Chapter XII: Book IV: Of Animals in general (7)

And now from this short and transient View of the architectonick Faculty of Animals, especially the Irrationals; we may easily perceive some superiour and wise Being was certainly concern’d in their Creation or Original. For, how is it possible that an irrational Creature should, with ordinary and coarse, or indeed any Materials, be ever able to perform such Works, as exceed even the Imitation of a rational Creature? How could the Bodies of many of them, (particularly the last mention’d,) be furnish’d with architective Materials? How could they ever discover them to be in their Bodies, or know what Use to make of them? We must therefore necessarily conclude, That the Irrationals either have Reason and Judgment, not only Glimmerings thereof, but some of its superiour Acts, as Wisdom and Foresight, Discretion, Art and Care; or else, that they are only passive in the Case, and act by Instinct, or by the Reason of some superiour Being imprinted in their Nature, or some Way or other, (be it how it will,) congenial with them. That they are Rational, or excel Man in Art and Wisdom, none surely will be so foolish as to say: And therefore we must conclude, That those excellent Ends they pursue, and that admirable Art they exert, is none of their own, but owing to that infinitely wise and excellent Being, of whom it may be said, with reference to the irrational, as well as rational Creatures, as it is, _Prov_. ii. _6_. _The Lord giveth Wisdom; out of his Mouth cometh Knowledge and Understanding._

FOOTNOTES:

[a]

_——Dant utile lignum_
_Navigiis Pinos, domibus Cedrosque, Cupressosque:_
_Hinc radios trivere Rotis, hinc tympana plaustris_
_Agricolæ, & pandas ratibus posuere carinas._
_Viminibus Salices fœcundæ, frondibus Ulmi;_
_At Myrtus validis hastilibus, & bona bello,_
_Cornus; Ityræos Taxi torquentur in arcus._
_Nec Tiliæ leves, aut torno rasile Buxum,_
_Non formam accipiunt, ferroque cavantur acuto:_
_Necnon & torrentum undam levis innatat Alnus_
_Missa Pado: necnon & apes examina condunt_
_Corticibusque cavis, vitiosæque Ilicis alveo._

Virg. Georg. l. 2. carm. 442.

[b] See _Chap. 15._ and _Book VIII. Chap. 6._

[c] Many of the _Vespæ-Ichneumones_ are remarkable enough for their Nidification and Provision for their Young. Those that build in Earth (who commonly have golden and black Rings round their _Alvi_) having lined the little Cells, they have perforated, lay therein their Eggs, and then carry into them Maggots from the Leaves of Trees, and seal them up close and neatly. And another _Ichneumon_, more of the _Vespa_ than _Musca-Ichneumon_ Kind (having a little Sting in its Tail, of a black Colour) gave me the Pleasure, one Summer, of seeing it build its Nest in a little Hole in my Study-Window. This Cell was coated about with an odoriferous, resinous Gum, collected, I suppose, from some Fir-Trees near; after which it laid two Eggs (I think the Number was) and then carried in divers Maggots, some bigger than it self. These it very sagaciously sealed close up into the Nest, leaving them there doubtless, partly to assist the Incubation; and especially for Food to the future Young when hatched.

Of this Artifice of these _Ichneumons_, _Aristotle_ himself takes Notice, (but I believe he was scarce aware of the Eggs sealed up with the Spiders). Ὁι δὲ Σφῆκες Ιχνεύμονες καλούμενοι, &c. _As to the ~Vespæ~, called ~Ichneumones~, (less than others) they kill ~Spiders~, and carry them into their Holes, and having sealed them up with Dirt, they therein hatch, and produce those of the same Kind._ Hist. Anim. l. 5. c. 20.

To what hath been said about these _Ichneumon Wasps_, I shall add one Observation more, concerning the providential Structure of their Mouth in every of their Tribes, _viz._ their Jaws are not only very strong, but nicely sized, curved and placed for gnawing and scraping those compleat little Holes they perforate in Earth, Wood, yea in Stone it self.

[d] _Tully_ having spoken of the Care of some Animals towards their Young, by which they are nursed and brought up, saith, _Accedit etiam ad nonnulloram animantium, & earum rerum quas terra gignit, conservationem, & salutem, hominum etiam solertia & diligentia. Nam multæ & pecudes, & stirpes sunt, quæ fine procuratione hominum salvæ esse non possunt._ Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 52.

