Wrote Letter 2 of 1673-08-15 (AB 2) to Henry Oldenburg
Date:
August 15, 1673
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 to Henry Oldenburg about the bee; movement of liquids in wood and food in louse; composition of air.
Leeuwenhoek's second letter:
- followed up on the observations from his first letter
- added more observations of the bee
- added observations about wood
- described his experiment with capillary tubes to learn how fluids rose in trees
- enclosed a drawing of the tubes he used
Of 3 ink figures, only 2 were published in Philosophical Transactions, both of straight capillary tubes (right). The third is also a capillary tube, but it is bent in a U-shape. The much shorter part is thicker and has a plunger inserted into the open end.