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them at the the time lately mentioned, i opened the Glafs,. whereupon 
the Air ruflied in ^ but no fign of Life appeared for a great while in any 
of thQ Ants : but looking upon them this morning about 9 a Clocks I 
found many of them alive and moving to and fro. 
It is faidiy Naturalifts upon the Authority of Ariflotlc,^to the Animal^ the 
Greeks call ««^e*,^ the minutefi of Living Creatures. But thofe of this fort heino- 
very haird^ if at dl^to he met with here^ I thought fit to make fome Experiments 
upon the leafi of the Terreftrial Animals I could procure^ and try, -whether or no 
Mites themfelves^which are reputed hut Living Points , and not to he taken no^ 
t'ce ofhy the naked Eye to he living ^hut hy motions yfhich even an attentive one can 
fcarce difcover^fiandin need of the Air efpecially hecaufe^ in cafe they do ^ u 
may fuggefl to hs fome odd Re flexions upon the ft range fuhtlety and minutenefs of 
the Aerial particles ^whieh muft he capahle of flowing in and paffing out at the in- 
vijihle and almoft in-imaginahlefnall pores and other cavities of the parts of an 
Animal ^vphofe entire hody is reputed hut a Phyfical point. 
We conveyed then a pretty number of ^/>(fj,togcther with the moul- 
dy Cheefe^they were bred in to nourilh them, into 3 or 4 Portable Re- 
ceivers ("which were all of them very fmalj J not much differing in lize. 
From all of thefe,fave one, we withcfrew the Air ^ and then, making ufe 
of our peculiar contrivance to hinder its returnjWe took them one after 
another from the Engin, and laid them by,for further obfervation. That 
one^ which I took notice that we had refer ved, and in which, to obferve 
the difFerence,we thought fit to leave the Air,wasfealed at a Lamp-fur- 
nace after the ufual manner of nipping up Glalles there. This dune,there 
remained nothing but to obferve the Event of our Tryals, which affor- 
ded us the enfuing Fhosnomena ; 
1. Thofe Mites, that were inclofed in the fmall Glafs that never came 
near the Engin, continued alive and able to walk up and down for above 
a full weekjafter they had been put in, and poiiibiy would have continu- 
ed much longer, if the Glafshad not been accidentally broken, 
2. As foon as ever one of the Receivers was removed from the En- 
gin, I looked with great attention upon it •, and though juft before the 
withdrawing of the Air the Mites were feen to move up and down in 
it ^ yet within a few minutes after the Receiver was appLyed to the En- 
gin, I could difcern in them no Life at all, nor was any perceived by 
fome younger Eyes then mine, whereunto I expofed them. Nay by the 
help of a double Convex-glafsCthat was fo fet in a frame as to ferve me 
as a Microfcope on fuch occalions) I was not able to fee any of them flir 
up and down. Nor was any motion taken notice of in the other fmall 
Receiver of likebignefs and fliape with mine,by them that had exhaufted 
it of Air. And my occalions not permitting me to attend the obfervati- 
on any longer in the place where 'twas made, I took the Receiver, 1 had 
fo attentively confide r'd my ielf, along with me in the Coach, and ha- 
ving occafion to make fome ftay about an hour after, I looked upon it 
attentively again,but could not perceive any of the Alites to flirr ^ and 
the like unfuccefsfull obiervacion I made when I had a conveniency 2 
