VOL. v.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 431 



anima, or power, which is able to produce flowers and fruits in living plants, 

 may be alike capable to breed worms in them; since that soul is so powerful, 

 as to cause plants to feed, to grow, and to produce seed, as it doth in animals. 

 For confirmation of which he observes, that both the generation of worms in 

 vegetables is always and constantly the same (not at all casual,) and that all 

 galls grow constantly in one determinate part of the branches, and always in 

 the new branches ; as also that those little galls, which grow on the leaves of 

 the oak holm, &c. do all grow constantly on the fibres or strings of those 

 leaves, not one of them being seen to grow on the smooth part betwixt two 

 strings : Farther, that there are found many leaves of other trees, on which 

 grow vesicles or small bags, or some wrinkled or swelled places full of worms, 

 springing forth with those leaves. Besides, that there is not one gall, but it 

 has its proper worm, and that each sort of galls has its peculiar and determinate 

 race of worms and flies, which never vary : where he takes notice of the singu- 

 lar art of nature both in forming the egg, which is found in the centre of galls, 

 and in preparing its place therein, furnishing it with many filaments, that pass 

 from the gall apple to the egg, as so many veins and arteries, serving for the 

 formation of the egg and worm, and for the nourishment requisite thereto. 

 To which he adds this observation, that there being certain sorts of galls, which 

 breed more worms at a time than one, nature has carefully provided and dis- 

 tinguished places for them, as she doth in those animals that are multiparous. 



Having established this ground against equivocal generation, he proceeds to 

 particulars, and refutes the opinion of those, that will have bees to be bred of 

 the putrefied flesh of bullocks; wasps of asses' or mules' flesh ; drones of horses; 

 scorpions of buried crawfishes, or the herb basilica, or dead scorpions ; toads of 

 ducks buried in dung ; mites of cheese, afiirming that none of these insects 

 have any such origin mentioned, but that all those substances have been first 

 blown upon by some fly or other. 



He intersperses through the whole book many curious and considerable 

 observations relating to this subject : as, that some flies are viviparous, others 

 oviparous only ; not denying, however, that the same flies may sometimes breed 

 live worms, sometimes lay eggs, according to the more or less heat of the sea- 

 son. 2. That human bodies breed worms, but not immediately, but by insects 

 blowing on them . 3 . That fruit and herbs, crude or boiled, kept closed up, 

 breed no vermin, but in an open place, do breed some. 4. That there are no 

 animals partly animated, partly yet earthy, nor animals half animated and half 

 wood. 5. That worms breed in the livers of sheep, and the heads of stags, 

 he having seen divers of them in both these kinds of animals, and esteeming 

 that the soul of the superior animal was able to breed those inferior animals. 



