Chapter 41

CHAP. XV.Of the Generation of Animals.

Of the Generation of Animals.

There remains now only one Thing more of the ten Things in common to Animals, and that is what relates to their Generation[a], and Conservationof their Species[b], by that Means. It would not be seemly to advance far in this admirable Work of God; neither shall I at all insist upon that of Man for the same Reason. And as for the Irrationals[c], I shall confine my self to these five Matters.

I. Their natural Sagacity in chusing the fittest Places to reposite their Eggs and Young.

II. The fittest Times and Seasons they make use of for their Generation.

III. The due and stated Number of their Young.

IV. Their Diligence and earnest Concern in their Breeding up.

V. Their Faculty of Feeding them, and their Art and Sagacity exerted therein.

I. The natural Sagacity of irrational Animals, in chusing the fittest Places to reposite their Eggs and Young. Of this I have given larger Hints already than I needed to have done, when I spake of the Architecture[d]of Animals, intending then to have wholly pass’d by this Business of Generation; I shall therefore now only superadd a few other Instances, the more to illustrate this Matter.

It hath been already shewn, and will hereafter[e]farther appear, that the Places in which the several Species of Animals lay up their Eggs, andYoung, are the best for that Purpose; Waters[f]for one; Flesh for another; Holes in Wood[g], Earth, or Stone[h], for others; and Nests for others; and we shall find, that so ardent is the Propensity of all Animals, even of the meanest Insects, to get a fit Place for the Propagation of their Young; that, as will hereafter appear, there is scarce any Thing that escapeth the Inquest of those little subtile Creatures. But besides all this, there are two or three Things more observable, which plainly argue the Instinct of some superior rational Being. As,

1. The compleat and neat Order which many Creatures observe in laying up their Seed, or Eggs, in proper Repositories: Of which I shall speak in another Place[i].

2. The suitable Apparatus in every Creature’s Body, for the laying-up its Eggs, Seed, or Young, in their proper Place. It would be as endless as needless to name all Particulars, and therefore an Instance or two of the Insect-Tribe may serve for a Specimen in this Place, till I come to other Particulars. Thus Insects, who have neither Feet adapted to scratch, nor Noses to dig, nor can make artificial Nests to lay up their Young; yet what abundant Amends is there made them, in the Power they have either to extend theAbdomen[k], andthereby reach the commodious Places they could not otherwise come at; or else they have some aculeous Part or Instrument to terebrate, and make Way for their Eggs into the Root[l], Trunk[m],Fruit[n], Leaves[o], and the tender Buds of Vegetables[p], or some other such curious and secure Method they are never destitute of. To which we may add,

3. The natural Poison[q], (or what can I call it?) which many or most of the Creatures, last intended, have, to cause the Germination of suchBalls, Cases, and other commodious Repositories, as are an admirable Lodgment to the Eggs and Young; that particularly in the Incubation and Hatching the Young, and then afford them sufficient Food and Nourishment in all theirNympha-State, in which they need Food; and are afterwards commodious Houses and Beds for them in theirAurelia-State, till they are able to break Prison, fly abroad, and shift for themselves. But this shall be taken Notice of, when I come to treat of Insects.

II. As irrational Animals chuse the fittest Place, so also the fittest Times and Seasons for their Generation. Some indeed are indifferent to all Times, but others make use of peculiar Seasons[r]. Those, for Instance, whose Provisions are ready at all Seasons, or who are under the Tuition of Man, produce their Young without any great regard to Heat or Cold, Wet or Dry, Summer or Winter. But others, whose Provisions are peculiar, and only to be met with at certain Seasons of the Year, or who, by their Migration and Change of Place, are tied up to certain Seasons; these (as if endowed with a natural Care and Foresight of what shall happen) do accordingly lay, hatch and nurse up their Young in the most proper Seasons of all the Year for their Purpose; as in Spring, or Summer, the Times of Plenty of Provisions, the Times of Warmth for Incubation, and the most proper Seasons to breed up their Young, till they are able to shift for themselves, and can range about for Food, and seek Places of Retreat and Safety, by flying long Flights as well as their Progenitors, and passing into fardistant Regions, which (when others fail) afford those helpless Creatures the Necessaries of Life.

III. To the special Seasons, I may add the peculiar Number of Young produced by the irrational Creatures. Of which I have already taken some Notice, when I spake of the Balance of Animals[s]. Now, if there was not a great deal more than Chance in this Matter, even a wise Government of the Creation, it could never happen that every Species of Animals should be tied up to a certain Rate and Proportion of its Increase; the most useful would not be the most fruitful, and the most pernicious produce the fewest Young, as I have observed it commonly is. Neither would every Species produce such a certain Rote as it is only able to breed up: But all would be in a confused, huddled State. Instead of which, on the contrary, we find every Thing in compleat Order; the Balance ofGenera, Species and Individuals always proportionate and even; the Balance of Sexes the same; most Creatures tied up to their due Stint and Number of Young, without their own Power and Choice, and others (particularly of the winged[t]Kind) producing their due Number attheir Choice and Pleasure; some large Numbers, but not more than they can cover, feed and foster; others fewer, but as many as they can well nurse and breed up. Which minds me,

IV. Of the Diligence and earnest Concern which irrational Animals have of the Production and Breeding up their Young. And here I have already taken Notice of their Στοργὴ, or natural Affection, and with what Zeal they feed and defend, their Young. To which may be added these two Things.

1. The wonderful Instinct of Incubation. It is utterly impossible, that ever unthinking, untaught Animals should take to that only Method of hatching their Young, was it not implanted in their Nature by the infinitely wise Creator. But so ardent is their Desire, so unwearied is their Patience when they are ingaged in that Business, that they will abide their Nests for several Weeks, deny themselves the Pleasures, and even the Necessaries of Life; some of them even starving themselves almost, rather than hazard their Eggs, to get Food, and others either performing the Office by Turns[u], or else the one kindly seeking out, and carrying Food to the other[w], engaged in theoffice of Incubation. But of these Matters in a more proper Place[x].

2. When the young ones are produced, not only with what Care do they feed and nurse them, but with what surprizing Courage do all or most Creatures defend them! It is somewhat strange to see timid Creatures[y], who at other Times are cowardly, to be full of Courage, and undaunted at that Time; to see them furiously and boldly encounter their Enemy, instead of flying from him, and expose themselves to every Danger, rather than hazard and forsake their Young.

