THE PHILOSOPHY OF NATURAL HISTORY, BY WILLIAM SMELLIE, 17^0- I V- Member of the Antiquarian and Royal Societies of Edinburgh. WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND VARIOUS ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS, INTENDED TO ADAPT IT TO THE PRESENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE. BY JOHN WARE, M. D. THIRD EDITION. BOSTON: HILLIARD, GRAY, LITTLE, AND WILKINS. 1829. DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS, TO WIT j District Clerk's Office. Be it remembered, that on the seventh day of January, A. D. 18*24, in the fortyeighth year of the Independence of the United States of America, Cummings, Hilliard, & Co. of the said dis- trict, have deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof they claim as Proprietors, in the words following, to wit: < ' The Philosophy of Natural History, by William Smellie, Member of the Antiquarian and Royal Societies of Edinburgh. With an Introduction and various Additions and Alterations, intended to adapt it to the present State of Knowledge. By John Ware, M. D. 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In plants, on the contrary, nourishment is absorbed directly from the earth by the roots, or from the air by the leaves ; \, there is no intermediate organ where a change is wrought in its nature before it is introduced into the circulation ; it is true that it undergoes such a change in order to adapt it to the purposes of the particular plant into which it is taken, yet it is not effected, as in animals, by means of their internal surface.\ For although it has been said, that the polypes, when turned inside out, continue to perform the function of digestion without interruption as under ordinary circumstan- ces, yet even in this case it is still the internal surface which digests, that which was formerly external, exchanging func- tions as well as situations with that which was within. 3. Animals differ also from vegetables in the nature of their food. They are not capable, like plants, of being nourished by the common elements of nature, but require substances which have been already organized, and have once formed a 10 DISTINCTION BETWEEN ANIMALS AND VEGETABLES. part either of some plant or animal. The polype cannot sub- sist upon the water in which it floats; it cannot thrust its feelers into the soil and draw up nourishment from it like the roots of vegetables ; no animal can do it. They must have recourse to either animal or vegetable substances which are adapted to their wants and are thrown in their way,* The earthworm, it is true, swallows earth for its nutriment, but only that earth which is full of organized matter in a state of decay, and it is only that matter which is digested, whilst the bare earth is evacuated without alteration. 4. Animals differ from vegetables in the time of taking their nourishment. (The roots of the latter are constantly exposed to the contact of the substances from which they de- rive their support, they are always buried in the earth which contains and from which they absorb their food. Their leaves, also, are always spread to the air from which they receive one portion of their support. It is not so with animals; their supplies of food are only occasional. They are stimulated by appetite, at certain definite periods, to seek for the means of gratifying it; after obtaining which they are engaged by other occupations, and are liberated from this care, until an additional supply becomes necessary, and they are excited to obtain it by a fresh appetite. 5. Animals differ again from plants in being possessed of the powers of feeling and voluntary motion. It is true that very remarkable phenomena are exhibited by individuals of the vegetable kingdom, which seem to imply the possession of these powers. But examination shows a distinction be- tween these instances and those which are afforded by ani- mals. -There is not a close resemblance between the con- traction of the leaves of the sensitive plant or the vibratory motions of the Hedysaruni gyrans, and the extension of the feelers of the polype or'the contraction of the shell of the oyster. ^The former motions seem to proceed from the actual contact of some substance with the moving part, or from the stimulus of light and heat; the latter, from the spontaneous and voluntary efforts of the animal itselfj These differences would be made more obvious by a knowledge of the histo- ry of the lower classes of animals. But it may be at present observed, that however remarkable these instances of vege- table motions are, and although they seem as if they might be the result of knowledge, volition, and sensation, they are yet different in nature from the knowledge, volition, and sen- sation manifested by animals, and do not give cause for con- founding these two classes of beings together. DISTINCTION BETWEEN ANIMALS AND VEGETABLES. 11 6. The structure and form of vegetables afford also marks of distinction. These are sufficiently familiar without any particular explanation. It is true that there are some marine productions, such as the sponges, coral, he, having the shape and in some measure the appearance of plants, which are yet without doubt of animal origin. But of these it is to be re- marked, that they^ire not animals themselves, but the resi- dence of animals ; they are substances produced by the labor of myriads of little polypes, who pile them up in order to serve for their covering and habitation ; and although when thus produced they have the external shape of vegetables, the creatures themselves, which have produced them, do not bear the smallest resemblance to plants. 7.*The chemical composition of vegetables also differs from that of animals. The elements essential to vegetables are three in number, oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen ; and from these three principally are formed all the different sub- stances which we meet among plants. But besides these, animals require the presence of azote or nitrogen also, which is necessary to their composition ; and from this, combined with the others in different proportions, are formed all the parts absolutely essential to animal existence. There are, it is true, many other elements which are found in some parts of plants or animals, but these are all which are absolutely essential to the composition of vegetable or animal substance. Thus in the bark of some plants, besides the three elements necessary to its formation, there will be found a portion of silex or flint; and in the bones of animals, in addition to the four essential elements, lime is deposited in large quantities. So that, although there must always be present at least these necessary and specified elements in the composition of vege- tables and animals, there is no limit, no principle which pre- cludes the admission of others. In consequence of this difference in chemical composition, and perhaps of the mode in which the elements are combined, other differences of a particular character may be detected between substances of a vegetable and those of an animal origin ; differences which serve in cases of doubt to assist us in deciding to which class any particular substance belongs. Thus, in burning, substances of animal origin always exhale a very peculiar odor, that of burnt wool, feathers, sponge, &c, an odor easily recognised and not readily forgotten. This will always serve to determine whether any particular substance which we examine, is derived from the vegetable or animal kingdom. 12 STRUCTURE OF VEGETABLES. Physiologists have frequently busied themselves in endea- vouring to discover what it is, which distinguishes precisely the two living kingdoms from each other. They have endea- voured in vain, because they have expected to find this dis- tinction in one single principle which would admit of a short, plain, and specific definition. Such a principle can be only ideal. It does not exist even with regard to the mineral and living classes of substances. It would not be difficult to con- found the boundaries of living and dead matter, in the same way as those of vegetable and animal matter. The distinc- tion must be sought in the general structure, the general mode of existence, and the purposes of existence in the two. And in a few words we may say, that animals differ from plants in being furnished with internal organs for the pur- pose of digesting food, instead of absorbing it by roots from the earth ; in being furnished with organs which render them capable of moving from place to place, or at least of moving one part of their bodies on some other part; in having pow- ers of sensation, perception, and volition, by which they ac- quire a knowledge of the existence and qualities of other bo- dies besides themselves, and form some sort of relation or connexion with them ; and in being obviously intended, by the possession of these organs and powers, to be conscious of and to enjoy existence. CHAPTER II. GENERAL REMARKS ON THE STRUCTURE OF VEGETABLES. In considering plants and animals with a view to the des- cription of their structure and organs, there is one remarka- ble circumstance worthy of attention at first, viz. that—while the animal kingdom exhibits a great variety between different classes in respect to the perfection, completeness, and com- plexity of their structure, and the number of their functions ; so that a regular series is formed, ascending from the lowest and most imperfect worm possessed of no faculties but those of feeling and moving, up to quadrupeds with all their won- derful and varied powers—the vegetable kingdom, on the con- trary, exhibits but little of this sort of variety. Plants are nearly all alike with regard to the organs they possess and the functions they perform. On the one hand, the polype t STRUCTURE OF VEGETABLES. 13 and the elephant do not differ from each other more in size, than they do in the number and complexity of their organs, and the extent and perfection of their powers and functions. Whilst, on the other hand, the humblest moss is scarcely less perfect, less complicated, or possessed of less extensive pow- ers, than the most lofty tree. Vegetables vary in their form, their size, their fruit, and many other particulars; but we cannot say of one, that it is- of a higher order in the scale of creation than another, as we can of animals. There is no series beginning at an individual of low and obscure powers, and ending in one of powers numerous and elevated. The structure of plants is exceedingly simple and nearly alike in all the different classes, so far as they have been ex- amined. The important parts, which serve to provide for their nourishment and growth, are the root, the stem, and the leaves. These are all formed of a variety of vessels and tubes, in which the sap and other fluids circulate. (The sap 9 is in the first place taken into the roots,)probably by means ' of the long fibrous filaments which are usually extended in every direction, and conveyedOnto what are called the cen- tral vessels. These are so called from their being arranged, in annual shoots and herbaceous plants, around the pith or centre of the stem. They are constructed of fibres which are wound spirally around them, and are thence sometimes called the spiral vessels. This arrangement probably con- tributes to the motion of the fluids they contain. By these vessels the sap is carried up the stem and distributed to the different branches, and thence to the leaves, flowers, or fruit. In the leaves it circulates and is there exposed to the influ- ence of light, heat, and air; and is no doubt perfected and elaborated by the processes which it undergoes. Returning from the leaves, it descends in a different set of vessels situ- ■■> ated in the bark, and in its descent contributes to the growth and nourishment of the plant by depositing new layers of vegetable matter between the bark and the wood.y ( This is the course of the circulation in annual plants, in which there is an entirely new growth every year from the root. But in trees and shrubs where the same trunk or stem continues from year to year, the arrangement, though essen- tially the same, is a little varied. The central vessels are not situated directly around the pith, but in the external lay- er of wood called the alburnum, which is always the growth of the preceding year, and performs this office only for one season, being afterwards surrounded and enclosed by a new t 14 STRUCTURE OF VEGETABLES. layer of the same kind. Hence the trunks of trees are form- ed by layers of wood, which have been yearly deposited around the centre, and have successively afforded a passage for the sap, by means of the central or spiral vessels, to as- cend into the branches and leaves. From the leaves the sap descends through the vessels of the internal layer of the bark, as in the former case, and in its descent gradually contributes to the formation of the alburnum for the next year. That part of the bark, also, which has thus once served the purpos- es of circulation, like the alburnum, is afterwards thrown aside, and its place is supplied by a new layer formed on its inside between it and the alburnum. Hence the large quan- tity of thick and dead bark which is often accumulated upon the outside of the trunk and branches of old trees. This is a slight sketch of some of the most important points in the vegetable circulation. It appears from this, that the principal seat of the growth and nutrition of plants is in the bark and alburnum, and that all the new matter yearly added, is deposited on the outside of the latter and the inside of the former—that the growth of one year is only subservient to the circulation of the next, and is ever afterwards of use mere- ly in giving strength and stability to the trunk, in order to support the increasing size and weight of the branches and leaves. The wisdom and beauty of this provision, by which that portion of the plant, which has become useless for every other purpose, is thus made to answer a very important end, are sufficiently obvious; and it is rendered necessary by the circumstance that plants do not, like animals, arrive at a de- finite size and there cease, but go on growing to an indefi- nite extent, and consequently require corresponding increase of strength in those parts which are to support them. But besides this circulation, which is the most important and interesting part of the vegetable economy, and is also the best understood, the fluids of plants are no doubt subjected in different parts to a variety of operations, and undergo ma- ny changes. There are many other vessels besides those al- ready mentioned, whose office is not perfectly known, but which contribute, probably, in some way, to the elaboration of the different principles found in plants, such as gum, resin, sugar, &c, or are subservient to the performance of their functions. The difficulty of accurately examining the minute structure and organization of vegetables is very great, and it is probable that we shall always remain ignorant of many highly important parts of their physiology. GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS. 15 It appears from this account, that those parts of plants, which perform the functions necessary to their nutrition and growth, are strictly annual. So that all plants are either an- nual, that is, wholly renewed every year, or at least have the circulating vessels, and all the organs taking an active part in their economy, annually renewed, viz. the alburnum, the bark, the leaves, the flower, &c. (This circumstance affords another very obvious general distinction between the vegeta- ble and animal kingdoms ; in the latter, nothing of the kind is to be observed : there is in no case such a renewal of any of the organs of which an animal is composed,—any at least of those concerned in performing important functions. It is true that some of the subordinate parts, such as the hair, the cuticle or scarf skin, the nails, teeth, feathers, &c, are occa- sionally and sometimes annually renewed in certain kinds of animals. (But there is no change in any of the principal or- gans ; the circulating system, the lungs, the stomach, &c, always remain the same.* The plan of this work does not admit a more full account of the structure, functions, and classification of the vegetable world; and we proceed therefore to an examination of the animal kingdom. CHAPTER III. ' OF THE STRUCTURE OF ANIMALS. SECTION I. General Classification of Animals. In order to treat clearly of the animal kingdom, it is ne- cessary to consider it according to some method of arrange- ment, by which those animals that most resemble one another are connected together for the convenience of description. This arrangement is founded upon their form and structure, * * It may here be observed, that in vegetables there is none of that absorption of the different parts which takes place in animals. The matter of which they are composed, being once deposited, is never taken up again ; whilst in animals there is a constant process going on, by which the old matter is taken away and new de- posited, and the organs thus renewed. Perhaps this end is intended to be an- swered in vegetables by the annual renewing of their circulating system. 16 GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS. and separates them into various divisions and subdivisions ac- cording to their degrees of similarity, and the points in which their structures correspond. Such a system of arrangement is calledui Classification of the Animal Kingdom ; and as an accurate acquaintance with the principles on which it is founded, is of great assistance to the student of natural histo- ry, I shall proceed to present a general view of that which is most commonly received at the present day.* In surveying the series of animals, from the lowest and most insignificant worm, up to man, the lord of the creation, and examining the structure of their bodies, and the mode in which they are enabled to carry on the functions of life, we observe certain lines of distinction among them, which afford ground for arranging them, in the first place, in two grand divisions.^ Those of the first grand division are possessed of an internal skeleton, a system of bones covered by the flesh, which serves to give form, support, and strength to their whole ^ fabric^and to assist in containing the various internal organs, whose actions keep up the life and vigor of the system. Those of the second, are not possessed of any such skeleton,! but consist of a collection of organs more or less distinct, with- out any solid basis, and are generally of a soft yielding tex- ture, though occasionally covered and protected externally by a shell or other hard covering. We observe farther, that in animals of the first kind, the blood is always red ; in those of the second kind, it is, with a few exceptions, white. In those of the first kind, there is always a bony case call- ed the cranium or skull, which contains the brain ; and a number of bones called vertebrae, connected together, so as to form a long column, usually called the spine, the back- bone, or the vertebral column. This column contains a ca- nal extending its whole length, which receives the spinal nerve" or marrow, as it passes out of the skull, and conveys it along the trunk, to be from thence distributed to the various parts of the body. It is, as it were, the main pillar or com- mon support of all the rest of the skeleton ; and hence the animals possessed of it are called vertebral animals, as this forms the most striking characteristic which is common to them all. * This system is principally derived from Cuvier. Its general outlines are, I believe, almost universally admitted to be the most accurate and philosophical'of any yet proposed. In its details, it has not yet perhaps b«en so generally receiv- ed ; but I have nevertheless ventured to follow it principally in this work, since there can be little question of its superiority, or that it will ultimately super- sede those of all other naturalists. GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS. 17 In animals of the second kind, there is no skeleton, and of course no vertebral column. The brain and nervous system are not therefore protected by any bony covering. These organs do not resemble the corresponding ones of the verte- bral animals; they are less distinct and apparently less im- portant. They have not many common points of resemblance, but as they none of them possess a back-bone or a skeleton, they are denominated from this circumstance invertebral animals, i. e. without vertebrae. The two first grand divisions of the animal kingdom, then, are 1. vertebral, such as man, quadrupeds, birds, fishes, &x., having a skeleton and red blood ; and, 2. invertebral, such as worms, insects, shell-fish, &c, having no skeleton and white blood. But in examining the first division, we find farther differences. Man, quadrupeds, whales, and birds, have all a temperature above that of the,air or water in which they reside. Their flesh is warm, and as this warmth is supposed to depend upon the temperature of the blood, we call them warm-blooded. On the other hand, frogs, toads, lizards, serpents, and fishes, have all a temperature varying but little from that of the air or water in which they live. They impart to us, when we touch them, the sensation of cold. Hence we call them cold- blooded. Here then is afforded ground for a subdivision of the vertebral animals into the warm-blooded and the cold- blooded. Again, the warm-blooded animals are capable of being di- vided into two classes. A part of them produce their young alive, nourish them during infancy by their own milk, from organs called their mammae or breasts, and are hence called mammalia or mammiferous animals. This class includes man, quadrupeds, whales, porpoises, &c. Another part pro- duce their young by means of eggs, which they hatch by the heat of their bodies, and support them by food which they provide for them as soon as they come out of the egg. This class includes birds.) The cold-blooded vertebral animals also form two classes. The first contains those which breathe air only, and cannot exist without it, as tortoises, frogs, serpents, &c. These are called reptiles. The second contains those which breathe by gills or branchiae, through the medium of the water. This «j class includes all the true fishes; for the cetaceous animals, ■ mentioned above, are not properly to be numbered among fishes. 3 18 GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS. The invertebral animals are not capable of so satisfactory and accurate an arrangement. Their structure is not yet suf- ficiently understood; but they may be divided into five clas- ses, according to such circumstances of resemblance as the present state of knowledge with regard to them admits. These classes are l. t,t U1 , , -. t»- j t Warm-blooded. 2. Birds, 5 4.' FfsheJr] Cold"blooded- II. Invertebral Animals. 5. Insects. 6. Crustacea. 7. Mollusca. 8. Vermes or Worms. 9. Zoophytes. After these greater divisions into classes, there are several smaller divisions, of which it will be useful to give some ac- count. Classes are subdivided into a greater or less number of orders ; and these are distinguished by some important, clear, and remarkable peculiarities of conformation and structure, which are common to all the animals included under each of them. Thus, in the class Mammalia, the order Quadrumana includes those animals which have hands upon all four of their extremities, such as monkeys and apes ; the order Ru- minantia, these which ruminate or chew the cud; the order Carnivora, those adapted to feed principally on animal food. In the other classes, the divisions are of a similar kind. Orders are subdivided into genera^ These comprehend animals which have a general external resemblance to each other, a kind of family likeness. (Thus the genus Felis in- cludes all those of the cat kind"•)and these animals, although differing one from another very much in size and color, have yet a close resemblance in their general form, figure, charac- GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS; 19 ter and habits of life. The genus Canis includes those of the dog kind, the wolf, the fox, the jackal, and the domestic dog, of which the same remark may be made. Thus, too, the horse, the ass, and the zebra, are of the same genus Equus, on account of their obvious general similarity. (^Again, genera are made up of species. Each distinct sort of animal constitutes a species, and they are known from one another by their size, color, form, and various other circum- stances of external appearance. There are then as many species as there are sorts of animals. ("Thus the cat is one species, the tiger is another, and the lion, leopard, jaguar, and catamount, are also separate species; but taken toge- ther with others, they constitute the genus Felis?) I Thus, too, the genus Canis contains the dog, the wolf, the jackal, and the fox, which are all so many distinct species.} The genus Sciurus contains the grey, red, striped, and several other kinds of squirrels. In treating of any particular animal, na- turalists are accustomed to designate it by a name derived from its genus and species. / This name is composed of two words ; the first being the name of its genus ; and the second being altogether arbitrary, or else expressing some circum- stance relating to the color, size, or residence of the animal, which serves in a degree to distinguish it from others. The first is called its generic, the second its trivial or specific name, and they correspond very closely to the names of hu- ^ man individuals ; fthe generic terms answering to the surname, , which designates the family to which any one belongs, and the trivial to the christian name, which designates the parti- cular individual. To give an example : the different species of the genus Fe- lis, above mentioned, are distinguished one from another in the following manner. (The lion is called Felis leo ; the ti- ger, Felis tigris ; the leopard, Felis Teopardus ; the jaguar, Felis onca ; the lynx, Felis lynx; the serval, Felis serva|, &c. C In the genus Canis, the dog is called Canis domesticus ; the wolf, Canis lupus; the black wolf, Canis lycaon ; the fox, Canis vulpes, &c/) In this way, each animal is capable of being clearly and accurately designated, by a name less lia- ble to mistake and confusion than its common one, which is sometimes applied to several different species. This is call- ed the scientific or systematic name. Each sort of animal, then, constitutes a distinct species ; a number of species taken together form a genus ; those ge- nera, which have important and well defined points of resem- 20 CLASS I. mammalia. blance in structure and conformation, are placed together in an order; whilst upon a similar principle, but more exten- sive in its application, these orders are marshalled into sepa- rate classes. SECTION II Class 1. Mammalia. The Mammalia are placed at the head of the animal king- dom. It is to this class that man, considered as an object of natural history, properly belongs; and beside him, the ani- mals of this class are distinguished for a more perfect bodily structure, for more varied faculties, more delicate sensations, a more elevated intelligence, and greater capability of im- provement by imitation, and education, than those of any other. Man is arranged with them, because he nearly resem- bles them in structure and organs, though raised in reality far above them by the possession of superior intellectual and mo- ral powers. There is a very considerable similarity in the anatomical conformation of all the animals of this class. The greater part of them are intended for motions confined to the surface of the earth ; but a few are capable of mounting into the air, as the bats ; and others are adapted for a life confined to the water, as the whales. But notwithstanding these differences in their mode of life, their principal organs are nearly similar in the general plan of their construction. We shall begin therefore by a description of them as they exist in man, and afterwards point out such important modifications as exist in other animals which differ from him. ,The human body \p divided into the head, trunk, and ex- tremities. . • The head includes the cranium, or skull, and the face. The skull is a large bony cavity, composed of several wide, thin, and arched bones, united together by sutures. It con- tains the brain, and gives passage to the spinal marrow, through a hole situated in its lower part, where it proceeds from the brain, and goes to the back-bone.^ The face is formed of the upper and lower jaws, and of the organs of see- ing, smelling, and tasting. The bones, which form the basis of these organs, are very numerous and difficult to describe ; they are united by sutures, and when taken together, give STRUCTURE OF MAN. 21 the general shape and constitute the features of the counte- nance. J The head is placed upon the top of the back-bone or ver- tebral column, and is capable of a number of motions upon it. The back-bone is the main support of the trunk of the body, and is composed of twenty-four distinct vertebrae, plac- ed one above another, so as to form a kind of pillar or col- umn. The body of each vertebra consists of a solid cylin- drical piece of bone, and this is united firmly to those con- tiguous to it, above and below, by strong and elastic carti- lage. The body of the vertebra is solid, but behind it and on each side, are projections of bone, called processes, which are arched over and connected1 together in such a manner, as to form a canal from one end of the spine to the other. This canal contains the spinal nerve or marrow, and between the vertebrae arc holes, through which branches are sent out to the different parts of the body. Seven of the vertebras belong to the neck, twelve to the back, and five to the loins. They are called respectively the ' cervical, dorsal, and lumbar vertebrae. They increase in size from above, downwards, so that the lumbar vertebrae are much larger, thicker, and stronger than those of the back and neck. To the dorsal vertebrae are affixed twelve ribs on each side, which arch over forwards, and are joined to the sternum or breast-bone by means of cartilage or gristle. In this way they form the cavity of the thorax or chest, which con- tains the heart and lungs. This cavity is terminated below by a muscnlar membrane, called the diaphragm or midriff, which extends from the edges of the lower ribs, and stretches across to the back-bone, so as to form a complete curtain or division between the chest, and the abdomen which lies be- low it. This is another important cavity, usually called the belly, containing the stomach, liver, spleen, caul, alimentary or intestinal canal, kidneys, &c. It is formed below by four bones attached to the lower end of the back, which spread out and constitute a sort of basin, called the pelvis. This serves as a solid basis to support all the heavy organs con- tained in the abdomen, which is protected before and at its sides only by skin, fat, and muscles, and has no bones, ex- cept below and behind. The limbs of man and other animals are called their ex- tremities. The arm, or upper extremity, is composed of the shoulder, which has two bones, the collar-bone and shoulder- blade, by which it is connected with the trunk ; the arm, 22 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. which has only one bone, long and firm, extending to the el- bow ; the fore-arm, which has two long bones parallel to each other, extending from the elbow to the wrist; the wrist, having eight small and irregular bones ; and the hand, on which there are four fingers, each with four bones, and the thumb with three. These bones are united together so as to form moveable joints of various degrees of flexibility and power, by means of firm substances called ligaments. The surfaces which move upon one another, are covered by a smooth polished substance that renders all their motions easy and free from impediment. The lower extremities are constructed in a similar manner. The thigh-bone, the largest and strongest bone in the body, is connected above with one of the bones of the pelvis, by means of a large round head, which is received into a socket of corresponding size, and thus forms the hip-joint. Its low- er end, together with the knee-pan and one of the two bones of the leg, contributes to form the knee-joint. These last are parallel to each other, and extend from the knee to the ankle. The ankle is composed, like the wrist, of a number of small bones, of which there are seven, one of them projecting be- hind to form the heel. The toes have the same number of bones as the fingers and thumbs, but are shorter and less ca- pable of free and extensive motions. These different bones are covered by muscles, fat, and skin, which constitute the principal soft parts of the body. The muscles are fibrous organs, attached to the bones generally by tendons, whose contractions put the bones in motion and thus originate all the movements of which we are capable. They act, in fact, like cords attached to levers, and operate according to strict mechanical principles. The organs, by whose operation the digestion of food, the circulation of the blood, and the other important functions are performed,Tare contained in the three cavities of the cranium, the thorax, and the abdomen, which have been already curso- rily described. We proceed to a consideration of these se- veral functions, beginning with that of digestion. The food is in the first place taken into the mouth, mixed with the saliva, and ground into a kind of paste, by the ac- tion of the jaws and teeth. It is then swallowed through a long muscular canal, the oesophagus or gullet, which passes through the thorax behind the heart and lungs near the back- bone, and is conveyed, through its upper or cardiac orifice, into the stomach. This is an irregularly shaped muscular CLASS I. MAMMALIA. 23 bag or sack, situated in the upper part of the abdomen, at the spot usually called the pit of the stomach. It is capable of great distention or contraction, according to the quantity which is put into it. In the stomach, the food is acted on by a peculiar fluid, called the gastric juice. It has no remarka- ble sensible qualities, and is nearly tasteless and destitute of odor; but its operation upon the substances exposed to its influence, is very decided and powerful. They are gradually reduced, of whatever kind they may be, to one homogeneous mass, called chyme, of a grayish color, and of a consistence like that of thick cream. This operation being completed, the chyme passes out of the stomach, by its lower or pyloric orifice, situated towards the right side, into the intestines, which form a long canal, and, taken together, are many times longer than the body. In the intestines, the chyme is subjected to the action of the bile and pancreatic juice. The bile or gall is a brown- colored, viscid, and very bitter fluid, prepared by the liver, a large organ on the right side just beneath the ribs, and col- lected into the gall-bladder, where a part of it is reserved for use. The pancreatic juice resembles very nearly the saliva in color and appearance, and is prepared by the pancreas, an organ situated just below the stomach. The effect of the mixture of these two fluids with the chyme, is to separate it into two parts. One of these is a thin, milky fluid, called chyle; the remainder consists of those portions of the food which are not fit for the nourishment of the system, but are rejected and thrown out of it as useless. The chyle is gra- dually absorbed by capillary vessels, called the lacteals, which open into the intestines through nearly their whole course, and convey it into a vessel called the thoracic duct. This duct ascends from the abdomen along the back into the tho- rax, and there empties its contents into the left subclavian vein, the vein coming from the left arm, where the chyle is immediately mingled with the mass of blood and enters with it into the circulation. The chyle is nearly the same, from whatever substance it is prepared, when the digestion is per- fect. Some kinds of food, however, are capable of furnish- ing a larger proportion of it than others ; this is the case with animal food, of which it takes a smaller quantity to supply the system with nourishment, than of vegetable. Animal substan- ces are also more easy of digestion ; and hence, it is observ- ed, in those animals which subsist on vegetables, that the di- gestive organs are more various, extensive, and complicated, 24 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. than in those which are carniverous, as the changes to be produced in the nature of the aliment are greater. The chyle, being mixed with the blood becomes a part of it, although it is not known where or how its change from the white to the red color is effected.* It is then circulated throughout the body, by the heart, the arteries, and the veins. The heart is a hollow muscular organ, the main spring of the circulation ; the arteries are long cylindrical canals or pipes, carrying the blood from the heart to the different parts of the body ; the veins are vessels of a similar form and structure, bringing the blood back to the heart after it has gone the round of circulation;*^ The heart in man is a double organ, that is, it consists of two complete and distinct organs, united together into one mass, but performing their functions without interference or connexion. These two parts are called the right and left sides of the heart; and each has two distinct cavities, called auricles and ventricles. The right side of the heart receives the blood from the body at large, and sends it to the lungs ; the left receives it from the lungs, and sends it to the body. The heart is of a conical shape, is situated in the thorax, just within the sternum, a little inclining to the left side. It is, however, placed with the apex, or point of the cone, extend- ing downwards and to the left, so that it touches the ribs at the spot where the beating is felt, and hence has usually been supposed to lie entirely on the left side. The main body of the heart is composed of the two ventricles, which are strong muscular cavities, the left far more so than the right; the au- ricles are situated around the base of the organ, seeming ra- ther to be loose appendages than constituent parts of it. \s We shall begin with the course of the blood at the point '"where it receives its new supply from the chyle. The sub- clavian vein, after uniting with the vein from the other arm, and the veins coming down from the head and neck, conveys its blood immediately to the right auricle, where it meets with that brought from the lower parts of the body. The two trunks which bring the venous blood in this way to the heart, are called the descending and ascending venae cavae. They pour their blood into the right auricle, which contracts and expels it, through an opening for that purpose, into the right ventricle. This opening is guarded by valves, which prevent the flowing back of the blood, by completely clos- ing the passage. When the ventricle has become distended, it contracts in its turn, and the blood, being prevented by the STRUCTURE OF MAN. 25 valves from returning to the auricle, is thrown forward into the pulmonary artery, which carries it to the lungs. This passage is also guarded by valves. At the time of its passage through the right side of the heart, the blood is of a dark bluish red or purple color, ap- proaching almost to black. It is generally called black blood, and is neither fit for circulation in the vessels, nor for the nourishment of the different parts. In this state it is sent to the lungs. These fill up all that part of the cavity of the chest not occupied by the heart, which they surround almost upon all sides. They consist principally of a collection of blood and air vessels, and are constantly supplied with air which is drawn in through the windpipe, and distributed to every part of them. The blood is circulated throughout their substance, by the branches of the pulmonary artery, and is, in its course, exposed to the influence of the air. By this means, its color is changed to a bright crimson or ver- milion, and it becomes again fit for the purposes of life. It is now brought back to the left side of the heart, by the pulmonary veins, and passes through the left auricle and ven- tricle, in a manner similar to that which has been already described with regard to the right side. The left ventricle, from its superior size and strength, gives to the blood a more powerful impulse, than that which it receives from the right, and this is the more necessary, because it has a wider and more extensive course to traverse. From the left ventricle, it is thrown into the aorta, the great artery which supplies the whole body with blood. This artery ascends from the heart for a short distance, arches over, sends branches to the head and arms, and then descends behind the heart, and dis- tributes them to the other parts of the system. The branches, thus distributed throughout the body, are subdivided again and again to an almost inconceivable degree of minuteness, and finally terminate in a system of vessels called capillary vessels. These pervade every part, and the blood, after passing through them, enters into another set of vessels, the veins, which gradually collect together and en- large in size, till they terminate, as has been before remarked, in two large trunks at the right auricle of the heart. In the capillary vessels, the blood undergoes a change in its quali- ties, precisely opposite to that which takes place in the lungs. It becomes, from a bright red color, of the same dark red which it was described to possess upon passing through the right side of the heart, in its passage to the lungs. The cause 4 26 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. of this change is not understood; but it is presumed to pro- ceed from the office which the blood performs in the nutrition of the body during its circulation, and by which some of its elements are abstracted from it, and combined with the tex- ture of the organs. The brain in man is the grand centre of sensation and per- ception. It is the instrument through which the mind main- tains its connexion with the body; and this connexion is ex- tended from the brain to other parts by means of nerves. The brain is a large organ, of a peculiar texture, occupying the whole of the cavity of the cranium, and consisting of se- veral distinct parts. Several pairs of nerves proceed from it through different apertures in the skull, and are distributed to the parts about the head, to convey to them the powers of sensation 'and motion. But beside these, there is another large single nerve passing down into the canal formed by the vertebrae, already described, and supplying the greater part of the body and limbs. Through the nerves, impressions are transmitted from all parts of the body to the brain, and on the other hand, all the acts of the will produce an effect upon the different organs by their means. The nerves are necessary to the exercise of the senses, (which in man are five; seeing, hearing, smell- ing, tasting, and feeling;) for, if the nerve going to the organ of either of these senses be injured, the mind no longer re- ceives any impression from them, as happens in the disease of the eye, called gutta serena. And if the nerve going to any of the limbs be destroyed or obstructed, both sensation and power of motion in that limb are either destroyed or sus- pended. This happens when a limb, from long continued pressure upon it, is said to be asleep; as, in sitting for some time in one particular position, the nerve going to one of the legs is pressed upon, and the connexion with the brain being thus interrupted, the consequence is a loss of feeling and mo- tion, which is sometimes so great as to cause the person af- fected to fall down on attempting to walk. The senses, taken all together, are more perfect in man than in any other animal. Yet in each of them, individually, he is probably excelled by some particular species. Thus, in /sight he is exceeded by the vulture and the eagle, in hearing i by the greater number of rapacious quadrupeds, in smell by the dog, in taste by a great many animals, and in nicety and delicacy of touch and feeling, by most insects.y The skeleton and the internal organs of other animals, of DIVISION INTO ORDERS. 