IX 



O^NllTHOLOgr. Book I. 



* Traftatu de 

 Ovo. 



* The 'Em- 

 tryon bird. 



when the Chicken is now ptrfeB and confummate, and part of it a long time after its exclu- 

 sion: for even after fix weeks we have feen fomewhat of it remaining in the belly of the Chicken 

 flicking to the guts. 

 Sthe cL- Whereas we faid the feet us is formed of the White, by White we do not mean any 

 trieuia before part of the White indifferently, but the purer and more lucid part, contained in the 

 aation. little bubble or bladder, called the Cicatricula, in which the Chick is originally 

 formed. Yea, the defervedly famous, and moft fagacious fearcher out of the fecrets 

 of Nature, * Marcellus Malpighius,haxh obferved the firft ftrokes or rude draught of 

 the Embryon in the Cicatricula, even before incubation, as the young plant in the Seed, 

 which is the Egg of the Plant. And which is yet more, he hath obferved even in 

 fubventaneous Eggs fomething in the Cicatricula like to a Mola or falfe Conception. 

 Dr. Harvey feems not to be conftantip his opinion about the formation and nutrition 

 of the Chicken in the Egg. For in fome places he afferts, that it is both originally 

 formed of, and alfo nourifhed by both liquors, I mean, the Yolk and White 5 as for 

 example,inthe 36. Exer 'citation, where he hath thefe words : Indeed from the courfe of 

 the umbilical veins, and the difiributien of their branches, which without doubt ferve for 

 drawing in nourijhment, it doth manifestly appear, that the conftitutive matter and nou- 

 rishment of theEmbry on- chicken is fupplied as well from theTolJ^ as from the White, and 

 that liquor called by us the Colliquamentum feems to be made up no left of the Tolk^ihan 

 the White : for fomething of both humours doth melt or dijfolve into that liquor. More- 

 over, the fpeckput of which dilated the Colliquamentum isfirfimade, and which is called 

 by us the eye of the Egg, is imprejfed on, or flicks to the Tunicle of the Tolk; Elfewhere 

 he affirms that the Chicken is firft nouriflied by the liquor of the Colliquamentum, than 

 by that of the thinner White, afterward that of the thicker, and laft of all of the 

 Yolk. Exercit.21. After the tenth day the greateji part of the White is fpent upon the 

 Colliquamentum, and thence upon the * foetus, to wit, the whole thin White, and the 

 greater part of the thicker. But the Tolk^ appears larger than it was at firft. Whence it is 

 evident, that the Tolkjdoth not as yet ferve for nutrition, but is afterwards depittd to that 

 office. And as far as I could gather from the progrefs £du£l:u ^ and diftribution of the 

 veins, the foetus from the very beginning is nourifhed by the Colliquamentum, for that the 

 veins are at firft dijfeminated in that only, then ffread into the membrane of the thinner 

 White, and afterward into the thicker White and the Tolk. 

 Aiiimak "bred AU Animals come of Eggs, as well thofe called viviparous as oviparous : For the f e- 

 of Eggs. males of the viviparous have Eggs within them, though they do not bring them forth. 

 The fuppofed To wit, thofe two bodies, commonly called female tefticles, are nothing elfe (as we 

 Tefticiesof f a id before) but knots or mafles of very (mall Eggs, as will manifeftly appear to 

 any one that (hall diffect. them§ fo that we cannot but wonder that a thing fo plain 

 and evident fhould fo long efcape the obfervation of the curious and inquifitive eyes 

 of ancient and modern Anatomifts. This difference there is between the Eggs of ovi- 

 parous and viviparous Animals ( underftand it of terreftrial) that thefe feem to con- 

 fift of one liquor, viz,, the White only, whereas thofe contain two or three feveral 

 ones. Yea, if we confider the matter more exactly, we (hall I think find, that the 

 Seeds or Eggs of viviparous Creatures do indeed anfwer to the CicatricuU of Eggs, 

 in which from the beginning the young \_fcetus ~] is included. For the Yolk (as we 

 (aid) is given to birds inftead of milk.* and the Egg of a viviparous Creature im- 

 bibes out of the womb a liquor Analogous to the White of Eggs. For the Egg after 

 coitionbeing made fecund, falls down into the womb, in like manner as the ripe fruit 

 or, Seed falls from the tree or herb upon the earth, and there femblably imbibes the 

 humour, wherewith the enclofed^taf is nourifhed. Then after a certain (pace of 

 time it faftens it felf to the womb, and after the manner of Seed fallen upon the 

 ground, doth as it were ftrike root into it. 



The * Incubation of oviparous Creatures is equivalent to the \geftation o£ viviparous, 

 for in both the Eggs arealike kept warm,in this inwardly in the womb,in that outward- 

 ly under the wings, to the time of birth or exclufion 5 when the young being now 

 ^rown great, and defiring the free air, breaks the involving Teguments, and comes 

 forth into the light. Now an Egg is not unfitly called an expofedwomb, for that it doth 

 after th£ fame manner adminifter nourifhment to the fostus in oviparous Animals, as 

 the womb doth in viviparous. 



As other Creatures, fo it is not to be doubted but Birds alfo of divers kinds do 



Females are 

 mafles of 



Eggs. 



* Sitting upon 



Eggs- 



f Gntegwitb 



jOWg. 



Incubation 

 anfwer s to 

 Geftation. 



Spurious 



anomalous fbmetimes couple together, and mingle their Seed, from whence proceedsa third and 



mixtures. fpurious produ&ion, which partakes of both kinds •, which yet I fuppofe doth not 



generate its like : For otherwife the number of Species in Birds would have been ere 



now 