With this earnest Concern of the irrational Animals for their Young, we may join in the

V. And last Place, Their Faculty and Sagacity of feeding them. About which I shall take notice of three Things.

1. The Faculty of suckling the Young, is an excellent Provision the Creator hath made for those helpless Creatures. And here the Agreeableness and Suitableness of that Food to young Creatures, deserves particular Observation, as also their Delight in it, and Desire and Endeavours after it, even as soon as born[z], together with the Willingness ofall, even the most savage and fierce Animals, to part with it, and to administer it to their Young, yea, to teach and institute them in the Art of taking it.

And lastly, to name no more, the curiousApparatuswhich is made for this Service in the divers Species of Animals, by a due Number of Breasts, proportionable to the Occasions of each Animal, by curious Glands in those Breasts, to separate that nutritive Juice, the Milk, by Arteries and Veins to convey it to them, and proper Rivulets and Channels to convey it from them, with Dugs and Nipples, placed in the most convenient Part of the Body[aa]of each Animal, to administer it to their Young; all these Things, I say, do manifestly proclaim the Care and Wisdom of the great Creator.

2. As for such Animals as do in another manner breed up their Young, by finding out Food, and putting it into their Mouth, the Provision made in them for this Service, to strike, catch, to pouchand convey their Prey and Food to their Young[bb], is very considerable. And so is also their Sagacity in equally distributing it among them, that among many, all shall be duly, equally, and in good Order, fed.

3. There is yet another Instinct remaining, of such Animals as can neither administer Suck to their Young, neither lay them in Places affording Food, nor can convey and bring them Food, but do withtheir Eggs, lay up Provisions for their future Young. Somewhat of this is reported of some Birds[cc]; but I have my self with Pleasure, frequently seen some of the Species of Insects to carry ample Provisions into their dry and barren Cells, where they have seal’d them carefully and cautiously up with their Eggs, partly, ’tis like, for Incubation sake, and partly as an easy Bed to lodge their Young; but chiefly for future Provision for their Young, in theirNympha-State, when they stand in need of Food[dd].

