THE 
MUSHROOM MADREPORE, 
Generic Character. 
The Animal refembling a. Meduia. 
The Coral marked by lamellated ftar-fhaped ca¬ 
vities. 
Specific Character. 
MADREPORE with rifing or convex laminae 
above, generally concave and papillofe be¬ 
neath, and fometimes footftalked. 
Before that fpirit of inquiry which characterizes the 
modern cultivators of natural hiftory began to diffufe 
itfelf in Europe, innumerable errors were committed in 
the hiftories both of animals and vegetables, while the 
general negledt with which the major part of mankind 
regarded fubjedfs of this nature, hill increafed the dif¬ 
ficulty of obtaining proper fpecimens and defcripticns 
of feveral of the moft curious and interefting produc¬ 
tions of nature. The root of a fpecies of fern, not un¬ 
common in the northern parts of Alia, was fuppofed to 
partake of the nature of a quadruped, and was digni¬ 
fied by the title of the vegetable lamb. Some of the 
locuft tribe with large green veiny wings were believed 
to 
