Chap. XI
Of the Food of Animals.
The preceding Reflection of the Psalmist, mindeth me of another Thing in common to Animals, that pertinently falleth next under Consideration, which is the Appointment of Food, mentioned in Verse 27, 28, of the last cited Psalm civ. These [Creatures] wait all upon thee, that thou may’st give them their Meat in due Season. That thou givest them, they gather; thou openest thy Hand, they are filled with Good. The same is again asserted in Psal. cxlv. 15, 16. The Eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest them their Meat in due Season. Thou openest thy Hand, and satisfiest the Desire of every living Thing.
What the Psalmist here asserts, affords us a glorious Scene of the divine Providence and Management. Which, (as I have shew’d it to concern it self in other lesser Things;) so we may presume doth exert it self particularly in so grand an Affair as that of Food, whereby the animal World subsists: And this will be manifested, and the Psalmist’s Observations exemplified, from these six following Particulars:
I. From the subsisting and maintaining such a large Number of Animals, throughout all Parts of the World.
II. From the proportionate Quantity of Food to the Eaters.
III. From the Variety of Food suited to the Variety of Animals: Or the Delight which various Animals have in different Food.
IV. From the peculiar Food which peculiar Places afford to the Creatures suited to those Places.
V. From the admirable and curious Apparatus made for the gathering, preparing, and Digestion of the Food. And,
VI. and lastly, From the great Sagacity of all Animals, in finding out and providing their Food.
I. It is a great Act of the divine Power and Wisdom, as well as Goodness, to provide Food for such a World of Animals[a], as every where possess the terraqueous Globe; on the dry Land; and in the Sea and Waters; in the torrid and frozen Zones, as well as the temperate. That the temperate Climates, or at least the fertile Valleys, and rich and plentiful Regions of the Earth, should afford Subsistence to many Animals, may appear less wonderful perhaps: But that in all other the most likely Places for Supplies sufficient Food should be afforded to such a prodigious Number, and so great Variety of Beasts, Birds, Fishes and Insects; is owing to that Being, who hath as wisely adapted their Bodies to their Place and Food, as well as carefully provided Food for their Subsistence there.
But I shall leave this Consideration, because it will be illustrated under the following Points; and proceed,
II. To consider the Adjustment of the Quantity of Food, in Proportion to the Eaters. In all Places there is generally enough; nay, such a Sufficiency, as may be styled a Plenty; but not such a Superfluity, as to waste and corrupt, and thereby annoy the World. But that which is particularly remarkable here, is, that among the great Variety of Foods, the most useful is the most plentiful, most universal, easiest propagated, and most patient of Weather, and other Injuries. As the herbaceous Eaters, (for Instance) are many, and devour much; so the dryland Surface we find every where almost naturally carpeted over with Grass, and other agreeable wholsome Plants; propagating themselves in a Manner every where, and scarcely destroyable by the Weather, the Plough, or any Art. So likewise for Grain, especially such as is most useful, how easily is it cultivated, and what a large Increase doth it produce? Pliny’s Example of Wheat[b], is a sufficient Instance in this Matter; which (as that curious Heathen observes) being principally useful to the Support of Man, is easily propagated, and in great Plenty: And an happy Faculty that is of it, that it can bear either extreams of Heat or Cold, so as scarce to refuse any Clime.
III. Another wise Provision the Creator hath made relating to the Food of Animals, is, that various Animals delight in various Food[c]; some in Grass and Herbs; some in Grain and Seeds; some in Flesh; some in Insects; some in this[d], some in that; some more delicate and nice; some voracious and catching at any Thing. If all delighted in, or subsisted only with one Sort of Food, there would not be sufficient for all; but every Variety chusing various Food, and perhaps abhorring that which others like, is a great and wise Means that every Kind hath enough, and oftentimes somewhat to spare.
It deserves to be reckoned as an Act of the divine Appointment, that what is wholesome Food to one, is nauseous, and as a Poyson to another; what is a sweet and delicate Smell and Taste to one, is fœtid and loathsome to another: By which Means all the Provisions the Globe affords are well dispos’d of. Not only every Creature is well provided for, but a due Consumption is made of those Things that otherwise would encumber the World, lie in the Way, corrupt, rot, stink and annoy, instead of cherishing and refreshing it. For our most useful Plants, Grain and Fruits, would mould and rot; those Beasts, Fowls and Fishes, which are reckoned among the greatest Dainties, would turn to Carrion, and poyson us: Nay, those Animals which are become Carrion, and many other Things that are noysome, both on the Dry-land, and in the Waters, would be great Annoyances, and breed Diseases, was it nor for the Provision which the infinite Orderer of the World hath made, by causing these Things to be sweet, pleasant, and wholsome Food to some Creature or other, in the Place where those Things fall: To Dogs, Ravens, and other voracious Animals, for Instance, on the Earth; and to rapacious Fishes, and other Creatures inhabiting the Waters.
Thus is the World in some Measure kept sweet and clean, and at the same Time, divers Species of Animals supply’d with convenient Food. Which Providence of God, particularly in the Supplies afforded the Ravens, is divers Times taken Notice of in the Scriptures[e]; but whether for the Reasons now hinted, or any other special Reasons, I shall not enquire. Thus our Saviour, Luke xii. 24. Consider the Ravens; for they neither sow nor reap, which neither have Storehouse, nor Barn, and God feedeth them. It is a manifest Argument of the divine Care and Providence, in supplying the World with Food and Necessaries, that the Ravens, accounted as unclean, and little regarded by Man, destitute of Stores, and that live by Accidents, by what falleth here and there; that such a Bird, I say, should be provided with sufficient Food; especially if that be true, which Aristotle[f], Pliny[g], and Ælian[h], report of their unnatural Affection and Cruelty to their Young: “That they expel them their Nests as soon as they can fly, and then drive them out of the Country”.
Thus having considered the wise Appointment of the Creator, in suiting the Variety of Food, to Variety of Animals: Let us in the
IV. Place, Take a View of the peculiar Food, which particular Places afford to the Creatures inhabiting therein.
It hath been already observed[i], that every Place on the Surface of the terraqueous Globe, is stocked with proper Animals, whose Organs of Life and Action are curiously adapted to each respective Place. Now it is an admirable Act of the divine Providence, that every Place affords a proper Food to all the living Creatures therein. All the various Regions of the World, the different Climates[k], the various Soils, the Seas, the Waters, nay our very Putrefactions, and most nasty Places about the Globe, as they are inhabited by some or other Animal, so they produce some proper Food or other, affording a comfortable Subsistence to the Creatures living there. I might for Instances[l] of this, bring the great Variety of Herbs, Fruits and Grains on the Earth, the large Swarms of Insects in the Air, with every other Food of the Creatures residing in the Earth, or flying in the Air. But I shall stop at the Waters, because the Psalmist, in the fore-cited civᵗʰ Psalm, speaks with relation to the especial Provision for the Inhabitants of the Waters; and also by reason that many Land Animals have their chief Maintenance from thence.
Now one would think, that the Waters were a very unlikely Element to produce Food for so great a Number of Creatures, as have their Subsistence from thence. But yet how rich a Promptuary is it, not only to large multitudes of Fishes, but also to many amphibious Quadrupeds, Insects, Reptiles, and Birds! From the largest Leviathan, which the Psalmist saith[m] playeth in the Seas, to the smallest Mite in the Lakes and Ponds, all are plentifully provided for; as is manifest from the Fatness of their Bodies, and the Gaiety of their Aspect and Actions.
And the Provision which the Creator hath made for this Service in the Waters is very observable; not only by the Germination of divers aquatick Plants there, but particularly by appointing the Waters to be the Matrix of many Animals, particularly of many of the Insect-Kind, not only of such as are peculiar to the Waters, but also of many appertaining to the Air and the Land, who, by their near Alliance to the Waters, delight to be about them, and by that means become a Prey, and plentiful Food to the Inhabitants of the Waters. And besides these, what prodigious Shoals do we find of minute Animals, even sometimes discolouring the Waters[n]! Of these (not only in the Water, but in the Air and on Land) I have always thought there was some more than ordinary Use intended by the All-wise Creator. And having bent many of my Observations that way, I have evidently found it accordingly to be. For be they never so numberless or minute, those Animals serve for Food to some Creatures or other. Even those Animalcules in the Waters, discoverable only with good Microscopes, are a Repast to others there, as I have often with no less Admiration than Pleasure seen[o].
