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•12. SMM 111..  WII.IIAM   The  Philosophy  of  Natural  Historv    Octavo,
original calf  First American edition with signature of Janus  Thompson I "•>"
on front flyleaf.   Beautiful copy.  Robert Campbell, Philadelphia, Pl>l   M v50
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF  MEDICINE
           Washington
Founded 1S3C
U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

           Public Health Scrricc
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V
 
THE
PHILOSOPHY
OF
NATURAL  HISTORY.
By  WILLIAM  SMELLIE,
   MEMBER OF THE ANTIQUARIAN AND ROYAL
          SOCIETIES OF EDINBURGH.
              PHILADELPHIA:

Printed for ROBERT CAMPBELL, bookseller,
  NCRTH-EAST CORNER OF SECOND AND CHESNUT STREET.

                    MDCCXCI. 
 
PREFACE.
   EVERY Preface, befide occafional or expla-
     natory remarks, fhould contain not only
the general defign of the work, but the motives
and circumftances which induced the author to
write upon that particular fubjecl:.   If this plan
had been univerfally obferved, prefaces would
have exhibited a fhort, but a curious and ufe-
ful, hiftory both of literature and of authors.
Influenced by this idea, I (hall give a very com-
pendious account of the origin, defign, and pro-
grefs of the following work.
  About fifteen years  ago,  in  a  converfation
with the late worthy, refpe&able, and ingenious
Lord Kames, upon  the too general neglect of
natural knowledge, his Lordfhip fuggefled the
idea of compofing a book on the Philosophy
of  Natural History.   In a work  of this
kind, he propofed that the  productions of Na-
ture, which to us are almoft infinite, fhould, in-
stead of being treated  of individually,  be  ar-
ranged  under general heads ; that, in  each of
thefe divifions, the known fads, as well as rea-
fonings, fhould be collected and methodifed in
the form of regular difcourfes; that as few tech-
nical terms as poiTible  fhould  be employed; 
IV
PREFACE.
and that all the ufeful and  amufing views arif-
ing from the different  fubjects lhould  be exhi-
bited in fucli a manner as to convey both plea-
fure and information.
  This talk his Lordfhip was pleafed to think
me not altogether unqualified to attempt.  The
idea ilruck me.  I thought that  a work of  tin's
kind, if executed even with moderate abilities,
might excite a tafle for examining the various
objects which every where folicit our attention.
A habit of obfcrvation refines our  feelings.   It
is a fource of interclting  amufement, prevents
idle or vicious propenfities, and exalts the mind
to a love of virtue  and  of rational entertain-
ment.   1 likewife reflected,  that men of learn-
ing often betray an ignorance on the mod com-
mon fubjecls of Natural Hi (lory,  which it  is
painful  to remark.
  I have been occafionally employed, fince the
period which I have mentioned, in collecting
and digefling materials from the  molt authentic
fources.   i hefe materials  I have  intcrfperfed
with fuch obfervations, reflections, and  reafon-
ings, as occurred  to me from confidering the
multifarious fubjecrs of which I  have ventured
to treat.  I knew that a deliberate perufal of the
numerous  writers from  Ariflotle  downwards,
•would require a confiderable  portion of time.
But the avocations of bufinefs, and the tranflat-
ing of a work fo voluminous as  the Natural
Hiflny of the Count de Buff on, rendered my
progrefs much  flower than I  wifhed.   I now,
however,  with much diffidence,  fubmit my la-
bours to public opinion.  An examination of the
Contents, nowever, will convey a more clear idea
                                          of 
PREFACE.        y
of the nature of the work than a multiplicity of
words.  But  I  thought it  proper to  prefix a
fhort account of the circumftances and motives
which induced  me to engage in an undertaking
fo extenfive,  and fo difficult to perform with
tolerable fuccefs.
  With regard  to the manner of writing, it is
perhaps impoffible for a North Briton, in a work
of any extent,  to avoid what are called Scotti-
cifms.  But I have endeavoured to be every
where confpicuous, and to fhun every fentiment
or expreffion which might have a tendency to
injure fociety, or to hurt the feelings of indivi-
duals.
  Indulgent readers, though they mufl perceive
errors and imperfections, will  naturally make
fome allowance for the variety of refearch, and
the labour of condenfing fo  much matter into
fo fmall a compafs.  He is  a bad author, it  has
been faid, who affords neither an aphorifm  nor
a motto.
  I cannot refrain from mentioning a circum-
flance which has often made me uneafy.  The
expectations of  fome friends were higher than I
was confcious my abilities could reach.
  Upon the whole,  the general defign of  this
publication is, to convey to the minds  of youth,
and of fuch as  may have paid little attention to
the ftudy of Nature, a fpecies of  knowledge
which it is not difficult to acquire.  This know-
ledge will be  a perpetual and  inexhauftible
fource of manly pleafures; it will afford inno-
cent and virtuous amufement, and will occupy
agreeably the leifure or vacant hours of life.
CON- 
CONTENTS.
                CHAPTER    I.            p.._e
                                                    1 age.
Of the diftingui/hing Characlers 0/ Animals, Plants, and
   Minerals—The analogies  between the plant and ani-
   mal,  arifing from their ftruclure and  organs,  their
   growth and nouri/hmcnt, their diffemination and decay    9
                    CHAP.     II.
Of the Organs and General Struclurc of Animals—A
  Jhort view of the  external and internal parts of the
   human body—The ftruclure of Quadrupeds, Birds,
   Fifhes, and In/ecls—How far peculiarities of ft rue-
   ture are conneclcd with peculiarities of manners and
   difpofitions        -                                   47
                    CHAP.    HI.
Of the Refpiration of Animals—Air neceffary to the ex-
   iflence of all animated beings— The various modifica-
   tions of the organs employed by Nature for the tranf-
   miflfion of air into  animal  bodies       -        -     100
                    CHAP.     IV.
Of the  Motions of Animals—The caufies and inftru-
   ments of animal motion—Animal compared with me-
   chanical motion       -        -       -              125
                    CHAP.    V.
Of the Inftincls of Animals—Divifion of infiincls—Ex-
   amples of pure  inftincl—0/  /uch  inftincls  as can
   accommodate them/elves to peculiar circumftances and
   fituations—Of inftincls improveable by obfervation and
   experience—Some  remarks  and  conclusions from this
   'dew  of inftincl        -        -       -       -     136
CHAP. 
             CONTENTS.          vii
                   CHAP.    VI.
Of the Senfes in General       -       -       -      149
     Of Smelling       -       -      -       -        150
     Of Tafting.....154
     Of Hearing       -       -       -      -      156
     Of Touch                                       162
     Of Seeing     -       -       -      -     -     165
                   CHAP.    VII.
Of the Infancy of Animals—Some fpecies continue longer,
   and others fhorter, in this ft ate*—Different modes of
   managing infants in different countries       -     vi8o
                   CHAP.    VIII.
Of the  Food of Animals—Their growth and  expanfion
   —The  varieties of food ufed  by men and other ani-
   mals—Effecls of peculiar  foods       -        -      19l
                    CHAP.   IX.
Of the  Sexes of Animals—The  mental and  corporeal
   differences between males  and females—Some animals
   endowed with both fixes in the fame individual       215
Sect. II.  Of the fixes of Plants       -      -      223
                    CHAP.    X.
Of Puberty—Itsfymptoms and effecls in different animals 239
                    CHAP.    XI.
Of Love—Its expreflions and effecls in different animals
   —Pairing—Seafons—Parental affect ion       -     243
                    CHAP.   XII.
Of the Transformation of  Animals—Transformation of
   the  caterpillar  tribes—of frogs,  &c.—All animals
   undergo changes in their  form and afpecl—What are
   the probable intentions of Nature in changing forms   258
                   CHAP.    XIII.
Of the Habitations of Animals—Their different modes
   of conftrucling abodes for warmth  and proteclion to
   themfehcs and their offspring—The form and manner
   of their habitations  accommodated to the exigencies of
   the  animal       -       -        •       -         279
                                             CHAP. 
viii          CONTENTS.
                  CHAP.    XIV.
Of the Hoftilities of  Inimals —Why  animals prey  upon
   one another,  but ftldom on their own fpedes—Ad-uan-
   tn^es derived from  this feemmgly-dcftrue live  infiitu-
   tion of Nature       -       -        -      -      336
                   C  H  A  P.    XV.
Of the Artifices of Animals in catching their prey  and efi-
   caping their enemies— Thcfe artifices  arc, in general,
  pur Ay inftinclive; but fome animals can vary  their
   mode of attack or  defence according to particular cir-
   cumftances and fit uat ions       -        .       -     35I
                  chap.    xvi.
Of the Society of Animals—What  are  the motives and
   advantages of it—Gregarious  tribes—Whether man
   belongs to this tribe—Society of two kinds      -     372
                  CHAP.    XVII.
Of the Docility of Animals—How  far improveable by
   culture—Fffctls of domeftication        -        -     389
                  C II A P.   XVJII.
Of the Characlcrs and Difpofitions  of Animals—Rapa-
   cious—mild—timid—bold—generous      -      -     415
                  C  H A  P.   XIX.
Of the Principle of Imitation in Animals—Is the ncareft
   approach to rcafoning and language    -     -      419
                    C II A P.    XX.
Of the Migration of Animals—More general than com-
   monly  believed—The probable  motives  which induce
   animals  to mi^rc'te       -        ...    422
                    CHAP.    XXI.
Of the Longevity and Deatb of Animals—A comparative
   view of animals  with regard to the duration of life
   and its confequences        -                       449
                   CHAP.    XXII.
Of the  Progreffive Scale of Animals—flops- at man, and
   why—In this world, it appears to be impoflible that a
   beingfup'.mr to ihan could e.ijl—Reafonsfir this opinion  463
.<«*» 
THE
PHILOSOPHY
O F
NATURAL    HISTORY.
                  CHAP.   I.


Diftingui/hing characlers of Animals, Plants, and Minerals.
   —The  Analogies between  the  plant  and animal, arifing
  from their ftruclure and organs, their growth and nourifh-
   ment, their diffemination and decay.


     NATURAL Bodies, when viewed as they have a re-
      lation to man, are marked with  characters fo appa-
rent, that they efcape not the obfervation of the moft un-
enlightened minds.  In a fyftem where all the conflituent
parts have a reciprocal dependence, and are connected by
relations fo fubtile as to elude ihe perception of animals,
fuch obvious  characters were  indifpenfible.   Without
them, neither the affairs of  human life, nor the functions
of the brute creation, could  be carried on.  Characlers
of this kind are accommodated to the apprehenfion of
brutes,  and of vulgar men.
                          B                       But, 
 io         Til E PII 1 L O S OlMl  Y
   i*.,;, when the productions of  nature are more clofely
 examined ;  when ttyey are fcrutini/.cd bv the eye of phi-
 loiophy, the number of their rclarions and differences it
 difeovered to be ahni'il infnitc ;  and their (hades ot dii-
 crimination are often lo dclu■ ite, that no  fenfe can pcr-
 ceive them.  Nothing, apparently, is  more cafy than to
 diftinguifh an animal from a plant; and  vt t the  proper
 diftinction  has  puzzled the molt acute inquirers,  and,
 perhaps. cxceecV the limits of human capacity.
   ' A plant,' fays Jurigius,  * is a ii-ving, Lut not aftnticnt
 ' body, which is fixed  in a determined place, and grows,
 * increases in ft a, and  propagates its fpecies".'   In this
 definition, living powers are afciibcd  to  vegetables; but
 they are denied the facultv of fenfation.   Life,  without
 fome degree of fenfation, is an ineomprehentible  idea.
 An animal  limited to  the fenfe of feeling alone, is the
 lo\.a ;t conception we can  form of life.  Deprive this be-
 ing of the only  fenfe it poilelfes, and, though its figure
 ihould remain,  we would inllantly conclude it to be as in-
 animate as a Hone.   i lie  life attributed to  plants, feems
 to be nothing more than an  analogical  deduction  from
 their growth, nutrition, continuation of their fpecies, and
 i milar circumftances. •
   Ludwig defines vegetables to be  ' Natural bodies, al-
 ' ways emlouvd with the fame form, but deprived of the
 * power of local motionf.'  Every branch  of this defini-
 tion is, wirh equal propriety, applicable to precious ftones,
 ia Its, and fome  animals ;  and, therefore, requires no far-
 ther attention.
   Sir Charles Linnaeus, in his Fundamenta Botanica, in-
 tends to difcriminate the three kingdoms of Nature in two
 lines.  ' Stones/ fays he,  ' grow ; vegetables gTOw, and
 'live;  animals  grow,  live, and feel §.'   This is an af.
femblage of words, the  meaning of-which  is  entirely
perverted.   The idea of growth implies nutrition and ex-
panfion by the intervention of organs.   The magnitude of
ftones may be augmented  by an accretion of new  matter ;
but,  this is not  growth, or  expanfion of parts.   The fe-
                                                  cond
   * Raii ;:ith Plant, p. 1. S.        t  Ludwig, Phil. Kot.'p. i  S.
  S F....B01. Sj-  s. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.       n
cond definition,  c That  vegetables grow and  live,* is e-
qually inaccurate.   Inftead of proving the life of plants,
Linnaeus takes it for granted, and makes it the characte-
riftic between vegetables and brute matter.   The third,
6 That animals grow, live, and feel,' is not lefs exception-
able.   Growth, life, and mere fenfation, convey the molt
ignoble notions of animated beings.  From this definition,
we would be led to imagine, that Linnaeus meant to de-
scribe the condition of a polypus, or an oyfter.  All ani-
mals, it is true* grow, live, and feel  :  But, thefe are only
the paffive properties of animals.  The definition includes
none of  thofe initinctive, intellectual, and active powers
which exalt the animal  above the vegetable, and fo emi-
nently diftinguifh the different tribes from each other.
   Thefe and many other abortive attempts  have been
made to afcertain  the  precife boundaries between  the
animal and vegetable.   Definitions  have been the perpe-
tual aim of molt writers on this fubject.  But, definitions,
 when applied to natural objects, muft always be vague
and elufory.   We know not the principle of animal life.
We are equally  ignorant of  the elTential  caufe of  vege-
table exiften'ce.   It is vain, therefore, to dream of  being
able to define what we  never can know.   We may, how-
 ever, difcover fome qualities common  to the animal as
 well as,to the vegetable.
   Senfation, motion, and ftructure  of parts, give animals
 a more extenfive range in their connection with external
 objects.   A  certain portion of intellect, joined to the vital
 principle, feem to be the moil diftinguifhing properties of
 animals, and to conftitute their effence, or being.   Ani-
 mals will, determine, aft, and have  a  communication with
 diftant objects by  their  fenfes.  They have  the  laws of
 nature,  in fome meafure, at  command.  They protect
 themfelves from injury by employing force, fwiftnefs, ad-
 drefs,  and cumiing.  But, vegetables remain fixed in the
 fame place,  and are fubject to  every thing that moves.
 Animals eat at intervals ; their food requires  time for
 digeftion, and to anfwer the complicated purpofes  of fe-
 cretion  and nutrition.   The ftructure  of plants is more
 (imple:  They receive perpetual nourifhment  without in-
                                                  jury- 
 12         THE   PHI I. OSOIMI V
i a\.  Animals fearch for,  and felec"t, parti'-uh'r kinds of
f.  od.  But,  plants muft receive whatever is  brought to
th tn by the different element.  Animals exift on  the
furface and in the inferior parts of the earth, in the  ai'-,
in water,  in  the bodies of man and. other animals,  in  the
intend parts of pJr^irs, and even in ftones.   But, if we
except a few aquatics, plants are fixed to the earth by
roots.
"'  All ?rorn?ds,  ir has been affirmed, have a heart, or pnr-
t*  «.'nr founrain, for propelling and diftributing their fluidfc
r > the  c;;irarent  parts of their bodies: Bur, caterpillars,
;-r.;'  manv other i a feels, have no fuch general receptacle *.
   The loco-motive facultv has been confidered as peculiar
to animals.   But, even this character is extremely  fttfpi-
ci-vjp.   Oyftcrs, fea-nettles, the gall-infects, and a variety
of otla r animals, can hardly be faid to enjoy the power of
local 'notion.   Many fpecies remain forever fixed to  the
tocj.s on which they are produced,  and have no motion
but  that of extending or contracting their bodies.   Be-
fides, examples of dhTtrent kinds of motion are discover-
able in the vegetable kingdom.  When the  roots of a
tree  meet with a (tone, or any other ol>!i ruction to their
motion, in order to avoid it, they change their former
direction.  Thev turn from barren to fertile earth, which
indicates fenuthing  analogous to a  Selection  of  food.
'Like the polypus, plants, when confined in a houfe, uni-
formly bend toward  the  window,  or  aperture, through
which  the ravs of light are  introduced.
   The fenfitive plant poflerfes the faculty of motion in an
eminent degree.  The ilighteft touch makes its leaves Sud-
denly fhrhv;,  V, together with the branch, bend down
toward the earth.  But, the moving plant, or hedyfarum
nv  :is j-i' of which there are  fpecimens in the botanic
garden of Edinburgh, furnifhes the moft aftonifhing exam-
pa- of ve^cfble hk. f ion.  It is a native of the La't-lndies.
Its mo/ern' nts are not c: ited by the contact of external
b6dies,Vmt folcly by the in'htenct- of the fun's ravs.  The
morions of this plant are confined to the leavt-*-, which  are
                                              Supported
  * The fur-jcf' of thii par.-- r»r' fljaM be rxamirrrl in -. '>■ p'srr.
  * 1 he H'.'dytarumg\i.:rto( JLnnsus. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      13
 Supported by  long flexible  foot-ftalks.  When the fun
 ftiines, the leaves move brifkly in every direction.  Their
 general motion, however, is  upward and downward: But,
 they not unfrequently turn almoft round; and, then, their
 foot-ftalks are evidently twifted.  Thefe motions go on in-
 ceflfantly, as long as  the heat of the fun continues: But,
 they ceafe during the night,  and when the weather is cold
 and cloudy.   Our wonder is excited by the rapidity and
 conftancy of the movements peculiar to this plant.  The
 frequency,  however, of fimilar  motions in other plants,
 renders it probable that the leaves of all vegetables move,
 or are agitated by the rays  of the fun, though  many of
 thefe movements are too flow for our perception.
   The American plant called dioncea mvfcipula*, or Venus*s
 fly-trap, affords another inftance  of rapid vegetable moti-
 on.  Its leaves are jointed,  and  furnifhed with two rows
 of ftrong  prickles.  Their  furfaces  are covered with  a
 number of minute glands,  which fecrete a fweet liquor,
 and allure the  approach of flies.  When thefe parts are
 touched by  the  legs of a fly, the two lobes of the  leaf
 inftantly rife up, the  rows of prickles lock themfelves faft
 together, and  iqueeze the unwary animal to death.  If a
 ftraw or a pin  be introduced between the lobes, the fame
 motions are excited.
   When a feed is fown in a  reverfecj pofition,  the young
 root turns downward to enter the  earth,  and the ftem
 bends upward  into the air.   Confine a  young ftem to an
 inclined pofition,  and its extremity  will foon  affume its
 former perpendicular direction.  Twift the branches  of
 any tree in fuch a manner that the inferior furfaces of the
 leave?  are turned toward the fky, and you will,! in a fhort
 time, perceive  that all  thefe leaves refume  their original
 pofition.  Thefe motions are performed fooner or  later,
 in proportion to the degree of heat,  and the flexibility of
 the leaves. Many leaves, as thofe of the mallow f, follow
 the courfe of the fun.   In the morning,  their fuperior fur-
 faces are prefented to the eaft'; at noon, they regard the
                                               South ;
  * This Angular arid beautiful ve<iet.!.\ is  a native of the bogs, or marfliv fitu-
ations, of Carolina.
  t S'.Avs. 
14         THE   PHILOSOPHY
iouth ;  and, when the fun Sets,  they are directed to the
weft.  During the night, or in rainv weather, thefe leaves
are horizontal;  and their inferior lurfaces are turned to-
ward the earth*.
   What has been denominated the Sleep of Plants, affords
an inftance of another fpecies of vegetable motion.   I he
leaves of  many  plants fold up during the night;  but, at
the approach of the fun, they expand with  renewed vi-
gour.   The common  appearances of molt vegetables are
fo changed in the night, that it is difficult to recognife the
different kinds,  even by the afliftance of light.
   The modes of folding in the leaves, or of  fleeping, are
extremely various.  But, it is worthy of remark, that they
all difpofe themfelves fo as to give the belt protection to
the young Items, flowers, buds, or fruit.  The leaves of the
tamarind-tree f contract round the tender fruit, and protect
it from the nocturnal cold.  The caflia or fenna, the gly-
cine, and many of the papilionaceous plants, contract their
leaves in a Similar manner. The leaves of the chickweed ||,
of the afclepi is, atriplex §, <n:c.  are difpofed  in oppofite
pairs.   During  the night, they rife perpendicularly, and
join fo clofe at  the top, that they conceal  the flowers.
The leaves  of  the  fida^[  or althaea Theophrafti, of the
ayenia, and Oenothera **, are placed alternately.  Though
horizontal,  or  even  depending, during  the day, at the
approach of night they rife, embrace the item, and pro-
tect the tender flowers.  The leaves of the folanum-|-f, or
nightfhade, are  horizontal during the day; but, in the
night, they rife, and  cover the  flowers.   The  Egyptian
vetch |||| erects its leaves during the night, in fuch a man-
ner that each pair feem to be one leaf only.  The leaves of
the white  Jutpine §$, in the ftate of fleep, hang down, and
protect the young buds from being injured by the noctur-
nal air.
                                                  Thefe
  *On thefe fubjefts.'thr beautiful experiment* of thatenlightrnrd prnlofoperMr.
Bonnet, defcrve to be confuhed. See 6'u Recherche* fur iu/age desfeuitles daw Us
flanUs, &r. a work in ryery page of which the genius and the learning of its au-
thor are eminently con^i:uous.
  t Tamariodui indies.      !' Alfme media.      <j Atriplex hortenfu.
  r- Sida Aluliion.          + (I.notheia mollijjima. +t Solanum Mdongena.
  tf\ AbruiprccaUnus.     ^ Lupimu alius.  . 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.       15

  Thefe and fimilar motions are not peculiar to the leaves
of plants.  The flowers have alfo the power of moving.
During the night,  many of them are inclofed in their ca-
lixes.  Some flowers, as thofe of the German Ipurge.*,
geranium ftriatum, and common whitlow-grafs f, when
afleep, hang their mouths toward the earth, to prevent the
noxious effects of rain, or dew.
  The  caufe of thefe  movements which conftitute the
fleep of plants, has been afcribed to the prefence or ab-
fence of the Sun's rays.  In  Some of the examples I  have
given, the motions  produced are  evidently excited  by
heat.  But, plants  kept in  a hot-houfe, where an equal
degree of heat is preferved both day and night,  fail not
to contract their leaves, or to fleep, in the Same manner
as when they  are  expoSed  to the  open air.  This facl
evinces, that the fleep  oS plants  is rather owing  to a pe-
culiar law, than to a quicker or flower motion  of  their
juices.
   A ftomach and brain have been reckoned eflential cha-
racteriftics of the animal ;  and plants are faid to pofleSs
nothing analogous to  thefe  organs.  But,  the  polypus
has no ftomach ; or rather,  like vegetables, its whole bo-
dy may be confidered as a ftomach.  Its internal cavity
contains no vifcera; and, when this animal is turned out-
fide  in, it ftill continues to live,  and to digeft its food, in
the fame manner as if it  had received  no injury.  The
mode by which plants  are nourifhed is  extremely analo-
gous.   They  imbibe food by the  roots, the trunk, the
branches, the  leaves,  and the  flowers.  Inftead, there-
fore, of having no ftomach, their whole ftructure is fto*
mach.  With regard to the  brain, the polypus, and many
other infects, are deprived of that organ.   Hence, neither
ftomach nor brain are  eflential characters which discrimi-
nate the animal from the vegetable.
  But, all animals are  endowed with fenfation, or at leaft
with irritability, which laft has been confidered  as a dis-
tinctive character of animal  life.   Senfation implies  a dif-
tinct perception of pleafure, and pain.   We infer the ex-
iftence  of fenfation  in organized bodies,  when we per-
                                                 ceive
* Euphorbia.
+ Draba verna and alpha. 
 f6         THE  I'll 1 LOS OP II Y
 ceive that they have or rans fimilar to our own, or wphcn
 they act, in certain circumftances, in the iame manner a*
 we act.   If.an organized being has eyes, ears, .nda nole,
 we naturally conclude that it enjoys the lame ienfanons as
 thefe organs convey to u-.  If we See another being, wuobe
 ftructure exhibits nothing analogous a> our organ*, v.  feu-
 fation, contracting with rapidity when touched, <iiicc^o>g
 its body uniformly to the light, Seizing  ir.u'i lab d* wit i
 tentacula, or a kind of arms, and ceui\ eying  them imo  .1
aperture placed at its anterior end, we htiiUu*. net to pro-
 nounce that it is animated.  Cut oil its arms, do; live it
 of the faculty of contracting and extending ith body,. <ic
 nature of thisfbeing will not be changed ; out wc  w V be
 unable to determine whether it pofleffes any t.01 i<.1. of
 life.   This is nearly the condition of the Small teeth »-s of
a polypus, before their heads begin to grow.. The wheel-
animal, the eels in blighted wheat, and  the mails record-
 ed in the Philofophical Transactions, afford inftaiuxjs oi
every appearance oi fenfation, or even of irritability, be-
ing Suf; ended,  not for months,  but for  Several years, - ad
yet the life of thefe animals is not extinguished ; for, they
 uniformly revive upon a proper application of moiflure.
   Thefe and Similar laee^ fhow, that we are entirely igno*
 rant oS the etfence and properties of life.   W  hat liie really
 is, Seems  too  Subtile  lor our undcrftanding to conceive,
 or our feiifcs to difcern.   If  we have no other criterions
to diftinguifh liie, than motion, fenfation, and irritability,
 the animals juft mentioned continued for years in  a {fete
 which every man would pronounce to have been perfectly
 dead,  k is poliible, therefore, that life may  exift in many
bodies whh ii are commonly thought  to  be  as inanimate
as ftones.  Iience, it would be rafh to  exclude plants i.o.n
every fpecies oS ferbu.ib.jK.  The degrees of  feniation de-
 crease impe, ccpiibly irom man to the Sea-nettle, gall-in-
fects,  and  what are called the  moil  imperiecc  animal.-..
 Every vegetable, as well as  the Senfitive plant,  fin inks
 when wounded.  But, in molt of them,  the motion is too
 flow  lor c\.e perc.-ptioii.   Winn trees grow near a diteh,
the roots which proceed iii a cih-eeuon Lhat would iiucei-
 farily biing hem inie, th_ eeu-n air, b./iead of eo^rinuiiv
                                                   this 
        OF NATURAL  HISTORY.      if
this noxious progrefs, fink below the level of the ditch,
then fhoot acrofs, and regain the foil on the oppofite fide.
When a root is uncovered, without expofing it to much
heat, and a wet Spunge is placed near it, but in a different
direction from that in which the root is proceeding,  in a
fhort time the root turns towards the fpunge.  In this man-
ner the direction of roots may be varied at pleafure.  All
plants  make the ftrongeft efforts,  by inclining, turning,
and even twirling their items and branches, to efcape from
darknefs and fhade, and to procure the influences of the
fun.  Place a wet fpunge under the leaves of a tree,  they
Soon bend downward, and endeavour to apply their infe-
rior furfaces to the fpunge.  If a veflel of water be placed
within fix inches oS a growing cucumber, in twenty-Sour
hours the cucumber alters  the direction of its  branches,
bends  either to the right  or  left,  and never flops till it
comes into contact with the water.  When a pole is placed
at a considerable diftance from an unfupported vine, the
branches of which are proceeding in a contrary direction
from that of the pole, in a fhort time,  it alters its courfe,
and flops not till it clings around the pole.
   Facts of this kind excite our wonder;  but, they by no
means prove that vegetables live, or that they are endowed
with fenfation,  which implies a diftinct perception of plea-
fure,  and pain.
   There is an inferior fpecies of fenfation,  which is dif-
tinguifhed by the term irritability.  This term denotes that
power by which mufcular fibres, even after they are de-
tached from the body, contract upon the application of any
ftimulating fubftance, whether folid or fluid.   The heart
of a frog, when pricked with the point of a  pin, conti-
nues to beat, or to contract and dilate, for  feveral hours
after it has been cut out of the animal's body.  The heart
of a viper,  pr of  a turtle, beats diftinctly from twenty to
thirty hours after  the death of thefe animals.   The  peri-
ftaltic motion of the interlines is produced by their irrita-
bility.  When the interlines of  a dog, or any other qua-
druped,  are fuddenly cut into different portions, all  thefe
portions crawl  about like worms, and contract upon the
flighteft touch.  Though irritability be unqueftionably a
                          C                       vital 
 is          she   philosophy

vital principle, yet it is equally certain, that muScular fi-
bres, when Separated from the bodv to w hich they belong,
have no diftinct perception  of pleafure, or  pain.  Their
regular contraction and dil.nation are evident  Symptoms
of life, which,  in manv cafes  may  lead  us to attribute
living powers to fubftances  that enjoy-neither life nor fen-
fation.  Hence,  though all  plants were irritable, this cir-
cumftance would not prove that they arepoflelied of lite.
The contraction  and dilatation of the fenfitive plants, and
the various motions of the leaves branches, flowers, and
roots of vegetables,  formerly mentioned, feem to indicate
that moft plants  are endowed with irritability.   Perhaps,
all vegetables have more or lefs of this quality.  The heart,
inteftines, and diaphragm  are the moft irritable parts of
animal bodies:  .And, to difcover whether this quality re*
fide* in all plant?, experiments fhould be made  chiefly on
their leaves, flowers, buds, and  the tender fibres of the
roots.
  From, tills narration of facts  it  appears, that plants
make a vary near approach to animals;  and that-this ii-
nblarity, as well as the difficulty of fixing the precife boun-
daries by which  thefe two great kingdoms of nature are
limited, are direct  confluences of the organization of
vegetable*:.  It is owing to their  organic ftructure alone,
that plants and animals are capable of affording reciprocal
nourilhment to each other.   Shis organic ftructure, though
greatly diverfified in the different fpecies  of animals and
vegetables, evinces that Nature, in the formation of both,
has acted up<■;» the fame general plan.  May we not pre-
sume, therefore, as plant,, as well  as animals, are com-
pofed of "a  regular fyftem  of organs, that the  vegetable
part of the creation is not entirely deprived  of every qua-
lity which we are apt to think peculiar to animated beings?
1 mean not to insinuate, that plants  can perceive pleafure
or pain.'  But,  as many of their motions and  affections
cannot t>e explained upon any principle of mechanilm, J
am inclined to think,  that they originate  from, the power
of imtabiKty, which, though it implies not the perception
of pleafure and pain, is the principle that regulates all the
vital  or  involuntary motions of animals.  To afcextain
                                                  this 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.
l9
this point, .would require a fet of very nice experiments.
I fhall mention one, which might be performed with toler-
able eafe.  It was formerly remarked, that plants kept in
a hot-houfe, where the degree of heat is uniform, never
fail to fleep during the night,   ri his is  direct  evidence,
that heat alone is npt the caufe of their vigilance.  But,
they are deprived of light.   Let,  therefore, a ftrong arti-
ficial light, without increafmg the heat, be thrown upon
them.  If, notwithftanding  this light, the plants are not
roufed, but continue to. fleep as ufual, then it may be pre-
fumed that their organs, like thole of animals, are not on-
ly irritable, but require the reparation of fome invigorat-
ing  influence  which they have loft while awake, by the
agitations of the air  and the fun's  rays, by the act of
growing,  or by fome other latent caufe.
   It is almoft unneceffary to mark the diftinction between
vegetables and  minerals.   The tranfition from the animal
to the  plant is effected by fhades  fo imperceptible, as to
elude the moft acute obfervers.   But, between the plant
and the mineral, there is a vaft chafm in the chain of be-
ing, which may  be the  fource of great difcoveries.  In
bodies purely mineral, not a veftige  of organization can
be difcovered.  The fibrous ftructure of the albeftos has
been regarded as  an approach toward organization,  and
as the  link which connects the  mineral to the  vegetable
kingdom.  But, this is  one of thofe ftrained  analogies
which  are too often  employed  by   theoretical writers.
Though the afbeftos is compofed  of a kind of threads, or
fibres,  thefe fibres are not tubular ; neither are they inter-
woven, like that  regular tiffue, or fabric, which fo  re-
markably diftinguifhes organized from brute matter.   Of
courfe, the magnitude of the abeftos can only be increafed
by the appofition of new  matter, and  not by any develope-
ment or expanfion of parts.  But, though, in  the mine-
ral kingdom, Nature ceafes to organize,  fhe continues to
arrange.
  The regular  configuration of falts, chryftals, and other
precious ftones, has been confidered, by fome authors, as
the refult of an organic procefs.   But, the uniform figure
of falts and chryftals may be the effect of certain laws of
                                             attraction 
*o
THE  PHILOSOPHY
attraction peculiar to each fpecies.   None of thefe parti-
ties can be regarded as a germ, or bud.  They are only
the elements or  conftituent parts, which, when applied
to each other, form a whole.  They never expand, or
grow, like the embrios of animals, or plants.   They  re-
i train for ever in  the Same  (late, without diminution, or
incteale, except when fcparated by force, or magnified by
an accumulation of frefh  matter.  The chryftalline juice
is not aflimuiated by veffels: It is prepared by a chymical
operation of Nature.  The bodies of plants and animals
are machines, exceedingly elaborate, and  more or  lefs
complicated.   Thefe machines, by means of different or-
gans,  have the power of converting other animals and ve-
getables into their own fubftance.  By this aflimulation,
all the:r dimenboi's are increafed ; and their various parts
uniformly preierve  the fame proportions with  regard to
each oth«*r,and continue to perform their refpective func-
tions.  Befidc s organized  bodies not only multiply their
fpecies, but fome of them poifefs the  power of reproduc-
ing fuch parts as are forcibly abftracted from them.
  In thefe and many other qualities  common to the ani-
mal and vegetable,  there is not the fmalleft analogy to be
found in the mineral kingdom.   Between the moft regu-
lar foflils,  as falts and chryftals,  and  the moft imperfect
animal or vegetable, the dillance is  immenfe.  Figured
foflils are not more organized than a column, or a portico.
In the formation of the former, Nature, in that of the
latter,  man, is the  artift.   When no fimilarity is  to  be
dileovered in thofc foflils which are nearly uniform in their
configuration,  we are not to expect  it in the more loofe
and irregular parts of brute matter.   Here, Nature, re-
gardlefs of Symmetry, conjoins  heterogeneous  materials,
of which  fhe compofes irregular maffes.   Many ftones,
flints,  und other concretions,  afford examples of  this
kind.   More  art, it muft be acknowledged, appears in
the formation of  metals : But their ftructure exiubits  no
veftiges of organization.
ANALOGIE S. 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      u
            ANALOGIES.


  HAVING fhown the extreme difficulty  of fixing the
boundaries which Separate the animal from the vegetable
kingdom, I  proceed to the more pleafing talk of enume-
rating Some oS thoSe beautiful analogies which SubSift be-
tween them.  To render  this Subject the more agreeable
and inflictive, inftead of bringing together an  uncon-
nected mafs, I mall trace the analogies between the animal
and plant, under the arrangement of Struclure and Organs,
Growth and Nourifhment,  Diffemination and Decay.
       STRUCTURE and ORGANS.


  IN  all  organized bodies, a Similarity of ftructure feems
to be unavoidable.   The bodies of men and quadrupeds
confift oS a Series oS connected bones, which  run Srom
the head to the rump.  This Series is known by the name
of the back-bone; from each fide oS which,, a number oS
arched bones  proceed.  Some oS  thefe join the breaft-
bone by means oS cartilages, and form a vaulted cavity,
which contains and defends the heart and  other viScera
proper to the cheft.   The  bones of the pelvis,  and of the
four extremities, are joined to the back-bones  by articu-
lations, and membranes.   By the fame contrivance, the
cranium is fixed to the upper end of the back-bones. Into
different proceffes and portions of all thefe bones, a great
number of mufcles, or bundles of flefhy fibres, are infert-
ed.  Thefe mufcles  are the inftruments which give rife to
all the varieties of animal motion. The bones of the head,
or cranium, contain the brain and  cerebellum, a prolon-
gation of which runs through the whole extent of the ca-
nal in the back-bone, and is known by the term /final
marrow.   From  the brain and fpinal marrow proceed all
the nerves,  or inftruments of fenfation.  Thefe nerves, 
22
THE   PHILOSOPHY
the ramifications of which are infinitely various, and mi-
nute, are diftributed upon the heart, lungs, blood-veffels,
how Js, and  mufcles till they terminate on the ikin, or
external covering of the bod\.   The heart is the fountain,
or general receptacle, of the blood.   The contraction of
the heart propels the blood through  the  arteries, which
are likewife diftributed, by numerous and complicated ra-
mifications, over every  part ol  the body,  and terminate
in the veins,  which again collect the whole arterial blood
into one cavitv,and re-convey it to the heart.   This cir-
culatory procefs goes  on during life.
   Befide the  organs already mentioned, there are others,
termed /er/v/sry, becaufe they feparate peculiar fluids  from
the general mafs of circulating blood. The ftomach and
interlines are furnilhed with a vaft number of fmall tubes,
called lacteal duels, which feparate and abforb the nutri-
tious parts of the aliment, and reject all  the groifer  and
ufelefs particles.  Thefe ducts,  after innumerable com-
munications with each other, unite into  one large tube,
diftinguifhed  by the name of the  thoracic duct,  which is
the general refervoir of the chyle, or Secreted liquor.  This
chyle, which is a mild fluid, pafles from the thoracic duct
to the Subclavian vein ;  and by this vein it  is  conveyed to
the heart, where it mingles with the blood, and is circu-
lated through the body, for the nourifhment of  its differ-
ent parts.  It is of no moment,  for our prefent purpofe,
to be more particular, efpecially as this Subject will be af-
terwards more fully handled.  I fhall, therefore, juft  men-
tion, that there are particular organs, or  glands, for -fe-
ci cting various fluids, which are neceffary to the exiftence
of the larger animals, as the kidneys for the Secretion of
urine;  the liver for.  the  Secretion  of gall;  the ftomach
for the Secretion oS the  gaftric juices ; the Salivary glands
for the Secretion of Salira, &c.
   From this fketch of the ftructure of man and of qua-
drupeds, very little attention is ncceilary to perceive, that
Nature purfues a fimilar plan in the  formation  of birds,
and fifties.
   In that numeral:* clafs of animals diftinruifhed by the
name oS isftci , ;herc is  a  retat varietymf^f a:n, and ftruc-
                                                  tur;. 
        OP NATURAL  HI STO R Y.     23
ture.  In many of thefe, Nature Seems to depart from hef
general  mode of operation.   But,  upon a more accurate
examination, this Seeming departure will appear to be on-
ly an extenfion of that univerfal plan which fhe obferves
in the formation of all animated beings.  Some infects^
the  lobfter, and all the cruftaceous and Shell animals, have
their bones on the outfide of their,bodies.  To thefe bones
the  mufcles and other inftruments of motion are attached.
Many fpecies have no bones; but,  their bodies confift of
a fucceffion of rings incafed into each other.  By contract*
ing and dilating thefe rings, all the movements of this
kind are performed.   The head, in fome fpecies, changes
its form every moment.  It contracts or dilates, appears or
difappears, at the pleafure of the animal.  Thefe motions
are  permitted by the flexibility  of the membranes,  or cor
verings  of the  head.  In other fpecies, the form  of the
head  is permanent,  owing to the hardnefs of the cover-r
ings, which are fcaley, or  cruftaceous, and approaches
nearer to that of the more perfect animals.
  Many infects are deftitute of particular organs.  Some
want eyes, ears, brain, and noftrils.   Others have an acute
fenfe of ifnelling, though we know not the form or Situation
of the organ.  The inferior fpecies of infects have  no in-
ternal lungs, but receive air by lateral pores, and Sometimes
by  long tubes, or tracheae, which protrude from different
parts of the body.   Many infects have no heart, or gene*-
ral  refervofr Sor the reception and propulfion of the  blood.
But, we difcover by  the microfcope, that their blood cir-
culates  by tlie pulfation of arteries, and that  their  differ-
ent fluids are Secreted by glands.  In a word, Nature, ia
the ftructure and functions of  animals, defeends,  by de-
grees almoft imperceptible, from man to the  polypus ;  &
being which, ever Since its ceconomy and properties were
discovered  by M. Trembley, has  continued to aftonifla
both philofophers  and naturalifts.   The ftructure  of the
polypus, which  inhabits frefh-water pools  and ditches,  is
extremely Simple.  Its body confifts of a Single tube, with
long tentacula, or arms,  at  one extremity,  by which  ijt
Seizes Small worms,  and conveys them to  its mouth.   It
has no proper head,  heart,  ftomach, or  inteftines of any-
                                                kind. 
 24         THE  PHILOSOPHY
 kind.  This Simplicity of ftructure gives rife to an equal
 Simplicity in the (economy and functions of the animal.
 The polypus, though it has not the diftinction oi lex,  is
 extremely prolific.   When about to multiply, a imall pro-
 tuberance, or bud, appears  on the furface  of its  body.
 This bud  gradually Swells and extends.   It includes not a
 young polypus, but is the real animal in miniature, united
 to the mo'her,  as a fucker to the parent-tree.  The food
 taken by the mother paffes into the young by means of a
 communicating  aperture.   When the (hooting  polypus
 has acquired a  certain growth,  this  aperture gradually
 clofes, and the  young drops  off, to multiply its Species  in
 the Same manner.  As  every part of a polypus is capable
 of fending off fhoots, it often happens,  that  the young,
 before parting from the mother, begin to fhoot ;  and the
 parent animal carries feveral generations  on  her  own bo-
 dy.  There  is another Singularity in the hiflorv of the po-
lypus.  When cut to pieces in every direction fancy can
fuggelt, it not  only continues to exift,  but each Section
Soon becomes an animal of the fame kind.   What is ftill
 more  Surprising, when inverted as a man inverts  the fin-
ger of a  glove, the polypus feems to have  fullered  no
material injury; for it foon  begins to take food, and  to
perform every other  natural  function.   Here we have a
wonderful inftance of animal ductility.  No divifion, how-
ever minute, can deprive thefe worms of life.  What in-
fallibly deftroys other animals, Serves only, in the polypus,
to multiply the  number oS individuals.  M. Trembley,  in
the courSe of his experiments, difcovered,  that different
portions of  one polypus  could be ingrafted on another.
Two tranfverfe Sections brought into contact quickly unite,
and form one animal, though  each  Section  belongs to a
different fpecies. The head of one fpecies may be ingrafted
on the body of another.   When a polypus is introduced
by the tail into another's body, the two heads unite, and
form one  individual.   Purfuing thefe  Strange operations,
 M. Trembley gave Scope to his Sancy,  and, by repeatedly
 Splitting the head and part  of the body, formed hydras
 more complicated than ever ftruck the imagination of the
 moft romantic fabuihu.
                                                 This 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      25
.'This fhort account of the general ftructure of animals
was a neceflary preparation for perceiving  more clearly
their connection with the vegetable kingdom.
  The ftructure of plants, like that of animals,  confifts
of a feries of veflels difpofed in a regular order.   Thefe
veffels are deftined to perform the different functions ne-
ceflary to the nourifhment,  growth,  and diffemination of
the plant.  In trees,  and moft  of the larger vegetables,
three diftinct parts are to be obferved ; the bark, the wood,
and the pith.  The bark likewife confifts of three parts ;
the fkin, the body, and the liber, or inner circle;  which
laft, about the end of autumn, affumes  the fame texture
and firmnefs with the wrood.   The fubftance of the  bark
is compofed of a  number of longitudinal fap and air vef-
fels, which have the appearance of fine threads, running
from the root to  the trunk, and branches.   Befide  thefe
veflels, the bark  is furnifhed  with  a parenchymatous or
pulpy fubftance, in which there is a vaft variety of foliiculi,
or Small bladders. The bark is connected to the wood by
tranSverSe inSertions oS the parenchyma.
  The wood confifts of two diftinct fubftances ;  the one
is denfe, and compact,  and conftitutes what is termed the
ligneous body ; the other is porous, moift, and pulpv, and
is, therefore, called the parenchymatous part of the wood.
A portion of wood is placed alternately between a Similar
portion of parenchyma.  Thefe alternate  portions proceed
from the edges of the pith, as radii  from the center of a
circle, widening proportionally as they approach the cir-
cumference.  Both of them, however, like the bark, are
furnifhed with numberlefs fap and air veffels.
  The pith,  or heart,  is bounded on  all  fides by the
wood, and is compofed of the  fame materials : It is no-
thing but a vaft congeries of air and fap  veffels, interwo-
ven with the parenchyma and bladders, not unlike the
tiffue of gauze, or lace.  This texture is common to every
part of the trunk, being only  more clofe and compact in
the bark and wood than in the pith.   It is well known,
that the pith of plants  diminifhes in proportion to  their
age.  The reafon is obvious :  Everv vear the ring of vef-
                       D                         fels, 
 :*          1 II E   PHI L OS () PI1 Y
 Gl-T«, which lies contiguous to the wood, dries, condcnfes,
 and becomes wood.
   The  leaves of vegetables confift of a fine (kin, "which
 inclofes the parenchvna, or pulp.   This fkin, like that of
 animal, is an organic bodv, furnilhed with  an  immenfe
 number of parenchymatous and ligneous fibres, and inter-
 woven in a manner precifely Similar to that of the trunk,
 and branches.   When the Ikin is removed,  the pulp ap-
 pears, and i>  every where interfperfed with Small cylindri-
 cal fibres, wound up into minute bladders.  A large nerve
 rmu along the middle of every leaf, and continually fends
 off branches, which gradually decreafe in magnitude, till
 they reach the edge,  or difc.  This  principal nerve is  a
 collection offmall tubes, which, at proper diilances, go oft,
 and are diftributed over the leaf in a  manner precifely Si-
 milar to the  diftribution of the  nerves  over the human
 bodv.
   With regard to {lowers and fruits, their general texture
 is the fame with that  of the parts already defcribed, dif-
 fering only in various proportions of the ligneous veffels,
 and parenchymatous or pulpy fubftance.   That vegetables
 are polfeffed of fecretory glands, is apparent  from the ai-
 moft infinite  variety of their taftes, odours, and colours.
 Thefe fenfible qualities differ even in different parts of tne
 fame plant.   But, the glandular Secretion of vegetables is
 moft confpicudus in the flowers and fruit.   Many flowers
 ft arete a nectareous  flu'd,  which is more grateful to the
 palate thin the fineft honey.  The glands of  fome fruits,
 as thofe of the lemon and  orange, Secrete liquors  of  very
 different qualitie;.   The veffels of the rh'nd contain an
 acrid effential oil, while thofe of the parenchyma, or pulp,
 Secrete an agreeable acid.
   This  Similarity in the general ftructure of  animals and
plants is ftrongly corroborated by the analogous parts in
both being deftined to anfwer the fame purpofes.
   The oeconomy and functions of vegetables, as  well as
thofe  of animals,  are  the  refults of  a  vaJcular  texture.
Each of thefe claffes oi beings have veffels dettined to the
performance of fimilar offices.  In man and quadrupeds,
the fluids are circulated by the pulfation oS the heart and
                                              arteries. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     27
arteries.  The juices of plants do not circulate ; but they
are raifed from the root to the  trunk,  branches,  leaves,
flowers, and fruit, by the fap-veflels.   The  afcenfion of
the fap has  been afcribed to capillary  attraction.   But,
though no motion  is perceptible in the Sap-veffcls Similar
to the pulfation of arteries ; yet, both the propulfion oS
the Sap, which moves with great force,  and the Secretion
of different fluids by different parts of the fame plant, im-
ply an action in thefe veffels.   In animals, the gall, the
urine, the faliva, are all concocted from the general mafs
of blood, by  the action of particular veffels.  Fluids of
thefe  different qualities exift not in the blood  itfelf: They
are created by  an incomprehensible operation oS the  veS-
Sels, peculiar to their reSpective glands.  In plants, the Sap
aScends, and different fluids  are fecreted from it by glan-
dular  veffels.  Here the fame effects are  produced both in
the animal and the plant.   We muft, therefore, attribute
them  to the  fame  caufe, namely,  the  action of veffels.
Befides,  the fap, which is  the  blood  of  plants, moves
with a force often equivalent to  the weight of the atmof-
phere. M. Bonnet remarks *, that he has feen, by means
of coloured liquors, the vegetable fap move three inches
in an  hour; and Dr.  Hales, in his Statics,  has  fhown,
that the leaves are the principal ■ organs of tranfpiration.
He likewife  considers them to be the inftruments which
raife the fap.  But,  it has fmce  been difcovered, that co-
loured liquors  rife  equally high in branches deprived of
leaves, and  that they  do not rife at all in dried plants.
Hence, the fap of vegetables is  not taken up in the fame
manner as a fpunge imbibes water, but is forced to afcend
by an unknown action of the veffels.   The Spring of the
tracheae may put in motion the air they  contain, and that
air  may  have fome influence on the general movement.
But,  by whatever powers  the fap is moved, the exiftence
of the motion is certain; and it is equally certain, that
this movement of the fap  produces the fame effects in the
vegetable, that the force of the heart and arteries does in
the animal.
  The motion of the fap, in vegetables, i$ not properly
                                                 a cir-
* Oeuvres, torn. l. p. 14a. S. 
:9          THE  PHILOSOPHY

a circulation ibailar to that of the blood in the more per-
fect animals. It afcends and defccnds in the  lame veflels ;
and thefe motions are evidently affected by heat and cold.
The Ian rifcs cooioubiv in a warm day, and delcends during
the night, nearly in the Same manner as the mercury  rifes
and fails in the  thermometer.   But, though the analogy
here ■fails with regard  to man and the larger animals, yet it
boK.a in the taenia, the polypus, and many other infects,
vhich exhibit not  the Smalleft  veftiges of circulation in
their  jufvs.
  Tha pub, or medullary fubftance  of plants, has fome
retanohnce to  the brain and fpinal-marrow of animals.
Wh?n the texture  of the brain or  fpinal-marrow  is de-
stroyed, life is cxtim aillud ; and.  when the pith of plants
is deltroyed, or  dried up by a'ge, they no longer retain the
power of vegetating.  The leaves  of plants are analogous
to the lungs of  animals.   It is bv the lungs that the  per-
foration of .mbnals is> ehierlv effected ; and plants difeharge
moft of their luperfluous moiiture bv the leaves.  They
txpofe a large furl ace to the action of the fun, which pro-
duces a tranfpiratbm So copious, that Some plants  throw
out ritreen or twenty  times more  in a givm  period, than
is discharged from  tile human body.  When  a plant is de-
prived of n.s haves in Summer, inftead of ripening its fruit,
it is-  in great  danger of dying for want of  thofe organs
which carry ob  the Superfluous  juices that ariSe from the
root.   A plant, in  this Situation, may be confidered as la-
bouring under an aithma, or dying of  a fuffocation.
  Bfciiie the haves, plants tranfpire by the pores  of the
Skin.   But, the euantitv emitted in this manner  is not
nearly eqvial to that  whieh ilfues from the 1 ave .   The
Same  thing happens v.iih  regard to man and quadrupeds.
Though they likewiSe perSpire  through the  {kin, yet by
much the  greater  quantity  of  perfpirable matter  is dis-
charged by the lung:;.   Befide throwing out luperfluous
or noxio'it  matter by the leaves,  plants, bv the fame or-
gans, arbdorb from theatmofphere,  and pern a p:, from the
fun's  rc\  , fome unknown matter, which is neceffary to
their  exiiter.ee.  The  lungs of animals  likewife derive,
                                                 from 
         OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      29
from the fame fources, a particular matter, or principle,
without which life could not long be continued.
   Another analogy  between the ftructure of plants and
animals merits observation.   The round bones of animals
confift of concentric ftrata,  or plates, which can be eafiiy
Separated ; and the wood of plants confifts of concentric
layers of hardened veffels, which feparate when macerated
in water. A tree acquires an additional ring every year j
and, by counting thefe rings, a pretty exact eftimation of
its age may be attained.
   The branches of plants have been confidered as analo-
gous to the arms or tentacula of animals.  But, this  is one
of  thofe  ftrained  analogies  which  fhould  be carefully
avoided.   The great ufe of branches is evident.   By pro-
ducing an amazing number of leaves, a large furface is  ex-
pofed to  the air and fun, to anfwer the important purpofes
of tranfpiration and abforption.  If there is any thing in
plants analogous to the arms or tentacula of  animals, it
mult be confined to fuch fpecies as twift themfelves around
poles or  trees,  as the ivy *,  the  vine f, the convolvulus,
&c. and to fuch as fupport their trunks on other bodies by
means of little hooks, as the goofe-grafs ||, and  many
other kinds.
   All thefe analogies,  it may be remarked,  are confined
to large animals, and large vegetables ; but they hold  not
in that numerous tribe of plants called graffes.   Inftead of
being filled with wood and pith, their Items are perfectly
hollow;  and, to fortify thefe plants, Nature has belt owed
On  them flrong joints, or knots, which are placed  at  re-
gular diftances in each fpecies.   But, though fome of  the
analogies which fubfift between the larger animals and ve-
getables exift not in the fmailer plants, this circumftance,
inftead of infringing, confirms the general plan of Nature.
To difcover the analogies between tubular plants and ani-
mals, we muft examine the Structure of the minuter  tribes
of animated beings.   The graffes have neither pith nor
wood internally ; and the polypus,  the taenia, and  many
other infects, have no bones, heart, or interlines,  but  are
Simple tubes,  perfectly refembling the empty Stems of  the
                                           gramineous
       * Hedcra.       + Vitis.        \ Galium Aparint. 
30         THE  PHILOSOPHY
gramineous plants.  Befides,  the ligneous,  or at leaft the
herbaceous part of thefe plants, is  placed on  the outfide,
Similar to the cruita cons and ihtll  animals, whoSe bones
are Situated externally.   Another  analogy mult  not  be
omitted.   The  Succulent vegetables, Such as the houfe-
leek*, the mufhroom tribes, and manv n.a-planis, confift
almoft entirely of a pulpy or parenchymatous Subltance,
and may  be crufhed to a jelly by  the (lighteft piellure.
The texture of worms, caterpillars,  and oi' all the foft in-
fects,  is extremely Similar to that  of the fucculent vege-
tables.
      II.—GROWTH and NOURISHMENT.

   THE Second Source of analogies between the plant and
animal is derived  from  the modes of their growth  and
nourifhment.
   Many  ingenious theories  have been invented, with a#
view  to  explain the myfterious operation  by which the
growth  and nourifhment of animals and  vegetables are
effected.   But, 1 fhall confine myfelf,  at prefent, to fuch
remarks as are purely analogical, and may be fully under-
Stood without a minute knowledge of the different ways
bv which growth  and nourifhment have been  fuppofed
to be accomplifhed.
   Animals, like vegetables, gradually expand  from  an
embryo or gelatinous State, and, according to their kinds,
arrive fooner or later at perfection.  This expanfion  and
augmentation  of fubftance is the  idea conveyed by  the
word grrwth.   Without Some nutritious matter taken in-
to the body, and aflimilated, by the action of veffels, to
the fubftance of the being that receives it, growth cannot
take place.  Moifture is  the chief food of  plants.  But,
the food  of animals, in general, varies with  the fpecies.
This fact led Some  philosophers to conclude,  that  every
plant extracted from the foil  a food peculiar to its own
nature.   It was, however, afterwards  difcovered, by re-
peated experiments, that vegetables can grow, and acquire
                                               a verv
               * Semprrvivum trefenn, &c. 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.
3*
a very considerable degree of  bulk and weight, without
exhaufting a .perceptible quantity of the earth in which
they are planted.  Thefe experiments are a Sufficient proof,
that moiflure conftitutes the chief nourifhment of plants.
They likewife indicate, that vegetables, however diversified
ill their figure, denfity, and fibrous arrangement, are more
fimple  in  their texture than animals.  But, notwith-
standing thefe Seeming differences  in  the  nourishment
of plants  and animals, Nature fails not to obferve  the
fame courfe in both  kingdoms.  The food  of the ani-
mal,  before it is converted into  nourifhment, mult  go
through the intricate procefs of digeftion.   But,  after
the food has been converted into chyle, and the chyle into
blood,  this blood becomes a common fluid, from which
all  nourifhment and all animal fluids are derived.  Here
the analogy is apparent.   Moiflure is to the plant pre-
cifely what blood is to the animal.  Each of them extracts
its nourifhment from a common fluid ;  and, in both, this
Jluid  is changed, by the action of veffels, into the various
juices peculiar to the different fpecies.
   When growth firft  commences, the embryos of plants
and animals are in fimilar circumftances. Soon after con-
ception, the foetus  is inclofed in its membranes, and is
nourished,  till  mature for birth, by blood which it receives
from the uterus, and placenta.   In the fame manner,, the
embryo of a plant  is inclofed  in the membranes of the
feed ;  and its fibrous roots are fpread over the lobes,
or pulpy part.   After the feed is  Sown, and vegetation
commences, the embryo is nourifhed by moiflure, which
the lobes abforb Srom the  earth, and convey it to the mi-
nute  tubes  oS the Seminal root.  In many plants, theSe
lobes riSe above the Surface of the ground, in  the form of
leaves,  and continue  to nourifh and protect  the tender
plume, or ftem, till it acquires ftrength Sufficient to Sup-
port the affaults of the air, and  weather.   A plant, in
this Situation, may be faid to have two roots; one, the fi-
bres of which are diffufed  through  the fubftance of the
lobes, or Seminal leaves, and another attached to the foil.
  The nourifhment thus conveyed to vegetables by the Se-
minal leaves,  is extremely  analogous  to that of animals
                                                   by 
32          Till.  PHILOSOPHY

by the milk of the mother.   The texture of young ani-
mals is fo lax and unelaftic, that the food fuitcd to maturer
years would  foon put a period to their cxiilctue.  But,
Nature has provided againll this inconveniency.   She has
endowed females with a fet of  veffels dellined for the Se-
cretion oS a mild liquor, So far concocted and annualized
as to be adapted to the tender and flaccid condition of their
voting.  A Similar provifion of nourishment is afforded  to
the voung vegetable.  For fome time after the plume and
radicle have begun to fhoot, their texture is fo extr.'inely
tender, that they are unable to Support each other without
fome foreign aid.  This aid is afforded them by the Semi-
nal leaves.  Thefe leaves abforb dews, air, and other iine
fluids  which are concocted and  allimilated in the veflels
of the  feminal root, and then conveyed, in a kind  of ve-
getable form, to the feeble veffels of the plume.   Hence,
it is apparent, that the nourifhing of  young aniaials by
milk, and of young vegetables by feminal leaves, is the fame
inftitution of Nature, and effected by fnnilar inftruments.  a
   Piants,like animals,pafs gradually from an embryo,or in-
fant ftatc,to that of puberty. Atthisperiod of their exiftence,
they have acquired that firmnefs of texture, and that evolu-
tionof parts, whichconftitute the perfection of their natures,
and enable themtoproducebeingseveryway fimilartothem-
felves.  In both kingdoms, the age of puberty arrives later
or more early, according to the difference of fpecies.  Some-
animals live a few months only.   Many of the infect tribes
are produced, grow to maturity, propagate their kind, and
die in the courfe of a  fingle feafon.  Others, as feveral
flies, beetles, <x:c. exift  two years.  Thus animals have a
progreffive duration of life.  The dormoufe lives fix years,
the hare Seven or eight, the bear twenty or twenty-five, the
camel forty or fifty, the rhinoceros Seventy or eighty, the
elephant two hundred ;  and Some birds and fifties are Sup-
pofed to  exift during three or Sour centuries.  The Same
pr<  relfive duration takes place among vegetables.  Some
plants  are annual, as moft of the efculent kinds ;  others,
as the  hedge-pariley, the wild-carrot *,  the par (nip |,  the
fox-glove §,  thefcurvv-gralsH,  &c. are biennial;  others
                                                 exift
  * D-o:us Ccr;!a.  * Pofunaca  V.'. *.-.  f 1)\ a purfi "o,  ' Coci.leiina. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      33
exift three, five,  Seven, ten, twenty,  thirty,  Sixty,  and a
hundred years ; and the oak *, like the elephant and thofe
birds and fifties which are famed for longevity, continues
to adorn the foreft for feveral centuries.
  The manner by which the nutritious particles are ex-
tracted  from  food, is very fnnilar  in  the  animal and
the plant.   In the animal,  this operation is performed  by
the la&eal veffels, which are diftributed over the internal
furface of the ftomach and interlines.  In the plant, the
lame office is performed by the  veffels of the root and
leaves.  Hence,  animals are organized beings nourifhed
by roots fituated within their bodies ; and plants are or-
ganized bodies which abforb their nourifhment by roots
placed externally.  Befides, in all viviparous  animals, the.
fcetus is nouri'fned,  not by food taken in at the mouth,
but by veffels attached to the placenta.  Thefe veffels per-
form' the fame office to the fceius, that roots do to vege-
tables.
4 Warmth and moiflure are favourable to the production
of large and juicy plants ; and the animals that feed upon
thefe fucculent and rich vegetables, are likewife larger than
thofe which inhabit cold  countries,  where the plants are
Smaller, more rigid, and contain fewer nutritive particles.
  Some plants grow in  particular  climates  only.  The
rubus arclicus, a fpecies of  bramble,  fo common in Nor-
way  and Canada, hardly endures the climate of Upfal, in
Sweden.  But, the alfine media, or chickweed, and feve-
ral graltes, are diffufed over almoft the whole globe.  In
the fame manner, fome animals, as the camel, the rhino-
ceros,  and the elephant, are produced in warm climates
only ; while others, as the rein-deer, glutton, and. marmot,
are confined to the colder regions of  the earth ; and man,
in the animal, like fome graffes in the vegetable, kingdom,
is univerfal, and inhabits every climate.               ito
  Some plants, as well as fome animals, are amphibious,
as the ruih f and the frog ;  others are parafites, and feed
on the juices  they extract from different fpecies to which
they adhere.   The miffeltoe|j, for  example, feeds upon
the oak; moft  trees afford nourifhment to certain moffes
                  ■t    E                        and
        * Quercu*.        t Juncus.        \ Vifcum. 
34          THE  PHILOSOPHY

and fungous plants ; and every animal is fed upon by Smal-
ler kinds.
  The growth of plants, like that of animals, may be ac-
celerated or retarded by promoting or checking their  per-
fpiration, and by excluding them from proper exercife and
air.  When men,  or other animals,  are confined to  Situ-
ations  which prevent the Sree  acceSs  of pure air, their
growth is retarded ; and their fickly colour indicates a de-
fect of vigour.   Plants, when placed in  fimilar circum-
ftances, are always weak, dwarfifh,  and unnaturally co-
loured.   But exercife is equally neceffary to the  health
and vigour of plants, as it is to thoSe  or animals.   The
exercife of" animals is effected by various kinds oS Sponta-
neous motion.  Plants are likewife exerciled by motion ;
but that motion is not voluntary : It is communicated to
them by the action of the  air. The agitation which  they
receive from the winds enables them to  extend their roots,
prevents them from a growth too rapid, and,  of courfe,
Strengthens  their whole fabric.   It is owing to the want
of this agitation, that plants brought up in houfes, or irf
other confined Situations, moot out to an unnatural length;
that their Stems and branches are always flender and weak;
and that they ripen not their Sruit like thoSe which are
expoSed to  the open air.
  To conclude this branch of the fubject, plants and  ani-
mals are fo nearly allied,  that their growth and nourifh-
ment  are not only effected by Similar inftruments,  but
Some parts of animal bodies evidently partake of a vege-
table nature.  Thus, the hairs, the nails, the beaks,  and
the horns, are  a fpecies of  vegetables, as  appears from
their comparative total infenfibility, as  well  as from  the
mode of their growth and reproduction.
III. 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.
35
       III.—DISSEMINATION and DECAY.


   WE fhall, next, take an analogical view of the diffemi-
 nation and decay  of the animal and vegetable.
   The power of reproduction is peculiar to the plant and
 animal.  Each  of them is capable  of producing beings
 every way iimilar  to the parent.  But the modes by which
 this Singular effect is accomplifhed,  are very different  in
 appearance.  It is our prefent purpofe to remove this ap-
 parent difference,  and to Shew that animals and vegetables
 multiply their fpecies in a manner extremely analogous.
   Animals have  long been divided  into viviparous, and
 oviparous.   The  one  claSs  produce their  young  alive,
 the other lay eggs, which mult be hatched either by the
f heat of the fun, or by that of the  mother.  This divi-
 sion, though very comprehenfive, is not perfect.  Several
 animals  have lately  been difcovered which  are neither
 viviparous  nor oviparous ; and  there are animals which
 unite both  thefe modes of multiplication.
   The viviparous clafs comprehends men, quadrupeds,
 and fome fifties, reptiles, and infects.  The oviparous in-
 cludes birds, Some reptiles, and moft of the infect tribes.
 But, the armed polypus, or hydra of Linnaeus, inftead of
 being either viviparous or oviparous, multiplies its fpecies,
 as formerly remarked, by fending off fhoots from the body
 of the parent.
   Another fpecies, called the bell-polypus, or hydrafiento-
 rea of Linnaeus,  multiplies by fplitting longitudinally.
 In twenty-four hours, thefe divifions, wmich adhere to a
 common pedicle,  re-fplit, and form four diftinct animals.
 Thefe four, in an equal time, again fplit; and thus they
 proceed doubling their numbers daily, till they acquire a
 figure Somewhat reSembling a noSegay.  The young after-
 wards Separate from the parent flock, attach themfelves to
 the roots or leaves of aquatic plants, and each individual
 gives rife to a new colony.
                                                  The 
 3'>         THE   PHILOSOPHY
   The funnel-fhapcd pofvpus multiplies by Splitting tranf-
 verfely.   Of the individuals, accordingly, which proceed
 from this diviiion, one has  the old head and a new tail,
 and the other a new head and the old tail.  The fuperior
 dhifion Swims oft, and fixes  itfelf to Some other fubftance ;
 hut the inferior diviiion remains  attached to the former
 pecin le.
   i iu dart-millepes  affords  another example of multipli-
 cati n by  fpontaneous Separation.   This infect  divides,
 about  two-thirds  below the head,  into  two diftinct and
 pel feet animals; and it feems to poffefs no other mode of
 continuing the  fpecies.
   The multiplication  of the various animalcules which
 ar.ear.in infulions  of animal and  vegetable fubftances,
 lon# occupied the attention, and eluded the refearches of
 phih.fophefs.   this  difcovery of the  increafe  of  fome
 larger  animals bv Spontaneous divifion,  gave  rife^to  the
 conjecture, that thefe microfcopic  animalcules might mul-
 tiply th Jr numbers in a fimilar manner.   This conjecture
 was  communicated to M. de  Sauffure  in a letter  from
 Bonnet,  who received an anfwer, dated at  Genoa, Sep-
 tember 28, 17c. 9, to the following purpofe.
   ' What vou propofe as a  doubt,'  Says M. de Sauffure,
 ' I  have  verified  by  inconteftible experiments, namely,
 ' that  infution-animalcules  multiply  by continued divili-
 ' ons and fubdiviiions.  Thofe rounciifh  or  oval  animal-
 c cules that have no beak, or hook, on  the  fore  part  of
 fc their bodies, divide tranfverfely.  A  kind of ftricture,
 w or 'Strangulation, begins about the middle of the body,
 : which gradually increafes, till the two parts adhere by'a
 t final 1 thread only.   Then  both  part-  make repeated ef-
 fc forts, till the divifion is completed.   For fome time after
' St patation, the two  animals remain in a Seemingly torpid
Mtate.   lhev  afterwards begin to  Swim about  brifkly.
- 1-iach part is only one half  the Size of the  whole: But,
- they loon acquire the magnitude peculiar to the fpecies,
Land multiply by Similar uivifions.'-----'. To obviate every
' doubt,' continues .our  author, ' I put a Single  animal-
* cule into a drop of  water,  which lplit  before my  eyes.
' Next day.  I ha five,  the day after, Sixty, and, on  the
                                               6 third 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      37
• third day, their number was fo great, that it was impof-
1 fible to count them *.
   6 Another  Spedes, with a beak, or horn, on the  fore
c part of its body,  which I obtained from an  infufion of
* hemp-feed, multiplied likewifeby divifion, but in aman-
6 ner ftill more fingular than the former.  This animal-
' cule, when about to divide, attaches itfelf to the bottom
* of the infufion, contracts  its body, which is naturally
' oblong, into a Spherical form, fo that the beak entirely
' difappears.  It then begins to move brifkly round, fome-
* times from right to left, and Sometimes from left to right,
' the cohtre of motion being always fixed.  Towards the
' end, its motion accelerates,  and, inftead of  a uniform
' Sphere, two crofs-like  divifions begin to appear.  Soon
' after, the creature is greatly agitated, and Splits into  four
' animalcules perfectly fimilar, though Smaller  than  that
6 from jphich they were  produced.   Thefe four increafe
6 to the ufual fize, and each, in its  turn, Subdivides  into
' other four -J-,' &c,
   The beauties of Nature have  been juftly celebrated in
the uniformity of her productions.  This uniformity  was
early remarked, and gave rife to  the ancient divifion of
animals into viviparous and oviparous, which continued to
be adopted,as an univerfal maxim, till within thefe hundred
years.  Before this period, it was believed by philofophers,
that all animals were either brought forth alive, or hatched
from eggs. Among the ancients, indeed, and even down
to  the time of the celebrated Redi, this maxim included
chiefly the more perfect animals ;  for, with regard to moil
of the infect tribes, they imagined that thefe were produ-
ced by putrefaction, and the admixture of particular kinds
of matter.  But,  Redi,  by  a feries of unqueftionable ex-
periments, exploded the doctrine of the equivocal gene-
ration of infeCts ;  and then the maxim, without farther
investigation, was extended to the whole animal kingdom.
Redi's experiments and remarks turned the attention of
philofophers  to the  minuter tribes of animals.  In  the
courfe of a few years, accordingly, feveral eminent  men
                                                arofe.
 * La Palingcnefic Philofophiq^e. par C. Bonnet, torn. l. p. 428, 429.  S.
 * Idem, p. 4;p.  S. 
 38         THE  PHILOSOPHY
 arofe.  Reaumur, Bonnet, Trembley,  Ellis, Spallanzani,
 and a multitude of other writers, opened new views with
 regard to the manners and ccconomv of animated beings.
 M. Bonnet has furnifhed inconteftible evidence, that Seve-
 ral fpecies of the puceron,  or vine-fretter, are both ovi-
 parous and viviparous *".  In Summer, theSe infects  bring
 forth  their young alive ;  but,  in  autumn, they depofit
 eggs upon the bark and branches of trees.  Here, the in-
 tention of Nature is apparent.  The puceron is unable to
Survive the winter colds ; and, therefore, though vivipa-
 rous during the warm months, the fpecies could not be
 continued without this wife provision.  The puceron, k
 ffi mid appear, is naturally diSpoSed to produce live young.
 The feet:us is  inclofed in a membrane, which, like that of
 the larger animals, burfts before exelufion.  But,  when
 the cold  SeaSon commences, the genial texture of the
 animals, a^ well as of the membranes im 'ofngtrm foetus,
 becomes more firm and tenacious;  an 1 this, perhaps, is
the phyfical  reafon why  they are viviparous in fummer,
and oviparous in autumn.  Many other flies are known to
be viviparous.  Upon farther examination, all thefe will
 probably be difcovered to be alfo oviparous|.
   The puceron exhibits another phamomenon ftill more
 Singular.   The maxim, that  multiplication  prefuppoSed
 impregnation by Sexual embraces, was formerly thought
to be univerfal. Neither fhould the reception of this max-
im be regarded as a matter of wonder ; for it was founded
on a very general and ftrong analogy.  But, the following
facts Ihow, that Nature, though  uniform in many fteps of
her progrefs,  i* not invariably limited to the fame mode
of operation.
   On the 20th day of May, M. Bonnet took a young
puceron, the moment after dropping from the womb of
its mother, and fhut it up in a glafs veffel, to prevent all
poffibility  of communication with  any individual of the
fpecies.   A  fprig of the tree on which  the  animal was
produced, Supplied it with nourifhment.  The creature
changed its (kin Sour times, namely,  on  the 23d,  26th,
                                                29th,
  * Trait* d'lnfcftoloc-e. par C. Bonnet, ton. i. p.irj t—rr?.  S.
  t Set Reauir-ai, torn. 8. edit, ismo, p. ijj.  ttftq.  S. 
        OF  NATURAL HISTORY.      39
29th, and 31ft days oSthe Same month.  ASter a minute
detail of circurn.lances, M. Bonnet informs us, that his
imprifoned puceron grew with rapidity; that, on the  lfi.
day oS June,  it brought forth ; and that,  from this day
to the 21 ft,  it produced no lefs than 95 young, all Sull of
life and  vigour *.  He frequently repeated this experi-
ment, and it was always followed with the  fame event.
   M. Bonnet, Sufpecting that a Single impregnation might
influence both the mother and her immediate offspring,
refolved  to obviate every difficulty.  For this purpofe, he
confined, in feparate glaffes, the young of fucceffive births,
as they dropped from their mothers.  Each of thefe, how-
ever, were equally fertile, though he continued the expe-
riment to the ninth generation from the original parent f.
   Facts  of this kind,  which feem  to interrupt the ordi-
nary current of Nature, Should infpire philofophers with
caution.   They fhould  create reverence for fuch of her
operations as  are already known; but, they fhould like-
wife check that rafh fpirit which too frequently draws un-
limited conclusions, before the fubject be fully investigat-
ed.  Of all inductions regarding the hiftory  of Nature,
the neceflity of Sexual commerce for multiplying the Spe-
cies appeared to be the moft general and the moft legiti-
mate.  The ceconomy of the puceron, however, demon-
ftrates, that even this law is not indifpenfable, and that
Nature  has the power of changing her fteps, and of ac-
complishing the Same purpoSes by various means.
   Having enumerated the different modes  by which ani-
mals multiply their Species, I Shall next fhow, that  the
multiplication of vegetables is extremely analogous.
   The viviparous, as well as the oviparous animals,  are
SuppoSed to proceed from eggs, with this difference, that
the young of the viviparous are hatched  in the uterus
previous to their exclusion.
   Many ftriking analogies Subfift between the eggs of ani-
mals  and the feeds of plants.  When placed in proper
citcumftances, they both produce young every way fimi-
                                                   lar
  * Bonnet, Traite d'Infe&ologie, torn. 1. p.  39.; and  Reaumur, torn.  12.
P- 353-  S.
  + Idem, torn. 1. p. 74. ttfeq. S. 
 40         T HE   PHILOSOP H Y
 lar to the parents.  To accomplifh this wonderful effect,
 the  egg requires impregnation,  and  he it.   M- :ll  •••,
 warmth, and foil, or fome  fimilar matrix, arc ncVofTary
 for  the  exclulion of the  young  plant,  this analogy
 has been extended much farther by Linnaeus, and  other
 Supporters of  the Sexual fyftem of plants.  They main-
 tain, that impregnation is  equally indiSpenfiible to the ve-
 getation  oS the Seed,  as to the Sertility <ff the egg.  But,
 as this doctrine will be diScuffed when wc  come to treat
 of Sexes in  general, we fliall  here difinifs  it without  far-
 ther r, mark.
   Eggs are not only analogous to Seeds,  in the'r  general
 deftination oS reproducing  individuals, and continuing'
 the Species, but there is a  great Similarity in the Structure
 and uies  of their refpedtive organs.
   The internal parts of the egg are cohered with  a cant,
 or Shell, and two membranes.   Befide  thefe, the  yoi-.e is
 included in a  feparate membrane.  When  the two fir It
 membranes are removed,  the white  appears  every way
 invefting the yoke.  In the white, or rather on the mem-
 brane of the yoke, a  final I cicatrice is  difcernible, in  the
 centre of which is the punctum /alien.;, or embrvo of  the
 future animal.  After two or three days incubation, this
punctum /aliens becomes red,  and Shoots out blood-vcdlls,
 which are difperfed through the yoke,  in the  fame man-
 ner as the veffels  of a foetus are diftributed over the pla-
 centa.
   A feed is likewife  covered with  a Shell, or cruftaceous
 membrane.  Another membrane inverts the whole kernel,
 or pulpy  lobes of the feed.  Each lobe, like the yoke of the
 egg, is involved in a  feparate  membrane.  In every feed
 there is alfo a  fmall cicatrice, or aperture, through which
 the young plant iffues.  Immediately under thi;; cicatrice,
 the piumc, or future  plant,  is difcernible, refcmbling  the
 punctum/aliens of the egg.  The branches of the radicle pro-
 ceed from this plume, and are difperfed through the fub-
 ftance of the lobes, in the fame manner as the blood-veffels
 iffue from thepuncturn f.diens of the egg, and are diftributed
 over the yoke.   It is by  the pulp of the lobes that  the
 radicle and plume are nourifhed,  till the one fhoots  down
                                                  into 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.
4*
into the  foil, and the other mounts above the Surface.
In  feeds, there is nothing analogous to the white of an
egg.  Such a provifion would have been Superfluous ; for
the earth, in which the feeds are to germinate, muft al-
ways be  moift,  otherwife'the young plant could net re-
ceive nourifhment, after iffuing from  the feed.   Belldes,
the eggs  of hikes  have no  white, becaufe they are perpe-
tually moiitened  with water.
  , The analogies  arifing from the multiplication of ani-
mals and plants, by means of eggs and feeds, are the mcfc
common, and the moft obvious. ' Eggs and feeds are evi-
dently organs formed on the fame plan, and deftined by
Nature to anfwer the fame  general intention : But the
multiplication of plants,  as  well as  that of animals, is
not confined folely to one mode.
   The young of  viviparous  animals, though thev proba-
bly originate from fmall eggs,  are not brought forth till
they have acquired a certain age and firmness of texture.
It may be thought, that there is no multiplication of plants
which has any refemblance to that of viviparous animals.
We fhould reflect, however, that plants can multiply by
buds.  Now, a bud has no analogy,  either in texture  or
appearance, to a feed.   Buds arife from the Items or bran-
ches of vegetables.   One objeCt in their formation is  to
produce  leaves and  branches,  as well as  to extend the
length of the trunk or item. But,  they are like wife en-
dowed with the faculty of reproducing new individuals.
In this refpect,  trees  and fhrubs may be confidered as vi-
viparous  plants  ;  becaufe they produce out of their own
bodies an organ,  which, though differing  in every view
from a feed, is brought forth alive,  and,  when properly
cherifhed, is converted into a being  perfectly  fimilar to
the parent,  and capable of continuing its fpecies.   The
embryo of a bud commences its exiftence under the bark.
Here it remains, for fome time, inclofed in membranous
coverings,  and attached  to  the  bark by  minute fibres,
which convey to  it a nourifhment Suited to its  condition.
When arrived at  a certain fize and confiftence,  it pierces
the bark, and flioots out into the open air.  If allowed to
remain on the parent,  it  foon burfts  through  its  mem-
                         F                   branes, 
 4:          THE  PHILOSOPHY
 brancs, and, in tjme, gives rife to a  new branch :  But,
 when detached from  the parent, and placed in rfroper cir-
 cumftances, it becomes  a  new  individual ot  the fame
 fpecies.
   Bulbous-rooted  plants furnifh a ftill  Stronger analogy
 between the increafe of viviparous animals  and  that of
 vegetable-.  In the end of autumn,  if  the coats of  any
 bulbous root be carefully  diffected, the entire  plant in mi-
 niature will appear in the centre of the root *.   In fpring,
 this Small  plant,  like a fcetus incloSed  in the uterus, pier-
 ces the coats of which the root confifts,  and gradually
 grows till  it flowers,  ripens its feeds,  and  dies at  the ap-
 proach of  winter,  when a new plant  is  again formed in
 the old root.   Here we have an example of the multipli-
 cation of plants  fimilar to that of the puceron ;  but the
 order of time  is  reverfed.  The puceron is viviparous in
 Summer, and oviparous in autumn ; but, bulbous-rooted
 plants  may be confidered as oviparous in Summer, and
 viviparous itt autumn.
   The  Same analogy is to be traced in thoSe  roots which
 have what are  called  eyes, like the potato.  Thefe eyes are
 all plants  in miniature, which live  in  that State during
 the winter, and,  when committed to the Soil, come to
 maturity in Summer.
   There are ftill  other modes oS multiplying  common to
 the animal and vegetable.  Many plants are multiplied by
 Suckers, flips, and cuttings.
   The  animal  kingdom furnifhes examples  oS all thefe
 modes of multiplication.   The Suckers oS plants have an
 exact analogy to the fhoots of a polypus.  When Separated
 Srom  the parent,  the  Sucker bncomes a perfect plant, and
 the fhoot  of the polypus a perfect animal.  Plants  arc
 capable of  multiplication  by flips and  cuttings: And the
 portions of a polypus, however Small,  or when cut in any
 direction^ reproduce, and become perSect animals oS  the
 Same Species.
   But,  Some Species oSthe polypus, the dart-millepes, and
 feveral animalcules  which appear  in infufions of animal
                                                   and
 * M. Mariott-. and many other writers, have feen in the bulb of tlu tulip, not
fculv the leave», butcvv:.  r.ie flower*, a::-J the flamina. 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.       43
and vegetable fubftances, multiply by fplitting, or  Spon-
taneous Separation.   Here  the analogy between the ani-
mal and vegetable might be fuppofed to fail.  The water-
lentil, however, a fmall plant, which covers the furface'of
Stagnating pools,  multiplies its fpecies by  detaching thin
films from the under  fide  of the leaf.  Thefe films, or
tender leaves, produce roots, and vegetate into a regular
plant.
   We muft not difmifs this fubje£l till another analogy be
unfolded.  All animals have  feafons peculiar to their re-
spective kinds.   Some of the larger animals produce in
the fpring, others  in  Summer, others in autumn, and
others in winter.   With regard to the  infect tribes, their
Seafons are ftill more various.   Every month, every week
of the year,  gives birth to different fpecies.   The feafons
of plants are diverfified in a Similar manner.  The growth
of different vegetables is diftributed over the whole year.
Particular  tribes  faring up at the fame uniform periods.
In this beautiful diverfity of  arrangement, the intentions
of Nature are evident.  If all plants were to rufh forward
at the fame time, they would infallibly choke each  other.
The furface of the earth  could not afford them  room.
Nature has,therefore, wifely ordained, that the earth fhould
always be covered with plants : But, fhe has alfo ordain-
ed, that particular tribes fhould die at ftated periods, to
make way  for the exiftence of others.  The fame incon-
venience would happen, if the production of all animals,
and  particularly  that  vaft number of fpecies, and that
immenfe profufion  of individuals,  to  which the  infect
tribes give birth, were to take place at one period.   The
air would be fo crowded with noxious creatures,  that nei-
ther man nor the larger animals could poffibly exift.   Be-
fides, the fpecies which feed upon particular plants, if they
were  produced at a time when thefe plants did  not flou-
rifh, would infallibly  perifh  for want of  food.   In Lap-
land, where the duration of  heat is extremely fhort, the
whole infects, which inhabit that dreary and barren region,
are produced in  a few weeks.  Though  the  number of
fpecies, compared with that of the more prolific climates,
be very limited,  the inconvenience  is Severely felt.   But,
                                                 every 
 at         THE   PHILOSOPHY
 everv natural evil is accompanied with fome advantage.
 The  rein-deer, upon which, rheexiftcnce oi the Lapland-
 ers chic:iv depends,  are tormented I y the (warms'of Hies.
 To avoid  their  numberlefs enemies,  thefe  animals  haw
 the v.d!hs, and aieend the mountains, where the cold  is
 too great for the flies to follow.   In thefe lofty re;  ions,
 the rem-deer feed during the hot feafon,  and return to
 the sallies af-er the cold has deilroyed the myriads of in-
 fects.  This  forced  mi .ration  has t%vo good effects :  It
 both  pre'r\cs the heal'h of thercin-deer, and the vege-
 tables in  the vallies, which othtrwife would have  been
 pr. maturely exhausted.
   'She operation  <A'  engrafting was long thought to be
 peculh v  to the vegetable kingdom.  3ut,  M.  Trembley
 found, that feveral ipeeics of the frefh-water polypus could
 fuccefsfu.'1'- undergo  this wonderful  procefs.   Since his
 time, it lias b.vn  difcovered, that the aclinia, or  fea-nettle,
 is liV*wifc capable of being engrafted  to an  individual  of
 the fame or of a  different fpecies.   in all thefe inflanees,
 the portions of the divided animals grow  together, and
 become diitinci individuals.
   Having traced  the general analogies between the ftruc-
 ture and  cecoiiomy of the animal and vegetable, fiom the
 rudiments of their evidence  till they  have acquired full
 mare:!ty, and performed the neceffary office of multiply-
 ing their fpecies,  we proceed to the laft and only melan-
 choly branch of this  iubject,  the unavoidable decay and
 death of  every fucceffive individual in  both kingdoms.
   It is an invariable  law of Nature,  that  all organized
 badies fhould have  a  conhant tendency  to diifolution.
 But, the  periocs  of their existence vary according to the
fpecies.   Previous to actual refolution, plants  as well as
 animals are fubject tp a number of analogous  afl actions
and dift.de?.  When  over-heated, plains  ihow evident
marks of languor and fatigue-:  Their leaves become  flac-
cid, their  Items  and brandies btfcnd  toward the  ear ill,
their juices evaporate,  and  their whole  texture affumes
the appearances of weaknefs and decay.   The application
of too great a degree of cold makes the flowers, the leaves,
                                                  the 
         OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      45
 the bark, and even the woody fibres, Shrivel and contract
 in their  dimensions.  When deprived of proper light and
 air, their colours fade, and they foon acquire a lurid and
 Sickly afpect.   They are likewife fubject to be ftarved for
 want of nourifhment.   The growth of plants, as well as
 that of animals, is checked  by fcanty Supplies of food.
 When the foil or Situation is unkindly, vegetables are al-
 ways weak and dwarfifti, and their prolific powers are di-
 minifhed.   They may alfo be poifoned by  the  abforption
 of fluids hoftile to their conftitution.  Befide thefe gene-
 ral affections, common to the  plant  and animal, vegeta-
 bles are injured, and often killed, by particular difeafes.
   Some difeafes attack the leaves only, and produce fpots
 of various colours, rugofities, puftules, galls, &c.   Others
 are peculiar to the flowers and fruit,  and often occafion
 barrenneSs for a feafon ;  and Sometimes this Sterility con-
 tinues during the exiftence of  the plant.  Others affault
 the vifcera, or internal organs,  and give  rife to obstruc-
 tions, tumors, and a gradual refolution and corruption of
 the whole fabrick.   Many  of the difeafes of plants are
 produced by the infect tribes.   Their wounds and depre-
 dations are  not confined to particular parts,  but extend
 from the root to the ftem, branches, leaves, flowers, and
 Sruit.  Infects not only injure the fubftance of plants, but,
 by feeding on their juices, deprive them of a part of their
 nourifhment,  and occafion various difeafes or changes in
 their  organization.   Other difeafes of plants derive their
 origin from change of  climate, from miaftnata or noxious
 vapours in the atmofphere, and  from improper culture.
 When wounded by external injuries, vegetables difcharge
 their  blood in  copious ftreams.  If the  wound  be not
 mortal, the fibres on  all  fides  gradually  fhoot out, and
 clofe  the fracture by a callous fubftance.
  From  this general enumeration, it is obvious, that the
 difeafes of plants are not only fimilar to thofe of animals,
 but proceed from the  fame caufes.   In both  kingdoms,
 fome difeafes are only partial or Superficial, and are cured
 either by Nature, or by the affiftance oS art.   Others are
mortal, and Succeeded by a total putrefaction or  decom-
position of the individual.
                                                 But, 
a6           THE  PHILOSOPHY
   Bur,  though plants  fhould efcape  the  numberlefs dif-
eafes which daily threaten  them,  they  have  no  defence
againft the flower approaches of old age, and its unavoid-
able confequence, death.   In progrefs of time, the veffels
gradually harden and lofe their tone.   The juices no long-
er move with equal celerity  as  in  youth.  They are not
abforbed with the fame prccifion.   They at laft  ftagnate,
and corrupt.  This corruption  is  Soon  communicated  to
the veffels in which the juices are contained, and produces
a total ceffation of all  trie vital  functions.
   The life  of animals is divcrfified by a number oS SucceS-
five changes.   Infancy, youth, manhood, old age, are cha-
racterised  by imbecility, beauty,  fertility,  dotage.   All
thefe viciffitudes are eonfpicuous in the vegetable world.
Weak and  tender in infancy, beautiful  and vigorous  in
youth,  robuft  and  fruitful  in manhood,  and, when old
age approaches, the head droops,  the fprings of  life dry
up,  and the tottering vegetable, like the animal, returns
to that duft from which it Sprung.
   Upon the whole ; by taking a retrospective view of the
extreme difficulty of afcertaining  the boundaries which
diftinguifh  the animal from the vegetable, and of the  Simi-
larities  in their  ftructure ?nd organs, in their  growth and
nouriffiment,  in their  diifemination and decay, it is ap-
parent, that both thefe  kingdoms conftitute the fame order
of beings,  and that Nature, in the formation of them, has
operated upon one great and common model *.
                                                C  II A   P.
  * The numerous attempts which have made by nnniralifls to define the boun-
daries wh,»h terminate the chain of animals and to explain, the nature and attri-
butes of the vc;i table Cerics, confidered as a clafs, or order, of living beings eflen-
lially differing fiom animals, have, hitherto, as our author has ob?crvd,  urovid
** abortivr."' ]' -rn in the piefentimproved ftate of Xaturat Ah,,-., !rd-ir, in an a-x of
Which ph.'.>!ophy and * ifdom, next to the lovr <,f freedom, are the matt prominent
anddiflihtuvt- Knurrs, our labours have m.t been able lorondutt us to an acquaint
ance wrth any marks, or chan. lers, which decidedly difli,>:ni{h the world of ani
mals and vegetables.  A Ue writer, however,  Drfkdwig, of Leiptic  who to
the kno^ed.c of the If.nfl uinu. the talu.u  of the Plnlofapktr, i* of opinion
that there tvocl fl[S ()f |,t)ng,  „e moR unequivocally diuinguifli< d from each
other by this circurnu.inct-, that thr/««;«■, or malt orRmst of vegetables perifh im-
mediately alter  they  h;.vr pcrfo.med the important olhce of fecundation  whilft
the fame organs in ;.imii..!s (uivivc this [motion, and, m mofl cafes, are capable of
repeanng it. I do not ..^mit th • folidit. of this  difliii'iioti.  I mean i 01 io afTVrt
:*:: animals and vcjjt^I. 4 confi • :t -: bu* at Srtat family of L„g..  [,. ,hfcye of
                                                      Nalurt. 
OF,NATURAL  HISTORY.      47
                  CHAP.   II.


