I, ANIMALCULA- a? INFUSIONS, 259 



'In feveral parts of my Corps Organi/es, this au- 



^iOr is commended, particularly Cb. 6. Tom. 2. 



R 2 I 



making the tour of Italy, and for fome time communi- 

 cated my cbfervations on them. I cannot ^precifeJy fay 

 what were the refults, becaufe I have neither copies of the 

 letters, nor the journals, where my difcoveries were noted 

 down. I only remember of agreeing in two fa(5ts with Mr 

 Needham, which I communicated to him, namelyi that 

 although infufions had boiled, they produced animalcula ; 

 and that they generally appeared when the fubflan- 

 ces began to .decompofe. Thefe two fads pleafed Mr 

 Needham; bethought -he faw.a confirmation of -his fa- 

 vourite hypothefis in them. M. Bonnet v/as juil going to 

 publifh his Corps Organi/e's, where^ there is a complete re- 

 futation of it ; and enquired whether Mr Needham ftill 

 perfifted in his opinion. It was natural to ftippofe he had 

 abandoned ideas fo extraordinary ; but he faid, that far 

 from having changed his fentiments they were fully con- 

 firmed by a Reggian Profeffor, as would appear from a 

 v/orkhe v/as about to publifli. 



I had fal-d to Needham indeed that I did intend to pub- 

 lifh a little treatife on animalcula; but it is, far from true 

 that I was ever an Epigenefift, for there was Jio foun- 

 dation for me being fo : and although fome pf my re- 

 .fults did correfpond with Needham's, it did not follow 

 that I fhould decide for Epigenefis, efpecially as thefe refults 

 .could eafily explain the oppofite theory of germs. I had 

 -then no inclination to take any fide. I found myfelf ne^ 



ceflitated 



