FOOTNOTES:
[a] Concerning the Cloathing of Animals, Aristotle observes, That such Animals have Hair as go on Feet and are viviparous; and that such are covered with a Shell, as go on Feet, and are oviparous, Hist. Anim. l. 3. c. 10.
[] Cujus [Hominis] causâ videtur cuncta alia genuisse Natura, magnâ & sævâ mercede contra tanta sua munera: ut non sit satìs æstimare, Parens melior homini, an tristior Noverca fuerit. Ante omnia unum Animantium cunctorum alienis velat opibus: cæteris variè tegumenta tribuit, testas, cortices, coria, spinas, villos, setas, pilos, plumam, pennas, squamas, vellera. Truncos etiam arboresque cortice, interdum gemino, à frigoribus, & calore tutata est. Hominem tantum nudum, & in nudâ humo, natali die abjicit ad vagitus statim & ploratum, nullumque tot animalium aliud ad lacrymas, & has protinus vita principio. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 7. Proœm.
Let Seneca answer this Complaint of Pliny, although perhaps what he saith might be more properly noted in another Place: Quisquis es iniquus æstimator fortis humana, cogita quanta nobis tribuerit Parens noster, quanto valentiora animalia sub jugum miserimus, quanto velociora assequamur, quàm nihil sit mortale non sub ictu nostro positum. Tot virtutes accepimus, tot artes, animum denique cui nihil non eodem quo intendit momento pervium est, Sideribus velociorem, &c. Senec. de Benef. l. 2. c. 29.
[c] Mirantur plurimi quomodo tutè, & sanè vivant homines in horrendis frigoribus plagæ Septentrionalis; hancque levem quæstionem ultra 30 annos audieram in Italia, præsertim ab Æthiopibus, & Indis, quibus onerosus videtur vestitus sub Zonâ terridâ.——Quibus respondetur,——Gaudet Indus multiplici plumarum genere, magìs forsan pro tegumento, quàm necessitate: rursus Scytha villoso vestitu——Ita sub polo Arctico adversùs asperrimas hyemes——opportuna remedia faciliter administrat [Natura]. Ligna videlicet in maxima copia, & levissimo pretio, & demum Pelles diversorum animalium, tam sylvestrium quàm domesticorum. Then he gives a Catalogue of them, and saith, Quarum omnium experti pellifices ita ingeniosè noverunt mixturas componere, ut pulcherrimum decorum ostendat varietas, & calidissimum fomentum adjuncta mollities. Ol. Mag. Hist. l. 6. c. 20.
To this Guard against the Cold, namely, of Fire and Cloathing; I hope the Reader will excuse me, if I take this Opportunity of adding some other Defensatives Nature, (or rather the great Author of Nature,) hath afforded these northern Regions: Such are their high Mountains, abounding, as Ol. Magnus saith, through all Parts; also their numerous Woods, which besides their Fire, do, with the Mountains, serve as excellent Screens against the Cold, piercing Air and Winds. Their prodigious Quantities of Minerals, and Metals, also afford Heat, and warm Vapours, Mineræ septentrionalium regionum satìs multæ, magnæ, diversæ, & opulentæ sunt, saith the same curious, and (for his Time,) learned Archbishop, l. 6. c. 1. and in other Places. And for the Warmth they afford, the Volcano’s of those Parts are in Evidence; as are also their terrible Thunder and Lightning, which are observ’d to be the most severe and mischievous in their metalline Mountains, in which large Herds of Cattle are sometimes destroy’d; the Rocks so rent and shatter’d, that new Veins of Silver are thereby discover’d; and a troublesome Kind of Quinsie is produc’d in their Throats, by the stench, and poisonous Nature of the sulphureous Vapours, which they dissolve, by drinking warm Beer and Butter together, as Olaus tells us in the same Book, Chap. 11.
