2 Mr, ellis on the Gorgonia . 
I was fo fortunate about that time to receive from my 
right honourable friend the earl of Hillsborough, a 
mod: excellent collection of different fpecies of thefe ani- 
mals preferved at the fea-lide in fpirits, by john greg, 
efq. f. r, s. of Dominica. This hath enabled me to drew 
more clearly, that they are true animals, growing up in 
a branched form, and in no part vegetable. 
From the following obfervations it will appear, that 
the gorgonia is an animal of the polype kind, refembling 
the common frefh water polype in many of its qualities, 
but differing from it in the remarkable circumftance, of 
producing from its own fubftance a hard and folid fup- 
port, ferving many of the purpofes of the bone in other 
animals. Every one knows, that the common polype fends 
out its young from its fide, like buds, which-being grown 
to the form of the parent animal, to which they Hill ad- 
here, fend out again their own young, Jike buds, ad- 
hering to themfelves ; and this is repeated, till at length 
the whole acquires a branched appearance, refembling a 
vegetable, fee fig. i . 
The gorgonia grows nearly in the fame manner ; and 
hence arifes its refemblance to a fhrub, which hath given 
occafion to the miftake of placing it in the vegetable 
kingdom. But though the nature of thefe animals is fo 
much like the polypes , they differ in feveral circumftances ; 
the moft remarkable is that which I have already men- 
tioned, the hard bone by which the gorgoniais fupported. 
This is not formed by any kind of vegetation, but by a 
concreting juice thrown out from a peculiar fet of longi- 
tudinal 