27 the class Mammalia, exhibit fewer differences from those of man, than their external appearance would lead us to ima- gine. (They are generally of such a nature, as to adapt the animal for the particular kind of life which he is intended to lead, the motions which it is necessary for him to perform, and the food upon which he is to support himselfr Thus the limbs of monkeys are calculated for climbing, those of most others for walking on all fours ; the fore legs of some ani- mals are adapted for free and extensive motions, and furnish- ed with claws, that they may seize and secure living prey, as in the tiger and the lion ; those of others are limited and confined in this particular, and terminated by hoofs, as the deer and horse, being intended to feed upon vegetable sub- stances alone. , It is upon the consideration of differences of this kind, that the division of the animals of this class into orders is founded. The structure of an animal is always found to correspond to its character, mode of life, and food;') and those, therefore, which have a similar structure, resemble one another to the same extent in other particulars. From the formation of the anterior extremities of an animal, we may judge of the degree of address of which he is capable, and of the kind of motions he is able to perform; and from the structure of his teeth, what is the nature of his food. Thus, the fore feet of animals may be either enveloped in hoofs, like those of the horse and the ox ; or armed with claws, like those of the lion ; or fur- nished with slender nails, like those of man and the ape; and the perfection of the sense of touch will be in proportion to the delicacy of these organs respectively. Thus, too, there are three kinds of teeth ; the incisory or cutting teeth ; the canine or dog teeth; and the molar or grinding teeth ; but all animals have not each of these kinds of teeth, nor are they of the same shape and formation in all animals. The molar teeth, for instance, in the carnivorous animals, are sharp and cutting, fit only for the chewing of flesh ; and in the herbivo- rous, they are broad, with surfaces adapted for grinding grain, or the fibres of vegetables, which require more mastication than flesh, before they are capable of being digested. It is principally from a regard to these parts, that natural- ists have proceeded in the arrangement of the Mammalia. The orders thus formed are nine in number, as follows :— 1. The Bimana, or two-handed animals. Man is the only example of this order. He has hands upon his superior ex- tremities alone. He has nails of a thin and delicate texture, 28 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. ORDER I. BIMANA. which give to his thumb and fingers a wonderful delicacy of touch. 2. The Quadrumana or four-handed animals, comprising apes, monkeys, and baboons. They have hands upon all four of their extremities, but less perfect than those of man. 3. The Carnivora or carnivorous animals. These have no hands, but their feet are furnished with claws. This is a very extensive order, and embraces a great variety of animals. These three orders have all the three kinds of teeth, which differ, however, in shape and strength, according to the habits and food of the different species. 4. The Rodentia or gnawers ; so called from the structure of their fore teeth, which are particularly adapted for gnaw- ing. They have no canine teeth ; and their claws are simi- lar to those of the carnivora. This order contains rats, squir- rels, rabbits, &c. 5. The Edentata, or toothless animals ; so called because they are deficient always in the incisive teeth, and sometimes have no teeth at all. Their toes are terminated by large and crooked nails, which obstruct both their sensations and mo- tions. The sloth and armadillo are in this order. 6. The Ruminantia or ruminating animals, are those which chew the cud. They are cloven-footed, and have, moreover, no incisive teeth in the upper jaw. Among these are the ox, camel, lama, stag, and antelope. 7. Fachydermata or thick-skinned animals. This order includes a considerable variety of other animals with hoofs, but which do not ruminate ; as the horse, the wild boar, the hog, the tapir, and the elephant. 8. The Cetacea, or animals of the whale kind, distinguish- ed by having no posterior extremities, and their anterior so constructed as to answer the purpose of fins. In this order are whales, porpoises, and dolphins. 9. To these may be added the Marsupial animals, which do not come strictly under either of these orders, and are distin- guished from all others, by the possession, in the female, of a bag or pouch (marsupium) on the outside of the abdomen, for the purpose of holding their young after birth. Such are the kangaroo and opossum. We proceed to give some further account of these different orders of the Mammalia. I. Bimana. Some writers have affected to believe that man was originally intended to be a quadruped ; and that he has learned only from long experience the mode of walking CLASS I. MAMMALIA. ORDER I. BIMANA, MAN. 29 erect, and of applying his hands to the purposes for which he now employs them. They have represented him as only a more perfect kind of ape ; and have endeavoured to collect stories of wild men who have been found living like beasts in the midst of forests, destitute of speech and the arts of life ; and of races of apes and monkeys who can walk erect, and imitate the manners, gestures, and mode of life of men ; thus endeavouring to prove a near connexion and relationship be- tween man and these animals. It is undoubtedly the case, that man, in his external form, resembles this order of animals much more nearly than any other ; but he is yet by no means more nearly allied to them in this respect, than they are to some others, which are yet always considered of a distinct kind. The fact is, that since the animal kingdom forms a series of individuals rising, by a regular gradation, from a very humble and imperfect struc- ture, up to a very perfect one, there will necessarily be cer- tain points of resemblance between those which stand nearest to each other in this series. Hence the apes, which stand nearest to man, resemble him more than any other animal does, but not so much as many other animals resemble them. There is a greater difference between man and those species which are next below him, than there is between any other two species, which rank next to each other in the whole ani- mal kingdom. So that there is, in truth, no more reason for saying that man is only an improved and educated ape, than there is for saying that a bee is only an improved and educat- ed fly, a cow an improved sheep, or a horse a perfected ass. Man is distinguished from all other animals of the class Mammalia, by his erect attitude, and his power of walking upon two legs. This is naturally the case with no other one. Some are capable of being taught to walk upon their hind legs ; but they never do it with ease or from choice. The ape and monkey have, it is true, hands, very like those of the human species, which they are capable of using with great address and effect; but then they have not feet or legs which enable them to walk upright; their feet are, in fact, formed like hands, having a palm, and a distinct thumb, opposed to the four fingers, and are thus able to grasp objects. The foot of man is very different. It has nothing which does the office of a thumb, and the sole does not perform that of a palm. It is flat, inflexible, and fit only for the purpose of walking. Apes, on the contrary, are adapted for climbing ; and hence the peculiarity of their structure, which enables them to grasp 30 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. ORDER I. BIMANA. the small branches of trees with their feet as well as their hands. Strictly speaking, then, these tribes are principally distinguished from man by having four hands instead of two ; and hence man is called a two-handed or bimanous animal; and apes, monkeys, and baboons, four-handed, or quadruman- ous animals. This alone would Ge a sufficient distinction ; but there are many others founded upon a variety of consid- erations, derived from the general structure of man. His head lis larger and his face smaller in proportion to his size, than that of the monkey. His eyes, his ears, in short, all his senses are adapted to the erect position. He is incapable of going upon all fours with any facility, his lower extremities being so long, as to render the posture of his head painful and even dangerous. The structure of man and his faculties of mind, give him great advantages over other animals in point of adroitness, skill, and address. His erect position gives him the free use of his hands, which, though they have a general similarity to those of the monkey, are yet far more delicately and perfectly constructed. The thumb is larger ; the fingers, all except the ring-finger, have distinct motions ; the nails present excellent points of support, so as to admit of the handling of very small bodies ; and the arms have unincumbered and various motions in every direction, i Still he is inferior, in point of strength, to most animals of nis size; he is slow in running, is without natural means of defence, and has no natural covering. So that man, who, in the social state, is the lord of this lower world, the conqueror of the rest of creation, is, by nature and when alone, the weakest, the most helpless, and the most de- fenceless of all animals, i There are several distinct races of mankind inhabiting dif- ferent portions of the earth, which differ one from another more or less in form, in features, in complexion, and in char- acter. The cause of these varieties has never been satisfac- torily pointed out. They have been attributed to climate, to situation, to manner of life, &c, but none of these circumstan- ces appear sufficient to produce them, and we therefore still remain in ignorance on the subject. These distinct races may be considered as five in number. 1. The Caucasian. 2. The Mongolian or Tartar. 3. The American. 4. The Negro or African. 5. The Malay. 1. The Caucasian. The individuals of this variety are dis- tinguished by the beautiful oval form of their heads ; a large and full forehead ; regular and distinct features of the face, K NATURAL HISTORY OF MAN. 31 which is small and narrow in proportion to the cranium ; a white skin, varying from a light rosy tint to a deep brown ; and hair and eyes of various colors. This race is called Caucasian, because its origin is referred by tradition to the group of mountains lying between the Black and Caspian seas, among which Caucasus has been celebrated. From thence it has spread itself over a considerable part of the known world. 'The inhabitants of Caucasus itself, the Georgians and Circas- sians, are to this day considered as the most beautiful speci- mens of the human form. , In the ancient world, the most celebrated nations belonged to this race. The Assyrians, the Chaldeans, the Phenicians, the Jews, probably the Egyptians, the Persians, the Scythians, the Parthians, the Greeks, the Romans, &c, were of Caucasian origin. In modern times, nearly all the nations that inhabit the western part of Asia, nearly all the nations of Europe, and the descendants of Eu- ropeans in America and other parts of the world, are of the same race.^/ They have been always distinguished for superior intellect- ual and moral qualities. With a few exceptions, they have maintained a decided ascendency in arms over the people of the other races, and have acquired a superiority over them in the elegances, refinements, and luxuries of life. They have been for ages the depositaries of literature, philosophy, sci- ence, and the arts ; and have carried the human character to the highest degree of excellence it has ever reached. All that is beautiful and enchanting in poetry and the fine arts, all that is sublime and awful in religion, have belonged to them. 2. The Mongolian race is principally found in the eastern parts of Asia. It is distinguished by a low stature, by pro- jecting cheek bones ; a depressed and retreating forehead ; features not strongly marked ; eyes narrow and oblique ; a nose somewhat broad and flat; thick lips ; black, straight hair; thin beard ; and an olive complexion. In this division are to be arranged the inhabitants of the great empires of China and Japan ; the hordes of Calmucks, of Mongols, &c; the ancient Huns ; the Finnish tribes of Northern Europe, as the Laplanders; the Kamtschadales ; the Esquimaux Indians inhabiting the northern parts of America; and a number of other nations and tribes of less note. The individuals of this race are inferior in moral and intel- lectual qualities to those of the preceding. They have made but slight progress in civilization or literature, and have gen- erally remained in a semi-barbarous state. Occasionally they 32 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. ORDER I. BIMANA. have manifested great vigor and energy in military exploits; and three times have carried the terror of their arms over the greater part of Asia, and even into Europe, under Attila, Zenghis Khan, and Tamerlane. Their victories have gener- ally, however, been of short duration, as they have not the qualities suited to retain and govern the empires they conquer. 3. The African, or Negro, is remarkable for his narrow and depressed forehead ; his flat and broad nose ; his thick lips ; his projecting jaws ; black, crisped, and curled hair or wool; black skin and eyes ; and some other differences in bodily shape, which it is not necessary to enumerate. These char- acteristics are confined to Africans, and their descendants in different parts of the world. The individuals belonging to this race have seldom been distinguished for their mental fac- ulties or moral endowments. They have always remained in a barbarous state, and are with difficulty induced to adopt the customs and habits of civilized life. 4. The American race resembles, in many respects, the Mongolian ; but differs from it in having more distinct and strongly marked features, and a skin of a copper tint. All the native inhabitants of the new world, with the exception of the Esquimaux, come into this division. In general, they have made small advances in civilization and the arts, and prefer the wandering life of hunters to the comforts of settled hab- itations. In the empires of Mexico and Peru, was exhibited the highest pitch of refinement, to which they have ever arrived. 5. In the division called the Malay, are included nations differing very much one from another, in form, features, and character, and too imperfectly known to admit of being clearly described. Some of them, as the inhabitants of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land, resemble very nearly the African race ; whilst others, as the inhabitants of Malacca and Suma- tra, and also those of the islands in the Pacific ocean, approach sometimes the Caucasian, and sometimes the Mongolian. But notwithstanding all these differences in man, he main- tains every where a decided rank, far above that of any other animal, f He is the only one which has the power of commu- nicating its thoughts and feelings by articulate speech ; the only one which can properly be said to avail itself of the ad- vantages of society ; and the only one that, strictly speaking, educates its young.") It is in consequence of these advantages, particularly that derived from association, that he has been enabled, under all circumstances, to acquire and preserve a NATURAL HISTORY OF MAN. 33 dominion over other animals, cither by subjecting them to his use, or at least making himself the object of their fear. It is in consequence of these advantages, also, that he has been enabled to protect himself against the severity of climates, and thus spread his species over every part of the earth. Naturally tender and defenceless, he could only exist in the most equable and temperate climates ; but, aided by the in- ventions and discoveries of social life, he is enabled to brave the cold of the polar circle, as well as the overpowering heat of the regions on the equator. Man is only partially governed by instinct. His knowledge is the result of education and experience. He knows nothing but what he has discovered himself, or what has been taught him by others. By means of language and writing, the dis- coveries and improvements of one generation are transmitted to the next, and thus are the ground of an almost indefinite progress towards perfection. Other animals, being principal- ly governed by instinct, are stationary ; they neither advance nor recede in their manners or habits; by being associated one with another, they do not improve ; and, although capa- ble of being educated by man, they do not educate one another. The first swarm of bees that existed, probably constructed as perfect a honey-comb as is done now; they do not improve upon the plan which instinct has pointed out to them ; it is a plan which they did not in the first place contrive, and cannot amend. But if we compare the rude and ill constructed hab- itations of savage nations with the splendid and luxurious edifices of civilized life, we instantly perceive the influence which language, society, and education have had upon the human race. We are sensible of the great difference between that skill, which is the result of instinct, and that which is acquired by a being capable of reasoning and speaking. Being thus susceptible of constant progress in improvement, man is found, under different circumstances, in different sta- ges of this progress. In his primitive state, he supports him- self upon the flesh of animals, which he destroys in the chase, or upon the wild fruits of the forest. He has not therefore time to devote to the cultivation of the arts, or to the educa- tion of his children; he learns nothing but how to construct his hut and his canoe ; he clothes himself with the skins of wild beasts; and he observes the natural objects around him so far only as he can make them subservient to his purposes. When he comes into the possession of the domestic animals, the cow, the horse, the sheep, &c, he finds that he can 5 3-1 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. derive an easier and less precarious subsistence from their milk and flesh, than from the products of the chase. He rears, therefore, numerous herds of these animals, and being only occupied in finding them pasturage and shelter, is com- paratively at leisure to apply himself to some of the arts of civilized life. He manufactures clothing from their skins and wool, of various degrees of delicacy and elegance. He builds himself more commodious habitations : and from the different degrees of industry and skill, with which different individuals apply themselves to these occupations, arises an inequality of conditions. Some become rich, and others comparatively poor. The rich acquire a disposition to indulge in the com- forts and luxuries of life, and this is found to be inconsistent with the wandering and unsettled life which they lead as mere shepherds. Hence they are induced to fix themselves perma- nently upon particular tracts of country, which come to be con- sidered as their property; and thus they gradually devote them- selves to the cultivation of the soil. This enables a given portion of land to support a much greater number of people, than when it was devoted to the feeding of herds ; and hence, as agriculture becomes established, the population of a coun- try regularly increases. Society also becomes settled and permanent. Every individual is able to produce more by his own labor, than is sufficient for his own support, and some therefore devote themselves to other occupations, the results of which they exchange with the laborer for his surplus. Na- tions also exchange with one another their superfluities. Thus commerce is established : and the arts and elegances of life are one by one brought to light, as the growing wealth of in- dividuals and nations creates a demand for them. II. The Quadrumana, as has been before observed, ap- proach more nearly to man, both in their internal structure and external form, than any other animal. They differ, how- ever, in the size and shape of the head, which is proportiona- bly smaller, narrower, and less elevated ; in the conforma- tion of the face, which has a flat, depressed nose, and very prominent jaws and teeth ; in the length of the fore-arm ; and in the construction of the lower extremities, which are not calculated for the erect posture, and are furnished with hands, instead of feet like those of men. Their structure fits them evidently for climbing, and their usual places of habita- tion are trees, on the fruits of which they feed. They main- tain the erect position with difficulty ; it is a constrained one, since it obliges them to straiten the joints of the hip more ORDER 11. Q.UADRUMANA. 35 than is easy or natural, and to rest their weight upon the out- er edges of their feet or hind hands. Generally, then, they employ all four of their limbs in walking or running, but their motions, when upon the ground, are very various and irregu- lar. They form a numerous tribe, and comprehend a great va- riety of species, known under the name of apes, monkeys, ba- boons, &c. These names are generally employed with little discrimination, but they are intended to point out some ge- neral differences of form. Thus the apes are destitute of a.\ tail; that of the monkeys is about the length of their bodies ; and that of the baboons a very short one. Besides these, which are confined to the old continent, the sapajous, which include those belonging to the new world, have all long tails ; and these are, in many instances, of so much strength, as to answer in some measure the purpose of a fifth limb, enabling the animal to grasp with it the branches of trees or other ob- jects, to assist in climbing. These are called prehensile tails. The ourang-outang and chimpanze are the most celebrated of this order, for their similarity in face and form to the hu- man race; whilst many other species, by their elongated snout, depressed forehead, and other particulars, approach more nearly to other quadrupeds. The Ourang-outang, or wild man of the woods, which is the meaning of the name in the Malay language, is found on- ly in some eastern climates, and has seldom been seen in Eu- rope ; although many other animals have been exhibited un- der this name. He is a native of Malacca and Cochin China, but is principally found in the great island of Borneo in the East Indies. He is from three to four feet in height; his bo- dy covered with a thick red hair ; his forehead high and full; and his face of a bluish color. He is mild and docile, is ea- sily tamed, and becomes attached to those about him. He is able, in consequence of his bodily form and organs, to imi- tate very accurately a great variety of human actions; but is, on the whole, not more remarkable for sagacity and intel- ligence than the dog. The Chimpanze is a larger animal, and has been said by travellers to equal or exceed the size of man. This, how- ever, is not well authenticated. His body is covered with black or brown hairs. He can be taught to walk, to sit, and to eat like men. He is a native of Congo and Guinea, lives with his fellows in troops, and by means of clubs and stones, repels the attacks of man and other animals. It has been 36 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. said, that he constructs for himself a hut with the foliage and branches of trees ; but he probably does little more than pro- vide, in this way, a very rude shelter for himself against rain and storms. The Pongo is probably the largest of the animals of this order, and is a formidable and ferocious creature. He inha- bits the island of Borneo, and is, from the structure of his posterior limbs, as well able to support himself in the erect posture, as the orang-outang or chimpanze. His history has been confounded with that of those aniraals, and his charac- ter and many of his habits have been attributed to them. But he is, in fact, very different in some important particu- lars, as the shape of his head approaches that of quadrupeds, and his muzzle or snout is very long and projecting. One of the most remarkable species among the baboons, is the great gray baboon inhabiting Arabia and some parts of Africa. He is more than five feet in height, and is very fero- cious. His head and shoulders are covered with a long growth of gray hair, which has the appearance of a large full- bottomed periwig, and, combined with the gravity of his coun- tenance, gives him a singular and grotesque appearance. He is called by the French naturalists, Papion a perruque. A few of the American monkeys, or Sapajous, are furnish- ed with a pouch or bladder connected with the wind-pipe, which gives to their voice an enormous volume and a tremen- dous tone. They are called, from this circumstance, Howler monkeys. Some of the smaller and more inoffensive species of the Quadrumana are playful, peaceable, and amusing little ani- mals; but in general they are a noisy, chattering, mischie- vous race, whose distorted resemblance to the human face and figure, only renders them hideous and disgusting. III. Carnivora. This order includes a great number and a great variety of animals. They are furnished with the three kinds of teeth, but these differ more or less in shape from those of man and the monkeys, so as to be adapted for the mastication of animal food, upon which they subsist, ei- ther in part or altogether. They are subdivided into several tribes or families, accordingly as they are more or less carni- vorous. In some of these tribes, the molares are very sharp and cutting, and thus indicate that the animal feeds entirely upon flesh ; in others, they are broader, being adapted part- ly for the mastication of vegetable food ; and in others, they are armed with a number of points or cones, which are fitted for ORDER III. CARNIVORA. 37 a diet consisting principally of insects. Their fore legs are capable of pretty free and extensive motions, and are furnish- ed with nails or claws, but no thumb; whence they are far inferior in point of address to the apes. They are remarka- ble for possessing the sense of smell to a high degree of per- fection. Their organs of digestion are in general less com- plicated and extensive than those of other animals. The sto- mach is smaller, and the intestines shorter, animal food re- quiring less change than vegetable in order to convert it into chyle. 1. The first tribe or family, is that of the Bats. These have some points of affinity with the Quadrumana, and were arranged by Linnaeus with man and the monkeys. They are sufficiently distinguished, however, by their wings. These are formed of a thin fold of skin, which extends between the two limbs of the same side, and is likewise stretched across the claws of the fore feet, which are very long and slender, and serve to keep the membrane extended like the sticks of an umbrella. By means of this apparatus, many of them are enabled to fly with a force and rapidity equal to that of birds ; but, in others, it answers only the purpose of a parachute to break their fall from lofty places, or to enable them to per- form great leaps in their passage from tree to tree. They are principally nocturnal animals, seeking their prey (which consist of insects, small quadrupeds or birds, and flesh of any kind) in the twilight, and retiring during the day to dark and hidden recesses, where they remain suspended by their claws, till the return of night.V Their eyes are extremely small, and apparently of little use ; but the cavities of their ears are extensive. They possess the singular faculty of directing their flight with great accuracy and precision, without the assistance of the sense of sight, and even after their eyes have been destroyed. It has been found that, after the'complete removal of the eyeball, bats are able to fly about in a room without touching the walls, apparently with as much ease and security as before. What is still more remarkable, when several willow rods are placed six inches distant from each other, so as to form a sort of grat- ing, the bats, after the destruction of their eyes, are able to pass backward and forward through the spaces without ever coming in contact with the rods. It is difficult to give any satisfactory account of this phenomenon, and yet the experi- ments, from which the knowledge of it has been derived, are well authenticated, and have been frequently repeated. It 36 CLASS 1. MAMMALIA. has been attributed to the great extent and uncommon deli- cacy of the membrane constituting the wings, and of that lining the ear, which have been supposed to render the animal capable of judging, from the impressions made upon it by the air, of the relative distances and positions of external objects. Bats retire upon the approach of cold weather in the autumn, and pass the winter in a dormant state. They frequently suspend themselves together in large clusters, that by their warmth they may reciprocally assist each other in resisting the effects of the cold. During this period, the powers of life seem to be almost extinct, the temperature of the animal is much lowered, and he becomes lean and exhausted ; so that he awakens in the spring in a state of great weakness and emaciation, although in the autumn he may have been very fat. Beside the common bat, with the appearance of which all are familiar, there are many others, differing a good deal in size and disposition, which inhabit other countries. Among them is the Vampyre bat, which is from five inches to a foot in length, and has membranous wings extending from four to six feet. It inhabits Africa and Asia, but is found most abun- dantly in the East Indian islands. It is very gregarious, and is found in immense flocks. Five hundred have been counted hanging on a single tree. It does not confine itself to animal food, but subsists also upon fruits and vegetables, and is the cause of great injury to the produce of the countries it in- habits. It has been supposed to suck the blood of persons lying asleep, by making an orifice in some exposed vein, which it does so easily as not to awaken the sleeper, to the sound- ness of whose slumbers it contributes by fanning him gently with its wings. Hence this animal has received the name Vampyre, and is thought to have given origin to the ancient fable of the Harpies. It is said to be excellent food. The Spectre bat is a species very similar in its habits to the one just described. It is a smaller animal, not exceeding seven inches in the length of its body, and two feet in the extent of the membrane of its wings. It is an inhabitant of South America and New Holland, and exists in immense num- bers. It has the same propensity for drawing blood as the Vainpyre, and is said to cause great injury and destruction among cattle by this means. In New Holland, twenty thou- sand have been computed to be seen within the compass of a mile. It is of a mild disposition, and is easily tamed and do- mesticated. 2. The second tribe of this order includes a number of ORDER III. CARNIVORA. 39 small animals, which feed principally upon insects, and are called insectivorous. Many of them pass the winter in a state of lethargy, and during summer they lead a secluded, noctur- nal, or subterranean life. Their limbs are short, and their motions very feeble. Among the most worthy of notice are the hedge-hog, the tenrec, the shrew-mouse, and the mole. The Hedge-hog is remarkable for being covered with short, strong spines instead of hairs, and for the faculty of drawing its head and feet in such a manner under its belly, as to give itself the appearance of a ball covered with sharp bristles. In this way it resists the attacks made upon it, using no other method of defence ; and no violence will induce it to alter its form or position. It is a harmless and inoffensive animal, and suffers injuries of all kinds with great patience and forbear- ance. vIt is about nine or ten inches in length, inhabits holes and decayed trees, into which it retreats in order to pass the winter. Its skin was used by the ancients for a clothes-brush, and has been sometimes employed for the purpose of dressing hemp. The Moles are peculiarly adapted-bj the structure of their nose and feet, for burrowing in theSearth. This operation they perform with great facility and rapidity. So expert are they, that, if put upon the grass where the earth is soft, they force their way into it almost immediately ; and even upon a hard, gravelly road, they can cover themselves in the course of a few minutes. {"They feed principally upon the earth-worm, and prefer the soil in which it is to be found in greatest abun- dance for their residence. ) They construct habitations of a peculiar form, to be hereafter described, in which they rear their young, and lead a social and domestic life. They some- times increase in number to such an extent, as to be a serious annoyance to the husbandman. 3. The animals of the third tribe, possess the characteris- tics of this order in the highest degree. .'They are endowed \not only with an appetite for animal food, and a structure adapted for its mastication and digestion, but with strength and courage for seizing and retaining it. *They are not all, however, purely carnivorous, nor equally ferocious. Some are slow and indolent in their motions, and clumsy in their forms, passing the winter in cold climates in a state of lethargy, and being capable of subsisting in a great measure upon veg- etable food. Such are the bear, glutton, and badger. There are others, as the weasle, the ermine, the ferret, and the pole- cat, mean in size and appearance, and of a long lean body, 40 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. with very short legs, enabling them to creep through very narrow ape^ures. They are small and feeble, but still ex- tremely cruel. Others again, as the dog, the wolf, the fox, and the jackal, are possessed of a good deal of strength, but do not exhibit a proportionate degree of courage and ferocity. But the lion, tiger, panther, &c, are at once the most power- ful, the most bloody, and the most ferocious of the animal kingdom. Their fore paws are endowed with prodigious mus- cular power, and are armed with sharp and piercing nails, which, in a state of rest, are drawn in and concealed from sight. They are the terror of the forest, feed only upon flesh and blood, and sometimes, when driven by hunger, attack even man himself. The dog, so well known to all mankind, presents a great variety of shape, size, and color, according to the different breeds produced by the different situations in which he has been placed. No animal is so completely under the control of mankind. Every individual of the species gives himself up wholly to his master, obeys his voice, acquires his habits, de- fends his property, andj^en in spite of caprice and ill usage, remains faithful till death. This connexion, this attachment, does not proceed so much from necessity, as from a true sen- timent of friendship. The dog is the only animal which has accompanied man to every part of the earth, and forms his most useful ally, particularly in the early stages of society, in bringing into subjection the inhabitants of the forest. It has been supposed by some, that the dog was originally the same with the wolf, and by others, that he is a jackal in a domestic state. But the origin of his connexion with man, is too re- mote and obscure to allow this question to be determined. The animals of the cat kind are all of a fierce and bloody disposition ; some are remarkable for the majesty and ele- gance of their form, or the beauty of their skin. The lion and the tiger are the two most celebrated species. The lion is a native of Asia and Africa ; and is found some- times of the length of eight or nine feet, exclusively of the tail. His appearance is majestic and dignified ; and, although entirely carnivorous, he is not remarkable for cruelty or the unnecessary destruction of life, but has been often noted for striking traits of generosity and magnanimity. His muscular strength is immense ; a single stroke of his paw is sufficient to destroy some of the larger animals on which he preys ; a sweep of his tail will knock down a man ; and he is able to carry off an ox, or even a buffalo, when lightened of its en- ORDER III. CARNIVORA. 41 trails, with apparent ease. In populous countries, where he is accustomed to the sight, and acquainted with the power of man, he is comparatively timid, and will sometimes even fly before women or children ; but in those where he is undis- turbed in his dominion of the forest, he defies man as well as all other animals, and has been known singly to attack a whole caravan. The lion, when taken young, is capable of being tamed ; and, in a state of confinement, has lived to the age of seventy years. T^he Royal Tiger is an inhabitant of the warmer parts of Asia and the Indian islands. He attains to nearly the size of the lion, and is of equal strength, but far more bloody and cruel. He is the scourge of the countries which he infests, and has sometimes almost depopulated whole villages. Such is his vigor and the rapidity of all his motions, that he has been known, when lurking around an army on the march, to spring from a thicket upon a soldier, tear him from his horse, and convey him into the forest without being molested. When he has seized a large animal, if uninterrupted, he plunges his head ieto the midst of the carcass, and sucks the blood. He is not so easily or completely tamed as the lion ; but, if taken young, is susceptible of a certain degree of domestication. 4. A fourth tribe of the Carnivora comprehends the am- phibious animals, as the Seal and the Morse. They differ from other quadrupeds very widely in their external appear- ance, whilst their internal structure is very nearly the same. Their limbs are composed of a similar number of bones, ar- ranged in the same way, but so short and so enveloped by their skin, as to be of but little use for walking. But as the intervals between the toes are so filled up with skin, they form excellent oars; so that these animals move with great rapidity and address in the water, although they can only crawl awkwardly upon land. They feed principally upon fish ; and the structure of their teeth is manifestly that of carnivorous animals. They live almost entirely in the sea, and come upon shore only for the purpose of reposing in the sun and suckling their young. They breathe, however, like other Mammalia ; and hence cannot constantly remain under water, but are obliged to return occasionally to the surface for air. Still they are able to live a long time without breath- ing, and it has been asserted that there is some peculiar con- formation about their heart, which renders this possible. But no such peculiarity is found to exist. The Seals are mild and inoffensive, except when provoked. 6 42 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. ORDER IV. RODENTIA. They are easily tamed, and become attached to those who feed them. Their head somewhat resembles that of the dog. They live together in large herds or families, and are valua- ble as objects of trade on account of their skins and oil._ir~ IV. Rodentia, the Gnawers, are distinguished by the pos- session of two large incisive teeth in the centre of each jaw, and by the absence of canine teeth. There is a wide space between the incisors and the molares, which last are broad and evidently calculated for the mastication of vegetable food. This arrangement of their teeth remarkably qualifies them for gnawing, and enables them to penetrate very solid substances ; and frequently they feed upon woody fibres and the bark of roots and trees. There is an additional circum- stance in the structure of their incisive teeth, which adapts them to the use for which they are intended. They are fur- nished with enamel only upon their front surface, so that the back part, being merely bone, is by gnawing worn away faster than that in front, and of course the front edge is kept sharp and fit for cutting. To remedy the loss of substance which necessarily takes place, there is a provision by. which a constant growth takes place from the root; so that if one of these teeth is lost by accident, that which corresponds to it in the opposite jaw, being no longer worn away by use, in- creases to a great length. Their feet are furnished with toes and nails, and their hind legs are stronger and longer than their fore legs, so that frequently they leap better than they run. Of this order, among others, are the beaver, the squirrel, the dormouse, the marmot, the hamster, the mouse and rat, the jerboa, the various species of hare and rabbit, and the porcupine. The Beavers (Castor fiber) have been long celebrated for the value of their skins as an article of commerce, and for the wonderful sagacity and forethought which they exhibit in the construction of their dwellings. Their cutting teeth are ve- ry strong and sharp, and they are able, with them, to fell lof- ty trees.* They are possessed of a large, long, and broad * In felling a tree, several beavers are engaged at once around its trunk, and they gnaw it carefully in such a part of the circumference, as will cause it to fall in a direction convenient for their purposes. An observer of them relates, that he wit- nessed three beavers occupied in cutting round a tree ; that, after a certain period, one of them left the two others, and went to a considerable distance, where he qui- etly watched their operations; and that, when the trunk was nearly divided, so that the weight of the branches was sufficient to bring down the tree, and the inclina- tion was obviou-s on looking at its summit, he gave a smart stroke with his tail upon the water, as a signal to its companions, who immediately ran off with great expe- dition to escape the impending danger.—Long's Expedition. ORDER IV. RODENTIA. 