THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 261 



the " Seininium " into the crevices of the rocks where it is 

 supposed to develop. Indeed, he accounts in this manner for the 

 fact that so many of the fossil shells found in Great Britain 

 belong to species not found in the adjacent seas. The " Seininium" 

 has been brought from distant regions in the rain-clouds. 



In order to make his argument more convincing, Mr. Lhwyd, 

 who is quite aware of some of its weakest paints, adopts the 

 well-known method of answering possible critics in advance. 

 " First" he says, "It will be questioned whether the supposed 

 Seminium can penetrate the Pores of Stones." To this he replies 

 " That it's manifest from Experience, upon which all solid 

 Philosophy must be grounded, that the Spawn of Animals may 

 insinuate itself into the Mass of Stone. And this plainly appears 

 from Live Toads, found sometimes in the middle of Stones at 

 Land, and those Shell-fish called Pholacles at Sea." In other 

 words, facts are facts, and there is no getting away from 

 them. " Secondly, 'It will scarce seem credible' that such Bodies, 

 having no life, should grow, especia'ly when confined in so 

 seemingly unnatural a Place as the Earth, &c." The answer 

 to this is again supplied by the voice of authority, supplemented 

 by an original observation on the part of the author which in- 

 dicates clearly enough the amount of reliance that is to be placed 

 upon his conclusions. " That's not so great a Wonder," he says, 

 " as that Shells should be sometimes generated, and even grow, 

 tho' they contain no Animals, within humane Bodies ; and within 

 the Mass of those thick Shells of our large Tenby Oysters, 

 which I formerly mentioned to you, as first shown me by Mr. 

 William Cole of Bristol, and have since observ'd myself. For 

 we must grant, that the Earth, even in any Part of the Inland 

 Country, is much fitter for their Reception and Augmentation 

 than humane Bodies ; especially, if we reflect, that when the 

 Spat or Seminium here suppos'd meets with saline Moisture 

 in the earth, living Animals are sometimes produced, as is before 

 attested." And so on to ninthly and lastly. 



Evidently, in the year 1698, when this was written, the 

 problem of how the apple got into the dumpling had not 

 yet been solved by the philosophers. It is a little surprising, 

 however, that such views should have been accepted by so 

 experienced an observer as John Bay, who has been called 

 the Father of modern zoological science. Nevertheless, he 



