Page:Micrographia - or some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses with observations and inquiries thereupon.djvu/317

Rh Which, by the way, may hint us the reason of that so much admired appearance of those so highly esteem'd bodies, as also of the like in mother of Pearl-shells, and in multitudes of other shelly Sea-substances; for they each of them consisting of an infinite number of very thin shells or laminated orbiculations, cause such multitudes of reflections, that the compositions of them together with the reflections of others that are so thin as to afford colours (of which I elsewhere give the reason) gives a very pleasant reflection of light. And that this is the true cause, seems likely, first, because all those so appearing bodies are compounded of multitudes of plated substances. And next that, by ordering any trasparent substance after this manner, the like Phænomena may be produc'd; this will be made very obvious by the blowing of Glass into exceeding thin shells, and then breaking them into scales, which any lamp-worker will presently do; for a good quantity of these scales, laid in a heap together, have much the same resemblance of Pearls. Another way, not less instructive and pleasant, is a way which I have several times done, which is by working and tossing, as 'twere, a parcel of pure crystalline glass whilst it is kept glowing hot in the blown flame of a Lamp, for, by that means, that purely transparent body will be so divided into an infinite number of plates, or small strings, with interpos'd aerial plates and fibres, that from the multiplicity of the reflections from each of those internal surfaces, it may be drawn out into curious Pearl-like or Silver wire, which though small, will yet be opacous; the same thing I have done with a composition of red Colophon and Turpentine, and a little Bee's Wax, and may be done likewise with Birdlime, and such like glutinous and transparent bodies: But to return to our description.

The small blunt head of this Insect was furnish'd on either side of it with a cluster of eyes, each of which seem'd to contain but a very few, in comparison of what I had observ'd the clusters of other Insects to abound with; each of these clusters were beset with a row of small brisles, much like the cilia or hairs on the eye-lids, and, perhaps, they serv'd for the same purpose. It had two long horns before, which were streight, and tapering towards the top, curiously ring'd or knobb'd, and brisled much like the Marsh Weed, call'd Horse-tail, or Cats-tail, having at each knot a fring'd Girdle, as I may so call it, of smaller hairs, and several bigger and larger brisles, here and there dispers'd among them: besides these, it had two shorter horns, or feelers, which were knotted and fring'd, just as the former, but wanted brisles, and were blunt at the ends; the hinder part of the creature was terminated with three tails, in every particular resembling the two longer horns that grew out of the head: The leggs of it were scal'd and hair'd much like the rest, but are not express'd in this Figure, the Moth being intangled all in Glew, and so the leggs of this appear'd not through the Glass which looked perpendicularly upon the back.

This Animal probably feeds upon the Paper and covers of Books, and perforates in them several small round holes, finding, perhaps, a convenient nourishment in those hulks of Hemp and Flax, which have pass'd Rh