An Account of a Book

IX. An Account of a Book, entituled, Gazophylacii Naturae & Artis. Vol. I. In V. Decadibus. In quo Animalia, viz. Quadrupeda, Aves, Pisces, Reptilia, Insecta, Vegitabilia; item Fossilia, corpora Marina & Stirpes Minerales è Terrâ eruta, Lapidès figurâ insignes, &c. Descriptionibus brevibus & Iconibus illustrantur. A Jacobo Petiver, Pharmacop. Londin. & Reg. Societ. Soc. This Volume which the Curious Author has now finish'd, contains 50 Tables of the Figures of divers rare Beasts, Birds, Fishes, Serpents, and other Reptiles; as also several Rare Insects, Shells, Plants and Fossils, many of which he has obtained from the Cabinets of divers Curious Persons, and procured others with no small Expence from all Parts of the World, as the following Account will testify. An Abstract of the first Decade has already been given in these Transactions No. 284; the second in the Memoirs for the Curious for the Month of December 1707; and the third in the same Memoirs in July 1709. We now proceed to the fourth and fifth. The first Figure in this Table presents you with a large Bill of a Helmet-headed Philippine Bird, called Calav: Its Description, Nature, &c. may be seen in these Philosoph. Transact. No. 285. p. 1394. 17. and in Table 28 aforegoing, is an entire Bird of this kind, there figured. Fig. 8 and 12. are two very beautiful Sponge-Coralls from the same Islands. Fig. 6 and 11. are two Plants from Madraspatan, or Fort St George. Fig. 9. A remarkable Shell called Pectunculus Venerus from those Parts. The rest are divers small Insects and Shells of our own Island, and not common. Fig. 1. Represents a very curious sort of Sea-Feather, from the Philippine Isles, doubly netted with black Threads. 3. Another Submarine from the same Shoars: compos'd of many tangle-netted Filaments in a Globular Ball; both these sent to the Author, from the Learned Father George Joseph Kamel. Fig. 2 and 9. are Luzone Shells, the last a Bivalve called Ducks bill from its Shape. You have a particular Accouns of it in these Transact. No. p. 2402. 33. Fig. 10, 11 and 12. are 3 rare Plants which the Curious Dr. Edward Buckley collected about Fort St. George. Fig. 5 and 8. are two new Kinds of Exotick Insects, between a Moth and Butterfly; some part of their Wings, and commonly that near the middle, are transparent; the Horns of the first end crooked, the other thick and strait: Both these from Carolina, where there are divers kinds of them. Fig. 4, 6 and 8. are English Insects. This Table begins with a very odd sort of Lentil from Madraspatan, with spotted round Leaves. Fig. 4. is a large sort of Tea, with red Flowers as big as a Rose; in China, from whence it comes, they call it Swa Tea. vid. Act. Phil. No. 246. p. 396. Fig. 8. An elegant sort of Androsace from Chusan. Fig. 3, 5, 9, and 11. are American Insects from Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia. Fig. 7. A Moth from Guiney; its body girdled with Gold, Silver, Black, and changeable, so beautiful I never yet from that part have seen its like. Fig. 10 and 12. are two varieties of very curious English Moths, which for their Beauty and Spots are call'd Royal Leopards. The 3d Icon in this Table gives you the Figure of the famous China Tallow Tree, of which Father le Compte, p. 101. gives the Description, in his History of those Parts: Here you see it both in Flower and Fruit. The 1st and 2d are two Cape Plants. Fig. 10. is a strange Fruit found on the Shoars of the Orkney Isles, and is the same with another the Author received from the Philippines; but the Plant that produces it is not yet known. Fig. 11. An odd sort of Agnus Castus, with round hoary Leaves, from Chusan and the Crocodile Isles. To these are added 3 English Butterflies, and as many Sea Nerit Shells. The four first are the Figures of as many small English (and for the most part blueish) occulated Butterflies. Fig. 6, 8, 9, and 10. are also Native Shells and Fossils. Fig. 5. gives you one of the largest kind of Curculio or