43 tail, almost oval in its shape, and covered with scales. It has been supposed that they used this as a kind of trowel, to lay on the mud and clay of which their dikes are partly built. But it has also beeri sometimes asserted that the tail was only of use as an instrument for swimming. They are aquatic animals, and construct themselves habitations upon waters which are sufficiently deep never to be frozen to the bottom, preferring running streams upon which the trees they cut can float down to whatever spot they have chosen. Here they build a dam for the purpose of preserving the water al- ways of a convenient depth, and construct their huts or ca- bins. Of their skill, sagacity, and intelligence, a more parti- cular account will be given hereafter. But, although so wonderful in these respects when united in a society, they are, for the most part, helpless and timorous animals when living separately ; a beaver, although pretty large and strong, and armed with powerful teeth, if he meets a man alone upon the shore, sets himself down upon his haunches and cries like a child. The Jerboa is a little animal of about the size of a rat, with a tail tefHnches long, and legs of very unequal size, the hind legs being six inches, whilst the fore legs are but one inch in length. It cannot of course use them all at once without great difficulty, and' moves principally by leaps, which are sometimes of five or six feet in extent, or by a hopping motion on its two hind legs, which resembles that of birds. Its fore legs it employs only as hands for the purpose of holding its food. It has been asserted that the ancient coney, mention- ed in the Old Testament, was the jerboa, which inhabits Pa- lestine to this day. There is an American species called the Canadian Jerboa, which does not exceed two and a half or three inches in length. It has the same general characteristics as the animal before mentioned, and even exceeds it in the length of its leaps, which extend, if we may credit the accounts given of them, to the enormous distance of three or four yards, or nearly fifty times the length of its body. vThe Hamster is an animal larger and thicker than the Jer- boa, and nearly allied to the common rat. It is distinguished by cheek pouches, which are capable of containing a very large quantity of food. When empty, they are so contracted as not to appear externally visible, but when filled, they are stretched to an enormous extent, and are capable of contain- ing a gill of grain. A hamster has been caught and dissect- 44 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. ORDER V. EDENTATA. ed, that had stored in its pouches a quantity of beans, which, when taken out and laid in a heap, appeared to exceed the bulk of its whole body.) The Canada raj is almost equally remarkable for the size of these receptacles. Of the Alpine Marmot some account will be given hereaf- ter. There is another species, however, which deserves a *hort notice. This is the Louisiana Marmot, usually known by the name of the prairie dog, from a slight resemblance of its cry to the barking of a small dog. It is a sprightly and interesting little animal, inhabiting the country around the Missouri and Arkansas rivers, and is found in villages from a few acres to several miles in extent, which are called by the hunters, prairie dog villages. It lives in burrows, the en- trance to which is in the summit or side of a small mound of earth, somewhat elevated, but rarely to the height of eigh- teen inches. This mound, particularly around the entrance, is trodden down like a pathway. They delight, in pleasant weather, to sport about the entrance of their burrows, and five or six individuals may be seen sitting on a single mound. When alarmed, if the object of terror be near at hand, they retreat immediately into their holes; but if at a distance, they remain for some time barking and flourishing their tails, or sitting erect to reconnoitre. The Porcupine is covered with hard and sharp spines, which afford it a natural protection against the attacks of other ani- mals. In this respect it resembles the hedgehog, and were external appearance alone regarded, would be arranged with it; but both its structure and its habits of life are different, and it is obviously intended for subsisting upon vegetable food. V. Edentata, Toothless animals, so called from the ab- sence of the incisive, and sometimes also of the canine and grinding teeth. Their toes are terminated by very large, thick, and strong claws, which approach in some degree to the nature of hoofs. The animals of this order are likewise remarkable for a great degree of torpor, listlessness, and indis- position to motion ; but some more than others. The sloth, the ant-eater, and armadillo, are among them; and of each of these there are several species. The Three-toed Sloth is an animal whose very aspect is painful and disgusting from its excessive ugliness and defor- mity. The expression of its countenance and its whole atti- tude, indeed, convey to the beholder the impression, that its very existence is a burden. It is about the size of a cat. Its ORDER VI. RUMINANTIA. 45 fore legs are much longer than its hind ones, and it drags the latter after its body, as if weary of carrying them. It creeps, in fact, almost with its belly upon the ground, and cannot advance more than fifty or sixty paces in a day. It climbs trees, and feeds upon their leaves and smaller branches; but such is its indolence, that, after having despoiled one tree of its foliage, it endures the pangs of hunger a long time, before it removes to another, and usually consumes a day or two in ascending or descending. Sometimes indeed it has been known to suffer itself to fall to the ground, rather than un- dergo the labor of coming down by the trunk. The Armadilloes are principally remarkable for their crus- taceous shell or covering, which invests them like a suit of armor. This coat of mail is composed of several pieces, and marked by bands, the number of which serves to distinguish the different species from each other. The Ant-eaters are totally destitute of teeth, but are fur- nished with a long slender tongue. This they thrust into the habitations of ants and termites, and draw it back covered with these animals, which adhere to it by the thick, viscid saliva, with which it is covered. The animals of this order are principally found in the warm parts of the American continent. VI. Ruminantia. This order is one of the most distinct and well marked among the Mammalia. They have gene- rally eight incisive teeth in the lower jaw ; but except the camel, 'they have none in the upper; their place being oc- cupied by a firm callous projection. They are commonly also destitute of the canine teeth. The grinders are always adapted for the mastication of vegetable food. They have neither toes nor nails, but, instead of them, each of their feet is terminated by a double hoof, which has the appearance of a single one cut into two. Hence they are called cloven-footed. Their fore feet being thus deprived of the instruments of feel- ing, are only capable of being used, like the hind ones, for walking; and consequently they are not possessed of that freedom of motion in the shoulder-joint, which is observed in the animals previously described. Examples of this order are found in the camel, lama, antelope, musk, deer, ox, sheep, and goat. The most distinguished attribute of the ruminating animals, and that which gives to them their name, is the power of bringing their food up intg> their mouths, after it has been once swallowed, for the purpose of masticating it a second 46 CLAS5 I. MAMMALIA. time. This power depends upon the structure of their stomachs, of which there are four. Of these the three first are so situated that the aliments may be made to enter either of them at pleasure, as the oesophagus terminates at a point where they all communicate together. These animals usually feed upon grass and herbage ; which substances, after being slightly chewed, are carried into the first stomach, called the paunch ; there they undergo but little change, and are gradually transferred to the second stomach, a small, globular cavity, called the bonnet or king's hood, whose internal membrane is arranged in cells of an appear- ance like those of honey-comb. Having received the food, this stomach divides it into little rolls or pellets, which are successively carried up into the mouth, where they undergo a thorough mastication, and are then again swallowed and deposited in the third stomach. This, called manyplies, tripe, or feck, is distinguished by the numerous longitudinal folds of its internal membrane. It effects some farther change upon the alimentary mass. In the fourth stomach, however, into which it next passes, the principal work of digestion goes on. This answers to the single stomach of other animals; into it the gastric juice is poured, and here the function is finally completed. During rumination, the animal remains in a state of repose, almost of sleep ; and this operation continues until the whole of the food previously swallowed has been subject- ed to it. The ruminating animals have been more valuable to man, than any others. They are mild, docile, and easily domesti- cated. Their flesh furnishes us with a large proportion of our animal food ; indeed there are few other quadrupeds that man is in the habit of eating. Several of them, as the camel, the lama, ox, and rein-deer, are used as beasts of draught and burden. They require, comparatively, little care, attention, or protection, and are generally contented with the cheapest and coarsest food. The milk, fat, hair, wool, skins, horns, and feet of one species or another, are made use of, for nour- ishment, for clothing, or for various manufactures. The Camel and Dromedary are singularly valuable in the countries where they are reared. Without them, in fact, the great deserts of Arabia and of Africa would be totally impas- sable. Their structure is every way adapted for the life which they lead. Their feet are very large, and divided, on their upper part, into two lobes, having each a hoof; but under- neath are covered with an extremely strong, tough, and pliable ORDER VI. RUMINANTIA. 47 skin, which unites the two together, and, by yielding in all directions, enables these animals to travel with peculiar ease and security over dry, stony, and sandy regions. They are capable also of passing several days without a supply of water ; this power is probably owing to a number of large and exten- sive cells in the paunch, which they fill with water and retain it for a considerable length of time, forcing it up into the mouth whenever occasion requires. It has been supposed that the camel had a fifth stomach for this purpose, but it was probably the enlargement of the paunch, which gave rise to the opinion. vThe Arabian camel, of which the dromedary is a variety, has one large bunch of fat upon his back, while the Bactrian camel has two. The dromedary is active and swift, and better adapted for rapid journies ; the camel more slow and deliberate, and calculated for the transportation of bag- ?age and merchandise.) The Lama has beenycalled the camel of the new world. It resembles the camel in many particulars, but is much smaller, being of about the size of the stag. It is also called the Guanaco, and was the only laboring domestic animal possess- ed by the aboriginal inhabitants of America. V The American Bison, or Buffalo, as it is often, but improp- erly called, is an animal very similar to the domestic ox. It inhabits the pastures and plains of the western parts of the United States in almost incredible numbers. In those parts of the country which they frequent, travellers report that their paths leading to and from springs and pools of water, are as common and as well beaten, as the roads of a populous district. They are gradually retiring before the settlements of the civilized inhabitants, and will probably in time become nearly exterminated. The Camelopard, or Giraffe, is the most lofty of all quadru- peds. It is remarkable for the great length of its fore legs, shoulders, and neck, which raise its head to an elevation of seventeen or eighteen feet, whilst, at its tail, it does not ex- ceed half that height. Its color is white, spotted with brown. It is a mild, gentle, and somewhat timid animal, and is very fleet and graceful in its motions. It feeds principally upon the foilage of trees, and inhabits only the centre of Africa. All of the ruminating order, except the camel, lama, and the musks, have horns. In animals of the deer kind, they are, with some exceptions, confined to the males. They are of a hard, solid, bony substance, generally large and branch- ing, and are periodically cast off and renewed. In the sheep, 48 ORDER VII. PACHYDERMATA. the goat, the ox, and the antelope, they are permanent, are hollow, and increase yearly in size ; whilst in the camelopard they are short, conical, and always covered by the skin of the forehead, which extends over them, and by a quantity of thick bristly hairs. . VII. Pachydermata. This order embraces all the animals with hoofs, which do not ruminate. They present a greater variety than the ruminating animals, and are called Pachy- dermata, because they are commonly possessed of a thick and tough skin. They have generally incisive teeth in both jaws, and often canine teeth or tusks of very great size. Of this order are the elephant, the hippopotamus, the tapir, the hog, the horse, the ass, &,c. The elephant has, properly speaking, five hoofs on each foot, but they are so much enveloped by thick and callous skin, as to be scarcely observable. It is destitute of incisive teeth in either jaw; and in place of the canine teeth in the upper, is furnished with two large tusks, which sometimes at- tain to an enormous size. " These, which furnish the ivory of commerce, are used by the animal for tearing off the branches of trees, upon which it feeds, and sometimes as instruments of attack and defence. From the shortness of its neck, and the clumsiness of its head and jaws, the elephant is incapable of taking up its food or drink from the ground with the mouth, like other animals. This difficulty is obviated by its trunk or proboscis. This is a long and flexible organ, composed of an almost infinite number of little muscles, which contract and extend it at the animal's pleasure, and move it in every possi- ble direction. It is in fact a prolongation of the nostrils, and is endowed with the senses of smelling and feeling to a great degree of perfection. There is at its extremity a cavity of a cuplike form, into which open two canals that run through its whole length, and serve for the transmission of air and for drawing up water. At the upper edge of this cavity or cup, is a small, fleshy appendage, somewhat resembling" a finger in shape, which, by being opposed to the surface of the cup, as the fingers are opposed to the palm of the hand, enables the animal to make use of its trunk as an organ of touch. It is nearly equal in this respect to the hand of the apes. From its length and flexibility the trunk is capable of being bent double, and its extremity inserted within the jaws which are below, at its base; and in this way the animal's food, being taken up by the trunk, is conveyed into the mouth; whilst its drink, being first sucked up into the cavities of the trunk, is ORDER VII. PACHYDERMATA. 49 injected with considerable force through the apertures of the nostrils into the throat. There are two species of elephant; the Indian or Asiatic, which inhabits the southern parts of Asia and the Indian isles ; and the African, found in Africa, from the river Senegal to the Cape of Good Hope. The Great Mastodon, or Mammoth, as it has been more frequently called, an animal whose bones only have been dis- covered, the species itself having become extinct, resembled the elephant in many respects. It has been ascertained from the remains which have been found, that this animal pos- sessed a trunk, tusks, and feet, similar to those of the ele- phant, and was of an equal size, but still more heavy and unwieldly. Its remains have been discovered in great abun- dance in North America, but rarely in any other part of the world. The bones of a smaller species have been found on the eastern continent. The Hippopotamus, or River Horse, inhabits principally the rivers of the south of Africa, but was formerly known upon the southern extremities of the Nile. It is sometimes found ten or twelve feet in length, and six or seven in height. It has two very large tusks in the under jaw, which /are partly concealed by its projecting snout and lips. These tusks are used by dentists for the manufacture of artificial teeth. It is a heavy, stupid, and ferocious animal; its body is thick, massy, and clumsy; and its legs are so short that its belly almost drags upon the ground. It subsists upon roots and other vegetable substances, and frequently commits great devastation in the fields of millet, corn, rice, sugar-cane, &.c. It walks with great ease at the bottom of the water, though obliged occasionally to rise to the surface for breath. An attack upon it while in the water is dangerous, since when wounded it becomes exceedingly furious, and often tears to pieces the boat of its aggressors. Of the Rhinoceros there are several species. The one- horned rhinoceros is somewhat larger than the hippopotamus, and is equally stupid and ferocious. It has one large and solid horn, three feet in length, projecting from its snout. It frequents moist and marshy grounds, and feeds upon herbs, roots, and branches of trees. The other species have two horns, and are generally similar in form and habits of life. The Tapir is the largest quadruped of South America; it is of about the size of an ass, and inhabits marshes and low grounds. Its nose terminates in a short and moveable trunk, 7 50 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. which bears a distant resemblance to that of the elephant. It subsists entirely upon vegetables, and is of a gentle and timid disposition. From the Wild Boar is derived the domestic Hog and all its varieties. The wild animal is extremely violent and fero- cious, and is armed with much larger and stronger tusks than the domestic. All the numerous varieties of form, size, and color, which are observed among hogs, are to be attributed to the circumstances to which they are exposed in their do- mestic state. Under this order are included the Solipeda or single-hoofed animals, in which the whole foot is enveloped in a single hoof. Of these, the most celebrated is the horse, one of the most beautiful and noble of quadrupeds. These animals are distinguished, beside the formation of their hoofs, by the pos- session of six incisive teeth in each jaw; and, in the male, of two small canine teeth in the upper, and sometimes in the under jaw, which are wanting in the female. Between these and the double teeth or grinders, there is a vacant space, just corresponding to the angle of the lips, where the bit of the bridle is placed, by which man is enabled to guide and restrain them. Beside the horse, which is the most valuable and highly prized of all the domestic animals, this family em- braces the ass, the zebra, the dziggetai, a species between the horse and the ass in size, of a light bay color, inhabiting the central deserts of Asia, and the Couagga, an inhabitant of Africa, resembling in shape the horse, but in stripes of dark and white colors, the zebra. All these animals are found naturally in the wild state, ex- cept the horse. They are gregarious animals, live in immense herds, and subsist entirely upon vegetable food. Even the horse, in Tartary and America, is found, free from the domin- ion of man, collected into troops or companies, each of which is led and defended by an aged male. ) But in such cases it has been proved that the wild animals are the descendants of individuals who have been set at liberty by their masters, or who have escaped from them. Different breeds of horses differ, as is well known, in their color, size, speed, shape, strength, and many other qualities which render them more or less valuable. These differences depend very much upon the care which is taken in rearing the young. The most beautiful, if suffered to become wild, will begin soon to de- teriorate, and give birth to a progeny destitute of elegance and symmetry. The horse in the wild state has a large and CLASS J. MAMMALIA. ORDER VIII. CETACEA. 51 clumsy head, rough and frizzled hair, and an awkward and disagreeable form ; so different indeed is he from the domes- tic animal, that we can hardly recognise him as being of the same species with the noble and graceful creature that we are accustomed to behold. VIII. Cetacea. The whales are usually confounded with the class of fishes, which they resemble in many particulars of external appearance, as well as in the circumstance of re- siding always in the water. In point of structure, however, they clearly belong to the class Mammalia, since they breathe air, by means of lungs, are warm-blooded, produce their young alive, and nourish them with their own milk. Instead of fore feet, they are furnished with fins or oars, which, how- ever, are supported by bones similar to those of the fore feet of quadrupeds.^ They have no hind feet, but their body ter- minates in a thick tail, which supports a fin or oar. This fin is horizontal, whilst that of fishes is vertical. A few of the Cetacea are herbivorous, and are frequently obliged to leave the water and crawl upon the shore in search of food. Such are the manati, usually called the sea-ox and sea-cow, and the dugong. They have upon their fins the rudiments of claws, which are of service to them in their mo- tions upon the land, and with which they are even able to carry their young. The mammae, from which they nurse their young, are upon the chest like those of the human spe- cies; and they have, around the face, a growth of hair which resembles in a slight degree that of man. Hence, the ap- pearance they present when the upper part of their bodies is elevated above the water, bears some resemblance to that of mankind, and they have consequently been called (sea-apes. It is probable that these animals, being seen by the credulous, the ignorant, the timid, or the superstitious, gave rise to the ancient fables of the tritons and syrens, and, in modern times, to the various unfounded stories of mermen and mermaids...' The remainder of the cetaceous animals, such as the whale porpoise, grampus, narwhale, and dolphin, are distinguished by a peculiar construction, which has acquired for them the common name of bloivers, and which is rendered necessary by their mode of taking their prey. In taking into their very large mouths a great number of fishes, mollusca, medusae, &c, at once, they would swallow at the same time large quantities of water, were there not some provision for getting rid of it. To effect this, the water is passed up through the roof of the mouth, into a cavity situated near the external ori- 52 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. ORDER IX. MARSUPIALIA. fice of the nostrils, from whence it is ejected, with consider- able force, through a small aperture, called the blow-hole, on the upper part of the head. In some of the whales, as in the great Balaina, beside this arrangement, the mouth is furnish- ed with rows of whalebone on each side, extended in the form of thin plates, and terminating at their edges in fibres or a sort of fringe, which serve the purpose of a sieve or strainer, to retain the large shoals of little animals that are taken in with the water, whilst the water passes through and escapes. The Balaena mysticetus, or Great Greenland Whale, is an enormous animal, which attains to a length varying from six- ty to seventy or eighty feet, and is nearly of as many in cir- cumference. Its jaws are capable of being stretched twenty feet apart, and its plates of whalebone are sometimes twelve feet in length. It is covered, under the skin, by a layer of fat, which is often several feet thick, and yields, according to the different sizes of the animal, from twelve to twenty tons of oil. It used formerly to frequent the Atlantic coasts of Europe and America, but to such an extent has the pursuit of it been carried, that it has gradually been driven into the recesses of the northern seas. There are other whales equal in length to this, but less va- luable on account of their smaller circumference, their com- parative leanness, and the difficulty of taking them. The Spermaceti Whales are without the whalebone, and are remarkable for the disproportionate size of their heads. This size is owing to the existence of certain cartilaginous cavities upon their upper part, in which is contained the pe- culiar substance known by the name of spermaceti. These cavities are entirely distinct from that containing the brain, which is very small. They have little fat in other parts of their bodies, and it is on account of the spermaceti only that they are a valuable object of fishery. The odorous substance called ambergris, appears to be a concretion formed in the intestines of these whales, particularly when they are the sub- jects of disease. IX. Marsupialia. The Marsupial Animals have usually been distributed among those orders of the class Mammalia, to which they bear, in some particulars, the closest resem- blance. Thus the Kangaroo has been enumerated among the Rodentia, because it resembles them in its teeth, and the length and strength of its hind legs. The Opossum has been ranked among the Carnivora, and the Ornithorhynchus among ORDER IX. MARSUPIALIA. 53 the Edentata for a similar reason. But so peculiar and re- markable is the structure of these animals, and so singular their mode of nourishing their young, that it will be far more intelligible and interesting to the student of natural history, to have them placed together, and described as belonging to a single order. The most remarkable circumstance with regard to the Marsupial animals, is the premature birth of their young, and the exceedingly unformed and imperfect state in which they are brought into the world. They are incapable of motion, and scarcely exhibit even the rudiments of limbs or other ex- ternal organs. Their mouth is simply a round orifice with- out distinction of parts ; but by means of it, they attach them- selves to the nipples of the mother, and there remain immove- ably fixed, deriving their nourishment from them, and gradu- ally improving in shape and increasing in size, until they are as completely formed as other animals are at the time of their birth. So small in proportion are the young when first born, that the Kangaroo, which when full grown is as large as a sheep, and weighs one hundred and fifty pounds, is at its birth no more than an inch in length, and weighs only twenty-one grains..' Generally, the female is furnished with a duplicature of the skin of the abdomen, which forms a kind of bag, covering the nipples, in which it places its young, and preserves them dur- ing the period of helplessness. Frequently, indeed, even af- ter they have acquired strength to leave this pouch, they re- treat into it upon the approach of danger. Sometimes, in place of the pouch, there is simply a fold of the skin. The pouch is supported by means of two bones attached to those of the pelvis, from which proceed muscles that open or con- tract its mouth like the opening of a purse. These bones are found also in the male, and in those species which have not the complete pouch ; and are always an indication that the animal belongs to this order. The Opossum is as large as a cat, and covered with a thick fur of a dingy cast. It hunts after birds and their eggs, and is destructive to poultry. It is found in many parts of the United States. [ When pursued and overtaken, it feigns it- self dead and will give no signs of life during the presence of its assailant, although tortured to a great degree. Its young, which are sometimes six or seven in number, are ex- ceedingly minute; and although blind and without limbs, find their way by a sort of instinct to the nipples, and adhere 54 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. ORDER IX. MARSUIIALIA. to them till they have attained the size of a mouse, which is not until the fiftieth day, when also they first open their eyes. They continue to return into the pouch, until they reach the size of a rat. TJie Phalangers are found in the Moluccas and New Hol- land. Their tails are long, covered with scales, and prehen- sile. They live upon trees, and subsist upon insects and fruit. When any one approaches them, they suspend them- selves by the tail, until they fall, through mere fatigue, to the ground. The Phalanger volans, or Great Flying Opos- sum, is of about the size of a common cat, and resembles in many respects the flying squirrel. Like that animal, it is provided with the power of extending the loose skin of its sides when it stretches out its legs, so as in some measure to buoy itself in the air, whilst leaping from one tree to another. It can leap in this way to the distance of a hundred yards. The Merian Opossum is remarkable for its method of car- rying its young. It conveys them on its back, where they fix themselves by twisting their tails closely about that of their parent, and clinging with their claws to its fur. The Kangaroo is the largest animal of this order, and the largest quadruped which has been discovered in New Holland. It is sometimes six feet in height, and is distinguished by the great disproportion in length between its fore and hind legs; the former being only one foot and a half long, but the latter three feet and a half. In consequence of this, they cannot walk upon all fours without difficulty, but leap with great power, and to a prodigious distance, sometimes twenty feet, and to the height of nine feet. They sit upon their hind legs whilst at rest, seldom using the fore legs except for support- ing themselves when stooping to drink, for conveying food to the mouth, and for digging in the earth. But although dis- proportionately long, as has just been observed, when full grown, the hind legs of the Kangaroo at birth are not so large or so strong as the fore legs, which are more necessary, in order to favor the motions of the little animal while in the pouch. The Ornithorhynchus has not the pouch, like the opossum and kangaroo, but has the marsupial bones, and is therefore to be enumerated under this order. It is a most singular and anomalous animal, and approaches in some particulars to a resemblance to birds. Its mouth is very much like the bill of the duck; it has a oone resembling the fourchette or wishing-bone of birds ; it has no nipples for nursing its young, CLASS II. BIRDS. 55 and a doubt still exists if it be not oviparous. This is the belief of the inhabitants of New Holland, who assert that it lays two eggs; and the dissection of the animal has led to the opinion that the eggs, if not laid, are hatched within the body of the parent, by its own heat, but just before the birth of the offspring. The male has, upon each of its hind feet, a spur, perforated by a small canal, through which, it is said, it can eject a poisonous fluid when it inflicts a wound. It is an aquatic animal, inhabiting the rivers and marshes of New Holland. Its feet are webbed to adapt it for swimming. SECTION III. Class II Birds. Birds being intended for flight, nature has adapted the structure of their organs to this purpose. Their anterior ex- tremities, being designed to support them in the air, serve none of those purposes to which they are applied in quadru- peds ; and they therefore invariably stand and walk upon two feet only. The neck is long, and capable of a great variety and extent of motion ; and the mouth, being furnished with a hard, horny beak, is without teeth. The breast-bone is very large and strong, in order to support the powerful ac- tion of the wings, and has in front a large projection, in shape like a keel, that serves for the attachment of the strong muscles which put the wings in motion. The wings are composed of nearly the same number and kind of bones, as the anterior extremities of quadrupeds, and are covered with long and wide feathers or quills, so arranged as to be capa- ble of acting upon the air, raising the animal from the ground, and conveying it about from place to place. The tail is also furnished with feathers that may be stretched out in the form of a fan, and serve to balance and direct the flight. The feet are furnished generally with four claws, but sometimes with only three. The bones of the leg and thigh resemble very nearly those of quadrupeds. The heart of birds is constructed, like that of the Mamma- lia, with four cavities, two auricles and two ventricles. They have of course a double circulation, one through the lungs, and the other through the body. Their lungs, however, are arranged differently. They are fixed against the back and sides of the body, and covered by a membrane, which, being 56 STRUCTURE OF BIRDS. perforated by many small openings, permits the air to enter into them, and likewise to pass into several cavities situated in the chest and belly. It even extends into the interior ot the bones, and by thus pervading various parts of the body, not only exercises very extensively its peculiar influence on the blood, but also renders the whole body lighter and better adapted for flight. i The organs of digestion also are somewhat varied./ As birds cannot chew their food, a provision is made to supply this defect by means of the structure of their internal organs. The food is carried first into the crop, which appears to be merely an enlargement of the oesophagus or gullet, at the bottom of the neck, where it is softened by a liquor poured out from the internal surface of this cavity. It is then carried into a membranous sack, called the ventriculus succenturiatus, where it is further macerated and soaked ; and from thence into the gizzard, which is composed of two very strong and firm muscles united by radiated tendons, and lined on its in- side by a rough cartilaginous membrane. In this organ the food is powerfully acted upon, and is triturated and ground up into a substance resembling that prepared by the teeth and stomach of the Mammalia. This structure, however, is not fully carried out in all birds. It exists in its most complete state in those which are gran- ivorous, or which live upon fruits, seeds, he. ; but in the car- nivorous birds, or those which feed upon flesh or fish, the dilatation, constituting the crop, is very small or altogether wanting; and the gizzard is a thin and weak organ, hardly to be distinguished from the second or membranous stomach. This is a difference corresponding to that which has been described as existing in the Mammalia ; among which those feeding upon vegetable food are provided with powerful and extensive organs of digestion, whilst in those living upon animal food they are comparatively weak, and limited in extent. rThe sight of birds is very perfect. They possess the power of seeing objects distinctly, when very remote. £Birds of prey are particularly remarkable for the very great distance at which they perceive their prey, and the accuracy with which they direct their flight towards it. Besides the upper and under eyelids, birds have a third, which is semitransparent, and serves the purpose of protecting the eye from the contact of external bodies, or from too powerful light, whilst at the same time it does not prevent them from distinguishing the objects around them. This membrane is situated at the inner ORDER I. ACCIPITRES. 57 angle of the eye, and is drawn over the globe of it, like a cur- tain, at will. It is by means of this protection, that the eagle is enabled to look steadily at the sun. The senses of hearing and smelling are also possessed in considerable perfection by birds ; the former more particular- ly by the nocturnal, and the latter by those feeding princi- pally upon carrion, the scent of which they are thus able to trace to an immense distance. Their tongue being chiefly of bone or cartilage, they have little delicacy of taste ; and the sense of touch, judging from the structure of their claws and beak, which would be the organs for its exercise, must be ex- ceedingly imperfect. Most birds construct nests, and some of them with much care, labor, and ingenuity. In these they deposit their eggs, and hatch them ky the heat of their own bodies. Some few lay them upon the sand, and leave them to be hatched by the heat of the sun. Their care and affection for their young are well known, and, in providing for and protecting them, they exhibit many indications of sagacity or of feeling. They are capable of some slight improvements by education and imita- tion, but are, on the whole, in this respect decidedly inferior to quadrupeds. The class of birds is divided, according to their structure and habits of life, into six orders. I. Accipitres, or Birds of Prey. ^These correspond, in many respects, with the carniyorous animals among quadru- peds. They are distinguished by their strong, hooked beaks, and their crooked and powerful talons, by means of which they are enabled to prey upon other birds, and even upon some of the smaller quadrupeds and reptiles. They are divided into the diurnal and the nocturnal. The diurnal include the vultures, eagles, falcons, hawks, buzzards, and kites. The vultures are heavy and ferocious birds, feeding principally upon carrion. They are so voracious, and fill themselves to such an extent, that they become *quite stupid and inactive, and during digestion, a fetid humor distils from their nostrils. The eagles, falcons, &c, prefer living animals for their food, and never prey upon carrion, unless driven to it by hunger. The number of their species is very great, and they are ob- served to vary considerably in their plumage, according to their age and other circumstances. The females are generally a third part larger than the males, and are likewise superior in beauty of shape and plumage. Hence the latter are often called tercels or thirds, from their inferiority in size.) These birds are generally fierce and difficult to tame, but 8 5S CLASS II. BIRDS. ORDER II. PASSERES. in former days, the hawk and the falcon were educated with great care, and trained so as to be employed as assistants in hunting. The nocturnal birds of prey include only the different spe- cies of owl. They are destitute of the dignity and beauty which distinguish the diurnal. They have very large heads, which are sometimes surmounted with feathers that give them the appearance of being horned. Their eyes are very large, and, unlike those of most other birds, are directed forwards, and surrounded by a rim or circle of projecting feathers. Their structure is calculated to admit so much light, that the full rays of the sun dazzle and blind them ; and they are ca- pable of seeing only in the twilight or evening. The owls are awkward and clumsy in their motions, and their wings are too short and weak for long flights. Thejp prey upon mice and other small quadrupeds, upon birds, and insects. II. Passeres, or Sparrows, form the most extensive and nu- merous order, embracing a very great variety of species, which differ so much among themselves, as to be hardly capable of an intelligible description, common to them all. To this or- der belong those species which are most celebrated for the sweetness and harmony of their notes; and in general the organ of voice is in them larger and better formed, than in any others. Among them are some that have a sharp, pointed beak, and feed upon insects, such as the blackbird, the robin, the nightingale, and the linnet; and others with a short, flat beak, and wide mouth, which enable them to catch and swal- low insects, while upon the wing. ( These migrate during the winter; among them being the swallow, the martin, and the flsalangane, a species whose nests, made of a gelatinous sub- stance, probably the spawn of fishes, have been celebrated for their nutritious and restorative qualities. Some of this order have a strong, conical beak, feed upon seeds, and devour great quantities of cultivated grain ; as the lark, the titmouse, the yellowhammer ; and some are larger birds, as the crow and the magpie, which feed also in part upon grain, but are fond of flesh, and will sometimes take and destroy mice and other small animals. The Birds of Paradise and the Humming Birds are also of this order. The birds of paradise have been celebrated for the splendor of their plumage, and the profusion of long feath- ers with which different parts of their bodies are adorned. It was formerly believed that they were destitute of feet, and never alighted upon the earth, but were always supported in ORDER III. SCANSORES. 59 the air by their long plumage. This mistake was caused by the mode of preparing them for sale, adopted by the natives of the countries they inhabit, who always deprived them of their feet and wings. The Humming Birds are the smallest of the class of birds, and at the same time among the most beautiful. Their necks are clothed with small scale-like feathers of a peculiar struc- ture, and a brilliancy almost equal to that of precious stones. They have a long and slender beak, and a long tongue divided into two filaments, with which they suck the nectar of flowers. They feed also upon insects. , Their wings are exceedingly powerful in proportion to the size of their bodies, and they fly, comparatively, more rapidly than any other birds. They have the faculty of balancing themselves, by means of their wings, as easily as some-insects, and are thus enabled to re- main stationary in the air, whilst they thrust their beaks into flowers, to possess themselves of the contents. The rapid motion of their wings occasions the buzzing or humming noise with which their flight is accompanied. The smallest species of humming bird is found in South America and some of the West Indian islands. It does not exceed an inch and a quar- ter from the extremity of its beak to that of its tail. III. Scansores, or Climbers. This order includes those birds that have the external toe upon each side turned back- ward, which enables them to grasp substances more firmly with their claws, and affords them a more sure support, than other birds. This structure adapts them for climbing, as they can cling with considerable force to the rough bark and branches of trees. Hence all birds with this form of the feet are of this order, although, strictly speaking, all of them do not climb, whilst some, belonging to others, and without this provision, do. The birds of this order generally build their nests in the holes of decayed trees. Their food consists of insects, fruits, or seeds. Among thern^re the woodpecker, the cuckoo, the toucan, the parrot, &e. The Woodpeckers are strongly characterized by a long, straight, angular beak, narrowed into a wedge at its extremity, and thus fitted for piercing and splitting open the bark of trees ; and by a long and slender tongue, covered towards its tip with spines or bristles, which are turned backwards, and coated with a thick, viscid secretion. They run in every di- rection around the trunks and branches of trees, striking them with their beaks, and thrusting their tongues into the holes 60 CLASS II. BIRDS. ORDERS IV. AND V. and clefts they find in the bark, for the purpose of drawing out worms and the larvae of insects, which constitute their food. The Toucan is principally remarkable for the enormous size of its beak, which is almost as large and as long as its whole body. It is of a light, cellular structure, and furnished with a long tongue, straight, and armed on each side with barbs like a feather. The toucans live in small flocks in the warm parts of America. When they have seized their food, they throw it into the air and catch it with their beaks, in order to swal- low it with more ease, as they are incapable of masticating it. IV. Gallinacece, the Gallinaceous birds. Of this order are the peacock, the turkey, the common fowl, the pheasant, the partridge, the quail, the pigeon, &c. Among them are nearly all those birds which have been domesticated, and are raised in poultry-yards. Their wings are -short and weak, and of course they are not constructed for long continued flight; but they are capable of running with considerable rapidity. They have a large crop and a very powerful gizzard, their food con- sisting principally of hard grain. Their flesh in general fur- nishes excellent food. The males are distinguished by a stately gait, and frequently by a tail ornamented with long feathers. They do not live in pairs; their eggs are very nu- merous, and are laid in nests built of chaff or straw upon the ground. Their young are generally able to run about as soon as hatched. The Pigeons form in some particulars an exception to the general characteristics of the gallinaceous birds, and approach to a resemblance to the Passeres. They fly very well, live in pairs, build their nests upon trees or in the clefts of rocks, and produce seldom more than two eggs at once. fThey nour- ish their young by bringing up from the crop the food partly digested, with which they feed them. *NThe most remarkable species among them is the crowned pigeon of the Molucca islands, which is equal in size to a turkey. Its voice is ex- ceedingly loud and harsh, and is saidto have frightened sailors who landed on the islands it inhabits, by it resemblance to the yells of the savage natives. V. Grallce, the Waders, otherwise called Shore birds. They are distinguished by their very long and naked legs, which permit them to wade to a considerable depth in the water without wetting their feathers. The length of their neck and beak corresponds to that of their legs, and they are conse- quently able to search in the sand and mud at the bottom of the water for their food, which consists of fishes, reptiles, and CLASS III. REPTILES. 