To all which Defensatives, I shall, in the last Place add, the warm Vapours of their Lakes, (some of which are prodigiously large, of 130 Italian Miles in Length, and not much less in Breadth;) also of their Rivers, especially the Vapours which arise from the Sea. Of which Guard against severe Cold, we have lately had a convincing Proof in the great Frost, in 1708, wherein, when England, Germany, France, Denmark; yea, the more southerly Regions of Italy, Switzerland, and other Parts suffer’d severely, Ireland and Scotland felt very little of it, hardly more than in other Winters; of the Particulars of which, having given an Account in the Phil. Trans. Nᵒ. 324. I shall thither refer the Reader. But it seems this is what doth ordinarily befal those northern Parts; particularly the Islands of Orkney, of which the learned Dr. Wallace gives this Account: Here the Winters are generally more subject to Rain than Snow; nor doth the Frost and Snow continue so long here, as in other Parts of Scotland; but the Wind in the mean Time will often blow very boisterously; and it Rains sometimes, not by Drops, but by spouts of Water, as if whole Clouds fell down at once. In the Year 1680, in the Month of June, after great Thunder, there fell Flakes of Ice near a Foot thick. Wall. Account of Ork. Chap. 1. p. 4. From which last Passage I observe; That although in those Parts, the Atmosphere near the Earth be warm, it is excessively cold above; so as to freeze some of those Spouts of Water in their Descent, into such great, and almost incredible Masses of Hail. And whence can this Warmth proceed, but from the Earth, or Sea, emitting Heat sufficient to stave off the Cold above? Consult [Book II. Chap. 5. Note (c).]
[d] Sicut enim si innata sibi [i.e. Homini] aliqua haberat arma, illa ei sola semper adessent, ita & si artem aliquam Natura fortitus esset, reliquas sanè non haberet. Quia verò ei melius erat omnibus armis, omnibusque artibus uti, neutrum eorum à naturâ ipsi propterea datum est. Galen. de Us. Part. l. 1. c. 4.
[e] Concerning insensible Perspiration, Sanctorius observes, That it much exceeds all the Sensible put together. De Stat. Med. Aph. 4. That as much is evacuated by insensible Perspiration in one Day, as is by Stool in fourteen Days. Particularly, that, in a Night’s Time, about sixteen Ounces is commonly sent out by Urine, four Ounces by Stool; but above forty Ounces by insensible Perspiration, Aphor. 59, 60. That if a Man eats and drinks 8 l. in a Day, 5 l. of it is spent in insensible Perspiration, §. 1. Aph. 6. And as to the Times, he saith, Ab assumpto cibo 5 horis 1 l. circiter perspirabilis——exhalare solet, à 5a ad 12am 3 l. circiter; à 12a ad 16am vix selibram, Aph. 56.
And as to the wonderful Benefits of insensible Perspiration, they are abundantly demonstrated by the same learned Person, ubi supra; as also by Borelli in his second Part, De Mot. Animal, Prop. 168. who saith, Necessaria est insensibilis Transpiratio, ut vita Animalis conservetur.
[f] Animantium verò quanta varietas est? Quanta ad cam rem vis, ut in suo quæque genere permaneant? Quaram aliæ coriis tectæ sunt, aliæ villis vesticæ, aliæ spinis hirsutæ: plumâ alias, alias squamâ videmus obductas, alias esse cornibus armatas, alias habere effugia pennarum. Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 2. c. 47.
[g] From Malpighi’s curious Observations of the Hair, I shall note three Things. 1. Their Structure is fistulous, or tubular; which hath long been a Doubt among the curious. Fistulosum [esse Pilum] demonstrant lustratio pilarum à caudâ & collo Equorum, &c.——præcipuè setarum Apri, quæ patentiorem ex fistulis compositionem exhibent. Est autem dictus Apri pilus Cylindricum corpus quasi diaphanum——fistularum aggere conflatum, & speciem columnæ striatæ præ se fert. Componentes fistulæ in gyrum situatæ in apice patentiores redduntur; nam hians pilus in geminas dividitur partes, & componentes minimæ fistulæ——libersores redditæ manifestantur, ita ut enumerari possunt; has autem 20, & ultra numeravi.——Expositæ fistulæ——tubulosæ sunt, & frequentibus tunicis transversaliter situatis, veluti valvulis pollent. Et quoniam Spinæ, in Erinaceis præcipui, &c. nil aliud sunt, quam duri & rigidi pili, ideo, &c. And then he describes the Hedgehog’s Spines, in which those Tubes manifestly appear; together, with medullary Valves and Cells; not inelegant, which he hath figur’d in Tab. 16. at the End of his Works.