Of the organs and general ftruclure of Animals—A Jhort
   view of the external and internal parts of the human body
   —This ftruclure compared with thofe of Quadrupeds, Birds,
   Fifties, and Infeels—How far peculiarities of ftruclure are
   connecled with peculiarities  of manners and difpofitions.


T N  treating of this fubject, it is  not intended to dive
-*-  into the depths of anatomical reSearch.   On the con-
trary,  I fhall exhibit fhort views only oS the general ftruc-
ture and  organization  of the various claffes of animated
beings, from  man,  who is  the moft  perfect animal  of
which we have any knowledge, down to the infect tribes.
Confiderihg man, therefore,  as  the ftandard of animal
perfection,  we fhall  inftitute frequent comparifons, and
mark peculiar diftinctions,  between him and the brute
creation,  both with regard to form, manners, and Saga-
city.   By following this plan, I hope I fhall be enabled to
render a  fubject which,  at firft fight, may have  a forbid-
ding afpect, both interefting and agreeable.
           STRUCTURE  OF  MAN.


   THE bones may be regarded as the bafis upon which
the human body is conftructed.  The fpine, or back-bone,
confifts of a number of vertebrae,  or Small bones, con-
nected together by cartilages, articulati®ns, and ligaments.
In the centre ef each vertebra there is a foramen, or hole,
for the lodgement and continuation of the fpinal marrowr,
                                                  which
Naturt, there is, moft probably, a diftin&ion between thefe objefts; but this dif-
tinftion Man has never been able to define.  The difcovcrv is, pofliUy, referveJ
for fome happy genius, in an ace more enlightened by fcience. 
 48          THE  PHILOSOPHY
 which  extends from the brain to the rump.   From their
 verte! re the arched bones called ribs prom d ;  and kvi n
 of them join the breaft-bone on each fide,  v. here tiny ter-
 minate in cartilages,  and form the cavity  of the thorax,
 or cheft.   This cavitv contains* the heart and lungs; and
 the cefophagusj or gullet, paffes through  it to reach the
 ftomach.  The five lower ribs, w ith a number of mufcles,
 form another cavity termed the abdomen, or belly, in which
 are contained  the  ftomach, the bowels, the omentum, or
 cawl, the liver, the gall-bladder, the Spleen, the pancreas,
 and the kidneys.   The cheft and abdomen are Separated
 from each other by the diaphragm, or midriff.   The lower
 part of this laft cavity contains the bladder of urine, and
 the  rectum, or termination  of the  inteftines.   lkfide
 thefe, in female^,  the pelvis  includes the  uterus and  hs
 appendages  This  part of the cavity is formed hy the os ia.
 crum, or termination of the back-bone, and the two offa
 innonimata.
  The  bones of the cranium and face are very numerous.
 They are connected together  by means of futures, arti-
 culations, and  membranes.  The bones of  the cranium
include the  brain, and  its two membranous coverings,
called the pia and dura mater, and the medulla oblongata,
 of which laft the fpinal marrow is a  prolongation.  The
 bones of the upper and  under jaw  form  another cavity
 for the reception of the tongue and organs of fpeech.
   She  only remaining bones are thofe of  the  uj-cer and
 lower extremities.  The fhoulder and  collar bones •arti-
 culate with the top of  the arm and breaft-bone.  The
 arm-bone, or os humeri,  is joined to the two  bones of the
 fore-arm,  called ulna and radius, and thefe laft  to the
 bones of the carpus,  or  wrift, by means of  articulations
 and firm  membranes  To the  bones of the wrift, thofe
 of the metacarpus  and  fingers  are attached  in  a fimilar
 manner.
  With regard to the lower extremities,  the thh'h-bone
 maculates above with the  hip-bone, and below with the
 lcs*-bone and the rotula, or knee-pan.   The  leg, like the
 fore-arm, is compofed of two bone , the tibia and fibu*a,
 v.I.ieh aiiicu! .-e with each other, and with the tarfal, or
                                                heel- 
         OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      49
 heel-bones of the foot;  and to thefe  laft  the metatarfal
 bones, and thofe of the toes, are joined.
   From this outline, fome idea  may  be formed of the
 human fkeleton.   The other parts of  which our bodies
 are  compofed, fhall be  mentioned in the fame cunbry
 mariner.
   The mufcular part  of the human fabrick confifts of
 numerous bundles of fiefhy fibres.  Each bundle, or dif-
 tinct mufcle, is inclofed in a cellular mem rane, by which
 means they  may be raifed, or feparated from one another,
 by the hand  of  the anatomift.  They are inferted,  by
 ftrong tendinous  extremities, into the  different bones of
 which the fkeleton is compofed, and, by their contraction
 and diftenfion, give riSe to all the movements of the body.
 The mufcles,  therefore,  may be confidered as  So manv
 cords attached to the bones; and Nature has fixed them
 according to the  moft perfect principles of mechanifm, So
 as to produce the fitteft motions in the  bones or parts for
 the movement of which they are intended.
   The heart is a hollow mufcular organ, of a conical fhape,
 and  confifts of Sour diftinct cavities.  The two largeft are
 called  ventricles, and the two Smalleft auricles.  The heart
 is incloSed in the pericardium, a membranous bag, which
 HkewiSe  contains a quantity of water, or lymph.   This
 water lubricates the heart, and facilitates all its  motions.
 The heart is the  general  refervoir of the blood.   By the
 contractions and  dilatations of  this mufcle, the blood is
 alternately thrown out of, and received  into, its  feveral
 cavities.   When the heart contracts, the blood is  propelled
 from the right ventricle  into the  lungs through the pul-
 monary arteries,  which,  like all  the other arteries, are
 furnifhed with valves that play  eafily Sorward, but admit
not the blood to regurgitate toward the heart.  The blood,
aSter circulating through  the lungs, returns into the left
ventricle of the  heart by the  pulmonary vein.   At the
fame inftant, the left ventricle drives the blood Into the
aorta,  a large  artery which fends off branches to  Supply
the head and arms.  Another large branch oS the aorta
deScends  along the infide oS the back-bone, and detaches
numerous ramifications to nourifh the vifcera and inferior
                          G                    extre- 
  5o         THi".   PHILOSOPHY
  extremities.   After ferving the moft remote extremities of
  the body, the arteries are converted into veins, which, in
  their return toward the heart, gradually unite into larger
  branches, till the whole r.nninate in  one great trunk
  called the vena cava, which diichargcs itfelf into the right
  .'entricle of the heart, and completes the circulation.
    Ik-tide the  heart,  the thorax,  or  cheft,  contains  the
  lungs, or organs of  refpiration.   They are divided into
  rive lobes, three of which lie on the right,  and  two on
 the left fide of the thorax.   The fubftance of the lungs
  is chiefly compofed of infinite ramifications of the trachea
  or windpipe, which, after gradually becoming more  and
  more minute, terminate in little cells, or veficles, which
 have a free communication with one  another.   At each
 inspiration, theSe pipes and cells are filled with air, which
 is again discharged by reSpiration.  In this manner, a cir-
 culation of air, which  is neceffary to the exiftence of men
 and other animals, is conltantly kept up as long a*  life
 remains.
   The inftruments and  procefs of digeftion  fall next to
 be confidered.  The  ftomach is a membranous and muS-
  i!ar bag, furnifhed with two orifices : By the one it has
  communication w ith the cefophagus, or gullet, and by the
 other  with  the bowels, which begin at the ftomach and
 terminate at the anus.  In the ftomach and inteftines there
 are immenfe  numbers  of minute  veffels called  latlcals,
  \xq mouths of which are conltantly open  for the reception
  -,* the nutritious particles.  After being moiftened and
  .bricated by the Saliva, the food is received  into the fto-
 uach, where it is ftill  Sarther diluted by  the gaftric juice,
 vhich has the  power oS dillolving every kind of animal
 aid vegetable fubftance. When the food has remained
  une time in the fti-macE, it is reduced to a greylfh pulp,
 mixed w ith fome chylous or milky particles.  The thinner
 and more perfectly digclted  parts of the food gradually
 Tils through the pylorus, or lower aperture of the  ftomach,
 into the inteftines, where they are ftill farther attenuated
 <nd digefted  by the bile and  pancreatic juices.   While
 i:he food is in thi-, fluid ftate,  it receives the denomina-
tion of chyle, and is continually abforbed by the mouths
                                                    of 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      5c
of the lacteal veins.   Thefe veffels  arife,  like net-work,
from the  inner furface of the  inteftines, pafs obliquely
through their coats,  and, running  along the mefentery,
unite, as they advance, into larger branches, and at laft
terminate in the thoracic duct, or  general receptacle of
the chyle.  Befide the lacteals, there is another fyftem of
veflels called lymphatic,  or  abforbent veins* :   They are
minute pellucid  tubes,  and generally  lie clofe  to the
large blopd-veffels.  The* lymphatics from all the lower
parts of  the body   gradually unite  as they  approach
the thoracic duct, into which they pour a  colourlefs fluid
by three or four  large trunks; and the lymphatics  from
all the fuperior parts of the body, likewife difcharge their
lymph into the fame du&, as it runs upward to terminate
in the left Subclavian vein.   By this curious and beautiful
machinery, the chyle and lymph, which  confift of the
nutritious matters extracted from the food, enter the cir-
culating fyftem, are  converted into  blood, and afford that
conftant Supply of nourifhment wtiich the  perpetual wafte
of our bodies demands.
   We fhall next  give a fketcfi of thofe important organs
by which we are enabled to multiply and continue the Spe-
cies.   The circulation of  the blood, and the mode by
which the  quantity  of it is continually  kept up by  frefh
Supplies of chyle,  are effects which, in fome meafure, cor-
respond with our ideas of the machinery employed.  The
organs of generation  exhibit a ftill more complex Specimen
oS exquifite mechanifm.   But, the machinery  employed,
without the aid of experience, could never fuggeft the
moft diftant idea of  the effect to be produced.
  In the male, the  organs of generation confift oS the
teftes, the  Seminal veffels, and the penis.  The teftes are
two glandular bodies which poffefs the power of convert-
ing the blood into Semen.  They are originally formed
and lodged in the abdomen; and ft is not till after birth,
that they commonly  pafs into the  groin, and Srom thence
Sail into the  Scrotum, which is a muScular bag prepared.
for their reception and defence.  The teftes oSthe hedge-
                                                 hog,
                                                   o -
  * The laflcals and lymphatics,  properly fpeaking, conftitute the fame grcu:
fyftem of veffels. 
52      %   THE  PHILOSOPHY
hog, and of fo;. e o;her quadrupeds, remain in  the  abdo-
men tiering h:e.  Iniiances of the  fame kind  Sometimes
happen in the human Species.  Each  telticle is  compoled
c f the .[.crw.^^ artery and vtin.   the blood pa tics very
ilowly thruu. h the li ermatic arterv, and products an in-
finite number of convolutions in the fubftance  of the tef-
title. where ir dcpoiits the femen, which is taken up by
the femeniierou.s tubes.   There tube> at length unite, and,
bv an immenfe number oS circumvolutions, Sorm a kind
of appendix to the telticle, commonly known by the term
cpiuydymis.  The tubes oS the epidydvmis, after terminat-
ing in an extretcry duct called vas deferens,afcend toward
the abdominal rings, and depofit the femen in  the lcmi-
nal \efieics, which arc two loft convoluted bodies Situated
I etweeii the rectum and  bladder, and unite at their lower
extremity : From thefe reiervoirs the femen is occafion-
allv discharged ttnou. h the fhort canals which  open into
the urethr.i.  the puts is a cavernous and Spungy fub-
lt«.i».ce, pertoia ed  longitudinally  by a  canal  called the
utctbra, which, by communicating with  the bladder and
Seminal veffels, anfwers the double purpofe oS dhcharging
both the urine and femen.
  With regard to the female organs, the uterus and its
appendages meri1 a principal attention.  The uterus is  a
huli.iw mufcular body,  Situated between  the rectum and
biadder, and,  when not in  an impregnated ftate, refem-
bles a pear,  with the  thickeft end turned toward  the
abdomen.   i he  entrance into the cavity  of  the uterus
forms a ■ai.dl protuberance, which has been compared to
;he mouth  oi a tench, and  from this circumflance it has
received the nameoi os line?.  The uterus is connected to
the fides of the pelvis by tuo broad ligaments, which fup-
port it in the vagina in a pendulous Situation. From each
fide of the bottom of the uturus the two  fallopian tube^
ariie, pa.o through the Subflance of the  uterus,  and ex-
tend along  the broad ligaments till they reach the edge of
the pelvis ;  from whence they are reflected backward, and
turning over behind the  ligaments,  their  extremities hail"-
loofe in the pelvis.  Theie extremities, becaufe  thty have
                                             a ragged 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      5^
a ragged appearance, are called fimbria, or mor/us diaboli:
Each Fallopian tube is about  three inches long.  Their
cavities are at firft very Small,  but become gradually lar-
ger, like a trumpet, as they approach the fimbriae.   Near
the fimbriae  of each tube, about an inch from the uterus,
are Situated the ovaria, or two  oval bodies, about half the
fize of the male telticle.   They  are covered with a pro-
duction of the peritoneum, and  hang loofe in  the pelvis.
In their  fubftance there are feveral  minute veficles  Silled
with lymph.  The number of thefe  veficles feldom ex-
ceeds twelve in each ovarium.   In mature females,  thefe
veficles become exceedingly turgid ; and a yellow ccagu-
lum gradually forms in one of them,  which increafes till
its coat difappears.  It then changes into a hemispherical
body called corpus luteum, which is defcribed as being hol-
low and  containing within its cavity very minute  eggs,
each of  which, it is fuppofed, may be  impregnated, and
 produce a foetus.   After impregnation, one of thefe eggs,
 as we are  informed by anatomifts, is abforbed by and
 paffes through the Fallopian tube into the uterus, where
 it is nourifhed till mature for birth.
   We fhall  conclude this fubject with a concife account of
 the inftruments  of fenfation.  The organs hitherto de-
 fcribed  convey nothing more than the idea  of an  auto-
 maton,  or felf-moving  machine.  But fenfation, or the
• perception of pleafure and pain, is effected by organs of
 a peculiar kind.   Thefe organs are all comprehended un:
 der the general appellations of the brain and nerves.
    Befide the bones of the cranium, the brain is inveited
 with two membranes, called  dura and pia mater, becaufe
 they v/cre fuppofed by the Arabians  to be the  Source of
 all the other membranes of the body.  Under the  deno-
 mination of brain are comprehended  three diftinct  parts,
 the cerebrum, the* cerebellum, and medulla oblongata.   The
 cerebrum is  a Soft medullary mafs, Situated in the anterior
 part of the fkull, and divided,  by a  portion of the dura
 mater, into two  hemispheres.   It confifts of two iubftau-
 ces, the cortical,  which is  greyifh,  and the medullary,
 which is Softer,  and of a very  white colour.   The cere-
 bellum is divided into two lobes, and itc fubftar.ee is  firmer
                             *                      ._ 1 
54         THE   PHILOSOPHY
and more compact than that of the cerebrum.  It is like-
wife compofed of the cortical and  medullary fubftances.
The reunion of the medullary fubftances of the- cerebrum
and cerebellum,  at the bafis of the fkull, forms the
dulla oblongata^ of which the fpinal marrow is a continu-
ation.  The brain of the human fpecies is proportionally
much larger than that of quadrupeds.
  The brain and fpinal marrow are  fuppofed  to be  the
origin of all the nerves or inftruments of fenfation. The
nerves are, in general, cineritious, fhining, inelaftic cords.
But, they differ from  each other in Size, colour, and con-
fiftence.  From numberleSs experiments and observations,
it is unquestionable, that the nerves are the  inftruments
both of SenSation and oS animal motion.  But,  how theSe
effects are produced  by the nervous  influence, is  a  diS-
covery ftill  to be made.   The  inquiry, however,  has
given riSe to  Several  ingenious conjectures and hypothe-
ses.  Some phyfiologifts have maintained, that the  nerves
are Solid  cords,  which may  be divided into an infinite
number of minute filaments ;  and that, by the vibrations
of thefe cords, the various impreflions and modifications
of feeling are conveyed to the brain.   Others, with more
plaufibility, have SuppoSed that the nerves are aflemblages
oS fmall  tubes ;  that  a Subtile fluid, Sometimes called  ani-
mal/pirits, is Secreted in the brain and  Spinal marrow ;
and that  by  the influence or motions of this  fluid  all  the
fenfations oS animals  are transmitted to the SenSorium, or
general repofitory of ideas.  But,  it is needlefs to dwell
upon a fubject covered with darknefs, and which  all  the
efforts oS human powers will probably never bring to light.
   Anatomifts have deScribed forty  pair oS nerves.  Ten,
of them proceed from the medulla oblongata  of the brain,
and thiny Srom the  Spinal marrow.  Thefe nerves, by
fending off  innumerable ramifications, are  diftributed,
like a net-work, over every  part of  the  body, till they
terminate, in the form of minute papilla;, upon the fkin.
That the nerves are  the  immediate  inftruments of  fen-
fation, as well as of mufcular motion,  has  been proved
by a thou/and uncontrovertible experiments.   When the
trunk of the Sciatic  nerve is  cut,  the  thigh and  leg on
      .                                           that 
        OF NATURAL  HISTORY.      55
that fide  inftantly loSe all motion, and all  SenSe of pain,
below the incifion, and neither time nor art can ever  re-
store the power oS feeling or of moving.  But the parts
between the incifion and the Spinal  marrow, which is a
continuation of the  brain, retain their uSual degrees both
of motion  and  of fenSation.  From this experiment, it
is evident,  that the  nerves are the organs by which SenSa-
tion and motion are effected, and  that, for thefe import-
ant purpoSes, an uninterrupted connection between any
particular nerve and the brain, or Spinal marrow, is in-
diSpenfible.
  This fketch oS the human fabrick requires an apology
to  anatomical readers, who muft be  fenfible of its many
imperfections.   To  perfons who have not  ftudied that
curious and ufeful fcience,  I imagined a  general view of
the ftructure of man, if properly compofed, might enable
them to acquire more diftinct ideas of the many feeming
deviations from  the  common plan obferved  by Nature in
the formation of the inferior and more imperfect animals.
    OF THE STRUCTURE OF QUADRUPEDS.


   HAVING delineated  the ftructure and organs of the
 human fpecies, it is worthy of  remark, that the intellect,
 or fagacity, of inferior animals augments or diminifhes in
 proportion as the formation of their bodies approaches to,
 or recedes from, that of man.  Quadrupeds, accordingly,
 are more intelligent than  birds ;  the fagacity of birds ex-
 ceeds that  of fifties ;  and the  dexterity and cunning  of
 fifties are fuperior to thoSe of moft of the infect tribes.
 The fame gradation of mental powers is exhibited in dif-
 ferent fpecies of the fame claffes of animals.  The form
 of the orang outang makes the  neareft approach to the
 human ;  and the arts  he employs for his defence,  the ac-
 tions he performs, and the fagacity he difcovers, are  fo
 aftonifhing,  that Some philoSophers have confidered him
as a real human being in  the moft debafed ftage~ of focie-
ty.   Next to the orang outang, the organs of the different 
56          TH E   PHI L OS O PHY
fpecies  cf apes and  monkeys have  \h»  grcnicd  referrt-
blance to thai'-* of man ;  and th.ir» powers  of imitalit a,
their addrefs in procuring their fin d, ami in managing
their young, their  ingemrtv, and their fag acinus man-
ners,  have  contributed to the  amufement,  aid excited
the admiration, of mankind in all ages and nations.  The
fame relation between form and int  llect  may be- traced
in the dog,  the cat, the fow, the horfe, the fheep, and the
other fpecies of quadrupeds.
  Witii regard to the general dructure and figure of oin-
drnpeds, a great variety is exhibited in the different hinds.
Bu% when  examined in detail,  it is apparent tK.i *!ny,
as well  as man, are  all formed upon one primitive and
general defign. Befide the organs oSSenSation, of circu-
lation, of digeftioi,  and   of generation,  without which
moft animals could neither fubfift  nor multiply, theie is,
even atnon^ thofe* parts that chiefly contribute to variety
in external  form,  fuch a wonderful refemblance as necef-
iarilv conveys  the idea of an  original plan  upon which
the whole has been  executed.  For  example, when  the
parts conilituting a  horfe  are  compared with the human
frame, inftead of being ftruck with  their difference, we
are allonifficd  at their lingular and almoft perfect refem-
blnnce.   Take the fkeleton of a man,  Says  Ballon, incline
the bones of the pelvis ;  fhorten thofe of the thighs, legs,
a.ml arms :  join the phalanges of the fingers  and toes ;
lengthen the jaws by fhorten in g the frontal  bones ;  and,
hrtly, ertend the fpine of the back.   This fkeleton would
no longer reprelent that of a man : It would be the fkele-
ton of a bore. For,  by  lengthening the back-bone and
r'e,a jaws, the number of  the  vertebrae, ribs, and  teeth,
wodd be increafed  ; and it is  only by the  number of
tiufe bone0, and  by the  prolongation, contraction, and
dilution of others, that the ik< leton of a horfe differs fm.,i
that of a man.  The ribs,  which are  elfential to the figure
of animals, are found equally in man, in  quadrupeds, in
 ■irds  in fiffic . and even  in the turtle'. The foot of the"
!   .'e, fo apparently  different from the hand of a man, is
compofed of fimilar bones  ; and, at the extremity of each
linger, wt have the fame fmall bone,  rcfembling  the fhoe
                                                   of 
         OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      57
 of a horfe, which bounds the foot of that animal.   Raife
 the fkeletons  of quadrupeds, from the ape-kind to the
 moufe, upon their hind-legs, and compare them with the
 fkeleton of a man, the mind will be inftantly Struck with
 the uniformity of ftructure and.defign obierved in the
 formation  of the  whole group.  This  uniformity  is fo
 conftant, and the gradations from  one fpecies to another
 are fo imperceptible,  that to difcover the marks of  their
 difcrimination requires the moft minute attention.   Even
 the bones of the tail will make but a flight impreflion on
 the obferver.  The tail is only a prolongation of the os coccy-
 gis,or rump-bone,which is fhort in man. The orang-outang,
 and true apes *, have no tail; and, in the baboons-* and Seve-
 ral other quadrupeds, the tail is exceedingly fhort.  Thus,
 in the creation oS animals,  the  Supreme Being  Seems to
 have employed only one  great idea, and, at the Same
 time,  to have diversified it in every poflible manner, that
 men might have an opportunity of admiring equally the
 magnificence of the execution and the Simplicity  of the
 defign.
   In quadrupeds, as well as in man, the bones  are  con-
 nected by articulations and membranes ;  and  the different
 movements of thefe bones are performed by the operation
 of mufcles.   The number, difpofition, and Sorm  oS the
 mufcles, with a few exceptions arifing Srom  the figure and
 deftination  oS parts peculiar to particular animals,  are
 nearly the Same in men and  in  quadrupeds.  The  circu-
 lation oS their blood, the Secretion of their  fluids,  and
 the procefs of digeftion,  are carried on by  organs  per-
 fectly Similar to thoSe oS the human body.  In the exter-
 nal covering, a Small difference takes place.   Quadrupeds
 are furnifhed with a thick covering of hair, or wool, to
 defend them from  the injuries of the weather.   Being
 deftitute of  art fufficient to make garments, Nature  has
Supplied that defect, by giving them a coat of hair, which
 varies in thicknefs according to the SeaSon of the year, and
 the difference  of climate.  In  Ruflia, Lapland, KamtS-
chatka, and all the northern regions, the Surs of animals.
are very thick and warm.  But, in  Turkev, Africa, and
                        H                         the
              '* The Simi(roi the ancient naturalif!.. 
 58         THE  PHILOSOPHY

 the Southern parts of Afia and America, moft quadrupeds
 are  thinly clad,  and Some of them, as  the Turkifh dog,
 are totally deitkate of hair.
   The (kin of quadrupeds is difpofed nearly in the fame
 manner as the human, only it is more claftic.  Immedi-
 ately under the fkin, there is a thin mufcular fubftance,
 called panniculus cerntf^s,  which is  common  to all qua-
 drupeds,  except  the hog and armadillo* kinds.  This
 fubftance, which  is peculiar  to quadrupeds, chiefly covers
 the  trunk, and,  bv Suddenly fhaking and fhriveiling the
 flcin, enables theSe animals to drive off  infects, or other
 offenfive bodies.
   The* Subftance of the nerves, or organs of fenfation, is
 the fame in the quadruped and in man.   They  originate
 from the brain  and Spinal  marrow,  and are diftributed
 over all tiie internal and externa! parts of the body, in the
 Same manner as in the human frame.
   Thus, it appears, that, in general ftructure and  organi-
 zation,  the brute creation is  nearly allied to  the human
 fpecies.   Some differences,  however, merit attention ;
 becaufe a  flight  variation in  ftructure, especially of the
 internal organs, is often  accompanied with great diver-
 sities in difpofitions, Sood, and manners.
   Some animals Seed upon flefh, others upon vegetables,
 and others upon a mixture oS  both.  The diSpofitions  of
 Some Species are fierce ; and  their manners convey to  us
 the ideas of cruelty and of  barbarifm:  The  difpofitions
and manners of other fpecies are Soft and placid,  and ex-
 cite in us  ideas of mildnefs, complacency, and innocence.
The ferocity of the tyger and hyaena forms a perfect con-
 traft to  the gentienefs and inoffenfive behaviour of the
fheep and the ox.  This oppofition of manners has given
rife to the diitinction of animals into rapacious and mild,
 carnivorous and herbivorous.  In the ftructure of theSe
animals, whofe characters are So oppofite, Some differen-
ces have been discovered,  which indicate the intentions
oS Nature in Sorming them,  and fully juftify the feeming
cruelty of their conduct.
  In all  the carnivorous-tribes, the ftomach is proportion-
                                                 ally
       * 'lie ±t:.:\%  Dafypi:*, cf w!:'.;- -he .rare fevr.al fpe-cics. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     59
ally Smaller, and the inteftines fliorter, than in thofe ani-
mals which Seed upon  vegetables.   As  animals  oS the
former kind live Solely on flcfh, the fnortnefs and narrow-
nefs of their inteftines are accommodated to the  nature
of their  food.  Animal  food is more eafily  reduced to
chyle,  and becomes Sooner putrid,  than vegetable.  Of
courSe, if its juices were allowed to remain  long  in the
inteftines,  inftead  of nourifhing  the  body,  they  would
produce  the moft  fatal diftempers.   Befide this accom-
modation of the inteftines  to the nature of their food,
carnivorous animals are furnifhed with  the  neceffary in-
ftruments for  feizing and devouring their prey.   Their
heads are roundifh, their jawrs ftrong, and their tulks very
long, and fharp.   Some of them, as the lion, the  tyger,
and the whole cat-kind, are provided with long retractile
claws.   Thus, both the  internal and external Structure of
this clafs of animals indicate their deltination and man-
ners.   The rapid digeftion of their food is a confequence
of the Strength and fhortnefs of their  inteftines; and the
intolerable cravings of their appetite neceffarily create a
fiercenefs and  rapacity of difpofition.  Nothing leSs than
blood can Satiate them.   Their cruelty,  and the devafta-
tion they make among the weaker and more timid tribes,
are effects refulting folely from the  ftructure and  organs
with which Nature has thought  proper to endow them.
Hence,  if there be any thing reprehenfible in the man-
ners and difpofitions of  the carnivorous  animals, Nature
alone is to  blame ; for all their actions are determined by
the irrefiftible impulfes of their organization.   But, even
in this Seemingly-cruel arrangement,  Nature muft not be
rafhly accufed.   When we come to treat of the hoftilities
of animals, I  hope to be able to fhow,  that Nature, in
the formation of rapacious creatures,  has acted with her
ufual wiSdom,  and that beings of  this kind have their ufes
in the general  fyftem and ceconomy of the univerfe.
  As to the herbivorous tribes,  or thofe animals which
feed upon grain and herbage, a flight variation of organs
produces the greateft effects upon their  difpofition and
manners.   The inteftines of this tribe are very long, capa-
cious, and convoluted. Vegetable food, efpecially herbage,
                                             contains 
 60         THE  PHILOSOPHY

 contains a fmaller quantity of nutritive matter than  the
 flefh of animals ;  neither is it  fo eafily reduced to chyle.
 A larger quantity, therefore, as well as a longer detention
 in the ftomach and inteftines, is neceffary for the nourifh-
 ment oS theSe creatures.  Several quadrupeds comprehend-
 ed under this order ruminate, or chew the cud.   TheSe
 are furnifhed with no lefs than four Stomachs. The food,
 after maftication, is thrown into the firft ftomach, where
 it remains fome time ;  after which, the animal  forces it
 up again into the mouth, and  gives it a Second chewing.
 It is then Sent directly into the Second ftomach, and gra-
 dually paffes into the third and Sourth ; and, laftly,  it is
 tranSmitted through the convolutions oS the inteftines,
 and the dregs, or faeces, are thrown out of the body.  By
 this machinery, herbivorous animals are enabled to  de-
 vour  large quantities  of vegetable aliment, to  retain it
 long in their bowels,  and confequently to extract from it
 nutritive matter Sufficient Sor their growth, Support, and
 multiplication.  Here the quantity compensates the qua-
 lity of the nutriment.
  It is true,  that the  horfe,  the afs, the hare, and fome
 other animals which  live upon herbage and grain, have
 only one ftomach.   But, though  the horfe and afs have
 one ftomach only, their inteftines  are furnifhed with facs
 or pouches fo large,  that they  may be compared to the
 paunch of ruminating animals ; and  hares, rabbits, the
 Guiney-pig,  &c.  have blind  guts fo long and capacious,
 that they are equivalent to a Second ftomach. The hedge-
 hog, the wild boar, the Squirrel, &c.  whoSe ftomach and
 inteftines are of a mean capacity,  eat little  herbage, but
 live chiefly upon  feeds, fruits, and roots, which contain,
 in fmall bounds, a greater quantity of nutritive matter
 than the leaves or items of plants.
  The external form of herbivorous animals, like that of
the rapaciou g is  accommodated to their difpofitions and
 the ceconomy they  are obliged to obfrrve.  That they
 might be enabled  to reach the furface of the earth with
 cafe, the legs of the larger kinds are proportionally fhort;
 their head and neck long; and the mufcles and tendons
of the neck are endowed with prodigious ftrength. With-
                                                 out 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      61
out thefe peculiarities of ftructure, they could not Support
the prone pofture of the head in the tedious operation of
browfing large quantities of herbage.  The arrangement
and form of their teeth likewife indicate the deftination of
the ruminating tribes.  They have no cutting teeth in the
upper jaw ;  and they are totally deprived of tufks, or ca-
nine teeth.  This laft circumftance, joined to their want
of claws,  fhews  that they are not intended to prey upon
other animals.   Horns are the only weapons  of defence
with which they are provided.  From the nature of their
food, therefore,  and the internal and  external configura-
tion of  their bodies, it is evident, that  animals of this
defcription muft  be humble in their deportment, and mild
iri their difpofition.   This order  of animals, accordingly,
have uniformly been celebrated for gentlencis cf  manners,
fubmiflion, and  timidity.  Man has  availed himfelf of
thofe difpofitions, by  reducing almoft the whole of this
tribe to a domeftic flate.  But, in all  this gracioufnefs of
afpect and tractability of temper, the  animals themfelves
have no merit.  Their motions and actions are  neceffary
feSults oS the organs which Nature has beftowed  on them.
It is obvious, therefore,  that the diverfity  of taftes and
difpofitions exhibited by different animals, arifes not Solely
from  any fuperior  agreeablenefs of particular  kinds of
food to their palates, or to a particular bias oS their minds
to benevolence and  peace,  but Srom a phyfical  cauSe de-
pending on the ftructure of their bodies.
   From what has been advanced, it  follows, that man,
whofe ftomach  and  inteftines  are proportionally of no
great capacity, could not live upon herbage alone.  It is
an inconteftible  fact, however,  that he can live  tolerably
well upon bread, herbs, and the fruits, roots, and feeds of
plants ; for we know whole nations, as well as particular
orders of men, who are prohibited by their religion from
eating any animal fubftance.  But, thefe examples are not
Sufficient to convince  us, that  the health, vigour, and
multiplication oS mankind would be improved by Seeding
Solely upon  pot-herbs  and bread.  . Befides, his Stomach    s
and  inteftines are of a  mean capacity between thofe of
the carnivorous  and  herbivorous  animals.  From  this
                                              circum- 
 g:         TH E  P II I LOS OP1IY

 circumt. ancc alone we are warranted  to  conclude, thai
 Ki-iure intended him to feed partly on  animal and partly
 ■;'■ vegetable. Subftances :  And daily experience teaches us,
 i...u men feci in this manner are larger, ltrongcr, and more
 prolific, than thofe who are confined to a  vegetable diet.
 If man had no other Sources of Superiority over the other
 animals than thoSe which originate Srom the  ftructure oS
 his body,  his difpofitions ought to be a medium between
 thofe oS the carnivorous  and herbivorous tribes.   When
 conSidercd  merely as an animal,  this appears to be really
 tit* cade.    Vulgar and uninformed men, when pampered
 with a variety of animal  food, arc much  more choleric,
 fierce and cruel in their tempers than thofe who live chiefly
 on vegetables.  Animal food  heats the  blood, and makes
 it circulate with rapidity.  In this Situation, every object
 capable of  exciting appetite or  j  ffion operates with re-
 doubled force.  The weak moed yields to the impulfe,
 and gbes vent to every fpecies of outrage  which can de-
 bafe human nature.
   In tile  formation of his  body, man has fome advant-
 ages over  particular animals.   But, thefe advantages aTe
 inconfidcrable, and none of them, perhaps,  are peculiar
 to the fpecies.  The ftructure of all animals is nicely ad-
 justed to their deftination, and the ftation they occupy in
 die general Scale of being.   The  body of man is erect,
 and his attitude is faid to  be that of command.  His ma-
jeliic deportment, and the firmnefs of  his movements, an-
nounce the Superiority oS his  rank.   His  arms  are  not
 mere pillars Sor the Support of his body.  His hands tread
 not the earth  ; neither  do they lofe, by  friction and pref-
furc, that exquifite delicacy of Seeling for  which  Nature
had originally intended them.   His arms and hands, on
the contrary,  are Sormed for purpoSes  oS  a more  noble
kind.   They are deftined  Sor executing thq commands of
his will, for laying  hold  of bodies,  for removing obfta-
clcs, for defending him from injuries, and for Seizing and
retaining objects of pleafure.   The features of this picture
are exact delineations ;  but they are not the exclufive pri-
vilege of man.   The orang-outang walks  erect,  and he
derives equal advantages from his  hands and arms as  the
                                              human 
         OF NATURAL  HISTORY.      63
 human Species.   Some apes have likewiSe the power of
 walking erect, with the additional faculty of employing
 their hands and arms as legs.  They can  walk,  run, or
 leap, by the inftrurnentality either of two or of four ex-
 tremities,  as their Situation o£ neceflities may require.  It
 is not,  therefore* the fabrick oS man's body that entitles
 him to claim a Superiority over the other animals.   The
 Sormation of their bodies is adjufted with equal Symmetry
 and perfection to the rank they hold in the general fyftem
 oS animation.   Many  oS them excel  us in magnitude,
 ftrength, SwiStneSs, and dexterity in particular movernents.
 Their SenSes are often  more acute ;  they feize their prey,
 or procure herbage, fruits, and feeds of trees,  with  more
 facility than man, when limited to the powers of his ani-
 mal nature.  Hence the great Source oS man's Superiority
 over the brute creation muft be derived Srom his mental
 faculties alone.  Brutes enjoy the Same inftincts, the Same
 appetites, and the Same propensities, as appear in the con-
 ftitution of the human mind. But, the inftincts of brutes,
 though they are exerted with great certainty and precifion,
 are much circumScribed with regard to extenfion and im-
 provement.  Like man, they derive advantages Srom ex-
 perience.   But, the conclusions they draw from this Source
 are always feeble, and extremely limited.  Neither do they
 poffefs the meftimable faculty of transmitting  the know-
 ledge acquired by individuals from generation to  genera-
 tion.  By  means of their SenSes, they learn to  diftinguifh
 their enemies, or hurtful objects, at a diftance 5 and they
 know how to avoid them.   Experience teaches them fo
 discriminate objects of pleafure from thofe of pain ; and
 they act according to the feelings excited by theSe objects.
 Some animals can even accommodate their inftincts to
 particular circumftances and Situations.   The Seelings of
 brutes are often  more exquifite than ours.  They  have
 SenSations ; but their faculty of comparing them, or of
 forming ideas, is much circumScribed.   A dog or a mon-
 key can imitate Some human actions, and are capable of
 receiving a certain degree of inftruction.   But, their pro-
greSs Soon flops : Nature has fixed the boundaries of men-
tal, as well as of corporeal, powers;  and thefe boundaries 
64         THE  PHILOSOPHY

are as various as the number of diftinct fpecies.   Our
wonder is equally excited by  the fagacity of fome ani-
mals, and by the ftupidity of others.  This gradation of
mental faculties originates from the number or paucity of
inftincts  beitowed on  particular  fpecies, joined to  the
greater or Smaller rower of extending or modifying thefe
inftincts by experience and observation.   Man is endow-
ed with a grurer number oS inftincts than any other ani-
mal.  The Superiority  of his  rank, however,  does'not
proceed  from this Source alone.   Man  enjoys  beyond
every  other animal the Sacuhy  oS extending, improving,
and modih ing the different imtincts he has received Srom
Nature.  It is this Saculty which enables him to  compare
his Seeiin rs,  to Sorm  ideas,  and  to  reafbn  concerning
both.   The  bee makes cells,  and the beaver conftructs
habitations oT clay.   The order  oS their  architecture,
however, is  invariably the  Same.  Man  likewiSe builds
houSes : But, he is not forced, by an irrefiftible  inftinct,
to work always on the  fame  plan.   His habitations, on
the contrary, vary with the fancy of the individuals who
defign and conftrudt them.
   Upon the  whole, the dignity oS man's rank  depends
not upon the  ftructure  or hia organs.  It  is Srom  the
powers oS his intellect: alone that he is entitled to claim a
Superiority over the brute creation.   TheSe powers enable
him to Sqrm  ideas, to abftract,  to reafon,  to invent, and
to reach all the heights of Science and oS art.
   The remarks Sormerly made are applicable to  quadru-
peds in general.   But, before concluding this branch of
the fubject,  we fhall point out a few  peculiarities in the
ftructure of  particular fpecies.
   Befide the Sour ftomachs common to ruminating ani-
mals, the camel and  dromedary have a fifth  bag, which
ferves them  as a refervoir for  holding water. This bag
is  capable oS containing a very large quantity of  that ne-
ceffary element.   When the camel is thirfty, and has oc-
cafion to macerate his dry Sood in the operation oS rumi-
nating,  by  a Simple  contraction oS certain muScles, he
makes part oS this water aScend into his ftomach, or even
as high as the gullet.   This Singular  conftruction enables
                                                 him 
         OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      65
 him to travel fix, eight, or even twelve days in the Sandy
 deSarts, without drinking, and to take at once a  prodigi-
 ous  quantity of water, which remains  in the refervoir
 pure and limpid;  becaufe  neither the humours of the
 body, nor the juices that promote digeftion, can  have ac-
 cefs  to it.  Befide this Singularity of ftructure, the camel
 has two large tiefhy bunches on his back,  and the dro-
 medary, or Swift camel, one bunch ;  and the feet of both
 are covered with a very tough, but  flexible, fubftance.
 The conformation of thefe  animals enables them to tra-
 vel with heavy loads through the fandy defarts of the
 Eaft, where the horfe or the afs would inevitably perifh;
 becaufe Nature has not provided them with reServoirs for
 holding  and preferving water, which are indifpenfible
 in countries where none  of that  element can  be pro^
 cured but  in  particular  places,  that  are  often diftant
 many days  journey  from each  other.   When  we con-
 sider the ftructure  of the camel and  dromedary, we
 cannot be  deceived  with  regard to  their deftination.
 The four ftomachs indicate a vegetable diet, and the fame
 docility and gentlenefs oS manners which characterise the
 whole ruminating tribes.  From the  addition  oS a fifth
 bag,  or  reServoir Sor the reception and preservation of
 water, we fhould expect to find Some  peculiarity oS  dis-
 position.  In this conjecture we are not deceived.  Of
 all animals which man has Subjugated,  the  camel and
 dromedary are the moft abject flaves.  With  incredible
 patience and Submiflion they traverfe the burning  fands
 of Africa and Arabia, carrying burdens of amazing weight.
 Inftead of discovering Symptoms of reluctance,  they Spon-
 taneoufly lie down on their knees till their matter  binds
the unmerciful load.   Arabia and fome parts  of Africa.
 are the drieft and moft barren countries in  the world.
Both the conftitution and  ftructure of camels are nicely
adapted to the foil and climate  in which they are produce
ed.   The Arabians confider the camel as a gift fent from
 heaven, a facred  animal, without  whofe affiftance they
could neither fubfift, traffick, nor travel.  The milk of the
camel  is their  common food.   They  alfo eat its ffefh ;
and  of its  hair  they make  garments.    In  poffeflion
                           I                       of 
66          1  II L  PHILOSOPHY

fcftion of their camels, the Arabs want nothing, and have
nothing to fear.   In one day they can perform a journey
of fifty leagues into the defart, which  cuts  oft  every ap-
proach from their enemies.   All the armies  in the world
would perifh in puriuit of a troop  of Arabs.  An Arab,
by the affiftance of  his camel, furmounts all the difficul-
ties of a  country which is neither  covered with verdure,
nor Supplied with water.  Notwithftanding  the vigilance
oS hi;  neighbours, and the Superiority oS their itrength,
he eludes their purSuit, and  carries off,  with  impunity,
all that he ravages  Srom them.  When about  to under-
take a depredatory expedition, an Arab makes his camels
carrv both his and their own provisions.  When he reach-
es the confines of the defart,  he robs the firft  paftengers
vfho come in his way,  pillages the Solitary houfes, loads
his  camels with the booty, and, if purfued, he accelerates
his  retreat.   On thefe occafions he diSplays  his own  ta-
lents, as  well as thoSe of the camels.  He mounts one of
the ffcetelt,  conducts the troop,  and obliges them to tra-
vel  day and night,  without  almoft  either flopping,  eat-
ing, or drinking ;  and,  in this manner, he often per-
form; a journey of 300 leagues in eight days.
  Another order of quadrupeds deferves our notice. Thofe
which have been diltinguifhed by the appellation of am-
phibious, a.re capable of remaining a  long time under
water.   They  live chiefly upon fifties, and,  without this
faculty of continuing a considerable time under  water,
they would be unable to procure their Sood.   To this tribe
belong the Seal*, the walrusf, the manatij, the Sea-lion||,
&c.  The Seal and walrus are more'nearly allied to land-
quadrupeds than to the cetaceous animals ;  becaufe they
hsrve Sour diftinct legs, though nothing  but  the Seet pro-
ject beyond the fkin.   The toes  of  the feet  are all con-
nected by membranes, which enable  thefe animals to
Swim in queft of their prey.   Thy differ from  terreftiial
quadrupeds  by the lingular faculty  of living with equal
eafe either in air or in  water.  This peculiarity of ceco-
nomy and manners prefuppofes the neeellity of Some de-
                                               viation
  * Th- rrrvjs Pfioica of I.'innnr..      * 1 rtchecus Ryftnarur.
  * Tiehccw MintJtus.              I Phoc.i Lr mna. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.       6y
viation  from the general  ftructure of quadrupeds;  and
Nature  has accomplifhed this purpofe  by a very Simple
artifice.
   In man, and in all land-quadrupeds, the lungs oS the
foetus have no  motion,  and receive no more blood than
is  requisite for their growth and nourifhment.   But, im-
mediately after birth, the young animals refpire, and the
whole mafs of blood circulates  through their lungs.  To
carry on the circulation in the fcetus-ftate,  another  paf-
Sage was neceffary.   The  blood in the right  auricle of
the heart,  inftead of palling into the pulmonary artery,
and, after circulating through the lungs,  returning  into
the  left auricle by the pulmonary vein, paffe? directly
from the  right  to the left  auricle through an  aperture
called the foramen ovale,  which is Situated in the partition
oS the heart that Separates the cavities oS the two  auri-
cles.  By  this  contrivance, the maSs  of blood, without
deviating  into the lungs, enters the aorta, and is diftri-
buted  over every part  of the  body.  In man, and the
other terreftrial animals, the foramen ovale of the heart,
wfiich permits the foetus to live without refpiration, clofes
the  moment after birth,  and remains fhut during  life.
Animals of this conftruction can neither live without air,
nor remain long under water, without being fuffocated.
   But,  in the feal, walrus, and other amphibious animals,
the foramen ovale continues open during life, though the
mothers bring forth on land, and refpiration commences
immediately  after birth.   By  means  of this  perpetual
aperture in the Septum,  or partition, oS the  heart, which
allows  a  direct communication of the blood  from the
vena cava to  the aorta, thefe animals enjoy the privilege
of refpiring,  or not, at their pleafure.               •
   This  Angularity in the ftructure of the heart, and the
confequent capacity  of living equally on  land and in
water, mull neceffarily produce fome peculiarities in the
manners and difpofitions  of amphibious  animals.   The
Seal, accordingly, whoSe hiftory is belt known, may be
confidered as holding the empire of the Silent ocean.  To
this dignity he  is entitled by his voice, his figure, and
hi? intelligence, which render  him  fo  Superior to the
                                                fifties, 
 68         THE  PHILOSOPHY

 fifties,  that they feem to belong to another order of  be-
 ings.  Though  his ceconomy be very different from that
 of our domeliic animals,  he  is  fufccptible of a fpecies of
 education.  He is  reared by putting  him frequently in
 water.  He is taught to give a falute with his head and his
 voice.   He approaches when called upon.  His SenSes are
 eouaily acute as thofe of any quadruped ; and, of courSe,
 his fenfation* and intellect are equally  active.  Both  are
 exhibited  in the gentlenefs of his manners, his Social dif-
 pofition, his affection Sor the female, his anxious attention
 to his offspring, and  the expreffive modulation of  his
 voice.  Befides, he enjoys advantages which are peculiar
 to him.  He is neither aSraid oS cold  nor  of heat.   He
 lives indifferently on herbs, flcfh, or fifh.  He inhabits,
 without inconvenience, water,  land, or ice.  When af-
 fiftance is neceffary, the feals underftand  and mutually
 alfift one another.   The young  diftinguifh  their  mother
 in the midft oS  a numerous troop.  They know her voice;
 and, when Slie  calls, they never Sail to obey.
   Before  difmifling this branch  of the fubject,  the ele-
 phant muft not be paffedover in Silence.  His ftructure is
 uncommon, and fo are his talents.   The elephant is the
 largeft and moft magnificent animal that at prefent treads
 the earth.  Though he daily devours  great quantities of
 herbage, leaves, and branches of trees,  he has but one fto-
 mach, and docs not ruminate.  This want, however, is Sup-
 plied by the magnitude and length of his inteftines,and par-
 ticularly of the colon,  which is two or three feet in dia-
 mettr by fifteen or twenty in length.   In proportion  to
 the fize of the elephant, his eyes art very Small;  but they
 are lively, brilliant,  and capable oS a pathetie expreffion
 oS Sentiment.   He turns them llowly,  and with mildnefs,
 'rv-ard his matter.   Winn he Speaks, the animal regards
 him with an eye of friendfhip and attention.  He feems
 to reflect with deliberation, and never determines until be
 has examined,  without paffion or precipitation, the orders
 which he is defired  to  obey.  The  dog, whoSe  eyes  arc
 verv expreffive, is too  prompt and vivacious to allow  us
to diftinguifh with eafe the fuceefiive (hades of his fenfa-
tiors.  But,  as the elephant is naturally grave and mode-
                                                 rate, 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      69
rate, we perceive in his  eyes  the order and Succeffion of
his thoughts.  His ears are very large, and much longer,
even in proportion to .his body,  than thofe of the  afs.
They lie flat on the head, and are commonly pendulous;
but he can raife and move them with Such facility, that
he uSes them as a San to cool  himSelf, and to defend  his
eyes from dull and inSects.   His ear is likewiSe remarka-
bly fine ;  for he delights in the found of mufical inftru-
ments, and moves in cadence  to the trumpet, and tabour.
   But, in the ftructure of the elephant, the moft Singular
organ is his trunk, or probofcis.  It is compoSed oS mem-
branes, nerves, and muScles; and it is at once an inftru-
ment of feeling and of motion.  The animal can not only
move and bend the trunk, but he can contract,  lengthen,
and turn it on all fides.   The  extremity of the trunk  ter-
minates in a protuberance that ftretches out on the upper
fide in the Sorm oS a finger; by  means oS which he liSts from
the ground the fmalleft pieces of money; he Selects herbs,
and flowers, and picks them up one by one; he unties the
knots of ropes, opens and fhuts gates by turning the keys,
or pufhing back the bolts.  In the middle  of this protu-
berance or finger,  there is a cavity in the form of a cup,
and, in the bottom of  the cup are the  apertures of  the
two organs of  fmelling and  reSpiration.   This hand oS
the elephant  poffeffes Several  advantages over that of the
human.  It is more flexible, and equally dexterous in lay-
ing hold of objects.  Befides, he has his nofe in his  hand,
and is enabled to combine the  power of his lungs with the
action  of his finger, and to attract fluids by a ftrong fuc-
tion, or to raife heavy  bodies by applying to  them  the
edge of his trunk,  and making a vacuum within by a vi-
gorous infpiration.  Hence, delicacy of  feeling,  acute-
nefs of fmelling, facility of movement, and the power of
Suction, are united at the extremity of the elephant's trunk.
Of all  the inftruments which  Nature has beftowed on her
moft favourite productions, the trunk of the elephant feems
to be the moft complete,  as well as the moft admirable.  It
is not only an organic inftrument, but a triple SenSe, whoSe
united  functions exhibit the effects of that  wonderful Sa-
gacity which exalt? the  elephant above all other quadru- 
;o
THE  PHILOSOPHY
 peds.   He ienot fo fubject, as fome  other  animals,  to
 en-ors of vifion ;  becauSe he  quickly rectifies them by
 the fenfe of touch;  and, by ufing his trunk as a  long
 arm, for the purpofe of touching remote objects, he ac-
 quires,  like man,  clear ideas  of diftances.  But,  other
 animals, except fuch as have a kind of arms and hands,
 can  onlv  acquire  ideas of diftances by traverfing  Space
 with their bodies.   Delicacy oS Seeling, the flexibility of
 the trunk,  the power  of Suction,  the Scnfc of fmel ing,
 and the length of the arm, convey  ideas of the fubftance
 of bodies,  of  their external form,  of  their weight,  of
 their falutary or noxious qualities, and of their diftances.
 Thus,  by the fame  organs, and by a Simultaneous act,
 the elephant Seels, perceives, and judges oS, Several things
 at one time.   It is by virtue oS this combination  oS Sen-
 fas and  Saculties in the trunk that the elephant is  enabled
 to perform fo  many wonderful actions, notwithftanding
 the enormity of his mafs, and  the  dilproportions of  his
 form.  The thicknefs and rigidity of his body ;  the fhort-
 nefs and ftiffnefs of his neck;  the fmallnefs of his head ;
 the largenefs of his cars, nofe,  and tufks ;  the  minute-
 nefs of his  eyes, mouth, genitals, and tail ; his ftraight,
 clumfey, and almolt indexible  limbs ; the fhortnefs and
 fma11ners of his feet  ; the thickneis and callofity of his
 fkin ; all thefe deformities are the more obvious and difa-
 greeable, becauSe they are modelled  on a large Scale, and
 moft of them are peculiar to the elephant.
  From this Singular conformation, the animal is Subjected
 to many inconveniences.   He moves his head with diffi-
 culty, and  cann r turn  back  without  making  a  large
 circuit.  For this reafon, the hunters  attack  him behind, or
on the flanks,  and  avoid  the effects  of his  rage by circu-
 lar movements.  He cannot feize any object on the ground
with his mouth, becaufe  his neck is  too ftiff to allow  his
head to  reach the earth.  He is,  therefore, obliged to lay
hold of his food,  and even of his  drink, with his  nofe,
and then convey them to his mouth.   It is  likewife a con-
!equen~e of this ftructure, that  the  young  elephants are
faid to fuck with their nofe, and afterwards pour the milk
into the'r gullet.
                                                  OF 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.
7i
      OF THE STRUCTURE OF  BIRDS.


  FROM the figure and  movements of the feathered
tribes, we fhould be led to imagine that the ftructure of
their organs  was extremely different from that of qua-
drupeds.  Their ceconomy and manner of living required
Some variations in their frame.  But  thofe variations  are
by no means fo many or fo great as  might be expected.
Inftead of hairs, their bodies are  covered  with feathers,
which, befide the beautiful variety of their colours, pro-
tect this clafs  of animals from the affaults of rain and cold.
They have only a couple of legs ;  but Nature has furnifh-
ed them with two additional inftruments  of motion, by
which they  are enabled  to rife from the  furSace of  the
earth,  and to fly with amazing rapidity through the  air-
The  wings are articulated with the breaft-bone,   and
their motions are  performed by mufcles  of  remarkable
Strength.   Many birds are  continually pafling  through
hedges  and thickets.  To defend their eyes, therefore,
from external injuries, as well as from too  much light
when flying in oppofition  to the rays  oS the Sun, they
are furnifhed with a membrane called membrana niclitans,
which,  like a curtain, can at pleafure be drawn over the
whole eye.  This covering is neither opaque nor pellucid;
but, being Somewhat transparent, it  allows as many rays
to enter as render any object juft vifible, and enable them
to direct their progreSs through the air.  It is by the in-
ftrumentality oS this membrane that the  eagle looks at
the Sum  The Seathers of all birds are  inferted into  the
fkin in  fuch a manner that they  naturally lie backward
from the head ; and allow the rain to run off their bodies,
and,  by turning their heads in oppofition to the wind,
prevent the wind  Srom rumpling their Seathers, and re-
tarding their flight.   Befide this  provifion, the rump 01
birds terminates in a large gland, w  hich Secretes an  oily
Subftance.  When the feathers are too dry,  or any  way
 difordered, the animals Squeeze this gland with their bills,
                                               extract 
72
THE  PHILOSOPHY
extract the oil,  and with it  they  bcfmear  and drefs the
feathers.   By this means the admiffion of water is totally
prevented.  Birds have no feparate ribs; but the bread- '
bone,  which is  very large, joins the back-bone, and fup-
plies their place.
   With regard  to the external figure of  birds, the  form
of their bodies is nicely adapted to their manners, and the
mode  of  life  they  are deftincd to purfue.   By  ftriking
the air with their wings, they move forward in  that  ele-
ment,  and their tail Serves them as a rudder to direct their
courfe.  Their  breaft-bone, inftead of being  flat, rifes
gradually from the fpine and terminates in  a (harp ridge,
or keel, which enables them to cut the air with greater
facility.   For the fame  purpofe,  the heads of birds are
prop >ri mally Smaller than thoSe oS quadrupeds, and moft
of them terminate in light fharp-pointed  beaks.   They
are likewiSe deprived of external ears *, and of  protube-
rant noftrils.  Their tails, inftead of vertebras,  mufcles,
and fkin,  confift entirely oS  Seathers.  They have no pen-
dulous Scrotum, no bladder, no  flefhy  uterus.   Neither
have they an epiglottis, though  many of them poffefs
great powers of modulation, and  fome of them may even
be taught to articulate  words.   To  lighten their beaks,
they are deprived of lips and teeth ; and their abdomen
or belly is proportionally fmall and narrow.
   From this general view of the external figure and ftruc-
ture of birds, it is apparent, that Nature has  defigned
them for two diftinct  kinds of motion.   They can, at
pleafure, either walk on the furface of the earth, or mount
aloft, and penetrate the airy regions with prodigious fwift-
nefs.
   Some peculiarities  in the internal ftructure of birds
deferve our notice.
   Like quadrupeds, the feathered tribes are divided into
granivorous and carnivorous ; and their manners and dif-
pofitions correfpond with their internal and external con-
formation.
                                                     In
  * Although birds arc deftitute of external ears, properly to called, yet in the
gTzier numbei of this extenfivc clad of animaU the meatus audttortus, or external
•nficc leading to the ears, i\ furrcinded by fcathrrj which are elegantly difpo-
f<-d, l:kr diverging r?.'■'<, andapv^.r to b- prcjl arly adapted for receiving found. 
        OF  NATURAL HISTORY.      7$
   In the granivorous clafs, the ceSophagus, or gullet, runs
 down the neck, and terminates  in  a pretty  large mem-
 branous Sac, called the ingluvies, or craw, where the Sood
 is macerated, and  partly diflblved  by a  liquor fecreted
 from glands fpread over  the  furface of this  fac.  Some
 birds,  as the rooks and the pigeon ,kind, have the power
 of bringing up the food from this fac into their mouths,
 and  feeding their young with it in  a half-digefted form.
 After macerating for fome time, the food paffes through
 the remainder of the  gullet into  another fpecies of fto-
 mach denominated ventriculus fuccenturiatus,  which is a
 continuation of the gullet.   Here the food receives a far-
 ther dilution.   From this  fecond ftomach,  the  food  is
 tranfmitted to the gizzard, or true ftomach, which confifts
 oS two very ftrong mufcles,  covered externally with a
 tendinous fubftance, and lined with a thick, firm mem-
 brane.  The  remarkable ftrength  of the gizzard  was
 formerly fuppofed  to  aflift the digeftion .of  granivorous
 birds by attrition.  But, this notion has  of late been en-
 tirely exploded ; for Dodtor Stevens, and, after him, Spal-
 lanzani, have demonftrated, by unequivocal experiments,
 that digeftion is performed folely by the diflblving powers
 of the gaftric juices*.  The  other inteftines  are propor-
 tionally larger, and much longer, than thofe  of the car-
 nivorous birds.
   The  ftructure of the  heart, in granivorous birds,  is
 nearly the fame with that of  quadrupeds.
   The lungs hang not loofe in the cavity  of  the thorax,
 but are fixed to the back-bone: Neither are they divided
 into lobes,  as in  man  and other animals whofe fpines
 admit of considerable motion.  They are red. Spongy bo-
 dies, covered with a membrane that is pervious", and com-
 municates with the large veficles, or air-bags, which are
 fpread over  the  whole abdomen.  Thefe veficles, when
 diftended with air,  render the bodies of-birds Specifically
 light.  They  likewife fupply  the place of a  diaphragm,
 and ftrong abdominal mufcles.  They produce  the fame
 effects on the vifcera as thefe  mufcles would  have done,
                         K                   without

  * See Stevens DifTert. Med.Inaug. De Alimcntorum Concoclione, Edin. IT"",
and Spallanzani.  S. 
74
THE  PHILOSOPHY
 without the inconveniency of giving an additional weight
 to the body.
   Birds have no bladder of urine:  But a blucifh-colour-
 ed canal, or  ureter, is fent off from each  kidney,  and
 terminates in the rectum.  Their urine is difcharged along
 with the fccce .  It is a whitifh fubftance, and turns chalky
 when expoSed to the air.
   The telticles of the  male are Situated  on  each  fide of
 the back-bone, and are very large  in proportion to the
 fize of the animal.   From the  tefticles  proceed two  fe-
 minal ducts, which  at  firft  are ftraight, but afterwards
 acquire a convoluted form, as in the epidydymus of man.
 Thefe ducts terminate  in  the penis, of which  the cock
 has two, one on each fide of the common cloaca.  They
 are very Small and fhort; and, Srom  this circumftance,
 they long eScaped the notice oS  anatomifts.
   In the female,  the clutter of  yolks, being  analogous to
 the human ovaria, are attached to  the back-bone by a
 membrane.   This membrane is very thin, and continues
 down to the uterus.  The yolk, after Separating from its
 ftalk, paffes into  a canal called the  infundibulum, where
 it receives a gelatinous  liquor, which, with what it farther
 acquires in the uterus, compofes  the  white  of the  egg.
 The uterus is a large bag, fituated at the end of the in-
 fundibulum,  and is full of wrinkles  on the infide.  Here
 the egg receives its laft covering, or fhell, and is pufhed
 out oS the vagina  at an aperture placed immediately above
 the anus.
   From this  description oS the  ftructure  of  granivorous
birds, the  analogy between them and the  herbivorous
 quadrupeds is confpicuous.  In both, the number of their
 ftomachs, the length  and capacity of their inteftines, and
 the quality of their  food, are  very  fimilar.  But,  this
 analogy U not confined to ftrufture and organs:  It extends
 to manners and difpofition,.   Like the herbivorous qua-
drupeds, this  order of birds are  diftinguilhed by the gen-
tienefs  and complacency  oS their tempers.   Contented
with the  Seeds oS plants, or Small infects, the  ftronger
never wage war with the weaker.  Their  chief attention
is occupied in procuring food,  in hatching  and rearing
                                                their 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      75
their young; and their  vigilance is kept perpetually ac-
tive in eluding the fnares of men, and other rapacious ani-
mals.  The whole are a timid race,  and many of them
are fo tractable that they may eafily be rendered domeftic.
Man, accordingly, ever attentive to his  intereft, has  not
failed to derive advantage from the innocence and ftupi-
dity of thefe  animals.  Of the gallinaceous and duck
kind, which are the moft  prolific, and  confequently the
moft profitable, he has chiefly felected the hen, the goofe,
the duck, the turkey, and the peacock.  In this Selection
he has discovered  his Sagacity; Sor,  inftead of pairing,
thefe birds are polygamous,  one male being Sufficient to
fertilize a number of females, which is  a great faving in
the article of food.
   With regard to  carnivorous birds, their general con-
formation is nearly the  fame with that of the granivo-
rous kind.  They have  the  fame number of ftomachs ;
but all of them are fmaller, and weaker.   Their inteftines
are alfo much fhorter.   To enable them to procure food,
they are obliged to fly quickly, and continue long  on  the
wing.  Their wings, accordingly, are proportionally long-
er, and they have  more Strength in  their mufcles.  For
the purpofe of feizing and devouring prey,  Nature  has
beftowed  on them ftrong hooked bills, and long fharp
claws, or pounces.  They have  alfo large  heads, fhort
necks, ftrong brawny thighs, and fliarp-fighted eyes.
   Like rapacious quadrupeds* birds of prey are capable
of enduring hunger for a great length of  time.  This
faculty is, perhaps, acquired partly by habit; becaufe the
obtaining of their food  is  often  very precarious. The
females are larger, Stronger,  and more beautiful both in
fhape and plumage, than the males.  For this reafon, the
male hawks are called tercels, or thirds,  becaufe they are
SuppoSed to be one third lefs  than  the females.  Nature
feems to have beftowed this fuperiority of fize and ftrength
upon the female,  becaufe fhe is obliged  to  procure food
both for herfelf and for  her progeny.
  The analogy between  the  ftructure  of rapacious birds
and  carnivorous quadrupeds is obvious.  Both of them
are provided with weapons which indicate deftruction and
                                               rapine. 
;6          1  II E  PI-I I L <> S OP 11 Y
rapine.  Their manners are alfb fierce and unfon.il. They
never, if the vulture he excepted, herd togtther in llock«,
like . h.  inotfen five granivorous tribes.   When not on the
vine/, thev conceal themfelves on the  top  of iequeltcred
rocks, or in the depths of the forefts,  where they Spend
their time in  Sullen Solitude.  Thof« of them which feed
upon carrion, as the raven, have the fenfe  of  fmelling fo
acute,  that thev feent dead eircafesat amazing diftana s.
  Befide thefe great diviffons of birds into  granivorous
and rapacious,  whofe manners  and difpofition.; perfectly
coincide with the ftructure of their bodies, there are other
tribes to whom Nature has given peculiar organs.  In all
thefe deviations from the common ftructure,  n Singularity
in the mode of living,  and the  ceconomy of the animal,
is the invariable refult.
  Like the amphibious animals, a number of fowls  live
chiefly in the water, and  feed upon  fifhes and aquatic in-
fects.   To enable them to Swim and to dive  in queft of
food,  their toes are connected together by broad mem-
branes, or webs.  By  flretching their toes,  and ftriking
the water backward with thefe webs,  their  bodies are
moved forward,and they employ their tail as a rudder to
direct their courfe. Without thefe additional inftruments,
fowls  could not fv.im ; and, accordingly, fuch  birds as
are not provhk d with webs never take to the water.  But,
tine a furnifhed with webs have  fuch a ftrong propenfity
to water, that,  when p. drained from  their favourite.ele-
ment, they difcover  the  greateft uneafinefs, and, when
their liherty is reftored, they fiy in  a direct courfe either
to the lea, a river, or a lake.
  There is another tribe  of aquatic  birds, fome of which
feed upon fifhes and  in'ccis, and C.hers lice  principally
by Sucking certain juices from  nand.  Both theSe kinds
frequent marfliy places, or th« margins of lakes and rivers.
They  do not Saini, but  wade,  in  queft oS  food.  This
fing.dar'ry in their manners required a correspondent va-
riation in their fn-.:i and ftructure.   To enable them to
wade in waters and in mires,  Nature has provided them
with long kgs, naked of  feathers for a considerable Space
above the knees.   Their  toes are not, like  thoSe of the
                                            Swimmer^, 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      77

Swimmers, connected  by continued membranous webs-
Moft of them have likewife very long necks and bills, to
enable them to Search  for and apprehend their food.   To
thefe tribes belong the crane, the herons, the bittern, or
miredrum, the Stork,  the fpoon-bill,  the woodcock,  the
fnipe,  and many other fpecies.
  Having given a general idea of the ftructure and ceco-
nomy of birds, we fhall next make a few remarks on the
form and manners of  fifties.


OF THE STRUCTURE  AND ORGANS OF FISHES.


   IT  is one great and  benevolent intention of Nature,
that no part of the univerfe fhould be deprived of inhabi-
tants.   The earth, the air, the waters, are full of living
beings, who are not only confcious of their exiftence, but
enjoy degrees of happinefs proportioned to their natures,
and the purpofes they are deftined to anfwer in the gene-
ral fcale of animation.  The different elements in which
they live neceffarily required a. variety in their form, their
food,  and their manners.   The inhabitants of the earth
and air have already been partially defcribed : thofe of the
waters are next to be  confidered.
   The bodies oS  moft fifhes are covered  with a  ftrong,
thick  fkin, in which  numberlefs Scales are inferted in an
imbricated  form,  or  like tiles  on the roofs  of houfes.
Many  of them, and  particularly thofe  which are fhaped
like the cod, the trout, and the haddock,  have a longitu-
dinal line on each fide.   In theSe  lines there are a number
of fmall ducts, or apertures, which throw out a mucous
fubftance that lubricates their fkins, and feems to anfwer
the fame purpofes as the mucous glands or ducts placed in
moft of our internal organs.
   Fifhes are deftitute of hands and feet.  Their progref-
five motion, therefore, is performed in a manner different
from that of quadrupeds  and birds.  Their inftruments
of motion are fins, or  machines confuting of a number
of claftk beams, connected to one another by firm mem-
                                               branes 
 78         THE  PHILOSOPHY
 branes.  Their tails are of the fame texture.  Their fpine
 is remarkably flexible  toward the  pofterior  part of the
 body, and here the ftrongeft mufcles are likewife inferted.
 They have a power of contracting and dilating their tails at
 pleafure ; by which means, and by the  affiftance  oS the
 fins, they move Sorward in the Same manner as a boat w ith
 oars on its fides, and a rudder at its Stern.  Fifhes have no
 neck: As they Seek their food in a horizontal pofition,
 and  can move their bodies either upward or downward, a
 long neck would  neceflarily have  impeded their motion
 through  the water.
   The form of fifhes is extremely various ; and, if their
 hiftory were  fufficiently known, the connection between
 (heir ftructure and their manners would  be equally appa-
rent  as in the other tribes with which we  are  better ac-
quainted. Some fifties  are  long  and cylindrical,  as  the
fea-ferpent, and all the eel-fhaped Species.  The eel-kind,
Srom their figure, are enabled to tragi their bodies along
the bottom, and to conceal themSelves below the Sand, or
 mud.  Others  are  leSs cylindrical,  and  proportionally
 fhorter, as the mackrel, the cod, the herring, the Salmon,
&c.   TheSe, from the number and pofition of their  fins,
as well as from the ffiape of  their bodies, are deftined for
quicker motion, and for  travelling to great  diftances  in
queft of food, or for fpawning in flioals or in rivers. Others,
as the  flounder, the  fkate,  the turbet, torpedo, &c.  are
broad and compreffed.  Thefe, like the eel-kind,frequent
muddy bottoms.   Others are  triangular,  quadrangular,
round, c*e.   Befide thofe which approach  to  regular  fi-
gures, the variations and compositions are So numerous,
that  the  Sorms of  fifhes are much more diverfified than
thoSe oS quadrupeds, or birds.  To deSend themSelves a-
gain ft their enemies, many fifhes are  armed with ftrong,
fharp Spines, or prickles.  Fo^the Same purpoSe, and like-
wife fqr wounding, or killing their prey, fome have la large
horn on their front, and others a Sword,  or rather a  Saw,
which  are tremendous  weapons.   The  more timid and
defencelefs tribes are endowed with the Saculty  oS rapid
motion ;  and Some of them have fins So large and flexible
that, when hard purfued, they are  enabled  to leave their
                                              natural 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      79
natural element, to dart through  the air to considerable
diftances, and diSappoint the defigns of their enemies.
   Fifhes are as much diverfified in fize as in figure.  The
ocean produces the largeft animals which now inhabit this
globe.   The enormous maffes of the whale and walrus
tribes far exceed thofe of the elephant, rhinoceros, or ri-
ver-horfe, the largeft terreftrial animals of which we have
any proper knowledge.   From the immenfe bones, how-
ever, found in Siberia, and many parts  of Europe,  we
are induced to believe,  that land animals  have formerly
exifted whofe fize  muft have  been much larger than that
of the prefent elephant.  This  animal,  whofe fpecies is
now fuppofed to be extinguifhed, is known among natur-
alifts by the denomination of the mammouth.  Near the
river Ohio, fome prodigious bones and  teeth have lately
been difcovered,  which indicate  an animal of incredible
magnitude*.
   With regard to internal ftructure, fifhes, like land-ani-
mals, are Surnifhed with a back-bone and ribs, which run
from th£  head to  the  tail.   To  theSe,  the bones of the
head, and the fins, all the mufcles and inftruments of mo-
tion, are attached.
   The mouths of moft fifhes are furnifhed with teeth ;
but in fome,   as the mullet,  fturgeon,  &c. the teeth are
wanting.  In fome, the teeth are Situated on  the jaw-bones,
in others, on the tongue and palate.   The  teeth of fifhes
are principally defigned Sor laying hold of  and detaining
their prey, which they generally Swallow entire.  For
this purpoSe,  the teeth  are commonly Serrated,  or  bent
inward, like tenter-hooks.  By this ftructure, Small fifties
are eafily forced downwards,   and their return is at the
Same time prevented.
  In fifhes, the organ of fmelling is large;  and they have
a power of  contracting an#  dilating, at  pleafure,  the
entry into their nofe.
  It was formerly  doubted whether fifhes were endowed
with the fenfe of hearing.  But,  that doubt is now fully
removed; becaufe it has been  found,   that,  like other
                                             animals,
  * A Memoir on the fubjeft of thefe large American bones will foon be laid be-
fore the Philofopbical Society of this citv. 
 8o         THE  PHILOSOPHY
 animal, they have a complete organ of hearing, and that
 water is a proper medium for the conveyance  of found.
 Befides, in the fkate, and Some other genera, the learned
 and ingenious Dr. Monro, ProSeffor of Anatomy in the
 College of Edinburgh,  has lately difcovi red an aperture
which leads directly to the internal parts of  the ear.
   The gullet of fifhes is  fo fhort that  it is hardly  to  be
 diftinguifhed from the  Stomach,  which is of an oblong
 figure.  The guts are very fhort, making only three con-
 volutions, the laft of which terminates in the common
 vent for the faeces,  urine, and femen.  From this  ftruc-
 ture  of  the ftomach and  inteftines   analogy would lead
 us to conclude, that fifhes  live chiefly upon  animal food.
 Experience, accordingly,  teaches us, that almoft all fifhes
 prey upon the finaller kinds, and even devour their own
 young.   The  liver is proportionally large, of  a whitiffi
 colour,  and Situated on the leSt fide.  The gall-bladder
 Kes at a considerable diflance Srom the liver,  and dischar-
 ges the gall into the gut.   In fifties, the organs oS gene-
 ration are two bags Situated in the abdomen, and uniting
 near the anus.  In the male,  theSe. bags are filled with a
 thick whirifh  Subftance called the milt, and in the female
 with an infinite  number of minute eggs called the roc.
 At the feafon of Spawning, the bags of both  male and fe-
 male are greatly diftended ; but, at other times, the male
 organs  can  Scarcely be diftingufhed Srom thofe of  the
 female.
   The Swimming bladder is an oblong, white, membran-
 ous bag, which contains nothing but a  quantity  oS elaftio
 air.  It lies clofe to the back-bone, and has a pretty ftrong
 mufcular coat.   By contracting this  coat, and, of courfe,
 condenfing the air it contains, fome  fifhes are enabled  to
 render their bodies Specifically heavier than water, and te
 fink to the bottom ; and, wfren the mufcular fibres aafe
 to act, the air dilates, and  makes their bodies fpecifically
 lighter.   By this curious piece of mechanifm, the animals
 have the power of linking to the bottom, or of rifing to
 the rurface.   According to the different degrees of con-
 traction and dilatation of thi  bladder, fuiie>  can. at plea*
                                                Sure* 
        OF NATURAL  HISTORY.      81
Sure, keep themfelves higher or lower in the water.  Hence
flounders, foles, fkate,  and other fifties which have no
Swimming bladder, always grovel at or near the bottom.'
It is likewiSe a confequence of the relaxation of this blad-
der, that dead fifhes which are furnifhed with it uniformly
rife to the Surface.  The air-bag, in fome fifhes, commu-
nicates, by a duft, with the gullet, and,  in others,  with
the ftomach.  At the upper  end of the air-bag, there are
red-coloured glandular bodies connected with the kidneys.
From the kidneys the ureters proceed, downward to  their
infertion in the urinary bladder, which lies in the lower
part of the abdomen, and the urethra terminates in the
anus.                                      .
   Fifhes have a membranous diaphragm,  or midriff, that
forms a Sack in which the heart is  contained.   The heart
is  of a triangular figure.  It has only one auricle,  one
ventricle, and one great artery.  This artery,  inftead of
Supplying all the  parts of  the  body, as in the frog,  is
diftributed entirely on the gills.  All the branches termi-
nate there,  and become  at  laft  fo fmall that they efcape
the naked eye.   The branchiae, or gills, lie in two large
flits on each fide of  the head, and are analogous^ to the
lungs  of  land-animals.   The figure of the gills  is  Semi-
circular, and on each fide oS them are immenSe numbers
of fibrils, refembling Sringes.  The gills are perpetually
Subjected to an  alternate motion Srom the preffure oS the
water, and the action of the mufcles.  They are covered
with a large flap, which allows an exit to the water necef-
Sarily taken  in by the animals every time their mouths are
opened.  The  blood is again collected by a vaft number
of fmall veins, which, inftead of going back a Second time
to the heart, immediately unite,  and form an aorta deScen-
dens, which Sends off branches to fupply all the parts  of
the body, except the gills.  "From the extremities of thefe
branches the blood is collected  by veins, and returned  to
the heart nearly in the fame manner as in other animals.
   The organs by which the nutritious part of the food
of fifhes is extracted and conveyed to the general mafs  of
blood, and known  by the names of lacteal, abforbent,
and lymphatic, veflels,  are fo analogous  to thofe  of men
                           L                      and 
82
THE   PHILOSOPHY
x\u\ quadrupeds, that it is unneceftary to defcribe them *.
I or the fame reafon, no defcription  fhall be given of the
nerves, which, as  in  other  animals,  proceed  from the
brain and fpinal marrow,  and  are diftributed over every
part oS the body.
  Having Smithed this Sketch of the ftructure and  organs
of fifhes,  it is  almoft needlcfs to remark,   that,  though
they live in a different element,  and  vary greatly from
land-animals in figure, Nature,  in the formation of their
bodies, in the  mode of their nutrition, refpiration,  and
fenfation,  has  acted upon  the fame great and general
plan.
  We are, now, to take  a view of the ftructure  of in-
fects, a numerous clafs  of animals, moft of whom recede
farther from the common mode  of organization than  any
of the other claffes.