61 worms. All birds with this structure of the legs are ranked among the Gjrallae, although some of them are not, properly speaking, waders in their habits. To this order belong the ostrich, cassowary, flamingo, heron, spoonbill, plover, rail, woodcock, ox-eye, yellowleg, &c. The greater part of them are possessed of strong wings and fly well, but the ostrich and cassowary, as is well known, are striking exceptions. They are almost incapable of flight, but run with immense rapidity. The ostrich inhabits the sandy deserts of Africa, attains to a height varying from six to eight feet, and is at once the most lofty of birds, and the swiftest of all animals. When chased, it annoys its pursuers by throwing up gravel and stones behind it with its feet. VI. Anseres, the Web-footed birds. Their toes are con- nected together by a web or membrane, which fits them for being used as oars. Indeed the whole structure of these birds is such as to adapt them for swimming, ( Their legs are situ- ated far back upon their bodies, their feathers are thick, smooth, and oily, and their skin beneath covered by a layer of close down, which effectually protects them from the contact of the water. Their necks are of considerable length, a pro- vision which enables them, while swimming upon the surface of the water, to plunge their heads down to die bottom in search of food. Most of them are capable of a lofty and long continued flight, as the pelican, petrel, cormorant, albatross, gull, wild goose, and duck ; whilst others, from the shortness of their wings, can scarcely raise themselves into the air, but are principally confined to the surface of the water, as the sea- diver, guillemot, penguin, awk, domestic goose and duck, &c. SECTION IV. Class III. Reptiles. The class of reptiles, including the tortoises, lizards, ser- pents, toads, and frogs, have cold blood, and a circulation and respiration less perfect than those of the preceding classes, which have warm blood. In reptiles, only a part of the blood received from the body by the heart, is sent to the lungs, to be subjected to the influence of the air ; whilst the remainder, having been mixed with a portion which has undergone the change that takes place in respiration, is returned again into the circulation. The greater part of the animals of this class 62 CLASS III. REPTILES. ORDERS I AND II. have two auricles to the heart, but only one ventricle ; into the left auricle, the red blood from the lungs is poured, and into the right, the black blood from the body. ' From the auri- cles, the two kinds of blood are immediately transferred to the ventricle, where they are mixed together ; and this min- gled mass is, by the contraction of the ventricle, sent through two distinct vessels, in part to the lungs, and in part to the body. The vessels of reptiles, then, are not filled with pure red blood, like those of the Mammalia and Birds, but with an im- perfect fluid, not so well adapted to give them a high degree of life and vigor. Hence, as the animal heat is always in proportion to the quantity of respiration, they are cold-blood- ed. Their lungs are not so large ; their circulation is slow- er ; they consume less air, and are capable of living for a longer time without it. They are, in general, sluggish and in- dolent in their habits of life, obtuse in their sensations, and slow in their digestion. In cold countries, they pass the greater part of the winter in a dormant state. Their brain is small, and their nervous system imperfect and of less influ- ence than in the preceding classes. They produce their young by means of eggs, but take no pains themselves to hatch them".^ They have less intelligence, fewer faculties, and less instinct, than either quadrupeds or birds. They are arranged in four orders, viz. I. Chelonia, the Tortoises, are distinguished by the pecu- liar structure of their ribs, sternum, and vertebrae. These are so arranged as to form a complete covering, consisting of an upper and under shell, joined together at their sides, which permits only their head, tail, and four extremities to be ex- tended without it. The upper shell is formed by the exten- sion and enlargement of the ribs and part of the backbone; and the lower shell, by an alteration in the form of the ster- num. Their other bones are not essentially different from those of other vertebral animals. Thus a part of their skeleton is in fact on the outside of their bodies. They have no teeth but their jaws are armed with a tough, horny substance, which supplies their place. Their stomach is simple and strong, their intestines are long, and they are capable of going a great length of time without food. All the various species of the turtle and tortoise belong to this order. II. Sauria, the Lizards. This order includes a very con- siderable variety, and is composed of the crocodile, the alli- gator, the cameleon, the true lizards, and the dragons The ORDER II. SAURIA. ORDER III. OPHIDIA. 63 greater part of them have four feet, but a few are possessed of only two. They have nails and teeth, and their skin is co- vered with scales. The Crocodile is the most celebrated animal of this order. It is from twenty to thirty feet in length, including the tail; and is covered with a coat of scales, which on the back form an armor proof against a bullet, and have an appearance like that of carved work. It deposits its eggs in the sand, where the greater part of them are destroyed by birds, and an ani- mal called the ichneumon. Their eggs resemble a good deal those of the domestic goose, and are of about the same size ; the young, when first hatched, are of course very small when compared with the parent animal. They are at first mild and innocent, and may be handled with impunity ; but the full grown animal is both subtle and formidable. It lies in wait, covered from view amidst long grass, rushes, or projecting banks of rivers, until some other animal comes within its reach, which it seizes and swallows, and then retires to some secret recess to digest. The Dragons are remarkable for the possession of a sort of wings, produced by the extension of the six first false ribs, which support a fold of the skin. These serve, like a para- chute, to uphold these animals in leaping to the ground from any height, or in springing from branch to branch on the trees they inhabit; but are not sufficiently large or powerful to enable them to raise themselves from the earth. To Cameleons has been attributed the singular faculty of changing the color of their skin, according to the color of the substance on which they are placed, and of subsisting upon air. This belief has arisen from the extraordinary size of of their lungs, which they are capable of distending with air to such an enormous extent, as to fill nearly their whole body, and render their skin somewhat transparent. Hence they were said to feed upon air. In this state of distension and semitransparency, the skin becomes easily affected by every change in the circulation; and consequently a change of co- lor is produced by the varying wants and passions of the ani- mal, which influence both the quantity of respiration and the tint of the blood. ■• A few animals of the lizard kind are remarkable for their very short legs, and long slender bodies, giving them the ap- pearance of serpents with feet, for which they have sometimes been mistaken./ III. Ophidia. The serpents are distinguished by their 64 CLASS III. REPTILES. ORDER IV. BATRACHIA. long and slender bodies without limbs, and by the great ex- tensibility of their jaws, mouth, and throat, which enables them often to swallow animals of greater diameter than them- selves. They are always provided with teeth, which are sharp and bent backward. They are divided, as is well known, into the venomous and those that are not venomous. The number of the latter kind is the greatest, and includes the largest animals. Among them are the great Boa constrictor, the Aboma, and the Ana- condo, which sometimes attain the length of thirty or forty feet, and inhabit marshy and fenny places in the tropical parts of America. They attach themselves by the tail to (he branches of trees, leaving their bodies swinging in the air, in order to seize upon animals approaching them, which they generally swallow whole. The Ular Sawa, or the great Py- thon, is another serpent of the same kind and size, and inha- bits the ancient continent. The smaller and less celebrated species are very numerous, and are distributed over every part of the earth. The venomous serpents are generally armed with fangs for the specific purpose of infusing poison into the wounds they inflict. These fangs are situated in the upper jaw, and per- forated by a small canal, which, opening on their extremi- ties, gives passage to a fluid, secreted by a gland under the eye. When the tooth pierces the flesh of any animal, a por- tion of this fluid is injected into the opening, and produces effects more or less dangerous, according to the virulence of the poison and the kind of animal wounded. When broken or injured, these fangs are renewed, and when not employed, are hidden from sight by a fold or projection of the gum. The largest and most celebrated of these animals, is the rat- tlesnake of America. It is so called from a peculiar instru- ment at the end of its tail, denominated its rattle, which pro- duces a slight rustling sound when it is shaken, and is intend- ed to give warning of the animal's anger. This and the other venomous serpents are not malignant or ferocious in their dispositions, and seldom make use of their poison unless provoked. IV. Batrachia. The reptiles of this order have only one auricle to the heart, into which the veins from the lungs and from the body both enter. In it are included the toad, frog, salamander, and other similar animals. They are principally remarkable for a transformation which takes place in their offspring after leaving the egg. When first hatched, they CLASS IV. FISHES. 65 are strictly an aquatic animal, and capable of breathing and living only under water. They are furnished with gills like a fish ; and have no legs, but are provided with a tail, which serves them as an instrument of locomotion. In this state they are seen by thousands, of a dark color, with round bo- dies, swimming about in brooks, and small ponds ; and are known by the familiar name of Tadpoles. After a certain period, their form and structure are altered ; their feet and legs grow, and project from beneath the skin ; their tail, their gills, and the covering of their head, fall off; they begin to respire by means of lungs; and become at length animals capable of breathing only in the air. This transformation is not, however, in all cases, complete. In two genera, the Proteus and the Siren, besides lungs, the gills are retained through life, and they are thus possessed of two distinct sets of organs of respiration. SECTION V. Class IV. Fishes. Fishes being destined to inhabit only the water, are pro- vided with organs and a structure adapted to the element in which they reside ; and, since they cannot breathe air, of course some modification in the organs of respiration and cir- culation is required to enable them to perform those func- tions. vThe heart, in them, has only one auricle and one ven- tricle. The blood, coming from the body, is received into the auricle, and transmitted by means of the ventricle to the gills, which perform the same office as lungs. These are sit- uated upon each side of the neck, and consist of semicircu- lar arches of bone or cartilage to which are attached mem- branes, divided into little fibrils or fringes, to which the blood is distributed, in very small vessels, after it comes from the heart. Over the gills a constant current of water is passed by the action of the mouth of the animal, which by means of the air that it contains, exerts an influence over the blood circulating in them, and produces the same changes in it, as are produced in the lungs of other animals by the air they breathe. From the gills, the blood does not return to the heart, but is collected into one large artery which passes down along the spine, and is distributed to the different parts 9 66 STRICTURE OF FISHES. of the body, whence it is again returned to the heart by the veins. The whole structure of fishes is as clearly designed to at- tain the end of motion in the water, as the structure of birds is intended for motion in the air. They are destitute of limbs, and their motions are effected by means of their fins and tail, which act upon the water like oars, either propelling the ani- mal forward or moving it upward, downward, or to either side. Fishes are covered with a thick, strong skin, and most of them with scales, which are arranged one over another in an imbricated form like slate or shingles on the roof of a house. Their bodies are also invested with a covering of thin slime or mucus, which defends them from the immediate contact of the water. Their forms vary exceedingly, and are much more numerous than those of the animals heretofore described. „-They vary also in size. Some are armed with strong, sharp spines; some with a sword or saw; and most of them with teeth. The latter, however, are not intended for the purpose of chewing, but merely for that of seizing and retaining prey, which is swallowed whole. A few are possessed of a very remarkable species of defence, which consists in the power of inflicting upon whatever living creatute comes in contact with them, a powerful electrical shock?^ These shocks are so powerful, that, in South America, horses driven into the pools which fishes of this kind inhabit, have been stunned and sometimes even killed, i vFishes have but a small Drain. They have the senses of seeing, hearing, smelling, and tasting. That of touch they probably possess but imperfectly, as they have no organ which seems intended for its exercise except the snout and mouth, and in some species, a sort of feelers, growing around the mouth. Their skeleton is constructed of bones, generally softer and less earthy than those of other animals, and indeed in some they are entirely cartilaginous. Their stomach and intestines are formed upon the same general plan with those of other vertebral animals, and digestion is carried on in the same general way. They feed principally upon other fishes, upon worms, and shell-fish. They are long-lived, attain to their full growth slowly, and exhibit but few signs of intelli- gence or remarkable instinct. Their constant residence in the water prevents that accu- rate knowledge of their character and habits of life, which would afford materials for a more copious detail. They are divided into orders and genera, according to certain differ- * GLASS V. INSECTS. 67 ences in the formation, structure, and situation of their mouth, gills, gill-covering, fins, &c. But an account of them here would be of little use or interest. SECTION VI. Class V. Insects. The animals of this class, although less complicated and perfect in their internal structure, than those of some of the following classes, are yet remarkable for a greater variety of powers, and a more wonderful display of instinct and intelli- gence, than any other of the invertebral animals; and they are, therefore, placed first among them in this description. Insects are destitute of a heart, but instead of it they have a vessel or reservoir situated along the back, extending from one end of their bodies to the other, and filled with a trans- parent, viscous fluid. This vessel undergoes an irregular contraction, which is supposed to be analogous to the con- tractions of a heart. No branches have been discovered go- ing off from it, and yet it is highly probable that this reser- voir contains the blood or nutritious fluid of the animal, which is slowly conveyed by absorption, to the various organs. In- sects have no particular organ for respiration, but their bo- dies are penetrated in every direction by tubes, called tra- cheae, which convey the air to every part. These tubes com- municate externally by openings called stigmata. The blood therefore undergoes the changes wrought upon it by air, throughout its whole circulation. (Instead of a brain and nervous system, they are furnished with two knotted cords running the length of their bodies, which perform the same functions.) They possess the senses of seeing, tasting, smell- ing, and feeling; but organs of hearing, if they exist, have not yet been discovered. Being destitute of any internal skeleton, insects are provid- ed with a hard external covering, which serves to support their motions and protect their organs. The nature of this covering differs in different species ; in some it forms a com- plete shell or case of a horny or shell-like substance ; and in others it consists merely in a tough, muscular coat, divided into rings which surround the body. The greater part of insects are winged, but some are not 68 CLASS V. INSECTS. so. Those which are not winged, continue, during their whole existence, of the same form and structure as at birth. Those which are winged undergo certain metamorphoses, or changes of form, which will be hereafter described. They all have six legs, with the exception of the millepedes, which have always more ; and the number increases also with their ase- The bodies of insects are divided into head, trunk, and ab- ' domen. The head is attached to the trunk by a joint or ar- ticulation, which is moveable in every direction. It is des- titute of a brain ; but is furnished with a mouth, eyes, and >^wo antennae or feelers. These are a kind of filaments com- posed of joints, varying very much in form and length, proba- bly designed as the organs of the sense of touch, or of sensa- tions still more delicate and of a nature totally unknown to us. The mouth of insects varies much in its construction ac- cording to the nature of their food. Some of them subsist only upon the juices of animal and vegetable substances, and have their lips arranged in the form of a tube or sucker; some of them are armed with a sort of lancet, with which they are enabled to pierce the skin of animals; some with a kind of beak ; and others with a trunk or proboscis, which in the butterflies is capable of being rolled up in a spiral form. The insect-Swhich subsist upon solid substances, are provid- ed with jaws, which generally act laterally instead of verti- cally, and serve so masticate their food. Beside these parts, many species are furnished with palpi, organs somewhat re- sembling the antennae in structure and appearance, but whose office is to bring the food to the mouth and hold it while the insect eats. To the trunk are joined the legs, and the wings when pres- ent. It is divided, in those that have only six legs, into three segments or divisions, to each of which one pair of legs is at- tached. The legs are composed of four parts, called the haunch, thigh, leg or shank, and foot; which resemble con- siderably the corresponding parts in the limbs of quadrupeds. They vary in different insects according to their habits and modes of life. Thus, in the grasshopper, the hind pair are very long and strong ; in the aquatic insects, they are flatten- ed in order to answer the purpose of oars. The wings differ much in kind and arrangement, as well as in number. Most of the winged insects have four, but some only two. They are generally thin, dry, membranaceous, and semi-transparent. In the butterfly the membrane forming the wing is concealed STRUCTURE OF INSECTS. 69 by a covering of small scales, which appear to be merely a loose powder, but are in fact fixed by small pedicles or stalks to the membrane itself. They give to those insects their beauty and variety of color. The insects with one pair of wings have underneath them two cylindrical projections ter- minating in a knob, which seem as if they were the rudiments of a second pair. These have been called balancers or poisers, from being supposed to aid them in preserving an equilibrium during their flight. Between them and the wings themselves are found small membranous scales, one upon each side, against which the balancer strikes with great rapidity whilst the insect is in motion, and causes that buzzing which is then observed. In the various kinds of beetle and other similar insects, the upper pair of wings is of a coriaceous or horny texture, and serves merely the purpose of a case under which the other pair is folded up and protected. In others, as in the grasshopper, the locust, &,c. the upper pair is less hard, and has rather the consistence and texture of vellum. The abdomen forms the hinder part of the bodies of insects; it contains the organs of digestion, and is the part from which the eggs of the insect are produced. It is divided into a number of rings or segments. In some, it is furnished with a kind of perforator or auger, with which various substances are bored in order to admit their eggs. In many it is terminated by a sting, as in the wasp and bee, and in others by a forceps, a bristle, or a kind of claw. They display much instinctive intelligence in the deposition of their eggs, placing them in situations best adapted to the nourishment and preservation of their young when hatched, and in some cases even provid- ing food for their immediate wants when they first come into life. The greater part of insects, as has just been remarked, after leaving the egg, undergo certain changes of structure and form, before arriving at their perfect state. These changes are called their metamorphoses. They differ in number in different kinds of insects. To take the Butterfly tribe for an example. From the egg of this insect is hatched an animal differing entirely from its parent. Its body is long and cylindrical, and divided intoagreat many rings. It is provided with a large number of very short legs, with jaws, and with several small eyes. It is familiarly known to us by the name of caterpillar. It lives in this state a considerable time, subsisting upon such food as is adapted to its nature. At length it casts off its skin, and appears in 70 CLASS V. INSECTS. another form without limbs. It ceases to feed or to move. It seems to be totally without life. Tiiis is called the chrysa- lis. After a while, by examining it closely, the imperfect shape of the butterfly may be distinguished through its sur- face ; and finally the envelop is broken, and the animal escapes. Its wings are at first short, weak, and moist, but they soon unfold to a greater size, and become strong; and the insect is in a state to fly. It has now six long legs, a spiral trunk, two antennae, and eyes differing entirely from those of the caterpillar. In short, it is an animal totally dif- ferent ; and yet these wonderful changes are only the succes- sive unfolding of parts contained one within another in the original embryo. In the first state, the animal is called the larva; in the second, the nympha or chrysalis ; and the third is called the perfect state. A considerable proportion of the insect tribes pass through these three stages of existence. But many only undergo what is called a demi-metamorphosis. Their larva resembles the perfect insect, except that it is without wings. And the only change they experience, is, that in the nymph state they have the stumps or rudiments of wings, which finally, on casting their skin, are changed into complete ones. Such are grass- hoppers and many kinds of bugs.* Insects without wings un- dergo none of these alterations. A more detailed account of the phenomena attending the metamorphoses of Insects will be found in a subsequent part of this volume.* There are few vegetable substances which escape the dep- redations of insects, and sometimes their ravages produce very serious evils. Some good as well as evil, however, may be^ttributed to their agency.. Many of them feed upon putrid aiirmal or vegetable matters, whose effluvia might otherwise become dangerous or fatal. Others are made use of in med- icine, in the arts, and sometimes even as food for man. They serve as nourishment for many species of animals. Beasts, birds, reptiles, and fishes, equally make them their prey; and thus prevent their multiplication to such an extent as to prove a permanent evil to mankind. It only remains to give some general account of the orders under which insects have been arranged, and the principles upon which naturalists have proceeded in making the distri- bution of them. See chapter on the Transformation of Animals. ORDER OF INSECTS. 71 The divisions of Linnaeus are founded upon the presence or absence of wings, their number, their texture, their arrange- ment, and the nature of their surface ; and upon the existence or absence of a sting. He forms seven orders.* I. Coleoptera. The upper pair of wings in the Coleopte- rus insects consists of a crustaceous or horny substance. These cover and defend the other pair, which are of a more soft and flexible texture, and are folded beneath them. This is the most numerous and best known kind of insects ; and many of them are very remarkable for the singularity of their forms and the beauty of their colors. It includes the various insects known under the names of beetles, winged bugs, &c. They all undergo a complete metamorphosis. II. The Hemiptera have likewise four wings ; but the upper pair is not of so hard a texture as those of the Coleoptera. They are more like fine vellum, and, at their extremities, ter- minate with a membranous edge which resembles the sub- stance of the under pair. They cover the body horizontally, and do not meet in a strait line or ridge, as they do in the beetles. Insects of this order undergo only ademi-metamor- phosis. Among them are found the grasshopper, the cricket, the locust, the cock-roach, and many kinds of bugs. III. The order Lepidoptera contains the various kinds of butterfly, sphinx, and moth. Those of the first kind fly in the daytime ; those of the two other kinds only in the night. They all have four wings, the structure and appearance of which have been alluded to. Among them are some of the most beautiful and splendid of insects, and they form some of the richest ornaments of the cabinet of the naturalist. They all pass through a complete series of metamorphoses; and their larvae, known under the name of worms or caterpil- lars, spin webs for their covering while in the chrysalis state. It is from the web, thus prepared by the silkworm for its res- idence during this dormant state of existence, that the silk of commerce is prepared. IV. JVeuroptera. This is another order with four wings. They are membranaceous, naked, and so interspersed with delicate veins, that they have the appearance of a beautiful network. The tail of the Neuroptera has no sting, but that of the male is frequently furnished with a kind of forceps or * This account of the classification of Insects, is taken principally from Smellie, who follows Linnaeus, because, to the general reader, it affords, upon the whole, a elcarer viaw of the subject, than could be presented in the same compass by follow- ing the later and more strictly anatomical methods of other naturalists. 72 CLASS V. INSECTS. pincers. Of this order are the various species of Dragon-fly, large and well known insects that frequent lakes and pools of stagnant water, in which the female deposits her eggs; the Ephemera, insects which pass two or three years in the states of larva and chrysalis, but whose existence as winged and perfect insects is limited to a single day ; and the Ant-lion and the Termites, the former celebrated as the destroyer of the common ant, and the latter for the ravages they make, in the state of larva, in some tropical countries. The Neurop- tera do not all pass through a complete metamorphosis, a part of them undergoing only a partial change of form. V. The Hymenoptera have four naked membranaceous wings, but they have not that delicate, netted structure, which belongs to the last order. The bodies of the females are ter- minated by a borer or perforator, or by a sting. These insects all undergo a complete metamorphosis ; but there are, in the domestic economy and mode of propagation of some of the species, circumstances which excite our admiration and as- tonishment. The ant, wasp, and bee, belong to this order. They live in societies, greater or less in extent and number; and prepare habitations and nourishment for themselves and their offspring, with a forethought and provident care excelled only by those of man himself. In some of the tribes of insects of this kind, there is, beside the males and females, a third sort called neuters, as among the ants and bees. Sometimes the neuter, and sometimes the female, is without wings, and sometimes without a sting. A more particular account of these insects will be given hereafter. Besides the abovemen- tioned, there is found in this order a variety of singular ani- mals ; and, among others, the ichneumon-fly and the saw-fly, which by means of their instruments for boring, in some con- structed in the form of a saw, insert their eggs in the wood, leaves, and fruit of plants, or in the eggs, larvae, or nymphse of other insects. VI. The Diptera have only two wings, but beneath them are the balancers or poisers, which have been already men- tioned. Their mouths are frequently armed with lancets and suckers, by means of which they pierce the skin of animals and feed upon their blood. To this order belong some of the most troublesome and annoying of the whole animal creation, viz. the various species of gnat and gadfly, the musqueto, the common housefly, the horsefly, &c. They attack both men and other animals, and are found in almost every part of the globe. Their larvae are deposited in the skins and intestines of brute animals, sometimes even in those of men, in putrid ORDERS OF INSECTS. 73 meat, in cheese, in manure, in water, in mud, &c. They pass through a complete metamorphosis. VII. Aptera. In this order is included a great variety of insects that are destitute of wings. It is true that in the pre- ceding orders are arranged many sorts of insects, which are destitute of wings ; but they are so arranged, because, in their general structure and habits of life, they resemble the other members of the order. The Aptera, however, have no such resemblance, and are therefore placed by themselves. Some naturalists divide them into several orders, according to their natural connexions with one another ; but this is not necessary here. Among them are found the millepedes, whose body is divided into a great number of rings, each of which serves for the attachment of one or more pairs of legs ; the louse, of which there are many kinds which infest the bodies of men, inferior animals, and plants ; the puceron, &c. Some of these animals cover the surface of plants so completely, as to^pro- duce the appearance of a diseased change of structure. ^The flea also belongs to this order, and is the only one that under- goes any metamorphosis. It passes through the three stages. Its power of leaping to a great distance is well known. The family of the Archnides or Spiders, is not always ar- ranged among Insects, and strictly speaking, their structure is different in some important particulars. We shall, however, give some account of them in connexion with the Aptera, among which they were included by Linnaeus. This family comprehends, besides the common spiders, the scorpion, the tarantula, the crab-scorpion, the various species of mites, and the animal which has been supposed to cause the Psora or itch, by insinuating itself beneath the skin. ( They are distinguished from all other insects by the absence of the antennae. )A part of them breathe like insects by means of tracheae distributed throughout their bodies ; while in th^rest, the tracheae open into pulmonary sacks, which answer the purpose of lungs. In the latter, there is found a well organized heart and a vascular circulation, which are absent in the former. They have generally eight legs, and are furnished with six or eight eyes, which enable them to perceive objects in several different directions at once. They are nourished generally by living prey, and are provided with means for securing and destroying it. The Spider effects this by means of the web that it spins, in the construction of which much ingenuity is often manifested. The threads of which it is composed, are produced from six little fleshy bunches, 10 74 CLASS VI. CRUSTACEA. situated at the lower extremity of their bodies, which are preforated with an immense number of little holes. By means of their webs, many species of spiders, particularly when young, are able to transport themselves to a considerable dis- tance through the air. In order to effect this, they ascend some eminence, and throw out a number of webs. These are raised up and carried'along by the wind, and the animal, be- ing buoyed up by them, is conveyed sometimes to a great height. In order to alight, they have only to disengage them- selves from a part of their web, and suffer themselves to de- scend gradually to the ground. It is probable that they have recourse to this expedient, in part at least, for the purpose of catching insects for food. In autumn, the air is often full of the cobwebs which have been made use of for this singular mode of conveyance ; and those who have ascended eminences for the purpose of observing this phenomenon, have frequently seen spiders floating by in the air, supported in the manner just now described. Many branches of this family are exceedingly cruel and ferocious, not sparing even their own species. The bite of many of them is poisonous, particularly that of the tarantula and the scorpion. They undergo no metamorphosis, but shed their skins several times. A few receive an additional pair of legs at some time after birth. SECTION VII. Class VI. Crustacea. THECrustaceous animals have been sometimes included in the class of Insects, to which they have indeed many strong points of resemblance. They deserve, however, a separate consideration, both on account of their size and importance, and of some anatomical differences of structure which will be pointed out. Among the most familiar examples of this class are the lobster, crab, crawfish, and what is usually called the horse-shoe. They have articulated limbs, antennae, and jaws, similarly , formed to those of insects. But they breathe by means of branchiae or gills, and have a regular double circulation ; in which particulars they differ from insects. The blood which has passed through the gills, is collected into one large vessel, STRUCTURE OF THE CRUSTACEA. 75 that distributes it to the whole body. On its return from the vessels of the body, it is collected into another vessel situated near the back and performing in some measure the office of a ventricle, and is again sent to the gills. Their nervous system and the degree of sensation they enjoy, are not essentially dif- ferent from those of insects. They are covered by a pretty thick, firm shell, which en- velopes them completely. This serves for a shelter and pro- tection to their soft parts, and also answers to them the same purpose, as an instrument of motion, that the internal system of bones does to the vertebral animals. As this shell is inca- pable of growth, it is occasionally changed, to make room for the constant increase in size of the animal. It is thrown off, and their bodies remain for a time entirely naked, and ex- posed in a soft and defenceless state. In this case the animal generally retires to some place of concealment and security, and remains till the shell is restored. This is done by the deposition of calcareous matter on the external membrane of the skin, which consequently becomes hard and firm, ahd finally takes the place of the old shell. .The Crustacea have always as many as six claws, and fre- quently more. The two anterior ones are often prolonged, enlarged, and armed with teeth, so as in some measure to act in assisting the jaws.) xTheir antennae, as those of insects, are probably intended to serve as very delicate organs of touch. They possess the sense of smelling, but naturalists have not been able to satisfy themselves in what organ it resides. The organ of hearing has been discovered, f Their eyes are not placed loosely in a socket, but are fixed and immovable ; and, to remedy the inconvenience which would result from this arrangement, they are, in some species, situated upon the end of a pedicle or stalk which is capable of motion in every di- rection. The stomach of some of the Crustacea presents a very sin- gular and remarkable structure. It is exemplified particularly in the crab, lobster, crawfish, and others of the same kind ; and is found in no other animals of any class. v, Near the lower end of the stomach, where it begins to grow narrow, are situ- ated a number of teeth, or substances of a bony nature resem- bling teeth, generally five in number. They are placed upon the opposite sides of the organ, and, being moved by muscles belonging to them, they grind up thoroughly the food passed between them, which then goes out at the orifice into the intestines. 76 CLASS VII. MOLLLSCA. The animals of this class reside for the most part in the water. A few are found upon land. The former do not im- mediately die on being taken out of their natural element, but can live for some time in the air. They are generally carni- vorous. Many of them furnish very delicious articles of food, although their flesh is ordinarily heavy and difficult of di- gestion. SECTION VIII Class VII. Mollusca. This is a large and extensive class, embracing a great vari- ety of animals, whose structure, residence, and habits, are but obscurely and imperfectly known. Among them are the cut- tle-fish, squid, oyster, clam, muscle, snail, and, in short, nearly all the testaceous animals, or shellfish, as they are usually called, although they have no resemblance to fishes, and do not all inhabit the water. As it respects their internal struc- ture and organization, they are undoubtedly superior to the N two classes last described ; but in regard to intelligence and instinct, they are upon the whole inferior, and are not subjects ' of so much interest. The Mollusca are destitute of bones and of articulated limbs. Their bodies are generally of a soft texture, and fre- quently, at first sight, appear to be little else than a simple mucous mass, without parts and almost without organization. Their muscles are fixed into the skin, which is naked, very sensible, and constantly moistened by a fluid furnished by its pores. The contractions of these muscles produce certain obscure and indistinct motions of their whole bodies, by means of which they are enabled to swim and crawl, or even seize those objects which are adapted to their nourishment. But as no part is supported by any solid foundation like the bones of vertebral animals, their motions are generally slow, awk- ward, and limited. Their bodies are generally covered by a fold or reflection of the skin, which envelopes them completely, and is called their mantle. In some species, the two folds of the mantle are united at their edges, so as to form a complete bag, in which the body of the animal is contained, opening only at one end by a sort of canal or snout; in some, it extends in STRUCTURE OF MOLLUSCA. 77 two opposite directions, so as to answer the purpose of fins or oars. Sometimes there is only this simple membranace- ous covering ; but more frequently there is a hard external shell, which serves as a retreat, into which the animal may withdraw itself, and which it can carry about upon its back in all its changes of place. These shells differ a good deal in shape, color, and texture, in different species; and among them are found some whose form, polish, and splendid tints place them among the most beautiful objects in nature. The Mollusca have no brain nor spinal marrow. Their nervous system consists merely of a number of nervous mas- ses distributed in different parts of their bodies, from which are sent out a great many small branches that mutually unite with each other. The principal of these, which is sometimes called the brain, is situated round the oesophagus, and enve- lopes it like a collar. In a few species it is contained in a car- tilaginous case. f Their respiration is not uniform. It is gene- rally carried on by organs resembling the gills of fishes, which are acted upon either by fresh or salt water ; but, in some cases, air is respired directly from the atmosphere. The cir- culation is always double ; that is to say, there is a passage of the blood through the respiratory organs, distinct from that through the rest of the body. '/This circulation is carried on by either one or more hearts. ^When there is only one, it is situated so as to receive the blood from the gills, and circulate it through the body. When there are two, the se- cond is situated so as to circulate through the gills, the blood coming from the body. } In some species there are three hearts, and in this case, as there are two sets of gills, a dis- tinct heart is devoted to each. The blood in the Mollusca is thin, of a bluish white, and always cold, > The organs of digestion vary very much'. Sometimes there are organs for mastication, and sometimes not. Some spe- cies have only a single stomach, and others have several; the structure of this organ in some species, very much resembling that of the gizzard of birds. In some species there are four stomachs, which bear a great analogy to those of the ruminat- ing animals, and have been supposed to answer a similar pur- pose. In the intestines there is as great a variety. This class is divided into several orders, according to the general form and structure of the species composing it. A few of the most important particulars that distinguish them will be pointed out. i In the first order, containing the cuttle-fish, squid, nauti- 7o CLASS VII. MOLLUSCA. lus, &,c, the body consists of a sack formed by the mantle, enveloping all the parts except the head, which projects from it, and is provided with a number of fleshy arms or feet, ta- pering towards their end, frequently of great length and of great power. These arms are capable of being moved in every direction, and are furnished with a large number of suckers in the form of cups, by which the animal can attach itself very closely to whatever object it embraces. They serve for swimming, for creeping, and for seizing prey. In all its motions, the head goes last, so that the animal in a manner pushes itself backward in whatever direction it wishes to move. Between the arms is placed the mouth, which is furnished with two strong jaws of a horny texture, and in shape resembling the beak of a parrot. These animals have the power of ejecting a peculiar liquid of a black color when in any danger, for the purpose of dis- coloring the water of the sea around them, and thus conceal- ing themselves from their enemies.') The cavity containing this liquid is situated in the abdomen, and is sometimes found in the very substance of the liver. It has been supposed, that the celebrated paint called Indian ink, is made by the Chinese from the inky fluid of some animal of this kind. Their eyes are large and perfect. They have an ear ; but no organ for smelling has been discovered, although they probably possess that sense. Their nature is fierce and cruel. They are very voracious, and devour great numbers of fishes, and other aquatic animals. •> Some of the animals of this order grow occasionally to an immense size. This is more particularly the case with the eight-armed cuttle-fish. In the Indian seas, it is said to at- tain to such a magnitude, that its arms are nine fathoms in length, and the other parts of its body large in proportion. The natives hold it in great dread, fearing that it will lay hold of their boats, and drag them under water. They keep themselves provided with hatchets, to cut off its arms, should any danger arise from this cause.