That which this sagacious, and not enough to be commended Observer, took notice of in the Structure of Hair, and its Parity to the Spines; I have my self observ’d in some Measure to be true, in the Hair of Cats, Rats, Mice, and divers other Animals; which look very prettily when view’d with a good Microscope. The Hair of a Mouse, (the most transparent of any I have view’d,) seems to be one single transparent Tube, with a Pith made up of a fibrous Substance, running in dark Lines; in some Hairs tranversly, in others spirally, as in [Fig. 14, 15, 16, 17.] These darker medullary Parts, or Lines, I have observ’d, are no other than small Fibres convolved round, and lying closer together than in other Parts of the Hair. They run from the Bottom, to the Top of the Hair; and I imagine, serve to the gentle Evacuation of some Humour out of the Body; perhaps the Hair serves as well for the insensible Perspiration of hairy Animals, as to fence against Cold and Wet. In [Fig. 14, 16], is represented the Hair of a Mouse, as it appears through a small Magnifier; and in [Fig. 15, 17], as it appears when view’d with a larger Magnifier.
Upon another Review, I imagine, That although in [Fig. 14, 15], the dark Parts of the Pith seem to be transverse; that they, as well as in the two other Figures, run round in a screw-like Fashion.
[h] See [Book VII. Chap. 1. Note (d) (e).]
[k] It is a Sign some wise Artist was a Contriver of the Cloathing of Animals; not only as their Cloathing varies, as their Way of Living doth; but also because every Part of their Bodies is furnish’d with proper suitable Cloathing. Thus divers Animals, that have their Bodies cover’d for the most Part with short, smooth Hair; have some Parts left naked, where Hair would be an Annoyance: And some Parts beset with long Hair; as the Mane and Tail; And some with stiff, strong Bristles; as about the Nose; And sometimes within the Nostrils; to guard off, or give warning of Annoyances.
[l] The Feathers being placed from the Head towards the Tail, in close and neat Order, and withal preened and dressed by the Contents of the Oil-Bag, afford as easie a Passage through the Air, as a Boat new cleaned and dressed finds in its Passage through the Waters. Whereas, were the Feathers placed the contrary, or any other way (as they would have been, had they been placed by Chance, or without Art) they would then have gathered Air, and been a great Encumbrance to the Passage of the Body through the Air. See [Book VII. Chap. 1. Note (b).]
[m] In [Book VII. Chap. 1. Note (e).] there is a particular Account of the Mechanism of their Vanes, from some nice Microscopical Observations, and therefore I shall take no farther Notice of it here.
[n] Vid. Borell. de Mot. Animal. Prop. 182. Vol. I.
[o] See [Book IX.]
[p] For a Sample of this Branch of my Survey, let us chuse the Tegument of Earth-Worms, which we shall find compleatly adapted to their Way or Life and Motion, being made in the most compleat Manner possible for terebrating the Earth, and creeping where their Occasions lead them. For their Body is made throughout of small Rings, and these Rings have a curious Apparatus of Muscles, enabling those Creatures with great Strength to dilate, extend, or contract their Annuli, and whole Body; those Annuli also are each of them armed with small, stiff, sharp Beards, or Prickles, which they can open, to lay hold on, or shut up close to their Body: And lastly, Under the Skin there lies a slimy Juice, that they emit, as Occasion is, at certain Perforations between the Annuli, to lubricate the Body, and facilitate their Passage into the Earth. By all which Means they are enabled with great Speed, Ease, and Safety, to thrust and wedge themselves into the Earth; which they could not do, had their Bodies been covered with Hair, Feathers, Scales, or such like Cloathing of the other Creatures. See more concerning this Animal, [Book IX. Chap. 1. Note (a).]
[q] Aristotle, in his Hist. Anim. l. 3. c. 12. names several Rivers, that by being drank of, change the Colour of the Hair.
[r] For an Example; Let us take the Cloathing of the Tortoise and Viper; because, by an incurious View, it rather regrateth, than pleaseth the Eye: But yet, by an accurate Survey, we find the Shells of the Former, and the Scales of the Latter, to be a curious Piece of Mechanism, neatly made; and so compleatly, and well put, and tack’d together, as to exceed any human Composures: Of the Latter see more in [Book IX. Chap. 1. Note (c).]
[] It would be endless to enter into the Particulars of the beautiful Birds and Insects of our European Parts; but especially those inhabiting the Countries between the Tropicks, which are observed as much to exceed our Birds in their Colours, as ours do theirs in their Singing.
[t] The Wryneck, at a Distance, is a Bird of mean Colour; neither are indeed its Colours radiant, or beautiful, singly considered: But when it is in the Hand we see its light and darker Colours so curiously mixed together, as to give the Bird a surprizing Beauty. The same is also observable in many Insects, particularly of the Phalæna kind.