      OF  THE STRUCTURE OF INSECTS.

  IN  the  firft chapter, a few obfervations  were  made
concerning the ftruCture and organs of infects,  in order
to fliow more  clearly the  analogies between animals and
vegetables.   TheSe it is unneceffary to repeat.  We fhall,
therefore,  proceed to a more particular examination of
the ftructure oS infects, and to  trace the connection  be-
tween that and their manners.
  InSects  exhibit Such  an immenfe variety in  figure, co-
lour, and diSpofition oS parts, that Naturalifts have  found
it neceffary to  arrange them into  different  tribes,  or fa-
milies.   Thefe tribes are diftinguifhed from one another
by  certain peculiarities  in the Structure of  their bodies.
  The moft general divifion of infects is derived from
                                                      the
  *  It may not, however, be improper to obferve, thai the conglobate,  or lym-
phatic glands, which feem to conflitute an eflential part of the abforbent fyftem
in man, in quadrupeds, and in birds, have not, hitherto, been discovered in any
genus of fifties.  But, in fifties, and in the amphibious animals, which are like-
wife deftitute of thefe glands, the lymphatics  form a great number of plexus ; and
the progrefs of the lymph being thus retarded, M. .\Lfcagni fuppofes that all the
ufe. of tbeCe glands arc anfwered by this peculiar arrangement of the vefTels them-
felve*.  Birds have but few conglobate gland*: bat, to make amends for tbu cir-
cumftance, Nature has formed the lymphatics of this clafs of animals into frequent
plexus, fomewha'. refcmbling net-work. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      $3
the circumftance of their having or wanting wings, and
from the number and Subftances  of which theSe  inftru-
ments of motion are compoSed.  They are diftinguifhed
from all other animals  by many  peculiarities of form.
None oS the other claffes have more legs than four.  But,
moft infects have fix ; and many oS them have eight, ten,
fourteen, fixteen, eighteen,  and even  a hundred,  legs.
Befide the number of legs, infects  are furnifhed with an-
tennae, or feelers.  Thefe feelers, by which infects grope
and examine the fubftances they meet with, are compofed
of a great number of articulations, or joints.   Linnaeus,
and other naturalifts, maintain, that the ufes of thefe feel-
ers are  totally unknown.  But, the flighted attention to
the manner in which fome infects  employ  their  Seelers,
will SatisSy  us of at leaft one ufe they  derive  from thefe
organs.  When a winglefs infect is placed at the  efvd of
a twig, or in any Situation where it meets with a vacuity,
it moves the Seelers  backward and forward, elevates, de-
preffes, and bends them from fide  to fide,  and will  not
advance Sarther, left  it fhould fall.   Place a flick,  or any
other fubftance, within reach of the feelers; the  animal
immediately applies  them to this new object, examines
whether it is Sufficient to Support the weight of its body,
and inftantly proceeds in its journey.  Though moft in-
fects are provided with eyes, yet the lenfes of which they
confift are fo fmall and convex, that they can See distinctly
but at  Small diftances,  and,  of courfe, muft be very in-
competent judges of  the vicinity or remotenefs of objects.
To remedy this defect, infects are  provided with  feelers,
which are perpetually in motion while the animals walk.
By the Same inftruments,  they  are enabled to walk with
SaSety in the dark.
   No other animals  but the  infect  tribes have more than
two eyes.   Some of  them have four, as the phalangium ;
others, as the Spider  and Scorpion,  have eight eyes.  In a
few inSects,  the eyes are Smooth ;  in all the others, they
are hemispherical,  and confift of many thoufand  diftinct
fenfes.  The eyes are abfolutely immoveafble: But, this
defect is Supplied by the vaft  number  of lenfes,  which,
from the diverfity of their pofitions, are capable oS view- 
 ?4         THE  PHILOSOPHY
 ing objects in every direction.  By the Smallncfs and con-
 vexity of thefe lenfes, which produce the fame effectas the
 object glafs of a microfcope, infects  are  enabled  to lee
 bodies that are too minute to be perceived by the human
 eye.
   Another peculiarity deferves our notice.   No animal,
 except a numerous tribe of four-w inged infects, has more
 than two wings.
   With regard to Sex, quadrupeds, birds, and fifhes,  are
 diftinguifhed into males  and females.  But, the bee and
 the ant furnifh examples  of neuters, which arc absolutely
 barren :  And the earth-worm, and feveral fhell-infects,are
 hermaphrodite, each  individual poffefling the prolific pow-
 ers of both male and female.
   It i-3 likewife remarkable, that all winged infects under-
 go three metamorphofes, or changes of form :  The egg is
 difcharged from  the body of  the female in the fame man-
 ner as in other oviparous animals.   By a wonderful  in-
 Itinct, thefe Secmingly-ftupid creatures uniformly depofit
 their eggs on Such animal or vegetable Subftances as Sur-
 nifh proper food Sor the worm or caterpillar, that is to be
 hatched by the heat oS the Sun.  The worm, or caterpillar,
 is the firft ftatc.   The bodies of caterpillars are Soft and
 moift.  They have no wings and are totally deprived oS
 the faculty  of generation.   After continuing  for fome
 time in this reptile ftatc, they arc transformed into a chry-
 Salis, which is drier and harder than the caterpillar.  The
 hrySalcs of fome infects are naked, and thofe  of others are
 covered with a filken w  b, Spun by the animals before their
 change is completed.   In  this ftate, many of  them lie mo-
 re nlefs, and Seemingly inanimate, during the w hole winter.
 When the Spring  or lummer heats return, they burft from
 their laft prifon, and, from vile reptiles, are transformed
 into beautiful flies.  In this perfect ftate they are exceed-
 ingly  active, fly about in  queft of their mates, and, after
propagating their fpecies,  the females depofit their eggs,
 and the Same circle oS animation and change perpetually
 goes round.  Hence, the  ftructure and figure oS the fame
individual animals are threefold, which renders the know-
ledge of inSects extremely complicated, as we muft be ac-
                                             quainted 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      85
quainted with them in the feveral forms they Succeuively
affume.                                         .••■:>
  There is another peculiarity in the ftructure oS inSects.
They arc deprived oS bones.  But, that defect is Supplied,
in Some, by  a  membranous or muScular  fkin,  and, in
others, by a crudaceous or  horny covering.   In this cir-
cumdance, infects reSemble the fhell-animals, whofe bones
conftitute the external parts oS their bodies.
  In general, the bodies oS inSects are compofed of a head,
trunk, and abdomen.   The head  is commonly attached
to the trunk by a joint, or articulation.  Befide eyes, feel-
ers, and mouth, the heads of Some  inSects  are furnifhed
with palpi fixed to the mouth; and they are either  four
or fix in number.   Each of them confifts of  two, three,
or four, joints, and are often miftaken for the antennae, or
feelers.   Thefe inftruments feem to Serve the  animals in-
ftead oS hands ; Sor they employ  the palpi to  bring the
Sood to  their mouths, and to keep it fteady while eating.
It is afferted by Linnaeus, and other naturalifts,  that the
heads of infects are deftitute of brains, noftrils, and  ears.
The minutenefs of the animals under consideration  may
have hitherto prevented us  from diftinguifhing theSe or-
gans.  If they want a brain, it is certain that their  SenSe
oS Seeing is acute ;  and we know that they are amply Sup-
plied with nerves, which produce the Same effects as the
brain in larger animals.  If they are deprived of noftrils,
the flighteft attention muft convince us, that fome of them
poffefs the fenfe of fmelling in a very high degree. Upon
any other fuppofition, how fhould the different Species of
flies,  the moment  they eScape Srom  the  chrySalis ftate,
diftinguifh, and directly approach, the different animal and
vegetable fubftances Nature has defljned for their refpect-
ive nourifhment ?  A  piece of meat is no Sooner expoSed
to the air than it is covered with flefh-flies, upon which
they both Seed and depofit their eggs.  Without this SenSe,
"how fhould waSps, jand other flies, be allured from consi-
derable diftances  into bottles encrufted with  honey, or
molaffes ?  Thefe, and Similar actions, cannot be  effects of
fight; Sor the diftance, the minutenefs, and Srequently the
                                              pofition 
S6
Til 1    PHILOSOPHY
 pofition of the food, render it impotfible  Sor  the eve to
 diScover thofe fubftances to which they inltantly reSort.
   With regard to hearing, it is more difficult lo determine
 whether infects be endowed with this fenfe.   We can judge
 of it,  not by the knife of the  Anatondll, but  by the af-
 fections and motions of the animals themSelves.   Several
 trials  I have made on houSe-flies incline me to  think that
 thefe animals poffefs a Senfe of a nature fimilar, at leaft, to
 that of hearing.   At the dillance of three or Sour feet, a
 fmart  ftroke, even upon a (tohe wall, alarms and puts them
 to flight.  But, this may partly be attributed to the vi-
 bration in the wall, or the concuflion of the air, produced
 by the ftroke.  To obviate this difficulty, at the lame dill-
 ance of  between  three and four feet, I (truck  the air re-
 peatedly with a bookbinder's folder, without giving the
 fmalleft alarm to  the flies.   But, when  I ftruck the folder
 againft the boards of a book, which I held in  my hand,
 and  made a fmart noiSe, the animals were inftantly alarm-
 ed, and flew off at the Second ftroke.  Thfe Same effect is
 produced in a room  juft light  enough to reftder the  ani-
 mals vifible.  Thefe trials,  which 1 have often repeated,
 Seem to indicate that ffies,  iS they are really deprived of
 ears, are endowed with an  analogous  feiife, though  we
 are ignorant of its fit nation*.
   Natur dills have limited  the  fenfes of infects to thofe
 of feeing and feeling.   But, the above remarks render it
 more than probable that flies poffefs likewife the SenSes of
 Smelling and of hearing: Neither fhould the fenfe  of tafte
 be denied  them ;  for, though they may  be aflifted by
 Smelling to diScover and Select  their food, we cannot  fup-
 poSe that  Nature has denied them the pleaSure which other
 animals So univerfally derive  from  eating.   BeficW, an
 agreeable fenfation, fimilar to that  of tafte, muft  accom-
                                                   pany
  * The very learned and laborious Piofefibr Fabricius of Copenhagen, who hat,
 perhaps,  added more  to the mafs of our knowledge concerning inlcrU than any
 perfon now living, has been fo fortunate as to difcover the organ*  of hearing in
the lohfttr, and in the crab.  In thefe animals, the external oiifice of the organs
 is placed  between the \<>v.^ and the fhort antenna-; whilft the cochlea, Stc.are fitu-
 uated in the upper part of the thorax Tas it a balled by LinruewJ, near the bafe of
 in- termed projection at its apex, ot point.   For a particular at count of this cu-
 nois difcowry in the hiQory of infects, the reader is referred to the fecoad volume
of the Ala C"f< i,: i^.-r. Trarfailions, p. 375. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      8;
pany an action which removes the pain arifing Srom bun-
Ser-
  The mouth of infects is generally placed in the unde?
part of the head; but, in Some, it is Situated in the breaft.
The jaws, inftead of being horizontal, are often tranf-
verSe, and furnjflaed with teeth.  The greater number of
winged inSects are provided with a proboScis, or trunk, an
inftruroent by which they extract the juices from animal
or vegetable  Subftances.   The  proboScis oS infects  is a
machine of a very complicated, nature.  In butterflies, the
proboScis is Situated preciSely between the two eyes.  Tho*
Some oS them exceed three inches in length, they occupy
but a Small Space.  When a  butterfly is not in queft of
food, the proboScis is rolled up in a Spiral Sorm, Similar
to that oS a watch-Spring, each Succemve  ring covering
the one which precedes.   The Subftance of the proboScis
has fome refemblance to that  oS horn.  It tapers from the
baSe to tha extremity.  It is compoSed of two fimilar and
equal parts, each of which is concave, and, when joined,
form three diftinct tubes.  Reaumur has rendered it pre*
bable,  that thefe tubes  enable the animals to extract the
juices of plants, to conduct air into their bodies, and to
convey the fenfation of fmelling.  Hence, the proboScis of
inSects is an inftrument which Serves them for a mouth, a
noSe, and a wind-pipe.
  The upper  part oS the trunk or body of infects  is cal-
led the thorax, and the under part the abdomen, or belly.
The abdomen contains the ftomach,  and other  viScera.
It confifts oS Several rings, or Segments, and is perforated
with fpiracula,  or tubes,  which fupply the want of lungs.
The abdomen is terminated by the tail, which^ in Some'
infects, is armed with a fting, a forceps, a brittle, or a
kind of a claw with a moveable thumb.
  The legs  are compofed of three parts, connected to
each other by joints,  and reprefent the thighs,  Spanks,
ankles,  and feet of larger animals.
  The  wings  of  inSects are So  diversified in number,
confiftence and colour, that Linnaeus has made them the
foundation of the feveral orders or  divisions into  which
he divides this numerous clafs of  animals.  Some inSects
are 
 88         THE  PHILOSOPHY
 are furnifhed with four, and others two wings, and fome
 of  them arc entirely deftitute of  thefe  inftruments  of
 motion.
   The four-winged infects are arranged  in  five orders.
 The firfl order Linnaeus didinguifhes by the  name of co-
 leoptera,  or thofe infects whofe upper pair of wings, con-
 fid of a  hard, crudaceous, or horney  fubftance.  Thefe
 cover and defend the under  pair,  which are  of a more
 Soft and flexible  texture.  This  order  comprehends the
 whole of what is properly called fcarabai, or the  beetle
 tribe.  Like other winged infects,  all the beetles live for
fome time in the form of caterpillars, or grubs.
   As a  farther  confirmation of  the connection of man-
ners with form and ftructure, it is here worthy of remark,
 that the  fame animals, when in the date of  caterpillars,
live in a different  manner,  and feed on fubdances of a
very different kind from thofe they confume  after their
 transformation  into flies.   The  caterpillars  of  the gar-
den-beetle, cock-chafer,  &c.  lead  a Solitary  life  under
ground,  and confume  the roots of plants.    Thofe of
others  feed  upon putrid carcafes,   every  kind of flefh,
dried fkins,  rotten wood, the dung of men,  and qua-
drupeds, and the fmall infects called pucerons, or vine-fret-
ters.  The devourers of the puceron contribute to cure
fuch plants as happen to be infected with the phthiriafis,
 or louSy diSeaSe.   But, aSter  their transformation into
flies, many oS the Same animals, which formerly fed up-
on  dung and putrid carcaSes,  are  nourifhed  with  the
pureft nedtareous  juices extracted  Srom Sruits and flow-
ers.  The creatures themSelves, with regard to what may
 be termed individual animation, have Suffered no alteration.
 But, the Sabrick  oS their bodies, their inftruments of
 motion,  and the organs by which  they take their food,
 are materially changed.   The change of ftructure, though
 the animals retain  their identity,  produces  the greateft
 diverfity in their manners, their ceconomy, and the pow-
 ers of their  bodies.  In the  caterpillar-ftate, thefe ani-
 mals are extremely voracious,  and,  in many inftances,
 acquire a greater magnitude than they poffefs after trans-
 formation :  but they are  incapable of multiplying their
                                              fpecies, 
       OF  NATURAL   HISTORY.       89

Species,  and oS  receiving  nourifhment Srom the Same
kinds oS food.   Befides, many caterpillars, previous to
their  transformation, live  even in a  different  element.
The ephemeron fly, when  in  the caterpillar  ftate, lives
no Iefs than three years  in  the water, and extracts its
nourifhment from earth and clay.   After transformation,
this animal Seldom exifts longer  than one  day, during
which the fpecies is propagated, and myriads of eggs are
depofited on the Surface of the water.   Thefe eggs  pro-
duce  worms, or caterpillars,  and  the fame procefs goes
perpetually round.
  Linnaeus's fecond order  of  infects,  or hemiptera, have
likewife  four wings.   But,  the upper pair, inftead of be-
ing hard and horny,  rather refemble fine vellum.   Thev
cover the body horizontally, and do not meet in a direct
line,  forming a ridge,  or  future, as  in the beetle tribe.
The whole of this order are furnifhed  with a proboScis or
trunk Sor extracting their food.
  This order comprehends Several genera or kinds, Some
oS which we fhall mention in a curSory  manner.—The
blatta, or cockroach,  is an animal which avoids the light,
and is particularly Sond of meal, bread, putrid bodies,
and the roots of plants.   It frequents bakers fhops and
cellars, and flies the approach  of  danger with great fwift-
neSs.—The head oS the mantis, or  camel-cricket, appears,
Srom  its  continual nodding motion, to  be Slightly attached
to the thoraxW This  infect  is regarded by the  Africans as
a Sacred  animal; becauSe it frequently aflumes a praying
or fupplicating  pofture, by  retting on its hind feet, and
elevating and  folding the firft pair.—The gryllus compre-
hends a  number of  fpecies,  fome of which are called
grafshoppers, others locufis, and others crickets.  The larvce
or caterpillars of the grylli, have a great  refemblance to
the perfect infects, and,  in  general, live  under ground.
Many of thefe infects  feed upon  the leaves of  plants.
Others,  which  live  in  houfes, prefer bread,  and every
kind of farinaceous fubftance. The fuIgora, or fire-fly : The
foreheads of Several oS this genus, efpecially of thofe that
inhabit China,  and other hot climates, emit a very lively
fhining light during the night, wrhich  often alarms thofe
                           M                      who 
90         THE  PHILOSOPHY
who are unacquainted with the caufe of the apnearaiu-.;.
The cicada, frog-hopper, or flea-locufl : The larvaJ, or  ca-
terpillars, of Some of  this genus,  difcharge  a kind oi
froth or Saliva from the anus and pores of the  body, un-
der which they conceal  themSelves Srom the -apacity of
birds, and other enemies.—The papa, or waier-f .rtn»)U
frequents ftagnant waters.  It lives chiefly on aquatic in-
fects, and is exceedingly voracious.—The cimex or bug  :
Many fpecies of this genus feed upon the juices ot plants,
and  others  upon the blood of animals.   Some of them
are found in waters,  and others  frequent houfes,  among
which, though it wants wings,  is the bed-bug, a peltife-
rous infect,  which is too well known, and too generally
diffufed.   The bugs differ from other infects by  their
foftnefs; and  moft of them emit a very foetid Smell.-—
The aphis, puceron, or vine-fretter: Thefe infects are very
common,  and are generally termed the  lice of the plants
which they infelt:  The puceron, as remarked in the firft
chapter, is viviparous in  Summer, and  oviparous in au-
tumn.   Numbers of them are devoured by  the ants,  on
account, as  is fuppofed, of a Sweet  liquor  with which
their bodies  are  perpetually moiftened.—"Chermes :  The
lar%\e or caterpillars oS this infect have fix feet, and are
generally covered w ith a hairy or woolly fubftance.  The
winged infects leap or Spring with great  agility,  and  in-
fell a number of different trees and plantjMkThe females,
by  means ot a tube at the termination CfP their  bodies,
uifert their eggs under  the furface of the leaves, and the
worms,  when  hatched, give rife to  thofe tubercles,  or
p;alls, with which the leaves of the afh, the fir, and other
trees, are  fometimes almoit entirely covered.
   The third order or tribe of four-winged infects  confifts
of th.ee genera only.   But, the fpecies  comprehended
under them are  exceedingly  numerous.  All  butterflies
and moths belong to this order.   Their wing* are covered
with a farinaceous powder, or rather \/i h a kind of Scales
.;r feathers,  difpofed in regujar row;, nearly in the fame
manner as tiies are laid upon the roois of houfes. Xhe ele-
gance, the beauty, the variety of colour*  exhibited in their
wings, are produced by  the difpo'ition and difl--rent  tinc-
                                        —       turc. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      9t
 tures oS theSe  minute Seathers.   The infedts of this or-
 der, on account of their beauty and  eafy  prefervation,
 have always  been the favourites of collectors, and parti-
 cularly of thofe of the female fex.  When the feathers
 are rubbed off,  the  wings  appear to  be nothing more
 than  a naked,  and often a tranfparent, membrane.  The
 feelers of the papilio,  or butterfly, are thickeft at their
 extremity, and often terminate  in a kind of capitulum,
 or head.  Their wings, when fitting, or at reft, are erect,
 their extremities join each other above the body, and the
 animals fly about,  in queft of food and of their  mates,
 during the day.—The moths are  divided into two genera,
 the one calledfphinx, or hawk-moth, and the other phalana,
 or moth.  The  feelers of the fphinx are  thicker  in  the
 middle than at the extremities,  and their form, in fome
 meaufure, refembles that oS a prifm.   The wings  are, in
 general, deflected, their outer margins declining  toward
 the fides.   They fly about early in the morning,  and af-
 ter fun-Set; and,  by means of  their proboScis, like the
 butterflies, they fuck the juices  of plants.—-The phalcena
 or moth: The feelers  of  this genus are Setaceous,  and ta-
 per Srom the baSe to the point. When at reft,  their wings
 are commonly deflected; and they fly during the night.
 Previous to  their transformation, the caterpillars of the
 whole of this genus fpin webs for covering and protect-
 ing the animals while in the chryfalis ftate.   From a fpe-
 cies of this tribe mankind have derived one of the great-
 eft articles of luxury and of commerce which now exifts
 in the world.   That Seemingly contemptible, that difguft-
 ing reptile known by the appellation of theft Ik-worm, in its
 paffage from the caterpillar to the chryfalis ftate, produces
 thofe fplendid materials which adorn the thrones of Prin-
 ces,  and add dignity and luftre to female beauty*.
  The  wings of the fourth order, diftinguifhed by  the
 name of neuroptera,  are  membranaceous, naked,  and fo
interfperfed  with delicate veins, that  they have the ap-
pearance of beautiful net-work.   Their tail has no fling;
but that of the male  is frequently furnifhed with  a kind
of forceps or  pincers.  To this order belongs the libella,^
                                                   or
 * See Chap. XI.•secerning the transformation of Animals. S.  + Libc'lula. 
 92         SHE  PHILOSOPHY

 or dragon-fi..  an infect  of very Splendid  and variegated
 colours.   It is a large and well known fly, and frequents
 rivers, lakes,  pools, and flagnating waters, in which the
 females depofit their ege;s.  Their mode of  generating is
 Singular.  Different Species of them appear from the be-
 ginning of Summer to the middle of autumn.  They ge-
 nerally fly in pairs, and in a  ftraight line, the male pur-
 suing the  Semale.  The organs of  the male aie Situated in
 fin bread: When he overtakes her, with the forceps hi
 his tail he lays hold oS  her  by the neck, while fhe, by
 an inftinctive impulfe, makes the lower end of her body
 approach  the male organs.   In this  united Situation they
 form a kind of  ring, have the appearance  of a double
 animal, and  fly along till  the purpofe is accomplifhed.
 Under the Same order is  comprehended the phryganca, or
fpring-fty: The larvae or caterpillars of  this genus  live in
 the water, and  are covered with  a filken  tube.   They
 have a very  Singular afpect ; Sor, by means of a  gluten,
 they attach to the tubes  in which they are inclofed Small
 pieces oS  wood, Sand, gravel, leaves  of plants, and not
 unfrequently live teltaceous animals,  all of which they
 drag along with them.  They are very commonly found
 in Salads of  the  water-crefs ;  and, as they are often  en-
 tirely covered with green leaves, they have the appearance
 of animated plant-;.  They are in  great  requeft among
 fiftiermen, by whom they are diftinguifhed by the name
 of fi one, or cod-bait.  The fly, or perfect infect, frequents
 running waters, in which the females depofit their eggs.
   Yhefifth order is termed hymenoptera.  In general, the"
 inSects belonging to this  order have Sour membranaceous
 and naked wings.  In Some oS the genera, however, the
 neuters, and,  in others, the males,  or  even the females,
 have no wings.  Their tails,  except in the male Sex, are-
 armed with a fling.—The female of the cynips, an  infect
 belonging to this order, inferts her eggs into the leaves
 of the oak,  and the caterpillars produced from them give
 rife to the galls  employed in the  compofition of ink.__
 This order likewife includes the wafp,  the bee,  and  the
 anr.   Many of the wafp kind, like  the bees, live  in fo-
 cicty, raake comba in which the females depofit  their
                                      -        eggs, 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     93
eggs, and feed their caterpillars  with an inferior  fpecies
of honey.  Others  of them conftruct a feparate neft for
each individual egg.—The bee is an infect too well known
to require a particular defcription.   The males have no
fling ; but the females, and the drones, or neuters,  have
a very fharp pointed fling  concealed in their abdomen.
The female of the honey-bee is much larger than the male,
or the neuter.  Her feelers contain  fifteen articulations.
Her abdomen is compofed of Seven Segments, and is much
longer than her wings.   The Seelers oS the male  contain
only eleven articulations.   The neuters are much  Smaller
than the males or females,  and their Seelers confift of fif-
teen articulations.—The fling, with  which the male and
female ants are armed, is concealed within the abdomen.
The males and females of the ant are furnifhed with wings,
 but the neuters are deprived of thefe inftrumen ts of mo-
 tion.  The ants live in  Societies which are compofed of
 males, females, and neuters. The males are much fmaller
 than the females and neuters.  Soon after the males and
 females  propagate the fpecies, they all die.  Some of the
 neuters, however,  furvive the winter ; but  they remain
 in their habitation without movement, or difcovering any
 Signs of life.  From thefe  circumftances in the hiftory of
 ants, it is apparent, that the induftry and fagacity fo long
 and fo univerfally afcribed to thefe little animals could be
 of no ufe either to themSelves or their progeny.  The fe-
 male, after depofiting her eggs,  takes no farther care of
 her offspring.  But,  what is Singular,  the important of-
 fice of feeding the  larva,  or caterpillars, after the eggs
 are hatched, is left entirely to the neuters.   This affecti-
 onate and afliduous attention of the neuters to a  progeny
 neither  begot nor  brought forth by them, is fo aftonifh-
 ing, fo  contrary to the general ceconomy of Nature, that
 no reafoning or theory can account for a fact So  uncom-
 mon, till Sarther diScoveries fhall be made in  the hiftory
 of thefe furprifing  animals.  What  is ftill more Singular,
 after the caterpillars are  transformed into  the chryfalis
 ftate, the neuters are inceffantly and anxioufly employed
 in pre£er.ving the chryfales from humidity when the wea-
 ther is wet, and in expofing them to the warmth of the 
 94         THE  PHILOSOPHY
 fun  when it is  fair.   Thefe chryfalis are largei than the
 animals themfelves, and yet they carry them off with eafe
 and rapidity.
   The fixth order of inSects is  termed dipttra, or two-
 winged inSects.  The different fpecies of this  order,  be-
 fide  wings, are furnifhed with what is called a halter or
 a potfer, which is Situated under each  wing, and  is ter-
 minated by a capitulum, or knob.  This order comprehends
 ten genera, and a multitude of fpecies.   The caterpillars
 of the  oeflrus,  or gad-fly, lie concealed  in the fkins ot
 cattle, where they are nourifhed during the  whole winter.
 The perfect infects are frequent wherever horfes, cow9 or
 fheep are grazing.   Some of them depofit  their eggs in
 the fkins of cows or oxen; others  depofit them in the
 inteftines oS horfes, to w hich they get accefs by the anus ;
 and  others in the noftrils oS fheep.   In thefe habitations,
 the caterpillars refide till they are full grown, when they
 throw themfelves down to the earth, and generally  pafa
 the chrySalis ftate under the firft ft one they  meet with.
 —The mufica,  or common fly : The mouth of this infect
 confifts of a Soft, flefhy proboftis, with two lateral lips.
 The caterpillars of fome of  this genus devour  the puce-
 rons; others confume all kinds of  putrid flefh;  others
 are found in cheefe; others in the excrements  of differ-
 ent animals; and many of them live in  the water,  and
 prefer that which is  moft corrupted and muddy.—The
 mouth of the culex, or gnat, confifts  of a flexible fheath,
 inclofing Sour briftlcs, or  pointed ftini ;.    The feelers of
 the female gnat arc plain tike a thread ; but thofe of the
 male are  beautifully feathered.  The  worms,  or  cater-
 pillars,  of this genus are commonly found in ftagnant
 waters.   The gnats generally frequent woods and marfhy
 places.  The females, in particular, are very troublefome,
 and Sting  feverely.—The feet of the hippobofca, or horfie-
fiy,  are armed with a number of nails, or crotchets.  In
 fome Species the wings croSs each other ;  in others, they
 are. open.  The horSc-flies  Srequent woods and marfhy
 grounds,  and are extremely incommodious to  birds and
 quadrupeds, whofe blood is the only  food of thefe infects.
   The five nth order o?  infects Linn tus denominates ap-
                                                 t^ra, 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.       95
tera, becaufe neither males nor females are furnifhed with
wings.  This order comprehends thirteen genera,  and a
great number of fpecies, many of which are very  offen-
sive and noxious to the human Species.  The pediculus, or
loufe, has  fix legs,  two prominent eyes, and  its mouth
contains a Sting or Sucker, by  which it extracts  blood
and  other juices from the bodies of animals.   Though
almoft every different animal is infefted with  a  peculiar
fpecies  of  lice, the Specific  characters oS  very Sew of
them have hitherto been ascertained.   Lice are  of vari-
ous forms.  Some of them are  oval, others oblong,  and
others long  and flender.  They are oviparous animals,
and  their eggs are large in proportion to the Size oS their
bodies.  BeSore they arrive at maturity, they change their
fkin feveral times.   They are fuppofed to be hermaphro-
dites.   This  circumftance, if true, may partly  account
for their prodigious multiplication.  Swammerdam, who
diffected a great number,  affures us, that he never found
one without an  ovary,  nor  even  discovered the organs
peculiar to the male Sex.  IS this ftructure be univerfal,
the louSe is an hermaphro4ite oS a very peculiar  kind;
becauSe it muft be capable oS Scecundating itSelS.  Seve-
ral Species of worms are hermaphrodites ; but, inftead of
fcecundating themfelves, they are obliged to impregnate
each other.—The pulex, or flea, has likewife fix  legs, the
articulations oS which are So exceedingly elaftic, that the
animal is enabled, by their means, to Spring to Surprising
diftances.  It has two fine eyes, and its body  is  covered
with cruftaceous Scales.   The flea is the only inSect  be-
longing to this order which undergoes  a  transformation
Similar to that oS the former orders :  All the other wing-
leSs  inSects are produced in a  perfect ftate either by the
mother, or Srom eggs.  The caterpillars oS the flea have
Sorked tails, and are very Small and  lively.   They may
be nourifhed in boxes, and  Sed  with flies, which they
greedily devour.  BeSore changing into the chrySalis ftate,
they live Sourteen  or  fifteen days in the  form of  caterpil-
lars.—Aranca,  or  fpider:  This  genus comprehends a
great many Species.   The Spider  has  eight  feet, and an
equal number oS immoveable eyes.   The chieS  prey of
                                                  the 
 ^6         THE  PHILOSOPHY

 the Spider is flies, animals whofe  motions are extremely
 quick and  defultorv.   To  enable the fpider  to  obferve
 their movements in every direction, fhe is Surnifhed with
 eight eves, the pofition oS  which merits  attention: Two
 of them are placed  on the top of the  head, other two on
 the front, and two  on  each  fide.   The  mouth is  armed
 with two crotchets, by which it Seizes and kills its prey.
 Round  the anus there  are Several  muScular  inftruments,
 Ihaped like nipples or teats.   Each of  theSe contain about
 a thouSand tubes or outlets Sor threads So extremely  mi-
 nute, that  many hundreds oS  them muft be united before
 they form one of thofe vifible ropes of which the  fpider's
 web is compofed.   The figure of the  web varies  accord-
 ing to the fpecies, or the Situation the animal chooSes Sor
 its abode.  After the web is completed,  Some Species re-
 fide in  the center,  and others occupy the extremity of
 their  habitations, where they lie in ambufh, with afto-
 nifhing  patience, till an ill-fated fly is accidentally entan-
 gled.  The fpider, from the vibration  of  the threads,
 perceives his prey,  rufhes  forth from his cell, inftantly
 Seizes it with his fangs, devours its vitals, and afterwards
 rejects  the  exhaufted carcafe.  Spiders  prey upon  all
 weaker  infects, and even upon their  own fpecies.—The
fcorpion: This venomous infect is a native  of warmer
 climates than thofe  of  the north of Europe.  It has eight
 feet,  and two claws, the laft of which  are  Situated  on
 the fore part oS  the head.   Like the Spider, the fcorpion
 has eight eyes, three of  which are placed on each fide of
 the breaft,  and the  other two on  the  back.   The tail  is
 long, jointed, and  terminates in  a ftrarp crooked fting.
 The venom of the  fcorpion is more deftructive than that
 of any  other infed;  and  is  Sometimes  Satal in  ASrica,
 and other hot regions.
   The  Ixaft divifion  oS  inSects is termed vermes, or wormx,
 by Linnaeus.  This claSs comprehends not only all the in-
 Sects  commonly  called worms, but all the teftaceous ani-
 mals, and  the zoophites, or plant-animals.   The ftruct-
 ure oS  Several genera belonging to this  claSs is extremely
 Singular.  ASter giving a few examples, we fhall haften
 to the conclufion of the  piefent fubject.
                                                  The 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      9?
  the body of the gordius, or hair-worm, is long, fhaped
fike a  thread or hair, fmooth, and  round.  A fpecies of
the hair-worm is very common in our frefh waters,  and
is  perfectly  harmlefs.  In  Scotland, it  is a vulgar  and
rbolifh notion, that the hair of a horfe's tail, when thrown
into the water, is converted into this worm*.   Though
inoffenfive in this country, the hair-worm of Africa, and
of both the Indies,  is extremely noxious. It is of  a pale
yellowifh colour, and is frequently  met  with  among the
graSs,  eSpecially when covered with dew.  It  often infi-
nuates itfelf into the naked feet or limbs of children and
unwary  perfons,  where  it  produces an inflammation,
which is Sometimes Satal.   It may be extracted by tying
a thread round its  head,  and then  pulling it gently out
Of its abode.  But, this operation requires great caution ;
for, if the animal is broken,  the part which remains does
not die,  but,  in a (hort time, regains what it had loft,
and becomes equally entire and troublefome as if if  had
received no injury.—The lumbricus, or earth-worm: The
body  of  this worm is cylindrical, confifts of many rings,
and the middle is encompaffed with an elevated belt.   It
is likewife furnifhed with fharp prickles,  which the animal
can erect or deprefs at pleafure.   Through certain  perfo-
rations in the fkin, it occasionally emits a Slimy fluid,
Which lubricates its body, and Sacilitates its paffage into
the foil.  The inteftines of this  worm  are always filled
With a fine earth, which feems to constitute its only nou-
rifhment.   Earth-worms,  like Snails, are hermaphrodite.
The parts oS generation  are  placed near the  neck,  and
they mutually  impregnate each  other.   This operation
is performed on the Surface  of  the ground; and, while
thus employed, they will allow themfelves to be crufhed
to  pieces rather than part.  The females  depofit their eggs
in  the earth, where  they are hatched.  TheSe worms,
like the polypus, when cut through the middle,  repro-
duce,  and  each portion becomes a diftinct: individual.
According to the different periods of their growth, their
colour varies ; but, in general,  it is a dufky red.
  The /epia, or cuttle-fi/h, though comparatively a large
                       N                     animal,
      * A fimilar notion very generally prevails in thefe United-States. 
98          SHE   PHILOSOPHY
animal, Some oS them being two Seet  long,  is  ranked
by Linnaeus under  the  claSs oS  worms.   The  ftructure
of the cuttle-fifh is remarkable.   Its body  is cylindrical,
and, in fome oS the Species, is  entirely covered  with a
flefhy fheath;  in others, the (heath reaches  only to  the
middle  oS the  body.  The Sepia has  eight  tentacula,
or arms, befide two Seelers, as  they are called, which
are much  longer than the  arms.  Both the .feelers  and
arms  are furnifhed with ftrong  cups, or  Suckers, drap-
ed like the  cup oS an  acorn,  by means oS which  the
animal Seizes its prey, and firmly  attaches  itSelS to rocks,
or to the bottom of the fea.   It has  two large and  pro-
minent eyes.   What is ftill more  Singular, it is Surnifhed
with a hard,  ftrong, horny beak, precifely Similar, both
in texture and Subilance, to  the bill oS a parrot.  With
this bill, the cuttle-fifh is enabled to  break the fhells of
limpets, and other  fhell-animals,  upon  which  it chiefly
feeds.   In  the  belly,  there is an aperture through which
the animal, wheiv-purfued by its  enemies,  emits a  fluid
as black as ink, tinges the water, and  often efcapes by
this ingenious ftratagem.  The  ancient Romans frequent-
ly ufed this black fluid as ink in writing.  The males and
females copulate by a mutual embrace.  The female de-
posits  her  eggs upon fea-plants  in parcels refembling
bunches of grapes.   At the  inftant they drop  from the
mother, the  eggs are white ; but the male immediately
coats them over with a black liquor.  The male perpetu-
ally accompanies the female.  When the female is attack-
ed, he braves every danger, and often refcues  her at the
hazard of  his own  life.  The  bone  of the  cuttle-fifh  is
very light, and, when pulverized, it is employed by  dif-
ferent artifts in making moulds.
   The medufia is an animal which has the appearance of
a lifelefs mafs of jelly floating on thefurface of  the ocean.
Its body is roundifh, flattened underneath, and the mouth
is fituated in the center of the under part.  There are ma-
ny fpecies of this  feemingly moft imperfect, defencelefs,
and abject partoS animated  nature.  Thev are, however,
furnifhed  with tentacula,  by  which they  Seize infect*
and the fmall fry fifhes, convey  them to their mouths, and
                                               devour 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      99
devour them.  Although the fport of the waves, and the
prey of every fifh that approaches them, they are grega-
rious animals, and, particularly in warm climates, Some-
times collect in Such  numbers as to have the appearance
of whitifh rocks under the furface of the  ocean.''
   We have thus given a fhort fketch of the ftructure of
animals, from  man  down to the infect tribes, and fhall
now conclude with a few remarks.
   In  all the variety of  animated beings whofe general
ftructure has been exhibited, the intelligent feader will
eafily perceive,  that the  bodily  forms oS the different
kinds are exactly adapted to the rank they hold in the
creation, and that their ceconomy and manners are Strictly
and invariably connected with their ftructure and organs.
If a new animal appears, and if its figure be uncommon,
it may with Safety be pronounced, that its manners are
equally uncommon.   Change  the external or internal
form of an  animal;  diminifh  the number of Stomachs
in the ruminating tribes ;  or give to the horSe a parrot's
bill ;  and the Species will be annihilated.
  The comparative power,  or ftrength, oS animals de-
pends not on ftructure alone.  Mental Saculties and doci-
lity,  or the capacity oS receiving inftruction, feem to  be
the greateft Sources oS animal power.  Hence man's unli-
mited empire over all other creatures.   The inventions oS
language, of arms,  of writing, printing, and engraving,
have been the  chief means  of  extending  his  influence,
and of his acquiring the dominion of the earth. By thefe
arts, men tranSmit the improvements, the inventions, and
the acquisitions, of one age to  another.   By thefe arts,
the difpofitions of men are  foftened,  their manners be-
come more and more civilized, humanity is gradually ex-
tended and  refined,  and the groffer atiimofities yield  to
external  politenefs and decorum at  leaft, if the feelings
themfelves be not blunted.   How far this progrefs of fci-
ence, and the peaceful arts of life, by the accumulation of
ages,  may proceed, it is  impoftible to  determine.  But, 
THE  PHILOSOPHY
the time, it is to be hoped, is not very remote, w hen the
fiercer contentions of nations will  ceafe, when felfiftinef*
and venality, which at prefent feem to be inseparable from
commercial  ftates, will give way to generofity of temper,
and uprightnefs of conduct.
                 CHAP.   III.


Of the Refpiration of Animals—Air neceffary to the exiflence
   of all animated beings—The various modifications of the or-
   gans employed by Nature for the tranfmiffton of Air into ani-
   mal bodies.


   IT is foreign to the defign  of this chapter  to mention
    the different kinds of air ; to unfold its composition ;
or  to recapitulate the innumerable benefits derived Srom
it in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, in  the arts  of
life, and in the texture and cohefion of inanimate bodies.
For our purpofe, it is Sufficient to obferve, that by air is
meant that common elaftic fluid which pervades this globe,
and which by its weight, its preffure in all directions, and
its compreffibility, infinuates itSelS into  every vacuity, and
is neceffary to the exiflence of every animal  and vegeta-
ble being.
   In man, and the larger land-animals, air is  taken into
the body  by the lungs.  When an animal infpires, the
external air paffes through the apertures of the  mouth
and noSe into the  trachea, or wind-pipe, and thence di-
rectly into the lungs.  This air, by infinuating itfelf into
the numerous cells oS the lungs, neceffarily inflates them,
and, when retained Sor  a Second or two, produces an un-
eafy SenSation.   To remove this diSagreeable feeling, the
animal inftinctively,  by  the exertion oS particular muScles
deftined by Nature Sor  that purpofe, forces out the air,
and thus removes the offending caufe.   The  lungs, after
                                                  the 
OF NATURAL  HISTORY.
the air is thrown out, inftead of being inflated, cellapfe j
and, iS a frefh fupply is not Soon taken in, a Similar un-
eaSy SenSation is  Selt,  which Obliges the animal again to
inSpire. This alternate reception and rejection of air goes
on during the life of  the animal, and is  diftinguifhed by
the general name of refpiration.   But, when treating more
accurately of the fubject, the act of taking air into the
lungs is called infpiration,  and the  act of throwing it out
is termed expiration.
   That the refpiration of air is indifpenfible to the exis-
tence of land-animals, has been proved by  innumerable
experiments made with the air-pump.   Mice, rats, rab-
bits, cats, dogs, &c.  when placed in an exhaufted  re-.
ceiver, inftantly become reftlefs, and  difcover fymptoms
of pain.   Their bodies fwell, and  their life is foon ex-
tinguifhed.  Indeed,  our  own  feelings are  Sufficient to
aScertain this fact.   No perfon can remain long either in
a ftate of infpiration or expiration  without being Suffo-
cated.
   But,  the alternate motions of infpiration  and expirati-
on, joined to the circulation of the blood  through the
lungs,  may be  confidered as the more mechanical effects
of refpiration.   Though thefe operations are absolutely
neceffary to the exiflence of animals, yet the air itfelf has
been fuppofed to impart Some vital principle to the blood,
without which life could not be continued.
   The ingenious Doctor Crawford, in his treatiSe on Ani-
mal Heat, has rendered it probable, that  the reSpiration
oS air is the caufe  of  that vital warmth without which no
animal can exift.   After mentioning  a well known fact,
that all bodies,  whether animate or inanimate, contain a
Certain quantity  of fire as a principle in their compofition,
the Doctor remarks,  that this quantity, in  different  bo-
dies, varies according  to their nature or texture; that this
fire, when in a latent  or quiefcent ftate, is termed abfolute
heat; that, when fubftances of different textures  have a
given quantity of heat thrown into them, their tempera-
ture will be difcovered to be different by the thermome-
ter ;  for the fame quantity of heat which raifes one body
                                                   to 
102
THE  PHILOSOPHY
to a certain degree, will raife another to  a greater or  a
lefs ; and this different difpofition of bodies is called their
capacity of containing abfolute heat.
   Doctor Crawford next endeavours to prove by experi-
ments, that, when phlogifton is added to  any  body, its
capacity of containing abfolute heat is diminifhed  ; and
that, when phlogifton is abftracted from the fame  body,
its  capacity of  receiving  abfolute  heat  is  augmented.
Hence he infers,  that heat and phlogifton feem to con-
ftitute two oppofite principles in nature.   By  the action
oS heat upon bodies, the force of their attraction to phlo-
gifton is diminiflied ;  and, by the action of phlogifton,  a
part of the abfolute heat, which exifts in every fubftance
as an element, is expelled.  ' Hence,' Says the Doctor,
'  animal heat Seems to depend upon a proceSs Similar to  a
1  chemical elective attraction.  The air is received into
1  the lungs, containing a great quantity oS abSolute  heat.
'  The blood is returned Srom the extremities, highly im-
'  pregnated with phlogifton.  The attraction  of the  air
'  to the phlogifton is greater than that of the blood. This
'  principle will therefore leave the blood to combine with
'  the air.   By the addition of the phlogifton, the  air is
4  obliged to depofit a part of its abfolute heat ; and, as the
*  capacity of the  blood is, at the fame moment, incrcafed
6  by the Separation of  the phlogifton, it will inftantly unite
'  with that portion of heat which had been detached from
'  the air.
  ' We learn  from Doctor Prieftley's experiments with
'  refpect to refpiration, that arterial  blood has a ftrong at-
'  traction  to phlogifton :  It will, consequently, during the
'  circulation, imbibe this principle from thofe parts which
*  retain it  with the leaft force, or from the putrefcent parts
'  oS the Syftem:  And  hence  the venous  blood, when it
'  returns to the lungs, is Sound to be highly impregnated
'  with phlogifton.  By this impregnation, its capacity for
6  containing heat is diminifhed.  In proportion, therefore,
'  as the blood, which  had been dephlogifticated by the
6  procefs of refpiration,  becomes again  combined with
6  phlogifton, in the courfe of the circulation, it  will gra-
                                              ' dually 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     103
c dually give out that heat which it had received in the
' lungs, and diffufe it over the whole fyftem*.'
  The Doctor afterwards proceeds to aflign a reafon why
the heat of animals is always equal.   ' As  animals,' fays
he, ' are continually absorbing heat Srom the air, if there
* were not a quantity of heat carried off,  equal  to that
' which is abforbed, there would be an accumulation  of
' it in the animal body.   The evaporation  from the fur-
' Sace, and  the cooling  power oS the air,  are the great
' cauSes which prevent this accumulation.   And theSe are
' alternately  increaSed and diminifhed, in Such a manner
' as to produce an equal  effect.   When the  cooling power
c of the air is diminifhed by  the Summer heats, the eva-
' poration Srom the Surface  is increaSed;  and when,  on
' the contrary, the cooling power oS the air is increaSed
' by the winter  colds, the evaporation Srom the Surface is
' proportionally diminifhed f.'
   This theory, though not Supported by mathematical evi-
dence, is not only ingenious, but Seems to  make a nearer
approach to truth than any that  has hitherto been in-
vented J.
   ReSpiration,  befide being the probable caufe  of the
equable continuation of heat in animals, produces many
other falutary and ufeful effects in the ceconomy of ani-
mated bodies.  There is a moft intimate connection be-
 tween the a£t of refpiring and the circulation of the blood.
When refpiration is, for a fhort  time, interrupted by the
 fumes of burning fulphur, by mephitic air, or by remain-
 ing fome minutes under water, the action of the heart
ceafes.  But, in many cafes  of this  kind,  the motion of
 the heart may, and frequently has been renewed, by blow-
 ing air into the lungs, and by the application of ftimulat-
ing fubftances to different organs of the body.  In perfons
feemingly dead from a temporary SuSpenfion of refpiration,
if the lungs can be excited to act, the motion of the heart
                                               inftantly
  * Crawford on Animal Heat, pag. 73.  S.      + Ibid. pag. 84.  S.
  t If the reader is dcfirous of feeing fome pertinent remarks on Doftor Craw-
ford's Theory of Animal Heat, he may confult Doftor Gardiner's Obfervations
 $n the Animal Oeconomy, and on the Caufes and Cure of Difeafes, an ingenious and
 ufeful performance, lately publilhed, and which merits much more attention from
 Philofophers and PhyGcians than it has hitherto received.  S. 
104
THE  PHILOSOPHY
inftantly commences, the circulation of the blood is re-
stored,  and life is recovered.   This intimate  connection
between refpiration and the action of the heart, is one of
thofe aftonifhing facts in the animal ceconomy, thecaufei
of which will perhaps forever elude the keeneft refearches
of the human intellect.   All we know is, that certain func-
tions are indifpenfible  to the  exiflence of animals, and
that, if  anv of them are fufpended for a few Seconds, life
h extinguiihed; namely, the action of the brain and nerves,
the circulation of the blood, refpiration, and  a probable
refult of refpiration, animal heat.  Thefe functions, from
their importance in the fyftem, have  received the appella-
tion of  vital functions.   There are other functions of the
bodv, called natural, which are no lefs neceffary  to life,
a* the digeftion and concoction of aliment, the  various
fecretions and  excretions.   But, they are diftinguifhed
from the vital functions, becaufe fome  of them may  be
fufpended for a considerable time without materially in-
juring the body.
   ReSpiration commences inftantly  after birth,  and is
inftinctively continued during  life.  In the foetus ftate,
as formerly mentioned*, reSpiration  is unneceffary, be-
caufe the circulation oS the general maSs oS blood  is car-
ried on  through a different channel.   In the aCt oS inspi-
ration, we aTe confeious of making a certain effort;  but,
in the act of expiration, we Scarcely perceive any exertion
whatever.
   Befide the circulation oS the blood, and the continua-
tion oS  the vital warmth, refpiration gives rife to many
other important functions in the animal ceconomy.   All
animals who refpire, befide a watery vapor, exhale great
quantities of  mephitic or corrupted effluvia,  which, if
retained in the lungs, or breathed by other animals, would
foon  prove fatal.  The mufcles  of refpiration, of which
we hare the command, are employed in many other ope-
rations of the body, befide the mere  act of breathing air.
All animals furnifhed with lungs exprefs their wants, their
affections and avcrfions,  their  pleafures and pains, either
by words,  or by founds peculiar to  each fpecies.   Thefe
                                             different
                   • See above, page 67.  S 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    105
different founds are produced by  Straitening or widening
the glottis and wind-pipe, or, in  general, the paflage
through which the air paffes in refpiration.   The inferior
animals are by this  means enabled to exprefs themfelves,
though not by articulate founds,  in fuch a manner as to
be perfectly intelligible to every  individual of a fpecies.
On man alone, Nature has beftowed the faculty of Speak-
ing, or of  expreffing his various feelings and ideas, by a
regular, extenfive, and eftablifhed combination of articu-
late founds.  To  have extended this faculty to the brute
creation, would not, it is probable, have been of any uSe
to them ; Sor, though Some animals can be taught to arti-
culate, yet, from  a defect in their  intellect, none of  them
feem to have any  idea of the proper meaning of the words
they utter.   Speech is  performed by a very various and
complicated machinery.   In  fpeaking,  the  tongue, the
lips, the jaws, the whole palate, the nofe, the  throat, to-
gether with the mufcles, bones, &c. of which thefe organs
are compofed, are all  employed.  This combination of
organs we  are taught to ufe when fo young that we are
hardly confcious of the laborious  talk, and far  lefs of the
manner by  which we pronounce different letters and words.
The mode  of pronouncing letters and  words, however,
may be learned by attentively obferving the  different or-
gans employed by the fpeaker.  By this  means  we are en-
abled to correct  various defects  of fpeech, and even to
teach the dumb to Speak;  Sor dumbneSs is Seldom the ef-
fect of imperfection in the organs  of fpeech, but generally
arifes from a want of  hearing ; and  it  is impofiible for
deaf men to imitate founds which they  never  heard, ex-
cept they be taught to ufe their organs by vifion and by
touching.
  When about to laugh, we make a very full infpiration,
which is fucceeded by frequent, interrupted and Sonorous
expirations.  When the titillation is  great,  whether it
arifes  from the  mind  or  body,  thefe convulfive expira-
tions Sometimes interrupt the breathing  to Such a degree
as to endanger Suffocation.   Moderate  laughing, on the
contrary, promotes health : By agitating the whole body,
it quickens the circulation oS the  blood, gives  an inex-
                        O                     preflible 
je.6        THE   PHILOSOPHY
prcflible chearfulnefs to the countenance,  and banifhei
every kind oS anxiety Srom the mind.
  In weeping, we employ nearly the Same  organs as  in
laughing.   It commences with a deep infpiration, which
is fucceeded by fhort, broken,  Sonorous, and  dilagreea-
ble expirations.   The countenance has  a  dilinal  aipect,
and tears are poured out.   Weeping originates from grief,
or other painful fenfations either of body  or mind : When
full  vent  is given to tears, grief is  greatly  alleviated.
Both laughing and weeping have been reckoned peculiar
to man.   But this notion feems not to  be well founded.
Though the other animals exprefs not their pleafures  or
pains in the fame manner  as we do, yet  all of them  ex-
hibit their pleafant  or  painful feelings  by  fymptoms  or
cries, which are perfectly  underftood by the  individuals
of each fpecies, and, in many inftances,  by man.   A dog,
when hurt, complains in the bittereft terms;  and, when
he is afraid, or perhaps melancholy, he expreffes the Situ-
ation oS his mind by the moft deplorable howlings.   A
bird, when Sick,  ceaSes to Sing,  droops the wing,  abftains
from food, affumes a lurid afpect, utters melancholy,
weak cries,  and exhibits every mark of  depreffed Spirits.
By this means, animals intimate the affiftance they re-
quire, or  SoSten thoSe who maltreat them.  Their  plain-
tive  cries  are Sometimes So affecting as to diSarm their
enemies,  or procure the  aid  oS their  equals.  On  the
other hand, when animals are pleaSed  or careffed, they
difcover,  by their countenance, by their voice, by their
movements, unequivocal  fymptoms of  chearfulneSs and
alacrity of mind.  Thus the expreffions of pleafure and
pain by brute animals, though  not  uttered  in  the pre-
cife  manner with thofe  of the human  fpecies, are per-
fectly analogous, and anfwer the fame  intentions of Na-
ture.
   By refpiration, and the inftruments employed in  the
performance of it, the larger animals are not only brought
forth, but are enabled to  extract milk  from  the breafts
of the mother.   By refpiration, odours are conveyed to
the  nofe ; coughing, Sneezing, yawning, Sighing, Singing,
                                            vomiting, 
         OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      107
 vomiting,  and many other functions in the  animal ceco-
 nomy, are at leaft partly accomplifhed.
    After this general view of the refpiration of man  and
 of quadrupeds,  we proceed, according  to the  method
 laid  down,  to give Some account of the fame function in
 the other claffes of  animals.
    With regard to birds, though, like other  land-animals,
 they refpire by  means of lungs, Nature has  enabled them
 to tranfmit air to almoft every part of their bodies.  The
 lungs of birds are fo firmly attached  to  the diaphragm,
 the ribs, the  fides,  and the vertebrae, that they can admit
 of very little dilatation  or contraction *.  Inftead of being-
 impervious, the fubftance of the lungs,  as well as of the
 diaphragm,  to which  they  adhere,  is  perforated with
 many holes or paffages  for the tranfmiflion  oS air  to the
 other parts oS the body f.   To each oS theSe perforations
 a  diftinct  membranous bag is joined.   Thefe  bags are
 extremely thin  and tranfparent.   They  extend  through
 the whole of the abdomen,  are attached to the back and
 fides of that  cavity, and each of them receives  air from
- their refpective  openings into the  lungs.   The  cells in
 birds which  receive air from the lungs are found not
 only in the Soft parts, but in the bones.   That ingenious
 and  accurate anatomift, Mr.  John  Hunter of London,
 remarks, that the bones of  birds  which receive air are
 of two kinds:  ' Some,  as the flernum,  ribs, and verte-
 ' brae, have  their internal  fubftance  divided into innu-
 ' merable cells,  whilft others,  as the os  humeri  and the
 * os  femoris,  are  hollowed out into one large canal, with
 ' Sometimes a few  bony columns  running  acrofs  at the
 4 extremities.  Bones of this kind may be diftinguiftied
 ' from  thofe that do not  receive  air by certain marks:
                                                    1. By
   * Thefe numerous adhcfions of the lungs of birds, and the fmall  dilatation of
 the thorax in the acl of infpiration, are fuppofed, by an ingenious and learned mo-
 dern Phyfiologift and Naturalift,  to be the reafon why, in this extenfive clals of
 animals, the brain is not fubjefled to that alternate rifing and falling which is ob-
 ferved in the whole clafs of mammalia, during infpiration and expiration. Sec
 the beautiful paper of Mr. Blumenbach, entitled Specimen Phyfiologice comparata
 inter animantia calidi Sanguinis Vivipara et Ovipara, publifhed in the ninth volume
 of the Ommentationcs Societatis Regix Scientiarum Gottingenfis, for the years 1787,
 and j788.
   t 1 his faft feems to have been firft mentioned by the celebrated Doftdr Har-
  vey.  See Harvey de Generat.  Animal. Excrcit. 3.  S. 
icS
III F.  PII 1 L OS O P 11 Y
4  i. By their lets fpccific gra\it\ :  :.  l»v being  lefs  vaf-
'crlir, and then iore  whiter:  ;v  By  their containing
4  little or no  <dl, and  confcquentlv  being more eafily
'cleaned; and,  when  cleaned,  appearing  much whiter
1  than common bones :  4. By having no marrow, or even
c  anv bloody pulpy fubftance  in their cells: 5. By  not
'  bein;.;, in  general, fo  hard and  firm  as  other bones ;
k  and,  6. By the paflage that allows the air to  enter the
'  bones, which can  eafily be  perceived.   In the lecent
'  bone we mav readily difcovcr holes, or opcninv,s  not
1  filled with any  fuch Soft fubftance  as  blood-vellels, or
'  nencs; and it happens that  feveral  of thefe  holes are
w  placed together,  near  that end of the bone  which  is
1  next  to the trunk of the bird; and  are diilinguifhable
1  by having  their external edges rounded oil ;  which  is
*  not the cafe with the holes through which either nerves
'  or blood-veffcls pafs into the fubftance of the bone*.'
  Mr Hunter  afterwards informs  us, that the  lungs,  at
the anterior part, open  into  a  number of membranous
ced .,  which  lie upon the fides of  the pciie.irdium,  and
communicate with thofe of the fternum.  At the Superior
part,  the hmgs open into the large cells of a loofe  net-
work,  through which  the wind-pipe, gullet, and large
\effels, pais as they proceed to and from the heart. Thefe
ce.U,  when  diftended with air, augment considerably the
pait where they  are Situated ; and  this augmentation, or
Swelling, is  generally a mark either oS anger or of  love.
This tumefaction is  remarkable in the  turkey-cock,  in
the pouting-pigeon, and in the breaft of a goofe when
flie cackles.   Thefe cells communicate with others in the
axilla, under the large pectoral  mufcle.  In moft birds,
the a\i!ian  eel's communicate with  the cavity of the  os
humeri bv fmall openings in the hollow furface  near the
he- d of that bone.   In  Some birds, thefe cells are  con-
tinued down the wing, and  communicate  with the  ulna
and radius ; in others, they extend even to the pinions.
The pofterior  edges of the lungs open  into the cells  of
the vertebrae, into  thofe of the ribs,  the (anal of the
fpinal marrow, the facrum, and other bones of the pel-

 * Hunter's OLfcnitioni on certain parts of the Animal Occononv., yi%. 79. S. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     109
vis ; from thefe parts the air finds a paffage into the thigh-
bone.   ' Thus,' continues our  learned and indefatigable
author, «the cells of the abdomen, thofe furrounding the
6 pericardium, thofe fituated at the lower and forepart of
6 ike neck, and in the axilla, thofe in the cellular mem-
c brane under the pectoral mufcles,  as  well as  in  that
' which  unites the fkin to the  body, all  communicate
1 with, the lungs, and are capable of being filled with  air ;
' and again from thefe the cells  of the Sternum, ribs,
4 vertebrae of the back and loins, bones of the  pelvis,
4 the humeri, the ulna and radius, with  the pinions and
4 thigh-bones, can in many birds be  furnifhed with air*.*
   Thefe facts,  which" our author candidly  acknowledges
had been formerly obferved, led him, in the year, 1758,
fo make experiments on the breathing of birds, in order
to prove the  free communication between the lungs and
the feveral parts of the body mentioned above.
   c Firft,' fays he, 4 I made an opening into the belly of a
 4 cock, and  having introduced a  filver canula, tied up
 4 the trachea;  I found that the animal  breathed by this
 4 opening, and might have lived ; but, by an  inflamma-
 4 tion in the  bowels coming on, adhefions were produced,
 4 and  the communication cutoff.
   4 I next cut the wing through the os  humeri,  in  ano-
 4 ther fowl,  and  tying up the trachea, as in the cock,
 4 found that  the  air paffed to and from  the lungs by the
 4 canal in this bone.   The fame  experiment was made
 4 with the os femoris of a young hawk, and was attended
 4 with nearly the like fuccefsf.'
   The extreme Angularity of  this almoft-univerfal diffu-
 sion of air through the bodies of birds,  naturally excited
 a defire to difcover what  might  be  the intention of Na-
 ture in producing a ftructure fo extraordinary. Mr Hunter
 firft imagined that it might be intended to affift the act
 of flying|, by increafing the volume and flrength of the
 animal, without adding to its weight, which muft be di-
                                             minifhed ;
   * Hunter's Obfervations on certain parts of the Animal Oeconomy, p. 81.  S.
   t Ibid., p. 82.  S.                  .
   I This was likewife the opinion of the late learned Profeffor Camper. See what
 he has faid on this curicus fubjeft, in the fourth volume of the Hcdendaegze I <L-r
 i*-ff'< liingcn, n. 2. for the year 1771. 
I 10
THE  PHIL O SOPH Y
minifhed ;  becaufe the fpecific gravity of the external air
is fuperior  to that of  the internal air,  which is rendered
more rare bv the heat of the animal's body.  This opinion
was  corroborated, by confidering that the feathers  of
birds, and  particularly thofe of the wings, contain a great
quantity of air.   With his ufual ingenuoufnefs, however,
Mr.  Hunter, in oppofition to his firft conjecture, informs
us,  that the oftrich,  which does not fly, was amply pro-
vided with  air-cells difperfed through its body *; that the
wood-cock, and  fome other flying  birds,  were not  fo
liberally fupplied with thefe cells as the oftrich; and that
the bat had no fuch peculiarity  of ftructure.   With re-
gard to the oftrich, though it is not intended to fly, it runs
with amazing rapidity, and, confequently, requires  fimi-
lar refources of air.
  He next conjectured, from analogy, that the  air-cells
in birds ought to be conlidered as an  appendage to the
lungs;  becaufe  in  the Shake, viper,  and  Several other
amphibious animals, the lungs are continued, in the form
of two bags,  through the  whole  abdomen, the upper
part of which can only perform the  office of refpiration
with any  degree of effect ;  becaufe  the lower  part has
comparatively few air-veffeh^.  4 The air,' fays Mr. Hun-
ter,  4 muft pafs through this upper part before it gets  to
4 the lower in infpiration, and muft alfo repafs in expira-
' tion ;  fo  that the refpiratory furface has more air appli-
4 ed to it than what the lungs  of themfelves could contain.
4 There is, in fact,  a great Similarity between  birds and
4 that claSs oS animals called  amphibious; and, although a
4 bird and a Snake are not the Same in the conftrudtion ofthe
4 refpiratory organs, yet the circumftance of the air paf-
' Sing in both beyond the lungs, into the  cavity oS the
' abdomen, naturally leads us to SuppoSe, that a ftructure
' So  fimilar is  defigned in each to anSwer a fimilar  pur-
4 pofe.  This  analogy is ftill  Sarther  Supported by  the
4 lungs in  both  confuting of large cells.  Now, in am-
4 phibious  animals, the ufe of fuch a conformation of lungs
                                                   4 is
  * Proft iTor Cd-rn'-r informs u«, tVm in the oftrich, and in the cafowary, which
is a fuerits of the oft rich, t!  air does  not penetrate into the offa humeri; but
that :; :i prefent in all ire oener bonei. 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY,
in
' is evident; for it is in confequence of this ftructure that
8 they  require  to breathe  leSs frequently than others.
4 Even confidefing the  matter in this light, it may  ftill,
* in birds, have Some connection with flying,  as that mo-
6 tion may eafily be imagined to render frequency of re-
4 fpiration  inconvenient, and  a  reServoir of  air  may
4 therefore become Singularly ufeful.  Although we are
* not to confider this Structure in birds to be an extenfion
8 oS lungs, yet I can eafily  conceive this accumulation of
8 air to be oS great ufe in refpiration; for,  as we obferved
8 in the viper,  that the  air, in its paffage to and  from
4 thefe cells, muft certainly have a confiderable effect  upon
8 the  blood in the lungs, by  allowing  a much greater
* quantity oS air to paSs in  a given time, than if there
* was no fuch conftruction  of parts.   And this opinion
1 will not appear to be  ill founded, if we  confider,  that,
8 both in the bird and the viper, the Surface of the lungs
' is fmall in comparison to what it is in many other ani-
6 mals which have not this extenfion of cavity.—We  muft
' not, however, give up  the idea of fuch ftructure being
8 of ufe in flying ; for I believe we may fet it down as a
* general rule,  that, in the birds of longeft and higheft
8 flight, as eagles, this extenfion, or  diffufion oS air, is
8 carried Sarther than in the others ; and  this opinion is
8 Strengthened, by comparing this ftructure with the re-
8 fpiratory organs in the  flying  infects, which are  com-
4 pofed of cells diffufed through the whole  body; and
8 thefe are extended even into  the head  and down the
' extremities, while there is no fuch  ftructure in thoSe
8 that do not fly,  as the Spider,' &c.
  Though Mr. Hunter's  modefty has not  permitted him
to  draw his conclufion  in a pofitive manner,  he Seems to
have proved decidedly, that one uSe oS the general diffu-
fion oS air through the bodies of birds is to prevent  their
refpiration from being Stopped or interrupted by the rapi-
dity of their motion through a  refifting  medium.  The
refiftance of the air increafes in proportion to the celerity
of the motion.  Were it poffible for man to  move  with
a fwiftneSs equal to that oS a Swallow, the refiftance of the
air, as he is not provided with  internal refervoirs fimilar
                                                   to 
112
?HE  PHILOSOPHY
to thoSe of birds, would foon Suffocate him.   Neither dors
the difficultv he mentions, w ith regard to the ftructure of
the oftrich, Seem  to contradict his theory  ; for thou-h,
as formerly remarked, the oftrich does not fly, he runs
with aftonifhing rapidity.
  The refpiration of air is not  only neceffary to the exifl-
ence of land-animals, but to that of  fishfs of every de-
nomination.  Ccetaceous  fifties, or thoSe of the w hale-
kind, refpire,like man and quadrupeds, by means of lunvrs ;
and, of courfe,  they are obliged,  at certain interval-, to
come to the Surface, in order to throw out the former air,
and to take in a frefh  fupply.
  Inftead of lungs, the other fpecies of fifhes are furnifh-
ed w ith gills, through which they refpire both water and
air; for air is univerfally diffufed or mixed with every
portion of water.   When a Sree communication with the
external air is prevented by ice, or by artifice,  fifties im-
mediately diScover Symptoms of uneafinefs, and foon pe-
rifh.  iElian informs us,  that,  in  winter, when the  river
Ifter was  frozen, the fifhers dug holes in  the  ice ; that
great numbers of fifhes reforted to thefe holes ;  and that
their eagernefs was fo great, that they allowed themfelves
to be Seized by the hands oS the fifhermen.   Rondeletius
made many experiments on this fubject.   If, fays he, fifhes
are put into a narrow-mouthed veffel  filled with water,
and a communication with the air be preferved, the ani-
mals live, and fwim about, not for days and months only,
but for feveral years.   If  the mouth of the veffel,  how-
ever, be fo clofely fhut, either with the hand, or any other
covering, thauthe paffage of the air is excluded, the fifhes
fuddenly die.   Immediately after the mouth of the veffel
is clofed,  the creatures rufli tumultuoufly,  one above an-
other, to the top, contending which of  them, fhall fooneft
receive the benefit of the air*.  In  the fhallow parts of
rhcrs, when frozen, many fifhes are found dead.  But,
when parts of a river  are deep  or rapid, the  fifhes flv from
the ice, and by this means avoid  destruction."
  Thefe,  and fimilar experiments, have been repeated by
Mr. Willoughby, and many other modern authors ; and
                          .                      they
               * Ror.dfl.-iius. lib. 4. cap.9.  S. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     113
they have uniformly  been attended with the fame event.
A carp, in a large veffel Sull of water,  was placed in the
receiver of an air-pump.  In proportion as the air was ex-
haufted by working the pump, the furface of the animal's
body was  covered with a number of bubbles.   The  carp
foon breathed quicker, and with more difficulty: A little
aSter, it rofe to the SurSace in queft oS air.  The bubbles
on its Surface next disappeared ; the belly, which before
was greatly Swollen,  Suddenly collapSed ;  and the animal
Sunk to the bottom,  and expired in convulfions.
  Thus the reSpiration of air is as neceffary  to the  exif-
tence of  fifhes as  to that of land-animals;  for none of
them can live long when deprived  of this vivifying ele-
ment.  Fifhes, indeed, feem to require a fmaller quantity of
air than animals who have a conftant.and free communi-
cation with the  atmofphere.  The bodies and fluids  of
fifhes are colder than thofe  of land-animals;  and,  of
courfe, if Doctor Crawford's  theory  be  well founded,
fifhes require lefs air to fupport the proportionally fmall
quantity of heat they poffefs.
  An analogy between fillies and birds deferves here to
be noticed.  Both of thefe ciafles of animals are rapid in
their motions;  and both of them,  befide refpiring by
lungs, or gills, have receptacles of air within their bodies.
Fifhes tranfmit fmall quantities  of air through their gills ;
but Nature has provided moft of them with  air-bags or
bladders, which may anfwer the double purpofe  of enab-
ling them to  afcend and defcend in the water, and to  com-
municate a vital principle to their whole Syftem.
  We fhall conclude this fubject with an account of the
modes employed by  Nature for tranfmitting air into the
bodies of insects.
  In this Seemingly contemptible, and often noxious claSs
of animals, Nature has exhibited a wonderful diverfity of
form,  of manners,  of inftincts,  of deformity, and  of
beauty.   But, however infignificant theSe creatures may
appear to inattentive obServers, Nature has been equally
provident in the formation of thejr bodies,  and in the
means of preferving the different  individuals,  according
to their kinds,  as in the larger animals, which have the
                           P                appearance 
ii4        f'ftfc  PttlL^^ 0^fl Y
jmpearance  of  more importnnce in the  Scale of being*.
To infects (he has deniedlungs Similar to thofe of men,
quadrupeds, birds, and fifhes; but as the franfmiffion of
air into their bodies was neceffary to continue the princi-
ple of life, me has furnifhed them with 'peculiar inftru-
ments and apparatus  for 'accomplishing this indifpenfible
purpofe.
   Air is  conveved into the bodies of infects by  inftrti-
ments called trachea, or fligmata.   The trachea1, or wind-
pipes, are, in many infects, long  tubes  protruding  ex-
ternally from different parts of the body.   In Some,  they
proceed from the pofterior part, ami naVe the appearance
of one, two, or three tails;  in  others  t'»ey arife frorh
the back or fides.  The fligmata ate Small holes, generally
oS a different colour Srom the reft of the body, and run
along the fides of iriartV'caterpillars in regular  and beau-
tifully-dotted lines.  *ftat thefe tracheae and fligmata are
deftined  for the  tranfmiflion of air,  has been proved by
repeated  experiments; for, when ft6)J)?ed  up by the ap-
plication of oil,  or other unctuous fubftances,  the ani-
mals Toon lofe their exiftence.
   In contemplating the parts of animals, when the ufes
oS thefe  parts are not apparent, we  are apt' to deceive
ourSelves by rafhly Tuppofingthcm to anSwer purpoSes for
which they were  never intended by  Nature.  IrhOrelTed
with this idea, "M. de Reaumur was not Satisfied with the
notion of Gbdart and others, that the  long  tails of cer-
tain worms were  intended to keep thetn Steady m their
motions, and to prevent  them from  rolling,  Reaumur
obferved, that thefe worms or grubs could  lengthen or
fhorten their tails at pleafure, but that they were  always
longer than the animal's body.  BecauSe  thefe tails have
fome refemblance to that of a rat, he diftinguiflies  the
animals by the name of rat-tailed  worms.   Thefe worrtis
are aquatic, and never appear on dry ground till they arc
about to  undergo their firft transformation.  Reaumur,
in order to obfervetheir ceconomy more clofely, collected
a number of rat-tailed worms, and put them into a glafs
veffel filled two inches high with  water.  At firft  they
were considerably agitated, each feemingly Searching for
                                             a proper 
        OF  N,4TURA**  HflSTpJlY.     115
a proper place qf.jreppfe.   Some  of them fwam -acrofc,
others attached themSelves to the fides, and others refted
at the bottom of the veffpl.  In a quarter of an hour they
were almpft entirely tranquil, and  Reaumur  foon  difco-
vered the reaj  ufe of their long tails,.   Upon examining
the veffel, he found that each of the  animal^,  in  what-
ever Situation they were placed, extended  its  tail exactly
to the furface;  that, like  other aquatic infects, the  ref-
piration oS air was neceffary to their exiflence ;  and that
the tail, which is  tubular, and open at the extremity,
was the organ by which this operation was  performed.
In this experiment, the diftance from the bottom to  the
Surface was two inches, and, of courfe,  the tails were
qf an equal tengrr^  To  oU.fcover how far the animals
cpuld extend their tails, this,  molt ingenious  and" indefa-
tigable philpfopher gradually augmented  the height of
the water, and the tails uniformly rpfe to  the Surface till
it was between five and fix inches high..  When  the water
was faifed higher,  the  animals, immediately quitted their
ftation at the bottom, and either mounted higher in  th?
water, or fixed upon fne fides of the veffel, in  Situations
which rendered it convenient for them to reach  the Sur-
face wirli the points of t^eir tails.   Thefe tails  confift of
two tubes,  typth, of which are capable  of  extenfion and
contraction.  The firft tube is always  vifiple; but  the
Second,  which is the proper organ of refpiration, is  ex-
ferted only when the water is raifed 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 tfie principle of life.   When the tails are
below the furface,  they occafionally  emit 'fmall bubbles
of air, which  are vifible to the naked eye; and immedi-
ately repair to jtbe Surface for frefh Supplies.  TheSe rat-
tailed worms pafs the firft and longeft part of their lives
under water; when near the time of their transformation,
they leave tfye water, go under the ground, and.are there
trsuisfprmed into chryfalidsj and, laftly, from  this State
they are transformed into  flies, and Spend the remainder
of their exjftence in the air.
   Another  fpecies  of aquatic worms  merit attention. 
n6
f Hfc  PH IL OS OP II Y
They frequent  marines, ditches, anil flagnating  waters.
Their gfeneral colour is a greenifh brown.  Their bodies
confift of eleven rings;  and their ikin is not cruftaceous,
but rather refembles parchment.  Though thefe animals',
l^fofe their transformation into flies, live  in  water, air
is"'neceilary to  fupport their principle  of life; and the
apparatus with  which Nature has furniftied them for that
Important purpofe deferves our notice.   The laft ring, or
termination of  their bodies, is  open, and ferves as a con-
ductor of air.  From this laft ring proceed  a number of
hairs,  which, when examined by the microfcope, are
found to be real feathers with  regular  vanes.   In parti-
cular Situations, th.ey bend the  laft ring in fuch a manner
as to reach the  furface of the water or mud in which they
are placed.   Thefe feathers prevent the water from en-
terihg  into the  tube, or organ of refpiration ; and, when
the animal rriifes the termination of its body to  the fur-
face, in order  to  receive  air, it erects and Spreads the
feathers, and by this means expofes the end of the tube
to the atmofphere.  When cautioufly cut open, two large
veffels, or tracheae, appear on each fide, and occupy al-
moft one  half  of  the body.   Both of  thefe wind-pipes
terminate in the open tube, or laft ring.  Though  thefe
worms are furnifhed with  organs of refpiration,  and ac-
tually refpire air,  yet M.  de  Reaumur discovered that
Some of them  could live  more than twenty-four hours
without refpiration.
   Sb anxious is Nature to provide animals,-in every ftate
of their exiflence, with air, that, after the transformation
of many infects into chryfalids, fhe creates inftruments for
that purpofe, which did not exift previous to their trans-
formation.  The rat-tailed worms, formerly mentioned,
Tfcon after they  are transformed into chryfalids, inftead of
a'foft  pliable fkin, are  covered with a  hard cruftaceous
fubftance, Seemingly impervious to the air; and  the tail,
which'was the  wind-pipe  of "the animal in its firft  ftate,
gradually Vanifhcs. In a* few  hours, however,  four hol-
low  horns fhoot out, two from the fore, and two  from
the hind, pur: of what was the head of the animal.   Thefe
                                               horns, 
        OF-NATURAL  HISTORY.     tr7
horns, which are hard  and tubular, M. de"Reaumur dif-
covered to be real wind-pipes, deftinedtfor the introduc-
tion of air into the chryfalis, a State in which the animals
have the appearance of being almoft totally dead, and, of
eourfe, fhould feem to have little ufe for refpiration.  He
likewife discovered that theSe horns, which had pierced
the hard exterior  covering, terminated in as many tra-
cheae in the body oS the  animal.  This Sact  affords a
ftrong example of the necefiity of air  for fuftainingthe
principle of life, even in its loweft condition.  After thefe
animals pafs from the chryfalis ftate to that of flies, they
are deprived both of their tails and horns.   But Nature,
in this laft ftage of their exiflence, has not left them with-
out proper refources  for the introduction of air into their
bodies.  Inftead of protuberant  tracheae in  the form of
tails or horns, they now,  like other flies, receive air by
means of fligmata, or holes, varioufly  difpofed over dif-
ferent parts ot the body.
   The nymph of the libella, or dragon-fly, refpires water,
in the fame manner  as  men and quadrupeds refpire air.
We receive and throw out the air by the mouth and nof-
trils.  But the nymphs cof the libella  receive and eject
Water by  an aperture at the termination of their bodies.
Thefe nymphs Sometimes throw out the water, at certain
intervals, with  Such  force, that the Stream is perceptible
at the diftance of two or three inches from their bodies.
When kept Some time out oS the water, the defire or ne-
cefiity  oS reSpiration  is augmented;  and,  accordingly,
when replaced in a veffel filled  with  water, infpirations
and  refpiratibns are repeated with unufual force and fre-
quency.   If you hold one of thefe nymphs in your hand,
and apply drops of water to the pofterior end of its body,
it inftantly, by an apparatus fimilar to the pifton of a pump,
fucks in the water,  and the dimenfions of its body are
vifibly augmented.   This  water is again quickly thrown
out by the fame mftrument.  But, though this  infect re-
fpires water, air feems to be not the  iefs  neceffary to
its exiflence ;  for, like other inSects, the wttole interior
part oS its body is amply provided with large and convo-
                                                luted 
dd
THE  PHILOSOPHY
luted tracfrea?;  and, cxtexnaUy, tbere.are feverai fltignvita
deftined for the introduction of air '.
   The worms,  or nymphs, 0/ the ephemejroo flies merit
attention,   thev have received the dcAojnijiatjkm qf ephfh
meron, becauSe  almoft none of them  furvive the day in
which they are  transformed into flies.  But, niany of them
live not one hour after  their transformation*.   When in
the worm and nymph ftates, they generally Uyo w hole*
near the furface of the water ;  and, under thefe two forms,
continue to  grow till they are mature for pafiiog into the
laft and fhorted period 01 their oriitence.  Swammefdam
informs us,  that fome of them remain three  years  umjer
water, others two,  and  others one only.  During their
abode in this element, they are nourifhed and prepared for
their laft and fatal change.  Immediately after the male*
have joined  their majes,  and the females  have depofite(J
their eggs in the water,  bpth perifh, but not before they
have left the rudiments of a numerqus race of fucceffors.
As long as thefe infects live in the water, to inattentive ob-
fer vers, their general appearance is nearly the Same.  When
they have.paffed, however, into nymphs, the ye(Kges of
wings may be perceived, which we look for in vain durjng
their firft or worm ftate.   In both ftates, the  infeCt; which
is to become an ephemeron fly has fix legs attache,^ to tjie
breaft.  The head is triangular, and from tfte bale of each
eye proceeds an articulated feeler.  The body is compof-
«d o£ ten.rings, from the  laft of which  three  tails, that
\>  .bably perform the office of ftachesc, arife.   Thefe tails,
in fome Speck*, are  as long as the animal's body, and are
fringed  with hairs which have a refemblance to feathers.
But, what principally deferves our  notice on this fubjecj
if, that, on  each fide of the hpdy, there are  fix or  Seven
protuberances,  which have the appearance  of So  many
oars.  With thefe inftruments the animals defcribe arches
in the water, firft on one fide, and then on the other, with
afioniihing rapidity.  This circumftanc* led Clutius, atuj
fome otber authors,  to think that thefe protuberances were
fins, or  inftruments  of motion, and that the animals were
fifties.   But Reaumur remarked  tha£ they  moved thefe
                                                 fins
          * Reaumur, tom.  \i. pag. 187. duod. edit. S. 
        OF  tfXtUfcAL  HISTORY.     119
fins with the fame rapidity when the animals were at reft
as when they were in motion ;  and that, inftead of-fins,
when examined by the microkope, he discovered them to
be "gift's, fnf-Ough which the creatures refpire.  Each giH
conSTfts of a;fhort trunk, and two large branches, or tube§>
which givte bff on all fides a number of Smaller ramifica-
tions, and are perfectly Similar to the trachea oS other in-
fects.   At the origin of every gill, two tracheae penetrate
the trunk, and are jdrfperfed  through the body of the ani-
mal.
  Though 'the itigmata, or refpiratory organs, of cater-
pillars and other infects,  were long known  to Serve the
■purpoSe df infpiration, yet it was  uncertain whether the
animals refprred  by the fame orifices, till Bonnet, and,
after him, Reaumur, afcertained the  fad by many curi-
ous and accurate experiments.  The firft of thefe author^
immerfed numbers  of caterpillars, of  different kinds,
and at different times, in water, and  he obferved, both
with the naked eye* and by the  affiftance of a glafs,'bub-
bles of air ifluing from various  parts of  their bodies, and
particularly from the'n^gfrfttta.  To remove all deception
from  his  experiments, before  immerfion,  he carefully
rttoiftened the caterpillars with water, in order to diflodge
any portions of the external air that might  be adhering
to their bodies.   Some of  them he allowed to remain T4o
long under water, that they had every appearance of death.
file then raifed the head and the two anterior Stigmata
above the' Surface.   The head, and firft pair oS legs, ibon
began to move from fide to fide; and fhe body neeeffarfly
partook of the fame motions.  During thefe movements,
many bubbles of air iffued from the posterior and inter-
mediate Itigmata, which ftill remained under water; but
the membranous limbs  continued  nearly at reft.'  He
next kept a caterpillar under water till  all  motion  was
fufpended. Then he elevated the anus and the two kfft
fligmata above the Surface, that they might* have a com-
munication with the external air.  He kept the animal in
this Situation about half an hour, without any fymptoms
of re-animation.  After raifing the body Succeflively frorn
the laft to the firft pair of fligmata,  Still  the animal exhi-
                                               bited 
120
THE  PHILOSOPHY
 bited no  Symptoms  of life ;  but,  when  he cxpofed the
 wholfc body to the external air for half an hour, the pow-
 ers pf hfe  completely  returned.  After Suspending the
 caterpillar about fwo hours with the  laft  five pair of flig-
 mata  above  the furface, he found that life was not extin-
 guished.   He then raifed the water till the anus and laft
 pair of ftigmata only were expofed  to  the atmofphcre*
 He allowed  the caterpillar to remain in  this Situation
jfnore than half an hour ;  and he obferved. that  it often
 bended its bodv with a view to reach the furface, and that,
 during thefe efforts,  bubbles oS air iffued Srom the ante-
 rior,  but  not from the pofterior, ftigmata.   lie  likewife
 remarked, that, on  the fmalleft motion of the animal,
 thefe  1 ubbles  were  difcharged,  but   that  they  were
 augmented  both  in quantity and fize,  in proportion
 to the agitations of the body.   M. Bonnet  immediately
 railed the  water till it covered the two laft ftigmata ; the
 Caterpillar was violently agitated; but no bubbles of air,
 the communication being cut off, appeared, and all mo-
 tion ceafed.   He inftantly lowered the water, and expoSed
 the two pofterior ftigmata to the air ; the animal reSumed
 it movements;  but in  a moment aSter  it  expired.  By
 another experiment, M. Bonnet discovered that a cater-
 pillar lived  eight  days Suspended in water, during  all
 which time  it breathed Solely by the two pofterior ftig-
 mata.
   ASter theSe, and many other  Sacts oS  a  fimilar kind,
 which demonftrate that air is neceffary Sor the  Support
 and continuation oS animal  life, it fhall only be remarked,
 that,  when  caterpillars undergo their laft change, and
 appear in  the form of flies of every denomination, Na-
 ture has ftill fundflied them with ftigmata,  or refpiratory
 organs.
   Reptiles of all kinds are likewife furnifhed with organs
 of reSpiration,  Land-fnails, at the approach  of winter,
 bury themfelves in the earth, or retire into holes of rocks,
 or of old  buildings,  where they remain in a torpid State
 during the Severity oS the  SeaSon.  For  protection and
 warmth,  thefe animals, when they go into their winter
 habitations, form, by  means  of a Hi me < r faliva that If-
                                                 fue* 
OF  NATUkAL
HISTORY.
12*
fues from every pore of their bodies, a membranous co-
ver, which flops up the mouths of their fhells.  But this
pellicle, or cover ^though apparently pretty hard and Solid,
is fo 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 external  air, the animal, to remedy  the evil,
makes a  fmall aperture in its cover.   In  this ftate fnails
remain fix or Seven months, without food or motion, till
the,genial warmth of  thefpring breaks their flumber, and
calls forth their  active powers.   Hence it fhould  appear,
that air is more neceffary to the prefervation of animal
life  than food itfelf;  for, in numberlefs inftances, ani-
mals can  live, not for days or weeks, but for months,
without Supplies of nourifhment.   None of them,  how-
ever, are capable of exifting nearly fo long without hav-
ing Some communication with the air.
   W^th regard to Snails that live in Srefh waters, or in the
ocean, the fpecies of  which are numerous, their manner
of refpiring is lingular.  All of them have an aperture
on the right  fide oS the neck.   This aperture Serves trie
complicated purpoSes  of difcharging the  faeces, of lodg-
ing the organs of generation, of afcending and defcend-
ihg in  the water, and of refpiration.  They are frequently
obferved to ftraiten the orifice of this aperture,  to ftretch
it out in the form of an oblong tube ; and, in this ftate,
they rife to the SurSace, in older to expel the former air,
and take in a new fupply.
   But, though air Seems to be an indifpenfible  principle
of animal life, yet many animals can live longer w ithout
the ufe of this element, or at leaft with fmaller  quanti-
ties  of it, than  others.   Even  men, bv long  practice,
acquire the faculty of retaining the air in their  lungs for;
an  almoft incredible  length  of time.  Some of thofe'
wretched creatures who are  compelled by tyranny to dive
for pearl-oyfters, have  been known  to  continue  under
water three quarters of an hour without receiving'a frefh
Supply  of air. Thofe  animals  which  lie torpid  during
the winter, as the hedge-nog, the dormbufe, the marm'Oty
                           (^                     Sec. 
ill
THE  PHILOSOPHY
&c. though perhaps not entirely deprived of all commu-
nication w ith the air,  exift,  without  any apparent brea-
thing, till the heat  of the fpring  reltores  their wonted
powers of life,  when the refpiration of air becomes again
equally neceffary as before their torpor commt need.  The
toad,  like all the frog-kind,  is torpid in winter.  At the
approach of winter, the toad retires  to the hollow root
of a tree, to  the cleft of a rock,  and  fometimes  to the
bottom of a ditch, or pond, where  it remains for months
in a ftate of feeming infenfibility.  In this  laft Situation,
it can have very little  communication with  the air.  But
ftill the principle of life is continued,  and the animal re-
vives in the fpring.  What is more wonderful, toads.have
been found, in a hundred places  of  the globe, inclofed
in the heart of Solid  rocks,  and in the bodies of trees,
where they have been fuppofed  to  exift for  centuries,
without any apparent accefs  either  to nourifhment  or  to
air ; and yet  they were alive and vigorous.  In the Me-
moirs of the Academy of Sciences for  the year  1719,
we have an account of a toad  found  alive, and healthy,
in the heart of an old elm.  Another,  in the year 1731,
was difcovered, near Nantz, in the heart of an old oak,
without any vifible entrance  to its habitation.  From the
fize of the tree, it was concluded,  that the animal  muft
have been confined in that Situation at leaft eighty  or  a
hundred years.  In  the many examples  of toads found
in Solid rocks, exact impreflions of the animals bodies,
correfponding to their  refpective Sizes, were  uniformly
left in the ftones or  trees Srom which they  were  diflodg-
ed; and,  to this day, it is faid, that there is a marble
chimney-piece at Chatfworth with a print of a toad in it;
and a traditionary account of the  place and manner  in
which it was  difcovered.
  Thefe,  and Similar facts, are Supported  by authorities
So numerous and So  refpectable, that  it is unneceffary  to
quote them.  Many abortive attempts have been made
to account Sor an animal's growing and living  very  long
in the Situations above defcribed, without  the poflibility
of receiving  nourifhment or air;  efpecially aa,  like all
other animals,  when put into an exhaufted receiver, the
                                                 toad 
        OF NATURAL  HISTORY.     123