[e] Prov. xxx. 26. _The Conies are but a feeble Folk, yet make they their Houses in the Rocks._

[f] See _Note (l)._

[g] It is a notable Instinct which _Ol. Magnus_ tells of the _Galli Sylvestres_ in his Northern Country, to secure themselves against the Cold and Storms of the Winter. _Cùm nives instar collium terræ superficiem ubique cooperiunt, ramosque arborum diutiùs deprimunt & condensant, certos fructus Betulæ arboris——in formâ longi Piperis vorant, & glutiunt indigestos; idque tantâ aviditate, ac quantitate, ut repletum guttur toto corpore majus appareat. Deinde partitis agminibus sese inter medios nivium colles immergunt, præfortim in Jan. Febr. Martio, quando nives ut turbines, typhones, vel tempestates gravissimæ è nubibus descendunt. Cumque coopertæ sunt, certis hebdomadis cibo in gutture collecto, egesto, & resumpto vivunt. Venatorum canibus non produntur.——Quod si præsentiunt nivem imminere majorem, prædicto fructu, iterum devorato, aliud domicilium captant, in eoque manent usque ad sinem Martii, ~&c.~_ Ol. Mag. Hist. l. 19. c. 33.

[h] It is a very odd Story (which I rather mention for the Reader’s Diversion, than for its Truth) which Dr. _Lud. de Beaufort_ relates, _Vir fide dignus narravit mihi, quod cùm semel, animi gratiâ, nidum aviculæ ligno obturâsset, seque occultâsset, cupidus videndi, quid in tali occasione præstaret; illa cùm frustra sæpiùs tentâsset rostro illud auferre, casus admodum impatiens, abiit, & post aliquod temporis spatium reversa est, rostro gerens plantulam, quâ obturamento applicatâ, paulò post, illud veluti telum eripuit tantâ vi, ut dispersa impetu herbula, ac occasionem ipsi, ab aviculâ ejus virtutem discendi, præripuerit._ Cosmop. divina, Sect. 5. C. 1. Had he told us what the Plant was, we might have given better Credit to this Story.

[i] Of the Subtilty of Birds in Nidification, see _Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 33._

[k] Among many Instances that might be given of this Subtilty of birds, and other Creatures, that of the _long-tailed Titmouse_ deserves Observation, who with great Art builds her Nest with Mosses, Hair, and the Webs of _Spiders_, cast out from them when they take their Flight (see _Book VIII. Chap. 4. Note (e)_) with which the other Materials are strongly tied together. Having neatly built, and covered her Nest with these Materials without; she thatcheth it on the top with the _Muscus arboreus ramosus_, or such like broad, whitish Moss, to keep out Rain, and to dodge the Spectator’s Eye; and within she lineth it with a great Number of soft Feathers; so many, that I confess I could not but admire how so small a Room could hold them, especially that they could be laid so close and handsomely together, to afford sufficient Room for a Bird with so long a Tail, and so numerous an Issue as this Bird commonly hath, which Mr. _Ray_ saith (_Synops. Method. Avium_, p. 74.) _Ova inter omnes aviculas numerosissima ponit._ See more of the Nest of this Bird, from _Aldrovand._ in _Willugh. Ornith._ p. 243.

[l] The Nest of the _Guira tangeima_, the _icterus minor_, and the _Jupujuba_, or whatever other Name the _American Hang-Nests_ may be called by, are of this Kind. Of which see _Willughby_’s _Ornith. Lib. 2. Chap. 5. Sect. 12, 13._ Also Dr. _Grew_’s _Museum Reg. Soc. Part 1. Sect. 4. Chap. 4._ These Nests I have divers Times seen, particularly in great Perfection in our _R. S._ Repository, and in the noble and well-furnished _Museum_ of my often-commended Friend Sir _Hans Sloane_; and at the same Time I could not but admire at the neat Mechanism of them, and the Sagacity of the Bird, in hanging them on the Twigs of Trees, to secure their Eggs and Young from the _Apes_.

[m] I mention Trees, because I have seen _Bees_ gather the Gum of Fir-Trees, which at the same Time gave me the Pleasure of seeing their way of loading their Thighs therewith; performed with great Art and Dexterity.

[n] _Wasps_, at their first Coming, may be observ’d to frequent Posts, Boards, and other Wood that is dry and sound; but never any that is rotten. There they may be heard to scrape and gnaw; and what they so gnaw off, they heap close together between their Chin and Fore-Legs, until they have gotten enough for a Burden, which they then carry away in their Mouths, to make their Cells with.

