Royal Society. 477 
velTels received two or three particles inabreaft; the fame 
vcflels now ftrerched out with the tail-fin which they run 
a-crofs, did not only admit no more than one particle, but like- 
wife thefe particles did not move fo fall as in the veflels when 
not extended 5 and in fbme places thefe particles were at fuch 
a diftance, that one or two more might lie in the intervals j in 
this obfervation he could not find that the particles were per- 
fe6lly oval, but met with them fometimes round, and fome- 
times of a fhapelefs figure 5 the cccafion of which, M. Lee- 
'wenhoeck takes to be this $ the little veflels being ftrerched to 
an unufual length, become narrower and conlequently the par- 
ticles contained therein being very pliant, are prefTed and 
fqueezed out of their circular form 5 for further fatisfadlion, 
he cut off a piece of the tail from leveral little butts, in order 
to view the blood out of the veiTels, not being fatisfied that 
the particles in the blood of fifhes were naturally oval, but 
that in their perfeiSl ftate they came nearer to a round than an 
oval form 5 proceeding upon this pofition, that the particles o£ 
the blood of fifhes confift of fix fmall globular bodies as well 
as thofe of men and other animals 5 having obferved feveral 
particles broken into four, five and fome into fix pieces; and 
what was very remarkable was, that particles, which were 
oval, and of other figures became roundifh, and at lall per- 
fectly round ; to trace the matter further, he took the blood 
running from a lire falmon, when cut in pieces, and put it 
into a glafs-tube no larger than a fmall quill; in a fhorc time 
the blood in the tube congealed, but when it become partly- 
fluid again, he put it into a fmaller glafs-tube, and having 
placed it before his eye, the particles being in motion, fome 
of them appeared of a flat oval figure, and others, which 
prefented themfelves to the eye fide-ways, feemed a little 
thick, and thofe whofe fide did not direflly face the eye., 
feemed a little broader, without the lead appearance of any 
globular form; the blood of a falmon appears blackifh, by 
realbn of a greater number than ordinary of red particles ^ 
M. Lee-wenhoeck put fome of the fame blood upon a very clean 
glafs, and where the particles lay thin, he perceived them 
oval, nay in feveral ovals he defcricd globules, and in fome ^e^-^ 
fix globules ; where thefe little globular bodies were crowded 
upon one another, the particles of the blood were congealed 
together, lo that no ovals could be difcerned; nay, the par- 
ticles feemed to be huddled up together, fo as that fix of fhcni 
had made a compound body: M. Lecivenhoeck^'cnxms, that he 
has 