Pipe-Beetles yet seen, from the Bay of Bengal. Fig. 7 and 11. are two Trees from the Island Cheuxan, or Chusan, communicated to the Author by that Worthy Physician, and Curious Collector of all Rarities, Dr. Hans Sloane, Secretary to the Royal Society. The last in this Table is a rare sort of Sea Plant, which Father Kamel, that Sagacious and Learned Naturalist, sent the Author from the Philippine Isles. The bulk of this Plate is taken up with the Figures of 3 or 4 Chusan Plants, the last of which, No. 8. is a very elegant kind of Fagara with welted Stalks. This Industrious Author has also discover'd several other sorts of this rare and Medicinal Plant from those Parts. Fig 4. represents a very strange serrated Bone, somewhat resembling the Pristis sive Serra Clusii, and is supposed to belong to some Fish. Fig. 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, and 10, are English Insects, the last very rare and of a peculiar liar Species. The last is a flat round stellated Echinus, found on the Coasts of China by that Curious Naturalist and Surgeon Mr. James Cunningham. The largest Figure in this Table, is the true Turmeric of the Shopps, which is here very neatly delineated from a design of Father Kamel, who (contrary to the Opinion of Matthiolus, Cordus, and even some later Writers) says, that the Long and Round rooted are the same Plant, viz. the last is the Parent or tuberous Glards, and the Long its Branches or Offsprings: The sundry Names and Vertues are largely described by him in the Appendix to Mr. Ray's 3d Volume, p. 23. Fig. 4 gives you a large Broom-rape with a purple Flower, found wild in the sandy Places of Barbary, where its call'd by the Inhabitants there Danoon: And in the last place you have the Figure of the Broom itself, to which it grows: Its call'd in their Arabick Language Rorum: It bears a whitish Flower, and probably is the same which the Spaniards call Retama. The smaller Figures are of divers East-India Insects, chiefly from Luzone, with some Fruits from thence, and one from Guiney. The beginning of this Table continues the Figures of other Fruits from Guiney, Jamaica, and Luzone, with 3 rare Beetles and a Butterfly from the last Place. The rest are several Plants observ'd in Barbary, and delineated there by Mr. John James, a Surgeon, about A.D. 1680, where he had been a Captive near 20 Years, and in that time had made several Remarks on the Plants of those Parts, and has design'd the chief of them; a Manuscript of which, with his Observations on them, Mr. James Pettiver, the Author, has still by him. Fig. 7. is a wild Oat from thence, which the Moors call Khortan; it is ripe in May. Fig. 8. Mitiniam, which signifies strong, is a Plant with a yellow Flower, and Leaves like Tyme; of its Bark they make Cords and Ropes, as we do of Hemp. Fig. 9. is a yellow pentapetalous Flower, with small serrated Leaves. The last has a carious or reddish Flower, and seems a sort of Carline Thistle; the Natives call it Tickuntoos; it Flowers in April: The Roots are of a very hot taste, and by them much used in Powder to warm cold Stomachs. Fig. 1. Represents a small Berry-bearing Barbary Plant, which grows on Rocky Mountains, and is called by the Moors, Fox-grapes. Fig. 3. gives you another, call'd there Lowon. Fig. 2. is a Curious Flying Lizard, or Flying Dragon, sent delineated to the Author from Father Kamel. Fig. 8. is a red warty Mushroom from Barbary, with a bloody Juice; it is called by the Natives there Turtooths Bargasham, and grows a foot high. Fig. 9. is an odd sort of thorny Locust, or Grasshopper, brought by Mr James Cunningham from Chusan. The rest are some rare Fruits, and Butterflies with their Caterpillars, and particularly a very strange hairy one with a Pea like Coffin, which is not usual. The 5 following are uncommon Barbary Plants, viz. Fig. 1. A sort of naked-flower'd, or bald Dasie, with Leafy Stalks; its called there Tusolka, and Flowers in March. Fig. 2. is a woody stalk'd Plant full of Flowers. Fig. 5. A