Chapter XI: Part 11

Exhibeat sphærois oblonga ADC_d_ (_Fig._ 7.) terram fluidam, cujus centrum T, AC axis transversus jungens centra terræ et solis vel lunæ, D_d_ axis minor, EO diameter æquatoris, et XZ axis motûs diurni. Centro T et radio TD describatur circulus BD_d_ secans axem transversum AC in B, et agatur BK perpendicularis in TE: tum ex quovis circuli puncto P ductâ PM ad axem XZ normali quæ secet TA in H, sit P_pr_ circumferentia circuli quam punctum P rotatione suâ diurnâ describit, ad cujus quodvis punctum _p_ ducatur T_p_ et producatur donec occurrat superficiei sphæroidis in _q_; deinde demissâ _p_G perpendiculari in PM, et GF perpendiculari in TA, si per puncta A_q_C transire intelligatur ellipsis ellipsi ADC similis et æqualis, erit ex naturâ curvæ, quia sphærois nostra parùm admodùm differt à sphærâ, _pq_ = AB × ((TF)² ⁄ (TP)²) quamproximé. Jam designet U velocitatem particulæ in terræ æquatore revolventis motu diurno circum axem XZ ad distantiam semidiametri TP, eritque ((U × PM) ⁄ TP) velocitas particulæ P circulum P_pr_ describentis, et cum sit TF =(((GM - HM) × TK) ⁄ TP) + TH, erit motus totius lineolæ _pq_ æqualis _pq_ × ((U × PM) ⁄ TP) = ((U × AB × PM) ⁄ (TP)³) × (((GM - HM) × (TK)²) ⁄ TP) + TH, adeoque summa horum motuum in circuitu circuli P_pr_, hoc est, motus superficiei inter circulum P_pr_ et sphæroidem in directione T_p_ contentæ, æquabitur circumferentiæ hujus circuli ductæ in ((U × AB × PM) ⁄ (TP)³) × (((TK)² × (PM)²) ⁄ 2(TP)²) + ((TK)² × (HM)²) ⁄ (TP)²) - ((2TK × HM × TH) ⁄ TP) + (TH)²) sive quia est HM. TM ∷ TK. BK, et TH. HM∷ TP. TK, scribendo D pro circumferentiâ circuli BD_d_, æquabitur ille motus quantitati ((U × AB × D) ⁄ 2(TP)⁶) × ((TK)² × (PM)⁴ + 2(BK)² × (TM)² × (PM)²). Deinde horum motuum summa in toto circuitu globi collecta, hoc est, motus totius materiæ globo BD_d_ incumbentis prodibit æqualis ((U × AB × DD) ⁄ 32) x ((3(TP)² - (BK)²) ⁄ (TP)²). Ubi planeta in plano æquatoris consistit, fit BK = 0, et motus prædictus æqualis ((U × 3AB × DD) ⁄ 32). Motus autem globi QPR circa eumdem axem est (uti facilé demonstratur) ((U × TP × DD) ⁄ 16), adeoque motus terræ totius fit ((U × TP × DD) ⁄ 16) + ((U × AB × DD) ⁄ 32) × ((3(TP)² - (BK)²) ⁄ (TP)²), qui cum idem semper manere debeat, denotet V velocitatem in superficie æquatoris terrestris ubi planeta versatur in plano æquatoris, eritque ((U × TP × DD) ⁄ 16) + ((U × 3AB × DD) ⁄ 32) = ((U × TP × DD) ⁄ 16) + ((U × AB × DD) ⁄ 32) × ((3(TP)² - (BK)²) ⁄ (TP)²); unde scribendo 1 pro TP quatenùs est radius ad sinum BK anguli BTK, habetur V. U∷ TP + (3AB ⁄ 2) - ((AB × (BK)²) ⁄ 2). TP + (3AB ⁄ 2), indeque, quia minima est altitudo AB respectu semidiametri TP, U - V. V∷ AB × (BK)². 2TP, et U - V = V × ((AB × (BK)²) ⁄ 2TP): pro V autem patet scribi posse velocitatem angularem terræ mediocrem quia ab eâ differt quam minimé et ducitur in quantitatem perexiguam ((AB × (BK)²) ⁄ 2TP), et quia tempora revolutionum terræ circa centrum suum sint reciprocé ut motus angulares U, V, fiet differentia revolutionum terræ ubi planeta æquatorem tenet et ubi ab æquatore distat angulo BTK, æqualis 23ʰ 56´ × (AB × (BK)²) ⁄ 2TP. Quoniam igitur est acceleratio horaria ad motum terræ horarium mediocrem circa centrum suum ut AB × (BK)² ad 2 TP sive (quia est sinus _p_ inclinationis eclipticæ ad æquatorem ad radium 1 ut sinus BK ad sinum distantiæ planetæ ab æquinoctio, quem sinum dico K) ut AB × _p_² × K² ad 2 TP; adeoque acceleratio horaria rotationis terræ crescit in ratione duplicatâ sinûs distantiæ planetæ à puncto æquinoctii, et summa omnium illarum accelerationum, quo tempore transit planeta ab æquinoctio ad solstitium, est ad summam totidem motuum horariorum mediocrium, hoc est, acceleratio tota eo tempore genita est ad tempus illud ut summa quantitatum omnium AB × _p_² × K² in circuli quadrante ad summam totidem 2TP, id est, quia summa omnium K² in circuli quadrante dimidium est summæ totidem quadratorum radii, ut AB × _p_² ad 4 TP. Quamobrèm, si denotet P quartam partem temporis planetæ periodici circa terram, erit acceleratio tota motûs terræ circum axem suum in transitu planetæ ab æquinoctio ad solstitium genita æqualis (AB × P × _p_²) ⁄ 4TP, atque eadem erit retardatio in transitu planetæ à solstitio ad æquinoctium. Unde sponte nascitur hoc Theorema: _Est quadratum diametri ad quadratum sinûs obliquitatis eclipticæ ut quarta pars temporis periodici solis vel lunæ ad tempus aliud_; deinde, _est semidiameter terræ ad differentiam semiaxium ut tempus mox inventum ad accelerationem quæsitam_.

