Were they all _viviparous_, that is, brought forth living Births, there would be but a small Number, and not sufficient to support the whole animal Body: Corn, Grass, Fruits, _&c._ are no Production of the Sea, therefore can be no Food for Fish: The Almighty Creator so ordained it, that they should feed one upon another; and this made it necessary that they should be _oviparous_, that they might increase in great Plenty, which they could not do, if they were of the _viviparous_ Kind; that is, brought forth their living Offspring, as Vipers, Sheep, Hares, Cows do. But Fish being _oviparous_, propagating their Kind by Eggs, which, for Number, are infinite, their Progeny is innumerable, and sufficient to support all the Branches of the Marine Family; even the lesser Kind of Fish send forth an incredible Number of Spawn. On the other hand, if four-footed Beasts were propagated by Eggs, they would soon cover the Face of the Earth, without a daily Destruction of them, which would take up no little time, tho’ an _Army of Nimrods_ were employed. Birds increase by Eggs, and bring forth great Numbers; and perhaps, for this reason, that Birds of Prey and Serpents, Kitchens, _&c._ might not want proper Supplies. Now, if a Female Bird was great with six or twelve Young Ones at once, the Burden would be intolerable, her Wings would fail, and she would become an easy Prey to her Enemies. But you will say, what if they brought forth only one or two at a time, till they amounted to the usual Number of their Eggs? I answer, that then they would be troubled all the Year long with feeding their Young, or bearing them in their Womb. This Production of Creatures by Eggs, is a wonderful Phænomenon in the animal World; the Eggs are shelly and hard, to preserve the included Embryo from Accidents, and to contain suitable Nutriment for it. ’Tis observable that Chickens, while in their dark embryotick State, are nourished by the _White_ alone, till grown big, and then feed on the _Yolk_, as the stronger Diet; and, when that is consumed, the Shell opens, and lets out the Prisoners. Though all Fowl are hatched from Eggs, yet it is not always by the Parent’s Incubation, or Brooding, but by some other Warmth: The _Tortoise_ is said to lay no less than fifteen hundred Eggs, which she covers in the Sand, and leaves the Sun to hatch them. The Eggs of the _Ostrich_[8] are hatched after the same manner; so the Serpent lays, and leaves her Eggs in the Dunghill. Footnote 8: _Job_ xxxix. 14, 15. _Willoughby’s Ornithol._ _lib._ ii. _cap._ 8. The _Eggs_ of Serpents, and certain other Animals, are Parts formed in the Ovaries of the Female, covered with a Shell, which includes an Embryo of the same Species. In the days of old, the Egg was the Symbol of the World; the World, by Tradition, being made of an _Egg_: Hence Eggs became of singular Importance in the Sacrifices of _Cybele_ the Mother of the Gods. Some of the Pagan Deities were said to be produced from Eggs.