Ce ee eS ee ee eee eee eh a ee 
MircrRoGRAPHta,’ 
or fkins, fuch as the Wings of Dragon-flys sin others, thofe:fkinsare-all; 
ovet-grown, or pretty thick beftuck, agit fhort brifles, as in Flefhetlies ; 
in others, thofe filmes are.covered, both on ithe upper and under fide, 
with {mall Feathers, Leah almoft like the: tyles on a: Houfe, ‘and: are 
curioufly ‘rang’d and \adorn’d’ with «moft lively{colours, as, is. ob+ 
fervable in Butter-flies, and feveral kinds of Moths; In others, inftead of 
their films, Nature has provided nothing, but 4 matter of half.a-feore 
pues Fwell remember the number; for I haveinot lately. met with any, 
of thele flys, anddid not,when I firftobferv'd thein;:take fafficient notice 
of divers particulars’) and each of thefeftalks,|-with afew fingle branch- 
_ ings on each fide, refembling: much the branched back-boneof a Herring 
or the like Fifh, or a thin hait’d Peacocks feather, the top or the eye 
being broken off. Witlvafew of thefé on either fide(which it was able to 
fhut up or expand at pleafure, much like a Fann, or rather like the po- 
fture’of the feathers in a wing, whichly. all-one under another; when 
fhut, and by the fide of eachother, when expanded) this pretty little 
_gtey Moth (for fuch was the creature I obferv'd, thus wing’d.) could ve- 
ry nimbly, and as it feem’d very ‘eafily move its corpu/cle , through the 
Air,from place to place.. Other Infeétshave their wings cas'd, or cover'd 
over, with certain hollow fhells, fhap'd almoft like thofe hollow Trayes, 
in which Butcherscarry meat, whofe hollow fides being turn’d down- 
wards, do not only fecure their folded wings from injury of the earth, 
in which nioft.of thofé creatures refide, but,qwhilft,they fly, ferves asa 
help to fuftain and bear them up. ~ And thefeare obfervablein Scarabe 
a i a multitude of other terreftrial cruftaceows Infe&ts 5 in which we may 
yet further-obferye a particular providence of Nature. . 
'. Now in all thefe’kinds of wings, we obferve this particular, as a thing 
moft worthy remark; that where ever a wing confifts of difcontinued 
parts, the Pores or i#terftitia between thofe parts are fe feldom, either 
much bigger,or much {maller, then thefe which we here find between the 
parts:of the Air are fuch, that they will not eafily or readily, if at all, pats 
through thefe Pores, fo that they feem to be ftrainers fine enough tohin 
der the particles of the Air (whether hinder'd by their bulk, or by their 
agitation, circulation, rotation or undulation , 1 {hall not heredetermine) 
from getting through them,and;by that means,ferve the Animal as well,if 
not better, then if they were little films. Ifay, if not better, becaufel 
have obferv’d that all thofe creatures, that have film’d wings, move them 
aboundantly quicker and more ftrongly,fuch as all kind of Flies and Sea- 
rabees and Batts, thenfuch ashave their wings covered. with feathers, as 
Butter-flies and Birds, or twiggs, as Moths, which have each of thema 
much flower motion of their wings; That littleruggednefs perhaps of 
their wings helping them fomewhat,by — better hold of the parts of 
the Air, or not fuffering them 0 eafily to pafs by, any other way then one. 
But what ever be he reas of it, ‘tis moft evident, that the fmooth 
wing'd Infeéts have the ftrongeft Mufclesor movent parts of their wings, 
and the other much weaker; and this very Infect, we are now na 
particles of 'thefe brufhes, {0 that it fhould feem to intimate, thatthe | 
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