Ascensus aquæ AB vi solis debitus est duorum pedum circiter, existente semidiametro terræ mediocri TP = 19615800, unde prodit per theorema acceleratio terræ circa centrum suum gyrantis facta quo tempore incedit sol ab æquinoctio ad solstitium, æqualis 1´´´ 55ⁱᵛ in partibus temporis; et si vi lunæ ascendunt aquæ ad altitudinem octo pedum, acceleratio revolutionis terræ inde orta, quo tempore luna transit ab æquatore ad declinationem suam maximam, erit 34ⁱᵛ: et summa harum accelerationum, quæ obtinet ubi hi duo planetæ in punctis solstitialibus versantur, cum non superet duo minuta tertia temporis cum semisse sive 37 minuta tertia gradûs, vix observabilis erit. _Q. E. I._

Cùm igitur tantilla fit hujusmodi variatio in hypothesi sphæricitatis terræ; qualis evaderet, terrâ existente sphæroide oblatâ, frustrà quis inquireret.

CXI. _Some Observations on the History of the_ Norfolk _Boy. By_ J. Wall, _M. D. In a Letter to the Rev._ Charles Lyttelton, _LL.D. Dean of_ Exeter.

[Read Dec. 14, 1758.]

SIR,

THE history of the Norfolk Boy, which, you inform me, has been communicated to the Royal Society, seems to deserve a place in the memoirs of that illustrious body, as well on account of its utility, as its singularity.

The symptoms in this case most evidently arose from worms in the intestines; which often occasion unaccountable complaints, and frequently elude the most powerful medicines, as they did in the instance before us, till at last they were dislodged by the enormous quantity of oil-paint, which the poor boy devoured; and the cause being thus removed, all the effects ceased.

At first sight it appears wonderful, that this immense quantity of white lead did not prove fatal; and that it was not so, could be owing to nothing but the oil, by which it was enveloped, and its contact and immediate action on the coats of the intestines thereby prevented. But the oil did not only obviate the dangerous effects of this mixture, but appears, to me at least, to have been the chief cause of the success, with which it was happily attended. I speak this with some restriction, because the lead, as its stypticity was thus covered, might, by its weight, assist in removing the verminous filth, especially as the bowels were made slippery by the oil.

Oil has long been observed to be noxious to insects of all kinds, so that not only those, which survive after being cut into several pieces, but those also, which live long with very little air, and those, which revive by warmth after submersion in water, die irrecoverably, if they are immerged in, or covered with oil. Rhedi and Malpighi have made many experiments to this purpose; and account for the event very rationally from the oil stopping up all the air-vessels, which in these animalcula are very numerous, and distributed almost over their whole bodies.

On this account oil has been recommended as a vermifuge both by Andry and Hoffmann, though I believe it has been seldom used in practice in that intention; or at least has not been given in quantities sufficient to answer it. Indeed Hoffmann[222] himself seems not to lay much stress on it as an anthelmintic, recommending it only as serving to line the inside of the intestines, and to relax spasms in them; and therefore as a proper preparative to be given before any acrid purgatives are ventured on.

The medicines commonly prescribed, and most depended on, are either of a virulent and drastic nature, or such as are supposed to be able to destroy those animals by some mechanical qualities _e. g._ to cut, tear, or otherwise affect their tender bodies, and yet not have force enough to lacerate or injure the stomach or intestines. Of the former kind are the leaves and juice of helleboraster, the bark of the Indian cabbage-tree, coloquintida, resin of jalap, glass of antimony, and the like; the effects of which are commonly violent and dangerous, and sometimes fatal. Of the latter class are crude mercury, and the milder preparations of that mineral, aloes and other bitters, tin filings, neutral salts, and vitriolic acids. Every one conversant in practice too well knows, how often these medicines are administred ineffectually. When I had therefore attentively considered the history of the Norfolk Boy, I determined to try the efficacy of oil in such cases, as it seemed capable of producing great effects, and yet could not be attended with any hazard or danger.

The first person, to whom it was given, with this view, was ---- ----, a patient of our Infirmary, who was judged to have worms, but had taken several approved medicines for a considerable time without success. In a consultation with the other physicians, the following form was prescribed.

℞. _Ol. Oliv. lb.ss. Sp. vol. aromat. ʒij M. cap. Cochl. iii. mane et
H. S._

The volatile spirit was added here to make the oil saponaceous, and by that means more easily miscible with the juices in the stomach and _primæ viæ_. This medicine answered our expectations, and in a few days brought away several worms.

---- Lacy, a poor boy of the parish of Feckenham in this county, aged 13 years, was, as I was informed, about three or four years ago seized with convulsive fits, which gradually deprived him of his senses, and reduced him to a state of idiocy. He had taken several anthelmintics and purgatives, particularly the _Pulv. Cornachin._ but never had voided any worms, though all the symptoms seemed plainly to shew, that they were the cause of his disorder. As he greedily swallowed any thing, which was offered him, without distinction, I at first ordered him a mixture of linseed oil ℥vij _Tinct. sacr._ ℥j: of which he took four large spoonfuls night and morning. He persisted in the use of this one whole week without at all nauseating it, towards the latter end of which time he voided one round worm of a great length. He now began to shew much aversion to the medicine; on which account the _Tinctur. sacr._ was omitted, and he was ordered to take the oil alone in the same quantities. This he continued to do a fortnight longer, during which time he voided 60 more worms, and in a great measure recovered the use of his reason[223]. This account I had from the Apothecary, who, by my directions, supplied him with the medicines.

Soon after this I ordered the same medicine to be given to Elizabeth Abell, a poor girl in the same neighbourhood, reduced by epileptic fits to such a state of idiocy, as to eat her own excrements. It caused her to void several worms, but she did not recover her senses.

