. 1 here are many 
 other particulars, which, being more obvious, and affording no great 
 matter of information, I Ikall pafs by ^ and refer the Reader to the Fi¬ 
 gure. 
 
 Obferv. LIV. Of a Loufe. 
 
 T His is a Creature fo officious , that ’twill be known to every one at 
 one time or other, fo bufie, and fb impudent, that it will be intru¬ 
 ding itfelf in every ones company, andfo proud and afpiring withall, 
 that it fears not to trample on the beft, and affeds nothing fo much as a 
 Crown 5 feeds and lives very high, and that makes it fb fancy, as to pull 
 any one by the ears that comes in its way, and will never be quiet till it 
 has drawn blood ; it is troubled at nothing fo much as at a man that 
 fcratches his head, as knowing that man is plotting and contriving fbme 
 mifehief againftit, and that makes it oftentime fculk into fome meaner 
 and lower place, and run behind a mans back, though it go very much 
 againft the hair, which ill conditions of it having made it better known 
 then trufted, would exempt me from making any further defeription of 
 it, did not my faithful Mercury^ my Microjeope^ bring me other infor¬ 
 mation of it. For this has difeovered tome, by means of a very bright 
 light caft on it, that it is a Creature of a very odd fhape ^ it has a head 
 fhap d like that expreft in Scheme marked with A, which feems al- 
 moft Conical, but is a little flatted on the upper and under fidcs, at the 
 biggeft part of which, on either fide behind the head ( as it were, be¬ 
 ing the place where other Creatures ears ftand) are placed its two black 
 fhining goggle eyes BB, looking backwards, and fenced round with fe- 
 veral fmall cilia or hairs that incompafs itjfo that it feems this Creature 
 has no very good forefight: It does not feem to have any eye-lids, and 
 therefore perhaps its eyes were fo placed, that it might the better cleanfe 
 them with its fore-legs 5 and perhaps this may be thereafon, why they 
 fb much avoid and run from the light behind them, for being made to 
 live in the fhady and dark recedes of the hair, and thence probably their 
 eye having a great aperture, the open and clear light, efpecially that 
 of the Sun, muft needs very much offend them to fecure thefe eyes 
 from receiving any injury from the hairs through which it pafles, it has 
 
 F f 2 two 
 
212 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 two horns that grow before it, in the place where one would have 
 thought the eyes fhould be ^ each of thefe C C hath four joynts, which 
 are fringed, as ’twcre, with final I brides, from which to the tip of its 
 fnout D, the head feems very round and tapering, ending in a very 
 (harp nofe D, which feems to have a fmall hole, and to be thepaflage 
 through which he fucks the blood. Now whereas if it be plac’d on its 
 back, with its belly upwards, as it is in the 5 5. Scheme^ it leemsinfeve- 
 ral Pofitions to have a refemblance of chaps, or jaws, as is reprefented 
 in the Figure by E E, yet in other poftures thofe dark ftrokes dilappear 5 
 and having kept feveral of them in a box for two or three dayes, fo that 
 for all that time they had nothing to feed on, I found, upon letting one 
 creep on my hand, that it immediately fell to fucking, and did neither 
 feem to thruft its nofe very deep into the ikin, nor to open any kind of 
 mouth, but I could plainly perceive a fmall current of blood, which 
 came diredly from its fnout, and pah: into its belly 5 and about A there 
 feem’d a contrivance, fomewhat refembling a Pump, pair of Bellows, or 
 Heart, for by a very fwift and diajhk tht blood feem’d drawn 
 
 from the nole, and forced into the body. It did not feem at ailjthough 
 I viewed it a good while as it was fucking, to thruft more of its nofe in¬ 
 to the Ikin then the very Ihout D, nor did it caufe the leaft difcernable 
 pain, and yet the blood feem’d to run through its head very quick and 
 freely, lb that it feems there is no part of the ftvin but the blood isdi- 
 fpers’d into, nay, even into the cutknla 5 for had it thruft its whole nofe 
 in from D to C C, it would not have amounted to the fuppofed thick- 
 nefs of that the length of the nofe being not more then a three 
 
 hundredth part of an inch. It has lix legs, covered v^ith a very tranfpa- 
 rentfhell, and joynted exadcly like a Crab’s, orLobfter’s^ each leg is 
 divided into fix parts by thefe joynts, and thofe have here and there 
 feveral fmall hairs, and at the end of each leg it has two claws, very 
 properly adapted for its peculiar ufe, being thereby inabled to walk 
 very fecurely both on the fkin and hair 5 and indeed this contrivance of 
 the feet is very curious, and could not be made more commodioufly and 
 compendioufly, for performing both thefe requifite motions, of walking 
 and climbing up the hair of a mans head, then it is: for, by having the 
 lefler claw faj fet fo muchftiort of the bigger (b) when it walkf on 
 the fkin the fliorter touches not, and then the feet are the fame with 
 thofe of a Mite, and feveral other fmall Infers, but by means of the 
 fmall joynts of the longer claw it can bend it round, andfb with both 
 claws take hold of a hair, in the manner reprefented in the Figure, the 
 long tranfparent Cylinder FFF, being a Man’s hair held by it. 
 
 The Thorax feem’d cas’d with another kind of fubftance then the bel¬ 
 ly, namely, with a thin tranfparent horny fubftance, which upon the 
 faftingof the Creature did no^grow flaccid 5 through this! could plain¬ 
 ly fee the blood, fuck’d from my hand, to be variouily diftributed, and 
 mov’d to and fro 5 and about G there feem’d a pretty big white fub¬ 
 ftance, which feem’d to be moved within its5 befides, there ap¬ 
 pear’d very many fmall milk-white veftels, wiiich croft over the breaft 
 
 between 
 
Ml CROC R A P H I A. 
 
 between the legs, out of which, on either hde, were many fmall bran- 
 chingSjthele feem’d to be the veins and arteries,for that which is analogus 
 to blood in all Infers is milk-white. 
 
 The belly is covered with a tranfparent fubflance likewife, but more 
 refembling afkinthen artiell, for kis grain’d ail over the belly juft like 
 the skin in the palms of a man’s hand^ and when the belly is empty,grows 
 very flaccid and wrinkled 5 at the upper end of this is placed the ll:o« 
 machH H,and perhaps alfo the white fpot 11 maybe the livei\orpaffcreas^ 
 which,by the perifialttck^ motion of the guts, is a little mov’d to and fro, 
 not with aand diafiole^ but rather with a thronging or juffling 
 motion. Viewing one of thefe Creatures, after it had faded twe!) dayes, 
 all the hinder part was lank and flaccid , and the whiteipotl I hardly 
 mov’dy mod of the white branchings difappear’d , and mod alfo of thct 
 redneis or fucked blood in the guts, the perifialtick. motion of which 
 was fcarce difcernable ^ but upon the fufiering it to fuck , it prefently 
 fill’d the llin of the belly, and of the fix fcolop’d embofments on either 
 fide, as full as it could be duft 5 the domach and guts were as full as 
 they could hold 5 the perijialtkli motion of the gut grew quick,and the 
 judling motion of 11 accordingly 5 multitudes of milk-white ved^s 
 foem’d quickly filled, and turgid, which were perhaps the veins andar- 
 teries, and the Creature was fo greedy, that though it could not contain 
 more, yet it continued fucking as fad as ever, and as fad emptying it felf 
 behind : the digedion of this Creature mud needs be very quick, for 
 though I perceiv'd the blood thicker and blacker when fuck d, yet, 
 when in the guts, it was of a very lovely ruby colour, and that part of 
 it, which wasdigeded into the veins, feeraed whiter whence it appears, 
 that a further digedion of blood may make it milk, at lead of a refem- 
 bling colour: What is elfe obfetvablc in the figure of this Creature, may 
 
 be feen by the 3 5. 
 
 213 
 
 Obferv. LV, Oj Mites. 
 
 T He lead of Reptiles\h2^^e hitherto met with, is a Mite, a Creature 
 whereof there are fome fo very fmall, that the foarped fight, un- 
 aflided with Glades, is not able to difeern them, though, being white of 
 rhemfelves, they move on a black and fmooth furface ^ and the Eggs, 
 out of which thefe Creatures feem to be hatch’d, are yet fmaller, thofe 
 being ufually not above a four or five hundredth part of a well grown 
 Mite, and thofe well grown Mites not much above one hundredth 
 of an inch in thicknefsfo that according to this reckoning there may be 
 no led then a million of well grown Mites contain’d in a cubick inch, and 
 five hundred times as many Eggs. 
 
 Notwithdanding which miniitenefs a good Mkrofeope difeovers thofe 
 
 fmall movable fpecks to be very prettily ihap’d Infers, each of them fur- 
 
 nidi’d. 
 
Micrographi a. 
 
 nifti’d with eight well (hap'd and proportion’d legs^ which are each of 
 them joynted or bendable in eight leveral places^ or joynts, each of 
 which is covered, for themoft part, with a very tranfparent IheJl, and 
 the lower end of the fhell of each joynt is fringed with feveral fmall 
 hairs 5 the contrivance of the joynts leems the very fame with that of 
 Crabs and Lobfterslegs, and like thofe alfo, they are each of them ter¬ 
 minated with a very (harp claw or point ^ four of thefe legs are fo pla¬ 
 ced, that they feem to draw forwards, the other four are placed in a 
 quite contrary pofition ^ thereby to keep the body backwards when 
 there is occafion. 
 
 rig. 1, The body, as in other larger Infedts, confifts of three regions or 
 
 Sthem.^s, parts ^ the hinder or belly A, fecms covered with one intire fhell, the 
 middle, or chelf, feems divided into two (hells B C. which running one 
 within the other, the Mite is able to (brink in and thruft out as it finds 
 occafion, as it can alfo the fnout D. The whole body is pretty tranfpa- 
 rent, fo that being look’d on againft the light, divers motions within its 
 body may be perceived 3 as alfo all the parts are much more plainly de- 
 lineable, then in other poftures, to the light. The (hell, efpccially that 
 which covers the back, is curioufly poli(ht, fo that ’tis eafie to fee, as in a 
 Looking-glals, ox foliated Glafs-ball, thepifture of all the ob- 
 jeds round about 5 up and down, in (everal parts of its body, it has (e- 
 veral fmall long white hairs growing out of its (hell, which are often 
 longer then the whole body, and are reprefented too (hort in the firft 
 and fecond Figures 5 they (eem all pretty (fraight and plyable, (aveonly 
 two upon the fore-part of its body, which feem to be the horns, as may 
 be feen in the Figures ^ the firft whereof is a profped of a fmaller (brt of 
 Mites ( which are ufually more plump ) as it was pajjant to and fro 5 the 
 fccond is the profped of one fixt on its tail ( by means of a little mouth- 
 glew rub*d on the objed plate) exhibiting the manner of the growing of 
 the legs, together with their feveral joynts. 
 
 ' This Creature is very much diverfify'd in (hape, colour, and divers 
 other properties, according to the nature of the fubftance out of which 
 it feems to be ingendred and nourifliedjbcing.in one fubftance more long, 
 in another more round, in (bme more hairy, in others more fmooth, in 
 this nimble, in that flow, here pale and whiter, there browner, blacker, 
 more tranfparent, I have obferved it to be refident almoft on all 
 
 kinds of fubftances that are mouldy, or putrifying, and have feen it very 
 nimbly mefhing through the thickets of mould, and fometimes to lyc 
 dormant underneath them 5 and ’tis not unlikely, but that it may feed on 
 that vegetating (ubftance , jpontaneous Vegetables (eemingafood proper 
 enough for Jpontaneous Ammals.y 
 
 But whether indeed this Creature, or any other, be (uch or not, I can¬ 
 not politively, from any Experiment, or Obfervation, I have yet made, 
 determine. But,as I formerly hinted, it feems probable, that (bme kind 
 of wandring Mite may fow, as ’twere, the firft feeds, or lay the firft eggs, 
 in thofe places, which Nature has inftrudted them to know convenient 
 for the hatching and nourifhing their young 5 and though perhaps the 
 
 prime 
 
i 
 
 1 . 
 
 
 iV 
 
 ! 
 
 i 
 
 j 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
Mic ROGRAPHiA. 21 
 
 prime Parent might be of a fliape very differing from what the off- 
 rpring, after a little while, by rcafon of the fubftance they feed on, or 
 the Region (as ’twere ) they inhabite ^ yet perhaps even oneofthefe 
 alter’d progeny, wandering again from its native foil, and lighting on by 
 chance the fame place from whence its prime Parent cathe, and there fet¬ 
 tling , and planting, may produce a generation of Mites of the fame 
 (hapes and properties with the firll wandring Mite: And from fomeliich 
 accidents as thefe, I am very apt to think, the mofl: forts of Animals, ge¬ 
 nerally accounted fpontaneous , have their origwation , and all thofe va¬ 
 rious forts of Mites, that are to be met with up and down in divers pu- 
 trifyingfubftances, may perhaps be all of the fame kind, and have fprung 
 from one and the fame fort of Mites at the fird:. •' 
 
 Obferv. LVR Of a [mall Creature hatch'd on a Vine, 
 
 T Here is, almofl: all the Spring and Summer time, a certain fmall^ 
 round, white Cobweb, as ’twere, about the bignefs of a Pea,which 
 fticks very clofe and faft to the ftocks of Vines nayl’d againfi: a warm 
 wall ^; being attentively viewed,they feem cover’d, upon the upper fide 
 of them, with a fma 11 husk, not unlike the fcale, orihellof a Wood- 
 loufo, or Hog-loufe, a fmall Infed ufually found about rotten wood, 
 which upon touching prcfently rouls it felf into the form of a pepper¬ 
 corn ,* Separating foveral of thefe from the frock , I found them, with 
 my Mirrofeope^ to conhfr of a fhcl)^ which now Teemed more likely to be 
 the hufrt of one of thefo Infeds .* And the fur feem’d a kind of cobweb, 
 copfifring of abundance of fmall filaments, or fleaves of cobwebs^ In 
 the midfr of this, if they were not hatch’djand run away before, the time 
 of which hatching was ufoally about the latter end of June, or begin¬ 
 ning of jf»^, I have often found abundance of fmall brown Eggs, iuch 
 as A and B in the fecond Figure of the 36. Scheme^ much about the big- 
 nefr of Mites Eggs 5 and at other times, multitudes of fmall Infeds, Iha- 
 ped exadly like that in the third Figure marked with X. Its head large, 
 almoft half the bignefr of its body, which is ufual in thejfi^/»/of moft 
 Creatures. It had two fmall black eyes a and two fmall long joynted 
 andbrilled horns A A ’.Thehinder partof its bbdy feem’d to confift of 
 nine fcales, and the lafr ended in a forked tayl, much like that of a Ch~ 
 tiQy pr Wood-loule, out of which grew two long hairs ^ they ran to 
 and 6*0 very fwiftly, and were much of the bignels of a common Mite, 
 but fome of them lefs: The longeft of them feem’d not the hundredth 
 part of an inch, and the Eggs ufoally not aboVe half as much. They 
 feemed to have fix legs, which were not vifible in this I have here deline- 
 atedp by reafon they were drawn under its body, ' * 
 
 If thefo Minute creatures were Wood-liceQis indeed from their own ftiape 
 and framejthelkinjOrlhell,that grows on them,one may v/ith great pro¬ 
 bability 
 
Micrograhpia. 
 
 bability ghefs^ it[affords us an Infranccj whereof perhaps there are not 
 many like in NaturCjand that isjofthe prodigious increafe of thele Crea- 
 tures^after they are hatch’d and run about ^for a common Wood-loufejof 
 about half an inch long, is no lefs then a hundred and twenty five thou- 
 (and times bigger then one of thefe, which though indeed it feems very 
 ftrange, yet I have obferved the young ones of fome Spiders have aloiofl 
 kept the fame proportion to their Dam. 
 
 This, methinks, if it be fo, does in the next place hint a Qu«ry,which 
 may perhaps deferve a little further examination : And that is. Whether 
 there be not many of thofe minute Creatures,luch as Mites, and the like, 
 which, though they are commonly thought of otherwile, are only the 
 ptUy^ or young ones, of much bigger Infers, and not the generating, 
 or parent InfeS, that has layd thofe Eggs ^ for having many times ob- 
 ferv’d thofe Eggs, which ufually are found in great abundance where 
 Mites are found , it feems fomething ftrange, that fo fmall an Animal 
 fhould have am Egg lb big in proportion to its body. Though on the 
 other fide, I muft confels, that having kept divers of thofe Mites inclofed 
 in a box for a good while, I did not find them very much augmented be¬ 
 yond their ufual bignefs. 
 
 What the husk and cobweb of this little white fubftance ftiould be, I 
 cannot imagine, unlefs it be, that the old one, when impregnated with 
 Eggs, fhould there ftay, and fix it felf on the Vine, and dye, and all the 
 body by degrees fhould rot, fave only the husk, and the Eggs in the bo¬ 
 dy ; And the heat, or fire, as it were, of the approaching Sun-beattis 
 fhould vivifie thofe Relifts of the corrupted Parent, and out of the 
 afhes, as ’twere, ( as it is fabled of the Thwmx ) fhould raiie a new off- 
 fpring for the perpetuation of the Jpecies, Nor will the cobweb, as it 
 were, in which thefe Eggs are inclos’d, make much againft this Conje- 
 fture 5 for we may, by thofe cobwebs that are carried up and down the 
 Air after a Fog (which with my Microscope I have dilcovered to be made 
 up of an infinite company of fmall filaments or threads) learn, that 
 fuch a texture of body may be otherwife made then by the (pinning of 
 a Worm. 
 
 Obferv. LVII, Of in Vinegar, » 
 
 O F thefe fmall Eels, which are to be found in divers forts of* Vine¬ 
 gar, I have little to add befides their Pifture, which you may 
 find drawn in the third Figure of the 25. Scheme: That is, they were 
 (haped much like an Eel, fave only that their nofe A, ( which Was a lit¬ 
 tle more opacous then the red: of their body ) was a little (harper, and 
 longer, in proportion to their body, and the wrigling motion of their 
 bodyfeem’d to be onely upwards and downwards, whereas that of 
 Eels is onely fide wayes: They feem’d to have a more opacous part 
 
 about 
 
MlCROGRAPHlA, 
 
 about B, which might, perhaps^be their Gills, it feeming always the fame 
 proportionate diftant from their nole, from which, to the tip of their 
 tail, C, their body icem’d to taper. 
 
