(821) 
QbfervaHm^commumaed u th Mr. Antony van 
LGQWCumtck. m a^^^P^^^^ the ^th of Odiob. 1676. 
here Engird : €mcermngjitfk Animali by him objerved in^ 
Kam- Well' Sea* andSnovp water*^ as alfo m water tpherem 
Pepper had lam mfufed, 
IN the year 1675 J difcover'd living creatures in Rain water^ 
which had flood but few days in a new earthen pot ^ glafed 
blew withhi,This invited me to view this water with great ac« 
tention,efpecially thofe little animals appearing to me ten thou- 
fand times lefs than thofe reprefen red by Monf. Smmerdam^ 
and by him called Water fleas or Wat er -lice ^ v^hich may be per- 
ceived in the water with the naked eye. 
Thtfirji fort by roe difcover d in the faid water, I divers 
times obferved to confift of 5, 6^7, or S clear globuls, without 
being able to difcern any film that held them together, or con- 
rained them. When thefe animalcula or living Atoms did move , 
they put forth two little horns,contirtuaIly moving rhemfelves: 
The place between thefe two horns was flat, though the reft of 
the body was roundifli,fliarpninga little towards theend,where 
they had a tayl, near four times the length of the whole body^of 
the thicknefs (by my Microfcopej of a Spiders-web ; at the end 
of which appeared a globul,of the bignefsof one of thofe which 
made up the body; which fayi 1 couJd not perceive, even in ve- 
ry clear water, to be niov'd by them. Thefe lircle creatures, if 
they chanced to light upon the leafl filament or ftnng,or other 
fuch particle, of which there aremany in water,efpecially after 
it bath flood fome days, they ftook intangled therein,extcnding 
their body in a long round, and Mving to dif-intangle thefr 
tayl ; whereby it came to pafs, that their whole body lept back 
.towards the globul of the tayl, which then rolled together Ser- 
'pent-like, and after the manner of Copper- or Iron vvire thae 
havingbeen wound about a ftick, and unwound again, retains 
thofe windings and turnings. This motion of extenfion and 
contraaion continued a while ; and 1 have feen feveral hun- 
dreds of thefe poor little creatures, within the fpace of a graio 
of grofs fand, lye fall elufter'd together in a few filaments* 
I alfo difcover'd a feso^^d fort, the figure of which was ova!| 
and I imagined their head toftand on thefliarp cnd.Thefe were 
a little bigger than the former. The inferior part of theii- body 
is flatj furnilhed with diyers incredibly thin feet, which moved 
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