Since this time I have given the oil to several persons with good success, and therefore I cannot but recommend a further tryal of it; since it is a remedy, which may be used with safety in almost any quantity; a character, which very few of the anthelmintic medicines deserve.

It is probable, that some oils are more destructive to worms than others. Andry (_Traité de la Generation des Vers, cap. 8_) prefers nut oil, and tells us, that a human worm, voided alive, being put into that oil, died instantly; whereas another worm, voided at the same time, lived several hours in oil of sweet almonds, though in a languishing state. This difference he afterwards (_Cap. 9_) endeavours to account for, by supposing, that the oil of almonds is more porous, and consequently less able to preclude the entrance of air into the worms. And indeed there is some reason to conclude, that oils, which dry in the open air, such as nut and linseed oils, are of a closer texture, less mixed with water, and consequently more anthelmintic, than those oils, which freeze by cold, and will not dry in the open air;[224] such as those from olives or almonds. Andry tells us, that at Milan the mothers have a custom to give their children once or twice a week toasts dipt in nut oil, with a little wine, to kill the worms: and I know a lady in the country, who gives the poor children in her neighbourhood the same oil with great success.

I would recommend this remedy to be used in as large doses as the stomach will well bear: to which purpose it may be adviseable to join it either with aromatics, bitters, or essential oils, such as the case may require. Andry orders the oil to be taken fasting, assigning this for a reason, that the stomach being then most empty, it more readily embraces and stifles the worms. During this course it will be necessary, at proper intervals, to give rhubarb, mercurial or aloetic medicines.

I cannot close this paper without observing, that, from the history of the Norfolk Boy, we may learn, in similar cases, where the head is not idiopathic, never to despair absolutely of a cure, notwithstanding the disease has been of very long standing. For in this boy, though the oppression in the brain and nerves had continued many years, and had been so violent, as to deprive him not only of his intellectual faculties, but almost all his sensations; yet were not the organs much impaired thereby, but he recovered all his senses again, as soon as the irritation and spasms in the intestines, which first caused all these terrible symptoms, were removed. The same thing in a less degree was observable in the Feckenham Boy, mentioned before; and we have had two remarkable instances of the same kind at the Worcester Infirmary; where a boy and his sister, of the name of Moyses, received a perfect cure, and recovered the entire use of their senses, after having been rendered idiots (though not in so high a degree as the Norfolk Boy) for more than two years, by epileptic fits proceeding from worms.

J. Wall.

Worcester Dec. 7, 1748.

_P. S._ As the following history has some analogy with the subject we
are now upon, I beg leave to subjoin it by way of postscript.

A young girl of the name of Lowbridge, at Ledbury, in
Herefordshire, nine years old, had been long troubled with a gnawing
pain at the stomach, which growing gradually more violent, I was at
last called to her. About a quarter of an hour before I reached the
house, she was seized with a violent vomiting, whereby she brought
up an amazing number of living animals supposed, to be upwards of
a thousand, together with a vast quantity of clear viscid phlegm.
In shape they exactly resembled millepedes, except that some of
them, being examined by a magnifying glass, appeared to have a
small filament, which arose from the middle of the belly, and might
probably have served to fix them to their nidus. They were of
different sizes, from that of the largest millepede, to some, that
were scarce perceptible; so that they appeared to have been generated
at different times, and grown in the stomach. As the child was
suddenly seized with this effort to vomit, she discharged her stomach
on the floor of the parlour where she was sitting. The millepedes,
they told me, were at first very lively, and crept briskly different
ways; but they did not live long in the open air. They were lying in
the slime when I came to her, so that I could not be imposed on as to
the verity of the fact. After this evacuation, the child’s stomach
grew perfectly easy, and continued so.

CXII. _Observations upon the_ Corona Solis Marina Americana; _The_ American Sea-Sun-Crown. _By_ John Andrew Peyssonel, _M.D. F.R.S. Translated from the_ French.

[Read Dec. 14, 1758.]

I Shall call this insect by this name, because of the resemblance it bears to the flower called _Corona Solis_; since it is, like this, open and spread.

This insect adheres to the rocks by its basis, which is flat and round; and tho’ this roundness is sometimes mis-shapen, it is only occasioned by the inequalities of the rocks, to which it sticks. Its diameter is about two or three inches, bearing, from the center, certain rays, like white nerves, upon a moist flesh, of a livid violet colour. These rays or nerves pass from the centre to the circumference; they, too, consist of a soft fleshy substance, which resembles bowels or intestines; the whole length of which is covered with glandulous bodies of a dirty grey colour; and all these glands filled up the middle of the fish, making the flowrets, or petals, that form the disk of the flowers. There is an infinite number of these glands attached to those filets or nerves, all very distinct from one another: these filets are well ranged when viewed downwards; but the upper part is covered by these glands, which are placed in a confused manner. These filets pass to the circumference, forming an edge full of rugosities, which leaves the body of the animal full of flaws. These hard bodies, upon which it lives, are not always permanent in the same place, but capable of changing their places from this edge or circumference; like a skin or texture of fibres or flesh, such as the body of the sea snail I have already described; of the same thickness, of a greenish colour, and sometimes of a greenish spotted grey, without shell, bone, or stay. The body or muscular fleshy skin raises itself up perpendicularly to three inches; rounds itself at the top, when it is touched; but it leaves a hole like a sphincter, formed by the reunion of the fleshy body, which enlarges itself again. The base opens to the whole extent of the bottom, makes a reversed prepuce, and immediately brings to view three rows of _papillæ_, which are of a conical figure, of one or two lines long, resembling the glands under the tongues of oxen, and which may here be compared to the demi-flowers or radiated flowers of the _Corona Solis_.