 Taking feveral of thelc out of their Pond of Vinegar, by the net of a 
 fmall piece of filtring Paper, and laying them on a black fmooth Glafs 
 plate, I found that they could wriggle and winde their body, as much 
 almoft as a Snake, which made me doubt, whether they were a kind of 
 Eal or Leech. 
 
 I (hall add no other obfervations made on this minute Animal, being 
 prevented herein by many excellent ones already publilh’d by the inge¬ 
 nious, Doftor Power^ among his Mkrofcopical Obfervations, (ave onely 
 that a quantity of Vinegar repleat with them being included in a (inall 
 Viol, and flop d very clofe from the ambient air, alfthe included Worms 
 in a very (hort time died, as if they had been (iified. 
 
 And that their motion feems (contrary to what we may oblerve in the 
 motion of all other Inleds) exceeding (low. But the reafon of it (eems 
 plain, for being to move to and fro after that manner which they do, by 
 waving onely, or wrigling their body 5 the tenacity, or glutinoulhels, 
 and the den(ity or re(i(f ance of the fluid medium becomes (b exceeding 
 fen(ible to their extremely minute bodies,that it is to me indeed a greater 
 wonder that they move them (b faft as they do,then that they move them 
 no fafter. For what a valfly greater proportion have they of their fuper- 
 ficies to their bulk, then Eels or other larger Fifhes, and next, the tena¬ 
 city and denfity of the liquor being much the fame to be moved,both by 
 the one and the other, the reliffance or impediment thence arifing to 
 the motions made through it, muff be almoft infinitely greater to the 
 fmall one then to the great. This we find experimentally verify’d in the 
 Air, which though a medium a thoufand times more ratify’d then the wa- 
 ter,the reliffance of it to motions made through it,is yetfo (enlible to ve¬ 
 ry minute bodies,that a Down-feather(the leait of whole parts feem yet 
 bigger then thefe Eels, and many of them almolt incomparably bigger, 
 fuch as the quill and (talk) is fufpended by it, and carried to and fro as if 
 it had no weight. 
 
 Obferv. L V111. Of a new Property in the Air, and feveral other 
 tranfparent Mediums narnd Inflexion, whereby very many con^ 
 ftderable Phenomena are attempted to be folvd^ and divers other 
 ufes are hinted. 
 
 S ince the Invention (and perfeffing in (bme meafure) of telefcopes^ it has 
 been obferv’d by feveral, that the Sun and Moon neer the Horizon, 
 are disfigur’d ( loling that exadily-fmooth terminating circular limb, 
 which they are obferv’d to have when (ituated neerer the Zenith) and 
 are bounded with an edge every way (efpccially upon the right and left 
 
 O g (ides) 
 
 217 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 fides) ragged and indented like a Saw : which inequality of their limbs, I 
 have further obferv d, not to remain always the fame, but to be conti¬ 
 nually chang’d by a kind of fludfuating motion, not unlike that of the 
 waves of the Sea, lb as that part of the limb, which was but even now 
 nick’d or indented in^ is now protuberant, and will prefently be finking 
 again ^ neither is this all but the whole body of the Luminaries, do in the 
 7 elefcopej feem to be deprefs’d and flatted, the upperjand more elpecially 
 the under lide appearing neerer to the middle then really they are,and the 
 right and left appearing more remoterwhence the whole Area leems to be 
 terminated by a kind of Oval.Tt is further obferv’d.that the body,fbr the 
 molf part, appears red, or of Ibme colour approaching neer unto it, as 
 fome kind of yellow 5 and this I have always mark’d, that the mere the 
 limb is flatted of ovalledjthe more red does the body appear, though not 
 always the contrary. It is further obfervable, that both fix’d Stars and 
 Planets, the neerer they appear to the Horizon, the more red and dull 
 they look, and the more they are obferv’d to twinkle ^ in lb much, that 
 I have feen the Dog-ftarr to vibrate fo ftrong and bright a radiation of 
 light, as almoft to dazle my eyes, and prefently, almofi to dilappear. 
 It is alfo obfervable, that thofe bright fcintillations neer the Horizon, are 
 not by much fb quick and fudden in their confecutions of one another, as 
 the nimbler twinklings of Stars neerer the Zenith. This is allb notable, 
 that the Starrs neer the Horizon, arc twinkled with feveral colours 5 fo as 
 fometimes to appear red,fometimes more yellow,and fometimes blue,and 
 this when the Starr is a pretty way elevated above the Horizon. I have 
 further, very often leen fome of the Imall Starrs of the fifth or fixth ma¬ 
 gnitude, at certain times to difappear for a Ifnall moment of time, and 
 again appear more confpicuous, and with a greater luffer. I have feveral 
 trmes,withmy naked eye, feen many fmaller Starrs, fuch as may be call’d 
 of the feventh or eighth magnitude to appear for a fhort fpace, and then 
 vanifh, which, by diredfing a final! Telejcope towards that part they ap¬ 
 pear’d and difappeard in 51 could prefently find to be indeed fmall Starrs 
 fofituate.asi had feen them with my naked eye, and to appear twinkling 
 like the ordinary vifible Stars, nay, in examining fome very notable parts 
 of the Heaven,with a three foot Tube , me thought I now and then, in 
 feveral parts of the conftellation, could perceive little twinklings of 
 Starrs, making a very fhort kind of apparition,and prefently vanifhing, 
 but noting diligently the places where they thus feem’d to play at boe- 
 peep, I made ufe of a very good twelve foot Tube, and with that it was 
 not uneafie to fee thofe, and feveral other degrees of fmaller Starrs^ and 
 fome fmaller yet, that feem’d again to appear and dilappear,* and thefe 
 alfo by giving the fame Objed-glafs a much bigger aperture, -J;could 
 plainly and conffantly fee appear in their former places 5 fo that I have 
 obferv'd fome twelve feveral magnitudes of Starrs lefs then thofe of the 
 fix magnitudes commonly recounted in the Globes. 
 
 It has been obferv’d and confirm’d by the accuratefl: Obfervati- 
 ons of the beft of our modern Aftronomers, that all the Luminous bodies 
 appear above the Horizon, when they really arc below it. So that the 
 
 Sun 
 
M ! c R O G R A P H I A. 
 
 Sun and Moon have both been feen above the Horizon, whil f]: theMbbh 
 has been in an Eclipfe. I ihall not hereinflance in the great refradions, 
 that the tops of high moiintains,tfeen at a dihance, have been found to 
 have 5 all which feem to argue the Horizontal refradion, much greater 
 then it is hitherto generally believ’d. 
 
 I have further taken notice, that not onely the Sun, Moon and Starrs^ 
 and high tops of mountains have luffer’d thefe kinds of refradion, but 
 Trees, and feveral bright Objeds on the ground: I have often taken no¬ 
 tice of [the twinkling of the rehedions of the Sun from a Glafs-window 
 at a good difiancc,and of a Candle in the night, but that is not focoii- 
 fpicuous.and in obferving the fettingSun,! have often taken notice of the 
 tremulation of the Trees and Budies, as well as ofthe edges of the Sun* 
 Divers of thefe Vhdcnofnena have been taken notice of by feveral, who ' 
 have given feveral reafons of them, but I have not yet met with any alto¬ 
 gether fatisfiidory, though feme of their conjedures have been partly , 
 true,but parly alfo falfe.betting my felf therfore upon the inquiry of thefe 
 rh<enomena^ I firfi: endeavour’d to be very diligent in taking notice of 
 the feveral particulars and circumflances obfervable in them 5 and next^ 
 in making divers particular Experiments, that might cicer fome doubts, 
 and ferve to determine, confirm, and illuflratc the true and ada^quate 
 caufe of each 5 and upon the whole, I find much reafon to think, that 
 the true caufe of all thefe is from the inflection^ or multi- 
 
 plicate rejra&ion of tliofe Rays of light within the body of the Atmojphere^ 
 and that it does not proceed from a refraction caus’d by any terminating 
 fuperficies of the Air above, nor from any fuch exadly defin’d fhperficies 
 within the body of the Atmofpherc. ? 
 
 This Conclufien is grounded upon thefe two Propofitions; 
 
 Firfi:, that a rnednim^ whofe parts are unequally denfe^ and mov’d by 
 various motions and tranfpofitions as to one another, will produce all 
 thefe vifible efFeds upon the Rays of light, without any other coeftcient 
 caufe. 
 
 Secondly, that there is in the Air or Atmojphere^ fuch a variety in the 
 eonftituent parts of it, both as to their denjity and rarity^ and as to their 
 divers mutations and pofitions one to another. 
 
 By Denjity and Rarity^ I underfiand a property of a tranfparent body, 
 that does either more or lefs refrad a Ray of light (coming obliquely 
 upon its fiiperficies out of a third mediuni) toward its perpendicular: As 
 I call Glafs a more denfe body then Water, and Water a more rare body 
 then Glafs, becaufe of the refradions (more or lefs defleding towards the 
 perpendicular) that are made in4them,of a Ray of light out of the Air 
 that has the fame inclination upon either of their fuperficies. 
 
 So as to the bufinefs of Refradion, fpirit of Wine is a more denfi body 
 then Water,it having been found by an accurate Inftrument that meafures 
 theanglesof Refradions to Minutes that for the fame refraded angle of 
 30 .* 00 ' in Medium SyXh^ angle of incidence in Water was 
 
 but 41°. but the angle of the incidence in the trial with fpirit of 
 ^ Wine was 42° / 45'. But as to gravity, Water is a more denfe body then 
 
 G g 2 fpirit 
 
 2i^ 
 
220 
 
 MiCROGRAPHIA. 
 
 fpirit of Wine, for the proportion of the fame Watetj to the fame very 
 well reftity'd fpirit of Wine was, as 21. to 19. ^ 
 
 So as to Refradion^Wateris more Denfe then Ice 5 fori have found 
 by a moft certain Experiment, which 1 exhibited before divers illuftrious 
 Perfonsofthe Royal Society^ that the Refraftion of Water was greater 
 then that of IcCj though fome conliderable Authors have affirm'd the con¬ 
 trary, and though the Ice be a very hard, and the Water a very fluid 
 body. 
 
 That the former of the two preceding Propofitions is true,may be ma- 
 nifefted by feveral ExperimentsrAs firfldfyou take any two liquors difler- 
 ing from one another in denfity^but yet fuch asjwill readily mixras SaltWa- 
 ter,or Brinej&Frelh^almofl: any kind of Salt diilblv’d in Water,and filtra¬ 
 ted, fo that it be cleer,rpirit of Wine and Water 5 nay, fpirit of WinCjand 
 fpirit of Wine, one more highly rectify’d then the other, and very many 
 .other liquors 5 if(I fay) you take any two of thele liquors, and mixing 
 them in a Glafs Viol, againfl one fide of which you have fix’d or glued a 
 fmall round piece of Paper, andfhaking them well together (fo that the 
 parts of them may be fomewhat diflurb’d and move up and down)you 
 endeavour to fee that round piece ot Paper through the body of the li¬ 
 quors 5 you (hall plainly perceive the Figure to wave, and to be indented 
 much after the fame manner as the limb of the Sun through a Te/efiope 
 feemsto be,fave onely that the mutations here,are much quicker. And if, 
 in (feed ofthis bigger Circle, you take a very fmall fpot, and faflen and 
 view it as the former, you will find it to appear much like the twinkling 
 of the Starrs, though much quicker: which two Fh^tjometia (for I fhall 
 take notice of no more at prefent, though I could inffance in multitudes 
 of others) muff neceflarily be caus d by an mjie&ion of the Rays within 
 the terminating luperficies of the compounded medium^ fince the flirfaces 
 of the tranfparent body through which the Rays pafs to the eye, are not 
 at all altered or chang’d. 
 
 This injie&ion (if I may lb call it) I imagine to be nothing elle, but a 
 ‘multiphcaterefiadlion^ caufed by the unequal denfity of the conftituent 
 parts of the medium , whereby the motion, adtion or progrefs of the Ray 
 of light ishindred from proceeding in a {freight line, and injieB^ o/e de^ 
 PeCledhy a curve. Now, that it is a curve line is manileft by this Expe¬ 
 riment : I took a Boxjfuch as A D G E, in the firff Figure of the Scheme^ 
 whole fides A B C D, and E F C H, w^ere made of two fmooth flat 
 plates of Glals, then filling it half full with a very Ikong folutiomof 
 Salt, I filled the other half with very fair frefh water, then expofing 
 the opacous fide, D H G C, to the Sun, I obferv’d both the refiadlion atid 
 iufiecliou of the Sun beams,! D & K H, and marking as exadfly as f could, 
 the points, P, N, O, M, by which the Ray, K H, palled through the com¬ 
 pounded mediu?n^ I found them to be in a curve line for the parts ofthe 
 being continually more denle the neerer they were to the bot¬ 
 tom, the Ray p f was continually more and more defledfed downwards 
 from the (freight line. . ’ “ . 
 
 This Infledfion may be mechanically explained, cither byMonfieur 
 
 Des 
 
Sche^nv . JOOCVII 
 
■ 
 
. Ml C R O GR^A P*H I Ad 221 
 
 D'csiCartes principles^by conccivuigthe Globulsof the third Element to 
 fihd lefs and lefs refinance againh that fide of them which is downwards 
 or by a wayj which I have further explicated in the Iiiquifition about Co¬ 
 lours, to be from an obliquation of the pulfe of light, whence the ruder 
 part'is continually promoted, and Confequently^ reffaded towards the 
 perpendicular, which cuts the Orbs at right anglb. What the pafticu^ 
 lar Figure of the Curve line^ deferib’d by this way of light, is, I lhall not 
 now hand to examine, efpecially fince there may be fo many forts of it as 
 there may be varieties of the Pofitions of the intermediat degrees of 
 pty and rarity between the bottom and the top of the infleding Medium. 
 
 I could produce many more Examples and Experiments, toilluftrate 
 and prove this firlf Propofition, vi'^. that there is Itich a conftitution of 
 fome bodies as will cauie intiedion. As not to mention thofe I have ob- 
 (er-v’djin lortoife-Jljell^ tranfparent Gums^ ^nAreftnom Subjiances : 
 
 The veins oi Glafs, nay, of melted Cryfial^ found, and much complained 
 of byiGlals-grinders, and othei's, might fufEciently demonftrate the 
 truth of it to any diligent Obfervator. 
 
 But that, I prefume, I have by this Example given proof fufficient 
 ( viz,, ocular demonjiration ) to evince, that there is fuch a modulation, 
 or bending of the rayes of light, as I have call’d infleBion^ diifering 
 both from rejieBionj and refraBion ( fince they are both made in the fu- 
 perficies, this only in the middle and likewifo, that this is ableorfuf^ 
 ficient to produce the efieds I have aferibed to it. 
 
 Itaemains therefore to fhew , that there is fuch a property in the Air, 
 and that it is fufficient to produce all the above mentioned Vh<znomena^ 
 and therefore may be the principal, if not the only caufe of them. 
 
 Fird, That there is foch a property, may be proved from this, that the 
 parts of the Air are forae of them more condens’d, others more rarified, 
 either by'the differing heat, or differing preilure itfuftains, or by the 
 fomevdiat heterogeneous vapours interfpers’d through it. For as the Air 
 is more.or lefs raiifted, fo does it more or lefs refrad a ray of light ( that 
 comes out of a deafer medium) from the perpendicular. This you may 
 ffndtrue, if you make tryal of this Experiment. ^ 
 
 Take a fmall Glafs-bubble, made in the form of that in the fecond 
 Figure of the 37 . Scheme^ and by heating the Glals ver} hot,, and there¬ 
 by very much rarifyingthe included Air, or, which is better, by ratify¬ 
 ing a fmall quantity of water, included in it, into vapours, which will 
 expel the mod part, if not all the Air, and then fealing up the fmall 
 neck.'of It, and letting it cool, you may find, if you place it in a conve¬ 
 nient Inftrument, that there will be a manifeft difference, as to the refra- 
 dioru - j-' r. 
 
 As if in this fecond Figure you fuppofe A to reprefent a fmall fight or 
 hole, thi'ough which the eye looks upon an objedt, as C, through the 
 Glafs-bubble B, and the fecond fight L 5 all which remain exadly fixt 
 in their feveral places, the objed C being fo cized and placed, that it 
 may jud feem to touch the upper and under edge of the hole L : and 
 fo all of it be feen through the fmall Glafs-ball of rarified Air 5 then by 
 
 breaking 
 
 % 
 
222 
 
 Fig. 3 . 
 
 MiCROGR AP H I A. 
 
 breaking off the fmall feal’d neck of the Bubble ( without at all ftirring 
 the fightsj dbjed, or glafs ) and admitting the external Air, you will 
 find your felf unable to fee the utmoft ends of the objeft 5 but the termi-^ 
 nating rayes A E and A D ( which were before refradled to G and F 
 by the ratified Air ) will proceed almoft diredly to I and H 5 which al¬ 
 teration of the rayes ( feeing there is no other alteration made in the 
 Organ by which the Experiment is tryed, fave only the admiffion, or ex- 
 clufion of the condens’d Air ) mufl: neceflarily be caufed by the variation 
 of the medium contain’d in the Glafs B 5 the greateft difficulty in the ma¬ 
 king of which Experiment, is from the uneven furfaces of the bubble, 
 which will reprefent an uneven image of the objed. 
 
 Now,that there is fuch a difference of the upper and under parts of the 
 Air^is clear enough evinc’d from the late improvement of the Torricelli art 
 Experiment, which has been tryed at the tops and feet of Mountains ^ 
 and may be further illuftrated , and inquired into, by a means, which 
 fome whiles fince I thought of, and us’d, for the finding by what degrees 
 the Air pafles from fuch a degree of Denfity to fuch a degree of Rarity. 
 And another, for the finding what preflure was requifite to make it pals 
 from fuch a degree of Rarefaftion to a determinate Denfity; Which 
 Experiments, becaufe they may be ufeful to illufirate the prefent Inqui¬ 
 ry, 1 fhall briefly deferibe. 
 
