OCR Text |
Show 10 Additional Notes. II. Those that have E.rternal Organ, . * Naked, or not enclosed in }, Cercaria: Caurlatum. 'Vith a tail. ~. Trichoda: Crin itum. llai:ry. ~. Kerona : Corniculatum. With horns. 4. Himantopus: Cirratum. Cirrated. s. Leucophra: Cilia tum undique. Every part ciliated. 6. Vorticella: Ciliatum a pice. The apex ciliated. * Covered with a shell. 7·. Brachionus: Cilia tum apice. The apex ciliated. 1. These animalcules are discovered in two or three days in all decompositions of organic matter, whether vegetable or animal, in moderate degrees of warmth with sufficient moisture. 2. They appear to enlarge in a few days, and some to change their form; which are probably conver.ted from more simple into more complicate animalcules by repeated reproductions. See Note VIII. 3. In their early state they seem to multiply by viviparous solitary reproduction, either by external division, as the smaller ones, or by an internal progeny, as the eels in paste or vinegar; and lastly, in their more mature state, the larger ones are said to appear to have sexual connexion. Engl. Encyclop. 4. Those animalcules discovered in pustules of the itch, in the feces of dysenteric patients, and in semine masculino, I suppose to be produced by the stagnation and incipient decomposition of those materials in their receptacles, and not to exist in the living blood or recent secretions; as none, I believe, have been discovered in blood when first drawn from the arm, or in fluids newly secreted from the glands, which have not previously stq.gnated in their reservoirs. 5. They are observed to move in all directions with ease and rapidity, and to avoid obstacles, and not to interfere with eac.h other ill their motions. When the water i& in part evaporated, they are seen to flock towards the remaining part, and show great agitation. They sustain a great degree of cold1 as some insects, and perish in much the ~..')pontaneous Vitality of Mic>·oscopic Animals. 11 8am~ ~egree. of heat as destroys insects; all which evince h are hvmg ammals. t at they An~ it is p~obable, that other or similar animalcules may be pro-duced In the au·, or near the surface of the earth but 't · t to · tl · ' I IS no so easy VIew 1em as m water; which as it is transparent the t Prod c d · ·t .1 b · ' crea ures u e m I can ea.st y e observed by applying a drop to a micro-s~ ope. I h~pe that microscopic researches may again excite the attentiOI~ of philosophers, as unforeseen advantao·es may probabl 1 den vecl from them, like the discovery of a ne: world. y Jc |