[o] Circular Cells would have been the most capacious; but this would by no Means have been a convenient Figure, by Reason much of the Room would have been taken up by Vacancies between the Circles; therefore it was necessary to make Use of some of the rectilinear Figures. Among which only three could be of Use; of which _Pappus Alexandrin_. thus discourseth; _Cùm igitur tres figuræ sunt, quæ per seipsas locum circa idem punctum consistentem replere possunt, Triangulum seil. Quadratum & Hexagonum, Apes illam quæ ex pluribus angulis constat sapienter delegerunt, utpote suspicantes eam plus mellis capere quàm utramvis reliquarum. At Apes quidem illud tantùm quod ipsis utile est cognoscunt, viz. Hexagonum Quadrato & Triangulo esse majus & plus Mellis capere posse, nimirum æquali materiâ in constructionem uniuscujusque consumptâ. Nos verò qui plus sapientiæ quàm Apes habere profitemur, aliquid etiam magìs insigne investigabimus._ Collect. Math. l. 5.

[p] See before _Note (c)._

[q] See _Chap. 11. Note (x)._

[r] See _Chap. 11. Note (y)._

[s] Among many Examples, the Legs and Feet of the _Mole-Cricket_, (_Gryllotalpa_,) are very remarkable. The Fore-Legs are very brawny and strong; and the Feet armed each with four flat strong Claws, together with a small Lamina, with two larger Claws, and a third with two little Claws: Which Lamina is joynted to the Bottom of the Foot, to be extended, to make the Foot wider, or withdrawn within the Foot. These Feet are placed to scratch somewhat sideways as well as downward, after the Manner of _Moles_ Feet; and they are very like them also in Figure.

Somewhat of this Nature, _Swammerdam_ observes of the Worms of the _Ephemeron_. _To this Purpose, ~[to dig their Cells,]~ the wise Creator hath furnish’d them_, (saith he,) _with fit Members. For, besides that their two Fore-Legs are formed somewhat like those of the ordinary ~Moles~, or ~Gryllotalpa~; he hath also furnish’d them with two toothy Cheeks, somewhat like the Sheers of ~Lobsters~, which serve them more readily to bore the Clay._ Swammerdam’s Ephem. Vit. Publish’d by Dr. _Tyson_, Chap. 3.

[t] See the before-cited _Note (c)._

[u] They are for the most Part, some of the _Phalænæ_-Tribe, which inhabit the tunnelled, convolved Leaves, that we meet with on Vegetables in the Spring and Summer. And it is a somewhat wonderful Artifice, how so small and weak a Creature, as one of those newly-hatch’d Maggots, (for doubtless it is they, not the Parent-Animal, because she emits no Web, nor hath any tectrine Art,) can be able to convolve the stubborn Leaf, and then bind it in that neat round Form, with the Thread or Web it weaves from its own Body; with which it commonly lines the convolved Leaf, and stops up the two Ends, to prevent its own falling out; and _Earwigs_, and other noxious Animals getting in.

[w] The several Sorts of _Phryganea_, or _Cadews_, in their _Nympha_, or _Maggot-state_, thus house themselves; one Sort in Straws, call’d from thence _Straw-Worms_; others in two or more Sticks, laid parallel to one another, creeping at the Bottom of Brooks; others with a small Bundle of Pieces of Rushes, Duck-weed, Sticks, _&c._ glu’d together, where-with they float on the Top, and can row themselves therein about the Waters, with the Help of their Feet: Both these are call’d _Cob-bait_. Divers other Sorts there are, which the Reader _may_ see a Summary of, from Mr _Willughby_, in _Raii Method. Insect._ p. 12. together with a good, though very brief Description of the _Papilionaceous_ Fly, that comes from the _Cod-bait Cadew_. It is a notable architectonick Faculty, which all the Variety of these Animals have, to gather such Bodies as are fittest for their Purpose, and then to glue them together; some to be heavier than Water, that the Animal may remain at the Bottom, where its Food is; (for which Purpose they use Stones, together with Sticks, Rushes, _&c._) and some to be lighter than Water, to float on the Top, and gather its Food from thence. These little Houses look coarse and shew no great Artifice outwardly; but are well tunnelled, and made within with a hard tough Paste; into which the hinder Part of the Maggot is so fix’d, that it can draw its Cell after it any where, without Danger of leaving it behind; as also thrust its Body out, to reach what it wanteth; or withdraw it into its Cell, to guard it against Harms.