FOOTNOTES:[a]Spontaneous Generation, is a Doctrine so generally exploded, that I shall not undertake the Disproof of it. It is so evident, that all Animals, yea, Vegetables too, owe their Production to Parent-Animals and Vegetables; that I have often admir’d at the Sloath and Prejudices of the ancient Philosophers, in so easily taking upon Trust theAristotelian, or rather, theÆgyptianDoctrine ofequivocal Generation; that when they sawFlies,FrogsandLice, for Instance, to be Male and Female, and accordingly to ingender, lay Eggs,&c.they could ever imagine any of these Creatures should be spontaneously produc’d, especially in so romantick a Manner, as in the Clouds: as they particularly thoughtFrogswere, and that they dropp’d down in Showers of Rain. For an Answer to this Case ofFrogs, I shall refer to a Relation of my own, which my late most ingenious, and learned Friend, the great Mr.Ray, requested of me, and was pleas’d to publish in his last Edition of hisWisdom of God manifested, &c.p. 365.But some will yet assert the Raining ofFrogs; among which the curious Dr.Plotis somewhat of this Opinion; telling us ofFrogsfound on the Leads of the LordAston’s Gatehouse, atTixalinStaffordshire, which he thinks by some such Means came there; as also on the Bowling-Green, frequently after a Shower of Rain.Plot’sHist. Staff.c. 1. §. 47.But we may take a Judgment of this, and an Hundred such like Reports, to be met with in considerable Authors, from other the like Reports that have been better inquir’d into. In a Scarcity inSilesia, a mighty Rumour was spread of itsraining Millet-Seed; but the Matter being inquir’d into, ’twas found to be only the Seeds of theIvy-leaved Speedwell, orsmall Henbit, growing in the Place in great Plenty.Eph. Germ. An. 3. Obs. 40.So in theArchipelago, it was thought Ashes were rain’d, Ships being cover’d therewith at a hundred Leagues Distance; but in all Probability, it was from an Eruption ofVesuvius, that then happen’d. AboutWarminsterinWilts, ’twas reported itrain’d Wheat; but a curious Observer, Mr.Cole, found it to be onlyIvy-Berries, blown thither in a considerable Quantity by a Tempest. In the Year 1696, atCransteadnearWrothaminKent, a Pasture-Field was over-spread with little youngWhitings, suppos’d to fall from the Clouds, in a Tempest of Thunder and Rain; but doubtless they were brought thither with Waters from the Sea by the Tempest. See the before-commended Mr.Lowth.Abridg. Philos. Trans. Vol. 2.p. 143, 144.Neither needeth it seem strange, thatAshes,Ivy-Berries, smallFishes, or youngFrogs, (which yet may have some other Conveyance,) should be thus transported by tempestuous Winds, considering to what Distance, and in what Quantities the Sea-Waters were carry’d by theGreat-Storm,Nov. 26. 1703, of which an ingenious Friend sent me these Accounts fromLewesinSussex, viz.That a Physician travelling soon after the Storm, toTisehurst, twenty Miles from the Sea, as he rode along pluck’d some Tops of Hedges, and chewing them, found them Salt: That someGrapeshanging on the Vines atLeweswere so too. That Mr.WilliamsonRector ofRipe, found the Twigs in his Gardens Salt theMondayafter the Storm; and others observ’d the same a Week after. That the Grass of the Downs aboutLewes, was so Salt, that the Sheep would not feed till Hunger compell’d them: And that theMillerofBerwick, (three Miles from the Sea,) attempting with his Man to secure his Mill, were so wash’d with Flashes of Sea-Water, like the Breakings of Waves against the Rocks, that they were almost strangled therewith, and forced to give over their Attempt.I call’d this Doctrine ofequivocal Generation, anÆgyptian Doctrine; because probably it had its Rise inÆgypt, to salve the Hypothesis, of the Production of Men, and other Animals, out of the Earth, by the Help of the Sun’s Heat. To prove which, theÆgyptians, (asDiod. Sicul.saith,)produce this Observation, That aboutThebes, when the Earth is moistened by theNile, by the Intense Heat of the Sun, an innumerable Number ofMicedo spring out.From whence he infers, That all Kinds of Animals, might as well at first come likewise out of the Earth. And from these the learned BishopStillingfleetthinks other Writers, asOvid,Mela,Pliny, &c. have, without examining its Truth, taken up the same Hypothesis.V.Stillingfleet’sOrig. Sacr.Part 2. Book 1. Chap. 1.The before-commended Dr.Harris, from the Observations of Dr.Harvey, Sr.Malpighi, Dr.de Graaf, and Mr.Leewenhoeck, infers three Things concerningGenerationas highly probable.1. That Animals areex Animalculo. 2. That the Animalcules are originallyin femine Marium, & non in Fœminis. 3. That they can never come forward, or be formed into Animals of the respective Kind, without theOva in Fœminis.His Proofs and Illustrations, see under the WordGeneration, in hisLex. Techn. Vol. 2.[b]At certè Natura, si fieri potuisset, maximè optasset suum opificium esse immortale: quod cùm per materiam non liceret (nam quod——ex carne est compositum, incorruptibile esse non potest) subsidium quod potuit ipsi ad immortalitatem est sacricata, sapientis cujusdam urbis conditoris exemplo,&c.Nam mirabilem quondam rationem invenit, quomodo in demortui animalis locum, novum aliud sufficiat.Galen. de Usu. Part. l. 14. c. 22.[c]Animantia Bruta Obstetricibus non indigent in edendo Partu, cùm inditâ Naturæ vi Umbilicus seipsum occludat.Ol. Rudbeck in Blasii Anat. Felis.[d]Chap. 13.[e]Book VIII. Chap. 6.[f]TheEphemeron, as it is an unusual and special Instance of the Brevity of Life; so I take to be a wonderful Instance of the special Care and Providence of God, in the Conservation of the Species of that Animal. For, 1. As an Animal, whose Life is determin’d in about five or six Hours Time, (viz.from about six in the Evening, till about eleven a Clock at Night,) needs no Food; so neither doth theEphemeroneat, after it is become aFly. 2. As to its Generation; in those five Hours of its Life, it performs that, and all other necessary Offices of Life: For in the Beginning of its Life, it sheds its Coat; and that being done, and the poor little Animal thereby render’d light and agile, it spends the rest of its short Time in striking over the Waters, and at the same Time the Female droppeth her Egg on the Waters, and the Male his Sperm on them to impregnate them. These Eggs are spread about by the Waters; descend to the Bottom by their own Gravity; and are hatch’d by the Warmth of the Sun, into little Worms, which make themselves Cases in the Clay, and feed on the same without any Need of parental Care.Vid.Ephem. vita, translated by Dr.TysonfromSwammerdam. See alsoBook VIII. Chap. 6. Note (r).[g]SeeChap. 13. Note (c), andBook VIII. Chap. 6.[h]TheWormsinChap. 11. Note (x), breed in the Holes they gnaw in Stone, as manifest from their Eggs found therein.[i]SeeBook VIII. Chap. 6. Note (q).[k]Many, if not most Flies, especially those of theFlesh-Fly-kind, have a Faculty of extending theirUropygia, and thereby are enabled to thrust their Eggs into convenient Holes, and Receptacles for their Young, in Flesh, and whatever else they Fly-blow. But none more remarkable than theHorse-Fly, called byPennius, inMouffet, (p. 62.) Σκολιοῦρος, i.e.Curvicauda, and theWhameorBurrel-Fly, which is vexatious to Horses in Summer, not by stinging them, but only by their bombylious Noise, or tickling them in sticking their Nits, or Eggs on the Hair; which they do in a very dexterous Manner, by thrusting out theirUropygia, bending them up, and by gentle, slight Touches, sticking the Eggs to the Hair of the Legs, Shoulders, and Necks, commonly of Horses; so that Horses which go abroad, and are seldom dressed, are somewhat discoloured by the numerous Nits adhering to their Hair.Having mentioned so much of the Generation of this Insect, although it be a little out of the Way, I hope I shall be excused for taking Notice of the long-tailed Maggot, which is the Product of these Nits or Eggs, called by Dr.Plot,Eruca glabra, [or ratherEula Scabra, it should be]caudata aquatico-arborea, it being found by him in the Water of an hollow Tree, but I have found it in Ditches, Saw-Pits, Holes of Water in the High-way, and such-like Places where the Waters are most still and foul. This Maggot I mention, as being a singular and remarkable Work of God, not so much for its being so utterly unlike as it is to its ParentBee-like-Fly, as for the wise Provision made for it by its long Tail; which is so joynted at certain Distances from the Body, as that it can be withdrawn, or sheathed, one Part within another, to what Length the Maggot pleaseth, so as to enable it to reach the Bottom of very shallow, or deeper Waters, as it hath Occasion, for the gathering of Food. At the end of this tapering is a Ramification ofFibrillæ, or small Hairs representing, when spread, a Star; with the help of which, spread out on the top of the Waters, it is enabled to hang making by that means a small Depression or Concavity on the Surface of the Water. In the midst of this Star, I imagine the Maggot takes in Air, there being a Perforation, which with a Microscope I could perceive to be open, and by the Star to be guarded against the Incursion of the Water.