toad foon lofes its existence.  Upon  this fubject I  fhall
only hazard two obfervations.  The toad, it is well known,
when kept  in a damp place, can live Several months with-
out Sood of  any kind, though, in its  ftate of  natural
liberty,  it devours voracioufly Spiders, maggots, ants, and
other infects.  Here we have  an initance, and there are
many, of an animal whofe conftitution is  fo framed by
Nature, that it can  exift feveral months without receiving
any portion of food.  According to our ideas of the ne-
ceflity of frequent Supplies of nourifhment, it is nearly
as difficult  Sor us to conceive an abftinence of four or fix
months  as  one of as many years, or even centuries.  The
one fact, therefore, though we are unable to account for
either, may be  as readily admitted as the  other.   The
fame remark is equally applicable to the regular  refpira-
tion of  air.  The toad, and  many other  animals,  from
fome peculiarity in their conftitution, can live very long
in a torpid ftate  without feeming to refpire,  and yet their
principle of life  is not entirely extinguifhed.  Hence the
toad may,  and actually does, live many years in Situati-
ons which  exclude  a  free intercourfe with  the external
air.  Befides, almoft all the above, and fimilar facts, muft,
from their  nature, have been difcovered by  common la-
bourers, who are totally unqualified for examining every
circumftance with the difcerning eye  of  a  philoSopher.
In rocks there are many chinks, as well as  fiffures,  both
horizontal  and perpendicular; and in old trees  nothing
is more frequent than holes and vacuities of different di-
mensions.  Through theSe fiffures and vacuities the eggs
of toads may accidentally be  conveyed by water, the pe-
netration of which few fubftances are capable of refifting.
After the eggs are hatched, the animals may receive moi-
flure, and  Small  portions of air, through the crevices of
rocks, or the channels of aged trees.   But, I mean not
to perfuade; for I  cannot fatisfy myfelf.   All  I intend
is, 10 recommend to thoSe gentlemen who may hereafter
chance to See Such rare phaenomena, a  ftrict examination
of every circumftance that can throw light upon a Subject
fo dark and myfterious; Sor the vulgar, ever inclined to
                                               rendef 
 »24    .vTHE  PHILOSOPHY
render uncommon appearances ftill more marvellous, are
not to be trufted.
 •  From the facts I have enumerated, it is  apparent that
air, in certain proportions, according to the ftructure and
conftitution of every animated being  ot which we  have
any knowledge, is indifpenfibly neceilary for the exiflence
ami continuation of animal life.  Not only men, quadru-
peds,  birds, fifhes, reptiles, and the larger infects,  but
even  fleas,  mites, the minute eels found in  pafte or  in
vinegar, and the animalcules produced  by infilling  ani-
mal or vegetable fubftances in water, inevitably periffi
when  deprived of this  all-vivifying element.
   With regard to plants,  air is fo neceffary to their ex-
ilter.ee, that they do not vegetate in an exhaufted receiver.
Plants, as  formerly mentioned, are furnifhed  with  nume-
rous air-veffels,  or refpiratory  organs.  They abforb and
tranfmit air through  every pore.  When placed in an ex-
hauded receiver, the air contained in every part oS their
Sub dance  is foon extracted;  and, in proportion  as this
air is  likewife pumped out by the machine, the flowers
and leaves  (how evident fymtoms of debility ;  they be-
co ,ie  flaccid,  pendulous, and affume a Sickly appearance ;
a-.ti,  if retained in that Situation a certain length of time,
their  vegetating powers are irrecoverably extinguifhed.
   Upon the whole, as the air  we  continually breathe is
an univerfal menftruum, and,  of courfe,  liable to  be im-
pregnated with exhalations from every fubftance to which
it  has accefs, the great importance of perfonal, as well
as oS  domeftic, cleanlinefs, is  an obvious  reflection.   In
building towns or houfes, the  Situation,  with regard  to
air,  is a  capital object.   The vicinity  of  marines,  of
(tagnating  waters, of  manufactures of tallow,  oil,  fai-
ammoniac,  the fmelling or corroding of  metals of every
kind, and many other  operations which contaminate  the
ab\ fhould be either  avoided or removed, as they are the
pets  of our fenfes, and the poifoners of our conftituti-
ons.  liven in northern climates, houfes furrounded  with
trees, or in the neighbourhood of luxuriant vegetables,.
aev always damp, and  infeited  wbh inSects; and  hence
the ambient air ie replete with the  feveis of uifcafe,.  Pre-
                                              cautions 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     125
cautions of this kind are ftill more neaeflary in  hot cli-
mates.  Air, like other menftruums, abforbs a greater .or
lefs proportion of the particles of bodies, according to its
degree of heat.   In Madrid, however, in Conftantinople,
and in many other cities of warm regions, the houfes are
crowded  together,  the ftreets are narrow, artd. covered
with filth of every kind.   We cannot, therefore,  be fur-
prifed, that human beings exifting in fuch Situations fhould
be fo frequently  infected with peftilential difeafes.
CHAPTER  IV.
                     Of Motion.


     MOTION, in the opinion of Ariftotle,  and the ad-
      mirers of antient philofophy, can only be produced
by mind; and hence they define mind to be  the power of
moving.   By the fame mode of reafoning,  it may be faid
that reft, or inaclivity, is  the power of being  moved.  But
fuch fpeculations are foreign to the nature of  this work,
and perhaps fruitlefs in themfelves.  Though it is impof-
fible to.  give an unexceptionable definition oS motion, the
phaenomenon itfelf is obvious to every man's SenSes.
  All the. terreftrial objects which prefent themfelves to
our observation are, with regard to motion, diftinguifhable
into two general clafles.  The firft confifts oS thoSe which
are endowed with a Spontaneous, or Self-moving, power,
and with Some qualities. and  affections Similar to.  thofe
oS our minds.- The Second confifts oSall thofe objects in
which no.fuch qualities and affections appear,  and are of
a nature fo paffive, that they  never move of themfelves,
nor, when put in motion, do they ever flop without fome
external influence or refiftance.   The firft clafs of objects,
from  their poffefling the power  of Spontaneous  motion,
and other,qualities peculiar to  animated beings, are  eafily
diftinguifhed Srom body, or matter,  which  is totally de-
                                               prived 
 no*        THE  PHILOSOPHY
prived of. all thefe qualities.   In confequence of its paffire
nature, matter not only never changes its  ftate  without
external force, but refills when any  Such  change  is at-
tempted to be made.   When at reft,  it cannot be put in
motion without difficulty ;  and,  when in motion,  a cer-
tain force is required to flop its courSe.  The force w ith
which matter perSeveres in its ftate, and refifts any change,
is called its vis inertia:, and  is always proportional to  the
quantity of matter in  any particular body.  When we
double or triple a body, we  uniformly find,  that the force
requifite to move  it with equal celerity muft  likewiSe be
doubled or tripled.   Thefe,  and  Similar facts, which are
refults  of  perpetual experience, fhow that body  is equal-
ly indifferent to motion and  reft ; that this indifference
feems to be the natural confequence of the  moft  abSolute
inactivity; and that the power oS beginning motion is
peculiar to active and intelligent beings.  Leaving,  there-
fore, all metaphyfical Speculations  on this Subject, we fhall
give Some remarks upon the motions  of animals.
  In general, all the progreffive  motions of animals  are
performed by the inftrumentality of mu.e'es, tendons, and
articulations.  The operation of  mufcles depends upon
fome unknown  influence derived to them from the brain
and nerves.   Hence the brain and nerves are the fources
of every motion, as  well as of every fenfation.   With
regard to  the caufes which  determine the actions of ani-
mals,  thefe muft be referred to fenfation, and the confe-
quent exertions of intellect.  The firft impreffion an object
makes upon our fenfations Stimulates us either to approach
or retire from it, according  as it excites affection  or aver-
sion.  TheSe  motions neceffarily refult from the  firft im-
preffion made by the object.  But man, and many other
animals, have the power of refifting theSe original motives
to action,  and oS  remaining at reft, without either retir-
ing or  approaching.  4 If a  man,'  Says the Count de Buf-
fon, 8 were deprived  of fight,  he  would make no move-
* ment to gratify his eyes. The fame thing would happen,
4 if he were deprived of any of the other fenfes  ; and, if
8 deprived of every SenSe, he would remain  perpetually at
8 reft, and no object would  excite  him to move, -though,
                                                'by 
      OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      117

• by natural conformation, he  were fully capable of mo-
6 tion.'   Natural  wants,  as  that of taking nourifhment,
neceffarily excite defire or appetite.  But, if a man be de-
prived of fenfation,  want cannot exift, becaufe  all  its
fources are annihilated.   This is cutting off all the caufes,
and at the fame time looking for the effects.  An animal
wiehout fome SenSation is no animal, but a d£ad maSs of
matter.   Sentiment is the only  ftimulus to animal motion;
the aptnefs oS the parts produces  the effect, which varies
according to the Structure and deftination  of thefe parts.
The fenfe of want creates defire.  Whenever an animal
 perceives an object fitted to fupply its wants, defire is the
 neceffary confequence, and action or motion inftantly Suc-
 ceeds.
   Befide progreffive motion,  the motion  of hands, and
 other parts oS animal bodies,  which  are  all effected by
 means oS muScles, and are Subject to the will of the crea-
 tures who perform them,  there  are other motions that have
 little or no dependence on our inclinations.  Of this kind
 are the action of the heart,  the circulation of the  blood,
 the digeftion of food, the periftaltic motion of the bow-
 els, the progrefs of the chyle from the ftomach  and intef-
 tines to the Subclavian vein, the movement of the various
 fecreted liquors, fuch as the gall, the urine, the faliva, &c.
 Thefe, together with the action of the lungs in refpiration,
 have received the denomination  of vital  and  involuntary
 motions,  becaufe moft of  them go on without any  conSci-
 ous exertions of  the intellectual principle.  If  Such a va-
 riety of nice and complicated movements had been left to
 the determination and direction of our minds,  they muft
 neceflarily have occupied too much of our attention; and
 many of them would infallibly have been neglected during
 fleep, when confcioufneSs is often  almoft totally fufpended.
 But Nature in her  operations is always  wife.  She has
 given to man, and  other animals, the direction  of no
 movements but what are eafily performed,  contribute to
 pleaSure and health, and enable them to acquire food cor-
 responding to the ftructure of their bodies and the  ele-
 ments in which they live.
    It  never was my intention, and, indeed, it would have
                                                  been 
 128        THE  PHILOSOPHY

 been foreign to the defign of this work,  and ill Suited to
 that clafe of mankind to whom I wifh chiefly to be uieful,
 to enter into the rationale of animal motion ;  to mention
 the number, inSertion,  and direction, oS the mufcles em-
 ployed in  moving the different parts oS animated bodies ;
 or to account Sor the modes by which animals walk, leap,
 fly, Swim, creep, &c  Such  diScuflions would not  only
 require a volume,  but  a  thorough acquaintance with all
 the depths of  anatomical and mathematical knowledge.
 What follows, therefore, will confift of Some delultory ob-
 servations ;  and  the Subject fhall be concluded by enume-
 rating a Sew examples oS movements peculiar  to certain
 animals.
  The motions oS animals are proportioned to their weight
 and ftructure.  A flea can leap fome hundred times its own
 length.  Were an  elephant, a camel, or a horfe, to  leap
 in the fame proportion, their weight would crufh them to
 atoms.  The Same  remark is applicable to Spiders, worms,
 and other  inSects.  The Softnefs of their texture, and the
 comparative SmallneSs  oS their Specific  gravity,  enable
 them to Sail with impunity Srom heights that would prove
 fatal to larger and  heavier animals.
  Motion gives birth, perfection, death, and reproduction,
 to all animal and vegetable beings.  It is the caufe of all
 that diverfity and change which perpetually affect every
 object in the univerSe.  The globe we inhabit,  as well a*
 the innumerable and ftupendous  heavenly bodies which
 prefent themfelves, in forms  apparently minute, to  our
 observation, conltantly exhibit  motions  of the moft in-
 conceivable  rapidity. The magnitude of this earth, when
 confidered with relation to man, and  other animals, ap-
 pears to be exceedingly  great.   It  is indeed fufficiently
 fpacious, and fufficiently prolific, for the conveniency and
 maintenance of its inhabitants.   The magnificent objects
 difplayed on its SurSace excite the  admiration of every be-
 holder.  Its plains  and mouin ains,  its rivers and lakes,
its iflands and continents, its Seas  and  oceans, continually
 fo licit attention,  gratify curiofity, and call forth the powers
 of reafon, and reflection.  But, when compared  to the
 other heavenly bodies, the number  and magnitude of 
         OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     129
 which exceed all the powers oS human conception, the
 grandeur of our earth diminifhes.  Inftead of exciting
 wonder, it almoft vanifhes from our fight.   Inftead of an
 immenfe globe, it dwindles into a point, feems to occupy
 no fpace, and lofes Itfelf  in the boundlefs regions  of the
 univerfe.  Considerations of this kind are apt to deprefs
 the dignity oS man, and to  leffen his importance  in the
 great Scale of being ; but they expand his mental facul-
 ties, and exalt  his ideas  concerning that inconceivable
 Power which firft produced, and ftill Supports, thoSe afto-
 nifhing orbs.
   The different movements to which animals are  ftimu-
 lated by the defire of food, by love, by the appetite for
 frolic and exercife, by their hoftilities, and by other ex-
 citing cauSes, give animation and vivacity to the  whole
 Scene oS nature.  A Silent and motionleSs profpect, how-
 ever beautiful and variegated, foon ceaSes to pleaSe,  and at
 laft becomes infupportable.  Motion, Says Mr. Harris, is
 the object or caufe oS all SenSation.   In mufic we hear it;
 in Savours we tafte  it;  in odours we Smell it ; in  touch
 we feel  it; in light we fee it.
   Animals furnifhed with deftructive weapons, or en-
 dowed with uncommon Strength, courage,  or ingenuity,
 are proportionally flower in their  movements than the
 weaker kinds.   The fame remark is applicable  to thofe
 fjSecies whofe food is always at hand.  Worms,  caterpil-
 lars, and many  other infects, in  order to  procure nou-
 rifhment, are under  no neceflity  of taking an extenfive
 range.  But, the motions oS birds and fifhes are extremely
 rapid ; becaufe, in queft of food, they are obliged to pafs
 through large tracts, and they have alfo many enemies to'
 avoid.
  Timid animals,  as the  hare, the  rabbit, the Guiney-
pig,  &c. are almoft  perpetually  in motion.   Even when
perfectly undifturbed, they are reftlefs, and betray  a con-
tinual anxiety of danger.  They run about, Stop  fhort,
erect their ears,  and  liften.  The Guiney-pig frequently"
raiSes itfelS on its hind-legs, and Snuffs all around to catch
the Scent oS food when hungry,  or  to increaSe its circle
of hearing when afraid.   \j
                         R                       The 
130        THE  PHILOSOPHY

  The movements of many animals are fo extremely flow,
that fome of them,  particularly thofe of the fhell tribes,
are generally SuppoSed to be  deftitute of the power  of
moving.  It is a common  notion, that both frefn and fait
water mufcles have not the loco-motive faculty.  But, this
is a vulgar  error.  It  is almoft unneceflary  to  mention,
that  the  exterior part of  mufcles  confifts  of two fhells
hinged together, which  the animals can open or fliut  at
pleafure.  Every  perfon muft likewife have obferved,  in
the ftructure of the animal itfelf, a flefhy protuberance of
a much redder  colour, and  denfer confiftence,  than the
other parts of the body.  This  mufcular protuberance,
which confifts  of two  lobes, has been  denominated  a
trunk, or tongue:  But it is  an inftrument  by which the
creature is enabled to perforin a progreffive, though a ve-
ry flow, motion ;  and, therefore, in defcribing its manner
of moving, I fhall call thefe  two lobes the animal's tenta-
cula,  or feet.
   When inclined to  remove  from its prefent  Situation,
the river-muScle opens its  fhell,  thrufts out its tentacula,
and, while lying on its fide in an horizontal position, digs
a Small Surrow in the Sand.  Into this furrow, by the ope-
ration of the fame tentacula, the animal  makes the fhell
fall,  and thus brings it into  a vertical pofition.  We have
now  got our muScle on end ;  but how is he to  proceed ?
He Stretches forward his  tentacula, by which he throws
back the fand,  lengthens the furrow, and this fulcrum
 enables him to proceed on his journey.
   With regard  to marine mufcles, their progreffive mo-
 tion  is performed in  the fame manner, and by the fame
 inftruments.  When not  in motion, they are  all firmly
'••attached to rocks, or  fmall ftones, by many threads  of
 about two inches in length,  which Serve  the double pur-
 pofes of an  anchor and cable.   Without this provifion  oS
 Nature, theSe animals muft become the Sport oS the waves,
 and  the Specie*  would Soon be annihilated.  But, how-
 does the creature Spin theSe  threads ? A cylindrical canal
 extends Srom the origin to the extremity  oSthe  tentacula.
 In this canal an extremely glutenous fubftance is, fecreted,
 winch the animal, b\ the operation of certain mufcles,
                                                 . has 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     131

has the power of forcing out, and of attaching it, in the
form of ftrong threads,  to ftones or other folid bodies.
More than a hundred and fifty of thefe cables  are  often
employed in mooring a fingle mufcle*.   The fubftance of
the threads is exceedingly vifcous, indigeflible in the hu-
man ftomach, and is probably the caufe of thofe fatal confe-
quences which fometimes  happens to inattentive eaters.
In Scotland,  thefe threads  are  called the beards of muf-
cles, and fhould be carefully pulled off before the animals
are thrown into the ftomach.
   Other bivalved fhell-fifhes, the Species oS  which are
numerous, perform a progreffive or retrograde motion by
an inftrument that has no  fmall refemblance to a leg and
foot.   But the animals can, at pleafure,  make this leg
affume almoft every kind of form, according as their ex-
igencies may require.  By this leg they are not only ena-
bled to  creep,  to fink into the mud, or diSengage them-
Selves  Srom it,  but to perform a motion,  which no man
could  SuppoSe fhell-fifhes  were capable of performing.
When the tellina, or limpin, is about to make a fpring,
it puts the fhell on the point, or fummit, as if with a view
to diminifh friction.   It then ftretches out the  leg as far
as poffible, makes it embrace a  portion of the  fhell,  and,
by a Sudden  movement,  fimilar to that oS  a Spring let
looSe, it ftrikes the earth  with its leg,  and actually leaps
to a considerable  diftancef.
  The Spout-fifh J has a bivalved fhell, which  refembles
the handle of a razor.  This animal is incapable of pro-
greffive motion on the  furface ; but it digs a hole or cell
in the fand,  fometimes two feet in depth, in which it can
afcend and defcend at pleafure.   The inftrument or leg
by which it performs all its movements is  Situated at the
centre.   This leg is flefhy, cylindrical, and pretty  long.
When neceffary,  the animal can make the termination  of
the leg affume the form of a ball.  The fpout-fifh, when
lying on the  furface of the fand,  and about to fink into
it, extends its leg from the inferior end of  the fhell, and
                                               makes
  * Oeuvres de Bonnet, torn. 5. pag. 361. 4to edit. S.
  + Ibid  page 361. S.
  t The name of the animal in Scotland.  In England it is called razor-ffk.  S.
It is the gcaus Solen of Linnaeus. 
 152         THE   PHILOSOPHY
 makes the extremity of it take on the form  of a ftiovel,
 ftiavp on  each fide,  and terminating in a point.   With
 this inftrument the animal cuts a hole in the Sand.   Alter
 the hole is made, it advances the  leg ftill Sarther into the
 Sand, makes it affume the  form of a hook, and w ith this
 hook, as a fulcrum, it obliges the fhell to defcend into the
 hole.  In  this manner the animal operates  till the fhell to-
 tally difappears.  When it  chuSts  to regain the furface, it
 puts the termination of the leg into the fhape of a ball, and
 makes an  effort to extend the whole leg ; but the ball pre-.
 vents  ;iv  i.irther defccnt, and the mufcular effort neceffa-i
 rily pulhes the fhell upward till it reaches the furface or top
 of the hole.  It is amazing with what dexterity and quick-,
 nefs there  Seemingly-aukward motions are performed.
   Ir is remarkable that the fpout-fifh, though it  lives in
 fait water, abhors fait.  When a little fait is thrown in-
 to the hole, the animal inftantly quits his habitation. But,
 it is ftill more remarkable, that, if you feize the animal
 v ith your hand, and afterwards allow it to retire into ita
 cell, you  may  ltrew  as much fait upon it as you pleafe,
 but the rifh will never again make its appearance, if you
 do not handle the animal,  by applying fait, you may make
 it come to the furface as often as you incline ;  and fifher-
 men often make ufe of this  Stratagem.  This behaviour
 indicates more Sentiment and recollection than one fhould
 naturally expect for a fpout-fifh.
  The Scallop, another well known bivalved fhell-fifh, has
 the power of progreffive motion upon land, and likewiSe
 of iwimming on the  Surface  oS the  water.   When this
 animal happens to be def'erted by the tide, it opens its
fhell to the full extent, then fhuts it with a fudden jerk, by
 v. h:  h it often rifes five or fix inches from the ground.  In
thi.-,  manner it tumbles forward till it regains the water.
 W?v_n the fea L calm, troops, or little fleets,  of Scallops,
 ar  oiten obferved Swimming on the furface.  They raife
 or;i vatve  or thee- fhell above the furface, which becomes
 a kind of  fail, while the other remains under the water,
 and anfwers the purpofe of an anchor, by fteadying the
 animal, and preventing its being c/erlet.  When an ene-
 my approaches, they  initantiy fhut their Shells, plunge to
                                                  the 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     133
 the bottom, and  the  whole fleet disappears.  By what
 means they are enabled to regain the Surface, we are ftill
 ignorant.
   With regard to the  loco-motive Saculty oS the oyftef,
 the following facts are recorded in the Journal de Phy-
fique  by the Abbe DicqUemare.  Like many  other  bi-
 valved fhell-filh, the oyfter has the power of Squirting out
 water with  a considerable force.   By thus Suddenly and
 forcibly ejecting a quantity of water, the animal repulfes
 Such  enemies as endeavour to insinuate into its fhell while
 open.  By the Same operation, iS not firmly  attached to
 rocks, to  ftones, or to one another, the oyfter  retreats
 backwards, or  Starts to a fide in a lateral direction.  Any
 perfon may amufe himfelf with the fquirting and motions
 of oyfters,  by  putting them in a plate Situated  in a hori-
 zontal pofition, and which contains as much  jea-water as
 is Sufficient  to cover them.  The oyfter has been reprefent-
 ed by many authors as an animal deftitute not  only of
 motion, but of every fpecies  of SenSation.  The  Abbe
 Dicquemare, however, has fhown,  that  it  can perSorm
 movements perfectly conSonant to its wants, to the dan-
 gers it apprehends, and  to the enemies  by which it is at-
 tacked.  Inftead of being deftitute of all SenSation, oyfters
 are  capable of deriving knowledge  from  experience.
 When removed from  Situations which are conltantly co-
 vered with the fea, devoid of experience, they open their
 fhells, lofe their water, and die in a few days.   But, even
 when taken from Similar Situations, and laid down in pla-
 ces from which the fea occasionally retires, they  Seel the
 effects oS the Sun's rays, or of the cold air, or perhaps ap-
 prehend the attacks of enemies, and accordingly learn to
 keep  their  fhells  clofe till the tide returns.  ConduCt
 of this  kind plainly indicates both SenSation and a degree
 of intelligence.
   The progreffive motion of the fea-urchin, or Sea-egg *,
 a well known multivalved fhell-fifh,  merits our  attention.
 This  animal, oS which there are Several Species, is round,
 oval, or fhaped like a bias-bowl.  The SurSace oS the fhell
 is divided into  beautiSul triangular compartments, and co-
                                                 vered
* The Echinus of Linnaeus. 
 134        THE  PHILOSOPHY
vered with numberleSs prickles ; from which laft circum-
ftance it has received the appellation of fia-urcbin, or fea-
hedge-hog.  Thefe triangles are feparated by regular  belts,
and perforated by a great number of holes.   Each  hole
gives lodgement to a flefhy  horn fimilar to thoSe of the
iQail,  and fufceptible of the Same movements.  Like  the
Snail, the Sea-urchin uSes its horns when in motion  ;  but
their principal uSe is to fix the animal to rocks, ftones, or
the bottom oS the ocean.  By  means oS the horns and
prickles, which proceed Srom almoft every point of  the.
fhell,  the Sea-urchin is enabled to walk either on its bacl^
or on its belly.  The limbs it moft  generally employs are
thoSe which Surround the mouth.   But, when it chooSes,
it can move forward, by turning on itfelf  like the wheel
of a coach.  Thus, the lea-urchin  furniflies  an example
of an animal employing many thoufand limbs in its vari-
ous movements.   The reader may try to conceive  the
number of mufcles,  of fibres, and of  other apparatus,
which are requifite to the progreffive motion of this little
animal.
  The motion of that fpecies of medufa, or Sea-nettle,
which attaches itfelf to rocks, and to the larger fhell-fifh,
is extremely flow.  The Sea-nettles affume  Such a variety
of figures, that it  is impoffible  to  defcribe them under
any determinate fhape.   In general, their  bodies have a
reiemblance  to a truncated cone.   The baSe oS the cone
is applied  to the rock, or other  Subftance to which  they
adhere.   With regard  to colour, Some  oS  them are red,
Some  greenifh,  Some whitifh,  and others  are  brown.
When the mouth, which is very large, is expanded,  its
margin is  Surrounded with a great number of flefhy fila-
ments, or horns,  fimilar  to  thoSe oS the Snail.  TheSe
horns are diSpoSea in three rows around the mouth, and
give the animal the appearance of a flower.  Through each
of thefe horns the  Sea-nettle Squirts water, like So many
jets-d'eau.  What  is peculiar in the ftructure  oS  thefe
creatures, the whole interior part oS their  body, or  cone,
is one cavity, or ftomach.  When Searching Sor  Sood,
they extend their filaments, and entangle any fmall ani-
mals  they encounter.   When they  meet with their prey, 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      135
they inftantly Swallow it, and fhut their mouths cloSe like
a purfe.  Though the animal fhould not exceed an inch,
or an inch and an half, in diameter, as it is all mouth and
ftomach, it Swallows  large whelks and mufcles.  TheSe
fhell-animals Sometimes remain many days in the ftomach
beSore they are ejected.  Their nutriSying parts are at laft,
however, extracted;  but how does the fea-nettle get quit
of the fhell ? The creature has no other aperture in its
body but the mouth, and this mouth is the inftrument by
which  it both receives nourifhment, and difcharges the
excrement, or unprofitable part of its food.  When the
fhell is not too large, the fea-nettle has the power of turn-
ing its infide out, and by this ftrange manoeuvre the fhell
is thrown out of the body, and the animal  refumes its
Sormer ftate.  But, when the fhell preSents itSelS in a wrong
pofition, the animal cannot discharge it in the uSual man-
ner ; but, what is extremely Singular, near the baSe of the
cone,  the body of the creature Splits, as if a large wound
had been made  with a knife, and through this gafh the
fhell of the mufcle, or other fhell, is ejected.
   With regard to the progreffive motion of the fea-nettle,
it is as flow as the hour-hand of a clock.  The whole ex-
ternal part of its body is furnifhed with numerous mufcles.
Thefe mufcles are tubular, and filled with a fluid, which
makes them project in the form of prickles.  By the in-
strumentality oS theSe muScles,  the animal is enabled to
perform the very flow motion juft now mentioned.   But
this is not the only means by which the Sea-nettle is ca-
pable  oS moving.  When it pleaSes, it can looSen the baSe
oS the cone by which it is attached to the rock, reverSe
its body, and employ the filaments round its mouth as So
many limbs.   Still, however, its movements are  imper-
ceptibly flow.  For theSe Sads,  Several authors  might be
quoted ;  but we fhall  reSer the reader Solely  to M. de
Bonnet *.
   BeSore we conclude this chapter, we fhall juft mention
 a mode oS flying which is peculiar  to certain  infects.
 The mafon-bee,  which is one  of the Solitary Species, has
 received that appellation, becauSe it conftructs a nefl with
                                                 mud,
         * Oeuvrcs de Bonnet, 4to edit. torn. 5. pag, 345.  S. 
 136        THE  PHILOSOPHY
 mud, or mortar.  Externally, this neft has no regular ap-
 pearance ;  and is, therefore, genera'ly regarded as a piece
 of dirt accidentally adhering to a wall.   This habitation,
 however unSeeraly in its exterior aSpcct, is furnifhed with
 regular cells, and often gives rife to great conflicts.  When
 the real proprietor is abroad in queft of materials to finifh
 the neft. a liranger takes poffefiion.   At meeting, a bat'le
 always enfues.  This battle is  fought  in the air.   Some-
 times thev fly with fuch rapidity  and  force againft each
other, that both parties fall to the  ground.  But, in ge-
neral, like birds of prey, the one endeavours to rife above
the other, and  to give  a downward  blow.  To avoid  the
ftroke, the undermoft,  inftead of flying forward,  or late-
 rally, is frequently obferved to fly backward.  This retro-
grade flight is likewife performed occasionally by the com-
mon houfe-fly, and Some other inSects, though we are un-
able to perceive what ftimulates them to perform this un-
common movement.
               CHAPTER   V.


Of the Inftincl of Animals—Divifion of Inftincls—Examples
   of Pure  Inftincl—Of fuch  Inftincls  as can  accommodate
   themfelves  to peculiar  circumftances and Jituations—Of
   Inftincls improveable by obfervation and experience—Some
   remarks and conclufions from this view of Inftincl.


      MANY theories have been invented  with a view to
       explain the inftindive actions of animals ; but none
of them have received the general  approbation of Philo-
fophers.   This want of fuccefs in the inveftigation of a
fubject fo curious and fo interefting,muft be owing to the
operation of fome powerful caufes.  Two  of thefe caufes
appear to be, a want of attention to the general ceconomy
and manners of animals, and miftaken notions concern-
                                                  ing 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     137

ing the dignity  of human nature.   From perufing the
compositions of moft authors who have written upon ani-
mal inftinct, it is evident, that they have cinedy  derived
their ideas, not from the various mental qualities discover-
able in different fpecies of animals, but from the feelings
and propensities  of their  own minds.  Some of there,, at
the fame time, are fo averfe to allow brutes a participation
of that intellect  which man poffeffes in fuch an  eminent
degree, that they confider every animal action to be the
refult of pure mechanifm.  But-the great fource  of error
on this fubject is, the uniform  attempt to diftinguifh in-
itinctive from rational motives.   I fhall, however, endea-
vour to fhow that no fuch diftinction exifts, and  that the
reafoning faculty itfelf is a neceffary refult of inftinc;.
  The proper method of inveftigating  Subjects of this
kind, is  to collect and arrange the facts which have been
difcovered, and  to confider  whether  thefe facts lead to
any general conclufions.  This method I have adopted;
and  fhall therefore  exhibit examples of pure inftincts ;
of fuch inftincts as can accommodate themfelves to peculiar
circumftances  and Situations ;  and of inftincts improve-
able by obfervation and experience.   In the laft place, I
fhall draw fome  conclufions.

                 I.   Of  Pure Inftincls.

  Bv pure inftincts, I mean thofe, which, independent  of
all  inftruction and  experience,  inftantaneoufly  produce
certain actions  when particular objects  are prefented to
animals, or when they are influenced by peculiar feelings.
Of this clafs the following are  examples.
  In the human fpecies,  the inftinct of fucking is exerted
immediately after birth.   This inftinct is not excited by
anv fmell peculiar to the mother, to milk, or to any-other
fubftance; for infants fuck indifcriminately every  thing^
brought into contact with their mouths.   The  defire  of
Sucking, thereSore, is innate,  and coeval with the appe-
tite Sor air.
   The  voiding   of  urine and excrement, fneezing, re-
rraction of the mufcles upon the application of any pain-
                          S                        ful 
  13I*        THE  PHILOSOPHY
  ful Stimulus, the moving of the eye-lids, and other parts
■  of  the body, are likewife effects of original inftincts, and
  eflential to the exiitence of young animals.
    The love of light is exhibited by infants at a very early
  period.  I have remarked evident fymptoms of this attach-
  ment on the third day after birth.  When  children are
  farther advanced,  marks of the various palfions gradually
  appear.   The paliion of fear is difcoverable  at the age of
  two months.  It is called forth by approaching the hand
  to the child's eye, and by any fudden motion or unufual
  noife.  I once inltituted a courfe of experiments to afcertain
  the periods when the various paflions, principles,  or pro-
  pensities,  oS the human mind  are unfolded,  and to mark
  the caufes which firft  produced them.  But, in lefs than
  five months after the birth of the child,  the  bufineSs
  became too complicated and extenfive Sor the time I had
  to bellow on Subjects oS this nature.
    The brute creation  affords  innumerable  examples of
  pure inftincts.
    When caterpillars are fhaken off a tree in every direc-
  tion, all of them inftantly turn toward the trunk, and
  climb up,  though they had never formerly  been  on the
  furface of  the ground.
    Young birds open their mouths upon hearing any kind
  of noife,  as well as that of their  mother's voice.  They
  have no apprehenfions of harm ; neither do  they offer to
  ufe their wings till they acquire more ftrength and expe-
  rience.   The lion's cub is not ferocious till he feels force
  and activity for deftruction.
    Infects invariably depofit their eggs in Situations moft
  favourable  for hatching and  affording  nourifhment to
  their future progeny.  Butterflies, and other infects, whofe
  offspring  feed upon vegetables,  uniformly fix their eggs
  upon fuch plants  as are moft agreeable to the palate and
  conftitution of their young.   Water infects never depo-
  fit their eggs on dry ground. I have Seen butterflies which
  had been  transformed in  the houfe, exhibit marks of
  the greateft uneafinefs becaufe  thev could  not find a pro-
  per nidus  for their eggs; and,  when every other refourc;.
  railed, they patted the eggs on  the panes of  the window.
                                                 Some 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     139
  Some  fpecies of animals look not  to future wants.
Others, as the bee and the beaver,  are endowed with an
inftinct which has the  appearance  of forefight.  They
conftruct  magazines, and fill them  with  provisions.
  The common bees attend the Semale, or queen, do her
many little Services,  and even  Seed her with honey  Srom
their trunks*. When deprived oS the Semale, all their la-
bours ceafef,  till a new  one is obtained, whom they treat
with  much refpect, and renew their uSual operations §.
They make cells oS three different dimenfions, Sor holding
workers,  drones, and Semales; and the queen-bee, in
depofiting her eggs, diftinguifhes the three different kinds,
and never puts a royal or a drone egg into the cells deftin-
ed for the reception of the working  bees. What is equal-
ly lingular, the number of thefe cells is  proportioned to
that of the different bees to be produced.   One royal cell
weighs as much as one  hundred of the  common kind ||.
When there are feveral females in a hive, the bees work
little till they have deftroyed all the females but one.  If
more than a Single Semale  were allowed  to remain in a
hive,  a greater number  of  eggs would be laid than the
working bees are able to make cells for receiving them.
  The wood-piercing bee,  which is one  of the Solitary
fpecies, gnaws, with amazing dexterity and perSeverance,
a large  hole in old timber.   ASter laying her eggs in the
cells,  fhe depofits fuch a quantity of glutinous matter as
nourifhes the worms produced from thefe eggs till the time
of their  transformation into  flies.   She  then paftes  up
the mouth of  the hole,  and leaves her future offspring to
the provifion fhe has made for them.
  The bees of that Species  which build cylindrical  nefts
with  roSe-leaves,  exhibit a very peculiar  inftinct.  They
firft dig a cylindrical hole in the earth.  When that ope-
ration is  finifhed,  they  go  in  queft of rofe-bufhes;  and,
after Selecting leaves proper for their purpofe, they cut
oblong, curved, and even round pieces, exactly fuited to
form the different parts of the  cylinder^".
                                                 The
  •Reaumur, lamo edit. vol. 9. pag. 300. S.    + Ibid. pag. 320.  S.
  ^ Ibid. pu£. 340.  S.                    || Ibid, torn. jo. pag. 124.
  V Ibid. torn. 11. pag. 138.  S. 
 140        THE  PHILOSOPHY

   7"ie Solitary wafp digs holes in the fand.   In each hole
fhe depofifs an e g.  But how is the witm, aftcT it  is
1  * h.ed  to be nourifhed ? Here the inftinct of the mother
merits attention.   Though fhe  feeds not upon flefh her-
Srr:, re... certainly knows not that an animal is to proceed
Fr"ri the erg, and fir lefs that this animal muft be nmi.
*~fhed «vith fyher anknals, fhe collects ten or twelve fmall
gr     * orms, which fhe  piles  one above another, rolls
t1   >   p in a circular form, and fixes them in the hole in
f'K.i a rmv-.er that they cannot move.  Whef the wafp-
%vorr". *? hatched, it is ample Stored with the food Nature
h  - defti'i d for its  fupport.  The ^reen worms are devour-
ed  :n  h'cccTion* ;  eel the number depofited is exactly
pTc;;m;oned to the time neceffary for  the  growth arid
rrnn-formation  of  the  wafp-worm  into a fly, when it if-
Sues fr< -n fhe hole,  arid is capable of procuring its own
nourif  .  at \.
    here are many other  inftances of ichneumon  wafps
and iiie.?, which, though they feed  not  themfelves upon
worms, lay up provisions of thefe  animals  for  the nou-
rifbe1 rt of  their young ; and each kind is adapted to the
coint'uuiion •'[ the worm that  is to  proceed Srom their

   Bi'd* of the fame Species, unleSs  when  reftrained  by
peculiar circunilb.nces, uniformly build  their nefts of the
fame ntaterub, and in the fame form and htuation, though
they inhabit very different climates.  When removed  by
neceflityfroni th ir eggs, they  haften back to them v.ith
anxiety.   They turn and ffiift their eggs, which has the
effket of beating them  equally.  Ducks  and geefe  cover
v.ytheir e-gs till they return to the neft.  A hen fits with
equal ardour upon eggs of a different  fpecies,  or even
unci,  arth.cial  eggs.   I  have  often contemplated v.dth
w^ndk; an inftinct of the Swallow.  When lur offspring
are vt"' your g  like other Small birds,  fhe  carries their
excrements out of the  neft.   But, after  they are  older,
ike attaches herielf to the fide of the neit,  and, by Ibmc-
geftureb  and founds, Solicits the young  to void their ex-
•s                                  --       crements:
  * R-31" ur, torn. 12. ??,%. tt.  S.      + Ibid. p:^. ::,—3?.  S.
  Mind. 10m. 11. pag. jH. S. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     i4i
crements: One of them immediately turns round, ele-
vates its hind parts  above the edge  of the  neft, makes
the proper effort, and the mother,  before the dung is
half protruded from the anus, lays hold of it with  her
bill, drags it out, carries it off, and drops it at a diftance
from the neft.   In all thefe operations,  men recognife the
intentions of Nature; but they are hid from the animals
who perform them.
  The fpider, the  dermeftes, and many infects of fhe
beetle kind, exhibit an inftinct of  a very uncommon na-
ture.   When put in terror by a touch of the finger,  the
fpider  rims  off with  great fwiftnefs :  But,  if he  finds,
that, whatever direction he takes,  he is oppofed by ano-
ther finger, he then feems  to defpair  of being  able  to
efcape, contracts his limbs and  body, lies perfectly mo-
tionlefs,  and  counterfeits every  Symptom of death.   In
this Situation I have pierced fpiders with pins, and torn
them to pieces, without their difcovering  the fmalleft
mark of  pain.  This Simulation oS death has been aScri-
bed  to a ftrong  convulfion, or  flupor,  occafioned  by
terror.   But this Solution oS the phenomenon is errone-
ous.  I have repeatedly tried the  experiment,  and uni-
Sormly found,  that, if the object of  terror be removed,
in a few Seconds the animal runs off  with great rapidity.
Some beetles, when counterfeiting death, fuffer themfelves
to be gradually roafted, without moving a fingle joint.
  It is  unneceffary  to give  more  examples of pure  in-
ftincts.   I  fhall  therefore proceed to  the fecond clafs,
namely,

II.  Of Inftincls  which can accommodate  them/elves to pecu-
            liar circumftances and fituations.

  To this clafs many  human inftincts  may' be referred.
But, as thefe inftinctive-propensities  are likewiSe highly
impr.oveable by experience and observation,  examples of
them will fall more  naturally to be given under the third
claSs.
  ThoSe  animals are moft perfect whofe fphere of know-
ledge extends to the greateft number of objects.   When
                                          interrupted 
142        THE  PHILOSOPHY
interrupted in their operations, they know how to refume
their labours,  and to accomplifh their purpofes, by differ-
ent means.  Some animals have no other power but that
of contracting or extending their bodies.  But the falcon,
the dog, and the fox, purfue their prey with intelligence
and  addrefs.
  The oftrich has been accufed of unnaturalnefs, becaufe
fhe  leaves her eggs to be hatched by  the  heat of the fun.
In Senegal, where the heat is great, fhe negleCts her eggs
during the day, but fits upon them  in  the night.  At
the  Cape of Good-Hope, however,  where the degree of
heat is  lefs, the  oftrich, like  other birds,  fits upon her
eggs both day and night.
  Rabbits dig  holes in the ground for warmth and pro-
tection.  But, after continuing long in a domedic ftate,
that refource  being unneceflary,  they  Seldom employ
this  art *.
  Bees, when they have not room enough for their ope-
rations, augment the depth of their honey-cells |.  The
female bee, when the cells are not fufficiently numerous
to receive her eggs, lays two or three in each cell.   But,
a few days after, when the cells are increafed, the working
bees remove all the Supernumerary eggs, and depofit them
in the new conftructed cells \.
  When a waSp, in attempting to tranSport a dead com-
panion from the neft, finds the load too heavy, he cuts
off  its head, and carries it out in two  portions §.
  In countries infefted with monkeys, many birds, which,
in other climates, build in bufhes and the clefts oS trees,
SuSpend their nefts upon flender twigs, and,  by this inge-
nious device, elude the  rapacity oS their  enemies.
  The nymphs oS water-moths, commonly called cod-bait,
cover themSelves, by means oS gluten,  with pieces of
wood,  Straw, fmall fhells, or gravel.   It  is neceffary that
they fhould always be  nearly  in equilibrium with the
water in which they live.  To accomplifh  this  purpofe,
when their habitations are too heavy,  they add a piece of
wood, when too light, a bit of gravel ||.            T,   ,

  * Gazette Liter, tone £, pag. "28.  S.    t Reaumur, torn. 10. pag. 89. 8.
  * Ibid. pag. 240.  S.               ^ Ibid, torn. It. pag. .41.  S.
  " B'.-nrt, torn. \. ;"g. 2oy.----Reaumur, torn. 5. pag. 215.  S. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     143
  I had a cat that frequented a clofet, the door of which
was fattened  by a common iron latch.  A window  was
Situated near the  door.   When the door was fhut, the
cat  gave herSelS no  uneafineSs.  As Soon as fhe tired of
her confinement, fhe mounted on the Sole of the window,
and with her paw dexteroufly lifted the latch and came
out.  This pra&ice fhe continued for years.
  Thefe examples,  I hope, are Sufficient.

III.  The third clafs comprehends all thofe Inftincls which are
        improveable by experience and obfervation.

  The Superiority oS man over the other animals Seems
to depend chiefly on the great number  of inftincts  with
which his mind is endowed.  Traces of every inftinct he
poffeffes  are  difcoverable in the brute creation.  But no
particular fpecies enjoys the  whole.  On the contrary,
moft animals are limited to a fmall number.  This appears
to be the reafon why the inftincts of brutes are Stronger,
and more Steady in their operation, than thofe of  man.
A being actuated  by a great variety of motives muft ne-
ceffarily reafon, or, in other words, hefitate in his choice.
Its conduct, therefore,  muft  often waver ; and  he  will
have the appearance of being inferior to another creature
who is ftimulated to action by a Smaller number oS mo-
tives.  Man,  accordingly, has been confidered as the moft
vacillant and inconfiftent of all animals.  The remark is
juft ;  but, inftead of a cenfure, it is an encomium on the
fpecies. The actions of a dog, or a monkey,  for the Same
reaSon, are more various, whimfical, and  uncertain,  than
thoSe oS a fheep or a cow.
  Moft human inftincts receive improvement Srom expe*
rience and observation,  and  are capable of a thoufand
modifications.  This is another Source of man's Superio-
rity over the brutes. When we are ftimulated by a par-
ticular inftinct, inftead of inftantly obeying  the impulfe,
another inftinct arifes in oppofition,  creates hefitation,
and oSten totally extinguifhes  the original motive to ac-
tion.   The inftinct of fear is  daily counteracted  by am-
bition or  refentment; and, in  fome minds, fear is too
                                            powerful 
144
THE  PHILOSOPHY
 powerful for re-fentment, or any other inftinct we poffefs.
 Tire inftinct of anger is often reftraincd  by the apprehen-
 fion of danger, by  the fenfe of propriety, by contempt,
 and even by cempaflion.  Sympathy, which is one of our
 moft amiable inftincts,  frequently  yields to  anger, ambi-
 tion, and other motives.  The inftinct or fenfe of morality
 is too  often thwarted by ambition, refentment, love, fear,
 and feveral of what  I  call modified or  compounded  in-
 ftincts, fuch as avarice, envy,  &c.
   The following are examples of modified, compounded,
 or extended inftincts.
   Superftition is the inftinct of fear extended to imagi-
 nary objects of terror.
   Devotion is an extenfion oS the  inftinct of love to the
 Firft Caufe, or  Author, of  the Univirfe.
   Reverence or refpect for eminent characters is a fpecies
 of devotion.
   Avarice is the inftinct of love directed to an improper
 object.
   Hope is the inftinct of love directed to future good.
   Envy is compounded of love, avarice, ambition, and fear.
   Benevolence is the inftinct of love diffufed  over all ani-
 mated  beings.
   Sympathy is  the inftinct of fear transferred to another
 perfon, and reflected  back upon ourfelves.
   In this  manner, all  the modified, compounded,  or ex-
 tended paflions  and propenfities of the  human mind,  may
 be traced back  to their original inftincts.
  The inftincts  of brutes  are  likewife improved by ob-
 fervation  and experience.   A young dog, like a child,
 requires both time and art to unfold and perfect his na-
 tural inftincts.   If neglected by man,  he learns from his
 companions how to act in particular fituations: But, when
 he enjoys  both thefe  Sources of information, his talents
are improved to a degree that often excites our aftonifli-
 mcnt.  The fame remark applies to all docile animals,  as
 the elephant, the horfe, the camel, &c.   Every man's re-
 collection will  fupply him  with many examples of the
 improveable talents of brutes;  and, therefore, it is  un-
neceffary to be more  explicit.
                                             Having 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     145
   Having exhibited inftances of pure inftinct, of inftincts
which accommodate themSelves to peculiar circumftances
and fituations, and of inftincts improveable by observation
and experience,  I.fhall now hazard a Sew remarks.
   From the examples I have given, it appears that inftinct
is an original quality of mind, which,  in many animals,
may be improved, modified, and extended, by experience ;
that Some inftincts are coeval with birth ;  and that others,
as Sear, anger, the principle of imitation, and the power
of reaSoning, or  balancing motives, are gradually unfold-
ed, according to the exigencies of the animal.  One of
the ftrongeft inftincts appears not till near the age of puber-
ty ; but, by bad example, and improper fituations, this in -
ftinctive defire is often prematurely excited.   The minds
of brutes,  as well as thofe of men,  have original quali-
ties, deftined for the prefervation of the individual,  and
the continuation of the fpecies.   The calling forth of
thefe qualities is not inftinct, but the exertion or energy
of inftinct.   Inftincts exift before they act.  What man
or brutes learn by experience, though  this experience be
founded on inftinct, cannot with propriety be called in-
ftinctive knowledge, but knowledge derived from expe-
rience and obfervation.  Inftinct fhould be limited to fuch
actions as every  individual of a fpecies exerts without the
aid either of experience or imitation. Hence inftinct may
be defined, ' Every original quality of mind which pro-
'  duces particular feelings  or actions, when the proper
1  objects are prefented to At.'  Thefe qualities or inftincts
vary in particular fpecies. Some are  endowed with many,
and others with few.   In fome they are ftronger, in others
weaker ;  and their ftrength or weaknefs  feems  to be ex-
actly proportioned to their number.  The difference of
talents among men who have had the fame culture, arifes
from a bluntnefs, or abfolute deprivation, of fome origi-
nal or modified inftincts.  Tafte, or love of particular ob-
jects, whether animated, inanimated, or artificial, is in
fome men fo obtufe, that we often fay it is entirely want-
ing.  Infects have fewer inftincts than men or quadrupeds ;
but the exertions of infects are fo  uniform and  fteady,
that they excite  the admiration of every beholder.
                        T                    Senfation 
 146*        THE  PHILOSOPHY
   Senfation implies a fenticnt principle, or mind.  What-
 ever feels, therefore, is mind.  Of courfe, the loweft fpe-
 cies of animals are endowed w ith mind :  But, the minds
 of animals have very different powers ; and thefe  powers
 are exprefied by peculiar actions.   The ftructure of their
 bodies is uniformly adapted to the powers of their minds.
 We never fee a mature animal attempting actions w hich
 Nature has not  enabled it to perform,  by  bellowing  on  it
 proper inftruments.  A bee collects  the materials of honey
 and wax, but attempts not to  gnaw rotten wood, like the
 wafp.—Neither does peculiarity of ftructure prompt the
 actions of brutes.  Calves pufh with their heads long be-
 fore their horns aie grown.  This, and fimilar examples,
 fhow, that the inftincts of brutes exift previous to  the ex-
 panfion of thofe inftruments which Nature intended they
 fhould employ.
  This view of inftinct is Simple,  removes every obiection
 to the exiflence of mind  in  brutes, and unfolds all  their
actions,  by referring  them to motives perfectly fimilar to
 thoSe  by which man is actuated.  There is, perhaps,  a
 greater difference between the mental powers of fome ani-
 mals than between thoSe oS man and the  moft  Sagacious
 brutes.   Inftincts may be confidered as So many internal
 SenSes, oS which fome animals have a greater, and others
 a fmaller number.  Thefe SenSes, in different Species, are
 likewiSe more or  lefs ductile ;  and the animals  poffefling
 them are, of courfe,  more or lefs  fuSccptible of improv-
 ing, and of  acquiring knowledge. p
  The notion that animals are machines,  is  perhaps too
 abfurd to merit  refutation.  Though no animal is endow-
 ed with  mental  powers  equal  to thofe of man, yet there
 is not a  faculty  of the  human mind, but evident marks
of its exiflence are  to be found in particular animals.
 Senfes, memory, imagination,  the principle of imitation,
 curiofity, cunning, ingenuity, devotion, or reSpect Sor Su-
 periors,  gratitude, are all difcoverable in  the  brute  crea-
 tion.  Neil her is art denied to them.  They build in  vari-
 ous Stiles ; they dig ; they wage war ;  they extract pecu-
liar Subftancesi from water, from  plants,  from the earth;
 they modulate  their  voices fo as to communicate  their
                                               wants, 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.
147
wants, their fentiments,  their pleafures and  pains, their
apprehenfions  oS danger, and their proSpe£ts  oS future
good.   Every fpecies has its own language, which is per*
fectly underftood by the individuals.   They afk and give
affiftance to each other.   They fpeak of their neceffities;
and this branch of their language is more or lets extended,
in proportion to the number of their  wants.  Geftures
and inarticulate founds are the Signs  of their  thoughts.
It rs neceffary that the fame fentiments fhould produce the
fame founds and the fame movements; and, consequent-
ly, each individual  oS a Species muft have the fame orga-
nization.   Birds and  quadrupeds, accordingly, are inca-
pable of holding difcourfe to each other, or communicat-
ing the ideas and feelings they poffefs  in common.   The
language of gefture prepares for that of articulation ; and
fome animals are capable of acquiring a knowledge of ar-
ticulate founds.  They firft judge of our thoughts by our
geftures ;  and afterwards acquire the habit of connecting
thefe thoughts  with  the language in  which we exprefs
them.   It is in this mariner that the elephant and the dog
learn to obey the commands of their matters.
   Infants are exactly in the fame condition with brutes.
They underftand fome of our geftures and  words  long
before  they can articulate.  They difcover their wants by
geftures and inarticulate founds, the meaning  of which
the nurfe learns by experience.  Different infants have
different modes oS exprefling their wants.   This is the
reafon  why nurfes know the intentions of infants, though
they are perfectly unintelligible to ftrangers.  When an
infant,  accordingly,  is transferred from one nurfe to ano-
ther, the former inftructs the latter in  the geftures and
inarticulate language of the  child.
   The idea of a machine implies a Select combination of
the common properties of matter.   The regularity of its
movements is a proof that they are totally diftinct from
animal or fpontaneous motion.  A machine has nothing
analogous to fenfation, which is the loweft characteristic
of an  animal.   An  animated  machine, therefore, is an
abfurd abufe of terms.  It confounds what  Nature has
diftinguifhed in the moft unambiguous manner.   The in-
                                               ftincts 
 U*        THE  PHILOSOPHY
ftincts of brutes,  are, in general, ftronger, and lefs Sub-
ject to reftraint, than thofe of man.  The reafon is plain :
They1 have  not  an equal number of inftincts to  curb,:
counterbalance, or moderate their motives to particular
actions.   Hence thev have often the appearance of acting
by mere  impulfe; and  this  circumftance has led fome
philofophers to confider brutes as machines.  But  they
reflect not that children, Savages, and ignorant men, aCt
nearly in the fame  manner.   It is  focietv  and culture
which foften and  moderate  the paffions and  actions of
men, as well as of thofe of docile animals.
  Brutes, like men, learn to fee objects in their  proper
nofition, to judge of diftances and heights, and of hurtt
nil,  pleafureable, or indifferent bodies.   Without fome
portion  of reafon, therefore,  they could never acquire
the faculty of making a proper ufe of  their  fenfes.  A
dog, though preffed with hunger,  will not feize a piece
of meat in prefence of his matter, unlefs it  be given to
him : But, with his eyes, his  movements, and his voice,
Ik makes the moft  humble and  expreflive  petition.   If
this  balancing of motives be not  reafoning,  1  know not
 by what other name it can be  called.
   Animals, recently after birth,  know not how to avoid
 danger.  Neither can they make  a  proper  ufe of  their
members.   But  experience  foon  teaches them what  is
pleafant and what is painful, what objects are hurtful and
what Salutary.  A young cat,  or  a dog, who has had no
 experience of leaping from a height,  will, without  hesi-
 tation,  precipitate  itfelf from the top  of a  high  wall.
 But, after perceiving that certain  heights are hurtful, and
 others inoffenfive, the animal  learns to make the distinc-
 tion, and never afterwards can be prevailed upon to leap
 born a height which it knows will be productive of  pain.
   Young animals examine every object they  meet with.
 In this investigation thev employ  all  their organs.   The
 firft periods  of their liie are dedicated to Study.  When
 they run about,  and make frolickfome gambols, it is Na-
 ture Sporting with them for  their instruction.   In this
 manner they improve their faculties and organs, and  ac-
 quire an intimate knowledge  of the  objects which fur-
                                               round 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     149
round  them.  Men who, from  peculiar circumftances,
have been  prevented  from mingling  with companions,
and engaging in the different amufements and exercifes
of youth, are always awkward in their movements, can-
not ufe their organs with  eafe or dexterity, and often con-
tinue,  during life, ignorant of the moft common objects.
  From the above  faCts  and reafoning, it feems to be
apparent, that inftincts are original qualities of mind ;  that
every animal is  poffeffed of fome of  thefe qualities ;  that
the intelligence  and refources of animals are proportioned
to the  number of inftincts  with  which their minds are
endowed ;  that all animals are, in fome meafure, rational
beings ; and that the dignity and  Superiority of the human
intellect are neceffary refults, not of the conformation of
our bodies, but of the great  variety  of  inftincts which
Nature has been pleafed to confer on the fpecies.
CHAPTER   VI.
                    Of the Senfisx,


    NO animal of which we have any knowledge is endow-
     ed with more than the five external fenfes of fmell-
ing, tafting, hearing, touch, and feeing; and no animal,
however imperfect, is deftitute of the whole.  Without
organs of  fenfation, in  a  smaller or  greater  number,
animal or intellectual exiflence is to us an inconceivable
idea.   Hence the  notion  of the ancients, and of a very
few moderns, that this earth, as well  as all  the heavenly
bodies, are intelligent beings,  though they  have not the
veftige of any inftrument of fenfation, or  of any thing
analogous to our ideas of animation, except mechanical
motion, is too absurd even to be ferioufly mentioned.
   Upon this interesting Subject, as it comprehends every
Source of information, and every motive to action in man,
                                                  as 
150        THE  PHILOSOPHY
a«; well as in the inferior animals, it is not furprifing that
So much has been written, and that So many different theo-
ries have been invented, and Submitted to public infpecti-
on.  Some of  thefe theories fhall be  taken notice of in
a curfory manner,  and others, as unworthy of attention,
fhall be  paffed  over in Silence.
   Our observations on the different inftruments of SenSa-
tion fhall proceed in the following order, namely,  of the
fenfes of fmelling, of tafting,  of hearing, of touch, and
of feeing.  In general,  it may be remarked,  that all
fenfation is conveyed to the mind by  an unknown influ-
ence of the nerves.  If the optic, olfactory, or any nerve
diftributed over an organ of fenfation, be cut, or rendered
paralytic,  the animal inftantly  lofes  that particular fenfe.
This is a fact univerfally eftablifhed  by experiment.  But
that the nerves,  which are perfectly Similar in every part
oS the body, fhould, when diftributed over the eye, the
ear, the  tongue, the nofe, convey to the mind feelings
So different, is the moft myfterious  part of this fubject.
When M. de  Bonnet  tells us,  that every organ of lenfe
probably confifts of fibres fpecifically different;  and  that
thee fibres are particular fenfes endowed with a  peculiar
manner  oi  acting,  correfponding to the perceptions they
excite in the mind;—he means to reafon ; but  he does
no more than  give a circumlocution for the fact.


              OF  SMELLING.

   In man, and many other animals, the organ by which
the fenfe of fmelling is conveyed to the mind has received
the general appellation  of acfe, or ncfirils.  The more im-
mediate instrument of this  fenfation  is a SoSt,  vaScular,
porous membrane, covered with numerous papillae, and
is known by the name of membranapituitaria, or membrana
Schncidcnana.   This membrane  is  totally  covered with
infinite ramifications and convolutions  of the  olfactory
nerves.  Thefe nerves  are almoft naked, and expofed to
xh- action of the air which panes  through  the  nofe in
performing the function of refpiration.  But Nature, ever
                                             attentive 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     ir,
attentive to the eafe  and convenience  of her creatvcei,
has furnifhed  the  noftrils with  a  number of glands,  or
fmall arteries, which fecrete a thick infipid mucus.  By
this mucus, the olfactory nerves are deSended from   he
action of the air, and  from the painful Stimuli of acnd
odours.
 ' The odours perceived by fmelling are extremely various.
Some of them convey to us the moft delightful ar I re-
frefhing fenfations, and others are painful, noxious, and dif-
gufting.' All bodies in Nature, whether Solid or fluid,
whether animated or inanimated,  continually Send forth
to the air  certain effluvia  or emanations  from their res-
pective Subftances. TheSe effluvia float in the atmofphere,
and act upon the olfactory nerves  of  different animals,
and fometimes of different individuals of the fame fpecies,
in fuch a manner as  to produce very different fenfations.
What  is pleafant to the noftrils of one animal is highly
offenfive to thofe of  another. Brute animals Select their
food chiefly by  employing the  SenSe of Smelling,  and  it
Seldom deceives  them.  They  eafily diftinguifh noxious
from falutary food ; and  they  carefully avoid the one,
and  ufe  the  other for nourifhment.   The  fame thing
happens with regard to the drink of animals.  A cow,
when it can be obtained, always  repairs  to the clearest
and frefheft  ftreams ; but a horfe,  from fome instinctive
impulfe, uniformly raifes the mud with his feet, and ren-
ders the water impure, before he drinks.
  In the Selection of food,  men are greatly aflifted,  even
in the  moft  luxurious ftate of fociety, by the fenfe of
fmelling.  By Smelling we often reject  food as noxious,
and will not rifk the other test of tafting.  Victuals which
have a putrid Smell,  as equally offenfive to our noftrils as
hurtful to our constitutions, we avoid with abhorrence ;
but we are allured to eat fubftances which have a grateful
and favoury odour. The more frequent and  more acute
difcernment  oS brutes in  the  exercife of this Senfe,  is
entirely owing to their freedom, and to  their ufmg natural
productions alone.  But men in fociety, bv  the  arts of
cookery, by the unnatural  affemblage of twenty ingredi-
ents in one dilh, blunt, corrupt, and deceive both their
                                                fenfes 
l5l
THE  PHILOSOPHY
 fenfes of Smelling and tafting.  Were we in the fame na-
 tural condition as the brutes, our fenfe of fmelling v. >uld
 enable us to diftingtiilh,  with equal certainty, noxious
 from Salutary food.  Brutes, as well as  men, prefer par-
 ticular foods  to  others.  This  may be confidered a& a
 fpecies of luxury ; but  it fhould likewife be confidered,
 that all the articles thev ufe are either animal or vegetable
 fubftances in a natural ftate, neither converted into a thou-
 fand  forms  and  qualities by the  operation of fire and
 water, nor  having their  favour  exalted  by Stimulating
 condiments.   Domestic animals are nearly in the fame
 condition with luxurious  men.  A pampered dog  fnuffs
 and rejects many  kinds  oS food, which, in a natural.State,
 he would devour  with eagernefs.
  It is not unworthy oS remark, that, in all animals, the
 organs of Smelling and oS tafting are uniformly Situated
 very near each other.   Here  the intention of Nature is
 evident.   The vicinity of thefe two  fenfes forms a double
 guard in  the Selection of food.  Were they placed in dis-
 tant parts of the  body, they could not So readily  give
 mutual aid to one another.
  But affiftance in the choice of food is not the only ad-
 vantage that men  and other animals derive from the fenfe
 of Smelling.  Every body in  nature, whether animal, or
 mineral,  when expoSed to the air, continually Sends Sorth
 emanations, or effluvia, of   fuch extreme fubtilty, that
 no eye can  perceive them.   Thefe  effluvia, or volatile
 particles, diffufe themfelves through the  air, and moft of
 them are  recognifed, by  the organ of  fmelling, to be
 either agreeable or difagreeable.   To give  fome idea of
 the  inconceivable  minutenefs of thefe particles, and oX the
 amazing  fenfibility of the noftrils of animals, the  odour
 of mufk has been known to fill a large  fpace for feveral
years without lofing any perceptible part of its weight.
Thus, the air we breathe is perpetually impregnated with
 an  infinity of  different  particles which  ftimulate the ol-
factory nerves, and give  rife to  the fenfation of Smell.
 When our SenSes are not vitiated by unnatural habits, they
are  not only faithSul monitors oS danger, but convey to
 us the moft exquifite plv.feu.>.   Even the  fenfe ci fmell-
                                                  ing 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      153
ing is always productive either of pleafure or pain.  The
fragrance of a rofe,  and of many  other flowers, is not
only pleafant, but gives a* refrefhing and delightful Sti-
mulus to the whole fyftem, and may be confidered as  a
fpecies of wholefome nourifhment;  while the odours pro-
ceeding from hemlock, and from many other noxious ve-
getable, animal, and mineral fubftances, are highly offen-
five to our noftrils.   Hence we are naturally compelled to
embrace the one clafs of SenSations and to avoid the other.
  Some animals, as the dog, the fox,  the raven, &c. are
endowed with a moft exquifite fenfe of fmelling.  A dog
Scents various kinds of game at considerable diftances ;
and, if the fact were not confirmed by daily experience,
it could hardly gain credit, that he can trace the  odour
of his matter's foot through all the winding streets of a
populous city.  If we judge from our own feelings, this
extreme Sensibility in the noSe of a dog is to us perfectly
incomprehensible.
  The SenSe of fmelling,  like that of fome other fenfes,
may be perverted  or corrupted by habit.   The  Snuffing,
chewing, and fmoaking tobacco, though at first difagree-
able, become, by the power of habit, not Only pleafant,
but almoft indifpenfible.   The fame remark is applicable
to the practice of  Swallowing ardent Spirits, the  moft
deleterious of all  poifons,  becaufe  the moft extenfively
employed.   How  the natural ftate of the nerves, and of
the fenfations conveyed by them, fhould be fo completely
Changed, we are  totally  ignorant.   The conftitution of
the nerves often varies in different individuals of the fame
fpecies.   An odour which is  difguftful to one man is
highly grateful to  another.  I knew  a gentleman who was
in the daily habit of lighting and putting out candles, that
he might enjoy the pleafure of their fmell.   Few  men,
I fuppofe, would envy him.
U
OF 
»5*
THE  PHILOSOPHY
              OFT  A S  T  I N G.

  The tongue and palate are the great  inftruments  oS
this  SenSation.   With  much wiSdom and propriety, the
organ oS tafte  is Situated in Such a manner as enables it to
be a guardian  to the  alimentary  canal, and to  affift the
organ of fmell in diftinguifhing  Salutary from  noxious
food.  The tongue, like the other inftruments  of  fenfa-
tion, is amply  fupplied with nerves.   The terminations of
thefe nerves appear on the furface of the tongue in the
form of  papilla,  or minute nipples, which are always
erected on  the application of fapid or stimulating fubftan-
ces.  This  elevation and extenfion  of the  papillae,  by
bringing larger portions  of the nerves into  contact with
the fubftances applied to the tongue,  give additional
strength  to the fenfation, and enable us to judge with
greater accuracy concerning their nature and qualities.
Befide the nervous papillae,  the tongue is perpetually
moiftened with Saliva,  a liquor which,  though infipid  It-
Self, is one great caufe of all  taftes.  The faliva of ani-
mals is a very powerful Solvent.  Every Subftance applied
to the tongue  is partially diffolved  by the  Saliva before
the fenfation  of tafte  is excited.  When the tongue is
rendered dry by difeafe,  or any other caufe,  the SenSe  of
tafte is either vitiated or  totally annihilated.
  In fome  men, the fenfe of tafte is fo blunt, that they
cannot diftinguifh, with any degree of  accuracy, the dif-
ferent fpecies of that fenfation.  In others, whether from
Nature or from habit,  this fenfe is fo acute, that  they can
perceive  the niceft diftinctions in  the favour  of Solids and
of liquids.
  The SenSations conveyed to the mind  by tafte, like thoSe
of all the SenSes. are either agreeable, diSagreeable, or in-
different.   The pleaSures arifing Srom this SenSe are not
only great, but highly  uSeful to every animal.  The fenfe
itfelf, however, is comparatively grofs ;  for,  in fmelling,
hearing,  and feeing, fenfations are excited by emanations
or undulations proceeding from bodies  at  great diftances
                                                 from 
         OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      155
  from the animals who perceive  them.  But, in tafting,
  the object muft be brought into  actual contact with the
  tongue before  its qualities can be difcovered.  How this
  proportionally grofs fenfe fhould have been felected, and
  figuratively applied to the general perception of every thing-
  beautiful and fublime, whether in Nature or in art, it  is
  difficult to determine.  The inquiry, however, would not
  be incurious,  whether men who have an obtufe SenSe of
  tafting material  fubftances^ are  likewife deficient in the
  perception of beauty and deformity.
    Though  the fenfe of tafte varies in fome individuals,
  yet, like figurative tafte, the standard of agreeable  and
  difagreeable, of pleafant and painful, is almoft univer-
  fally diffufed over mankind and the brute creation.  Every
  horfe, and every ox, when in a natural ftate, eat and re-
  ject the  fame  fpecies  of food;   But, men  in Society, as
  well as domestic animals, are induced by habit, by  necef-
  fity, or  by imitation,  to acquire a tafte for many diflies,.
  and combinations of fubftances, which, before the natural
  discriminating fenfe is perverted, would be rejected wdth
  difguft. -
   • Some individuals of the human fpecies have an aversion
  to particular kinds of food, which  are generally agree-
  able.  This averfion may be either original or acquired.
  I knew a child, who, Srom the  moment he was weaned,
  could never be induced to take milk oS any kind.   TheSe
  original aversions muft be afcribed to Some peculiar mo-
  dification in  the ftructure of the organ, or in the diSpo-
  pofition oS its  nerves.   But, in  general, diSguft at  parti-
  cular  foods  is produced  by furfeits, which injure  the
  ftomach, and  create, in that exquisitely-irritable vifcus,
  an  infuperable  antipathy  to receive  nourifhment which
  formerly gave it fo much uneafineSs to digest.
   Brute animals,  efpecially thofe which feed upon  herb-
  age, and are not liable to be corrupted by example or
  neceflity, diftinguifli taftes with wonderful accuracy.  By
• the  application of the tongue,  they inftantly  perceive
  whether  any plant  is falutary or noxious.  To enable
  them,  amidit a thoufand plants,  to make this difcrimina-
                                                  tion, 
 156        THE  PHILOSOPHT
 tion, their nervous papillae, and their tongues, arc pro-
 portionally much larger than thofe of man.


