The Digital Ark: Early Modern Collections of Curiosities in England and Scotland, 1580-1700
Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)
Greek scholar and philosopher Dictionary of National Biography entry: http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198606413.001.0001/acref-9780198606413-e-772?rskey=4TwVWA&result=1&q=aristotle Other biography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle Authority - ancientRelationships: Alexander the Great (20 Jul 356 BC-11 Jun 323 BC) was a associate or acquaintance (general) of Aristotle
Theophrastus (c. 371 BC-c. 287 BC) was a associate or acquaintance (general) of Aristotle
Linked print sources: as Author (in assoc. with a ms or print source) - De Partibus Animalium.
as Author (in assoc. with a ms or print source) - De Partibus Animalium.
as Author (in assoc. with a ms or print source) - De Precationibus.
as Author (in assoc. with a ms or print source) - Historia Animalium.
as Author (in assoc. with a ms or print source) - Historia Animalium.
References in Documents:
Emberiza flavaof
Hortulanusof
Luteaof another kind of
Chloreusor
ofAristotle's Lutea
Catulusof
Caniculaof
Pesegattoof the
ofAcus
syvigw beneraud,i.e. the golden-headed tit.
ll—
o
14.
King
Bibliotheca AbsconditaAlfred
King
Solomon
de Umbris Idæarum, which
14.
King
Bibliotheca AbsconditaAlfred
King
Solomon
de Umbris Idæarum, which
?PREFACE.
Ssto the following Catalogue, I have some things to say, of the
Order, Names, Descriptions, Figures, and Uses of
Particulars, and the Quotations I have made therein.
As to the first, I like not the reason which
Aldrovandus gives for
his beginning the History of Quadrupeds with the
Horse; Quòd præcipuam nobis
utilitatem præbeat. Being better placed according to the degrees
of their Approximation, to Humane Shape, and one to
another: and so other Things, according to their Nature. Much less
should I choose, with Gesner, to go by the Alphabet. The very Scale of the Creatures,
is a matter of high speculation.
As to the Names, where they were wanting, (which in our own
Language were many) I have taken leave to give them. But
have generally reteind them, where I have found them
all-ready given. Although, from some distinguishing Note less
convenient; as the Colour is, than the Figure. And sometimes very
Improper, as Concha Persica, and the like, from the
Place. For it often falls out, that the same Thing breeds in many
Places. But there is no Natural Reason, why it should be called by
one, rather than another. So that the Names of Things should be always
taken from something more observably declarative of their
Form, or Nature. The doing of which, would much facilitate and Improve
the Knowledge of them many ways. For so, every Name were a short
Definition. Where as if Words are confus'd, little else can
be distinctly learn'd. Yet I took it not to be my part, actually to
reform this matter; unless I had been writing an Universal History of Nature.
In the Descriptions, I have taken care; First, to rectifie the
mistakes of such as are given us by other Hands. Secondly, not to
Transcribe any; as is too commonly done: but having noted something
more especial therein, to refer to the Author. Thirdly, where there is
no Description at all, or that is too short, or the faults therein
many, to give one at large. For the doing of all which, what the
trouble of comparing Books together hath been, I say with Sleydan in another
Case, Post Deum Immortalem Ipse novi.
In the Descriptions given, I have observed, with the Figures of
Things, also their Colours; so far as I could, unless I had view'd
them Living, and Fresh. And have added their just Measures. Much
neglected by Writers of Natural History.
If any object against their length: perhaps they have not so
well considered the necessity hereof, for the cleer and evident
distinction of the several Kinds and Species, in so great a variety of
Things known in the World. And wherein also regard is to be had, to
all that after Ages may discover, or have occasion to enquire after.
The Curiosity and Diligence of Pliny, is highly to be commended. Yet he is so
brief, that his Works are rather a Nomenclature,
than a History: which perhaps might be more intelligible to the Age he
lived
in, than the succeeding ones. But had He, and Others, been more
particular in the Matters they treat of: their
Commentators had engaged their own and their Readers Time much better,
than in so many fruitless and endless Disquisitions and
Contests. It were certainly a Thing both in it self Desirable, and of
much Consequence; To have such an Inventory of Nature, wherein, as on
the one hand, nothing should be Wanting; so nothing Repeated
or Confounded, on the other. For which, there is no way without a
cleer and full Description of Things.
Besides, that in such Descriptions, many Particulars relating
to the Nature and Use of Things, will occur to the Authors
mind, which otherwise he would never have thought of. And may give
occasion to his Readers, for the consideration of many more. And
therefore it were also very proper, That not only Things strange and
rare, but the most known and common amongst us, were thus describ'd.
Not meerly, for that what is common in one Countrey, is rare
in another: but because, likewise, it would yield a great aboundance of matter for any Man's Reason to work upon. He that
notes, That a Grey hound hath pricked Ears, but that those of a Hound
hang down; may also the Reason of both: for that the former hunts with
his Ears;
Together with such Notes as these, arising from the Description
of the
outward Parts; how largely and usefully might that of
the Inner; his Generation, Breeding
and the like, be also insisted on. And so the like of other Animals.
Whereby a better History of them might be written in five years, than
hath hitherto been done in two Thousand.
As for the Figures, I have given only those of such
particulars, as are omitted by others. Saving one or two, found in
some Authors less known, or common. Nor any, but what is also
describ'd: which makes any further Explication of these needless,
besides what the Reader will find next before them.
After the Descriptions; instead of medling with Mystick,
Mythologick, or Hieroglyphick matters; or relating Stories of Men who
were great Riders, or Women that were bold and feared not
Horses; as some others have done: I thought it much more proper, To
remarque some of the Uses and Reasons of Things. Where also for the
sake of the English Reader, I have undergone the transcribing some
particulars. More I could have done, with less trouble. These I hope
will compensate the room, they take up. Amongst Medicines, I have
thought fit to mention the Virtues of divers Exoticks. Because the
greatest Rarity, if once experienced to be of good use, will soon
become common. The Jesuites Barque, of which, no Man yet hath well
describ'd the Tree, and very few know precisely where it grows; yet
what great quantity, doth the much use of it bring over to us? Unicorns
Horns, upon the like motive of Trade, would be as plentiful as
Elephants Teeth.
I have made the Quotations, not to prove things well known, to
be true; as one *
to prove a Sheep to be amongst the
as if
Aristotle, must be
brought to prove a Man hath ten Toes. But partly, To be my Warrant, in
matters less credible. Partly, to give the Authors, that which is
their due: not at all liking the Malignant-way of some, who never
mention any, but to confute him. Yet withall, To rectifie his Mistakes
where I found them. And to mind the Reader, Not to peruse the most Honest, or Learned Author, without some caution.
I have made the Quotations, not to prove things well known, to
be true; as one *
to prove a Sheep to be amongst the
as if
Aristotle, must be
brought to prove a Man hath ten Toes. But partly, To be my Warrant, in
matters less credible. Partly, to give the Authors, that which is
their due: not at all liking the Malignant-way of some, who never
mention any, but to confute him. Yet withall, To rectifie his Mistakes
where I found them. And to mind the Reader, Not to peruse the most Honest, or Learned Author, without some caution.
NERVESLimbs and
nerous Gift of
ness (according to the
best method then used) taken out
of the body of a Man, and very
curiously spread upon
four large TABLES, whereon they are now
preserved.
The Work of
there, and
afterwards Physician to the
The Veins and Arteries are
so exceedingly well done, as
to shew the most curious Schemes
which
other Physitians have given us of them, are real and not
fictitious. But the Nerves have been much more
truly
and fully represented to us of late by Dr.
Dr. d)
vorum De
script. & usud) Especially as to their Inosculations,
and their admirable Distributions to the Organs of the Senses,
and the
e)
Anim. lib. 3.
c. 3.e)by the
account he gives of the Doctrine
of the Naturalists of his Time,
and before him, seems to
have been the first, who to any purpose, observed the Di
stribution of the Sanguineous
Vessels. Yet he describes them
upward. Nor makes he any
distincti
on betwixt the
even here he comes far short of that exactness which Ana
tomists
have since arrived at; as appears, upon
inspecti
on, by the TABLES above mention'd.
POPOTAMUS. If we
respect his Figure, he were more
properly called BUPOTAMUS, or
RIVER-OXE.
And accordingly the Wasser- Ocks; and the
The
same Animal, which in the Book of Job is
called
BEHEMOTH; as is solidly proved by
Horse: deluded,
'tis likely, by the Name. d)
d)
Illustr
numOx, and
pictured with four or five Claws like a Bear;
neither truly.
the first that hath given any tollerable Description of
him.