[l]The Excrescences on the Root ofCabbages,Turneps, and divers other Plants, have always a Maggot in them; but what the Animal is that thus makes its way to the Root under Ground, whetherIchneumon,Phalæna,Scarab, orScolopendra, I could never discover, being not able to bring them to any thing in Boxes.[m]I presume they are only of theIchneumon-Fly-kind, that have their Generation in the Trunks of Vegetables. InMalpighi de Gallis,Fig. 61.is a good Cut of the gouty Excrescences, or rather Tumours of theBriar-stalk: From which proceeds a small blackIchneumon-Fly, with redLegs; black, smooth jointedAntennæ; pretty largeThorax; and short, roundBelly, of the Shape of an Heart. It leapeth as aFlea. TheMale, (as in other Insects,) is lesser than theFemale, and very venereous, in spite of Danger, getting upon the Female, whom they beat and tickle with their Breeches and Horns, to excite them to aCoït.Another Example of the Generation in the Trunks of Vegetables, shall be from the Papers of my often-commended Friend Mr.Ray, which are in my Hands, and that is an Observation of the ingenious Dr.Nath. Wood:I have(said he)lately observed many Eggs in the common Rush. One sort are little transparent Eggs, in Shape somewhat like a Pear, or Retort, lying within the Skin, upon, or in theMedulla, just against a brownish Spot on the out-side of the Rush; which is apparently the Creatrix of the Wound made by the Fly, when she puts her Eggs there. Another Kind is much longer, and not so transparent, of a long oval, or rather cylindrical Form; six, eight, or more, lie commonly together, across the Rush, parallel to each other, like the Teeth of a Comb, and are as long as the Breadth of the Rush.Letter fromKilkennyinIreland, Apr. 28. 1697.[n]SeeBook VIII. Chap. 6. Note (d).[o]I have inChap. 13. Note (u), andBook VIII. Chap. 6. Note (c), (f), taken Notice of the Nidification and Generation of some Insects on the Leaves of Vegetables, and shall therefore, for the Illustration of this Place, chuse an uncommon Example out of theScarab-kind(the Generation of which Tribe hath not been as yet mentioned) and that is of a smallScarabbred in the very Tips ofElm-Leaves. These Leaves, in Summer, may be observed to be, many of them, dry and dead, as also turgid; in which lieth a dirty, whitish, rough Maggot. From which proceeds aBeetleof the smallest kind, of a light,WeesleColour, that leapeth like aGrashopper, although its Legs are but short. Its Eyes are blackish,Elytrathin, and prettily furrowed, with many Concavities in them; small club-headedAntennæ, and a longRostrumlike aProboscis.The same, or much like this, I have met with on Tips ofOakenandHolly-Leaves. How theScarablays its Eggs in the Leaf, whether by terebrating the Leaf, or whether theMaggot, when hatched, doth it, I could never see. But with great Dexterity, it makes its Way between the upper and under Membranes of the Leaf feeding upon the parenchymous Part thereof. Its Head is slenderer and sharper than most ofMaggots, as if made on purpose for this Work; but yet I have often wondered at their Artifice in so nicely separating the Membranes of theElm-Leaf, without breaking them, and endangering their own tumbling out of ’em, considering how thin and very tender the Skins of that Leaf (particularly) are.[p]SeeBook VIII. Chap. 6. Note (z).[q]SeeBook VIII. Chap. 6.toNote (bb), &c.[r]Πολλὰ δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἐκτροφὰς τῶν τέκνων στοχαζέμενα, ποιοῦνται τὸν συνδυασμὸν ἐν τῇ ἀπαρτιζούσῃ ὥρᾳ. Arist. Hist. An. l. 5. c. 8 ubi plura.[s]Chap. 10.[t]Mr.Rayalledges good Reasons to conclude, that although Birds have not an exact Power of numbering, yet, that they have of distinguishing many from few, and knowing when they come near to a certain Number; and that they have it in their Power to lay many or few Eggs. All which he manifesteth fromHens, and other domestick Fowls, laying many more Eggs when they are withdrawn, than when not. Which holds in wild as well as domestick Birds, as appears from Dr.Lister’s Experiment in withdrawing aSwallow’s Eggs, which by that Means laid nineteen Eggs successively before she gave over.V.Ray’s Wisdom of God, &c. p. 137.[u]Palumbes incubat fœmina post meridiana in matutinum, cætero mas. Columbæ incubant ambo, interdiu Mas, noctu Fœmina. Plin.Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 58.[w]Of the commonCrow, Mr.Willughbysaith,The Females only sit, and that diligently, the Males in the mean time bring them Victuals, asAristotlesaith. In most other Birds, which pair together, the Male and Female sit by Turns.Ornithol. l. 2. §. 1. c. 2. §. 2. And I have observed the Female-Crows to be much fatter than the Males, in the Time of Incubation, by Reason the Male, out of his conjugal Affection, almost starves himself, to supply the Female with Plenty.[x]SeeBook VII. Chap. 4.[y]Volucribus Natura novam quandam, Pullos educandi, rationem excogitavit: ipsis enim præcipuum quendam amorem in ea quæ procrearent, ingeneravit, quo impulsu bellum pro pullis cum ferocibus animalibus, quæ ante declinârunt, intrepide suscipiunt, victúmque ipsis convenientem suppeditant.Galen. de Us. Part. l. 14. c. 4.[z]In iis animanatibus quæ lacte aluntur, omnis ferè cibus matrum lactescere incipit; eaque, quæ paulo antè nata sunt, sine magistro, duce naturâ, mammas appetunt, earumque ubertate saturantur. Atque ut intelligamus nihil horum esse fortutitum, & hæc omnia esse provida, solertisque naturæ, quæ multiplices fœtus procreant, ut Sues, ut Canes, his Mammarum data est multitudo; quas easdam paucas habent eæ bestiæ, quæ pauca gignunt.Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 51.Consule quoqueGalen de Us. Part. l. 4. c. 4.&l. 15. c. 7.[aa]Animalia solidipeda, & ruminantia, vel cornigera, inter femora Mammas habent, quorum Fœtus statim à partu pedibus insistunt, quòd matres inter lactandum non decumbant, ut Equa, Asina,&c.Animalia digitata & multipara in medio ventre, scil. spatio ab inguine ad pectus (in Cuniculo usque ad jugulum) duplicem mammarum seriem fortita sunt, quæ omnia decumbentia ubera fœtibus admovent, ut Ursa, Leæna,&c.Si verò hæc in solo inguine Mammas gererent, propria cura inter decumbendum fœtus accessum ad mammas nonnihil præpedirent. Mulieribus Mammæ binæ sunt, ut & Papillæ, nimirum ut latus lateri conformitèr respondeat, & ut alternatim infans à latere in latus inter sugendum tranferatur, ne corpus ejus uni lateri nimis assuescens quoquo modo incurvetur. Simia, homo Sylvestris,&c.Blas. Anat. Animal. Par. 1. Cap. 6.de Cane ex Whartono. See here whatPlinyhath also, L. 11.Cap. 40.In theElephant, the Nipples are near the Breast, by Reason the old one is forced to suck her self, and by the help of her Trunk conveys the Milk into the Mouth of her Young.Vid.Phil. Trans.No. 336.[bb]For an Exemplification, I might name many Animals, particularly Birds, whole Parts are compleatly suited to this Service. They are Characteristicks of rapacious Birds, to have aduncous Bills and Talons to hold and tear, and strong brawny Thighs to strike and carry their Prey, as well as a sharp piercing Sight to spy it afar off.Raii Synops. Method. Av.p. 1. ThePelecanealso might be here named, for its prodigious Bag under its Bill and Throat, big enough to contain thirty Pints.Id. ibid.p. 122. And to name no more, the commonHeronhath its most remarkable Parts adapted to thus Service; long Legs for wading, and a long Neck answerable thereto to reach Prey, a wide, extensive Throat to pouch it; long Toes, with strong hooked Talons, (one of which is remarkably serrate on the Edge) the better to hold their Prey; a long sharp Bill to strike their Prey, and serrate towards the Point, with sharp hooked Beards standing backward, to hold their Prey fast when struck; and lastly, large, broad, concave Wings (in Appearance much too large, heavy and cumbersome for so small a Body, but) of greatest Use to enable them to carry the greater Load to their Nests at several Miles Distance; as I have seen them do from several Miles beyond me, to a large Heronry above three Miles distant from me. In which I have seenPlaise, and other Fish, some Inches long, lying under the high Trees in which they build; and the curious and ingenious Owner thereof,D’Acre Barret, Esq; hath seen a large Eel convey’d by them, notwithstanding the great Annoyance it gave them in their Flight, by its twisting this Way and that Way about their Bodies.[cc]This is reported of theAmerican Ostrich, mentioned byAcarette, inPhil. Trans.Nᵒ. 89. Of which seeBook VII. Chap. 4. Note (e).[dd]Hornets,Wasps, and all the Kinds ofBeesprovide Honey; and many of thePseudosphecæ, andIchneumon WaspsandFlies, carryMaggots,Spiders,&c.into their Nests; of which see above,Note (c) Chap. 13.