[x] Having mention’d the _Spider_, I shall take this Occasion, (although it be out of the Way,) to give an Instance of the Poyson of some of them. _Scaliger Exerc. 186. relates, That in ~Gascony~, his Country, there are ~Spiders~ of that virulency, that if a Man treads upon them, to crush them, their Poyson will pass through the very Soles of his Shoe._ Boyl. Subtil. of Effluv. c. 4.

Mr. _Leewenhoek_ put a _Frog_ and a _Spider_ together into a Glass, and having made the _Spider_ sting the _Frog_ divers Times, the _Frog_ dy’d in about an Hour’s Time. _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 272.

In the same _Transaction_, is a curious Account of the Manner how _Spiders_ lay, and guard their eggs, _viz._ they emit them not out of the hindermost Part of the Body, but under the upper Part of her Belly, near the Hind-Legs, _&c._ Also there is an Account of the Parts from which they emit their Webs, and divers other Things worth Observation, with Cuts illustrating the Whole.

But in _Phil. Trans._ Nᵒ. 22. Dr. _Nath. Fairfax_, from _S. Redi_, and his own Observations, thinks _Spiders_ not venomous; several Persons, as well as Birds, swallowing them without Hurt: Which I my self have known in a Person of Learning, who was advis’d to take them medicinally at first, and would at any Time swallow them, affirming them to be sweet, and well tasted: And not only innocuous, but they are very salutiferous too, in some of the most stubborn Diseases, if the pleasant Story in _Mouffet_ be true; of a rich _London_ Matron, cur’d of a desperate _Tympany_, by a certain Debauchee, that hearing of her Case, and that she was given over by the Doctors, went to her, pretending to be a Physician, and confidently affirming he would cure her; which she being willing to believe, agrees with him for so much Money, one half to be paid down, the other upon Cure. Upon which he gives her a _Spider_, promising her Cure in three Days. Upon which, (not doubting but that he had poison’d her, and fearing he might be call’d to account for it,) he gets out of Town as fast as he could. But instead of being poison’d, she soon recover’d. After some Months, the Quack gets privately to Town, when he thought the Bustle might be over; and enquiring how his Patient did, was inform’d of her Cure; and thereupon visiting her, and making an Excuse for his Absence, he receiv’d his Pay with great Applause and Thanks. _Mouff. Insect. l. 2. c. 15._

Having said so much of _Spiders_, I might here add their Flight: But of this, see _Book VIII. Chap. 4. Note (e)._

CHAP. XIV.

_Of Animals Self-Preservation._

Having thus consider’d the Food, Cloathing, and Houses of Animals; let us in this Chapter take a Glance of another excellent Provision, the wise Creator hath made for the Good of the animal World; and that is, the Methods which all Animals naturally take for their _Self-Preservation_ and _Safety_. And here it is remarkable, (as in the Cases before,) that _Man_, who is endow’d with Reason, is born without Armature, and is destitute of many Powers, which irrational Creatures have in a much higher Degree than he, by Reason he can make himself Arms to defend himself, can contrive Methods for his own Guard and Safety, can many Ways annoy his Enemy, and stave off the Harms of noxious Creatures.

But for others, who are destitute of this super-eminent Faculty; they are some Way or other provided with sufficient Guard[a], proportionate to their Place of Abode, the Dangers they are like to incur there[b]; and in a Word, to their greatest Occasions, and Need of Security. Accordingly, some are sufficiently guarded against all common Dangers, by their natural Cloathing, by their Armature of Shells, or such like hard, and impregnable Covering of their Body[c]. Others destitute of this Guard, are armed, some with Horns[d], some with sharp Quills and Prickles[e], some with Claws, some with Stings[f]; some can shift and change their Colours[g]; some can make their Escape by the Help of their Wings, and others by the Swiftness of their Feet; some can screen themselves by diving in the Waters, others by tinging and disordering the Waters[h], can make their Escape; and some can guard their Bodies, even in the very Flames, by the Ejection of the Juice of their Bodies[i]; and some by their accurate Smell, Sight or Hearing, can foresee Dangers[k]; others by their natural Craft, can prevent or escape them[l]; others by their Uncouth Noise[m]; by the horrid Aspect, and ugly Gesticulations of their Body[n]; and some even by the Power of their Excrements, and their Stink[o], can annoy their Enemy, and secure themselves; and against some[p], the divine Providence it self hath provided a Guard.

