388 ANIMAL REPRODUCTIONS; 
confirm the principles which, above. thirty year’ 
ago, I had adopted, concerning the origin and 
evolution of organic beings: ‘The work, which 
that excellent philofopher has lately publifhed, 
teaches us what our real fentiments fhould be of 
the vegetative powers and organic molecules of ce- 
lebrated modern Epigenifts: | Not only has he 
rigoroufly demonttrated the falfity of their hypo- 
thefes, by infinite various and correct experié 
ments, but he has difcovered the caufe of error, 
and {hewn what the authors fhould do to avoid 
it. Lcannot-too earneftly exhort -naturalifts to 
read and refle&t on this beautiful work, which I 
may juftly confider one of the moft perfe& mo- 
dels of the art of obfervation (1). 
In the fourth place, it is evident that nature 
in general reproduces exactly the portion am- 
putated ; thus, when a hand is cut off, nature 
renews a hand only; if an arm is amputated, 
fhe regenerates cne with all its. parts. But, as 
already remarked, there are various exceptions to 
this law, and the fifth experiment is a ftriking 
inftance of it. Sig. Spallanzani will defcribe 
many more fingular, which his long experiments 
have given him an opportunity to obferve. It 
may well be conceived, that it is not difficult 
to 
(1) Tra&s on the Natural hiftory of animals and vege- 
tables. 
