( SOJ ) 



dead flying infedl, of the fame fpecies witli tliore, many of which 

 1 have mentioned to liave found in the Nutmeg. Upon breaking 

 open one of thefe nuts, I faw, tliat all the internal vvhitifli fub- 

 flance of it, where there had been little of the oil, was eaten away, 

 and nothing left in the cavity except the excrements of the maggot, 

 and the web it had fpun while in that place ; but, as I did not find any 

 (kin or remnant of an aurelia, I judged that the maggot, not finding 

 a fufficient quantity of iull:enance in this nut, had quitted it before it 

 arrived at its full growth. On this occafion, I could not but admire 

 theinftinft which teaches thefe infefts to perforate the hard Ihell of 

 the Nutmegs, and for that purpofe, to find out that part in it which 

 is fofter than the reft ; for tliis I found to be the cafe not merely in 

 one or two inftances, but in as many as ten Nutmegs, I obferved the 

 fame. 



Fig. 17, L MN, reprefents the Nutmeg inclofed in its fhell, and 

 covered with the leaves of Mace, but which coverings are, in India 

 Itripped off while frefli and green. All thefe receive their growth 

 and increafe through the part between L and M, which is the place 

 where the nut adjoins to the tree ; and I at firft thought, that the 

 Nutmeg was nourilhed from its fliell or bark, as I had obferved w^as 

 the cafe with the walnut ; but upon a more careful inveftigation, 

 and after cutting open the fliell with a fine faw, I found, that I had 

 been miftaken herein, for I could not difcover any thing at the part 

 marked L M, which had the appearance of having tranfmitted 

 nourifliment to the fruit. I foon, however, perceived two places 

 adjoining to each other, one, as I concluded, for the nouriflnnent of 

 the bark, and the other of the nut itfelf ; and, on further fearching, 

 I law, that the veflels deftined for this purpofe, did not immediately 

 enter the nut at that point, as I had obferved in filberts, almonds, 

 and other feeds, but that the veflels in this nut take a courfe from 

 M 'n-\fg. 17 to the point of the nut at N, and there pals through the 



Pp2 