              OF  HEARING,

   The SenSation of hearing is  conveyed to the mind by
 undulations of «ir striking  the ear, an organ  of a  very
 delicate and complex ftructure.  In man and quadrupeds,
 ♦he external ears are large,  and provided with mufcles by
 ,'hich they can erect and move them  from  fide to  fide,
 n order to catch the undulations produced in the air by
 he vibrations oS Sonorous bodies,  or to diftinguifh with
greater accuracy the  Species  of found, and  the nature
and fituation of the animal or  object from which it  pro-
ceeds. Though the human earp, like thofe of quadru-
peds, are furnifhed with mufcles, evidently intended  for
Similar movements, yet, I  know not for what reafon,
there is not one man in  a million who has the power of
moving his ears.   When we liften  to a feeble found, we
are confcious of an exertion; but that exertion, and the
motions produced by it, are confined to the internal parts
of the organ.
  The canah or paffages to the internal parts of the  ear
are cylindrical, fomewhat contorted,  and become gradu-
ally finaller till they reach the  membrana tympani, w-hich
covers what is called the drum  of the ear.   This  mem-
brane, which is extremely fenfible, when acted upon by
undulations of air, however excited, conveys,  by means
oS a complex apparatus of bones, nerves, &c. the fen-
fation of found to  the brain or fentient principle.
  That air is the medium by which aM Sounds are propa-
gated, has been eftablifhed by repeated experiments.   The
found of a bell, Suspended in the receiver oS an air-pump,
gradually diminifhes as the air  is exhausted, till it almoft
entirely ceaSes to be beard.  On the other  hand, when
the quantity of air is increafed hy  a condenfer, the in-
tenfity of the found is  proportionally augmented.   Mr.
Haukibee, in a paper pubtifbed in the Philofophical Tranf.
actions, has proved, that founds actually produced cannot
                                                  be 
         OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     157
 be tranfmitted thfovgh a vacuum? or a Jtpace deprived of
 air.  ' I took/ fays he, ' a ftrong receiver* armed with  a
 ' brafs hoop at the bottom, in which I included a bell as
 1 large as it could well contain.  This receiver  I Screwed
 ' ftrongly down to a braSs plate with a -wet  leather be-
 ' tween, and  it was  full  of common air, which could
 ' nowife make its efeape.   Thus, Secured, it  was % on
 ' the pump, where it was covered with another large re-
 6 ceiver.  In this manner, the air contained between the
 ' outward and inward receivers was exhausted.  Now here
 ' I was fure, when the clapper fhould be made to strike
 6 the bell, there would be actually found produced in the
 ' inward receiver; the air in which was of the fame den-
 ' fity as common air, could Suffer no  alteration  by the
 c vacuum on its outfide, fo ftrongly was it Secured on all
 * parts.  Thus, all being ready for trial, the clapper was
 * made to strike the bell;  but I found that there was no
 ' tranfmiffion  of it  through the vacuum, though I was
 6 fure there was actual found produced in the  inward re-
 ' ceiver.'
   Toenable us to understand the manner in which founds
 are propagated through the air, philofophers have had"
 recourfe to the undulations  produced by a stone thrown
 into a pond of flagnating water.  Thefe undulations affume
 the form of circular  waves, which  fucceflively proceed
 from the place where  the stone struck the water, as from
 a center, and continually dilate,  and become greater and
 greater as they recede from that center, till  they reach
 the banks of the  water, where they either vanifh or are
 reflected.  Now, as air is  likewife a fluid, fimilar undu-
 lations, though to us  invisible,  are produced in it by the
 vibrations of Sonorous bodies, and  are alfo  propagated
 to great diftances in Succeffive waves or rings.  Thefe un-
 dulations of the air,  wheH they come into contact with
 our organs of  hearing, make fuch a tremulous impreffion
upon them as excites in our minds the SenSation  of found.
This analogy,  though not altogether  perfect, is  fufficient
to illustrate thofe invisible  motions  of the air by  which
founds are conveyed from  one place  to  another, and to
                                                 give 
 158        THE  PHILOSOPHY

give an idea of echoes,  or  reflected  undulations  of that
fluid.
   The celerity with which founds,  or undulations of air,
move, has been exactly computed.  All founds,  whether
acute or grave,  ftrong or weak, move at the rate of 1142
feet in a Second of time.  Hence, whenever the lightening
of thunder,  or the fire oS artillery, are Seen,  their actual
diftances from the obferver may be eafily  afcertained  by
the vibrations of  a  pendulum.  This velocity, it is true,
may be a little augmented  or  diminiflied  by  favourable
or by  contrary winds,  and by heat or  cold.   But the
difference, even in  high winds, is fo  trifling, that, for
any ufeful purpofe,  it Scarcely  merits attention.
   Infants hear bluntly, becaufe the  bones of their ears
aVe foft and cartilaginous ; and, of courfe, the tremulations
excited in them by the motions of the  air  are compara-
tively weak.   Young children,  accordingly, are extremely
fpnd of noife.  it routes their  attention,  and conveys to
them the  agreeable  fenfation of found ;  but feeble founds
are not .perceived, which gives infants, like deaf pexibni,
the appearance of inattention,  or rather of ftupidity.
   The force or intensity-of found is augmented by  re-
flection from Surrounding bodies.  It is from  this  caufe
that the  human  \  >ice,  or any  other  noife, is always
weaker, and lels diitinctly heard, in  the open air than in
a houfe.
   The modifications of found are not lefs various than thofe
of raite j or odours.  The ear is capable of  diftinguifhing
Some hundred tones in found,  and probably as many de-
grees of strength in  the fame tones.   By combining thefe,
many thoufand Simple Sounds,  which differ either in tone
or in  flrength, are perceived  and diftinguifhed  by the
ear.   A violin, -a flute,  a French-horn,  may each oS them
-he the Same tone;  but the ear eafily makes the distinc-
tion.   The immenfe variety oS SenSations, arising  from
the organs of Smelling,^ of tailing, and oS hearing, enables
animals to judge concerning the nature and  Situation of
external object*.  By habit we learn to know the bodies
from which   particular fpecies  of  founds  proceed.  Pre-
vious to all experience, we could not diftinguifh whether
                                              a found 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      159
a found came from the right or  the left,  from above or
below, from a greater or a fmaller diftance, or whether it
was  the found of a coach,  of a drum, of a bell, or of
an animal.   By catching cold, I once had a temporary
deafnefs in my left ear.  I was furprifed to findthat I had
loft the faculty of perceiving  the fituation from which
founds proceeded. If a dog barked on the left, I thought
the noiSe came Srom the right.  This circumftance excited
my curiofity: But, upon recollection, I'knew that  my
left ear was deaS; and that every Sound I heard was per-
ceived Solely by the right; and, consequently, I discovered
the cauSe oS the  deception.
  Hearing enables us to perceive all the agreeable fenSa-
tions conveyed to our  minds by  the melody and harmony
oS Sounds.   This, to man at  leaft, is  a  great fource of
pleafure and of innocent amufement.   But Some men are
almoft totally  deftitute of the  faculty of diftinguifhing
mufical Sounds,  and  oS perceiving thoSe delightSul and
diverfified feelings excited by the various combinations
of mufical tones. Moft men  derive pleaSure Srom parti-
cular Species oS mufic.  But, a mufical ear, in a restricted
fenfe, is by  no means  a general qualification.   An  ear
for mufic, however, though not to be acquired by study,
when the faculty itfelS is wanting, may be highly impro-
ved  by habit and culture.   Buffon,  after examining a
number oS  perSons who had no  ear Sor mufic,  Says,  that
every one oS them heard worSe  in  one ear than in  the
other ; and  aScribes their inability oS  diftinguifhing  mu-
fical expreffion to that defect.  But a  mufical ear Seems
to have no dependence on acuteneSs or bluntneSs  of hear-
ing, whether in  one or in  both  ears.  There  are many
examples of people who may  be faid to be half deaf, and
yet are both fond of mufic, and  fkilSul practitioners.   An
ear Sor mufic, like a genius for painting  or poetry,  is a
gift of Nature, and is born with the poffeffor.
  Befide the innumerable pleafures we derive from mufic
and agreeable founds,  the extenfion and improvement of
artificial language muft be confidered as objects of the
greateft importance to the human race.  Without  the
fenfe of hearing,  mankind would forever have remained
                                              mute. 
 160        THE  PHILOSOPHY
mute.  I mention artificial, or improved, language, becaufe,
from a thoufand observations which every perSon muft
have made,  it is perfectly apparent, that,  if deftitute  of
a natural language, neither man nor the brute creation *
could poffibly have exifted  and continued their  fpecies.
As brutes, without information or experience,  are  capa-
ble of communicating to each other, by particular founds
and geftures, their pleafures and pains, their wants and
defires, it would be the highest abfurdity to SuppoSe that
the great Creator fhould have denied to man, the nobleft
animal  that inhabits this globe, the fame indifpenfible
privilege.  Without a bafis there can be no fabric.  With-
out a natural no artificial language could poffibly  have
exifted.  This  point is clearly  demonstrated,  in a few
words,  by  that moft ingenious, candid, and  profound
philofopher, Dr. Thomas Reid,  Profeffor of Moral Phi-
loSophy in the  Univerfity  of Glafgow.   * If mankind,'
fays Dr. Reid,  ' had not a natural language, they could
' never have invented an artificial one by their reafon and
' ingenuity.   For  all artificial language  fuppofes  fome
1 compact or agreement to affix a certain meaning to cer-
* tain Signs; therefore, there muft be compacts or agree-
' mentg before the ufe of artificial Signs;  but there can
' be no compact or agreement without Signs, nor without
* language;  and therefore there  muft be  a natural  lan-
* guage before any artificial  language can  be invented f.
Let any man  try  to overturn this argument, which  is
founded, not upon metaphyfical conjecture,  but  upon the
Solid bafis of fad  and  uncontrovertible reafoning.  The
elements, or conftituent parts of the natural language  of
mankind,  the Doctor reduces to three  kinds ; modulati-
ons of the voice, geftures,  and features.   ' By means  of
' thefe,' fays he, ' two  Savages, who have  no common
' artificial language, can converfe together; can commu-
6 nicate their thoughts in Some tolerable manner ;  can afk
' and refufe, affirm and deny, threaten and Supplicate;
' can traffic, enter into covenants, and  plight their faith.'
                                                     I
 * Concerning the language of beads, I fhall, perhaps, be more explicit in a
future work.  S.
 + Doftor Reid's Inquiry into the Human Mind, on the Principles of Conmon
Senfc, pag. 93.  S. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     161
  I can perceive only  one plaufible objection  to this rea-
soning.   If, it may be laid, man were endowed with  a
natural language, this language muft be univerfal; Srom
what fource,  then, can  the great diverfity of languages
in different nations,  and tribes' of the  human race, be
derived ? The folutipn of this question depends not upon
metaphyfical  arguments, but upon fact and  experience.
I have  had considerable  opportunities  oS obferving  the
behaviour of children.  Infants, when  very young, have
nearly the fame modes of exprefling their pjeafures and
pains, their desires and averfions.  TheSe they communi-
cate by voice,  gesture,  and feature; and  every  infant,
whatever be the country, climate, or language, uniformly
expreffes its feelings almoft in  the fame manner.  But,
when they arrive at  nine  or  twelve months of age,  a
different fcene is exhibited.   They then, befide the gene-
ral expreffions of feeling and defire, attempt to give names
to particular  objects.  Here artifice  begins.   Iri thefe at-
tempt's,  previous to the  capacity of imitating articulate
founds,  every individual infant utters different fguilds,
or rather gives  different names,  to figniSy the fame  ob-
jects of  its defire or averfion. Befide this natural attempt
towards a nomenclature,  infants, during the period above
mentioned  (for the time varies according to the health
and  vivacity  of the  child), frequently  make continued
orations.  Thefe orations confift both  of articulate and
inarticulate founds, of which no man can give an idea in
writing.  But moft men, and every woman who has nurSeji
children, will perfectly understand what I cannot exprefs.-
From the fact, that children actually utter different founds,
or give different names to denote the fame objects, I ima-
gine, arifes  all  that  diverfity of languages,  which,  by
exhausting time and attention, retard  the  progreSs and
improvement both of  Art and Science.  If any  number
of children, or of folitary Savages,  fhould  chance to af-
fociate,  the  names of objects  would foon be fettled by
imitation and conSent.   By  observation and experience
the number'of names Would be augmented, as well as  the
qualities or attributes of the objects themSelves ;  and,  in
the progreSs oS  time, anew and artificial hue  u age would
                          X                       be 
162        THE  PHIL OS  O P II Y

be gradually formed.  While this  operation is going  on
in one corner of a  country,  twenty fimilar  aflociations
and compacts may be forming, or already formed, in dif-
ferent nations, or  in different districts of the  fame na-
tion, all of which would give birth to feparate  artificial
languages.


              O  V    1   O U  C  II.

   The fenfations of fmelling, tafting, hearing,  and fee-
ing,  are conveyed to us by partial  organs, which are  all
confined to the head.   But the fenfe of touching, or of
feeling, is not only common to thefe organs,  but extends
over almoft every part of the body,  whether external or
internal.   Though every fenfation  may be comprehended
under  the general appellation of feeling, yet what is called
the fenfe of touch  is properly restricted  to the  different
fenfations excited by bodies applied to the ikin,  and par-
ticularly to the tips of the fingers.
   With regard  to fenfation  in  general, it is worthy of
remark, that the eyes, the ears,  the noftrils, the tongue
and  palate,  the  palms of the hands, especially towards
the points of the fingers,  are more amply fupplied with
nerves than  any other external parts of the  body.  The
terminations of  the nerves on the  furface of  the Ikin are
Soft and pulpy, and form minute  protuberances refcmb-
ling the nap of  freeze-cloth, though greatly  inferior in
magnitude.   Thefe protuberances  have received the de-
nomination  of nervous papilla.   They might be  called
animal feelers; for they are obviouffy the immediate in-
ftruments of fenfation.  If an object be prefented to the
eye, or any other organ of fenfation, certain feelings are
excited, which  are either agreeable  or  difagreeable,  ac-
cording to the real or imaginary qualities which we con-
fider  \;  belonging  to that  object.  The feelings thus
excited \n:tently produce a change  in thefenfitive organs
by windy they are occasioned.  If  the object be poffeffed
of difagrcvable qualities, averfion  L  the neceffary confe-
quence.  Par, if beauty and utility are perceived in the
                                               object, 
         OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     163
object, pleafant emotions fpring up  in  the mind, which
naturally induce a  Similar tone or disposition in the or-
gans fuited for the  enjoyment of theSe qualities.
   When examining or enjoying any object, it is natural
to inquire, what are the changes produced in the nervous
papillae, or organs  of  fenfation ?  If  an  object poffeffed of
agreeable feelings is perceived,  the  nervous  papillae in-
ftantly extend themfelves, and,  from a  ftate of flaccidity,
become comparatively rigid like briftles.   This extenfion
of the papillae is not conjectural:  It is founded on anato-
mical obfervation,  and,  in fome cafes,  may be feen  and
felt by perfons of acute and difcerning fenfations.  When
a man in the dark inclines to examine any fubftance, in
order to difcover its figure, or other qualities, he perceives
a kind of rigidity at the tips  of his fingers.  If the fingers
are kept long in this  ftate, the rigidity  of the nervous
papillae will give him  a kind  of pain or  anxiety, which
it is impofllble to defcribe.  The caufe of this pain is an
over-diftenfion of the papillae.  If  a  Small infect creeps on
a man's hand, when the papillae are flaccid, its  movements
are not perceived :  But,  if he happens to direct his eye to
the animal,  he immediately extends  his papilla?, and  feels
distinctly all its  motions. If a body be prefent, which,
in the  common ftate of  the nerves,  has fcarcely anyr fen-
fible odour, by extending the papillae of  the noftrils, an
agreeable, difagreeable,  or indifferent Smell will be  per-
ceived.  When two perSons are whispering, and we  wifh
to know what is Said,  we stretch  the papillce, and other
organs of hearing,  which are exceedingly complex.   If a
found is too low for making an impreffion on  the papillae
in their natural ftate of relaxation, we  are apt  to  over-
stretch the organ,  which produces a painful or irkfome
feeling.  When wre examine  a mite, or any very minute
object, by the naked eye, a pain is propagated over every
part of that organ.  Several caufes  may concur in produc-
ing this pain,  fuch  as the dilating of the  pupil, and  the
adjusting the crystalline  lens; but the  chief caufe  muft
be afcribed to the preternatural  intumefcence and exten-
fion oS the papillae  oS  the retina, the Substance of which
is a mere congeries of nervous  terminations.  This  cir-
                                            cumftance 
i64        THE   PHILOSOPHY
cum fiance confirms a former remark,  that the immediate
organs of fenfation  were more copioufly  fupplied  with
nervous papilla: than thofe parts whole ufes require not
fuch  exquiliie fenfibilitv ; for a diltinction in this refpect
is obfervable  even among the fenlitive organs themlelves.
They are furnifhed with nerves exactly  proportioned to
the fubtiiiiy of the objects whofe impreflions they are fitted
to receive.  She eye poffeifes  bv far the greateft number.
The  particles of  light are fo minute, that,  had not  this
wife  provision been obferved  in the  conltruCtion of the
eye,  it could  never have been able to diftinguifh  objects
with fuch accuracv as at prefent it is capable ot  perform-
ing.   When an iniipid  body, or  a body  which  conveys
but  a  \ery feeble fenfation  of tafle, is  applied  to the
tongue, we are confeious of an effort which  that e, em
mak.'b in order  to difcover the quality ot the body thus
applied.  This cdjrt  is nothing but  the stretching of the
nervous pepihre,  that they may enlarge the field of contact
with the body under examination.
  The pleafure or pain produced by the fenfe of touch
depends  chiefly on the friction, or number  of  impulies,
made upon the  papiihe. Embrace  any agreeable  body
with your hand,  and allow  it to remain  perfectly at red,
and  you will  find the pleafure not  half  fo exquifite as
when the hand is gently moved backward and  forward
upon the furface.  Apply the  lend  to a  piece of velvet,
arid it is merely agreeable:  Rub  the hand  repeatedly on
the Surface of the cloth., and  the  pleafant  feeling will be
augiujnted in proportion to  the number  of impulfes  on
the  papiihe.  When a man is pinched with  hunger, the
U. ht or idea of palatable food raifes the whole papill e of
id.,  tongue and ftomach.  From this  circumftance  he is
highly rega'ed by eating. But, it he eats the fame fpecies
of io')JL wfh:n his ftomach is  lefs keen,  the  pleafure in
the One cde : not to be compared with what is felt in the
otl:-  .  'The caufe is obvious: His defire  was not fo urjr-
ent;  tin, object,  of courfe,  was lefs alluring; and there-
fe:e  he was more remifs in erecting  his papillag or in
putting them  in a toncSui' d to Such eminent gratification.
  The fame <;b\rvations are applicable to diSagreeable or
                                               painful 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    165
painful objects of contact.  If the hand is laid  upon a
gritty  ftone, or a piece of rufty iron, the feeling is dif-
agreeable ; but if it is frequently  rubbed upon the Sur-
face of thefe bodies,  the  feeling becomes infufferably
irkfome.
   It is by the fenfe of touch that men, and other animals,
are enabled to  perceive and determine many qualities of
external bodies.  By this fenfe we acquire the ideas  of
hardnefs and foftnefs, of roughnefs and fmoothnefs,  of
heat and cold,  of preffure and weight, of figure,  and of
diftance.  The fenfe of touch is more uniform, and liable
to fewer deceptions, than thofe of fmelling, tafting, hear-
ing, and feeing ;  becaufe, in examining  the qualities of
objects, the bodies themfelves muft be brought into actual
contact with the organ, without the intervention  of any
medium, the variations of which might miflead  the judg-
ment.


              OF   SEEING.

   Of  all the fenfes, that of feeing is unquestionably the
nobleft, the  moft refined, and the moft extenfive.  The
ear informs us of the exiflence of objects at comparatively
fmall diftances ; and  its information is  often  imperfect
and-fallacious.  But the organ of fight, which is mofl;
admirably constructed, not only enables us to perceive
thoufands  of objects at one  glance,  together with their
various figures, colours, and apparent pofirions,  but, even
when unarmed, to form ideas of the fun and planets, and
of many of the fixed  stars ; and thus  connects us with
bodies fo remote, that imagination is loft when it attempts
to form a conception of their immenfe  magnitude and
diftances.   This natural field  of  vifion,  however great,
has been vastly extended by the invention of optical in-
ftruments.   When aided by the telefcope, the eye pene-
trates into regions of  fpace,  and perceives  stars innume-
rable,  which, without the affiftance of art, w ould to  us
have no/existence.   Our ideas of the beauty, magnitude,
and remotenefs or vicinity of external objects, are chiefly 
i66
THE  I'll I L O S OP II Y
 derived from thi<  delicate  and acute inftrument of fen-
 fation.
   Before proceeding to the peculiarities of virion, and the
 general properties  of light, we fhall give a fhort descrip-
 tion oS the ftructure oS the eye.
   The globe of the  eye is compofed of three humours,
 calleel aqueous, crxjraHinc, and vitreous ;  and of the rcti/w,
 ciliary ligament, and iris.   All thefe are contained within
 the fclerotica and cornea, or capfule of the eye.   The white
 part of  the cornea is opaque ;  but the pupil, or fight of
 the eye, through which  the rays of light pafs,  is  tran-
 sparent.  The aqueous humour is a menifcus, or a convex
 exteriorlv, and concave internally.  The cryftallinc humour
 is doubly convex ;  and its exterior convexity is embraced
 by the concave furface of the  aqueous.   The vitreous hu-
 mour is likewife  a menifcus ; its concave furface embraces
 the interior convexity of the cryftalline, and  its  convex
 furface is encompafled by the retina, which is a fine ex-
 pansion of the medullary fibres  of the optic nerve fpread
 upon  the  convex  SurSace of tie  vitreous humour, and
 covering the bottom of the  eve.   The ciliary ligament is
 a ring ot fibres, whi< h indole the  edges  of the  cryftal-
 line, and stretch in right lines towards its center.   When
 thefe fibres contract,  the diftance between  the retina and
 cryftalline is  lengthened ;  and that  diftance is fhortened
 when thefe fibres are  in a relaxed ftate.   The iris is  that
 coloured circle which furrounds the pupil.
   By this curious apparatus all the phamomena of vifion
 are conveyed to  the mind.  But, before we enter  upon
 the manner in which  the different parts of the eye concur
 in tranfre.itting the  rays of light and  the  images of ob-
jects to the retina,  it  will be neceffary to give fome gene-
 ral ide^s  concerning  the  nature of light, which  is the
 univerSal medium of  vifion.
   Light confifts  oS  innumerable rays, which  proceed in
 direct lines from every part of luminous  bodies.   The
 motion of  ligtng though not inHai'tamous, is inconceiv-
 ably fwift.   To give fome comparative idea of its great
 velocity, it has  been difcovered  by philofophers,  that
 rays  of light coming from the  fun  reach  this earth in
                                                Seven 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     167
liven minutes.  Now, the diftance of the earth from the
fun is fo immenfe, that, supposing a cannon ball to move
at the rate of 500 feet in a fecond, it  could  not come
from the fun to the earth in lefs than 25 years.   At this
rate, the velocity of light will be above  10 million  of
times greater than that of a cannon ball.
   The rays of light, though they proceed in direct lines
from luminous bodies, are refracted, or bent out of their
courfe,  in paffmg through different  mediums, as the  air,
glafs, and every transparent fubftances; but, when they
fall upon opaque bodies,  they  are reflected.  Rays pro-
ceeding from any object, and palling through  a  convex
glafs, or lens, are refracted and collected into a point, or
Small Space,  at a certain diftance  from the glafs, which
is called the focus of that lens.
   The white light conveyed to us by the fun is not  ho-
mogeneous,   but confifts of  feven differently-coloured
rays, or what are called the primary colours.  Thefe  dif-
ferently-coloured rays were difcovered  by Sir ISaac New-
ton  to  have  different degrees oS reSrangibility.  When
the white light oS the Sun was made to  paSs through a
glafs prifm,  he Sound, that, inftead of retaining  its  ori-
ginal whitenefs, it exhibited feven  diftinct colours,  and
that this phenomenon was produced by the feveral rays
in the composition of white light being more or lefs  re-
fracted, or turned from their direct courfe.  The Simple
primary colours are Seven in number, namely, red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.   Red is the leaft,
and violet the moft refrangible parts of white light.   A
proper mixture of all the feven primary  colours consti-
tutes whitenefs ; and by various combinations of the pri-
mary colours, all the compound colours exhibited either
in Nature or art are produced.  Any furface appears black
when it reflects little or no light.
   The different humours of the eye, and the  cryftalline
lens,  are all denfer than air or water; of courfe, their
power of refracting the rays of light is  likewife greater.
The rays proceeding from every point of an object enter
the pupil; and the refraction of the  different parts of
the eye, which act as a lens, neceffarily makes them croSs
                                                each 
 i68         SHE   PHILOSOPHY
 each other in their paffage to the retina.   After crof ng,
 they diverge till  they are flopped  by the retina,  where
 they form an inverted  picture.   She  upper part of the
 object is painted  on  the lower part  of  the retina, and the
 right fide upon the left, ecc.    The celebrated Kepler firft
 difcovered,  that diftinct,  but  inverted, pictures of every
 object we behold are painted on the reiina b) the rays of
 light proceeding  from vifible objects.  This difcovery na-
 turally led Kepler,  as  well as many  other  phile'ophea.;
 since his time, to inquire how we fhould See objects erect
 Srom inverted images on the retina.
   Many ingenious theories have been invented, and many
 volumes have been written, in order to explain this Seem-
 ingly-difficult queftion.   To give even a curfrry view  of
 thefe theories would not only be tedious,  but in a great
 meafure ufelefs.   We fhall, therefore, only remark, that
 their authors uniformly  affumed it as a principle,  that,
 becaufe the pictures are inverted on the retina,  the mind
 ought alfo to perceive them in the  fame  pofition.   It is
 certain,  that, unleSs distinct  images are painted on the
 retina,  objects cannot be  clearly perceived.  If, from too
 little light, remotenefs, or any other caufe,  a picture is
 indiftinctly painted on the retina, an obfcure or indistinct
 idea of the object is  conveyed to the mind.   The picture
on the retina, therefore, is fo far the caufe of vifion, that,
 unleSs this picture be clear and well defined, our ideas of
 the figure, colour, and other qualities of  any object pre-
sented to  the eye, will be obfcure  and imperfect.   The
retina of the eye  refembles a canvas on which objects are
painted.  The colours  of thefe pictures  are bright  or
obfcure, in proportion to the  diftances of the objects re-
presented.  When objects are  very  remote, their pictures
on the retina are fo faint, that they are entirely obliterated
by the vigorous and  lively impreflions  of nearer  objece;,
with which we are every way furrounded.   On the other
hand,  when near objects emit  a feeble light only, com-
pared with that which proceeds from a remote object, as,
for example, when we view luminous bodies in the night,
then very distant objects  make  diftinct pictures on the
                                                retina, 
         OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     i69
 retina, and become perfectly visible.  Hence a man,  by
 placing himfelf in  a dark fituation,  and looking throe.edi
 a long tube,  without the intervention of a glafs, may
 make a kind of telefcope, which will have a considerable
 effect even during  the day.   For the fame reafon, a man
 at the bottom of a deep pit  can fee  the stars at noon.
   The firft and greateft error in vifion, in the opinion of
 many authors, arifes from the inverted reprefentation of
 objects upon  the  retina;  and  they maintain,  that, till
 children learn the real pofition of bodies by the fenfe of
 feeling, they fee every  object  inverted.  But  new-born
 animals,  whether  of the  human or  brute fpecies, fee
 objects, not inverted, but in their  real  pofitions, inde-
 pendently of all experience, or of any  opportunity  of
 rectifying the fuppofed illufion by the fenfe  of tcuch.
 Animals fee objects in their real pofition by a law of Na-
 ture, and  by  the  instrumentality of the  eye and optic
 nerve.  Were it not a law of Nature,  or of the  confti-
 tution of  animals,  to fee objects erect,  though their ima-
 ges be inverted on  the retina, an  inverted  object  could
 not   poffibly appear inverted; for,  in this  cafe,  we
 fhould not be obliged to have recourfe to experience,  or
 to the fenfe of  feeling.   Besides, it  is an  eftablifhed fact,
 that blind men, who had been restored to fight by chirur-
 gical operations, inftantly faw objects in their real pofiti-
 tion *.  There is no relation to the  principles of optics,
 in the SenSation  of  feeling, by which an  image, painted
 by rays of light on Soft white nervous  terminations, is con-
 verged through a moft opaque body, in a long courfe of
 perfect darknefs,  to the brain.   Indeed, the fenfe by
 which the perceiving nerves  of any  kind are affected,  is
 not an image or idea of the object.  The idea of rednefs
 has nothing in common with the leaft refrangible portions
 of light Separated  Srom  the  other  fix  coloured rays  of
 which white light  is compofed.   The  pain of burning
 reprefents not to the mind  any thing of that fwift and
 subtle matter by which the nervous threads are broken  or
deftroyed.  There is nothing  in the idea of a i'-arp found,
                         Y                       from
             * Hallcr. Pliyuol. torn, 2. pag. 87.  S. 
i;o     •   Til L  P IT I L OS OPH Y
from  a cord cf a certain length, which can  inform the
mind that this cord vi1 rates 2000 times in a lecond *.
  Another it e. v. ft ion with regard to  vifion has  been much
agitated by  phiiofephcrs.  BecauSe a  feparate image of
every object is  painted on the retina ot each eye, it  was
concluded, that we naturally fee' all objects double ;  that
we  learn to correct  this  error oS vifion  by the  leiiSe ot
touching; and the.u, if  the fenfe of feeing were not con-
stantly rectified by that of touching, we fhould be perpe-
tually deceived as to the pofition, number,  and  fituation
of object .  The Count de Bulfon mentions the real fact,
though he afcribes it  to  a  wrong caufe.   '  When  two
'  images,'  fays he, ' fall  on correfponding parts of the
4  retina*, or  thofe  parts which are always  affected at the
'  fame time,  objects appear fingle,  becaufe  we are accuf-
'  to/rud to judge of  them in this manner.  But, when the
'  images of  objects fall upon parts of the  retina: which
c  are not ufually affected at the fame time, they then appear
'  double,  becaufe we have not acquired the habit of rec-
1  tifying this unufual fenfation.  Mr. Chcffcldcn, in his
'  anatomy, relates the cafe of a man who  had been affected
1  with a flrabifmus,  or Squinting, in confequence  of  a
'  blow mi the head.  This man Saw every  object double
4  for a long time :  But  he gradually  learned to correct
■■  this error of  vifion, with regard  to  objects  which were
'  familiar to  him ;  and, at laft,  he Saw every object fingle
'  as formerly,  though the Squinting was never  removed.
4  This is a proof ftill mere direct,  that  we really fee all
'  objects double, and that it is by habit alone we learn to
' conceive tie: 1 to  be fmhle-|-.'
   In  this, and other palla^es,  the  Count  de  1'usTon has
pointed out the g..:iuine caufe  (d  ultimate fact)  v.by wc
fee objects fingle with two eyes.  He tells us, that, though
a diithiel image i painted 0:1 each  retina,  whenever thefe
images .ire painted on correfponding points of the retiree,
an object is  perceived  to  be Single.  It is equally  true,
that, when one eye is diftor.ed by the finger,  or any other
                                                 cauSe,
  * For a tr.are ample difcufliou of this point, fee llali.r. l'li/fal.  torn. ?. ; —
id Dr. K.ici's Inq-.irv.  S.
  t l'..;!eu, \o\.  3. |Mg. 7.  Ti.-.P.it. S. 
         OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     171

 caufe, in Such a manner that the images are  painted  on
 points oS the retinae which do not correfpond, the object
 is perceived to be double.  Objects which are much nearer,
 or much more remote, than  that to which both eyes are
 directed,  appear  double.  If a candle is  placed at the
 diftance of  ten feet, and a man holds his finger at arm's-
                   7                       o
 length between  his eyes and the candle, when  he looks
 at the candle, he fees  his  finger double, and,  when  he
 looks at his finger, he fees  the candle double.   ' In this
 4 phrenomenon,'  Dr.  Reid properly remarks, i it is evi-
 4 dent to thofe who understand  optics,  that  the pictures
 4 of objects  which are feen double, do not fall upon points
 4 of the retinae which are  fimilarly Situated, but that the
 4 pictures of objects feen fingle  do fall  upon points  fimi-
 4 larly Situated.  Whence we infer, that as the  points of
 4 the  two  retinre, which are Similarly Situated with regard
 4 to the centres, do correfpond, fo thole which are  difli-
 4 milarly Situated do not correfpond. It is to be obferved,
 4 that although, in fuch cafes as are mentioned in the lad
 4 phajnomenon,  we have been  accustomed  from infancy
 4 to fee objects double w hich we know to  be fingle; yet
 4 custom,  and experience of  the  unity  of  the  object,
 4 never take away this  appearance of duplicity*.'
   The  fenfe of feeing, without the aid  of experience,
 conveys no idea of diftance.  If not affifted by  the fenfe
 of touching, all objects would feem to be in contact with
 the eye itfelt.  Objects appear larger or fmaller according
 as they approach or recede from the eye, or according to
 the angle  they Subtend.  A fly,  wdien very  near the eye,
 feems to be larger than a horfe or an ox at a diftance.
 Children can have no  idea of the relative magnitude of
 objects, becaufe they have no notion of the different dif-
 tances at which they are Seen.  It is  only after measuring
 fpace  by extending the  hand,  or by tranfporting their
 bodies from one place  to another, that children acquire
juft ideas concerning the real diftances and magnitudes of
 objects. Their ideas of magnitude  refult  entirely from
 the angle formed by the extreme rays reflected from the
 fuperior and inferior  parts of the  object:  Hence  every
                                                  near
             • Dr. IUiu's Inquiry, SLc. rajic 287. S. 
 rp        TIIF  PHILOSOPHY
 near object mud appear to be large, and every distant one
 fmadh   But after, by  touch,  having acquired ideas of
 diftances, the judgment concerning magnitude begins to
 be rectified.  11 we judge Solely bv the eve, and have not
 acquired the habit of conlidcring the la me objects  to be
 ceejal'y 1 age, though feen at different dillances, the neareft
 of two men,  though of equal C\7.e, would Seem  to be
 many  times larger than the farfheft.  I'ut we know  that
 the laft man is equally large with the firft ; and, therefore,
 we judge him  to be of the  fame dimenfion ^  Anv dillance
 ceafes  to be familiar to us, when the  interval  is vertical,
 in!read of being horizontal; becaufe all the experiments
 b  v.lieh we  ul'mdly rectify  the errors of vifion, with
 regard to diftarccs, are made horizontally.  We have not
 the habit of judging concerning the magnitude of objects
 which  are much elevated above or funk  below us.   This
 is  the reafon that,  when viewing men Srom the top of a
 tower, or when looking up to a globe or a cock on the
 top of a fteeple,  we think  thefe objects much fmaller than
 when  feen at equal diftances  in  a horizontal direction.
 fining the night,  on account  of  the darknefs, we have
 no proper idea of diftance, and, of courfe, judge of the
 ma^Ti/adc of  objects folely by the largenefs of the angle
 or image formed  in  the eye,  which neceffarily  produces
 a variety of deceptions.  When travelling in  the  night,
 v ^ are liable to miliake a  bufh that is near us Sor  a  tree
 ; t  a diftance, or a  distant tree for a bufh which is at hand.
 When benighted in a part of  the country with which we
 are unacquainted,  and, of courfe,  unable to judge of the
 diftance and figure of objects,  we are every moment liable
 to all the deceptions of vifion.  This is the origin of  that
 dread v/hieh fome men feel in the  dark,  and of thofe
ghofts  and  horrible figures which  fo many people  posi-
 tively affert thev have feen in the night.  Such figures are
commonly faid lo  exift'in imagination  only; but  they
often have a real existence  in the eve ; for, when we have-
no other  mode of recogidfmg unknown objcCts  but by
the angle they form in the eye, their magnitude is uni-
formly augmented  in proportion to their  vicinity.  If an
ibject. at the didauce of twenty or thirty paces, appears
                                                   to 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     173
to be only a few feet high, its height, when viev ed within
two or three feet of the eye, will feem to be many 1\ ^ ere;.
Objects, in this Situation, muft excite terror and ahoiiifh-
ment  in the  Spectator, till he approaches and recognifes
them by actual  Seeling; Sor the moment a man examines
an object  properly, the gigantic  figure it aiiumed in the
eye inftantly vanifhes, and its apparent magnitude is re-
duced to its real dimenfions.  But if, inftead of approach-
ing an object of this kind,  the Spectator flies from it, he
retains the idea which the image of it formed in his eye,
and he may affirm with truth, that he beheld  an  object
terrible in its afpedt,  and enormous  in its  fize.  Hence
the notion of fpectres, and of horrible figures, is founded
in nature,  and  depends not folely on imagination.
  When we have no idea of the diftance of objects by a
previous knowledge of the fpace between  them and the
eye, we try to  judge of. their magnitudes by recognifing
their figures. But, when their figures are not diftinguiih-
able,  we perceive thofe which are moft brilliant in colour
to be neareft, and thofe that are moft  obfcure to be at the
greateft diftance.  From this mode of judging many de-
ceptions originate.  When a  number of objeCts are placed
in a right line,  as lamps in a long street, we cannot judge
of their proximity or  remotenefs  but  by the different
quantities of light they transmit  to the eye.   Of courfe,
if the lamps neareft the eye happen  to  be  more obfcure
than thofe which are more remote,  the first v. ill appear
to be  laft,  and  the laft firft.
  Before I difmifs this fubject, I feel an irresistible defire
of giving a fhort view of the Abbe  de Condillac's Traile
des Senfations * ; a moft  ingenious  performance, which,
I  believe, is not very generally known in this country.
  In an advertifement prefixed to this Treatife, the faga-
cious and learned Abbe defires  his  readers to abstract
ihemfeives from all their preconceived opinions, and to
                                              imagine
         * From the edition 17,34, in two volumes ismo. S. 
 174        Till".   PHILOSOPHY
imagine the fituation and feelings of a ftatue, limited, at
firft, to a fingle fenfe, and afterwards acquiring gradually
the whole  five.

               i. Senfic of Smelling alone.

  A man,  or a ftatue, who had no LnW- but that of fm< H-
ing, could  have no other ideas than thofe of odours,   lie
would be the Smell of a rofe, a violet, or a jelfaminc, ac-
cording  as  the effluvia of thefe  objects acted upon his
Single organ of fenfation.   from agreeable or difagreeable
Smells he would acquire ideas oS pleafure  and pain.   By
means of agreeable and difagreeable Smells frequently re-
peated, thefe fenfations would remain in his memory, and
produce  defire afid averfion.   lie can now  compare the
Smell of  a rofe wdth that of an  hemlock.   As foon as he
compares, he judges of the  relation between two ideas.
In proportion as thefe comparifons or judgments  are re-
peated, he acquires, by habit, a greater facility in making
them.   He can judge of different degrees of pleafure and
pain.   Hence, when  he  feels  unealy, he  recals pleafant
fenfations which  are past, ami  wifhes for  their  return.
This is the origin of defire and  want.   Memory is the
recolLvf e only of what is paft ; but, when the ideas of
objects  prefer.t themfelves ill fo lively a  maimer,  that
he  believes they  are actually  prefent,  this  operation  of
the min ! if called imagination.  Being  limited to the ufe
of one  fenfe, he  would learn  to  diftinguifli fmells  with
greater accuracy than beings endowed with  more Sources
of information.  Abstraction is the Separation of two ideas
which have a natural connection.  By reflecting that the
idea-, of  pain and pleafure refult from different modifica-
tions of his exiftenaeg he contracts the habit of feparating
them, and  thus acquires abstract notions.  To our ftatue,
a violet  i»,  a.  particular idea only ;  confequently,  all his
abstractions are  limited  to different degrees of pleafure
and pain.  The Succeffion of lea: fat ions will give him Some
faint ideas of number, of paft, and  of future time.  Du-
ration ii an idea purely  relative, and changes according
to the  rapidity or flow nets of our perception a  Our fla-
                                                  ttie 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     175

tue is incapable of diftinguifhing dreams, or  a lively ima-
gination, from real fenfations.   By the aid of memory he
reeognifes his identity, and knows his  prefent from  his
paft condition.   From thefe remarks it appears, that a
man limited to one fenfe is capable of acquiring the rudi-
ments of every human faculty, and that thefe Saculties
are only extended by the addition of other fenfes.  Nearly
the fame acquisitions would be made, if a man were li-
mited to any  of the other SenSes.

                 2. Of Hearing alone.

   The pleasures of the ear arife chiefly Srom  the fuccef-
fion of founds conformably to the rules of melody  or of
harmony.  Hence our Statue's defires would not be con-
fined to a Single Sound; he would wifh to become a com-
plete air.  Sounds produce greater emotions than odours.
They excite  joy  or fadnefs  independently of acquired
ideas.   Noife alone,  without  musical expreflion,  would
be agreeable: And  mufic would convey pleafure propor-
tioned to the exercife of the ear.  Simple, and even coarfe
fongs, would at firft be ravifhing.   But, when gradually
accustomed to mufic more compounded, the  ear  would
difcover new fources of delight.  The pleafure of a fuc-
ceflion of mufical tones being fuperior to that  of a con-
tinued noife, he would not confound the one with  the
other.                                    •
                                    •
             3. Smelling and Hearing united.

   As thefe fenfes, taken Separately, give to our ftatue no
idea of external objects, neither can they by their union.
He would never fufpect that he had two different organs
of perception,  nor, at firft, diftinguifh two  modes of
existence in himfelf.  Sounds and odours would be con-
founded,  and feem  to be only one Simple  modification.
He would learn, however,  by experience, and the aid of
memory, to diftinguifli two fenfations ; and then he would
think that his exiltence was double. His train of ideas
is more varied  and  extenfive, becaufe he has  two  kinds
                                                  of 
 :;6         TH J   PII  ILOSOT 11 Y
of modifma'ean;  and, perhaps,  noife would feem fo dif-
ferent Srom  harmonious Sounds,  that  he  might  imagine
he had three lenfes.

4. Tafte .time, and Tafte united with Smelling and Hearing.

  Whln  limited to tafte alone,  the ftatue would acquire
the fame  mental powers  as  with fmelling or hearing.
Tafte would contribute more  to his happinefs and mifery
than fmelling or  hearing; becaufe favours, in  general,
aifect us more than finells, or even harmonious founds.
  When tafte is united with fmelling and hearing, the
ilaiue,  after learning to know them feparately, would be
enabled to diftinguifh thefe fenfations, even when trans-
mitted  to him at the fame  time;  and therefore his exist-
ence would in fome measure  be  tripled.   The union of
thefe fenfes would ftill farther extend and diverfify the
train of his  ideas, augment  the number  of his deiires,
and make him contract new habits.

                  5. Of  Sight (done.

  Sight and all fenfations are internal,  and belong to
the mind.  The difficulty  is  to  conceive  how we  refer
thefe fenfations to external objects or caufes.  Our ftatue
would  confider light  and colour as modes  oS his  own ex-
>Hence; bat could have no idea that they belonged to
bodies  diftinct fro/n himfelf.  At firft he  would  not be
able  to diftinguifh  one colour  from another ;  but he
would  foon acquire the habit  of considering one colour
at a  time, and thus learn  to  diftinguifh them.   By fight
alone he could have no idea  of figure, Situation, exten-
fion, er motion.

     6. Sight united with Smell, Hairing, and  Tafte.

  Tins union would augment our flatue's mode of ex-
istence, extend the chain of his ideas, and multiply the
objects of his attention, of his defires, and of his enjoy-
ments.  But 1m would fliil continue  to perceive  himfelf
                                               alone, 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     177
alone,  and could have no idea of external objects.   He
would  fee, ftnell,  tafte,  and hear, without knowing that
he had eyes,  nofe, mouth,  or ears,  nor even that he had
a body.  With the fame colour before his eyes, if a fuc-
ceflion of fmells,  favours, and founds, were prefented to
him, he would confider himfelf as  a colour  fuccefiively
odoriferous,  favoury, and Sonorous.  If the fame odour
were conltantly prefent with him, he would confider him-
felf as a favoury,  fonorous, and coloured odour.

                 7.  0/ Touching alone.

  The fmalleft degree of Sentiment, or Seeling,  which a
man limited  to the SenSe oS touching could have, would
arife from the action of different parts of the body, and
particularly  from  the motion of reSpiration.   This the
Abbe' calls the fundamental /entiment, becaufe with it life
commences.   As foon as this fundamental Sentiment has
undergone any change, the ftatue is confcious of his own
exiflence.   When not struck by any external body, and
placed in a temperate tranquil air,  of an equal degree of
heat, he would only recognife his exiflence by the con-
fufed impreffion refulting from the  motion of refpiration.
He  cannot  diftinguifh the different parts of his body,
and confequently has no  idea of extenfion.  Different
feelings perceived at the  fame  time convey a  confuted
fenfation  only.  But, when heat and cold are felt in fuc-
ceflion, he diftinguifhes them, and retains in his memory
the idea of each fenfation.   Touching  different parts of
his body, and of external  objects,  gradually unfolds  the
ieleas of extenfion, folidity, foftnefs, hardnefs,  diftance,
&c.  Hence he no  longer confounds  himfelf v.idi  his
modifications.  He  is  no  longer heat  or cold; but he
perceives heat in one part and cold in another.  By means
of  the hand, he diftinguifhes his own perfon from exter-
nal objeCts.   When he  touches the parts  of  his  body,
each part returns a fenfation.  But, when he  touches
another body, he feels that it exists, but returns no fen-
 fation ; and hence he learns that there are bodies which
 constitute no part of himfelf.
                          Z                  Children 
 173         THE  PHILOSOPHY

   Children  derive the greateft happinefs from  motion.
 i.ven falls do net deter them.  A bandage on  their eyes
 would give them lefs pain than a restraint on the ufe of
 their limbs.   Motion,  befide many other advantages,
 gives them the moft lively confcioufnefs of their own ex-
 iltence and powers.  If  exercife be  pleafant to children,
 it  would be ftill more fo to our ftatue;  for as  yet he not
 only knows no obstacle to interrupt his  movements,  but
 he will foon experience  all  the pleafures to be derived
 Srom motion.  The ftatue at firft  loves  every  body that
 does not hurt  him.  Polifhed  and Smooth Surfaces will
 be agreeable to him ;  and he  will be delighted to find
 that  he can  at  pleafure enjoy  warmth or coolnefs.  He
will receive  peculiar pleafure from objects, which, from
their fignire and  magnitude,  are moft accommodated to
 the form  of his  hand.   At other times, the   difficulty
 of handling objects, on  account of their Size or  weight,
 will give him pleaSure by furprife; and this pleafure will
be augmented by the fpace he difcovers around  them,
which will render the motion of his body from one place
 to another extremely agreeable.  Solidity and  fluidity,
 hardnefs and foftnefs, motion  and reft,  will be  pleafant
 fenfations  ;  for the more he  contrails  them,  the more
they will attract  his attention and  extend his ideas.  But
the habit he acquires  of comparing and judging is  the
greatest Source of his pleafures.   Ho  no longer  touches
 obiecU  Solely  Sor the pleaSure of handling them.  He
 v.ilhas to  know  their relations,  and he feels  as  many
agreeable  fenfations as he forms new ideas.
  Touching expofes him  more frequently to pain than the
other fenfes. But pleafure is always within his reach, and
 pain is felt only  at interval*.   His defires confift  chiefly
 of the efforts of his mind to recal the moft agreeable ideas.
 But that kind of defire of which the fenfe of touch ren-
 ders him Capable, includes motion, or the power of fcarch-
 ing for fenfations. Hence his  enjoyments are not limited
 to the ideas prefenfed  by the imagination, but extend to
 all the objects  he can  reach ; and his defires,  inftead ot
 being concentrated into mode- of  his eriftence, as in the
                                                other 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      179
other fenfes, lead him  always to external bodies, which
are the objects of his love, hatred, and other paffions.
   By motion  he  acquires  the idea of fpace.   Repeated
experience of difcovering new fenfations renders him ca-
pable of curiofity.  But pain reprefles his defire of  mov-
ing, and makes him diffident.  Hence he learns to move
with caution; and  the  fame chance that led him to lay
hold of a flick, will teach him to ufe it for  exploring
what may be  hurtful to him.  Pleafure and pain are  the
Sources of all his ideas,  the number of which acquirable
by our ftatue is almoft  infinite.  He learns to  compare
his different fenfations, and to diftinguifh different bodies.
He acquires the idea of figure, and becomes capable of
reflection and abstraction.  He acquires likewife the ideas
of number, of duration, of fpace, and of immensity.

            8. Of Touch united with Smelling.

   On this Supposition,  the ftatue would  perceive himfelf
to be two different beings, one that he could touch, arid
another which he could not.  When chance made him lay
hold of an odorous  body, he would find that its .'fmell
was stronger or weaker, in proportion as he brought  the
body nearer, or removed it farther from his face.   This
experiment  frequently  repeated wdll give him the  idea
that fmell proceeds  from, or is a quality of,  bodies.   By
the fame means he difcovers the organ of fmelling. From
this  Source his ideas concerning the qualities of bodies
are greatly extended.

        0.  Hearing,  Tafte, and Touching,  united.

   At firft our ftatue is totally occupied with this  new
SenSe, and believes himfelf to be the finging  of birds, the
noife  of a  cafcade,  &c.  By  the  exercife,  however, of
handling fonorous  bodies, or  of letting them fall, he
perceives that found is produced by impulfe or collision,
gradually difcovers  this new organ,  and that  noife is a
property of  bodies even at  a diftance.

                                               10. Of 
180         THE  PHILOSOPHY


       10. Of Sight united with all the other Senfes.

  The eve  conveys no idea  of diftance,  of magnitude,
of figure, or of Situation, w ithout the affiftance of touch-
in ,.   1 ither Srom  chance, or  from the pain occafioncd
b\ too ftrong a  light,  the ftatue carries his  band to his
eyes.   She colours of objects inltantiv difappear.  Here-
moves his hand,  and the colours return. Hence he learns
that colours are not modes of his exiitence, but that they
ieem to be Something  exilting  in his eyes,  in the  lame
manner as he feels at  the ends of his fingers the objects
lie touches.
  the deb e,  in the fame ingenious manner, fhows how,
by  experience and habit,  by motion and touching, we
acquire  a  facility in correcting the errors of  vifion.  But
our limits permit us not to follow him any farther.
C  II A P T E R   VII.
                     Of Infancy.


    BY the term Infancy,in this chapter, is generally meant
    that portion of life which commences at birth,  and
terminates at that period when animals have acquired the
pov.ar of felf-preServation, without  any affiftance from
their parents.  This period varies greatly in different  ani-
mals.   Of courfe, when diffeient fpecies are mentioned,
the term infancy muft have very different limitations with
regard to lime.
   The ftate  of infancy, in the human fpecies, continues
longer than  in  anv other animal.   Infants,  immediately
after  birth,  are indeed  extremely helplet-.,  and  require
every afliitance and attention  from the mother.   Moft
writer^ however, on this fubject feem to have exaggerat-
                                                   ed 
            OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     i8t
    ed not only the imbecility, but the miferies, ov the infant
    ftate.  ' An infant,' fays  Burton, ' is more helplefs -than
    ' the young of any other animal : Its uncertain life feems
    ' everv moment to vibrate on the borders of death.   It
    6 can neither move nor Support  its  body : It  has hardly
    ' force enough to exist, and to announce, by groans, the
    £ pain which it fuffers ;  as if  Nature intended  to apprife
    ' the little innocent, that it is  born to mifery,  and that it
    ' is to be ranked among  human  creatures only to partake
    ' of their infirmities and of their afflictions V
       This humiliating picture is  partly  juft,  and partly miS-
    reprefented.   Though infants  remain longer in a ftate of
    imbecility than the young  of other animals, they are by
    no means more helplefs.   The inftant after birth, they  are
    capable of fucking whatever is prefented to their mouths.
    When in the fame condition,  the young of the opoffum,
    of hares,  rabbits, rats, mice, &c. can do no more.   They
    can neither move nor  support their bodies.  Betides, ma-
    ny quadrupeds are destitute of the fenfe  of feeing for fe-
    veral days after birth.  But,  the faculty of vifion is  en-
/    joyed by infants the  moment  after they  come into the
    world.  This faculty,  in a few hours, becomes a great
     Source of pleafure and amufement to them ;  but it is de-
     nied, for fome days,  to many  other fpecies of animals.
     The young of moft birds are equally weak and helplefs as
     human infants.  The former have  no other powers  but
     thofe of refpiration, opening their mouths  to receive food
     from the parent, and ejecting the excrement, after  the
     food has  been properly  digested.  If infants really fuffer
     more pain and mifery than other animals in the fame ftate,
     Nature feems not to merit that  Severity of cenfure which
     flie has fometimes received.   Men in fociety, like domef-
     tic animals, by luxury,  by artificial modes of living,  by
     unnatural and vicious habits, debilitate their bodies, and
     transmit to their progeny the feeds of weaknefs and difeafe,
     the effects of which are  not felt by thofe who live more
     agreeably .to the general ceconomy and intentions of Na-
     ture.   The children of Savages, for the fame reafon, whe-
     ther in the hunting or  fhepherd ftate, are more  robuft,
                                                     more
                  * Buffon, vol. 2. pag. 369. Trarfht,  S. 
iSa
THE  PHILOSOPHY
more healthy, and liable to fewer difeafes, than thofe pro-
duced by men in the more cnlighteneel and refined stages
of Society.   Even  under the Same  governments,  and in
the Same ftate of civilization, a Similar gradation ot imbe-
cility and diSeaSe is to be obferved.   The children ot men
of rank and fortune are, in general, more puny, debilitat-
ed, and difeafed, than  thofe of the peafant  or artificer.
Still, however, children, in their progrefs from birth to
maturity, have innumerable Sources of plcalure, which
alleviate, iS they do not Sully compensate, the pain which
muft unavoidably be endured, whether in a more  natural
or more artificial ftate of mankind.   If luxury and civili-
zation debilitate the conftitution^ of children, they give
rife to many  real  enjoyments which are  totally unknown
to the lavage.   His wants are fewer ;  but,  his gratifica-
tions are more than proportionally diminifhed.
  Though the perioel of human infancy be  proportionally
long, it is too often increaSed by improper management.
In this, and many other countries of Europe, infants have
no fooner efcaped from the womb  of  their mother,  and
have enjoyed the  liberty  of ftretching their  limbs, than
'hey are condemned to a  more cruel and unnatural bon-
dage.  The head is fixed in one pofition ;  the  legs are
fettered ; the arms are  bound down to the fides ;  and the
little innocents are laced with bandages fo strait that they
cannot move a fingle joint.  The restraint of swaddling
bands mult  be productive of pain.   Their  original inten-
tion was to prevent the head and limbs  from being dis-
torted by unnatural or  hurtful pofitions.   But it was  not
confidered, that the efforts made by infants to diSentangle
themfehes, have a greater tendency to diltort their mem-
bers than any poftures they could affume, iS they enjoyed
a greater degree of liberty.   But, if the efforts for liberty
made by infants fettered in this cruel manner be hurtful,
the ftate of inactivity in which  they are forced to remain,
is, perhaps, equally noxious.  Infants, as well as all young
animals, are extremely prone to motion.  It promotes the
growth and expansion oi their organs.  It likewife invi-
gorates  all their members, and facilitates the circulation
and ftcrcticn of their different fluids.  But, when infants
                                                  are 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      183
are deprived of exercife, or  of the power of performing
their natural movements, the oppofite effects are produc-
ed.  The want  of exercife retards their growth and weak-
ens their  conftitution.  Thofe children,  therefore,  who
are allowed full freedom of motion, will always be the
the most healthy and the moft vigorous.  We are, how-
ever, happy to remark, that, by the efforts of philofophers
and phyficians, the practice of employing tight bandages
has of late become lefs general, efpecially among intelli-
gent midwives and mothers.  But, to eradicate long efta-
blifhed  prejudices, and to  diffuSe  more enlightened and
Salutary notions through  a whole country, cannot be ef-
fected  without  a  great length of time and vigorous ex-
ertions.           ^
   From what caufes  or circumftances particular modes
in the management of infants originate, it is  difficult  to
determine.  But, it is certain that favages, and the ruder
nations, in their treatment of infants, often difcover more
difcernment, and propriety of conduct, than  are to be
found in the moft polifhed stages of fociety.  The negroes,
the favages  of Canada, of Virginia,  of Brafil, and the
natives  oS almoft the  whole of South-America, inftead
of using fwaddling-bands,  lay their inSants naked  into
hammocks, or hanging beds of  cotton, or into cradles
lined with fur.  The Peruvians leave the arms of their
infants perfectly loofe in a kind of fwathing-bag.  When
a little older, they are put, up to the middle,  in a  hole
dug  out oS the earth, and lined  with linen or cotton.
By this contrivance,  their arms  and  head  are perfectly
free, and  they  can  bend their bodies, and move their
arms and  head, without the Smallest danger oS fading,
or of receiving any injury.  To  entice  them to walk,
whenever they are able to ftep,  the breast is prefented to
them at a little  diftance.  The children of negroes, when
very young, cling round, with their knees and legs, one
of their mother's haunches, and grafp the breast with
their hands.   In this pofition they  adhere So firmly,  that
they Support themSelves without any  affiftance, and;  con-
tinue to fuck without danger of falling, though the mother
moves  forward, or works  at her  usual labour.  Thefe
                                            children, 
i34       THE   PH i L OS O P II Y
children, at the end of the fecond month, begin to creep
on  their hand* and  knees :  and, in this fituation, they
acquire, by habit, the faculty of running with furprifing
quicuiefs.
  Savages are remarkably attentive to  the cleanlinefs of
their children.  Though  they  cannot  afford to change
their furs fo frequently as we  do  our  linen, this defect
they fuppb  by other Subftances of no value.   The  Sa-
vages of North-America  put wood-duft, obtained from
decayed trees, into the bottom of the cradle, and renew
it as often as it is neceffary.  Upon this powder the chil-
dren are laid,  and covered with fkins.   This powder is
very Soft, and quickly abforbs  moiflure  of every kind.
The children in Virginia  are placed naked upon a  board
covered with cotton, and furnifhed with a  proper hole
for  tranfmitting the  excrement.   This  practice is,  like-
wile, almoft general in the eastern parts of Europe, and
particularly  in Turkey.   It has another advantage: It
prevems the difmal  effects which too often proceed from
the  negligence of nurfes.
  Many northern nations plunge their infants, immedi-
ately after birth, into cold water, without receiving any
injury.  The Laplanders  expofe their  new-born  infants
on the fnow till they are  almoft dead with cold, and then
throw them into a  warm bath.   During the firft year,
this fevmingly harfh treatment  is  repeated three times
every day.  After that period, the children are bathed in
cold water thrice every week.   It is a general opinion in
northern regions, that cold  bathing renders men more
healthy and robust; and, hence, they  inure their  chil-
dren, from their very birth, to this habit.  In the isthmus
of  America,  the  inhabitants,  even when covered  with
Sweat,  plunge themfelves  with impunity into cold water.
The mothers  bathe in cold water, along with  their in-
fants, the moment  after   delivery ; yet,  much Sewer  of
them die of child-bearing, than in nations where a prac-
tice of this :end would be confidered  a3 extremely ha-
zardous.
  With regard to the- food of  infants,  it fhould confift,
for  the firit two months,  of the mother's niiik alone.  A
                                                child 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      185

child may be injured by allowing it any other nourifh-
ment before the end of the firft month.   In Holland,  in
Italv,  in Turkey,  and over the  whole Levant, children,
during the firft year, are not permitted to tafte any other
food.   The  Canadian favages nurfe  their children  four
or five vears, and fometimes fix or  Seven.  In cafes  of
neceflity, the milk of quadrupeds may fupply that of the
mother.   But, in fuch cafes, the  child fhould be ob-
liged to fuck the animal's teat;  for  the degree of heat is
always uniform and proper, and the milk, by the action
of the muScles, is mixed with the Saliva, which is a great
promoter of digeftion.  Several robust peafajits have been
known to have had no other  nurfes  than ewes.   After
two or three months,  children may be  gradually accuf-
tomed to food fomewhat more folid  than  milk.   Before
the teeth fhoot through the gums, infants are incapable
of maftication.  During that period,  therefore,  it is ob-
vious  that Nature intended they fhould be nourifhed folely
by SoSt  Subftances.   But, aSter they  are Surnifhed  with
teeth, it is equally obvious, that they fhould occasionally
be allowed Sood of a  more folid texture.
   The bodies of infants, though extremely delicate, are
lefs affected by  cold  than at  any  other  period  of life.
This effect may be produced by the fuperior quicknefs in
the pulfation of the heart and arteries which takes place
in Small animals.  The pulfe of an infant is more frequent
than that of an adult.  The pulfe  of a horfe,  or of  an
ox, is much flower than that of a man ; and the motion
of the heart,  in very  fmall animals, as  that of a linnet,
is fo rapid that it  is impoffible to count the strokes.
   The lives of children, during  the firft three or four
years, are extremely precarious.  After that period,  their
exiflence becomes gradually more certain.  According to
Simpfon's  tables  of the degrees of mortality at  different
ages,  it appears,  that, of a certain number of infants
brought forth at the fame time, more than a fourth part
of them died the firft year, more  than a third  in two
vears, and at leaft one half at the end of the third year.
Mr. Simpfon made this experiment upon claldren born in
London. But, the mortality of children is not nearly So
                         A a                     great 
186        THE  PHILOSOPHY

great in every place ;  for  M.  Dupre de S. M uir, by a
number of experiments made in France, has fliown, that
one half of  the children  born at the fame  time are  not
extinct in lefs  than feven  or eight years.
  To treat of the difeafes of children, or to enter minutely
into the  caufes which  contiibate to the  great mortality
of mankind in early infancy, is no part of our plan.  In
general,  thefe  caufes are  to be referred to unnatural prac-
tices in the management  of  children,  introduced by  fu-
perftition, by  ignorance, and  by  Soolifh notions arifing
from over-refinement, from prejudice, and Srom hypothe-
tical Systems, while the ceconomy and analogy of Nature,
in the conduct and Situation of the inferior animals, arc
almoft totally neglected.  Every animal, except the human
fpecies,  brings forth its young  without any  foreign aid.
But, incredible numbers of children, as  well  as of mo-
thers, are daily maimed, enfeebled,  and deftroyed,  by
the  ignorance and barbarity of midwives and accoucheurs.
An  infant is no Sooner brought into the world than  it  is
crammed with phyfic.  Nature's medicine Sor  cleanfing
the  bowels oS  infants  is  the milk  of the mother.  But,
midwives abfurdly  imagine  that drugs will anfwer this
purpofe much  better.  All other animals that give  fuck
nurfe their own offspring : But,  we too frequently delegate
this tender and endearing office to ftrange women, whole
constitutions,  habits of life, and mental difpofitions, are
often totally different from thofe of the genuine parent.
Infants, recently after birth,  frequently Suffer Srom giving
them, inftead  oS the  mother's milk, wine-whey, watcr-
gruel,  and Similar unnatural kinds  of nourifhment.   In
this period of their exiflence, however,  very little food,
but a great deal of reft,  is neceffary for promoting their
health,  and  Securing their eafe and tranquillity; for  in-
fants, when not  teazed  by  officious  cares, fleep almoft
continually during fe\ end weeks after birth.  Young ani-
mals are naturally fond  of being in the  open air ;  but,
our infants, particularly in luge towns, are almoft perpe-
tually fhut up in warm  apartments, which both relaxes
their bodies  and enervates their  minds.  The great agility,
itrength, and fine proportions of favages, are refults of a
                                               hardy 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     187

hardy education, of living much in the open air, and of
an unreftrained ufe  of all their organs the moment after
they come into the world.
   In young animals, as well as in infants, there is a gra-
dual progrefs, both in bodily and  mental powers, from
birth to maturity.   Thefe powers are unfolded fooner or
later, according to the nature and exigencies of  particu-
lar fpecies.  This progrefs,  in man, is very flow.  Man
acquires not his full stature and ftrength of body till  fe-
veral years after the age  of  puberty :  And,  with regard
to his mind,  his judgment and other faculties cannot  be
faid to be perfectly ripe before his thirtieth year.
   In early infancy, though the impreflions received from
new objects muft be ftrong, the  memory appears to  be
weak.  Many caufes may concur in producing this effect.
In this period of our exiflence, almoft every object is new.
and, of courfe, engroffes the whole attention.  Hence
the idea of any particular  object is obliterated by the quick
Succeffion and novelty of others, joined to the force with
which they act  upon the mind.  Haller afcribes* this want
of recollection to a weaknefs of memory ;  but, it feems ra-
ther to proceed from a confufion which neceffarily refults
from the number and ftrong impreflions  of new objects.
The memory ripens not fo much by a gradual increafe in
the ftrength  of that faculty, as by a diminution in  the
number  and novelty  of  the objects which folicit attenti-
on.  In a few  years children are  enabled to exprefs  all
their wants  and  defires. The number  oS new objeCts
daily diminifhes,  and the impreflions made by thofe with
which they are familiar become comparatively fmall  and
uninterefting.  Hence their habits of attention, and the
ardour of their minds, begin to relax.   Inftead  of a ge-
neral and undiftinguifhing  gratification  of their fenfes,
this is the period when it  is neceffary to stimulate children,
bv various  artifices, to apply their minds fteadily to the
examination of particular objects, and to the acquisition
of new ideas from more  complicated and refined Sources
of information.  The great  bafis  of education is a habit
of attention.   When this important point is gained, the
minds of children may be molded into any  form.   But 
i38         THE  PHILOSOPHY

thai rcftleffhefs, and appetite for motion, which  Nature,
i »nhc wi eft purpofes, has implanted in the conftitution
oi  all young animals, fhould not be too feverely checked.
Healui and vigour of body are  the furelt foundations of
ftren  .h and improvement of mind.
  With regard to the duration  of infancy,  from man to
th   in cct tribes, it feems, in general, to be proportioned,
not to the extent of life,  but to the fagaciiv or mental
powers of the different claffes of animated beings,   the
elephant requires 30 years,  and the rhinoceros 20, before
they come to perfect maturity,  and are enabled to multi-
ply their fpecies.   But thefe years mark not  the period
o:  iuf.vicv ; for the animals,  in a much fhorter time, are
c. naidc oi procuring thei- own food, and are totally inde-
pendent of any aid from their parents.   1 he fame remark
is aophcable to the camel,  the horfe, the larger apes,  &c.
Their ages of pubc rty are four,  two and a half, and three
yeirs.   15. t, in thefe quadrupeds,  the terminations ot in-
fancy are  much more early.  The fmaller  quadrupeds,
as hares,-Tiits, mice, o:c. are mature at the end of the
fir»r yearafter birth ; and the Guiney-pig and rabbit re-
quire only five or fix months.   There is a gradation of
mental powers, though not without exceptions, Srom the
lav gr to the more  minute quadrupeds ;  tor the dog and
fe^, whofe Sagacity is very great, come to maturity in
one year, ami their ftate of infancy is fhort.   But, of all
animals, the infancy and  helplefs  condition of  man are
the molt prolonged; and the fuperiority and duCtility of
his mind  x. Ill not be queftioned.
  The infant ftate  of birds is  very  fhort.   Moft of the
feath  red tribes arrive at perfection in lefs than fix months;
and their  Sagacity is comparatively limited.
  With regard to fifhes, if the whale and leal kind, who
fumble their young, be excepted, they receive no  aid from
their  parent-.  Fifhes no fooner efcape from the eggs of
their  mother,  than the.  are  in a condition to procure
noarifhnmnt, and  to provide, in fome meafure,  for their
own Safety.  ():'  the fagacity of film:-,, owing to the ele-
ment in which titey live,  we have very little knowledge.
But, their general character 15 ftupidity, joined toa vora-
                                                 cious 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.       189
cious and indifcriminating appetite for food.  In oppofi-
tion to an almoft general  law of Nature  which Subsists
among other animals, fifhes  devour,  without distinction,
every fmaller or weaker animal, whether it belongs to  a
different fpecies, or to their own.   In animals of a much
higher order, voracity of appetite is Seldom accompanied
with ingenuity or elegance of tafte.   When the  principal
attention of an animal is engrofled with any fenfual appe-
tite, it is a fair conclusion that the mental powers are
weak, becaufe they are chiefly employed upon the groffeft
of all objeCts.   If this obfervation be juft, fifhes muft be
ranked among  the moft flupid animals of equal magni-
tude and activity.
  The infant ftate of infects is a various and complicated
fubject.   After they efcape from the egg, they undergo fo
many changes, and affume fuch a variety of forms, that  it
is  difficult to determine  the  period of their  exiflence
which corresponds to the condition of infancy in the lar-
ger animals.  Different fpecies remain longer or  fhorter
in the form of worms, caterpillars, or grubs,  before they
are  changed into chryfalids, and afterwards into flies.
When young, like other animals, they are fmall and fee-
ble : But, even in their moft helplefs condition, with a
very few exceptions, Nature  is their only nurfe.   They
require no aid from their parents, who, in  general, are
totally unacquainted  with  their progeny.  But,  as  for-
merly obferved, when treating  of inftinct,  the mothers
uniformly depofit  their eggs in fituations which  afford
both protection and nourifhment to  their young.  The
parent fly, according to the fpecies, invariably,  unlefs re-
strained by  neceflity, depofits her eggs upon particular
plants, in the bodies oS other animals, in the  earth, or in
water.  Whenever, therefore, an infect receives exiflence
in its primary form, all its wants are fupplied.  Though
the mother, after the worms iffue from the  eggs, takes
no charge of her offspring, and frequently does not exift
at the time they come forth, yet, by an unerring and pure
inflin£l, fhe uniformly places them in Situations where the
young find proper nourifhment, and every thing neceffary
to their feeble condition.
                                                  To 
  190        THE  PHILOSOPHY

   To thii general  law,  by which infects  are  governed,
 there are feveral exceptions.   Bees, and  fome other  dies,
 not only conltruct nefts for their young,  but actually  Witd,
 and moft anxioufly protect them.
   From what has been faid concerning the infancy of ani-
 mals, one general remark merits attention.  Nature has
 uniformly,  though  by various modes, provided  for the
 nourifhment and prefervation of all animated beings while
 thev are in an infantine ftate.  Though the  human fpecies
 continues long in that ftate, the attachment and Solicitude
 of both parents, inftead  of abating, in proportion to the
 time and labour  beftowed on  their progeny, conltantly
 augment, and commonly remain during life.   The  reci-
 procal  affeCtion of parents and children  is one of the
 greateft Sources of human happineSs.  IS  the love  oS chil-
 dren were not ftrong, and iS it did  not inci eafe with time,
 the labour, the conltant attention, the anxiety and fatigue
 of mothers  would be infuflerable.  But  here Nature,
 whofe wifdom is always confpicuous, makes affeCtion
 brave every difficulty, and footh every pain.  If  a child
 be fickly, and require uncommon  care, the exertions of
 the mother  are wonderfully fupported : Pity unites with
 love ;  and thefe twfo paffions become fo strong, that hard-
 fliips, and fatigue of every kind, are suffered with chear-
 fulnefs and alacrity.
   With  regard to the inferior tribes of animals,  Nature
 has not been lefs provident.   To  quadrupeds and birds
 fhe has given a ftrong and marked  affection for their  ofl-
 fpring, as long as parental care is neceffary.  But, when-
 ever the young begin to be in a condition to protect  and
 provide Sor themSelves, the attachment oSthe parents gra-
 dually Subsides ; they become regardleSs oS their offspring,
 at laft banifh them, with blows, from their prefence., and,
 after that period, feem to have no knowledge of the  ob-
 jects which  fo lately  had engroffed all the attention of
 their minds, and occupied all the induftry and labour of
 their bodies.—Here the dignity and fuperiority of man
 appears in a confpicuous light.  Inftead of lofing  the
knowledge of his offspring after they arrive at maturity,
                                                  his 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.
191
his  affection  expands,  and embraces grandchildren, and
great-grandchildren, with equal warmth as if they had
immediately originated from himfelf.
CHAPTER  VIII.
        Of the Growth, and. Food,  of Animals.


