Philosophical transactions, Vol. L. Part I. For the year 1757.: Giving some account of the present undertakings, studies, and labours, of the ingenious, in many considerable parts of the world.Various
History
Philosophical transactions, Vol. L. Part I. For the year 1757.: Giving some account of the present undertakings, studies, and labours, of the ingenious, in many considerable parts of the world.
Various
Science -- Periodicals
But to convince him of his mistake, let him take off one of the
vesicles, and apply a large magnifier to the place, and he will
discover a hole, by which this vesicle or ovary has had a communication
thro’ the skin with the parent polype. For a further illustration of
the manner in which these vesiculated polypes breed, let him consult
the 38th Plate of my Essay, where he will find several accurate figures
(drawn by Mr. Ehret from the life) of these vesicles, with the spawn
of the polypes coming out of them; some of which spawn we evidently
discovered to be young polypes with their arms formed; and, as they
fell from the vesicle, extending themselves in the watch-glass of
sea-water.
In examining the drawings for his plates, I have observed, that Tab.
VII. fig. 2. is evidently a red conserva, which he calls a coralline.
We have no corallines, but many conservas, of this form and bright red
colour on our coasts; and these shores, I believe, are allowed to have
similar marine productions with those of Holland.
Tab. VII. fig. 5. he calls a branch of red coralline, which he says he
kept several weeks in sea-water, and that often changed; during which
time it sprouted and grew very much. This experiment, I am persuaded,
is very true; because it is plainly a vegetable, as appears from his
own exact drawing of it; and seems to be the _fucus teres rubens minus
in longnum protensus_ of Ray’s Synopsis, ed. 3. p. 91. N. 53. This is
one of his principal arguments to prove the vegetation of corallines.
Tab. VIII. fig. 1. he calls a branch of red coralline; and at fig. 2.
he has it magnified, where it appears to be a geniculated red conserva,
drawn and painted with great exactness.
These arguments, my Lord, and these figures of real vegetables, which
the Doctor has given us for corallines, shew, how much he is willing to
support the old opinion of the botanists: but I am satisfied he will
soon alter his opinion, when he observes the remarkable difference of
the texture of vegetable and coralline bodies, when viewed in sea-water
thro’ a good aquatic microscope. And to convince him more fully, that
corallines are an animal substance, let him burn them, and he will
perceive the same pungent volatile alkaline smell, which he finds in
burning horn, hair, or oysters; whereas burnt fucus’s and conservas
yield a smell not much unlike that of common land vegetables. Even the
stony corallines, when their cretaceous covering has been dissolved in
vinegar, the membranous part, that remains of them, put into the fire,
yields the same animal smell with other corallines.
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