But now the usual Objection is, that Necessity maketh Use[p]. Animals must be fed, and they make use of what they find: In the desolate Regions, and in the Waters, for Instance, they feed upon what they can come at; but, when in greater Plenty, they pick and chuse.
But this Objection hath been already in some measure answered by what hath been said; which plainly argues Design, and a super-intending Wisdom, Power and Providence in this special Business of Food. Particularly the different Delight of divers Animals in different Food, so that what is nauseous to one, should be Dainties to another, is a manifest Argument, that the Allotment of Food is not a Matter of mere Chance, but entailed to the very Constitution and Nature of Animals; that they chuse this, and refuse that, not by Accident, or Necessity, but because the one is a proper Food, agreeable to their Constitution, and so appointed by the infinite Contriver of their Bodies; and the other is disagreeable and injurious to them.
But all this Objection will be found frivolous, and the Wisdom and Design of the great Creator will demonstratively appear, if we take a Survey,
V. Of the admirable and curious Apparatus in all Animals, made for the Gathering, Preparing and Digestion of their Food. From the very first Entrance, to the utmost Exit of the Food, we find every Thing contrived, made and disposed with the utmost Dexterity and Art, and curiously adapted to the Place the Animal liveth in, and the Food it is to be nourished with.
Let us begin with the Mouth. And this we find, in every Species of Animals, nicely conformable to the Use of such a Part; neatly sized and shaped for the catching of Prey, for the gathering or receiving Food[q], for the Formation of Speech, and every other such like Use[r]. In some Creatures it is wide and large, in some little and narrow: in some with a deep Incisure up into the Head[s], for the better catching and holding of Prey, and more easy Comminution of hard, large and troublesome Food; in others with a much shorter Incisure, for the gathering and holding of herbaceous Food.
In Insects it is very notable. In some forcipated; to catch hold and tear their Prey[t]. In some aculeated, to pierce and wound Animals[u], and suck their Blood. And in others strongly rigged with Jaws and Teeth, to gnaw and scrape out their Food, to carry Burdens[w] to perforate the Earth, yea the hardest Wood, yea even Stones themselves, for Houses[x] to themselves, and Nests for their young.
And lastly, in Birds it is no less remarkable. In the first Place, it is neatly shaped for piercing the Air, and making Way for the Body thro’ the airy Regions. In the next Place, it is hard and horny, which is a good Supplement for the want of Teeth, and causeth the Bill to have the Use and Service of the Hand. It’s hooked Form is of great Use to the rapacious Kind[y], in catching and holding their Prey, and in the Comminution thereof by tearing; to others it is no less serviceable to their Climbing, as well as neat and nice Comminution of their Food[z]. Its extraordinary Length and Slenderness is very useful to some, to search and grope for their Food in moorish Places[aa]; as its Length and Breadth is to others to hunt and search in muddy Places[bb]: And the contrary Form, namely, a thick, short, and sharp-edg’d Bill, is as useful to other Birds, who have occasion to husk and flay the Grains they swallow. But it would be endless, and tedious, to reckon up all the various Shapes, and commodious Mechanism of all; the Sharpness and Strength of those who have Occasion to perforate Wood and Shells[cc]; the Slenderness and Neatness of such as pick up small Insects; the Cross-form of such as break up Fruits[dd]; the compressed Form of others[ee], with many other curious and artificial Forms, all suited to the Way of Living, and peculiar Occasions of the several Species of Birds. Thus much for the Mouth.
Let us next take a short View of the Teeth[ff], In which their peculiar Hardness[gg] is remarkable, their Growth[hh] also, their firm Insertion and Bandage in the Gums and Jaws, and their various Shape and Strength, suited to their various Occasion and Use[ii]; the foremost weak and farthest from the Center, as being only Preparers to the rest; the others being to grind and mince, are accordingly made stronger, and placed nearer the Center of Motion and Strength. Likewise their various Form[kk], in various Animals is considerable, being all curiously adapted to the peculiar Food[ll], and Occasions of the several Species of Animals[mm]. And lastly, the temporary Defect of them[nn], is no less observable in Children, and such young Creatures, where there is no Occasion for them; but they would be rather an Annoyance to the tender Nipples and Breasts.
From the Teeth, the grand Instruments of Mastication; let us proceed to the other ministerial Parts. And here the Parotid, Sublingual, and maxillary Glands; together with those of the Cheeks and Lips, are considerable; all lodged in the most convenient Places about the Mouth and Throat to afford that noble digestive salival Liquor, to be mixed with the Food in Mastication, and to moisten and lubricate the Passages, to give an easie descent to the Food. The commodious Form also of the Jaws, deserves our Notice; together with the strong Articulation of the lowermost, and its Motion. And lastly, the curious Form, the great Strength, the convenient Lodgment and Situation of the several Muscles and Tendons[oo], all ministring to this so necessary an Act of Life, as Mastication is; they are such Contrivances, such Works, as plainly set forth the infinite Workman’s Care and Skill.
Next to the Mouth, the Gullet presenteth it self; in every Creature well-siz’d to the Food it hath occasion to swallow; in some but narrow, in others as large and extensive[pp]; in all exceedingly remarkable for the curious Mechanism of its Muscles, and the artificial Decussation and Position of their Fibres[qq].
And now we are arriv’d to the grand Receptacle of the Food, the Stomach; for the most Part as various as the Food to be convey’d therein. And here I might describe the admirable Mechanism of its Tunicks, Muscles, Glands, the Nerves, Arteries and Veins[rr]; all manifesting the super-eminent Contrivance and Art of the infinite Workman[ss]; they being all nicely adjusted to their respective Place, Occasion and Service. I might also insist upon that most necessary Office of Digestion; and here consider that wonderful Faculty of the Stomachs of all Creatures, to dissolve[tt] all the several Sorts of Food appropriated to their Species; even sometimes Things of that Consistency as seem insoluble[uu]; especially by such seemingly simple and weak Menstruums as we find in their Stomachs: But I shall only give these Things a bare mention, and take more peculiar Notice of the Special Provision made in the particular Species of Animals, for the Digestion of that special Food appointed them.
And in the first Place it is observable, that, in every Species of Animals, the Strength and Size of their Stomach[ww] is conformable to their Food. Such whose Food is more delicate, tender, and nutritive, have commonly this Part thinner, weaker, and less bulky; whereas such whose Aliment is less nutritive, or whose Bodies require larger Supplies to answer their Bulk, their Labours, and waste of Strength and Spirits, in them it is large and strong.
Another very remarkable Thing in this Part, is, the Number of Ventricles in divers Creatures. In many but one; in some two or more[xx]. In such as make a sufficient Comminution of the Food in the Mouth, one suffices. But where Teeth are wanting, and the Food dry and hard, (as in granivorous Birds,) there the Defect is abundantly supply’d by one thin membranaceous Ventricle, to receive and moisten the Food, and another thick, strong, muscular one, to grind and tear[yy] it. But in such Birds, and other Creatures, whose Food is not Grain, but Flesh, Fruits, Insects, or partly one, partly the other, there their Stomachs are accordingly conformable to their Food[zz], stronger or weaker, membranaceous or muscular.
But as remarkable a Thing, as any in this Part of Animals, is, the curious Contrivance and Fabrick of the several Ventricles of ruminating Creatures. The very Act it self of Rumination, is an excellent Provision for the compleat Mastication of the Food, at the Resting, leisure Times of the Animal. But the Apparatus for this Service, of divers Ventricles for its various Uses and Purposes, together with their curious Mechanism, deserves great Admiration[aaa].
Having thus far pursu’d the Food to the Place, where by its Reduction into Chyle, it becomes a proper Aliment for the Body; I might next trace it through the several Meanders of the Guts, the Lacteals, and so into the Blood[bbb], and afterwards into the very Habit of the Body: I might also take Notice of the Separation made in the Intestines, of what is nutritive, (which is received,) and what is feculent, (being ejected;) and the Impregnations there from the Pancreas and the Gall; and after it hath been strained through those curious Colanders, the lacteal Veins, I might also observe its Impregnations from the Glands and Lymphæducts; and, to name no more, I might farther view the exquisite Structure of the Parts ministring to all these delicate Offices of Nature; particularly the artificial Conformation of the Intestines might deserve a special Enquiry, their Tunicks, Glands, Fibres traversing one another[ccc], and peristaltick Motion in all Creatures; and their cochleous Passage[ddd] to retard the Motion of the Chyle, and to make amends for the Shortness of the Intestines, in such Creatures who have but one Gut; together with many other Accommodations of Nature in particular Animals that might be mention’d. But it shall suffice to have given only a general Hint of those curious and admirable Works of God. From whence it is abundantly manifest how little weight there is in the former atheistical Objection. Which will receive a further Confutation from the
VI. and last Thing relating to Food, that I shall speak of, namely, The great Sagacity of all Animals, in finding out and providing their Food. In Man perhaps we may not find any Thing very admirable, or remarkable in this Kind, by Means of his Reason and Understanding, and his Supremacy over the inferior Creatures; which answereth all his Occasions relating to this Business: But then even here the Creator hath shewed his Skill, in not over-doing the Matter; in not providing Man with an unnecessary Apparatus, to effect over and over again what is feasible, by the Reach of his Understanding, and the Power of his Authority.