 I took then a fmall Glafs-pipe A B, about the bignels of a Swans quill, 
 and about four foot long, which was very equally drawn, fo that, as far 
 as I could perceive, no one part was bigger then another: This Tube 
 ('being open at both ends) I fitted into another fmall Tube DE, that 
 had a fmall bore juft big enough to contain the fmall Pipe, and this was 
 feal’d up at one, and open at the* other, end 5 about which open end I 
 faftned a fmall wooden box C with cement, fo that filling the bigger 
 Tube, and part of the box, with Quickfilver, I could thruft the fmaller 
 Tube into it, till it were all covered with the Quickfilver .* Having thus 
 done, I faftned my bigger Tube againft the fide of a wall, that it might 
 ftand the fteadier , and plunging the fmall Tube deer under the 'Mercu¬ 
 ry in the box, I ftopt the upper end of it very faft with cement,uthen 
 lifting up the fmall Tube, I drew it up by a fmall pully, and a firing that 
 I had faftned to the top of the Room, and found the height of the Mer¬ 
 curial Cylinder to be about twenty nine inches, i - 
 
 Then letting down the Tube again, I opened the top, and then thruft 
 down the fmall Tube, - till I perceived the Quickfilver to rife within it to 
 a mark that I had plac’d juft an inch from the top^and immediately clap¬ 
 ping on a fmall peice of cement that I had kept warm, I with a hot Iron 
 feal’d up the top very faft, then letting it cool (that both the cement 
 might grow hard , and more efpecially, that .the. Air might come to its 
 temper, natural for the Day I try’d the' Experiment in ) I obferv’d dili¬ 
 gently, and found the included Air to be exa(ftly an Inch. 
 
 Here you are to take notice, that after the Air is feal’d up, the top of 
 the Tube is not to be elevated above the fuperficibs of the Quickfilver 
 > • m 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 in the box, till the fufface of that within the Tube be equal to it, for 
 the Quickfilver ( as I have clfewhere prov’d ), being more, hpterogener 
 ous to theGIals then the Air, will not naturally rile *iip ib high within 
 the fmall Pipe jasthefuperficies of the Mermry in thebox vand therefore 
 youare toobferve, how much below the outward (ilperhcies of the 
 Mercury in the box, that of the fame in the Tube does ftand^ 'when the 
 top being open, freeingrcls is admitted to the outward Ain 
 
 Having thus done, I permitted the Cylinder^ or intali Pipe, I tp; rtlc oi|t} 
 of the box, till I found the furfoce of the Quickfilver in the pipe, to? be 
 two inches above that in the box, and found the Air tp have expanded 
 it felf but one fixteenth part of an inch, then drawing iip tii' fmalj 
 pipe, till I found the height of the Quickfilver within to l:^i|bnriqches 
 above that without, I obferved the Air to be expanded only | of an inch 
 more then it was at firfi:, and to take up the room of 17 inch: then I 
 raifed.the Tube till the Cylinder was fix inches high, and found the Air 
 to take up i~ inches of room in the Pipe'5 then to 8, i6,-A2. 
 the ex^anfion of the Air that I found to ^ch of which Cylinders are 
 fet down in the following Table, where the firff row fignifies the 
 height of the Mercurial Cylinder thenext,^the expanfion of the Air 3 
 the third, the prcflure of the Jtmojpherep 01 the highefl: Cylinder o£ 
 Mercury^ which was then necr thirty inchc^ The laff fignifies the force 
 of the Air fo expanded , which is found by fubftrafting the firff row of 
 numbers out of the third 5 for having fountf, that the outward Air would 
 then keep up the Quickfilver to thirty inches, look whatever of that 
 height is wanting muff be attributed to the Elater of the Air deprefling. 
 And therefore having the Expanfion in the fecond row,and th^ height of 
 the fubjacent Cylinder of Mercury in the firff^ and the greatef| height of 
 the Cylinder oh Mercury^ ^yvhich of it felf ,cpunterballanccs th,e whole 
 prefliire of the Atmofphere 5 by fubffradfing'fhe numbers of thefirff row 
 out of the numbers of the third, you wiU &^e the meafure ofthe Cylin¬ 
 ders ho defvek^ and confequently the forea,of the Air,in the %yeral Ex» 
 panfions, regiffred. 
 
 o;. 
 
 &0 
 
 22 
 
 C 
 
 r 
 
 r 
 
 or 
 
 s. 
 
 Of' 
 
 rp 
 
 .00 
 
 » 
 
 c 
 
 *7 U 
 4 * 
 
 1 
 
 
 ■d2 
 
 V 
 
 The 
 
224 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 The height of the 
 
 Cylinder of Mer- 
 
 that,together 
 
 with the Elater of 
 * 
 
 the included Air, 
 ballanced the 
 
 preflure of the 
 Atmofpherc. 
 
 The Expan-’ 
 fion of the 
 Air. 
 
 ' ^ ^ ^ ’ 
 
 The height of 
 the Mercury 
 that countcr- 
 ballanc’d the 
 Atmofphcre 
 
 L. _ - . J 
 
 The ftrength 
 of' the Elater 
 of the expan¬ 
 ded Air. 
 
 1 — j 
 
 !] bo 
 
 • M ! 
 
 01 
 
 30 
 
 30 
 
 . 02 , ^ 
 
 014 
 
 16 
 
 30 
 
 28 
 
 04 
 
 01- 
 
 7 
 
 30 
 
 26 
 
 06 , 
 
 Oli; 
 
 30 
 
 24 . 
 
 08 ' 
 
 Oil 
 
 , 30 
 
 22 
 
 10 . ‘ 
 
 Oli 
 
 30 
 
 20 
 
 12 
 
 01^ 
 
 ; 
 
 30 
 
 18 
 
 14 
 
 01 L 
 
 6 
 
 • 30 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 02i 
 
 27 
 
 30 
 
 H 
 
 f 8 
 
 02i 
 
 ? , 
 
 30 
 
 12 f 
 
 20 
 
 03 
 
 
 10 
 
 22 
 
 o3i ‘ 
 
 30 
 
 8 
 
 24 
 
 05. T 
 
 30 
 
 6, 
 
 25 
 
 06- 
 
 30 
 
 5 
 
 26 
 
 o8i 
 
 z 
 
 30 
 
 4 
 
 26^ 
 
 ° 9 i 
 
 30 
 
 31 - 
 
 z 6 'r 
 
 loi 
 
 4 
 
 30 
 
 3 r 
 
 s 6 ’- 
 
 4 
 
 
 30 
 
 3 r 
 
 27 
 
 * 5 r 
 
 30 
 
 3 , 
 
 height 
 
MiCROGPvAPHIA. 
 
 I had feveral other Tables of my Obfcrvations , and Calculations, 
 which r then made 5 but it being above a twelve month hnce I made 
 them 5 and by that means having forgot many circumifahces and par¬ 
 ticulars 5 I was refblved to make them over once again, which I did 
 AHgftfi the (econd 1661. with the very lame Tube which I ufed the year 
 before, when I firfl: made the Experiment f for it being a very good 
 one, I had carefully preferv’d it; J And after having tryed it over and 
 over again 5 and being not well latisfied of fome particulars,' I, atlalf, 
 having put all things in very good order, and being as attentive, and 
 oblervant, aspohibly 1 could, of every circumhance rcquifite to beta¬ 
 ken notice of. did regillcr my feveral Oblervations in this, following 
 Table. In the makingof which, I did not exaftly follow the method 
 that I had ufed at firlf 5 but, havinglatelyheard of Mr. Townl/s Hypo- 
 thejis^ Ifhap'd my courfein fiich fort, as would be moff convenient for 
 the examination of that Hjpothejis ^ the event of which you have in the 
 latter part of the laft Table. 
 
 The other Experiment was, to find what degrees of force were requi- 
 fite to comprefs, or condenfe, the Air into fuch or fuch a bulk. 
 
 The manner of proceeding therein was this: I took a Tube about 
 five foot long, one of whofe ends was fealed up, and bended in the form 
 of a Syphon , much like that reprefented in the fourth Figure of the 
 97. one fide whereof AD, that was open at A, was about fifty 
 
 inches long, the other fide B C, fhut at B, was not much above feven in¬ 
 ches long 5 then placing it ex ifcly perpendicular 5 I pour’d in_ a little 
 Quickfilver, and found that the Air B C was inches, or very near to 
 feven 5 then pouring in Qj.fickfilver at the longer Tube, I continued 
 filling of it till the Air in the fhorterpart of it was contracted into half 
 the former dimenfions, and found the height exaCtly nine and twenty in¬ 
 ches 5 and by making feveral other tryals, in feveral other degrees of 
 condenfation of the Air, I found them exaCtly anfwer the former Hypo- 
 ihejis. 
 
 But having (by reafon it was a good while fince I firfi: made ) forgot¬ 
 ten many particularSjand being much unfatisfied in others^ I made the Ex- 
 perimeht over again, and, from the feveral tryals, coileCted the former 
 part of the following Table ; Where in the row next the left hand 24. 
 fignifies the dimenfions of the Air, fufiaining only the prefliire of the At- 
 mojphere^ which at that time was equal to a Cylinder Mercury nine 
 and twenty inches; The next Figure above it (20) was the dimenfi¬ 
 ons of the Air induringthe firfi: compreflion,made by a Cylinder 6^Mer¬ 
 cury 51^6 high, to which thepreflure of the Atmojphere nine andtwenty 
 inches being added , theelaftick ftrength of the Airlo comprefi; will be 
 found 34^63 
 
 Hh 
 
 225 
 
 A 
 
226 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 A Table of the Elapch^ power of the Ap 
 
 both Experimentally and Hypothetically calculated, 
 according to its various Dimenjions^ 
 
 The dimen- 
 
 The height | 
 
 The Mercu^ 
 
 The fum 
 
 What they 
 
 fions of the 
 
 of the Mer- 
 
 rial Cylinder 
 
 or diffe- 
 
 ought to 
 
 included 
 
 curial Cylin- 
 
 added , or 
 
 rence of 
 
 be accor- 
 
 Air. ’ 
 
 : M. 
 
 der counter¬ 
 pois’d f by 
 the Atmo- 
 fphere. 
 
 taken from 
 the former. 
 
 1 
 
 thcfc two 
 Cylinders, 
 
 ding to 
 die Hypo- 
 thefts. 
 
 12 
 
 29 1 
 
 29— 
 
 58 ■ 
 
 58 
 
 13 
 
 29 t 
 
 24-;= 
 
 53 r: 
 
 53 fs 
 
 14 ' 
 
 29 t 
 
 20.^- 
 
 49 r 
 
 49;- 
 
 16 
 
 29 t 
 
 14 
 
 43 
 
 43 r 
 
 18 
 
 29 + 
 
 9 r= 
 
 38^ 
 
 387 
 
 20 
 
 29 t 
 
 5 r«= 
 
 345 
 
 34 f 
 
 24 
 
 29 
 
 0- 
 
 29 
 
 29 
 
 48 
 
 29— 
 
 Hf- 
 
 Hr 
 
 Hr 
 
 96 
 
 29—' 
 
 22,-= 
 
 
 7 .- 
 
 192 
 
 20 — 
 
 25 r= 
 
 31 - 
 
 3 f 
 
 384 
 
 29 
 
 27 s— 
 
 It 
 
 6 
 
 Is 
 
 576 
 
 29— 
 
 27 s- = 
 
 IL 
 
 • s 
 
 
 76B 
 
 29— 
 
 28f= 
 
 °r 
 
 0’’i 
 
 g 
 
 960 
 
 29— 
 
 2SI- 
 
 oh 
 
 4 
 
 1152 
 
 29™ 
 
 28^= 
 
 
 6 
 
 s6 
 
 From 
 
MlCROGRAPHiAi 
 
 From which Experiments, I think, we may fafely conclude, that the 
 Elater of the Air is reciprocal to its extenfion, or at leafi: very neer. So 
 that to apply it to our prefent purpofe ( which was indeed the chief 
 caule of inventing thele wayes of tryal ) we will fuppofe a Cylinder m" 
 definitely extended upwards, [I fay a Cylinder^ not a piece of OiCone^ 
 becaufe, as I may elfewhere (hew in the Explicatioti of Gravity, that tri- 
 plicate proportion of the fhels of a Sphere, to their refpedfive diameters^ 
 I fuppofe to be removed in this cafe by the dccreafe of the power of Gra¬ 
 vity ] and the preffure of the Air at the bottom of this Cylinder to be 
 ftrong enough to keep up a Cylinder of Mercury of thirty inches: Now 
 becaufe by the moft accurate tryals of the molt illuftrious and incompa¬ 
 rable Mr. Boyle^ publifhed in his defervedly famous Pneumatick Book, 
 the weight of Quickfilver, to that of the Air here below, is found neer 
 about as fourteen thoufand to one; If we fuppofe the parts of the Cy¬ 
 linder of the Atmofyhere to be every where of an equal denlity, we (hall 
 ( as he there deduces ) find it extended to the height of thirty five 
 thoufand feet, or feven miles; But becaufe by thefe Experiments we have 
 fomewhat confirm’d the hypothefis of the reciprocal proportion of the 
 Elaters to the Extenfions we (hall find, that by (uppofing this Cylinder of 
 the Atnwjphere divided into a thoufand parts, each of which being equi¬ 
 valent to thirty five feet, or (even geometrical paces,that is,each of thele 
 divifions containing as much Air as is fuppos’d in a Cylinder neer the 
 earth of equal diameter,and thirty five foot high, we (hall find the lower- 
 moft toprels againftthe furface of the Earth with the whole weight of 
 the above mentioned thoufand parts ^ the prefiure of the bottom of the 
 
 (econd againft the top of the firfi: to be looo-11=1999. of the third 
 
 againfl: the fecond to be 1000—2=2:998. of the fourth againft the third 
 to be 1000 — 3 =1997. of the uppermeft againft the 999. or that next be¬ 
 low it, to be icoo —999=, i. fo that the extenfion of the lowermoft 
 next the Earth, will be to the extenfion of the next below the upper- 
 moft, as I. to 999. for as the prefiure fuftained by the 999. is to the 
 prefiure fuftain’d by the firfi, (b is the extenfion of the fir(f to the ex¬ 
 tenfion of the 999. fo that, from this hypothetical calculation, we (hall 
 find the Air to be indefinitely extended : For if we fuppole the whole 
 thickneisof the Air to be divided, as I juft now inftanced, into a thou¬ 
 fand parts, and each of thofe under differing Dimenfions, or Altitudes, 
 to contain an equall quantity of Air, we (hall find, that the firfi Cylinder^ 
 whofeBafeis fuppoled to lean on the Earth, will be found to be exten¬ 
 ded 5 5^^ foot 5 the fecond equal Divifion, or Cylinder^ whole bajis i$ 
 luppofed to lean on the top of the firft,(hall have its top extended higher 
 by 351 ^ 8 ^ the third 3 the fourth 359955 and fo onward, each c- 
 qual quantity of Air having its dimenfions meafured by 35. and fome 
 additional number expreft alwayes in the manner of a fradion , whole 
 numerator isalway the number of the place multipli’d by 35. and 
 whole denominator is alwayes the prefiure of the Atmojphcre fuftain’d by 
 that part, fo that by this means we may eafily calculate the height of 999. 
 divifions of thofe lOCO. divifions, I fuppos’d 3 whereas the uppermoft 
 
 H h 2 may 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 may extend it felf more then as high againjnayj perhaps indefinitely, or 
 beyond the Moon 5 for the Elaters and Expanfions being in reciprocal 
 proportionsjfince we cannot yet find the ultra^ beyond which the Air 
 will not expand it felf, we cannot determine the height of the Air; for 
 fince, as we have fhewn, the proportion will be alway as the prefiure 
 fuftaind by any partis to 55. fo 1000. to the expanfionof that part 5 
 the multiplication or produd therefore of theprefliire, and expanfion, 
 that isj of the two extream proportionals, being alwayes equal to the 
 product: of the means, or 3 5000. it follows, fince that Rectangle or 
 Produftmay be made up of the multiplication of infinite diverfities of 
 numbers, that the height of the Air is alfo indefinite 5 for fince (as far as 
 I have yet been able to try) the Air Teems capable of an indefinite Ex- 
 panfion, the prefliire may be decreafed in wfinitum^ and ccnfequently its 
 expanfion upwards indefinite alio. 
 
 There being therefore Inch a difference of denfity, and no Experi¬ 
 ment yet known to prove a Saltuf^ or fkipping from one degree of rari¬ 
 ty to another much differing from it, that is, that an upper part of the 
 Air fhould fo much differ from that immediately fitbjacent to it, as to 
 make a diffincf fuperficies, fuch as we obferve between the Air and Wa¬ 
 ter, &c. But it being more likely; that there is a continual increafeof 
 rarity in the parts of the Air, the further they are removed from the 
 furface of the Earth; It will hence neceflarily follow, that ( as in the 
 Experiment of the fait and frefh Water) the ray of Light paffingob¬ 
 liquely through the Air alfo, which is of very different denfity. Will be 
 continually, and infinitely infledfed, or bended, from a (freight, or direct 
 motion. 
 
 This granted , the realbn of all the above recited vheenomena ^ con¬ 
 cerning the appearance of the Celeftial Bodies, will very eafily be de¬ 
 duced. As, 
 
 Firft, The rednefsof the Sun, Moon, and Stars, will be found to be 
 caufed by the inflection of the rays within the Atmojphere, That it is 
 not really in or near the luminous bodies, will, Ifiippofe, be very eafily 
 granted, feeing that this rednefs is obfervable in feveral places differing 
 in Longitude, to be at the fame time different, the fetting and rifing Sun 
 of all parts being for the molf part red. 
 
 And fecondly, That it is not meerly the colour of the Air interpos’d, 
 will, I fuppofe, without much more difficulty be yielded, feeing that we 
 may obferve a very great interjiiuum of Air betwixt the Objed and the 
 Eye, makes it appear of a dead blew, far enough differing from a red, 
 or yellow. 
 
 But thirdly. That it proceeds from the refrad:ion,or infledion, of the 
 rays by the Atmojphere^ this following Experiment will, I fuppofe, fuffici- 
 ently manifeff. 
 