* * An account of an enormous animal, which was probably of this kind, is found in the works of Pliny, who cites it from a writer named Trebius. This animal made its appearance on the coast of Carteia,and was in the habit, during the night, of rob- bing of their contents certain reservoirs of salt fish, which were situated near the seaside. Its depredations were not prevented by a row of stakes which were so planted as to intercept communication with the sea. It was found that the animal made use of a tree which grew near the stakes, to assist it in climbing over them ; and it was finally attacked, while in the reservoir, by a number of dogs and men. It made powerful resistance, and lashed the dogs smartly with its arms, but was fi- STRUCTURE OF THE MOLLUSCA. 79 In another order, which includes the snail and the greater part of cockles, the foot or instrument of motion, is placed under the belly of the animal, and consists of a fleshy plate or disk, protected underneath by a layer of a horny or calca- reous substance, which, when the animal retreats into its shell, serves to close up its opening. Their mantle is fixed upon the back, and covers more or less of the body, the head also being partly enveloped by it. The mouth has generally a few tentacula or feelers beneath it, but they are sometimes wanting. The eyes are very small, sometimes fixed to the head and sometimes situated upon the end of the tentacula ; but they are also sometimes wanting. These animals are almost always furnished with shells, which serve them as a residence. The Mollusca of another order, including thef oyster, the clam, the quahog, the muscle, and in short, all the bivalve shellfish, have no apparent head, but only a mouth surround- ed by four tentacula, and situated beneath the folds of their mantle. The mantle is generally composed of two folds, which inclose the body between them, as a book is contained within its covers. Sometimes the edges of the two folds are united together, and form a complete sack. In the clam, this sack terminates in a long, double, fleshy tube, which is usually called the head of the animal, but in fact serves a to- tally different purpose: one of the tubes being for the en- trance of the water which supplies the gills in respiration, and the other serving as the termination of the intestinal ca- nal ; and the mouth of the animal being situated at that part of the body which corresponds to the other extremity of the shell. The Giant Clam is the largest of the Mollusca with a tes- taceous covering. Its shell is more than three feet long, and its body forms a meal for a great number of persons. It is found in the Indian seas, and in different parts of the Pacific ocean. Many of the animals of this kind are furnished with an or- gan denominated their foot, consisting of a fleshy mass at- tached to their body, whose motions are produced like those of the tongue of quadrupeds. This foot often gives rise to a number of filaments or threads, by which the animal is capa- ble of attaching itself to rocks or other marine substances; nally killed. Its body was as big as a hogshead ; its arms, called its beards, were as big as a man could clasp, and thirty feet long ; and its cups or suckers held four gal- lons each. It weighed 700 pounds. The Kraken has been supposed to be an ani- mal of the same kind. so CLASS VIII. VERMES OR WORMS. thus, as it were, being moored or anchored, and secured from the influence of the waves. The two valves of their shell are held together by strong muscles which pass from one to the other ; and when these are relaxed, the shells open mechani- cally, by means of an elastic substance placed in the hinge of the joint which connects them. There are several other orders of the Mollusca, but the characteristics by which they are distinguished are too ob- scure or minute to be here described. SECTION IX. Class VIII. Vermes or Worms. The term Vermes or Worms has been used with great vagueness in natural history, and employed to designate ani- mals to which the name was not appropriate. It is now, however, more restricted in its application, and is made to in- clude only a small class of animals, which have some circum- stances in common with each of the three classes last describ- ed, but still not exactly resembling any. They are sometimes called, by way of distinction, Worms with red blood, as they are the only invertebral animals which have red blood ; and some- times Annelides, from the structure of their body, which is of a cylindrical, elongated shape, divided into a great number of rings. Their nervous system resembles that of the Insects and Crustacea. Their organs of sense consist merely in some fleshy tentacula, which surround the mouth, and answer the purpose of feeling and touching. In some species, certain black points appear around the head, which have been sup- posed to be eyes, but this is doubtful. Their blood is nearly of the color of that of the vertebral animals, but not of so bright a red. It circulates in a double system of vessels, but there is no distinct, fleshy heart to give it motion. They breathe by means of branchiae, which are sometimes within and sometimes without their bodies. They have no limbs, but on each of the rings, of which their bodies are composed, are little bristly projections, which answer in some sort the purpose of feet. Their mouths are sometimes armed with jaws, and sometimes consist in a mere tube or sucker. Their bodies are soft and compressible. All, except the STRUCTURE OF WORMS. 81 earthworm, inhabit the water. Many of them bury them- selves in the sand ; others form themselves a sort of tube or habitation of sand, bits of dirt, gravel, or other materials ; and others exude from their surfaces a calcareous matter, which produces a shell around them. Among the animals belonging to this class are the earth- worm, the leech, and the hairworm. The appearance of Earthworms is familiar to all. They attain sometimes to the length of a foot, and have as many as an hundred and twenty rings, each of which is furnished with the little bristles or spines above mentioned. They emit through certain pores a slimy fluid, which lubricates their bo- dies, and thus gives them an easier passage through the earth, which they traverse in every direction. They feed upon roots woody fibres, and the remains of animal and vegetable mat- ter. They swallow earth also in considerable quantity, but this is probably on account of the animal or vegetable matter in a state of decomposition, which it may contain. When cut through the middle, each portion becomes a distinct in- dividual. And in some worms nearly resembling the earth- worm, but residing in the water, the power of reproduction is nearly equal to that of the polypes. The Leech has three jaws or rather lancets, with which it pierces the skin of animals, in order to suck their blood. Its tail is furnished with a shallow cup or disk, by which it is able to fix itself firmly to different objects, while obtaining its nourishment in this manner ; and by means of the same organ, it moves from place to place. There are several spe- cies of the leech, of which the medicinal leech is the most valuable, from the use made of it in local blood-letting. The horseleech has the same power of drawing blood, but the wounds which it makes are sometimes poisoned, and fol- lowed by bad effects. The body of the Gordius or Hair-worm, is long, shaped like a thread or hair, nearly smooth and round. It is a vulgar notion that the hair of the human head or of a horse's tail, if thrown into the water, acquires life, and is converted into a worm. A species of the hair worm, in Africa and the Indies, is extremely noxious. It is of a pale, yellowish color, and is frequently met with among the grass, especially when covered with dew. It often insinuates itself into the naked feet or limbs of children and unwary persons, where it produces an inflam- mation that is sometimes fatal. Great care and attention are required in extracting it; for if it be broken during the ope- 11 82 CLASS IX. ZOOPHYTES. ration, the part which remains in the flesh continues alive, and is quite as troublesome as the whole. Some naturalists consider these worms as properly belonging to the next class. SECTION X. Class IX. Zoophytes. The class of Zoophytes is the last division of the animal kingdom, and the lowest in the scale of the animated creation. It includes an immense number of individuals but obscurely and imperfectly known, and which have but few points of re- semblance and connexion with one another. In general they have no nervous system, no complete vascular circulation, no distinct apparatus for respiration, and no sense but that of feeling, and perhaps that of tasting. This is not true, how- ever, without exception ; for in some instances, traces of a nervous system, of a circulation, and of respiratory organs, may be detected, as is particularly the case in the Echinoder- mata, the first order of Zoophytes.x They are covered with a well organized skin, and often with a sort of shell with points or spines. They have an internal cavity, in which are lodged several distinct intestines, and vessels which maintain an im- perfect circulation. There are also distinct organs for res- piration, and many filaments which probably perform imper- fectly the functions of a nervous system. To this order be- long the sea-urchin, the common star-fish, the sea-egg, &c. They are the most perfect of Zoophytes in their structure, and are endowed with a curious set of organs for the purpose of motion. Their shells are pierced with a large number of holes, regularly arranged, through which project the feet of the animal, or rather the instruments answering the purpose of feet. These are little hollow cylinders composed of a membranous substance, and ending in a kind of knob, which is also hollow. They are filled with a liquid, which is fur- nished to them by reservoirs situated within the body, The animal at will can either lengthen these cylinders and dis- tend their extremities by forcing this liquid into them, or ex- haust it, and thus shorten and contract them. When it is exhausted, the knob or disk is drawn into a cuplike form, and thus may be firmly fixed to whatever object it is applied, like a cupping glass ; and when the liquid is again thrown into it, it is again loosened. By this arrangement, which enables it to fix and loosen, and at the same time to lengthen and shorten STRUCTURE OF ZOOPHYTES. 83 these organs of motion, the animal is enabled to move itself from place to place. Some of the animals of this order are composed of several branches united together in one com- mon centre like the spokes of a wheel, and hence they are called star-fish, or more commonly five-fingers. Their mouth is in the centre where the several branches meet. Others are globular, and others oblong, like the sea-urchin and sea-egg. The Intestinal Worms belong also to the class of Zoophytes. Those which inhabit the bowels of children are well known. But there is scarce any animal which is not infested by one or more kinds of them. They can exist only within the bodies of the animals to which they belong, and it is seldom that the same species infests more than one kind of animal. They have no visible organs of respiration or circulation, and those of digestion are very imperfect and indistinct. They are not confined to the intestines, but are found in other canals and passages of the body, and even in the substance of parts, as in the liver, brain, and eye. The difficulty of accounting for their existence in these parts, has given rise to the opinion of some naturalists, that they are spontaneously engendered ; but it is known, with regard to many of them, that they pro- duce eggs, and a living offspring ; and it is contrary to all the analogy of nature to ascribe, in these obscure cases, to chance and the spontaneous operations of matter, the production of effects, which, in all other instances, are the result of a per- fect and wonderful adaptation of organs to the end in view. The Sea-nettles, or Sea-anemones, are still less perfect. Their bodies are Circular, and in their centre is the mouth. which leads to several rude and imperfect cavities in the sub- stance of the animal, answering the purposes of stomach and intestines. They are generally found attached by their base to some rock or marine substance ; but this attachment is vol- untary, for they can at will disengage themselves. Generally, however, they perform no other motion than that of opening and closing their mouths, and extending the tentacula with which they are surrounded. With these they grasp animals coming within their reach, such as small fish, mollusca, worms, &c. These they swallow, and after having digested their flesh, throw out their bones, shells, and other, refuse matter by the same opening, which is their only one. The Medusae do not differ much from these, except that they are merely of a gelatinous, slimy consistence, and are never found fixed by their base. They are common, and are often seen in immense shoals. One species of them is vulgarly known by the n?.me of sun-fish. 84 CLASS IX. ZOOPHYTES. The Polypes have a hollow, cylindrical, or conical body, with one extremity open which serves for their mouth, and is surrounded by a number of tentacula. The simple cavity thus formed, constitutes their only organ, and performs all the functions of which they are capable. They seize their prey and convey it to their mouths with the tentacula, and, as their bodies are gelatinous and semitransparent, the operation of digestion may be seen going on within. Many of the polypes have been celebrated on account of the fact, that when one is divided into several pieces, each piece becomes a distinct animal, perfect in all its parts. The immense beds of coral, and the different kinds of sponge, are nothing but the habita- tions of infinite numbers of these little animals, and are pro- duced by their labor. The Animalcules are animals still more minute, and are scarcely discernible except by the assistance of the micro- scope. Thousands of them are in this way brought to our view, of various shapes, sizes, and appearances. Most of them offer to the view merely a gelatinous mass, capable of an im- perfect sort of motion. Some, however, present appearances of a structure, which might give them a claim to a higher rank in the scale of beings, did not their minuteness prevent a pro- per examination. These animals are principally found in some animal and vegetable fluids and infusions, and hence have sometimes received the name of Infusoria. This completes a view of the whole animal kingdom, be- ginning with man, the most perfect member of it, and descend- ing to those obscure and minute creatures which are scarcely visible except with the assistance of the microscope. It will be observed, that one common plan pervades the whole ; that the same general objects are had in view, in the structure of every class, and that there is a general analogy in the methods employed for effecting these objects, although there is a great variety in the details; that there is a grand simplicity in the design, though a great diversity in the means. In short, not only in the structure of each individual animal, but in the wonderful manner in which that structure is varied to corres- pond to the nature, habits, and wants of the different classes, we may perceive the wisdom, the power, and the benevolence of that great Creator, who has devised and formed, and who continues to uphold the myriads of animated beings with which the earth is filled. PHILOSOPHY OF NATURAL HISTORY. CHAPTER I. OF RESPIRATION. ' Bv the air is meant that common elastic fluid which en- velopes the whole earth, and extends to a certain distance from its surface. It constitutes what is called the atmosphere. By its weight, its compressibility, and its pressure in all direc- tions, it insinuates itself into every vacuity ; and its presence is absolutely necessary to the existence of every vegetable and animal. In order, however, to understand the manner in which it contributes to the support of living things, it is neces- sary to give some account of its composition. ' Although the air, as we breathe it, seems to be a simple and homogeneous fluid, yet it is in fact composed of two dis- tinct constituent or elementary parts, upon the mixture or combination of which, its adaptation to the preservation of life depends ; containing, besides, some other ingredients of minor importance. These main elements are two permanently elastic fluids or gases, called oxygen, and nitrogen or azote. Atmospheric air contains about twenty-three parts, by weight, of the former, and seventyseven of the latter, out of one hun- dred ; or, since oxygen is the heaviest of the two gases, twen- tyone, by measure, of oxygen, and seventynine of azote. It is upon the oxygen of the air, that its fitness for supporting animal life depends; for, when an animal is confined in a small quantity of air till this is exhausted, it dies from suffo- cation, although the azote remains unaltered. ' No animal can exist in an active state without air, but dif- ferent classes of animals differ very much as to the manner in 86 RESPIRATION. which the function of respiration is performed. The influence which the air exerts, is always upon the circulating fluid or blood. It produces some change in it, or imparts some prin- ciple to it, which renders it fit to be distributed to the body for its nourishment. In all the animals, which have red blood, viz. the Mammalia, Birds, Reptiles, and Fishes, this change consists, so far as can be observed, in imparting to the dark red or venous blood, which is sent to the lungs by the heart, a bright red or vermilion color. In this state, it is returned to the heart, and thence distributed throughout the body by the arteries. ' In the Mammalia, the air is alternately drawn into the lungs and expelled from them, by the action of the diaphragm and muscles of the ribs. This is called the inspiration and expiration of the air, and is constantly going on in order to produce the requisite change upon the blood, which is con- tinually passing through the lungs. In the greater part of the animals of this class, if this process be stopped but for a few moments, death is the inevitable consequence ; but in some species it may be suspended for a longer period. This is the case with the seal and the whale. Even men may acquire by habit the power of existing a considerable time without breath- ing, as is the case with the fishermen who dive for pearls ;* but many of the stories which have been related with regard to this subject, are probably destitute of foundation. ' There are many other kinds of air or gas, which may be taken into the lungs, beside the atmospheric ; but no other, which will support life. Even pure oxygen itself, and another gas which contains oxygen, although they will support life longer than any other kinds of air, will yet finally prove fatal. It is only when oxygen is combined with azote in the propor- tion above mentioned, that it is adequate to the continual support of life.f The quantity of air ordinarily contained in * ' The pearl-fishers have been said to remain half an hour or more under water. The accounts, however, which state so extraordinary a fact as this, must be looked upon with great doubt. It seems impossible, from what we know on the subject, that any human being could exist and remain capable of action under water, more than a few minutes. t ' Water destroys the life of animals merely by preventing the admission of air ; it does not itself enter the lungs, or at most only in a very small quantity. There are some gases which operate in the same way. The windpipe is spasmodically closed against them, and they do not enter the lungs; such are carbonic acid gas, ammoniacal gas, chlorine or oxymuriatic gas, &c, when unmixed. Other gases are inspired with sufficient ease, but produce death, either merely -for the want of oxy- gen, as hydrogen and pure azote; or, in a certain sense, by poisoning the blood or destroying its vital properties, as carburetted and sulphuretted hydrogen, and car- bonic oxide. Oxygen alone, as has been remarked above, and nitrous oxide, which RESPIRVTION. 87 the lungs of a common-sized man, immediately after an in- spiration, has been calculated to be about two hundred and eighty cubic inches, and about forty inches are drawn in and thrown out at each inspiration and expiration ; so that the whole mass of air is not changed at every breath, but a large proportion remains constantly present, and distends the lungs. ' If the air which has been respired be examined, a change will be found to have taken place in its composition. A part of its oxygen has disappeared, and in its place is found about the same bulk of carbonic acid or fixed air. There is also a considerable quantity of watery vapor. This change is un- doubtedly connected with the effect produced upon the color of the blood in respiration ; and many have endeavoured to give some account of the mode in which it takes place. But it is a process which we shall probably never be able fully to understand. A similar change is produced upon the air res- pired by all animals of whatever class. ' Respiration has been supposed to be the cause of animal heat. Various opinions have been advanced to account for the manner in which it maintains the temperature of our bodies. None of them, however, seem perfectly satisfactory. It appears undoubtedly to have some very close connexion with respiration, and dependence upon it; for the degree of heat in animals is generally proportioned to the vigor and quantity of respiration. The temperature of birds is higher than that of man, and they consume a greater quantity of air. Reptiles and fishes have cold blood, and the amount of res- piration in them is comparatively small. The same remark is true of all cold-blooded animals. But we are not yet ac- quainted with the exact nature of the connexion between respiration and animal heat.* ' Respiration commences immediately after birth, and at the same time a change is produced in the course of the cir- contains a greater proportion of it than atmospheric air, are capable of supporting life for a considerable period, but finally prove fatal. The latter is celebrated for its intoxicating and exhilarating effects, when respired. *« Animal heat has been supposed to arise from i chemical action taking place in the lungs at the time of the change of venous blood into arterial, in the same way that heat is produced by many other chemical operations; but if this were true, the lungs ought to be hotter than any other part of the body, which is not the case. It has been also supposed to arise from a greater capacity for caloric in the arterial, than in the veno'is blood, in consequence of which, heat would be developed when the change from the former to the latter takes place in the capillary vessels of the body. This is more probable, but still hardly satisfactory. Neither of these hy- potheses accounts for the independent temperature of eggs, which resist cold so long as they retain their life ; nor for the power in men of resisting very high degrees of heat, with hardly any increase of the temperature of their bodies.' 88 RESPIRATION. culation. Before birth, only a very small proportion of the blood is carried through the lungs; but after birth, and through life, the whole of it. The connexion between the action of the lungs and that of the heart, is very close and important. The functions they perform are mutually depen- dent, and neither can go on alone. If the circulation cease by the cessation of the action of the heart, respiration is im- mediately interrupted. If, on the other hand, respiration be impeded, the heart does not stop at once; but as the dark, venous blood is no longer changed in its properties, as usual, in the lungs, it is returned to the heart in the same state, and is then sent throughout the body; and, being totally unfit for the purposes of life, destroys it, by cutting short the action of all the organs. The effect of its contact upon the brain, is an immediate suspension of life ; and, if the cause be long continued, it is never restored. But in many cases of this kind, as in persons apparently drowned, circulation and res- piration may be renewed, if they have not been too long interrupted, by blowing air into the lungs, and by the appli- cation of warmth and stimulating substances to the body. ' Beside these uses of the function of respiration, it is made subservient to a number of other important purposes. All animals furnished with lungs, express their wants, their affec- tions and aversions, their pleasures and pains, either by words, or by sounds peculiar to each species. These are produced by different changes in the windpipe or canal through which the air is drawn into the lungs. The inferior animals are by this means enabled to maintain some sort of communication with others of the same species, and can, to a certain extent, convey information and express their affections and wants. But how far they are intelligible one to another, it is impos- sible to ascertain.' On man alone, nature has bestowed the faculty of speaking, or of expressing his various feelings and ideas, by a regular, extensive, and established combination of articulate sounds. To have extended this faculty to the brute creation, would not, it is probable, have been of any use to them; for, though some animals can be taught to articulate, yet none of them seem to have any idea of the proper meaning of the words they utter. Speech is perform- ed by a very various and complicated machinery. In speak- ing, the tongue, the lips, the jaws, the whole palate, the nose, the throat, together with the muscles, bones, (fee. of which these organs are composed, are all employed. This combi- nation of organs we are taught to use when so young, that RESPIRATION. 89 we are hardly conscious of the laborious task, and far less of the manner by which we pronounce different letters and words. The mode of pronouncing letters and words, how- ever, may be learned by attentively observing the different organs employed by the speaker. By this means we are enabled to correct the various defects of speech, and even to teach the dumb to speak; for dumbness is seldom the effect of imperfection in the organs of speech, but generally arises from a want of hearing ; and it is impossible for deaf men to imitate sounds which they never heard, except they be taught to use their organs by vision and by touching. When about to laugh, we make a very full inspiration, which is succeeded by frequent, interrupted, and sonorous expirations. When the titillation is great, whether it arises from the mind or body, these convulsive expirations some- times interrupt the breathing to such a degree as to endanger suffocation. Moderate laughing, on the contrary, produces health ; by agitating the whole body, it quickens the circula- tion of the blood, gives an inexpressible cheerfulness to the countenance, and banishes every kind of anxiety from the mind. In weeping, we employ nearly the same organs as in laugh- ing. It commences with a deep inspiration, which is suc- ceeded by short, broken, sonorous, and disagreeable expira- tions. The countenance has a dismal aspect, and tears are poured out. Weeping originates from grief, or other painful sensations either of body or mind. When full vent is given to tears, grief is greatly alleviated. Both laughing and weep- ing have been reckoned peculiar to man. But this notion seems not to be well founded. Though the other animals express not their pleasures or pains in the same manner as we do, yet all of them exhibit their pleasant or painful feelings by symptoms or cries, which are perfectly understood by the individuals of each species, and, in many instances, by man. A dog, when hurt, complains in the bitterest terms ; and, whe^i he is afraid or perhaps melancholy, he expresses the situation of his mind by the most deplorable howlings. A bird, when sick, ceases to sing, droops the wing, abstains from food, assumes a lurid aspect, utters melancholy, weak cries, and exhibits every mark of depressed spirits. By this means, animals intimate the assistance they require, or soften those who maltreat them. Their plaintive cries are some- times so affecting as to disarm their enemies, or to procure the aid of their equals. On the other hand, when animals 12 '.10 RESPIRATION. are pleased or caressed, they discover, by their countenance, by their voice, by their movements, unequivocal symptoms of cheerfulness and alacrity of mind. Thus the expression of pleasure and pain by brute animals, though not uttered in the precise manner with those of the human species, are per- fectly analogous, and answer the same intentions of nature. By respiration and the instruments employed in the per- formance of it, the young of animals are enabled to extract milk from the breasts of the mother. By respiration, odors are conveyed to the nose; and coughing, sneezing, yawning, sighing, singing, and many other functions of the animal economy, are at least partly accomplished. ' The Respiration of Birds is carried on by an arrangement of the lungs, very different from that of the Mammalia. They are enabled to transmit air to almost every part of their bodies, by means of membranous sacks or bags, which receive it from the lungs through certain orifices or passages on the surface of these organs. The lungs themselves are firmly attached to the ribs, and are almost incapable of dilatation or contraction, but the air passes through them into the sacks by the action of the abdominal muscles. In this way it is diffused not only throughout the thorax and abdomen, but ex- tends even to the cavities of many of the bones, which are distinguished from the others by their lightness, their white color, and the absence of any bloody matter or marrow in their cavities. ' This provision answers probably several important pur- poses. It renders birds lighter in proportion to their bulk, than animals whose bones are filled with marrow or other solid substances, and thus gives them some advantage in flight; and generally in birds of the longest and highest flight, as eagles, this extension or diffusion of air is carried farther than in others. But a more important object of it probably is, to contribute to the muscular strength of these animals, by producing a very extensive operation upon the blood. The motions of birds in flight, require a much greater expenditure of power, than those of walking or running in other animals. This power depends upon the circulation of the red, arterial blood in the muscles which exert it, and in order to increase the proportion of this in the system, the influence of the air is carried over the whole system, instead of being confined to the lurjgs alone. It has been found that birds consume, in proportion to their size, more air than quadrupeds; and this arises from its extensive influence upon RESPIRATION. 91 the blood. Thus, two sparrows were found by Lavoisier to require as much for their existence as a Guineapig, an animal many times as large. Another use ascribed to this arrange- ment by Mr Hunter, is that of acting in some degree, as a reservoir of air, to prevent the necessity of frequent respira- tion, which may be supposed inconvenient to birds while moving rapidly on the wing. ' The voice of birds is more remarkable and beautiful than that of any other animal except man ; and on account of the large quantity of air which they have at command, it is very much more powerful. But the sounds uttered by man and quadrupeds are produced by an organ situated at the top of the windpipe, called the larynx, with the assistance of the mouth, at the top of the windpipe; whilst in birds the organ of voice or larynx is situated at the spot where it divides into two parts to go to the lungs on each side, that is to say, at the bottom of the throat. The variations of note are produc- ed by a little membrane in the tube of the windpipe, which is made to vibrate by the air ; and by means of a number of little muscles which either tighten or relax it, it is made to give the various notes. Hence, in singing, birds seldom close or make any motions with their beaks. That the voice is produced at this place, has been proved by cutting off the neck of some birds, which still retained the power of uttering their notes. The other parts of the windpipe are not, how- ever, without their use. Some changes of tone are produced by shortening or lengthening it, and others by contracting or enlarging its upper opening into the mouth. The instrument of voice, in fact, resembles in many respects a musical instru- ment, and the excellence and beauty of the notes of birds, depend very much upon imitation and education. The night- ingale, if secluded in a cage when young, never sings so per- fectly as in the wild state, unless exposed in a place, where it can hear the song of those which are at liberty. Many birds are capable of imitating a great variety of sounds, and some have been taught to sing very accurately tunes of human composition, merely by playing them upon some instrument in their hearing. ' The lungs of Reptiles do not consist, like those ot the Mammalia and Birds, of a solid organ penetrated in every direction by the air tubes, but of a number of bags of a mem- braneous texture, into which the^air is conveyed. In some, this is effected by the motion of the ribs and muscles of the abdomen, as in serpents and lizards. In others, as in frogs 92 RESPIRATION. and tortoises, the air is swallowed. Respiration in these ani- mals is not performed so regularly and constantly as in the higher classes. Only a comparatively small proportion of the blood is subjected to the influence of the air, at once ; and they can subsist for a very considerable time without breath- ing, though its suspension at length destroys them. Tortoises have been known to live more than a month with their jaws tied closely together, and their nostrils filled with sealing wax. A toad lived for five days in a jar containing about a hundred cubic inches of air. In forty inches, another toad lived for twentyfour hours, and a frog for fiftynine. This is many times longer than a warm blooded animal could exist under the same circumstances. ' The temperature of the bodies of Reptiles is generally that of the air and water in which they are found. Still they have the power of resisting, during life, both very high and very low temperatures; and as their heat is seldom, under any circumstances, raised to a degree near to that of our bodies, they are designated as cold-blooded animals. This circumstance proceeds, probably, in some way from the limit- ed quantity of their respiration ; and with the same cause is connected their slow and feeble motions, their tendency to the dormant state, and in general their low degree of vital power. ' The Respiration of Fishes is carried on by means of gills or branchiae, to which the air is applied through the medium of the water. Every portion of water contains a certain quan- tity of air combined or mixed in some way with it, and by this means is made capable of supporting respiration. A cur- rent of water is constantly passed over the gills by the action of the mouth, and produces the requisite change upon the blood circulating through them. This change is of the same kind with that taking place in the warm-blooded animals. It arises from the influence of the oxygen in the atmospheric air; and if the water be examined, after fishes have respired it, the air it contains will be found to have undergone a simi- lar change of composition with that breathed by quadrupeds and birds.' When a free communication with the external air is pre- vented by ice, or by artifice, fishes immediately discover symptoms of uneasiness, and soon perish. iElian informs us, that, in winter, when the river Ister was frozen, the fishers dug holes in the ice; that great numbers of fishes resorted to these holes; and that their eagerness was so great, that they allowed themselves to be seized by the hands of the fishermen. RESPIRATION. 93 Rondeletius made many experiments on this subject. If, says he, fishes are put into a narrow-mouthed vessel filled with water, and a communication with the air be preserved, the animals live, and swim about, not for days and months only, but for several years. If the mouth of the vessel, however, be closely shut, either with the hand or any other covering, so that the passage of the air is excluded, the fishes suddenly die. Immediately after the mouth of the vessel is closed, the creatures rush tumultuously, one above another, to the top, contending which of them shall soonest receive the benefit of the air. In the shallow parts of rivers, when frozen, many fishes are found dead. But, when parts of a river are deep or rapid, the fishes fly from the ice, and by this means avoid destruction. These, and similar experiments, have been repeated by Mr Willoughby and many other modern authors ; and they have uniformly been attended with the same event. A carp, in a large vessel full of water, was placed in the receiver of an air- pump. In proportion as the air was exhausted by working the pump, the surface of the animal's body was covered with a number of bubbles. The carp soon breathed quicker, and with more difficulty. A little after it rose to the surface in quest of air. The bubbles on its surface next disappeared; the belly, which before was greatly swollen, suddenly collaps- ed ; and the animal sunk to the bottom, and expired in con- vulsions. ' Air is distributed in the bodies of Insects by a great number of tubes or canals, called trachea, which convey it to every part. These ^communicate with the external air by means of openings called stigmata, which furnish a constant supply. That these organs are destined for the transmission of air, has been proved by repeated experiments ; for when stopped up by the application of oil, or other unctuous sub- stances, the animals soon loose their existence. In some insects they protrude externally to some distance from the body, and have the appearance of one, two, or three tails ; and in others they arise from the back and sides.' In contemplating the parts of animals, when the uses of these parts are not apparent, we are apt to deceive ourselves by rashly supposing them to answer purposes for which they were never intended by nature. Impressed with this idea, M. de Reaumur was not satisfied with the notion of Godart and others, that the long tails of certain worms were intend- ed to keep them steady in their motions, and prevent them 94 RESPIRATION. from rolling. Reaumur observed, that these worms or grubs could lengthen or shorten their tails at pleasure, but that they were always longer than the animal's body. Because these tails have some resemblance to that of a rat, he distinguishes the animals by the name of rat-tailed worms. These worms are aquatic, and never appear on dry ground till they are about to undergo their first transformation. Reaumur, in order to observe their economy more closely, collected a number of rat-tailed worms, and put them into a glass vessel filled two inches high with water. At first they were consid- erably agitated, each seemingly searching for a proper place of repose. Some of them swam across, others attached themselves to the sides, and others rested at the bottom of the vessel. In a quarter of an hour they were almost entirely tranquil, and Reaumur soon discovered the real use of their long tails. Upon examining the vessel, he found that each of the animals, in whatever situation they were placed, extend- ed its tail exactly to the surface ; that, like other aquatic insects, the respiration of air was necessary to their existence ; and that the tail, which is tubular, and open at the extremi- ty, was the organ by which this operation was performed. In this experiment, the distance from the bottom to the surface was two inches, and, of course, the tails were of equal length. To discover how far the animals could extend their tails, he gradually augmented the height of the water, and the tails uniformly rose to the surface, till it was between five and six inches high. When the water was raised higher, the animals immediately quitted their station at the bottom, and either mounted higher in the water, or fixed upon the sides of the vessel, in situations which rendered it convenient for them to reach the surface with the points of their tails. These tails consist of two tubes, both of which are capable of extension and contraction. The first tube is always visible ; but the second, which is the proper organ of respiration, is exerted only when the water is raised to a certain height. Through this tube the air is conveyed into two large tracheae or wind- pipes within the body of the animal, and maintains the prin- ciple of life. When the tails are below the surface, they occasionally emit small bubbles of air, which are visible to the naked eye ; and immediately are extended to the surface for fresh supplies. These worms pass the first and longest part of their lives under water ; when near the time of their transformation, they leave the water, go under the ground, and are there transformed into chrysalids ; and, lastly, from RESPIRATION. 