248 CORRESPONDENCE OF RAY. 



both which fishes come to their full growth in a year's 

 time or less, and then breed. Upon this occasion I 

 will comnnmicate to you a particular Avhich hath a long 

 time perplexed me, and that is, whether all fish cast all 

 then- spa\^ii at once (I mean in one year), or only part of 

 it, retaining part for future 2^artuses. That herrings 

 cast ail I am confident, finding none in shotten herrings. 

 It is a principle with me that all animals have, from their 

 very first formation, the eggs or seeds of all the young 

 they shall ever bring forth, for when they are once ex- 

 hausted and spent, the animal becomes effete. Now, a 

 fish at every birth casting forth such an innumerable 

 number of eggs as are contained in her whole roe, it 

 seems strange there should remain seed-eggs enough, let 

 them be never so small, as to suffice many years' births ; 

 and yet the whole mass of them together to be so little 

 and inconsiderable, as not to be so much as taken notice 

 of by any naturahst. 



I find among my papers a short description I took of 

 the skeleton of the elephant, in the Duke of Florence's 

 museum, and therein this description of the bones of the 

 feet. The toes of the fore feet, or rather the bones of the 

 metacarpiuni are five ; for it hath properly no toes at all, 

 but only five ungula3 upon these five bones, which appear 

 without side the skin. The like is said of the bones of 

 the metatarsus, in the hind feet. It follows the ungulae 

 of these hinder feet are small, round, and blunt. So it 

 seems this animal hath that peculiarity to have no toes in 

 his feet. And it is doubtful whether his nails be ungulae 

 or ungues, they being round and blunt, and covering the 

 very tops of his toes. 



B. N., April 15, —92. 