But for the inferior Creatures, who want Reason, the Power of that natural Instinct, that Sagacity[eee] which the Creator hath imprinted upon them, do amply compensate that Defect. And here we shall find a glorious Scene of the divine Wisdom, Power, Providence and Care, if we view the various Instincts of Beasts, great and small, or Birds, Insects and Reptiles[fff]. For among every Species of them, we may find notable Acts of Sagacity, or Instinct, proportional to their Occasions for Food. Even among those whose Food is near at Hand, and easily come at; as Grass and Herbs; and consequently have no great need of Art to discover it; yet, that Faculty of their accurate Smell and Taste, so ready at every turn, to distinguish between what is salutary, and what pernicious[ggg], doth justly deserve Praise. But for such Animals, whose Food is not so easily come at, a Variety of wonderful Instinct may be met with, sufficient to entertain the most curious Observer. With what entertaining Power, and Artifice do some Creatures hunt[hhh], and pursue their Game and Prey! And others watch and way-lay theirs[iii]! With what prodigious Sagacity do others grope for it under Ground, out of Sight, in moorish Places, in Mud and Dirt[kkk]; and others dig and delve for it, both above[lll], and under the Surface of the drier Lands[mmm]! And how curious and well designed a Provision is it of particular large Nerves in such Creatures, adapted to that especial Service!
What an admirable Faculty is that of many Animals, to discover their Prey at vast Distances; some by their Smell some Miles off[nnn]; and some by their sharp and piercing Sight, aloft in the Air, or at other great Distances[ooo]! An Instance of the latter of which GOD himself giveth, (Job xxxix. 27, 28, 29.) in the Instinct of the Eagle: Doth the Eagle mount up at thy Command, and make her Nest on high? She dwelleth and abideth on the Rock, upon the Crag of the Rock, and the strong Place[ppp]. From thence she seeketh her Prey, and her Eyes behold afar off. What a commodious Provision hath the Contriver of Nature made for Animals, that are necessitated to climb for their Food; not only in the Structure of their Legs and Feet, and in the Strength of their Tendons and Muscles, acting in that particular Office[qqq]; but also in the peculiar Structure of the principal Parts, acting in the Acquest of their Food[rrr]! What a Provision also is that in nocturnal Birds and Beasts, in the peculiar Structure of their Eye[sss], (and we may perhaps add the Accuracy of their Smell too) whereby they are enabled to discover their Food in the Dark? But among all the Instances we have of natural Instinct, those Instincts, and especial Provisions made to supply the Necessities of Helpless Animals, do in a particular Manner demonstrate the great Creator’s Care. Of which I shall give two Instances.
1. The Provision made for young Creatures. That Στοργὴ, that natural Affection, so connatural to all, or most Creatures towards their Young[ttt], what an admirable noble Principle is it, implanted in them by the wise Creator? By Means of which, with what Alacrity do they transact their parental Ministry? With what Care do they nurse up their Young; think no Pains too great to be taken for them, no Dangers[uuu] too great to be ventured upon for their Guard and Security? How carefully will they lead them about in Places of Safety, carry them into Places of Retreat and Security; yea, some of them admit them into their own Bowels[www]? How will they caress them with their affectionate Notes, lull and quiet them with their tender parental Voice, put Food into their Mouths, suckle them, cherish and keep them warm, teach them to pick, and eat, and gather Food for themselves; and, in a word, perform the whole Part of so many Nurses, deputed by the Sovereign Lord and Preserver of the World, to help such young and shiftless Creatures, till they are come to that Maturity, as to be able to shift for themselves?
And as for other Animals (particularly Insects, whose Sire is partly the Sun, and whose numerous Off-spring would be too great for their Parent-Animal’s Care and Provision) these are so generated, as to need none of their Care, by Reason they arrive immediately to their Ἡλικία, their perfect, adult State, and are able to shift for themselves. But yet, thus far their parental Instinct (equivalent to the most rational Care and Fore-sight) doth extend, that the old ones do not wildly drop their Eggs and Sperm any where, at all Adventures, but so cautiously reposit it in such commodious Places (some in the Waters, some on Flesh, some on Plants proper and agreeable to their Species[xxx]; and some shut up agreeable Food in their Nests, partly for Incubation, partly for Food[yyy],) that their young in their Aurelia, or Nympha State, may find sufficient and agreeable Food to bring them up, till they arrive to their Maturity.
Thus far the Parental Instinct and Care.
Next we may observe no less in the young themselves, especially in those of the irrational Animals. Forasmuch as the Parent-Animal is not able to bear them about, to cloath them, and to dandle them, as Man doth; how admirably hath the Creator contrived their State, that those poor young Creatures can soon walk about, and with the little Helps of their Dam, shift for, and help themselves? How naturally do they hunt for their Teat, suck, pick[zzz], and take in their proper Food?
But for the young of Man, their Parents Reason, joined with natural Affection, being sufficient to help, to nurse, to feed, and to cloath them; therefore they are born helpless, and are more absolutely than other Creatures, cast upon their Parents Care[aaaa]. A manifest Act and Designation of the Divine Providence.
2. The other Instance I promised, is the Provision made for the Preservation of such Animals as are sometimes destitute of Food, or in Danger of being so. The Winter is a very inconvenient, improper Season, to afford either Food or Exercise to Insects, and many other Animals. When the flowry Fields are divested of their Gaiety; when the fertile Trees and Plants are stripp’d of their Fruits, and the Air, instead of being warmed with the cherishing Beams of the Sun, is chilled with rigid Frost; what would become of such Animals as are impatient of Cold? What Food could be found by such as are subsisted by the Summer-Fruits? But to obviate all this Evil, to stave off the Destruction and Extirpation of divers Species of Animals, the infinitely wise Preserver of the World hath as wisely ordered the matter; that, in the first Place, such as are impatient of Cold, should have such a special Structure of their Body, particularly of their Hearts, and Circulation of their Blood[bbbb], as during that Season, not to suffer any waste of their Body, and consequently not to need any Recruits; but that they should be able to live in a kind of sleepy, middle State, in their Places of safe Retreat, until the warm Sun revives both them and their Food together.
The next Provision is for such as can bear the Cold, but would want Food then; and that is in some by a long Patience of Hunger[cccc], in others by their notable Instinct in laying up Food beforehand against the approaching Winter[dddd]. Of this many entertaining Examples may be given; particularly we may, at the proper Season, observe not only the little Treasures and Holes well-stocked with timely Provisions, but large Fields[eeee] here and there throughout bespread with considerable Numbers of the Fruits of the neighbouring Trees, laid carefully up in the Earth, and covered safe, by the provident little Animals inhabiting thereabouts. And not without Pleasure have I seen and admired the Sagacity of other Animals, hunting out those subterraneous Fruits, and pillaging the Treasures of those little provident Creatures.
And now from this bare transient View of this Branch of the Great Creator’s Providence and Government, relating to the Food of his Creatures, we can conclude no less, than that since this grand Affair hath such manifest Strokes of admirable and wise Management, that since this is demonstrated throughout all Ages and Places, that therefore it is God’s Handy-Work. For how is it possible that so vast a World of Animals should be supported, such a great Variety equally and well supplied with proper Food, in every Place fit for Habitation, without an especial Superintendency and Management, equal to, at least, that of the most prudent Steward and Housholder? How should the Creatures be able to find out their Food when laid up in secret Places? And how should they be able to gather even a great deal of the common Food, and at last to macerate and digest it, without peculiar Organs adapted to the Service? And what less than an infinitely Wise God could form such a Set of curious Organs, as we find every Species endowed with, for this very Life? Organs so artificially made, so exquisitely fitted up, that the more strictly we survey them, the more accurately we view them (even the meanest of them with our blest Glasses) the less Fault we find in them, and the more we admire them: Whereas the best polished, and most exquisite Works, made by human Art, appear through our Glasses, as rude and bungling, deformed and monstrous; and yet we admire them, and call them Works of Art and Reason. And lastly, What less than Rational and Wise could endow irrational Animals with various Instincts, equivalent, in their special Way, to Reason it self? Insomuch that some from thence have absolutely concluded, that those Creatures had some Glimmerings of Reason. But it is manifestly Instinct, not Reason they act by, because we find no varying, but that every Species doth naturally pursue at all Times the same Methods and Way, without any Tutorage or Learning: Whereas Reason, without Instruction, would often vary, and do that by many Methods, which Instinct doth by one alone. But of this more hereafter.
