Kettles do not thus shift themselves merely to get" 

 rid of heterogeneous bodies ; they put themselves into 

 the same posture when they bring forth. They are vi- 

 viparous* The young are produced completely formed ; 

 and we see nettles in miniature appear. The aperture 

 through which they pass, is so wide as to admit a mul- 

 titude of them at the same time : notwithstanding which, 

 they always come forth singly. They are at first in- 

 closed in certain folds, concealed at the bottom of the 

 purse. 



Do nettles resemble polypuses by the singular pro- 

 perty of being multiplied and grafted by slips] Expe- 

 riments have put this beyond all doubt. Of a single 

 nettle, divided according to its length or width, are made 

 two or three, which at the end of a few weeks are per- 

 fect and complete. They may likewise be grafted ; but 

 it will be necessary to have recourse to seaming. You- 

 are now no longer surprised at the consolidation of that 

 enormous wound made at the base of a nettle that issues 

 out thereat. A wound of this nature is nothing, when 

 compared to that which another animal sustains when 

 cut in pieces, without ceasing to live and multiply in 

 each piece. Nettles may then be called a species of 

 polypuses with arms of a monstrous size ; or, if you 

 prefer the expression, polypuses with arms are a species of 

 very minute nettles. 



Let us quit these rocks that swarm with nettles, and 

 betake ourselves to that little creek where the sea is 

 very calm. Stoop a little, and observe the surface of 

 the water, What do you perceive? A kind of greenish 

 jelly floating upon it. Its form is like that of a broad 

 mushroom : it is near two feet in diameter. Take a 

 piece of it betwixt your ringers; handle it for a few mi- 

 nutes : you will see it dissolve into water. The heat of 

 your hand was sufficient to melt it. Does it enter into 

 your thoughts that this jelly is a real animal, and even 

 a species of nettle i It has been called wandering net* 