Dasie-flower'd Plant with small nocht Leaves. Fig. 8. Seems a sort of Aloes with smooth frosty Leaves. Fig. 10. is a low Plant with a blue Flower and yellow bottom, flowering in May. Fig. 9. is a beautiful Iguana, or large edible Lizard, with a blue Head: You see a Description of it, which Father Kamel sent the Author, in the Philosoph. Transact. No. 318. Fig. 3. is a Moth from Bengal, with part of its Wings transparent; and the next is a Butterfly from Madraspatan, finely marked and spotted. Fig. 6 and 7. are two very odd Insects from Luzone. Fig. 11, 12 and 13. are the Moth, Caterpillar, and Coffin, feeding upon a large sort of Philippine A. rum called Biga. Fig. 14. shews you the Fruit of the true Oriental Anacardium, so rarely met with in the Druggists Druggists Shops. The Author has lately discovered the Tree from whence it comes, and has got Branches of its Leaves and Flowers, which he promises to Figure. This Decade and Table begins with divers Luzone Insects. The first is a sort of Bugg, curiously coloured with green, yellow, white, black, and red; this feeds on the Lupine-leaved Malabar Crotalaria, or Rattle-broom. The next is a pale green shining Dor, or Comb-chaffer, from its Horns when expanded resembling a Comb. Fig. 3. is a very elegant sort of Cochineal; its Sheaths being alternately streak'd with a changeable green and copper lustre. Fig. 5. is an odd sort of Insect with 3 sharp Horns; its Head and Body black, the last mixt with white; it hath a dancing flight like our Gnats. Fig. 6. a Bugg wholly green, suppos'd to change from Fig. 1. The true Amomum is here accurately Figured at No. 8. A large and very exact Description of this, and its many Vertues, may be seen in the Dendrology of Mr Ray's 3d Volume, p. 89. as also in the Act. Philosoph. No. 248. p. 2. Fig. 4. 7. 9. and 12. are uncommon Barbary Plants, taken from the Designs of the Manuscript Herbal, mentioned in the 38th Table, which was presented to the Author by Mr. John Thorpe, Apothecary. Fig. 10 and 11. are two Moths caught in the Bay of Bengal, by Mr. Henry Smyth, who made a Present of them and divers others, which he had collected in those Parts; to Mr. James Petiver. The first Figure is of a Wood from India, which the Portugueze call Pao de Cobra, i.e. Lignum Colubrinum, or Snake-wood. The Bark is much bitterer than the Wood, which resembles that of Tamarisk. Fig. 2. 3. and 5. are Luzone Beetles, taken from Father Kamel's Designs. Fig. 6. 9. 10. and 11. &c. are several uncommon English Insects. Fig. 7. is a Plant with a Jasmin Flower, whose Leaves taste and smell like Worm-wood; it grows on the Sea-Coasts of the Philippine Isles; from whence also come the several odd Fruits, figured at 4, 8, 10, and 14. The last but one is a large long Nutmeg, with its Mace on it, found wild on the Mountain Balete. Fig. 1. Is a round, pointed, umbilicated Leaf of a Luzon Tree cal'd Balanti, whose Root they commend in Fluxes. The next is another Tree with a large Plane or Maple Leaf, the Wood of which is very brittle. Fig. 3. 4-5. and the two last, are divers Philippine Insects. Fig. 6 and 13. are two Squills, a greater and less, from the same Coasts. Fig. 7, &c. is the Leaf, Flower and Fruit of a great shady Tree called the Black Zapot; the pulp of the Apple is black, and taste like a Plumb; but before it is ripe, it pricks the Mouth like the Roots of our Arum or Wake Robin. The Brittle-tree at Fig. 11. has an angular Maple Leaf with a stellated Flower and small Berry. Fig. 12. a very rare Bird remarkable for its two eared tufts on the Head, and ruff about its Neck. This Mr Ray calls Colymbus cristatus, the Crested Ioon, or Diver, but its Head is not there so well express as in the Author's Figure, who has the Bird itself caught in England, tho' very rare. The 6 first Figures are of divers sorts of Scarlet Pease, called Anacock and Abrus, from Guinea and both the Indies. The other Remarkables are a large Saw-bill'd Bird from Surinam, called Toucan, finely mark'd with black, white, yellow