138 
are, at the fame time, much fmaller, lefs 
fucculent, filled with large kernels, and 
difficult to digeft. The variety in the 
Friendly Iflands produces from three to 
four hundred, which fucceed one another 
on the fame tree during eight months of 
the year. They are of an oval form, and 
are about three decimetres in length, by 
two in breadth. The feeds, which all 
prove abortive, are replaced by a favory 
and very nourifhing pulp. This abor- 
tion is, doubtlefs, owing to the practice 
which they have had from time immemo- 
rial, in the Friendly Iflands, of multiply- 
ing thefe trees by fhoots, which equally 
happens to many other plants, fuch as the 
ananas, the banana tree, &c. which they 
propagate inthe fame manner. The fruit 
of the bread-tree is the principal food of 
the inhabitants of the Friendly Iflands, 
and of many other tribes in the South Sea 
Iflands. It is eaten, baked under the 
afhes, and inwater. According to Citizen 
Labillardiére, it is much preferable to the 
ignames,'ov yams, and this naturalift affures 
us that the crews of the two veffels fent 
- in fearch of La Peyroufe, voluntarily 
gave up the bifcuit, and a fimall por- 
tion of good frefh bread, which was dif- 
tributed to them every day, to live on the 
apples of the bread-fruit-tree, during a 
month of their flopping at the Friendly 
Iflands. ‘The Englith government has fo 
well known the importance of this tree, 
that it has ordered two fucceffive expedi- 
tions for the fole purpofe of procuring it 
to enrich their colonies with it. The 
bread-fruit-tree might be cultivated to 
advantage in Egypt, and perhaps it would 
be poffible to- naturalize it in Corfica and 
in our fouthern departments; it grows 
under the fame latitude as the paper mul- 
berry-tree (murier a paper) which refifts 
the rigour of our winter. 
Citizen TEssizR has prefented an ac- 
count of the condition of the flock of 
Choifi, purchafed by our late fellow mem- 
ber, Gilbert, in Spain, and now eftablith- 
ed in a national dergerie, at Perpignan. 
From the comparifon he has made of the 
animals of this flock with that of Ram- 
bouillet, the originai flock of which was 
brought into France, in 1786, it refults 
that fheep of the fame-age and fame fex, 
of the flock of Rambouillet, are larger 
fized, better fhaped, and have a longer 
and a better furnifhed wool, although as 
fine as that of the flock of Perpignan, or, 
which is the fame thing, as that of the 
flocks of Spain. Citizen Teffier concludes, 
from hence, that the race, far from haying 
Proceedings of Learned Societies. 
not fufceptible of extract. It is fufficient 
[Sept. 1, 
degenerated in our climate, has acquired. 
perfe&tion in it, an important truth, fince 
it afflures to us a means of profperity for 
our agriculture and our manufactures. 
The ufe of the tubercles or thofe kinds of © 
eallufes, vulgarly called chataigne and er- 
gots in horfes, has been hitherto unknown: 
Citizen LaFossE, an affociate member, is 
convinced, from the anatomical refearches 
he has made on this fubjeét, that they 
ferve to give attachment to the aponeu- | 
rofes of the portion of the mufele which 
covers the cuticular limbs. He has like- 
wife difcovered that there exfudes from 
it a fat and ftrong-fcented humour; and 
as he has found callufes, nearly fimilary 
in different parts of the legs of other ani- 
mals, he thinks it probable that the fcent 
of the humour which they produce is that 
which direéts dogs and other carnivorous 
animals in purfuit of their prey- 
For a long tine is has been admitted 
that the clafs of worms eftablifhed by Lin-- 
nzus, comprehended beings very diffimi- 
lar, and that his fubdivifion was not con 
formable to the analogy of the organiza- 
tion of the different fpecies. ‘The author 
of the prefent notice having long laboured 
on this object, propofed a general diftri- 
bution of white-blooded animals, founded 
on their anatemy ; he divided them into 
five claffes, the molufcz, cruftaceous, in- 
fects, worms, and zoophites, which he re- 
duced afterwards to three, and fubdivided - 
them into many orders: but it was yet 
far from being a compleat fyftem of thofe 
animals which ought to comprehend their 
genera and fpecies. Citizen Lamark has 
been lately occupied with a part-of this 
labour, that which concerns the genera. 
After having difcriminated two new 
claffes, the arachnides and the radiarii, of 
the five firft eftablifhed, he fubdivides one 
part of thefe claffes in a particular man- 
ner, and afterwards forms genera fo nu- 
merous and fo well determined, that there 
no longer remains any ambiguity in their 
charaéters ; this valuable labour leaves 
us only to defire the determination of the 
fpecies, Citizens Lamarck only citing un- 
der each of his genera a part of thofe 
which are related to it. ‘This work is 
the beft proof that no one is more capable 
than he of fuccefsfully employing himfelf 
in what remains to be done, in order to ter~ 
minate the methodical arrangement of this 
important part of the animal kingdom. 
The memoir of Citizen BOUCHER, an 
affociate member, which has for its ob- 
ject a marine bird, called Grand Fou, is 
te 
