( Hio ) 
IIL ^art of a Letter from Mr Anthony van Le wen- 
hoek, F. (?(. 5. containing his Oh/erVattons on Jome 
Animalcula in Water ^ the dtjfolntton of Stber^ &cc. 
Delft in Holland, Feb. 5. 1703. 
A Bout the latter end of JhIj, ftanding on the Bank of 
thQCanal that is before myHoufe, and obferving the 
Water, which gently flows thro' ourTown^and which is ve- 
ry dear, and almoll of the colour of the Maafe Water, I faw 
fomething fliining in it, and being defirous to know what 
it was, I took a Glafs Tube of almoft a Foot length, and of 
a Fingers breadth, and tying a String about it I let it down 
into the Water perpendicularly till it was quite-fall. 
Looking upon this Water with a Microfcope, I obferved 
fe veral forts of Animalcula Swimming therein, fome of which 
I don't remember I had ever met with before. 
1 view'd this Water feyeral times in one day, but could 
not find out the fhin>i1g Matter which I had fcen in the 
Canal. 
On the 4th of Af^^ufl I made my obfervations again, and 
then I could fee iql 8 or 10 places feveral fmalF Particles 
ftickingfo faft to thb fides of the Tube, thataltho I putthe 
faid Water into a gentle motion, I could not remove them. 
This induced me to view the fame with my Microfcope, 
and then I could plainly feethofe Particles, reprefenting a 
large Bough or Branch of a Tree, with a great number of 
Sprigs about it- ' » . 
Moft of thefe Branches were faftned with their. Stems to 
the fides of the Tube, and fcem'd to arife out of a very 
fmall Particle of Matter that was likewife fofaftned. 
That 
