BRITISH ZOOrHYTES. 3 



enough to claim Animality for any of the Zoophytes, 

 except the Anemones; and it would appear to be 

 somewhat doubtful whether Ferrante Imperato, who 

 in that year is said to have first promulgated the 

 Animal theory, really fully understood the import of 

 his communications. De Blainville, a great authority 

 on the subject, considered Imperato's " Historia Natu- 

 rale " a very important contribution to the study of 

 Zoophytes ; but Lamouroux was of opinion that 

 Imperato, in common with other observers, had no 

 distinct notion of the animality of any Zoophytes, and 

 certainly believed in the vegetable nature of almost all 

 of them. 



However this may be, the publication of Imperato^s 

 views had absolutely no effect in arresting the attention 

 of naturalists ; and the vegetable and minei'al theories 

 continued side by side for 130 years longer, until they 

 were at length assailed by Peysonnel, then a physician 

 in Marseilles, and afterwards physician to the king at 

 Guadeloup, in a communication to the Academy of 

 Sciences in Paris. The history of this communication 

 is remarkable. 



About sixteen years before Peysonnel's researches 

 were made known, Count de Marsigli, an accomplished 

 naturalist, had observed the polyps of corals and 

 madrepores, and had published an account of his 

 discoveries, in which he referred to these as flowers 

 and blossoms. Reaumur states that " this discovery 

 of the flowers of the coral made a great noise in the 

 world of naturalists ;" and it will be easily seen that 

 a misunderstanding as to the nature of the coral polyps, 

 founded on the careful investigations of an observe 

 of repute, increased the difficulties in the way or 



B 2 



