EXPERIMENTS. 



199 



In anollier letter to the Royal Society, dated 

 May 31. 1678, Leeuwenhoek adds, ' Seminis 

 canini tantillum microfcopio applicatum iteruin 

 cbntemplatus Turn, in eoque antea dercripta 

 animalia numerofiilime confpexi. Aqua plu- 

 vialis pari quantitate adjeda, iifdem conlellini 

 monem accercit. Ejuidem feminis canini por- 

 tiuncula in vitreo tubulo unciae partem duo- 

 decimalein crailb fervata, iex et triginta hora- 

 rum ipatiocontenta animalia vita deftituta ple-= 

 raque, reliqua moribunda videbantur. 



' Quo de vaibrum in feniine genitali exiPten- 

 tia magls conftaret, delineationem aliqualem 

 niitto, ut in figura A B C D E [pi. Vi. %, 9.] 

 quibus Uteris circumfcriptum fpatium arenulam 

 niediocrem vix fuperat.' 

 I have tranlcribed thcfe pafTages from the Phi- 

 lofophical Tranladions, becauie they firft ap- 

 peared in that work, before Leeuwenhoek had 

 formed any theory ; and, therefore, they muft 

 be more agreeable to truth. Aher the ingenious 

 author had formed a fyftcm of generation, his 

 account of the fpermatic animah varies, even in 

 eflential articles *. 



In the firll place, what he fays concerning the 

 number of thef'e pretended animalcules is true ; 

 but the figure of their bodies corrcfponds not 

 ailvvays to his defcriptibn. Sometimes the end 



next 



^ Here the uuthor attempts a fuimal proof timt Leeuwcn- 

 hock invented tlie fiiigle microfco])e, and difcovered the evid- 

 ence of fpermatic animals, before llartfoelccr, which intevriipts 

 the argument, is nowife interefting to the reader, and therefore 

 I Jiave here omitted it ia the tranllation* 



