XIV 
PREFACE. 
curious of theft? times, fome making them 
real animals, and others real vegetables. 
For my own part, I think many of them 
may be deemed of a middle nature, par- 
taking of both ; for, though they feem to 
adhere by roots, and increafe as vegetables 
do, by ihaoting forth young polypes 
from their fidcs, and by becoming perfect 
polypes from the divided parts of others, 
which are marks of vegetation, they have, 
at the fame time, a power to move their 
parts, and put forth tentacula or arms, 
with which they catch fmall infeds 
whereon they feed, thereby fhewing they 
partake of an animal nature. See Mr. 
Baker on Polypes, and Mr. Ellis on Co- 
rallines. Various are the means in nature 
by which animals are produced: fome are 
males and females of the fame fpecies; 
others are hermaphrodites, each one of 
the fpecies partaking of both fexes, as 
do mofl forts of Snails, &c. Mofl ani- 
mals on the land generate by contad; but 
many of the female fifties call their eggs 
(called hard roe) in the water, wEen the 
male fifli is near at hand, who jfhedding 
his feed (called foft roe) in the water at 
the fame time, it mixes with, and gives 
life to, the eggs, without his touching the 
female. The whole race of birds in- 
creafes from eggs, which they fit upon 
to hatch them. Quadrupeds that are 
hairy, all bring forth their young alive; 
as do alfo fome few that are fcaly, as the 
Armadilla kind : but all animals of the 
Lizard kind, whether of the land or 
water, or frequenting both, from the 
Crocodile down to the fmalleft fpecies, 
lay eggs, which are hatched by the 
warmth of the fun. Some fifties bring 
forth their young alive. A remarkable 
and, I believe, fingular way of generation 
is obferved in a large fpecies of the Toad 
brought from Surinam, whofe back is 
d' opinions, par mi nos curieux modernes , 
touchant ces productions: quelques uns ies 
font de vrais animaux , et d'autres les re- 
duifent d de purs vegitaux. Pour moi, je 
crois qiiil y en a beaucoup, qiion peut re - 
garder comme d'une nature mitoyenne, par- 
ticipant des deux : car quoique les polypes 
paroiJJ'ent etre attaches par des ratines, et 
croitre comme des vegetaux , en pouJJ'ant de 
jcunes polypes de leur cotes , et qite des parties 
divifees ou coupees d'autres polypes deviennent 
de parfaits polypes d leur tour , ce qui ejl 
des marques de vegetation ; ils ont , en meme 
temps , le pouvoir de remuer leurs parties , 
et d'etendre leurs branches ou leur bras , avec 
les quels ils faffed de petits injeties, dont 
ils Je nourrijjent : ce qui montre quils par - 
ticipent de la nature animale * Les ani- 
maux fe multiplied dans la nature par dif- 
fer ents moyens: il y en a qui font male et 
femelle de la meme efpece ; d'autres font her- 
maphrodites , chaque individu de I'efpece 
participant des deux fexes , comme la plu- 
part des Limacons , &c. Prefque tons les 
animaux terrejtres engendrent par attouche- 
ment ; mats il y a beaucoup de poifjbns fe- 
me lies, qui depofent /implement leurs ceufs 
dans I'eau, quand dies Je trouvent pres du 
male , qui rependant en meme temps dans 
l' can fa femence , quon appelle lake , elle fe 
mile avec les ceufs , les impregne , et les vi- 
vfe, fans qiiil touche a la femelle. Lous 
les oifeaux fe multiplied par le moyen des 
ceufs, quils convent, et quils font eclorre . 
Les quadrupedcs d poll produijent tons leurs 
petits vivants ; comme font aujji quelques 
tins d ecaille , telle ejl I'efpece Armadille : 
mais toutes les fortes de Lezards , tad d'eau 
que de ter re , ou qui frequented I'une et 
l' autre, depuis le Crocodille jufqu'd la plus 
petite efpece , font des ceufs, que la chaleur 
du foleil echaufe et quelle fait eclorre. 11 y 
* Voi. M. Baker fur les Polypes, et M. Ellis fur les 
Coralitxes. 
