0% found this document useful (0 votes)
16 views11 pages

Carta de L. Publicada Na Fil. Tra

In 1675, Mr. Antony van Leeuwenhoek observed various microscopic creatures in rainwater, noting their sizes and behaviors. He described several types of these tiny animals, including those with distinct shapes and movements, and documented their appearances over several weeks. His observations contributed to the understanding of microscopic life, revealing creatures much smaller than previously known.

Uploaded by

Beatriz Biagini
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
16 views11 pages

Carta de L. Publicada Na Fil. Tra

In 1675, Mr. Antony van Leeuwenhoek observed various microscopic creatures in rainwater, noting their sizes and behaviors. He described several types of these tiny animals, including those with distinct shapes and movements, and documented their appearances over several weeks. His observations contributed to the understanding of microscopic life, revealing creatures much smaller than previously known.

Uploaded by

Beatriz Biagini
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 11

< 821 )

Objervations^communicated to the Publisher by Mr, Antony van


Leewenhoecfc, iff a Dmkluetter of the ytb of Odlob. 1676.
here Engltjb'd: Concerning little Animals by him in
R*in- Well* Sea- and Snow m te r ; as alfo in water wherein
Pepper had lain infttfed.
T N the year 167 5;l difcover’d living creatures in Ra'n water,
r which had flood but few days in a new earthen p o t , glafed
blew within*This invited roe to view this w ater with great at-
tention.efpecially thofe little animals appearingto roe ten thou-
Downloaded from https://royalsocietypublishing.org/ on 10 February 2022

fand times iefs than thofe reprefented by Monf. ,


and by him called Water fieas or hich may be per­
ceived in the water with the naked eye.
T h e /r /2 fort by me difcoverd in the faid water, I divers
tiroes obferved to confift o f 5, 6,7, o r 8 clear globuls,w ithout
being able to difcern any film that held them together, or con­
tained, thenl When thefe animalcula or living Atoms d id m ove,
they put forth tw o little horns,continually moving themfelves:
The place between thefe two horns was flat, though the ref! o f
the body was roundifh,(harpning a little towards the end,where
they had a tayl, near four times the length o f the whole b o d y ,o f
the thicknefs (b y my MicrofcopeJ o f a Spiders* w eb; at the end
o f which appear’d a globul,of the bignefsofone o f thofe which
made up the body; which tayl 1 could not perceive,even in ve­
ry clear water, to be mov’d by them. Thefe little creatures, if
they chanced to light upon the lead filament or firing,or other
fuch particle, of which there are many in water,efpecially after
it hath flood fome days, they flock intangied therein,extending
their body in a long round, and driving m dif-intangle their
ta y l; whereby itcam e to pafs, that their whole body lep t back
towards the globulof the tayl, which then rolled together S er­
pent-like, and after the manner o f Copper** or Tron wire that
having been wound about a flick, and unwound again, retains
thofe windings and turnings. This motion of extenfioh ar.d
contradion continued a w hile; and I have feen feveral hun­
dreds of thefe poor little creatures, within the fpace o f a grain
of grofsfandylye fafl clufler’d to o th e r in a few filaments,
I alfo difcover’d afeeond fort, the figure of which was oval;
and 1 imagined their head to Hand on the (harp end.Thefe were
a little bigger than the former. The inferior part of their body
is flat, furnilhed with divers incredibly thin feet, which moved
■ ,I P
life* 1 ■ *
3- K IS - ■ :fW
” I
: '
■ ■srery.c
• »
( 822 )
very nimbly, and which 1 was not able to difcern till after feve*
rat Obfervations^ The upper part of the body was round,and
had within, 8, io , or 12 globuls, where they were very clear.
Thefe little Animals didibmetimes change their figure into a
perfeft round, efpecially when they came to lye on any d ry
place. Their body was alfo very flexible; for as foon as they
b it againft any the fmalieft fibre or firing, their body was bent
in, which bending prefently alfo yerked out again. When I put
any of them on a dry place,I obferv’djthac changing themfelves
info a round, their body was raifed pyramidal-wife with an
Downloaded from https://royalsocietypublishing.org/ on 10 February 2022