Yet as to the Teeth, he is mistaken, comparing them all
to
those of a Horse: probably because they were not yet
grown. e)
lum. lib. de
Aquat. &
Terrest.e) But
grown, hath given a most accurate Description hereof,
his principal Characters being these; Four yards and half
long, about two yards high, a yard and half broad. Short
leg'd. Cloven-hoofed; yet not with two, but four Hoofs.
Tailed
like a Tortoise. (Or like a Hog, (f)f)
and others
quoted by
Bochart
twists in
the same manner) Head almost like an Ox. His
Chaps wide. His
Eyes small. His fore Teeth prodigiously
great, being some of
them ½ a foot round about, above ¼
of a
foot long; as is evident in the Skull here preserved;
and
other particulars mention'd by
Description hereof.
the Natives of
ARMADILLO; as Names common to the several
species. And by Latin
Authors, Echinus Brasiliensis. This
once belonged to the
of this Species in
Those Creatures which are cover'd with Feathers, Scales,
or
Shell, saith e) e)
Anim. lib. 1.
c. 11Auricula or outward
Ear. So that he never saw this
Animal; nor many others
now known, and some which he ventures
to describe;
as appears by those general Assertions, whereof
he is too
often guilty.
He gathers himself up, Head, Feet and Tail, within his
Shell,
as round as a ball: as
(f)
f)
8. 3
when he sleeps. Unless
he be ty'd, he will dig out his
way under the very walls of a
house. (g) g)
Septal
ture to dig himself Buries, as the Coney doth; which
he
doth with very great celerity. (h)h)
For the tenderness, whiteness and delicacy of his Flesh,
he is
reserved for Feasts; (i) i)
de Rebus
Bras. p. 222a)
a)
Piso
being powder'd and given in a draught of the Decoction
of Sage in the quantity of ʒj, provoketh sweat; and are
a singular remedy against the Lues
Venerea, saith
(b)
b)
out of Franc.
Ximines.
poses,
whether it cureth that Disease, or no.
a semiannular
Figure.
The wild Boar breeds in
a)
a)
of
there one so big, that when his head was off,
and his en
trails taken out, weighed 400 l. It was well observed by
was horned and
tusked too: (b)b)
Animal. lib.
2.
c. 1
the blood
proper for their production, not being sufficient
to feed them
both.
people of the Island
called Baby Roussa. (c)c)
Hist. Cent. 2
(d) taken in
d)
mus
Pisoe) e)
us's Hist.
N.
Ind. Orient.
l. 5. c. 9
making him slenderer and shaped in Body
like to a Deer.
But his Description seems to be taken out of
His principal Characters are these, About as big as a Stag,
snouted and tailed like a Boar, footed like a Goat: besides
what is observable in the skull, which
I shall now particularly
describe.
It is a foot long, seven Inches high, and about five over.
The
Snout scarce two. The Teeth are 32. In the upper
Jaw, four
Cuters; in the nether, six. In each Jaw, ten Grin
ders. In the lower Jaw, two Tusks, one on each side, like
those of a Boar, standing outerly, an inch
behind the Cut
ers; near their Root, ¾ of an
inch over, sharp-pointed, hooked
very much backward; by the
bow, four inches long.
On his upper Jaw, he hath two Horns, of the
same hard
ness and substance with the two great Teeth
now describ'd:
and a)
a)
Cent. 2
Teeth, but Horns; because they are not, as all Teeth,
even
the Tusks of an Elephant, fixed in
the Jaw with their
Roots upward, but downward: and so their
Alveoli are
not open downward
within the Mouth, but upward upon
the top of the snout: where
these Horns bore or pierce the
flesh
and skin, as the Teeth do the Gooms. Yet being two,
they stand
not in the middle, as in the Rhinoceros, but
on the
sides of the snout,
sc. behind the Cuters about two inches.
Near their
Roots about half inch over, ending in a sharp
point, bended
upward and backward like a fish-hook, by
the bow about
½ a foot long.
b) In
Hist. N. Ind.
Orient. l.
5.
c. 9b) describing of it, saith, That in his
nether Jaw
(his upper Jaw he describes after) there are two
great Tusks
which stand upright, and bore through his snout
(Rostrúmq; perforantes):
which is a senseless mistake.
saith of the Horns
(which he calls the Teeth) of the upper
Jaw, ---
rantes:
an absurdity, as if Nature had
put a Padlock or Bolt upon
the Creatures Mouth.
mals he had
seen, That no one hath both Tusks and Horns.
But of his fault
in affirming too generally, this Animal is
not the only
instance, by many. The reason why this hath
both, may be,
because neither of them are very great, and
his Horns,
proportionably to what they are in others, are
very little.
Besides that he is cover'd with hair, and not,
as the Boar,
with Bristles, which probably spend more up
on the
same matter, which in other Creatures makes the
Horns. For Bristles seem to be nothing else but a Horn split into a multitude of little (. c)
This Creature is said (c) to breed only in the Island
d)
Lætout of
Tajacuguitas,
(d) may be the same. As also
Pigafeta's Porcus
Quadricor. There are Swine, saith
he, (
nise) in the
e) Cited
two Tusks for Horns; and from
those which he saith had
but two or three, they might be
violently broken off.
belonged to the
describes the Animal the best of any before him, yet nei
ther he, nor others describe the Horn to any
purpose.
'Tis in colour and smoothness like those of a Bull.
Almost
a yard long. At the base, above half a foot over; and
there surrounded with a Garland of black and stubby
Bristles. Sharp-pointed. A little crooked backwards, like
a
Cocks Spur. Quite through solid. An instance con
a) a)
tib. Animal.
l. 3. c. 2
όλδ
ζερεα
τοις
ελαφοις
μονοις.
about as big as a Lambs.
Herein both the single Ventricle,
and
two Auricles, are all plainly visible. The Hearts of all great Animals, saith
h)
h)
Anim. lib. 2.
c.
4have three Ventricles; of lesser, two; of
all, at least one. One would a little wonder,
how so
observing a man, should discover so many mistakes,
in so few
words.
He differs not
much from a Lizard; chiefly in his Bulk,
and the hardness of his Skin, which on his Back hath Scales
proportionably hard and thick. b)
l. 6. c. 1.
an
hundred feet long; as is affirmed both by
(b) and c) c)
is
a Tragical Relation of a very great one that devoured a
Virgin, Cap. 6.
JobLeviathan, and hath been commonly taken
to be the Whale; but
is tolerably well
described by most; and curiously figur'd
by
well as in
Nature, saith
Animal.
Which Sir
Vulgar Error. On the
hinder half of his Tail he hath firm
leathern upright Finns,
wherewith he governs himself, as a
Fish, in swimming.
He is esteemed good meat, not only by the Natives in
a)a)
mus Piso
They fasten a thick long Rope to some Tree by the
Water
side, and to the other end, a strong iron
Hook, which they
bait with a Weather. (b)b)
Exer. 196.
Sect. 5
In
Fat, which they commonly
and successively apply to their
Wounds, when bitten by him. (c)
c) Testicles,
which smell like Oyntment,
and which they sell very dear.
d) d) In
Musk, and are a present Remedy
against burning Fevers. (e)e)
Læt
out of
The Stomach dry'd in the Sun, powder'd, and taken to the
quantity of Diuretick, and brings
away Stones from the Reins and
Bladder. (f) The same
taken to the quantity of a spoonful in the Morning, after f)
Dinner, and before Supper, or as often as the Patient can
bear
it, is an excellent Remedy for the Dropsie. (g)g)
by Sir
The Head about two
feet. The Neck, from the hinder
part of the Head, almost a
foot and ½. The Trunk, from
the fore-Ribs to the Tail,
four feet. The Tail, seven.
From the top of the Back to the
Breast, a foot and ½
high.
The Orbites of the Eyes proportionably little;
what ever
The Articulations of the lower Jaw with the upper; and
of the
Occiput with the foremost Vertebra of the Neck; are
here both
made in the same manner, as in other Quadru
peds: notwithstanding the
Tradition of his moving the
upper Jaw.
The Teeth are about threescore, thirty in each Jaw.
All of them
Claviculares, or Peg-Teeth, not much
unlike
the Tusks of a Mastiff; and scarce bigger:
notwithstand
ing that a)a)
l. 2. c. 10
And yet, whereas a Dog hath but four Tusks, or exerted
Teeth, in this Animal being all of that figure, their smallness,
with respect to so great a Head, is fully compensated by
their number. For the most part, those that are new
and not
worn, are toothed, like a small Saw, on their
sides.
