FLOURENS 287 them for swimming on the bottom, where the situation of both eyes on the upper surface of the head allows an extensive range of vision ; the coloration of one side, resembling the bot- tom on which they swim, serves as a protec- tion against enemies. The food' consists of minnows and other small fry, young fish, soft- bodied marine animals, and aquatic insects. There are 16 species in the British islands, which are gradually reduced to 13 in the Bal- tic, 10 on the coast of Norway, 5 at Iceland, and 3 in Greenland. The English plaice (P. vulgaris, Flem.), called also fluke in Scotland, is much esteemed; the spawning time is in February or March, and it is in the best condi- tion for the table at the end of May. The Eng- lish flounder is the P.flesm (Flem.), and may
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English Flounder (Platessa flesus). be distinguished from the plaice by the rough lateral line. The common dab {P. limanda, Flem.) derives the specific name from the rough- ness of its scaly surface, and, with other spe- cies, is considered excellent ; they are taken by hook, spear, and net. FLOURENS. I. Marie Jean Pierre, a French physiologist, born in Maureilhan, Herault, April 15, 1794, died at Montgeron, near Paris, Dec. 6, 1867. He received the degree of doctor of medicine when only 19 years old, and went to Paris, where he became acquaint- ed with Chaptal, the Cuviers, and Geoffrey Saint-Hilaire. In 1821 he delivered a course of public lectures on the physiological theory of sensation, and presented to the academy of sciences a series of papers on the organization of men and animals. He was already a con- tributor to the Revue encyclopedique and to the Dictionnaire classique d"histoire naturelle. In 1822 his essay on the Determination des pro- priet.es du systeme nerveux was highly praised by Cuvier for accuracy and originality. His reputation was further enhanced by his Re- cherches sur les conditions fondamentales de ' ition et sur les diverses causes de surdite ' and by his Recherches experiment ales sur oprietes et lesfonctions du syst&me nerveux dans les animaux vertebres, which he completed in 1825 by his Experiences sur le systeme ner- The last two papers present a very in- genious and thorough method of determining the relations of the individual organs to the 326 VOL. vii. 19 various phenomena of intellect, sensation, and motion. In 1828 he was admitted to the academy of sciences, and appointed assistant professor of natural history in the college de France. Two years later he became assistant lecturer on comparative anatomy at the jardin des plantes ; in 1832 titular professor at the mu- seum ; and in 1835 professor of natural history in the college de France. From 1841 to 1854 he published a series of small works, giving in a condensed form and perspicuous style the history and philosophy of several branches of science. His Cours sur la genealogie, Vovologie et Vem- bryologie, delivered at the museum of natural history an& published in 1836 by Deschamps, and his Cours de pJiysiologie compareej de Vontologie, ou etude des etres, are equally re- markable for perspicuity and fulness. His Anatomie generate de la peau et des membranes muqueuses (4to, 1843) is intended to demon- strate anatomically the physical unity of man- kind; and his Theorie experimentale de la for- mation des os (1847) contains a demonstration of the principle that " matter changes and is ren- ovated incessantly, while form and force per- sist." His most popular book is De la longevite humaine et de la quantite de me sur le globe (1854). In 1853-'5 he published an annota- ted edition of the complete works of Buffon. Among his later works are : Ontologie natu- relle (12mo, 1861) ; Examen du livre de M. Darwin sur Vorigine des especes (1864) ; and De Vunite de composition et du debat entre Cu- vier et Oeoffroy Saint-Hilaire (18mo, 1865). In 1837 he was a member of the chamber of deputies for Beziers; in 1846 Louis Philippe made him a peer of France ; and in 1864 he was a member of the mupicipal council of Paris ; but he never took an active part in politics. At the time of his death he was per- petual secretary of the academy of sciences. II. Gnstave, a French agitator, son of the pre- ceding, born in Paris, Aug. 4, 1838, killed at Ohatou, near that city, April 3, 1871. He filled in 1863 his father's chair at the college de France, and published Science de Vhomme (1865) and other works. In 1866-'8 he partici- pated in the Cretan insurrection in the field and as a member of the Cretan assembly, and became involved in difficulties with the French minister at Athens. On his return to Paris his denunciations of Napoleon III. caused him to be arrested in April, 1869 ; and on his release three months afterward he was severely wound- ed in a duel with Paul Granier de Cassagnac, who had attacked him in his journal. He warmly supported the election of Rochefort as a deputy in November, became one of the founders and the chief editor of the Marseillaise newspaper, and was the master spirit of the demonstration at the funeral of Victor Noir, who had been shot by Prince Pierre Bona- parte. When Rochefort was arrested early in 1870, Flourens attempted an armed resistance, and was sentenced to three years' imprison- ment. He fled to England, returned to Paris
