Of the Flea . 87 
It is all over adorned with a curioufly polifhed coat of 
armour, or hard Ihelly fcales, neatly jointed and folded 
over each other, and befet with long fpikes, almoft like 
porcupine’s quills : its neck bears Tome refemblance to a 
lobfter’s * tail: its head is adorned on either fide with a 
beautiful quick and round black eye; behind each of which 
appears a fmall cavity, in which moves a thin film, fet 
with fmall tranfparent hairs, which may probably be its 
ear k . From the fore part of its head, proceeds a pair of 
little jointed hairy horns, or feelers A B. Between thefe 
and its two fore legs C D, is fituated its piercer or fucker, 
that included a pair of darts, which after the piercer has 
made its entrance, are probably thruft farther into the 
flefti, to make the blood flow from the adjacent parts, 
that it may be fucked up; and feem to occaflon that 
round red fpot, with a hole in the center of it, which we 
commonly call a flea-bite. This piercer, its fheath 
opening fide ways, and the two lancets within it, are 
very difficult to be feen ! , unlefs the two fore legs, be¬ 
tween which they are ufually folded in, and concealed 
from view, are cut off clofe to the head; for a flea rarely 
puts out its piercer, except at the time of feeding, but 
on the contrary keeps it clofely folded inwards; one 
way therefore of coming at it, is by cutting off the head 
flrfl:, and then the fore legs ; fince in the agonies of 
death, it may eaiily be managed and brought before the 
microfcope. But this requires a great deal of patience 
and dexterity. Therefore another more likely way to 
fucceed in this experiment, is, when the flea is juft dead, 
to take hold of its back -with a pair of nippers', and then 
apply it to the fixth magnifier ; and having a fmall fewing 
needle ready fixed in a handle, I have been able to prefs 
G 4 the 
1 Power’s Micro. Obf. p. 2. k Hook’s Micro. pVilo. 
1 Arc. Nat. Tom. iv. p. 332, Phil, Tranf, No. 249. 
I 