The Vertebræ, in all, sixty. Those of
the Neck, are seven,
as in a Man. The first whereof, in a Man
called the Atlas, hath a Processus in the figure of the Epiglottis. The
other six, have each
one Processus or Prominent Part, which
is long, broad, sharp, and
upright: and two that are trans
verse, and short; to
which are joyned, by a Cartilage, so
many Ossa mucronata, one shorter than another
from the
Head toward the Trunk. But the Vertebræ, one lesser than
another, from the
Trunk towards the Head.
The Vertebræ of the Back, nineteen;
that is, three sevens
running one into another. Each of which
hath three
Prominent Parts, which are sharp, broad, and
long; one
perpendicular, and two that are transverse, or at
right
angles.
The Ribs 24, twelve on each side. Seven of which, have
each of
them double Cartilages, that is, one after
another,
appendent to them.
The fore part of the Sternum is plainly bony.
The hin
der part, cartilaginous; shaped like the Os Hyoides in a
Man.
The Vertebræ of the Tail, are 34; or
(if you add the
last of the Trunk as common to both) 35; that
is seven
times seven. The first fourteen, have each three Prominent
Parts, like those of the Vertebræ in the Back. The next
nineteen, have
only an upright Processus. The last of all,
hath none. The first 14, are double, in number to those
of the Neck, the next 19, are equal to those of the Back;
the
last answers to the Head. To all the Vertebræ of
the Tail, except the last, are
also subjoyned so many
Ossa Mucronata, directly opposite to the
upright Processus.
The Shoulder-Blades are two on each side; each ½ foot
long.
The Bones of the fore-Foot, 27. The Thigh-Bone near
a foot
long; an inch and ¼ over. The Leg-Bones, two;
each a
little above ½ a foot long; and of equal thickness,
sc. about ¼ of an inch over. The Foot
strictly so call'd, the
length of the Thigh. The Bones of the
Pedium, four.
The Fingers or Toes,
five. The inmost, the thickest, like
a Thumb. From thence, the
third, the longest. The
Bones of the Thumb, three; of the next
Finger, four; of
the next, five; of the two outmost, four; in
all 20. All
armed with black Claws, a little crooked, and not
much
above an inch long.
The Hip-Bones are three; each of them ½ a foot long.
The Bones of the hinder Foot, 24. The Thigh-Bone
above a foot
long, and an inch and ½ over. The Leg Bones
almost
eight inches long. The inmost, above an inch
over; the other,
but ½ an inch. The Foot, so called, the
length of the
Thigh. The Bones of the Pedium, four.
The Toes, four; whereof the inmost, the greatest; the
third,
the longest. The Bones of the great Toe, three;
of the next,
four; of the third and fourth, five. The
Claws somewhat bigger
than in the fore-Foot.
Amongst other things worthy of note, the senselesness
of the
tradition of the Crocodiles moving his upper
Jaw, is
plain from the structure of the Bones, that is, the
Articu
lation only of the Occiput with the Neck, and of the nether
Jaw with
the upper, as above said.
The first Author of it was
not only of this Creature, but of all
others, which have a
long Head, and a wide Rictus, that when they open their
Mouths, they seem
to move both Jaws; as both the Viper,
and the Lizard. And for the same reason,
a)
a)
Aquatil
say as much of the Hippopotamus, that he
moves the upper
Jaw, as the Crocodile.
So all Birds, especially with long
Bills, shew the
contemporary motion of both the Mandibulæ; the Musculi
splenii pulling back the Occiput,
and so
a little raising the upper, while the Musculi Digastrici pull
de Hist.
Anim, c. 11. & lib. 3.
c. 7.
Animals, only the Crocodile moveth the upper Jaw. So
that he speaks of
it, as a motion strange and peculiar; as
if the upper Mandible
did make an Articulation with the
Cranium: contrary to what is here seen. And
if we will
hear
plainly as he
doth his own, he goes further, and saith,
(a)
a)
lib. 5Crocodile doth not only move his upper
Jaw,
but that his nether Jaw is immoveable. Than which As
sertion, to one that hath any competent knowledge in
Anatomy, and seeth the Head and lower Jaw of this Ani
mal articulated in the same way, as in other
Animals,
nothing can appear more ridiculous.
Vipera, qu. Vivipera; because she only
among Serpents hath been
thought to bring forth her
a) a)
Anim. l. 1.
c. 11
forth their young, have also external Ears: yet knew
that
an Adder which hath no Auricle is
Viviparous. And this,
indeed, he observes with a good Remark,
which is, That
she first lays her Eggs within her Womb; (b) b)
Anim. l. 6.
c. 34
are afterwards hatched. Which had been a fair
Intro
duction to him, to have observed, That all
other Vivipa
rous Animals are Oviparous within
themselves. And 'tis
much, that the hint hath not been long since
taken from
the Raya, and some other Fishes.
The Viper, saith Thomas
c)
Epidemc) Brown
case of fear, receiveth her young Ones into her Mouth;
which being over, they return thence again.
This Bird is of affinity with the Heron-kind,
from
which he scarce differs in any Part, saving the Bill. He
feeds on Shell-fish. Wherewith having fill'd his Crop, he
lets them lie there, till the heat of it makes them open:
whereupon disgorging them, he picks the meat out of
the
Shells. Related by
Aristotle, Ælian, and
a)a)
Nat. Deo
rum
cause it is
much longer, than in the above-mentioned; so
as to be as it
were the beginning of a Horn. The Body
of this likewise, in
proportion, is much shorter and thicker.
Species.
There is no sort of Animal, saith c) c)
l. 2. c. 1. near the
end
us, which hath a double
Row of Teeth. So that he never
saw a Shark, nor divers other Fishes that are commonly
known, and such as are not unlikely to breed about
text.
Galeus
Asterias; because of the Stars or Spots upon his Skin. But
the radiation of the Spots in the Figure commonly given,
is fictitious. See
rough Skin, as have all of this kind. Yet this Author
saith,
he hath a smoother Skin, than the Galeus lævis: which,
however comparatively
taken, it may be true, is not well
expressed of either. The
said Roughness is caused by an
infinite number of most hard
and sharp Prickles, composed
in the same manner as the Scales
of Fishes.
The Female brings forth often times twice in one month,
and so
is said to Superfœtate: which, saith
a)
a)
lib. 6. c. 11.
&
l. 5. c. 10
seems rather to be, because her Eggs are hatched (in her
Womb) one after another.
The
Dolphintherefore to which it belong'd, was above two
yards and half long. In the Skin, 'tis hard to find any
passage of sound for Hearing. And
the
Dolphinhears. But
and that the whole structure of the Internal Ear may be
seen in the Skull. See
of the Dam and her
Fœtus.
Mustela marina vivipara. (the Male, Lupus
marinus Schonfeldii.) 'Tis
well pictur'd by a)
a)
f. 2
Sea-Wolf (Ein
See-Wolf). As also by
described. But in Paralypomena 'tis both
figur'd
and described by Klipfisch
(i. e. Rock-Fish,) so called by the
people near the
(where he breeds.)
Teeth, and is also mistaken in some things. I shall there
fore add the Description I drew up before I met with
his.
'Tis a yard long. The Head ½ a foot long, and almost
as
high; being compressed on the sides, three inches and
½
over underneath, her Forehead but a little above two.
Her
Snout a little Convex. The Eyes very high, an inch
long. The
Nostrils before the Eyes ¼ of an inch. Both
the Chaps
blunt-angled before, from the Corners of
the Mouth three
inches long, between the Corners, as
much.
The Teeth all very thick, like those of Quadrupedes;
both in figure and scituation, very
unusual. In the upper
Jaw, five before; not Incisors, or
Cutters, but thick Pun
chers. To the Roots of which,
within side, grow as it
were nine little Teeth. Behind, are
three Grinders; one
inch broad, and above an inch long.
The third, and the great
est, stands betwixt them in
the middle of the Palate. Each of
these having deep Incisions,
seem, as it were, eight or ten
Teeth. In the under Jaw, are
two Punchers or Claviculars,
each of them having two sharp
Processes within side. Be
hind, there seems to be
only one Grinder on each side, half
an inch broad, and above
two inches long, arched inward,
and with sixteen or eighteen
Incisions looking like so many
Teeth.
Her Gills open almost from the top of her Head to her
Throat.