After this threefold ray of conical pointed _papillæ_, there appears a body of a livid violet colour; I took it for a particular substance or body; but having examined it, I observed it was only a pellicle, or membrane, that covered a part of the _papillæ_ I mentioned. This membrane has sixteen separations, which form kinds of purses, and yet leave, in the center of the animal, an empty space, wherein several glands are brought in view. I do not know, whether, in the natural state, these membranes do not retire to the circumference, in order to discover the glands within, which they usually hide, and which fill up all the middle of the crown; but when the fleshy body is gone up again, it covers all the interior parts, closes them in, and preserves them from the touch of any extraneous body. I cannot tell how these fishes live, or what is their mechanism; for I could not distinguish either a mouth, or any _viscera_, nor any other organ serving to their nourishment.

Lepades Pedatæ.

1. _Lepas nuda carnosa aurita_
1 a. _Ejusdem pars superior interna_
1 b _Foramen auris internum_
1 c _Currhi_ (1.d) _Proboscis et_ (1.c) _Os_
1 f _Dens terratus quorum octo sunt_
1 g. _Idem per. Microscopium visus_
1 h. _Scapus longitudinatiter dessectus_
2 _Scalpellum Norwegicum Keratophytium_
2 a. _Idem per. Microscopium visum_
3 _Scalpellum ex mare Britannico_
4. _Cornu copia Poussepieda Gallorum_
5. _Concha Anatifera vulgaris_
6. _Concha Anatifera prolifera_
A. _Animal Lepadis sen Triton Linnæi_

Barnicles _with Stems_.

1. _Naked fleshy Barnicle with Ears_
1 a. _The inside of the upper part of the same_
1 b. _The internal opening of the Ear_
1 c. _The Plumes_ (e. d) _trunck_ (e. e) _and mouth_
1 f. _A saw edg’d tooth of which there are 8_
1 g. _The same magnified_
1 h. _The Stem cut in two lengthways_
2. _The Norway Seafan Penknife._
2 a. _The same magnified._
3. _The British Channel Penknife._
4. _The Horn of plenty or French Poussepieds_
5. _The common Duckbearing Barnicle_
6. _The branch’d Duckbearing Barnicle_
A. _Animal of the Barnicle or Linnaeus’s Triton_

Lepades Sessiles Balani dictæ.

7. _Pediculus Ceti_ (7.a). _Idem reversus_
8. _Calyciformis Orientalis_
9. _Tintinabuliformis._
10. _Tulipiformis ex Corallio rubro_
11. _Fistulosa conica_ (11.a) _eadem reversa_
12. _Verrum Testudinaria_ (12.a) _eadem reversa_
13. _Verrum Canesti Americani_ (13.a) _eisdem statere_
14. _Lapensis ore obliquo_ (14.a) _cum opserastis cornutis_
15. _Subovatis crassa ore minore_
16. _Cornulacensis conicas ore minores_
17. _Anglica vulgaris ore patulo_
18. _Aretica Patelliformis_
19. _Calceolus_ (19.a) _Idem. hierophylis involutus_
20. _Diadema Persarum_

Barnicles _adhering by the base of these Shells_.

7. _The Whales. Louse_ (7.a) _The underside_
8. _The East India cup shap’d Barnicle_
9. _The Bell shap’d Barnicle_
10. _The Red Coral Tulip Barnicle_
11. _The pipy conical Barnicle_ (11.a) _The underside_
12. _The Tortoise Wart_ (12. a) _The underside_
13. _The American Crabs Wart_ (13.a) _The same sideways_
14. _The Cape sidemouth Barnicle_ (14.a) _with_ oblique edge
15. _The Eggshap’d thick Barnicle with a small mouth_
16. _The Cornish cone Barnicle with a small_ edge
17. _The common English Barnicle with a_ wide mouth
18. _The Greenland Limpet shap’d Barnicle_
19. _The Slipper_ (19.a) _The same cover’d with hierophylis_
20. _The Persian Crown_]

CXIII. _An Account of several rare Species of Barnacles. In a Letter to Mr._ Isaac Romilly, _F.R.S. from_ John Ellis, _Esq; F.R.S._

[Read Dec. 21, 1758.]

London, Dec. 21. 1758.

Dear Sir,

THOSE rare and very extraordinary new species of Barnacles, which you have lately received from abroad, are so different from any of the common species, that I have seen, that I was resolved to inquire into the nature of an animal, which, like a Proteus, appears in so many different shapes or coverings in different parts of the world. For this end I have consulted that excellent collection in the British Museum, and some others in the cabinets of my curious friends.

In this inquiry I met with some very rare ones, which have not yet been described, as you will observe in the annexed plate [_See_ TAB. XXXIV.], where I have given exact drawings of yours, as well as the other species of this genus.

This marine animal is called, by writers on natural history, Balanus, and Concha Anatifera: but the celebrated Professor at Upsal, Dr. Linnæus, calls the internal active part, or fish, the Animal Triton, and the covering or testaceous habitation Lepas, which he says is a multivalved shell, composed of unequal valves. The Animal Triton he describes, as having an oblong body, a mouth with a tongue in it, twisted about in a spiral manner; sixteen tentacula or claws: six of the hinder ones on each side, he says, are cheliferous.

This account differing from that given by the ingenious Mr. Turberville Needham, F.R.S. in his Microscopical Essays, I shall give the character of this animal, as it appeared to me from the many observations I made on it, while alive in salt water; and these I compared not only with many dried specimens of other varieties, but likewise with some of yours, that were preserved in spirits; and I found that the parts of the animal agree in all the species.

The experiments, that I made, were on the common English Barnacle, which is very frequently met with, at this time of the year, on oysters and other shell-fish. The microscope, that I made use of to observe it, was Mr. Cuff’s aquatic one; where the animal, when taken out of the shell, may be put into the watch-glass with salt water, or spread on the round glass plate on the stage of the microscope, and kept moist with a hair pencil and salt water during the time of observation: this will keep the claws and proboscis alive and in motion for many hours together.