 Take a fph^rical Cryftalline Viol, liich as is defcrib’d in the fifth Fi¬ 
 gure A BCD, and, having fill’d it with pure clear Water, expofe it to 
 the Sun beams t, then taking a piece of very fine Venice Paper, apply it 
 againfi: that fide of the Globe that is oppofite to the Sun, as againft the 
 
 fide 
 
^ M I C R O G R A P H I Ai 
 
 fideB(^5r^ndyou fhall perceive a bright red Ring to appear, cai<d-by* 
 the reffg<^ionofthe Rays, A A A A, which is made by theGjobe 5 in 
 whj<?hrJExperimcnt3 iftheGlafs and Water be very pleer, fo that there be 
 nOiS^nds nor bubbles intheGlafs, nor dirt in the Water, you (hall not 
 perceive any appearance of any other colour. To apply which Experi¬ 
 ment, we may imagine the Atmofpherg to be a great tranfparent Globe, 
 which being of a fubftance more denfe then the other, or (which comes 
 to the fame) that has its parts more denfe towards the middle^ the Sun 
 beams that are tangents, or next within the tangents of this Globe,will 
 be refrafted or infieded from their direct paflage towards the center of 
 the Globe, whence, according to the laws of refraftions made in a trian¬ 
 gular rrifm^ and the generation of colour fet down in the defeription of 
 Mufcovi'glafs,there muft neceflarily appear a red colour in the trafijitus 
 or paflage of thofe tangent Rays. To make this more plain, wc will lup- 
 pofe (in the fixth Figure') A B C D, to reprefent the Globe of the 
 mojj^here. E F G H to reprefent the opacous Globe of the Earth, lying 
 in the midft of it, neer to which, the parts of the Air fuftaining a very 
 great prefliirc, arc thereby very much condens’d, from whence thole 
 Rays that are by inhesion made tangents to the Globe of the Earth,and 
 thofe without them, that pals through the more condens’d part of the At-^ 
 Mofphere^ as fuppole between A and E, are by realbn of the inequality 
 of the medium^ infledcd towards the center, whereby there muft neceE 
 larily be generated a red colour, as is more plainly Ihewn in the former 
 cited place ^ hence whatfoever opacous bodies (as vapourSjOr the likej 
 lhall chance to be elevated into thofe parts,will refledt a red towards the 
 eye 5 and^therefore thole evenings and mornings appear reddeftjthat have 
 the moft ftore of vapours and halituous fubftances exhaled to a conve¬ 
 nient diHancc from the Earth 5 for thereby the infledtion is made the 
 greater,and thereby the colour alfo the more intenfe^and feveral of thole 
 exhalations being opacous, refledl: feveral of thofe Rays, which, through 
 ai)\Homogeueous tranfparent /medium would pafs unleen ^and therefore we 
 fee, that when there chances to be any clouds lituated in thofe Regions 
 they refledl a ftrong and vivid red. Now, though one great caufe of 
 the rednelsmay bethisinfledl:ion,yet I cannot wholly exclude the colour 
 of the vapours themfelves, which may have fomething of rednefs in them, 
 they being partly nitrous,and partly fuliginous ^ both which ftearns tinge 
 the Rays that pals through them, as is made evident by looking at bodies 
 through the fumes of Aquafortis^ or fpirit of Nitre Qas the newly menti¬ 
 oned Illullrious Perfon has demonftrated] and allb through the flnoak of 
 a Fire or Chimney. 
 
 Having therefore made it probable at lead, that the morning and 
 evening rednelsmay partly proceed from this infledlion or refradlion of 
 the RaysjWe lhall next Ihew, how the Oval Figure will be like wife cafily 
 deduced. 
 
 Suppole we therefore, EFGH in the fixth Figure the Scheme^ 
 to reprefent the Earth 5 A B C D, the Atmojpere ^ E I, and E L, two Rays 
 coming from the Sun, the one from the uppcr,th^ other from the neather 
 
 Eimb, 
 
2'jO Micrographia. 
 
 Limb, tTiefe Rays, being by the Mmofphere infleded, appear to the eye 
 ' at E*; if they had come from the points, N and and btcaufe the' 
 Ray L has a greater inclination upon the inequality'of the Atwofphere 
 then I, therefore muft it furler a greater inhedion, and confequently be 
 further elevated above its true place, then the Ray I, which has a leli 
 inclination, will be elevated above its true place ^ whence it will 
 follow, that the lower fide appearing neerer the upper then really it is, 
 and the two lateral fides, viz. the right and left fide, fuffering no fenfl^ble 
 alteration from the infledion, at leaf! what it does fuffer, does rather 
 increale the vifible Diameter then diminilh it, as I (hall (hew by and by,- 
 the Figure of the luminous body muft neceflarily appear fomewhat 
 Elliptical, 
 
 This will be more plain, if in the feventh Figure of th 57. Scheme we 
 fuppole A B to reprefent the fenfible Horizon 5 C D E F, the body of the 
 Sun really below it, G HIK, the fame appearing above it, elevated 
 by the infledion of the Atmojphere : For if, according to the beft obler- 
 vation, we make the vifible Diameter of the Sun to be about three or 
 four and thirty minutes,and the Horizontal refradion according to 
 be thereabout,or fomewhat more,the lower limb of the Sun Ejwill be ele¬ 
 vated to 1 5 but becaufe,by his account, the point C will be elevated but 
 29. minutes, as having not fo great an inclination upon the inequality of 
 the Air, therefore IG, which will be the apparent refraded perpendicu¬ 
 lar Diameter of the Sun,will be Icfs then C G,which is butap. minutes,and 
 confequently fix or feven minutes Ihorter then the unrefraded apparent 
 Diameter. The parts, D and F, will be likewile elevated to H and K, 
 whole refradion, by realbn of its inclination, will be bigger then that of 
 the point C,though lels then that of E^therefore will the femidiameter IL, 
 be ftiorter then L G, and confequently the ^under fide of the appearing 
 Sun more flat then the upper. 
 
 Now, becaufe the Rays from the right and left fides of the Sun, ^c. 
 have been obferv'd by Ricciolo and Crimaldus^ to appear more diftant 
 one from another then really they are,though(by very manyOblervations 
 that I have made for that purpofe,with a very good Felefiopefitt^d with a 
 divided Ruler) I could never perceive any great alteration, yet there be¬ 
 ing really fome,it will not be amifsjto Ihew that this allb proceeds from the 
 refradion or infledion of the Atmojphere 5 and this will be manifeft,if we 
 confider the Atmojphere as a tranfparent Globe, or at leaft a tranfparent 
 fhell, encompalTing an opacous GlobCjWhich, being more denfe then the 
 medium encompalfing it, refrads or infleds all the entring parallel Rays 
 into a point or focus,fo that wherelbever the Obfervator is plac’d within 
 the Atmojphere^ between the focus and the luminous body, the lateral 
 Ray s muft neceflarily be more converg’d towards his eye by the refradi¬ 
 on or infledion, then they would have been without it 3 and therefore 
 the Horizontal Diameter of the luminous body muft neceflarily be aug¬ 
 mented. 
 
 This might be more plainly manifeft to the eye by the fixth Figure ^ 
 but becaufe it would be Ibmwhat tedious, and the thing being obvious 
 
 enough 
 
MiCROGRAPHlA. 
 
 enough to be imagin’d by any one that attentively confiders it, I (hall ra° 
 ther omit it, and proceed to Ihew, that the mafs of Air neer the furface of 
 theEarth,confifts,or is made upjof parcels, which do very much differ from 
 one another in point of denfity and rarity 5 and confequently the Rays of 
 light that pafs through them will be varioufly inflefted,here one way'.and 
 there another,according as they pafs fo or fo through thole differing parts, 
 and thofe parts being always in motion,eithcr upwards or downwards,or 
 to the right or left, or in fome way compounded of thefe, they do by this 
 their motion infled the Rays, now this way, and prelently that way. 
 
 This irregularjunequal and unconlfant inflexion of the Rays of light, 
 is the reafon why the limb of the Sun^ Aloon^ Jupiter^ Saturn^ Mars^ and 
 Venus^ appear to wave or dance 5 and why the body of the Starrs appear 
 to tremulate or twinkle, their bodiesjby this means, being fometimes ma- 
 gnify’d,and fometimes diminifhed 3 fometimes elevated, otherwhiles de- 
 prefs'd now throv/n to the right hand, and then to the left. 
 
 And that there is fuch a property or unequal diftribution of parts, is 
 manifeft from the various degrees of heat and cold that are found in the 
 Air 5 from whence will follow a differing denfity and rarity, both as to 
 quantity and refradion 5 and likewife from the vapours that are inter¬ 
 pos’d, (which,by the way, I imagine,as to refradion or inflexion, to do 
 the fame thing, as if they were rarify’d Air 5 and that thofe vapours that 
 alcend,are both lighter, and lels denle, then the ambient Air which boys 
 them up 5 and that thofe which delcend, are heavier and more denfe) 
 The firft of thefe may be found true, if you take a good thick piece of 
 GIafs,and heating it pretty hot in the fire, lay it upon fuch another piece 
 of Glals, or hang it in the open Air by a piece of Wire, then looking 
 upon fome far diffant Objedf f fuch as a Steeple or Tree) fo as the Rays 
 from that Objedf pafs diredfly over the Glafs before they enter your eye, 
 youfhall find fuch a tremulation and wavering of the remote (Sbjed:, as 
 will very much offend your eye: The like tremulous motion you may 
 • obferve to be caus’d by the alcending fteams of Water, and the like. 
 Now, from the firft of thefe it is manifeft, that from the rarifadion of the 
 parts of the Air,by heat,there is caus’d a differing refradfioujand from the 
 afeenfion of the more rarify’d parts of the Air, which are thruft up by the 
 colder, and therefore more condens’d and heavie, is caus’d an undula¬ 
 tion or wavering of the Obje(ft 3 for I think, that there are very few 
 will grant, that Glals, by $s gentle a heat as may be endur’d by ones 
 hand, Ihould fend forth any o{^its parts in fteams or vapours, which docs 
 not feem to be much wafted by that violent fire of the green Glals-houfe 3 
 but, if yet it be doubted, let Experiment be further made with that bo¬ 
 dy that is accounted, by Chymifts and others^ the moft ponderous and 
 fix’d in the world 3 for by heating of a piece of Gold, and proceeding in 
 the lame manner, you may find the fame effects. 
 
 This trembling and lhaking of the Rays, is more lenfibly caus’d by an 
 adtual flame, or quick fire, or any thing elfe heated glowing hot 3 as by 
 a Candle, live Coal, red-hot Iron, or a piece of Silver, and the like: the 
 fame allb appears very conlpicuous, if you look at an Objeft betwixt 
 
 which 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 which and your eye, the rifing fmoak of fbme Chimney is interpos’d 
 which brings into my mind what I had once the opportunity toobferve^ 
 which was, the Sun rifing to my eye juft over a Chimney that Tent forth 
 a copious fteam of fmoak 5 and taking a ftiort Telejcope^ which I had then 
 by me, I obferv’d the body of the Sun, though it was but juft peep d 
 above the Horizon, to have its underfide, not onely flatted, and prels'd 
 inward, as it ufually is when neer the Earth ^ but to appear more pro¬ 
 tuberant downwards then if it had luflered no refraftion at all, and 
 befides all this, the whole body of the Sun appear’d to tremble or dance, 
 and the edges or limb to be very ragged or indented, undulating or wa¬ 
 ving, much in the manner of a flag in the Wind. . 
 
 This I have likewile often oblerv’d in a hot Sunfhiny Summer’s day, 
 that looking on an Objed over a hot ftonCjOr dry hot earth,! have found 
 the Objed to be undulated or ftiaken, much after the lame manner. And 
 ifyoulook upon any remote Objed through aTeteJeope (in a hot Sum¬ 
 mer s day efpccially 3 you ftiall find it likewife to appear tremulous. And 
 further, if there chance.to blow any wind, or that the air between you 
 and the Objed be in a motion or current, whereby the parts of it, both 
 rarify’d and condens’d, are fwiftly remov’d towards the right or left, if 
 then you obferve the Horizontal ridge of a Hill far diftantjthrough a very 
 good Telejcope^ you lhall find it to wave much like the Sea, and thole 
 waves will appear to pafs the lame way with the wind. 
 
 From which,and many other Experiments, tis deer that the lower Re¬ 
 gion of the Airjefpecially that part of it which lieth neereft to the Earth, 
 has, for the moftpart,its conftituent parcels varioully agitated, either by 
 heat or winds, by the firft of which, fome of them are made more rare, 
 and lb fufl'er a left retradion ^ others are interwoven, either with amend¬ 
 ing ordefeending vapours 5 the former of which being more light, and 
 lb more rarify’djhave likewile a left refradion 5 the latter being more hca- 
 vie, and conlequently more denfcjhave a greater. 
 
 Now, bccaule that heat and cold are equally difius’d every way 5 and 
 that the further it is fpread, the weaker it grows ^ hence it will follow, 
 that the moft part of the under Region of the Air will be made up of fe- 
 veral kinds of ktiUs^ fome whereof will have the properties of Convex ^ 
 othQTsoi Concave glajjts which, that! may the more intelligibly make 
 out, we will fuppofe in the eighth F/gnreotthe Scheme^ that A re- 
 prelents an afeending vapour, which, by reafon of its being fomewhat 
 Heterogeneous to the ambient Air,is thereby thruft into a kind of Globular 
 form, not any where terminated, but gradually finilhed, that is, it is moft 
 rarity’d in the middle about A, fomewhat more condens’d about B B, 
 more then that about C C 5 yet furtherjabout D D, almoft of the fame 
 denfity with the ambient Air aboutEE^ and laftly, inclofed with the 
 more denle Air F F, fo that from A, to F F, there is a continual in- 
 creafe of denfity. The reafon of which vdll be manifeft, if we confider the 
 riling vapour to be much warmer then the ambient heavie Air 5 for by 
 the coldneft of the ambient Air, the Ihell E E will be more refrigerated 
 then D Djand that then C C,which will be yet more then B B, and that 
 
 more 
 

 0 
 
 MiCROGRAPHlA. 
 
 more then A , fo that from F to Aj there is a continual increafe ofheat^ 
 and confequent)y of rarity , from whence it will neccflarily follow, that 
 the Rays of light will be infleded or refraded in it, in the fatpe man¬ 
 ner as they would be in a Concave-gUfe , for the Rays GK/, G K I will 
 be infleded hy G KH^ G K which will eafily follow from what I be¬ 
 fore explained concerning the infledion of the Atmoffhere. 
 
 On the other fide, a defcending vapour,or any part of the air included 
 by an amending vapour,will exhibit the lame efleds with a Convex lens 5 
 for,if we fuppofe,in the former Figure,the quite contrary conftitution to 
 that lafi: deferib’d ^ that is, the ambient Air F F being hotter then any 
 part of that matter within any circle, therefore the coldefi: partmuft 
 necefiarily be A, as being fartheft remov’d from the heat, all the 
 intermediate fpaces will be gradually dilcriminated by the continuall 
 mixture of heat and cold, fo that it will be hotter at E E, then D D, in 
 DDthen CC^ in CC then BB^and in B B then A. From which, a like 
 refradion and condenfation will follow ^ and confequcntly a lefler or 
 greater refradion, fo that every included part will refradmore then the 
 including, by which means the Rays, G K J, G K I, coming from a Starr, 
 or lome remote Objed, are lb intieded, that they will again concurr and 
 meet, in the point M. By the interpofition therefore of this defcending 
 vapour the vifible body of the Star, or other Objed, is very much aug¬ 
 mented, as by the former it was diminilhed. 
 
 From the quick conlecutions of thefe two,one after another, between 
 the Objed and your eye,cauled by their motion upwards or downwards, 
 proceeding from their levity or gravity, or to the right or left,proceed¬ 
 ing from the wind, a Starr may appear, now bigger, now lefs, then really 
 it would otherwife without them 5 and this is that property of a Starr^ 
 which is commonly call’d twinkling, or fcintillation. , 
 
 The reafon why a Star will now appear of one colour,now of another, 
 which for the mofi: part happens when ’tis neer the Horizon, may very 
 eafily be deduc’d from its appearing now in the middle of the vapour, 
 other whiles neer the edge ^ for if you look againffc the body of a Starr 
 v/ith a Tekfeope that has a pretty deep Convex Eye-glafi, and fo order it, 
 that the Star may appear fometimes in one place,and fometimes in another 
 of it^you may perceive this or that particular colour to be predominant 
 in the apparent Figure of the Starr, according as it is more or lels remote 
 from the middle of the Lens, This I had here further explain’d, but that 
 it does more properly belong to another place. 
 
 I fhall therefore onely add fome few Quseries, which the confideration 
 of thefo particulars hinted, and fo finifh this Sedion. 
 
 And the firfti fhall propound is, Whether there may not be made ait 
 artificial tranfparent body of an exaft Globular Figure that fhall fo 
 infleft or refraft all the Rays, that,coming from one point, fall upon any 
 Hcmijphere of it, that every one of them may meet on the oppofite fide, 
 and crofs one another exadly in a point 5 and that it may do the like alfo 
 with all the Rays that, coming from a lateral point, fall upon any other 
 fi^mljphere j for iffo, there were to be hoped a perfection oi Dioptricks^ 
 
 233 
 
 
# 
 
 
 Micrographia. . 
 
 and a tranfmigration into heaven, even whil’ft vi^e remain here upon earth 
 in the flelh, and a defeending or penetrating into the center and inner-- 
 moft recedes of the earth, and all earthly bodies 5 nay, it would open not 
 onely a cranney, but a large window (as I may fo fpeak) into the Shop of 
 Nature, whereby we might be enabled to fee both the tools and opera¬ 
 tors, and the very manner of the operation it felf of Nature 5 this, could 
 it be effeded, would as farr furpafs all other kind ofperfpedives as the 
 vaft extent; of Heaven does the Imall point of the Earth, which diftance 
 it would immediately remove, and unite them, as ’twere,into one,at leaft, 
 that there fhould appear no more diftance between them then the length 
 of the Tube, into the ends of which thefe Glaffes fhould be nferted: 
 Now, whether this may not be effeded with parcels of Glais of feveral 
 denfities, I have fometimes proceeded fo farr as to doubt (though in 
 truth, as to the general, 1 have wholly defpair d of it) for I have often 
 obferv’d in Optical Glafles a very great variety of the parts, which are 
 commonly called Veins ^ nay, fome of them round enough (for they are 
 for the moft part, drawn out into firings) to conftitutc a kind of lens. 
 
 This I fhould further proceed to nope, had any one been fo in- 
 quifitive as to have found out the way of making any tranfparent body, 
 either more denfe or more rare, for then it might be poffibJe to compofc 
 a Globule that fhould be more denfe in the middle of it, then in any 
 other part, and to compofe the whole bulk, fo as that there fhould be a 
 continual gradual tranfition from one degree of denfity to another ^ fuch 
 as fhould be found requifite for the defired inflexion of the tranfmigra-‘ 
 //»^Rays^ but of this enough at prefent, becaufe I may lay more of it 
 when I fet down my own Trials concerning the melioration of Dioptric^^ 
 where I fhall enumerate with how many feveral fubftances I have made 
 both Microfeopes^ gnd Telefiepes^ and by what and how many, ways : Let 
 fuch as have leillirc and opportunity farther confidcr it. 
 
 The next Qu^ery fhall be, whether by the fame colledtion of a more 
 denfe body then the other, or at leaft, of the denier part of the ether, 
 there might not be imagin’d a reafon of the apparition of feme new fix’d 
 Stars, as thofe in the Swan, Cajjiope’s Charr^ Serpentarius^ rifeis^ Ce~ 
 &c. 
 