The Fins are four. The Gill-Fins about five inches
long, and
as broad, placed so low, as to meet in the Breast,
and so to
supply the Breast-Fins. The Back-Fin is extended
from Head to
Tail; before, an inch high; behind, above
two. The Belly-Fin
reaches from the Anus (which opens
a
foot behind the Head) to the Tail, about an inch deep.
The
Body, where highest, above ½ a foot, the Back a little
convex, grows slender all the way to the Tail, the extre
mity whereof is here wanting. She is cover'd with a
tough
Skin, now of an Iron-colour, besprinkled all over with
round spots.
That which is most remarkable in this Fish, are his Teeth:
which are so made, as to be fit either for Ravine, or for
the
eating of Grass and other Herbs on the Rocks, and un
der Water. They seem also to be made for the Cracking
of
Shell-Fish. As likewise for Rumination: which may as
well be
ascrib'd to this Fish, as to the Scarus.
This Fish is one, amongst divers other instances of
tle
πλὴν
τοῦ
ἑνὸς
τοῦ
καλουμένου
Σκάρου. (a)
a)
Anim. l. 3.
c.
1
The tops of this Fishes Grinders are commonly sold for
Toadstones. As Dr.
in his
Squatina, sive Angelus
Marinus. The figure in
scription very short and
imperfect. That of
better, yet
not full. And either the Fish he describes is a
different
Species, or his Description of the Teeth is not
true.
This is above an Ell long. His Head about ¼ of a yard
or Ridges: His Mouth five inches over, his Lips almost
Semilunar.
Each of his Jaws are armed with about six and thirty
Rows of
most sharp Teeth, and in every Row there are
four Teeth. So
that in all they are about two hundred four
score and
eight, all couched a little inward.
About three inches behind his Nose-end stand his Eyes,
as it
were on the top of his Head, and three inches and ½
distant. Proportionably very small, sc. not
above ½ an inch
over. About an inch and quarter behind
his Eyes, and a
little lower, he hath two Spouts, one on each
side, above
an inch long, and convex before. His Neck ½
a foot over.
His Back before, three inches above a foot,
expanded (here)
on both sides, as if it were shoulder'd. His
Middle or Wast
about eight inches. The lower part of his Back,
ten inches,
spread like a pair of Buttocks. From his Shoulders
to the
bottom of his Buttocks about a foot and ½. The
length
of his Tail, as much: the forepart whereof above four
inches over, growing slenderer all the way to the end.
He hath seven Fins. His Shoulder-Fins with Cartilagi
nous
Rays, expanded ½ a foot out like a pair of Wings, and
almost square. His Buttock-Fins prolonged hinderly ½ a
foot, stand continguous to the Tail on both sides. On
the top of his Tail, two lesser; three inches high, and
couched backward. At the end a forked one ½ a foot
long, and almost as high. From hence half a foot forward,
the
Skin is as it were pinched up into a little Ridge or
Doublet
on each side.
Above he is very rough with innumerable small Prickles,
especially felt upon drawing your hand forward. And the
edges
of the four side-Fins are all thorny. But underneath
the Skin
is so thick or closely cover'd with little hard round
knobs,
as it seems almost smooth.
This Fish hath two Spouts, like the Saw-Fish, because of
the
breadth of his Head. His Teeth admirable for taking
sure hold
of the most slippery Prey. Those Doublets on
the sides of his
Tail, seem to add strength to the Muscules
which move the Tail-Fins. And so in some other Fishes.
By the posture of the Fins he seems to make at the Prey, not
by a forward stroke, but by ascending as a Dog to his
the broad
Fore-Fins, saith Oppian, the Female shelters
her
Young, as a Hen her Chickens with her Wings. But
the Dogfish,
by receiving them into her mouth. He also
saith, That of the
Cartilaginous kind the Scate only beareth
twice in a year, sc. Spring and Fall.
a)
a)
50
deceived by the Authorities of
Aristotle, Epicarmus, Athenæus,
and
of this Fish is used for the polishing of
Wooden and Ivory
Works. He is taken, saith Mr.
a)
a)
50
deceived by the Authorities of
Aristotle, Epicarmus, Athenæus,
and
of this Fish is used for the polishing of
Wooden and Ivory
Works. He is taken, saith Mr.
Edges of the Chaps are thick and strong,
yet very sharp.
In the lower Chap, near the two edges, are two
furrows,
into which the Teeth of the upper Chap strike. The
two
Bones which compose the Chap, are joyned together by an
indented Suture, most curious to look upon. The fish
seems next a kin to the common great Needle-Fish, or the
Girrock, which is described by
and
others, and pictur'd by
Johnston, Tab. 15
It is an Observation of a) a)
Anim.
lib. 2.
c. 17
their Mouths; it often comes to pass, that while the
greater
pursue the lesser,
Stomachs
come out into their very Mouths. Some re
semblance
whereof, in a low degree, may be felt by those
that with an
eager Appetite first begin to eat; the Gula
rising up a little as it were to meet the meat half way;
which,
upon its retreat, it sucks in after it. Which hath
happened
in some with that violence, as to have endanger'd
their be
ing choaked.
upon its
Back.
It is noted by b) b)
Anim. lib. 4.
c. 8Lobsters and Crabs
have their Right Claw, the greater and stronger. Crabs
have no Tail, nor need it, saith the same Author, (c) as
Lobsters do to swim with; because they live
much upon c)
the Land.
The
Souldier- Crab. Cancellus. Here are two of them
housed; one in a
Sea-Snail-shell; the other in that of a
common Wilk. It is
accurately described
by a)
a)
lib. 4. c.
4
with crustaceous
Plates, as the Lobster, but rather resembles
the Shrimp. His hinder part is naked,
or without a Crust:
from whence I take leave for the Name:
Neither the usual
Greek,
the Latin) being sutable to the shape of this Animal, a
quite different kind from a Crab.
This Animal, because his hinder part is naked, always
houses
himself in some empty shell, or other capable Body.
When he
hath filled one shell with Excrements, saith
nius
himself to
another. Those that house themselves in the
shell of the
little long Wilk, or the Purple-Wilk, are called
Little Souldier-Crabs, those in the great Wilk-shell, the
Great Souldier-Crab: and so, if in other
shells of like
bigness.
The Purple Tincture it yields, is contained
betwixt that
part which is called the Papaver and the Neck. (d) d)
Hist.
Anim.
lib. 5. c. 15
a
different degree; in some, more upon the Red, like that
of Cochinele; in others, more upon the Blew,
like that of
Violets. It was anciently (pressed out of the
living (e)e)
Worm
Animal, and) used especially for the deying of Silks. But
is now grown out of use, as
is likely, from the great
Fucus, which the Roccella, wherewith Silk-Dyers do now make very rich Purples
of all varieties, with less labour and charge. (a)a)
lum
pura
or hath no horn.
Of this sort are several here pre
serv'd.
It is affirm'd by a) a)
lib. 5. c. 15
many years a Wilk is of, by the number of
Rounds in the
Turban. Of the manner of laying their Eggs,
see
nius
The best are in clean Creeks. That which Mr.
scribes, (b) b)
Cochl. Mar.
Tit.
1Buccinum
maximum, is fished out
of the Sea at
A Wilk, saith
dered, and mixed with old Oil to the
consistence of Glew,
and so the Head, first shaved and rub'd,
anointed there
with, is an admirable Remedy against
Baldness and Morph
of long standing. 'Tis usual to give Drink
to Children
that have the Chin-Cough,
out of a Wilk-shell; and it is
observed, saith c) c)
Cochlea Turbine antico.
This is no where described. 'Tis smooth, of an ash-colour.
The outer Lip is spread a little backward; and toothed with
in: as is also the edge of the inner Lip. Both the
corners of
the Mouth are placed on the circumference of the
utmost
round. Whereby, contrary to all other shells I ever yet
saw,
it hath the Turban or Whirle made before. 'Tis much de
pressed, consisting of five flat rounds. The
assertion of
a) a)
Anim. lib. 4.
c.
4Turban always
stands behind, is here
proved false.
The Sea-Urchin maketh its progressive motion
with its
Prickles which it useth instead of Feet. (a) a)
Anim. lib. 4.
c. 5.
ed, by Great Oval, that it moveth
in a spiral
line.
b)
A. lib. 4. c. 4.
of old Willows. Curious to observe. They first bore
a
Canale in the Stock, which, for more warmth,
they furnish
afterwards with Hangings, made of Rose-Leaves,
so rowled
up, as to be
contiguous round about to the sides of the
Canale. And to finish their Work, divide the
whole in to
several Rooms or Nests, with round pieces of the
same
leaves. Hereof see in the a)
a)
65
by Mr.
