OF NATURE. 85 
Many amphibious animals bring forth live 
fcetufes. As the viper , and the toad^ &c. But 
the fpecies that lay eggs, lay them in places, 
where the heat of the fun fupplies the warmth 
of the parent. 
Thus the reft of the frog kind and the lizard 
kind, lay their eggs in warm waters •, the com- 
mon fnake in dunghills, and fuch-like warm 
places, and give them up to nature, as a pro- 
vident nurfe, to take care of them. The cro- 
codile, and fea tortoifes go afhore to lay their 
eggs under the fand, where the heat of the 
fun hatches them. 
Moft of the inf eft kind neither bear young 
nor hatch eggs ; yet their tribes are the moft 
numerous of all living creatures *, infomuch 
that if the bulk of their bodies were propor- 
tionate to their quantity, they would fcarce 
leave room for any other kinds of animals. Let 
us fee therefore with what wifdom the Creator 
has managed about the propagation of thefe 
minute creatures. The females by natural in- 
fti meet and copulate with the males ^ and 
afterwards lay their eggs, but not indifcrimi- 
nately in every place •, for they all know how 
to choofe fuch places as may fupply their off- 
fpring in its tender age with nourifhment, and 
G 3 other 