[a]Spontaneous Generation, is a Doctrine so generally exploded, that I shall not undertake the Disproof of it. It is so evident, that all Animals, yea, Vegetables too, owe their Production to Parent-Animals and Vegetables; that I have often admir’d at the Sloath and Prejudices of the ancient Philosophers, in so easily taking upon Trust theAristotelian, or rather, theÆgyptianDoctrine ofequivocal Generation; that when they sawFlies,FrogsandLice, for Instance, to be Male and Female, and accordingly to ingender, lay Eggs,&c.they could ever imagine any of these Creatures should be spontaneously produc’d, especially in so romantick a Manner, as in the Clouds: as they particularly thoughtFrogswere, and that they dropp’d down in Showers of Rain. For an Answer to this Case ofFrogs, I shall refer to a Relation of my own, which my late most ingenious, and learned Friend, the great Mr.Ray, requested of me, and was pleas’d to publish in his last Edition of hisWisdom of God manifested, &c.p. 365.But some will yet assert the Raining ofFrogs; among which the curious Dr.Plotis somewhat of this Opinion; telling us ofFrogsfound on the Leads of the LordAston’s Gatehouse, atTixalinStaffordshire, which he thinks by some such Means came there; as also on the Bowling-Green, frequently after a Shower of Rain.Plot’sHist. Staff.c. 1. §. 47.But we may take a Judgment of this, and an Hundred such like Reports, to be met with in considerable Authors, from other the like Reports that have been better inquir’d into. In a Scarcity inSilesia, a mighty Rumour was spread of itsraining Millet-Seed; but the Matter being inquir’d into, ’twas found to be only the Seeds of theIvy-leaved Speedwell, orsmall Henbit, growing in the Place in great Plenty.Eph. Germ. An. 3. Obs. 40.So in theArchipelago, it was thought Ashes were rain’d, Ships being cover’d therewith at a hundred Leagues Distance; but in all Probability, it was from an Eruption ofVesuvius, that then happen’d. AboutWarminsterinWilts, ’twas reported itrain’d Wheat; but a curious Observer, Mr.Cole, found it to be onlyIvy-Berries, blown thither in a considerable Quantity by a Tempest. In the Year 1696, atCransteadnearWrothaminKent, a Pasture-Field was over-spread with little youngWhitings, suppos’d to fall from the Clouds, in a Tempest of Thunder and Rain; but doubtless they were brought thither with Waters from the Sea by the Tempest. See the before-commended Mr.Lowth.Abridg. Philos. Trans. Vol. 2.p. 143, 144.Neither needeth it seem strange, thatAshes,Ivy-Berries, smallFishes, or youngFrogs, (which yet may have some other Conveyance,) should be thus transported by tempestuous Winds, considering to what Distance, and in what Quantities the Sea-Waters were carry’d by theGreat-Storm,Nov. 26. 1703, of which an ingenious Friend sent me these Accounts fromLewesinSussex, viz.That a Physician travelling soon after the Storm, toTisehurst, twenty Miles from the Sea, as he rode along pluck’d some Tops of Hedges, and chewing them, found them Salt: That someGrapeshanging on the Vines atLeweswere so too. That Mr.WilliamsonRector ofRipe, found the Twigs in his Gardens Salt theMondayafter the Storm; and others observ’d the same a Week after. That the Grass of the Downs aboutLewes, was so Salt, that the Sheep would not feed till Hunger compell’d them: And that theMillerofBerwick, (three Miles from the Sea,) attempting with his Man to secure his Mill, were so wash’d with Flashes of Sea-Water, like the Breakings of Waves against the Rocks, that they were almost strangled therewith, and forced to give over their Attempt.I call’d this Doctrine ofequivocal Generation, anÆgyptian Doctrine; because probably it had its Rise inÆgypt, to salve the Hypothesis, of the Production of Men, and other Animals, out of the Earth, by the Help of the Sun’s Heat. To prove which, theÆgyptians, (asDiod. Sicul.saith,)produce this Observation, That aboutThebes, when the Earth is moistened by theNile, by the Intense Heat of the Sun, an innumerable Number ofMicedo spring out.From whence he infers, That all Kinds of Animals, might as well at first come likewise out of the Earth. And from these the learned BishopStillingfleetthinks other Writers, asOvid,Mela,Pliny, &c. have, without examining its Truth, taken up the same Hypothesis.V.Stillingfleet’sOrig. Sacr.Part 2. Book 1. Chap. 1.The before-commended Dr.Harris, from the Observations of Dr.Harvey, Sr.Malpighi, Dr.de Graaf, and Mr.Leewenhoeck, infers three Things concerningGenerationas highly probable.1. That Animals areex Animalculo. 2. That the Animalcules are originallyin femine Marium, & non in Fœminis. 3. That they can never come forward, or be formed into Animals of the respective Kind, without theOva in Fœminis.His Proofs and Illustrations, see under the WordGeneration, in hisLex. Techn. Vol. 2.