Some parts of the NEST of another WILD-BEE.
Not much unlike the
first of those not inelegant figures,
which WESPENSTOCK.
The under or hinder Wings of a Bee, are the
least; that
they may not incommode his flight. (a) a)
Insect. cap. 1
is the Stomach, which they always fill to satisfie,
and to
spare; vomiting up the greater part of the Honey, to be
kept against Winter. A curious
Description and Figure of the
Sting, see in Mr.
Bees often hold a little stone in their
hinder Feet; which
serves as a Ballast to make them sail
through the Air more
steadily. (b) b) Bees, the
best that
hath given us, (c) c)
lib.
9. c. 40.
Generation, Conservation, Diseases, and Use; see also
Moufet, Butler, and a late Treatise of Mr.
Authors
speak of the Spontaneous Generation of Bees,
is
fabulous. The ashes of Bees are put
into most Composi
tions for breeding of Hair.
Bahama- Spider.
Bermuda-Spider. It is so strong, as to
snare a Bird as big as a Thrush. (d) d)
Trans.
N. 40
a
Paper like Raw-Silk.
Spiders, saith e) e)
lib. 9. c. 39
within, as an Excrement, as
without, as the Histrix doth his Quills. Of the spining of
Spiders, and the rest of their History, see
the curious Ob
servations of Mr. f)f)
Araneis
A Discourse concerning theLarge Horns
frequently found under Ground in
Concluding from them that the greatAme
rican Deer, call'd a Moose,
was formerly
common in that Island: With Remarks on
some other things Natural to that Country.
By
By
M. D. Fellow of
the King and QueensColledge of Physicians
in
and of the
in
utterly extinct, as to be lost entirely out of the
World, since it was first Created, is the Opinion of
many Naturalists; and ’tis grounded on so good a
Principle of Providence taking Care in general of all
its Animal Productions, that it deserves our Assent.
However great Vicissitudes may be observed to attend
the Works of Nature, as well as Humane Affairs;
so that some entire Species of Animals, which have
been formerly Common, nay even numerons in cer
tain Countries; have, in Process of time, been so
perfectly lost, as to become there utterly unknown;
tho’ at the same time it cannot be denyed, but the
kind has been carefully preserved in some other part
of the World.
Of this we have a remarkable Example in
land
ly has been frequent in this Kingdom, tho’ now clear
mains among us not the least Record in Writing, or
any manner of Tradition, that makes so much as men
tion of its Name; as that most Laborious Inquirer in
to the pretended Ancient, but certainly Fabulous History of this Country, Mr.
thor of
What Discoveries therefore we make of this Crea
ture, we can only have from those loose parts of it we
find dug out of the Earth by Accident, preserved there
so many Ages from Corruption, by lying deep and
close under Ground, whilst harder and of themselves
more durable Bodies, moulder away and perish, by
being exposed to the various Changes of the Air, and
repeated Injuries of the Weather.
Remains we have of this Animal, it appears
to have been of the Genus Cervinum or Deer Kind, and
of that sort that carries Broad or Palmed Hornes,
bearing a greater affinity with the Buck or Fallow Deer,
than with the Stag or Red Deer, that has Hornes
round and branched, without a Palme; This I lately
observed, having an opportunity of particularly Ex
amining a compleat
perfect, not long since dug up, given to my Brother
Henry Osborn
the Meath
heda
ner and place they were found in.
I have by the Bearer sent the Head and Horns I
promised you; this is the third Head I have found
by casual trenching in my Orchard; they were all dug up
within the Compass of an Acre of Land, and lay about
four or five Foot under Ground, in a sort of Boggy Soil.
The first Pitch was of Earth, the next two or three of
Turff, and then followed a sort of white Marle, where
they were found: They must have lain there several Ages,
to be so deep enterred. (Thus far Osborn
I took their Dimensions carefully as follows; from
the extreme tip of the right Horn, to the extreme tip
of the left, as exprest in the annext Table, Figure the
first. by the prick’t Line A. B. was ten Foot ten Inches,
from the tip of the right Horn, to the Root where it
was fastned to the Head, Exprest by the Line C. D. five
Foot two Inches from the Tip of the highest Branch
(measuring one of the Horns transverse, or directly
across the Palme) to the tip of the lowest Branch, ex
prest by the Line G. F. Three Foot Seven Inches and
a Half. The length of one of the Palms within the
Branches, exprest by the Line G. H. Two Foot Six
Inches: The breadth of the same Palm, still within
the Branches, exprest by the Line I. K. One Foot Ten
Inches and a half: The Branches that shot forth round
the edge of each Palm, were Nine in Number, besides
the Brow Antlers, of which the right Antler, exprest
by the Line D. L. was a Foot and Two Inches in length,
the other was much shorter: The Beam of each Horn at
some distance from the Head, where ’tis mark’d M.
was about Two Inches and Six tenths of an Inch, in
Diameter, or about Eight Inches in Circumference;
at the Root where it was fastned to the Head, about
Eleven Inches in Circumference. The length of the
Head, from the back of the Skull to the tip of the
Nose, or rather the extremity of the upper Jaw-bone,
exprest in the Figure by the Line N. O. Two Foot,
the Line P.Q. was a Foot.
The Two Holes near the Roots of the Horns, that
look like Eyes were not so, (for these were placed on
each side the Head in Two ample Cavities, that could
not be well exprest in the Figure) but were large
open Passages, near an Inch in Diameter in the
Forehead Bone, to give way to great Blood-vessels,
that here issue forth from the Head, and pass between
the Surface of the Horn, and the smooth Hairy Skin
that Covers them whilst they are growing, (which is
commonly call’d the Velvet) to supply the Horns
with sufficient Nourishment, while they are soft, and
till they arrive at their full Magnitude, so as to become
perfectly hard and solid. These Vessels, by reason of
their largeness and great turgency of the Humor in
them; whilst the Horn is sprouting and pliant, make
deep and conspicuous furrows all along the outside of
it where they pass; which may plainly be seen after the
Horn is bare and come to its full growth; at
which time all these Veins and Arteries, with the out
ward Velvet Skin, drying by the Course of Nature,
shrivel up and separate from the Horn, and the Beast
affects tearing them off in great stripes against the Bows
of Trees, exposing his Horns naked, when they are
throughly hardned, without any Covering at all.
This I gather, by what Remarks I have made on the Skulls
of other Deer, and what I have observed concerning
the growth of these sort of Horns in Animals of the
like kind, tho' not in this particular sort of Crea
ture.
The Figure I had exactly taken by a skilful Hand, to
shew truly the right shape and size of these kind of
of common Stags Horns, exprest Figure the 2d. and
another of a pair of common Bucks Horns, exprest
Figure the 3d. all done according to the same Scale;
that by this means, at one and the same time, may
appear the grand disproportion between these sorts of
Heads, and also the difference and agreement in their
Shape. (See the Table.)
Such then were the vast Dimensions, according to
which the lofty Fabrick of the Head and Horns of
this stately Creature was Built; and doubtless all the
rest of the parts of its Body answered these in a due
proportion. So that should we compare the fairest
Buck with the Symetry of this mighty Beast, it must
certainly fall as much short of its Proportions as
the smallest young Fawn, compared to the largest
over-grown Buck.
And yet ’tis not to be question’d, but these spacious
Horns, as large as they were, like others of the Deer
Kind, were naturally cast every Year, and grew again
to their full Size in about the Space of Four Months:
For all Species of Deer, yet known, certainly drop
their Horns yearly, and with us ’tis about March, and
about July following they are full summ'd again. Of
which strange Appearance in Nature, the learned
dus Johannes Vossius
Book De Idololatriâ, Lib. 3. Cap. 57. has these Words:
a).
(a) That is, I shall reckon it among the most wonderful Works of
Nature, that Horns so hard and solid, and of so great a Bulk, should grow
up in so short a time.
in his &c. on the same
Occasion expresses himself thus:
miratione dignum est tantam Molem Cornuum & Ramorum
tam brevi tempore quotannis renasci & crescere(b).
And if these judicious Persons were moved thus with
Admiration by considering only the yearly Falling and
sudden Growth of these smaller Horns of Bucks and
Stags, with which alone they were acquainted, what
would they have thought, had they known of these
vast and stupendious Productions of Nature in the same
Kind.
