84. The Statural Hi/lory 



oftentimes more, and not unfrequently irradiating all manner of 

 ways into the form of a Globe, thcfeveral Selenites, likefo many 

 radii-, all pointing to the center, as is plainly reprefented by one 

 half of fuch a globe of them, in Tab. 2. Fig. 1 . c. 



12. ,The texture of thefe is fomthing agreeable, and fomthing 

 different from the Rhomboideal Selenites, for they all cleave in a 

 planum to the flatteft fides, and feem to confift of fmall threds 

 like them ; but fome have the threds running obliquely to the 

 whole fquare, as in the lower part of Fig. 1 .d. others have them 

 meeting in the middle of the flat in an obtufe angle, as in the up- 

 per part of the fame Figure. 



13. The meeting of which threds f6 in an obtufe angle, I 

 thought at firft might have very well occafioned that reprefenta- 

 tion of the gramen fegetum panicula tyarfa, fair panicled corn or 

 bent-grafs, to be feen in moft, if not all of this kind (which like 

 z fly ox ftidcr in amber') feem to be included at each end of them, 

 with the panicles turned contrary to each other : But I quickly 

 found my felf miftaken, by flitting of feveral, whereby I dif- 

 covered , that the threds fomtimes ran quite contrary to the 

 fprezd'mgpanicles of the corn or ben t-grafs (fo very well coun- 

 terfeited in many of them) and therefore not likely to give that 

 form : And that the thing it felf was nothing but clay, thus pre- 

 tily difperfed in the form of a bent ; which befide the pleafure 

 of the furprizal, gave me another argument againft Steno^s opini- 

 on, That Selenites 1 .r were all hardened, when their beds they now 

 lie in were nothing but fluids : for it cannot well be conceived 

 how the clay fhould any way get to be within them, had it not 

 had a being before thefelenites, and thus included at the time of 

 their formation. 



14. Of 'formed flones, though there are few that have any, yet 

 fome there are of eminent ufe, and fuch is our felenites or fpecular 

 Jlone ; good taken inwardly for many diftempers, number 'd up 



by Cerutu* 7 , Aldrovandut* and Galen 3 ; and externally to take 

 away the blemijhes of the face. In ancient times, before the ir^- 

 vention of glafs, it was of very great ufe for Lanterns and Win- 

 dows, it being eafily flit into very thin plates, yet loofmg nothing 

 thereby of its diaphaneity. Of this fays Agricola b , are the 



J InMufeoCaletolariQyfeEl.i. * Lib-$. cap.y y Muf.Mttal. a Vt Slthp. Med. fault. My. * DtNa- 

 turn FoJJilium. Hi, 5. 



Church- 



