€h. vil south AMERICA. 67 



flames the glands of the «roin, and the pain contiaues, 

 without abatement, till the nigua is extraéied, that 

 being the only remedy ; after which, the fwelling fub- 

 fides, and t!ie pain ceafes, thofe glands correfponding 

 with the foot, where the caufc of the pain reííded. 

 The true caufe of this apparently ilrange efPeéí: I fhall 

 not undertake to inveftigat/; the general opinion is, 

 that fome fmall mufcles extending from thole glands 

 to the feet, being affected by tlie poifon of the bite, 

 communicate it to the glands, whence proceed the 

 pain and inflammation. All I can atiirm is, that I 

 have often experienced it, and at firft with no imall 

 concern ; till having freqnentlv ohferved, that thefe 

 effcils ceafed on exíraéling the nigua, I thence con- 

 cluded it to be the true caufc of the difordcr. The 

 fame thing h.appcned to all the French academicians, 

 who accompanied us in this expedition, and particu- 

 larly to jNJ. de Juiiieu, bot-aniil to the king of France, 

 whom frequent experience of ihefc kinds of accidents 

 taught to divide tiiefe infeéis into two kinds. 



As the preceding animals and infeéls chiefly exer- 

 cifc their malignant qualities on the human Ipecies, (o 

 there are others vv/hich damage and defiroy the furni- 

 ture of houfes, particularly all kinds of hangings, 

 whether of cloth, linen, iilk, gold or fllver ñufls, or 

 laces ; and indeed every thing, except thofe of folid 

 metal, where their voracity feems to be wearied out. by 

 the rcfiiiance. This infecí, called comegen, is no- 

 thing more than a kind of moth or maggot; but fo 

 expeditious in its depredations, that in A very fliort 

 time it entirely reduces to duft one or more bales of 

 merchanditc where it happens to fallen ; and, without 

 nltering the form, perforates it through and throughj 

 w'úh a fubtility which is not perceived till it comes to 

 be handled, and then, inflead of thick cloth or linen, 

 one finds only fmall fhreds and dull. At all times 

 the ftri6ieíl attention is requinté to prevent fuch acci- 

 dents, but chiefly at the arrival of the galleons ; for 



F 2 then 