extant point in the middle, and having lain thus a little while
with a motion o f their feet, they bur ft afunder, and the globuls
>were prefently diffus’d and diflipated, fo that I could not d if­
cern theleaft thing of any film,inwhich the globuls had doubtlefs
been incjbfed: And at this time o f their bu riling afunder I was a-
ble to difcover more globuls than when they were alive.
But then I obferv’d a third fort o f little Aoimals, that were
twice a? long as broad, and to my eye'yet eight times Tina Her
than the firft, Yet for all this, 1 thought 1 difcern’d little
feet, whereby they moved very briskly, both in a round and
ftreight line.
There was,further, a fourthfort, which w
was not able to give them any figure at all. Thefe were a thou-
fand times finaller than the eye ofa big L cufe: For I judge, the
axis o f the eye of fuch a Loufe to be more than ten times as long
as the axis o f any o f the faid little creatures. Thefe exceeded
all the former in celerity. 1 have often obferv’d them to ftand ftill
as ’twere upon a point,and then turn themTelves about with that
fwiftnefs, as we fee a Top turn round, the circumference they
made being no bigger than that of a fmallgrain o f Sand and
then extending themfelves ftreight forw ard, and by and by ly.
iog in a bending pofture.
I difeover’d alfo feveral other forts of Animals , but thefe
were very bigrefpe&ively *of which I intend not tofpeak here;
only th % tb at they were generally made up offu ch fo ft p a rts *
as the former,they burftingafunder asMbdtv aS they came to w ant
water. Obftrv.lL
The 26. Mayf it rained hard • the rain growing lefs, I eayfed
fome o f that Rain-water, running down from the houfe-top, to
be gatherU in a clean G iafs, after it had been waflied two o r
r :! • * r ’ three
( 8*3 )
foree times with the water. And in this 1 obferv’d fome few
very little living creatures,and feeing them,! thought they might
havcbeen produced in the leaden gutters in fome water,<hat had
there remain’d before. Obferv.llh
Oil the fame day, the Rain continuing, 1 took a great Porce-
lain-dift, and expofed it to the free Air upon a wooden vefTel,
about a foot and a half high, that fo no earthy parts, from the
falling of the Rain*water upon that p la c e , might be fpatter’d
or dafhed into the faid difli. With the firft water that fell into
Downloaded from https://royalsocietypublishing.org/ on 10 February 2022

thedilh, I waflied it very clean, and then flung the water away,
and receiv’d frefh into if, but could difcern no living creatures
therein; only 1 fawmany irregular terreftrial parts in the fame.
The 30 .Of after I had,ever fince the t6r^,obferv*d every
d ay twice or thrice the fame Rain-water, 1now difcover’d fome,
y e t very few,exceeding little Animals, which were very clear.
The 3 if/* ofMay,l perceived in the fame water more of thofe
Animals,as alio fome that were fomewhat bigger. And I im agine,'
that many thoufandsof thefe little Creatures do not equal an
ordinary grain o f Sand in bignefs: And comparing them w ith
a Cheefe-mite (which may be feen to move with the naked eye)
I make the proport io n o f one o f thefe fmall W ater-creatures to
a Cheefe-mite, to be like that o f a Bee to a H orfe: For,the cir­
cumference of one o f thefe little Animals in water, is not fo big
as the thicknefs o f a hair in a Cheefe-mite
Obferv, IV.
Jtms yth, having:received, early in the morning, fome Rain-
Water inadilh,as befofejand poured it into a very clean Wine-
glafs, and expofed it about 8 of the clock in the morning to the
Air,abbhtihe height oftlie third flory of my houfe,to find, whe­
ther the little Animairt. ould appear the fooner in the water,
;hus (landing inthe Air:
Obferving the fame accordingly the roft&of JuneA imagin’d ,
I faw fome living creatures therein ; but bccaufe they feem’d
to be buc* very few in number, nor were plainly difpernabk, 1
had homind rc^ruft to this obfervatipn.
The'i ir^ofthe fame month, feeing this water .mbye in the
Clafli(from’a fliffgaleof wind (Which had bio wii for 3 6 hours
without intermirtfon;' accompanied w\th a co ld , that 1 could
very well endure toy ^ipter-cloaths,) I dicj not think,! fliould
tBedperceiveaWy livitig creatures therein; yet viewing it at-,
5 tentively
(824) '
tend v ely ,ld id , with admiration, obferye a thoufand o f them in
one drop of water, which were of the finalleft fort, that I had
feen hitherto.
The r 2 tbof June,the wind being at weft,
interloping clouds,! viewed the fame Rain water,and found the
fore-mention 4little Animals fo plentifully in the water which
I took up from tl|efurface,that one or two thoufand in one (in­
gle dro p did not ma ke up their number.
The i %tb of the fame month, view ing the fame water again ,
Downloaded from https://royalsocietypublishing.org/ on 10 February 2022