As there seems to me no small Affinity or Agreement
in the Sprouting forth, and Branching of Deers Horns,
with the way of Growth in Vegetables; so I conceive
likewise the constant yearly dropping of them, to pro
ceed much from the same Cause, that Trees annually
cast their ripe Fruit, or let fall their withering Leaves
in Autumn: that is, because the nourishing Juice, say it
is Sap or Blood, is stopt and flows no longer; either
on the account ’tis now deficient, being all spent, or that
the cavous Passages which conveigh it, dry up and cools;
so as the Part having no longer any Communication
with, must of necessity by degrees sever from the Whole;
but with this Difference, that Horns by reason of their
hard Material and strong Composition, stick fast to the
Head by their Root, Seven or Eight Months after all
their Nourishment perfectly retires; whereas Leaves and
Fruit, consisting of a much more tender Substance and
a finer Texture of Parts, drop sooner from their native
(b) That is, Truly it deserves our greatest Wonder that so large a
Body of Horns and Branches should sprout up in so short a time, and be
renewed every Year.
Nourishment is stopt; this Analogy that Nature ob
serves in casting the Horns of Beasts and dropping the
Fruit of Trees, will appear much more evident to any
one that will observe the end of a Stalk, from which
a ripe Orange or any such large Fruit has been lately se
ver’d, and the Butt end of a cast Horn where it fasten'd
to the
shall find so great a Congruity in the shape of both,
that ’twill be apparent Nature works according to the
same Mechanism in one as in t’other.
Discoursing one Day with Excellency the Lord
CapellLord Justices of
perienc’d and accurate Observer of the Works of Nature,
I chanced to mention these Large Horns: He was very
earnest to see them, and so mightily surpris’d at the
sight of their extraordinary Bulk, that my Brother
thought fit to make a Present of them to his Lordship,
which he obligingly accepted; resolving to send them
over, as he said, to William
found some Years since by one Van DelureClare
sort of Marle, and were presented by him to the late
Ormond
valued them so highly for their prodigious largeness,
that he thought them not an unfit Present for the King,
and sent them for Charles the Second
who ordered them to be set up in the Horn-Gallery at
the rest of the large Heads both of Stags and Bucks
that adorn that Place, but this so vastly exceeds the lar
gest of them, that the rest appear to lose much of their
am lately informed, these with the other Heads are
since removed to the Guard-Room out of the Horn-
Gallery.
Folliot
ging for Marle near the Ballymackward
he lives, not far from Fermanagh
Ground, a Pair of these sort of
still in his Possession.
dug up near Barnevall
most compleat of the Two was fixt over the Chimney
in the
and lasting Curiosity to future Ages.
was found near Clanricard, seated on the Shannon
of Gallway
mired by all that view it.
Beams of
these Kind of Horns, may be now seen fastened against one
side of the Common Hall of his Grace Michael Lord
Archbishop of Ardmagh
are both imperfect and want their Palmes, yet by the
vast thickness and length of the Beams, I judge when
entire they much exceeded the Size of those I have gi
ven the Dimensions of above. The Primate told me,
they were found somewhere in the Province of EssexGrace.
To these I should add many more Instances of the
like, as Mountjoy
his House at Meath
ledge within less than Twenty Years, above Twenty,
I might safely say, Thirty Pair of these sort of Horns
have been dug up in several places of this Country, all
found by Accident; and we may well suppose vast
Numbers still remain undiscovered, but to mention any
more of them particularly would be tedious, and to lit
tle purpose, since these may suffice plainly to shew,
this Creature was formerly Common with us in
and an Indigenous Animal, not peculiar to any Territory
or Province, but universally met with in all parts of
the Kingdom.
For if we draw a Line through the several Places of
this Island where these Heads have been found, viz.
the ClareDublinFarmanagh
have mentioned, we shall make a Triangle whose
shortest Side will be in length above an Hundred English
Miles, which is near as large a Figure of this Sort, as
we can well describe in the Map of
And besides, we may reasonably, I think, gather;
That they were not only common in this Country, but
by what Osborn
ther, That they were a Gregarious Animal, as the Na
turalists call them, or such a sort of Creature as affect
naturally keeping together in Herds; as we see the Fallow Deer with us, and as 'tis reported of the Elches in
Rain Deer in the Northern Countries
of
should happen; that Three of their Heads should be all
found within the narrow Compass of one Acre of Ground.
That these and several others, and indeed I think I
may say, all that I have been particularly informed of,
though dug up in far distant Places of
be constantly found buried in a Sort of Marle, seems to
me to intimate, as if Marle was only a Soil that had
been formerly the Outward Surface of the Earth, but
in process of Time, being covered by degrees with ma
ny Layers of Adventitious Earth, has by lying under
Ground a certain Number of Ages, acquired a peculiar
Texture, Consistence, Richness, or Maturity that gives it
the Name of Marle. For of necessity we must allow
the Place where these Heads are now found, was cer
tainly once the external Superfice of the Ground;
otherwise ’tis hardly possible to suppose how they
should come there.
And that they should be so deep buried as we at pre
sent find them, appears to have happen’d, by their ac
cidentally falling where it was soft low Ground; so that
the Horns by their own considerable Gravity might
easily make a Bed where they setled in the yielding
Earth; and in a very long Course of Time, the higher
Lands being by degrees dissolved by repeated Rains, and
washt and brought down by Floods, covered those Pla
ces that were scituated lower with many Layers of
Earth: For all high Grounds and Hills, unless they
consist of Rock, by this means naturally lose a little
every Year of their Height; and sometimes sensibly
become lower even in one Age; of which we may see
several satisfactory Instances related by PlottNatural History of Staffordshire
as for all such Heads that might chance to fall on high
or hard Grounds, where they could not possibly be co
vered or defended, these must of necessity rot, perish,
and be destroyed by the Weather: And for this Reason
it is, that never any of these Horns are discovered in
such sort of Ground, but always in a light Soil, and
in some low Part of the Country.
By what means this Kind of Animal, formerly so
common and numerous in this Country, should now
become utterly lost and extinct, deserves our Conside
ration: and seeing it is so many Ages past, that we
have no manner of Account left to help us in our En
quiry, the most we can do in this Matter is to make
some probable Conjectures about it; I know some
have been apt to imagine this like all other Animals
might have beeen destroyed from off the Face of this
Country by that Flood recorded in the Holy Scripture
to have happened in the the time of
confess is a ready and short way to solve this Difficul
ty, but does not at all satisfy me: For (besides that
that there want not Arguments, and some of them not
easily answer’d, against the Deluge being Universal)
if we consider what a fragil, slight and porous Sub
stance these and the Horns of all Deer are, we can't
well suppose they could by any means be preserv’d en
tire and uncorrupt from the Flood, now above Four
Thousand Years since; and I have by me some of the
Teeth, and one of the lower Jaw-bones of this Crea
ture so perfect, solid, ponderous and fresh, that no one
that sees them can possibly suspect they could have been
in nature so many Ages past: And therefore it seems
more likely to me, this kind of Animal might become
extinct here from a certain ill Constitution of Air in
might occasion an Epidemick Distemper, if we may so
call it, or Pestilential Murren, peculiarly to affect this
sort of Creature, so as to destroy at once great Num
bers of 'em, if not quite ruine the Species.
And this is not so groundless an Assertion as at first
it may appear, if we consider this Island may very well
be thought neither a Country nor Climate so truly
proper and natural to this Animal, as to be perfectly
agreeable to its temper; since for ought I can yet learn
it neither is, nor ever has been an Inhabitant of any of the
adjacent Kingdoms round about us. And besides, the
Three Heads above mentioned, found so close to one
another in the Meath
as if these Animals dyed together in Numbers, as they
had lived together in Herds.
To this purpose I have met with a remarkable Pas
sage in Description of Lapland
speaking of the Cervus Rangifer, an Animal that agrees
in Kind with ours, though it be a quite different Sort
of Deer, he says that whole Herds of them are often
destroy’d by a Raging Distemper common among them;
these are his Words:
noxium qui si ingruant Gregem totum solent pervagare &
ad necem dare; qua de re Johannes Bureus ita habet in
Schedis suis, solet interdum Rangiferos morbus quidam
velut Pestis invadere sic ut moriantur omnes Lappoq;
compellatur novos sibi comparare Rangiferos(c). By
(c) That is, this Kind of Creature is likewise subject to its Diseases
which if they seize a Flock, goes through them all; concerning which
ter the manner of a Plague, affects the Rain Deer, so as they all dye, and
the Laplander is forced to supply himself with new Rain Deer.
which we may see what we conjecture in our Case, is
not meer Supposition, but certainly happens elsewhere
to Animals of the like Kind.
