753 



A HISTORY OF 



CHAPTER CLXXIII. 



OF THE WOOD-LOUSE, AND ITS VARIETIES. 



THE common wood-louse is seldom above 

 half an inch long, and a quarter of an inch 

 broad. The colour is of a livid black, 

 especially when found about dunghills, and 

 on the ground ; but those that are to be met 

 with under tiles, and in drier places, are of 

 the colour of the hair of an ass. It has four- 

 l:?en feet, seven on each side; and they have 

 only one joint each, which is scarcely per- 

 ceivable. It has two short feelers, and the 

 body is of an oval shape. When it is touch- 

 ed, it rolls itself up into a sort of a ball; and 

 the sides near the feet are dentated like a 

 s nv. It is often found among rotten timber, 

 and on decayed trees ; in winter it lies hid 

 in the crevices of walls and al 1 sort* of build- 



ings. 



The male is easily distinguishable from 

 the female, being less and more slender. 

 The eggs they lay are white and shining, like 

 seed pearls, and are very numerous : how- 

 ever, more properly speaking, although, when 

 excluded, the young have all the appearance 

 of an egg, yet they are alive, arid without 

 throwing off any shell, stir and move about 

 with great vivacity ; so that this animal may 

 properly be said to be viviparous. The lit- 

 tle worms at first seem scarce able to stir; 

 but they soon feed, and become very brisk. 

 These animals are of great use in medicine : 

 being impregnated with a saline quality, 

 which is diuretic and stimulating. Of this 

 insect, Linnaeus makes three species. 



CHAPTER CLXXIV. 



OF THE MONOCULUS; OR, ABORESCENT WATER-FLEA. 



THIS animal, which is of the size of a flea, 

 appears to the sight, unassisted by the mi- 

 croscope, to have but one eye ; for the eyes, 

 by reason of the smallness of the head, seem 

 to be joined to each other: they are situated 

 in the trunk of this insect, and the beak is 

 likewise very small and sharp-pointed. The 

 structure of the eye is seen, by the micro- 

 scope, to be reticulated, or made like a net ; 

 and the trunk of this insect, by which it feeds, 

 is not only small and sharp, but also transpa- 

 rent. The insects are of a blood-red colour; 

 and sometimes are seen in such multitudes 

 on the surface of standing water, as to make 

 them appear all over red, whence many fan- 

 ciful people have thought the water to be 

 turned into blood. 



Swammerdam tells us of a celebrated pro- 

 fessor of Leyden, who was at first astonished 



by an appearance of this kind. Being once 

 intent upon his studies, he heard a noise, of 

 which, as it increased by degrees, he was de- 

 sirous to know the cause. The maid-ser- 

 vant attending to his summons, appeared 

 quite petrified with fear, and told him with a 

 tremulous voice, that all the waters of Ley- 

 den were turned into blood ! Upon this he 

 went directly, in a small bark, to the place 

 where the water was thus changed, arid put 

 some of the bloody water into a glass ; but 

 upon viewing it with attention, he observed, 

 that it abounded with infinite numbers of 

 these little red insects, which tinged the 

 whole body of the fluid with that seemingly 

 formidable colour. Thus his sudden fright 

 was changed into lasting admiration. 



Of all parts of this animal, its branching 

 arms, and the motion it makes with them in 