I found, befides the Animals already noted, a fort o f creatures,


that were eight times as big as they, o f almoft a round figure:
And as thofe very fmall mimdcuU did fwim gently, among one
another, moving like as Gnats do in the A ir ; fo did thefe big­
ger ones move far more fwiftly, tumbling round as *twerc, and
then making a Hidden downfall.
The 1.4 tbof Junel*did find thefe very little cre
finaller number. The 16tb91 faw them as before; and this wa­
ter, which had been, in a ll,|o fa pint, being now more than half
dryed up, I flung it away. ♦
The ythof June,! put o f the fame Rain-water in a very
Wine«glafs in my Counter or Study, and viewing the fame, I
perceived no livingcreatures in it.
Note,that my Study Hands toward the N orth eaft,in myJAnti*
chamber, and is very clofe, joyned together with Waiafcot, ha*
ving no other opening than one hole of an inch and a half broad,
and 8 inches long, towards the ftreet furniflit with 4 windows,
of which the two lowermoft open inwards, and by night are
dofed with tw o wooden Shuts; fo that there comes in but little
Air from without, unlefs it be that I uie a candle in making my
Gbfervations, in which cafe I lift up a liN ttle Cafement,that the
ft earn of the candle may not offend me ; but yet drawing a Cur­
tain at that time over almoft all the windows.
The lotho f >»e,obfervin|lhem entioned Rain-water,wliich
now had flood 24 hours in my ftudy, J noted fome few very
fmall living creatures, in which, by reafon o fth f tr extream mi-
nutenefs, I could fee no figure, and among the reft I difcover’d
one that was fomewhat greater, of an oval figure,
Note,that when I fay, I have view’d the water, I mean, that I
have view’d only 3,4,or $ drops o f the water, which l alfo flung
away 4 H W # ftf§ §
■ ..
, x ; 1 The
( 825 )
T he n th of June, looking upon this wafer afrefh, I faw the
faid little creatures again, but there were then but very few o f
them. . - • vW v’
The 1 I Taw them as theday before; beGdes, I tookno-
tice of one figured like aMuflel-flielJ, with its hoi low* fide down­
wards, & ft was o f a length equal to the eye o f a loufe.
The i $tb , early, I difcover’d the extream final 1creatures in
greater number, and amofig them 1 faw a bigger one, as I did be­
fore. In the evening of the fame day I faw the fame very final!
Downloaded from https://royalsocietypublishing.org/ on 10 February 2022