But some will yet assert the Raining ofFrogs; among which the curious Dr.Plotis somewhat of this Opinion; telling us ofFrogsfound on the Leads of the LordAston’s Gatehouse, atTixalinStaffordshire, which he thinks by some such Means came there; as also on the Bowling-Green, frequently after a Shower of Rain.Plot’sHist. Staff.c. 1. §. 47.

But we may take a Judgment of this, and an Hundred such like Reports, to be met with in considerable Authors, from other the like Reports that have been better inquir’d into. In a Scarcity inSilesia, a mighty Rumour was spread of itsraining Millet-Seed; but the Matter being inquir’d into, ’twas found to be only the Seeds of theIvy-leaved Speedwell, orsmall Henbit, growing in the Place in great Plenty.Eph. Germ. An. 3. Obs. 40.So in theArchipelago, it was thought Ashes were rain’d, Ships being cover’d therewith at a hundred Leagues Distance; but in all Probability, it was from an Eruption ofVesuvius, that then happen’d. AboutWarminsterinWilts, ’twas reported itrain’d Wheat; but a curious Observer, Mr.Cole, found it to be onlyIvy-Berries, blown thither in a considerable Quantity by a Tempest. In the Year 1696, atCransteadnearWrothaminKent, a Pasture-Field was over-spread with little youngWhitings, suppos’d to fall from the Clouds, in a Tempest of Thunder and Rain; but doubtless they were brought thither with Waters from the Sea by the Tempest. See the before-commended Mr.Lowth.Abridg. Philos. Trans. Vol. 2.p. 143, 144.

Neither needeth it seem strange, thatAshes,Ivy-Berries, smallFishes, or youngFrogs, (which yet may have some other Conveyance,) should be thus transported by tempestuous Winds, considering to what Distance, and in what Quantities the Sea-Waters were carry’d by theGreat-Storm,Nov. 26. 1703, of which an ingenious Friend sent me these Accounts fromLewesinSussex, viz.That a Physician travelling soon after the Storm, toTisehurst, twenty Miles from the Sea, as he rode along pluck’d some Tops of Hedges, and chewing them, found them Salt: That someGrapeshanging on the Vines atLeweswere so too. That Mr.WilliamsonRector ofRipe, found the Twigs in his Gardens Salt theMondayafter the Storm; and others observ’d the same a Week after. That the Grass of the Downs aboutLewes, was so Salt, that the Sheep would not feed till Hunger compell’d them: And that theMillerofBerwick, (three Miles from the Sea,) attempting with his Man to secure his Mill, were so wash’d with Flashes of Sea-Water, like the Breakings of Waves against the Rocks, that they were almost strangled therewith, and forced to give over their Attempt.

I call’d this Doctrine ofequivocal Generation, anÆgyptian Doctrine; because probably it had its Rise inÆgypt, to salve the Hypothesis, of the Production of Men, and other Animals, out of the Earth, by the Help of the Sun’s Heat. To prove which, theÆgyptians, (asDiod. Sicul.saith,)produce this Observation, That aboutThebes, when the Earth is moistened by theNile, by the Intense Heat of the Sun, an innumerable Number ofMicedo spring out.From whence he infers, That all Kinds of Animals, might as well at first come likewise out of the Earth. And from these the learned BishopStillingfleetthinks other Writers, asOvid,Mela,Pliny, &c. have, without examining its Truth, taken up the same Hypothesis.V.Stillingfleet’sOrig. Sacr.Part 2. Book 1. Chap. 1.

The before-commended Dr.Harris, from the Observations of Dr.Harvey, Sr.Malpighi, Dr.de Graaf, and Mr.Leewenhoeck, infers three Things concerningGenerationas highly probable.1. That Animals areex Animalculo. 2. That the Animalcules are originallyin femine Marium, & non in Fœminis. 3. That they can never come forward, or be formed into Animals of the respective Kind, without theOva in Fœminis.His Proofs and Illustrations, see under the WordGeneration, in hisLex. Techn. Vol. 2.

[b]At certè Natura, si fieri potuisset, maximè optasset suum opificium esse immortale: quod cùm per materiam non liceret (nam quod——ex carne est compositum, incorruptibile esse non potest) subsidium quod potuit ipsi ad immortalitatem est sacricata, sapientis cujusdam urbis conditoris exemplo,&c.Nam mirabilem quondam rationem invenit, quomodo in demortui animalis locum, novum aliud sufficiat.Galen. de Usu. Part. l. 14. c. 22.

[c]Animantia Bruta Obstetricibus non indigent in edendo Partu, cùm inditâ Naturæ vi Umbilicus seipsum occludat.Ol. Rudbeck in Blasii Anat. Felis.

[d]Chap. 13.

[e]Book VIII. Chap. 6.

[f]TheEphemeron, as it is an unusual and special Instance of the Brevity of Life; so I take to be a wonderful Instance of the special Care and Providence of God, in the Conservation of the Species of that Animal. For, 1. As an Animal, whose Life is determin’d in about five or six Hours Time, (viz.from about six in the Evening, till about eleven a Clock at Night,) needs no Food; so neither doth theEphemeroneat, after it is become aFly. 2. As to its Generation; in those five Hours of its Life, it performs that, and all other necessary Offices of Life: For in the Beginning of its Life, it sheds its Coat; and that being done, and the poor little Animal thereby render’d light and agile, it spends the rest of its short Time in striking over the Waters, and at the same Time the Female droppeth her Egg on the Waters, and the Male his Sperm on them to impregnate them. These Eggs are spread about by the Waters; descend to the Bottom by their own Gravity; and are hatch’d by the Warmth of the Sun, into little Worms, which make themselves Cases in the Clay, and feed on the same without any Need of parental Care.Vid.Ephem. vita, translated by Dr.TysonfromSwammerdam. See alsoBook VIII. Chap. 6. Note (r).

[g]SeeChap. 13. Note (c), andBook VIII. Chap. 6.

[h]TheWormsinChap. 11. Note (x), breed in the Holes they gnaw in Stone, as manifest from their Eggs found therein.

[i]SeeBook VIII. Chap. 6. Note (q).

[k]Many, if not most Flies, especially those of theFlesh-Fly-kind, have a Faculty of extending theirUropygia, and thereby are enabled to thrust their Eggs into convenient Holes, and Receptacles for their Young, in Flesh, and whatever else they Fly-blow. But none more remarkable than theHorse-Fly, called byPennius, inMouffet, (p. 62.) Σκολιοῦρος, i.e.Curvicauda, and theWhameorBurrel-Fly, which is vexatious to Horses in Summer, not by stinging them, but only by their bombylious Noise, or tickling them in sticking their Nits, or Eggs on the Hair; which they do in a very dexterous Manner, by thrusting out theirUropygia, bending them up, and by gentle, slight Touches, sticking the Eggs to the Hair of the Legs, Shoulders, and Necks, commonly of Horses; so that Horses which go abroad, and are seldom dressed, are somewhat discoloured by the numerous Nits adhering to their Hair.Having mentioned so much of the Generation of this Insect, although it be a little out of the Way, I hope I shall be excused for taking Notice of the long-tailed Maggot, which is the Product of these Nits or Eggs, called by Dr.Plot,Eruca glabra, [or ratherEula Scabra, it should be]caudata aquatico-arborea, it being found by him in the Water of an hollow Tree, but I have found it in Ditches, Saw-Pits, Holes of Water in the High-way, and such-like Places where the Waters are most still and foul. This Maggot I mention, as being a singular and remarkable Work of God, not so much for its being so utterly unlike as it is to its ParentBee-like-Fly, as for the wise Provision made for it by its long Tail; which is so joynted at certain Distances from the Body, as that it can be withdrawn, or sheathed, one Part within another, to what Length the Maggot pleaseth, so as to enable it to reach the Bottom of very shallow, or deeper Waters, as it hath Occasion, for the gathering of Food. At the end of this tapering is a Ramification ofFibrillæ, or small Hairs representing, when spread, a Star; with the help of which, spread out on the top of the Waters, it is enabled to hang making by that means a small Depression or Concavity on the Surface of the Water. In the midst of this Star, I imagine the Maggot takes in Air, there being a Perforation, which with a Microscope I could perceive to be open, and by the Star to be guarded against the Incursion of the Water.