CHAP. XIII.
Of the Houses and Habitation of Animals.
Having in the last Chapter, as briefly as well I could, surveyed the Cloathing of Animals, I shall in this take a View of their Houses, Nests, their Cells and Habitations; another Thing no less necessary to their Well-being than the last; and in which the Great Creator hath likewise signalized his Care and Skill, by giving Animals an architectonick Faculty, to build themselves convenient Places of Retirement, in which to repose and secure themselves, and to nurse up their Young.
And here, as before, we may consider the case of Man, and that of the irrational Animals. Man having (as I said) the Gift of Reason and Understanding, is able to shift for himself, to contrive and build, as his Pleasure leads him, and his Abilities will admit of. From the meanest Huts and Cottages, he can erect himself stately Buildings, bedeck them with exquisite Arts of Architecture, Painting, and other Garniture, ennoble them, and render them delightful with pleasant Gardens, Fountains, Avenues, and what not? For Man therefore the Creator hath abundantly provided in this respect, by giving him an Ability to help himself. And a wise Provision this is, inasmuch as it is an excellent Exercise of the Wit, the Ingenuity, the Industry and Care of Man.
But since Ingenuity, without Materials, would be fruitless, the Materials therefore which the Creator hath provided the World with, for this very Service of Building, deserves our Notice. The great Varieties of Trees[a], Earth, Stones and Plants, answering every Occasion and Purpose of Man for this Use, in all Ages and Places all the World over, is a great Act of the Creator’s Goodness; as manifesting, that since he has left Man to shift for himself, it should not be without sufficient Help to enable him to do so, if he would but make use of them, and the Sense and Reason which God hath given him.
Thus sufficient Provision is made for the Habitation of Man.
And no less shall we find is made for the rest of the Creatures; who although they want the Power of Reason to vary their Methods, and cannot add to, or diminish from, or any way make Improvements upon their natural Way; yet we find that natural Instinct, which the Creator’s infinite Understanding hath imprinted in them, to be abundantly sufficient, nay, in all Probability, the very best or only Method they can take, or that can be invented for the respective Use and Purpose of each peculiar Species of Animals[]. If some Creatures make their Nests in Holes, some in Trees, some in Shrubs, some in the Earth[c], some in Stone, some in the Waters, some here, and some there, or have none at all; yet we find, that that Place, that Method of Nidification doth abundantly answer the Creatures Use and Occasions. They can there sufficiently and well repose, and secure themselves, lay, and breed up their Young. We are so far from discovering any Inconvenience in any of their respective Ways, from perceiving any Loss befal the Species, any decay, any perishing of their Young; that in all Probability, on the contrary, in that particular Way they better thrive, are more secure, and better able to shift for, and help themselves. If, for Instance, some Beasts make to themselves no Habitation, but lie abroad in the open Air, and there produce their Young; in this case we find there is no need it should be otherwise, by Reason they are either taken care of by Man [d], or in no Danger, as other Creatures, from Abroad. If others reposite their Young in Holes[e] and Dens, and secure themselves also therein, it is, because such Guard, such Security is wanting, their Lives being sought either by the Hostility of Man, or to satisfie the Appetite of rapacious Creatures[f]. If among Birds, some build their Nests close, some open, some with this, some with another Material, some in Holes, some in Trees, some on the Ground[g], some on Rocks and Crags on high (of which God himself hath given an Instance in the Eagle, Job xxxix. 27, 28.) And so among the Insect and Reptile Kinds, if some reposite their Eggs or Young in the Earth, some in Wood, some in Stone, some on one Kind of Plant, some on another, some in warm and dry Places, some in the Water and moist Places, and some in their own Bodies only, as shall be shewn in proper Place; in all these Cases it is in all Probability, the best or only Method the Animal can take for the Hatching and Production of its Young, for their Supplies, Safety, or some other main Point of their Being or Well-being. This is manifest enough in many Cases, and therefore probable in all. It is manifest that such Animals, for Instance, as breed in the Waters (as not only Fish, but divers Insects, and other Land-Animals do) that their Young cannot be hatched, fed, or nursed up in any other Element. It is manifest also, that Insects, which lay their Eggs on this, and that, and the other agreeable Tree, or Plant, or in Flesh, &c. that it is by that Means their Young are fed and nursed up. And it is little to be doubted also, but that these Matrixes may much conduce to the Maturation and Production of the Young. And so in all other the like Cases of Nidification, of Heat or Cold, Wet or Dry, Exposed or Open, in all Probability this is the best Method for the Animal’s Good, most salutary and agreeable to its Nature, most for its Fecundity, and the Continuance and Increase of its Species; to which every Species of Animals is naturally prompt and inclined.