By such Shifts and Means as these, a sufficient Guard is ministred to every Species of Animals, in its proper respective Place; abundantly enough to secure the Species from Destruction, and to keep up that Balance, which I have formerly shew’d, is in the World among every, and all the Species of Animals; but yet not enough to secure Individuals, from becoming a Prey to Man, or to other Creatures, as their Necessities of Life require. To which Purpose, the natural Sagacity and Craft of the one intrapping[q], and captivating, being in some Measure equivalent to that of the other in evading, is as excellent a Means for the maintaining the one, as preserving the other; and if well consider’d, argues the Contrivance of the infinitely wise Creator and Preserver of the World.

FOOTNOTES:

[a] _Callent in hoc cuncta animalia, sciuntque non sua modò commoda, verum & hostium adversa; nôrunt sua cela, nôrunt occasiones, partesque dissidentium imbellis. In ventre mollis est tenuisque cutis Crocodilo: ideoque se, ut territi, mergent Delphini, subcuntesque alvum illâ secant spinâ._ Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 25.

[b] _Omnibus aptum est Corpus Animæ moribus & facultatibus: Equo fortibus ungulis & juba est ornatum (etenim velox & superbum & generosum est animal.) Leoni autem, utpose animoso & feroci, dentibus & unguibus validum. Ita autem & Tauro & Apro; illi enim Cornua, huic exerti Dentes.—— Cervo autem & Lepori (timida enim animalia) velox corpus, sed inerme. Timidis enim velocitas, arma audacibus conveniebant——Homini autem (sapiens enim est——) manus dedit, instrumentum ad omnes artes necessarium, paci non minùs quàm bello idoneum. Non igitur indiguit Cornu sibi innato cùm meliora Cornibus arma manibus, quandocunque volet, possit accipere: Etenim Ensis & Hasta majora sunt Arma, & ad incidendum promptiora.——Neque Cornu, neque Ungulæ quicquam nisi cominùs agere possunt; Hominum verò arma eminùs juxtà ac cominùs agunt: telum quidem & sagitta magis quàm cornua.——Non igitur est nudus, neque inermis.——sed ipsi est Thorax ferreus, quandocunque libet, omnibus Coriis difficilius sauciatu organum.——Nec Thorax solùm sed & Domus, & Murus, & Turris, ~&c.~_ Galen. de Us. Part. l. 1. c. 2.

[c] Shells deserve a Place in this Survey, upon the Account of their great Variety; the curious and uncouth Make of some, and the beautiful Colours, and pretty Ornaments of others; but it would be endless to descend to Particulars. Omitting others, I shall therefore only take Notice of the _Tortoiseshell_, by Reason a great deal of Dexterity appears, even in the Simplicity of that Animal’s Skeleton. For, besides that the Shell is a stout Guard to the Body, and affords a safe Retreat to the Head, Legs and Tail, which it withdraws within the Shell upon any Danger; besides this, I say, the Shell supplieth the Place of all the Bones in the Body, except those of the extreme Parts, the Head and Neck, and the four Legs and Tail. So that at first Sight, it is somewhat surprizing to see a compleat Skeleton consisting of so small a Number of Bones, and they abundantly sufficient for the Creature’s Use.

[d]

_Dente timentur Apri: defendunt cornua Tauros:_
_Imbelles Dame quid nisi præda sumus!_

Martial. l. 13. Epigr. 94.

[e] The _Hedgehog_ being an helpless, slow, patient Animal, is accordingly guarded with Prickles, and a Power of rolling it self up in them. _Clavis terebrari sibi pedes, & discindi viscera patientissimè ferebat, omnes cultri ictus sine gemitu plusquam Spartanâ nobilitate concoquens._ Borrichius in Blas. de Echino. _Panniculum carnosum amplexabatur Musculus panè circularis, admirandæ fabricæ, lacinius suas ad pedes, caudam, caput, variè exporrigens, cujus minsterio Echinus se ad arbitrium in orbem contrahit._ Act. Dan. in Blasio.

_Iste licèt digitos restudine pungat acutâ,_
_Cortice deposito mollis Echinus erit._

Mart. l. 13. Epig. 86.

