OF FISHES IN GENERAL. 2 $ 
pul ate ; but, as the male is furnilhed with no external 
organs of generation, his junction with the female is 
only to em.t his impregnating milt upon the eggs, as 
they fall torn her body. For this purpofe, it is faid, he 
pur ue, them along the ft re am, carefully impregnating 
them, one after another. b 
-thefe faffs, however, are controverted by Linn ecus, 
who maintains, that no fecundation can take place, ex- 
cept within the body of the female *, although the ge- 
neration of frogs and lizards has always been regarded 
as an example of the contrary. In fupport ot his hypo- 
thefis, he afferts that he obferved, at fpawning feal'on, 
every male pike furrounded by feveral females ; and that, 
as foon as the milt was ejeded by him, it was immedi- 
ately fwallowed by the females ; a procedure which he 
nad occafion to notice in feveral other kinds of fifli. 
The experiments that have lately been made at Berlin 
by a ikdful naturalift f, feem totally to overthrow this 
c .arine of Linnzus. It has been found, that of both 
falmon and trout, the roes, artificially extruded from the 
body of the female, were capable of being fecundilfed by 
an admixture with the milt of the male. Hence it is 
probable, that, though both the male and the female 
concur in the great work of impregnation, yet the ad 
is performed without the body of the latter ; and that 
the fpawner ejeds her eggs, while the milter fprinkles 
tfietn with fperm. 
The fcience Qf iebthyoiogy i s fUU m it5 infancy . Sup- 
1 by few accurate obfervations, and lfill fewer ex- 
1 nts, it ] las hitherto been regarded as a field for 
V0L - HI - D theory,, 
* PtJt Syftema Nature ad locum, 
M. Jacobi. 
