Immerjion tn Fermented Liquors fatal t9 Infe/tj. geq 



nooko is detained, and allowed to fettle near its mouths, by the oppofite iflands of Tri- 

 nidad, and ftill more by the mountains on the main, which are only feparated from that 

 ifland by the Bocos del Drago. The coaft of Guiana has remained as it were the great 

 eddy or refling-place for the wafhings of great part of South America for ages ; and its 

 own comparatively fmall dreams have but modified here and there the grand depofit. 



W. LOCHPIEAD. 



VI. 



On the fuppofed Revival of Infers after long Immerfion in Wine or ether intoxicating Li' 



quor. By Mr. John Govgh. 



Tc 



To Mr. NICHOLSON. 



SIR. Kendal, Oft. 7, i79«. 



O attack the opinions of any man is a difagreeable tafk,, efpecially if fuch opinions. 

 have been favoured by perfons of the firft reputation in their refpedlive purfuits. The 

 force of the preceding refle£lion has embarraflcd me not a little in my prefent attempt,, 

 which prefumcs to controvert a notion relative to the nature of infefts, fupported by the 

 authority of Dr. Franklin. This acute and induftrious philofopher maintains, that flies 

 drowned in wine will revive, days, or even months, after their immerfion,^ upon being ex~ 

 pofed again to the air and fun. The Dodlor does not profefs himfelf to be the author of the 

 opinion, but fuppofes he faw it confirmed by an incident which he witnelTed in London,. 

 where difcovering two flies in a veflel that was employed to decant a bottle of iMadeira. 

 wine that had been brought from Maryland, and concluding, perhaps too haftily, tliat the 

 flies were imported from America in the bottle, he expofed them to the fun : one of the: 

 two revived in a little time, and flew away ; but the other could not be reftored to life by? 

 this artlefs method of refufcitation. After ftating the fa£l, the DoiTtor proceeds to ea- 

 tertain his readers, according to his cuftom, with fome lively refleftions, which would; 

 have been not lefs important than they are amufing, had the premifes been well founded j, 

 but I am perfuaded that a more careful repetition of the experiment would have determinedt 

 this ingenious obferver to relinquifti a notion which his high name has made current withi 

 the phyfiologiftsof the prefent day. 



In order to obtain that information and certainty refpcfling the fubje£l which cannot 

 be had from cafual obfervations, I have repeated the experiment on a number of infefts, 

 drowned for the purpofe in wine and other intoxicating, liq^uors ; an account of which, 

 trials is related in the fequel of this letter. 



Experiment I. Two large blue flelh flies {mufca vomitoria), which had been immerfed 

 in a phial of red wine, with a view to this experiment, on the 12th of July 1793, wer& 

 expofed again to the fun and air, on a piece of black filk, in a window, on the 20th of 

 Auguft the year following. In this fituation they remained two days without Ihewing 

 any figns of returning life ; on the contrary, they were found dry and fhrivelled, though, 

 their bodies appeared plump and in high prefervation when taken out of the bottle.. 



Experiment 2. 1 repeated the preceding experiment on a number of flies, making ufe- 

 of Madeira and otbcic kinds of wine, as well as brandy and beer j the time of iramerfioa 