This animal has 24 claws, or cirrhi (_See Fig._ A), which are disposed in the following manner: the 12 longest stand erect, arising from the back part of the animal: they are all joined in pairs near the bottom, and inserted in one common base. These appear like so many yellow curled feathers: they are clear, horny, and articulated. Every joint is furnished with two rows of hairs on the concave side. The animal, in order to catch its prey, is continually extending and contracting these arched hairy claws, which serve it for a net.

The 12 smallest claws are placed next to these, six on each side: these are divided into pairs; that is, two claws to one stem, like the chelæ or claws of the crab. These are more pliable, and fuller of hairs, than the others, and seem to do the office of hands for the animal.

The whole number of claws lessen in size gradually each way, from the tallest in the back, to the last but one of each side in the front; which last two are of the middle size.

The proboscis, or trunk, rises from the middle of the base of the larger claws, and is longer than any of them: this the animal moves about in any direction with great agility: it is of a tubular figure, transparent, composed of rings lessening gradually to the extremity, where it is surrounded with a circle of small bristles, which likewise are moveable at the will of the animal. These, with other small hairs on the trunk, disappear when it dies.

Along the inside of this transparent proboscis the spiral dark-coloured tongue appears very plain: this the animal contracts and extends at pleasure.

The mouth appears like that of a contracted purse, and is placed in front, between the fore claws. In the folds of this membraneous substance are six or eight horny laminæ or teeth standing erect, each having a tendon proper to direct its motion. Some of these teeth are serrated, others have tufts of sharp hairs instead of indentations on the convex side, that point down into the mouth; so that no animalcule that becomes their prey can escape back.

Under the mouth lie the stomach, intestines, and the tendons by which they adhere to the shell.

This then is the general character of the animal of the whole genus, whether with stems or without.

I shall now give you a short description of the several kinds I have met with, besides those of your own, and shall divide them into two kinds; those that have stems, and those that adhere by their shelly bases.

The first and most remarkable of those that have stems is the Barnacle, _Fig._ 1. This differs from the Lepas of Linnæus in not having a testaceous, only a cartilaginous or fleshy covering. On the top of it are two erect tubular figures like ears: these have a communication with the internal parts of the animal (_See Fig. 1. b_). These inner parts agree with the general character already given. The stem, which is here dissected, was full of a soft spongy yellow substance, which appeared, when magnified, to consist of regular oval figures, connected together by many small fibres, and no doubt are the spawn of the animal.

This extraordinary animal (of which there were seven together) was found sticking to the Whale Barnacle (_See fig._ 1. & 7.), by Mr. Smith of Stavenger in Norway, who cut both kinds together off a whale’s lip, that was thrown upon that coast last year, 1757, and immediately immersed them in spirits of wine; by which means we have been able more exactly to describe them.

I have called this animal the Naked Fleshy Barnacle with Ears; but it appears to claim the name of Triton rather than Lepas, according to Linnæus, as having no shelly habitation.

_Fig._ 2. is the next animal of this class: this is not yet described. I found several of them sticking to the Warted Norway Sea Fan, which Dr. Pantoppidan, the Bishop of North Bergen, sent you: from its appearance, I have called it the Norway Sea Fan Penknife. The stem of this is covered with little testaceous scales. The upper part of the animal is inclosed in thirteen distinct shells, six on each side, besides the hinge-shell at the back, which is common to both sides: these are connected together by a membrane that lines the whole inside. One of these is magnified a little at fig. 2. _a_, in order to express the figure and situation of each shell the better.

_Fig._ 3. is taken from D’Argentville’s _Lithologie, Pl. 30. fig._ H, who says it is found in the British channel sticking to sea plants; and that these shells consist of five pieces. This, from its appearance, I have called the British Channel Penknife, to distinguish it from the other.

_Fig._ 4. is a species of Barnacle called Poussepieds by the French, and described by Rondeletius as commonly found adhering to rocks on the coast of Brittany. He says the people there boil and eat the stem, which is first of a mouse-colour, and afterwards becomes red like our prawns. There are many heads, that arise out of one stem, each of which consists of two shells, in which are the same parts of the animal as in the other species. This I have called the Cornucopia Barnacle. Some of the shells of this Barnacle were drawn from a specimen in the British Museum. This Lepas is the Mitella of Linnæus.

_Fig._ 5. and 6. are the Barnacles called Conchæ Anatiferæ: these are the sorts so well known to sailors, and formerly supposed to produce a large species of duck called a Barnacle. These consist of five shells. The tube, that supports one of these kinds, branches out like some species of corallines, bearing a shelled animal at the end of each branch. They are generally found adhering to pieces of wood in the sea, and most ships have some of them sticking to their bottoms. Those of the southern and warmer climates are generally of a larger kind than those of the colder and more northern climates.

The next division of these animals is, those that adhere by the base of their shells, having no stems.

Here I must observe, that the bottoms of the several species of this division conform in shape to the substances they adhere to, or grasp them in such a peculiar manner, as to render their situation secure from the violence of the element they live in. Another provision of nature for the security of these animals are the four opercula, which, upon their retreating into the great shell, they can draw to so close after them, as to secure themselves from outward danger.

_Fig._ 7. represents the Whale Barnacle, called Pediculus Ceti, just as it was cut off the whale’s lip, with the seven naked Barnacles with ears, already described. _Fig._ 7.a is the bottom of the shell. This has the appearance of the gills of a mushroom. All the spaces between these laminæ were filled with the blubber of the whale: by this means they adhere to the gristly skin of the fish. The narrow cavities between the branched laminæ are the places where the ligaments or tendons, that move the opercula, are inserted.

_Fig._ 8. is the Cup Barnacle, taken off an East India ship from Sumatra. The testaceous flat bottom of this was marked with the seams and lines of the sheathing, and with the rust of the nails. In one of these shells the animal is represented protruding his claws thro’ the opercula.