Footnotes:
[a] Pastum animantibus largè & copiosè natura eum, qui cuique aptus erat, comparavit. Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 47.
Ille Deus est,——qui per totum orbem armenta dimisit, qui gregibus ubique passim vagantibus pabulum præstat. Senec. de Benef. l. 4. c. 6.
[b] Tritico nihil est fertilius: hoc ei natura tribuit, quoniam eo maximè alat hominem; utpote cùm è modio, si sit aptum solum——150 modii reddantur. Misit D. Augusto procurator—ex uno grano (vix credibile dictu) 400 paucis minùs germina. Misit & Neroni similiter 340 stipulas ex uno grano. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 18. c. 10.
[c] Sed illa quanta benignitas Natura, quòd tam multa ad vescendum, tam varia, tam jucunda gignit: neque ea uno tempore anni, ut semper & novitate delectemur & copiâ. Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 53.
[d] Swammerdam observes of the Ephemeron Worms, that their Food is Clay, and that they make their Cells of the same. Upon which occasion he saith of Moths, that eat Wool and Fur, There are two Things very considerable, 1. That the Cells they make to themselves, wherein they live, and with which (as their House, Tortoise-like) they move from Place to Place, they make of the Matter next at hand. 2. That they feed also on the same, therefore when you find their Cells, or rather Coats or Cases to be made of yellow, green, blue or black Cloth, you will also find their Dung of the same Colour. Swammerd. Ephem. vita. Published by Dr. Tyson, Chap. 3.
[e] Job xxxviii. 41. Psal. cxlvii. 9.
[f] Aristot. l. 9. c. 31. Hist. Animal.
[g] Pliny affirms this of the Crow as well as Raven: Cæteræ omnes [i.e. Cornices] ex eodem genere pellunt nidis pullos, ac volare cogunt, sicut & Corvi, qui——robustos suos fœtus fugant longiùs. Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 12.
[h] Var. Hist.
[i] Chap. 9.
[k] Admiranda Naturæ dispensatio est, ut aliter, alioque modo, tempore, & industriâ colatur terra septentrionalis, aliter Æthiopia, &c. Quoad Aquilonares, hoc certum est, in plerisque agris Vestrogothorum, parte objectâ Meridionali plagæ, Hordeum spatio 36 Dierum à femine projecto maturum colligi, hoc est à fine Junii usque medium Augusti, aliquando celerius. Ea namque maturitas ex soli naturâ, aërisque clementiâ, ac humore lapillorum fovente radices, Soleque torrente, necessariò provenit, ut ita nascatur, ac maturetur, talesque spicæ sex ordines in numero aristæ habent. Ol. Mag. Hist. l. 15. c. 8. Prata & pascua tantâ luxuriant graminum ubertate ac diversitate, ut necessum sit inde arcere jumenta, nè nimio herbarum esu crepent, &c. Id. ib. l. 19. c. 36.
[l] Among the many noble Contrivances for Food, I cannot but attribute that universal Aliment, Bread, to the Revelation, or at least the Inspiration of the Creator and Conservator of Mankind; not only because it is a Food used in all, or most Parts of the World; but especially because it is of incomparable Use in the great Work of Digestion, greatly assisting the Ferment, or whatever causes the Digestion of the Stomach. Of which take this Example from the noble Mr. Boyle. “He extracted a Menstruum from Bread alone, that would work on Bodies more Compact than many hard Minerals, nay even on Glass it self, and do many Things that Aqua-fortis could not do——Yet by no means was this so corrosive a Liquor as Aq. fort. or as the other acid Menstruum”. Vid. the ingenious and learned Dr. Harris’s Lex. Tech. verbo Menstruum, where the way of preparing it may be met with.
[m] Psal. civ. 26.
[n] The Insects that for the most part discolour the Waters, are the small Insects of the Shrimp-kind, called by Swammerdam, Pulex aquaticus arborescens. These I have often seen so numerous in stagnating Waters in the Summer-Months, that they have changed the Colour of the Waters to a pale or deep Red, sometimes a Yellow, according to the Colour they were of. Of this Swammerdam hath a pretty Story told him by Dr. Florence Schuyl, viz. Se aliquando Studiis intentum, magno quodam & horrifico rumore fuisse turbatum, & simul ad causam ejus inquirendam excitatum; verùm se vix eum in finem surrexisse, cùm Ancilla ejus pœne exanimis adcurreret, & multo cum singultu referret, omnem Lugduni [Batavorum] aquam esse mutatam in sanguinem. The Cause of which, upon Examination he found to be only from the numerous Swarms of those Pulices. V. Swamm. Hist. Insect. p. 70.
The Cause of this great Concourse, and Appearance of those little Insects, I have frequently observed to be to perform their Coït; which is commonly about the latter end of May, and in June. At that Time they are very venereous, frisking and catching at one another; and many of them conjoined Tail to Tail, with their Bellies inclined one towards another.
At this Time also they change their Skin or Slough; which I conceive their rubbing against one another mightily promoteth. And what if at this Time they change their Quarters? Vid. Book VIII. Chap. 4. Note (f).
These small Insects, as they are very numerous, so are Food to many Water-Animals. I have seen not only Ducks shovel them up as they swim along the Waters, but divers Insects also devour them, particularly some of the middle-sized Squillæ aquaticæ, which are very voracious Insects.
[o] Besides the Pulices last mentioned, there are in the Waters other Animalcules very numerous, which are scarce visible without a Microscope. In May, and the Summer Months, the green Scum on the top of stagnating Waters, is nothing else but prodigious Numbers of these Animalcules: So is likewise the green Colour in them, when all the Water seems green. Which Animalcules, in all Probability, serve for Food to the Pulices Aquatici, and other the minuter Animals of the Waters. Of which I gave a pregnant Instance in one of the Nymphæ of Gnats, to my Friend the late admirable Mr. Ray, which he was pleased to publish in the last Edition of his Wisdom of God in the Creation, p. 430.
[p]
Nil adeò quoniam natum’st in Corpore, ut uti
Possemus, sed quod natum’st, id procreat usum.
And afterwards,
Propterea capitur Cibus, ut suffulciat artus,
Et recreet vireis interdatus, atque patentem
Per membra ac venas ut amorem obturet edendi.
And after the same manner he discourseth of Thirst, and divers other Things. Vid. Lucret. l. 4. v. 831, &c.
Against this Opinion of the Epicureans, Galen ingeniously argues in his Discourse about the Hand. Non enim Manus ipsæ (saith he) hominem artes docuerunt, sed Ratio. Manus autem ipsæ sunt artium organa; sicut Lyra musici——Lyra musicam non docuit, sed est ipsius artifex per eam, quâ præditus est, Rationem: agere autem non potest ex arte absque organis, ita & una quælibet anima facultates quasdam à suâ ipsius substantiâ obtinet,——Quòd autem corporis particulæ animam non impellunt,——manifeste videre licet, si animalia recèns nata confideres, quæ quidem priùs agere conantur, quàm perfectas habeant particulas. Ego namque Bovis vitulum cornibus petere conantem sæpenumero vidi, antequam ei nata essent cornua; Et pullum Equi calcitrantem, &c. Omne enim animal suæ ipsius Animæ facultates, ac in quos usus partes suæ polleant maximè, nullo doctore, præsentit.——Quâ igitur ratione dici potest, animalia partium usus à partibus doceri, cùm & antequam illas habeant, hoc cognoscere videantur? Si igitur Ova tria acceperis, unum Aquilæ, alterum Anatis, reliquum Serpentis, & calore modico foveris, animaliaque excluseris; illa quidem alis volare conantia, antequàm volare possint; hoc autem revolvi videbis, & serpere affectans, quamvis molle adhuc & invalidam fuerit. Et si, dum perfecta erunt, in unâ eâdemque domo nutriveris, deinde ad locum subdialem ducta emiseris, Aquila quidem ad sublime; Anas autem in paludem;——Serpens verò sub terrâ irrepet——Animalia quidem mihi videntur Naturâ magis quàm Ratione artem aliquam [τεχνικὰ artificiosa] exercere: Apes fingere alveolos, &c. Galen de usu. Part I. c. 3.
