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ages. Moreover, there have been discerned stigmata in 

 this species of cone that might be taken for a real egg, 

 which is an evident proof that it was the skin of a 

 worm that has transformed itself under this very skin. 

 An egg is without motion : our cone has some that are 

 very visible, and, in certain circumstances, the inside ad- 

 mits of their being seen, which attracts the attention of 

 the observer. He seems to discern little clouds that 

 succeed each other without interruption, and that pass 

 with a progressive and uniform motion, from one end of 

 the cone to the opposite one. In the cones that are 

 laid before the time, these shadowy layers have a con- 

 trary direction from that which they have in the cones 

 at the full time. You have seen that the circulation 

 varies its course in the nymph : since our shadowy 

 layers change their's likewise, they pretty clearly indi- 

 cate to us, that the abortive cone is the worm itself, 

 that has not yet gone through its metamorphosis : this 

 worm is, in truth, a .yery singular being; it has neither 

 head, mouth, nor any member : it is, in appearance, 

 nourished like the egs of birds, in the trunks that en- 

 close them. A nice dissection demonstrates the ovary 

 of the fly, and the worm lodged in the middle. 



7. When animals were divided into viviparous and 

 oviparous, it was thought that all the species were com- 

 prehended. The vine fretter came first to clash with 

 this famous division, and convinced us that an animal 

 was at the same time viviparous and oviparous. The 

 <zr?H-polypus next appeared, and presented us with an 

 animal, that, multiplying by slips, might with good rea- 

 son be called ramiparous. There have even been ob- 

 servations made which seem to prove that it is likewise 

 oviparous. Another species of polypus, that multiplies 

 also by slips, and is extremely well characterised by a 

 sort of plume, lays real eggs. These eggs may be pre- 

 served in a dry place for the space of whole months like 

 seed of silk-worms; and if afterwards sown in water, 

 there will be produced from them as many polypuses. 

 The bulb-polypus may be depicted by the epithet of 

 4 



