A history of the British zoophytes / [George Johnston].

  • George Johnston
Date:
1838
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A history of the British zoophytes / [George Johnston]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    21/452 page 7
    that their corruption exhaled the odour; their chemical ana~ lysis discovered the constituent principles of animal matters ; and that the stony part of them exhibited no trace of vegetable or- ganization: and opinions deduced from such data, abstracting his analogical reasoning of no value and little applicability, might have been sufficient to have attracted at least some attention had his opponent been less influential, or his own reputation and rank somewhat greater. * The name and doctrine of Pevssonel lay in this manner un- known and neglected, until the remarkable experiments of Abraham Trembley, in 1741, on the reproductive powers of the fresh-water polypes, + and more especially his discovery of the Plumatella, itself a plant-like animal production, while they ex- torted the wonder and admiration of every one engaged in the study of natural science, were the means of recalling to the re- collection of Reaumur the views of Peyssonnel; and he now became forward in promoting such inquiries as seemed likely to confirm and extend them. He himself appears to have repeat- ed the experiments of Trembley, and had an opportunity of ob- serving the habits of the Plumatella; and, as he remarks, since the number of species of animals which are covered by the wa- ters of the sea is much greater than that of the fresh waters, so it seemed natural to presume that not only would polypes be found in the ocean, but in greater numbers and variety than in ponds, rivers or rivulets. ‘T’o ascertain the validity of this con- jecture, and to settle if possible the discrepancy between the observations of Marsigl and Peyssonnel, his friends Bernard * Peyssonnel is remembered solely by this discovery. ‘ M. Peyssonnel, dis- posed from his youth to the study of natural history, after having qualified him- self for the practice of medicine, applied himself with great diligence to that sci- ence, to which his inclination so strongly prompted him, and being a native of, and residing at Marseilles, he had the opportunity of examining the curiosities of the sea, which the fishermen, more especially those who search for coral, fur- nished him with.”—Phil. Trans. He was subsequently appointed Physician-Bo- tanist to “ His Most Christian Majesty” in the island of Guadalupe, and had an opportunity of prosecuting his researches on the coast of Barbary. He is the author of two or three communications in the Phil. Trans., of which the most interesting is “ An account of a visitation of the Leprous persons, in the isle of Guadalupe” in the volume for the yéar 1757. + Inthe Phil. Trans. for 1742, the reader will find a full account of this dis- covery.
    No text description is available for this image
    No text description is available for this image
    No text description is available for this image