Royal Society. 173 
tinned animals; he found that the point of a pin, dipped in fpit- 
tle, would prefently kill them all. In fome mineral chalybeate 
water, which had llood in a phial unftopt for about three weeks^ 
he obferved two fpecies of animals; one exceeding Imall, and the 
other very large ; which latter Ibrt had on the tail Ibmething like 
fins; there were but very few of the other fort. The com- 
pounded fait, or vitriol, of the water was fhot into pretty figures, 
but all irregular; they looked all like a fmall heap of little 
Hicks, laid a-crofs each other at all angles and politions ; only 
they were tranfparcnt, and a little greenilli, as cryftals of a chaly- 
beate nature ufe to be. He infufed whole pepper-corns, bay- 
berries, oats, barley and wheat in water, whole fcum, after two 
or three days, afforded animals, as had been already found by 
others, at leaft as to fbme of them ; but he found the greateft 
numbers and variety in wheat and barley-water, and the feweft in 
that wherein bay-berries had been fteeped. 
How fuch vafl numbers of animals can be thus, as it were at 
pleafure, produced, without having recourfe to equivocal gene- 
ration, feems a very great difficulty to account for; but tho' the 
folving of it that way makes fliort work of the matter (for it is 
eafy enough to fay they are bred there by putrefa6tion ) yet the 
afTerting equivocal generation, feems to Mr. Harris to imply 
more abfurdities and difficulties than perhaps may appear at firA 
fight ; he wifl:ied therefore, that this matter would imploy the 
thoughts of fome ingenious and inquificfve men ; in the mean 
time he conjedurcd, that thefe Animakiila may be produced by 
one or both of the following ways. 
1. Mr. Harris was of opinion, that the eggs of fome exceed- 
ing fmall mlcdts, which are very numerous, may have been laid 
or lodged in the ^liC(je or Rugae of the coats of the grain, by 
Ibme Ipecics of infects that inhabit thofe feeds, as their proper 
abodes ; for that infers of the larger kind do frequently thus 
depofite their eggs on the flowers and leaves of plants, is often 
experienced ; and it is very probable, that the fmaller, or micro- 
fcopical infects do the fame ; now thefe being wafhed out of the 
leeds by their immerfion in water, may rife to the furface, and 
there be hatched into thoie animals, which we fee fo plentifully 
to abound therein. 
2. Or the furface of the water may detain the ftraggling eggs 
of fome microfcopical infeds, that perhaps were floating in the air; 
and being lirted and prepared for this purpole, by the infufion of 
proper grain, or a proportionable degree of heat, may compofe 
16 proper a J<iidus for them, that they may by the warmth of the 
fun 