_Fig._ 9. is called the Bell-shaped Barnacle. This was taken off the bottom of a ship from Jamaica, and had its flat testaceous base marked as the former.

_Fig._ 10. This represents part of a most elegant specimen in the curious collection of Dr. John Fothergill. It is called the Tulip Barnacle, and very properly, as well from the shape of its shell, as the beautiful stripes of red mixt with white. It adheres to a piece of the true red coral, and was fished up near Leghorn, on the coast of Italy. It is not improbable, but that these groups of Barnacles, growing at the same time with the animals that formed the red coral, may have received an addition to their fine red colour from the coral.

_Fig._ 11. is a group of Barnacles of a conical form, composed of purplish tubes like small quills. _Fig._ 11.a represents one of the same, with a view of its base, from the collection of Mr. Peter Collinson, F.R.S. This was brought from the East Indies. The insides of these shells have the appearance of the spongy parts of bones.

_Fig._ 12. is called the Tortoise-wart Barnacle, being often found upon that animal. This shell is of a plano-convex shape, and looks like polished ivory. The divisions between the valves represent a star with six points. If these shells are put into soap lees, they will in a few hours separate into six pieces or valves, each shelly valve having two ears, like the scallop-shell: so that this species has its valves connected by membranes, instead of testaceous sutures, as most of the others have. _Fig. 12. a_ represents the under part of the same shell.

_Fig._ 13. This shell is marked with six rays like a star, as the former; but is much deeper in proportion to its diameter. Several of this kind were found sticking to a crab, that was lately brought from the island of Nevis; from whence I have called it the American Crabs-wart.

_Fig._ 14. is called the Side-mouth Barnacle. This was found on the southern coast of Africa, near the Cape of Good Hope, where it adheres to a particular species of striated purple muscle. _Fig._ 14.a represents two of the opercula of this Barnacle remarkably horned. The shell of this is very thin; but its obliquity may probably be owing to its situation.

_Fig._ 15. This egg-shaped Barnacle with a small mouth is found in clusters sticking to the Buccinum tribe of shells in the West Indies.

_Fig._ 16. is the Cornish Barnacle, shaped like a cone, and with a small mouth. This is described and figured by the Revᵈ. Mr. William Borlase, F.R.S. in his Natural History of Cornwall, lately published.

_Fig._ 17. This is the common English Barnacle, that is found in such plenty upon all rocks and shells round this island. From the animal of this, examined in the microscope, I have taken the character of the fish of the Barnacle genus.

_Fig._ 18. This I have called the Limpet-shaped Barnacle, from its likeness to some species of that shell. I am indebted to our late worthy member, Mr. Arthur Pond, for this shell, who assured me it was brought to him from Greenland. It was, with several more, found sticking to a very large species of muscle.

_Fig._ 19.a. This Sea-Fan, with the Barnacles inclosed in it, was brought from Gibraltar. I have called it the Slipper Barnacle, from its shape. _See Fig._ 19. These shell-fish adhere, while they are young, to the slender branches, which are produced by the animals that compose this species of Sea-fan; and as the next succession of young animals of this sea-fan creep up its sides, to increase the bulk and extension of these first-formed ramifications, they inclose the shells all round, leaving only their mouths or apertures open, for the Barnacles to procure their food. But it frequently happens, that the animals of the Sea-fans destroy these Barnacles, by overrunning and involving them in the very center of their stems. These small Barnacles, interspersed here and there on the branches, have been taken for fruit or berries by some gentlemen, who look upon the internal or horny part of the Sea-fans to be vegetables.

_Fig._ 20. is a very curious Barnacle, taken from an elegant specimen in the British Museum; which, from its figure, I have called the Persian Crown.

I shall now add some further observations on the nature of these animals.

Upon opening the shells of many of the common English Barnacles (_Fig._ 1.) while they were alive, I found the lower part of the shell, which contained a cavity equal to two thirds of the whole, full of spawn; so that the Barnacles, which adhere by the base of their shells, as well as those that are supported by fleshy tubes, are propagated by eggs, which they send forth in inconceivable numbers; as appears by the clusters of young shells, which we find adhering not only to the parent animals, but to all hard substances near them.

The bottom shell of these animals, as well as their upper shells, vary in form according to their situation, which occasions some difficulty in determining their several species with exactness. The form of the base shell of our common English Barnacle, is the flat radiated figure represented adhering to a scallop shell in the front of a group of them at _Fig._ 17. The Barnacles at _Fig._ 8. 9. 14. 15. and 20. have the same kind of base.

I have very lately observed a singular kind of flat Balanus, on a white Mandrepora coral from the coast of Italy, in the possession of Mr. Mendez D’Acosta, F.R.S. whose base appears sunk into the coral, and of the form of an inverted cone, bending a little to one side. The inward surface of this conical base shell appears curiously striated with tubular radii, which terminate on the surface of the coral, to receive the extremities of the six valves, that compose the upper shell. This peculiar form of the base seems owing to the animals of the coral and of the Barnacle growing up together, the latter keeping possession of its proper space, while the former grew close about it.

The bottom shell of the Barnacle like a Limpet, at _Fig._ 18. increases from a small point by many thin shelly margins, which exactly correspond to the indentations which we observe on the base of the outward shell; so that it appears not unlike the drawing of a fortification in miniature.

I am,

Dear Sir,
Your most affectionate Friend,
John Ellis.

_P. S._ The Rev. Mr. William Borlase is now of opinion, that the
Cornish Barnacle at _Fig._ 16. which he has described in his History
of Cornwall, is rather a Limpet or Patella.

CXIV. _A further Account of the poisonous Effects of the_ Oenanthe Aquatica Succo viroso crocante _of_ Lobel, _or_ Hemlock Dropwort, _by_ W. Watson, _M.D. F.R.S._

_To the_ ROYAL SOCIETY.

[Read Dec. 21, 1758.]