and red. Fig. 13. is a rare sort of Remora, or Stop-Ship, with a very taper Body. See its Description in the Act. Philosoph. No. 302, 24. Fig. 10 and 11, are two Philippine Plants; the first a sort of Visco-Aloes, or Flowring Misseloe; the other the Carandas of Garciae, according to the Opinion of Father Kamel; its Fruit is of a pleasant roughish Sweetness, and full of small Grains. In the middle of this Plate is delineated a very strange Centaur-like Monster, born in the Philippine Islands; lands; an Account of which Father Kamel has given in the Act. Phil. No. 307. Fig. 1 and 2. are the Leaf and Wood of a Tree; which last and its Root are both Alexipharmick and Traumatick. Fig. 3. is a sort of Rock or Tree-Oyster, call'd by some a Hammer-Shell from its Shape. Fig. 5, 6 and 13. are three rare Moths; the first and last English, and to be seen only in the Cabinets of the Curious, viz. Dr. Sloane, Mr. Danridge, &c. The other a very elegant one from Chusan, white, with scarlet Spots and edges. Fig. 7 and 8. is the rugged Nutt and Kernel of a strange Tree, call'd in the Philippines Hohom. Fig. 9, 10, and 11. are the Fruit, &c. of the Scarlet Zapotl, which the Chinese call Xi-chu. These they dry in the Sun like Figs, and eat them in their Deserts steep'd in Wine, and sprinkled with Sugar and Cinnamon. Fig. 12. seems to be an impression of an Entrochus on a sort of Iron Stone. This Dr. Chr. Max. Spener, Physician to the King of Prussia, and Fellow both of the Imperial and Brandenburg Colleges, sent the Author, amongst many other Curious Fossils. vid. Act. Philosoph. No. 302. In this Table are great variety of divers Curiosities. Fig. 1. is a particoloured American Serpent, girded with white and black, and spotted with the last. 2. is the Vanilia, as it grows. 3. Its beautiful Flower in full bigness; and 4 is its ripe Pod. By thus seeing this profitable, and rare Plant in its different States, it may be the easier discovered in the South-Sea, and other Places, as it has lately been in Jamaica. 5. is a sort of Long-Pepper, call'd in New Spain, Mecaxochitl. This they mix with their Chocolate, to give it a more pleasant taste, and to correct the Breath. 6. Another sort, supposed for the same use, found in the Spanish West-India Ships that were burnt at Vigo. 7. A particular Unicorn Shell from Nevis, with alternate hollows on its twirls. 8. A very strange Tree from New Spain, with a Tulip-Flower, and like like a Birds foot growing out of it. 9. is a Sprig of the Cortex Peru, or Jesuits Bark, as figured by Monsieur Powet. Here the Author promises a Guinea to the first Person that brings or sends him a fair Specimen or Branch of its Leaves, with Flower and Fruit on it, which, 'tis now hop'd, the South-Sea Trade may easily discover and bring over. Fig. 12. and 13. are 2 very beautiful Surinam Birds, copied from the Paintings of that great Naturalist and Artist Madam Sybilla Merian. The rest are West India Insects, and a curious Piece of Fossil flat Echinus from Carolina. This Table begins with a very large Capricorn Beetle, accurately figur'd from a design which F. Kamel sent from Luzone, with the Insect itself very curiously preserved, to the Author Mr. Petiver, which he has still by him: As also the Head of another strange one, which they call Ololo, and comes next to our Corvus volans, or Flying Buckbeetle. Fig. 8. is a particular sort of creeping Osmund or Flowring Fern, with small Fumitory Leaves, with two others of less Note. Here is also figured from the same hand a neat Rhombus, spotted with black and white, call'd therefore by some the Leopard Shell. To these the Author has added 4 English Insects of a new genus, approaching next to the Locustae or Grasshoppers, but differ in their shape, and are in bulk much less; these he calls Ranatre, or Frogboppers from their form and motion. Fig. 12 and 13. are the different Positions of a wonderful Fossil, call'd by Wormius and others, Lapis Hysterolithos. Those Dr. G. Kisner, a Curious Physician at Frankfort, sent to the Author, who found them in the Vineyards of Lohenstein; he has also received them from D. Heigel, with the Figures of divers other sorts, which he designs to publish. Fig. 1. is a scarlet Mushroom, which grows to a Tree call'd in Luzone Molavin, whose Wood is famed for its extraordinary hardness. Fig. 2, 3. and 4. is a red Com- lady from the same place; with its changes, viz. Catterpillar and Coffin. Fig. 6, 7, and 8 another somewhat bigger, of a Golden lustre, with its Mutations. 