infe&s again in no lefs number, taking notice, that the fame had
a tranfparent part (landing our behind: I difcover’d alfo fome
little animals which were fomewbat longer than an oval, and
thefe were about fix times as bigas tbecxtream fmall creatures:
Their head, which run out fomewhat in length, they often drew
in, and then appear’d to be alrnofl round, I perceived alfo fome
that were altogether round, and the o f thefe was twice as
long as that of the fmallefi creatures. Thefe two greater forts
were very flexile, fo that their body did bend at the touch o f
the leaft and fineft filament.
The 14 o f June I perceived the oval infers in greater plenty.
The l i t faw them in yet greater numbers; and they were flat
beneath,and round above 5 and befides,I noted very finall crea­
tures, that were three times as long as they were broad: And d i­
vers other forts, too long to defcribe here. And in the evening
o f the fame d ay , 1 difcover’d l ittle feet in the fmall oval crea­
tures, which were many in number $ as alfo a much bigger crea­
ture o f the fame figure, which was likewife furnilhed with legs,
~And here I gave over my Obfervations as to this water.
*
The itho f this month of Juneit rained very h a rd ; and I
catched fome o f that Rain-water in anew Porcelain difh, which
had never been ufed before, but found no living creatures at all
in it, but many terreflrial particles,and,among others, fuch as I
thought came from the fmoak of Smiths^coals, and fome thin
thrids, ten times thinner than the thrid of a Silk*worni, which
feem’d to be made up o f globuls ; and where they lay thick up­
on one another, they had a green colour.
The 2 6tb,having been eight days out o f Town, and kept my
Study {but up clofe, whenl was come home and did view the faid
water, I perceived feveral animalcuthat were very fmall. And
5 Q_2 here-
(82 6
here with I cfcfifted from making at this time any further O h-
fervations of Rain-water*
Mean time, this T o wn o f Delft b m g very ricb'in w a t e r e d
we receiving from the R iv er of Maaje frelb water , which ma­
ke th our water very g o o d ; I viewed this w ater divers times ,
and faw extream final i creatures in it, o f different kinds and co­
lours 3 and even fo fmall, that I could very hardly difcern th eir
figures; But fome were muchbigger, the defcribingof whofe
m otion and fihape would be coo tedious: This only l rnuft men­
Downloaded from https://royalsocietypublishing.org/ on 10 February 2022

tion here, that the number of them in this water was far lefs than
that o f thofe, found in Rain-water} for if I faw a m atter o f 25 o f
them in one drop o f this Town- water, that was much.
In the open Court o f my houfe I have a well, which is a b o u t
11 foot deep, before one comes to the water. It is encompafled
w ith high walls,fo that the Sun,though in yet can hardly
Ihine much upon it. This water comes out o f the ground,w hich
is Tandy, with fuch a power, that when I have laboured to empty
the well, I could not fo do it but there remained ever a foots
depth o f water in it, This water is in Summer time fo cold,that
you cannot poflibly endure your hand in it for any reafonable
time. N ot 'thinking at all to meet with any living creatures in
it, (it being of a good tafte and c le a rj looking upon it in Sept.
of the laft year, l difcover’d in it a great number o f living ani­
mals very finalf, that were exceeding clear, and a little bigger
than th e fm a lle fto fa llth a tle v e r faw ; and I think, that in a
grain weight o f thisw ater there was above 500 of thofe crea*
tures, which were very quiet and without motion.
In the W inter I perceived none of thefe little animals,nor have
I feen any of them this year before the month of and then
they ap p ear'd not very numerous, bu t in the month o f
0W them in great plenty.
July2 7 .1 676.1 went to the Sea-fide, at Schevelingen, the
wind coming from Seawith a very warm Sun-Ihine ; and view­
ing fome o f the Sea*water very attentively, I difcaver’d divers
living a n p als therein, I gave to a man, that went into the Sea
to wafti himfelf, a new G lad-bottle, bought on purpofe for th a t
end, intreating him, that being on the Sea,he would firft walk i t
well tw ice or thrice, and then fill it full o f the $ea: water* w h ic h
defire pf mine having been com plied w ith, I tyed the b o ttle
d o f t witb a clean bladder,afid coming home, and viewing it, I
faw
c 3*7 y
in i t a little animal that was blackifl), looking as if it had been
made up of two globuls. This creature bad a peculiar motion,
after the manner as when we fee a very little flea leaping upon
a whitepaper; fo that it might very well be called a Water-fleas
but it was by far not fo great as the eye o f that little animal,
which Dr. Sm
mm
erdm
calls the Water-flea. I alfo difeovered
little creatures therein, that were clear, o f the famefize with the
former animal which I firft obferved in this water, but of an o«
val figure, whofe motion was Serpentlike. I took further no­
Downloaded from https://royalsocietypublishing.org/ on 10 February 2022

