CHAPTER III. 



OF FISHES. 



[Continued.] 



12. Of the 4 Generation of Fishes. 



13. Of some particular Sorts of Fishes. 



14. General Reflections. 



1. xTLS to the generation of Fishes, some of them are 

 viviparous, others oviparous. The womb and ovaries 

 of most fishes are not unlike those of birds. The fe- 

 male casts out innumerable eggs in the sea, in lakes, 

 in rivers. Great part of these are devoured by tho 

 males. The rest are hatched by the warmth of the sun, 

 and the young ones immediately swim away without 

 any help from the parent. 



Sea-Tortoises lay their eggs on the sea-shore, and 

 cover them with the sand. It is not uncommon to see 

 a great number of young tortoises rise out of the sand, 

 and without any guide or instructions, march with a 

 gentle pace toward the water; but the waves usually 

 throw them back upon the shore, and then the birds 

 destroy the most of them ; so that out of two or three 

 hundred of them it is seldom that ten escape. 



It seems at first view that nature, in this instance, 

 charges herself with unnecessary expence : but a little 

 reflection shews the contrary. We do not complain 

 of the fertility of a he,n 5 which frequently lays above 



VOL. ii. B 



