OF NATURAL HISTORY. 45 



with nourlfliment. The creature changed its Ikin four times, 

 namely, on the 23d, 26th, 29th, and 31ft days of the fame 

 month. After a minute detail of circumftances, M. Bonnet 

 informs us, that his imprifoned puccron grew with rapidity •, 

 that, on the 1ft day of June, it brought forth ; and that, 

 from this day to the 21ft, it produced no lefs than 95 young, 

 all full of life and vigour*. He frequently repeated this ex- 

 periment, and it was always followed with the fame event. 



M. Bonnet, fufpedling that a ftngle impregnation might 

 influence both the mother and her immediate offspring, re- 

 folved to obviate every difficulty. For this purpofe, he con- 

 fined, in feparate glafles, young of the fucceflive births, 

 as they dropped from their mothers. Each of thefe, however, 

 were equally fertile, though he continued the experiment to 

 the ninth generation from the original parentf . 



Facts of this kind, which feem to interrupt the ordinary 

 current of nature, fliould infpire philofophers with caution. 

 They fhould create reverence for fuch of her operations as are 

 already known ; but they fliould likewife check that rafli 

 fpirit which too frequently draws unlimited concluiions, be- 

 fore the fubje^l be fully inveftigated. Of all indutSbions 

 regarding the hiftory of nature, the neceflity of fexual com- 

 merce for multiplying the fpecies appeared to be the moft 

 general and the moft legitimate. The oeconomy of the pu- 

 ceron, however, demonftrates, that even this law is not indif- 

 penfable, and that nature has the power of changing her fteps, 

 and of accomplifhing the fame purpofes by various means. 



Having enumerated the different modes by which animals 

 multiply their fpecies, I fhall next fliow, that the multiplica- 

 tion of vegetables is extremely analogous. 



The viviparous, as well as the oviparous animals, are fup- 

 pofed to proceed from eggs, with this difference, that the 



* Bonnet, Trake d'Infedlologie, torn. i,p.39.; and Reaumur, torn. i2.p, :^53. 

 f Bonnet, Traite d'lnfcdologie, torn. i. p. 74, et fcq. 



F 