  IT is a law of Nature, that all organized bodies, whe-
   ther animal or vegetable, require food, in order to ex-
pand and strengthen their parts when young, and to pre-
ferve health and vigour after they have arrived at matu-
rity.  The food of animals is digested in the ftomach and
inteftines :  By this procefs it is converted into chyle, and
abforbed by the lacteal veffels, in the manner defcribed in
Chap. II. pag. 50.  But how this chyle, or nutritious mat-
ter, after mingling with the general maSs oS blood, con-
tributes to  the growth, and repairs the  waste of animal
bodies, is a myftery which probably never will be unfold-
ed by human fagacity.  It has, however, like many other
fecrets of Nature, given rife to feveral ingenious theories
and conjedures, fome of which fhall be Slightly mentioned.
   Button considers the bodies of animals and vegetables
as what he calls internal moulds.   He fays, that the matter
of nutrition is not applied by juxta-pofition, but that it
penetrates  the whole mafs; that each  part receives  and
applies thofe particles only which are  peculiar and ne-
ceffary to its own nature; and that, by  this means, the
whole parts of the body are gradually and  proportionally
augmented.  This nutritive matter, he remarks, is orga-
nic, and Similar to the body itfelf;  and hence the fize  of
the body is increafed, without any change in its figure or
fubftance.   The matter ejected by the different excretions
he confiders to be a Separation of the dead  from the vivi-
fying  and organic parts of nourifhment, which are diftri- 
 192        THE   PHILOSOPHY
butc d over the body  by  an active power:  This powc-,
fimilar to that of gravity, penetrates the internal fnHl.m a
of the body, and attracts the organic particles, which are
thus pufhed on through  all its  parts.  As thefe < rgan.c
pari teles  are fimilar to the body itfelf, their union  with
the d:fferent parts augments its fize, without change, ; its
figure.   To unfold an embryo or germ, nothing more is
requifite  than that it contain, in miniature, a body fimilar
to the fpecies, and be placed in proper circumftances for
the acquisition of frefh  organic  particles  to  incre.de  its
fize and unfold its members.  Hence nutrition, develope-
ment, and reproduction, are all effects ot the Same caufe.
  This account oS the nutrition and growth oS organic
bodies has the appearance of an ingenious theory.  But
an attentive reader will eafily perceive, that it contains no
other information, than that animals and  vegetables are
nourifbed and  grow  by the intervention of the nutritious
particles  of food. . This  is a fact univerfally  known and
admitted.  But, we are ftill as ignorant as ever of the mode
by which this  myfterious operation is performed.
  Other  authors have fuppofed that the brain is a large
gland; that the nerves diftributed  over the whole body
are the duCts or canals of this gland ; and that the prin-
i ipal ufe of the brain  is  to Secrete nutritious matter, and
to transmit it  by  the  nerves to the various parts of the
fyftem, in order to expand the different organs of which
it is compofed, or to repair the wafte they may have fuf-
fered from labour and other cauSes.
  This theory preSuppoSes that the nerves are tubular,
and contain a fluid :  But both oS theSe circumstance.,  have
hitherto  eluded the   refeareh  of the ablest  anatomilts.
Befides, the learned and indeSatigable Doctor Monro, in
his  Nervous Syftcm, has  rendered  it highly  improbable
that  the  nerves are  the  inftruments of nutrition.   The
Doctor reafons in the  following manner.—On comparing
different  animals, he remarks, we find  no correspondence
between the fize of their brain, the rapidity of their growth,
or the quantity of nourifhment  they  receive.  An ox is
fix times  heavier than a man ;  but the  brain of an ox
weighs not above a fourth part of that of a man.  On this
                                              fuppofi- 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     193
fuppofition, an ox's brain muft Secrete twenty-four times
more  nourifhment than a portion equal  to it of the hu-
man brain.  In two  years' an ox acquires his full fize.
His brain muft, of courfe, be fuppofed to transmit daily
through the nerves two or three pounds of flefh, bones,
&c.  But  the much  larger brain of a man does not, in
an equal  time, add to his  body a fiftieth part of that
weight.
  ' In  monfters,' fays the Doctor, ' I have  found the
' limbs  very plump, though the brain was very fmall.
' Nay, in  fome monfters, ihe head has been wanting,
6 yet the limbs were  as large and perfect as common.  In
6 other monfters, with one head  and two bodies, I have
c found  that the brain furnifhed the  nerves of the head
' and  fpinal marrow on  the right fide of the monfter ;
c yet the left fpinal  marrow, at  the top of which there
6 was only a fmall medullary knob, about the fize oS  a
' large pea, was as  perfect  as  the right one; and that
6 body, and its limbs, were as large, and as well nourifhed,
' as thofe  on the right fide.   On the  other hand, where
6 there were two heads oS the ordinary fize, and only one
' body, the limbs were not remarkable for their fize.
  c We See that organs, of which the nerves are  fo fmall
4 that we  cannot trace them by diffection, as the bones,
' the placenta, &c. grow  as  quickly as the other  organs,
' in which the  nerves are large and numerous.
  ' A year after I had cut acrofs the fciatic  nerve of  a
* living  frog, I could not  perceive that limb fmaller than
c the other;  yet it continued to  be infenfible and moti-
£ onlefs.   Nay, when I had broken the bones of the in-
' fenfible limb, or wounded the fkm  and fiefh,  I found
' that the  callus formed, and the wounds healed, as rea-
6 dily as if the nerve had been  entire.  The event was
' the fame after dividing,  tranfverfelv, the lower or pofte-
e rior  end of the fpinal marrow of the frog.
  ' It is well  known,' concludes  our author, * that, if
1 powder of madder root is mixed with the food of  a
c young animal, the bones  become red ; or, if a bone
' has been broken, that the  callus joining its parts will
e be red.  The ferum of the blood, in the firft place,  is
                      B b                   i deeply 
I')'
THE.  PIHLOSOP H Y
1 de eply tinged; but the red colour of the  bones is  not
' folely, nor even chicilv, owing to the coloured ferum
4 or blood circulating; for I have found, that, after in-
• jecting water into the veffels till thefe were emptied of
' the blood, and that the water came out colourk is,  the
'tinge in  the  bones  appeared equally deep,  and  was,
4 therefore, plainly owing to a great quantity of the red
' earth added to the bones in  the  time of their  growth.
' But this earth was not tranfmitted by the nerves ;  for
c the colour of  thefe,  as I found, remained unchanged.'
  That the nutritious particles of food are  conveyed by
the arteries, and applied by their extremities to  the  va-
rious parts of animal bodies which require to be repaired
or expanded, is an opinion not only  belt  fupported by
facts,  but adopted by all the more rational  phyfiologifls.
The principal facts and arguments in Support of this the-
ory fhall now be mentioned.
  The chyle,  as formerly remarked,  is converted  into
blood.  The glutinous part of the blood, known by the
name of coagulable lymph, refembles  the white of an eg^.
That, the white  of an egg is the fole nourifhment of the
chick before its exclufion, is an eftablifhed fact;  and the
conclufibn, from analogy,  that the lymph of blood is
dedined for the growth and reparation  of animal bodies,
is bv  no  means unnatural.  k Without repeating,'  Says
Dr. Monro, ' our extreme uncertainty as  to the tubu-
4  Iar nature  of the nerves, and the improbability  that
*  canals So exceedingly minute as thofe within the nerves
4  muft be, and  of fuch length, are deftined for  the con-
-  vevance of giue, do we not  i\v.i\,  that this very matter
4  is feparated  by the exhalant  branches of the arteries of'
4  the peritoneum, pleurae, and other fhut facs,  and, uni-
4  v  faliv,  ':•  the branches of the arteries of the cellular
'membrane?—The kinds  of  matter  neceffary  for  the
4  growth  and nourifhment of our feveral organs are f >
4  various  and different in their nature, that it is altogether
4  incredible they can be furnifhed by the nerves: Thus,
*  water is needed for  the extenfion of the Sore-part of
4  the eye, vifcid'matter for the cryftalline  and vitreous
'  humours, earth for  the  growth   of the  bones, &c.;
                                            4 \\here«: 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     195

 whereas we can as eafily conceive thefe to be  furnifhed
 by the arteries, as that, in one place, they fhould furnifh
 faliva, in another bile, &c.—As the wafte of the feveral
 organs is carried off by the veflels, either circulating
 or abforbent, why fhould we doubt that the circulating
 fluids can add a particle in  the  place  of one that has
 been carried off", or that an artery can fupply  what has
 been abforbed by a lymphatic vein ? As it is granted
 that the Secretion of all other kinds of matter in the
 bodies of animals is performed by the branches of the
 arteries, is it not incredible that there fhould  be an ex-
 ception to the general rule in the fecretion of. the nou-
 rifhment ? Surely that power which  can convert the
 food into blood, and can change the blood into bile and
 faliva, is fufficient to convert it  into nourifhment.
 4 I will now add,'  continues our author, ' that in calli,
 cicatrices, or accretions, there are numberlefs new formed
 veffels filled, in the living animal, with red blood, and
 which can readily be injected. Nay, I found by experi-
 ment, that fuch new formed  veflels, produced by the
 oppofite  fides of  a wound,  unite into continued canals,
 or  anaftomofe.—If, then, in a  callus, new earthy or
 offeous fibres, and new veffels,  can  be formed  by the
 original arteries, muft  we not believe that the wafte of
 this earth, and of thefe veffels,  can be  ever  after fup-
 plied by the arteries which formed them ? If fo, are we
 not to conclude, that the wafte of other arteries, and of
 other organs, is  fupplied in the fame manner from the
 arteries ? If the quantity of blood naturally circulating
 through a limb be diminiflied, as by tying the trunk of
 the brachial artery, in the operation for an aneurifm, the
 arm lofes  part of its ftrength and Size; but the  loSs is lefs
 than, at firft fight, might be expected ;  becauSe the ana-
ftomofing (ot uniting} canals Soon come to be greatly
 enlarged.
 4 Upon  the whole,' the Doctor concludes, 4  there are
 few points in phyfiology So clear, as, 1. That the arte-
ries prepare, and directly Secrete the nourifhment in all
our organs ; and, 2. That the nerves do not contain nor
                                           4 conduct 
ioG        THE  PHILOSOPHY
'  conduct the nourishment, but,  by enabling the arteries
4  to act properly, contribute indirectly to nutrition.'
  The ingc nious Charles Bonnet  endeavours to fhow, that
the parts of all organized  bodies are contained,  in mini-
ature,  in germs, or buds;  that thefe germs, when placed
in proper  fituations,  gradually  unfold  and  increafe  in
magnitude; that the  various  members of animals and
vegetables are expanded, both longitudinally and laterally,
by food adapted to their refpective natures ; and that every
germ actually includes the rudiments of the  whole ani-
mals or vegetables  which  are  to proceed from  it during
all fucceflive generations.
  With regard to vegetables, it is true,  that the feed firft
produces a fmall tree, which it  contained  in  miniature
vithin its  lobes.  At the  top of this fmall  tree a bud or
germ is formed, which  contains  the fhoot or tree that is
to fpring next feafon.  In the fame manner,  the fmall tree
of the Second year produces a bud which includes a tree
Sor  the third  year;  and  this proceSs uniSormly goes on as
long as the tree continues  to vegetate.   At  the extremity
of each branch, buds are likewife formed, which contain,
in miniature, trees fimilar to that of the firft year.  From
thefe, and  fimilar  facts, it  is  concluded, that  all  thefe
germs were contained in  the  original feed ; for the firft
bud was  Succeeded  by a Similar  bud, which was not un-
folded  till the Second year, and  the  third bud  was  not
expanded till the  third year ; and, oS courSe,  the feed
may be faid to have contained not only the whole  buds
which would be formed in a hundred years, but all the
feeds, and  all the individuals,  which would  Succeffively
arrive till the final  deftruction of the fpecies.
  TheSe  facts are known and eftablifhed ; but the reafon-
ing deduced  from  them is fallacious, or, what  amounts
ro the  fame thing,  is perfectly  incomprehensible.  The
Seed is un ^ueitionably the  origin or cauSe  oS all Suture
individuals, which  may be infinite.  But the idea that it
really contained the germs  of  all the individuals which
were to Spring from it  as  a  Source,  is not  only abSurd,
but exceeds all the powers of human imagination to con-
reive.  Thee ties of this kind, of which there are too
                                                nVxW.j 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     197
many in almoft every department of Science, hardly merit
examination.   Every Seed,  and every animal, according
to this  doctrine, includes  in  its own body an  infinite
posterity ! If we affent to reafonings of this kind, we muft
lofe ourfelves in the labyrinths  of infinity ; and, inftead
of throwing light upon the fubject, we fhall involve it in
tenfold  darknefs.   All  we know concerning the nature of
growth  and nutrition is extremely limited.   We know
that,  in the animal kingdom, nutrition  is performed  by
means of the blood, which is forcibly propelled through
every part of the body  by the action  of the heart and ar-
teries ;  and  that  vegetables, in  a fimilar manner, are
nourifhed by the afcenfion and distribution of the fap.
But, how the nutritive  particles are applied to the various
parts of organized bodies, and how they expand the or-
gans, or repair their continual wafte and lofs of fubftance,
we muft content ourfelves  with remaining in perpetual
ignorance.
   In general, the  food of animals,  and  particularly of
the human fpecies, confifts of  animal and vegetable fub-
ftances, combined with water,  or other fluids.  The Gen-
too, and fome other fouthern nations, live entirely upon
vegetable diet. From  the accounts we have of the diffe-
rent regions  of the earth,  it  appears, that the natives of
warm climates, where the cultivation  of plants is pradtifed,
employ a greater proportion of vegetable food than in the
 more northern countries.  The  inhabitants  of Lapland
 have little or no dependence  on the  fruits of the earth.
 They neither fow  nor  reap.  They ftill remain, and, from
 the nature of their  climate,  muft forever remain, in  the
 fhepherd ftate.  Their comparative, riches confift entirely
 of  the number   of rein-deer poffeffed by  individuals.
 Their principal nourifhment  is derived from the flefh and
 milk of thefe animals.  In autumn, however, they catch
 great multitudes of fowls,  moft of them of the game kind.
 With thefe,  while frefh, they not only fupply their prefent
 wants, but  dry and  preferve  them through the winter.
 They likewife kill hares, and other animals, which abound
 in the  woods and mountains;  but the flefh of the bear is
 their greateft delicacy.  In their  lakes  and rivers,  they
                                                 have 
 i9S        THE  PHILOSOPHY
have inezhauftible Stores of fifiY , which, in Suuuncr and
autumn, they dry in the fun, or in ftovi s and in winter
they are preierved  by the  froft.  The Laplanders drink
water, or animal oils; but  never tafte bread  or fait.
They live  in  a pure  air,  and have  fuiiicient  exerci.e.
Their conftitutions are attempered to the coldnels of the
climate ; and they are remarkable for vigour and longe-
vity.  The gout, the ftone, the rheumatifin, and many
other difeafes  which torture  the luxurious in iriilder
climes, are totally unknown to them.  With the Sew gifts
which Nature has beftowed on them, they remain Satisfied,
and live happily among their mountains and their fiorms.
If Southern  nations afford examples of people who feed
nearly on vegetables a-one,  the Laplanders furnifh one of
the oppofite extreme ;  Sor the \ are almoft entirely  carnivo-
rous animals.
  To Norwav, Sweden, Germany, and Britain, the Same
observation is applicable. In thefe countries, animal food
is much more uSed than in 1 . a-nce, Spain, Italy,  Barbary,
and the other Southern regions of the globe.  Many rea-
fons may be affigned for thefe diiVcrences in the food of
nations.   The natural productions of the eaiah depend
entirely on the climate.  In warm climates, the vegetables
which grow fpontaneoufly are both more luxuriant and
more various.  The number and richneSs oS their fruits
Sar exceed  thoSe of colder  regions.  From this  circum-
ftance, the natives muft be ftimulated to ufe a proportion-
ally  greater quantity of vegetable food ; and we learn
from hiftory, and from travellers, that this is  actually
the cafe.   In cold countries, on the contrary, vegetables
are not only fewer,  but more rigid, and contain lefs nou-
rifhment.   The inhabbam g accordingly, are obliged to
live principally on animal fubftances.   if we examine the
mode of feeding in dhleient nations, it  will be found,
that,  in proportion  as men approach or recede from  the
poles, a greater or lefs quantity of animal and vegetable
fubftances are ufed in their diet.  Cuftom, laws, and re-
li^ioi.s rites, it muft be allowed, prode.ee considerable dif-
ferences in the articles of food, among particular  nations,
which have no dependence on climate, or the natural
                                          productions 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     i99

productions of the earth.   But, when men are not fetter-
ed or prejudiced by extraneous circumftances, or political
institutions,  the nature of their food is invariably deter-
mined by the climates they inhabit.  The variety of food,
in any country, is likewife greatly influenced by culture,
and by imitation.   Commerce occafionally furnifhes  new
fpecies of food, particularly of the vegetable  kind.  In
Scotland, till  about the  beginning of this century, the
common people lived  almoft entirely upon grain.  Since
that period, the culture and ufe of the potato, of many
fpecies of coleworts, and of fruits, have been introduced,
and univerfally diffuSed through the nation.
  Whether man  was originally intended by  Natureto
live Solely upon animal or  vegetable food,  is a queftion
which has been much agitated both by the ancients and
the modems.   Many facts and circumftances  concur  in
eftablifhing the  opinion, that  man was  defigned to be
nourifhed neither bv  animals  nor  vegetables Solely, but
by a mixture  of both.   Agriculture is an art, the inven-
 tion of wdiich muft depend  on a number of fortuitous
 circumftances.  It  requires a long Succeffion oS ages be-
 fere favage nations learn this art.   They depend entirely
for their fubfiftence upon hunting wild animals, fifhing,
and fuch fruits as their country happens fpontaneoufly to
 produce.  This has uniformly been the manner of living
 among all the favage nations of which we have any pro-
 per knowledge; and feems to be a clear proof, that ani-
 mal food is by no means repugnant to the nature of man.
 Befides, the Surface of the earth,  even in the mofUuxu-
 riant  climates,  and  though  afllfted by  culture,  is not
 capable of  producing vegetable food in Sufficient quantity
 to Support  the human race,  aSter any region of it has
 become fo populous as Britain, France,  and many other
 nations.  The general  pradice  of mankind^ when not
 reftrained by prejudice or Superstition, of feeding promif-
 cuoufly on animal  and vegetable Subftances, is  a  ftrong
 indication that man is,  partly at leaft, a carnivorous ani-
 mal.   The Gentoos, though their chief diet be vegeta-
 bles,  afford no proper argument  against this  reafonmg.
 Thev are obliged,  by their religion, to abstain  from  the 
20Q
THE  PHILOSOPHY
flefh of animals;  and they arc allowed to ufe milk, which
is a very nourilhing animal food.   Notwithftanding this
indulgence, the Gentoos, in general, are a meagre, fickly,
and feeble race.   In hot climates, however, a very great
proportion of vegetable dkt may be ufed without any bad
confequences.
  Other arguments, tending to the Same conclufion, are
derived, not from the customs or practices of  particular
nations, but from the  ftructure of the human body.  All
animals which feed upon vegetables  alone, as  formerly
remarked, have  ftomachs and  inteftines  proportionally
larger than thofe  that live Solely  on animal Subftances.
Man, like the carnivorous tribes, is Surnifhed with cutting
and canine teeth, and, like the  graminivorous,  with a
double row of grinders.  The dimenfions of his ftomach
and inteftines likewife hold  a  mean proportion between
thefe two tribes of animals, which differ  fo  effentially in
their characters  and  manners.—From thefe, and fimilar
arguments, I have no hefitation to conclude, that  a pro-
miscuous uSe oS animal and vegetable Subftances is no de-
viation from the original nature or destination of mankind,
whatever country they may inhabit.
  With regard to the  different proportions of animal and
vegetable food which are moft accommodated to the health
and vigour of mankind, no general rule can be given that
could be applicable to different  climates, and  to the dif-
ferent conftitutions of individuals.  Animal food, it is
certain, gives vigour to the body, and may be ufed more
liberally by  the  active and laborious than by thofe who
lead a ftudious and Sedentary life.   A great proportion of
vegetable food, and particularly of bread, is confidered,
bv the moft eminent  phyficians, as best adapted for men
who are fond of Science and literature ; for, full meais of
animal food load the ftomach, and Seldom 'fail to produce
dulnefs,  yawning, indolence, and many difeafes  which
often prove fatal.
  The remainder of this chapter, from unavoidable cau-
fes, muft confift of observations  of a more defultory kind.
  Moft animals, when they live long on a particular fpe-
cies of food, are  apt  to be affected with difeafes, which
                                             generally 
        OF  NATURAL   HISTORY.     201
generally  arife  from coftivenefs, or its  oppofite.   The
Guiney-pigs, after being  confined Sor Some time to cole-
worts, contract a looSeneSs, which  oSten terminates  in
death.  But, when thoSe animals are at full liberty, they
prevent this effect, by an inftinct which teaches  them to
make frequent changes Srom moist to dry food: If they
are restrained in their  choice, they will  eat, as a  fucce-
daneum, paper, linen, and even woollen cloths.
  Though Some animals, and many vegetables, would be
noxious  to man, if ufed as food,  yet, in general, that
matter is more regulated by chance  and  custom than  by
rational motives.   By experience, and the aid of our fen-
fes, we acquire a tolerable facility  of diftinguifhing mili-
tary from noxious food.   Other animals Select their food
instinctively ; and their choice  is chiefly determined  by
the fenfe of fmelling.  The fpaniel hunts his prey by the
fcent; but the  grey-hound depends principally  upon the
ufe of his eye.   When  the  grey-hound  lofes fight of a
hare, he inftantly gives  up the chace,  and looks keenly
around him,  but never applies  his nofe,  in order to diS-
cover the track.  Some rapacious animals, as wolves and
ravens, diScover carrion  at diftances, which, if  we were
to judge from our own fenfe of fmelling,  would appear to
be altogether incredible.  Others, as eagles, hawks, gulls,
&c. Surprife us no lefs  by the acutenefs of their fight.
They perceive, from great heights in the air, mice, Small
birds, and minute fillies in the water.
   One great caufe of the diffufion of animals over every
part of the globe, is to  be derived Srom the diverfity oS
appetites for particular Species oS food, implanted by Na-
ture in the different tribes.   Some fifhes are only  to  be
found in certain latitudes.  Some animals inhabit the  fri-
gid, others the torrid zones ; fome frequent defarts,  moun-
tains, woods, lakes, and meadows.  In  their  choice of
fituation, they  are uniformly determined to  occupy Such
places as Surnifh them with Sood accommodated  to their
natures.  Monkeys, the elephant,  and  rhinoceros,  fix on
#the torrid zone,  becaufe they  feed on vegetables  which
flourifh there  during the whole year.  The  rein-deer  in-
habit the cold regions  of the north, becaufe thefe coun-
                         C c                    tries 
202
THE   PHI LOS OPH Y
tries produce the  "reaieit quantity of the lichen, a Species
o** mofs, which is  their beloved food.  The pelican makes
choice of  dry and delert places  to lav her eras.  When
her  voung are hatched, da- is oSdgeii to bring water to
them from great  distant e  .   To enable  her  to perform
thi^ necc dairy office, Nature ha-' provided her with  a  large
Sr.e, which extends from the tip of the upper mandible of
he" bill to  the ttr >at, and holds .is much water  as will
-fupply her brood for fe\ eral nays.  This water fhe pours
into ihe neft to coo! her young, to allay their thirft, and
to tench them to Iwim.  Lion-, tigers, and other rapaci-
ous journals, retort to thefe nelts,  drink the water, and
are faid  noi to injure  the young*.   The  goat afcends
thero^kv pre,cmicc. to crop the. leaves of fhrubs, and  other
favourite plants.   The floth  and the  fquirrel feed  upon
the- leavcc  and the fiuit of trees, and  are, therefore, fur-
nifhed with feet  w'fich enable th m  to  climb.  Water-
fowls live  upon fifties, infects, and  the eggs  of  fifhes.
T! eir bill, m\d,  wings,  legs, ana whole  ftructure, are
nice:y fitie\i for enabling them to catch the food adapted
to their  uaiures.   Their feeding upon the eggs of  fifhes
accounts Sor that  variety of fifties which  are ofteh found
in lakes and pools  on the tops of hills, and on high grounds
remote from the Sea and Srom rivers.  The bat and the
goat-fucker fly about during  the night,  when the whole
air is filled with moths, and other nocturnal inSects.   The
bear, who acquires a prodigious quantity of fat  during
the Summer, retires to his den, when provifions Sail him,
in winter.   For fome months,  he receives his fole nou-
rifhment from the  abforption  of the fat which  had  been
previoufly accumulated in  the cellular membrane.
   A glutton f, brought  from  Siberia  to  Drefden, eat
every day, fays M. Klein,  thirty pounds of flefh without
being fatisfied.  This fact  indicates an amazing digeftive
power in fo fmall a quadruped  ; for the Story of his Squeez-
ing his fides between two trees, in order to  make him
disgorge, is a mere Sable \.
   Siberia,  KamtSchatka,  and the polar regions, are Sup-
                                                  poSed
   * Amoen.  Acad. vol. 8. p. 41.  S.
   f 'I he M-ilc'a Cu of Linnius; the Gulo of Dr. Pallas.
   ♦ Gaz. Ltttcraire, vol. 1. p. 481. 8. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     203

poSed to be the abodes of mifery  and defolation.   They
are,  it muft be allowed, infested with numerous  ribes of
bears, foxes, gluttons, and other rapacious animaia.  But,
it fhould be confidered, that theSe voracious animals Sup-
ply the natives with both Sood and  clothing.  To elude
the attacks of ferocity, and to acquire  poffeffion of the
fkins  and carcafes  of fuch  creatures, the induftry and
dexterity  of  favage nations are excited.   The furs are
demanded by foreigners.  The inhabitants by this means
learn commerce and the arts of life; and, in the progrefs
of time, bears and wild beafts become the inftruments of
polifliing a barbarous  people.  Thus, the moft Substantial
good often proceeds from apparent misfortune.
  There  is hardly a plant that is  not rejected as food by
fome animals, and ardently desired by others.  The horfe
yields the common water-hemlock J to the goat, and the
cow the long-leafed water-hemlock j|  to the fheep.  The
goat, again,  leaves the aconite §, or bane-berries, to the
horfe, &c.  Plants which afford  proper nourifhment to
fome animals, are by others avoided, becaufe they would
not only be hurtful, but even poifonous.   Hence no plant
is abfolutely deleterious to animal life.  Poifon is only a
relative term.  The euphorbia, or Spurge, fo noxious to
man, is greedily devoured by fome  of the infect tribes.
  It is a maxim univerfally received,  that  every animal,
after birth, grows,  or acquires an augmentation of fize.
The fpider-fly, however, affords an exception.  The mo-
ther lays an egg fo difproportionally large, that no perfon,
without the aid of experience, could believe it  to have
been produced by this infect.   When the egg is hatched,
a fly proceeds* from it, which,  at the moment  of birth,
equals the parent in  magnitude.  Upon a Stricter exa-
mination of this egg, it has been  difcovered,  that the
infeCt, while  in the  belly of its mother, undergoes a
transformation into the nympth  or  chryfalis ftate: and
that, inftead of a worm, a fly is produced from  it, of
the fame  dimenfions as the parent.  This difcovery, how-
ever, does not diminifh  our wonder, that any  animal
Should actually give birth to a Substance as large  as its
                                                 own
  I Phellandrium aquaticum.     \ Cicuta. viroja.     \ Acpnitum Napetlus. 
:~4
I  Hi:   PHIL OS O PH Y
own body, and that its fize  fhould  never afterwards  re-
ceive any  au-;am utation •".
  When cm rpillars,  fome time before their change,  are
deprived of i\>oa, thev diminifh to  at lent one  half of
their former fize.  Their chryfalids, of coufIc,  as well as
the butterflies which proceed from them, arc  proportion-
ally fmall.   From this iaet  we  learn  the importance of
feeding all young animals well till they acquire their full
growth.
  It is a  remark of the  ingenious  Reaumur, that fuch
infects as  feed upon dead carcafes,  and  whofe  fecundity
is great, nev. r attack live animals.  The flefh-fly depofits
her eggs in the bodies of* dead  animals,  w here  her pro-
geny receive that nourifhment which is heft Suited to their
constitution.   But this fly never attempts to lay tier eggs
in the flefh oS Sound and living animals.  IS  Nature had
determined her  to  obierve  the oppofite conduct, in en,
quadrupeds,  and birds, would  have been  dreadfully af-
flicted by  the ravages of this fingle infect.  Left it might
be imagined that the flefh-fly Selected dead, inftead of live
animals, becaufe, in depofiting  her  eggs, fhe was unable
to pierce the fkin of the latter, M. de  Reaumur made  the
following  experiment, which removed every  doubt  that
might ariSe on the  Subject.  He  carefully  pulled  off all
the feathers from the thigh  of a  young pigeon, and  ap-
plied to it a thin flice of beef, in which there were hun-
drede of maggots.  The portion of beef  was not fufficient
to maintain them above a few hours.   He fixed it to  the
thigh by a bit of gauze ; and he prevented  the pigeon
from moving, by tying  its  wings and legs.  The mag-
gots foon  fhewed that t!:ir prefent Situation was difagree-
able t"> them.   Moft of them retired from under the flice
of beef;  and the few that  remained perifhed  in a fhort
time.  Their death was probably occafioned by the degree
of heat in the pigeon's body being greater than their con-
stitution  could  bear.   I'pon  the  fame pigeon  M. de
Reaumur performed another experiment.  He took  off
the fkin from its thigh,  laid bare the flefh, and  applied
immediately another flice oi beef Sull of maggot*.  The
                                              animal %
    S ReauiTiie.  toui. »;. p. 4«0;—eii<i Bonder, tur> ■>  n. 363.--'>'>c<.  V 
       OF  NATURAL   HISTORY.     205
animals difcovered  evident marks  of uneafinefs;  and all
of them that remained on  the  flefh  of the pigeon  were
deprived of life, as in the former experiment, in lefs than
an hour.  Thus the  degree of heat that is neceffary to
Such worms as inhabit the interior  parts oS animals, is
destructive to thofe fpecies which  Nature has destined to
feed upon the flefh of dead animals.  Hence  the  worms
fometimes found in ulcerous fores, muft belong to a diffe-
rent fpecies from thofe upon which the above experiments
were made.
  The growth of fome worms, which feed upon  animal
or vegetable Subftances, is extremely rapid.  Redi remark-
ed,  that theSe creatures,  the day after they efcaped  Srom
the egg, had acquired at leaft double their former Size.
At  this period he weighed  them,  and  Sound that each
worm weighed Seven grains; but  that,  on the day pre-
ceding, it required Srom twenty-five to thirty of them to
weigh  a fingle grain.   Hence,  in  about the Space of
twenty-Sour hours, each of theSe worms had become Srom
155 to 210 times heavier than Sormerly.  This rapidity
of growth is remarkable in thoSe maggots which are pro-
duced from the eggs of the common flefh-fly.
  Before we difmifs this Subject, a Sew  observations  on
that power,  inherent in all animal bodies, oS diffolving,
and  converting into chyle,   every  nutritive  fubftance
thrown into  the ftomach, merit attention.
  In order to explain the procefs of digeftion, fome phy-
ficians and philofophers have  had recourfe to mechanical
force,  and others to chemical action.   The  Supporters
of mechanical force maintained, that the Stomachs of all
animals comminuted, or broke down into Small portions,
every Species of food, and prepared it for being converted
into chyle.  The chemical philofophers, on the contrary,
fiipported the opinion, that the food was diffolved  by a
fermentation induced by  the faliva and gastric juices.
The difputes which naturally  arofe from thefe Seemingly
oppofite theories, ftimulated the inquiries of the ingeni-
ous, and produced feveral curious and important ciifcove-
ries.   Reaumur, M'Bride, Stevens, Spallanzani, Hunter,
have all exerted their induftry  and talents upon this fub- 
 206        THE   PHILOSOPHY

 ject.   To give even an  abridged view of their  different
 labours would be tedious,  and,* at the fame time,  would
 not coincide with the defign of this work.  1 fhall, then-
 fore,  confine myfelf  to fome  refults of their exg  rience
 and  labours.  Spallanzani, who is a voluminous  wr  r
 on this fubject,  relates  not onlv the  difcoverie*  of  his
 predeceffors, but has  enriched his work wi h numerous
 experiments and observations made by ii mle b   In  his
 investigation of  the procefs of dig-dtion,  n  the  action
 of the ftomach,  he obferves'the following order;
   i.  He treats of animals with strong mufcular ftoniachs,
 as common fowls, turkeys, ducks, gecfe, pigeons, &--.
 i. Of animals with flomachs of  an  intermediate confift-
 ence,  as crows,  herons,  &c.  3. Of animals with mem-
 branous  ftomachs, as frogs,  lizards,  earth and  water
 Snakes, vipers, fifhes, fheep, the ox, the horSe, the owl,
 the falcon, the eagle, the cat, the dog,  man, &C.
   With regard to birds which are furnifhed with muScular
 ftomachs, or gizzards, Spallanzani,  in imitation of Reau-
 mur,  procured  Small  glaSs and  metal balls  and  tubes,
 perforated with many holes.   Thefe he filled with diffe-
 rent kinds of food, and forced them down the throats of
 common fowls, turkeys, &c.   He filled balls with barley,
 or other grains,  in their  entire ftate,  and allowed them
 to remain in the ftomachs oS ducks, turkeys, and  other
 fowls, Sor twenty-Sour, and, in fome caSes, for foi ;y-cight
 hours.  He then killed the animals,  took the  balls  out of
 their  ftomachs, and,  after  examining  the grains  atten-
 tively, he could not diScover that the gastric juice,  to the
 action of which they were Sully expoSed by the numerous
 holes  in the balls,  had made the Smalleft impreffion upon
 them.   They Suffered  no diminution oS Size, and  exhi-
bited  no marks  of diflblution.   TheSe experiments  he
often  repeated upon  a number of fowls provided with
mufcular ftomachs, and the event was uniformly the  fame:
In no  inltance did the gaflric juice produce  any Solvent
effect  upon the grain contained in the balls.   After theSe
 unfuccefsful  attempts, he SuSpected,  that, though the
gaftric juice  was  unable to diffolve grains  in their  entire
ftate,  it might act  a, a menftruum upon them when fuf-
                                             ficiently 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      207

ficiently masticated or bruifed.   To afcertain  this  point,
he afterwards filled his balls with bruifed grains, and intro-
duced them into the ftomachs of different fowls, as cocks,
ducks, turkeys, wood-pigeons, &c.  In all the numerous
trials he made with bruifed grain, he invariably  found,
that the grain was more or lefs diffolved in proportion to
the time the balls were allowed to remain in the ftomach.
  Reaumur and Spallanzani,  in  the courfe of their expe-
riments upon the digeftion of birds with mufcular sto-
machs, difcovered a wonderful comminuting force which
thefe ftomachs poffefs.  When tin tubes full of grain were
thrown into the ftomachs of turkeys, and allowed to  con-
tinue there a confiderable time,  they were found to be
broken, crufhed,  or distorted,  in a moft Singular manner.
' Having found,' fays Spallanzani, c that the tin tubes
6 which I ufed for common fowls were incapable of re-
4 Sifting the ftomach  of turkeys, and  not  happening at
* that time to be provided with any tin plate of greater
4 thicknefs, I tried to strengthen them, by Soldering  to
4 the ends two circular plates  of  the fame  metal, perfo-
4 rated only with  a few holes for the admifllon  of the
4 gastric fluid.  But this contrivance was ineffectual; for
4 after the tubes had been twenty hours in the ftomach of
4 a  turkey, the circular plates were driven in, and fome
4 of the tubes were broken, fome compreffed, and fome
4 distorted, in the moft irregular manner V
  The fmooth and blunt fubftances  formerly employed,
Spallanzani remarks,  though fo violently acted upon,
could not injure  the  ftomach ;  he  therefore  tried what
effects would be produced by fliarp  bodies thrown  into
the gizzards of fowls.  He found that the ftomach  of  a
cock, in the fpace of twenty-four  hours, broke off the
angles of a piece of rough jagged glafs. Upon examining
the gizzard, no wound or laceration appeared. 4 Twelve
4 ftrong tin needles,' fays Spallanzani, ' were firmly fixed
4 in a ball of lead,  the points projecting about a quarter
4 of an inch from the furface.  Thus armed, it was co-
' vered with a cafe of paper, and forced down the throat
4 of a turkey.  The bird retained it for a day and a half
                                            4 without
* Spallanzani's Diflertations, vol. i. p. 12.  S. 
ioS        THF.   PHIL .O SOPHY

'without (bowing the leaft Symptom of uneafinefs.  Why
4 the  ftomach fhould have received  no info y  from fo
4 horrid an inftrument I cannot explain:  The pouts oi
4 the twelve needles were broken off clofe to the Surface
4 of the ball,  except two or three, of which the flumps
4 projected-a  little  higher.— i'wo of the  points of the
' needles were found among the food ; the other ten 1
4 could not dimmer, either in the ftomach or the long
4 track of  the inteftines ;  and therefore concluded, that
4 they had pafftd out at the vent f.'
 -The fame author  made a Second experiment Seemingly
ftill more  cruel.   He  fixed  twelve  fmall  lancets, very
(harp both at  the points and edges,  in  a  Similar ball oi
lead.   * She  lancets,' lays he, 4 were Such as  I  uSe for
4 the diffection of fmall animals.   The ball was given to
4 a turkey cock, and left eight hours in the ftomach ; at
4 the expiration of which time that  organ was  opened ;
' but nothing appeared except the naked ball, the twelve
' lancets having been broken to pieces. 1 di'covered three
' of them in  the  large inteftines, pointlefs, and mixed
* with the excrements ; the other nine were miffing,  and
4 had  probably  been voided  at the vent.  The  ftomach
8 was  as found and entire as that which had received the
4 needles.   Two capons,  of  which one  was fubjected to
4 the experiment with the needles, and the other with the
4 hmec -, fuftained them  equally well.'
   The fmall ftones fo commonly found in the ftomachs
of many of the feathered tribes, have been  fuppofed to
fheath the gizzard,  and to enable it to digeft, or at leaft
to break down into fmall fragments, glafs, iron, wood,
ftones,  and other hard, and even  fharp-pointed, fubftan-
ces. Spallanzani has endeavoured  to prove, that the muf-
cular  action of the gizzard is equally powerful, whether
the fmall ftones are prefent or abfent.  To  afcertain this
point, he  took wood-pigeons the moment they efcaped
from the e^'i, fed and  nurled them himfelf till they were
able to peck: 4 They were then,'  continues  our author,
 4 confined in a core, and fupplied at firft with vetches
 4 foaked in warm water, and afterwards in a dry and hard
                                               4 ftate.
■, Spallanzani's Dilfcitatiorj, vol. i. p. 18.  S. 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.
209
4 ftate.  In a month aSter they had begun to peck, hard
4 bodies, Such as tin tubes, glafs globules, and fragments
4 of broken glafs, were introduced with the food.  Care
4 was  taken that each pigeon fhould Swallow only one  of
4 thefe fubftances.  In two days afterwards  they were
4 killed.  Not one  of the ftomachs contained a fingle
4 pebble; and yet the tubes were bruifed and flattened,
4 and  the fpherules and bits of glafs blunted and broken:
4 This happened alike to each body; nor did the fmallefl
4 laceration appear on the  coats of the  Stomach.'  From
feveral experiments of a fimilar nature, and accompanied
with the Same events, Spallanzani concludes this Subject
with that candour which is always  a genuine character-
ise of a real philofophic  Spirit.  Upon  the  whole, 4 it
4 appears,'  Says he,  4 that  theSe Small ftones are not at all
4 neceffary to the  trituration of the  firmest  food, or the
4 hardest foreign  fubftance, contrary to the  opinion  of
4 many  anatomists and phyfiologifts, as well  ancient  as
4 modern.  I will not, however, deny that, when put  in
4 motion by the gastric mufcles, they are capable of pro-
4 ducing fome effect on the contents of the  ftomach.'
  The celebrated Mr. John Hunter, in his Obfervations
on Digeftion *, fairly quotes the modest conclufion oS Spal-
lanzani.  But, he infifts that ftones are extremely ufeful
in the comminution of grain,  and other fubftances, which
constitute the food  of many fowls.  4 In  confidering,'
Mr. Hunter remarks,  4 the ftrength of the  gizzard, and
4 its probable effects when  compared with the  human fto-
4 mach, it muft appear that the gizzard is,  in itfelf, very
4 fit for trituration. , We are not, however, to conclude,
* that ftones are entirely ufelefs; Sor, iS we compare the
4 ftrength oS  the muScles  oS the  jaws  of animals who
4 masticate  their food, with thofe of birds  who do  not,
4 we fhall fay, that the parts are well  calculated Sor the
4 purpofe of maftication ;  yet  we are not from thence  to
4 infer,  that the teeth in fuch jaws  are  ufeleSs, even al-
4 though we  have prooS that the gums do the bufineSs
4 when the  teeth are gone. If ftones  are of  ufe, which
4 we  may reafonably conclude they are, birds have an
                         D  d             4 advantage
                      * Page J 56. 
Til E  PH I LOS OPH Y
1 advantage over animals having teeth, So far as Stone", are
4 always to be found, while the teeth are not renewed.—
' If we conltantly find in an organ Substances  which can
4 onlv be SubServient to the functions of that organ, fhould
4 we deny them that uSe,  although the  part  can do its
' office without them ?—The ftones aflift in grinding down
4 the grain, and, by Separating its parts, allow the gallric
4 juice to come more readily in contact with it.'
  The next Series of experiments were made upon  ani-
mals with what Spallanzani  denominates  intermediate
ftomachs between the mufcular and membranous, as ra-
vens, crows,  herons, e\:c.  The power and action of thefe
intermediate ftomachs are fuperior to thofe of the membra-
nous kind, but greatly  inferior to thofe of the mufcular.
The tin  tubes, or balls, which pigeons  and turkeys foon
flatten and disfigure, remain unaltered in the ftomach of
crows.  Their gallric mufcles, however, are by no means
inert.  Though they are unable to comprefs or distort
tin tubes, they are capable of producing this effect upon
thin tubes of lead.  Birds whofe ftomachs are of an  in-
termediate kind, with regard to the thicknefs and ftrength
of their mufcular coats, may be denominated omnivorous.
They eat grafs, herbs, grain,  and flefh of every kind.
When we make experiments upon the digeftive powers
of gallinaceous birds, the animals muft be killed before
we can learn  what effects have  been produced on the fub-
ftances inclofed in the balls or  tubes. But, on crows and
ravens,  experiments of this kind may be repeated as of-
ten as we pleafe, without deftroying a Single  individual.
Subftances which they are incapable of  digesting, as me-
tallic tubes, they  have  the.power of difgorging, or re-
turning  by the mouth,  in the fame manner  as  falcon;,
aod other birds of  prey, throw up the feathers and  hair
of the animals they have devoured.  In birds  of prey,
this vomiting is c mmonly performed  every  twentv-four
hours; but, in crows,  it happens at leaft every nine, and
not unfrequently every  two or  three hour>.
  Spallanzani, as in the former experiments, thru ft down
perforated tubes, filled  with  dmuent Subftances, into the
stomachs oS crows,   i'hele tabes were uniformly thrown
>,p 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     211

up by the animals in a few hours.  When the tubes were
filled with entire grains, as wheat or beans, he found that
the gastric juice,  though  the tubes, by being repeatedly-
forced down, continued in the ftomach  for  the fpace of
forty-eight hours, had exerted no folvent power.  As the
hufks  of the feeds refitted the action of the gaftric juice,
he bruifed them,  and repeated  the experiment.  4 Four
4 tubes full of this coarSe  flour,' Says  he,  4 were given to
4 a  crow:  They  remained eight hours  in the ftomach,
4 and  proved  the juftnefs of my SuSpicion ; for, upon exa-
4 mining the contents, I found above a fourth part wanti-
4 ing.   This could arife from no other caufe  but folution
' in the gallric liquor, with which the remainder was fully
4 impregnated.  Another observation concurred in  prov-
' ing  the fame propofition : The largeft bits of wheat and
4 bean were evidently much dimifhed.  This muft have been
4 owing to the gaftric liquor having corroded and diffolved
4 good part of. them, as the  nitrous  acid, diluted with a
4 large quantity of water,  gradually consumes calcareous
4 fubftances.  1 replaced what remained of the feeds in the
4 tubes, and committed them again to the ftomach, where-
4 in  they remained, at  different intervals,  twenty-one
4 hours ; at the end of which period they were entirely
c diffolved ;  nothing being left but fome pieces of  huff;,
4 and  a few inconfiderable fragments of the feeds. Wheat
4 and  beans floating  loofe in the cavity  of the ftomach,
4 undergo the fame  alteration as in the tubes.   When  I
4 fed my crows wdth thefe feeds, I obferved,  that, before
' they Swallowed them, they Set them under their feet, and
4 reduced them to pieces by repeated  strokes ot their long
4 and  heavy  beaks :  And now they  digested them  very
4 well;  nay, this procefs was very  rapid in comparifon of
4 that which took place within the tubes.  But, when the
4 birds, either from excefllve hunger, or violence, fwallow-
4 ed the feeds entire, the  greateft part of  them pafied out
4 entire at the anus, or were vomited.   We cannot, there-
4 fore, be furprifed, that the gaftric juice could not diffolve
' them within the  tubes,  Since it was incapable of eftect-
4 ing  this procefs  within the cavity of the ftomach, where
w its folvent power is far  fuperior.'
                                              Similar 
2ii        THE   PHILOSOPHY
  Similar experiments were  made with  French beans,
peafe, nut-kernels, bread, apples, and different kinds of
flefh and hid, all of which were  diffolved, both in tubes,
and in the cavity of the ftomach, by the gaftric juice.
  Spallanzani finifhes his experiments on digeffion with
thole  animals  which have  thin membranous Stomachs.
This cla's comprehends an immenSe number of species, as
man, quadrupeds, fifhes, reptiles.   In thefe, the coats of
the ftomach Seem to have little or tio action upon  their
cements, the gaftric  juice being fully fufficient to break
down the food, and reduce it  to a pulp.
  With regard to man, Dr. Stevens, in an Inaugural Dif-
fertation  concerning  Digeftion, publiflied at Edinburgh
in the year 1777, made feveral experiments  upon a  Ger-
man,  who gained a  miferable livelihood by Swallowing
ftones for the amufement of the people.  He began this
Strange practice at the age of  feven, and had at that time
continued it about twenty  years.  He Swallowed fix or
eight  ftones at a time, Some of them as large as a pigeon's
egg, and patted  them  in the natural way.   Dr. Stevens
thought this poor man would be an excellent  SubjeCt for
afcertairing  the folvent power of the gastric juice in  the
ha man ftomach.  The Doctor, accordingly, made ufe of
him for this purpofe.   He made the  German fwallow a
hollow Silver Sphere, divided into two cavities by a parti-
tion,  and perforated with a great number of holes,  capa-
ble of admitting an  ordinary needle.   Into one of  thefe
cavities he put four fcruples and a half of raw beef, and into
the other five fcruples of raw bleak.  In twenty-one hours
the iphere was voided, when the beef had loft a Scruple and
a half, and the fifh two fcruples.  A few days afterwards,
the German Swallowed the Same Sphere, which contained,
in one cavity, Sour Scruples and Sour grains of raw, and,
in the other, four fcruples and eight grains of boiled beef.
The Sphere was returned  in forty-three  hours: The raw
flefh had  loft one  Scruple and  two grains, and the boiled
one Scruple and Sixteen grains.  Sufpecting that,  if thefe
fubftances were  divided, the  folvent would have a freer
accefs to them,  and  more of them would  be diffolved,
Dr. Stevens  procured another  Sphere,  with holes  large
                                              enough 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     213

enough to receive a crow's quill.  He inclofed fome beef
in it a little masticated.  In thirty-eight hours after it was
Swallowed, it was voided quite empty.  Perceiving  how
readily the chewed meat was diffolved,  he  tried whether
it would diffolve equally foon  without being chewed.
With this view, he put a Scruple and eight grains of pork
into one cavity, and the fame quantity of cheefe into the
other.   The Sphere was retained in the German's ftomach
and inteftines forty-three hours ; at the end of which time,
not the smallest quantity of either pork or cheefe was to
be found in  the Sphere.  He  next Swallowed the  Same
Sphere,  which contained, in one partition, Some roafted
turkey, and fome boiled fait herring in the other.   The
Sphere was voided in forty-fix hours ;  but no part of the
turkey or herring appeared ; for both had been complete-
ly diffolved.  Having difcovered that animal  fubftances,
though inclofed in tubes, were eafily diffolved by the gaf-
tric juice, the Doctor tried whether it would produce the
Same effect upon vegetables.  He,  therefore, inclofed an
equal quantity of raw  parfnip and potato in a  Sphere.
ASter continuing forty-eight hours in the alimentary canal,
not a  vestige of either remained.   Pieces of  apple  and
turnip, both raw and boiled, were diffolved in thirty-fix
hours.
  It is a comfortable circumftance,  that no animal,  per-
haps, except thofe worms which are hatched in  the human
inteftines, can  refill the diffolving power of .the gaftric
juice.  Dr. Stevens inclofed live leeches, and earth-worms,
in different fpheres, and made the German Swallow them.
When the Spheres were discharged, the animals were not
only deprived  oS life, but completely diffolved,  by the
operation of this powerful  menstruum.  Hence, if any
live reptile fhould chance to be fwallowed, we have no
reafon to apprehend any danger from fuch an  accident.
  The German left Edinburgh before the  Doctor had an
opportunity of making a farther progrefs in  his experi-
ments.   He  therefore had recourfe  to  dogs and ruminat-
ing animals.   In the courfe of his trials upon the folvent
power in the gaftric fluid of dogs,  he found that it  was
capable of diffolving hard bones, and even balls of ivory ; 
 2i4        THE  PHILOSOPHY
but that, in  equal times, very little impreffion was made
upon potatoes, parfnip, and other vegetable  fubftances.
On the contrary, in the ruminating animals, as the flieep,
the ox, &c. he difcovered,  that their gaftric juice fpccdily
diffolved  vegetables, but  made no impreffion on beet,
mutton, and other animal bodies,   from  thefe laft expe-
riments,  it appears, that  the different  tribes  of animals
are not lefs diftinguiflied by their external figure, and bv
their manners, than by the quality  and powers of their
gaftric juices.  Dogs are unable to digeft  vegetables, and
♦deep and oxen cannot  digell animal Subftances.    As the
gaftric juice of the human ftomach is capable of diffolv-
ing, nearly with equal cafe, both animals  and  vegetables,
this circumftance affords a  ftrong,  and almoft  an irrefifti-
ble, pre :i, that Nature originally intended man to  feed
promifcuoufly upon both.
  Live animals, as  long as the vital principle  remains in
them, arc not  affected by the folvent powers  of the fto-
mach,.   c Hence it  is,'  Mr. Hunter remarks, 4 that we
' find animals of various kinds living in the ftomach, or
4 even han-hed and bred there;  but the moment that any
4 of thefe i< de the living principle,  they become fubject to
*■ the digciiivc powers of the ftomach..  If  it were poffibk ,
4 for example,  for  a man's hand  to be introduced  into
4 the ftomach of a living animal, and kept there for fome
4 confiderable time, it would be found, that the diffolvent
4 powers of the ftomach could have no effect upon it:  But,
4 if the fame hand  were Separated from  the  bodv, and
1 introduced into the fame ftomach, we fhould then find,
4 that the ftomach would  immediately act upon it.   In-
' deed, if this were  not the  cafe, we  fhouid find  that
4 the Stomach itfelf ought to have  been made of indigefti-
' ble materials; for, if the living  principle was not capa-
' ble .of  pre'erving animal lubitancs  from  undergoing
c that procefs,  the  ftomach itfelf would  be digefted.  But
4 we find, on  the  contrary,  that  the ftomach, which at
4 one inftant, that  i-,  while poffeffed of the  living prin-
4 ciple, was capable of refilling the digeftive powers which
4 it contained,  the next moment, viz.  when deprived of
' the living principle, is itfelf capable of  being digefted,
                                              4 either 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY,     215
4 either by the digeftive powers of other ftomachs, or  by
4 the remains of that  power which it had of digesting
4 other things.'
  When bodies are opened fome time aSter death, a con-
siderable aperture is frequently found at  the  greateft ex-
tremity of the ftomach.   4 In thefe cafes,' fays Mr. Hun-
ter, 4 the contents of the ftomach are generally found
4 loofe in the  cavity of the  abdomen, about the Spleen
4 and diaphragm.  In many Subjects,  this digeftive power
4 extends much farther than through the ftomach.  I have
4 often found, that, after it had diffolved the ftomach at
4 the ufual place, the contents of the ftomach had come
4 into contact with the Spleen and diaphragm, had partly
4 diffolved the adjacent fide oS the Spleen, ana had dif-
 4 Solved the ftomach quite through; fo that the contents
 k of the ftomach were found in the cavity of the  thorax,
4 and had even  affected the lungs in a  fmall degree.'
      CHAPTER  IX.


Of the Sexes of Animals  and Vegetables.
                SECTION  I.

               Of the  Sexes of Animals.

    ALL the larger and more perfect animals  are diftin-
     guifhed by the fexes of male and female.  The bodies
of males, though not without exceptions, are, in general,
stronger, larger, and more active, than thofe of the fe-
males.   In the human fpecies,  the male is not only larger
than the female, but his mufcular fibres are firmer and
more compact,  and his whole  frame indicates a fuperior
Strength and robuftnefs of texture.  He does not acquire 
   216         THE  PHILOSOPHY
   his full growth, and belt form, till  he arrives at the age
   of thirty years.  But, in women, the parts are rounder,
   and their mufcular fibres more feeble and lax than thofe
   of men, and their growth and form are perfect at the age
   of twenty.   A  fimilar  obfcrvation is applicable to the
   minds of the two Sexes.  Man is,  comparatively, a bold,
   generous, and enterprifing animal.   Women,  on the con-
   trary, are timid, jealous, and diSpoSed to  actions which
   require leSs agility and ftrength.  Hence, they are entitled
   to claim, and, by their amiable weakneffes, they actually
   receive, our protection.  Men are endowed with majefty
   of figure and force of mind ;  but beauty, and  the graces,
   are the proper characteristics of women.  The laxity and
   foftnefs of*their texture may, in fome meafure, account
   for the timidity and liftlefinefs of their difpofition; Sor,
   when the bodies oS  men are  relaxed by heat,  or by any
   other caufe, their minds become not only timid, but weak,
   undetermined, and inactive.
     CThe focial intercourfeoS women Softens the difpofitions,
   and Soothes the cares and labours 6f the  men.  Their
   little female humours, caprices,  and Sollies, give riSe to
   many exertions oS virtue.  They excite in us compaffion,
/   hum mite, and tenderneSs of affection.  The delicacy of
   their bodies,  and the weaknefs  of their minds, require
   our Support and protection.  In return, the gentle  and •
   infinuating manners  of the women have a direct tendency
   to foften and Smooth the  natural roughnefs of men.  In
   moft governments, women have the  entire management
   and training of children, till their  characters  and dispo-
   sitions are almoft  fixed for  life.   This is  an  important
   office;  and  would  require  more  education  and  fenSe
   than they commonly receive either from nature or art.
   But, their perf_vering and unremitting attention to their
   charge, especially when children are Sick or weakly,  is So
   truly afton iff ding, that no  man  could have patience to
   perform the laborious and painful talk.  Women are  like-
   w ife f.iid to  Suffer bodily pain with more refolution than
   men. Women reaSon rapidly; but their reaSoning, though
   often acute,  is febmm Solid.
     Modeity is one of the moft diftinguifhing and attractive
                                                 charac- 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     217

characteristics of the female fex.  This is the great defence
with which Nature has armed them againft the artifices
and deceit of the  males.  Modefty has a double effect-:
It both attracts and repels.  It heightens the defire of the
male, and deters  him from rudenefs,  or improper beha-
viour.  Were  women deprived  of this amiable quality,
all their charms would vanifh, and the ardour of  love
would  be extinguifhed.  It is, therefore, not  only the
intereft  of females  to cultivate modefty,  but  to guard,
with the moft anxious attention, againft the Smallest en-
croachments.  Every  attack, however apparently infigni-
ficant,  fhould be repelled with spirit and intrepidity.  To
men of fenfibilitv, a fingle glance of the eye wil^tell them
their conduct is improper,  and make them not only in-
ftantly defift, but prevent any future attempt.   There  is
no part of the female character which men revere fo much
as modefty.  It is the brightest and moft valuable jewel
with which a woman  can be adorned.  A fine woman
without modefty,  inftead of gaining the affections of men,
becomes an object of contempt, and even of difguft.  It
is equally the interest  of men to cherifh,  and not to injure
by indelicacy,  a quality from which they derive So much
pleaSure and advantage.
   It is not  unworthy of remark, that modefty is by no
means confined to the human fpecies.   Evident traces  of
it are difcoverable in the brute creation.  Even fo low  as
the infect tribes, moft females repel the firft attacks of the
males.   If this is  not  modefty, it has all the effects of it;
for it heightens the refpect and affection  of the  males,
and makes them employ every alluring art  to procure the
regard of  the female.
   It is a curious fact,  that moft carnivorous  quadrupeds
are more averfe from  devouring women than men.   The
bears of Kamtfchatka follow the women, when gathering
wild fruits in the  woods,  and, though moft  rapacious
animals, do them no farther harm than robbing them  of
part of the fruit *.  The afpect of  man being more bold,
may, perhaps, create  an idea of competition and danger,
and excite the ferocity and courage of  the animal.  There
                         E e                   feems
* Gazette Lneraire, vol. 1. p. 482. S, 
 218        THE  PHILOSOPHY

 feems  to  be an instinctive  refpect, if not dread, of the
 human kind implanted in moft animals.   If  this be the
 cafe,  the  above tact amounts to a high compliment to the
 women ; for they receive more favour from the brute cre-
 ation than men.
   With regard to animals, in general, the intercourfc  of
 fexes  is neceffary for the multiplication  of  the fpecies.
 But,  as formerly remarked *,  feveral of the  lower tribes
are enabled  to multiply without  the  intervention of the
 fexes.   In fome animals, both fexes are combined in each
 individual.  The earth-worm, fnails,  and feveral fhell-
 fifhes,  are hermaphrodites:  and  yet the  conjunction  of
 two is neceffary for their  multiplication.  Mr. Adanfon,
in his Account of Senegal, mentions  fome  fhell-animals
 which, in order to produce, require  the union  of three
 individuals.   In the polypus, no appearance  of Sexual
 distinction has hitherto  been  difcovered.  Nature, how-
ever,  has  not denied them  the power  of multiplication,
which is effected in a very Singular manner f.   Caterpillars
 of every denomination are totally deftitute of fexes,  and
are incapable,  while they remain in that  ftate,  oS multi-
plying their Species.  But, after their transSormation into
flies, the diftinCtion of fexes is apparent, and their fertility
is exceedingly great.
  Among the  larger animals,  the difference of fize  and '
figure between males and females is not remarkable.  The
moft Striking diftinctions arife from the horns, the  tufks,
the creft,  &c.  which adorn the head  of  the  male,  and
are often wanting in the female.   But, among the infect
tribes, fome males differ fo greatly from the females, that
they have  the appearance of belonging to  a  feparate  ge-
nus.  In fome butterflies, Sor  example, the Semale is de-
ftitut' oS  wings, while thoSe of the male are very large.
The male  and  female of  thofe animals called gall-rnfecls
 bear no proportion to  each other, either in  fize  or in
 fig me.  They adhere for feveral months to the Items and
branctic  of plants, fhrubs,  and trees, without  any  ap-
parent m  v  ment.   They have every appearance of galls,
being of a f^ hcrical or  oval figure, from  which  circum-
                                               ftance
        *  b-.chdp. i. pa^. :\. &c.  S.       + Ibid.  S. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     219
Stance they have received their denomination, and were
long confidered as vegetable Subftances, deftitute oS every
degree oS animation.   Reaumur, however, by a strict ex-
amination of the changes they undergo, and of their in-
ternal ftructure, difcovered that they belong to the animal
kingdom.  He found that they contained thoufands of
fmall eggs, and that, from thefe eggs, fmall animals were
produced, which ran  about  with fome  quicknefs, and
fpread themfelves all over  the tree, or bufh.  After fome
days they attach themfelves to the ftem and branches,
remain immoveable, and gradually increafe to  their full
dimenfions,  when their bodies are Sound to contain num-
bers oS eggs.   As the perfect animal had  no apparent
motion,  and yet multiplied its fpecies, it was firft thought
to be an hermaphrodite of a Singular kind,  and that  it
was capable oS producing  without any Soreign aid.   But
Reaumur difcovered that they were impregnated by fmall
flies, and that thefe fmall flies were male gall-infects.   The
head, the body, the breast, and the fix limbs of this
fly, are of a deep red colour ; and the wings, which are
proportionally large, are white, bordered with a band of
fine carmine  red.  In the month of April, he  perceived
numbers of thefe flies wandering about on the gall-infects.
He obServed that they pierced  the  covering of the gall-
infects with a kind of fling fhaped  like a needle.  This
circumftance created a fufpicion that thefe flies were the
males, and that this was their mode of impregnating the
eggs of the female.   To afcertain this point, he  opened
a number of gall-infects, which had  no uncommon ap-
pearance, and, in fome of them,  he found the males,
in every stage of their existence,'till they pierced the ex-
ternal covering, came out in the form  of perfect flies,
and attached  themfelves, as ufual, to the females.  The
glow-worm,  an animal condemned to crawl perpetually
on the furface of the earth, is a female ;  and the male,
inftead of a reptile, is a fcarabaeus, or beetle,  furnifhed
with four wings.  A fpecies of phoSphorus, emitted from
the body of  the female, excites the attention of this ap-
parently-strange  male,  who darts down upon her,  and
                                             actually 
 2:0        THE  PHILOSOPHY

 actually enables her to continue the kind *.  The female
 ot  another fpecies of beetle is a perfect  reptile, and has
 not the fmalleft veftige of  wings.   But, the male is a real
 beetle with  four wings, and is fo difproportioned  to the
 female in fize, that their  junction  Should appear  to be
 equally Singular a<  that oS  a ram with an elephant.   With
 regard  to the  pucerons, or  vine-Srettcrs,  the  males are
 winged ; but the femaies remain during life totally defti-
 tute of wings.   In fome fpecies  of them, however, the
 females have wings, and thefe instruments of  motion are
 denied to the males.  Between the Size  of the male and
 Semale pucerons, there  is  likewile  a remarkable  dispro-
 portion.  The  males, particularly  thofe which have  no
 wings,  are fo comparatively fmall,  that  they run  about,
 like the male gall-infects, upon the backs of the females.
 While this exercife continues,  which is  often  very  long,
 the fernale remains almoft  motionlels.   The more  infal-
 libility and liftledncfs fhown by the female, the male ex-
 hibits the greater ardour and agiiity.  In this fituation he
 pastes whole da\s without  taking any nourifhment.
  In birds of prev,  the females are  larger, dlonger, fier-
 cer, and more  beautiful than the males.  This fuperiority
 of ftrength and magnitude is  conferred  on the females,
 becaufe, in general, they are obliged to pro.-!ire food both
 for themfelves  and for their  progeny.  \ ultures, how-
 ever,  are to be excepted ;  for the males  are equal in fize,
 if they do not exceed that  of the females.   In the galli-
 naceous tribe of birds,  on the  contrary,  the  males are
 larger,  more beautiful,  and more courageous, than the
 females.   The  peacock, the turkey,  the  pheafant, and
 the dunghill cock,  are remarkable  examples.   Dunghill
 corks, especially  that  kind  of them which  are  called
g:rnc-cock.;,  are  the moft intrepidly bold and high-fpirited
animals in the creation.   Nothing but abfolute death can
 make then yield to an antagonift.   In the domestic ftate,
 at leaft, this intrepidity, and this daring Spirit, refult Srom
 competition, and jealousy oS rivals.  Game-cocks, to the
 diSgrace of humanity, are  fed and trained with the moft -
                                            Scrupulous
     ♦Reaumur.   (Xercide Bormct, torn. 2. p. 87. ccsv 8vo.  S. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     m

fcrupulous attention.  For what purpofe ?  For the cruel
amufement and fortuitous emolument of gamblers.
  That there are natural hermaphrodites, I have formerly
mentioned.  But, in man, dogs,  cats,  unnatural herma- '
phrodites, if they ever exift, are fo rare, that the celebrat-
ed anatomist, Mr. Hunter, declares he never faw a fingle
example.  But,  in  the  horfe, the afs, black-cattle, and
fheep, he has feen many hermaphrodites.   It is faid to be
a known fact, that,  when a cow brings  forth  two  calves,
one of them a male, and the other a female, the female is
incapable of propagation, but that the male is  a  perfect
animal.  In England,  a cow-calf brought forth  with a
bull-calf is  denominated a free  martin, and is as well
known among farmers  as either cow or bull.  ^Ir. Hun-
ter remarks, that a cow-calf, brought forth in the Situation
above mentioned, may be either a free martin or a perfect
female.  4 For,' he remarks, 4  I have  reafon to beiieve,
4 that,  in black cattle, fuch a deviation may be  produced
4 without the circumftance  of twins ; and,  even when
4 there are  twins,  the  one  a male, the other a female,
* they  may both have the organs of generation ; erfectly
4 formed *.'  What is called  a. free  jnartin, or  imperfect
hermaphrodite, as far as obferVation has hitherto extend-
ed, is confined to black-cattle. The free martin has all. the
external  characteristics of a female calf.   When animals
of this  defcription are preferved by farmers, it is not  for
the purpofe of propagation, but  for yoking with the oxen,
or fattening for the table.  THey neither breed, nor, what
is curious, do they difcover the fmalleft inclination for the
male, nor does the bull pay the leaft attention to them.
  The free martin,  in  figure, refembles the ox, or fpayed
heifer.   It is confiderably larger than the bull or cow, and
its horns are Similar to thofe  oS the  ox.   4 The belly oS
4 the free martin,' fays Mr. Hunter, 4 is Similar  to that of
4 an ox, having more refemblance to that oS the cow than
4 oS the bull.  Free martins are very Sufceptible of grow-
4 ing fat with food.   The flefh,  like that  of the ox, or
4 fpayed heifer, is in common much  finer in the fibre than
4 either the bull  or  cow, and  is-fuppofed to exceed that ot
                                                 4 the
     * Hunter's Obtavaiions on the Anioial (Economy, p. 49. S. 
 22a        THE  PHILOSOP H Y
 4 the ox or heifer in delicacy of flavour, and bears a htgh-
 4 er price at market *.'   She Romans feem to have  had
 fome knowledge oS free martins, though they have  not
 transmitted to us any peculiarities in the ftructure oftheSe
 animals.  With them, taurus was the generic name of the
 ox  kind.  Thev likewiSe mention taura,  by  which,  it is
 thought, they meant barren cows. Columella, when talk-
 ing of cattle,  lays, 4 and,  like the taune, which occupy
 4 the place of fertile cows, fhould be rejected f.'  Varro
 Kkewife informs us, that 4 the cow  which  is barren is
 ' called taura.'
  Mr. Hunter  gives an  anatomical  defcription of three
free martins, the moft perfect of which we fhall tranferibe.

            4 Mr. A r but knot's Free Martin §.

  * The external  parts  were rather Smaller  than in  the
 * cow.   The vagina paffed on, as in the cow, to the open-
 * ing of the urethra,  and then it began to contract  into
 4 a  fmall canal, which  paffed  on to the divifion oS  the
 4 uterus into  two horns;  each  horn  paffed along  the
 * edge  of the broad ligament laterally towards the ovaria.
 * At the termination of thefe horns were placed both the
 4 ovaria and the tefticles; both were  nearly  of the fame
 * fize, which was about as large as a fmall nutmeg.   To
' the ovaria I could not find any Fallopian tube.  To the
* tefticles were vafa deferentia ; but  they were imperfect.
4 The left one did  not come near the testicle; the right
4 one came clofe to it, but did not terminate in a body
 * called the epididymis.   They were both pervious,  and
' opened into the vagina near the opening of the  urethra.
4 On the pofterior  furface of the bladder,  or between the
4 uterus and bladder, were  the two bags called veficula
lfeminales in the male, but much fmaller than what they
* are in the bull: The ducts opened along with  the vafa
 4 deferentia fl.'
                                         SECTION
  *  Hunter's Obfcrvationj on the Animal QLconomy, p. 50. S.  t Columella,
 lib. 6. cap. 22.  S.
  ^  ' This animal was Seven yean old, had been often yoked with the oxen, at
1 oth. r times went with the cow* and bull, but never (Lowed any dcfirci Fur eithei
' the ooe  o. the other.'
  } Hunter'* Obfervatiom un the Animal CLeunomy, p. 52.  S. 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     223
              SECTION     II.

                  Of the Sexes  of Plants.

        HEN  an  hypothefis,  or theory,  has obtained a
         general reception among even the enlightened part
oS mankind,  it is extremely difficult to eradicate the pre-
judice, either by arguments or by facts.   There is not a
notion more generally adopted, than that vegetables have
the diltinction oS Sexes, and that the influence of what is
called the male is  indiSpenfibly neceffary to the fecunda-
tion oS the Semale, or  Seed-bearing plant: A notion which
I have long confidered as a Striking example  of the dan-
ger of rafhly  yielding affent to the alluring Seductions of
analogical reasoning *.
   Every perSon who  is acquainted with the Sexual theory
of vegetables, and with the arguments  by which it is  de-
fended, muft acknowledge, that its principal  Support is
derived from the many beautiful analogies which fubfift
between plants and  animals.    BecauSe all animals  were
SuppoSed to propagate by Sexual embraces, and becauSe
plants refembled  animals in their  growth, their nourifh-
ment,  their  diffemination,  and  decay, it was therefore
concluded,  that all vegetables were either male, female,
or hermaphrodite ; and that Sexual commerce was equally
                                                   neceilary
   * The fubftance of the following fafts, and reafoning,  was delivered, ahove
twenty years ago,  in the Botanie Garden at Edinburgh,  in prefence of the late
worthy and learned Dr. Hope, and his ftudents.  Di. Hope, in order to excite
induftiy and attention in his pupils, appointed annually  four of their number to
give a leflure, ordifcourfe, upon fome botanical fubjtft, which he prefcribed to
them.   To me the Profc-flbr afligned the Sexes of Plants, with the liberty of op-
pofing the doftrineof Linnaeus, and his own.  Being at that time a very young
man, and a ftrift believer in  the fexual fyftem of plants, I willingly undertook
the talk, becaufe 1 thought I  had the chance of Showing fome  little ingenuity in
attempting to (hake a theory which I then imagined to be eflablifhed upon the
firmeft bafis of fact and experiment.   But, after pcrufing  Linnasus's woiks, and
many other books on the fuhjeft, I was aftonifhed to find, t .at this theory was
Supported neither by facts nor arguments, which could produce conviftion even
in the moft prejudiced minds.   This difcourfe was afterwards publilhed in the firlt
edition of the Encyclopedia Britaunica.  S.
w 
::4
THE  PHILOSOPHY
neceffary for the fecundation of the vegetable as of the
;mimal tribes.
   This analogy  was plaufiblc,  and Seemed to  beftow a
Splendid uniformity on the conduct  of Nature.   But ex-
periment, the only teft of natural truths,  has totally an-
nihilated this beautiful fabrick.   The numberlefs  fpecies
of vine-fretters, of polypi, of millepedes, and of  infufion-
animalculeN,  multiply, without  having  recourSe  to  the
common laws  of generation.  Here, then, the  analogy
flops; and,  inftead of bringing aid  to the  fexualift,  ope-
rates powerfully againft his favourite hypothefis.   If many
Species oS  animals are deftitute oS all the endearments of
love, what fhould induce us to fancy that  the oak or the
mulhroom enjoy thefe diftinguiflied privileges ?
  The analogy,  befides, is frequently contradicted in the
ordinary ceconomy of vegetables.  It is  univerSally al-
lowed, Sor example,  that, even  in oviparous  animals,
the eggs can only  be impregnated  while  they  are  in  a
gelatinous or mere embryo ftate.  When farther advanc-
ed, their  membranes, or  fhells, acquire  a  confiftence
Sufficient to refill the male influence.  But, among  the
vegetable tribes, every circumftance is reverfed.   In moft
hermaphrodite plants, (I muft Speak in the language  of
the fyftem), the feeds are not only not in a gelatinous ftate,
but have acquired  confiderable  bulk and folidity, long
before the pollen, or fuppofed fecundating duft, is thrown
out of its  capfules.
   The fame remark is applicable to dioicous plants,  or
fuch as are barren and feed-bearing  in different individu-
al.  What  conclufion is here to  be drawn?  Analogy
fail ; and facts contradict the analogy.   The pollen  of
moft plants flieds after the feeds of their refpective Species
are far advanced in fize and confiftence.   If this pollen
had the power of fecundating, it could Seldom impregnate
plants of its own fpecies ;  becaufe, when it is difcharged,
the feeds are paft the proper feafon; but,  by flying  pro-
mifcuoufly abroad, this pollen might impregnate different
fpecies which happened then  to be in a  fit condition for
the reception of  male influence.   Confider  the confequen-
ces of Such an arrangement,  b not this to make Nature
                                              operate 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     325

operate againft her own intentions ? Nature intends that
plants fhould multiply  and perpetuate their kinds ;  but
the fexual hypothefis makes her take the moft  effectual
meafures to prevent that intention, and to introduce uni-
verfal anarchy among  the  vegetable tribes.  Were  this
theory true, the whole  vegetable kingdom, in a few years,
would be utterly confounded: Inftead  of a regular  fuc-
cefflon  of marked fpecies, the earth would be covered
with  monstrous productions, which  no botanist could
either recognife or unravel.
   The propagation of  plants by fuckers, flips, and  cut-»,.;
tings, is a curious fact  in the hiftory of vegetation.  The "
Strawberry is commonly raiSed by flips taken  from the
old root, or by fuckers fent off from the plant.  In either
of thefe methods,  the  plants flourifh, and produce fruit.
Many bulbous and eye-rooted plants, and moft  fhrubs and
trees, may be propagated in the fame manner.   Where,
it may be afked, do thefe plants procure impregnation ?
That  they grow, and produce fertile fruit, is undeniable ',
and yeti according to the fexual hypothefis, the pollen of
the male is  indiSpenfibly neceffary to  the  ripening  and
fertilization oS the  fruit.   By  means  of  fuckers, flips,
cuttings, and  layers, the whole globe  might  be fpread
over with vegetables, without the  possibility of a Single
impregnation.
  Though the argument  from analogy  fhould be  in-
conclusive, yet, Say  the Sexualifts, we appeal to facts.
I fhall, therefore,  give a fhort view  of  the principal
facts  employed to  fupport  the  fexual  intercourfe of
plants.
  After what has been remarked, it will not be expected
that I fhould mention thofe parts of Linnaeus's  reafoning
which are derived from analogy.   In many instances, he
has pufhed analogy fo far beyond all decent limits, that
it becomes  truly ridiculous.  For example, he gravely
tells us, 4 That the calix reprefents the marriage bed; the
4 corolla the curtains;  the  filaments the fpermatic veffels :
4 the anthersc the tefies ; the  pollen the male fiemen ; the
' ftigma the extremity  of the female organ ; the flylus the 
izb         THE  PHILOSOPHY
1 vagi.ia;  the germen the ovarium; the pcricarpium the
4 impregnated ovarium ;  and the feeds the eggs *.'
  The moft plaufikle fact in favour of the  fexual hypo-
thefis is deri\ ed from the culture of the date-bearing palm-
tree.   Haiielquiit-j-, and fome  other  travellu, mentit n
their having feen flowering branches of male trees  fixed
to the  iemals by Arabian  gardeners, who alledged, that,
unlefs this operation were performed, their dates would
neither be good nor plentiful.  This practice can boaft of
an antiquity long prior to the notion  of fexes  in plants.
How it came to be introduced, it is of  little importance
to inquire.  We know that the custom is ftill faid to pre-
vail :  But we likewife know,  that there  is not an authen-
tic iaet which fhows any connection between the prailicc
and the even*, tlnmeh that be an  eflential ingredient  in
tfv eontrovci!,.  The eastern nations are famous for in-
troducing fuperftition into every part  of  their ceconomy ;
and ii  is equally difficult to account for their manners as
for  their culture of palm-trees.
  *i\ bus's letter to Dr. Watfon, recorded in the Philo-
Lpbical Tranfacrions, is an attempt to remove this diffi-
culty,  and to  fl.ow a neceffary cenmction between  the
male and female palm.   Mylius writes to his correfpond-
ent, 4  That a female palm-tree gre-w  many years in  the
4 garden  belonging  to  the Royal Academy at Berlin,
4 without producing any ripe or fertile fruit; that a male
4 branch, w ith its flowers in  full blow, was brought from
1 Leipfic, about twenty German miles from Berlin, and fuf-
4 pended over the Semale  tree.   The reSult was,  that the
4 Semale yielded, the firft year, 100 ripe dates.  The fame
4 experiment being  repeated  the  following year, 2000
4 ripe fruit were produced.'
  Not to call My bus's veracity in question, the experi-
ment is both inconclusive and defective.  Berlin is  not
the climate of palm-tree-.  The tree,  he informs us, bore
flowers and fruit  for thirty  years before  the trial was
made; but  the fruit, it is laid, never came to  maturity.
Plants feldom produce ripe fruit in a  climate not adapted
                                                    to
  * Sponfalia Plantaruru, in Amccn. Acad. vol. i. \>. 103.  S.
 + HaTTelquid's I i.i.cli, p. it;. 416.  K-rmpfcr. Aui.ru. p. ~J>.  'lourncfor'.
Ifj^:. p. 69.  S. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     227
to their nature, until they have grown there a long time.
Mylius's palm-tree  had  carried unripe  fruit for thirty
years.   According to the ufual  courfe of exotic plants,
therefore, it is natural to think, that, like the American
aloe, the tree, during all this time,  was making gradual
advances toward perfection;  that, when  the male branch
happened to be fufpended over the female, the plant had
arrived at the higheft  degree  of maturity  it could  ever
acquire in the climate of Berlin; and, of  courfe, that
the accidental circumftance of fufpending the  male branch
over it, at  this  critical period, might give  rife  to the de-
ception of attributing the ripening of the  fruit to  the
prefence of the male  branch.   The  production of ico
ripe fruit only the firft year,  and 2000  the  Second, is  a
ftrong corroboration of this account of the  matter.  At
any rate, the experiment is exceedingly defective and un-
satisfactory.  To convince any man that the fertility of
this tree was folely owing to fome  impregnating virtue
communicated  to it by the male,  a  branch  fhould have
been SuSpended over the Semale one year, omitted the next,
and So on alternately Sor a Succeffion oS SeaSons, or, as
the Sexualifts would exprefs it, giving her a hufband  one
year,  and denying her that gratification the next.   After
treating the female in  this manner,  if it had uniformly
happened,  that the fruit  ripened every year  the male
branch was fufpended, and that none came  to  maturity
when that operation was omitted,  then there would have
been fome  foundation  for Supposing a connection between
the ripening of the fruit and the prefence  of the male
branch.  But,  as this neceffary precaution was omitted,
the experiment is incomplete, and the conclusion drawn
from it precipitate and unphilofophic.
   In accounting for the fecundity of all  the dioicou's*  and
monoecious f plants, the fexualifts have recourfeto the aid
of the  w inds, and of infects.   They  betake themfelves to
this ftrange refuge, in order  to  explain the manner in
which female plants,  when Situated  at  a  diftance from
                                                males,
  * Plants which have the male charafter in one individual, and the female in
another.  S.
  + Plants which have both the male and female characters in the fame indivi-
dual. S. 
228        THK  PHILOSOPHY

males, are impregnated.   Some of them,  as  Kalm, and
other,;,  are  perfectly fatisfied  with  this  fuppofed  atrial
commerce of vegetables, even  when the  males are ten,
fifteen, or twenty miles diftant from the females!  Here,
it mav be remarked, that the multiplication of fpecies is
one of the moft important laws of Nature.  All the laws
of Nature are fixed, fleady, and uniform, in their opera-
tion :  None of their effects are abandoned to thofe uncer-
tainties which neceffarily refult from chance, or from any
fortuitous train of circumftances.  But, is there any thing,
in northern  climates at leaft, more desultory and caprici-
ous than the direction and motion of the winds ? Can we
form a conception of any thing more cafual  and  uncer-
tain than the wayward paths of infects ?  The very fuppo-
fitr  a,  therefore,  that Nature has expofed the fertility of
a tenth part of the whole vegetable kingdom, and many
of them, too, plants of the utmost importance to man, and
other animals, to fuch accidental caufes, is  repugnant to
every idea of found philofophy.  Befides, the reverfe has
been proved by Dr. Alfton, Camerarius, and Tournefort.
Thefe gentlemen reared female plants of the fpinage and
hemp in fuch fituations, and with fuch Scrupulous precau-
tions, to prevent ary iuppofed  impregnation by means of
the wind,  or of infects,  that it is difficult to conceive the
pofdr.iiiry  of any communication between  the  males and
Semales.   Thefe females, however, produced fertile feeds
in the greateft abundance.
  Since thefe experiments were made,  it has been difco-
vered, that male flowers are fometimes found  lurking on
the female plants of the fpinage and hemp :  And this dif-
cove..y the Sexualifts think  fufficient  to account Sor the
fuceefs  of Dr. Alston's  experiments.  But,  inftead oS
Solving the diilvulty, this circumftance feems to involve
it in frill  deeper obfeurity :  For, that the  pollen iffuing
from theantherae of a male flower or  two fhould rile, fall,
and turn round in every direction, fo as to light precifely
on the ftigmaa of all the fuperior, inferior, and circum-
jacent  female flowers,  appears to exceed the common
powers of human faith.   Befides, this circumftance would
feem tojndicate, that there is no IteadineSs in what is
                                               called 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     229

called vegetable fexes.  We are even told, that trees, which
had continued many years under the character of females,
but, from fome ftrange metamorphofis, had Suddenly drop-
ped their Semale Sorms, and affumed the more robust fea-
tures peculiar to the male part of the creation !
  It was hinted, above, that all the dioicous, monoecious,
as well as moft of the hermaphrodite flowers, being im-
pregnated by means of  the wind, Seemed not to accord
with the rules oS philofophizing ; we fhall now examine
that doctrine more clofely.
  The pollen is allowed to be too large to get  admiffion
into the ftigmata, though laid upon them with the great-
eft dexterity.  This difficulty  the fexualifts imagine to be
removed, when they tell us, that moiflure makes the pol-
len fplit, and difcharge a Subtile  aura, and that this aura
impregnates the feeds. ■ But, though the poJJgn fhould
explode by the application of moiflure, and flucharge  a
Subtile aura, this explofion could never effect the purpofes
oS impregnation :  For, when the pollen was lying on the
Stigma, the  aura muft neceffarily blow off, inftead of be-
ing abforbed by that part of ♦he plant.  Is not the fuppo-
fition Singular, and even contradictory, that a plant fhould
be impregnated by a fubftance forcibly blown away from
the female ?
  This reafoning proceeds  upon  the admiffion, that the
pollen is laid with dexterity upon the stigma.  But it will
receive additional force, when I defy all the naturalists in
the univerfe to  produce an inftance of a Single grain of
pollen being ever feen on any part of a female plant, even
when at no  great diftance from a male, far lefs  upon the
ftigmata of each  feparate  flower.  Granting,  however,
the pollen to be carried off from the male by the wind,
yet, as the fuppofed fecundating aura it contains is much
lighter than air, and is difcharged by the flighteft moif-
ture,  it can never fall down upon the diltant females, but
muft rife and diffipate in the higher regions of the atmof-
phere.  It  may alfo be difcharged by the application of
rain, or dews, before the pollen is carried off by  the wind
from the male  flowers : And, if the winds blow in a di-
rection contrary to the fituation of the female plants for
                                                a few 
 230        THE  PHILOSOPH Y
 a few critical hours, the females muft be rendered barren,
 at leaft for a feafon.
   It is an eltablifhed  fact,  that colewortx, turnips,  &c.
 when growing in gardens, fometimes produce  new  vari-
 eties.  Thefe varieties the fexualift". uniformly held up  :*
 instances of hybrids, or  mongrels from fortuitous com-
 mixtures of different males and females.  This concluSion*
 however,  Seems to be precipitate.  It  is well known 10
 nur.trymcn and  gardeners, that, Srom Seeds of the  P..me
individual  plants,  varieties Sometimes  appear.   It theSe
varieties  chance  to have any qualities Superior  in  \alee
 to the original  plants,  their feeds, fhoots,  or  Slips, are
collected,  and the new  kind is propagated with diligence.
That the beauty  oS flowers,  and the  magnitude and fla-
vour ot fruits are improveable  bv particular  modes of
culture, and even by unkno-.n accidents, is an undeniable
truth : lnat thefe improved qualities  in whatever manner
procured, Continue in the kind,  unleSs  allowed to  dege-
nerate by  needi rence, is not leSs  true.   But there is  no-
thing So wonderful in thefe phenomena as to require the
 in< nt unbounded ftretches o> fancy to account  Sor them.
 Are not the beauty, ftrength, and magnitude of animals,
equally improveable by  culture?  Does  not an  ox,  trans-
 ported from the comparatively barren mountains of Scot-
land, to the rich pastures of Yorkfhire, affume qualities
 very different from thofe he originally  poffeffed ? Why,
then, fhould an inconsiderable change in the conftitution
of a colewort, or  a  turnip, excite furprife ? Plants  are
liable to be diverfified  by numberlefs accidents.  Perpe-
tually fixed to the fame local Situation, they muft receive,
 indifcriminately, Such nourifhment as  is  transmitted to
them by the earth and air.  When different kinds happen
to grow very near each other,  and, as  they have not the
choice oS  rejecting Such food as is prefented to them, may
not exudations from the one be  abforbed by the roots of
 the other? May  not the matter which tranSpires  fo copi-
 oufly from the leaves and  flowers of one plant be  conveyed
 to, and abforbed by, thofe of a different kind ?  And may
not this foreign  nourifhment occasionally introduce Some
 changes in the colour,  texture,  or flavour, of the leaves,
                                              flowers, 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     231

flowers, or fruit ? Nay, is it not reasonable to  SuppoSe,
that Solutions oS various  mineral Subftances, the action
of particular manures,  and  a thoufand other circumftan-
ces,  may often induce fuch  changes ?  Why, then, fhould
we have recourfe  to  unnatural and  strained  analogies,
when the phenomena may be Solved upon the principles
of found philofophy ?
   The learned Dr.Hope, late Prof effor of Botany in the
Univerfity oS Edinburgh, who was a strenuous Supporter
of vegetable fexes, thought he had almoft eftablifhed- the
theory by the following experiment upon the  lychnis di-
oica, of which two varieties are natives of Scotland, the
one  bearing white,  and the  other  red,  flowers.  The
Doctor, about  twelve  years ago, raifed a \yhite  female
and a red male under the fame glafs-bell,  which was funk
fo far in the Soil as to prevent all communication with
other vegetables.  The bell terminated in a tube,  which,
Sor  the occafional introduction of a little frefh air, was
fluffed  with mofs.  The feeds  of the white female were
 Sown next SeaSon ; and,  inftead of white,  the plants pro-
 duced  red flowers, in confequence, it  was imagined, of
 the influence of the male upon the female.  He likewife
 afferted, that the red kind, when left to Nature, never
 brought forth white  flowers,  nor  the white  kind  red
 flowers.
   Upon this  experiment  we have  to  remark, 1. That
 nothing is more dangerous, or more fallacious  in  philo-
 fophy, than the  affumption of general positions without
 an accurate investigation.   The Doctor advanced, for ex-
 ample, that the red and white lychnis, when in a natural
 ftate, never change their colours.  This pofition is neither
 capable of  admiffion nor denial; becaufe no experiment,
 nor  inquiry, feems ever to have been made on the fubject:
 Yet it  is affumed as a premife to the concluilon, that the
 change of the white into a red lychnis was occafioned by
 the  influence of the  red male upon  the white female.
    2. That hybrids,  or mules, uniformly participate of
 both the fpecies or varieties by which they are engendered.
 A jack-afs  and mare never produce a fimple aSs or horie,
 but a mule, or mixture of the two.  It fhould Seem, how-
                                                 ever. 
• 3i        THE  PHILOSOPHY
ever, that this red  lychnis transfufed its own individual
qualities, without allowing a fingle particle of the female
to appear.   This is contrary  to cverv analogy.   If the
change had  originated from Sexual commixture,  the pro-
geny ought not  to have been  completely red, but pied,
or a mixture of red and white.  To whatever caufe, the re-
fore, this change may be attributed, it can never be af-
cribed to any thing analogous to generation.
   3.  That colour is a delicate and fluctuating quality.   It
depends fo  much on light,  air, health, and perhaps fome
unknown caufes, that botanifts, with great propriety, have
rejected it as a fpecific character.   Suspecting that  caufes
of this nature might change the colour  of the  white
lychnis under consideration,   I examined the condition
oS Some plants then Subjected  to the  fame  trials in  our
Botanic Garden.  The flowers both of the red and white
lychnis were then in full blow under  the bell, the glafs
of which was thick, and of a darker green than our com-
mon beer-bottles.   The light, of courfe, transmitted to
the plants was lurid  and obfcure.  They were alfo deprived
of a Sree circulation oS air.   Under thefe unnatural  cir-
cumftances,  the  plants  had a fickly aSpect.   The  flowers
oS the red variety, inftead oS a vivid red, were almoft per-
fectly white.  Here  we have nearly an equal change made
upon the fame plant,  without the poflibility of its being
affected  by  the intercourfe  of fexes.  If plants  are thus
deprived of  proper  light and air, it cannot be furprifing
to fee changes produced in  the colour of their immediate
defcendents.  The  contaminated air  efcaping from the
plants themfelves, and from the foil under the bell, may be
fufficient to produce this  effect.  I formerly mentioned,
that the colour, and other qualities of plants growing near
each  other,  may be changed by abforbing  the matter of
tranfpiration and exudation.   The argument is applicable
with  peculiar force to  plants  imprifoned fo clofely,  and
having fo little accefs to Srefh air.  In this fituation, they
muft, of neceiiitv, feed upon each other.  Confine  a man
•ead a woman for years in a fmall  ill-aired  cell,  and ob-
ferve their afpect, and that of their  progeny.  Their ap-
pearance will be very different from that of children pro-
      ,                                          dUCe'd 
       OF NATURAL  HISTORY.      233

duced  by healthy  parents, and enjoying the benefits of
the fun's rays, and of the open air.
  4. That,  independently of all thefe arguments,  the
experiment is  incomplete.  Even on  the  fuppofition  of
the exiftence of Sexes in plants, the conclufion drawn Srom
it cannot be admitted.  The Same  change, Sor  inftance,
might have happened, if,  inftead of a white female and
red male, a white female had been imprifoned with a red
female.  In this caSe there could  be no commixture of
Sexes;  and yet, it is highly  probable, that both would
have ripened their Seeds, and that theSe Seeds would have
produced  plants differently coloured Srom the Same varie-
ties growing in a natural ftate.  Till  thefe indifpenfible
parts of the experiment,  therefore,  be tried,  nothing can
be concluded in favour of the fexual fyftem.
  5. That flowers growing from  the fame root, fruits
upon the fame tree, or raifed from Seeds oS the  Same in-
dividual plant, oSten vary in colour, fize,  figure,  and
texture.   TheSe varieties are apparent to the moft Super-
ficial obfervers; but  they can never, with any degree  of
propriety, be afcribed to the influence of fex.  The caufes
of fuch variations  are rather to be  looked for in the  ex-
pofure of the plants  with regard  to  light and air,  the
nature of the foil,  the mode of culture, accidental inju-
ries from dews,  from electrical fire, from  the poifon  or
wounds of infects, and  from the abforption of mineral
Solutions.  In  a word, if we are to hope for an explana-
tion of thefe,  and other minute changes  in  the appear-
ances of plants, recourfe muft be  had to  chemical and
philofophical principles, and not to an hypothetical com-
merce  of fexes.
  The difcourSe was  concluded with the following Senti-
ment :—But I aim not at complete refutation;  Sor expe-
riments are ftill to be made.  I only wiih  to render  the
fexual  commerce of plants SuSpicious,  that the minds  of
men may be  freed from the  fetters of a fyftem,  which
has, perhaps,  too long received the general affent of Eu-
rope ;  and that the ceconomy of the vegetable kingdom
may again be open to impartial investigation.
  To remove  the poffibility of male influence being con-
                         G g                   veyed 
 234        THE  PHILOSOPHY
 veyed by means of the wind, or of infects, about ten or
 twelve years ago, I thought, if a female plant could ripen
 her Seeds w "thin doors during the winter, the experiment
 would infallibly determine the controversy.   With this
 view, I confined a fdmale  lychnis, which is a native plant
 of this country, and gave her  fuch  a degree  of heat  as
 made her produce flowers  three months before any male
 flowers of the fame fpecies were blown in  Britain.   The
 flowers and the voung feed  had every appearance of health
 and vigour.   But the plant itfelf, as ufually happens  to
 vegetables when forced to  grow  in  unnatural fituations,
 was Seeble, flender, and double the common length it
 acquires in the fields. I waited the event.  My expecta-
 tions, however, were disappointed ; Sor the flowers drop-
ped long before the feeds were ripened.  The plant was
kept three years in the fame Situation; but ftill the flow-
ers dropped, and no ripe Seeds were  produced.   As  the
health of plants, like that of animals, depends upon many
 circumftances,  as expofure to the open air, to  light,  to
 the agitations of the wind, which to them anfwers the
invigorating purpofe of  exercife,  to  nocturnal dews,  to
natural  rains,  inftead of  artificial waterings, &c.  I  re-
folved to place the female  lychnis in a fituation where fhe
might enjoy all thefe advantages,  and at  the  fame time
be removed  from every  fufpicion oS a connection with
male influence.  For this purpofe, I applied to my learned
and ingenious  friend Dr. Daniel  Rutherford, now Pro-
feffbr of Botany in the  Univerfity oS Edinburgh, who,
at that time, had a Small garden,  or rather a  little area,
in the heart oS the  city,  which was Surrounded with
 houies of five and  fix stories high, and distant Srom any
male lychnis about an Englifh mile.  Dr. Rutherford re-
ceived .his female lychnis into his garden.  The firft Sum-
mer after her admiffion, being  enfeebled  by  her former
three years confine::, a , fhe dropped her flowers,  without
producing fertile fe^\>.  During tlnee or four fuccecding
vears, however, fhe remained in the fame Situation ;  and
fiie not only ripened her Seeds, but thefe feeds vegetated,
without the poffibility of any male impregnation ; for the
Doctor, after the young plants were in a  ftate of difcri-
                                           mination, 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     235
mination, uniformly extirpated all the males, and never
could difcover the veftige of a fingle male upon the fe-
male plants.  Her  female  progeny,  however, continued
to bear fertile feeds for feveral fuccefllve generations. If,
after  this,  and fome experiments Sormerly mentioned,
any fexualifr chooSes to have  recourSe to the wind, and
to infects, he may enjoy his theory ;  but few men of pe-
netration will join him in opinion.
   But, if thefe facts and reafonings fhould not be fuffici-
ent to convince every believer in the fexual^ fyftem of
plants that the hypothefis has no  foundation in  Nature,
Spallanzani, a late ingenious Italian naturalift, has, by
a number of experiments,  removed the poffibility of any
rational  doubt on the fubject.
   Spallanzani, in  order to make a complete investigation
of this fubject, performed a  number of  experiments on
what are called hermaphrodite, moncecious, and dioicous plants.
   Hermaphrodite  plants comprehend all thofe which have
ftamina  and piftils, or the male and female organs, in the
fame flowers.  To difcover whether  the  pollen had any
influence upon the fertility of the feeds, Spallanzani forced
open the petals, or flower leaves, fome time before they
began to expand.   He then cut  off all  the ftamina, cr
male parts,  before  the fuppofed fcecundating  duft was
ripe, leaving the female part to its fate.  The refult was,
that, in  many of the plants, the feeds did not  ripen, or
even acquire'their full Size;  in others, they grew to the
natural Size; but,  aSter being committed to the ground,,
they did not germinate.   Above thirty years ago, a fimi-
 lar Set oS experiments were made, in the Botanic Garden
at Edinburgh,  by the late Dr. Alfton, the then Profeffor
of Botany.  But, whether Dr. Alston's experiments were
 performed with greater dexterity than thofe of Spallan-
 zani,  it  is impoflible to determine.   The event, however,
 was  the reverfe; for Dr.  Alston's plants, which  wee
 treated in the fame manner with  thofe of Spallan7ani,
 not only ripened their feeds, but thefe feeds, when  fown,
 were found to be  as fertile  as  if no fuch operation had
 been performed.  But no experiments of this kind can be
 made with any degree of certainty  upon hermaphrodite 
236        THE   PHILOSOPHY

plants;  becaufe they are  impracticable, without wound-
ing and injuring the tender flowers.  By forcing open i  ie
petals fome days before they  would naturally unfold, the
interior parts of the flowers are prematurely expoicd  to
the action of the  air, of dews, and  of the fun's ray*.
Befides, no man can determine what changes the  young
feeds may undergo,  what injury they may  lufter,  by an
unnatural deprivation of the ftamina.  In  every  How. r
treated in this rough manner,an extravafation of Sap muft
unavoidably be produced.  If a pregnant animal  is wound-
ed, and in a part too  fo  intimately  connected  with the
foetus, what reafon have we to expect a textile  and' well-
proportioned offspring ?
  Spailanzani next proceeded to trials  on the monoecious
plants, or thofe which bear both male  and female flowers
feparately on the fame individual.  In fpring  1777, he
Sowed two fpecies of  the pompion, which belong to  this
divifion of plants, in a Situation removed Srom  every fuf-
picion of foreign connection by means of the wind or  of
infects.   ' In the beginning of June,' fays he, ' two indi-
' viduals,  Sor I had ordered two only to be raiSed, were
' juft beginning to put Sorth a Sew flower-buds towards the
' bottom of the stalk.  At this early period,  the male
' flowers may be eafily  diftinguifhed  Srom  the  female.
'The former, alfo denominated  barren  by botanifts, have
' a flender stalk; while the ftalk of the  latter, where  it
' joins the calyx, forms a tumor, confiding of the imma-
' ture fruit.   I  paid daily vilits  to theSe two individuals,
* and  very careSully watched the progreSs of both Sorts  of
' flowers.  That there might be no fufpicion of the pollen
' exerting any influence upon the females, the males were
' deftroyed at their firft  appearance.  As fruit, when  a
' Sire 11 quantity only is leSt upon a plant, is Sooner ripe,
1 and  grows to a larger fize,  becauSe it receives a greater
' quantity of  nutritious juice, I left  on each of my  two
' individuals two flowers only.  The  buds that made their
' appearance afterwards were taken away, along with the
* male flowers.   Meanwhile, my four gourds grew rapid-
' ly.  Finding that, towards  the  middle of September,
* they had attained the ufual  full Size, I gathered one, in
                                              ' order 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      237
c order to infpect the internal  parts.   The flefh was  too
' Soft, becauSe the fruit was not thoroughly ripe ;  but, in
4 colour, ftructure, and tafte, it refembled  fruit produced
6 by plants  which  had their  male flowers.—The feeds
4 were in great number, and, as well internally  as  ex-
' ternally, were perfectly formed.—At the end  ot  the
6 month, the other three gourds were quite ripe.  I there-
8 fore gathered them, and put  the feeds of each into a  fe-
* parate box, that I might be able to examine them at
' pleafure.  The lobes filled the whole infide of the feeds,
c and had all the characters of perfect maturity.
  ' Thus far,' continues  our  author, ' there is a perfect
6 agreement with the observations made on  the Seeds of
' Some hermaphrodite  plants, which Seemed,  notwith-
6 Standing they were deprived oS the efficacy of the pollen,
' to have acquired the fame degree of perfection as thofe
* impregnated in the ufual manner.  But, as they did  not
* grow, however perfect they might be in appearance, be-
6 caufe they had not been vivified by the pollen,  I ima-
' gined, that,  for the fame reafon, the Seeds of my three
c gourds would not grow.  It was, however,  proper to
' make  the  experiment.   I therefore  dried one hundred
{ and fifty in  the fun, and  afterwards  planted them in
' three  pots,  fifty in  each, taken from Separate gourds.
c But the lateneSs of the feafon, it being the 1 oth of  Oc-
' tober, the  constant rain, and the coolnefs occasioned by
' it, circumftances unfavourable to vegetation, obliged me
' to place my  pots in a ftove,  which, though it was  not
* heated, was  kept warm by a contiguous  chimney.   The
' event did not by any means correfpond  to my expeclation.
6 I  took it for  granted, that none of the feeds would germi-
6 note ;  and yet they almoft all came up very well*.'
  Here it is pleafant to obferve candour and fair  experi-
ment triumphing over deep prejudice.   From the above,
and many other paffages, it is evident  that Spallanzani
was a keen  fexualift,  and  that he expected  his  experi-
ments, inftead of overthrowing, would confirm, his faith ;
but, like a true philofopher, he candidly, though with re-
luctance, unhinges his favourite opinion.
                                           61 referved
* Spallanzani's Diffcrtations, vol. 2. p. 876, &c.  S. 
238
THE  PHILOSOPHY
  4 I referved the remainder of the feetU,' continues Spal-
lanzani, * for another experiment to be made the iodow-
4 ing fpring.  Before it can be affined that fructdication
4 has been complete,  it i< neceilary, according to the de-
' termination of botanifts, not only that  the  lecds fhould
4 grow, but  that thev fhould  alfo  be capable of  briug-
* ing  productive kcd<,  or,  in other  words,  of  pcrpe-
1 tuating the fpecies.  That  I might  learn whether  the
4 feeds of  my  three gourds enioved  this  prerogative,  I
* caufed fome of them to be planted in the fame place in
' May  1778  ; and, when  they were grown to Some fize,
* they  wtre, as in the foregoing experiment,  carefully
* Stripped of all their male flowers, one female flower on-
4 ly being  left  on each individual.   Thefe flowers were
4 furnifhed with fmall gourds, which grew ripe towards
4 the beginning of autumn, and the feeds they produced
4 grew juft as well as the  former *.'
  With regard to dioicous plants, or thofe which produce
male flowers on one individual and female flowers on an-
other,  they are by far the moft unexceptionable subjects
for determining the exiftence or non-ex iftence of fexes in
planes.  Accordingly, Bonnet, Fourgeroux, and Spallan-
zani, &c.  about the year 1770, placed female plants of
this defci iption in Situations So Strictly guarded againft the
poffibility  of fcecundating duft being conveyed to the fe-
males either by the air or by infects,  that the fuppofition
of male influence baffles all the  powers  of imagination.
Thefe females,  however,  uniformly produced ripe feeds ;
and thefe feeds  were  as prolific as if  they had been fur-
rounded with males.
  From the facts and arguments above related, and many
others which might be adduced, it appears, that this beau-
tiful theory, derived from a mistaken analogy, has no
foundation in Nature.  I would not  have dwelt fo long
on  this fubject, if I  had not  Sincerely  wifhed that  the
minds of men might be emancipated from the fetters of a
fyftem yvhich has too long received the  almoft  univerial
affent of the literary world; and that the ceconomy of
                                                  the
          * Spallanzani'$ D!.T-;t».tion», vol. 2. p. 578. S. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     239
the vegetable kingdom may again be open to impartial
inquiries^
CHAPTER    X.
              Of the Puberty of Animals.


