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the different species of corallines, and fall off, like 

 the Blossoms of plants, as soon as the polypi arrive 

 at maturity. 



Eat corallines are cases, not of polypes only, but 

 of various sorts of animals, which oecasiou (heir being 

 made of Tarious materials, and in great -variety of 

 forms. Some are united closely and compactly to- 

 gether, forming irregular branches like trees. Others 

 rise in tufts, like the tubular sort of plants, distinct 

 from one another. Some Maltese corallines are of a 

 peculiar kind. The animals enclosed in these, resemble 

 the many- legged spiders, usually known by the name 

 of Scolopendrae. Their outside coats are formed of 

 an ash. coloured earthy matter, and closely united to 

 an inner coat, which is tough, horny, transparent 5 and 

 extremely smooth, The cavity of the tube is quite 

 round, though the animal is of a long figure, like a 

 leech extended. It can turn itself in this tube, and 

 TO over up and down the better to attack and secure its 

 prey. 



It has two remarkable arms, The left much larger 

 than the right. These are doubly feathered, The 

 number of its feet on each side of tne body exceeds a 

 hundred and fifty. 



As Barnacles seem to be a medium between birds 

 and fishes, although they more properly belong to the 

 former, so is a polypus, (although it is doubtless an, 

 animal) behvtcn animals and plants. 



In a polypus, life is preserved, after it is cut into 

 several pieces, so that one animal is by section imme- 

 diately divided into two, three, or more complete 

 animals, each enjoying life and continuing to perform 

 the proper offices of its species. 



The common operations both of the animal and ve- 

 getable world are all in themselves astonishing. Nothing 

 but daily experience makes us see without amazement, 

 an animal bring forth young, or a tree bear leaves and 

 fruit. The same experience makes it familiar to us, 

 that vegetables are propagated, not only from the seed 



