The progressive Motion of these Creatures in the Vinegar is exceeding slow, notwith-
standing the continual waving and wriggling of their Bodies, which may reasonably be im-
puted to the Resistance of the Fluid, as the Supersicies of their minute Bodies is so very
great in proportion to their Bulk.
These Animals immediately die if the Vinegar be a little heated, but they do not suffer
much by Cold ; for Dr. POWER
says, he froze artificially a Glafs Jarr-full of Vinegar
replete with them, into a Mass of Ice ; yet when it was thawed, they all appeared as
brisk as ever : Nay, he adds, that having exposed them a whole Night to a keen Frost,
upon thawing the Ice next Morning, they seemed to have received no manifest Injury,
notwithstanding that long and strong Conglaciation.---He tells us likewise, that he filled
an Effence-Glass half with the said Vinegar, and half with Oil which floated on it ; and
observed in frosty Weather, when the Vinegar was congealed, that all the little Eels
ran up into the super-incumbent Oil, and would not return till some Warmth was ap-
plied to the Vinegar ; but if that was a little warmed, they immediately descended into
it again.
Some Experiments on freezing Vinegar, with these Eels in it, were made about a Year
ago, and communicated to the Royal Society by Dr. HENRY MILES, F. R. S. the Re-
sult whereof was, upon several Trials, that the greatest Number were found irrecove-
rably dead, tho' many endured the being frozen, recovered after a little while, and ap-
peared as brisk as ever.
Dr. HOOKE says, that a Quantity of Vinegar, replete with these Eels, being included
in a small Phial, and stopped very close from the ambient Air, all the included Worms
in a short time died, as if they had been stifled : But this is not constantly the Case;
for the ingenious Observer just now mentioned, had a Couple of Tubes, (of the Sort
employed to behold the Circulation of the Blood) both which were full of Vinegar,
well stocked with these Eels, and as well stopped with Cork as they could be, the
Liquor too reaching so near the Top as just to touch the Cork ; and though these
were not opened once in a Month, yet they lived, increased greatly, and were sur-
pri?singly brisk. The Tubes always stood in a Cup-board just over the Fire-Place,
and so near it, that they were sensibly warm, there being a constant Fire.
The Eels in Paste seem nearly of the same Kind as those in Vinegar : The Manner of
producing which, and the Way of examining them, may be found in the 81st Page of
the Microscope made easy.
