tf, ANIMALCULA OF INFUSIONS, X89 



to fee myfelf joined by a naturalifl, whofe autho* 

 rity, though (landing fmgle, I fhould not hefi- 

 tate to oppofe to that of all Europe. I fpeak of 

 M. de Reaumur, that is of one who, in the ftu- 

 dy of the obfcure kingdom of minute animals, 

 indifputably holds the firil rank among the na- 

 turalifts of the age. I? letters to M. Trembley 

 and Bonnet, he thus exprefles himfelf on the 

 theories of Needham and de BufFon ; and, with 

 refpect to the firfli, ht fays, ' my objed was to 

 ' veriiy obfervations that had given rile to fuch 



* ftrange ideas of the generation of animals. Dif- 



* ferent infulions have been my deepeft ftudy ; and 



* I not only find the imaginary organic molecules 



* real animals, but that they are finiilar in gene* 



* ration to others. That thefe animals, according 



* to the new theory, always become fmaller and 

 ' fmaller, I have found abfolutely falfe ; on the 

 ' contrary, all here proceeds by the ordinary rules, 

 ' thofe originally fmall at length becoming larg- 

 'er.'(i). 



This celebrated perfon exprefies himfelf as de- 

 cifively to M. Bonnet, fignifying that ht had re- 

 peated the experiments on the insects of infu- 

 fions; that he had examined them moft attentive- 

 ly, and for whole hours ; and had difcovered 

 what had impofed on thofe who fuppofed them 

 pimple globules in motion. 



The 



(^) Corps Organifes, tom. i. 



