MricrRoGRAPHIA. 
~ Obferv. x LIX, Of an Ant or Pifmire. 
His was a creature, more troublefom to be drawn, then any of the 
reft, for I could not, for a good while, think of a wayto makeit 
fufer its body to ly quiet ina natural pofture; but whil'ft it wasalive, 
if its feet were fetter'd in Wax or Glew , it would fo twit and wind.its 
body, that I could not any wayes get a good view of it; andif I killed 
it, its body was folittle, that I did often fpoile the thape-of it, before I 
could throughly view it: for thisis the nature of shite minute Bodies , 
that as {oon,almoft, as ever their life is deftroy’d, their parts immediate- 
ly fhrivel, and tofe their beauty 5 and {0 is it alfo with {mall Plants, as I 
_ inftanced before, in the defcription of Mofs. And thence alfo is the rea- 
fon. of the variations inthe beards of wild Oats, and in thofe of /Mutk- 
grafs feed, that their bodies, being exceeding fmall, thofe {mall variations 
which are made in the furfaces of all bodies, almoft upon every change 
of Air, efpecially if the body be porous, do here become fenfible, where 
the whole body is fo finall, that it is almoft nothing but furface; for asin 
vegetable fubftances, I fee no great reafon to think, that the moifture of 
the Aire(that, fticking to a wreath’d beard, does make it untwift ihould 
evaporate, or exhaleaway, any fafterthenthe moifture of other bodies, 
but rather that the avolation Con or accefs of moifture to, the furfaces 
of bodies being much the fame , thofe bodies become moft fenfible of it, 
which have the leaft proportion of body to their furface. So isit alfo 
with Animal fubftances’; the dead body of an Ant, or fuch little creature, 
does almoft inftantly fhrivel and dry, and your obje& hall be quite an- 
_ other thing, before you can half delineate it, which proceeds not from the 
extraordinary exhalation, but from the {mall proportion of body and jui- 
ces, to the ufual drying of bodies in the Air, efpecially if warm. « For 
which inconvenience, where I could not otherwife remove it, I thought 
of this expedient. lee 
‘I took the creature, [had defign’d to delineate, and put it into a drop 
of very well rectified {pirit of Wine,thisI found would prefently difpatch, 
as it Were, the Animal, and being taken out of it, and Jay'd ona paper, 
the fpirit of Wine would immediately fly away, and leavethe Animal 
dry, in its natural pofture, or at leaft, in a conftitution, that it might eafi- 
ly witha pin be plac’d, in what pofture you defired to drawit, and the 
limbs would fo remain, without either moving, or fhriveling. And thus I 
dealt with this Ant, which Ihave here delineated, which wasone of ma- 
ny, of a very large kind, that inhabited under the Roots of a Tree, from 
whence they would fally out in great parties, and make moft grievous 
~ havock of the Flowers and Fruits, inthe ambient Garden, return 
back again very expertly, by the fame wayes and paths they went. 
It was more then half the bignefs of an Earwig, of a dark brown, or. 
reddifh colour, with long legs, onthe hinder of which it would ftand 
, Ee2 up, 
es 
203 
