A Relation of Two Monstrous Pigs, with the Resemblance of Humane Faces, and Two Young Turkeys Joined by the Breast, by Sir John Floyer, Communicated by Dr. Edward Tyson, Fellow of the College of Physicians, and R. S.

IV. A Relation of two Monstrous Pigs, with the resemblance of Humane Faces, and two young Turkeys joined by the Breast, by Sir John Floyer, Communicated by Dr. Edward Tyton, Fellow of the College of Physicians, and R. S. By the description of the following Monsters I design to prove that the Distortion of the parts of a Fetus, may occasion it to represent the Figure of different Animals, without any real Coition betwixt the two Species. In May 1699, there was shewed to me a Pig, at Weeford in Staffordshire, with a Face something representing that of a Man's; the Chin was very like that of an Humane Fetus, and the roundness of the Head, and flatness of the Ears surprized all Persons, and they did usually apprehend it to be a Humane Face, produced by the Copulation of two Species. But when I had long consider'd the Head, I observed there was a depression of the Bones of the Nose in that place which was betwixt the Eyes; in which the Pig's Face seem'd to me to be broken, and the Nose drawn up to appear like a Humane: the Under-Jaw was inverted to grow up to meet the Upper, the Tongue and Mouth were made more like a Humane, being altered by some external Pressure upon the Mouth of the Pig, which broke the Bones of the Nose, and caused their depression towards the Palate, and the inversion of the Under-Jaw. This pressure on the Mouth forced the Bones upward, so much as to cover the Eye-holes, and the Pig appears blind: A. (Tab. I.) is the place of the Bone depressed: B. is the depth of it. It closed itself with a Spring, when we opened it by force, so that it had grown closed up ever since it was Cartilaginous. By this breach or depression of the Pig's Face, I was first convinced that this Monster was not from the Conjunction of both Kinds; but only occasioned by the perversion of the compression of the Womb, or Placenta, or other Pigs in the same part of the Womb. And that the Pig's Head was strengthened in its growth, appeared by the flatness of the Ears, and that this depression happened whilst the Bones were Cartilaginous, appears by the Bones depressed, which remain'd Cartilaginous, and at the same time the Under Jaw was inverted, and Head made more round. I farther observed that all the Head was covered with Hair, as the other Pigs were; that the Teeth in the Mouth were Pigs Teeth, the Hair of the Pigs Head was Yellow, as that of the Sows was: the Monstrous Pig was as big, and as well grown as the rest of the Pigs, and therefore begot by the Bore at the same time: the Nose was a perfect Pigs Snout, and there was no Upper Lip as in the Humane Kind; in all the other parts it appeared to be a perfect Pig, no parts were wanting, but those of the Face, distorted by some external Accident. I could not learn by enquiry that the Sow had any blow, or other Accident, which might occasion the Monstrosity. It is not to be thought that the Imagination of the Sow could be so violent as to distort the Bones without injuring the rest of the Pigs, which appeared all sound. This Monster was pigged alive; but dyed because it could not Suck, the Nose being stopped. The cry of the Pig was not like the other Pigs, because of the stoppage of its Nose, and the alteration of the Figure of its Mouth. I was I was further convinced in Opinion that there was really no mixture of the two Species in this Monster, by the Woman's account who saw the Sow take the Bore, and after sixteen Weeks, on the beginning of the seventeenth, which is the usual time, the Sow pigged eight Pigs, the first five were perfect Pigs, the sixth was the Monster, and after that two more perfect Pigs, all which I saw sucking the Sow, and as well shaped, and as large as possible, being then three or four days old. I oft reflected on the Figure of a Mule, that being an Animal produced by the Copulation of an Ass and a Mare, the extremities of the Body, the Feet, Tail and Ears, and the black Cross on the Back resembling that of the Asses; by this we can observe that the Female contains in her Eggs the first Rudiments of the Animal of her own Species, and that the impregnation only changes some of the extremities into resemblance of the Male. Paræus gives an Account of a Monster born at Brussels Anno 1564. with a Humane Head, Face, and fore Feet like Hands and Shoulders; but in the rest of the Body like another Pig. This at first sight resembled our Monstrous Pig described, but ours had no Hands, neither any part truly Human, but only like the Humane Kind. Licetus de Monstris, gives many odd Stories of the mixture of many Animals, of Pigs with a Man's Head, and Pigs with Dogs Heads; and a Monster half Man, and the lower parts like a Dog, and this both Cardan and Paræus describe. This seems to contradict our new Discoveries; for if the Male supplies the Animalcula, the Fetus must alway be of the same Species as the Male, if the Female supplies it of her Kind, but this Monster must be by a mixture of both Species. This kind of Monstrous Pigs produced by the unnatural situations of Parts by some external compression I believe is very frequent, because I had another of the same Kind sent me out of Derbyshire, which had a resemblance of a Man's Face, and all the other parts of a Pig, and this had the same Chin, and depression betwixt the Eyes, the roundness of the Head, and flatness of the Ears I have above described. But this Derbyshire Monster wanted Hair, as Pigs which come too soon do; and no Sex could be distinguished in it: but the former described was a Bore Pig, many other Pigs were pigged at the same time, but I will not relate what particular Monstrosities were told of them, as one Eye amongst five, the crying like a Child; because I believe either Fiction, or want of Observation has made more Monsters than Nature ever produced. Blindness is frequently observed amongst young Pigs; but the cause of their being born blind is not yet observed. An Account of two young Turkeys joined together by their Breasts, sent to me from Thorpe. Two Turkeys were taken out of one Egg, which was not observed to be more large than ordinary, when the rest of the Turkey Eggs were well hatched; these Turkeys grew together by the Flesh of the Breast Bone, but were in all other parts distinct; the two Heads, four Legs, four Wings, and two Trunks of the Body did appear something Monstrous; but it was evident that the Monstrosity was only two Turkeys sticking superficially together, and both seemed less than the ordinary thickness of Turkeys; there wanted both both Nutriment, and room for the growing of both Turkeys, which was the occasion of their cohesion and smallness. 'Tis very obvious to imagine that the Egg had two Yolks in it, and from thence came the double Turkeys. For 'tis a general caution amongst the Women not to let any Egg with two Yolks, because it always miscarries. These Turkeys had distinct Cavities in their Bodies, and two Hearts; so that they had two distinct Cicatricula's, and consequently two Yolks from whence they were produced, which Accident is very common. I have a dried Monstrous Chicken, which was given me, it has but one Head, four Wings, four Legs, and one cavity in the Body, and consequently had but one Heart, in this case this Monstrous Chicken was produced from one Cicatricula, and consequently one Heart. So Parens mentions a double Infant with one Heart; in these Cases the Original of the Infant was one, and the Vessels regular, but in the extremity the Arteries and Nerves were divided into more Branches than ordinary, and produced double parts; and this is like the double Flowers of Plants, which are produced so by the richness of the Soil. As the two Yolks of Eggs are joined in the Ovarium, and covered with one Skin. So it is in the Eggs of Quadrupeds they are joined in the Ovarium, and as they grow their Bodies do externally cohere. So that I may observe that there are these two Reasons of the multitude of the parts in an Embryo; the joining of two perfect Animals, or else the extraordinary division of the Original Vessels, the Arteries and Nerves. I cannot omit another Accident, of which I was informed, and it was much admired by the Country. This year at Dunchurch in Warwickshire, a Cow calved four Calves perfect, and all living.