     THE puberty of animals commences at that period of
      their exiftence when Nature endows them with the
the power of multiplying the fpecies.  This period is as
various as the different tribes of animals.  In Some it ar-
rives  Sooner, in others later ;  but, in every  animal, it
is  accompanied  with Some remarkable changes in confti-
tution and affections.   From infancy to puberty there is
a  gradual  increafe  of fize;  but, immediately after that
period, in both Sexes,  the growth oS the  body makes a
Sudden Spring, and  acquires redoubled  ftrength and acti-
vity.   The growth oS animals, however, does not always
flop at the age of puberty.  Men, quadrupeds, and fifhes,
continue to grow for fome time after  their capacity  of
multiplying.   But moft birds and infects feem  to acquire
their full dimensions before they arrive  at the age of pu-
berty.
   Before puberty, the  voice of a man, like that of a wo-
man, is Shrill and feeble.  But, after that period, it be-
comes rough and ftrong.  This effect is produced by fome
unaccountable and fudden change in the organs of fpeech,
which is  not confined to the human fpecies ; for the voice
of a horfe or a bull  is  deeper after  than before puberty.
In eunuchs no Such  alteration oS voice is to be ohServed;
for their voice,  though Shrill  and  piercing, can never
produce a low or deep  note.   At this  period, too, that
diftinguifhing characteristic of man, the beard, begins to
appear, together wdth other external and internal changes,
which it is  unnecessary to relate.  But eunuchs are totally
                                             deftitute 
143
THE  PHILOSOPHY
deftitute of beards.  Thefe two facts indicate a connection
which merits the attention of  philofophers.
   With regard to the female fex, they are by no mcang
exempted Srom  constitutional changes when they arrive
at the age of puberty.  The alteration in the tone of their
voice, if it  does  happen, is  hardly perceptible.   Nei-
ther are their faces deformed by a beard, which, according
to our prefent ideas,  would have a diSgufting effect.   At
this period,  however, their  mammas Swell,  and a perio-
dical  evacuation  takes place,  which produces wonderful
revolutions in their conftitution and affections.   In  both
fexes,  the mental changes are not lefs  remarkable than
the corporeal. The powers of  the mind expand, the  force
of genius is  felt,  and very  different objects  folicit atten-
tion :  Inftead of puerile amufements, ambition,  a warm
and unaffected friendfhip, a generofity  and  unfufpicious
demeanour,  both in  words  and  actions, are the almoft
univerSal characteriftics of this period of human life.  I
mention it with  pleafure, that,  as far as my observation
extends,  in youth, unlefs  they are corrupted by example,
by neglect, or by other caufes, all men are honest, friend-
ly, generous, and humane.  If this remark  be true, Na-
ture is fully  exculpated.   But, when a young man enters
into the business of life, his candour and ingenuoufnefs
foon meet with a fhock.   This  is the painful  reverfe.  In-
ftead  of liberality and integrity of conduct, he has to
encounter with  felfifhnefs, chicane, and too often  with
direct villainy. This  unhappy difcovery turns his thoughts
into a different current, contracts the noble  opennefs of
his heart, renders him fufpicious  and  guarded, and, if
he fhall chance  to retain his integrity, he  is obliged to
affume, at leaft,  the  appearance of jealoufy  and deceit.
I by no means intenH this  to be the univerfal character of
mankind; I only lament that it is too general.
   In every race of mankind  of which we have any know-
ledge, the females arrive Sooner at puberty than the males.
But,  the age of puberty  differs in  different countries.
This  difference feems to originate from two caufes, the
temperature of the climate,  and  the quality  of the food.
Children of citizens, and of opulent parents, who are fed
                                                 with 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     Hi

with rich and nourishing victuals, arrive Sooner  at  this
ftate.   Children, on the contrary,  brought up  in the
country, or whoSe parents are poor, require two or three
years longer; becauSe their food is not only coarfe, but
too Sparingly given.  In the Southern regions of Europe,
and in  large cities, the females arrive at puberty about
the age of twelve, and the males about fourteen.   But, in
northern climates, and in the country, girls hardly come
to maturity till they are fourteen, and boys not before fix-
teen.   In the warmeft regions of Afia, Africa, and Ame-
rica, the age of puberty in females commences at ten, and
fometimes at nine.
   After  puberty, the Count de  Buffon remarks, 4 mar-
4 riage is the natural ftate of man.  A man ought to have
4 but one wife,  and a woman  but one hufband.   This is
4 the law of Nature; for the number of females is nearly
4 equal to that of the males. Such laws as have been en-
4 acted in oppofition to this natural principle, have origi-
4 nated Solely Srom tyranny and ignorance.   ReaSon, hu-
4 manity, and justice, revolt againft thofe odious feraglios,
4 in which the liberty and  the affections of many women
4 are Sacrificed to the brutal paffion of a fingle man.  Does
4 this unnatural pre-emineace render thoSe tyrants of the
4 human race more  happy ? No ! Surrounded with eu-
4 nuchs,  and  with women who are ufeleSs to themSelves
* and to other men,  they are tormented with the constant
4 appearance of that  accumulated load of mifery they have
4 created.'
   All animals, as well as thofe of the human fpecies, un-
dergo, at the age of puberty, Similar changes in the form
oS their  bodies, and  in the diSpofitions oS their minds.
From mild, placid, and gentle, they become bold, reftlefs,
and  ungovernable.   Their bodies are then, in ftrength
and Symmetry,  perfectly accommodated to the new Senti-
ments which Nature,  Sor wiSe purpoSes,  excites  in their
minds.   In the deer kind, the horns of the males appear
not till they are fit for multiplying the fpecies.   At this
period, the creft, the wattles,  and the  plumage  of the
male  gallinaceous  birds acquire additional beauty, and
their courage and ftrength are greatly augmented.   The
                       H h                    pigeon, 
242
T HE  PHILOSOPHY
pic. on, inftead oS being querulous, timid, and voracious,
whenever the age of puberty arrives, feels emotions ot a
very different kind.   Confcious of the new vigour he has
acquired, he aliumcs a bold and important air.  He Struts
about with a majeftic  pride, and immediately addreffes,
with all the  gaiety  of a  loxir, fome  favourite Semale,
whom  he Solicits with the moft affiduous gallantry and at-
tenrion.  After the coy female gives her affent, their after
conduct exhibits fuch a mutual and ardent affection, and
fueli a  conftant fidelity, as afford no inconfiderable pat-
tern to the human fpecies.
   With regard to fifhes, we are totally ignorant of the
periods when the different tribes of them acquire the power
of multiplying. From the element they inhabit, from the
rapidity  of their motions,  and from their defultory and
wandering mode  of living, we are  equally ignorant of
many other important parts of their  ceconomy and  man-
ners.  This continues to be an ample field for future in-
vestigation, and highly worthy the attention of naturalists.
   The ceconomy  and manners of infects are more open to
inspection.  Thofe of the  winged tribes undergo many
changes, both in  figure and ftructure,  before they arrive
at the  age of puberty.   They  firft efcape from the eggs
in the  form of minute  caterpillars.   In this ftate they are
exceedingly voracious, and grow  with rapidity to their
Sull fize; but they  are  deftitute both oS the power and
of the  organs neceffary for  the multiplication of  the
Species.   They are next transformed into chrySalids : In
this ftate, their bodies are covered  with a kind of cruft,
or fhell, from which the animals have again to efcape, as
from a  Second egg.  In this imprifoned condition,  they
remain during a longer or fhorter period, according to the
fpecies, or to the SeaSon oS the year in which they are trans-
Sormed.  After their transformation into flies, they burst
this cruft, or fiiell, and appear in the form of flies, furnifh-
ed with wings, legs, feelers, ike.  of all which they were
 deftitute in their former ftate.  When transformed into
 flies, caterpillars  have arrived at the age of puberty. They
 are now perfect animal-., and endowed with  the faculty of
 transmitting a ••uinerou; progeny to pofterity.
                                           ' CHAP- 
OF NATURAL  HISTORY.     243
CHAPTER   XL
                      Of Love.


     TH E great intention of  Nature,  in endowing almost
      every animal with a fexual attachment, is the mul-
tiplication  and continuation of the  refpective  Species.
But, with regard to man, and, in an inSerior degree, to
all pairing  animals, love is the Source of many other So-
cial and important advantages.  Love, or a ftrong affecti-
on for a particular woman,  is, to young men, perhaps,
one  of  the greateft incentives to virtue  and propriety of
conduct. In northern countries, it feldom riSes to  that de-
gree oS frenzy, which, in warmer climates, not only en-
groffes the whole attention, but often totally unhinges the
powers  of  the mind.   In northern regions, however, it
occupies more  gently the imagination, gives a chearful-
neSs  and alacrity to the bufineSs or studies of life, and, if
reciprocal,  diffufes over the  mind and body a placid hap-
pinefs, and  a tranquillity of difpofition, which gveady con-
tribute to the health" and vigour of both.  A young man
in love thinks that.the eyes of his favourite continually be-
hold him.  Through this amiable medium he views all
his actions, and even his thoughts.   His affection and ve-
neration are fo great, that he is, in fome meafure, deter-
red  from regarding any other woman, and, what, is of
more importance,  from indulging any loofe or irregular
appetite.  The difpofitions and affections of the female
are the fame  with  thofe  of the male.   Her attention is
completely engroffed;  and fhe never thinks or dreams of
any  man, but of him  who is the object of her affection.
A young man and a young  woman in  love exhibit  the
moft innocent and the moft amiable picture  of human
nature.  Actuated by no interested motives, and regard-
                                                  lefs 
=44
THE  PHILOSOPHY
lefs of future contingencies, they obey the fuprcme com-
mand of Nature.  How much is it to be lamented, that,
from the cruel, but perhaps unavoidable, inftitutions and
culloms oS civil Societies, it is So often not only prudent,
but neceffary, to check, and even to overcome, this power-
ful law of Nature ?
   Many are the advantages that mankind derive from fo-
ciety and regular governments, and we fhould chearfully
Submit to  thofe hardfhips  and inconveniencies to which
they give riSe.  But every man, however Submiflive to the
laws of his country, muft regret that neceflity which makes
them oppofe any of the.laws of Nature, and efpecialJy the
almoft irrefiftible law of love.
   In the prefent ftate oS Society, it muft be acknowledg-
ed, early marriages, among people in the ordinary  and
dependent rank., of life, are extremely hazardous. When
both parties are induftrious and occonomical, fuch marria-
ges are not only the moft natural, but are productive  of
the greateft happinefs and  cordiality.  But the reverie is
dreadful!  Children, Straitened circumftances, reSentment
oS parents, whether real or affected, too oSten produce all
the complicated miSeries to which mankind, in their lowest
ftate of degradation, can be Subjected.  Among this order
of men, therefore, it is of the highest importance that the
lave of Nature fhould yield, for fome time at leaft, to the
inftitutions of fociety, and to thofe prudential motives
which parents learn from experience to be ingredients eS-
fential to the comfort and  happinefs of  life.
   Men of fortune and of opulence have it in their power
to obey the laws of Nature  and of love ; and fome ex-
amples, though  few in number, occasionally happen,  oS
rich men acting a difinterefted part in their matrimonial
engagements.  Inftead  oS  following the  dictates of Na-
ture, many men of fortune and independence, disregard-
ing the high privilege they enjoy, lacrifice their tafte,
their paffion, and often their happinefs during life, at the
fhrine of Gold.   To  accomplifh  this fordid  end,  they
often embrace deformity, difeafe, ignorance, peevifhnefs,
and every thing that is diSgufting to  human nature.   Let
Such  individuals Suffer their punifhment.  But what are
                                                 the 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     245
the confequences to the public ?  Men of rank, in all na-
tions and governments, not only regulate, in a great mea-
sure, the manners of their inferiors,  but are the natural
guardians of the ftate.  For  thefe important purpoSes,
their  minds fhould be noble, generous, and bold;  and
their bodies fhould be  ftrong, maSculine, fit to encounter
the fatigues of war, and to repel every hostile affault that
may be made upon their country.  But, when men of  this
defcription, whatever  be their motives, intermarry with
weak,  deformed, puny, or diSeaSed Semales, their progeny
muft of neceflity degenerate.  The ftrength, beauty,  and
Symmetry of their  ancestors are,  perhaps, forever loft.
What is ftill more to be regretted, debility of body is almoft
univerfally accompanied with weakness of mind.   Thus,
by the avarice, ambition, or inattention,  of one  indivi-
dual,  a noble and generous race is completely deftroyed.
By reverfing this conduct, it is true, the breed  may again
be mended ;  but, to repair a fingle breach, many genera*
tions, endowed with prudence and circumSpection, will be
requifite.   A Succeflive degeneration, however, is an in-
fallible confequence of imprudent or interested marriages
of this kind.  One puny race may for fome time  be  Suc-
ceeded by another,  till at laft  their conftitutions become
fo feeble that the animals  lofe the faculty  of multiplying
their fpecies.  This gradual degeneration is  one great
caufe of the total extinction of confpicuous and noble fa-
milies.  That it fhould be fo, is a wife and beneficent in-
stitution of Nature; for,  if fuch debilitated  races were
continued, a univerfal degenertion would Soon take place,
and mankind would be unable to perform the duties, or
to undergo the labours, oS life.  Nature firft chaftifes, and
at laft  extirpates, all thofe who act contrary to her efta-
blifhed laws.
  Befide the pleaSures reSulting Srom Society, and Srom
mutual attachment in  man, and in pairing animals, the
natural love of offspring is a Source of the moft engaging
endearments.   The innocence and helplefs condition of
infants call forth our pity and protection.  When a little
farther advanced, their beauty, their fmiles, and their
fprightlinefs, excite the  moft agreeable  emotions.   In
                                                their 
*46        THE  PHILOSOPHY
their progrefs from infancy to manhood, we obferve with
pleafure  the unfolding of their mental powers,  they
imitate our actions long beSore they can expreSs their de-
fires, or their wants,  by language.  Their attempts in the
acquisition oS language are extremely curious and amuf-
ing.  Their firft  fyftem  of grammar confifts entirely of
fubftantive nouns.  It is long beSore they learn the uieof
adjectives or of copulatives,  and ftill  longer  before  they
employ the verb.   Their fpeeches are fhort, aukward, and
blundering;  but they are  animated, and uttered with
aftonifhing force and vivacity of expreffion in their eyes,
and in the geftures of their bodies.  At  this  period  of
life, children are Solely actuated by Nature  and  imitation.
ASter they acquire words Sufficient for conveying the few
ideas they poffefs, they begin to reafon, or rather to em-
ploy the language of reafoning ; for, at this period of life,
children, wheft they mean to give a reafon why they fhould
have any  indulgence or  gratification, almoft univerfally
argue againft themfelves, and employ a reafon why their
defires fhould  not be granted.   This ridiculous mode of
reafoning excites laughter, and affords pleafure and amufe-
mcnt  to the parents.  It  likewife fhows, that our firft at-
tempt toward reafoning is  principally, if not Solely,  the
effect of imitation ; for the reafoning power, at this peri-
od, is not fully unfolded,  becaufe many human inftincts,
or mental qualities, have not yet been called forth  into
action.   But here I muft flop.  To do juflice to this in-
teresting fubject would require volumes.
  The love of offspring, which, though not  univerfal, is
perhaps the ftrongeft and moft active principle  in human
nature.   It overcomes the fenfe of pain, and fometimes
even the principle of felf-prefervation.  A remarkable and
a melancholy example of the ftrength of parental affecti-
on was lately exhibited, and, for the honour of our fpe-
cies, deferves to be recorded.   In  the beginning of Ja-
nuary 1786, the Halfewell Eaft-Indiaman,  Captain Rich-
ard Pierce,  was  unfortunately  wrecked on  the coaft of
Dorfetfhire.   Befide  Several other ladies, Captain  Pierce
had two of his own daughters on board.   When the Ship
was in the extremity of danger, fome of  the  company,
                           v                      by 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     247
by Swimming, and other Seats oS activity, got upon a rock.
In this dreadful fituation, Captain Pierce' afked Mr. Ro-
gers,  his third  mate, iS  any plan could be  deviSed Sor
Saving the ladies ? Mr. Rogers replied, 4 It is impofllble!
4 but you may Save yourSelfd   Upon which the Captain,
addrefling himfelf to his daughters, and enfolding them
in his arms, faid, 4 Then, my dear children, we fhall not
4 part;  we fhall periffi together !'  Mr. Rogers quitted the
{hip and reached the rock : An univerfal fhriek of defpair
was heard, in which the voices of female diftrefs and horror
were lamentably diftinguifhable.  In a few moments all was
huffied ; the Ship, with every perSon on board, had then
gone  to the bottom.   Parents  chearfully  Submit to the
hardest labour, and expofe themfelves to the greateft dan-
gers,  in order to  procure nourifhment to their young, or
to protect them from injury.
   A bitch, during the operation of diffection, licked her
young, whofe prefence Seemed to make her forget the moft
excruciating tortures ; and, when they were removed, fhe
uttered the moft dolorous cries.  Certain fpecies of fpiders
inclofe their eggs in a Silken bag Spun and wove by them-
Selves.  This bag they  fix  to their back, and  carry  it
along them wherever they go.  They are extremely  nim-
ble in their motions.   But,  when the bag is forced  Srom
a Spider oS this  kind, her  natural  agility SorSakes her,
 and fhe Sails into a languid ftate.   When the bag is again
prefented to her, fhe inftantly feizes it,  and carries  it off
with  rapidity.  The young  fpiders no Sooner eScape from
the eggs than they dexteroufly arrange themSelves on the
back oS the mother, who continues Sor Some time to carry
 them about with her, and to Supply all their wants.  An-
 other Species of  Spider  attaches  her bag of  eggs to her
 belly.  This fpider is likewife very agile, and fo ferocious
 and determined in the protection of her eggs, that fhe has
 been  known to Suffer death  rather than relinquifh them.
 The deer Spontaneoufly  preSents  herSelS to be chaced by
 the dogs, to prevent them Srom attacking her Sawn. When
 the Sox perceives that her young have been disturbed  in
 her abSence, fhe carries them off, one after another, and
 conceals them in a new retreat.  WaSps Seed their young,
                                                when 
24a         THE  PHILOSOPHY

when in the worm or caterpillar ftate, in the  fame man-
ner as, pigeons and other birds that difgorge. The pigeon,
after Swallowing grain, retains it  for fome time in her
ftomach, till it is SoStened and  macerated : She then dif-
gorges, and  throws it into the mouths oS her young.   4 In
4  the fame' manner,' favs Reaumur, 4 I have  obferved a
4  female wafp fwallow a large portion of an infect: In a
4  fhort time afterwards, fhe traverfed the different cells of
4  her neft, difgorged the contents of her ftomach, and
4  diftributed food in this half-digefted form to her young
*  worms *.'
  All animals, man perhaps not excepted, acquire a dou-
ble portion of force and  courage  after they bring forth.
A cow, at leaft in a domestic ftate, is a placid  and phleg-
matic animal: But, whenever fhe produces a calf, a won-
derful change is exhibited :  She  inftantly becomes vigi-
lant, active,  and even  ferocious, in the  defence of her
young.   A lionefs  deprived of her cubs prefents the moft
dreadful  picture of  anxiety, rage, and  rapacity.  De-
scending  lower in the fcale of animation, the fame change
is to be remarked.   A  domeftic hen is a timid, indocile,
and obftinately-ftupid creature.  Though  chaced, harraff-
ed, and even put in danger of her life, fifty times in a day,
fhe never learns to avoid a garden, or any  particular place
which fhe is accustomed to frequent, or to which fhe is
led by her appetite for food.  But, the moment her chic-
kens are hatched, inftead of her ufual timidity, fhe be-
comes as bold as a  lion.  When fhe thinks her young are
in danger, fhe bristles up her feathers, affumes a fierce-
neSs in her eye, makes  an alarming noiSe, and attacks, in
the moft Surious manner, and without diftinction, every
animal that comes  near her.   By  the  SuddenneSs  of her
onfets, fhe often alarms men, and actually intimidates and
beats off  dogs and  other animals that could devour her in
an inftant.
  Though feveral  of the infect tribes difcover a ftrong
attachment to their young, yet all  thofe  which undergo
transformations, and do not form Societies, muft be com-
pletely ignorant of the  exiftence of their  progeny ; be-
                                               caufe,
          *  R'.aurr-.ur, torn. 11. pag. 130. tamoedit. 3. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      249
 caufe, in general, the parents die before  the  young are
 hatched.   Nature,  however, has endowed thofe fpecies
 with an inftindt which produces all the effects of parental
 affection: They uniformly depofit their eggs in Subftances
 which afford to the young,  immediately after their efcape
 from the egg,  a nourifhment adapted to  their respective
 conftitutions, and a comfortable and fafe protection from
 injury.  Thus  Nature, ever attentive to the continuation
 and happinefs of her productions, however Seemingly
 infignificant in the Scale oS being, often employs very dif-
 ferent:  means to accomplifh the fame beneficent purpofes.
   Nature has unquestionably attached pleafure to all the
 neceffary functions  of animals.  But this pleafure cannot
 be confidered as the original cauSe of any particular action ;
 for the experiment muft be made before the animal can dif-
 cover whether the refult is to be agreeable or difagreeable.
 The truth is,  that Nature has beftowed on the minds of
 all animated  creatures a number of laws or inftincts per-
 fectly  accommodated to the fpecies, and which irresistibly
 compel them to perform certain actions.   The effects of
 thefe laws we perceive : But the caufes,  or the modes by
 which  they operate  on  animaf minds, are  infcrutable.
 We mav and  muft admire,  but we can never penetrate
 the mv deries of Nature.
   Bonnet, and fome other naturalists, imagine  they are
 exhibiting the caufes of that ftrong and mutual attachment
 between parents and their offspring, when they tell us,
 that, in man, and quadrupeds, and birds,  the mother is
 fond of her young, becaufe their natural actions  give rife
 to agreeable fenfations; that, from  the  ftructure of the
 mammas,  a gentle,  but pleafant, fenfation, is excited by
 the action  of fucking ; that the  mother is often incom-
 moded by  too great a quantity of milk,  and that fucking
relieves her;  that the young love their mother, becauSe
fhe feeds, protects,  and communicates to them a cherifh-
ing warmth ;  that,  among the feathered tribes, *and par-
ticularly thofe which fit upon their young, by the gentle
motions of the little ones, an agreeable fenSation is excited
in the  belly of the  mother,  which is then frequently de-
prived of feathers.  All thefe Sources of reciprocal pleafure
                        I i                       may 
a50        THE   PHILOSOPHY
may  be true: But  ftill thev are only  effects,  and not
original caufes, of filial and parental affection; for that
mutual  attachment  exilts  the moment  after  the  young
animals come  into the world, and, of  courfe,  previous
to all experience  of titillation, of heat, of habit, or of
anv other  circumftances  that may, perhaps,  contribute
to Strengthen or prolong the exertion of the primary caufe,
which  muft remain forever concealed from human pene-
tration.
   In moil  animals, except the  human  fpecies, parental
and filial affection ceafe whenever the young  are able to
provide for themfelves.   The pleasures derived from fuck-
ing,  and from other circumftances formerly mentioned,
mhdit for fome time remain; but the young grow large,
unwieldy, petulant,  and enter into competitions  for food,
which  not only contribute to alienate the affection of the
parents, but  even  to  excite refentment  and  averfion.
Thefe, however, are only Secondary cauSes.  The purpo-
ses of Nature are fulfilled.  The ardour of affection, which
was indifpenfably  neceffary to the protection and rearing
oS the young, being now  no longer ufeful, is fo totally
extinguifhed, that neither the parents nor  the  offspring
are capable of recognizing one another.  This temporary
and amiable inftinct is obliterated, and never  revives till
the fervours of love are again felt, and  a new  progeny
appear.
   Marriage, or pairing, though  by no means an  univerfal
institution  oS  Nature,  is not unfrequently exhibited in
the animal  creation.  With regard to  man,  both male
and Semale are instinctively impelled to make a Selection.
The  force of  this natural impulfe is ftrongly Selt by every
young and uncorruptcd individual.  When not reflrained
by neceflity, or other powerSul motives, men and women
would intermarry long beSore it  would be prudent in ci-
vilized or artificial States of fociety.   This univerfal, and
almoft irrefiftible, impulfe of Selection, is to me the ftrong-
eft argument in favour of monogamy,  or  the  union of
pairs,  among the human fpecies.
   The fame impulfe, or law of Nature, takes place among
many other animals, as the partridge tribes, the Swallow,
                                                 the 
        OF NATURAL  HISTORY.     251
the linnet, and, in general,  all the fmall birds.   The af-
fiduity, attention, mutual affection, laborious vigilance,
and ftedfaft fidelity of pairing animals, are truly admi-
rable,  and,  to ingenuous minds, afford  the  moft exem-
plary admonitions to virtue and conjugal attachment.
  Befide this forcible impulfe  of Selection  implanted by
Nature in man, and  in every other pairing animal, Some
other facts deferve to be noticed.  In all pairing animals,
including, of courfe, the human race, the males and fe-
males produced are nearly equal.  This  is  a plain indica-
tion that Nature deftined thefe animals to pair, or to
marry.   Injustice, jealoufy,  animosity, and every animal
calamity, would enfue, if this order of  Nature were en-
croached upon  in creatures  who are  endowed with the
inftinct of fexual Selection.
  It is not incurious to remark, that  human inftitutions
often contradict the laws  of  Nature.   The dunghill-cock
and hen,  in a  natural ftate, pair.   In a domeftic  ftate,
however, the cock is a jealous tyrant, and the hen a pro-
ftitute.   But, even in this unnatural fociety, a  Selection
is fometimes to be obferved.  The fame phenomenon is
exhibited among mankind, whdh placed in certain fitua-
tions.   Like domeftic poultry, the Turks,  and fome Afi-
atic and African nations,  influenced by an accurfed go-
vernment, and  by an execrable religion, rebel againft the
law of love, and of reciprocal attachment.  In ih^e coun-
tries, a rich man not only engroffes, but  imprifons and
tortures, as many beautiful women as his fortune enables
him to Support.   Deftitute of all thofe endearments which
arife from mental communication, from  parental  tender-
nefs and affection, from mutual confidence and folace, he
is,  while young, perpetually tormented with jealous ap-
prehenfions. As he  advances  in life, his jealouSy  and
his terror augment.  Though his Semales are fcmpuloufly
guarded from every  intrufion,  by Servile  and mutilated
wretches, his Sears increaSe with his years and  debility,
till a premature and comfortleSs old  age  puts a period to
his infignificant and liftlefs exiftence.
  In general, it is to be remarked, that all thofe fpecies
of animals, whofe offspring require, for fome time, the
                                             induftry 
*$i        THE  P II 1 L O S O P H Y
induftry and fupport of both parents,  are endowed with
the inftinct of Selection,  or of pairing.   With regard to
tha leathered tribes, pairing is almoft  univerfal.   A  dif-
tinction, however,  a; to the duration  and circumftances
of their pure:;, is to be observed.   The  young of all the
fmaii birds, as well as of moft of the  larger kinds, con-
tinue for fome weeks in a weak and  helplefs condition.
The modier is not, like  quadrupeds,  provided with or-
ceins fitted to Secrete milk ;  oS courfe, fhe is unable to
nourifh tiiem out of her own body.  She is therefore ob-
liged to go abroad in qncit of food for them.  But  the
progeny are fo numerous, that  all her induftry, if not
affiited by the father, would  be ineffectual for their fup-
port and  protection.  In all birds whoSe young are in
tie: condition, the re.ales and Seeead.es not onlv nair,  but
each of them is endowed with the  Itrongcft  parental af-
fection,  llo.h  are equally  anxious and  industrious in
procuring food lev their eunual offspring. This parental
cere and attachment uniformly continues  tiil the young
ere fledged, and have acquired fufficient ftrength to pro-
vide fcr themfelves.  Eagles, and fome  other  birds of
prey, continue faithful Mb: paira Sor years, and  perhaps
during life.   Thefe facias afford a ftrong argument in Sa-
vour of marriage among mankhui.  No animal remains
So long  in the infant and helplefs ftate as  the children of
nu n ; and no mother could, with her own induftry, pof-
fibly fuckle ami procure nourifhment for a numerous fa-
ia»iv.  Here, as in the feathered tribes, the  affiftance of
the Aether becomes indifpeniablc.  On  this fubject, a cu-
rie as inflinct merits attention.  The male of moft birds
••ot only Selects a female, but, with great afllduity, brings
food to  her when fitting on her eggs, and often  relieves
her, by Sitting on them  himfelf.
  There are other fpecies of pairing birds, whofe young,
as foon  as they are hatched,  are  capable  of eating their
food when prefented to them, and, of courfe, require lefs
labour from the p«rnt-,.   In thefe  Spcrits, accordingly,
the male pays  no attention to the progeny, becauSe  it is
unneceda.y; but the mother carefully leads  them about
to places where proper food is to be had, protects, them
                                                from 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     255
from injuries,  and communicates heat to them by cover-
ing them with her wings.
  Quadrupeds, efpecially thofe which Seed upon  graSs,
do not pair; becauSe, while the female gives fuck to her
young,  fhe herfclf is feeding.   Befide, the young of this
tribe, very foon after birth, can eat grafs, and other ve-
getables.  The Count de Buffon remarks,  that the roe-
deer, though they feed  upon  grafs,  are to  be excepted
fvom this rule; for they pair,  and have annually but ore
li  er.   Lions,  tigers, wolves, and other rapacious qua-
drupeds, do not pair.   The whole labour  of procuring
food is devolved upon the female, which often fhortens her
own life, as well as that of her offspring.   In  relation to
man, this is a  fortunate circumftance;  for, if beafts of
prey paired, a dangerous multiplication of  thofe destruc-
tive fpecies would be the  confequence.  But  pairing is
effentially neceffary to birds of prey ;  becaufe,  during the
procefs of incubation,  the  female  would not  have time
fufficient for procuring food;  which, in  thefe animals,
requires both  patience and addrefs.   Some quadrupeds,
particularly thofe which lay up provifions for the winter,
as the beaver, pair.  As foon as the  young beavers are
produced,  the males abandon the  flock of provifions to
the females, and go in queft of food for themSelves.  Buc
they by no means relinquifh their mates; but  frequently
return and visit them while they are Suckling their young.
   If man, and fome of the pairing animals, be excepted,
the feafons of love are limited to particular times of the
year.  Thefe feafons, though various, are admirably adar i>
ed to the nature  and ceconomy of the  different fpecies.
In all animals of this kind, the feafons of love, and the
times of female gestation,  are fo  contrived by  Katere,
that the offspring, when brought  forth, are amply Sup-
plied with the particular Species of food upon which they
principally live.  Though the times of gestation vary con-
siderably among Such quadrupeds as Seed upon grafs, the
respective females uniformly bring forth early in Summer,
when the grafs is tender and luxuriant.  The mare  comes
in feafon in Summer, carries eleven months, and is deli-
vered in the beginning of  May.   Sheep and goats come
                                                   in 
254        THE  PHILOSOPHY
in feafon in the end of October or beginning of Novem-
ber.  They carry five months,  and produce  when  the
grafs begins to Spring.   It is worthy of  obfcrvation, that,
though the times of gestation in the fame fpecies, and in
all  latitudes, never alter, yet the feafons of  love, and
times  of  delivery,  varv w ith the climate.   In Italy, fheep
come  in feafon in the months of  June or  July.  The fe-
males, as ufual,  carry five months, and  bring forth  in
November or December, the very period when grafs,  in
that climate, is in its belt ftatc for pasture ; for, in April,
it is burnt up, and fheep have nothing to browfe  upon
but fhrubs.  The rutting feafon of the  flag is in the end
of September and  beginning of October, and the female
brings forth in May or  the  beginning  of June.   Thefe
animals inhabit the higheft mountains of Scotland, where
the grafs, of courfe,  does not begin to  fpring fo early as
in the lower parts of that country.   Beavers come in fea-
fon about the end  of autumn, and bring forth in Janua-
rv, when their ftore-houfes are  full of  provifions.   The
young of pairing birds are produced in the fpring, when
the weather begins to be  comfortably  warm,  and their
natured food abounds.  In a word, the bringing forth,  or
hatching, of all  animals, not excluding the infect tribes,
uniformly takes place at thofe feafons of the year when
the nature of the weather, and the food peculiar to the
fpecies,  are best  adapted to the conftitution of their off-
Spring.   Caterpillars of every kind are  never hatched till
the various plants on which they feed, though  they grow
in different months, have  put forth their  leaves.
   We fhall conclude this Iubject, by giving  a Sable  of
the Relative Fecundity, &c. of Animals, which, in a
fhort compafs, Solves a number oS questions with regard
to the natural  hiftory of quadrupeds.   It is  taken from
the eighth volume of the Tranflation of Button, to whoSe
authority moft readers  will be  inclined  to  give  great
weight.
TABLE 
TABLE of the Relative  Fecundity  of  Animals.
Namei.
Elephant
Rhinoceros	15 or 20
Hippopotamus Walrus	-
Camel	4
Dromedary Horfe	4 2&1-2
Zebra	2
Afs	2
Buffalo	3
Ox :	2
Stag Rein-deer	1 & 1-2 2
Lama	3
Man	14
Large Apes Mouflon	1 & 1-2
Saiga Roebuck	1 1 & 1-2
Chamois-Goat -	1
Goat	1
Age  at which Males can engender, and
           Females produce.
   MALE.      FEMALE.
      Years.             Years.
30
3o

15 or 20
 4
 4
 2
 2
 2

 f*

 2
 3
12
 3
 1
7 months
Times of geftation
2 years
 9 months
 1 year nearly
     idem
11 months
11 ditto
11 ditto and more
 9 months
 9 ditto
 8 ditto and more
 8 months

 9 months

 5 ditto
5 ditto
5 ditto

j ditto
5 ditto
Number  of young;
  produced at a lit-
  ter.

 1  in  three or four
  years
1
1
1,  fometimes 2
1,  rarely 2
1,  rarely 2,
1
1, rarely 2
i,  rarely 2
1
1, rarely 2
1,  fometimes 2
1, fometimes 2
1, fometimes 2
  twice  a year in
  hot climates
1, fometimes 2
1,  2, fometimes
  3
l,  2, rarely 3
1,  s, rarely 3, and
  never above 4
Age at which Males ceafe to engender
      and Females to produce.
   MALE.
      Years.
lives 200

lives 70 or 80
lives 40 or 50
lives 40 or 50
at 25 or 30
at 25 or 30
at 25 or 30
lives 15 or 18
at 9
lives 30 or 35
lives 16
at J 2
at 8
lives 15 or 20
lives 12 or 15

lives 20
at 7         •
FEMALE.
    Years.
at 18 or 20
at 18 or 20
at 25 or 30

at 9


at 19


at 10 or 12
at 7
o


>
H


>


CO
H
O
*J
►4
t-ri 
Name*.	Age at which Males can engender, and		Times of geftation.	Number of young	A,t at which Maleircifr in rnTndrr,		>•
	l'V 111,1 Ic5	produce		pioduccd at a	and FiT'iilcs	to produce.	OS
	MALE.	FEMALE.		llllwl.	M A I. E.	V E M A L E.	
	Years.	Years.			Years.	Year,.	
Sheep	1	l	5 months	1, fo:m :m<"i 2, twice a year jn >» urn climates	at 8	at 10 or la	
Se.il	.	-	feveral months	803			H
Bear	2	2	ditto	1, 2, 3, 4, and ne-	lives 20 or 25*		
				\vrabove 5			>-t-|
Bad;er	-	-	-	3 or 4			M
Lou	B	9	-	3 or 4 once a year	lives 20 or 25	1	
lyop.ud and Tiger	2	8	-	4 or 5 once a year			■fl
Wolf	a .	2	73 days or more	5, 6, to 9, once a	at 15 or co	at 15 or to	
				year			ffi
Do^ ill a natural	9 or 10 months	9 or lo months	63 days	3i 4> 5» 6	at 15	at 15	HH
fl.iu-Ifatis		.	63 days	6 and 7			*r
Fox	l	l	In feafon in win-ter, and produ-ces in Apiil	3, 4, to 6	at 10 or T1	at 10 or 11	O CO 0
Jackal	•	-	-	2, 3, or 4			
Catinanaturalllate	before l	before l	56 days	4«5> ot6	at 9	at 9	TJ
Martin	i	l	36 days, it is faid	3, 4, and 6	at 8 or 10	at 8 or to	1—«
}'.iK--\\'e.ifcl -	i	l	idem	3, 4. and 6	at 8 or 10	at 8 or 10	l-M
1\)!. Mt	t	l	idem	3. 4- and 5	gener. during life	prod, during life	<
Weafel	i ft year	lfl year	-	3. 4. and^	idem	il-TTl	
tlniune	idem	idem	-	idem	idem	i-i. :a	
Squirrel	l	l	copulates in March, and produces in May	3<*4	idem	i.;:i:i	
Flying Squirrel	*	-	-	3°M			
 

     Names.



Hedgehog
Dormice
Mulk-Rats
Opoflums
Hogs

Armadillos

Hare

Rabbit

Ferret

Rats

Field Mice

Moufe

Brown Rat

Guiney-Pig
Age at which Males can engender, and
        Females produce
   MALE.
     Years.
1
lft year
 FEMALE.
     Years.
l
ill year
t year or 9 months 1 year or 9 months
ill year

5 or 6 months -

lft year

idem

idem

idem

idem

5 or 6 weeks  -
lft year

5 or 6 months

lft year

idem

idem

idem

idem

5 or 6 weeks
Times of geftation.



40 days,



4 months



30 or 31 days -

idem

40 days

5. or .6 weeks  -

1 month,  or 5
  weeks
idem



3 weeks.
Number of young	Age at whic'i Males ceafe *o engender,		
produced- at a litter.	and Fern;.. ;s to produce.		
	M A L E.	FEMALE.	
	Years.	Years,	
3". 4i and 5			
3» 4» and 5	lives 6		O
4. 5> or 6			**L
4, 5, 6, and 7			
10, 12, 15, to 20r	at 15	at if	£
twice a year			
4, feveral times a			>
year			•-4
2, 3> 4. feveral	ives 7 or 8		CJ
times a year -			
4, 5, to 8, feveral	idem		**
times a year -			>
5, 6, to 9, twice	during life		
a year			
5 or 6, feveral times a year	idem		X
9 or lO) feveral			>—<
times a year -			en
5 or 6, feveral times	idem		H
a year 12 to ig thrice 2	idem		O
year			?tf
eight times a year j	lives 6 or 7, and		«*
ifl litter, 4 or	produces during		
5; 2d, 5. or 6;	Ufe		
and the others*			
7, 8> to 11 ► •			Kk
			u*
			^4
 
a;tf        TUT.   PHILOSOPHY
CHAPTER   XII.
           Of the Transformation of Animals.


    THE transformation of caterpillars, and of different
     kinds of worms, into winged infe&s, has long ex-
cited the attention, as well as the admiration of mankind.
But the truth is, that every animal, without exception,
undergoes changes in ftru&ure, mode of exiflence, and
external appearances.   Mankind,  from  their  embryo-
date, to their  final  diffolution, affume many  different
forms.   Some weeks after conception, the rudiments  of
a human being are to be perceived.  As  pregnancy ad-
vances, the approaches to the perfect figure become gra-
dually  more  diftinguifhable, till  the period  of birth.
Wliile  in  the  fcetus-ftate, the head  is difproportionally
lar^e, when compared with the other parts of the body;
nourifhinent is conveyed to it by very different channels;
and refpiration is not neceffary, becaufe the  circulation
of the  blood is not carried  on in the fame  manner  as
after birth.  Even after birth, the form, fymmetry, and
organs of the animal are by  no means complete.   The
head continues for fome time to be difproportionally large;
the hands and feet are not properly fhaped; the  legs are
crooked;  the hair on the head  is  fhort and fcanty ;  no
teeth as yet appear ;  and there is not a veftige of  a beard.
In a few months, however, the fymmetry of all the parts
is evidently improved, and the teeth begin to fhoot.  The
growth of the whole body, as well as the  ftrength and
beauty of its form, gradually advance to  perfection till
the fixth  or feventh year, when  another change  takes
place.   At this period, the firft fet of teeth are fhed, and
are replaced by new  one£.   From boyhood to  puberty,
the fize of the boie, and  of its different  members, in-
                                               crcafe 
         OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     259

 creafe.   When  the  age of puberty arrives, feveral im-
 portant changes are produced in the fyftem of both males
 and females.  The beard now makes its appearance ; the
 dimenfions of the body, in moft individuals, are fuddenly
 augmented;  and both fexes become capable of multiply-
 ing the fpecies.   From this period, to the age of twenty-
 five or thirty, the mufcles fwell, their interftices are filled
 with fat, the parts bear a proper proportion to each other,
 and man may now be confidered as a perfect animal.  In
 this ftate of bodily perfection and  vigour,  he generally
 remains till he reaches his fiftieth year.   Then a new but
 a gradual change begins to appear.   From the fiftieth year
 to the age of feventy or eighty, the powers  of the body
 decline in their ftrength and a&ivity.   The  mufcles  lofe
 their fpring and their force.  The vigour of manhood is
 no longer felt, and the withered decrepitude of  old  age
 is  fucceeded by death, its unavoidable confequence.
   The mind of  man  undergoes changes  as well as his
 body.  The tafte, the appetites, and the difpofitions, are
 in perpetual fluctuation.  How different  is the tafte of a
 child from that of a man ? Fond of gewgaws and of tri-
 fling amufements, children frolic away their time without
 much thought  or reflection.  When advancing toward
 puberty, their  difpofitions and defires  fuffer a  gradual
 mutation.  New inftincls are unfolded,  and a fenfe e>f
 propriety  begins to be  perceived.  They defpife their
 former occupations and amufements; and diilerent  fpe-
 cies of objects folicit and obtain their attention.   Their
 powers  of reflection are now considerably  augmented;
 and both fexes acquire a modefty and a  fhy;v°fs with re-
 gard to each other.  This aukward, but n;■tur-^i bafhful-
 nefs,  by the intercourfe of  iociety, as  well as  by  the
 impulfes of Nature, vanities foon  afier puberty,  v.'hen
 the ftate of manhood and of gallantry commences.  From
 this  period  to the age of twenty-five or thirty, men's
minds affume a bold, enterprifing, and active  tone.  They
 engage  in the bufinefs of life, look forward  to futurity,
and have a defire of marrying and of eftablifhing families.
All the focial appetites are  in vigour ; folid and manly
friendfhips are formed; and man goes on for fome time
                                                   to 
35o        THE  PHIL OS OPII Y

to enjoy every kind of happinefs which his nature is ca-
pable of affording.   I wifh the next change had no exifl-
ence.  At fifty or fixty, the mental powers,  in general,
like thofe of the body, begin to decline, till feeble  and
tremulous old  age arrives, and death clofes the mutable
fcene of  human life.
  With regard to quadrupeds, both before and after birth,
they undergo fimilar,  and many of them greater, changea
of form than thofe of the human fpecies.   Their mental
powers, likewife, their difpofitions and manners,  as well
as the objects of their attention,  varv according  to  the
different  itages of their exiftence.  Many of them come
into the world blind,  and continue for fome time before
they receive the fenfe of feeing.   How many changes are
exhibited in the dog from birth till he becomes a perfect
animal, tiil all his  members are completely  formed, and
all his inftincts are unfolded and improved by experience
and eduction? The deer-kind acquire  not their magni-
ficent and beautiful horns before the age of puberty ;  and
even thefe arc annually eaft oft"  and  renewed.   Similar
changes rake place  in quadrupeds of every denomination ;
with examples of which every man's experience and  re-
collection will readily fupply him; and,  therefore, it  is.
unneceiTary  to be more particular.
  Neither are birds,  in their progrefs from birth  to  ma-
turity, exempted from changes.  Like quadrupeds, many
bird* are blind for fome time after they are hatched.  In
this condition, how different are  their form and  appear-
ances from thofe of the perfect animals! At firft, they
are covered with  a  kind  of down  inftead  of feathers,
Even after the feathers fhoot,  they are often  of a  colour
different from that which they acquire when  full  grown.
The beautifully-variegated colours of the peacock's tail
appear not till he arrives at  his third year \   Birds  that
have cref e. or wattles, live a co fiderable  time before
thw acquire  ihefe ornaments, or marks of diltinction,
 Aiibirdb annually mo't, or call their feathers, in the lame
 ...eueer  as quadrupeds fhed their  hair, the  new  pufiling
 out thw old.
                                                Frogs,
            ♦ Linnti Ar.cn;. A:.;. vjl. 4. p. 368.- S. 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      261

  Frogs, and  many other amphibious animals, undergo
great changes in their form and ftructure.  When it firft
efcapes from the egg, a frog appears in the form of a
tadoole, an  animal with a  large roundifh head, and a
compreffed or flat tail, but  totally deftitute of feet and
legs.  In this ftate it remains a confiderable time, when
t: e two fore-feet begin to fhoot, and have an exact  re-
feinblance to the buds of trees.  As  their growth advan-
ces, the toes  and  legs  are diftinguifhable.  The fame
procefb goes on with the hind-legs, only they are foine-
v.-hat !?ter in making  their  appearance.  During  the
growth of the legs, the blood being  drawn into different
channels,  the tail fnffers a gradual mortification, till at
kit it totally vanifhes,  and the tadpole is metamorphofed
into a. quadruneJ.  Tadpoles  never come out of the wa-
tc •:. but,  after their transformation into frogs, they  be-
come amphibious,  and occafionally  frequent both land
an  ■ water.
   Tic cruftaceous tribes, as lobfters, crabs, &c. befide  the
dKerent appearances they affume while growing  to per-
fection, rail their fhells every year.  When this  change
is about to happen, they retire into the crevices of rocks,
or  iheiier themfelves below detached ftones, with a view
to conceal and defend  their  bodies  from the  rapacious
attacks of other fifhes.   After the fhells are eaft, the ani-
mals are exceedingly weak and defenceiefs.  Inftead of
their natural defence  of hard fhells, and ftrong claws,
they are covered only with a thin membrane or fkin.  In
this ftate they become an eafy prey to  almoft every  fifh
that fwims,  •: The fkin, however, gradually thickens and
grows harder, till it acquires the ufual degree of firmnefs.
By  this time  the animals have  refumed  their former
ftrength and activity ; they come  out  from their retire-
ments,  and go about in queft of food.
   Serpents, and many  other reptiles, eaft their fkins  an-
nually.  The beauty and luftre of their colours are then
highly augmented.  Before cafting,  the old fkins have a
tarnifhed and withered appearance.  The old fkins,  like
the firft fet of teeth  in children, are forced off by  the
growth of the new.
                                                   We 
i6i
THE   PHILOSOPHY
   We come now to give fome account of the transfor-
mations of infecls, which are both various and wonderful.
All winged infects, without exception, and many of thofe
which are deftitute of wings,  muft pafs through feveral
changes before the animals arrive at the perfcdion of
their natures.  The  appearance,  the  ftructure, and the
organs of a caterpillar,  of  a chryfalis, and of a fly, are
fo different, that, to  a perfon unacquainted with  their
transformations, an identical animal would be confidered
as three diftinct fpecies.  Without the aid of experience,
who could believe that a  butterfly,  adorned  with four
beautiful wings,  furnifhed with a long fpiral probofcis or
tongue, inftead of a  mouth, and  with fix legs,  fhould
have proceeded from a difgulting,  hairy caterpillar, pro-
vided with jaws and teeth,  and fourteen feet?  Without
experience, who could imagine that a long, white, fmooth,
foft worm, hid under  the earth,  fhould be transformed
into a  black, cruftaceous  beetle,  having wings covered
with horny elytra, or cafes?
   Upon this branch of  the fubject, we fhall, firft, give
an example or two of the moft common transformations
of Infects ; and, ficondly, defcribe fome of the more un-
common kinds.
   Befide their final metamorphofis into  flies,  caterpillars
undergo  feveral  intermediate  changes.  All  caterpillars
eaft or change their fkins oftentr or more feldom, accord-
ing to the fpecies. Malpighius informs us, that the filk-
worm, previous to its chryfalis ftate,  cafts its fkin four
times.   The firft  fkin  is eaft on the ioth,  i ith, or 12th
day, according to the nature of the  feafon ;  the  fecond
in five or fix days  after;  the third in five or fix days more;
and the fourth and laft in fix or feven days after the third.
This changing of fkin is not only common to all  cater-
pillars, but to every infect whatever.   Not one of  them
arrives at  perfection without cafting its fkin at leaft once
or twice.  The fkin, after it is eaft, preferves fo entirely
the figure of the caterpillar  in its head, teeth, legs, colour,
hair, &c. that it is often miftaken  for the animal itfelf. A
day or two before this change happen , caterpillars take no
food: They lofe their former activity, attach themfelves
                                                   to 
         OF  NATURAL  HJSJORY.     263
 to a particular place, and bend their bodies in various
 directions, till at laft they efcape from the old fkin, and
 leave it behind them.  The inteftinal canal of caterpil-
 lars is compofed of two principal tubes, the one inferted
 into the other.  The external tube is compact and flefhy;
 but the internal one is thin and tranfparent.  Some days
 before caterpillars change  into the chryfalis ftate, they
 void, along with their excrement, the  inner tube which
 lined their ftomach and inteftines.  When about  to pafs
 into the chryfalis ftate,  which is a ftate of imbecility,
 caterpillars felect the moft proper places  and modes of
 concealing themfelves from their enemies.  Some, as the
 filk-worm, and many others,  fpin filken webs  or cods
 round their bodies, which completely difguife the animal
 form.   Others leave the plants upon which they formerly
 fed, and hide themfelves in little cells which they make
 in the earth.  The rat-tailed worm abandons  the water
 upon the  approach of its metamorphofis, retires  under
 the earth, where it is changed into a chryfalis, and, after
 a certain time, burfts from its  feemingly-inanimate con-
 dition,  and appears in the form  of a winged infect.  Thus
 the fame animals pafs the firft and longeft period of their
 exiftence  in the water, another under the earth, and the
 third and laft in the air.   Some caterpillars, when about
 to change into a chryfalis ftate, cover their bodies with a
 mixture of earth and of  filk, and conceal themfelves in
 the loofe foil.  Others incruft themfelves with a filky or
 glutinous matter, which they pufh out from their mouths,
 without fpinning it into threads.   Others  retire into the
 holes of walls or of decayed trees.  Others fufpend them-
 felves to the twigs of trees,  or to other  elevated  bodies,
 with their heads undermoft.  Some attach themfelves to
 walls, with their heads higher  than their  bodies,  but in
* various inclinations;  and others choofe a horizontal po-
 fition.  Some fix themfelves by a gluten,  and fpin a rope
 round their middle to prevent them from falling.   Thofe
 which feed upon trees attach themfelves to the branches,
 inftead of the leaves, which are lefs durable, and fubject
 to a greater variety  of accidents.  The  colours of the
 caterpillars,give no idea of  thofe of the future flies. 
_64
THE  PHILOSOPHY
  In general, the figure of chryfalids approaches to that
of a cone, efpecially in their poiierior part.  When un-
der this form, the infect feems to have neither  legs  nor
wings.  It is incapable either of wae.ing or of crawling*
It takes no nourifhment, becaufe it has no organs fuited
t<> that purpofe; vet,  in fome fpecies, life is continued
for feveral months before their laft metemorphofis t;evca
})lace.   In a word, it  feems to be a  lifelefs nufs.:  But,
upon a more attentive obfervation, it pofftffes the powei*
of bending upwards and downwards the pofterior part or
its body.  The fkin, or exterior covering, of thofe which
do not fpin cods,  feems to be of a cartilaginous nature.
It is commonly  fmooth and  mining.  In fome  fpecies,
however, the Ikin of the chryfalis is  more or lefs covered
with hair,  and other rugofities.  Though chryfalids  dif-
fer both in figure and colour, their  appearances are by
no means fo various as thofe of the caterpillars from which
they are produced.   The colour of fome chryfaliis is
that of pure gold, from which circumftance  the whole
have received their denomination.   For the fame reafon
they are called aurelia in Latin.  Some arc brown, others
green;  and, indeed, they are to be found of almoft every
colour and (hade.
  The life of winged infects confifts of three principal
periods, which prefent very different  fcenes to the itudent
of Nature.  In the firft period, the infect appears under
the form of a worm, or caterpillar.   Its body is long, cy-
lindrical, and confifts of a fucceflion  of rings, which are
generally membranous, and  encafed within each other.
By the aid of its rings, or of crotchets, or of feveral pairs
of legs, it crawls about in queft of food  ; and its move-
ments are, in fome fpecies, remarkably quick.   Its  head
is armed with teeth, or pincers, by which it eats the leaves
of plants or other kinds of food.  In this ftate, it is abso-
lutely deprived of fex, and,  confequently, of the power
of multiplication.  Its blood moves from the tail toward
the head.   It refpires either by ftigmata or fmall apertures
placed on each fide of its body, or by one or feveral tubes
fituated on its pofterior part, which have  the refemblance
of fo many tails.  In the fecond period, the infect appears
                                                under 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      265

under the form of a nymph, or that of a chryfalis.  When
an infect, after throwing off the fkin of the caterpillar^
exhibits all its external parts,  only covered with foft and
tranfparent membranes, it is called a nymph.   But, when
to thefe membranes is added a common and cruftaceous
covering, it receives the name of a chryfalis.  While in
the ftate of a nymph,  or  that of a  chryfalis, infects, in
general, are totally inactive, and  feem not to poffefs any
powers of life.   Sunk into a kind of deep fleep, they are
little affected with external objects.   They can make no
ufe of their eyes, their mouth, or any of their members ;
for they are all imprifoned by coverings more or lefs ftrong.
No cares occupy their attention.  Deprived of the  faculty
of motion,  they remain fixed in thofe fituations which
they  have  chofen for their temporary abode, or where
chance has placed them, till their final metamorphofis into
flies.   Some of them,  however,  are capable of changing
place ; but their movements are flow and painful.   Their
blood circulates,  but in a contrary  direction from what
takes place in the caterpillar ftate; for it proceeds from the
head  toward the  tail.   Refpiration  continues to  go  on,
but the organs are differently fituated.  In the caterpillar,
the principal organs of refpiration were placed at the pof-
terior part of the body;  but now thefe fame organs are
to be found at the anterior part of the animal.   In  the
third period, the infect has acquired that perfect  organi-
zation which correfponds to the rank it is to hold in the
fcale of  animation.  The bonds  of the nymph, or of the
chryfalis, are now burft afunder, ajid the infect commences
a new mode of exiftence.  All its members, formerly foft,
inactive, and  folded up in  an envelope, are  expanded,
ftrengthened, and expofed to obfervation.   Under the
form'of a worm, or caterpillar,  iu crawled ; under thofe
of a nymph, or chryfalis,  its pov/er  of motion was almolt
annihilated; under the laft form, it is furnifhed with fix
fpringy legs, and two or four wings, with which it is en-
abled to fly through the air.   Inftead of-teeth, or pincers,
with  which it divided a grofs aliment, it has  now a trunk,
by which it extracts the refined juices of the  moft delicate
flowers.  Inftead of a few fmooth eyes which it poffeffed
                         LI                       in 
:6o        T II E  l'HILOSO P II T
in the worm or caterpillar ftate. the new infed is iurniilf
eel with both  fmooth and convex ey^, to the number ol
feveral thvHiiand.s.
  The  internal parts of the infect have likewife undergone
as many changes as the external.  The texture, the |*o-
portions, and  the number of the viicera, are greatly altered.
Some have acquired an additional degree of confiftence ;
others, on the contrary, are rendered finer and more de-
licate.   Some receive a new form, and others are entirely
annihilated.  Laftly, fome organs in the perfect  infed,
which  feemed formerly to have no exiftence, are unfold-
ed, and become vifible.  The moft important of this laft
kind are the organs of generation.  The caterpillar, the
nvmph, and the chryfalis, were  of no fex.  But, after
transformation, both fexes  are diftinguifhable, and the
animals are capable of multiplying their fpecies.
   We fhall now give  fome examples of transformations
which deviate from the common mode.
   Some infects hold a middle rank between thofe which
\ r Jervc their original figure during life,  and thofe that
kiii.r  transformations.  Their exiftence is divided into
v.\o periods only.   They walk in the firft, and fly in the
fecond.  Thus their only metamorphofis confifts of the
addition of wings, the growth and expanfion  of which
are performed without any confiderable alteration in the
figure of their bodies.
   There is not a law eftablifhed among organized bodies
which feems  to be fo univerfal, as that all of them grow,
or augment in fize, after birth,  till they arrive at matu-
rity.   If a hen were to bring forth an egg as large as her
own body, and if this egg,  when hatched, were  to pro-
duce a bird of equal dimenfions with either of the parents,
 it would  be  confidered as a miracle.  But  the fpider-fty,
fo  e'enominated from  its figure,  affords an example of  a
 nmiiar prodigy.  This fly adually lays an egg, from which
a new fly is hatched that is as large and as perfect as its
 mother.  This egg is roundifh,  is at firft white, and af-
 terwards affumes a fhining black cohnir.   Upon a more
 accurate  examination,  however,  this  production was
 found to be an eg- only in appearance.   When the en-
                                                velope 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     26J

velope is removed, inftead of a gelatinous fubftance, the
new infed,  furnifhed with all its members, is difcovered.
But this difcovery does not render the fad the lefs  won-
derful.   All winged infeds undergo their different tranf-
formations after being expelled from the bodies  of their
mothers,  and receive great augmentations of fize before
their metamorphofis into the nymph  or chryfalis  ftate,
after which  their growth flops.   But the fpider-fly affords
an inftance  of an infed transformed in the belly  of its
mother, and which grows no more after  it efcapes  from
its envelope.  This fad is fully  authenticated by Reau-
mur*,  Bonnetf, and  other naturalifts.
  The worm from which the tipula  or crane-fly is pro-
duced is perfedly fmooth.   Immediately  before its firft
transformation it retires under ground.  After this me-
tamorphofis, the furface of the nymph is  furnifhed  with
a number of prickles.   By means of thefe prickles, the
nymph, when about to be transformed into  a fly,  raifes
itfelf in its hole till the cheft of the infed is above ground.
The fly then burfts its  prifon,  mounts  into the air, and
leaves its former covering behind in the earth.
  Many fpecies  of flies depofit  their eggs in the leaves
and  different parts of plants.   Soon after the egg  is in-
ferted into the  leaf,  a  fmall tubercle begins to appear,
which gradually increafes in magnitude till the animaj is
hatched, and has paffed through its different transforma-
tions.   Thefe tubercles are known by the name of  galls,
and are very different in their form,  texture, colour, and
fize.  Galls of every kind, however, derive their origin
from the ftings of infects, which generally belong to the
clafs of flies.   The  female fly,  by means of her  fling,
makes incifions in the leaves or branches  of a tree, and
in each  incifion fhe lays an egg.   This egg is at  firil ex-
tremely minute ; but it foon acquires a confiderable bulk,
and the gall has arrived at its full fize  before the worm
is hatched.  This gall feems to be analogous to the mem-
branes which inveft a foetus, and expand in all diredions
in proportion to its growth.   That tjieeggs of oviperous
                                              animals,
  ♦Reaumur, vol. 12. p. ^i;, edit. icttio.  S.
  + O.-uvn-s Jo Bonnet, vol. 4. p. 28. edit. 8vo. S. 
2oS        THE   PHILOSOPHY
animals grow while in the ovarium is univerfally known ;
but it is lingular that the eggs or gall-flies fhould prow
after being feparated from the body of the mother.   1 hcfc
eggs muft undoubtedly be furnilhed with external veflels,
or a kind of roots, by  which they cxtrad juices from
the internal  cavity of the gall.   Malpighius afcribes the
origin of galls to a  corrofive liquor introduced by  the fly
into the wound.  But Reaumur, to account for the growth
of a gall,  thinks it  unnecellary to have  recourfe to any.
iuppofed poifonous fluids,  and  attributes it to  the fupcr-
abundant nutricious juices derived to that particular part
by the continual  action of the abforbent  veffels  of the
egg, jdined  to its heat, which may be compared to  a little
fire placed in the center of the tumour.
  Whether thefe caufes are fufficient to explain  the growth
of galls, we lhall fubmit to the judgment of the reader.
But, that the eggs depofited by the flies augment in fize ;
that worms  proceed from them ;  that  thefe w orms are
nourifhed, and live a certain time imprifoned in the galls;
that they are there transformed into nymphs  or chryfa-
lids ; and, laitlv, that they are  metamorphofed into wing*
ed infects, which, by gnawing an aperture through the
gall, take their flight in the air; are known and  incon-
teftible faci^, of the truth of which every man may eafily
fatisfy himleif.  Examine the common oak-galls, or thofe
of any other tree;  if any of them happen to have no
aperture, cut them  gently open, and you are  certain  to
find an egft, a worm,  a chryfalis, or a fly: But in  fuch
as are perforated by a cylindrical hole,  not a  veftige  of
an animal is difcoverable.  The galls which make an in-
gredient in the compofition of ink are  thick,  and their
texture is very ftrong and  compad : That  the fmall ani-
mals they contain fhould be able to pierce  through  fuch
a rigL' fubftr.ncc is truly wonderful.
  In the general order of Nature  among oviparous ani-
mals, each egg includes one embryo only.   A Angular
fpecies of eggs,  however,  difcovered by the  celebrated
Mr. Folks, late Prefident of the Royal Society of London,
muft be excepted.   He  found  great numbers  of them in
t !'!'„• mud of  fmall rivulets.   In fize they equalled the head 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     269
of an ordinary pin.   They were of a brown colour, and
their furface was cruftaceous, through which, by employ-
ing the microfcope,  feveral living worms were diftin&ly
perceptible.   By dexteroudy breaking the fhell, he dif-
lodged them; and he found with furprife, that eight  or
nine worms were contained in,  and proceeded from,  the
fame egg.  They were all well formed, and moved about
with great agility.   Each of  them was inclofed in an in-
dividual membranous covering, which was extremely thin
and tranfparent.  It were to be wifhed that the transfor-
mations of thefe extraordinary animals had been  traced.
   Some  caterpillars,  when about to transform, make a
belt pafs round  their bodies.  This belt  is compofed of
an  affemblage of filken threads fpun by themfelves,  the
ends of which they  pafte to the twigs of bufhes, or other
places where they choofe to attach their  bodies.   They
likewife fix their hind legs in a tuft of filk.   After tranf-
formation, the  chryfalids remain fixed in the fame man-
ner as before their  metamorphofis.  The  belt is  loofe,
and allows the  chryfalis to .perform its flow and  feeble
movements.
   The whole moth-kind, as well as the, filk-worm, imme-
diately before their transformation into the chryfalis ftate,
cover their bodies with a cod or clue of filk, though the
nature of the filk, and their mode of fpinning, are very
different.  The  cods of the  filk-worm are compofed of
pure filk. Their figure  is generally oval, which neceffa-
rily refults from that of the  animal's body upon which
they are moulded.  When fpinning, they twift their bo-
dies into the form  of an S.   The cod is produced   by
numberlefs  circumvolutions  and  zigzags of the fame
thread.   The filk is fpun by an inftrument fituated near
the mouth of the infed.  The filky matter, before it is
manufadured by the fpinning inftrument, appears under
the form of  a gum almoft liquid, which  is contained in
two large refervoirs  contorted like the inteftines of larger
animals, and which terminate  at the extremity  by two
parallel and  {lender conduits.  Each conduit furnifhes
matter for one  thread.  The fpinning inftrument, as is
evident when viewed by the  microfcope, unites the two
                                             threads 
«;o        THE  PHILOSOPHY

threads into one.  Thus a thread of filk, which has  the
appearance of  being fingle, is in reality double,' and fpun
with great  dexterity.  Some writers, who delight in  the
marvellous, afcribe forefight to  the filk-worm in fpinning
its  cod.  The filk-worm, it muft be acknowledged,  ads
as if it forefaw the approaching event.  But the truth is,
that, when the animal has acquired its full growth, its re-
fervoirs of  filk are completely filled.  It then feems to be
ftrongly ftimulated to evacuate this glutinous matter.  Its
different movements and attitudes, while difcharging  the
filk, produce thofe oval bundles which clothe and orna-
ment vaft numbers of the human  fpecies.
  Another fpecies of caterpillar conftruds its cod in  the
form of a boat with the keel uppermoft;  but it confifts
not entirely of pure filk.  The animal, with its teeth,  de-
taches  fmall triangular pieces  of  bark  from a  bufh or a
tree.   Thefe pieces of bark it  pafles upon its body by
means  of a glutinous or filky fubftance, and they confti-
tute a principal part of its cod.
  Another fpecies works alfo  in wood,  though not with
equal art as the former.   Its cod is compofed entirely of
fmall irregular fragments  of dried  wood.  Thefe frag-
ments the animal has the addrefs to unite together,  and
to form of  them a kind of box  which covers and defends
its whole body.  It  accomplifhes  this purpofe by  moif-
tening, for fome moments, the pieces of wood in its mouth,
and then attaches them to each other by a glutinous fub-
ftance.   Of this mixture the caterpillar forms a cod,  the
folidity of which is nearly equal to that  of wood.
  The moft folitary of all  infeds are thofe who live in
the internal parts of fruits.  Many of them undergo their
metamorphofis in the fruit itfelf, which  affords them both
nourifhment and a fafe retreat.  They dig cavities in  th«
fruit, which fome of them  either  line with filk, or fpin
cods.   Others leave the  fruit, and retire to be transform-
ed in the earth.
  The metamorphofis of infeds has been  regarded  as a
fudden operation, becaufe they often burft their fhell or fil-
ky covering quickly, and  immediately appear furnifhed
with wings. But, by more attentive obfervation, it has been
                                          difcovered, 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     271.

difcovered  that  the  transformation of caterpillars  is a
gradual procefs from the moment the animals are hatched
till they arrive at a ftate of perfection.   Why, it may be
afked, do caterpillars fo frequently eaft their fkins ?  The
new  fkin,  and other organs,  were lodged  under the old
ones, as in fo many tubes or cafes, and the animal retires
from thefe cafes, becaufe  they  have become too ftrait.
The  reality of thefe encafements has been demonftrated
by a fimple experiment. When about to moult or eaft its
fkin, if the foremoft legs of a caterpillar are cut off, the
animal comes out of the old  fkin deprived  of thefe  legs>
From this  fad,  Reaumur  conjedured,  that the chryfalis
might  be thus encafed, and concealed under the kft fkin
of the  caterpillar.   He difcovered that the chryfalis, or
rather  the  butterfly itfelf,  was inclofed in the body of the
caterpillar.  The probofcis, the antennae, the limbs, and
the wings, of the fly are fo nicely  folded up, that  they
occupy a fmall fpace only under the two firft rings of the
caterpillar.  In the firft fix limbs of the caterpillar are en-
cafed the fix limbs of the butterfly.  Even the eggs of the
butterfly have been difcovered in the caterpillar long be-
fore  its transformation.
   From thefe fads it appears, that the transformation of
infeds  is only the throwing off external and temporary co-
verings, and not an alteration of the original form.   Ca-
terpillars may be confidered as analogous to the fcetufes of
men and of quadrupeds.   They live and receive nourifh-
ment in envelopes till they acquire fuch a degree of per-
fedion as  enables them to fupport the fituation to which
they are ultimately deftined by  Nature.
   One would not readily believe that the excrements of a
butterfly fhould  be  capable of exciting  confternation in
the minds of the people.   But this event has  frequently
happened  in different places and nations.  Among many
other prodigies  which  have  terrified nations, fhowers of
blood have  been enumerated by hiftorians.  Thefe fhowers
of blood-were fuppofed to  portend great and calamitous
events,  as wars, the deftrudion of  cities,  and the over-
throw of empires.   About the beginning of July, in the
vear 1608, one of thefe pretended fhowers  of blood fell 
 272        THE  PHILOSOPHY
in the fuburbs of Aix, and for feveral miles round.  This
fuppofed fhower  of blood, M.  de  Reaumur  remarks,
would probably have been tranfmittcd to us as a great and
a real prodigy, if Aix  had not then been poffeffed of a
philofopher, who, amidft other fpecies of knowledge, did
not negled the operations and ceconomy of infects.  This
philofopher was M. de  Peirefc, whofe life is written by
Gaffendi.   This life contains a number of curious fads
and obfervations.   Among others, M.  de Peirefc  difco-
vered the caufe of the pretended fhower of blood at Aix,
which had created fo general an alarm.   About the be-
ginning of July,  the walls of a church-yard adjacent  to
the city, and particularly the  walls of the fmall villages
in the neighbourhood,  were obferved to be fpotted with
large  drops of a blood-coloured liquid.   The people,  as
well as fome  theologians,  confidered thofe drops as the
operation of forcerers,  or  of the Devil himfelf.   M. de
Peirefc,  about that time, had picked up a large  and beau-
tiful chryfalis, which he laid in a box.  Immediately after
its transformation into the butterfly ftate, M. de Peirefc
remarked, that it had  left a  drop of blood-coloured  li-
quor on the  bottom of the box,  and that this drop,  or
ftain,  was as large as a French fou.   The red ftains on
the w alls,  on ftones near the highways, and in  the fields,
were found to be  pcrfedly fimilar to that on the bottom
of M. de Peirefc's box. He now  no longer  hefitated  to
pronounce, that all thofe blood-coloured ftains, wherever
they appeared, proceeded from the fame caufe.   The pro-
digious number of butterflies which he, at the fame time,
faw flying in the air, confirmed his original idea. He
likewife obferved, that  the drops of the miraculous rain
were never found in the middle of the city ; that they ap-
peared only in places bordering upon the country; and
that they never fell upon the tops of houfes, or upon walls
more  elevated than the  height to  which butterflies gene-
rally rife.   What  M. de Peirefc faw himfelf, he fhowed to
many  perfons of knowledge, or  of curiofity,  and efta-
hlifhed it as an inconteftible fad, that the pretended drops
of ble,od were,  in reality, drops of a red liquor depofited
bv butterflies.
                                                  To 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     273

  To the fame caufe M. de Peirefc attributes fome other
Ciowers of blood related by hiftorians ;  and it is worth'y
of remark, that  all of them are faid to have happened in
the warm feafons °f tne  year, when butterflies are moft
numerous.   Among others, Gregory of Tours mentions
a. fhower of blood which fell, in the time of Childebert,
in different parts of Paris,  and  upon a certain Jidufe  in
the territory of Senlis;  and, about the end  of the month
of June, another likewife fell under the reign of King
Robert!
  M. de Reaumur remarks, that almoft all the buttermes
which proceeded from different fpecies of hairy caterpillars
in his  poffefiion, voided at leaft one, and  often  feveral
large drops of excrement, which had the colour of blood.
The hairy caterpillar that feeds upon the leaves of the elm-
tree, after its  transformation, emits  drops,  the colour of
whfch is of a more deep red than that  of blood ;  and, af-
ter  being dried,  their colour approaches to that of car-
mine.   From another caterpillar of the elm, which is
larger,  and much more common than the former, pro-
ceeds a butterfly, that,  immediately after its transforma-
tion, emits  a great quantity of red excrement.  This fpe-
cies of caterpillar, in particular years,  is  fo numerous,
that it lays bare the  whole trees  in certain diftrids.  My-
riads of them are transformed  into chryfalids about the
end of May or  beginning of June.  When about to un-
dergo their metaraorphofis, they often attach themfelves
to the walls,  and even  enter into the  country  houfes.—
If thefe butterflies were all brought forth at the fame time,
and flew in the  fame diredion, their  number would be
fufficient to form fmall clouds, to cover the ftones, &c.  of
particular diftrids with blood-coloured fpots, and to con-
vince thofe who wifh to  fright themfelves, and to fee pro-
digies, that a  fhower of blood had fallen during the night.
Some of thofe hairy caterpillars which live in fociety up-
on nettles,  likewife  emit an excrementitious matter of a
red colour.  A thoufand examples of the fame kind might
be enumerated.   Hence the notion of  miraculous or por-
tentous fhowers of blood fhould be forever banifhed from.
the minds of men.
                       M m                   I would 
2 74
TH E  PHILOSOPHY
  I would not have nad fo much upon this fubjed, if I
had not c*onfidered it to be the duty of every man, when
it is in his power, to remove popular prejudices, efpecially
when they have a dired tendency to terrify the minds of
men,  and to cherifh ignor  :ice and fuperitidon.
  We not only read of Ihowers, : ut,  what feems  to  be
more inrveco ire. table,  of fountains running occaiionally
Witii blood inftead of  water.  Sir Da>id Dalrymple, one
of the Senators of the College of Juftice in Scotland, a
gentlemen  not  more  diftinguifhed by his  learning and
deep refearch, than by his fcrupulous integrity and pro-
priety of condud, relates, in his Annals of Scotland *,
upon.the authority of Hoveden and  Benedidus Abbas,
that,  in the year  1184, * A fountain near Kilwinning f,
6 in the fhire of Air,  ran blood for eight days and ^ignt
' nights without intermiflion.  This portent had frequently
1 appeared, but never  for fo long a fpace.   In the opinion
c of the people of the  country, it prognofticated the tflu-
* fion of blood.   Benedidus Abbas, and R. Hoveden, rc-
6 late the ftory of this portent with perfed credulity. Be-
4 nedidus Abbas  improves a little upon his brother;  for
1 he is pofitive that the fountain flowed with pure blood.'
I Kilwinning, like Aix, had poffeffed fuch a philofopher
as Peirefc, the rednefs of the water, if ever it did appear,
would have  received a  moft fatisfadory explanation.
  Transformations are not peculiar to animals.   All or-
ganized bodies pafs through fucccffive changes.  Plants, of
courfe, are not exempted from mutation-  What an amaz-
ing difference between an  acorn and a ftately oak ?  The
feeds  of plants may be compared to the chryfalids of but-
t'.rilies.   The feed, like the chryfalis, contains, in minia-
ture, all the parts of the future plant.  Thefe parts require
only time, and other  circumftances neceffary  to vegeta-
tion, for their complete evolution.  How different are the
feed-leaves from thofe of the plums ?  Befide the general
changes arifing from growth, plants undergo a number
of metamorphofes from other cau:<.•>,.  In  northern cli-
mates, if we except a  few  evergreens,  trees, during win-
ter, are entirely ftripped of tbeir leaves.  Inftead of the
                                             pleafant
     •Vol. 1. -, '-'*: *■          t A Soiii.":: villa •-.  S. 
        OF NATURAL  HISTORY.     275
pleafant emotions excited by the variety of figures, move-
ments, colours, and fragrance of the leaves, flowers, and
fruit, during the fpring and fummer, nothing is exhibited
in winter but the bare ftems and branches.  In this ftate,
the trees of the foreft have a lugubrious appearance, and
remind us of death and of fkeletons.   Very different are
the emotions we feel in the fpring, when the buds begin to
burft,  and  the  leaves to  expand.  When fummer ap-
proaches,  another beautiful change  takes  place.  The
flowers, with all their fplendour of colours, and fweetnefs
of flavours, are then highly delightful to  our fenfes.  Af-
ter performing the office of cherifhing and proteding the
tender fruit for  fome time,  the flowers drop off, and a
new change is  exhibited.  When the flowers fall, the
young fruit appear, and gradually grow to maturity, per-
petually prefenting  varieties in their  magnitude,  colour,
odour, and flavour.  When the fruit or feeds are fully
ripe, they are gathered  for the ufe of man, drop  down
upon the earth,  or are devoured by birds and other ani-
mals.  After this change happens, to which all the others.
were only preparatory, the leaves begin  to  fhee!, winter
commences, and the fame  feries of metamorphofes go on
during the exiftence of the plant.
  The changes  juft now mentioned are annual, and are
ultimately intended to fupply men and other animals with
food.   But plants are fubjeded  to changes of form from
caufes of a more accidental nature.   Varieties or changes
in the figure of plants are often  produced by foil, by fitu-
ation, by culture, and by  climate.
  A plant is compofed of  the bark, the  liber, or  inner
circle, the wood, and the pith.   The calyx, or cup, the
corolla, or  flower-leaves,  the  ftamina,  and  piftils, are
only expanfions of the  bark, the liber,  the  wood, and
the pith.  The petals of all flowers, in a natural  ftate,
are fingle.   But, when tranfplanted into  gardens, many
of them,  efpecially thofe which are  furnifhed with nu-
merous ftamina,  as the anemone, the poppy,  the peony,
the ranunculus, the daify, the  marigold, the rofe, &c.
double, or  rather multiply their flower-leaves without
end.  This change from fingle  to double, or monftrous
                                              flowers, 
276         T HE  PHILOSOPHY

flowers, as they are called, is produced by too great  a
onantitv of nutricious juices,  which prevents the fub-
tarice of i'ie ob r from condensing into wo< d, and tranf-
• or  - *hc Oar>i-*a  u.r  > petals;  and it not unirequently
hapnc?,  tr.av. v hen  f.efe  double-flowering plants  are
lOmmitted to a poor nil, they  ' ecome drier, arc redu-
ced  o the;- na. ra' fte. e, and produce fingle flowers only.
PL"eV v hich irhab't the valleys, when tranfported to the
top::  of mountains, or other elevated fituations, not only
heec.ne dwarfilh, but  undergo fuch changes in their  ge-
neral ftrncture and appearance, that they are often thought
to belong to a different nccies,  though they  are, in re-
ality, otily varieties of the fame.  Similar changes  are
produced when Alpine or mountain plants are cultivated
in lie valleys.
   From  culture  and  climate,  likewife, plants undergo'
m?ny changes.  But this fubjed is fo generally known,
that  to  enlarge upon it would be  entirely fuperfluous.
We  fhall only remark, that the older botanifts, when
thev perceived the fame fpecies  of plants  growing in  a
different foil, or in a different climate, affume fuch diffe-
rent  appearances, confidered and enumerated them as dif-
tinct fpeci°s.  But the modern botanifts, to prevent  the
\inn-_ccffary multiplication of feparate beings,  have  en-
deavoure ' * > reduce all thofe varieties arifingfrom fortui-
tous  circumftances to their original fpecies.
   From th. fe  fads, and many  others which might be
mentioned,  it appears, that,  in both the animal and  ve-
getable kingdoms, forms arc perpetually changing.  The
mineral kingdo:.: is not lefs  fubjed  to metamorphofis;
but*  thefe belong  not to our prefent fubjed.  Though
forms continually change, the quantity of matter is  in-
variable.  The fame fubftances  pafs  fucceflively into  the
th^ee kingdoms, and conftitute, in their turn, a mineral,
a plant, an  infect, a reptile, a fifh, a bird, a quadruped,
a nan.   In thefe transformations, organized  bodies  are
t^e   incipal agents.  They change or decompofe every
fuufu. :■ that either enters into them, or is expofed to the
adicn of their powers.  Some they  aftimulate,  by  the
procefs  of nutrition,  into their own fubftance; others
                                                 they 
        OFN.ATURAL  HISTORY.     i77

they evacuate in different forms ;  and thefe evacuations
make ingredients in the compofitions of other bodies, as
thofe of infec:6, whofe multiplication is prodigious, and
affords a very great quantity of organized matter for the
nourifhment and fupport of almoft every animated being.
Thus, from the apparently vilefl and moft contemptible
fpecies of  matter, the richeft produdions derive their ori-
gin.  The moft beautiful flowers, the moft exquifite fruits,
and the moft ufeful grain, all proceed from the bofom of
corruption.   The  earth is continually  beftowing frefh
gifts upon us;  and her powers would foon be exhaufted,
if ^what fhe perpetually gives were not perpetually reftbred
to her.  It is a law of Nature, that all  organized  bodies
ftiould be decompofed, and gradually  transformed into
earth.  While undergoing this fpecies of diffolution, their
more volatile particles pafs into the air,  and are diffufed
through the atmofphere.  Thus animals, at leaft portions
of  them,  are buried in the air, as well as in  the earth,
or in water.   Thefe floating particles foon enter into the
compofition of new organized beings, who are themfelves
deftined to undergo the fame revolutions.  This circula-
tion of organized matter  has continued fince the com-
mencement of  the world,  and will proceed in the fame
courfe till its final deftrudion.                        „
   With regard to the intentions of Nature in changing
forms,  a  complete  inveftigation of them exceeds the
powers of  human refearch.   One great intention, from
the examples above enumerated, cannot efcape obferva-
tion.  In  the animal world, every fucceflive change is  a
new approach to the perfcdion of the individuals.   Men,
and the larger animals, fome time after the age  of pu-
berty, remain flationary,  and continue to multiply their
fpecies for periods proportioned to their refpedive fpecies.
When thofe periods terminate,  they gradually decay till
their final diffolution.   The fame obfervation is applica-
ble to the infed tribes,  whofe transformations ftrike us
with wonder.   The caterpillar repeatedly moults or calls
off its fkin.  The butterfly exifted originally in the body
of the caterpillar;  but the organs  of  the fly were too
foft, and  not fufficiently unfolded.   It  remains unfit to
                                            encounter 
 »78        THE  PHILOSOPHY

 encounter the open air, or to perform  the  fundions of
 a pcrfed animal, till fome time after its  transformation
 into a chryfalis.  It  then burfts through its envelope, ar-
 rives at a ftate of perfection, multiplies its  fpecies,  and
 dies.  All the  changes in the vegetable  kingdom tend
 to the fame point.  In the procefs of growing, they' are
 perpetually changing forms till they produce  fruit,  and
 then they decay.   Some  plants,  like caterpillars,  go
 through all their transformations,  death not excepted, in
 one year.  But others,  like man and the larger animals,
 befide the common changes produced by growth and the
 evolution of different organs, continue for many years
 in a ftate of perfedion before the  periods of decay  and
 of diffolution arrive.   But thefe perennial plants  under-
 go,  every year,  all the viciflitudes of the annuals.   They
 every year increafe in magnitude,  fend forth new  leaves
 and  branches,  ripen  and diffcminate  their feeds, and,
 during winter,  remain in a torpid ftate, or  fuffer a tem-
 porary death.   Thefe annual changes in trees,  &c. have
fome refemblance to  thofe of animals which produce at
certain ftated feafons only.
  The diftribuuon of life to  an  immenfity of fucceftive
individuals feems to be  another'intention of Nature in
changing  forms, and in the diffolution of her produc-
tions.   Were the exiftence of individuals perpetual, or
were it prolonged for ten times the periods now eftablifh-
ed, life fhould be denied to myriads of animated beings,
who enjoy their prefent  limited portion of happinefs.
CHAP. 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     27*
CHAPTER     XIII.
            Of the Habitations  of Animals.


