( 77 ) 



Upon examining that part of the Mufcle which is called the beard, 

 I not only found it of a wonderful make, but the motion I law in the 

 fmall component parts of it was fo incredibly great, that I could not 

 be fatisfied with the fpedtacle ; and it is not in the mind of man to 

 conceive all the motions which L beheld within the compafs of a grain 

 of fand. 



When I obferved the large and ftrong tendons or hnews in the 

 Mufcle, which are fixed to the fhell, and thofe which lie in the fame 

 order and pofition as the ribs in a terreflrial animal, I thought that 

 we cannot fufficiently admire the wonderful make of this fi(h ; and 

 that if we could obtain an infight into all thoie parts which we fee 

 in one of them, and could we aflign their feveral ufes, and give them 

 names, and alfo make drawings of them, I doubt not that we fhould 

 admire fo elaborate and curious a work, beyond many others of 

 nature's produ6tions ; and that thofe perfons who now afl'ert tliat 

 fliell-filhes (among wliich the Mufcle is in leaft eflimation) arc pro- 

 duced fpontaneoufly, or of thcmfelves, would renounce their opi- 

 nions, and embrace the truth, namely, that fo perfe<5l a creature can- 

 not be produced from corruption, cojigealed water, or mud, but can 

 ©nly be generated by parents of its own fpecies. 



I obferved that every Mufcle was provided with a kind of firing 

 or ligament, which, at a little diflance from the fifli, was divided 

 into 8, ID, 12, 15, and even 20 other hgaments of different lengths ; 

 and with thefe ligaments, I obferved, that the Mufcles faftened thcm- 

 felves to other Mufcles, and alio to pieces of Udells, and to fliell-filli 

 of other fpecies. 



I was defirous to know how this faftening was efFedled, and 

 which I immediately difcovered ; for I favv, to my great furprife, 

 that the extremity of every ligament was provided with a thin flat 

 mciTrbrane or fkin, of a roundiili fhape, which was as firmly fixed to^ 



