INTRODUCTION. 



The general form of most of the Zoophytes 

 found in the British seas so exactly resembles 

 that of plants, that it cannot be a matter of 

 surprise that they were formerly thought to be 

 marine vegetables. Even at the present time, 

 when their natures are so well uuderstood, the 

 idea of vegetability is always associated with 

 their appearances ; and to a person not pre- 

 viously acquainted with the subject, the calling 

 them animals would be revolutionizing all pre- 

 conceived opinions ; yet animals they unques- 

 tionably are. The first person who distinctly 

 advocated this view of the question was 

 Peyssonnel ; his communications, however, to 

 the Academy of Paris were received with so 

 much distrust, that the Society never thought 

 them worthy a place in their Transactions ; 

 and Reaumur, who read them, even deemed it 

 necessary to conceal the author's name to shield 

 him from that ridicule and contempt which 

 such opinions were thought likely to create.* 

 Under such circumstances, Peyssonnel's views 

 lay for a long time neglected, and were finally 

 forgotten. After a considerable lapse of time, 

 Trembly brought back the attention of natura- 



* He communicated his views to the French Academy 

 in 1727, and they lay neglected till 1756, when, highly 

 displeased with that body, he published them in the Tran- 

 sactions of the Royal Society. — Traite du Corail. 



