Wrote Letter L-545 of 1716-11-17 to Gottfried Leibniz about reproduction, numbers of sperm and seeds, reproductive organs of sheep and ram, fallopian tube too small to let eggs through

Date: 
November 17, 1716
Standard reference information
L-number: 
L-545
Leeuwenhoek's number: 
XXX
Collected Letters volume: 
18

Text of the letter in the original Dutch and in English translation in Alle de Brieven / The Collected Letters is not yet available at the DBNL - De Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren.

The original manuscript is lost.

In this letter, Leeuwenhoek responded to the ideas of various German authors about reproduction. Leeuwenhoek emphasized the role of sperm by discussing why animals have so many sperm and trees such as currant trees have so many seeds. Leeuwenhoek denied that ovaries are really egg nests, because the fallopian tube is too small to let eggs through to the womb.

To support this view, he also described the female reproductive organs of a sheep and the testicles of a ram.