in Nature as they are in Place from the Terrestrial, and from each other. Whence it will follow, that these must be much more infinite than the Stars: I do not mean absolutely accor ding to Philofophick Exactness infinite, but oninfinite or innumerable as to us, or their Number prodigiously great.

That the fix'd Stars are innumerable, may thus be made out: Those visible to the naked Eye are by the leaft Account acknowledg'd to be above a Thousand, excluding those towards the South Pole, which are not visible in our Horizon Besides thefe, there have been in comparably more detected and brought to light by the Telescope; the Milky-way being found to be (as was formerly conjectur'd) nothing but great Companies or Swarms of Minute Stars fingly invisible, but by reason of their Proximity mingling and confounding their Lights, and appearing like lucid Clouds. And it's likely that, had we more perfect Telescopes, ma ny Thousands more might be discovered $ and yet, after all, an incredible Multitude remain, by reason of their immense Distance beyond all Ken by the best Telescopes that could poffibly be invented or polish'd by the Wit and Hand of an Angel: For if the World be (as Des Cartes would have it) indefinitely extended; that is, fo far as no human Intellect can fanfie any Bounds of it; then what we fee, or can come to fee, must be the least Part of what is undiscoverable by us, the whole Universe extending a thousand times farther beyond the C 2

utmoft

1

upon. This

utmost Stars we can poffibly descry, than those
be distant from the Earth we live
Hypothefis of the fix'd Stars being fo
many Suns,
&c. feems more agreeable to the Divine Great-
nefs and Magnificence. But that which in-
duces me much to doubt of the Magnitude of
the Universe, and immense Distance of the fix'd
Stars, is the ftupendous Phanomena of Comets,
their fudden Accenfion or Appearance in full
Magnitude,the Length of their Tails and Swift-
ness of their Motion, and gradual Diminution
of Bulk and Motion, 'till at last they disap-
pear. That the Universe is indefinitely ex-
tended, Des Cartes, upon a false Ground, [that
the formal Ratio of a Body was nothing but
Extenfion into Length, Breadth and Profun-
dity, or having partes extra partes, and that
Body and Space were fynonymous Terms] af-
ferted; it may as well be limited this Way,
as in the old Hypothefis, which places the fix'd
Stars in the fame fpherical Superficies; accor-
ding to which (old Hypothefis) they may alfo
be demonstrated by the fame Mediums to be
innumerable, only inftead of their Distance
fubftituting their Smalness for the Reason of
their Invifibility.

But leaving the Caleftial Bodies, I come now to the Terreftrial; which are either inanimate or animate. The inanimate are the Elements, Meteors and Foffils, of all Sorts, at the Number of which laft I cannot give any probable Guefs: But if the Rule which fome confiderate Philosophers deliver, holds good, viz.

how

how much more imperfect any Genus or Order of Beings is, fo much more numerous are the Species contain'd under it: As for Example; Birds being a more perfect Kind of Animals than Fishes, there are more of these than of thofe; and for the like Reafon more Birds than Quadrupeds, and more Infects than of any of the reft, and fo more Plants than Animals, Nature being more (paring in her more excellent Productions. If this Rule, I fay, holds good, then should there be more Species of Foffils, or generally of inanimate Bodies, than of Vegetables, of which there is some Reason to doubt, unless we will admit all Sorts of formed Stones to be distinct Species.

Animate Bodies are divided into four great Genera or Orders, Beafts, Birds, Fishes and Infects.

The Species of Beafts, including alfo Serpents, are not very numerous: Of fuch as are certainly known and describ'd, I dare fay not above 150; and yet I believe not many, that are of any confiderable Bignefs, in the known Regions of the World, have efcap'd the Cognizance of the Curious. [I reckon all Dogs to be of one Species, they mingling together in Generation, and the Breed of fuch Mixtures being prolifick.]

The Number of Birds known and defcrib'd may be near 500; and the Number of Fishes, fecluding Shell-Fish, as many: But if the Shell Fish be taken in, more than fix times the Number. How many of each Genus remain yet undifcover'd, one cannot certainly nor very near

ly conjecture; but we may fuppofe the whole Sum of Beafts and Birds to exceed by a third Part, and Fishes by one Half, thofe known.

The Infects, if we take in the Exanguious both Terrestrial and Aquatick, may, in Derogation to the precedent Rule, for Number, vie even with Plants themselves: For the Exanguious alone, by what that Learned and Critical Naturalift, my honour'd Friend, Dr. Martin Lifter, hath already obferv'd and delineated, I conjecture, cannot be fewer than 3000 Species, perhaps many more.

The Butterflies and Beetles are fuch numerous Tribes, that I believe in our own native Country alone the Species of each Kind may amount to 150 or more. And if we fhould make the Catterpillers and Hexapods, from whence thefe come, to be diftinct Species, as most Naturalifts have done, the Number will be doubled, and these two Genera will afford us 600 Species: But if those be admitted for diftinct Species, I fee no Reafon but their Aurelia alfo may pretend to a specifick Difference from the Catterpillers and Butterflies, and so we fhall have 300 Species more; therefore we exclude both thefe from the Degree of Species, making them to be the fame Infect under a different Larva or Habit,

The Fly-kind, ifunder that Name we comprehend all other flying Infects, as well fuch as have four, as fuch as have but two Wings, of both which Kinds there are many fubordinate Genera, will be found in Multitude of Species,

to

to equal, if not exceed, both the foremention'd Kinds.

The creeping Infects that never come to be wing'd, tho' for Number they may fall fhort of the flying or winged, yet are they alfo very numerous; as by running over the feveral Kinds I could easily demonftrate. Supposing then there be a Thousand several Sorts of Infects in this Island and the Sea near it, if the fame Proportion holds between the Infects native of England, and those of the rest of the World, as doth between Plants domeftick and exotick, (that is, as I guess, near a Decuple) the Species of Infects in the whole Earth (Land and Water) will amount to 10000,and I do believe they rather exceed than fall fhort of that Sum. Since the Writing hereof, having this Summer, Ann. 1691. with fome Diligence profecuted the History of our English Infects, and making Collections of the feveral Species of each Tribe, but particularly and especially of the Butterflies, both nocturnal and diurnal, I find the Number of fuch of these alone as breed in our Neighbourhood [about Braintree and Notely in Effex] to exceed the Sum I laft Year affign'd to all England, having my felf obferv'd and defcrib'd about 200 Kinds great and small, many yet remaining, as I have good Reason to believe, by me undiscover'd. This I have, fince the writing hereof, found true in Experience, having every Year obferv'd not a few new Kinds: Nor do I think that, if I should live 20 Years longer, I should by my utmost Diligence and Industry in fearchC 4

ing