[q] Alia dentibus prædantur, alia unguibus, alia rostri aduncitate carpunt, alia latitudine [ejusdem] ruunt, alia acumine excavant, alia sugunt, alia lambunt, sorbent, mandunt, vorant. Nec minor varietas in Pedum ministerio, ut rapiant, distrahant, teneant, premant, pendeant, tellurem scabere non cessent. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 71.
[r] Because it would be tedious to reckon up the Bones, Glands, Muscles, and other Parts belonging to the Mouth, it shall suffice to observe, that, for the various Services of Man’s Mouth, besides the Muscles in common with other Parts, there are five Pair, and one single one proper to the Lips only, as Dr. Gibson reckons them: But my most diligent and curious Friend the late Mr. Cowper, discovered a sixth Pair. And accordingly Dr. Drake reckons six Pair, and one single one proper to the Lips, l. 3. c. 13.
[s] Galen deserves to be here consulted, who excellently argues against the casual Concourse of the Atoms of Epicurus and Asclepiades, from the provident and wise Formation of the Mouths of Animals, and their Teeth answerable thereto. In Man, his Mouth without a deep Incisure, with only one canine Tooth on a side, and flat Nails, because, saith he, Hic Natura certò sciebat, se animal mansuetum ac civile effingere, cui robur & vires essent ex sapientiâ, non ex corporis fortitudine. But for Lions, Wolfs and Dogs, and all such as are called Καρχαρόδοντες, (or having sharp, serrated Teeth) their Mouths are large, and deep cut; Teeth strong and sharp, and their Nails sharp, large, strong and round, accommodated to holding and tearing. Vid. Galen. de Us. Part. l. 11. c. 9.
[t] Among Insects the Squillæ aquaticæ, as they are very rapacious, so are accordingly provided for it: Particularly the Squilla aquatica maxima recurva (as I call it) who hath somewhat terrible in its very Aspect, and in its Posture in the Water, especially its Mouth, which is armed with long, sharp Hooks, with which it boldly, and greedily catcheth any thing in the Waters, even one’s Fingers. When they have seized their Prey, they will so tenaciously hold it with their forcipated Mouth, that they will not part therewith, even when they are taken out of the Waters, and jumbled about in one’s Hand. I have admired at their peculiar way of taking in their Food; which is done by piercing their Prey with their Forcipes (which are hollow) and sucking the Juice thereof through them.
The Squilla here mentioned, is the first and second in Mouffet’s Theat. Insect. l. 2. c. 37.
[u] For an Instance of Insects endued with a Spear, I shall, for its Peculiarity, pitch upon one of the smallest, if not the very smallest of all the Gnat-kind, which I call, Culex minimus nigricans maculatus sanguisuga. Among us in Essex, they are called Nidiots, by Mouffet Midges. It is about ⅒ of an Inch, or somewhat more long, with short Antennæ, plain in the Female, in the Male feather’d, somewhat like a Bottle-Brush. It is spotted with blackish Spots, especially on the Wings, which extend a little beyond the Body. It comes from a little slender Eel-like Worm, of a dirty white Colour, swimming in stagnating Waters by a wrigling Motion; as in Fig. 5.
Its Aurelia is small, with a black Head, little short Horns, a spotted, slender, rough Belly, Vid. Fig. 6. It lies quietly on the top of the Water, now and then gently wagging it self this way and that.
These Gnats are greedy Blood-Suckers, and very troublesome, where numerous, as they are in some Places near the Thames, particularly in the Breach-Waters that have lately befallen near us, in the Parish of Dagenham; where I found them so vexatious, that I was glad to get out of those Marshes. Yea, I have seen Horses so stung with them, that they have had Drops of Blood all over their Bodies, where they were wounded by them.
I have given a Figure (in Fig. 7.) and more particular Description of the Gnats, because, although it be common, it is no where taken notice of by any Author I know, except Mouffet, who, I suppose, means these Gnats, which he calls Midges, c. 13. p. 82.
[w] Hornets and Wasps have strong Jaws, toothed, wherewith they can dig into Fruits, for their Food; as also gnaw and scrape Wood, whole Mouthfuls of which they carry away to make their Combs. Vid. infr. Chap. 13. Note (c).
[x] Monsieur de la Voye tells of an ancient Wall of Free-Stone in the Benedictines-Abby at Caen in Normandy, so eaten with Worms, that one may run ones Hand into most of the Cavities: That these Worms are small and black, lodging in a greyish Shell, that they have large flattish Heads, a large Mouth, with four black Jaws, &c. Phil. Trans. Nᵒ. 18.
[y] Pro iis [Labris] cornea & acuta Volucribus Rostra. Eadem rapto viventibus adunca: collecto, recta: herbas ruentibus limumque lata, ut Suum generi. Jumentis vice manûs ad colligenda pabula: ora apertiora laniatu viventibus. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 37.
[z] Parrots have their Bills nicely adapted to these Services, being hooked, for climbing and reaching what they have occasion for; and the lower Jaw being compleatly fitted to the Hooks of the upper, they can as minutely break their Food, as other Animals do with their Teeth.
[aa] Thus in Woodcocks, Snipes, &c. who hunt for Worms in moorish Ground, and, as Mr. Willughby saith, live also on the fatty unctuous Humour they suck out of the Earth. So also the Bills of Curlews, and many other Sea-Fowl, are very long, to enable them to hunt for the Worms, &c. in the Sands on the Sea-shore, which they frequent.
[bb] Ducks, Geese, and divers others, have such long broad Bills, to quaffer and hunt in Water and Mud; to which we may reckon the uncouth Bill of the Spoon-Bill: but that which deserves particular Observation in the Birds named in these two last Notes is, the Nerves going to the end of their Bills, enabling them to discover their Food out of Sight; of which see Book VII. Chap. 2. Note (e).
[cc] The Picus viridis, or Green-Woodspite, and all the Wood-Peckers have Bills, curiously made for digging Wood, strong, hard, and sharp. A neat Ridge runs along the top of the green Wood-Pecker’s Bill, as if an Artist had designed it for Strength and Neatness.
[dd] The Loxia, or Cross-Bill, whose Bill is thick and strong, with the Tips crossing one another; with great Readiness breaks open Fir-cones, Apples, and other Fruit, to come at their Kernels, which are its Food, as if the crossing of the Bill was designed for this Service.
[ee] The Sea-Pie hath a long, sharp, narrow Bill, compressed side-ways, and every way so well adapted to the raising Limpets from the Rocks (which are its chief, if not only Food) that Nature (or rather the Author of Nature) seems to have framed it purely for that Use.
[ff] Those animals which have Teeth on both Jaws, have but one Stomach; but most of those which have no upper Teeth, or none at all, have three Stomachs; as in Beasts, the Paunch, the Read, and the Feck; and in all granivorous Birds, the Crop, the Echinus and the Gizard. For as chewing is to an easie Digestion, so is swallowing whole to that which is more laborious. Dr. Grew’s Cosmol. Sacr. c. 5. §. 24.
[gg] J. Peyer saith, the Teeth are made of convolved Skins hardened; and if we view the Grinders of Deer, Horses, Sheep, &c. we shall find great Reason to be of his Mind. His Observations are, Mirum autem eos (i.e. Dentes) cùm primùm è pelliculis imbricatim convolutis & muco viscido constarent, in tantam dirigescere soliditatem, quæ ossa cuncta superet. Idem fit etiam in Ossiculis Ceraforum, &c.——Separatione factâ, per membranas conditur Magma locellis, quos formant laminæ tenues, ac duriusculæ ad Dentis figuram anteà divinitùs compositæ. J. Peyer Merycol. l. 2. c. 8.
[hh] Qui autem (i.e. Dentes) renascuntur, minimè credendi sunt à facultate aliquâ plasticâ Brutorum denuò formari, sed latentes tantummodo in conspectum producuntur augmento molis ex effluente succo. Id. ibid.