95 this state they are transformed into flies, and spend the re- mainder of their existence in the air. Another species of aquatic worms merit attention. They frequent marshes, ditches, and stagnating waters. Their ge- neral color is a greenish brown. Their bodies consist of eleven rings; and their skin is not crustaceous, but rather resembles parchment. Though these animals, before their transformation into flies, live in water, air is necessary to sup- port their principle of life ; and the apparatus with which na- ture has furnished them for that important purpose, deserves our notice. The last ring or termination of their bodies, is open, and serves as a conductor of air. From this last ring pro- ceeds a number of hairs, which, when examined by the mi- croscope, are found to be real feathers with regular vanes. In particular situations, they bend the last ring in such a manner as to reach the surface of the water or mud in which they are placed. These feathers prevent the water from en- tering into the tube, or organ of respiration ; and, when the animal raises the termination of its body to the surface, in order to receive air, it erects and spreads the feathers, and by tlrrs meaps exposes the ends of the tube to the atmosphere. When cautiously cut open, two large vessels, or tracheae, ap- pear on each side, and occupy almost one half of the body. Both of these windpipes terminate in the open tube, or last ring. Though these worms are furnished with organs of res- piration, and actually respire air, yet M. de Reaumur disco- vered that some of them could live more than twenty-four hours without respiration. So anxious is Nature to provide animals, in every state of their existence, with air, that, after the transformation of ma- ny insects into chrysalids, she creates instruments for that purpose, which did not exist previous to their transformation. The rat-tailed worms, formerly mentioned, soon after they are transformed into chrysalids, instead of a soft, pliable skin, are covered with a hard, crustaceous substance, seemingly impervious to the air; and the tail, which was the windpipe of the animal in its first state, gradually vanishes. In a few hours, however, four hollow horns shoot out, two from the fore, and two from the hind part of what was the head of the animal. These horns, which are hard and tubular, are disco- vered to be real windpipes, destined for the introduction of air into the chrysalis, a state in which the animals have the appearance of being almost totally dead, and, of course, would seem to have little use for respiration. It is likewise 96 RESPIRATION. discovered, that these horns, which pierced the hard exterior covering, terminate in as many tracheas in the body of the animal. This fact affords a strong example of the necessity of air for sustaining the principle of life, even in its lowest condition. After these animals pass from the chrysalis state to that of flies, they are deprived both of their tails and horns. But Nature, in this last stage of their existence, has not left them without proper resources for the introduction of air into their bodies. Instead of protuberant tracheae in the form of tails and horns, they now, like other flies, receive air by means of stigmata, or holes, variously disposed over different parts of the body. The nymphs of the libella, or dragon-fly, respire water by an aperture at the termination of their bodies. These nymphs sometimes throw out the water, at certain intervals, with such force, that the stream is perceptible at the distance of two or three inches from their bodies. When kept some time out of the water, the desire or necessity of respiration is augment- ed ; and, accordingly, when replaced in it, inspirations and expirations are repeated with unusual force and frequency. If you hold one of these nymphs in your hand, and apply drops of water to the posterior end of its body, it instantly, by an apparatus similar to the piston of a pump, sucks it in, and the dimensions of its body are visibly augmented. This water is again quickly thrown out by the same instrument. But though this insect respires water, air seems to be not the less necessary to its existence; for, like other insects, the whole interior part of its body is amply provided with large and convoluted tracheae; and, externally, there are several stigmata destined for the introduction of air. The worms, or nymphs, of the ephemeron flies merit atten- tion. They have received the denomination of ephemeron, because very few of them survive the day in which they are transformed into flies. Many of them live not one hour after their transformation. When in the worm and nymph states, they generally live in holes near the surface of the water; and, under these two forms, continue to grow till they are ma- ture for passing into the last and shortest period of their ex- istence. Swammerdam informs us, that some of them remain three years under water, others two, and others one only. On each side of their bodies, there are six or seven protu- berances, which have the appearance of so many oars. With these instruments the animals describe arches in the water, first on one side, and then on the other, with astonishing ra- RESPIRATION. 79 pidity. This circumstance led Clutius, and some other au- thors, to think that these protuberances were fins or instru- ments of motion, and that the animals were fishes. But Reau- mur remarked, that they moved these fins with the same ra- pidity when the animals were at rest, as when they were in motion ; and that, instead of fins, when examined by the mi- croscope, he discovered them to be gills through which the creatures respire. Each gill consists of a short trunk, and two large branches or tubes, which give off on all sides a number of smaller ramifications, and are perfectly similar to the tracheae of other insects. At the origin of every gill, two tracheae penetrate the trunk, and are dispersed through the body of the animal. ' The Crustacea, the Mollusca, and Worms, all respire by means of gills, which, although they differ in some measure from those of fishes, are formed upon the same plan. In a few instances they respire air by itself, but in general through the medium of water alone. In some animals of these clas- ses the gills are situated upon the outside of their bodies, but commonly within. Zoophytes have no distinct organs for respiration ; yet the air seems, in some way or other, abso- lutely necessary for their existence also, and probably pene- trates their bodies, and acts upon their blood by means en- tirely unknown. These animals are all cold-blooded. ' This chapter will be concluded by a few miscellaneous remarks, relating to the respiration of different animals, and appearances connected with it.' Land-snails, at the approach of winter, bury themselves in the earth, or retire into holes of rocks, or of old buildings, where they remain in a torpid state during the severity of the season. For protection and warmth, these animals, when they go into their winter habitations, form, by means of a slime that issues from every pore of their bodies, a membra- nous cover, which stops up the mouths of their shells. But this pellicle or cover, though apparently pretty hard and so- lid, is so thin and porous as not entirely to exclude the en- trance of air, without which the principle of life could not be continued. Accordingly, when by accident the ,pellicle is made too thick, and prevents a communication with the ex- ternal air, the animal, to remedy the evil, makes a small aper- ture in its cover. In this state snails remain six or seven months, without food or motion, till the genial warmth of the spring breaks their slumber, and calls forth their active pow- ers. Hence it would appear, that air is more immediately 13 9S RESPIRATION. necessary to the preservation of animal life than food itself; for, in numberless instances, animals can live, not for days or weeks, but for months, without supplies of nourishment. None of them, however, are capable of existing nearly so long without having some communication with the air. With regard to the snails that live in fresh waters, or in the ocean, the species of which are numerous, their manner of respiring is singular. All of them have an aperture on the right side of the neck, through which they respire. They are frequently observed to straiten the orifice of this aperture, to stretch it out in the form of an oblong tube ; and, in this slate, they rise to the surface, in order to expel the former air, and take in a new supply. But, though air seems to be an indispensable principle of animal life, yet many animals can live longer without the use of this element, or at least with smaller quantities of it, than others. Those animals which lie torpid during the winter, as the hedgehog, the dormouse, the marmot, To their young, they discover the greatest tenderness and affection. For their protection and conveniency no labor is spared ; and the habitations they con- struct do honor to their patience, address, and sagacity. Their architecture, like that of the honey-bee, is singular, and worthy of admiration ; but the materials employed fur- nish neither honey nor wax. Impelled by an instinctive love of posterity, they with great labor, skill, and assiduity, con- struct combs, which are likewise composed of hexagonal or WASP. 19.3 six-sided cells. Though these cells are not made of wax, they are equally proper for the reception of eggs, and for af- fording convenient habitations to the worms which proceed from them till their transformation into wasps. In general, the cells of the wasps are formed of a kind of paper, which, with great dexterity, is fabricated by the ani- mals themselves. The number of combs and cells in a wasp's nest is always proportioned to the number of individuals as- sociated. Different species choose different situations for building their nests. Some expose their habitations to all the injuries of the air ; others prefer the trunks of decayed trees; and others, as the common kind, of which we are principally treating, conceal their nests under ground. The hole which leads to a wasp's nest, is about an inch in diameter. This hole is a kind of gallery mined by the wasps, is seldom in a straight line, and varies in length from half a foot to two feet, according to the distance of the nest from the surface of the ground. When exposed to view, the whole nest appears to be of a roundish form, and sometimes about twelve or four- teen inches in diameter. It is strongly fortified all round with walls or layers of paper, the surface of which is rough and irregular. In these walls, or rather in this external co- vering, two holes are left for passages to the combs. The wasps uniformly enter the nest by one hole, and go out by the other, which prevents any confusion or interruption to their common labors. We are now arrived at the gates of this subterraneous city, which, though small, is extremely populous. Upon removing the external covering, we perceive that the whole interior part consists of several stories or floors of combs, which are parallel to each other, and neatly in a horizontal position. Every story is composed of a numerous assemblage of hexagonal cells, very regularly constructed with a matter resembling ash- colored paper. These cells contain neither wax nor honey, but are solely destined for containing the eggs, the worms which are hatched from them, the nymphs, and the young wasps till they are able to fly. Wasps' nests are not always composed of an equal number of combs. They sometimes consist of fifteen, and sometimes of eleven only. The combs are of various diameters. The first, or uppermost, is often only two inches in diameter, while those of the middle some- times exceed a foot. The lowest are also much smaller than the middle ones. All these combs, like so many floors or sto- ries ranged in a parallel manner above each other, afford 25 191 HABITATIONS OF ANIMALS. lodging to prodigious numbers of inhabitants. Reaumur computed, from the number of cells in a given portion of comb, that, in a medium-sized nest, there were at least 10,000 cells. This calculation gives an idea of the astonishingly pro- lific powers of these insects, and the vast numbers of individu- als produced in a single season from one nest; for every cell serves as a lodging to no less than three generations. Hence a moderately sized nest gives birth annually to 30,000 young wasps. The different stories of combs are always about half an inch high, which leaves free passages to the wasps from one part of the nest to another. These intervals are so spacious, that, in proportion to the bulk of the animals, they may be compared to great halls, or broad streets. Each of the lar- ger combs is supported by about fifty pillars, which, at the same time, give solidity to the fabric, and greatly ornament the whole nest. The lesser combs are supported by the same ingenious contrivance. These pillars are coarse, and of a roundish form. Their bases and capitals, however, are much larger in diameter than the middle. By the one end they are attached to the superior comb, and by the other to the inferi- or. Thus between two combs there is always a species of rustic colonnade. The wasps begin at the top and build downward. The uppermost and smallest comb is first con structed. It is attached to the superior part of the external covering. The second comb is fixed to the bottom of the first; and in this manner the animals proceed till the whole operation is completed. The connecting pillars are compos- ed of the same kind of paper as the rest of the nest. To al- low the wasps entries into the void spaces, roads are left be- tween the combs and the external envelope or covering. Having given a general idea of this curious edifice, it is next natural to inquire how the wasps build, and how they employ themselves in their abodes. But as all these mys- teries are performed under the earth, it required much indus- try and attention to discover them. By the ingenuity and perseverance of M. de Reaumur, however, we are enabled to explain some parts of their internal economy and manners. This indefatigable naturalist contrived to make wasps, like the honey-bees, lodge and work in glass hives. In this operation he was greatly assisted by the ardent affection which these animals have to their offspring ; for he found, that, though the nest was cut in different directions, and though it was ex- posed to the light, the wasps never deserted it, nor relaxed WASP. 195 in their attention to their young. When placed in a glass hive, they are perfectly peaceable, and never attack the ob- server, if he calmly contemplates their operations ; for natu- rally, they do not sting, unless they are irritated. Immediately after a wasp's nest has been transported from its natural situation, and covered with a glass hive, the first operation of the insects is to repair the injuries it has suffered. With wonderful activity they carry off all the earth and foreign bodies that may have accidentally been conveyed into the hive. Some of them occupy themselves in fixing the nest to the top and sides of the hive by pillars of paper, similar to those which support the different stories or strata of combs; others repair the breaches it has sustained ; and others fortify it by augmenting considerably the thickness of its external cover. This external envelope is an operation peculiar to wasps. Its construction requires great labor ; for it frequent- ly exceeds an inch and a half in thickness, and is composed of a number of strata or layers as thin as paper, between each of which there is a void space. This cover is a kind of box for inclosing the combs, and defending them from the rain which occasionally penetrates the earth. For this purpose it is admirably adapted. If it were one solid mass, the contact of water would penetrate the whole, and reach the combs. But to prevent this fatal effect, the animals leave considerable vacuities between the vaulted layers, which are generally fif- teen or sixteen in number. By this ingenious piece of archi- tecture, one or two layers may be moistened with water, while the others are not in the least affected. The materials employed by wasps in the construction of their nests are very different from those made use of by the honey-bee. Instead of collecting the farina of flowers, and digesting it into whx, the wasps gnaw with their two fangs, which are strong and serrated, small fibers of wood from the sashes of windows, the posts of espaliers, garden doors, (fee, but never attempt growing or green timber. These fibres, though very slender, are often a line, or a twelfth part of an inch long. After cutting a certain number of them, the ani- mals collect them into minute bundles, transport them to their nest, and, by means of a glutinous substance furnished from their own bodies, form them into a moist and ductile paste. Of this substance, or papier mache, they construct the exter- nal cover, the partitions of the nest, the hexagonal cells, and the solid columns which support the several layers or stories of combs. 196 HABITATIONS OF ANIMALS. The constructing of the nest occupies a comparatively small number of laborers. The others are differently em- ployed. Here it is necessary to remark, that the republics of wasps, like those of the honey-bees, consist of three kinds of flies, males, female, and neuters. Like the bees, also, the number of neuters far surpasses that of both males and fe- males. The greatest quantity of labor is devolved upon the neuters ; but they are not, like the neuter bees, the only work- ers ; for there is no part of their operations which the females, at certain times, do not execute. Neither do the males, though their industry is not comparable to that of the neuters, remain entirely idle. They often occupy themselves in the interior part of the nest. The greatest part of the labor, however, is performed by the neuters. They build the nest, feed the males, the females, and even the young. But while the neu- ters are employed in these different operations, the others are abroad in hunting parties. Some attack with intrepidity live insects, which they sometimes carry entire to the nest; but they generally transport the abdomen or belly only. Others pillage butchers' stalls, from which they often arrive with a piece of meat larger than the half of their own bodies. Others resort to gardens, and suck the juices of fruits. When they return to the nest, they distribute a part of their plunder to the females, to the males, and even to such neuters as have been usefully occupied at home. As soon as a neuter enters the nest, it is surrounded by several wasps, to each of whom it freely gives a portion of the food it has brought. Those who have not been hunting for prey, but have been sucking the juices of fruits, though they seem to return empty, fail not to regale their companions ; for after their arrival, they station themselves upon the upper part of the nest, and dis- charge from their mouths two or three dops of a clear liquid, which are immediately swallowed by the domestics. The neuter wasps, though the most laborious, are the small- est ; but they are extremely active and vivacious. The females are much larger, heavier, and slower in their move- ments. The males are of an intermediate size between that of the females and neuters. From these differences in size, it is easy to distinguish the different kinds of those wasps which build their nests below the ground. In the hive of the honey-bee, the number of females is always extremely small; but in a wasp's nest there are often more than three hundred females. During the months of June, July, and August, they remain constantly in the nest, and are never seen abroad ex- wasp. 197 cept in the beginning of spring, and in the months of Sep- tember and October. During the summer, they are totally occupied in laying their eggs and feeding their young. In this last operation, they are assisted by the other wasps ; for the females alone, though numerous, would be insufficient for the laborious task. A wasp's nest, when completed, some- times consists of sixteen thousand cells, each of which contains an egg, a worm, or a nymph. The eggs are white, trans- parent, of an oblong figure, and differ in size, according to the kind of wasps which are to proceed from them. Some of them are no larger than the head of a small pin. They are so firmly glued to the bottoms of the cells, that it is with dif- ficulty thay can be detached without breaking. Eight days after the eggs are deposited in the cells, the worms are hatch- ed, and are considerably larger than the eggs which gave birth to them. These worms demand the principal cares of the wasps who continue always in the nest. .They feed them, as birds feed their young, by giving them, from time to time, a mouthful of food. It is astonishing to see with what indus- try and rapidity a female runs along the cells of a comb, and distributes to each worm a portion of nutriment. In propor- tion to the ages and conditions of the worms, they are fed with solid food, such as the bellies of insects, or with a liquid substance disgorged by the mother. When a worm is so large as to occupy its whole cell, it is then ready to be meta- morphosed into a nymph. It then refuses all nourishment, and ceases to have any connexion with the wasps in the nest. It shuts up the mouth of its cell with a fine silken cover, in the same manner as the silk-worm and other caterpillars spin their cods. This operation is completed in three or four hours, and the animal remains in the nymph state nine or ten days, when, with its teeth, it destroys the external cover of the cell, and comes forth in the form of a winged insect, which is either male, female, or neuter, according to the na- ture of the egg from which it was hatched. In a short time, the wasps newly transformed receive the food brought into the nest by the foragers in the fields. What is still more curious, in the course of the first day after their transforma- tion, the young wasps have been observed going to the fields, bringing in provisions, and distributing them to the worms in the cells. A cell is no sooner abandoned by a young wasp, than it is cleaned, trimmed, and repaired by an old one, and rendered, in every respect, proper for the reception of anoth- er egg. 198 HABITATIONS OF ANIMALS. As formerly mentioned, wasps of different sexes differ great- ly in size. The animals know how to construct cells propor- tioned to the dimensions of the fly that is to proceed from the egg which the female deposits in them. The neuters are six times smaller than the females, and their cells are built nearly in the same proportion. Cells are not only adapted for the reception of neuters, males, and females, but it is re- markable that the cells of the neuters are never intermixed with those of the males or females. A comb is entirely oc- cupied with small cells fitted for the reception of neuter worms. But male and female cells are often found in the same comb. The males and females are of equal length, and of course require cells of an equal deepness. But the cells of the males are narrower than those of the females, because the bodies of the former are never so thick as those of the latter. This wonderful assemblage of combs, of the pillars which support them, and of the external envelope, is an edifice which requires several months' labor, and serves the animals one year only. This habitation, so populous in summer, is almost deserted in winter, and abandoned entirely in spring ; for, in this last season, not a single wasp is to be found in a nest of the preceding year. It is worthy of remark, that the first combs of a nest are always accommodated for the recep- tion of the neuter or working wasps. The city, of which the foundation has just been laid, requires a number of workmen. The neuter or working wasps are accordingly first produced. A cell is no sooner half-completed than an egg of a neuter is deposited in it by the female. Of fourteen or fifteen combs inclosed in a common cover, the four last only are destined for the reception of males and females. Hence it uniformly happens, that, before the males and females are capable of taking flight, every wasp's nest is peopled with several thou- sand neuters or workers. But the neuters, who are first pro- duced, are likewise the first that perish ; for not one of them survives the termination even of a mild winter. It was re- marked by the ancient naturalists, that some wasps lived one year only, and others two. To the former, Aristotle gives the appellation of operarii, which are our workers or neuters, and to the latter matrices, which are our females. The female wasps are stronger, and support the rigors of winter better, than the males or neuters. Before the end of winter, however, several hundred females die, and not above ten or a dozen in each nest survive that season. These few ANT. 199 females are destined for the continuation of the species. Each of them becomes the founder of a new republic. When a queen-bee departs from a hive, in order to establish a new one, she is always accompanied with several thousand indus- trious laborers, ready to perform every necessary operation. But the female wasp has not the aid of a single laborer; for all the neuters are dead before the beginning of the spring. The female alone lays the foundation of a new republic. She either finds or digs a hole under the earth, builds cells for the reception of her eggs, and feeds the worms which proceed from them. Whenever any of these neuter worms are trans- formed into flies, they immediately assist their parent in aug- menting the number of cells and combs, and in feeding the young worms, which are daily hatching from the eggs. In a word, this female wasp, which in spring was perfectly soli- tary, without any proper habitation, and had every operation to perform, has, in autumn, several thousands of her offspring at her devotion, and is furnished with a magnificent palace, or rather city, to protect her from the injuries of the weather and from external enemies. With regard to the male wasps, it is uncertain whether any of them survive the winter. But, though not so indolent as the males of the honey-bee, they can be of little assistance to the female; for they never engage in any work of import- ance, such as constructing cells, or fortifying the external cover of the nest. They are never brought forth till towards the end of August; and their sole occupation seems to be that of keeping the nest clean. They carry out every kind of filth, and the carcases of such of their companions as hap- pen to die. In performing this operation, two of them often join, and, as mentioned in another place, when the load is too heavy, they cut off the head, and transport the dead ani- mal at two different times. The males and females are produced at the same time, and they are nearly equal in number. Like the male honey-bees, the male wasps are destitute of stings, but the females and neuters have stings, the poisonous liquor of which, when in- troduced into any part of the human body, excites inflamma- tion, and creates a considerable degree of pain. ' The habitations and economy of the various species of Ants are equally curious with those which have been describ- ed. There are, as with the wasps and bees, individuals of three sorts; males and females, which have wings, and neu- ters, which are without them. The former desert the habita- 200 HABITATIONS OF ANIMALS. tions in which they have been reared, as soon as they have undergone the last metamorphosis, and seldom revisit them. They live principally in the air like other insects, forming numerous swarms. The females, as soon as they are ready to deposit their eggs, wander from their place of birth, de- prive themselves of their wings by means of their feet, and found a new establishment, whilst the males, having become entirely useless, all perish. A few of the females are seized by the neuters, confined in the original habitation, deprived of their wings, and obliged to lay their eggs there, and are then driven out to perish. ' The neuters are distinguished not only by the want of wings, but by the size of their head, the strength of their jaws, and the length of their feet. They have charge of the principal part of the labor of preparing for the reception and nourishment of the young. The nests of ants differ very much in different species. They are generally made in the earth. Some merely dig out the sand and form holes running in different directions, so that the habitation is almost en- tirely subterraneous. Others gather together particles of many different kinds, and raise mounds of considerable size above the surface of the earth in the form of domes. Others choose for their residence the trunks of old trees, the interior of which they pierce with holes passing in every direction. All the passages or galleries of which these habitations con- sist, terminate in an apartment designed for the reception of the young. 'The food of ants consists of fruit, insects and their larvae, and the bodies of small quadrupeds and birds. The neuters, which are the providers for the whole establishment, are principally governed in their researches by the senses of touch and smell. With the fruits of their labors they feed the larvae while in a helpless state. In warm weather they drag them up for the benefit of the heat to the outside of their holes, and at the approach of night or of bad weather, convey them back again into the recesses of their habitations. In short, all their labor and care are directed with a view to the accommodation and preservation of an offspring in which they really have no share. They defend them against the attack of all enemies, and risk for them their safety and their lives; and after watching them with unremitting assiduity until they have arrived at the perfect state, they will not then suffer them to leave the nest unless the weather be fine and propitious, when they permit them to take their departure.' TERMITES. 201 'The male and female ants perish at the approach of win- ter, but the neuters survive it, and pass the cold months in a dormant state in the recesses of their habitations. Their forethought and providence, then, in the provision of food has not for its object their own support, but that of their young ; and in preparing for the winter, they have merely to render their habitations tight and secure against the cold.' The habitations and operations of the Termites, a species of insects frequently called white ants,* although of a differ- ent genus and even a different order from the common ants, are well worthy of attention. They infest Guinea, and all the tropical regions, where, for their depredations upon prop- erty, they are greatly dreaded by the inhabitants. Of these insects their are several species; but they all re- semble each other in form, and in their manner of living. They differ, however, as much as birds, in the style of their architecture, and in the selection of the materials of which their nests are composed. Some build on the surface, or partly above and partly below the ground, and others on the trunks or branches of lofty trees. Before describing the nests or hills, it is necessary to give some idea of the animals themselves, and of their general economy and manners. We shall confine ourselves to that species called termites bellicosi, or fighters, because they are largest, and best known on the coast of Africa. The republic of the termites bellicosi, like the other spe- cies of this genus, consists of three ranks or orders of insects : 1. The working insects, which Mr Smeathman distinguishes by the name of laborers; 2. The fighters, or soldiers, which perform no kind of labor; and, 3. The winged, or perfect insects, which are male and female. These last Mr Smeath- man calls the nobility or gentry; because they neither labor nor fight. The nobility alone are capable of being raised to the rank of kings and queens. A few weeks after their eleva- tion to this state, they emigrate, in order to establish new empires. In a nest or hill, the laborers, or working insects, are always most numerous. There are at least one hundred la- borers to one of the fighting insects or soldiers. When in * In the windward parts of Africa, they are denominated bugga, bu^s; in the West Indies, wood-lice, ivood-ants, or while ants. They are likewise called piercers, eaters, or cutters, because they cut almost everything in pieces. This account of the termites is selected, with some slight alterations, from an excellent desciiption of them in the Philosophical Transactions by Mr Henry Smeathman. vol. 7i, parti, p. 139. 26 202 HABITATIONS OF ANIMALS. this state, they are about a fourth of an inch in length, which is rather smaller than some of our ants. From their figure, and fondness for wood, they are very generally known by the name of wood-lice. The second order, or soldiers, differ in figure from that of the laborers. The former have been supposed to be neuters, and the latter males. But, in fact, they are the same insects. They have only undergone a change of form, and made a nearer approach to the perfect state. They are now much larger, being half an inch in length, and equal in size to fif- teen of the laborers. The form of the head is likewise great- ly changed. In the laborer state, the mouth is evidently formed for gnawing or holding bodies; but, in the soldier state, the jaws being shaped like two sharp awls a little jag- ged, are destined solely for piercing or wounding. For these purposes they are very well calculated; for they are as hard as a crab's claw, and placed in a strong horny head, which is of a nut-brown color, and larger than the whole body. The figure of the third order, or that of the insect in its perfect state, is still more changed. The head, the thorax, and the abdomen, differ almost entirely from the same parts in the laborers and soldiers. Beside, the animals are now furnished with four large, brownish, transparent wings, by which they are enabled, at the proper season, to emigrate and to establish new settlements. In the winged or perfect state, they are greatly altered in their size as well as in their figure. Their bodies now measure between six and seven tenths of an inch, their wings, from tip to tip, above two inches and a half, and their bulk is equal to that of thirty laborers, or two soldiers. Instead of active, industrious, and rapacious little animals, when they arrive at their perfect state, they become innocent, helpless, and dastardly. Their numbers are great; but their enemies are still more numerous. They are de- voured by birds, by every species of ants, by carnivorous rep- tiles, and even by the inhabitants of many parts of Africa. Of those that escape, some are seized upon by the laboring insects, and are made the founders of new states. They are immediately inclosed in a chamber suitable to their size. This is built around them, and has an entrance too small for them to go out, but large enough for the laborers to pass in and out. It was the opinion of former observers, that both males and females were thus preserved, but the analogy of other insects renders it probable that it is females alone. At any rate, there soon takes place a most extraordinary TERMITES. 203 change in the female or queen. Her abdomen is gradually extended and enlarged to a most enormous size ; so that in an old queen it has been found to have increased to 1500 or 2000 times the bulk of the rest of the body, and 20 or 30,000 times the bulk of a common laborer. The skin ex- tends in every direction, so that the abdomen, which is not originally more than half an inch in length, has at length each of its segments removed to that distance from each other. When the animal is two years old, the abdomen has increas- ed to three inches in length, and they have sometimes been found of near twice that size. This is now full of eggs, which are contained in a vast number of very minute and convolut- ed vessels, which, moving in a serpentine manner, cause an undulating appearance without, like that of the peristalic mo- tion of the intestines. By means of this motion, the eggs are protruded in almost incredible numbers, to the amount, as has been pretty accurately calculated, of 80,000 or upward in twentyfour hours. The eggs are instantly taken care of by the laborers, and placed in proper depositories or nurseries, where they are hatched. The young are then attended, and provided with everything necessary until they are able to shift for them- selves, and take their share in the labors of the community. The nests of the termites bellicosi, or wood-lice, are called hills by the natives of Africa, New Holland, and other hot climates. This appellation is highly proper ; for they are of- ten elevated ten or twelve feet above the surface of the earth, and are nearly of a conical figure. These hills, instead of being rare phenomena, are so frequent in many places near Senegal, that, as described with great propriety by Mons. Adanson, their number, magnitude, and closeness of situation, make them appear like villages of the negroes. "Of all the extraordinary things I observed," says Mons. Adanson, in his voyage to Senegal, " nothing struck me more than certain eminences, which, by their height and regularity, made me take them, at a distance, for an assemblage of negro huts, or a considerable village, and yet they were only the nests of certain insects. These nests are round pyramids, from eight to ten feet high, upon nearly the same base, with a smooth surface of rich clay, excessively hard and well built." Job- son, in his history of Gambia, tells us, that " the ant-hills are •remarkable cast up in those parts by the pismires, some of them twenty foot in height, of compasse to contayne a dozen men, with the heat of the sun baked into that hardnesse, that 204 HABITATIONS OF ANIMALS. we used to hide ourselves in the ragged toppcs of them, when we took up stands to shoot at deere or wild beasts." Mr Bosman remarks, in his description of Guinea, that •' the ants make nests of the earth about twice the height of a man." r Each of these hills is composed of an exterior and an inte- rior part. The exterior cover is a large clay shell, which is shaped like a dome. Its strength and magnitude are suffi- cient to enclose and protect the interior building from the in- juries of the weather, and to defend its numerous inhabitants from the attacks of natural or accidental enemies. The ex- ternal dome or cover is, therefore, always much stronger than { the internal building, which is the habitation of the insects, and is divided with wonderful artifice and regularity into a vast number of apartments for the residence and accommoda- tion of the king and queen, for the nursing of their progeny, and for magazines, which are always well stored with provi- sions. These hills make their first appearance in the form of co- nical turrets, about a foot high. In a short time, the insects erect, at a little distance, other turrets, and go on increasing their number and widening their bases till their underworks are covered with these turrets, which the animals always raise highest in the middle of the hill, and, by filling up the inter- vals between each turret, collect them at last into one great dome,. The royal chamber appears to be, in the opinion of this lit- tle people, of the most consequence, and is always situated as near the centre of the interior building as possible, and generally about the height of the common surface of the ground. It is always nearly in the shape of half an egg, or an obtuse oval, within, and may be supposed to represent a long oven. In the infant state of the colony, it is not above an inch, or thereabouts, in length ; but in time will be in- creased to six or eight inches, or more, in the clear, being always in proportion to the size of the queen, who increasing in bulk as in age, at length requires a chamber of such di- mensions. The royal chamber is surrounded by an innumerable quan- tity of others, which are of different sizes, figures, and dimen- sions ; but all of them are arched either in a circular or an elliptical form. These chambers either open into each other, or have communicating passages, which, being always clear*, are evidently intended for the conveniency of the soldiers and attendants, of whom, as will soon appear, great numbers TERMITES. 205 are necessary. These apartments are joined by the maga- zines and nurseries. The magazines are chambers of clay, and are at all times well stored with provisions, which to the naked eye, seem to consist of the raspings of wood and plants which the termites destroy ; but when examined by the mi- croscope, they are found to consist chiefly of the gums or in- spissated juices of plants, thrown together in small irregular masses. Of these masses, some are finer than others, and re- semble the sugar about preserved fruits ; others resemble the tears of gum, one being quite transparent, another like am- ber, a third brown, and a forth perfectly opaque. The magazines are always intermixed with the nurseries, which last are buildings totally different from the rest of the apartments. They are composed entirely of wooden materi- als, which seem to be cemented with gums. Mr Smeathman very properly gives them the appellation of nurseries; be- cause they are invariably occupied by the eggs*, and the young ones, which first appear in the shape of laborers ; but they ;ire as white as snow. These buildings are exceedingly com- pact, and are divided into a number of small, irregularly shap- ed chambers, not one of which is half an inch wide. They are placed all round, and as near as possible to the royal apartments. When a nest or hillock is in the infant state, the nurseries are close to the royal apartment. But as, in process of time, the body of the queen enlarges, it becomes necessary, for her accommodation, to augment the dimensions of her chamber. She then, likewise, lays a greater number of eggs, and re- quires more attendants ; of course, it is necessary that both the number and dimensions of the adjacent apartments should be augmented. For this purpose, the small first-built nurse- ries are taken to pieces, rebuilt a little farther off, made a s«ze larger, and their number, at the same time, is increased. Thus the animals are continually employed in pulling down, repairing, or rebuilding their apartments ; and these opera- tions they perform with wonderful sagacity, regularity, and foresight. One remarkable circumstance regarding the nurseries must not be omitted. They are always slightly overgrown with a kind of mould, and plentifully sprinkled with white globules about the size of a small pin's head. These globules, Mr Smeathman at first conjectured to be the eggs : but when ex- amined by the microscope, they evidently appeared to be a species of mushroom, in shape resembling our eatable mush- 206 HABITATIONS OF ANIMALS. room when young. When entire, they are white like snow a lit- tle melted and frozen again ; and when bruised, they seem to be composed of an infinite number of pellucid particles, approach- ing to oval forms, and are with difficulty separated from each other. The mouldiness seems likewise to consist of the same kind of substance.* The nurseries are enclosed in chambers of clay, like those which contain the provisions ; but they are much larger. In the early state of the nest, they are not bigger than a hazel nut; but in great hills, they arc often as large as a child's head a year old. The royal chamber is situated nearly on a level with the surface of the ground, at an equal distance from all the sides of the building, and directly under the apex of the hill. On all sides, both above and below, it is surrounded by What are called the royal apartments, which contain only laborers and soldiers, who can be intended for no other purpose than to continue in the nest either to guard or serve their common parents, on whose safety the happiness, and, in the estimation of the negroes, the existence of the whole community depends. These apartments compose an intricate labyrinth, which ex- tends a foot or more in diameter from the royal chamber on every side. Here the nurseries and magazines of provisions begin; and, being separated by small empty chambers and galleries, which surround them, and communicate with each other, are continued on all sides to the outward shell, and reach up within it two thirds or three fourths of its height, leaving an open area in the middle under the dome, which resembles the nave of an old cathedral. This area is sur- rounded by large Gothic arches, which are sometimes two or three feet high next the front of the area, but diminish rapidly as they recede, like the arches of aisles in perspectives, and are soon lost among the innumerable chambers and nurseries behind them. All these chambers and passages are arched, and contribute mutually to support one another. The inte- rior building, or assemblage of nurseries, chambers, and pas- sages, has a flattish roof, without any perforation. By this contrivance, if, by accident, water should penetrate the ex- * Mr Konig, who examined the termites' nests in the East Indies, conjectures that these mushrooms are the food of the young insects. This supposition implies, that the old ones have a method of providing for and promoting the growth of the mushroom ; " a circumstance," Mr Smeathman remarks, " which, however strange to those unacquainted with the sagacity of those insects, I will venture to say, from many other extraordinary facts I have seen of them, is not very improbable." TERMITES. 