The belly is covered with a transparent substance likewise, but more resembling a skin then a shell, for ’tis grain’d all over the belly just like the skin in the palms of a man’s hand, and when the belly is empty, grows very flaccid and wrinkled; at the upper end of this is placed the stomach HH, and perhaps also the white spot II may be the liver or pancreas, which, by the peristalick motion of the guts, is a little mov’d to and fro, not with a systole and diastole, but rather with a thronging or justling motion.  Viewing one of these Creatures, after it had fasted two dayes, all the hinder part was lank and flaccid, and the white spot II hardly mov’d, most of the white branchings disappear’d, and most also of the redness or sucked blood in the guts, the peristaltick motion of which was scarce discernable; but upon the suffering it to suck, it presently fill’d the skin of the belly, and of the six scolop’d embosments on either side, as full as it could be stuft, the stomach and guts were as full as they could hold; the peristaltick motion of the gut grew quick, and the justling motion of II accordingly; multitudes of milk-white vessels seem’d quickly filled, and turgid, which were perhaps the veins and arteries and the Creature was so greedy, that though it could not contain more, yet it continued sucking as fast as ever, and as fast emptying it self behind:  the digestion of this Creature must needs be very quick, for though I perceiv’d the blood thicker and blacker when suck’d, yet, when in the guts, it was of a very lovely ruby colour, and that part of it, which was digested into the veins, seemed white; whence it appears, that a further digestion of blood may make it milk, at least of a resembling colour:  What is else observable in the figure of this Creature, may be seen by the 35. Scheme.

* * * * *

Observ.  LV. Of Mites_._

The least of Reptiles I have hitherto met with, is a Mite, a Creature whereof there are some so very small, that the sharpest sight, unassisted with Glasses, is not able to discern them, though, being white of themselves, they move on a black and smooth surface; and the Eggs, out of which these Creatures seem to be hatch’d, are yet smaller, those being usually not above a four or five hundredth part of a well grown Mite, and those well grown Mites not much above one hundredth of an inch in thickness; so that according to this reckoning there may be no less then a million of well grown Mites contain’d in a cubick inch, and five hundred times as many Eggs.

Notwithstanding which minuteness a good Microscope discovers those small movable specks to be very prettily shap’d Insects, each of them furnished with eight well shap’d and proportion’d legs, which are each of them joynted or bendable in eight several places, or joynts, each of which is covered, for the most part, with a very transparent shell, and the lower end of the shell of each joynt is fringed with several small hairs; the contrivance of the joynts seems the very same with that of Crabs and Lobsters legs, and like those also, they are each of them terminated with a very sharp claw or point; four of these legs are so placed, that they seem to draw forwards, the other four are placed in a quite contrary position, thereby to keep the body backwards when there is occasion.