THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 63 



its convictions and the repose of Marsigli were only to be 

 of brief duration. Not long after this supposed settlement 

 of the question, Peyssonnel, a French physician, who in 

 1725 happened to travel along the coast of Barbary, hav- 

 ing been present at the coral fishing, and having instituted 

 some lengthy investigations on the subject, discovered that 

 what had been taken for the flowers of the coral were only 

 so many little animals or Polypi, which were really the 

 builders of the deceptive stony shrub. 



Convinced of the exactness of his observations, Peysson- 

 nel in his turn disclosed them to the Academy of Sciences ; 

 but the Academy, still fascinated by the coral flowers which 

 the Italian count had sent, gave no heed to the discoveries 

 of the French physician, and showed this in the most deli- 

 cate manner. 



Reaumur, having been commissioned by this learned body 

 to report upon the discovery, thought he ought not, out of 

 compassion, as he said, to name the author ; and when he 

 acknowledged the receipt of his memoir wrote to him in a 

 tone of pity and irony. But the position assumed by the 

 sedate and conscientious Barnard de Jussieu was even more 

 unpardonable. He addressed a letter to Peyssonnel, with- 

 out any silly raillery, it is true, which was indeed totally 

 foreign to his character, but quite as discouraging as that of 

 the entomologist. De Jussieu was, however, the more cul- 

 pable of the two, for the most superficial examination of 

 the so-called coral flowers would have shown him his mis- 

 take. All the fundamental parts of the floral apparatus 

 were wanting, but it appears the botanist did not give him- 

 self the trouble to look at them. 



