( 165 ) 



which the human blood, when received into the Loufe, is incef- 

 fantly driven to and fro both in the ftomach and inteftlnes, to pre- 

 vent its coagulating", which would be fatal to the animal. 



In my experiments and obfervations on this creature, although 

 I had, at feveral times, had a number of them on my hand drawing 

 the blood, yet I very rarely felt any pain from their punctures, 

 which is not to be wondered at when we conlider the exceffive 

 llendernefs of the piercer I have been defcribing ; for, upon comr 

 paring this with a hair taken from the back of my hand, I judged, 

 from the moft accurate computation I could form by the microf- 

 cope, that the hair was feven hundred times the lize of this incre- 

 dibly flender piercer, which, confequently, by its punctures, mull ex- 

 cite little or no pain, unlefs it happens to touch a nerve. Hence I 

 have been induced to think, that the pain or uneafinefs thofe per- 

 fons fuffer who are infelied by thefe creatures, is not fo much pro- 

 duced from the piercer, as from a real fling which the male Loufe 

 cai'ries in the hind part of its body. 



Fig. 4, BCD, reprefents part of this rting, fo far as it is pro- 

 truded out of the animal's body, and thus far it is of a hard fub' 

 Itance and a yellowifh colour like the claw s : in it may be feen a 

 kind of groove or cavity, which palTes through the whole fting, and 

 feems as if it were defigned to convey fonie liquor to the extremity 

 when the animal makes ufe of it, though I never did adlually ob- 

 ferve any fuch liquor. In this figure the fling is drawn with the 

 cavity fronting the eye, in which pofition it appears quite llraight. 

 Fig. 5, E F G, is the fame part of the lling viewed fideways, in 

 which pofition it appears to be of a curved fhape, and thus far it 

 was bare of any mufcular parts : the lower part G H I E, in its na- 

 tural Hate, is covered with mufcular and flelhy parts, which, being 

 cleared away, there only remains to be leen m the figure, the hard 

 or horny part of the lling, which gives it llrength and firmnefs. 



This lling is tlie Loufe' s weapon of offence, and which it ufes 

 when preffed by the clothes or otherwife dillurbed ; for I have ob- 