Thus admirable is the natural Sagacity and Instinct[h] of the irrational Animals in the Convenience and Method of their Habitations. And no less is it in the Fabrick of them. Their architectonick Skill, exerted in the Curiosity and Dexterity of their Works, and exceeding the Skill of Man to imitate; this, I say, deserves as much or more Admiration and Praise, than that of the most exquisite Artist among Men. For with what inimitable Art[] do these poor untaught Creatures lay a parcel of rude and ugly Sticks and Straws, Moss and Dirt together, and form them into commodious Nests? With what Curiosity do they line them within, wind and place every Hair, Feather, or Lock of Wool, to guard the tender Bodies of themselves and their Young, and to keep them warm? And with what Art and Craft do many of them thatch over, and coat their Nests without, to dodge and deceive the Eye of Spectators, as well as to guard and fence against the Injuries of Weather[k]? With what prodigious Subtilty do some foreign Birds[l] not only plat and weave the fibrous Parts of Vegetables together, and curiously tunnel them, and commodiously form them into Nests, but also artificially suspend them on the tender Twigs of Trees, to keep them out of the reach of rapacious Animals?
And so for Insects, those little, weak, those tender Creatures; yet, what admirable Artists are they in this Business of Nidification! With what great Diligence doth the little Bee gather its Combs from various Trees[m] and Flowers, the Wasp from solid[n] Timber! And with what prodigious geometrical Subtilty do those little Animals work their deep hexagonal Cells, the only proper Figure that the best Mathematician could chuse for such a Combination of Houses[o]! With what Accuracy do other Insects perforate the Earth[p], Wood, yea, Stone it self[q]! For which Service, the compleat Apparatus of their Mouths[r], and Feet[], deserves particular Observation, as hath been, and will be hereafter observ’d. And further yet; With what Care and Neatness do most of those little sagacious Animals line those their Houses within, and seal them up, and fence them without[t]! How artificially will others fold up the Leaves of Trees and Plants[]; others house themselves in Sticks and Straws; others glue light and floating Bodies together[w], and by that Artifice make themselves floating Houses in the Waters, to transport themselves at Pleasure after their Food, or other necessary Occasions of Life! And for a Close, let us take the scriptural Instance of the Spider, Prov. xxx. 28. which is one of the four little Things, which, v. 44. Agur says, is exceeding Wise: The Spider taketh hold with her Hands, and is in Kings Palaces[x]. I will not dispute the Truth of our English Translation of this Text, but supposing the Animal mention’d to be that which is meant; it is manifest, that the Art of that Species of Creatures, in spinning their various Webs, and the Furniture their Bodies afford to that Purpose, are an excellent Instinct, and Provision of Nature, setting forth its glorious Author.
And now from this short and transient View of the architectonick Faculty of Animals, especially the Irrationals; we may easily perceive some superiour and wise Being was certainly concern’d in their Creation or Original. For, how is it possible that an irrational Creature should, with ordinary and coarse, or indeed any Materials, be ever able to perform such Works, as exceed even the Imitation of a rational Creature? How could the Bodies of many of them, (particularly the last mention’d,) be furnish’d with architective Materials? How could they ever discover them to be in their Bodies, or know what Use to make of them? We must therefore necessarily conclude, That the Irrationals either have Reason and Judgment, not only Glimmerings thereof, but some of its superiour Acts, as Wisdom and Foresight, Discretion, Art and Care; or else, that they are only passive in the Case, and act by Instinct, or by the Reason of some superiour Being imprinted in their Nature, or some Way or other, (be it how it will,) congenial with them. That they are Rational, or excel Man in Art and Wisdom, none surely will be so foolish as to say: And therefore we must conclude, That those excellent Ends they pursue, and that admirable Art they exert, is none of their own, but owing to that infinitely wise and excellent Being, of whom it may be said, with reference to the irrational, as well as rational Creatures, as it is, Prov. ii. 6. The Lord giveth Wisdom; out of his Mouth cometh Knowledge and Understanding.