tice o f a third forr, which were very flow in their m otioniTheir


body was ofa Moufe-colour, clear towards the oval*point; and
before the head,and behiod the body there flood out a fliarp lit-
le point angle-wife.This fort was a little bigger* But there was
y et a fourth fort fomewhat longer than oval. Yet o f all thefe
forts there were but a few of each, fo that in a drop o f water I
coaid fee fometimesbut three o r four, fometitnes but one.
July*9 r.after 1badTrom the zy.ofthis month viewed this wa­
ter every day,but perceived no little animals in it,looking u p ­
on it now,I fa wan io o , where before 1 had feen but o n e ; b u t
thefe were o f an other figure, and n >t only leffer, but they were
alfovery*clear, and o f an oblong oval figure, only with this dif­
ference,that me thought their heads ended Sharpen And although
they were a tboufand times fmaifer than a final! grain o f fand,yet
I difeern’d, that when they lay out o f the water in a dry place,
that they burfl in pieces & fpred into 3 or 4 very little globuls,
and into fame aqueous matter5wichout my being able to difeern
any other parts in them.
The 2d and 4 ^ of Augufilfaw many o f the aforefaid fma
nimals : but the 6 ^ and 8 ^ , I d id not by far percei ve fo many
o f them as before, And thofe few ones I faw the 8 ^ , were fo very
final,that even by myM icrofcope they were hardly difcernible.
O b f e r v Attornof water, wherein whole Pepper had infafed
feveral dyes.
1.Having feveral times endeavoured to difeover the caufe o f
the pungency o f Pepperwponomtongue,and that the rather,be«
caufe it hath been found, that though Pepper had lain a whole
year in vinegar, y e t it retained ftill its pungency; I did put a»
bout -j-of an ounce o f whole pepper in w a te r, placing it in my
Study, with this defigo, that the pepper being thereby rendred
foft, I might be enabled the b e tter to obferve what I propofed
( $ 2$ )
xo roy felf.This pepper having Iain about 3 weeks in the water,
to which I had twice added fomc Snow-water, the other water
being in great p a rt exhaled; I looked upon it the 24.o f Afril,
lSyfi.and difcern’d in it,to my great wonder,an incredible num­
ber^of .little animals,of divers kinds ;and among the reft, fome
that were 3 or 4 times as long as broad ; but their whole thick- y
jiefs did, in my eflimation, notunuih exceed that o f the hair of a
Loufe.They had a very pretty niotion,often tumbling about and
fidew ays; and when Met the water run off from them , they
turned as round as a T o p , and at fir ft their body changed into
Downloaded from https://royalsocietypublishing.org/ on 10 February 2022

an oval, and afterwards, when the circular motion ceafed, they


returned to their former length.
The id fort of creatures,difcover’d in this water, were o f a
perfedoval figure,and they bad no lefs pleafing or nimble a mo­
tion than the for men andthefe were in far^greater numbers. And
there was a fort,which exceeded the two former in number;
and thefe had tails alfo, like thofe I had formerly o b fg v ’d in
Rain*water. .
The 4 thort
f o f creatures,which moved through the 3 former
forts,were incredibly fmall, and fo fmall in my eye,that I judg­
ed,that if 100 o f them lay one by another,they would not equal
the lengtho f a grain ofcourfe Sand; and according to this efti*
mate, ten hundred thoiifand of them could not equal the dimen*
fions o f a graino f fuch courfe Sand.
There was difcover’d by me a fifth fort, which had near the
thicknefs of the former, but they were almoft twice as long.
2. The 2 6toh f April, I took jo u n c e s of Snow* water, which
was about three years old, and which had flood either in my
Cellar or Study in a Glafs-bottle well flopped.In it I could dif*
cover no living creatures: And having poured fom eofit into
a PorcelainThea-cup,I put therein half an ounce of whole p e p ­
pery and fo.placed it in my Study. Obferving it daily until
the 3 ^ o f May,I could never difcover any living thing in itjan
by this time the w ater was fo far evaporated, and imbibed, by
the pepper, that fome o f the pepper-corns began to lye d ry .
This w ater was now very thick ofodd particlesjand then f pou­
red more Snow-water to the pepper, until the pepper corns
were cover’d with water half an inch high. W hereupon viewing
it again the fourth and fifth of found no living creatures
in i t ; but the fixth,! d id very many, and thofe exceeding fmali
ones,
( 829 )
ones,whole body feenvd to me tw ice as long as broads but they
moved very low ly,and often round*ways.
The 7 tb,I faw them yet in far greater numbers. m
The i o thI put more Snow* w ater to the p ep p er, becaufe the
former was again fo exhaled* that the pepper-corns began to be
dry again.
The 1 3 ^ and j 4 th,\faw the little creatures as before 5 bu
th eiS r^ th e water was again fo dryed away,that it made me pour
on more o f it. And the 2 3 th,I difcover’d , befides the a
Downloaded from https://royalsocietypublishing.org/ on 10 February 2022