207 ternal dome, the apartments below are preserved from injury. The area has also a flattish floor, which is situated above the royal chamber. It is likewise water-proof, and so construct- ed, that if water gets admittance, it runs off by subterraneous passages, which are of an astonishing magnitude. " I mea- sured one of them," says Mr Smeathman, " which was per- fectly cylindrical, and thirteen inches in diameter." These subterraneous passages are thickly lined with the same kind of clay of which the hill is composed, ascend the internal part of the external shell in a spiral form, and, winding round the whole building up to the top, intersect and communicate with each other at different heights. From every part of these large galleries a number of pipes, or smaller galleries, lead- ing to different parts of the building, proceed. There are likewise a great many which lead downward, by sloping de- scents, three and four feet perpendicular under ground, among the gravel, from which the laboring termites select the finer parts, which, after being worked up in their mouths to the consistence of mortar, become that solid clay or stone of which their hills, and every apartment of their buildings, except the nurseries, are composed. Other galleries ascend and lead out horizontally on every side, and are carried under ground, but near the surface, to great distances. Suppose the whole nests within a hundred yards of a house were completely des- troyed, the inhabitants of those at a greater distance will carry on their subterraneous galleries, and invade the goods and merchandise contained in it by sap and mine, unless great attention and circumspection are employed by the pro- prietor. When a breach is made in one of the hills, the first object that attracts attention is the behaviour of the soldiers, or fighting insects. Immediately after the blow is given, a soldier comes out, walks about the breach, and seems to examine the nature of the enemy, or the cause of the attack. He then goes into the hill, gives the alarm, and in a short time, large bodies rush out as fast as the breach will permit. It is not easy to describe the fury these fighting insects discover. In their eagerness to repel the enemy, they frequently tumble down the sides of the hill, but recover themselves very quick- ly, and bite everything they encounter. This biting, joined to the striking of their forceps upon the building, makes a crackling or vibrating noise, which is somewhat shriller and quicker than the ticking of a watch, and may be heard at the distance of three or four feet. While the attack proceeds, 209 HABITATIONS OF ANIMALS. they are in the most violent bustle and agitation. If they get hold of any part of a man's body, they instantly make a wound, which discharges as much blood as is equal to their own weight. When they attack the leg, the stain of blood upon the stocking extends more than an inch in width. They make their hooked jaws meet at the first stroke, and never quit their hold, but suffer themselves to be pulled away leg by leg, and piece after piece, without the smallest attempt to escape. On the other hand, if a person keeps out of their reach, and gives them no farther disturbance, in less than half an hour they retire into the nest, as if they supposed the won- derful monster that damaged their castle had fled. Before the whole of the soldiers have got in, the laboring insects are all in motion, and hasten toward the breach, each of them having a quantity of tempered mortar in his mouth. This mortar they stick upon the breach as fast as they arrive, and perform the operation with so much despatch and facility, that, notwithstanding the immensity of their numbers, they never stop or embarrass one another. During this scene of apparent hurry and confusion, the spectator is agreeably sur- prised when he perceives a regular wall gradually arising and filling up the chasm. While the laborers are thus employed, almost all the soldiers remain within, except here and there one, who saunters about among six hundred or a thousand laborers, but never touches the mortar. One soldier, how- ever, always takes his station close to the wall that the labor- ers are building. This soldier turns himself leisurely on all sides, and, at intervals of a minute or two, raises his head, beats upon the building with his forceps, and makes the vi- brating noise formerly mentioned. A loud hiss instantly issues from the inside of the dome and all the subterraneous caverns and passages. That this hiss proceeds from the laborers is apparent; for at every signal of this kind, they work with redoubled quickness and alacrity. A renewal of the attack, however, instantly changes the scene. On the first stroke, the laborers run into the many pipes and galleries with which the building is perforated, which they do so quickly, that they seem to vanish; for in a few seconds all are gone, and the soldiers rush out as numerous and as vindictive as before. On finding no enemy, they return again leisurely into the hill, and very soon after, the laborers appear loaded as at first, as active, and as sedulous, with soldiers here and there among them, who act just in the same manner, one or other of them giving the signal to hasten the business. Thus the pleasure HOSTILITIES OF ANIMALS. 209 of seeing them come out to fight or to work, alternately, may be obtained as often as curiosity excites, or time permits ; and it will certainly be found, that the one order never attempts to fight, nor the other to work, let the emergency be ever so great. It is exceedingly difficult to explore the interior parts of a nest or hill. The apartments which surround the royal cham- ber and the nurseries, and, indeed, the whole fabric, have such a dependence on each other, that the breaking of one arch generally pulls down two or three. There is another great obstacle, namely, the obstinacy of the soldiers who dis- pute every inch of ground, and fight to the very last, wound- ing severely those who are engaged in the attempt, and sometimes obliging them to desist. Besides this, while the soldiers are engaged in defending the outworks, the laborers are barricading the way within, stopping up the different galleries and passages which lead to the various apartments, particularly the royal chamber, all the entrances to which they fill up so artfully as not to let it be distinguishable while it remains moist; and externally it has no other appearance than that of a shapeless lump of clay. It may be known, however, by its situation and by the crowd of soldiers and laborers who assemble around and within it, to defend or perish with it. It is never abandoned, and when taken out is always found full, the attendants running in one direction around the queen with the utmost solicitude, some of them stopping at her head as if to give her something, and others taking her eggs away from her and piling them carefully to- gether in some part of the chamber. CHAPTER IX. OF THE HOSTILITIES OF ANIMALS. In contemplating the system of animation exhibited in this planet, the only one of which we have any extensive know- ledge, the mind is struck, and even confounded, with the gen- eral scene of havock and devastation which is perpetually, and everywhere presented to our view. There is not, per- haps, a single species of animated beings, wrhose existence 27 210 HOSTILITIES OF ANIMALS. depends not, more or less, upon the death or destruction of others. Every animal, when not prematurely deprived of life by those who are hostile to it, or by accident, enjoys a tem- porary existence, the duration of which is longer or shorter according to its nature, and the rank it holds in the creation ; and this existence universally terminates in death and disso- lution. This is an established law of nature, to which every animal is obliged to submit. But this necessary and universal deprivation of individual life, though great, is nothing when compared to the havock occasioned by another law, which impels animals to kill and devour different species, and some- times their own. In the system of nature, death and dissolu- tion seem to be indispensable for the support and continuation of animal life. But, though almost every animal, in some measure, depends for its existence on the destruction of others, there are some species in all the different tribes or classes, which are distin- guished by the appellation of carnivorous or rapacious, be- cause they live chiefly, or entirely, on animal food. In the prosecution of this subject, therefore, we shall, in the first place, mention some examples of animal hostility and rapacity; and, in the next place, endeavour to point out such advanta- ges as result from this apparently cruel institution of nature. On the last branch of the subject, however, the reader must not expect to have every difficulty removed, and every ques- tion solved. Like all the other parts of the economy of nature, the necessity^ or even the seeming cruelty and injus- tice, of allowing animals to prey upon one another, is a mystery which we can never be enabled completely to un- ravel. But we are not entirely without hopes of showing several important utilities which result from this almost uni- versal scene of animal devastation. Of all rapacious animals, Man is the most universal des- troyer. The destruction of carnivorous quadrupeds, birds, and insects, is, in general, limited to particular kinds. But the rapacity of man has hardly any limitation. His empire over the other animals which inhabit this globe is almos t universal. Of some of the quadruped tribes, as the horse, the dog, the cat, he makes domestic slaves ; and though in this country, none of these species is used for food, he either obliges them to labor for him, or keeps them as sources of pleasure and amusement. From other quadrupeds, as the ox, the sheep, the goat, and the deer kind, he derives innumera- ble advantages. The ox kind in particular, after receiving CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS. 211 the emoluments of their labor and fertility, he rewards with death, and then feeds upon their carcasses. Many other species, though not commonly used as food, are daily massa- cred in millions for the purposes of commerce, luxury, and caprice. Myriads of quadrupeds are annually destroyed for the sake of their furs, their hides, their tusks, their odoriferous secretions, (fee Over the feathered tribes the dominion of man is not less extensive. There are few species in the numerous and diver- sified class of birds, which he either does not, or may not, employ for the nourishment of his body. By his sagacity and address he has been enabled to domesticate many of the more prolific and delicious species, as turkeys, geese, and the various kinds of poultry. These he multiplies without end, and de- vours at pleasure. Neither do the inhabitants of the waters escape the rapacity of man. Rivers, lakes, and even the ocean itself, feel the power of his empire, and are forced to supply him with pro- visions. Neither air nor water can defend against the ingenu- ity, the art, and the destructive industry of the human species. Man may be said even to have domesticated some fishes. In artificial ponds, he feeds and rears carp, tench, perch, trout, and other species, and with them occasionally furnishes his table. It might have been expected, that insects and reptiles, some of which have a most disgusting aspect, would not have ex- cited the human appetite. But we learn from experience, that, in every region of the earth, many insects which inhabit both the earth and the waters, are esteemed as delicate arti- cles of luxury. Even the viper, though its venom be delete- rious, escapes not the all-devouring jaws of man. Thus man holds, and too often exercises, a tyrannical do- minion over almost the whole brute creation, not because he is the strongest of all animals, but because his intellect, though of a similar nature, is vastly superior to that of the most sagacious of the less favored tribes. He reigns over the other animals, because the powers of his mind are more ex- tensive. He overcomes force by ingenuity, and swiftness by art and persevering industry. But the empire of man over the brute creation is not absolute. Some species elude his power by the rapidity of their flight, by the swiftness of their course, by the dbscurity of their retreats, and by the element m which they live. Others escape him by the minuteness of their bodies ; and, instead of acknowledging their sovereign, 212 HOSTILITIES OF ANIMALS. others boldly attack him with open hostility. He is also insulted and injured by the stings of insects, and by the poisonous bites of serpents. In other respects, man's empire, though comparatively great, is very much limited. He has no influence on the uni- verse, on the motions and affections of the heavenly bodies, or on the revolutions of the globe which he inhabits. Neither has he a general dominion over animals, vegetables, or min- erals. His power reaches not species, but is confined to in- dividuals. Every order of beings moves on in its course, perishes, or is renewed, by the irresistible power of nature. Even man himself, hurried along by the general torrent of time and of nature, cannot prolong his existence. He is obliged to submit to the universal law ; and, like all other organized beings, he is born, grows to maturity, and dies. Though man has been enabled to subdue the animal creation by the superior powers of his mind, his empire, like all other empires, could not be firmly established previous to the insti- tution of pretty numerous societies. Almost the whole of his power is derived from society. It matures his reason, gives exertion to his genius, and unites his forces. Before the formation of large societies, man was perhaps the most helpless and the least formidable of all animals. Naked, and destitute of arms, to him the earth was only an immense desert peopled with strong and rapacious'monsters, by whom he was often devoured. Even long after this period, history informs us, that the first heroes were destroyers of wild beasts. But, after the human species had multiplied, and spread over the earth, and when, by means of society and the arts, man was enabled to conquer a considerable part of the globe, he forced the wild beasts gradually to retire to the deserts. He re- duced the numbers of the voracious and noxious species. He opposed the powers and the dexterity of one animal to those of another. Some he subdued by address, and others by force. In this manner, he, in process of time, acquired to himself perfect security, and established an empire that has no other limits than inaccessible solitudes, burning sands, frozen mountains, or obscure caverns, which are occupied as retreats by a few species of ferocious animals. Next to man, the carnivorous quadrupeds are the most nu- merous and the most destructive. Different parts of the earth are infested with lions, tigers, panthers, ounces, leopards, jaguars, couguars, lynxes, wild cats, dogs, jackals, wolves, foxes, hyaenas, civets, genets, polecats, martins, ferrets, er- CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS. 213 mines, gluttons, bats, DOCILITY OK ANIMALS. of this kind mutually assist each other in killing prey, individ- ual advantage is the chief, if not the only, bond of this tem- porary union. Another kind of society is observable among domestic ani- mals. Horses and oxen, when deprived of companions of their own species, associate, and discover a visible attach- ment. A dog and ox, or a dog and a cow, when placed in certain circumstances, though the species are remote, and even hostile, acquire a strong affection for each other. The same kind of association takes place between dogs and cats, between cats and birds, £ go back to a remote and obscure antiquity, but confine ourselves to more modern times, when the modes of living were nearly the same as they are at present. On this subject, the celebrated Lord Verulam, in his Sylva Syivaruni, gives t(ie following passage, chiefly translated from the seventy bpok of PUny's Natural History. "The year of our Lord seventysix, falling into the time of Vespasian, is me- rnorable; in which we shall find, as it were, a kalendar of long-jived men j for that year there was a taxing (now a tax- ing U the most authentical and truest informer touching the ages pf men), and in that part of Italy which lieth between the Apennine mountains and the, river Po, there were found 124 persons that either equalled or exceeded an hundred years of .age, pamely, MAN. 295 Fiftyfour.....of 100 years each. Fiftygeven.....110 Two.....125 Four......130 Four.....135 or 137 Three......140 Beside these, Parma, in particular, afforded five, whereof Three were.....120 years each. Two.....130 One in Bruxelles - - - 125 One in Placentia - 131 One in Faventia - - - - 132 A certain town, then called the Vefleiatium, situate in the hilts about Placentia, afforded ten, whereof Six were.....110 years each. Four......120 One in Rimino, whose name was Marcus Aponius - 150." The most extraordinary instance of longevity m Great Bri- tain, was exhibited in the person of Henry Jenkins. He was a native of Yorkshire, lived to the amazing age of 169 years, and died on the 8th day of December 1670. Next to Jenkins, we have the famous Thomas Phrre, who was a native of Shropshire, and 'died on the 16th*lay of'No- vember 1635, at the age of 152. Francis Consist, a native of Yorkshire, aged 150, died ifi January 1768. Margaret Foster, aged 136, and her daughter, aged 104, were natives of Cumberland, and both aliVe in the year 1771. William Evans, aged 145, lived in Caernarvon, and still ex- isted in the year 1782. Dumiter Radaloy, aged 140, lived in Harmenstead, and died on the 16th day of January 1782. James Bowels, aged 152, lived in Killingworth, and died on the 15th day of August 1656. The Countess of Desmond, in Ireland, saw her 140th year. Mr Eccleston, a native of Ireland, lived to the age of 143, and died in the year 1691. John Mount, a native of Scotland, saw his 136th year, and died on the 27th day of February 1776. William Ellis of Liverpool died on the 16th day of August 1780, at the age of 130. Colonel Thomas Winsloe, a native of Ireland, aged 146, died on the 22d day of August 1766. 296 LONGEVITY OF ANIMALS. John Taylor was born in Carrygill, in the county of Cum- berland. He was bred a miner. His father died when John was only four years of age. Poverty obliged him to be set early to work. During two years he dressed lead ore for 2d. a day. The next three or four years he assisted the miners in removing the ore and rubbish to the bank, for which he received 4d. a day. At this period there happened a great solar eclipse, which was distinguished in Scotland by the ap- pellation of Mirk Monday.* This event, which he always repeated with the same circumstances, is the chief era from which John's age has been computed. After laboring many years both in this and the neighbouring kingdom, he died, near Lead-hills, in Scotland, in the month of May 1770, at the great age of 133. ' An account is given by Professor Silliman, in his Journal of a Tour to Quebec, of a visit which he paid near Whitehall, in the State of New York, to a man who had reached the ex- treme age of one hundred and thirtyfour years. His name was Henry Francisco, and he was a native of France. " He believes himself to be 134 years old, and the country around believe him to be of this great age. When we arrived at his residence, (a plain farmer's house, not painted, rather out of repair, and much open to the wind,) he was up stairs, at his daily work, of spooling and winding yarn. This occupation is auxiliary to that of his wife, who is a weaver, and although more than eighty years old, she weaves six yards a day, and the old man can supply her with more yarn than she can weave. Supposing he must be very feeble, we offered to go up stairs to him, but he soon came down, walking somewhat stooping, and supported by a staff, but with less apparent in- convenience, than most persons exhibit at 85 or 90. His sta- ture is of the middle size, and although his person is rather delicate and slender, he stoops but little, even when unsup- ported. His complexion is very fair and delicate, and his ex- pression bright, cheerful, and intelligent; his features are handsome, and considering that they have endured through one third part of a second century, they are regular, comely, and wonderfully undisfigured by the hand of time; his eyes are of a lively blue ; his profile is Grecian and very fine; his head is completely covered with the most beautiful and deli- cate white locks imaginable ; they are so long and abundant * Mirk, in the Scottish dialect, signifies dark ; and the eclipse happened in the year 1652. S. MAN. 297 as to fall gracefully from the crown of his head, parting regu- larly from a central point, and reaching down to his shoul- ders ; his hair is perfectly snow white, except where it is thick in his neck ; when parted there, it shows some few dark shades the remnants of a former century. He still retains the front teeth of his upper jaw ; his mouth is not fallen in, like that of old people generally, and his lips particularly, are like those of middle life; his voice is strong and sweet-toned, al- though a little tremulous ; his hearing very little impaired, so that a voice of usual strength, with distinct articulation, ena- bles him to understand ; his eyesight is sufficient for his work, and he distinguishes large print, such as the title page of the Bible, without glasses; his health is good, and has always been so, except that he has now a cough and expectoration." 'It appeared from his account of himself, which was con- sistent and intelligible, and confirmed by collateral historical facts, that his father was a French Protestant who fled from France, in the latter part of the reign of Louis XIV, in con- sequence of the persecutions arising from the revocation of the edict of Nantz, that he took refuge in Holland, and after- wards in England ; that Francisco himself was born in the year 1686 ; that he recollects his emigration from France in 1691, and the coronation of Queen Anne in 1702, at which time he says he was 16 years old. He fought in all Queen Anne's wars, and exhibits the scars of many wounds, but only recollects the name of the Duke of Marlborough, among the commanders under whom he served. He came out with his father to New York early in the last century, though he can- not remember the date, and was engaged in most of the wars which occurred until that of the revolution. " He has had two wives and 21 children ; the youngest child is the daugh- ter in whose house he lives, and she is 52 years old ; of course he was 82 when she was born." " He has been all his life, a very active and energetic, although not a stout-framed man. He was formerly fond of spirits, and did, for a certain period, drink more than was proper, but that habit appears to have been long abandoned. In other respects he has been remarka- bly abstemious, eating but little, and particularly abstaining, almost entirely, from animal food ; his favorite articles being tea, bread and butter, and baked apples. His wife said that after such a breakfast, he would go out and work till noon ; then dine upon the same if he could get it, and then take the same at night ; and particularly, that he always drank tea, whenever he could obtain it, three cups at a time, three times 33 298 LONGEVITY 01' ANIMALS. a day.'' " The oldest people in the vicinity, remember Fran- cisco, as being always, from their earliest recollection, much older than themselves; and a Mr Fuller, who recently died here, between SO and 90 years of age, thought Francisco was one hundred and forty." " He is really a most remarkable and interesting old man : there is nothing either in his per- son or dress of the negligence and squalidness of extreme age, especially when not in elevated circumstances ; on the con- trary, he is agreeable and attractive, and were he dressed in a superior manner, and placed in a handsome, well furnished apartment, he would be a most beautiful old man." * The general causes of death'have already been mentioned. But in women the operation of these causes is frequently re- tarded. In the female sex, the bones, the cartilages, the muscles, as well as every other part of the body, are softer and less solid than those of men; neither are they generally so much subjected to bodily exertions. Their constituent parts, accordingly, require more time in hardening to that degree which occasions death. Women, of course, ought to live longer than men. This reasoning is confirmed by the bills of mortality ; for, upon consulting them, it appears, that, after women have passed a certain time, they live much long- er than men who have reached the same period. The dura- tion of the lives of animals may, in some measure, be esti- mated by the time occupied in their growth. An animal, or even a plant, as we learn from experience, which acquires maturity in a short time, perishes much sooner than those which are longer in arriving at that period. In the human species, when individuals grow with uncommon rapidity, they generally die young. This circumstance seems to have giv- en rise to the common proverbial expression, " soon ripe, soon rotten." Man grows in stature till he is sixteen or eighteen years of age; but the thickness of his body is not completely unfolded before that of thirty. Dogs acquire their full length in one year; but their growth in thickness is not finished till the end of the second. A man, who continues to * Silliman's Tour between Hartford and Quebec in (he summer of 1819, p. 172. ' This old man, has, I believe, since died. In the 10th Vol. "2J Series of the Mas- sachusetts Historical Colleclions, there is an account of a number of instances ol longevity which have been known to occur in New Hampshire. Within the ten years from 1810 to 1820, eighty persons are recorded who died above the age of 90 twentynine of whom reached or exceeded the age of 100. Besides these there have died in the state within the last century—one person of 120—one of 116—one of 115 —one of 110—one of 108—one of 107—one of 106—several of 105, and there were living in 1822, at Chesterfield, a woman of 105, and at Row, a man of 112. The po- pulation of New Hampshire in 1810, was 214,460, and in 1820,243,136.' MAN. 299 grow for thirty years, may live ninety or a hundred ; but a dog, whose growth terminates in two or three years, lives only ten, or twelve years. The same observation is applicable to most animals. Fishes continue to grow for a great number of years. Some of them, accordingly, live during several centuries ; because their bones and cartilages seldom acquire the density of those of other animals. It may, therefore, be considered as a general fact, that large animals live longer than small ones, because the former require more time to complete their growth. Thus the causes of our dissolution are inevitable; and it is equally impossible to retard that fatal period, as to change the established laws of nature. When the constitution is sound, life may, perhaps, by mod- erating the passions, and by temperance, be prolonged a few years. But the varieties of climate, and the mode of living, make no material differences with regard to the period of our existence, which is nearly the same in the European, the Negro, the Asiatic, the American, the civilized man and the savage, the rich and the poor, the citizen and the peasant. Neither does the change of food, or of accommodation, make any change in the duration of life. Men, who are fed on raw flesh or dried fish, on sago or rice, on cassada or roots, live as long as those who use bread and prepared victuals. If luxury and intemperance be excepted, nothing can alter those laws of mechanism which invariably determine the number of our years. Any little differences which may be remarked in the term of human life, seem to be chiefly owing to the quality of the air. In general, there are more old men in high than in low countries. The mountains of Scotland, of Wales, and of Switzerland, have furnished more examples of longevity than the plains of Holland, Flanders, Germany, or Poland. But, if we take a survey of mankind, whatever be the climate they inhabit, or their mode of living, there is no very essential difference in the duration of life. When men are not cut off by accidental diseases, individuals may everywhere be found who live ninety or a hundred years. Our ancestors, with few exceptions, never exceeded this period ; and, since the days of David king of the Jews, it has undergone no variation. Beside accidental diseases which are more fre- quent as well as more dangerous, in the latter periods of life, old men are subjected to natural infirmities that originate solely from a decay of the different parts of the body. The muscles lose their tone, the head shakes, the hands tremble, the limbs totter, the sensibility of the nerves is blunted, the 300 LONGEVITY OF ANIMALS. cavities of the vessels contract, the secretory organs are ob- structed, the blood, the lymph, and the other fluids, extrava- sate and produce all those symptoms and diseases which are commonly ascribed to a vitiation of the humors. The natural decay of the solids, however, appears to the original cause of all these maladies. It is true, that a bad state of the fluids proceeds from a depravity in the organization of the solids. But the effects resulting from a noxious change in the fluids produce the most alarming symptoms. When the fluids stag- nate, or if, by a relaxation of the vessels, an extravasation takes place, they soon corrupt, and corrode the weaker part of the solids. Hence the causes of dissolution, gradually, but perpetually, multiply; our internal enemies grow more and more powerful, and at last put a period to our existence. With regard to Quadrupeds, the causes of their dissolution are precisely the same with those which destroy the human species, with the exception of those which depend upon the vices and intemperance of mankind. The times of their growth bear, likewise, some proportion to the duration of their lives. The following table will afford a view of the period of arriving at maturity, the length of life of some of the principal quadrupeds, and the number of young which they produce at a birth. Names. Period of Maturity. Length of Life. No. of young at a birth. Elephant Rhinoceros 30 ye 15 or tars 20 200 years 70 to 80 1 1 Hippopotamus Camel prob 4 ably ab aut the same 40 to 50 1 1 Horse 2 or 3 25 to 30 1, rarely 2 Zebra 2 do. do. Ass 2 do. do. Buffalo 3 15 to 18 1 Ox 2 20 1, rarely 2 Stag Rein-deer 1 or 2 4 30 to 35 16 do. 1 Large Apes Saiga 3 1 20 15 to 20 1, sometimes 2 1, sometimes 2 Roebuck 1 or H 12 to 15 1 to 3 Chamois 1 20 do. Goat 1 8 to 10 1 to 4 Sheep 1 do. 1 to 3 Bear 2 20 to 25 never above 5 Lion 2 do. 3 or 4 BIRDS. 301 Leopard & Tiger 2 about the same 4 or 5 Wolf 2 15 to 20 5 to 9 Dog 1 do. 3 to 6 Fox 1 10 to J 2 do. Cat less than 1 do. do. Dormouse do. r> 3 to 5 Hog 1 15 G to 20 Hare less than 1 7 to 8 2 to 4 Rabbit do. do. 4 to 8 Guineapig 6 weeks 7 4 to 12 Some birds afford instances of great longevity. In this class of animals, the duration of life is by no means propor- tioned to the times of their growth. Most of them acquire their full dimensions in a few months and are capable of mul- tiplying the species the first spring or summer after they are hatched. In proportion to the size of their bodies, birds are much more vivacious, and live longer than either men or quadrupeds. Swans have been said to live three hundred years; but, though mentioned by respectable writers, the assertion is not supported by any authentic evidence. Mr Willoughby, in his Ornithology, remarks, " We have been assured by a friend of ours, a person of very good credit, that his father kept a goose known to be fourscore years of age, and as yet sound and lusty, and like enough to have lived many years longer, had he not been forced to kill her for her mischievousness, worrying and destroying the young geese and goslings." In another part of this valuable work, Mr Willoughby tells us, " that he has been assured by credible persons that a goose will live a hundred years and more." In man and quadrupeds, the duration of life bears some pro- portion to the time of their growth. But, in birds, their growth, and their powers of reproduction, are more rapid, although they live proportionally longer. Some species of birds, as all the gallinaceous tribes, can make use of their limbs the moment they issue from the shell; and, in a month or five weeks after, they can likewise employ their wings. A dunghill cock does not acquire his full growth in less than a year. The smaller birds are perfect in four or five months. They grow more rapidly, and produce much sooner than quadrupeds, and yet live proportionally much longer. In man and quadrupeds the duration of life is six or seven times more than that of their growth. According to this rule a cock or a parrot, which arrive at their full growth and pow- 302 LONGEVITY OF ANIMALS. ers in one year, should not live above six or seven. But na- ture knows none of our rules. She accommodates her con- duct, not to our shallow, and often presumptuous conclusions, but to the preservation of species, and to the support and general balance of the great system of animated beings. Ravens, though capable of providing for themselves in less than a year, sometimes have their lives protracted more than a century. The Count de Buffon informs us, that, in several places in France, ravens have been known to arrive at this extraordinary age, and that, at all times, and in all countries, they have been esteemed birds of great longevity. " Eagles," says Mr Pennant, " are remarkable for their lon- gevity, and for4lheir power of sustaining a long abstinence from food. A golden eagle, which has now been nine years in possession of Owen Holland, Esq. of Conway, lived thirty- two years with the gentleman who made him a present of it; but what its age was when the latter received it from Ireland is unknown. The same bird also furnishes a proof of the truth of the other remark, having once through the neglect of servants, endured hunger for twentyone days without any sus- tenance whatsoever." The Pelican that was kept at Mechlin in Brabant during the reign of the Emperor Maximilian, was believed to be eighty years of age. " What is reported of the age of eaglesand ravens," says Mr Willoughby, " although it exceeds all belief, yet doth it evince that those birds are very longlived. Pigeons have been known to live from twenty to twentytwo years. Even the smaller birds live very long in proportion to the time of their growth and the size of their bodies. Linnets, goldfinches, &e, often live in cages fifteen, twenty, and even twentythree years. Fishes, whose bones are more cartilaginous than those of men and quadrupeds, are long of acquiring their utmost growth, and many of them live to great ages. Gesner gives an instance of a carp in Germany which he knew to be one hundred years old. Buffon informs us, that, in the Count Maurepas' ponds, he had seen carps of one hundred and fifty years of age, and that the fact was attested in the most satis- factory manner. He even mentions one which he supposed to be two hundred years old. Two methods have been devis- ed for ascertaining the age of fishes, namely, by the circles of the scales, and by a transverse section of the backbone. When a scale of a fish is examined by the microscope, it is found to consist of a number of circles one within another. resembling, in some measure, those rings that appear on the iishes. n!;i'r!Li;s. 303 transverse sections of trees, by which their ages are computed. In the same manner, the ages of fishes, may be ascertained by the number of circles on their scales, reckoning for each ring one year of the animal's existence. The ages of Buflbn's carps were chiefly determined by the circles on their scales. The age of fishes that want scales, such as the skate and ray kind, may be pretty exactly known by separating the joints of the backbone, and observing minutely the number of rings which the surface exhibits. Both of these methods may be liable to deception ; but they are the only natural ones which have hitherto been discovered. The longevity of fishes has been ascribed to several causes. The element in which they live is more uniform, and less subject to accidental changes than the air of our atmosphere. Their bones, which are more of a cartilaginous nature than those of land animals, admit of indefinite extension ; of course their bodies, instead of suffering the rigidity of age at an early period, which is the natural cause of death, continue to grow much longer than those of most land animals. As to the age of Reptiles, probably from the uninteresting nature of the animals, we have very little information. But two letters of J. Arscott, Esq. of Tehott in Devonshire, concern- ing the longevity of a toad, deserve some notice. These letters were addressed to Dr Milles, Dean of Exeter, and by him communicated to Mr Pennant in the year 1768. " It would give me the greatest pleasure," says Mr Arscott, " to be able to inform you of any particulars worthy Mr Pennant's notice, concerning the toad who lived so many years with us, and was so great a favorite.—It had frequented some steps before the hall door some years before my acquaintance com- menced with it, and had been admired by my father for its size (which was the largest I ever met with), who constantly paid it a visit every evening. I knew it myself above thirty years, and, by constantly feeding it, brought it to be so tame, that it always came to the candle, and looked up, as if ex- pecting to be taken and brought upon the table, where I al- ways fed it with insects of all sorts.—You may imagine that a toad, generally detested (although one of the most inoffen- sive of all animals), so much taken notice of and befriended, excited the curiosity of all comers to the house, who all de- sired to see it fed ; so that even ladies so far conquered the horrors instilled into them by nurses, as to desire to see it." In the second letter, Mr Arscott remarks, " I cannot say how long my father had been acquainted with the toad before I 304 LONGEVITY OF ANIMALS. knew it ; but, when I was first acquainted with it, he used to mention it as the old toad I have known so many years ; I can answer for thirty six years."—•• In respect to its end, had it not been for a tame raven, I make no doubt it would have been now living, who one day seeing it at the mouth of its hole, pulled it out, and though I rescued it, pulled out one eye, and hurt it so that notwithstanding its living a twelve- month, it never enjoyed itself, and had a difficulty in taking its food, missing the mark, for want of its eye. Before that accident it had all the appearance of perfect health." Most Insects, especially after their last transformation, are shortlived. But the species are continually supported by their wonderful fecundity. Those animals whose parts require a long time of hardening and expanding, are endowed with a proportional degree of longevity. Insects grow, and their bodies harden, more quickly than those of larger animals. Many of them complete their growth in a few weeks, and even in a few days. The duration of their existence is ac- cordingly limited to very short periods. Some species of flies lie in a torpid state during the winter, and revive when the heat of spring or summer returns. The ephemeron flies, of which there are several kinds, seldom live above one day, or one hour, after their transformation. But to continue the species, nature has taken care that myriads of males and females should be transformed nearly at the same instant. Other kinds are transformed more irregularly, and live several days. Here the wisdom of nature is conspicuous; she pro- longs the existence of these animals for no other purpose but to make provision for the continuance of the species. Bees, and flies of all kinds, after lying long in water and having every appearance of death, revive by the application of a gentle heat, or by covering their bodies with ashes, chalk, or sand, which absorb the superfluous moisture from their pores. Reaumur made many experiments upon the reviviscence of drowned bees. He found, that after being immersed in water for nine hours, some of them returned to life ; but he ac- knowledges that many of them, in the fourth part of this time, were actually dead, and that neither heat nor the application of absorbent powders, could restore them to life. Analogical reasoning is often deceitful, but it frequently leads to useful truths. As flies of all kinds, after immersion in water, and exhibiting every mark of actual death, can be restored to life by covering their bodies with any absorbent substance, with- out the assistance of a heat superior to that of the common LONGEVITY OF PLANTS. 305 atmosphere, might not the ordinary methods employed for the recovery of drowned persons be assisted by the applica- tion of warm ashes or chalk ? The structure of a fly and that of a man, it is allowed, are very different. But in desperate cases, when every other method fails, no fact should be over- looked, and no analogy despised. Plants differ as much in the periods of their existence, as animals. Many plants perish yearly ; others are biennial, triennial, &e But the longevity and magnitude of particu- lar trees are prodigious. We are informed by Mr Evelyn, that in the bodies of some English oaks, when cut transversely, three and even four hundred rings of wood have been distin- guished. A ring of wood is added annually to the trunks of trees; and, by counting the rings, the age of any tree may be pretty exactly ascertained. With regard to ttie magnitude of oaks, some of them are huge masses. Dr Hunter, in his notes upon Evelyn's Sylva, remarks, that none " of the oaks mentioned by Mr Evelyn bear any proportion to one now growing at Cowthorpe, near Wetherby, upon an estate be- longing to the Right Hon. Lady Stourton. The dimensions are almost incredible. Within three feet of the surface, it measures sixteen yards, and, close by the ground, twentysix yards. Its height, in its present and ruinous state (1770), is about eightyfive feet, and its principal limb extends sixteen yards from the bole. When compared to this, all other trees are but children of the forest." From the facts which have been enumerated, it appears, that all animals, as well as vegetables, have stated periods of existence, and that their dissolution is uniformly accomplish- ed by a gradual hardening and desiccation of their constituent parts. No art, no medicine, can retard the operations of nature. It is, therefore, the wisdom and the duty of every human being to sail down the irresistible current of nature with all possible tranquillity and resignation. Life, whether short or long, whether fortunate or unfortunate, when the fatal period arrives, is of little consequence to the individual. Society, knowledge, virtue, and benevolence, are our only rational enjoyments, and ought to be cultivated with diligence. With regard to animals in general, the actual duration of their lives is very different. But the comparative shortness or length of life, in particular animals, probably depends on the quickness or slowness of the ideas which pass in their minds, or of the impressions made upon their senses. A rapid succession of ideas or impressions makes time seem propor- 39 306 ACTUAL DURATION OF LIFE. tionally long. There is likewise a connexion between the quickness and slowness of ideas, and the circulation of the blood. A man whose pulse is slow and sluggish, is generally dull and phlegmatic. Raise the same man's pulse with wine, or any other exhilarating stimulus, and you immediately quicken his sensations, as well as the train of his ideas. In all young animals the circulation of the blood is much more rapid than after they have acquired their full growth. Young animals accordingly, are frolicksome, vivacious, and happy. But, when their growth is completed, the motion of the blood is slower, and their manners, of course, are more sedate, gloomy, and pensive. Another circumstance merits attention. The circulation of the blood is slower or quicker in propor- tion to the magnitude of animals. In large animals, such as man and quadrupeds, the blood moves slowly, and the suc- cession of their ideas is proportionally slow. In the more minute kinds, as mice, small birds, squirrels, &e, the circula- tion is so rapid that the pulsations of their arteries cannot be counted. Now, animals of this description astonish us with the quickness of their movements, the vivacity of their man- ners, and the extreme cheerfulness of their dispositions. Reaumur, Condilla^, and many other philosophers, con- sider duration as a relative idea, depending on a train of con- scious perception and sentiment. It is certain that the natural measure of time depends solely on the succession of our ideas. Were it possible for the mind to be totally occupied with a single idea for a day, a week, or a month, these por- tions of time would appear to be nothing more than so many instants. Hence a philosopher often lives as long in one day, as a clown or a savage does in a week or a month spent in mental inactivity and want of thought. This subject shall be concluded with a single remark ; if it be true, and we are certain that it is so in part, that animals of every species, whatever be the real duration of their lives, from a slow or rapid succession of ideas, and perhaps from the comparative intensity of their enjoyments, live equally long, and enjoy an equal portion of individual happiness, it opens a wonderful view of the great benevolence of Nature. To store every portion of this globe with animal life, she has amply peopled the earth, the air, and the waters. The mul- tifarious inhabitants of these elements, as to the actual duration of their lives, are extremely diversified. But, by variation of forms, of magnitude, of rapidity of ideas, of intensity of plea- sures, and, perhaps, of many other circumstances, she has con- ferred upon the whole nearly an equal portion of happiness. PROGRESSIVE SCALE OF BEINGS. 