( 117 ) 



internal filaments or membranes, to inclofe them ; but becaufe I 

 very rarely had a fight of this appearance, I cannot fay much re- 

 fpeding it. Thefe lifliyTibres are of very different fizes, fo that I 

 have feen fome four times as large as others ; and in one half the 

 circumference of fuch a fifliy Fibre, I was well aflured, I could 

 count almofl an hundred filaments ; and fome of thefe fila- 

 ments appeared to my eyes to be divided in their longitudinal po- 

 rtion ; as is in fome manner reprefented between K and L ; fo that 

 in the circumference of one fifliy Fibre there were two hundred 

 filaments. And becaufe this number is great, even to admiration, 

 I cannot omit to make a computation of it. 



To find the contents of a circle from its 

 "" " known circumference, the rule of Archime- 



des is, as 88 is to 7, fo is the fquare of the 

 40,000 circumference of the circle to its contents. 



And, following this rule, we fhall find the 



88 )-280,OQO (3,i8i contents to be 3,181 filaments in a fingle 

 fifliy Fibre. 



Now, who can in imagination conceive fuch an incomprehen- 

 iible number of filaments in one of thofe Fibres compofing the 

 fubflance of a fifli ? And who can tell whether each one of thefe 

 filaments may not be inclofed in its proper membrane, and contain 

 within it an incredible number of Hill fmaller filaments ? 



I have alfo examined the formation of the Fibres, as well in the 

 bodies as in the claws of crabs, and I found them like thofe in 

 the cod-fifh, compofed of many fmaller filaments, and with the 

 like folds or wrinkles as I before noted. Afterwards I examined 

 the Fibres of a flirimp, and found their formation to be fimilar. 



Upon diflecting the hind leg of a frog, I found that the flclli 

 of it was, in like manner, compofed of threads or Fibres, which 

 Fibres being divided afunder, I perceived that each of them was 

 compofed of a great number of fmall filaments. But becaufe the 

 circular folds or wrinkles in each of thefe Fibres were larger than 