 Thirdly, Whether it be poflible to define the height of the Atmofphere 
 from this inflexion of the Rays, or from the Quickfilver Experiment of 
 the rarifadfion or cxtenlion of the Air. 
 
 Fourthly, Whether the difparity between the upper andunder Air be 
 not fometimes fo great, as to make a refledf ing fuperficies 5 I have had fe¬ 
 veral Obfervations which feem to have proceeded from Ibme fuchcaufe, 
 but it would be too long to relate and examine them. An Experiment, 
 alfo fomewhat analogous to this, I have made with Salt-water and Frefb, 
 which two liquors,in moft Politions,feem’d the fame, and not to be fepa- 
 rated by any determinate fuperficies,which feparating lurface yet in fome 
 other Pofitions did plainly appear. 
 
 And if fo. Whether the realbnofthe equal bounding orof 
 the under parts of the clouds may not proceed from this caule 5 whether, 
 
 fecondly. 
 
Ai I C R O G R A P H 1 A* 
 
 lecondly^ the Reaibn of the apparition of many Suns may not be found 
 outj by confidering how the Rays of the Sun may fo be refledcd, as to 
 defcribe a pretty true Image of the bodyjas we find them from any regu¬ 
 lar Superficies. Whether alfo this may not be found to caufe the appa¬ 
 rition of fome of thole Parelii^ or counterfeit Suns^ which appear colou- 
 redjby refra(h:ing the Rays ibj as to make the body of the Sun appear in 
 quite another place then really it is. But of this more elfewhere. 
 
 5. Whether xht Phenomena of the Clouds may not be made out by 
 this diverfity of denfity in the upper and under parts of the Air, by 
 fuppofing the Air above them to be much lighter then they themfelves 
 arCj and they themfelves to be yet lighter then that which is fubjacent 
 to them, many of them feeming to be the fimie fubftance with the Cob¬ 
 webs that fly in the Air after a Fog. 
 
 Now that fuch a confiitution ot the Air and Clouds, if fitch there be, 
 may be fufficient to perform thiseffed, may be confirm’d by this Expe¬ 
 riment. 
 
 Make as ftrong a Solution of Salt as you areable^ then filling a Glafi 
 of fome depth half full with it, fill the other half with frefh Water, and 
 poyie a little Glals-bubble, lb as that it may fink pretty quick in frefh 
 Water, which take and put into the aforefaid Glafs, and you fhall find 
 it to fink till it comes towards the middle, where it will remain fixt, 
 without moving either upwards or downwards. And by afecond Ex¬ 
 periment, of poifing fuch a bubble in w'ater^ whole upper part i^ Warmer, 
 and confiquently lighter, then the under, which is colder and heavier 3 
 the manner of which follovv^s in this next Qiijery, which is, 
 
 6. Whether the rarifaftion and Condenfation of Water be not made 
 after the lame manner, as thofe eft'ects are produc’d in the Air by heat 3 
 for I once pois’d a fcafd up Glals-bubble fo exaftly, that never fo Irnall 
 an addition would make it fink, and as frtiall a detradion make it fwim, 
 which liiffering to reft in that VelTel of Water for fome time, f alwayes 
 found it about noon to be at the bottom of the Water, and at night, and 
 in the morning, at the top: Imagining this to proceed from the Rarb 
 fadion of the Water, caus’d by the heat, I made tryal, and found moft 
 true 3 for I was able at any time, either to deprefs, or raife it, by heat 
 and cold 3 for if I let the Pipe ftand for fome time in cold water, I 
 could eafily raife the Bubble from the bottom, whither I had a little a- 
 fore detruded it, by putting the fame Pipe into wartn Water. And this 
 way I have been able, for a very confiderable time, to keep a Bubble lb 
 poys*d in the Water, as that it fhould remain in the middle, and neither 
 fink, nor fwim ; For gently heating the upper part of the Pipe with a 
 Candte, Coal, or hot Iron, till I perceived the Bubble begin to delcend, 
 then forbearing, I have obferved it to defeend to' fuch or fuch wftation, 
 and there to remain fulpended for fome hours, till the heat by degrees 
 were quite vanilhed , when it would again afeend to its'fdrmet piacC. 
 This I have alfo often oblerved naturally performed by the heat of the 
 Air, which being able to rarifie the upper parts of the Wat^r Ibonet 
 then the lower, by reafon of its immediate contad, the heat of] the Air 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 has fometimes fo flowly increafed, that I have obferved the Bubble to be 
 feme hours in palling between the top and bottom. 
 
 7. Whether the appearance of the Pike of Tenerife and feveral other 
 high Mountains, at lo much greater a diftancethen feems to agree with 
 their refpedive heights, be not to be attributed to the Curvature of the 
 vifual Ray, that is made by its palling obliquely through lb difFeringly 
 Deufe a Medium from the top to the eye very far diftantin the Hori¬ 
 zon : For lince we have already, I hope, made it very probable,, that 
 there is fuch an inflexion of the Rays by the differing denfity of the 
 parts of the Air 5 and lince I have found, by feveral Experiments made 
 on places comparatively not very high, and have yet found the prefiure 
 fuftain’d by thofe parts of the Air at the top and bottom, and allb their 
 differing Expanlions very conliderable : Infomuch that I have found the 
 preflure of the Atmofphere lighter at the top of St. Paul's Steeple in Lon¬ 
 don ( which is about two hundred foot high ) then at the bottom by a 
 fixtieth or fiftieth part, and the expanlion at the top greater then that at 
 the bottom by neer about fo much alfo 5 for the Mercurial Cylinder at the 
 bottom was about 39. inches, and at the top half an inch lower 5 the Air 
 alfo included in the Weather-glafs,that at the bottom fill d only 155. (pa¬ 
 ces, at the top fill’d 158. though the heat at the top and bottom was 
 found exadly the fame with a fcal’d Lhermometer: I think it very rational 
 to fuppofe 3 that the greatefi: Curvature of the R^ys is made neareft the 
 Earth,and that the infledion of the Rays, above 3^ or 4. miles upwards, is 
 very inconfiderable, and therefore that by this means fuch calculations of 
 the height of Mountains, as are made from the diftance they are vifible in 
 the Horizon,from the fuppofal that that Ray is a ftraight Line (that from 
 the top of the Mountain is, as’twere, a Tangent to the Horizon whence it 
 is feen) which really is a Curve^ is very erroneous. Whence, I fuppofe,pro- 
 ceeds the reafon of the exceedingly differing Opinions and Ailertions of 
 feveral Authors, about the height of feveral very high Hills. 
 
 8. Whether this Inliedion of the Air will not very much alter the fiip- 
 
 poled diftances of the Planets, which feem to have a very great depen¬ 
 dence upon the Hypothetical refradion or infledion of the Air, and that 
 refradion upon the hypothetical height and denfity of the Air: For 
 fince ( as I hope ) I have here Ihewn the Air to be quite otherwile then 
 has been hitherto fuppos’d, by manifefting it to be, both of avail, at 
 leall an uncertain, height, and of an unconflant and irregular denfity 5 
 It mufl neceffarily follow, that its infledion mull be varied accordingly: 
 And therefore we may hence learn, upon what fure grounds all the A- 
 ftronomers hitherto have built, who have calculated the dillance of the 
 Planets from their Horizontal Parallax ^ for fince the Refradion and Pa¬ 
 rallax are fo nearly ally'd, that the one cannot be known without the 
 other, efpecially by any wayes that have been yet attempted, how uncer¬ 
 tain mull the Parallax be,when the Refradion is unknown? And how eafie 
 is it for Aftronomers to afiign what dillance they pleafe to the PlanetSjand 
 defend them,when they have fuch a curious fubterfuge as that of Refradi- 
 on_^wherein a very little variation will allow them liberty enough to place 
 the Celeflial Bodies at what diftance they pleale. H 
 
 / 
 
Micro GRAPHiAi 
 
 If therefore we would come to any certainty in this point, we mufi: go 
 other wayes to work 3 and as I have here examined the height and refra¬ 
 ctive property of the Air by other wayes then are ufual, fo muft we 
 find the Parallax of the Planets by wayes not yet praCtifed 3 and to this 
 end, I cannot imagine any better way, then the Obfervations of them by 
 two perfons at very far difiant parts of the Earth, .that lye as neef as may 
 be under the fame Meridian, or Degree of longitude , buf differing as 
 much in latitude, as there can be places conveniently found : Thefe t wo 
 perfons, at certain appointed times, fhould ( as near as could be ) both 
 at the fame time, obferve the way of the Muon^ Jlfars^ Venus^ Jupiter^ 
 and amongft the fixt Stars, with a good ]:{rge Telefiope^ and ma¬ 
 
 king little Iconifmes, or pictures, of the fmall fixed Stars, that.appear to 
 each of them to lye in or near the way of the Center of the Planet, and 
 the exaCc meafure of the apparent Diarrieter 5 from the comparing of 
 fuch Obfervatiens together, we might certainly know the true diftance, 
 or Parallax, of the Planet. And having any one true Parallax of thefe 
 Planets, we might very eafily have the other by their apparent Ciiame- 
 ters, which theTekJcopelikewifc affords us very accurately. And thence 
 their motions might be much better known, and their Theories more ex; 
 aClly regulated. And for this purpofe I know not any one place more 
 convenient for fuch an Obfervation to be made in, then in the Ifland of 
 St, Helena^ upon the Coaftof Africk^y which lyes about fixteen degrees 
 to the Southwards of the Line, and is very near, according to the Jateft 
 Geographical Maps, in the fame Meridian with London , for though 
 they may not perhaps lye exadfly in the fame, yet their Obrervations, 
 being ordered according to what I fhall anon fhew, it will not be diffi¬ 
 cult to find the true diftance of the Planet. But were they both under 
 the fame Meridian, it would be much better. , , • , 
 
 And becaufc Obfervations may be much eafier, and more accurately 
 made with good Telejcopes^ then with any other Inftruments,' it will not, 
 Ifuppofe, feem impertinent to explain a little what wayes I judge mofl 
 fit and convenient for that particular. Such therefore as fhall be the 
 Obfervators for this purpofe, fhould be furniflied with the beff Tclejcopes 
 that can be had, the longer the better and more exa 61 : will,their Obfer¬ 
 vations be, though they are fbmewhat the,ynore .difficultly manag’d! 
 Thefe (hould be fitted with a Kete, or divided Scale, plaVd at fucH a di- 
 ftance within the Eye-glafsjthat they may be diflindly feen,whicK ihpuld 
 be the meafures of minutes and leconds^ by. this Infiriimehf each Ob- 
 fervator (hould, at certain prefixt times, obferve the Moga, or other 
 Planet, in, or very near, tfie Meridian 5 and becaufe it may bey,ery* diffi¬ 
 cult to find two convenient ftafions that will happen to be juft undef the 
 fame Mcridian,^ they (hall, each of them, obferve the way of tfie Planet, 
 both for an hour before, and an hour after, it arrive at the Wendiati ^ 
 and by a line, or (froke, amongfi: the fmall fixed Starsf thcy^fltaftdertote 
 out the way that each of them obferv’d the Center .of the plahet. tp be 
 mov’d in for thpfc two hours; Thefe ObiervatlonT.each bf 
 repeat for many dayes together, that both it may Happen^ " that both of 
 
M 
 
 I C ROG R A P H I A. 
 
 them majrfometimes make their Obfervations together, and that from 
 divers Experiments we may be the better aflured of what certainty and 
 exadnefs fuch kind of Obfervations are like to prove. And becaiife iha- 
 ny of the Stars which may happen to come within the compals of fuch 
 an Icontfm:, or Map, may be fuch as are only vifible through a good Tele^ 
 Jcope^ whole Pofitions perhaps have not been noted^ nor their longitudes, 
 or latitudes, anywhere remarked^ therefore each Obfervator Ihould in- 
 deavour to infert fome fixt Star,whofe longitude, and latitude, is known 5 
 or with his Telejcope he fhali find the Pofition of fome notable telefcopical 
 Star, infertcd in his Map, to fome known fixt Star, whofe place in the Zo- 
 diack^ is well defin’d. 
 
 Having by this means found the truediftance of the Moon, and ha¬ 
 ving obfefved well the apparent Diameter of it at that time with a good 
 Telejcope^ it is eafie enough, by one fingle Oblervation of the apparent 
 Diameter of the Moon with a good Glals, to determine her diffances 
 in any other part of her Orbity or Dragon^ and confequently, fome few 
 Obfervations will tell us, whether fhe be mov’d in an EllipjtSy (whjch, by 
 the way, mayalfo be found, even now, though I think we are yet igno- 
 jrant of her true diftance ) and next ( which without fuch Obfervati- 
 bns, I think, wefliall not be fure of ) we. may know exactly the bignefs of 
 thsLtE//ipJts^OT Circle, and her true velocity in each part, and thereby be 
 much the better inabled to find out the true caule of all her Motions. 
 And though, even now allb, we may, hy fuch Obfervations in one flati- 
 bn, as here at obferve the apparent Diameter and motion of the 
 
 Moon in her Dragon^ and confequently be inabled to make abetter 
 ghels at the Species or kind of Curve, in which Ihe is mov’d, that is, 
 whether it be fphxrical, or elliptical^ or neither, and with what propor¬ 
 tional velocities fhe is carried in that Curve 5 yet till her true Parallax 
 be known, we cannot determine either. 
 
 Next, for the true diftance of the Sufi, the beft way will be, by accu¬ 
 rate Obfervations, made in both thefe forementioned ftations, of fome 
 convenient Ecliple of the Sun, many of which may fo happen, as to be 
 feen by both 5 for the Pemm()ra of the Moon may, if fhe befixty Semi- 
 diamefei's diftant from the Earth, and the Sun above feven thouland, ex¬ 
 tend to about feventy degrees on the Earth, and confequently be feen 
 by Obfervators as far diftant as London^ and St.Hekna^ which are frot 
 full fixity nine degrees diftant. And this would much more accurately, 
 then any Way that has been yetufed, determine thb Parallax, anddi- 
 of the Sun ^ |qr asfor the Horizobtal Parallax I have.already 
 
 foewn it lufficiently uncertain ^ nor is the Way of finding it by theEcIipfe 
 of the Moon any other then hypotheticaland th'at'by the difference of 
 the true and apparent quadrature of the Moon is left not uncertain, 
 neft their bedu(ftioh§^Qrfi'it,who have ifiade life ofit 5'for Vende'^nt^'^uts 
 thatdifiererice to be bfit'^il 20". whence he deduced a vaft diftanbe of 
 the Sun^^ as 1 have before fhewn. -S/mWymakes it full^o'. 00. but Ae/- 
 nolduSy ^n&^ Kircher^ no left then threq degrees! ^ And fio wondei*, for if 
 we exatrffne the Thed'rpf'Mt fhali fiM itftbcomplitated with uncertain¬ 
 ties!' Fir ft. 
 
MiCROGRAPHtA. 
 
 Firfl:, From the irregular furface of the Moori;, and from feveral Paral¬ 
 laxes, that iinleft the Dichotomy happen in the Nonageftmus of the Eclip- 
 tick^^ and that in the Meridian, <&c. all which happen fo very feldom, 
 that it is almoft: impollible to make them otherwile then uncertainly. 
 Bcfides, we are not yet certain, but that there may be foiiiewhat about 
 the Moon analogus to the Air about the Earth, which may caufe a refra- 
 ftion of the light of the Sun, and confequently make a great difference 
 in the apparent dichotomy of the Moon. 1 heir way indeed is very 
 rational and ingenious 5 and fuch as is much to be preferr’d before the 
 way by the Horizontal Parallax, could all the uncertainties be remov’d, 
 and were the true diftance of the Moon known. 
 
 But becaufe we find by the Experiments of Veftdilwe^ Reinoldus^ Sec. 
 thaf Obfervations of this kind are very uncertain alfb: It were to be 
 wifht, that fuch kind of Obfervations, made at two Very diftant ftati- 
 ons, were promoted. And it is fo much the more defirablc, becaufe, from 
 what I have now fhewn of the nature of the Air, it is evident, that the 
 refraftion may be very much greater then all the Affronomers hitherto 
 have imagined it; And confequently, that the diftance of the Moon, and 
 
 other Planets, may be much lefle then what they have hitherto made 
 
 • 
 
 It. 
 
 For firfl:, this Inflexion, I have here propounded, will allow the fha- 
 dow of the Earth to be much fhorter then it can be made by the other 
 Hypothecs o£ refradfion, and confequently, the Moon will notfuffer an 
 Eclipfe, unlefs it comes very much nearer the Earth then the Affronomers 
 hitherto have fuppofed it. 
 
 Secondly, There will not in this Hypothejis be any other fhadow of the 
 Earth, fiich as iCep/er fuppofes, and calls the Femmbra^ which is the fha- 
 dow of the refrading Atmofphere , for the bending of the Rays being al¬ 
 together caus’d by Ir?fle^ion^ as I have already Ihewn , all that part 
 which is aferibed by Kepler^ and others after him, to the Vemmbra^ or 
 dark part, which is without the umbra terree^ does clear vanifh 5 for in 
 this Hypothejts ^hereis no refracting furface of the Air, and confequently 
 there can be no lhadows, fuch as appear in the ninth Figure of the 37, 
 Scheme^ where let A B C D reprefent the Earth, and E F G H the At^ 
 mojphere yVjhich according to Keplers fuppofition,is like a Sphere of Water 
 terminated with an exaCt furface E F G H, let the lines M F, LB, ID, 
 K H, reprefent the Rays of the Sun, ’tis manifeff, that all the Rayes be¬ 
 tween L B, and I D, will be reflected by the furfaee of the Earth 
 BAD, and confequently, the conical fpace BOD would be dark and 
 obfeure, but, lay the followers of Kepler^ the Rays between M F, and 
 LB, and between ID, and K H, falling on the Atmojphere ^ are re- 
 fraCted, both at their ingrefs and egrefs out of the AtmoJ^here^ nearer to-^ 
 wards the Axis of the fpxrical fhadow C O, and confequently, inlighten 
 a great part of that former dark Cone, and fhorten, and contraCt, its top 
 to N. And becaufe of this Reflection of thefe Rays, fay they, there is 
 fuperinduc’d another fhell of a dark Cone F P H, whofeApexP is yet 
 further diftant from the Earth; By this Temmbra^ fay they, the Moon 
 
240 
 
 M 1 C R O G R A P H I A. 
 
 is Eclipfed, for it alwaycs pafles between the lines i 25 ^nd 
 3 4 * ■ 
 
 To which I fay. That if the Air be Inch,, as I have newly fhewn it to 
 bej^andconfequently caufe fuchan intledtionof the Rays that fall into 
 it, thofe dark Penumbra's F Y Z H X VT, and ORES, will all va- 
 nifh. For if we fuppofe the Air indefinitely extended, and to be no 
 where bounded with a determinate refrafting furface, aslhaveihewn 
 it uncapable of having, from the nature of it 5 it will follow, that the 
 Moon will no where be totally oblcured, but when it is below the Apex 
 N, of the dark blunt Cone of the Earth’s fhadow:Now3from the fuppofi- 
 tion, that the Sun is diffant about feven thoufand Diameters, the point 
 N, according to calculation, being not above twenty five terrefirial Se¬ 
 midiameters from the Center of the Earth: It follows, that whenfoever 
 the Moon eclipfed is totally darkned, without affording any kind of 
 light, it muff be within twenty five Semidiameters of the Earth, and con- 
 fequently much lower then any Aftronomers have hitherto put it. 
 
