Page:Micrographia - or some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses with observations and inquiries thereupon.djvu/220

Rh the wreathed part broken into two pieces, whereof the end A B is to be suppos'd to have join'd to the end C D, so that E A C F does represent the whole wreath'd part of the Beard, and E G 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 a a a a a 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.

The proportion of these small conical bodies a a a a a to that whereon they grow, the Figure will sufficiently shew, as also their manner of growing, their thickness, and neerness to each other, as, that towards the root or bottom of the Beard, they are more thin, and much shorter, insomuch that there is usually left between the top of the one, and the bottom of that next above it, more then the length of one of them, and that towards the top of the Beard they grow more thick and close (though there be fewer ridges) so that the root, and almost half the upper are hid by the tops of those next below them.

I could not perceive any transverse pores, unless the whole wreath'd part were separated and cleft, in those little channels, by the wreathing into so many little strings as there were ridges, which was very difficult to determine; but there were in the wreathed part two very conspicuous channels or clefts, which were continued from the bottom F to the elbow bow E H or all along the part which was wreath'd, which seem'd to divide the wreath'd Cylinder into two parts, a bigger and a less; the bigger was that which was at the convex side of the knee, namely, on the side A, and was wreath'd by O O O O O; this, as it seem'd the broader, so did it also the longer, the other P P P P P, which was usually purs'd or wrinckled in the bending of the knee, as about E, seem'd both the shorter and narrower, so that at first I thought the wreathing and unwreathing of the Beard might have been caus'd by the shrinking or swelling of that part; but upon further examination, I sound that the clefts, K K, L L, were stuft up with a kind of Spongie substance, which, for the most part, was Rh