little animals,another fort, that were perfeflly oval5and in figure


li ke Cuckow-eggs. Me thought, the head o f them flood on the
(harp e n d : Their body d id confiftjwithin.of r o ,i2 ,o r i4 g lo -
buls,which lay feparate from one another. When [ p u t thefe 40/-
malcuUin a dry place,they then changed their body into a per-
fe& round,and often burft afunder, & the globuls,together with
fome aqueous particles, fpred themfelves every w hereabout,
without my being able to difcern any other remains. Thefe glo­
buls,which in the burfting o f thefe creatures d id flow afunder
here and there, were about the bignefs of the firft very fmallv
creatures. And though a sy etl could not difcern any feet in them,
yet me thought,they muft needs be furniflied with very many ,fe-
ing that the fmalleft c re a tu re s, which I Paid before to be very
plentiful in this water, and lay fometimes more than an 100 o f
them on one o f the oval creatures, were by the motion, made in
the water by the great ones(thougb to my eye they feem’d to lye
Hill) driven a Way by them , in the manner as we blow away a
feather from our mouch.Of the fame oval creatures I never could
difeover any very little ones,how attentive foever I was to o b -
ferve them.
The 24 th6(May obferving thiswater againjl found in it the
oval little animals in a much greater abundance. And in the even­
ing o f the fame day, I perceived (o great a plenty o f the fame
oval ones, that ’tis not one only thoufand which . n „
I faw in one d ro p j and o f the very final! ones,fe-
veral thoufands in one d ro p *.
thor hath bunde f i r e d tt acquaint uswith his methtdof olfirving, that may fitc
varim as thefe.
The 25 th yI faw yet more oval creatures: And the
found fo vafta plenty of thofe oval creatures,that I believe,there
were more than 6 or 8000 in one drop >befides the abundance
of thofe very little animals, whofc number was yet far greater.
T h is,
( 8 3o )
r Thi$ water I tdbk from the very furfaceybut when I took up
any from beneath,! found thacnotfofullQfihem by far.O bferv-
ing^that thefe creatures did augment into vaft numbers, but not
being able to fee them increafe in bignefs,I began to think whe­
ther they might not in a moment, as ’twere,be compofed o r put
together: But this fpeculation I leave to others.
The z6tbo f Mayat night,! difcern’dalmoft none o f the Tit­
tle creatures, but faw feme wi th ray Is, o f which I have fpoken
heretofore,to have feen them in Rain-water: But there drove in
thew ater throughout auinfiuity of little particles,like very thin
Downloaded from https://royalsocietypublishing.org/ on 10 February 2022

hair,only with this difference, that fome o f them were bent.


