HISTORY OF ZOOPHYTOLOGY. 7 



that their corruption exhaled the odour ; their chemical ana- 

 lysis discovered the constituent principles of animal matters ; and 

 that' the stony part of them exhibited no trace of vegetable or- 

 ganization : and opinions deduced from such data, abstracting 

 his analogical reasoning of no value and little applicability, might 

 have been sufficient to have attracted at least some attention 

 had his opponent been less influential, or his own reputation 

 and rank somewhat greater. * 



The name and doctrine of Peyssonel lay in this manner un- 

 known and neglected, until the remarkable experiments of 

 Abraham Trembley, in 1741, on the reproductive powers of the 

 fresh-water polypes, "f- and more especially his discovery of the 

 Plumatella, itself a plant-like animal production, while they ex- 

 torted the wonder and admiration of every one engaged in the 

 study of natural science, were the means of recalling to the re- 

 collection of Reaumur the views of Peyssonnel ; and he now 

 became forward in promoting such inquiries as seemed likely to 

 confirm and extend them. He himself appears to have repeat- 

 ed the experiments of Trembley, and had an opportunity of ob- 

 serving the habits of the Plumatella ; and, as he remarks, since 

 the number of species of animals which are covered by the wa- 

 ters of the sea is much greater than that of the fresh waters, so 

 it seemed natural to presume that not only would polypes be 

 found in the ocean, but in greater numbers and variety than in 

 ponds, rivers or rivulets. To ascertain the validity of this con- 

 jecture, and to settle if possible the discrepancy between the 

 observations of Marsigli and Peyssonnel, his friends Bernard 



* Peyssonnel is remembered solely by this discovery. " M. Peyssonnel, dis- 

 posed from his youth to the study of natural history, after having qualified him- 

 self for the practice of medicine, applied himself mth great diligence to that sci- 

 ence, to which his inclination so strongly prompted him, and being a native of, 

 and residing at Marseilles, he had the opportunity of examining the curiosities of 

 the sea, which the fishermen, more especially those who search for coral, fur- 

 nished him with." — Phil. Trans. He was subsequently appointed Physician- Bo- 

 tanist to " His Most Christian Majesty" in the island of Guadalupe, and had an 

 opportunity of prosecuting his researches on the coast of Barbary. He is the 

 author of two or three communications in the Phil. Trans., of which the most 

 interesting is " An account of a \'isitation of the Leprous persons, in the isle of 

 Guadalupe" in the volume for the year 1757. 



+ In the Phil. Trans, for 1742, the reader will find a full account of this dis- 

 covery. 



