Wrote Letter L-428 of 1704-11-04 to the members of the Royal Society about little animals with two wheels, found on duckweed, how they move, their parasites, and the theory that sea water makes land more fertile
Date:
November 4, 1704
Text of the letter in the original Dutch and in English translation from Alle de Brieven. The Collected Letters at the DBNL - De Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren
Leeuwenhoek wrote this letter about the rotifers that originated from roots of duckweed, with their ciliated disc. Description of the ciliary action. Rotifers being parasitized by a small worm. Conjecture on the way in which rotifers move vertically in water. Bringing rotifers, which were in a state of rest, to life. Confirmation of the theory that sea water, which through a storm ends up on land, makes this more fertile.
