This was a creature, more troublesome to be drawn, then any of the rest, for
I could not, for a good while, think of a way to make it suffer its body to
ly quiet in a natural posture; but whil’st it was alive, if its feet were
fetter’d in Wax or Glew, it would so twist and wind its body, that I could
not any wayes get a good view of it; and if I killed it, its body was so
little, that I did often spoil the shape of it, before I could throughly
view it: for this is the nature of these minute Bodies, that as soon,
almost, as ever their life is destroy’d, their parts immediately shrivel,
and lose their beauty; and so is it also with small Plants, as I instanced
before, in the description of Moss. And thence also is the reason of the
variations in the beards of wild Oats, and in those of Musk-grass seed,
that their bodies, being exceeding small, those small variations which are
made in the surfaces of all bodies, almost upon every change of Air,
especially if the body be porous, do here become sensible, where the whole
body is so small, that it is almost nothing but surface; for as in
vegetable substances, I see no great reason to think, that the moisture of
the Aire (that, sticking to a wreath’d beard, does make it untwist) should
evaporate, or exhale away, any faster then the moisture of other bodies,
but rather that the avolation from, or access of moisture to, the surfaces
of bodies being much the same, those bodies become most sensible of it,
which have the least proportion of body to their surface. So is it also
with Animal substances; the dead body of an Ant, or such little creature,
does almost instantly shrivel and dry, and your object shall be quite
another thing, before you can half delineate it, which proceeds not from
the extraordinary exhalation, but from the small proportion of body and
juices, to the usual drying of bodies in the Air, especially if warm. For
which inconvenience, where I could not otherwise remove it, I thought of
this expedient.
I took the creature, I had design’d to delineate, and put it into a drop of
very well rectified spirit of Wine, this I found would presently dispatch,
as it were, the Animal, and being taken out of it, and lay’d on a paper,
the spirit of Wine would immediately fly away, and leave the Animal dry, in
its natural posture, or at least, in a constitution, that it might easily
with a pin be plac’d, in what posture you desired to draw it, and the limbs
would so remain, without either moving, or shriveling. And thus I dealt
with this Ant, which I have here delineated, which was one of many, of a
very large kind, that inhabited under the Roots of a Tree, from whence they
would sally out in great parties, and make most grievous havock of the
Flowers and Fruits, in the ambient Garden, and return back again very
expertly, by the same wayes and paths they went.
It was more then half the bigness of an Earwig, of a dark brown, or reddish
colour, with long legs, on the hinder of which it would stand up, and raise
its head as high as it could above the ground, that it might stare the
further about it, just after the same manner as I have also observ’d a
hunting Spider to do: and putting my finger towards them, they have at
first all run towards it, till almost at it; and then they would stand
round about it, at a certain distance, and smell, as it were, and consider
whether they should any of them venture any further, till one more bold
then the rest venturing to climb it, all the rest, if I would have suffered
them, would have immediately followed: many such other seemingly rational
actions I have observ’d in this little Vermine with much pleasure, which
would be too long to be here related; those that desire more of them may
satisfie their curiosity in _Ligons_ History of the _Barbadoes_.
Having insnar’d several of these into a small Box, I made choice of the
tallest grown among them, and separating it from the rest, I gave it a Gill
of Brandy, or Spirit of Wine, which after a while e’en knock’d him down
dead drunk, so that he became moveless, though at first putting in he
struggled for a pretty while very much, till at last, certain bubbles
issuing out of its mouth, it ceased to move; this (because I had before
found them quickly to recover again, if they were taken out presently) I
suffered to lye above an hour in the Spirit; and after I had taken it out,
and put its body and legs into a natural posture, remained moveless about
an hour; but then, upon a sudden, as if it had been awaken out of a drunken
sleep, it suddenly reviv’d and ran away; being caught, and serv’d as
before, he for a while continued struggling and striving, till at last
there issued several bubbles out of its mouth, and then, _tanquam animam
expirasset_, he remained moveless for a good while; but at length again
recovering, it was again redipt, and suffered to lye some hours in the
Spirit; notwithstanding which, after it had layen dry some three or four
hours, it again recovered life and motion: Which kind of Experiments, if
prosecuted, which they highly deserve, seem to me of no inconsiderable use
towards the invention of the _Latent Scheme_, (as the Noble _Verulam_ calls
it) or the hidden, unknown Texture of Bodies.
Of what Figure this Creature appear’d through the _Microscope_, the 32.
_Scheme_ (though not so carefully graven as it ought) will represent to the
eye, namely, That it had a large head AA, at the upper end of which were
two protuberant eyes, pearl’d like those of a Fly, but smaller BB; out of
the Nose, or foremost part, issued two horns CC, of a shape sufficiently
differing from those of a blew Fly, though indeed they seem to be both the
same kind of Organ, and to serve for a kind of smelling; beyond these were
two indented jaws DD, which he open’d side-wayes, and was able to gape them
asunder very wide; and the ends of them being armed with teeth, which
meeting went between each other, it was able to grasp and hold a heavy
body, three or four times the bulk and weight of its own body: It had only
six legs, shap’d like those of a Fly, which, as I shewed before, is an
Argument that it is a winged Insect, and though I could not perceive any
sign of them in the middle part of its body (which seem’d to consist of
three joints or pieces EFG, out of which sprung two legs), yet ’tis known
that there are of them that have long wings, and fly up and down in the
air.
The third and last part of its body III was bigger and larger then the
other two, unto which it was joyn’d by a very small middle, and had a kind
of loose shell, or another distinct part of its body H, which seem’d to be
interpos’d, and to keep the _thorax_ and belly from touching.
The whole body was cas’d over with a very strong armour, and the belly III
was covered likewise with multitudes of small white shining brisles; the
legs, horns, head, and middle parts of its body were bestuck with hairs
also, but smaller and darker.
* * * * *