[f] The _Sting_ of a _Wasp_, or _Bee_, &c. is so pretty a Piece of Work, that it is worth taking Notice of, so far as I have not found others to have spoken of it. Others have observ’d the Sting to be an hollow Tube, with a Bag of sharp penetrating Juices, (its Poison,) joined to the End of it, within the Body of the _Wasp_, which is, in Stinging, injected into the Flesh through the Tube. But there are besides this, two small, sharp, bearded Spears, lying within this Tube or Sting, as in a Sheath. In a _Wasp_’s Sting, I counted eight Beards on the Side of each Spear, somewhat like the Beards of Fish-hooks. These Spears in the Sting, or Sheath, lie one with its Point a little before that of the other; as is represented in _Fig. 21._ to be ready, (I conceive,) to be first darted into the Flesh; which being once fix’d, by Means of its foremost Beard, the other then strikes in too, and so they alternately pierce deeper and deeper, their Beards taking more and more hold in the Flesh; after which the Sheath or Sting follows, to convey the Poison into the Wound. Which, that it may pierce the Better, it is drawn into a Point, with a small Slit a little below that Point, for the two Spears to come out at. By Means of this pretty Mechanism in the Sting, it is, that the Sting when out of the Body, and parted from it, is able to pierce and sting us: And by Means of the Beards being lodged deep in the Flesh, it comes to pass that _Bees_ leave their Stings behind them, when they are disturbed before they have Time to withdraw their Spears into their Scabbard. In _Fig. 21._ is represented the two Spears as they lie in the Sting. In _Fig. 22._ the two Spears are represented when squeez’d out of the Sting, or the Scabbard; in which Latter, _Fig. A c b_, is the Sting, _c d_, and _b e_, the two bearded Spears thrust out.

[g] The _Camelion_ is sufficiently fam’d on this Account. Besides which, _Pliny_ tells us of a Beast as big as an _Ox_, called the _Tarandus_, that when he pleaseth, assumes the Colour of an _Ass_, and _Colorem omnium fruticum, arborum, florum, locorumgue reddit, in quibus latet metuens, ideoque rarò capitur._ Plin. l. 8. c. 34.

How true this is, there may be some Reason to doubt; but if any Truth be in the Story, it may be from the Animal’s chusing such Company, or Places, as are agreeable to its Colour: As I have seen in divers _Caterpillars_, and other Insects, who I believe were not able to change their Colour, from one Colour to another; yet I have constantly observ’d, do fix themselves to such Things as are of the same Colour; by which Means they dodge the Spectator’s Eye. Thus the _Caterpillar_ that feeds on _Elder_, I have more than once seen, so cunningly adhering to the small Branches of the same Colour, that it might be easily mistaken for a small Stick, even by a careful View. So a large green _Caterpillar_, that feeds on _Buckthorn_, and divers others. To which I may add the prodigious Sagacity of the _Ichneumon Flies_, that make the _Kermes_, (for of that Tribe all the _Kermes_ I ever saw was;) how artificially they not only inclose their Eggs within that gummy Skin, or Shell; but also so well humour the Colour of the Wood they adhere to, by various Streaks and Colours, that it is not easie to distinguish them from the Wood it self.

[h] _Contra metum & vim, suis se armis quæque defendit. Cornibus Tauri, Apri dentibus, morsu Leones, aliæ fugâ se, aliæ occultatione tutantur: atramenti effusione Sepia, torpore Topedines. Multa etiam insectantes odoris intolerabili, fœditate depellunt._ Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 50.

[i] A Knight call’d _Corvini_ at _Rome_, cast a _Salamander_ into the Fire, which presently swell’d, and then vomited Store of thick slimy Matter, which put out the Coals; to which the _Salamander_ presently retir’d, putting them out again in the same Manner, as soon as they re-kindled, and by this Means sav’d it self from the Force of the Fire for the Space of two Hours: After which it liv’d nine Months. _Vid._ _Philos. Transact._ Nᵒ. 21. in _Lowth. Abridg. Vol. 2._ p. 816.

[k] _Pliny_ gives an Instance in each. _L. 10. c. 69._ _Aqullæ clariùs cernunt ~[quàm homines;]~ Vultures sagaciùs odorantur: liquidiùs audiunt Talpæ obrutæ terrâ, tam denso atque surdo naturæ elemento._

[l] The _Doubling_ of the _Hare_, before she goes to Form, thereby to dodge and deceive the _Dogs_, although a vulgar Observation, is a notable Instinct for an Animal, less fam’d for Cunning than the _Fox_, and some others.

[m] It is natural for many Quadrupeds, Birds and Serpents, not only to put on a torvous angry Aspect, when in _Danger_; but also to snarl, hiss, or by some other Noise deter their Adversary.

[n] The _Iynx_, or _Wryneck_, although a Bird of very beautiful Feathers, and consequently far enough off from being any way terrible; yet being in Danger, hath such odd Contortions of its Neck, and Motions of its Head, that I remember have scar’d me, when I was a Boy, from taking their Nests, or touching the Bird; daring no more to venture my Hand into their Holes, than if a Serpent had lodged in it.