 This will feem much more confonant to the reft of the fccundary Pla¬ 
 nets 5 for the higheff of "jupters Moons is between twenty and thirty 
 Jovial Semidiameters diftant from the Center of Jupiter 5 and the Moons 
 of Saturn much about the fame number of Saturnial Semidiameters from 
 the Center of that Planet. 
 
 But thefe are but conje( 5 f ures alfo,and muft be determin’d by fuch kind 
 of ObfervationsasI have newly mention’d. 
 
 Nor will it be difficult, by this HjpotheJts^toiAve nWthe appearances 
 of Eclipfes of the Moon, for in this Hypothejis alfo, there will be,on each 
 fide of the fhadow of the Earth, a not caus’d by theReffaCfi- 
 
 onof the Air, as in the Hypothejis oi Kepler'^ but by the faintJnlight- 
 ning of it by the Sun : For if, in the fixth FigurCjWe fuppofe E S and 
 G S R,to be the Rays that terminate the fhadow from either fide of the 
 Earth 5 E S CL coming from the upper limb of the Sun, and GSR from 
 the under 5 it will follow, that the fhadow of the Earth, within thofe 
 Rays, that is, the Cone G S E, will be totally dark. But the Sun being 
 not a point, but a large area of light, there will be a fccondary dark 
 Cone of fhadow E P G, which will be caus’d by the earth’s hindring 
 part of the Rays of the Sun from falling on the parts G P R, and E P CL 
 of which halved fhadow, or Penumbra^ that part wilL appear brightefi: 
 which lyes neareft the terminating Rayes G P, and E P, and thofe dar¬ 
 ker that lye nearefl to G S, and E S ; when therefore the Moon ap- 
 
 E ears quite dark in the middle of the Eclipfcjfhe muft be below S,that is, 
 etween S and F 5 when fhe appears lighter near the middle of the 
 Eclipfe, fhe muft pafs fbme where between R CL and S^ and when fhe 
 is alike light through the whole Eclypfe, fhe muft pafs between RCL? 
 and P. 
 
 
 Oblem 
 
M i C R O G R A P H I Ai 
 
 241 
 
 Obferv. LIX. Of multitudes of frnall Stars difcoverable by the 
 Tclcfcope. 
 
 H Avingjin thelall Obfervation^ premis’d fome particulars obfervable 
 in the medium ^through which we muft look upon CeeleflialOhj^dcsy 
 I lhall here add one Obfcrvation oF the Bodies themfelves 5 and for a 
 jpecimenl have made choice of the orfevcn Stars, commonly fb 
 
 called ( though in our time and Climate there appear no more then fix 
 to the naked eye ) and this I did the rather, becaufe the defervedly fa¬ 
 mous GalileOy having publifht a Pidure of this Afierifme^ was able, it 
 feems, with his Glafs to difcover no more then thirty fix, whereas with a 
 pretty good twelve foot Telefiope^by which I drew this ^8 Icomfmyl could 
 very plainly difcover feventy eight, placed in the order they are ranged 
 in the Figure, and of as many difiering Magnitudes as the Jjieris^^ 
 wherewith they are Marked, do fpecifie 5 there being no lefs then four¬ 
 teen (everal Magnitudes of thole Stars, which are compris’d within the 
 draught, the biggefi: whereof is not accounted greater then one of the 
 third Magnitude, and indeed that account is much too big,if it be com¬ 
 pared with other Stars of the third Magnitude, efpecially by the help of 
 a Tekfeope 5 for then by it may be perceiv’d, that its fplendor, to the na¬ 
 ked eye, may be Ibmewhat augmented by the three little Stars immedi. 
 ately above it, which are nearadjoyning to it. The Tclefcope alfo difeo. 
 vers a great variety, even in the bignels of thofe, commonly reckon’d, oi 
 the firft, lecond, third, fourth, fifth, and fixth Magnitude 5 fo that fhould 
 they be diftinguilh’d thereby, thofe fix Magnitudes would, at lead, af¬ 
 ford no left then thrice that number of Magnitudes, plainly enough di- 
 ftinguifhable by their Magnitude, and brightnels, fo that a good twelve 
 foot Glafs would afford us no lefs then twenty five feveral Magnitudes* 
 Nor are thefe all, but a longer Glafs does yet further, both more nicely 
 difiinguifh the Magnitudes of thofe already noted, and alfo difcover fe¬ 
 veral other of fmaller Magnitudes, not difoernable by the twelve foot 
 Glafi; Thus have I been able, with a good thirty fix foot Glafs, to difeo- 
 ver many more Stars in the Pleiades then are here delineated, and thofe 
 of three or four diftin^t Magnitudes lefs then any of thofe fpots of the 
 fourteenth Magnitude. And by the twinkling of divers other places of 
 this jijierijmcy when the Sky was very clear, I am apt to think, that with 
 longer Glafles, or fuch as would bear a bigger aperture j there might be 
 difeovered multitudes of other fmall Stars, yet inconfpicuous. And in¬ 
 deed, for the difeovery of fmall Stars, the bigger the aperture be, the 
 better adapted is the Glafs 5 for though perhaps it does make the feveral 
 (pecks more radiant, and glaring, yet by that means, uniting more Rays 
 very near to one point, it docs make many of thofe radiant points confpi- 
 
 K k CU0US5 
 
242 
 
 MiCR O G R A P H I A. 
 
 CHOUS, which, by putting on a ]g{s aperture^ may be found to vanifh^ 
 and therefore, both for the difcovery of the fixt Star, and for finding the 
 Satellites Jupiter^ before it be out of the day, or twilight , lalwayes 
 leave the Objed-glafs as clear without any aperture as I can , and have 
 thereby been able to difcover the Satellites a long while before 5 1 was 
 able to difcern them, when the fmaller apertures were put on 5 and ato- 
 thcr times, to fee multitudes of other fmaller Stars, which a fmaller aper¬ 
 ture makes to difappear. 
 
 In that notable Ajierifm alfb of the Sword of Orion ^ where the ingeni¬ 
 ous Monfieur Hugens van Zulichem has difcovercd only three little Stars 
 in a clufter_, I have with a thirty fix foot Glafs,without any aperture (the 
 breadth of the Glals being about fomc three inches and a half )difcover d 
 five, and the twinkling of divers others up and down in divers parts of 
 that fmall milky Cloud. 
 
 So that ’tis not unlikely, but that the meliorating of TeleJcopes mW af¬ 
 ford as great a variety of new Difeoveries in the Heavens, as better Mi- 
 crofeopes would among fmall terreftrial Bodies, and both would give us 
 infinite caufe, more and more to admire the omnipotence of the Crea¬ 
 tor. 
 
 Obfcrv. LX. Of th Moon. 
 
 H Avinga pretty large corner of the Plate for the feven Starrs, void, 
 for the filling it up, I have added one fmall specimen of the ap¬ 
 pearance of the parts of the Moon, by deferibing a fmall fpot of it,which, 
 though taken notice of, both by the Excellent Hevelius^ and called Mans 
 Olympus Cthough I think fomewhat improperly, being rather a vale) and 
 reprefented by the Figure X,of the 38. Scheme^ and alfb by the Learn’d 
 Ricciolus^ who calls it Hipparchus^ and deferibes it by the Figure Y, yet 
 how far fhort both of them come of the truth, may be fomewhat per¬ 
 ceiv’d by the draught, which I have here added of it, in the Figure Z, 
 ( which I drew by a thirty foot Glafs, in oBober 1664. juft before the 
 Moon was half inlightned) but much better by the Readers diligently 
 obferving it himfelf^ at a convenient time, with a Glafs of that length, 
 and much better yet with one of threefcore foot long, for through thefe 
 it appears a very fpacious Vale, incompafled with a ridge of Hills, not 
 very high in comparifon of many other in the Moon, nor yet very fteep. 
 The Vale it felf A B C D, is much of the figure of a Pear, and from (c- 
 vcral appearances of it, feems to be fome very fruitful place, that is, to 
 have its forface all covered over with fome kinds of vegetable fubftan- 
 ccs 5 for in all pofitions of the light on it, it feems to give a much fainter 
 refiettion then the more barren tops of the incompafling Hills, and thofo 
 a much fainter then divers other cragged, chalky, or rocky Mountains 
 of the Moon. So that I am not unapt to think, that the Vale may have 
 
 Vegetables 
 
Micrographia. 
 
 Vegetables analogtfs to our Grafs, Shrubs, and Trees 3 and moft of thefc 
 incompaffing Hills may be covered with fo thin a vegetable Coat, as we 
 may obferve the Hills with us to be, fuch as the (hort Sheep pafture which 
 covers the Hills of Salisbury Plains. 
 
 Up and down in feveral parts of this place here defcrib’d ( as there 
 are multitudes in other places all over the lurface of the Moon ) may 
 be perceived feveral kinds of pits, which are fhap’dalmofl: like a difh, 
 fome bigger, feme lefs, fome fhallower, fome deeper, that is, they f^em 
 to be a hollow Hemijphere, incompafled with a round rifing bank, as if 
 the fubftance in the middle had been digg’d up, and thrown on either 
 fide. Thefe feem to me to have been the effedls of fome motions within 
 the body of the Moon, analogus to our Earthquakes, by the eruption 
 of which, as it has thrown up a brim,orridge3round about, higher then 
 the Ambient furface of the Moon, fb has it left a hole, or depreffion, in 
 the middle, proportionably lower 3 divers places refembling Ibme of 
 thefe, I have oblerv'd here in Euglnfid^ on the tops of fome Hills, which 
 might have been caus’d by fome Earthquake in the younger dayes of the 
 world. But that which does moft incline me to this belief, is, firft, the 
 generality and diverfity of the Magnitude of thefe pits all over the bo* 
 dy of the Moon. Next, the two experimental wayes, by which I have 
 made a reprefentation of them. 
 
 The firfi: was with a very fbft and well temper’d mixture of Tobacco- 
 pipe clay and Water, into which, if I let fall any heavy body, as a Bui* 
 let, it would throw up the mixture round the place, which for a while 
 would make a reprefentation, not unlike thefe of the Moon 3 but con- 
 fidering the ftate and condition of the Moon, there feems not any proba¬ 
 bility to imagine, that it fhould proceed from any C2iu.^Q analogus to this 3 
 for it would be difficult to imagine whence thofe bodies fhould come 5 
 and next, how the fubftance of the Moon fhould be fb foft 3 but if a 
 Bubble be blown under the furface of it, and fuffer’d to rife, and break 3 
 or if a Bullet, or other body, funk in it, be pull’d out from it, thefe de* 
 parting bodies leave an imprefiion on the furface of the mixture, exadfly 
 like thefe of the Moon, fave that thefe alfb quickly fubfide and vanifh. 
 But the fecond, and mofl: notable, reprefentation was, what I obferv d 
 in a pot of boyling Alabafter, for there that powder being by the erupti¬ 
 on of vapours reduc’d to a kind of fluid confiftence3if,whil’fl: it boy Is, it 
 be gently remov’d befides the fire , the Alabafter prefently ceafing to 
 boyl, the whole furface, efpecially that where fbme of the lafl: Bubbles 
 have rifen, will appear all over covered with fmall pits, exadly fhap*d 
 like thefe of the Moon, and by holding a lighted Candle in a large dark 
 Room, in divers pofitions to this furface, you may exadfly reprefent all 
 the Phenomena of thefe pits in the Moon, according as they are more or 
 lefs inlightned by the Sun. 
 
 And that there may have been in the Moon fbme fuch motion as 
 this, which may have made thefe pits, will feem the more probable, 
 if we fuppofe it like our Eartl;, for the Earthquakes here with us feem 
 to proceed from fome fuch caufe, as the boyling of the pot of Ala- 
 
 K k 2 bafter. 
 
Ml C ROG R A P H I A. 
 
 bafter, there feeming to be generated in the Earth from ibme fubter- 
 raneous fires, or heat, great quantities of vapours, that is, of expan¬ 
 ded aerial fubftances, which not prefently finding a paflage through the 
 ambient parts of the Earth, do, as they are increafed by thefupplying 
 and generating principles, and thereby ( having not fufficient room to 
 expand themfelvesj extreamly condens’d, at laft overpower, with 
 their e/4/?/V4 properties, the refiftenceof the incompafling Earth, and 
 lifting it up, or cleaving it, and fo (battering of the parts of the Earth 
 above it, do at length, where they find the parts of the Earth above them 
 more loofe, make their way upwards, and carrying a great part of the 
 Earth before them, not only raife a (mail brim round about the place,out 
 of which they break , but for the moft part confiderable high Hills and 
 Mountains, and when they break from under the Sea, divers Times, 
 mountainous lOands , this feems confirm’d by the Vulcans in feveral 
 places of the Earth, the mouths of which, for the moft part, are incom- 
 pafled with a Hill of a confiderable height, and the tops of thofe Hills, 
 or Mountains, areufually (hap’d very much like thefe pits, ordifhes, of 
 the Moon .• Inftancesof this we have in the deferiptions of Mttia. in si- 
 of Hecla in Icelat7d^ of TeKerif in the Canaries^ of the (everal VuU 
 cans in Netp-spain^ deferib’d by Gage^ and more efpecially in the erupti¬ 
 on of late years in one of the Canary Illands. In all of which there is not 
 only a confiderable high Hill railed about the mouth of the Vnlcan , but, 
 like the fpots of the Moon, the top of thole Hills are like a dilh, or ba- 
 Ibn. And indeed, if one attentively confider the nature of the thing, 
 one may find fufficient realbn to judge, that it cannot be otherwile 5 for 
 thele eruptions, whether of fire, or fmoak, alwayes rayfing great quan¬ 
 tities of Earth before them, muft neceflarily, by the fall of thofe parts 
 on either fide, raife very confiderable heaps. 
 
 Now, both from the figures of them, and from feveral other cir- 
 cumftances^ thele pits in the Moon leem to have been generated 
 much after the fame manner that the holes inAlabafter, and the 
 canso^ the Earth are made. For firft, it is not improbable, but that 
 the fubftance of the Moon may be very much like that of our Earth, 
 that is, may confift of an earthy, Tandy, or rocky fubftance, in feveral of 
 Its fuperficial parts, which parts being agitated, undermin’d, or heav’d 
 up, by eruptions of vapours, may naturally be thrown into the fame 
 kind of figured holes, as the (mail duft, or powder of Alabafter. Next, 
 it is not improbable, but that there may be generated, within the body 
 of the Moon, divers fuch kind of internal fires and heats, as may pro¬ 
 duce fuch Exhalations 5 for fince we can plainly enough difeover with a 
 Telejl'ope , that there are multitudes of fuch kind of eruptions in the 
 body of the Sun it lelf, which is accounted the moft noble ^Etherial bo¬ 
 dy, c^tainly we need not be much fcandaliz’d at fuch kind of altera¬ 
 tions, or corruptions, in the body of this lower and left confiderable 
 part of the univerfe, the Moon, which is only fecundary, or attendant, 
 on the bigger, andmoreconfiderable body of the Earth. Thirdly, ’tis 
 not unlikely, but that ffippofing fuch a Tandy or mouldring fubftance to 
 

 Tig: ^ ^fH^ei^ej- Sch 1^471' XXWIII^ 
 
 f o 
 
 StelUrum v]u imhu^ims 
 
 ^ ^ ^ 7 •S’ ^ 10 II ,2, ,j ,4, 
 
 ^ ★-K>® 
 
 / 
 
 ® 
 
 «> 
 
 
-Micrographia^ 
 
 be there found, and fuppofing alfo a poffibility of the generation of the 
 internal elajikal body (whether you will call it air or vapours ) tis 
 not unlikely, I fay, but that there is in the Moon a principle of gravita¬ 
 tion, fuch as in the Earth. And to make this probable, I think, we need 
 no better Argument, then the roundnels, or globular Figure of the bo¬ 
 dy of the Moon itfelf, which we may perceive very plainly by theTe- 
 lefcope^ to be ( bating the fmall inequality of the Hills and Vales in it, 
 which are all of them likewife (liap'd, or levelled, as it were, to anfwef 
 to the center of the Moons body ) perfectly of a Sph^erical figure, that 
 is, all the parts of it are fo rang'd ( bating the comparitively fmall nig- 
 gednels of the Hills and Dales) that the outmoft'bounds of them arc 
 equally diftant from the Center of the Moon, and conlequently, it is 
 exceedingly probable alfo, that they are equidiftant from the Center of 
 gravitation 5 and indeed, the figure of the fuperficial parts of the Moon 
 are fo cxadbly fhap’d, according as they fhould be, fuppofing it had a 
 gravitating principle as the Earth has, that even the figure of thofo 
 parts themlelvesisof fufficient efficacy to make the gravitation, and the 
 other two fiippofitions probable .\fo that the other fuppofitions may be 
 rather proved by this confiderable Circumftance, or Obfervation, then 
 this fuppos’d Explication can by them ^ for he that (hall attentively 
 obforvewith an excellent how all the Gircumftances, notable in 
 
 the (hape of the fuperficial parts, are, as it were, exadly adapted to 
 fuit with fuch a principle,will,if he well confiders theufual method of Na¬ 
 ture in its other proceedings,find abundant argument to believe it to have 
 really there alfo foch a principle^ for I could never obforvejamong all the 
 mountainous or prominent parts of the Moon ( whereof there is a huge 
 variety ) that any one part of it was plac’d in fuch a manner,that if there 
 fhould be a gravitating, or attradfing principle in the body of the Moon, 
 it would make that part to fall, or be mov'd out of its vifible pofiure. 
 Next, the (hape and pofition of the parts is fuch, that they all feem put 
 into thofe very (hapes they are in by a gravitating power .* For firfl:,there 
 are but very few clifts, or very (feep declivities in the afeent of thefe 
 Mountains 5 for befides thofe Mountains, which are by Hevehus call’d the 
 Apennine Mountains, and fome other, which feem to border on the Seas 
 of the Moon, and thofe only upon one fide, as is common alfo in thole 
 Hills that are here on the Earth 5 there are very few that feem to have 
 very fteep afeents, but, for the mofi: part, they, are made very round, 
 and much refemBle the make of the Hills and Mountains alfo of the 
 Earth 5 this may be partly perceived by the Hills incompafling this Vale, 
 which I have here deferib’d y and as on the Earth alfo, the middlemoft 
 of thelc Hills feemsthe higheft, fo is it obvious alfo, through a good Tr- 
 lefcope^ in thofe of the Moon 5 the Vales alfo in many are much fhap’d 
 like thofe of the Earth, and I am apt to think, that could we look upon 
 the Earth from the Moon, with a good Telefcope^ we might eafily enough 
 perceiv^e its furface to be very much like that of the Moon« 
 
 Now whereas in this fmall draught, (as'there would be multitudes if 
 the whole Moon were drawn after this manner) there are feveral little 
 
 Ebullitions;, 
 
24^ 
 
 Micrographia. 
 