Having mentioned so much of the Generation of this Insect, although it be a little out of the Way, I hope I shall be excused for taking Notice of the long-tailed Maggot, which is the Product of these Nits or Eggs, called by Dr.Plot,Eruca glabra, [or ratherEula Scabra, it should be]caudata aquatico-arborea, it being found by him in the Water of an hollow Tree, but I have found it in Ditches, Saw-Pits, Holes of Water in the High-way, and such-like Places where the Waters are most still and foul. This Maggot I mention, as being a singular and remarkable Work of God, not so much for its being so utterly unlike as it is to its ParentBee-like-Fly, as for the wise Provision made for it by its long Tail; which is so joynted at certain Distances from the Body, as that it can be withdrawn, or sheathed, one Part within another, to what Length the Maggot pleaseth, so as to enable it to reach the Bottom of very shallow, or deeper Waters, as it hath Occasion, for the gathering of Food. At the end of this tapering is a Ramification ofFibrillæ, or small Hairs representing, when spread, a Star; with the help of which, spread out on the top of the Waters, it is enabled to hang making by that means a small Depression or Concavity on the Surface of the Water. In the midst of this Star, I imagine the Maggot takes in Air, there being a Perforation, which with a Microscope I could perceive to be open, and by the Star to be guarded against the Incursion of the Water.

[l]The Excrescences on the Root ofCabbages,Turneps, and divers other Plants, have always a Maggot in them; but what the Animal is that thus makes its way to the Root under Ground, whetherIchneumon,Phalæna,Scarab, orScolopendra, I could never discover, being not able to bring them to any thing in Boxes.

[m]I presume they are only of theIchneumon-Fly-kind, that have their Generation in the Trunks of Vegetables. InMalpighi de Gallis,Fig. 61.is a good Cut of the gouty Excrescences, or rather Tumours of theBriar-stalk: From which proceeds a small blackIchneumon-Fly, with redLegs; black, smooth jointedAntennæ; pretty largeThorax; and short, roundBelly, of the Shape of an Heart. It leapeth as aFlea. TheMale, (as in other Insects,) is lesser than theFemale, and very venereous, in spite of Danger, getting upon the Female, whom they beat and tickle with their Breeches and Horns, to excite them to aCoït.Another Example of the Generation in the Trunks of Vegetables, shall be from the Papers of my often-commended Friend Mr.Ray, which are in my Hands, and that is an Observation of the ingenious Dr.Nath. Wood:I have(said he)lately observed many Eggs in the common Rush. One sort are little transparent Eggs, in Shape somewhat like a Pear, or Retort, lying within the Skin, upon, or in theMedulla, just against a brownish Spot on the out-side of the Rush; which is apparently the Creatrix of the Wound made by the Fly, when she puts her Eggs there. Another Kind is much longer, and not so transparent, of a long oval, or rather cylindrical Form; six, eight, or more, lie commonly together, across the Rush, parallel to each other, like the Teeth of a Comb, and are as long as the Breadth of the Rush.Letter fromKilkennyinIreland, Apr. 28. 1697.

Another Example of the Generation in the Trunks of Vegetables, shall be from the Papers of my often-commended Friend Mr.Ray, which are in my Hands, and that is an Observation of the ingenious Dr.Nath. Wood:I have(said he)lately observed many Eggs in the common Rush. One sort are little transparent Eggs, in Shape somewhat like a Pear, or Retort, lying within the Skin, upon, or in theMedulla, just against a brownish Spot on the out-side of the Rush; which is apparently the Creatrix of the Wound made by the Fly, when she puts her Eggs there. Another Kind is much longer, and not so transparent, of a long oval, or rather cylindrical Form; six, eight, or more, lie commonly together, across the Rush, parallel to each other, like the Teeth of a Comb, and are as long as the Breadth of the Rush.Letter fromKilkennyinIreland, Apr. 28. 1697.

[n]SeeBook VIII. Chap. 6. Note (d).

[o]I have inChap. 13. Note (u), andBook VIII. Chap. 6. Note (c), (f), taken Notice of the Nidification and Generation of some Insects on the Leaves of Vegetables, and shall therefore, for the Illustration of this Place, chuse an uncommon Example out of theScarab-kind(the Generation of which Tribe hath not been as yet mentioned) and that is of a smallScarabbred in the very Tips ofElm-Leaves. These Leaves, in Summer, may be observed to be, many of them, dry and dead, as also turgid; in which lieth a dirty, whitish, rough Maggot. From which proceeds aBeetleof the smallest kind, of a light,WeesleColour, that leapeth like aGrashopper, although its Legs are but short. Its Eyes are blackish,Elytrathin, and prettily furrowed, with many Concavities in them; small club-headedAntennæ, and a longRostrumlike aProboscis.The same, or much like this, I have met with on Tips ofOakenandHolly-Leaves. How theScarablays its Eggs in the Leaf, whether by terebrating the Leaf, or whether theMaggot, when hatched, doth it, I could never see. But with great Dexterity, it makes its Way between the upper and under Membranes of the Leaf feeding upon the parenchymous Part thereof. Its Head is slenderer and sharper than most ofMaggots, as if made on purpose for this Work; but yet I have often wondered at their Artifice in so nicely separating the Membranes of theElm-Leaf, without breaking them, and endangering their own tumbling out of ’em, considering how thin and very tender the Skins of that Leaf (particularly) are.