[o] _Bonasus tuetur se calcibus & stercore, quòd ab se quaternis passibus ~[trium jugerum longitudine. _Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 15._] ~ejaculatur, quod sæpe comburit adeò ut deglabrentur canes._ Ray’s Synops. Quadr. p. 71.

_Camelus Peruvianus Clama dictus neminem offendit, sed miro admodum ingenio se ab iliatâ vindicat injuriâ, nimirum vomitæ vel cibi, vel humoris in vexantem retrarsum cum impetu ejaculato, ob protensam colli longitudinem._ Id. ib. p. 146.

_Tzquiepatl_ (Anglicè _Squnck_ Præf. and one that I saw they call’d a _Stonck_.) _Cùm quis eam insectatur, fundit cum ventris crepitu halitum fœtidissimum: quin ipsa tota teterrimum exhalat odorem, & urina stercusque est fœtidissimum, atque adeò pestilens, ut nihil sit reperire in nostro orbe, cui in hâc re possit comparari: quo fit, ut in periculo constituta, urinam & fæces ad 8 pluriumve passuum intervallum ejiciat, hoc modo se ab omnibus vindicans injuriit, ac vestes inficiens maculis luteis indelibilibus, & nunquam satis perspirante odore: aliàs innoxium Animal eduleque, hæc solâ ratione horrendissimum._ Id. ib. p. 182.

_Si Accipiter Ardeam in sublimi molestat, stercore immisso in pennas ejus, eas putrescere facit: utì Solinus scribis de Bonaso, ~&c.~ Ita & Lupus urinam spargit in persequentem._ Ol. Mag. Hist. l. 19. c. 14.

[p] Thus against the _Crocodile_, which can catch its Prey only before it, not on one Side. So the _Shark_, of which take my often-commended Friend Sir _Hans Sloane_’s Observation: _It hath this particular to it, with some others of its own Tribe; that the Mouth is in its under Part, so that it must turn the Belly upwards to Prey. And was it not for that Time it is in turning, in which the pursu’d Fishes escape, there would be nothing that could avoid it; for it is very quick in Swimming, and hath a vast Strength, with the largest Swallow of any Fish, and is very devouring._ Sloane’s _Voyage to_ Jamaica, p. 23.

[q] See _Chap. 11. Note (iii)._

CHAP. XV.

_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 Conservation of 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, and Young, 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 the _Abdomen_[k], and thereby 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 such Balls, 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 their _Nympha-State_, in which they need Food; and are afterwards commodious Houses and Beds for them in their _Aurelia-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 far distant 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 of _Genera_, 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 at their 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 the office 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 of all, 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 curious _Apparatus_ which 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 pouch and 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 with their 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 their _Nympha-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 the _Aristotelian_, or rather, the _Ægyptian_ Doctrine of _equivocal Generation_; that when they saw _Flies_, _Frogs_ and _Lice_, 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 thought _Frogs_ were, and that they dropp’d down in Showers of Rain. For an Answer to this Case of _Frogs_, 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 his _Wisdom of God manifested_, &c. _p. 365_.