 Ebullitions, orDifhes, even in the Vales themfelvesjand in the incompaf- 
 fing Hills alfo, this will, from this fuppofition, ("which I have, I think, up¬ 
 on very good reafon taken ) be exceeding eafily explicable ^ for, as I 
 have feveral times allb oblerv’d, in the furfacc of Alabafter lb ordered, 
 as I before deferib’d, lb may the later eruptions of vapours be even in the 
 middle, or on the edges of the former, and other fucceeding thefe allb 
 in time may be in the middle or edges of thefe, of which there are 
 
 Inftanccs enough in divers parts of the body of the Moon, and by a 
 boyling pot of Alabafter will be fufficiently exemplifi’d. 
 
 To conclude therefore, it being very probable, that the Moon has a 
 principle of gravitation, it affords an excellent diftinguiftiinginftance 
 in the fearch after the caufe of gravitation, or attradion, to hint, that it 
 does not depend upon the diurnal or turbinated motion of the Earth, as 
 (bme have fomewhat inconffderately fuppoled and affirmed it to do ^ for 
 if the Moon has an attradtive principle, whereby it is not only fliap’d 
 round , but does firmly contain and hold all its parts united, though 
 many of them feem as loofe as the land on the Earth, and that the Moon 
 is not mov’d about its Center ^ then certainly the turbination cannot be 
 the caufe of the attradion of the Earth 5 and therefore fome other 
 principle muft be thought of, that will agree with all the fecundary as 
 well as primary Planets. But this, I confels, is but a probability, and 
 not a demonftration, which (from any Oblcrvation yet made J it leems 
 hardly capable of, though how fuccelsful future indeavours (promoted 
 by the meliorating of Glafles, and oblerving particular circumftances) 
 may be in this, or any other, kind, muft be with patience expedted. 
 
 finis 
 

 THE TABLE 
 
 Pag. 
 
 I Obfervat. I. Ofthepointofa Nee- 
 die. 
 
 A Defeiripion of it : what other 
 Bodies have the JharpeJi points : 
 of the rnggednefs of polijht Metal. A 
 3 defeription of a printed point. Of ve~ 
 ry fmall writings and the ufe of it for 
 jecret intelligence : the caufe of the 
 conrjhef of printed lines and points* 
 
 4 Obferv.Q. Of the Edge of a Razor. 
 
 A defeription of it : the caufes of 
 ^ its roughnef : of theroughnef of very 
 well polifit Optick^ GlaJJes. 
 
 Obfer.5. Of fine Lawn. 
 
 A defeription ofit: A Jilken Flax 
 mention d^an attempt to explicate the 
 6 Phaenomena <^ 7^ 3 with a conjecture 
 at the caufe of theglofeof Sill{. 
 
 Obfei v. 4.. Of Tabby. 
 
 A Jhort defeription of it. A conje- 
 7 Cture about the reafon why Silk^is Jb 
 Jufeeptible of vivid colours ; and why 
 Flax and Hair is not, A conjeCture^ 
 that it may perhaps be pojfible to Jpin 
 a kjnd of artificial Silk^ out of fome 
 glutinous fubfeance that may equalise 
 natural Bilb. 
 
 S Obferv. 5. Of water d Silks. 
 
 ihe great unaccuratenefi of artifi- 
 
 ■ dal works. A defeription of apiece of 
 
 ^ water d Bilkh Explication of the 
 caufe of the Phsenomena : the way by 
 which that operation is performed: 
 
 i feme other Phsenomena mention d 10 
 depending on the fame caufe, 
 
 Obferv. 6. Of Glafs-Canes. 
 
 Fhe exceeding fmalnefi of feme of 
 thefe Bodies By what means the hoi- 
 lownefi of thefe fmall pipes was difeo- 
 verd:fever a I Vhxr\omQm of it men- 11 
 tiond. An attempt to explicate them 
 from the congruity and incongruity of 12 
 Bodies: what thofeproprieties are. A 
 hypothetical explication of fluidity : of 
 thefluidity of the airlandfever al other 14 
 Phenomena of it : of congruity in- 15 
 
 congruity^ illuflratedwith fever al Ex- 16 
 periments.'what effeCts may be aferib’d 17 
 to thefe properties an explication of iS 
 the roundnefs" of the Jurface of fluid 
 Bodies: how the ingrefiof fluid bodies 1 9 
 into a fmall hole of an heterogenious 20 
 body is hindred by incongruity'-^ a 
 multitude of Phenomena explicable 21 
 hereby. Several^U(eries propounded 
 I. Concerning the propagation of light 
 through dijfering mediums. 2. Con-22 
 cerning Gravity. 3. Concerning the 
 roundnefiof the Sun^ Moon^ and Vla- 
 nets. 4. Concerning the roundnefiof 
 Fruits^ Stones^ and divers artificial 
 Bodies. His HighnefiFrince^w^^its 23 
 way of making shot. Of the roundnefi 24 
 of Hail, Of the grain of Kettering 
 Stone^andof the Sparky offire.^.Con- 25 
 cerning Jpringinefi and tenacity. 
 
 6. Concerning the original of Foun- 26 
 tains'-^ fever al Hiflories and Experi¬ 
 ments relating thereto. .Concerning 27 
 the diflolution of Bodies in Liquors. 
 
 8. Concerning the univerfahty oj this 28 
 Principle : what method was taken in 
 making and applying experiments. 
 
 explication 
 
The Table. 
 
 explicdtion of and feveral 
 
 2 9 other Ph^enomena ^ the motion 
 of Bodies on the furface of Liquor s'-^Je~ 
 
 30 veral Experiments mention d to this 
 purpofe.Of the height to which the wa¬ 
 ter may rife in thefe Vipes'^anda conje- 
 
 31 Liure about the juices of Vegetables 
 the ufe of tfieir pores. A further expli¬ 
 cation of Congruity.'And an attempt of 
 folving the Phsenomcna of the Jirange 
 Experiment of the Jufjenf on of the 
 
 32 Mercury at a much greater height 
 then thirty inches, Theeffcacyof im¬ 
 mediate contaB^ and the reajon of it. 
 
 05 Obferv. 7. Of Glafs drops. 
 
 several Experiments made with 
 
 34 thefe fmall Bodies. The manner of the 
 breaking and flawing of them^ expH- 
 
 35 cated by Figures, What other bodies 
 will be flawed much in the fame man¬ 
 ner : fome other tryals^anda dejcrip- 
 tion of the Drops themjelves : fome 
 conjeBures at the caufe of the Phse- 
 nomem jndeavoured to be madepro- 
 
 36 bableby feveral Arguments and Expe¬ 
 riments.An Experiment of the expan- 
 
 Jion of Water by heat^and Jhrinking by 
 cold : the like Vtoprieties jupposd in 
 3 7 Glaf drops , and what effeBs proceed 
 from them : the feven Propofltions on 
 which the conjeBures are grounded. 
 Experiments to Jhew^ that bodies ex- 
 3S pand by heat. The manner of makjng 
 Thermometers , and the Inflrument 
 ^9 for graduating them. The manner of 
 graduating and their ufe: 0- 
 
 ther Experiments to prove the expan- 
 40 flon of bodies by heat.Four experimen¬ 
 tal Arguments to prove the expanflon 
 of Glaflby heat : furtherprovd by the 
 Experiment of boyling Alabafler^ 
 which is explicated. An explication 
 of the contraBing of heated Glaflup- 
 42 on cooling. An explication how the 
 parts of the Glafl become bent by fltd- 
 den cold^ and how kgpt from extrica¬ 
 
 ting themjelves by the contignation of 
 the Glafl drop 5 which is further ex¬ 
 plicated by another Experiment made ^ 
 with a hollow Glafl ball: the reafon of^^ 
 the flying ajunder of the parts further 
 explicated : that tisprobable thefe bo¬ 
 dies may have many flaws^ though not 
 viflble^and why : how a gradual heat¬ 
 ing and cooling does put the parts of 44 
 Glafl^ and other hardned bodies , 
 into a loofer texture. 
 
 Obferv. 8. Of Fiery Sparks. 
 
 The occaflon and manner of ma¬ 
 king this Experiment: divers Obfer- 
 vations fit down in order to thefind¬ 
 ing out the reafons : fome conjeBures 
 concerning it^ which are endeavoured 
 to be explicated and confirm'd by fe¬ 
 veral Experiments and Reafons : the 
 Hypothefis a little further explica¬ 
 ted, Some Obfervations about the 
 Globular Figure : and an Experiment 
 of reducingthefilings of Tin or Lead 
 to exaBly round Globules. 
 
 45 
 
 46 
 
 47 
 
 Obferv. 9. Of Fantaftical Colours. 
 
 The texture of Glafl:^ its 
 
 Figures.'what other Bodies are like it: 
 that it exhibits feveral colours y and 
 how:feveral Obfervations and Experi¬ 
 ments about thofe colours : the reajon 
 why on this occaflon the nature of co- 
 lours is inquir'd into. A conjeBure at 
 the reafon of thefe colours explicated 5 *^ 
 by feveral Experiments and Reafons .• 
 Firfly by continual cleaving the Body 
 till it become colour'd. Secondly y by 
 producing all kinds of colours with 
 two flat Plates of ClajS'. Thirdlyy by 
 blowing GlafS"fo thin m the Lampy till 
 it produce the fame efleB. Fourthlyyby ^ * 
 doing the fame with Bubbles of di¬ 
 vers other iranfparent Bodies: the 
 reafons of the colours on nealed Steely 
 vphere by the way the caufes of the 5 ^ 
 
 hardning 
 
< 1 11 "^ 
 
 1 he 1 A B L E 
 
 52 hdrdfihig and tempering of Steely 
 endeavour d to be fievfn and explica¬ 
 ted by feveral Reafons and Experi¬ 
 ments: the reafon of the colours on 
 55 Lead^Braf,CopperjSilver^8>cc, other 
 Inflances of fitch coleurfi bodies in 
 animal fiubftances : feveral other di- 
 Jiinguifijing Obfervations.f}th Cartes 
 
 54 Hypothefis of Colours examin'd. An 
 Hypothecs for the explication of 
 light by motion^ indeavoured to be 
 explicated and determined by feve- 
 
 55 ral Reafons and Experiments : three 
 difiinguijhing Properties of the moti- 
 on of light. 1 he difiinguijhing Prqper- 
 
 ^ ties of a trajparent Medium [_ that 
 therefeems to be no Experiment that 
 proves the Infiantaneous motion of 
 light ] the manner of the propagati¬ 
 on of light through them. Of the ho- 
 mogeniety and heterogeniety of 
 tranjparent Mediums , and vchat ef- 
 fects they caufeon the Rayes of lights 
 explicated by a Figure: an Exami- 
 cQ nation of thercfraClion of the Rays 
 by a plain Surface ^ which caufes Co¬ 
 lours. An Examination of the like ef- 
 ^qfeBs produced by a feheri cal Surface : 
 
 ^ the ufe that may be made of thefe Ex¬ 
 periments 3 for the examination of 
 feveral Hypothefes of Colours. Des 
 
 60 Cartes Hypothefis examin'd. Some 
 
 6 1 Difficulties taken notice of in it. What 
 feems moji likely to he the caufe of co¬ 
 lour: that propriety is indeavoured 
 
 92 to be Jhewn in a Glafi ball', that the 
 refle&ion is not necefeary to produce 
 
 63 Colours nor a double refiaClion : the 
 Hypothcfis^r//fer examinedfioth in 
 
 64 the pellucid Medium and in the Eye. 
 Fhe definitions of Colours’^and afur- 
 
 6 5 ther explication and examination of 
 66 the Proprieties of hmmated Bodies , 
 6y by what means they conduce to the 
 produ&ion of Colours. 
 
 Obferv. 10. Of Metalline Colours. 
 
 68 "it^hat all Colours feem to be caused by 
 
 referaclion. An Hypothefis confonant 
 hereunto ^explicated by Figures. How 69 
 feveral Experiments , of the fudden 
 changing of Colours by Chymical Li¬ 
 quors^ may be hereby explicated: how 70 
 many wayes fitch Chymical Liquors 
 may alter the colours of Bodies. 
 ObjeBions made againfl this Hypo- 71 
 rheds of two colours only endeavour¬ 
 ed to be anfive/dj by feveral Reafens 
 and Experiments, fhe reafen ivhy 7 ^ 
 fome Colours are capable of being di- 
 luted.^others not: what thofe are: that 
 probably the particles of mofi metal¬ 
 line Colours are tranfparent 5 for this 
 jeveral Arguments and Obfervations 
 are recited : how Colours become in- 73 
 capable of diluting , explicated by a 
 Similitude. An Infirument^ by which 74 
 one and the fame coloured Liquor at 
 once exhibited^ all the degrees of co¬ 
 lours between the palefi yellow and 
 deepeji red : sis Hkewife another that 
 exhibited all varieties of blues: fe¬ 
 veral Experiments try d with thefe 
 Boxes. An ObjeLl ion drawn from the 75 
 nature of Painters colours anjwered: 
 that diluting and whitening a colour 
 are different operations 5 as are 
 deepening and blackening: why fome 
 may be diluted by grindings and fome 
 other by being tempered with Oyl: 
 feveral Experiments for the explica- 76 
 ting of fome former Ajjertions: why 77 
 Painters are forced to makg ufe of 
 many colours : what thofe colours are : 
 and how mixt. The conclufion^ that 78 
 mofi coloured Bodies feem to conflfi 
 of tranjparent particles : that all co- jg 
 lours dijjdluble in Liquors are capa¬ 
 ble of diluting: fome of mixing..^ what 
 a firange variety may thereby be pro¬ 
 duc'd. 
 
 Obferv. Ii. Of the Figures of 
 Sand. 
 
 Of the fiubfiances and fijapes of go 
 1. 1 common 
 
The Table. 
 
 common and other Sands : a defcri- 
 ption of a very fmall Shell, 
 
 81 Obferv. 12. Of Gravel in Urine. 
 
 A defeription of fneh Grave f and 
 
 82 feme tryals made vpith 7t ^ and eonje- 
 &nres at Us caufe, 
 
 Obfer. 13. Of Diamonds in Flints. 
 
 A defeription and examination of 
 fime of them , explicated further by 
 §3 Cornifi Diamonds : feveral Obfirva- 
 tions about refleBion and refra&ion : 
 and Jome deduBions therefrom 5 as 
 an explication of rrhitenef'^ that the 
 Air has aflrenger refleBion then Wa- 
 ter, Horp fever al Bodies may be made 
 f ran (parent : an ^ plication of the 
 3^ Phenomena ^/OculpsMnndi. Of 
 the regular Geometrical Figures of 
 fever al Bodies : an hypothetical explU 
 gj cation mentioned: the method of pro- 
 fecuting this inquiry. 
 
 gg Obferv 14. Of frozen Figur e. 
 
 Fhe Figures of hoar Frofi^ and the 
 g^ Vortices on windoros : feveral Obfer- i 
 vations on the branched Figures of 
 Urine: the Figures <^“Regulus Mar- 
 tisffellatiis, andof Fern, OftheFU 
 of SnoTP, Of frozemvater, 
 
 Obferv. 15. Of Kettering Stone. 
 
 A defeription of the Figure of the 
 Particles^ and of thePores^andof the 
 ^5 Contexture. SeveralObfervations and 
 ^^Confederations thereupon : feme Con- j 
 jeBures about the medium and pro- | 
 97 p^gotion of lights and the confeitution 
 of fluid and tranjparent Bodies, Se- 
 ^g veral Experiments to prove the po- 
 roujne^ of (Marble^ and feme other 
 Stones. An account of feme Experi¬ 
 ments to this purpofe tnade on an ■. 
 
 Oculus Mundi : feme other Confede- 99 
 rations and Experiments about the 
 poroujheflof Bodies:feme other Con- joo 
 federations about the propagation of 
 light and referaBion, 
 
 Obferv. 16. Of Charcoal. 
 
 Of two fort of Pores to be found jqi 
 in all Woods and Vegetables the 
 fljape of them 5 the number , thic ks 
 nefe^ manner and ufe of thefe Pores. 
 
 An explication of the Phenomena 102 
 of Coals. The manner of charring 
 Woodj or any other body. What part 
 of Wood is combufeible. An Hypo- 
 thefis of fire explicated in twelve 
 particulars ^ wherein the ABion of 
 the Air^ as a Menftruumj in thedife 
 folution of all fulphureous bodies^ is 
 very particularly explicated^ and 105 
 feme other Confederations about the 
 Air propofed: the examination of 
 a piece of Lignum foffile fent from 
 Rome,' and feme Conclufeons thence 
 deduc'd, 
 
 Obferv. 17. Of Wood, and other 107 
 
 BodieSj petrified. 
 
 Several Obfervations of divers 
 binds of thefefubfeances.A more par- 108 
 ticular examination and explicati¬ 
 on of one very notable piece of petri¬ 
 fied PVeod 3 and feme ConjeBures a- 
 bout the caufe of thofe produSlions .* 
 feveral Obfervations made on other 
 petrified Bodies^ as Shells.^ &c. And j jq 
 feme probable Conclufeons thence de- j j j 
 dueef about the original caufe of ^^2 
 thofe Bodies. 
 
