to be animated leaves; and there were not wanting 

 thofe who were ready to vouch the certainty of the 

 leaves which fell from feveral trees in India and America 

 becoming fuddenly furnifhed with legs and wings, and 

 foon after fluttering round the branches of the tree 

 which gave them birth ; while the coral which forms 

 the fubject. of the prefent plate was regarded as a fpecies 

 of petrified mufhroom. It muff be confcffed that of 

 all erroneous ideas this was one of rhe moft plaufible ; 

 for fo very ftriking is the general refemblance which this 

 coral bears to the genus Agaricus, that it is impoffible not 

 to be forcibly imprefied with the fimilarity of the ftruc- 

 ture. From obler vat ions, however, which have been 

 made in thofe parts of India where it is commonly 

 found, it appears to be the produ&ion of an animal of 

 a foft or gelatinous nature, and which bears a general 

 affinity to the fhape of the orbicular depreffed Medufai 

 or Sea-Blubbers. The animal forms this curious ful- 

 crum or habitation by fecrering a copious depofinon of 

 caicarious matter from every part of its body, and the 

 fulci or furrows in the Madrepore anfwer to fo many 

 fliarp radiated lamina? of the creature's body. So ten- 

 der is this animal, that it collapfes and {brinks to a 

 mere pellicle when expofed for fome hours to the air ; 

 fo that it is only in the fea-water that it can be viewed 

 to advantage. Some fpecimens of this Madrepore are 

 proliferous, or have young productions of the fame 

 form growing from feveral parts of the concave or 

 lower furface. The Madrepora Fungites is found of 

 various fizes, from an inch to fix inches in diameter. 

 Its colour is an elegant white, and every part of the 



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