HYDRA. 181 



Having thus given a meagre digest of these interesting 

 memoirs, so beautifully illustrated by the engravings of 

 Lyonet, we may add, that we can scarcely have any idea now 

 of the great interest which this subject excited then through- 

 out the whole of Europe. Nor did it cease to be regarded 

 as important after it had become familiar, for the justly cele- 

 brated Cuvier speaks of Trembley of Geneva as " immortel 

 par la decouverte de la reproduction du polype ;" and says, 

 moreover, that he acquired " une reputation universelle par 

 sa decouverte extraordinaire, qui changeait, pour ainsi dire, 

 toutes les idees qu'on avait cues sur la physiologic et Fana- 

 tomie animales." Trembley's experiments and observations 

 were soon repeated and verified by the distinguished natu- 

 ralist Reaumur, at Paris, and by other naturalists of note in 

 different countries, and among others, by Henry Baker, 

 Fellow of the Eoyal Society of London, from whose ' Natu- 

 ral History of the Polype/ published in 1743, we shall 

 briefly extract some additional information on this subject. 

 His work is in the form of a letter addressed to the Presi- 

 dent of the Eoyal Society ; and he begins by saying, ' ' The 

 accounts we have been favoured with from abroad concern- 

 ing the little creature called a polype, have appeared so ex- 

 traordinary, so contrary to the common course of nature and 





