Natural history -- England -- Wiltshire; Wiltshire (England) -- History
Mrs. Fr. Tyndale, of Priorie St. Maries, when a child, voyded a
lumbricus biceps. Mr. Winceslaus Hollar, when he was at Mechlin, saw an
amphisbæna, which he did very curiously delineate, and coloured it in
water colours, of the very colour: it was exactly the colour of the
inner peele of an onyon: it was about six inches long, but in its
repture it made the figure of a semicircle; both the heads advancing
equally. It was found under a piece of old timber, about 1661; under
the jawes it had barbes like a barbel, which did strengthen his motion
in running. This draught, amongst a world of others, Mr. Thorn.
Chiffinch, of Whitehall, hath; for which Mr. Hollar protested to me he
had no compensation. The diameter was about that of a slo-worme; and I
guesse it was an amphisbænal slo-worme.
[The serpents called amphisbæna are so designated (from the Greek {Gk:
amphisbaina}) in consequence of their ability to move backwards as well
as forwards. The head and tail of the amphisbæna are very similar in
form: whence the common belief that it possesses a head at each
extremity. It was formerly supposed that cutting off one of its “heads”
would fail to destroy this animal; and that its flesh, dried and
pulverized, was an infallible remedy for dislocations and broken
bones.—J. B.]
CHAPTER XVI.
OBSERVATIONS ON PARISH REGISTERS, ACCORDING TO THE WAY PRESCRIBED BY
THE HONBLE. SIR WM. PETTY, KNIGHT.
[THIS chapter consists merely of memoranda for the further examination
of those valuable materials for local and general statistics—the
parochial registers. Aubrey has inserted the number of baptisms,
marriages, and burials, recorded in the registers of Broad Chalke, for
each year, from 1630 to 1642, and from 1676 to 1684 inclusive;
distinguishing the baptisms and burials of males and females in each
year. The like particulars are given for a period of five years from
the registers of Dunhead St. Mary. He adds, “In anno 1686 I made
extracts out of the register bookes of half a dozen parishes in South
Wiltshire, which I gave to Sir Wm. Petty.” The following passages will
suffice to indicate the nature of his remarks.—J. B.]
MR. ROBERT GOOD, M.A., of Bower Chalke, hath a method to calculate the
provision that is spent in a yeare in their parish; and does find that
one house with another spends six pounds per annum; which comes within
an hundred pounds of the parish rate.
Sir “W. Petty observes, from the account of the people, that not above
halfe teeming women are marryed; and that if the Government pleased
there might be such a multiplication of mankind as in 1500 yeares would
sufficiently plant every habitable acre in the world.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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