If you take one of these Grains, and wet the Beard in Water, you will presently see the small bended top to turn and move round, as if it were sensible; and by degrees, if it be continued wet enough, the joint or knee will streighten it self; and if it be suffer’d to dry again, it will by degrees move round another way, and at length bend again into its former posture.

If it be view’d with an ordinary single Microscope, it will appear like a small wreath’d Sprig, with two clefts; and if wet as before, and then look’d on with this Microscope, it will appear to unwreath it self, and by degrees, to streighten its knee, and the two clefts will become streight, and almost on opposite sides of the small cylindrical body.

If it be continued to be look’d on a little longer with a Microscope, it will within a little while begin to wreath it self again, and soon after return to its former posture, bending it self again neer the middle, into a kind of knee or angle.

Several of those bodies I examin’d with larger Microscopes, and there found them much of the make of those two long wreath’d cylinders delineated in the second Figure of the 15. Scheme, which two cylinders represent the wreathed part broken into two pieces, whereof the end AB is to be suppos’d to have join’d to the end CD, so that EACF does represent the whole wreath’d part of the Beard, and EG a small piece of the upper part of the Beard which is beyond the knee, which as I had not room to insert, so was it not very considerable, either for its form, or any known property; but the under or wreathed part is notable for both:  As to its form, it appear’d, if it were look’d on side-ways, almost like a Willow, or a small tapering rod of Hazel, the lower or bigger half of which onely, is twisted round several times, in some three, in others more, in others less, according to the bigness and maturity of the Grain on which it grew, and according to the driness and moisture of the ambient Air, as I shall shew more at large by and by.

The whole outward Superficies of this Cylindrical body is curiously adorned or fluted with little channels, and interjacent ridges, or little protuberances between them, which run the whole length of the Beard, and are streight where the Beard is not twisted, and wreath’d where it is, just after the same manner:  each of those sides is beset pretty thick with small Brides or Thorns, somewhat in form resembling that of Porcupines Quills, such as aaaaa in the Figure; all whose points are directed like so many Turn-pikes towards the small end or top of the Beard, which is the reason, why, if you endeavour to draw the Beard between your fingers the contrary way, you will find it to stick, and grate, as it were, against the skin.