Gentlemen,

IN the month of June 1746. I communicated to you some observations concerning the _Oenanthe aquatica Succo viroso crocante_ of Lobel, in relation to its poisonous effects upon some French prisoners at Pembroke. These observations were afterwards published in the _Philosophical Transactions_[225], with an accurate representation of the plant itself, from an original drawing by that compleat artist Mr. Ehret. This at that time I thought the more necessary, as it was of no small importance to the public, to be well acquainted with a plant, the effects of which, when taken into our bodies, were so much to be dreaded. This account of mine, as well as the representation of the plant, were republished from the Transactions into the periodical works of that time; from whence a more extensive knowlege of and acquaintance with this plant might have been hoped for. A late instance however has evinced, that these endeavours have not had their full effect, as the plant in question is not yet sufficiently known, and attended to.

John Midlane, a cabinet-maker of Havant in Hampshire, aged about 58, and of a gross habit of body, was advised to make use of the water parsnep, as a remedy for a severe scorbutic disorder, which he had long been troubled with; and for which he had taken a variety of medicines. Instead of the water parsnep, which he purposed to take, there were gathered for him some roots of the _oenanthe_ above mentioned; a large one of which was pounded in a mortar, and the juice thereof squeezed through a linen cloth, and amounted to about five spoonfuls. This was suffered to stand all night, and the next morning (Mar. 31. 1758.), at about half an hour past five, he drank the whole quantity, except the sediment.

In about an hour and half after he had taken this juice, he walked about the town upon some business; and a little before seven, upon his return home, about an hundred yards from his own house, he first complained that he was ill; and having walked about thirty yards further, was so bad as to go into a neighbour’s house to rest himself. He was soon led from thence to his own house by two men, and told them, that he was affected as though he had lost the use of his limbs. When he was placed in his chair, he complained greatly of pain all over him; but particularly in his head. His stomach was immediately after affected, and he had great reachings to vomit. At the second attempt he threw up about half a pint of a clear watry liquor; at the first and third attempt he discharged scarce any thing. He was then seized with a great propensity to go to stool, which went off in about three minutes. After this, he with the greatest difficulty was conducted upstairs to bed, where he pulled off part of his cloaths himself. When he was put to bed, he was attacked with very severe convulsions, which in about a quarter of an hour deprived him of his senses; and continued, with a few intermissions, till he died, a little before nine o’clock; which was about three hours and half after the juice had been taken. A profuse sweat accompanied the whole of these symptoms: he foamed considerably at the mouth, and his belly swelled greatly. He purged very much soon after he was dead, but not before.

As this poor man had taken this dose before his family were up, no one could imagine from whence his disorder arose; and consequently the apothecary, who was called to him, was able to form a judgment of his case only from the symptoms; as on his coming he found his patient senseless, and who had not, while his mind was undisturbed, told any one the probable cause of his complaints. He took from him however about ten ounces of blood, and endeavoured to get some _vinum ipecacuanhæ_ into his mouth: but his jaws were closed so fast, not above a spoonful passed, and that by the accident of his mouth opening of itself.

The symptoms, with which the person above-mentioned was attacked, were much the same as those which were observed in the French prisoners, who were poisoned by the same root at Pembroke. In both instances occurred those severe muscular spasms, which kept the under jaw so close to the upper, that, while the spasm continued, scarce any force could separate them. In both instances likewise a considerable time passed before the persons, who had eaten of this root, though they had taken enough of it to destroy them, perceived themselves disordered by it.

_J. Mynde sc._]

I am obliged for this communication to Richard Warner, Esq; of Woodford, a gentleman of great merit, whose zeal for the promotion of useful knowlege I have many times experienced.

The expediency of laying before you observations of this sort, which may tend, by making people careful of what they take, to the saving the lives of many, makes no apology necessary for so doing. I am, with all possible regard,

Gentlemen,
Your most obedient humble Servant,
W. Watson.

Lincoln’s-Inn-Fields, 20 Dec. 1758.

CXV. _Extract of a Letter to_ John Eaton Dodsworth, _Esq; from Dr._ George Forbes _of_ Bermuda, _relating to the_ Patella, _or_ Limpet Fish, _found there_.

2 April, 1758.

[Read Dec. 21, 1758.]

AS a curiosity for your esteemed friend Mr. Theobald, the Captain will deliver you two fishes, intirely singular here, and never before observed amongst us. The one is of the shell kind, and changed its figure so often, that it was difficult to make a drawing. However I got a young man to take it in two different positions, and have sent the drawings with the fish. _See_ TAB. XXXV.

The small one may be called the sea-batt; and in some sort resembles that species of animals when it is swimming.

_Additional Remark by_ Charles Morton, _M.D. F.R.S._

The Patella, or Limpet Fish, whose generic characters, as enumerated by Bishop Wilkins, are, that it is an exanguious testaceous animal, not turbinated; an univalve, or having but one shell; being unmoved; sticking fast to rocks or other things; the convexity of whose shell doth somewhat resemble a short obtuse-angled cone, having no hole on the top.

CXVI. _A Discourse on the_ Cinnamon, Cassia, _or_ Canella. _By_ Taylor White, _Esquire, F.R.S._

[Read Dec. 21, 1758.]

THE Cinnamon, Cassia, or Canella, are shrubs of no great height: they grow in Ceylon, Malabar, Java, Sumatra, and other places in the East Indies; as I think, in the island of St. Thomas, and on the coast of Coromandel.

They are described by Mr. Ray, in his _History of Plants_, vol. ii. f. 1559. under the title _de Arboribus Pruniferis_.

_J. Mynde. sc._]

Linnæus, in his _Species Plantarum_, places them under the title _Enneandria Monogynia_, by the name Laurus.

The leaf, flower, and fruit, of this plant, are particularly described by Mr. Ray.

The leaf is smooth and shining; has one large vein running thro’ the midst, and a remarkable one on each side; the middle one generally running near the length of the leaf.

