[ 217 ] 
tra(5lion, as I have myfelf obferved in fome of them. 
This I concluded from my having never found any 
young ones in the great number of anemonies I have 
opened; at the fame time that I have feen prodigious > 
quantities, of avery fmall lize, adhering to oy her fliells,.. 
This, however, amounted to no more than a conjedlure ;^ 
which not being confirmed by fubfequent obfervations, I . 
might have been tempted to conclude from analogy, that 
(as in the cafe of the firfi: fpecies) the young ones are. 
brought forth, ready formed, through the mouth, at cer- 
tain feafons in which I have not yet opened any of thefe.. 
anemonies,^ Analogy is too frequently mifapplied, and in 
this infiance it would have led me into error. A know- 
ledge of the operations- of nature is to be acquired by 
dofe infpeftion, not by loofe conje6lures, . From a feries 
of obfervations, yvhich to avoid prolixity I fliall not here 
repeat, I have learnt, among other fingularities, that 
thefe. animals having their bafes irregularly diftended,. 
and their extremities clofely adhering to fome hard body, 
commonly 
€nfuite pa.r etranglement, comme j’en.ai vu. Je raifonnois n’ayaut trouve : 
aucunspetits dans les anemones quej’avois ouvevtes, tandis qne j’en.voyois pro^ 
digieufement et de tnes ptfites fur les liuitrea. Ce n’etoit done qu’une conjec- 
ture qni, ne fe realifant pas, auroit pu me lailTer penfer par analogic que, comme 
■dans la premiere efpece, les petits naiffoient tout formes par la bouche, dans ccr- 
taines faifons ou je n’avois pas ouvert detces anemones. Cette analogic, dont on 
abufe 6 fouvent, m’auroit trompe. II faut.voir,; et non pas deviner les opera- 
tions de la nature. Desfuitsad’obfcrvations, que je nepuis raporter ici fans pro- 
lixite, m’ont appris entr’autres liagularstes, que ces animaux ayant labafe in^gale- 
*»ent ctendue et fortement attacb.ee par les extremiles fur am corps dur,. fouvent ; 
line 