307 CHAPTER XV. OF THE PROGRESSIVE SCALE OR CHAIN OF BEINGS IN THE UNIVERSE. To men of observation and reflection, it is apparent, that all the beings on this earth, whether animals or vegetables, have a mutual connexion and a mutual dependence on each other. There is a graduated scale or chain of existence, not a link of which, however seemingly insignificant, could be broken without affecting the whole. Superficial men, or, which is the same thing, men who avoid the trouble of serious thinking, wonder at the design of producing certain insects and reptiles. But they do not consider that the annihilation of any one of these species, though some of them are incon- venient, and even noxious to man, would make a blank in nature, and prove destructive to other species, which feed upon them. These, in their turn, would be the cause of destroying other species, and the system of devastation would gradually proceed, till man himself would be extirpated, and leave this earth destitute of all animation. In the chain of animals, man is unquestionably the chief or capital link. As a highly rational animal, improved with sci- ence and arts, he is, in some measure, related to beings of a superior order, wherever they exist. By contemplating the works of nature, he even rises to some faint ideas of her great Author. Why, it has been asked, are not men endowed with the capacity and powers of angels? beings of whom we have not even a conception. With the same propriety it may be asked, Why have not beasts the mental powers of men? Questions of this kind are the results of ignorance, which is always petulent and presumptuous. Every creature is per- fect, according to its destination. Raise or depress any order of beings, the whole system, of course, will be deranged, and a new world would be necessary to contain and support them. Particular orders of beings should not be considered sepa- rately, but by the rank they hold in the general system. From man to the minutest animalcule which can be discov- ered by the microscope, the chasm seems to be infinite; but that chasm is actually filled up with sentient beings, of which the lines of discrimination are almost imperceptible. All of 308 PROGRESSIVE SCALE OF BEINGS. them possess degrees of perfection or of excellence propor- tioned to their station in the universe. Even among mankind, which is a particular species, the scale of intellect is very extensive. What a difference between an enlightened phi- losopher and a brutal Hottentot! Still, however, nature ob- serves, for the wisest purposes, her uniform plan of gradation. In the human species, the degrees of intelligence are ex- tremely varied. Were all men philosophers, the business of life could not be executed, and neither society, nor even the species could long exist. Industry, various degrees of know- ledge, different dispositions, and different talents, are great bonds of society. The Gentoos, from certain political and religious institutions, have formed their people into different castes or ranks, out of which their posterity can never emerge. To us such institutions appear to be tyrannical, and restraints on the natural liberty of man. In some respects they are so ; but they seem to have been originally results of wisdom and observation; for, independently of all political institutions, nature herself has formed the human species into castes or ranks. To some she gives superior genius and mental abili- ties ; and, even of these, the views, the pursuits, and the tastes, are most wonderfully diversified. In the talents and qualities of quadrupeds of the same spe- cies, there are often remarkable differences. These differ- ences are conspicuous in the various races of horses, dogs, &c. Even among the same races, some are bold, sprightly, and sng-aeious. Others are comparatively timid, phlegmatic, ' and dull. Our knowledge of the chain of intellectual and corporeal beings is very imperfect; but what we do know gives us ex- alted ideas of that variety and progression which reign in the universe. A thick cloud prevents us from recognising the most beautiful and magnificent parts of this immense chain of being. We shall endeavour, however, to point out a few of the more obvious links of that chain, which falls under our own limited observation. Man, even by his external qualities, stands at the head of this world. His relations are more extensive, and his form more advantageous, than those of any other animal. His in- tellectual powers, when improved by society and science, raise him so high, that, if no degrees of excellence existed among his own species, he would leave a great void in the chain of being. Were we to consider the characters, the manners, and the genius of different nations, of different pro- PROGRESSIVE SCALE OF BEINGS. 309 vinces and towns, and even of the members of the same fami- ly, we should imagine that the species of men were as various as the number of individuals. How many gradations may be traced between a stupid Huron, or a Hottentot, and a pro- found philosopher! Here the distance is immense; but na- ture has occupied the whole by almost infinite shades of dis- crimination. ' In descending the scale of animation, the next step brings us to the monkey tribe. Man, in many particulars, undoubt- edly resembles the animals of this tribe, more especially in his bodily structure. But even in this respect, the lowest variety of the human species does not nearly so much resem- ble the highest of the apes, as the latter do the majority of quadrupeds. In short, notwithstanding the attempts of some philosophers to confound their own species with monkeys, it requires only a small share of knowledge of the anatomical structure of animals, and the general principles of natural history, to convince any one of the folly and absurdity of such speculations. ' In the families of bats, of carnivorous, and of gnawing animals, there is a gradual departure in their form and struc- ture from that of the original standard, man. Instead of fingers fitted for delicate motions and sensations, they are possessed only of claws which are capable of far less varied application and utility ; and passing on still farther we find in the ruminating and pachydermatous animals the toes en- veloped in hoofs of different sizes and numbers, which totally prevent them from being used for anything but locomotion. 'There is not only this regular gradation among individu- als belonging to the same class, but there are instances in which the individuals of different classes very nearly approach each other in certain particulars. The bat, the flying squirrel, the flying opossum, are instances of animals of the class mam- malia, approximating to that of birds in the possession of wings or organs resembling them, whilst the ornithorhynchus resembles them in the structure of its mouth, and its mode of producing its young by eggs. On the other hand the ostrich, the cassowary and the dodo, which have wings so short as to be incapable of flying, and therefore always run or walk, are instances of birds approaching, in some degree, to the char- acter of quadrupeds. So too, the cetaceous tribe affords an example of the transition from the mammalia to fishes; the flying fish, of the transition from birds to fishes; the dragons, of that from birds to reptiles. Many other examples might 310 PROGRESSIVE SCALE OF BEINGS. be adduced in illustration of the same principle, among the vertebral animals; and among the invertebral, the connex- ions and relations of this sort are so numerous, as to form a great obstacle to the proper division of them into classes and orders. ' All the substances we recognise on this earth may be di- vided into organized and animated, organized and inanimated, and unorganized or brute matter. The whole of these pos- sess degress of perfection, of excellence, or of relative utility, proportioned to their stations or ranks in the universe. Change these stations or ranks, and another world would be neces- sary to contain and support them. Beings must not be con- templated individually, but by their rank, and the relations they have to the constituent parts of the general system of nature. Certain results of their natures we consider as evils. Destroy these evils, and you annihilate the beings who com- plain of them. The reciprocal action of the solids and fluids constitutes life, and the continuation of this action is the natural cause of death. Immortality on this earth, therefore, presupposes another system ; for our planet has no relation to immortal beings. Every animal, and every plant, rises, by gentle gradations, from an embryo, or gelatinous state, to a certain degree of perfection exactly proportioned to their several orders. An assemblage of all the orders of relative perfection constitutes the absolute perfection of the whole. All the planets of this system gravitate toward the sun and toward each other. Our system gravitates toward other sys- tems, and they to ours. Thus the whole universe is linked together by a gradual and almost imperceptible chain of exTstences both animated and inanimate. Were there no other argument in favor of the unity of deity, this unifor- mity of design, this graduated concatenation of beings, which appears not only from this chapter, but from many other parts of the book, seems to be perfectly irrefragable. < In contemplating man as at the head of those animals with which we are acquainted, and viewing him in connexion with the economy of the world about him, it appears obvious that no sentient being, whose physical construction was more deli- cate, or whose mental powers were more elevated, than those of man, could possibly live and be happy here. If such a be- ing really existed, his misery would be extreme. With sen- ses more refined and acute ; with perceptions more delicate and penetrating ; with a taste so exquisite that the objects around him could by no means gratify it; obliged to feed up- PROGRESSIVE SCALE OF BEINGS. 311 on nourishment too gross for his frame ; he must be born only to be miserable, and the continuation of his existence would be utterly impossible. Even in our present condition, the sameness and insipidity of objects and pursuits, the futility of pleasure, and the infinite sources of excruciating pain, bring constantly to our minds a conviction of the imperfections at- tendant on our present state of being. Increase our sensibi- lities, continue the same objects and situation, and no man could bear to live. Let man therefore be contented with the powers and the sphere of action assigned him. There is an exact adaptation of his powers, capacities, and desires, both bodily and intellectual, to the scene in which he is destined to move. His station in the scale of nature is fixed by wis- dom. Let him study the works of nature, and find in the contemplation of all that is beautiful, curious, and wonderful in them, proofs of the existence and attributes of his Creator. Let him see in his own structure and that of all other animals, and in the whole economy of the universe, animate and inanimate, the evidences of the wisdom, the skill, the benevolence, and the justice, of that great and overruling Intelligence, who has made all things, and who upholds all things. Let him find in the contemplation of the final destiny which is promised him, a source of consolation for the imperfections, pains, and trials, of the present state of being. Let him fill up his rank here with dignity, and consider every partial evil as a cause, or an effect, of general ultimate good ; and let him adore and worship that great and good Being, who has, even in this state of discipline and probation, dispensed so many blessings to alleviate its necessary and unavoidable evils. ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. CHAPTER I. OF THE NATURE OF LIVING BODIES AND THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN ANIMALS AND VEGETABLES. Common division of natural objects into the mineral, vegetable, and ani- mal kingdoms not perfectly accurate .... 1-2 Division into those possessed of life and those not possessed of life 2 Distinctions between these two . 2-6 Distinction between animals and vegetables 6-12 CHAPTER II. GENERAL REMARKS ON THE STRUCTURE OF VEGETABLES. Great simplicity and uniformity in the structure of plants Circulation of the sap in annual plants .... Differences in the circulation in plants of larger growth and trees, and the formation of the bark and wood Object of this arrangement ..... Of the other functions of vegetables ... CHAPTER HI. OF THE STRUCTURE OF ANIMALS. Sect. I. General Classification of Animals. Necessity of some system of Arrangement .... Two grand divisions of Animals, Vertebral and Invertebral Vertebral division subdivided into warm-blooded and cold-blooded Warm-blooded vertebral animals, two classes, Mammalia and Birds Cold-blooded vertebral animals, two classes, Reptiles and Fishes Invertebral division subdivided into five classes, Insects, Crustacea, Mollusca, Vermes or Worms, Zoophytes Objects and nature of the divisions into orders, genera, and species 40 12-13 13 13-14 14 14-15 15 15-16 17 17 17 17 IS 18-19 314 CONTENTS. Sect. II. Class I.—Mammalia. 20 This class at the head of the animal kingdom, and contains Man 20 General similarity in the anatomical structure of the Mammalia 20 Description of the anatomy of Man ; head, vertebral column, spinal marrow, ribs, cavity of the chest, cavity of the abdomen, pelvis, and limbs ....... 20-22 Digestion; action of the jaws and teeth ; function of the stomach and gastric juice ...... 22-23 Function of the intestines ; effect of the bile and pancreatic juice; absorption of the chyle by the lacteals, and passage into the left subclavian vein ....... 23 Circulation of the blood. Structure and office of the heart 23-24 Course of the blood from the left subclavian vein through the heart, lungs, and body, and influence of the air upon it . . 24-25 Termination of the circulation in the capillary vessels 25 Of the brain, nerves, and senses .... 25-26 Structure of other Mammalia .... 27 Division into nine orders. Characters of the orders 27-28 1. Bimana. Man the only instance of this order. Attempts to confound him with apes. How distinguished . . 28-29 Causes of man's superiority to other animals . . 29-30 Races of mankind; 1st, Caucasian ; 2d, Mongolian; 3d, African ; 4th, American; 5th, Malay. Account of these varieties . 30-32 Progress of man to the civilized state . 32-34 2. Quadrumana. Structure, habits, &c. Apes, Monkeys, Ba- boons, Sapajous, Orang-outang, Chimpanze, Pongo 34-36 3. Carnivora. Divided into several families ; 1st, Bats; 2d, In- sectivora,—Hedge-hog, Mole, &c.; 3d, Truly carnivorous ani- mals,—Dog, Lion, Tiger, &c. 4th, Amphibia,—Seal and Morse 36-42 4. Rodentia. Beaver, Jerboa, Hamster, Marmot, &c. . 42-44 5. Edentata. Sloth, Armadillo, Ant-eater, &c. ... 44 6. Ruminantia. Camel and Dromedary, Lama, Bison, Cainelo- pard, &c. ....... 45-48 7. Pachydermata. Elephant, Mammoth, Hippopotamus, Rhino- ceros, Tapir, Hog, Horse, Ass, &c. 48-51 8. Cetacea. Manati,—Sea-cow and Dugong. Blowers,—Whales, Porpoises, &c. ...... 51-52 9. Marsupialia. Account of their structure. Opossum, Phalan- gers, Kangaroo, Ornithorhynchus .... 52-55 Sect. III. Class II.—Birds. 55 Peculiarities in the structure of birds to adapt them tor flight 55 Organs of Digestion. Senses. .... 56-57 Orders of Birds. 1. Accipitres. Birds of Prey 57-58 2. Passeres. The Sparrow tribe;—Birds of Paradise, Humming birds, &c. ...... • 58-59 3. Sconsores. Climbers;—Woodpecker, Cuckoo, Parrot, Toucan,&c. 59-60 CONTENTS. 315 4. Gallinacece. Gallinaceous Birds;—Peacock, Turkey, Cock, Quail, &c. ...•• 60 5. Grallte. Waders or Shore Birds;—Flamingo, Ostrich, Rail, Plover, &c.......60-61 6. JJnseres. W ebfooted Birds;—Goose, Duck, Petrel, Cormorant, &c. 61 Sect. IV. Class III—Reptiles. 61 Peculiarities in the structure of Reptiles .... 61-62 Orders of Reptiles. 1. Chelonia. Tortoises . 62 2. Sauria. Lizards;—Crocodile, Cameleon, Dragon, Alligator, &c. 62-63 3. Ophidia. Serpents;—Venomous and not venomous 63-64 4. Batrachia. Frog, Toad, Salamander, Proteus, Siren, &c. 64-65 Sect. V. Class IV.—Fishes. 65 Peculiarities in the structure of Fishes .... 65-67 Sect. VI. Class V.—Insects. 67 Structure of Insects. Dorsal vessel. Mode of Respiration. Ner- vous system, senses ...... 67 No internal skeleton, external covering ... 67 Head of insects, mouth and organs around it, jaws and mode of action ....... 68 Legs and wings of insects. Abdomen . . . 68-69 Metamorphoses of Insects ...... 69 Three stages of existence, Larva, Chrysalis, Perfect insect . 70 Orders of Insects. 1. Coleoptera. Beetles, &c. ... 71 2. Hemiptera. Grasshopper, Cricket, &c. ... 71 3. Lepidoptera. Butterfly, Moth .... 71 4. JYeuroptera. Dragon-fly, Ephemera, &c. . 71 5. Hymenoptera. Ant, Wasp, Bee, &c. ... 72 6. Diptera. House-fly, Gnat, Musquito, &c. 72 7. Aptera. Millepedes, Flea, Louse, &c. ... 73 Family of the Arachnides or Spiders .... 73 Their mode of transporting themselves through the air . 73 Sect. VII. Class VI.— Crustacea. 74 Resemblance in some points to insects .... 74 Structure, shell, claws ; singular structure of the stomach in some species ....••■• 75 Sect. VIII. Class VII.—Mollusca. 76 Destitutesof bones and articulated limbs. Testaceous covering to many species ... • • 76 Nervous system, respiration, circulation, digestion ... 77 Orders of Mollusca ..... 77 Structure of the Cuttle-fish, their size 77-78 Oyster, clam, &c. Organ of locomotion 79 316 CONTENTS. Sect. IX. Class VIII.—Vermes or Worms. SO Structure of Worms. Earth-worm, Leech, and Hair-worm 80-81 Sect. X. Class IX.—Zoophytes. 82 Lowest in the scale of the animated creation. Imperfectly known 82 Echinodermata, most perfect of the class. Singular mode of loco- motion ....... 82 Intestinal worms, found in all animals; mode of production • 83 Sea-nettles or Sea-anemones, Medusae, Polypes, Animalcules 83-84 PHILOSOPHY OF NATURAL HISTORY CHAPTER I. OF RESPIRATION. 85 Nature and composition of the Air. Influence it exerts on the blood 85-86 Respiration of the Mammalia. Effects of other kinds of air 86 Changes which take place in the air and in the blood. Animal Heat 87 Connexion and mutual relation of respiration and circulation . 88 Respiration subservient to other purposes;—voice, laughing, cry- ing, &c. ....... 88-89 Respiration in Birds, how carried on. Arrangement of their lungs 90 Objects answered by this arrangement. Voice of Birds . 91 Respiration of Reptiles. Temperature of their bodies . 91-92 Respiration of Fishes ; air necessary to them 92-93 Respiration of Insects. Different modes in which it is effected 93-97 Respiration of the Crustacea, Mollusca, Worms, and Zoophytes 97-98 Respiration of Plants ...... 98-99 CHAPTER II. OF THE MOTIONS OF ANIMALS. 100 Motions of Animals, voluntary and involuntary . 100 Nature and organs of voluntary motion . . 100-101 Nature and organs of involuntary motion .... 101-102 Different motions of animals adapted to their mode of life, and pro- portioned to their weight and structure 102-104 Mode in which locomotion is performed by the sea and fresh-water Muscles, the Limpin, Spout-fish, Scallop, Oyster, Sea-urchin, Medusa or Sea-nettle ...... 104-108 CHAPTER HI. OF INSTINCT. 109 Instinct and mental powers of animals .... 109 • CONTENTS. 317 Difference between man and other animals in capacity for improve- ment ....-••■ Different effects of instinct and intelligence Division of Instincts into, 1. Pure Instincts. Examples 2. Instincts which can accommodate themselves to peculiar cir- cumstances and situations, or such as are improvable by ex- perience and observation. Examples .... Of the notion that animals are machines. Nature and extent of their faculties . *. CHAPTER IV. OF THE SENSES. Senses never more than five. All sensation conveyed by nerves 1. Of Smelling. Its seat in the pituitary or schneiderian membrane Offices of this sense in Man and other animals Of this sense in Fishes and Invertebral animals 2. Of Tasting. Organ of Taste. Manner in which the sensa- tion is produced ...-■■ Offices of this sense, and varieties of it 3. Of Hearing. Organ of Hearing. Medium of sound. Reflec- tion and velocity of sound • Modifications of sound. Offices of this sense. Language 4. Of Touch. Feeling universally diffused. Touch confined to particular parts ...... Organs of Touch. Offices of this sense. Effects of habit upon it 5. Of Seeing. Structure of the eye Of Light, and the maimer in which it produces vision Of some inexplicable phenomena of vision Of the distances of objects as determined by the eye .CHAPTER V. OF INFANCY. Of Infancy in the human species ..... Modes of managing Infants among different nations Proper management of Infants . . . • Of Infancy in Quadrupeds .... In Birds, Fishes, Insects, &c CHAPTER VI. OF THE GROWTH AND FOOD OF ANIMALS. Of the mode in which the nutrition of animals is effected Of the food of man—customs of different nations. Nature of man in respect to food ....-•• Of the food of animals. Rapidity of growth in some worms Of the function of digestion. Experiments of Spallanzani on stom- achs of different kinds 109-110 110 111-113 114 115-116 117 117 117 118-119 119 120 120-121 122-124 123-125 125-126 126-128 128-129 129 130-132 132-134 134 134-135 135-136 136-138 140 140-141 141 141-142 142-144 144-148 148-151 318 CONTENTS. Experiments of Dr Stevens on digestion in man Mr Hunter's opinion of the powers of the stomach 151-153 153-154 CHAPTER VII. OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF ANIMALS. 154 Change which takes place in Man, Quadrupeds, Birds, Reptiles, &c. 154-157 Transformation of Insects. Of the metamorphoses which commonly take place . . . . 157-160 Transformations which differ from the common mode. Spider-fly, Crane-fly, Nut-gall insect, Moth, and Silk-worm . 160-164 Mode in which the metamorphosis takes place . 164 Changes in plants. Monstrous flowers .... 164-166 Composition and decomposition of plants and animals 166 Final intention of Nature in these changes 166-168 CHAPTER VIII. OF THE HABITATIONS OF ANIMALS. Habitations of the same species uniform. Man an exception Habitations of Quadrupeds. Marmot, Beaver, and Mole Nests of Birds. Rapacious Birds. Magpies, Tailor-bird, Gallinace- ous birds, Cuckoo, Passerine birds, Chinese swallow, Waders, Webfooted birds ...... Habitations of Insects. Solitary workers,—Mason-bee, Woodpier- cers, Solitary bees, Solitary wasps .... Associating Insects. Combs of the Honey bees; mode in which they are constructed; materials employed and mode of prepara- tion ........ Propolis, and the purposes for which it is collected by bees. Col- lection of honey ...... Habitations of Wasps, materials and constructlfe; great fertility of Wasps ....... Some account of their manners and internal economy Habitations and economy of Ants . . Of the Termites or white Ants; of the species denominated Ter- mites bellicosi; the three orders—Laborers, Soldiers, and Nobility ...... Their great changes of form and size, and wonderful fertility Appearance of their nests, their construction; the royal chambers, and nurseries ...... Courage and obstinacy with which they defend their habitations 168 168 168-174 174-179 179-186 186-190 190-192 192-194 194-199 199-201 201-202 202-203 203-207 207-209 CHAPTER IX. OF THE HOSTILITIES OF ANIMALS. General destruction of animal life .... Man the universal destroyer .... 209 209-210 210-212 CONTENTS. 319 Carnivorous Quadrupeds,—Lion, Tiger, Wolf, &c. Rapacious Birds, their number less than of Quadrupeds All Fishes rapacious Rapacity of different species of Insects . . Man not the only animal that makes war with his own species Massacres of the male bees by the neuters. Wars of Bees Havock and cruelty among wasps . Of the final causes of this system of animal destruction, and the balance which it preserves in the creation between different kinds of animals ...... 212-214 214-215 215-216 216-219 219 220 220-221 221-227 CHAPTER X. OF THE ARTIFICES OF ANIMALS. 227 Sources of the artifices of animals ..... 227 Cattle, Horses, Monkeys ..... 227-228 Arts used by the Stag, Fallow-deer, Roe-buck, and Hare, when hunted ........ 228-230 Craftinesss and address of the Fox .... 230-232 Glutton and Kamtschatka rat ..... 232-233 Of birds. Singular artifice of the Nine-killer . . 233-235 Ofthe inhabitants of the ocean,—Fishes, Shell-fish, &c. . 235-236 Of the Insect tribes ...... 236-237 CHAPTER XI. OF THE SOCIETY OF ANIMALS. 238 Not confined to the human species .... 238 Origin of Society among mankind ..... 238-240 The associating principle natural to man ; advantages of society 240 1. Proper Societies. Man, Beaver, Hampster, Pairing birds . 240-243 Of the Honey-bees, common Caterpillar, processionary Caterpil- lar, republican Caterpillar, Ants .... 243-248 2. Improper Societies. Ox, Deer, Sheep, Hogs, wild Dogs 249-250 Society between animals of different species . 250 CHAPTER XII. OF THE DOCILITY OF ANIMALS. 250 Man superior to all other animals in ductility of mind . 250-251 Accounts of the Orang-outang by Buffon, Brosse, Pyrard, &c 251-253 Ofthe Elephant, its sagacity, docility, utility, &c. . 253-260 Ofthe Dog, Horse, Oxen ofthe Hottentots 260-265 Articulation of words by some birds .... 265-266 Musical and imitative faculties of singing birds 266 Effects of Domestication upon different animals, in size, shape, color, &c. . . • • • • 266-268 OfAlbinoes........268-269 320 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIII. OF THE COVERING, MIGRATION, AND TORPIDITY OF ANIMALS. Man capable of inhabiting in every climate Constitutions of other animals not no accommodating Means by which they are protected against climate and seasons 1. Changes in the color and quantity of hair, fur, feathers, &c, in different climates and seasons ..... How these changes operate to maintain the proper animal tem- perature ....... 2. Migration. Of birds. Swallows, question as to their torpidity or migration ....... British species of swallows; their times of appearance and disap- pearance ....... Different opinions concerning the periodical appearance and disap- pearance of Swallows ...... Of Summer and Winter birds of passage; their residence in dif- ferent seasons ...... Ofthe Wild Goose, Solan Geese, or Gannets in the Frith of Forth and at St Kilda ....... Of Partial migrations. Circumstances attending migrations The great rapidity of the flight of birds removes one objection to their migration ...... Migration not peculiar to Birds. Migrations of the human species Migrations of Quadrupeds, and of Reptiles .... Migrations of Fishes ;—Salmon, Herring, Mackerel, 8tc, and of the Land Crab ....... Migrations of Insects. Migration to a certain extent a universal principle ....... 3. Torpidity. Quadrupeds which become torpid Temperature diminished in the torpid state ... Diminution in the force and rapidity of the circulation Causes of torpidity, and some phenomena attending it Of the torpidity of Birds, Reptiles, &c. ... 269 269 269-270 270 271 271 272-273 273-274 274-279 279 279-280 280-282 282-283 283-284 284-285 285-289 289-290 290-291 291 291 291 292-293 CHAPTER XIV. OF THE LONGEVITY AND DISSOLUTION OF ORGANIZED BODIES. 293 293 293-294 294 295-296 Dissolution of organized bodies a general law of nature Length of the life of Man ..... Instances of longevity from Pliny . . . . . Instances of longevity in modern times .... Professor Silliman's account of a very aged man in the State of New York ....... In Women the operation ofthe causes of death often retarded Circumstances which favor Longevity in Man and other Animals . Table of the Longevity of Quadrupeds, their period of Maturity, and Number of Young ...... 296-298 298 299-300 300-301 CONTENTS. 321 Great Longevity of Birds and Fishes .... 301-303 Length of the life of Reptiles. Remarkable Toad 303-304 Shortness of the life of Insects ..... 304 Great diversity in the Longevity of Plants 305 Actual duration of life in Man and other animals 305-306 Benevolence of the provisions of nature in this respect 306 CHAPTER XV. OF THE PROGRESSIVE SCALE OR CHAIN OF BEINGS IN THE UNIVERSE. Mutual connexion and dependence of all created things 307 Man the chief link in the chain of animals . 307-308 His structure and powers adapted to the rank which he holds 308 Uniform plan of Gradation in nature .... 308 Gradation from Man downwards, through the Monkeys, Bats, &c. 308-309 Instances in which individuals of different classes approach each other in structure and powers ..... 309 All substances possessed of powers, qualities, &c, exactly propor- tioned to the relations they maintain in the universe . 310 Unity of design in the Universe an argument for the Unity of God 310 No being superior to Man could exist in this world 310 Conclusion ....... 311 4i EXPLANATION OF SOME OF THE SCIENTIFIC TERMS OR UNUSUAL WORDS WHICH OCCUR IN THE COURSE OF THIS WORK. Accipitrine belonging to the first order of birds, called Accipitres, Birds of Prey . Alburnum, the outer and most recent layer of wood in trees. Alluvia, soils formed from the muddy sediment of rivers, or from the earth washed down by rains and torrents from mountains. Ammonia, or Ammoniacal Gas, a pungent air which gives its peculiar qualities to volatile salts or Hartshorn drops. Antenna, organs of touch situated near the mouth of insects, having many joints. Anther, a small body which contains the pollen or fertilizing dust of flowers ; the anthers are fixed generally on the ends of slender filaments and sur- round the germ or seed-vessel. Articulations, joints formed by the union of bones. Auricles, two appendages to the heart, so called from their supposed resemblance to the external ear (auricula). They are hollow and muscular. Their office is described, pp. 24, 25. Azote, See JVitrogen. Bimanous, two handed ; belonging to the order Bimana. Bivalved, having two valves or shells ; applied to shell-fish, as the oyster, clam, &c. Calcareous, composed of lime. Caloric, the ultimate principle of heat. Canine, as applied to the teeth, designates those commonly called dog-teeth or eye-teeth. They are peculiarly adapted to tearing flesh, p. 27. Capillary, hair like. The extreme vessels of the body are so called on account of their indefinite minuteness. Carbon, pure charcoal ; it is a component part of most animal and vegetable substances. Carbonic acid gas, fixed air; the gas produced by the burning of charcoal, and the effervescence of chalk, marble, and other calcareous substances, with acids. Carbonic oxide, a gas, composed of carbon and oxygen. Carburetted hydrogen, hydrogen combined with a portion of carbon. Cartilage, gristle. Cellular, composed of cells Cetaceous, of the whale kind ; belonging to the order Cetacea. Chlorine, a hi»hly irritating and deleterious gas, produced by the distillation of manganese with muriatic acid. 324 EXPLANATION OF TERMS. Chrysalid, an insect in its second or chrysalis state, p. 70. Cod, the case or envelope formed by many insects to enshroud and protect them during the chrysalis state. Comminution, grinding, or breaking up into small parts. Condiments, substances taken with the food, not containing any nourishment, but used as seasoning, to promote appetite and digestion, as salt, pepper, &c. Congeries, a collection, a heap. Crustaceous, belonging to the class Crustacea, having a shelly covering with joints, allowing the free motion of the body and limbs. Crystalline Lens, a doubly convex lens, formed of a transparent animal sub- stance, situated within the eye, and serving to collect the rays of light passing in at the pupil, and to transmit them to the retina. Diaphragm, the midriff; a broad, thin, muscular membrane, extending across the cavities of the trunk of the body, and separating the thorax or chest, from the abdomen or belly. Dormant, as applied to animals, designates those which pass a part of the year in a state of torpidity. Elytra, cases, the horny or shell like external wings of some insects. Espalier, trees planted and cut so as to join. Extravasate, to pass or force out of the proper containing vessels. Blood which settles under the skin in consequence of a blow, is said to be extravasated. Farina, the dust which bees collect from the antherae and flowers of plants to form into wax. Filament, a substance long and slender like a thread. Frugivorous, feeding upon fruits. Fulcrum, the point of support on which a lever is moved. Gallinaceous, belonging to the fourth order of birds, Gallinacea. Gas, a term used in chemistry, nearly synonymous with air. All fluids which remain in an aeriform state at the ordinary pressure and temperature of the atmosphere are called gases. Gastric, appertaining to the stomach. Gastric juice, a fluid prepared by the stomach to assist in dissolving and digest- ing the food. Gelatinous, of the composition or consistence of jelly. Glands, organs in living bodies intended for the secretion, or separation from the blood, of fluids of various kinds ; as the liver which separates the bile ; the kidneys, the urine, &c. Graminivorous, feeding upon grass. Gregarious, living in flocks and herds. Herbivorous, feeding upon herbs, i. e. plants whose stems are soft and have but little that is woody or fibrous in their texture. Homogeneous, having the same nature or principle. Hydrogen, one of the elements of water; it can only be obtained in the stale of a very light and inflammable gas. Imbricated, arranged like slate or shingles on a roof, or like the scale? of fish. Incisors, Incisive teeth, the front or cutting teeth, p. 27. Incubation, the sitting upon and hatching of eggs. Intumescence, swelling, en'argement. EXPLANATION OF TERMS. 325 Invertebral, without vertebrae, or back-bone ; used to designate one of the two grand divisions of the animal kingdom, including those which have no inter- nal skeleton. Larva, an insect in its first state, commonly called a worm or caterpillar, p. 70. Lens, any circular transparent body with either convex or concave surfaces, for the purpose of collecting or dispersing the rays of light. Locomotion, motion from place to place. Macerate, to soak a substance in any liquid, till its texture is softened. Marsupial. Animals having a pouch or bag (marsupium) for containing their young after birth, are called Marsupial animals ; in this work they are all arranged under one order, Marsupialia, but have been usually distributed among the other orders. Mastication, the act of chewing the food and mixing it with saliva. Membranes, thin, broad expansions of animal substance, covering all the impor- tant organs and lining all the organs and cavities in the bodies of animals. Thus the nose U lined by the schneiderian or pituitary, and the eye covered by the conjunctive membrane ; the stomach and bladder are each formed of several membranes laid together. Menstruum, a dissolvent, any substance in which another substance may be dissolved. Molares, Molar teeth, the grinders or double teeth, p. 27. Mucus, a viscid animal fluid ; such as the phlegm which is poured out from the nose, or raised up from the throat in common colds. Multivalved, having many valves or shells ; applied to some shell-fish, as the sea-urchin, sea-egg, &c. Muscles, (in Anatomy) bundles of fibrous flesh, fixed by tendons or sinews to the bones, and serving to move them one upon another at their joints. In the mammalia, birds, and some reptiles, they are of a red color; in other animals for the most part white. They constitute the greatest portion of the flesh of animals, and are the parts principally used as food. Nectariferous, bearing or producing honey ; applied to certain parts of plant? from which honey is collected. Nidus, a nest; any place where the eggs of animals are deposited for hatching. JVitrogen or Azote, one of the gases which compose atmospheric air ; its qual- ities are negative and its principal use seems to be merely to dilute the oxygen. Nitrous oxide, a gas composed of oxygen and nitrogen in different proportions from those in which they exist in atmospheric air; remarkable for its power of intoxicating and exhilarating those who breathe it. Nymphee, nymphs, insects in their second or chrysalis state. Oesophagus, the gullet; the passage through which the food passes from the mouth to the stomach. Oviparous, producing young by means of eggs. Oxygen, vital air ; the principle upon which atmospheric air depends for its power of supporting life and combustion. It forms also one of the component parts of water. Pachydermatous, thick-skinned ; belonging to the order Pachydermata. Palpi, organs situated near the mouth of some insects, resembling in some degrea the antenna in their structure. 326 EXPLANATION OF TERMS. Papier machi, chewed paper. Papilla. The terminations of the nerves in the skin and other organs of sense are supposed to form little eminences, which are called papilla. Papion a perruque, baboon with a wig. Parachute, a machine often attached to an air balloon, and constructed so as to open like an umbrella, and break the fall of a person descending from any great height in the air. Passerine, belonging to the order Passeres, or birds of the sparrow kind. Peristaltic. The intestines of animals are constantly undergoing a sort of motion, by which their contents are moved through them, which appears like that of the creeping of a worm. It is called their vermicular or peristaltic motion. Permanently elastic, applied to fluids, denotes those which retain their elastic state at the ordinary pressure and temperature of the atmosphere. Petals, the colored leaves of the flowers of plants. Pituitary, one of the names of the membrane lining the nose. Quadrumanous, four-handed, belonging to the order Quadrumana. Radiation of heat, the passing of heat from bodies through an intervening space in rays like light, used in contradistinction to the direct transmission of heat by contact. Radiated, arranged like the radii or rays-of a circle. Rationale, a detail of any course of phenomena or operations with the principle or reason on which they proceed. Retina, a nervous membrane situated at the back part of the eye, and intended to receive the images of external objects ; formed by the expansion of the optic nerve as it comes out from the brain into the eye. Retrograde, going backward, moving backward. Reviviscence, renewal of life. Rugosity, roughness, inequality of any kind. Ruminate, to chew the cud ; this operation is described, pp. 45, 46. Saliva, spittle, the liquid which moistens the mouth, and mixes with the food in mastication. Sapid, having taste. Schneiderian, one of the names of the membrane lining the nose, derived from the name of the anatomist who first described it. Sea-anemone, an animal of the class Zoophytes, so called from some degree of resemblance in its form to an expanded flower. Serrated, notched like a saw. .Spinal, belonging to the back-bone or spine. Spleen, a small oblong organ situated on the left side ofthe stomach, just under the ribs ; of a reddish blue, or purple color and very full of blood. Stalactites, substances deposited in caves or the fissures of rocks from the drop- pings of water which contains lime in solution. Sternum, the breast bone. Stigma, in Botany, the extremity of the germ or seed-vessel of flowers. Stimuli, substances which stimulate or excite. Strata, beds, layers. Subclavian, lying underneath the clavicle or collar-bone ; as the subclavian artery, the subclavian vein. EXPLANATION OF TERMS, 327 Substratum, foundation, groundwork Subtend. A line which passes across from one of the lines forming an angle, to the other, is said to subtend that angle. Sulphuretted Hydrogen, hydrogen combined with a portion of sulphur. Suture, a mode of union which takes place in the bones of the head and face, in which the edge of one bone islet into that of another by means of corres- ponding indentations in each, the line of union appearing like a seam (sutura), whence the name. Tendons, white, smooth, and strong cords by which muscles are generally fixed to the bones ; usually called cords or sinews. Tendrils, the filaments by which creeping or climbing plants attach themselves to other objects for support, as those of the vine, ivy, &c Tentacula, often called feelers ; organs supplying the place of hands and arms to some animals, intended both for feeling, and for seizing and holding food or other substances, or conveying them to the mouth. Testaceous, having a shelly covering, but without joints or articulated limbs. Thorax, the chest, a cavity in the body formed by the back-bone behind, the sternum before, the ribs on each side, and the diaphragm below, which last separates it from the abdomen. Triturate, to pound up or reduce to powder, as in a mortar. Truncated cone, a cone divided, or cut off Umvalved, having only one shell or valve, applied to shell-fish, as the cockle, nautilus, &c. Vascular, consisting of vessels, relating to vessels, i. e. arteries, veins, &c. Venous, appertaining to the veins. Ventricles, muscular cavities of the heart, which receive the blood from the auricles and transmit it by their contraction through the arteries. Their office is described, pp. 24, 25. Vertebra, the bones of which the back-bone is composed. Vertebral, having vertebra ; used to designate one of the grand divisions of the animal kingdom, and including those animals which have an internal skeleton. Viscus, plural Viscera ; used principally to designate organs contained in the great cavities of the body, as the brain, heart, stomach, &c Viviparous, producing young alive.