[ii] From these, and other like Considerations of the Teeth, Galen infers, that they must needs be the Work of some wise, provident Being; not Chance, nor a fortuitous Concourse of Atoms. For the Confirmation of which he puts the Case, That suppose the order of the Teeth should have been inverted, the Grinders set in the room of the Incisors, &c. (which might as well have been, had not the Teeth been placed by a wise Agent) in this case, what Use would the Teeth have been of? What Confusion by such a slight Error in their Disposal only? Upon which he argues, At siquis choream hominum 32 (the Number of the Teeth) ordine disposuit, eum ut hominem industrium laudaremus; cùm verò Dentium choream Natura tam bellè exornârit, nonne ipsam quoque laudabimus? And then he goes on with the Argument, from the Sockets of the Teeth, and their nice fitting in them, which being no less accurately done, than what is done by a Carpenter, or Stone-Cutter, in fitting a Tenon into a Mortice, doth as well infer the Art and Act of the wise Maker of Animal Bodies, as the other doth the Act and Art of Man. And so he goes on with other Arguments to the same Effect. Galen. de Us. Part. l. 11. c. 8.
[kk] A curious Account of this may be found in an Extract of a Letter concerning the Teeth of divers Animals. Printed at Paris, in M. Vaugnion’s Compleat Body of Chirurg. Oper. Chap. 53.
[ll] As it hath been taken notice of, that various Animals delight in various Food; so it constantly falls out, that their Teeth are accordingly fitted to their Food; the rapacious to catching, holding and tearing their Prey; the herbaceous to Gathering and Comminution of Vegetables: And such as have no Teeth, as Birds, their Bill, Craw and Gizard, are assisted with Stones, to supply the defect of Teeth. But the most considerable Example of this Kind is in some Families of the Insect-Tribes, as the Papilio-Kind, &c. who have Teeth, and are voracious, and live on tender Vegetables in their Nympha, or Caterpillar-State, when they can only creep; but in their mature Papilio-State, they have no Teeth, but a Proboscis, or Trunk to suck up Honey, &c. their Parts for gathering Food, as well as their Food being changed, as soon as they have Wings to enable them to fly to it.
[mm] It is remarkable in the Teeth of Fishes, that in some they are sharp, as also jointed, so as to fall back, the better to catch and hold their Prey, and to facilitate its Passage into the Stomach: So in others they are broad and flat, made to break the Shells of Snails and Shell-Fish devoured by them. These Teeth, or Breakers, are placed, in some, in the Mouth; in some, in the Throat; and in Lobsters, &c. in the Stomach it self; in the bottom of whose Stomachs are three of those Grinders, with peculiar Muscles to move them.
[nn] What is there in the World can be called an Act of Providence and Design, if this temporary Defect of Teeth be not such; that Children, for Instance, should have none whilst they are not able to use them, but to hurt themselves; or the Mother; and that at the very Age when they can take in more substantial Food, and live without the Breast, and begin to need Teeth, for the sake of Speech; that then, I say, their Teeth should begin to appear, and gradually grow, as they more and more stand in need of ’em.
[oo] It would be endless to particularize here, and therefore I shall refer to the Anatomists; among the rest, particularly to Galen, for the sake of his Descant upon this Subject. For having described the great Accuracy of the Contrivance and Make of these Parts, he saith, Haud scio an hominum sit sobriorum ad Fortunam opificem id revocare: alioqui quid tandem erit, quod cum Providentiâ atque Arte efficitur? Omnino enim hoc ei contrariaum esse debet, quod casu ac fortuitè fit. Galen. de Us. Part. l. 11. c. 7. ubi plura.
[pp] The Bore of the Gullet is not in all Creatures alike answerable to the Body or Stomach. As in the Fox, which both feeds on Bones, and swallows whole, or with little chewing; add next in a Dog, and other ossivorous Quadrupeds, ’tis very large, viz. to prevent a Contusion therein. Next in a Horse, which though he feeds on Grass, yet swallows much at once, and so requires a more open Passage. But in a Sheep, Rabbit, or Ox, which bite short, and swallow less at once, ’tis smaller. But in a Squirrel, still lesser, both because he eats fine, and to keep him from disgorging his Meat upon his descending Leaps. And so in Rats and Mice, which often run along Walls with their Heads downwards. Dr. Grew’s Comp. Anat. of Stom. and Guts. Chap. 5.
[qq] Of this see Dr. Willis’s Pharm. Rat. Part 1. Sect. 1. c. 2. Steno also, and Peyer Mery, l. 2.
The Description these give of the muscular Part of the Gullet, the late ingenious and learned Dr. Drake saith is very exact in Ruminants, but not in Men. In Men, this Coat (the second of the Gullet) consists of two fleshy Lamellæ, like two distinct Muscles. The outward being compared of strait longitudinal Fibres.——The inner Order of Fibres is annular, without any observable Angles.——The Use of this Coat, and these Orders of Fibres is to promote Deglutition; of which the Longitudinal,——shorten the Oesophagus, and so make its Capacity larger, to admit of the Matter to be swallowed. The Annular, on the contrary, contract the Capacity, and closing behind the descending Aliment, press it downwards. Drake’s Anat. vol. 1. l. 1. c. 9.
[rr] See Willis, ibid. Cowper’s Anat. Tab. 35. and many other Authors.
[ss] Promptuarium autem hoc, alimentum universum excipiens, ceu Divinum, non Humanum sit opificium. Galen. de Us. Part. l. 4. c. 1.
[tt] How great a Comprehension of the Nature of Things, did it require, to make a Menstruum, that should corrode all sorts of Flesh coming into the Stomach, and yet not the Stomach it self, which is also Flesh? Dr. Grew’s Cosmol. Sacr. c. 4.
[uu] The Food of the Castor being oftentimes, if not always, dry Things, and hard of Digestion, such as the Roots and Bark of Trees, ’tis a wonderful Provision made in that Creature’s Stomach, by the digestive Juice lodged in the curious little Cells there. A Description of whose admirable Structure and Order may be found in Blasius from Wepser; concerning which he saith, In quibus Mucus reconditus, non secus ac Mel in Favis.——Nimiram quia Castoris alimentum exsuccum, & coctu difficillimum est, sapientissimus & summè admirandus in suis operibus rerum Conditor, D. O. M. ipsi pulcherrimâ istâ & affabrè factâ structurâ benignissimè prospexit, ut nunquam deesset Fermentum, quod ad solvendum, & comminuendum alimentum durum & asperum par foret. Vid. Blas. Anat. Animal. c. 10. Confer etiam Act. Erud. Lips. Ann. 1684. p. 360.
Most of our modern Anatomists and Physicians attribute Digestion to a dissolving Menstruum; but Dr. Drake takes it to be rather from fermentative, dissolving Principles in the Aliment it self, with the Concurrence of the Air and Heat of the Body; as in Dr. Papin’s Digester. Vid. Dr. Anat. vol. 1. c. 14.
[ww] All carnivorous Quadrupeds have the smallest Ventricles, Flesh going farthest. Those that feed on Fruits, and Roots, have them of a middle Size. Yet the Mole, because it feeds unclean, hath a very great one. Sheep and Oxen, which feed on Grass, have the greatest. Yet the Horse (and for the same Reason the Coney and Hare) though Graminivorous, yet comparatively have but little ones. For that a Horse is made for Labour, and both this, and the Hare, for quick and continued Motion; for which, the most easie Respiration, and so the freest Motion of the Diaphragme is very requisite; which yet could not be, should the Stomach lie big and cumbersome upon it, as in Sheep and Oxen it doth, Grew, ib. Chap. 6.
[xx] The Dromedary hath four Stomachs, one whereof is peculiarly endowed with about twenty Cavities, like Sacks, in all Probability for the holding of Water. Concerning which, see Book VI. Chap. 4. Note (a).
[yy] To assist in which Office, they swallow small angular Stones, which are to be met with in the Gizards of all granivorous Birds; but in the Gizard of the Iynx, or Wryneck, which was full only of Ants, I found not one Stone. So in that of the Green Wood-Pecker (full of Ants and Tree-maggots) there were but few Stones.
[zz] In most carnivorous Birds, the third Ventricle is Membranous; where the Meat is concocted, as in a Man: Or somewhat Tendinous, as in an Owl; as if it were made indifferently for Flesh, or other Meat, as he could meet with either. Or most thick and tendinous, called the Gizard; wherein the Meat, as in a Mill, is ground to Pieces. Grew, ubi supra, Chap. 9.
[aaa] It would be much too long a Task to insist upon it here as it deserves, and therefore concerning the whole Business of Rumination, I shall refer to J. Conr. Peyeri Merycolog. seu de Ruminantibus & Ruminatione Commentar. where he largely treateth of the several Ruminating Animals, of the Parts ministring to this Act, and the great Use and Benefit thereof unto them.
