BRITISH ZOOLOGISTS. 95 



by the well-known naturalist, Reaumur ; but they were 

 in general received with incredulity or entire scepticism. 



When the controversy stood at this stage, Ellis was 

 induced to take the matter up, and soon satisfied himself 

 as to the correctness of the views of Peyssonnel and 

 Jussieu. The results of his investigations were from time 

 to time laid before the Royal Society, and were ultimately 

 given to the public in a complete form in his 'Essay 

 towards a Natural History of the Corallines and other 

 Marine Productions of the like kind, commonly found on 

 the Coasts of Great Britain and Ireland.' Not only did 

 Ellis, in this well-known treatise, completely establish the 

 animal nature of the zoophytes in general, but he de- 

 scribed and named many species, his descriptions being 

 accompanied by good and for the most part recognisable 

 figures. He also for the first time, showed that the horny 

 urn-shaped capsules ('ovarian vesicles') which are found 

 in the summer months attached to so many of our sea-firs, 

 were really parts of the zoophytes on which they were 

 found. The 'Essay towards a Natural History of the 

 Corallines ' was published in London in 1754 ; it was trans- 

 lated into French in 1756, and became one of the standard 

 treatises upon the group of animals with which it deals. 



Ellis's reputation, however, rests largely, not upon the 

 above work alone, but upon a treatise entitled ' The Natural 

 History of many Curious and Uncommon Zoophytes,' 

 published in 1786. This work was a posthumous one, 

 and was based upon a series of plates which Ellis had 

 caused to be drawn, with a view of publishing a general 

 history of zoophytes. The plates were taken from 

 specimens in Ellis's own collection of zoophytes, and 



