The whole outward Superficies of this Cylindrical body is curiously adorned
or fluted with little channels, and interjacent ridges, or little
_protuberances_ between them, which run the whole length of the Beard, and
are streight where the Beard is not twisted, and wreath'd where it is, just
after the same manner: each of those sides is beset pretty thick with small
Brides or Thorns, somewhat in form resembling that of _Porcupines_ Quills,
such as _aaaaa_ in the Figure; all whose points are directed like so many
Turn-pikes towards the small end or top of the Beard, which is the reason,
why, if you endeavour to draw the Beard between your fingers the contrary
way, you will find it to stick, and grate, as it were, against the skin.
The proportion of these small conical bodies _aaaaa_ to that whereon they
grow, the Figure will sufficiently shew, as also their manner of growing,
their thickness, and neerness to each other, as, that towards the root or
bottom of the Beard, they are more thin, and much shorter, insomuch that
there is usually left between the top of the one, and the bottom of that
next above it, more then the length of one of them, and that towards the
top of the Beard they grow more thick and close (though there be fewer
ridges) so that the root, and almost half the upper are hid by the tops of
those next below them.
I could not perceive any _transverse_ pores, unless the whole wreath'd part
were separated and cleft, in those little channels, by the wreathing into
so many little strings as there were ridges, which was very difficult to
determine; but there were in the wreathed part two very conspicuous
channels or clefts, which were continued from the bottom F to the elbow bow
EH or all along the part which was wreath'd, which seem'd to divide the
wreath'd Cylinder into two parts, a bigger and a less; the bigger was that
which was at the _convex_ side of the knee, namely, on the side A, and was
wreath'd by OOOOO; this, as it seem'd the broader, so did it also the
longer, the other PPPPP, which was usually purs'd or wrinckled in the
bending of the knee, as about E, seem'd both the shorter and narrower, so
that at first I thought the wreathing and unwreathing of the Beard might
have been caus'd by the shrinking or swelling of that part; but upon
further examination, I sound that the clefts, KK, LL, were stuft up with a
kind of Spongie substance, which, for the most part, was very conspicuous
neer the knee, as in the cleft KK, when the Beard was dry; upon the
discovery of which, I began to think, that it was upon the swelling of this
porous pith upon the access of moisture or water that the Beard, being made
longer in the midst, was streightned, and by the shrinking or subsiding of
the parts of that Spongie substance together, when the water or moisture
was exhal'd or dried, the pith or middle parts growing shorter, the whole
became twisted.
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