[bbb] There are too many Particulars to be insisted on, observable in the Passages of the Chyle, from the Guts to the Left Subclavian Vein, where it enters into the Blood; and therefore I shall only, for a Sample of this admirable Oeconomy, take notice of some of the main and more general Matters. And,
1. After the Food is become Chyle, and gotten into the Guts, it is an excellent Provision made, not only for its Passage through the Guts, but also for its Protrusion into the Lacteals, by the Peristaltick Motion and Valvulæ conniventes of the Guts. 2. It is an admirable Provision, that the Mouths of the Lacteals, and indeed the Lacteals primi generis themselves are small and fine, not wider than the Capillary Arteries are, lest by admitting Particles of the Nourishment grosser than the Capillaries, dangerous Obstructions might be thereby produced. 3. After the Reception of the Aliment into the Lacteals primi generis, it is a noble Provision for the Advancement of its Motion, that in the Mesenterick Glands, it meets with some of the Lymphæ-Ducts, and receives the Impregnations of the Lympha. And passing on from thence, it is no less Advantage. 4. That the Lacteals, and Lymphæ-Ducts meet in the Receptaculum Chyli, where the Aliment meeting with more of the Lympha, is made of a due Consistence, and Temperament, for its farther Advancement through the Thoracick Duct, and so into the Left Subclavian Vein and Blood. Lastly, This Thoracick Duct it self is a Part of great Consideration. For (as Mr. Cowper saith) If we consider in this Duct its several Divisions and Inosculations, its numerous Valves looking from below upwards, its advantagious Situation between the great Artery and Vertebræ of the Back, together with the Ducts discharging their refluent Lympha from the Lungs, and other neighbouring Parts, we shall find all conduce to demonstrate the utmost Art of Nature used in furthering the steep and perpendicular Ascent of the Chyle. Anat. Introduct.
[ccc] These, although noble Contrivances and Works of God, are too many to be insisted on, and therefore I shall refer to the Anatomists, particularly Dr. Willis Pharmaceut. Dr. Cole, in Phil. Trans. Nᵒ. 125. and Mr. Cowper’s elegant Cuts in Anat. Tab. 34, 35. and Append. Fig. 39, 40.
[ddd] In the Thornback, and some other Fishes, it is a very curious Provision that is made to supply the Paucity and Brevity of the Guts; by the Perforation of their single Gut, going not strait along, but round like a Pair of Winding Stairs; so that their Gut, which seems to be but a few Inches long, hath really a Bore of many Inches. But of these, and many other noble Curiosities and Discoveries in Anatomy, the Reader will, I hope, have a better and larger Account from the curious and ingenious Dr. Dowglas, who is labouring in those Matters.
[eee] Quibus bestiis erat is cibus, ut alius generis bestiis vescerentur, aut vires natura dedit, aut celeritatem: data est quibusdam etiam machinatio quædam, atque solertia, &c. Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 48.
[fff] Among Reptiles that have a strange Faculty to shift for Food, &c. may be reckoned Eels, which, although belonging to the Waters, can creep on the Land from Pond to Pond, &c. Mr. Mosely of Mosely, saw them creep over the Meadows, like so many Snakes from Ditch to Ditch; which he thought, was not only for bettering their Habitation, but also to catch Snails in the Grass. Plot’s Hist. of Staffordshire, c. 7. §. 32.
And as early as the Year 1125, the Frost was so very intense, that the Eels were forced to leave the Waters, and were frozen to Death in the Meadows. Vid. Hakewill’s Apol. l. 2. Chap. 7. S. 2.
[ggg] Enumerare possum, ad pastum capessendum conficiendúmque, quæ sit in figuris animantium & quam solers, subtilisque descriptio partium, quámque admirabilis fabrica membrorum. Omnia enim quæ intus inclusa sunt, ita nata, atque ita locata sunt, ut nihil eorum supervacaneum sit, nihil ad vitam retinendam non necessarium. Dedit autem eadem Natura belluis & sensum, & appetitum, ut altero conatum haberent ad naturales pastus capessendos; altero secernerent pestifera à salutaribus. Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 37. See Book IV. Chap. 4.
[hhh] It would be endless to give Instances of my own and others Observations of the prodigious Sagacity of divers Animals in Hunting, particularly Hounds, Setting-Dogs, &c. one therefore shall suffice of Mr. Boyl’s, viz. A Person of Quality——to make a Trial, whether a young Blood-Hound was well instructed,——caused one of his Servants——to walk to a Town four Miles off, and then to a Market-Town three Miles from thence.——The Dog, without seeing the Man he was to pursue, followed him by the Scent to the abovementioned Places, notwithstanding the Multitude of Market-People that went along in the same Way, and of Travellers that had occasion to cross it. And when the Blood-Hound came to the chief Market-Town, he passed through the Streets, without taking notice of any of the People there, and left not till he had gone to the House, where the Man he sought rested himself, and found him in an upper Room, to the wonder of those that followed him. Boyl. Determ. Nat. of Effluv. Chap. 4.
[iii] There are many Stories told of the Craft of the Fox, to compass his Prey; of which Ol. Magnus hath many such, as, feigning the barking of a Dog, to catch Prey near Houses; feigning himself dead, to catch such Animals as come to feed upon him; laying his Tail on a Wasp-Nest, and then rubbing it hard against a Tree, and then eating the Wasps so killed: Ridding himself of Fleas, by gradually going into Water, with a Lock of Wool in his Mouth, and so driving the Fleas up into it, and then leaving it in the Water; By catching Crab-Fish with his Tail, which he saith he himself was an Eye-Witness of; Vidi & ego in Scopulis Norvegia Vulpem, inter rupes immissâ caudâ in aquas, plures educere Cancros, ac demum devorare. Ol. Mag. Hist. l. 18. c. 39, 40. But Pliny’s fabulous Story of the Hyæna out-does these Relations of the Fox, Sermonem humanum inter pastorum stabula assimulare, nomenque alicujus addiscere, quem evocatum foràs laceret. Item Vomitionem hominis imitari ad sollicitandos Canes quos invadat. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 30.
[kkk] This do Ducks, Woodcocks, and many other Fowls, which seek their Food in dirty, moorish Places. For which Service they have very remarkable Nerves reaching to the end of their Bills. Of which see Book VII. Chap. 2. Note (e).
[lll] Swine, and other Animals that dig, have their Noses made more tendinous, callous, and strong for this Service, than others that do not dig. They are also edged with a proper, tough Border, for penetrating and lifting up the Earth; and their Nostrils are placed well, and their Smell is very accurate, to discover whatsoever they pursue by digging.
[mmm] The Mole, as its Habitation is different from that of other Animals, so hath its Organs in every respect curiously adapted to that way of Life; particularly its Nose made sharp, and slender, but withal tendinous and strong, &c. But what is very remarkable, it hath such Nerves reaching to the end of its Nose and Lips, as Ducks, &c. have, mentioned above in Note (kkk). Which Pair of Nerves I observed to be much larger in this Animal than any other Nerves proceeding out of its Brain.
[nnn] Predacious Creatures, as Wolfs, Foxes, &c. will discover Prey at great Distances; so will Dogs and Ravens discover Carrion a great way off by their Smell. And if (as the Superstitious imagine) the latter flying over and haunting Houses be a sign of Death, it is no doubt from some cadaverous Smell, those Ravens discover in the Air by their accurate Smell, which is emitted from those diseased Bodies, which have in them the Principles of a speedy Death.
[ooo] Thus Hawks and Kites on Land, and Gulls and other Birds that prey upon the Waters, can at a great Height in the Air see Mice, little Birds and Insects on the Earth, and small Fishes, Shrimps, &c. in the Waters, which they will dart down upon, and take.
