Micrographia: Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses with Observations and Inquiries ThereuponHooke, Robert
History
Micrographia: Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses with Observations and Inquiries Thereupon
Hooke, Robert
Magnifying glasses -- Early works to 1800; Microscopy -- Early works to 1800; Natural history -- Pre-Linnean works
The belly is covered with a transparent substance likewise, but more
resembling a skin then a shell, for ’tis grain’d all over the belly just
like the skin in the palms of a man’s hand, and when the belly is empty,
grows very flaccid and wrinkled; at the upper end of this is placed the
stomach HH, and perhaps also the white spot II may be the liver or
_pancreas_, which, by the _peristalick_ motion of the guts, is a little
mov’d to and fro, not with a _systole_ and _diastole_, but rather with a
thronging or justling motion. Viewing one of these Creatures, after it had
fasted two dayes, all the hinder part was lank and flaccid, and the white
spot II hardly mov’d, most of the white branchings disappear’d, and most
also of the redness or sucked blood in the guts, the _peristaltick_ motion
of which was scarce discernable; but upon the suffering it to suck, it
presently fill’d the skin of the belly, and of the six scolop’d embosments
on either side, as full as it could be stuft, the stomach and guts were as
full as they could hold; the _peristaltick_ motion of the gut grew quick,
and the justling motion of II accordingly; multitudes of milk-white vessels
seem’d quickly filled, and turgid, which were perhaps the veins and
arteries and the Creature was so greedy, that though it could not contain
more, yet it continued sucking as fast as ever, and as fast emptying it
self behind: the digestion of this Creature must needs be very quick, for
though I perceiv’d the blood thicker and blacker when suck’d, yet, when in
the guts, it was of a very lovely ruby colour, and that part of it, which
was digested into the veins, seemed white; whence it appears, that a
further digestion of blood may make it milk, at least of a resembling
colour: What is else observable in the figure of this Creature, may be seen
by the 35. _Scheme_.
* * * * *
Observ. LV. _Of _Mites_._
The least of _Reptiles_ I have hitherto met with, is a Mite, a Creature
whereof there are some so very small, that the sharpest sight, unassisted
with Glasses, is not able to discern them, though, being white of
themselves, they move on a black and smooth surface; and the Eggs, out of
which these Creatures seem to be hatch’d, are yet smaller, those being
usually not above a four or five hundredth part of a well grown Mite, and
those well grown Mites not much above one hundredth of an inch in
thickness; so that according to this reckoning there may be no less then a
million of well grown Mites contain’d in a cubick inch, and five hundred
times as many Eggs.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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