 Obferv. 18. Of the Pores of Corkj ^ 
 and other Bodies. 
 
 
 Several Obfervations and Conft- 
 derations about the nature of Corb,: ^ 
 the number of Pores in a cubical 
 
 Tnch^ ■ 
 
The Table 
 
 Inch^ and feveralCouftderations a~ 
 
 115 bout Pores. Several Experiments 
 and Obfervations about the nature 
 of Cor the Texture and Pores of 
 
 the Pith of an Elder ^ and fever al o- 
 ther Trees : of the Stalks of Bur- 
 docks^Teafels^Daiftesf arret fennel^ 
 Eerne^Reedsfiu:. of the frothy tex¬ 
 ture of the Pith of a Feather : fame 
 Conje&ures about the probability of 
 qjalnes in thefe Pores. Argued alfa 
 from the Phenomena of the fenfi- 
 
 117 ble and humble Plant: fame Obfer- 
 
 120 vat ions on vphich are infer ted. 
 
 121 Obferv. 19. Of a Vegetable 
 
 growing on blighted Leaves. 
 
 122 Several Obfervations and Exa- 
 
 123 minations made of them: feveral 
 
 124 Confederations about .faontaneous 
 
 12^ generation arifeng from the putre- 
 
 fa&ion of Bodies. 
 
 Oblerv. 20. Of Blew Mould and 
 Mulhromes. 
 
 Mofaes'-^ upon this occafeon feveral 
 ConjeBures^about the manner of the 
 produ&ion of thefe kinds of Bodies^ 
 are hinted^ and fame of them expli¬ 
 cated by a Similitude taken from a^^^ 
 piece of Cloch^vpork. The vaji dijfe- i 
 rence of the bignefeof vegetable Bo-' 
 dies 5 and the probability that the 
 leafe may comprehend as curious 
 contrivances as the greateji. Of mul- 1^5 
 titudes of other Moulds^Mojfes^and 
 Mufejromes ^ and other vegetating 
 Principles^ in Water^ Woody &c. 
 
 Obferv. 22.0fSponges3and other 
 fibrous Bodies. 
 
 Several Obfervations andConje- 
 Eiures about the making of thefe Bo¬ 
 diesandfavers ’^ Hifeories out of 
 Authors.Scarce any other Body hath 137 
 fetch a texture'-^ the fibrous texture 13^ 
 of LeatherySpunk^y 6cc. {whichare I'i,^ 
 there defarib'd ) come neareji to it. 
 
 That upon tryal with a piece of 
 Spunge and Oyl the necejfity of re- 140 
 fpiration could not be alter d. 
 
 126 'ihe defeription offeveral ki^ids 
 
 127 of Moulds. The method of proceed¬ 
 ing in natural Inquiries. Several 
 Confederations about the nature of 
 Mould and Mujhromes. i. That 
 they may beprodue d without feed. 
 
 2. That they faem to have none. 
 
 3. That Saltsf^c. are Jhap d into as 
 128 curious figures without a feed. /\. 0 f 
 
 a kpnd of Mufejrome growing in a 
 Candle : A more particular explica¬ 
 tion of this laft fort of^ufedromes. 
 120 5. Of the figure and manner of the 
 produ&ion of petrified Iceicles feve¬ 
 ral dedu&ions from thefe Confedera- 
 1 70 nature of the vege- 
 
 ^ tation of Mould and Mujhromes. 
 
 1^1 Obferv. 21. Of Mols. 
 
 j ^ 2 '^he defeription of feveral forts of 
 
 Obferv. 23. Of the Form of Sea¬ 
 weed. 
 
 From the curioufiy fe:)ap'd Sur¬ 
 face of this Sea-weedy and feme 0- 
 thersyis conjebluredthepojjibility of ic^l 
 multitudes of the lihg. 
 
 Obferv. 24. Of the Surfaces of 
 fome Leaves. 
 
 The deferiptiony i. Of the bald 
 Surf aces of Leaves. 2. Of the dow¬ 
 ny Surfaces of feveral others, 
 0. Of the gummous exfudationy or 
 fmall tranfparent Pearlsy difeovered 
 with a Microfeope in feveral 0- 
 thers. An Infeance of all which is 
 afforded in a Rofemary Leaf. 
 
 142 
 
 Obferv. 
 
The Table. 
 
 Obferv. 25. Of the ftinging 
 Points of a Nettle. 
 
 j. 2 ^ defeription of the Needles and 
 
 feveral ether contrivances in the leaf 
 
 144 Nettle : how the flinging pain is 
 created : upon this jeveral conf dera¬ 
 tions aboutpoyfomng Darts are fet 
 down. An Experiment of hiding Effs, 
 and Fijbes with Salt, Some conjeUures 
 at the efficacy of Baths ^ the ufe that 
 may be made of injehing into the 
 
 145 Veins . Avery remarkable H if lory 
 out of Bellonius, andfame Conf de¬ 
 rations about flawing and dying of 
 Bodies, 
 
 Obferv. 16. Of Cowage. 
 
 The defcr’tftion of it out e/Parkin- 
 1 4 <^ fon.’flw Experiment made of it : a de- 
 fcriptioHy and feme conjeSiures at the 
 caufeofthe Pha^nomena. 
 
 Obferv. 27. Of the Beard of a 
 wild Oat. 
 
 147 
 
 148 defeription of its Jhape and 
 
 149 properties : the manner of making a 
 
 1^0 Hygrofcope ^ and a Conje- 
 
 Uure at the caufes of thefe motions^ 
 IJ2 undof the motions of the Mufcles, 
 
 Obferv. 28. Of the Seeds of Veo 
 nice Looking>glafs. 
 
 \ 
 
 173 The defeription of them. 
 
 Obfer.29. Ofthe Seeds of Time. 
 
 154 A defeription of them . A digreffion 
 
 about Natures method, 
 
 Obferv. 30. Of Poppy Seeds. 
 
 The defeription and ufe of 
 them. 
 
 Obferv. 31. Of Purflane Seeds. 176 
 
 A defeription of thefe and many 
 other Seeds. 
 
 Obferv. 32. Of Hair. 
 
 The defription of fever al forts 178 
 
 Hair j their Figures and Textures: 
 thereafen of their^eoloursA defenpti- 
 on of the texture of the skin ^ and of i5q 
 Spunk and Sponges: by what paf 
 fages and pores of the skin tranfpira- 
 tion feems to be made. Experiments 
 to prove the poroufnefs of the slfn of 
 Vegetables, 
 
 Obferv. 53. Of the Scales of a 
 Soale. 
 
 A defeription of their beauteous 
 form. 
 
 Obferv.34.Of theStingof a Bee. 
 
 A defeription of its Jhape ^ mechas 
 nifme^ and ufe, 
 
 Obferv. 35. Of Feathers. 16^ 
 
 166 
 
 A defeription of the Jljapeandcu- 
 riom contexture of Feathers : and 
 feme conjeUures thereupon. 
 
 Obfer. 3 6 . Of Peacocks Feathers. 
 
 A defeription of their curious form 1^8 
 andproprieties ; with a confeUure at 16^ 
 the catife of their variable colours, 
 
 Obfer. 37. Of theFeetof Flyes, 
 and other Infects. 
 
 A defeription of their figure,parts, 
 and ufe ^ and fome confiderations 
 thereupon.. 
 
 Obferv^ 
 
The Table* 
 
 Obfcr.38. Of the Wings ofFlycs 
 
 172 
 
 173 
 
 174 
 
 j4fter vohat manner^andhew fivift- 
 ly the wings of InJeSls move, A de- 
 fcription of the Pendulums under the 
 wings , and their motion : the jhape 
 andJiruUure of the parts ofthe wing. 
 
 *77 Obfer. 39. Of the Head of a Fly. 
 
 , I. AS. the face of a Drone^fly is no- 
 thingalmofi but eyes, 2. Thofe.are 
 ^7^ of two magnitudes. They are 
 
 Hemifpheresj and very refleUtve and 
 fmooth. /[..Seme direUedtowards eve¬ 
 ry quarter. 5. How the Fly cleanfes 
 them.6 Their number, y.Their order : 
 177 divers particulars obfervA inth'edif 
 17^ feiling a bead. That thefe are very 
 probably the eyes of the Creature 3 ar* 
 gued from feveral Obfervations and 
 179 Experiments^ that Crabs ^ Lobflers, 
 Shrimps^feemtp be water InfeBs^and 
 to be framed much likp Air InfeUs, 
 j%o Several Confiderations about their 
 manner of vifion, 
 
 ■ \ 
 
 Obfer.40.Of the Teeth of a Snail. 
 
 181 A brief deferiptien of it, 
 
 Obferv. 41. Of the Eggs of Silk¬ 
 worms. 
 
 182 Several Obfervables about the 
 Fggs of Infebls: 
 
 1I3 Obferv. 42. Of a blue Fly. 
 
 184 A defeription of its outward and 
 inward parts. Its hardinefs to indure 
 i8y free^ng^andfleeping inSpirit of wine. 
 
 Obferv. 45. Of a water Infedt. 
 
 i%6 A defeription. ofits Jhape, tranfpa- 
 
 rency, motioiiy both internal andpro- 
 
 I transformation. A Hi do- 187 
 
 ry [omewhat cited out of 
 
 Pifo. Several Obfervations about the j gg 
 various wayes of the generations of 
 InfeBs : by what means they aU i%q 
 feemingly wifely and prudently. Seve- j qq 
 ral §u(eries propounded. Eojifeript, j g ^ 
 containing a relation of another very 
 odd way @f the generation of Infeils. 
 
 An Obfervation about the fertility of 
 the Earth of our Climate in producing 
 InfeBs, and of divers other wayes of 
 their generation.^ 
 
 Obferv^ 44. Of the tufted Gnat. 
 
 Several Ohfervables about InfeUs^ 
 and a more particular defeription of 1^4 
 ' theparts of this Gnat. 
 
 Ob.45.Of the greatbelly’d Gnat. 
 
 AJlsort defeription of it^ 
 
 Obfer. 4^. Of a white Moth. 
 
 ^ A defeription of the feathers and 
 wings of this, and fever al other In- 
 feEls. Divers Conf derations about the 
 wings, and the flying of InfeBs and 
 Birds. 
 
 Obf. 47. Of the Shepherd Spider. 
 
 A defeription of its Eyes : and the 
 foe bets of its long legs: andaConje- 199 
 Bure of the mechanical reafon of its \ 1 £ 
 fabrieb,-, together with a fuppofition^ 
 that 'tis not unlikelyyhut Spiders may 
 have the make of their inward parts 
 exaUly like a Crab, which may be ^oo 
 caUAa water Spiderfyy/CYyv:. .t a-: 
 
 Obfer.48. Of the huntiQ^Jl^ider, 
 
 ■**' 
 
 AJhort deferiptim of it 
 is annext an excellent Hidory isf 
 made by Mr., Evelyn. Some furibet' i c 
 M m Obfer ^ 
 
The Table. 
 
 202 Obfervationj on other Spiders , and 
 their Webs , together with an exami¬ 
 nation of a white S uhfla^ice flying up 
 and down in the Air after ei Fog* 
 
 20 j Obfer. 49. Of an Ant. 
 
 That all /mail Bodies, both Vege¬ 
 table and Animalj do quiehly dry and 
 wither,The befl remedy 1 found to hin¬ 
 der ityUnd to make the Animallyeflill 
 204 to be ebferv'd. Several particulars re¬ 
 lated of the aUions of this Creature j 
 2©f and a fhort defer iption of its parts, 
 
 Obf. 50. Of the wandring Mite. 
 
 mation of the variety offorms in other 
 Blites^ with a ConjeBure at the tea^. 2 ly 
 /on, 
 
 Ob," ^6, Of fmall Vine-Mites. 
 
 A defeription of them ; aghefl at 
 their originaltheir exceeding fmaU 
 nefs compared with that of a Wood- 
 loufejrom which they may be fuppos*d 
 to come, 
 
 Obferv. 57. Of Vinegar-worms. 
 
 A defeription of them j with fame 217 
 con/iderations on their motions. 
 
 206 A defeription of this Creature^ and 
 of another very (mail one , which ufu- 
 
 207 eiUy bore it company, A ConjeUure at 
 the original of Mites, 
 
 Obferv.51. OfaCrab-Iikelnfcdt. 
 
 30 S , brief defeription ef it, 
 
 Obferv. 52. OfaBook-worm. 
 
 209 A defeription of it j where by the 
 way is inferted a digreflionj experi¬ 
 mentally explicating the Phsenome- 
 
 210 noL of pearl, A conf deration of its 
 digefiive faculty. 
 
 Obferv. 53. Of a Flea^ 
 
 '■ 7 
 
 211 A fhort defeription of it, 
 
 a » ^ f . * 
 
 Obferv. 54. Of a Loufe. 
 
 ^12 A defeription of its parts ^and feme 
 
 213 notable circumflances, . 
 
 . ;. ipbfcrv. 57. Of Mites. 
 
 The exceeding fmalnefl of fame 
 'Mit^s^andtheir Eggs, A defeription 
 of the Mites of Cbeefe : and an inti- 
 
 Obf. 58. Of the Inflcdtion of the 
 Rays of Light in the Air. 
 
 A fhort rehearfal of feveralPhx- 218 
 nomena. An attempt to explicate 219 
 themitbe fuppofltion founded on two 
 Propoftions , both which are indea- 
 voured to be made out by feveral Ex¬ 
 periments. What denfity and rarity 
 is in refleU of ref ration: the refraSi- 
 on of Spirit of Wine compared with 
 that of common Water : the ref ration 
 of Ice. An Experiment of making an 
 Undulation of the flay^ ibe mixing 
 
 of Liquors of differing denfty. The 
 explication of inflexion, meebanu 
 cally and hypothetically ; what Bodies 
 have fuch an inflexion. Several Ex¬ 
 periments to Jhew that the Air has ^ 
 this propriety , that it proceeds from 222 
 the differing denfty of the Air : that 
 the upper and under part of the Air ^ 
 are of differing denfity feme Expert- 
 ments to prove this, A Table of the 
 Jirengthof thefpringof the Air ^ an- * 
 fwering to each degree of extenfon f 
 when fir ft made ^ and when repeated. 224 
 Another Experiment of compreffing 225 
 the Air. A Table ofthe firength of the 226 
 Air 5 anfwering to each comprejfien ^ 
 and expanfion 5 from which the height 
 
 of 
 
The Table; 
 
 117 of fuppos'dindefinite s 
 
 •22% io what degree the Air is rarifi'dat 
 any difiance above the Surface of the 
 Earth : hoWy from thisy InfleBion is 
 iuferr*di and Phsenomena 
 
 2,'^Q explained. That the Air near the 
 Earth is compos'd of parts of differing 
 22 j denfity'-i made probable by jeveral 
 222 Experiments and obfervations y how 
 ^ this propriety produces the effects of 
 the waving and dancing^ of Bodies s 
 and of the twin}fiing of the Stars, 
 2^3 Several Phaenoraena explicated. 
 Some ^uceries added. 
 
 1. IVbether this Principle may not 
 be made ufe of for perfefling Optick^ 
 Glajps What might be hoped from 
 it if it were to be done f 
 
 2. whether from thisr Principle 
 the apparition of fome new Stars maff 
 not be explicated f 
 
 5. whether the height of the Air 
 may be defin'd by it f 
 
 4. whether there may not fome- 
 times be fo great a difparity of den- 
 fifj between the upper and under parts 
 ■ of the Air ^ as to make a refieUing 
 Surface f 
 
 whether y if foy this will not ex- 
 plicate the Phenomena of the 
 Clouds. An Experiment to this pur- 
 pofe f 
 
 13^ 7. whether the Payes from the 
 
 top of Mountains are not bended into 
 Curve-lines by inflexion f An Argu¬ 
 ment for itytapen from an Experiment 
 madeonSt.VdivXs Steeple. 
 
 8. Whether the difiance of the 
 Planets will not be more difficult to 
 237 be founds What wayes are mofi like¬ 
 ly to rePlifie the difiance of the Aloon: 
 the way of fitting Telefcopes for 
 fuch Obfervations, How to make the 
 ^ Obfervaliens ^ andhow from them to 
 ^ find the true difiance of the'Moon at 
 any time. How the difiance of the Sun 
 may be found by two Obfervators.The 
 way by the Dicotomy of the Moon un¬ 
 
 certain. That the difiance of the 
 Moon may be lefs then it has been 
 hitherto [appos'd. KepIerV Suppofiti- 
 onnot fo jprobable: the explication of ii^d 
 the Phaenomena^j another Eivvio- 
 thefis^ 
 
 Obferv. 59. Of the fixt Stars^ 
 
 141 
 
 Of the multitudes of Stars difco- 
 verable by the Telefcope , and the 
 variety of their magnitudes: 7"^. Stars 
 difimguijht in the Pleiadesi^te there 
 are degrees ofbignefs even in the Stars 
 accounted of the fame magnitude : the 
 longer the Glafies are, and the bigger 
 apertures they wiU indure , the more 
 fit they are for thefe difcoveries: that 
 'tis prebablcy longer Glafies would yet 
 makegreat&r: difcoveries, 5. Stars ^^2 
 difcoverdin lhe Galaxic of OrionV 
 S word. 
 
 Obferv. 6 q , OftheModn.,' 
 
 A defeription of a Vale in the' 
 Aioon 5 what call'd by Hevjelius and 
 RiccioIuSjrfW how deferih'dby them: 
 with what fuhfiances the hitts of the 
 Aiom may be cover'd. A defeription 
 of the pits of the Aloon,, and a conje- 
 Uure at their caufe : two Experiments 
 that make itprobabhy that of the furt 
 face of boyhd Alabafier dufi feem'ing 
 the mofi likely to be refembled by eru¬ 
 ptions ofvapours out of the body of the 
 Aioon ; that Earthquakes (eerti to be 
 generated much the fame way y and 
 their offers feem very fimilar.An Ar» 
 gumentthat there may be fuch varia¬ 
 tions in the Aioon , becaufe greater 
 have been obferv d in the Sun-.becaufe 
 the fuhfiance of the Aioon and Earth 
 feem much alike: and becaufe Uis pro¬ 
 bable the Aioon has a gravitating 
 principle : this is argued from feveral 
 particulars, Thereafonwhy feveral 
 pits are one within another. The ufe 
 that may be made of this Infiance of 
 a gravity in the Moon^ 
 
 hrrata. 
 
 'i 
 
 \ ■ 
 I 
 
 243 
 
 244 
 
 
E R R , A T A. 
 
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