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Mr . Correa de Serra on the 
observations were made on dry specimens, as well as with a 
mind not wholly impartial to his preconceived theories. 
The second reason is of a more specious nature, and requires 
serious attention. Animals are divided into oviparous and 
viviparous, and a generally received comparison points out the 
seeds as the eggs in plants, and the gems as correspondent to 
living born foetuses. We cannot conceive, says Gartner, an 
egg where theanimal, when comingforth,does not leave the shell 
behind ; and, in the same manner, we cannot conceive a seed 
where the coats are not left behind in the germination. The 
grains of the Ulvae, Ceramiums, &c. according to him, do not 
leave any coat when they germinate, and are consequently 
gemmce carpomorphce. Every candid naturalist will easily 
acknowledge, that we are not possessed of observations suffi- 
ciently decisive to enable us to speak dogmatically, on pheno- 
mena so little obvious as the germination of these grains. But 
I will not contest the fact, I will only examine the principle. 
This general rule, of judging whether these grains be seeds 
or gems, by their leaving their coats in the germination, or 
not, is contradicted by nature, both in the instance of gems, 
and in that of eggs. All gems, properly so called, throw offi 
their scaly hybernacula in the act of germinating. On the 
contrary, the eggs of frogs and toads leave no coat at all in their 
hatching, because they are possessed of none. Their very 
viscous albumen answers, in such an element as water, all the 
purposes the testa accomplishes in other eggs. Allowing 
Gjertner the exactness of his observation concerning our 
plants, the analogy between these submersed algae and the 
aquatic oviparous quadrupeds would be striking, since both 
those plants and these animals are capable, from their struc- 