The 2 jthIperceived none at all o f the little animals, but
gfeat number of the bigger. The 2 all forts o f thofe living
creatures in this peppery water were grown thinner. But the
3 0th,l faw very few livingcreatures in the water, and where I
now faw but one,lhad fome days ago feen a hundred. And by this
time the water was fo dryed away, that the p e p p e r began to lye
bare* And then I fill’d my Thea-difli with Snow-water again#
June1. the living creatures appear’d again in fo great abun­
dance,as I had ever feen before;but,as to thofe very finall ones,!
/ cannot fay that I faw them.Thofe 1faw,l could nowdifeern to be
furnifh’t with vefy thin legs,which was very pleafant fo behold,
The fame day I difeover’d a few of the very fmall creatures,
which were almoft 8 times as big as the finalleft o f all.Thefe had
fucha fwift motion through the others,that *.tis incredible.Thofe
bigger animals,that were about 8 times final ler than the eye of a
Loufe, were in no final ler number.
3<. Maythe 2 6*^,I took about ^of an ounce o f whole peppe
and having pounded it fmall , 1 put it into a Thea-cup with
2~-ounces of Rain? water upon it,ftirring it about, the better to
mingle the pepper with i t, and then differing the pepper to fall
to the bottom. After it had fo Rood an hour o r tw o,I took Tome
o f the water,before fpoken of, wherein the whole pepper lay,and
wherein were fo many feveral forts of little animals v alid mingi-
led.it with this water,wherein the pounded pepper bacl lain an
hour or two,and obfervedithati when there w asm uchof the w a­
ter of the pounded pepper,w ith tbatother,the faid animaltfoon
died, but when little, they remained alive,
Jm ez.m the morning,after.X h ad m de divers Obfervatipns
fince the 26tho£ i % , I ^ d r n c u d i J c ^ thing,3ut
faw
( 8 3 0
faw fome creatures, which tho they had the figures of little a-
nimals, yet could I perceive no life in them, how attentively
foever 1 beheld t hem.
The fame day at night, about 11 a clock, I difcover’d fome
few living creatures: But the 3^of I obferved many more
which were very fmall,biit 2 or 3 times as broad as long. This
water rofe in bubbles, like fermenting beer.
The 4 thofJune in the morning I faw great abundance of li­
ving creatures; and looking again in the afternoon o f the fame
day, I found great plenty of them* in one drop of that water,
Downloaded from https://royalsocietypublishing.org/ on 10 February 2022

which were no fefs than 8 or 10000,and they looked to my eye,


through theMicrofcope,as common fand doth to the naked eye.
On the I perceived, befides the many very fmall creatures,
I fome few (not above 8 or 10 in one d ro p ) of an oval figure,
whereof fome appear’d to be 7 or 8 times bigger than the reft.
The 6th,ht ofe animals were as beforejbut the 8 the oval a-
ijfmals were increafed in number, fwiming among the faid very
fmall creatures; and now they were all very near of one and the
fame bignefs.The 9 ^ , the oval creatures appear’d yet in greater
numbers,but the very fmall ones,in lefs number; and now, ufing
a particular method in obfervingj noted,that the feet, where with
the animals were furniflft, did plainly move, & that with an in­
credible fwiftnefsrAnd me thought,that now & then l faw,that
the globuls, o f which I laid that the greateft p art of their body
. was made up, were not perfectly round , but that every one o f
them had a prominent point. Thele creatures were, to my eye,
eight times fmaller than the eye of a Loufe.
ome new Obfervationsmade by . Caffini and deliver'd in the
Journal des Samnssoncerningthetm P lm ts aboutSaturn,
merly difcover d bythe fame,as appearsin N. tbefe Trails*
/^\Ne of thefe 2 Planets, which is diftant from the Center of
K^Jt Saturn10 diameters and a half of his Ring.maketh his re­
volution about Saturn in 80 days. He was difcover’d at the Pa*
rifian Obfervatory,^.i671 .about the end of and in the b e­
ginning of ovMishgreateft Occidental digrelfion, and after
N
many cloudy days he ceafed to appear, for a reafon which was
| then unknownjbut hath been difcover’d fince. For,after that ma­
ny revolutions of this ftnall Planet had been obferv’d, he was
found to have a period of apparent Augmentacion&Diminution,
by which period he becomes vifible in his greateft Occidental
-digrefllon,and invifible in his greateft eflfion.
It is certain, that this viciffitude o f Augmentation and D k
5 R minution*

You might also like