Between the Times of visiting the Woman, we examined the several Rabbets, which were all kept separate in distinct Pots, with Spirits of Wine, in the Order that they were brought away.
The first Animal did not appear to be a perfect Rabbet, in all its Parts, three of the Feet being like the Paws of a Cat, the Stomach and Intestines like those Parts in the same Animal, as also the Shape and Figure of the Thorax; the Lungs and Heart of which were entirely out of their natural Situation, and squeezed out between the upper Ribbs and Vertebræ of the Neck, to which Parts they strongly grew and adhered. The Lungs of this Creature, had they been placed in their natural Cavity, would not have filled above a sixth Part of it: The Bones of this Creature being also different in Substance and Structure, from those of common Rabbets, the Head and one Paw only excepted.
All the other thirteen Animals were, in every Particular, like well formed, common, natural Rabbets, from the Size of two Months Growth to four. They were all broken in Pieces, and much in the same Manner. I shall describe these pieces in the Order that Mr. Howard told us they had commonly been brought away. First the four Paws with the Furr on; then the Liver and Intestines; the Trunk and Shoulders in another Part: In three or four Animals the Loyns separated from the Os Sacrum; and in the rest, the Ischium and Thighs in one piece, with the Loyns; the Head with its Furr, and lastly the Skin.
When all these several Parts were put together in their proper Order, they manifestly made up, and appeared to belong to the above-mentioned Animals: But the Viscera were wanting in four or five of them. One remarkable Circumstance is, that most of these Animals were Females, as far as I could judge.
The Heart and Liver of those which we examined, appeared much larger than usual, when compared with the Lungs and Intestines which belonged to them; which on the contrary were extremely small. The Cœcum and Colon, which are remarkably large in Rabbets, appeared not to exceed in bigness the other Intestines, and the spiral Structure of the Cœcum was not yet unfolded; the Stomach was in like manner much contracted, and its Pilorus very streight and narrow. I cou’d not discover, in any of the Livers that I examin’d, the Ductus Venosus, nor the implantation of the Umbelical Vein in that Organ.
I open’d three or four of the Hearts, and found in every one of them the Foramen Ovale, and the Ductus Arteriosus fully open, the two Trunks of the Descendant Cava united at the right Auricle of the Heart, agreeable to that Structure which is peculiar to natural Rabbets, and some few other Animals.
The Flesh of these Creatures, particularly of that which I extracted, had the smell of Rabbets just killed: and the Substance of their Bones were, in all respects, like the Bones of Fœtus Rabbets; in several of them the Epiphyses were separated from the Bones themselves.
All the Heads which I examined had their compleat number of Teeth, four cutt before, and ten Grinders on each side, but they appeared not in the least worn nor stained, as the Teeth of other Rabbets are by Mastication.
The Nails of the Paws were most of them exceedingly sharp.