The same, or much like this, I have met with on Tips ofOakenandHolly-Leaves. How theScarablays its Eggs in the Leaf, whether by terebrating the Leaf, or whether theMaggot, when hatched, doth it, I could never see. But with great Dexterity, it makes its Way between the upper and under Membranes of the Leaf feeding upon the parenchymous Part thereof. Its Head is slenderer and sharper than most ofMaggots, as if made on purpose for this Work; but yet I have often wondered at their Artifice in so nicely separating the Membranes of theElm-Leaf, without breaking them, and endangering their own tumbling out of ’em, considering how thin and very tender the Skins of that Leaf (particularly) are.

[p]SeeBook VIII. Chap. 6. Note (z).

[q]SeeBook VIII. Chap. 6.toNote (bb), &c.

[r]Πολλὰ δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἐκτροφὰς τῶν τέκνων στοχαζέμενα, ποιοῦνται τὸν συνδυασμὸν ἐν τῇ ἀπαρτιζούσῃ ὥρᾳ. Arist. Hist. An. l. 5. c. 8 ubi plura.

[s]Chap. 10.

[t]Mr.Rayalledges good Reasons to conclude, that although Birds have not an exact Power of numbering, yet, that they have of distinguishing many from few, and knowing when they come near to a certain Number; and that they have it in their Power to lay many or few Eggs. All which he manifesteth fromHens, and other domestick Fowls, laying many more Eggs when they are withdrawn, than when not. Which holds in wild as well as domestick Birds, as appears from Dr.Lister’s Experiment in withdrawing aSwallow’s Eggs, which by that Means laid nineteen Eggs successively before she gave over.V.Ray’s Wisdom of God, &c. p. 137.

[u]Palumbes incubat fœmina post meridiana in matutinum, cætero mas. Columbæ incubant ambo, interdiu Mas, noctu Fœmina. Plin.Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 58.

[w]Of the commonCrow, Mr.Willughbysaith,The Females only sit, and that diligently, the Males in the mean time bring them Victuals, asAristotlesaith. In most other Birds, which pair together, the Male and Female sit by Turns.Ornithol. l. 2. §. 1. c. 2. §. 2. And I have observed the Female-Crows to be much fatter than the Males, in the Time of Incubation, by Reason the Male, out of his conjugal Affection, almost starves himself, to supply the Female with Plenty.

[x]SeeBook VII. Chap. 4.

[y]Volucribus Natura novam quandam, Pullos educandi, rationem excogitavit: ipsis enim præcipuum quendam amorem in ea quæ procrearent, ingeneravit, quo impulsu bellum pro pullis cum ferocibus animalibus, quæ ante declinârunt, intrepide suscipiunt, victúmque ipsis convenientem suppeditant.Galen. de Us. Part. l. 14. c. 4.

[z]In iis animanatibus quæ lacte aluntur, omnis ferè cibus matrum lactescere incipit; eaque, quæ paulo antè nata sunt, sine magistro, duce naturâ, mammas appetunt, earumque ubertate saturantur. Atque ut intelligamus nihil horum esse fortutitum, & hæc omnia esse provida, solertisque naturæ, quæ multiplices fœtus procreant, ut Sues, ut Canes, his Mammarum data est multitudo; quas easdam paucas habent eæ bestiæ, quæ pauca gignunt.Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 51.Consule quoqueGalen de Us. Part. l. 4. c. 4.&l. 15. c. 7.

[aa]Animalia solidipeda, & ruminantia, vel cornigera, inter femora Mammas habent, quorum Fœtus statim à partu pedibus insistunt, quòd matres inter lactandum non decumbant, ut Equa, Asina,&c.Animalia digitata & multipara in medio ventre, scil. spatio ab inguine ad pectus (in Cuniculo usque ad jugulum) duplicem mammarum seriem fortita sunt, quæ omnia decumbentia ubera fœtibus admovent, ut Ursa, Leæna,&c.Si verò hæc in solo inguine Mammas gererent, propria cura inter decumbendum fœtus accessum ad mammas nonnihil præpedirent. Mulieribus Mammæ binæ sunt, ut & Papillæ, nimirum ut latus lateri conformitèr respondeat, & ut alternatim infans à latere in latus inter sugendum tranferatur, ne corpus ejus uni lateri nimis assuescens quoquo modo incurvetur. Simia, homo Sylvestris,&c.Blas. Anat. Animal. Par. 1. Cap. 6.de Cane ex Whartono. See here whatPlinyhath also, L. 11.Cap. 40.In theElephant, the Nipples are near the Breast, by Reason the old one is forced to suck her self, and by the help of her Trunk conveys the Milk into the Mouth of her Young.Vid.Phil. Trans.No. 336.

In theElephant, the Nipples are near the Breast, by Reason the old one is forced to suck her self, and by the help of her Trunk conveys the Milk into the Mouth of her Young.Vid.Phil. Trans.No. 336.

[bb]For an Exemplification, I might name many Animals, particularly Birds, whole Parts are compleatly suited to this Service. They are Characteristicks of rapacious Birds, to have aduncous Bills and Talons to hold and tear, and strong brawny Thighs to strike and carry their Prey, as well as a sharp piercing Sight to spy it afar off.Raii Synops. Method. Av.p. 1. ThePelecanealso might be here named, for its prodigious Bag under its Bill and Throat, big enough to contain thirty Pints.Id. ibid.p. 122. And to name no more, the commonHeronhath its most remarkable Parts adapted to thus Service; long Legs for wading, and a long Neck answerable thereto to reach Prey, a wide, extensive Throat to pouch it; long Toes, with strong hooked Talons, (one of which is remarkably serrate on the Edge) the better to hold their Prey; a long sharp Bill to strike their Prey, and serrate towards the Point, with sharp hooked Beards standing backward, to hold their Prey fast when struck; and lastly, large, broad, concave Wings (in Appearance much too large, heavy and cumbersome for so small a Body, but) of greatest Use to enable them to carry the greater Load to their Nests at several Miles Distance; as I have seen them do from several Miles beyond me, to a large Heronry above three Miles distant from me. In which I have seenPlaise, and other Fish, some Inches long, lying under the high Trees in which they build; and the curious and ingenious Owner thereof,D’Acre Barret, Esq; hath seen a large Eel convey’d by them, notwithstanding the great Annoyance it gave them in their Flight, by its twisting this Way and that Way about their Bodies.

[cc]This is reported of theAmerican Ostrich, mentioned byAcarette, inPhil. Trans.Nᵒ. 89. Of which seeBook VII. Chap. 4. Note (e).

[dd]Hornets,Wasps, and all the Kinds ofBeesprovide Honey; and many of thePseudosphecæ, andIchneumon WaspsandFlies, carryMaggots,Spiders,&c.into their Nests; of which see above,Note (c) Chap. 13.

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