But since we have an Instance of so destructive a
Mortality among Beasts as quite to extinguish a whole
Species at once, we may think some might have esca
ped the Common Calamity; but these being so few in
Number, I imagine as the Country became peopled,
and thickly inhabited; they were soon destroy'd, and
kill'd like other Venison as well for the sake of Food as
Mastery and Diversion. And indeed none of these Ani
mals by reason of their Stupendious Bulk and Wide
Spreading Horns could possibly lye sheltered long in any
Place, but must be soon discovered, and being so con
spicuous and heavy were the more easily pursued and
taken by their numerous Hunters, in a Country all en
vironed by the Sea: For had they been on the wide
Continent they might have fared better, and secured
themselves and their Race till this time, as well as others
of the same Kind have done elsewhere. Of which
more hereafter.
Or had those Barbarous Times been capable of taking
Care for the Preservation of this stately Creature, our
Country would not have entirely lost so singular and
beautiful an Ornament: But this could not be expected
from those savage Ages of the World, which certainly
would not have spared the rest of the Deer Kind, Stags
and Hinds, Bucks and Does, which we still have; but
that these being of much smaller Size, could shelter
and conceal themselves easier under the Covert of
Woods and Mountains, so as to escape utter Destruction.
And here I cannot but observe, that the Red Deer
in these our Days, is much more rare with us in
land
ry of Man: And tho’ I take it to be a Creature, na
turally more peculiar to this Country then to
yet unless there be some care taken to preserve it, I be
lieve in process of time this Kind may be lost also,
like the other sort we were now speaking of.
It remains we should say something concerning the
Proper Name of this Animal, and what Species of
Creature it was to which these stately Horns formerly
belonged. And I must here needs own, that I have
not met to this Day with any Person, that has spent
the least serious thought concerning this matter. So
destitute have we been in this Place of that inquisitive
Genius, that in these later Ages has so much every
where prevailed, in setting the Minds of Men upon a
diligent search after, and making curious and useful
Remarks, on all things that are truly the admirable
Workmanship of Nature.
I know they are vulgarly call'd by ignorant Peo
ple, nay, and some of the learned Vulgus in this Coun
try, Elches Hornes; and that they are so, is an Opini
on generally received, and satisfies such as talk of
them Superficially, without further Enquiry; and be
cause this is an Error that has so Universally prevailed,
I shall take the more pains particularly to Confute it,
and I hope clear this point so from all manner of doubt,
that for the future there shall be no further questions
made of it again; the mistake, I am satisfied, has on
ly proceeded from hence, that we are in these parts
as great Strangers to that sort of Animal call'd the Alche Elche, or Elende, as we are to this of our own
Beast with big Horns; but unless we shall give the
same Name to Two Animals vastly different, which is
Preposterous and breeds Confusion, we must not al
low these Horns should any longer pass under the Name
of Elches Horns.
I have seen a Pair of genuine Elches Horns brought
out of Figure and Size, from these we have now described:
they were abundantly smaller, quite of another shape
and make, not Palmed or broad at the end farthest from
the Head as Ours; but on the contrary, broader to
wards the Head, and growing still narrower towards
the Tips end, the smaller Branches not issuing forth
from both Edges of the Horns as in Ours, but growing
along the upper Edge only, whilst the other Verge of
the Horn was wholly plain without any Branches at all.
And accordingly the faithful
ter of his Book
right Description of them, where he expresses the Fi
gure of the Elche and its Horns apart; and speaking of
the Size of them, he says,
ter Duodecem appendunt, longitudine fere duorum pe
dum(d). Whereas the Horns we find here in
are near thrice that Length, and above double that
Weight; though dry'd and much lighter from their be
ing so long kept: But I confess, I say, this only by esti
mate, not having an opportunity to weigh exactly a sin
gle Horn by itself, though I'm sure I can't be much out.
(d)That is, each Horn weighs about Twelve Pounds, and was in length
almost Two Foot.
Moreover the Elche, as described by
nabenus
a midling Horse: these
ted by Habet hoc Animal crassitiem &
proceritatem mediocris & pinguis Equi(e). And agree
able to this is the Relation given in the Memoirs of the
Parisian Anatomists, who dissected one of them: And I
remember Duncombe
ces of
he had seen there above a Hundred Elches together in
a Herd, and none of them above Five Foot high; and
if so, we cannot imagine a Creature of that small Size,
could possibly support so large and heavy a Head, with
so wide and spreading a Pair of Horns as these we are
speaking of; considering that exact Symetry, and due
Proportion of Parts, Nature observes in the Formation
of all the larger and perfecter sort of Animals.
We must then look out, and try if we can discover
among the various Species of Quadrupeds, some other,
whose Size and Description will better agree with this
our Irish Animal than that of the Elche does: And after
all our Inquiry, we certainly shan't discover any one
that in all respects exactly answers it, save only that
Lofty Horned Beast in the Moose.
This Animal I find described by John Josselyn
among his The
Moose Deer, common in these Parts, is a very goodly
Creature, some of them Twelve Foot high (in height, says
another Author more particularly, From the Toe of the
Fore foot to the Pitch of the Shoulder, Twelve Foot; in
(e) That is, this Animal is about the Height and Thickness of a mid
ling Horse.its full growth much bigger than an Ox) with exceeding
fair Horns with broad Palms, some of them Two Fathom
or Twelve foot from the Tip of one Horn to the other.
That is, Fourteen Inches wider than Ours was.
Another thus describes the Manner of the Indians
Hunting this Creature: They commonly hunt the Moose,
. Thus far what these Authors say of the
which is a kind of Deer, in the Winter, and run him down
sometimes in half, otherwhile a whole Day, when the
Ground is cover'd with Snow, which usually lyes here Four
Foot deep; the Beast, very heavy, sinks every Step as he
runs, breaking down Trees as big as a Man's Thigh with
his Horns, at length they get up with't, and
darting their Lances, wound it so, that the Creature
walks heavily on, till tired and spent with loss of Blood,
it sinks and falls like a ruin'd Building, making the Earth
shake under itMoose.
I do not know any one that has yet obliged the Pub
lick by giving an exact Figure of this stately Creature,
which would be acceptable to the Curious, and very
well worth the while of some of those ingenious Inqui
rers that go into those Parts for the improvement of
Natural History: for I take it next the Elephant, to be
the most remarkable Quadruped for its largeness in the
World. However, in the mean time, by the help of
the foregoing Accounts, we may easily form to our
selves a lively and just Idea of its Figure and Size;
and if we compare the several Parts of those Discripti
ons, with the Beasts whose heads are found here in
land
but these vastly large Irish Deer and the American Moose,
were certainly one and the same sort of Animal, being
all of the Deer Kind, carrying the same sort of Palmed
Horns, which are of the same Size and Largeness as well
Figure; and Bulk of their Bodies corresponding
exactly in Proportion to the wide spreading of their
Horns; So that we may securely assert, that Mooses
formerly were as frequent in this Country, as they have
them still in the Northern Parts of the New England, Virginia, Maryland, Canada or
And least we may think this Animal peculiar to the
Continent, and not to be found in Islands; I lately met
with a remarkable Passage in French Description of the
trary; which, because it likewise illustrates and con
firms what was said before, I'll set down in his own
Words. Speaking of I'l y a
. That is,
une certaine sorte de Beste frequente en ces Pais que les
sauvages noment Mose, de la grandur d'un Taureau, ayant
la Teste d'un Dain, avec les cornes larges que muent tous
les anns, le Col comme une cerf: il se trouve une grande
quantite de ces animaux en une Isle pres de la Terre Fer
me appelle des Anglois Mount ManselThere is
a certain sort of Beast common in this Country, which the
savage Indians call a Moose, as big as a Bull (he had not
seen I suppose those of the largest Size) having the
Head of a Buck, with broad Horns, which they cast every Year, and the Neck of a Deer: there are found also
great Numbers of these Animals in an Island near the Continent call'd by the English,
This may give us reasonable grounds to believe, that
as this Island of
Communication with the Main Land of
have been thus plentifully stockt with this sort of Beast;
so
Ages, long before the late Discovery of that New World,
had some sort of Intercourse with it likewise, (though
'tis not easy, I acknowledge, for us at present to explain
how) for otherwise I do not see, how we can conceive
this Country should be supply'd with this Creature, that
for ought I can yet hear, is not to be found in all our
Neighbourhood round about us, nay, perhaps in any
other Part of
as Old
World; so 'tis nearest of any Country to the most Eastern
Parts of the New-Canada, New-England, Virginia, &c.
the great Tract of Land, and the only one I yet know,
remarkable for plenty of the Moose-Deer.