The leaves differ in shape, some being more acute, others more oval or obtuse.

The flowers grow in an umbel, somewhat like the Laurus Tinus; but they are small, consisting of one petal, of a tubular form at the bottom, and divided at the top into six segments in the form of a star.

The flowers are succeeded by berries growing out of a capsula, like acorns in shape; which berries contain a shining seed.

The description of Mr. Ray of the flower, in his description of the Cinnamon of Malabar, is extremely accurate; as is also the figure in the _Hortus Malabaricus_, Nº. 54. and the description, fol. 107. under the name Carua. I shall therefore refer to those.

I shall not trouble you with the question debated by Mr. Ray, whether the Cinnamon and Cassia of the ancients were, or were not, the same with those so called by the moderns? whether the Cinnamon of the ancients was the twigs of the tree bearing cloves, or any plant now unknown to us? Mr. Ray has largely treated on this subject; and to him I refer such as are curious to be informed on this subject.

But as the Cinnamon and Cassia of the ancients are said to have been used as perfumes, and to make perfumed ointments, I think they must have differed from ours, whose smell is not very fragrant, nor is emitted to any great distance.

The matter of the present inquiry is, whether the Cinnamon of Ceylon is the same sort of plant with that growing in Malabar, Sumatra, _&c._ differing only by the soil or climate, in which it grows, which is the opinion of Garcias; or from the culture or manner of curing the plant, as I am inclined to believe; or whether it is really a different genus or species of plant, as many people believe, and some botanical writers seem to indicate.

I shall endeavour to explain this matter by producing, 1st, The descriptions of the most celebrated authors:

2dly, By producing the most accurate figures of the plants of Sumatra and Ceylon: [_See Tab._ xxxvi.]

3dly, By shewing the specimen of the leaves and branches brought from Sumatra.

I have no specimen from Ceylon; but have carefully examined the specimens kept in the British Museum, with the assistance of Dr. Maty and Mr. Empson, and compared them with the specimens I have from Sumatra; from whence I traced exactly the figures brought herewith: which specimens are undoubtedly brought from Ceylon, and were the collections of Boerhaave, Courteen, Plukenet, and Petiver.

But, previous to this inquiry, I would premise, that the writers, who give the description of the Cinnamon of Ceylon, were probably not acquainted with that of Malabar at the time of their publishing their works.

Mr. Ray also, who so accurately describes the flower of the Cinnamon of Malabar, seems not so well acquainted with its fruit; and probably had then never seen the specimens of the Cinnamon from Ceylon; for his description is plainly borrowed from others, and not his own. Tho’ I have reason to think he afterwards saw the specimens of Mr. Courteen, and was convinced, that the plants were the same.

In his description of the Cinnamon of Ceylon, he supposes differences in the manner of veining the leaf, which are not found in the leaves themselves. He supposes, that the Cinnamon of Ceylon differs from that of Malabar by its berries growing in cups like acorns; which is apparently the same in both, as may be seen in its figure in the _Hortus Malabaricus_.

The other differences taken notice of by the botanic writers are as follow:

In the _Flora Zeylanica_, p. 545. and in the _Materia Medica_, 190. the Cinnamon of Ceylon is called _Laurus foliis trinerviis ovato-oblongis nervis unientibus_: which description is adhered to in the _Hortus Cliffordiensis_, p. 154. under the name _Laurus foliis oblongo-ovatis nitidis planis_. And Burman, in his _Flora Zeylanica_, 62. T. 27. calls it _Cinamomum foliis latis ovatis_. Whereas the Cassia of Sumatra is distinguished by these writers: that in _Flora Zeyl._ 146. and in _Materia Medica_, 191. is called _Laurus foliis trinerviis lanceolatis nervis supra basin unitis_: and Burman, _Zeylan._ 63. T. 28. calls it _Cinamomum perpetuo florens folio tenuiore acuto_.

The distinction therefore, which these writers would make us believe there is between these plants, consists in the leaves of the one being oval, the other sharp-pointed; and that the nerves are limited at the bottom in the Cinnamon, but not so in the Cassia: for as to the _semper florens_, mentioned by Burman, that must undoubtedly be common to both.

Now as to the different shape of the leaves, we know how often this happens by seminal varieties, and from the age of plants, as in the leaves of holly and ivy; and that even the shapes of leaves vary greatly on the very same plant, and sometimes on the same branch; as in the ash, and many other plants, the leaves of the young shoots are more oval than those on the old boughs, which are generally more pointed. But this variety is much more frequent in the plants of warm countries. In the sassafras, part of the leaves generally near the bottom of the plant are plain, whilst the other leaves are divided into three lobes or segments. I have observed great difference also in the leaves of almost every one of the American oaks.

In the Virginian cedar, the berries of the same plant produce some plants with juniper leaves, and others with leaves like the savin; and some plants with both leaves growing on the same plant.

I must observe that Burman has, in his figures of the two plants before mentioned, made them extremely different. In that of Ceylon he has made all the leaves oval; and, to make the difference greater, has drawn the rudiments of the berries; to which he has added the flower, or part of it, at the top of the style or rudiment of the fruit: and in that of Malabar he has drawn the flower growing in the umbel.

On these drawings I must observe, that his drawing of the Cinnamon of Ceylon agrees with no one specimen in the British Museum; and scarcely is one leaf to be found of the shape, which he gives.

The first figure, which I shall produce, is a drawing which I procured from the ingenious Mr. Ehret in the year 1754: which, as I am informed by Mr. Empson, was from a specimen, given to Mr. Ehret by him in that year, of the Cinnamon of Ceylon. _See Fig._ 1.

This agrees in every thing with the drawing of the Cinnamon of Malabar in the _Hort. Malab._ fig. 54. fol. 107. and there called Carua; except that it wants the fruit: but that defect is supplied by Mr. Ray’s description of the Cinnamon of Ceylon above mentioned. _See fig. of the fruit, Fig._ 2.