318 ANIMAL REPRODUCTIONS 
of my acquaintance, who, after decapitating huns 
dreds of {nails without fuccefs, have conceived 
themfelves entitled to conclude, that the Italian 
obferver had allowed fallacious appearances to 
impofe upon him. One, ina letter to myfelf, 
did not hefitate to reproach me for inferting an 
account of the imaginary difcovery in the Palin- 
genefic, and for reafoning on it as a fact com- 
pletely afcertained. It will juftly be thought, 
that thefe reproaches did not in the leaft impair 
that confidence with which the ability and found 
reafoning of the Reggian naturalift had infpired 
me. Befides, he had communicated a full ac- 
count of his interefting experiments in a courfe 
of correfpondence, and it was eafy for me, only 
by a trial of the facts, which the learned obferver 
had feen and feen again, to judge of the prodi- 
gies he laid before me, and which he foon pre- 
fented to the public in an Italian Tract 1768, 
which in the fame year was tranflated into French. 
But the author having there neglected to detail, 
the precautions he had adopted, to fecure his dif- 
covery againft all difpute, I requefted him to pub- 
lifh an account of his method, which he tranf- 
mitted in a letter from Modena, 11 September 
1769, and it was printed in the Avant Coureur - 
30 Oftober. This letter, though perfeétly cal- 
culated to remove all hefitation, has had but a 
partial effe& ; fome doubts ftill remain, and peo, 
ple 