But some will yet assert the Raining of _Frogs_; among which the curious Dr. _Plot_ is somewhat of this Opinion; telling us of _Frogs_ found on the Leads of the Lord _Aston_’s Gatehouse, at _Tixal_ in _Staffordshire_, which he thinks by some such Means came there; as also on the Bowling-Green, frequently after a Shower of Rain. _Plot_’s _Hist. 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 in _Silesia_, a mighty Rumour was spread of its _raining Millet-Seed_; but the Matter being inquir’d into, ’twas found to be only the Seeds of the _Ivy-leaved Speedwell_, or _small Henbit_, growing in the Place in great Plenty. _Eph. Germ. An. 3. Obs. 40._ So in the _Archipelago_, 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 of _Vesuvius_, that then happen’d. About _Warminster_ in _Wilts_, ’twas reported it _rain’d Wheat_; but a curious Observer, Mr. _Cole_, found it to be only _Ivy-Berries_, blown thither in a considerable Quantity by a Tempest. In the Year 1696, at _Cranstead_ near _Wrotham_ in _Kent_, a Pasture-Field was over-spread with little young _Whitings_, 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, that _Ashes_, _Ivy-Berries_, small _Fishes_, or young _Frogs_, (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 the _Great-Storm_, _Nov. 26. 1703_, of which an ingenious Friend sent me these Accounts from _Lewes_ in _Sussex_, viz. _That a Physician travelling soon after the Storm, to ~Tisehurst~, twenty Miles from the Sea, as he rode along pluck’d some Tops of Hedges, and chewing them, found them Salt: That some ~Grapes~ hanging on the Vines at ~Lewes~ were so too. That Mr. ~Williamson~ Rector of ~Ripe~, found the Twigs in his Gardens Salt the ~Monday~ after the Storm; and others observ’d the same a Week after. That the Grass of the Downs about ~Lewes~, was so Salt, that the Sheep would not feed till Hunger compell’d them: And that the ~Miller~ of ~Berwick~, (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 of _equivocal Generation_, an _Ægyptian Doctrine_; because probably it had its Rise in _Ægypt_, 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, the _Ægyptians_, (as _Diod. Sicul._ saith,) _produce this Observation, That about ~Thebes~, when the Earth is moistened by the ~Nile~, by the Intense Heat of the Sun, an innumerable Number of ~Mice~ do 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 Bishop _Stillingfleet_ thinks other Writers, as _Ovid_, _Mela_, _Pliny_, &c. have, without examining its Truth, taken up the same Hypothesis. _V._ _Stillingfleet_’s _Orig. 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 concerning _Generation_ as highly probable. _1. That Animals are ~ex Animalculo~. 2. That the Animalcules are originally ~in femine Marium, & non in Fœminis~. 3. That they can never come forward, or be formed into Animals of the respective Kind, without the ~Ova in Fœminis~._ His Proofs and Illustrations, see under the Word _Generation_, in his _Lex. 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] The _Ephemeron_, 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 the _Ephemeron_ eat, after it is become a _Fly_. 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. _Tyson_ from _Swammerdam_. See also _Book VIII. Chap. 6. Note (r)._

[g] See _Chap. 13. Note (c)_, and _Book VIII. Chap. 6._

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

[i] See _Book VIII. Chap. 6. Note (q)._

[k] Many, if not most Flies, especially those of the _Flesh-Fly_-kind, have a Faculty of extending their _Uropygia_, 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 the _Horse-Fly_, called by _Pennius_, in _Mouffet_, (p. 62.) Σκολιοῦρος, i.e. _Curvicauda_, and the _Whame_ or _Burrel-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 their _Uropygia_, 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 rather _Eula 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 Parent _Bee_-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 of _Fibrillæ_, 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 of _Cabbages_, _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, whether _Ichneumon_, _Phalæna_, _Scarab_, or _Scolopendra_, I could never discover, being not able to bring them to any thing in Boxes.

[m] I presume they are only of the _Ichneumon-Fly-kind_, that have their Generation in the Trunks of Vegetables. In _Malpighi de Gallis_, _Fig. 61._ is a good Cut of the gouty Excrescences, or rather Tumours of the _Briar-stalk_: From which proceeds a small black _Ichneumon-Fly_, with red _Legs_; black, smooth jointed _Antennæ_; pretty large _Thorax_; and short, round _Belly_, of the Shape of an Heart. It leapeth as a _Flea_. The _Male_, (as in other Insects,) is lesser than the _Female_, 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 a _Coït_.

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 the ~Medulla~, 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 from _Kilkenny_ in _Ireland_, Apr. 28. 1697.

[n] See _Book VIII. Chap. 6. Note (d)._

[o] I have in _Chap. 13. Note (u)_, and _Book 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 the _Scarab-kind_ (the Generation of which Tribe hath not been as yet mentioned) and that is of a small _Scarab_ bred in the very Tips of _Elm-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 a _Beetle_ of the smallest kind, of a light, _Weesle_ Colour, that leapeth like a _Grashopper_, although its Legs are but short. Its Eyes are blackish, _Elytra_ thin, and prettily furrowed, with many Concavities in them; small club-headed _Antennæ_, and a long _Rostrum_ like a _Proboscis_.

The same, or much like this, I have met with on Tips of _Oaken_ and _Holly-Leaves_. How the _Scarab_ lays its Eggs in the Leaf, whether by terebrating the Leaf, or whether the _Maggot_, 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 of _Maggots_, as if made on purpose for this Work; but yet I have often wondered at their Artifice in so nicely separating the Membranes of the _Elm-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] See _Book VIII. Chap. 6. Note (z)._

[q] See _Book VIII. Chap. 6._ to _Note (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. _Ray_ alledges 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 from _Hens_, 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 a _Swallow_’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.