114 Transactions of the Society. 



His friend, the Rev. Dr. Stephen Hales, who had some years 

 before published his essay on Vegetable Staticks, called on birn and 

 was charmed with the landscapes. He asked Ellis to prepare some 

 similar ones for the Princess of Wales, with the view of helping to 

 lead the young princesses to study natural objects. Ellis proceeded, 

 with his characteristic energy, to make collections with the view of 

 complying with Dr. Hales' request. He obtained the help of a 

 friend who was secretary to the Postmaster-General, and of his sister 

 in Ireland. In due time he was able to present several landscapes to 

 the Princess. 



The large number of specimens that came into his hands in this 

 way raised in him a desire to determine the species and arrange 

 them systematically. Up to this time the Zoophytes, both Hydrozoa 

 and Polyzoa, were treated as plants, and these, with the calcareous 

 Algae and Molluscan egg-cases, were called Corallines. The early 

 herbaria, like those of Sloane, Petiver, &c, in the Botanical Depart- 

 ment of the British Museum, contain the oldest preserved specimens 

 of these zoophytes. They are included as plants in John Pay's great 

 and learned Historia Plantarum. Ellis arranged his collection 

 according to the then standard British Flora, Ray's Synopsis 

 Stirpium Britannicarum, the third edition of which, edited and 

 brought up to date by Dr. Dillenius, was published in 1721. The 

 result of his more careful study of the Corallines was communicated 

 to the Royal Society in June 1752. He grouped these objects into 

 three classes: — (1) those that were evidently the cells of animals; 

 (2) the branched Corallines ; and (3) the articulated Corallines. The 

 first group he considered to be animals, but the other two to be 

 plants. In the discussion that followed the reading of his paper, 

 opinions were expressed as to the probable animal nature of the whole 

 of the organisms which were called Corallines. Ellis had separated 

 one group which had hitherto been considered to be plants, and he 

 resolved to study with care the other groups in the view of the sug- 

 gestions made by the Fellows of the Society. Accordingly, in 

 August of the same year he went to Sheppey, taking with him to 

 make proper drawings, " Mr. Brooking, a celebrated painter of sea- 

 pieces." Here he made observations on the living Corallines under 

 a Microscope made by Mr. Caff, of Fleet Street, under his directions. 

 The first Coralline he investigated was the Hydrozoan which we now 

 call Laomedea genieulata, a small generally branchless erect stem, 

 giving off at each joint a short stalk supporting a single bell-shaped 

 cell in which the animal lives. Under the Microscope he saw the 

 animal. This observation led him to withdraw his paper from the 

 Society. 



In June 1754 he persuaded Mr. Ehret, the famous botanical 

 artist, to accompany him to Brighton to continue his investigations. 

 Ehret's drawings are beautiful works of art, and singularly accurate 

 representations of the plants. A large collection of his drawings 