And we may observe yet farther, That a sort of Alli
ance between these Countries of
dies
partake both in common. Bermudas
ble Quantities of Amber-greese; so on the Western Coast
of
and the Arran
parcels of that precious Substance, so highly valued for
its Perfume. In the Year Constantine
Apothecary of Amber
-greese found near
ces; he bought it for Twenty Pound, and sold it in
don
'twas of a close compact Substance, Blackish and shining
like Pitch; but when it was cut the inside was more
porous, and something of a Yellowish Colour, not so
Grey, close and smooth as the cleanest and best sort of
Amber; but like it, speckled with whitish Grains, and
of a most fragrant Sent; I have still a
that weighs above Six Drams
Three or Four other sorts of Amber, all found on that
Coast of
of a perfect White Substance, exactly answering the De
scrption of that sort of Amber,
ons in his
bræ Grifeæ nondum maturæ
Nor is the kind of Whale-Fish that's often taken in
ger to the Coast of
we may properly, I think, with CharletonTeeth, fixt
only in the lower Jaw; to distinguish it from that Species that gives the Whale Bone, most naturally named
by
its bearded, horny
of which kind likewise there have been Three or Four
stranded in my time; but on the Eastern Coast of this
Country that regards
This
ClusiusExotics
under the Name of
figured by
the 42d. and by
the 1st. but by both under the too general Name of the
my Knowledge, in the Space of Six Years, all on the
Western Coast of this Country; one near
the AntrimShip-harbour, in
the DonnegallAugust,
Seventy one Foot long, exceeding that described by
And then it was, I had an Opportunity of truly in
forming my self what sort of Substance
and in what Part of the Whale 'tis found: concerning
which Matter, Physicians and Naturalists have given the
World such various and false accounts; and 'tis truly
nothing else, but part of the Oyl or liquid Fat of this
particular sort of Whale; which Oyl, at first when
confused and mixt, shews it self like a Whitish Liquour,
of the Consistence and Colour of Whey; but lay'd by in
Vessels to settle; its parts by degrees separate, that
which is lighter and swims a top, becomes a clear Oyl
pellucid like Water, serviceable for all the uses of com
mon Train-Oyl, got out of the Blubber of other Whales,
and that which subsides, because 'tis heavier and of a
closer Consistence, candies together at the Bottom, and
is what is sold for
Pound; when 'tis throughly blanched and refined from
all its filth and the remaining parts of the Oyl, that
otherwise discolours it, and gives it a rancid offensive
Sent. Of this Substance several Hundred Pound
Weight may be gotten out of one Whale, but the clean
sing and curing of it is troublesom, and requires no small
Art, Time and Charge; which occasions the value of
that which is througly refined: The Fat of the whole
Body affords it, but that of the Head gives the great
est Quantity and purest
I have some reason to believe to these Instances of the
Moose Deer, Amber-greese and
rope
we may likewise add some of our more rare Spontaneous
Plants, because they are found growing only in those
Western Parts of
Country, or any of the Neighbouring Kingdoms about us.
I shall mention but Two or Three of many which I
have been told are peculiar to those parts, because I am
not yet well assur'd of the certainty of the others being
so: and those are the Strawberry Tree; not to be found any where of Spontaneous Growth nearer than the most Southern Parts of
France, Italy and
but as a Shrub: whereas in the Rocky Parts of
the Kerry
of the same Lough, where the People of the Country
call it the Cane Apple, it flourishes naturally to that De
gree, as to become a large tall Tree.
in his Observations
takes notice, it does so in Athos
and
thing extraordinary, for saying the
high Tree in
are frequently Four Foot and a half in Circumference,
or Eighteen Inches in Diameter, and the Trees grows
to about Nine or Ten Yards in Height; and in such
plenty that they now cut them down, as the chief Few
el to melt and refine the Ore of the Silver and Lead
Mine, lately discovered near the RossKerry
The other Plant I shall take Notice of is
sive Sedum serratum Latifolium Montanum guttato flore
Parkinsoni & RaiiLondon Pride: I suppose because of its pretty elegant
Flower; that viewed near at hand and examined close
ly, appears very beautiful, consisting of great Variety
of Parts: The whole Plant is most accurately described
by that profound Naturalist
PlantarumPlanta in Hortis
nostris frequentissima est, ubi tamen Sponte oritur nobis
Nondum constat, est autem proculdubio Montium incola(f).
Though he knew no certain place where it grew Spontaneous, not having met with it in all his Travels; nor
any Author mentioning its native Country, yet he
rightly conjectures 'tis a Mountainous Plant, for it grows
plentifully here with us in
the
reputed the highest in KillarnyRoss
great part of the Mountain, and for as much as I un
derstand, like the
alone.
Whether both the foregoing Plants are truly American, I cannot at present determine, but this I know,
that Common Savin is mentioned
by Josselyn
common on the Hills of
assured by an Apothecary of this Town, that he has ga
thered Savin growing wild as a native Shrub in one of
the Islands of County of Kerry
if so, I have reason to believe, that hereafter farther In
quiry may add to these I have given, several other Ex
amples of Things Natural and Common to that and
this Country.
But to leave these Digressions and return to our
Large Irish Deer, which well deserves we should affix
to it some Characteristick Note or Proper Name,
(f) That is, 'tis a Plant common in our Gardens; but where it grows
naturally is not as yet known to us, but certainly 'tis an Inhabitant of the
Mountains.
whereby it may stand ranged hereafter in its right Place
in the History of Animals: since Nature her self seems
by the Vast Magnitude and Stately Horns, she has gi
ven this Creature, to have singled it out as it were, and
shewed it such regard, with a design to distinguish it
remarkably from the common Herd of all other smaller
Quadrupeds. Naturalists have rais'd much Dispute,
what Beast it truly is, that has had the Name given it
by some of them, of
nabenusElche;
would have it the Bisons of
t'other, or neither, I shan't determine; nor do I the
least suspect that this our Animal was meant by it;
however, for its goodly Size and lofty Stature, and to
retain something of an Old Appellation, I think it may
very well lay claim to it, and not improperly be call'd,
nibus Palmatis, incolis Novæ Anglæ & Virginiæ, ubi
frequens, Moose dictum
The tyllinge of trees aftir Godfray uppon Palladie. 2.
A Tretee
ofNicholas Bollard departid in 3 Parties; 1. of gendrying
of Trees;
of
2.
of graffyinge; the third forsoth is of altracions. 3. A Treatise of
Cookery in old
English, but the Title
French, Le maniere pour rost
buller & frier diverses Pessons. 4.
buller & frier diverses Pessons
The parayllous dayes of the yeere.
5.
Medecynes ofmaister William du Jordyne gyven to kyng Henry Re
gent and Heuter of the Reume ofFraunce . 6. A moste
gent and Heuter of the Reume of
piteous Chro
nicle of thorribill dethe ofJames Stewarde last kyng of Scotys , nought
long agone prisoner ynEnglande yn the tymes of the kynges Henrye the
fifte and Henry the sixte translated out of
nicle of thorribill dethe of
long agone prisoner yn
fifte
Latyne into oure mo
ders Englishe tong bi your symple SubjectJohn Shirley . (this was
ders Englishe tong bi your symple Subject
Jamesthe first of
Scotland
An approbate Treite for the Pe
stilence studied by the gretteste doctours of Fisike amonges th Universitie
of Christen nacions yn the tyme ofSante Thomes of Caunturbury . 8.
stilence studied by the gretteste doctours of Fisike amonges th Universitie
of Christen nacions yn the tyme of
The
desirid peace betweneSigismonde Emperour and Kyng Henry . 9.
desirid peace betwene
The
Boke cleped les Bones Meures(translated out of
Boke cleped les Bones Meures
Frenchby your
umble ServytureJohn Shirley of
London Anno
comprised in
five partys, the 1st partie spekith of Remedie that is against the sevyn
dedlye synnes; 2.
five partys, the 1st partie spekith of Remedie that is against the sevyn
dedlye synnes
the Estate of holy Church; 3.
of Prynces and of
Lordes temporal; 4.
Lordes temporal
of comone peple; 5.
of dethe and universal dome.
10.
The Governance of Kynges and Princes, seyd the secrete of secretes
the whychArestotle made and direct hit to
Alexander the grete conque
roure of the worlde. This
the whych
roure of the worlde
, and is said toSelby
have belonged to the Monastery there. Don. D.
Merc.Tho. Wilson
Leod.