An Account of Some Books Lately Published

An Account of some Books lately published. I. PINAX Rerum Naturalium BRITTANIARUM continens VEGETABILIA, ANIMALIA & FOSSILIA, in hoc insula reper- ta, Inchoatus, Auth. Christophoro Merret, Med.D. & utrinque Societatis Regiae Socio. The Learned and Inquisitive Author of this Book, hath by his laudable example of collecting together, what Natural things are to be found here in England, of all sorts (which he has done upon his own expences) given an invitation to the curious in all parts of the world to attempt the like, thereby to establish the much desired and highly useful commerce among Naturalists, and to contribute every where to the composing of a genuin. and full History of Nature. In the Preface he intimates, that his stock does still encrease dayly; and that therefore the Reader may expect an Appendix to this collection. In the Body of the Book, he enumerates all the Species, Alphabetically: And, as to Vegetables, he reckons up about 410. sorts; and gives their Latine and English Names, and the Places and Times of their growth: reducing them afterwards to certain Classes, hitherto used by Botanick Writers in their Histories of Plants: Adding the Etymology of their Generick Names, and a compendious Register of the Time, when and how long the English Plants do shoot and flourish. As to Animals, he finds of them about 340. kinds in England, whereof the four-footed are about 50. Birds 170. and Fishes 120. Insects are innumerable, which yet he endeavours to enumerate, and to reduce to certain Classes; into which he also brings the three former kinds. Concerning Fossils, he first takes notice of the Metals found in English Mines; as Silver, Tin, Copper, Iron, Lead, Antimony, and some Gold extracted out of Tin. Next of the Stones, of which he finds about 70 sorts; amongst them, Bristol-Diamonds, Agates, Hyacinths, Emerods, Load-stones, Toad-stones (which last yet he affirms to be nothing but the grinding-teeth of the Fish Fish (Lupus) Pearls, Corals, Marble, Alabaster, Emery: To which he adds the various kinds of Coals; as also Bitumen, Turfs, and Jets. And thirdly of the various kinds of Allum, Vitriol, Niter, Sea-salt, Pit-salt. But fourthly of the various Earths, of which he reckons up 15 peculiar sorts (besides those that serve for Husbandry, which are not easily numbed;) and amongst them Read-lead, Black-lead and Fullers-earth. He concludes all with mentioning the several Meteors appearing in England; and the Hot Springs, and Medical Waters; as also, the Salin, Petrifying, and some more unusual Springs: Item, Subterraneous Trees, Subterraneous Rivers, Ebbings and Flowings of Wells, &c. II. PLACITA PHILOSOPHICA Guarini. The chief subject of this Treatise is Natural Philosophy; upon many important questions whereof it inlargeth, as those of the Motion of the Celestial Bodies, of Light, of Meteors, and of the vital and animal functions; leaving sometimes the common opinions, and delighting in the defence of Paradoxes. E.G. That the material substantial Form, is nothing but mera potentia, and subsists not by itself: by which means the Author judges, he can free himself from many great difficulties touching Generation and Corruption, which do perplex the other Philosophers. He holds Epicycles to be impossible, and Excentricks, not sufficient to explicate the motion of the Stars; but that all the irregularities of this motion may be salved by the means of certain Spiral Lines; largely proving this Hypothesis, and particularly explicating the motion of each Planet. He denies the middle Region of the Air to be cold; and believes that cold is not necessary to condense the vapours into Water. He admits not that received Axiome, That the generation of one Body is the corruption of another; maintaining that there are Generations, to which no corruption ever preceded; and that it may happen, that one Animal without dying may be changed into another Animal. He alledges several reasons to evince, that the Air breathed in, enters not only into the whole capacity of the Chest, but also into the lower belly. He is of opinion, that the Air, which is commonly believed to corrupt easily, is incorruptible; alleging among other reasons, this for one, that experience shews, that if a Bottle be exactly stop'd, there is never any mixt Body form'd in it; therefore, saith he, the Air is not corrupted there. He maintains, that 'tis not the Magnet that draws the Iron, but rather the Iron that attracts the Magnet. To explain which he affirms, that the Load-stone spreads abroad out of itself many corpuscles, which the substance of the Iron imbibes; and that, as dry things attract those that are moist, by the same reason Iron draws the Load-stone. He rejects the species Intentionales, Vital and Animal Spirits, and holds many other uncommon opinions, touching Light, the Iris, the Flux and Re-flux of the sea, &c. III. GUSIUS ORGANUM per Laurentium Bellini novissime deprehensum. This Author proposing to himself to discover both the principal Organ of the Taste, and the nature of its object, begins with the latter, and examines first, what is Taste? He judges that it is caused by nothing but Salts, which being variously figured, affects the tongue variously: alleging this for his chief reason, that the Salt which is extracted by Chymists out of any mixt body whatever it be, carries away with it all its taste, and that the rest remains taste-less. He adds that the Teeth in grinding the Food, serve much to extract this Salt: And he notes by the by, that the Teeth are so necessary for preparing the aliment, that certain Animals which seem to have none, have them in their Stomach; and that nature has put at the entry of the palat of those that are altogether destitute of them, certain moveable inequalities, which are to them instead of Teeth. But then secondly, concerning the Organ of Taste, he esteems, that 'tis neither the Flesh, nor the Tongue, nor the Membrans, nor the Nerves found there, nor the Glanduls, called Amygdalino; but those little eminences, that are found upon the tongue of all Animals. To obtain which, he observes, 1. That from the middle of the Tongue to the root, as also towards the tip, there are found innumerable little Risings called led Papillares; but that from the tip of the Tongue unto the string there is observed none at all. 2. He hath experimented, that if you put Sal Armoniack upon the places of the Tongue, where those Eminencies are not, you shall find no Taste; but that you will find it presently, as soon you put any such Salt, where they are to be met with. Ergo, faith he, those Eminencies are the principal Organ of Taste. 3. He assures, that with a Microscope may be seen in those Risings many little holes, at the bottom whereof there are small nerves, terminating there: But he directs, to observe this in live and healthy, not in dead or sick Animals. Having laid down these Observations, he concludes, that the manner, after which Taste is perform'd, is this, That the particles of Salt passing through those pores, which pierce the Papillary Eminences, and penetrating as far as to the nerves, that meet them there, do by the means of their small points prick them; which pricking is called the Taste. In the mean time he acknowledges, that before him Signior Malpighi, Professor at Messina, had made some of these discoveries. The notice of these two last Books we owe to the French Journal. Correct in Numb. 19. Pag. 342. lin. 33. read mixt Ores instead of, mixt with Ores. Correct in this present Numb. 20: Page 359. line 13. Read Marle for Pearle. London, Printed for Moses Pitt at the White-Hart in Little-Britain.