[ppp] Mr. Ray gives a good Account of the Nidification of the Chrysaëtos caudâ annulo albo cinctâ. Hujus Nidus Ann. 1668. in sylvosis prope Derwentiam, &c. inventus est è bacillis seu virgis ligneis grandioribus compositus, quorum altera extremitas rupis cujusdam eminentiæ, altera duabus Betulis innitebatur,—Erat Nidus quadratus, duas ulnas latus.—In eo pullus unicus, adjacentibus cadaveribus unius agni, unius leporis, & trium Grygallorum pullorum. Synops. Method. Avium, p. 6. And not only Lambs, Hares, and Grygalli, but Sir Robert Sibbald tells us, they will seize Kids and Fawns, yea, and Children too: Of which he hath this Story of an Eagle in one of the Orcades Islands, Quæ Infantulum unius anni pannis involutum arripuit (quem Mater tessellas ustibiles pro igne allatura momento temporis deposuerat in loco Houton-Hed dicto) cumque deportâsse per 4 milliaria passuum ad Hoiam; quâ re ex matris ejulatibus cognitâ, quatuor viri illuc in naviculâ profecti sunt, & scientes ubi Nidus esset, infantulum illæsum & intactum deprehenderunt. Prod. Nat. Hist. Scot. l. 3. p. 2. p. 14.
[qqq] See in Book VII. Chap. 1. Note (l). the Characteristicks of the Wood-Pecker-kind.
[rrr] The Contrivance of the Legs, Feet and Nails [of the Opossum] seems very advantagious to this Animal in climbing Trees (which it doth very nimbly) for preying upon Birds. But that which is most singular in this Animal, is the Structure of its Tail, to enable it to hang on Boughs. The Spines, or Hooks——in the middle of the under side of the Vertebræ of the Tail; are a wonderful Piece of Nature’s Mechanism. The first three Vertebræ had none of these Spines, but in all the rest they were to be observed.——They were placed just at the Articulation of each Joynt, and in the middle from the Sides.——For the performing this Office [of hanging by the Tail] nothing, I think, could be more advantagiously contrived. For when the Tail is twirled or wound about a Stick, this Hook of the Spinæ easily sustains the Weight, and there is but little labour of the Muscles required, only enough for bowing or crooking the Tail. This, and more to the same purpose, see in Dr. Tyson’s Anat. of the Oposs. in Phil. Trans. No. 239.
[sss] See before Chap. 2. Note (z), (aa), (bb).
[ttt] Quid dicam quantus amor bestiarum sit in educandis custodiendisque iis, qua procreaverint, usque ad eum finem, dum possint seipsa defendere? And having instanced in some Animals, where this Care is not necessary, and accordingly is not employed, he goes on, Jam Gallinæ, avesque reliquæ, & quietum requirunt ad pariendum locum, & cubilia sibi, nidosque construunt, eosque quàm possunt mollissimè substernunt, ut quàm facillime ova serventur. Ex quibus pullos cùm excluserint, ita tuentur, ut & pennis foveant, ne frigore lædantur, & si est calor, à sole se opponant. Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 51, 52.
To this natural Care of Parent-Animals to their young, we may add the Returns made by the young of some towards the old ones. Pliny saith of Rats, Genitores suos fesses senectâ, alunt insigni pietate. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 57. So Cranes, he saith, Genitricum senectam invicem educant. L. 10. c. 23.
This St. Ambrose takes Notice of in his Hexameron, and Ol. Magnus after him, Depositi patris artus, per longævum senectutis plumis nudatos circumstans soboles pennis propriis fovet,——collatitio cibo pascit, quando etiam ipsa naturæ reparat dispendia, ut hinc inde senem sublevantes, fulcro alarum suarum ad volandum exerceant, & in pristinos usus desueta membra reducant. For which Reason this Bird is denominated Pia. Vid. Ol. Mag. Hist. l. 19. c. 14.
Hereto may be added also the conjugal Στοργὴ of the little green Æthiopian Parrot, which Mr. Ray describes from Clusius. Fœmellea senescentes (quod valdè notabile) vix edere volebant, nisi cibum jam à mare carptum, & aliquandiu in prolobo retentum, & quasi coctum rostro suo exciperent, ut Columbarum pulli à matre ali solent. Synops. Meth. Av. p. 32.
[uuu] The most timid Animals, that at other Times abscond, or hastily fly from the Face of Man, Dogs, &c. will, for the sake of their young, expose themselves. Thus among Fowls, Hens will assault, instead of fly from such as meddle with their Brood. So Partridges, before their young can fly, will drop frequently down, first at lesser, and then at greater Distances, to dodge and draw off Dogs from pursuing their young.
[www] The Opossum hath a curious Bag on purpose for the securing and carrying about her young. There are belonging to this Bag two Bones (not to be met with in any other Skeleton) and four Pair of Muscles; and some say Teats lie therein also. Dr. Tyson, Anat. of the Oposs. in Phil. Trans. Nᵒ. 239. where he also, from Oppian, mentions the Dog-Fish, that upon any Storm or Danger, receives the young Ones into her Belly, which come out again when the Fright is over. So also the Squatina and Glaucus, the same Author saith, have the same Care for their young, but receive them into different Receptacles.
[xxx] See Book VIII. Chap. 6.
[yyy] See Chap. 13. Note (c).
[zzz] There is manifestly a superintending Providence in this Case, that some Animals are able to suck as soon as ever they are born, and that they will naturally hunt for the Teat before they are quite gotten out of the Secundines, and parted from the Navel-String, as I have seen. But for Chickens, and other young Birds, they not being able immediately to pick till they are stronger, have a notable Provision made for such a Time, by a part of the Yolk of the Egg being inclosed in their Belly, a little before their Exclusion or Hatching, which serves for their Nourishment, till they are grown strong enough to pick up Meat. Vid. Book VII. Chap. 4. Note (a).
[aaaa] Qui [Infantes] de ope nostrâ ac de divinâ misericordia plus merentur, qui in primo statim nativitatis sua ortu plorantes ac stentes, nil aliud faciunt quam deprecantur. Cypr. Ep. ad Fid.
[bbbb] I might name here some of the Species of Birds, the whole Tribe almost of Insects, and some among other Tribes, that are able to subsist for many Months without Food, and some without Respiration too, or very little; But it may suffice to instance only in the Land-Tortoise, of the Structure of whose Heart and Lungs: See Book VI. Chap. 5. Note (b).
[cccc] Inediam diutissimè tolerat Lupus, ut & alia omnia carnivora, licèt voracissima; magnâ utique naturæ providentiâ; quoniam esca non semper in promptu est. Ray’s Synops. Quadr. p. 174.
To the long Abstinence mentioned of Brute-Animals, I hope the Reader will excuse me if I add one or two Instances of extraordinary Abstinence among Men. One Martha Taylor, born in Derbyshire, by a Blow on the Back fell into such a Prostration of Appetite, that she took little Sustenance, but some Drops with a Feather, from Christmas 1667. for thirteen Months, and slept but little too all the Time. See Dr. Sampson’s Account thereof in Ephem. Germ. T. 3. Obs. 173.
To this we may add the Case of S. Chilton, of Tinsbury, near Bath, who in the Years 1693, 1696, and 97, slept divers Weeks together. And although he would sometimes, in a very odd manner, take Sustenance, yet would lie a long Time without any, or with very little, and all without any considerable Decay. See Phil. Trans. Nᵒ. 304.
[dddd] They are admirable Instincts which the Sieur de Beauplan relates of his own Knowledge, of the little Animals called Bohaques in Ukraine. They make Burroughs like Rabbets, and in October shut themselves up, and do not come out again till April.——They spend all the Winter under Ground, eating what they laid up in Summer.——Those that are lazy among them, they lay on their Backs, then lay a great handful of dry Herbage upon their Bodies, &c. then others drag those Drones to the Mouths of their Burroughs, and so those Creatures serve instead of Barrows, &c. I have often seen them practise this, and have had the Curiosity to observe them whole Days together.——Their Holes are parted like Chambers; some serve for Store-Houses, others for Burying-Places, &c. Their Government is nothing inferior to that of Bees, &c. They never go abroad without posting a Centinel upon some high Ground, to give notice to the others whilst they are feeding. As soon as the Centinel sees any Body, it stands upon his Hind-Legs and whistles. Beauplan’s Description of Ukraine, in Vol. I. of the Collection of Voyages, &c.
A like Instance of the Northern Galli Sylvestres, see in Chap. 13. Note (g).
As for the Scriptural Instance of the Ant, see hereafter Book VIII. Chap. 5. Note (d).
[eeee] I have in Autumn, not without Pleasure observed, not only the great Sagacity and Diligence of Swine, in hunting out the Stores of the Field-Mice; but the wonderful Precaution also of those little Animals, in hiding their Food beforehand against Winter. In the Time of Acorns falling, I have, by means of the Hogs, discovered, that the Mice had, all over the neighbouring fields, treasured up single Acorns in little Holes they had scratched, and in which they had carefully covered up the Acorn. These the Hogs would, Day after Day, hunt out by their Smell.