5. is also a smooth green Cantharus or long Beetle; with 9. a house Cockroach, very like ours, which the Natives there give inwardly to kill Worms in Children; they drink also their Ashes, bruised and mixt with Sugar: They lay them to Ulcers and Cancers to suppurate. Fig. 11 and 12. are Philippine Plants; the first a Fern; the other, tho' rank'd amongst them, is supposed to be a Scandent bacciferous Herb. 13. is a fine rib'd Indian Shell, call'd there Binga. The two next from Pulo Condore; one a small black Warty Welk, the other a pretty marbled Cockle. The Author has lately found fig. 16. to be a Native of Jamaica, from whence it was brought, with divers others by Mr. Carter, Surgeon, a Person Curious in collecting Shells, &c. The 3 first are the remaining Ranatra, or Frog-hoppers, of Tab. 47. which the Curious Mr. Dandridge and the Author had observed. Fig. 4 and 5 are broad leaved Luzone Ferns; the one notch'd, the other plain. Fig. 6. is an American foraminous sandy Sponge, presented to the Author by Dr. Lewis, M.D. The two next are Luzone Beetles; the last very large and fair, with 2 Horns like an Oxe, and a shorter in the middle, with one much bigger from the lower Jaw, which turns up like the Trunk of an Elephant. Fig. 12. A sort of bacciferous Dodder, which climbs about Shrubs, and frequently the Agnus Castus: it bears a small tripetalous, or three-leaved Flower in April. The last is a very particular and rare Scallop; for, contrary to all others, it is smooth on the outside, and the Valves within only striated. This the Curious Mr. Cunningham observ'd, with several others, on the Shoars of Pulo Condore. The 4 first Figures are Luzone Spiders, very exactly delineated. Fig. 1. A long Web-spinning house Spider. 2. A harmless Tarantula, its body of a Filbert size, and brown: Here is also shewn a flattish round silken Egg-bag, which which he carries under his Belly, and out of it was produced 1000 young ones. 3. A web-spinning Spider, with Silver, yellow and black girdles, with its white, flat, Silk Bag, in which Fatner Kamel believes there were 2000 Eggs. Fig. 4. Another long-leg'd one, with a marbled Body. 5. A green Beetle, very finely mark'd, which Mr. Cunningham brought from Chusan, and is one of the most beautiful of its kind from those Parts. 6. 7. 8 and 9. are small English Pipers, or long-snouted Beetles; the two last of Mr. Dandridge's discovering, and not common. 10 and 11 are Bug-flies observed in the Woods about Hampsted Heath. 12. an Indian Flowring Fern, with an Arum-like Leaf; the Seed-leaves higher and more erect than the rest, standing on longer root-stakes than the green ones next the Root. They use this Plant instead of the Spleenwort of the Shops. 13. is a sort of Diping Shell, very common on the Shoars of Jamaica and Barbadoes. The last is very like our English Hedge Snail, but without Girdles, and has a small Navel: This is often met with in our Gardens, and sometimes in Hedges. N. B. The Second Volume, containing 50 more Tables, is just now finish'd, in which there are many other things no less Curious or Strange than the former; and are ready to be delivered as soon as Ten more Subscribers shall send a Guinea each to the Author Mr. James Petiver, or Mr. Christopher Baeman, Bookseller in Paternoster Row, where the First Volume may be had, and the second as soon as subscribed for. LONDON: Printed for H. Clements at the Half Moon, and W. Innes at the Princes-Armes, in St Pauls Church-yard; and D. Brown without Temple-Bar.