     MANY animals, as well as thofe of the human fpe-
      cies, are endowed by Nature with an architedonic
faculty.   This faculty is beftowed on them for a number
of wife and ufeful purpofes.  It enables them to conftruct
proper habitations for concealing themfelves, for defend-
ing them againft the attacks of their enemies, for fhelter-
ing and cherifhing their young, and for proteding them'
from the injuries of the weather.
  All animals of the fame fpecies, when not reftrained by
accidental caufes, uniformly build in the fame ftyle, and
ufe  the fame materials.  From this general rule man is to
be excepted.   Poffeffed of a fuperior number of inftincts,
of which the reafoning faculty is a  refult*^ he can build
in any ftyle, and employ fuch materials as his tafte, his
fancy, or the purpofes for which the fabrick is intended,
fhall dired him.  A cottage or a palace are equally with-
in the reach of his  powers.  In treating of this fubject,
we  mean not to trace the progrefs of human architedure,
which, in the earlier ftages of fociety, is extremely rude,
but to confine ourfelves to that of the  inferior tribes of
animated beings.
  With regard to Quadrupeds, many of  them employ no
kind of architedure, but  live continually, and bring forth
their young, in the open air.  When not under the im-
mediate  protedion  of man, thefe  fpecies, in rough or
ftormy weather, fhelter themfelves among trees or bufhes,
retire under the coverture of projeding rocks, or the fides
of hills oppofite to thofe from which the wind proceeds.
Befide thefe arts of defence, to  which the  creatures are
                         -•  r                 prompted
               ♦See Chap. V. Of  Inttina.  S. 
 28o        THE  PHILOSOPHY

 prompted by  inftind and  experience, Nature fur nifties
 them,  during  the winter months, with a double portion
 of long hair,  which protects them from cold, and other
 affaults of the  weather.
 i, Of the quadrupeds that make or choofe habitations for
.themfelves, fome dig holes in the earth, fome take refuge
 in the cavities  of decayed trees, and in the clefts of rocks,
 and fome adually contlrud cabins, or houfes.  But, the
 artifices they employ, the  materials  they ufe,  and the
 fituations the^ felect, are fo various, and fo numerous,
 that our plan neceffarily limits us to a few of the more
 curious examples.
  The Alpine marmot is a quadruped about fixteen inches
 in length, and has a fhort  tail.  In figure,  the marmots
 have fome refemblance both to the rat and to  the uear.
 When tamed,  they eat every thing prefented to them, as
 flefh, bread, fruit, roots, pot-herbs,  inleds, &c.  They
 delight in the  regions of froft and of fnow, and are only
 to be found on the tops  of the higheft mountains.  Thefe
 animals remain in a torpid ftate during winter.  About
 the end  of September,  or the beginning of Odober,
 they retire into their holes,  and never come abroad again
 till  the beginning  of April.  Their retreats are formed
 with much art  and precaution.  With their feet and claws,
 which  are admirably adapted to the purpofe, they dig the
 earth with amazing quicknefs, and throw it behind tnem.
 They do not make a fimple  hole, or a ftraight or winding
 tube, but a kind  of gallery in the form of a Y, each
 branch of which has an  aperture, and both terminate in
 a capacious  apartment, where feveral of the animals lodge
 together.  As  the whole operation is performed on the
 declivity of a mountain, this innermoft apartment is alone
 horizontal.  Both branches of the Y are inclined.   One
 of the branches defcends under the apartment, and follows
 the declivity of the mountain.   This branch is a kind of
 aquedud, and  receives and  carries off the excrements of
 the animals; and the other, which rifes above the princi-
 pal apartment, is ufed for coming in and going out.   The
 place of their  abode is well lined  with mois and hay, of
 vhich  they  lay up great ftorc during the fummer.  They 
         0}?  NATURAL  ffl&TORY.     2S1
 are fecial animals.  Several of them live together,  and
 work in common when forming their habitations.   Thi-
 ther they  retire during rain, or upon the approach of dan-
 ger.  One of them ftands centinel upon a rock, while the
 others g  nbol upon the grafs, or are employed in cutting
 it, in order to make hay.  If the centinel perceives a man,
 an eagle,,' a dog, or other dangerous animal, he alarms his
 companions by a loud  whiftle, and is himfelf the laft that
 enters the hole.  As they continue torpid during winter,
 and,  as if  they forefaw that they would then have no oc-
 cafion for viduals, they lay up no provifions in their apart-
 ments..'  But, when they feel the firft approaches or the
 fleeping feafon, they fhut up both paffage* to  their habi-
 tation ;  and this operation they perform with fuch labour
 and folidity, that it is more eafy to dig the earth any where
 elfe than in fuch parts as they have thus fbrtified.  At
 this time they are very fat, weighing fometimes twenty
 pounds.  They continue to be plump for three months ;
 but afterwards they gradually decline, and,' at the end of
 Winter, they are extremely  emaciated.  When feized in
 their retreats, they appear rolled up in the form of a ball,
„ and covered with hay.   In this ftate,; they :are fo torpid
 that they may be killed without feeming.to feel pain. The
 hunters  feled the fatteft for eating, and keep the young
 ones for taming.  Like the dormice, and alithe other ani-
 mals which fleep during winter, the marmots are revived
 by a gradual and gentle heat:  And it is remarkable, that
 thofe which are fed in houfes, and kept warm, never  be-
 come torpid, but are equally adive and lively during  the
 whole year.
   We fhall now give a fhoit  account of the  operations
 and architedure of the  beaver.  This amphibious qua-
 druped is about three feet in length, and  its  tail* which
 is of an oval figure, and  covered with fcaies, is eleven
 inches long.  He ufes  his tail  as a rudder to  dired  his
 courfe in the water.   In:places much frequented by man,
 the beavers neither affociate nor build habitations.  But,
 in the northern  regions of both Continents, they affem-.
 ble in the month of June or  July, for the pUrpofes of
mniting into fociety  and  of building a city.   From  all
                         N n                quarters 
a8«        THE   PHILOSOPHY

quarters they arrive in numbers, and foon form a  troop
of two or three hundred.   The operations and architec-
ture of the beavers are fo  well  defcribed by  the  Count
de Buffbn, that we fhall lay it before our readers  nearly
in his own \v< r's.  The place of rendezvous, he remarks,
is generally the fituation fixed  upon for their eftablifh-
mer% and it is; «iways on  the banks of waters.   If the
waters be flat, and feldom rife above their ordinary level,
as in lakes, -the beavers make no bank  or  dam.   But in
rivers or broolcs,  where the water is fubjed to rifings and
fallings,  they build  a bank, which traverfes the river
from one fide to the other, like a fluice, and is often from
80 to 100 feet long,  by 10 or 12 broad at the bafe. This
pile, for animals of fo fmall a fize,  appears to be enor-
mous, and prefuppofes an incredible labour *.  But the
folidity with which the work is  conftruded is  ftill more
aftonifhing than its  magnitude.  The part of the river
where they ered this bank is  generally fhallow.  If they
find on the margin a large tree, which can be made to
fall into the iriver, they begin, by  cutting it down, to
form the principal bafis of their work.  This tree is often
thicker than a man's body.  By gnawing it at the bottom
with their four cutting teeth, they in a fhort time accom-
plifh their purpofe,  and always  make the tree fall  acrofs
the river.  They next cut the branches  from the  trunk
to make it lie level.   Thefe operations are performed  by
the  joint induftry of the  whole community.  Some of
them, at the fame time, traverfe the banks of the river,
and cut down fmaller trees, from the fize of a man's leg
to that of his thigh.   Thefe they cut to a certain length,
drefs them into flakes, and firft drag them by land to the
margin of the river,  and then by water to the place where
the building is carrying on.  Thefe piles they fink down,
and interweave the branches with the larger  flakes.   lit
performing this operation many difficulties are to  be fur-
mounted.  In order to drefc thefe flakes, and to put them
in a fituation nearly perpendicular,  fome of the  beavers
rauft elevate, with their teeth,  the thick ends againil the
margin of the  river, or   again/l  the  crofs  tree, while
                                               others
TT2T".'  * The largt ft beavers weigh only $o or 60 po :.J..  S 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     283
others plunge to the .bottom, and dig holes  with; their
fore-feet to receive the points, that they may fland on
end.  When* fome are labouring in this manner, others
bring earth* which they plafh with their feet, and  beat
firm with  their tails..  They  carry the earth m their
mouths, and with their fore-feet.  They tranfport earth
in fuch quantities, that they fill with it  all the intervals
between the  piles.  Thefe piles confift of feveral rows
of flakes, of equal height, all placed oppofite  to  each
other, and extend  from one bank of  the river to the
other.   The flakes facing the under part of the river are
placed perpendicularly; but thofe which are  oppofed to
the ftream Hope  upward  to fuftain the preffure of the
water ;  fo that the bank, which is ten or twelve feet wide
at the bafe, is reduced to two  or  three at the top.  Near
the top, or thinneft part of the bank, the  beavers make
two or three Hoping holes, .to allow the furface-water to
efcape.  Thefe they enlarge or  contrad in proportion as
the river rifes or falls \ and, when any breaches are made
in the bank by fudden or violent inundations, they know
how to repair them when the water fubftdes.
   Hitherto all thefe operations were performed  by the
united  force  and  dexterity  of  the whole, community.
They now feparate into fmaller focieties, who build ca-
bins or houfes.  Thefe cabins are conftruded upon piles
near the margin of the river or pond, and have two open-
ings, one  for  the animals going to the  land,  and the
other for  throwing themfelves into the water. The form
of thefe edifices is either  round or oval,  and they vary
in fize from four or five to eight or ten feet in diameter.
Some  of  them confift of three  or four flories.  Their
walls are  about two feet thick; and are raifed perpendi-
cularly upon planks,  or plain  flakes,  which  ferve both
for foundation* and floors to their houfes.   When they
confift of but. one ftory, they rife perpendicularly a few
feet only,  afterwards affume a  curved form, and  termi-
nate in a  dome or vault,  which  anfwers the  purpofe of
a roof.  They are built with amazing fblidity, and neatly
plaftered  with a kind of ftucco both within and without.
In the application of this mortar the tails oHthe beavers
                                                 ferve 
1S4        THE  PHILOSOPHY  1

ferve for trowels, and their feet fcr.plafhing.  Their hou-
fes are impenetrable to rain, and refifl the moft impetuous
wind*.  In their conftruction,  they employ different i: .;-
terials, as wood, flone, and a kind of iandy earth, which
isnotliableto.be  diffolved in water.  The wood they
ufe is generally of  the light and tender kinds, as alders,
poplars,  and willows,  which  commonly  grow  on  the
banks  of rivers, and are  more eafily barked, cut,  and
tranfported, than the heavier and more folid fpecies of
timber.  They  always begin  the operation of  cutting
trees at a foot or a foot  and a half above, the ground :
They labour in  a fitting  pofture ; and, befide the conve-
nience of this pofture, they enjoy the pleafure of  gnaw-
ing perpetually  the bark and wood,  which are their  fa-
vourite food.  Of thefe provifions they • * v up ample ftores
in their cabins to fupport them during the winder. Each
cabin has its own  magazine,, which  is .   )p(e.i!  ncd to.
the number of its inhabitants,  who have  al! i omuion
right-to the ftore,  and  never  pillage their neighbours.
Some villages are compofed of  twenty or twenty-rfiva ca-
bins.   But  thefeJarge cftablifhments pre  not frequent;
and the common republics feldom exceed  ten or twelve
families,  of which  each  h?ve their own quarter of the*
village, their own magazine, and  their feparate  habita-
tion.   The  fmalleft cabins contain two, four, or fix, and
the largeft eighteen,  twenty, ■ and fometimes  thirty bea-
vers.  As, to males and females, they are  almoft always
equally paired.   Upon a moderate computation,  there-
fore, the fociety.is  often compofed of 150 &r 200, who
all, at  firft, Jaboux jointly in  raifing the great  public
building, and afterwards,  in feled  tribes  or companies,
in making particular habitations.  In this  fociety, how-
ever numerous, an,univerfal peace is maintained.  Their
union is cemented by common labours; and it is  perpe-
tuated by  mutual  conveniency, and the abundance of
provifions >which they amafs and confume  together.  A
firnple  tafte, moderate appetites,, and an averfion to blood
and carnage, render them deftitute of the ideas of rapine
and. of war.  Friends to each other,  if they have any fo-
::ign enemies they Jmow how to  avoid  them.   When
                                              danger 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     285

danger approaches, the*y advertife one another, by  stri-
king  their broad rail on the furface: of the water, the
noife  of which is heard at a great diftance, and refoundr
through all the vaults of their  habitations.   Each  indi-
vidual, upon  thefe occafions,  confults  his  own-safety;
fome  plunge into the water;'others conceal themfelves
wirhua'thair walls, which can be.penetrated only by the
fire of heaven, or the fteel of man, and which no  ani-
mal will attempt either  to open or to  overturn.   Thefe
retreats are not only fafe, but neat and commodious.   The
floors are  fpread  over with verdure: The  branches of
the box and of the fir ferve them for carpets, upon which
thev permit not the fmalleft dirtinefs.  The  window that
faces  the water anfwers  for a balcony to receive the frefh
air, and for the purpofe of bathing.  During the greater
part of the day, the beavers  fit on end, with their  head
and the anterior parts of their body elevated, and  their
pofterior parts funk In the water.  The  aperture  of this
window is fufliciently raifed to prevent its being flopped
up with the ice, which, in the beaver climates, is  often
two or three feet thick.  When this accident happens,
they, Hope the fole of the window, cut obliquely the flakes
which fupport it, and thus open  a  communication  with
the unfrozen water.   They often fwim a long way under
the ice.  The continual habit of  keeping  their tail  and
pofterior parts of their body in the water, appears to have
changed the nature of their flefh; for that of their  ante-
rior parts,  as far as the reins, has the tafte and confiftence
of the flefh of land-animals; but  that of  the tail  and
pofterior parts has the odour  and all the other qualities
of fifh. The  tail, which is a foot long, an inch thick,
and five or fix inches broad,  is a genuine portion  of a
fifh attached to the body of  a  quadruped:  It is  wholly
covered with fcales, and below the fcales with a fkin per-
fedly fimihr to that of  large fifties.- In September, the
beavers colled their provifions  of bark and of wood.
Till the end of winter,  they remain in their cabins, en-
joy the fruits  of their labours, and tafte the fweets of
domeftic happinefs.   This is their time of repofe,  and
their feafon of  love.   Knowing and loving one another,
                                                 each 
»36        THE  PHILOSOPHY
each couple unite, not by chance,  but by tafte and a real
felodioilr  The females bring forth in the end of winter,
and: generally produce two or three at  a time.  About
this period they are left by the males, who retire to the
country toenjoy the pleafures and the fruits of the fpring.
They return occafionally, however, to their cabins ; but
dwell there no more.  . The mothers continue in the ca-
bins, and are occupied in nurfing, protecting,  and rear-
ing their young, which in a few weeks are in a condition
to follow their dams.   The  beavers  affemble not  again
till autumn,  unlefs their banks  or  cabins be injured  by
inundations; for,  when accidents  of this > kind happen,
they fuddenly colled their forces, and repair the breach-
es that have been made.
   This account of the fociety and operations of beavers,
however  marvellous it may appear, has been eftablifhed
and confirmed by fo many credible eye-witneffes, that it
is  impoilible to doubt of its reality.
   The habitation where moles depofit their young merits
a  particular defcription ; becaufe it  is  conflruded with
peculiar  intelligence,  and becaufe the mole is an animal
with which we are well acquainted.   They begin by raif-
ing the  earth, and  forming a pretty high arch.  They
leave partitions, or a kind of pillars, at  certain  diftances,
beat and pxefs the earth, interweave it with  the roots of
plants, and  render it fo hard and folid, that the  water
cannot penetrate the  vault,  on account of its convexity
and firmnefs. They then elevate a little  hillock  under  the
principal arch; upon the latter they lay herbs and leaves
for a bed to their young.  In this fituation they  are above
the level of the ground, and, of courfe, beyond  the reach
of ordinary inundations.  They are, at the fame time, de-
fended from the rains by the large vault that covers  the
internal  one, upon the  convexity of which laft  they reft
along with their young.  This internal hillock is pierced
on all fides with Hoping holes,, which defcend ftill  lower,
and ferve as  fubterraneous paffages for the mother t;o  go
in queft of food for herfelf and her offspring.   Thefe by-
paths are beaten and  frrm, extend about twelve or  fifteen
paces, and iffue from the principal' manfion like rays from
                                             a center. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     i99
a center.  Under the fuperior vault we likewife find re-
mains of the roots of the meadow faffron, which feem to
be the firft food  given to the young.   From this defcrip*
tion it appears, that the mole never comes abroad but at
confiderable diftances from her habitation.   Moles, like
the beavers, pair ; and fo lively and reciprocal an attache
ment fubfifts between them, that they feem to difrelHh
all other fociety.  In their dark abodes they enjoy  the
placid habits of repofe and of folitude, the art of fecuring
themfelves from  injury, of almoft inftantaneoufly making
an afylum or habitation, and of procuring a plentiful fub-
fiftence  without the neceflity of going abroad.  They fhut
up the entrance  of their retreats, and feldom leave them,
unlefs compelled by the admiffion of water, or when their
manfions are demolifhed by art.
  The  nidification of Birds has at all times defervedly
Called forth the admiration of mankind.  In  general, the
nefts of birds are built with an art fo exquisite, that an
exact imitation of them exceeds all the powers of human
fkill and induftry.  Their ftyle of architecture, the mate-
rials they employ, and the fituations  they feled,  are as
various  as the different fpecies.  Individuals of the fame
fpecies,  whatever region of the globe they inhabit, col-
led the fame materials, arrange and conftruft them in the
fame form, and make choice of fimilar fituations for ered-
ing their temporary habitations;  for the nefts of birds,
thofe of the eagle-kind  excepted, after the  young have
come to maturity, are forever abandoned  by the parents.
  To defcribe minutely the nefts of birds would be a vain
attempt.  Such defcriptions could not convey an adequate
idea of  their architedure to a perfon who had never feen
one of thofe beautiful aAd commodious habitations, which
even aftonifh and excite the amazement of children.
  The different  orders of birds  exhibit great variety in
the materials and ftrudure of their nefts.  Thofe of the
rapacious tribes  are  in  general  rude, and compofed of
coarfe materials, as dried twigs, bents, &c. But, they are
often lined with foft fubftances.   They build in elevated
rocks, ruinous and fequeftered caftles and towers, and in
other folitary retirements.  Theaiery  or neft of the eagle 
488        t H E   PHILOSOPHY
is quite flat, and not hollow,  like thofe of other bird*.
The mate arid female cornmonlv place their neft between
two Jocks, in a dry and inflccHhble fituation.  The fame
neft, it is faid, ferves the f&glu during lit».   The ft rue*
ture is~fo confiderable, and compofed of inch folid mate-
rials, that it may laft many year \   Its form refembles thai
of a floor.  Its bafis confifts of iiicks about five or fix feef
in length, which are fiipported at each end, and thefe are
covered with feveral layers of ruflies and heath.  An ea-
gle's neft was found  in  the  Peak of  Derbyfhire,  which
Willoughby defcribes in rhe  following manner:  * It was
' made of great  flicks, rcfting one end on the edge of a
• rock, the other on a birch tree.   Upon thefe was a layer
• of Tufhes, Mid over them a layer of heath, and upon the
' heath rufhes again;  upon which lay one young, and an
* addle egg; and by them a lamb, a haTe, and three heath-
' pouts.  The neft was about two yards fquare, and had
' no hollow in it,'   But the butcher-birds, or fhrikes,
which  are lefs  rapacious  than  eagles and hawks, build
their habitations in fhrubs and bufhes, and employ moft,
wool, and other foft materials.
  The birds belonging to the order  of Pies in the inge-»
nious Mr. Pennant's Genera of Birds, are extremely irre-
gular in constructing their nefts.   The common magpies
build their nefts in trees, and their ftrudureis  admirably
contrived for  affording  warmth and  protedion to the
young.  The neft is  not open at top:  It is covered, in
the moft dexterous manner, with an  arch or dome^and a
ftnall opening in the fide of it is left, to give the parents
an opportunity of palling in and out at their pteafute. To
protect their eggs and young from the attacks of other
animals, the magpies place, all round the external furface
of their neft, (harp briars  and thorns.  The long-tailed
titmoufe, or  ox-eye, builds nearly like the wren, but with
ftill  greater  art.  With the fame materials as the reft of
the ftructure, the titmonfe builds an  arch over the top of
the neft, which refembles an egg;erected upon one end,
and leaves a fmall  hole in the  fide for a palTage.  Both
cggs and young, by thi9 contrivance, are  defended from
the-injuries of the air, rain, cold, &c.  That the young
        . t.                                   «•  may 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     289

may have a foft and warm bed, fhe lines the infide of the
neft with  feathers, down,  and cobwebs.  The fides and
roof are compofed of mofs and wool interwoven in the
moft curious and artificial manner.
  In treating of inftind, it was mentioned, that, in warm
climates, many fmall birds  fufpended their nefts on tender
twigs.of  trees, to prevent them from being  deftroyed by
the monkeys.  In Europe, there are only three birds which
build penfile nefts, namely, the common oriola*, the pa-
rtis pendulinus, or hang-neft titmoufe;  and another penfile
neft, belonging to fome unknown bird, was lately difco-
vered by Mr. Pennant, near the houfe of Blair in Athole;
in the north of Scotland.  'In a fpruce fir-tree,' Mr.
Pennant remarks, ' was a hang-neft of fome unknown
' bird, fufpended  at the four corners to the boughs.  It
' was open at top, an inch and a half diameter,  and two
c deep;  the fides and  bottom thick ;  the  materials mofs^
6 warfted, and birch bark,  lined with  feathers f.'
 > Mr. Pennant, in his Indian Zoology, gives the follow-
ing curious account of the manner in which the motacilla
futoria, or tailor-bird,  builds its neft.  ' Had providence,'
Mr. Pennant remarks, * left the feathered tribes unfendow-
' ed with any particular inftind, the  birds of the  torrid
' zone would have built their nefts in  the fame unguarded
' manner as thofe of Europe ; but there the  leffer fpecies,
' having a certain prefcience of the dangers that furround
c.them,  and of their own weaknefs, fufpend  their nefts at
'the ejgreme branches of the trees:  They are confciouS
' .of inhibiting a climate replete with enemies to them and
i their young; with fnakes  that twine up the bodies of
' the  trees, and apes  that are perpetually  in fearch  of
* prey ;  but, heaven-infmided, they  elude the gliding of
" the one, and  the adivity of the other.—The brute crea-
' tion are mora at enmity with one another than in other
1 climates; and the birds are obliged  to exert an unufual
i artifice in placing their little broods out  of the reach of
* an invader.  Each aims at the fame end, though by dif-
4 ferent means; fome  form their  penfile neft in  fhape of
' a purfe, deep and open at top, others with a hole in the
                         Oo                   'fide,
  * Oriolus Galktla.     t PenBani'j Tour, vol. I. pag. 104. 3d edit.  S. 
3$6
THE  PHILOSOPHY
' fide, and others, ftill more cautious, with an entrance at
1 the very bottom, forming their lodge neaT the fummit#.
' But the tailor-bird feems to have greater diffidence than
6 any of the others: It will not truft at» neft even to tfae
* extremity  of a flehder twig, but  makes  one more &d-
' vance to fafetv by fixing it to the leaf itfelf.   It picki
' up a dead  leaf, and, furprifing to  relate, fews it to the
* fide of a living onef, its flender bill being  its  needle,
1 and its thread fome-fine fibres, the lining feathers, goffcu
* mev, and down.   Its eggs'are white, the colour of the
' bird  light yellow;  its length three inches; its weight
' only three fixteenths of an ounce ; fo that the mate-
' rials  of the  neft, and its own fize, are  not likely to
4 draw down a habitation that depends on fo flight a ten*
4 turej.'
  Birds of the gallinaceous or poultry kind lay their eggt
on the ground.  Some  of them fcrape a kind of hole in
the earth, and line it with a little long grafs or flraw.
  It is  a  lingular, though a well-atCefted  fact, that the
cuckow makes no neft, and neither hatches nor feeds her
Own young.   4 The h<dge-fpaTrow,, fays Mr. Willougb*
by, ' h the cuckow'i nurfe, but not the hedge-lparrow
• only, but alfo ring-doves, larks, finches.   I myfelf, with
' many others, have feen  a wag-tail feeding a young cuc-
' kow.  The cuckow herfelf builds no neft; but having
' found the neft of fome little bird, fhe either devours or
' deftroys the eggs fhe there finds, and, in the room thereof,
' lays one of her own, and fo forfakes it.  ThettllyJ)ird re-
* turning, fits on this egg, hatches it, and, with a g^at deal
' of care and toil, broods, feeds, and cherishes the young
' cuckow for her own, until it be grown up, and able to fly
*; and fhtft for  itfelf.   Which thflfg feems fo ftrange, mon-
' ltrous, and abfurd, that for my part I cannot fufficiently
' wonder there fhould be fuch an example pi Nature;  nor
* could I ever have been  induced to believe that fuch a thing
                                                 * had
 * Tbisinftiaft prevails alfo ataong the birds on th« banks of the Gatrbia, in
Alrita, which aboutd* uitb mostltcyi a ad fiukc*; Olivers, tor the tasae cab, make
their n«S in, holes of ibc banks that  ovcihang that vart i\ypi.  Puithai, vol. a.
^•g. 1576.  S.
 f A acQ of this bird is preferred in tac Biidfh Mufcum.   S.
 t Pennant's Indian Zoology, pag. 7.  S. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    291

4 had been done fay Nature's inftind, had I not with mine
4 own eyes feen it.  For Nature, in other things, is wont
' conltantly to obferve one  and the fame law and order,
4 agreeable to the higheft, reafon and prudence ; which in
61 this cafe is, that the dams make nefts for themdelves,. if
* need be, fit upon their own eggs, and bring up their own
* yioung after they are hatched*.'  This ceconomy,. in the
hiftory of the cuckow, is not only Angular, but feems to
contradict one of themoft univerfal laws eltabiifhed among
animated  beings, and particularly among the  feathered
tribes* iiamelry, the hatching and rearing of their offspring.
Srtall, however, like the oftrich in very warm climates,
though the cuckow neither hatches nor feeds her young,
fibe< places her eggs in fituations  where they are both hatch-
ed and her offspring  brought to maturity.   Here the ftu-
pidity of the one. animal makes it a dupe to the rapine
and chicane of the other; for the cuckow always deftroys
the eggs of the fmall bird before fhe depofits her own.
  Moft of the pafferine or fmall birds build their nefts in
hedges, fhrubs, or  bulhes ; though fome  of .them,, as
the lark and the goat-fucker, build upon the ground.
The  nefts of fnaall birds are more delicate in  their ftruc-
ture  and contrivance than thofe of the larger kinds.   As
the fuze of their bodies, and likewife that of their eggs,
are fmalfer, the materials of which their nefts are compof-
ed are generally warmer.  Small bodies retain heat a
flWter time than thofe which are large.   Hence the eggs
of fmall birds require a more constant fupply of heat than
thofe of greater dimenfions.   Their nefts, accordingly,
are /built proportionally warmer and  deeper, and they  are
lined with fofter fubftances.  The larger birds, of courfe,
can leave  their eggs  for fome  time with impunity ;  but
the fmaller kinds, fit moft affiduoufly;  for, when  the  fe-
male is oblige^ to go abroad in queft of food, the neft is
always occupied by the male.   When a  neft is finifhed,
nothing can exceed the dexterity of both male and female
in concealing it from the obfervation of man, and of other
deftruftive animals.  If it is built in  bufhes, the pliant
branches are difpofed in fuch a manner as to hide it en-
                                               tirely
           * Willoughby's Ornithology, pag. 98.  S. 
30*
THE  PHILOSOPHY
tirely from view.  To conceal her retreat,  the chaffinch
covers the outfide of her neft with mois, which  is com-
monly of the fame colour with the bark of the  tree  on
which fhe  builds.  The  common fwallow builds its neft
on the tops of chimneys;  and  the  martin  attaches hers
to the corners of windows, or under the eaves of houfes.
Both employ the fame materials.  The neft is built with
mud well tempered by the bill,  and moiftened with water
to make it more firmly  cohere; and  the mud or clay is
kept ftill firmer  by a mixture of ftraw or grafs.   Within
it is neatly lined  with feathers.  Willoughby, on  the  au-
thority of Bontius, informs us, 4 That, on the fea-coaft
4 of the kingdom of China, a fort of fmall party-coloured
4 birds, of the  fhape of fwallows,  at  a  certain  feafon of
• the year, viz. their breeding time, come out of the mid-
4 land country to the rocks ;  and from the foam or froth
* of  the fea-water dafhing and breaking againft the bot-
* torn of the rocks,  gather a certain  clammy, glutinous
* matter,  perchance the fperm  of whales, or  other fifhes,
* of  which they build their nefts, wherein they lay their
* eggs, and hatch their  young.  Thefe nefts the Chinefe
1 pluck from the rocks, and bring them  in great numbers
* into the Eaft-Indies to fell;  which are  efleemed by glut-
4 tons great delicacies, who, diffolving them in chicken or
4 mutton broth, are very fond of them, preferring them
4 far  before  oyfters,  mufhrooms, or other  dainty and  lic-
4 kerifh  morfels  which  moft  gratify  the  palate.—Thefe
* nefts are of a hemifpherical figure, of the bignefs of a
• goofe-egg, and of  a fubftance refembling ifinglafs*.'
                                                     Moft
  * Willoughby** Ornithology, pag. 215.  S.----The reader, who is deflrous
ot receiving fun her information on this curious  fubjed, may  arnufe himfelf >tsY
ccmfultuif. the CsVsys UnftraUai the learned Kirchcr, pag. 190, and K.zmpfer, in hit
Ai\anitates Exotica, pa^. 833. Kircher alfo refers to two Italian authors, P. Daniel
Bartolus and P.  Pbirippu* Marinus,  who have both made mention of thefe efcu-
Unt ncAfc.—The author of the China Uluftrata 4ays, that fome of the birds which
build thtfc neflsare iiVcJparrotvs, and that otheis tchmblt/iaaUoVf.  Linnarus,
who,  it is p'robable, had nevei perufed either Kirchcr's worK/oVihofe of the two
Italian biflOnans, whofe names I have juft mentioned, feems 16 fiijipofe, that these
Jin^uUf sells are entirely the worknianlhtp of a species of Xw^Uaw, which, he has
denominated Hirundo ftultnta. h is dtft.ibed and figured jo the Herbarium Am-
botnnfe, »f Ruorphius, by the name <>t Capm marina; aril in the OrnitkoUgia of
JJriHon, by that pif Htrmid$ rtfari* fKknt/mtnfis, vol. *. pag. 510. t. -16. f. «. A. 
        OF NATURAL  HISTORY.     29$
  Moft of the cloven-footed water-fowls, or waders, lay
their eggs upon the ground.  But, the fpoon-bills and the
common heron build large nefts in trees* and employ
twigs and other coarfe materials; and the florks build on
churches, or on the tops of houfes.  Many of the  web-
footed fowls lay their eggs  likewife  on the ground, as
the terns, and fome of the gulls and merganfers.   But
ducks pull the down from their own  breafts to afford a
warmer and more comfortable, bed for their young.   The
auks, the guillemots, and the puffins or coulternebs, lay
their eggs on the naked fhelves of high rocks.  The pen-
guins, for the fame  purpofe, dig large and deep  holes
under  ground.
   It is not  unworthy of remark, that birds uniformly
proportion the dimenfions of their nefts to the number
and fize of  the young  to be  produced.  Every fpecies
lays nearly a determined number of eggs.  But, if one
be each day abstracted from the neft, the bird continues
to lay daily  more till her number is completed.  Dr. Lif-
ter, by this practice, made a fwallow lay no lefs than
nineteen eggs.
   The habitations of Infeds are next to be confidered;
On this branch  of the  fubject, we fhall firft give  fome
examples of abodes constructed by folitary workers, and
next of thofe habitations which are executed by affocia-
ted numbers,
 .  In. feveral preceding parts of this work, and particular-
ly in the chapter upon Inftinct, the reader will find fome
inftances of the fkill and induftry exhibited by infects for
the convenient lodging  and protection of their young.
Thefe it is unneceffary to repeat.  We fhall therefore pro-
ceed to give fome examples of a different kind.
   There are feveral fpecies of bees diftinguiflied by the
appellation of. folitary, becaufe they  do not affociate to
carry on any joint operations.  Of this kind is the ma-
fon-bee, fo called becaufe it builds a habitation compofed
of fand and mortar.  The nefts of this bee are fixed to
the walls of houfes, and, when finifhed, have the appear-
ance of irregular prominences arifing from dirt or clay
accidentally thrown  againft a wall or ftone by the feet of
                                              horfes. 
*94
TH£   PHILOSOPHY
horfes.  Thefe prominences are not (b remarkable  as to
attract attention;  but,  when the external coat is remov-
ed, their structure is difcovered to be  truly admirable*
The interior part  confifts of an  aflembJage of different
cells, each of which affords a  convenient lodgement to
a white worm, pretty fimilar to thofe produced  by the
honey-bee.  Here they  remain  till they  have undergone
ill their metamorphofes.  In conftructing this neft, which
IB a work of great labour and dexterity, the female is the
(ble operator.  She receives no aififtance from the male.
The manner in which the female mafon-bees.build  their
nefts, is the moft  curious branch of their hiftory.
  After choofing a part of a wall on which {he is refolv-
ed to fix an habitation for her future  progeny, fhe  goes
in queft of proper materials.  The neft to be conftructcd
muft confift of a fpecies of mortar, of which fend is the
bafis.  She knows,  like human builders, that every kind
of fand is not equally proper for  making good mortar.
She goes,  therefore, to a bed of fand, and felects, grain
by grain,  the kind which is beft to anfwer her purpofe.
With her  teeth, which are as large and as ftrong as  thofe
of the honey-bee, (he examines and brings  together  fe-
veral grains.  But fand alone will not  make mortar.   Re-
courfe muft be had to a cement  fimilar to the Oacked lime
employed by mafons. Our bee  is unacquainted with lime,
but fhe poffeffes  an equivalent in her own body.   From
her mouth (he throws  out a vifcid liquor, with which
flie moiftens the firft grain pitched upon.  To this grain
(he cements  a fecond,  which fhe moiftens  in the  fame
manner, and to the former two fhe attaches a third, and
£0 on, till file has formed a mafs as large as the fhot ufu-
ally employed to kill hares.   This mafs fhe carries off io
her teeth to the place  fhe had chofen  for erecting her
neft, and makes it the  foundation of the .nrft cell.  In
this manner  fhe labours inceflantly till the whole cells are
completed, a work whkh is generally  accomplifhed in
Eve or fix days.  All.the cells are limilar, and nearly equal
in dimensions.  Before they are covered,  tbeir figure re*
{enables that of a  thimble.  She never begins to make a
fecond till the firft be finished.  Each cell is about an inch
                                               high, 
      OF NATCFR All HISTORY.      *9«

high, and'nearly half an inch in diameter.  But the  la-
bour of building is not the only one this:female bee has
to undergo-* it When a cell has been raifed to one half or
two thirds Jbf its .height, another occupation Commences*
She feems to kwowthe Quantity of food that will be ne-
ceffary to nouriih the young that is to  proceed  from the
egg,  from its exclusion till it acquires its full growth, and
paffes into the chryfalis ftate.  The food which is rprepar-
ed for the fupport of the yoiingrwofm confifts  of the fa-
rina  or powder of flowers, diluted with honey, which
forms a kind of pap.  Before the cell is entirely fmifhecr*
the mafon-bee colle£ls from the  flowers, and depofits in
the cell, a large quantity of farina* and  afterwards dif-
gorges upon it as much honey as dilutes it,  and forms it
into  a kind of pafte,  or fyrup.  When this operation is
performed, (he completes her cell, and, after depofiting
an egg in  it,  covers the mouth of it with the fame mortar
fhe ufes in building her neft.  The egg Is now inclofed
on all fides in a walled  habitation hermetically fealed.
A fmall quantity of air, however, gets admiffion to the
wormj otherwise it could not exift.  Reaumur difcover-
ed that  air actually penetrated  through this feemingly-
compact mafon-work.
   As foon as  the firft cell is completed, the mafon-bee
lays  the foundation  of another.  In the fame neft  fhe
often constructs feven or eight cells, and fometimes only
three or four.   She places them near each other, but not
in any regular orders   This industrious animaly after all
her cells are conftructed, filled with provifions, and' feal-1
ed, covers the whole with an envelope of the fame mortar,
which,  when dry,  is as hard as  ftone.   The heft now is
commonly of  an oblong or roundifh figure, and  the  ex-
ternal cover  is compofed of coarfer  land than  that of
the cells.  As the nefts are almoft as durable as the walls
on which they are placed,  they are often, in the follow-
ing  feafon, occupied and  repaired by a ftranger bee.
Though inclofed with two hatd  Walls,  when the fly emer-
ges from the chryfalis ftate, it firft gnaws with its  teeth
a paffage through  the wall that fealed up the mouth of
its cell; afterwards, with the fame instruments, it pierces
                                                 the 
 4o6        THE   PHILOSOPHY
 the ftill  itfoager and more compact cover which invefi?
 the whole neft ;  at laft it efcapes into the open air,  and,
 if a female, in a  fhort time, constructs a neft of the fame
 kind with that which the mother had made.  To  all  thefe
 fa&s, Du Hamel, Reaumur,  and many other  naturalifts
 of credit and reputation, have been repeatedly  eye-wit-
 neffes.
   From  the harduefs of the materials with  which the
 smafon-bee conftructs her neft, from the induftry and dex-
 terity fhe employs to protect  her progeny from  enemies
 of every  kind, one  fhould  naturally imagine that  the
 young worms were in perfect faiety, and that their caftle
 was impregnable.  But, notwithftanding all thefe favour-
 able precautions,  the young of the mafon-bee  are often
 devoured by the inftinctive dexterity of certain fpecies of
 four-winged infects,  diftinguiflied by the name  of ichneu-*
 mon flies.  Thefe flies, when the mafon-bee has nearlyr
 completed  a cell, and filled  it with provifions,  depofit
 their own eggs in her cell.  After the eggs of the  ichneu-
 mon flies are hatched, their worms devour not only the
 provifions laid up by the mafon-bee,  but even her  pro-
 geny whom fhe had laboured  fo hard,  and with fo much
 art and ingenuity, to protect.   But the mafon-bee has an
 enemy ftill more formidable.  A certain fly employs  the
 fame ftratagem  of infinuating an egg into one of her cells
 before it  is completed.  From this egg proceeds a ftrong
 and rapacious worm, armed with prodigious fangs.   The
 devastations of  this worm are not confined  to  one  cell.
 He often pierces through each cell in the neft, and  fuc-
 ceflively  devours  both the mafon-worms,  and the provi-
 fions fo anxioufly  laid up  for their fupport by the mother.
This ftranger-worm is afterwards transformed into a fine
 beetle, who is  enabled to pierce the neft,  and to make
 his efcape.
  The operations of another fpecies of  folitary bees,
called wood-piercers,  merit attention.   Thefe  bees  are
larger than the  queens of the honey-bee.   Their  bodies
are fmooth, except the fides, which  are covered with
hair.  In the fpring,  they frequent gardens, and  fearch
for rotten,  or at leaft dead wood, in order to make a ha-
                                            bitation 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    297

bitation for their young.  When a female of this fpecies,
for fhe receives no affiftance from the male, has felected
a piece of wood, or a decayed tree,  fhe commences  her
labour by making a hole in it, which is generally directed
toward the axis of the tree.  When fhe has  advanced
about half an inch, fhe alters the direction of  the hole,
and conducts it nearly parallel to the axis of the wood.
The fize of her body requires that this hole fhould have
a confiderable diameter.  It is  often fo large as to admit
the finger of a  man,  and it  fometimes extends from
twelve to fifteen inches in length.  If  the  thicknefs of
the wood permits,  fhe makes three or four of thefe long
holes  in its interior part.  M.  de Reaumur found three
of thefe  parallel holes in  an old efpalier poft.   Their du
ameters exceeded half an inch.  This labour, for a fingle
bee,  is prodigious; but,  in  executing it, (he  confumes
weeks, and even months.
   Around the foot of a poft or piece of wood where one
of thefe bees are working, little heaps of  timber-duft are
always found lying on the ground.   Thefe heaps daily
increafe in magnitude, and the  particles of duft are as
large  as  thofe produced  by a hand-faw.  The  two teeth
with which the animal is provided are the only inftru-
ments fhe employs in making fuch confiderable perfora-
tions.  Each tooth confifts of a folid piece of fhell, which
in fhape refembles an auger.  It is convex above, concave
below, and terminates in a fharp but ftrong point.
   Thefe long holes are defigned for lodgings to the worms
that are to proceed from the  eggs which the bee is foon
to depofit in them.   But,  after the holes are finifhed,
her labour is  by no means at an end. The eggs muft not
be mingled, or piled above each other.   Every feparate
worm muft have a diftinct apartment, without any com-
munication with the others.   Each long hole or tube,
accordingly, is  only the outer  walls of a houfe which is
to confift of many chambers ranged one above another.
A hole of about twelve inches in length ftie divides into
ten or cwelve  feparate apartments, each of which is about
an inch high.  The roof of the loweft room is the floor of
the fecond, and fo on to the uppermost. Each floor is about
                         P p                     the 
298         THE  PHILOSOPHY

the thicknefs of a French crown.  The floors or divifu >n<
are compofed of particles of wood cemented together by
a glutinous  fubftance from the animal's mou;^.   In mak-
ing a floor,  fhe commences with gluing an annular plate
of wood-duft  round the internal circumference of the
cavity.  To this plate fhe attaches a fecond, to the fecond
a third, and to the third a fourth, till the  whole floor  is
completed.  The undermoft cell requires only a root, and
this roof is  a floor to the fecond,  £u\
   We have  hitherto delcribed the wonderful afliduity of
this animal  in conftrutting her cells.   But this operation,
though great,  and feemingly-fuperior to the powers of a
creature fo fmall, is  not her only  labour.  Before roof-
ing in the firft cell, fhe fills it with a parte  or pap, com-
pofed of the farina of flowers moiftened with honey.  The
quantity of  parte is equal to the dimenfions of the cell,
which is about an inch high, and half an inch in diame-
ter.   Into this pafle, which is to nourifli the future worm,
(he depofits  an  egg.   Immediately after this  operation,
(lie begins to form a roof, which not only inclofes the
firft cell, but ferves as a floor to the fecond.  The fecond
cell fhe likewife fills  with pafle, depofits  an  eg^, and then
covers the whole with  another roof.   In this manner fhe
proceeds,  till fhe has divided the  whole tube into fepa-
rate cell>.    A fingle tube frequently  contains  from ten
to a dozen of thefe cells.  When the cells are all inclofed,
the bufinefs of this laborious bee  is finifhed, and (lie
takes no more  charge  of her future progeny.   The at-
tention and  folicifude beftowed by many other animals-,
in rearing their young, are exerted after birth.  But, in
the wood-piercing bee, as well  as in  many  other  infects,
this inftinctive attachment is  icverfed.  All her  labours
and all her  cares are exerted  before fne either fees her
offspring, or knows that they  are to  exift.   But, after
the defcription that has been given of her amazing o-
perations, fhe  will  not be confidered  as an  unnatural
mother.  With aftonifhing induftry and  perfevtrance, fhe
not only furnifhes her young with fafe  and convenient
lodgings,  but lays up for them ftores of provifions fufli-
■wieiiL to fupport them till their  final  metamorphofis into
                                                 flies, 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     299

 flies, when the new females perform the fame almoft  in-
 credible operations for the protection  and fuftenance of
 their own offspring.   When the young worm is hatched,
 it has fcarcely fufficient fpace to turn itfelf in the cell,
 which is almoft entirely filled with  the pappy fubftance
 formerly mentioned.  But, as this fubftance is gradually
 devoured by the worm, the fpace in the  cell neceffarily
 enlarges in proportion to the growth  and magnitude of
 the animal.
   We are informed  by M. de Reaumur *, that M. Pitot
 furnifhed him with a piece of wood,  not exceeding  an
 inch and a half in diameter, which contained the cells of
 a wood-piercing bee.  He cut off as much of the wood as
 wras fufficient to expofe two of the cells to view, in each
 of which was  a worm.  The aperture he  had made, to
 prevent the injuries of the air, he clofed, by palling on a
 bit of glafs.   The cells  were then  almoft  entirely filled
 with parte.  The two worms were exceedingly fmall, and,
 of courfe, occupied but little fpace  between the walls of
 the cells and the mafs of parte.  As the animals increafed
 in fize, the parte daily diminifhed.   He began to obferve
 them on the 12th day of June ;  and, on the  27th  of the
 fame  month, the parte in each cell was nearly confumed,
 and the worm, folded in two, occupied the greater part
 of its habitation.   On the 2d of July, the provifions of
 both  worms were entirely exhaufted ; and,  befide the
 worms themfelves, there remained in the cells only a few
 fmall, black, oblong  grains of excrement.  The rive or
 fix following days they failed, which feemed  to be a ne-
 ceffary abftinence,  during which they were greatly agitat-
 ed.  They  often bended their bodies,  and elevated and
 depreffed their heads.  Thefe movements were prepara-
tory to the great change the animals were about to under-
go.  Between  the 7th and  8th of the fame  month, they
threw off their fkins,  and were  metamorphofed into
nymphs.  On  the 30th of July, thefe nymphs were trans-
formed into flies fimilar to their parents.   In a range of
cells, the worms are of different ages, and, of courfe, of
different fizes.   Thofe in the lower cells are older than
                                               . thofe
* Tom. 11. pag. 58. lamo edit.  S. 
r,co        THE  PHILOSOP H Y
thofe  in  the fuperior; becaufe, after  the bee  has  fill, d
with pafle and  inclofed its firft cell, a confiderable time
is requifite to collect provifions, and to form partitions for
every fuccelflve and  fuperior cell.  The former, there-
fore,  muft be transformed into  nymphs  and  Hies bc!<>:e
the latter.  Thefe circumftances are apparently forcfecn
by the common mother ; tor, if  the  undermoft worm,
which is  oldeft, and fooneft  transformed, were to  force
its way upward, which it  could eafily  do, it would not
only dillurb, but infallibly deftrov, all thofe lodged in the
fuperior cells.   But Nature has wifely  prevented this de-
vastation ; for the head of the nymph, and confequently
of the fly, is always placed in a downward direction.   Its
firft inftindive movements muft, therefore, be in the fame
direction.  That the young flies may efcape from their re-
fpective cells, the mother digs a hole at the bottom of the
long tube,  which makes a communication with  the un-
dermoft cell and the open air.   Sometimes a fimilar paf-
fage is made near the  middle of the tube.  By this con-
trivance, as all the flies inftinctivelv endeavour to cut their
way downward, they find an eafy and convenient paffage ;
for they have only to pierce the floor of their cells, which
they readily perform with their teeth.
  Another fmall fpecies of folitary bees dig  holes in the
earth  to make a convenient  habitation for their young.
Their nefts are compofed of  cylindrical cells fixed to one
another, and each of them, in figure, refembles  a thimble.
Their bottom, of courfe, is convex and rounded.  The
bottom of the fecond is  inferted  into the entry of the
firft ;  and the entry of the fecond  receives the bottom of
the third.  They are not  all of the fame length.  Some
of them  are five lines long, others only  four, and their
diameters feldom exceed two lines. Sometimes only two
of thefe cells are joined together  ; and,  at  other times,
we find three  or four, which  form a kind of cylinder.
This cylinder is compofed of alternate  bands of two dif-
ferent colours :  Thofe pf the narroweft,  at the juncture
of two cells, are white, and thofe of the broadeft are of a
feddifh brown.   The  cells confift of  a  number of fine
membranes,  formed of a glutinous and tranfparent fub-
                                              ftance 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      301

ftance from the animal's mouth.   Each cell our bee fills
with the farina of flowers diluted with honey, and in this
pafle fhe depofits an egg.  She then covers the cell, by
gluing to its mouth a fine cellular  fubftance taken from
the leaves of fome  plant ; and in this manner fhe  pro.
ceeds till her cylindrical neft is completed.  The  worms
which are hatched from the eggs feed upon the pafle, fo
carefully laid up for them by the mother, till they are
transformed into flies fimilar to their parents.
   Among wafps, as well as bees, there are folitary fpecies,
which carry on no joint operations.   Thefe folitary wafps
are not lefs  ingenious in constructing proper habitations
for their young, nor lefs provident in laying up for them
a ilore of nourifhment fufficient to fupport them till  they
are transformed into flies, or have become perfect ani-
mals*.  But, to give a detailed defcription of their ope-
rations would lead us into a prolixity of which the plan
of our work does not admit.
   On this fubjed, however, it cannot efcape obfervation,
that all the fagacity and laborious induftry exerted in the
various inflances of animal architecture above defcribed,
have one uniform tendency.   They are all  defigned for
the  multiplication, protection, and  nourifhment  of off-
fpring.   But many  of  them are fo artful,  and  require
fuch perfevering labour,  that the  human mind is bewil-
dered when it attempts to account for them.  If we attend
to the operations of quadrupeds, of birds, and of  infe&s,
moft of  them, like  pregnant women, feem  to  know,
from their own feelings, and forefight, not  only  their
prefent condition,  but what futurity is to produce.   To
folve this problem,  recourfe has been had by Des  Cartes,
by Buffon, and by other philofophers, to conformation
of body and mechanical impulfe.   Their reafonings, how-
ever, though often ingenious, involve the fubject  in ten-
fold obfcurity.   We can hardly fuppofe that the animals
actually forefee what is to happen, becaufe, at firft,  they
have not had even the aid of experience; and, particu-
larly in fome of the  infect tribes, the  parents are  dead
before their young are produced.   Pure inftincts  of this
                                                kind,
                    * See page 128.  S. 
 3o«        THE  PHILOSOPHY
kind, therefore, muft be referred to another fource.  Trt
a chain of reafoning concerning the operations ot Na-
ture,  fuch is the conftitution of our minds, that wc are
under  the neceflity of  reforting  to  an ultimate caufe.
What that caufe is, it is  the higheft prefumption in man
to pretend to define.   But, though we muft forever re-
main ignorant of the caufe, we are enabled to trace, and
even to underrtand, partially, fome of the efteds; and, from
thefe t^ffeds, we perceive the moft confummatc w ifdom, the
moft elegant and perfed contrivances to accomplifh the
multifarious and wonderful intentions of Nature.   In con-
templating the operations of animals, from man down to
the feemingly moft contemptible infed,  we  are neceffarily
compelled to refer them to  pure inftinds, or original
qualities of mind,  variegated by Nature according as the
neceflities, prefervation, and continuation of the different
fpecies require.  Let any man try to proceed a flep farther,
and, however he may deceive himfelf,  and flatter his own
vanity,  he mufl find, at laft, that he is  clouded in obfcu-
rity, and that men who have a more corred and unpre-
judiced mode of thinking will brand him with abfurdity,
and of  ading in dired oppofition to the conftitution and
frame of the human mind.
  I fhall now give fome  examples  of the  operations of
affociating-infecls,  who conftrud habitations by  exerting
a common and  mutual  labour.
  The fkill and dexterity of the honey-bees, difplayed in
the conftrudion of their combs or nefts, have at all times
called forth  the admiration of mankind. They arc com-
pofed of  cells  regularly applied  to  each others  fides.
Thefe  cells  are uniform  hexagons or  fix-fided  figures.
In a bee-hive, every part is arranged with fuch fymmetry,
and fo finely finifhed,  that, if limited to the  fame mate-
rials,  the moft expert workman would  find  himfelf un-
qualified to conftrud a  fimilar habitation, or  rather a
fimilar city.
  Moft Natural Hiltorians have celebrated  bees  for their
wifdom, for the perfcdion and harmony of their repub-
lican government, and  for their perfevering induftry and
wonderful ceconomy.  All thefe fplendid talents, however,
                                                 the 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      3<*5
the late ingenious Count  de Buffon has endeavoured to
perfuade us, are  only  refults of pure mechanifm.  But
this is not the proper place to enter into a difcuflion of
this point.  It will fall more naturally to  be treated of
when we come to defcribe the focieties eftablifhed among
different gregarious animals.  We fhall, therefore, at pre-
fent, confine ourfelves chiefly to the mode in which bees
conftrud their habitations.
   In the formation of their combs, bees feem to refolve
a problem which would not be  a little puzzling to fome
geometers, namely,  A quantity of  wax being given^ to
make of it equal and fimilar cells of a determined capacity,
but of the largeft fize  in proportion to the quantity of
matter  employed, and difpofed in fuch a manner  as to
occupy in the hive the leaft poffible fpace.  Every  part
of this problem is completely executed by the bees.  By
applying hexagonal  cells to' each other's fides, no void
fpaces are left between them; and, though the fame end
might be accomplifhed by other figures, yet they would
neceffarily require a greater  quantity of wax.  Befides,
hexagonal cells  are better fitted to receive the  cylindrical
bodies  of thefe  infeds.  A comb confifts of two ftrata of
cells applied to each other's ends. This arrangement both
faves room in the hive,  and it gives a double entry into
the cells of which the comb is  compofed.  As a farther
faving of wax,  and  preventing  void  fpaces, the bafes of
 thefe cells in one ftratum of a comb ferve for bafes to the
 oppofite ftratum.  In a word, the more minutely the con-
 ftrudion of thefe cells are examined, the more will the
 admiration of the obferver be excited.  The walls of the
 cells are fo extremely  thin, that their mouths would be
 in danger of fuffering by the frequent entering  and iffu-
 ing of the bees. To prevent this difafter, they make a
 kind of ring round the margin of each cell, and this ring
 is three or four times  thicker than  the walls.
    It is difficult to perceive, even with the affiftance of
 glafs-hives, the manner  in which bees operate when con-
 ftruding their  cells.  They are fo  eager to afford mutual
 affiftance, and,  for this  purpofe, fo many of them crowd
 together, and are perpetually fucceeding each other, that
                                                  their 
 3»4        TH1   PHILOSOPHY

 their individual operations can  feldom be diftincrly ob-
 ferved.  It his,  however, been plainly  discovered,  that
 their two teeth are the only inftruments  they  employ in
 modelling and polifhing the wax.  With a little patience
 and attention, we perceive cells juft begun : We likewife
 remark the quickness with which a bee  moves its teeth
 againft a fmall portion of  the cell.  This portion the  ani-
 mal,  by repeated strokes  on each fide, fmooths, renders
 compact, and reduces to a proper thinners of confiftence.
 While fome of the hive are lengthening  their  hexagonal
 tabes, others  are laying  the  foundations  of  new ones.
 In certain circumftances, when extremely hurried, they do
 not complete their new cells, but leave them imperfect till
 they have begun a number fufficient for their prefent  exi-
 gencies.  When a bee puts its head a little way into a cell,
 we eafily perceive it fcraping the walls with the points of
 its teeth, in order to  detach  fuch  ufelefs  and irregular
 fragments as may have been left in the work.   Of thefe
 fragments  the bee forms  a ball about the fize of  a pin-
 head, comes out  of the cell, and carries this wax to  an-
 other part of the work where it is needed.  It no fooner
 leaves the cell than it  is fucceeded by another bee,  which
 performs the fame office, and in this manner the work is
 fucceflivety carried on till  the cell is completely polifhed.
  The cells of bees are defigned for  different  purpofes.
 Some of them are employed for the accumulation and pre-
 fervation of honey.  In others, the female  depofits  her
 eggs, and from thefe eggs worms are hatched,  which re-
 main in the cells  till their final transformation into flies.
 The drones, or males, are larger than the common,  ot
 working, bees ; and the queen, or mother of the hive, is
much larger than  either.   A cell deftined for the lodge-
 ment of a male or female worm muft, therefore, be confi-
derably larger than the cells of the fmaller working bees.
The number of cells deftined for the reception  of  the
working bees far exceeds  thofe in w hich the  males  are
lodged.   The  honey-cells  are  always made deeper arid
more capacious than the others.  When the honey col-
lected is fo  abundant that the veffels cannot contain it, rife
bees lengthen^ and of courfe deepen, the honey-celK   • 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     505

  Their mode of working, and the difpofition and divi-
fion of their labour, when put into an empty hive, do
much honour to the fagacity of bees.  They immediately
begin to lay the foundations of their combs, which  they
execute with furprifing quicknefs and alacrity.  Soon af-
ter they begin to conftrud one comb, they divide  into
two or three companies, each of which, in different parts
of the hive, is occupied with  the fame operations.  By
this divifion of labour, a greater number of bees have an
opportunity of being  employed at the  fame time,  and,
confequently,  the common work is fooner finifhed.  The
combs are generally arranged  in a diredion  parallel to
each other.   An interval, or ftreet, between the combs is
always left, that the bees may  have a free paffage, and an
eafy communication with the different combs in the hive.
Thefe ftreets  are juft  wide enough to allow two bees to
pafs one another.  Befide thefe parallel ftreets, to fhorten
their journey when working, they leave feveral round crofs
paffages, which are always covered.
   Hitherto we have chiefly taken notice of the manner
in which bees conftrud and  polifh  their cells, without
treating of the  materials  they employ.  We have not
 marked the difference between the crude matter colleded
 from flowers  and the true wax.  Every body knows that
bees carry into their hives, by  means  of their hind thighs,
 great quantities of the farina,  or duft, of flowers.   After
 many experiments made by Reaumur, with a  view to dif-
 cover whether this duft contained real wax, he was obliged
 to acknowledge, that he could  never find that wax formed
 any part of its compofition.  He at length difcovered, that
 wax was not a fubftance produced by the mixture of fari-
 na with any glutinous fubftance, nor by trituration, or
 any mechanical operation.   By long and attentive obfer-
 vation, he found that the bees adually eat the farina which
 they fo induftrioufly colled;  and that this farina, by an
 animal procefs, is converted  into wax.  This digeftive
 procefs, which is  neceffary to the formation of wax, is
 carried on in the fecond ftomach, and perhaps in the in-
 teftines of bees.  After knowing the place where this
 •peration is  performed, chymifts will probably allow, that
                          Q.q                     it 
306        THE  PHILOSOPHY

it is equally difficult to make real wax with the farina o£
flowers, as to make chyle with animal or vegetable fubftan-
ces, a work which  is daily executed by our own  ftomach
and inteftines, and by thofe of other animals.  Reaumur
likewife difcovered, that all the cells in a hive were not
deftined  for the reception of  honey, and  for depofiting
the eggs of the female,  but that fome of them were em-
ployed as receptacles foT the farina of tioweis, a fpecies
of food that bees find neceffary for the formation of wax,
which  is the great  bafis and raw material of all their cu-
rious operations.   When a bee comes to the hive with its
thighs filled with farina, it is often met near the entrance
by fome  of its companions, who firft take off the  load,
and then devour the provifions fo kindly brought to them.
But, when none of the bees employed in the hive are
hungry for this fpecies of food, the carriers of the farina
depofit their loads in cells prepared for that purpofe. To
thefe cells  the bees refort,  when the weather is fo bad
that they cannot venture to go to the fields in queft of
frefh provifions.   The carrying bees, however, commonly
enter the hive loaded with farina.   They walk along the
Combs  beating and making a noife with their wings. By
thefe movements they feem to  announce their arrival to
their companions.   No  fooner has  a loaded  bee made
thefe movements, than three or four of thofe within leave
their work, come up to it, and firft take off its load, and
then eat the materials it  has brought.  As a farther evi-
dence  that the bees  actually eat the farina of  flowers,
when the ftomach  and inteftines are laid open, trjey are
often found to be filled with this duft,  the grains of which,
when examined by the microfcope, have the exad figure,
colour, and confiftence of farina, taken from  the anthc-
rse  of  particular flowers.   After  the farina is digefted,
and converted into wax, the bees  poffefs the power of
bringing it  from their ftomachs to their mouths.  The in-
ftrument they employ in  furnifhing  materials for  con-
#n*cting their waxen cells is their tongue.   This  tongue
is fituated below the two teeth or fangs.  When at work,
the tongue may be feen by the  affiftance of a lens and a
glafs-hive.  . It is then in perpetual motion, and its moti-
                                                 on. 
         OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     307
 ons are extremely rapid.  Its figure continually varies.
 Sometimes it is more fharp, at others it is flatter, and fome-
 times it is or more lefs concave,  and partly covered with
 a moift pafle or wax.  By the different movements of its
 tongue, the bee continues to fupply frefh wax to the two
 teeth,  which are employed in railing and fafhioning the
 walls of its cell, till they have acquired a fufficient height.
 As foon as the moift pafle or wax dries, which it does al-
 moft inftantaneoufly, it then affumes all  the appearances
 and qualities of common  wax.  There is a ftill stronger
 proof that wax is the refult of an animal procefs,  When
 bees are removed into a  new hive, and  clofely confined
 from the morning to  the evening,  if the hive chances to
 pleafe  them,  in the courfe of this day feveral waxen cells
 will be formed, without the  poflibility of a  fingle bee's
 having had accefs to the fields.  Befides, the rude  mate-
 rials, or the farina of  plants, carried into the hive, are of
 various colours.  The farina of fome plants employed by
 the bees is whitifh; in others it is of a fine yellow colour;
 in others it is  almoft entirely red; and in others it is green*
 The combs conftruded with thefe differently-coloured ma-
 terials are, however, uniformly of the fame colour.  Every
 comb,  efpecially when it is newly made, is of a pure white
 colour, which is more or lefs tarnifhed by age,  the  ope-
 ration  of the air, or  by other accidental circumftances.
 To bleach wax, therefore, requires only the art of ex-
 trading fuch  foreign bodies as may have infinuated them-
 felves into its fubftance, and changed its original colour.
  Bees,  from the nature of their conftitution, require a
 warm habitation.   They are likewife extremely folicitous
to prevent  infeds of any  kind  from getting admittance
into their  hives.   To accomplish  both thefe purpofes,
when they  take poffeffion of  a new hive, they  carefully
examine every part of it, arid, if they difcover any fmall
holes or chinks, they immediately pafle them firmly up
with a  refinous fubftance which differs confiderably from
wax.   This fubftance was  not unknown to the ancients.
Pliny mentions it  under the name of propolis, or bee-glue.
Bees ufe die propolis for rendering their hives moreelofe
and perfed, in preference to wax,  becaufe  the former is
                                               more 
3o8        THE  PHILOSOPHY

more durable, and more powerfully refills the viciflitudes
of weather, than the  latter.  This  glue  is  not,  like
wax, procured by an animal procefs.  The bees  collect
it from different trees,  as the poplars,  the birches, and
the willows.   It is a complete produdion of Nature, and
requires no addition or manufacture from the animals by
which it is employed.   After a bee has procured a quan-
tity fufficient to  fill the cavities in its two  hind thighs, it
repairs to the hive.   Two  of its  companions inftantly
draw out the propolis,  and apply it to fill up fuch chinks,
holes, or other deficiencies, as they find in their  habita-
tion.  But this  is not  the only ufe to  which bees apply
the propolis.  They are extremely folicitous to remove
fuch infeds or foreign  bodies as happen to get admiffion
into  the hive.  When fo light as not to exceed their
powers, they firft kill the infect with their ftings, and then
drag it out with their teeth.  But it fometimes happens
that  an ill-fated  fnail creeps into the hive.  It is no fooner
perceived than  it is  attacked on all fides and ftung to
death.  But  how are  the  bees to  carry out a burden of
fuch weight f This labour they know  would be in vain.
They are  perhaps apprehenfive that a body fo laige would
diffufe, in the courfe of its putrefadion, a difagreeable or
noxious odour through the hive.   To  prevent fuch hurt-
ful confequences, immediately after the animal's death,
they  embalm it, by covering every  part  of its body
with propolis, through which no  effluvia  can efcape.-—
When a fnail with a fhell gets entrance,  to difpofe of it
gives much lefs trouble and  expence  to the bees.  As foon
as this kind of fnail receives the firft wound from a fling,
it naturally retires within its (hell.   In this cafe, the bees,
inftead of pairing it all over with propolis, content them*
felves with gluing all round the margin of the fhell, whifch
is fufficient to render the animal forever immoveably fixed.
   But propolis, and the materials for making wax, are not
the only fubftances thefe industrious animals have to col-
led.   As formerly remarked, befide  the whole  winter,
there are many  days in which the bees are prevented by
the weather from going abroad in queft of provifions-They
are, therefore, under the neceflityof collecting, and ainaf.
                                                  fing 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    3od
fing in cells deftined for that purpofe, large quantities of
honey.  This fweet and balfamic liquor they extrad, by
means of their probofcis or trunk, from the nectariferous
glands of flowers.  The trunk of a bee is a kind of rough
cartilaginous tongue.  After colleding a few fmall drops
of honey, the animal with its probofcis conveys them to
its mouth and fwallows them.  From the cefophagus, or
gullet, it paffes into the firft ftomach, which is more or
lefs fwelled in proportion to the quantity of honey it con-
tains.  When empty, it has the appearance of a  fine white
thread: But, when filled with honey, it affumes  the figure
of an oblong bladder, the membrane of  which  is fo thin
and tranfparent, that it allows the colour of the liquor it
contains to be diftindly feen.   This bladder is well known
to children who live in the country. They cruelly amufe
themfelves with catching bees, and tearing them afimder, in
order to fuck the honey. A fingle flower furnifhes but a
fmall quantity of honey. The bees are, therefore, obliged
to fly from one flower to another till they fill their firft fto-
machs. When they have accomplifhed this purpofe, they
return diredly to the hive, and difgorge in a cell  the whole
honey they have colleded.   It not unfrequently happens,
however, that, when on its way to the hive, it is accofted
by a hungry companion. How the one can communicate
its neceflity to the  other, it is  perhaps impoffible to dif.
cover.  But the fad is  certain, that, when two  bees meet
in this fituation, they mutually flop, and the one whofe
ftomach is full of honey extends its trunk, opens its mouth,
which lies a little beyond the teeth, and, like ruminating
animals, forces up  the honey into that cavity.   The hun-
gry bee knows  how to take  advantage of this  hofpitable
invitation.  With  the point  of  its  trunk it fucks the ho-
ney from  the other's mouth.  When not flopped on the
road,  the bee proceeds to the hive, and in the fame man-
ner offers its honey to thofe  who  are at work, as if it
meant to prevent  the neceflity of quitting their labour
in order to  go  in queft. of  food.   In bad weather, the
bees feed upon the honey laid up in open cells; but they
never touch thefe  refervoirs when their companions are
enabled to fupply them  with frefh honey from  the fields. 
 3io        THE   PHILOSOPHY

 But the mouths of thofe cells which are deftined for pre-
 serving honey during winter, they always cover with a lid
 or thin plate of wax.
   Though not ftrictly connected wiih the prefent fubjed,
 we cannot refrain from giving fome account of the inge-
 nious  Mr. Debraw's  difcoveries  concerning the fex  of
 bees, and the manner in which their fpecies is multij !• ■' *.
 It was  almoft univerfally believed, both by ancient:    1
 moderns, that bees, like other animals, propagated by an
 adual  intercourfe of the male and female,  though it ne-
 ver could be perceived by the moft attentive  observers.
 Pliny  remarks, that apium coitus  vifus eft nunquam  ; and
 even the  indefatigable Reaumur, notwithftanding the ma-
 ny minute refearches  and experiments he made concern-
 ing every part of the  ceconomy of bees, and though  he
 reprefents the mother, or queen-bee, as a perfed Meffa-
 lina, could never deted an adual intercourfe-  From this
 lingular circumftance, Maraldi, in his obfervations upon
 bees f, conjeclured  that the eggs  of bees,  like  thofe of
 fifhes,  were impregnated after they were depofited in the
 celis by the mother.   He  was farther confirmed in this
 opinion, by  uniformly obferving that a whitifh liquid fub-
 ftance  furrounded each egg which turned out  to be fer-
 tile ; but that thofe eggs round  which no fuch fubftance
 was to be found were always barren.  The working bees,
 or thofe which colled from flowers the materials  of wax,
 have generally  been  confidered as  belonging to neither
 fex.  But Mr, Shirach,  a  German Naturalift, in  his
 Hiftory of tiie Queen of the Bees, maintains,  that all the
common  bees are females in a difguifed or barren ftate ;
 that the organs which diftinguifh the fex, and particularly
the ovaria, are either obliterated, or, on account of their
 minutenefs,  have not  hitherto been difcovered;  that,  in
the early period of its exiftence, every.one  of thefe bees
is capable of becoming a queen-bee,  if the community
choofe  to nurfe it in a certain manner,  and to raife it to
that sdiftinguifhed rank ? and that  the queen-bee  lays on-
ly two  kinds of eggs, namely, thofe that are to  produce
                                              drones

  * S-r PhilofophicalTranfaftions, ann. 1777,  Parti, paje 15.  3.
  t Hid. de l'Acad. dc Scicn. ann. 1712. S. 
         OF. NATURAL  HISXORY.     311

 drones or males, and thofe from which the working bee?
 are to proceed.
    The conjedure of Maraldi concerning the impiregnai
 tion of the eggs after they are depofited in the cells, as
 well as the obfefvations of Mr. Shirach concerhmjr1 the fex
 of the working bees, have been completely verified by the
 experiments of Mr. Debraw.  Both Maraldi arid Reaumur
 had long ago difcovered, that  in every hive,  befide the
 large drones,  there are  males, or drones, as fmall as the
 working  bees.  By means  of  £lafs-hives,  Mr.  Debraw
 obferved, that the queen-bee begins to depofit her eggs in
 the cells on the fourth or fifth day'after the bees begin  to
 work.  On the firft or fecond day after the eggs are pla-
 ced in the cells, he perceived feveral bees finking the pof-
 terior parts of their bodies into  each cell, where they con-
 tinued but a fhort time.   After they retired, he faw plain-
 ly with the naked  eye a fmall quantity of whitifh liquor
 left in the bottom  of each  cell that  contained  an  egg.
, Next day he  found  that this liquor was abforbed  into the
 egg,  which,  on the fourth day, is hatched.  When the
 worms  efcape from the eggs,  they  are fed for the firft
 eight or ten days with honey by the working bees.  After
 that period they fhut up the mouths of the cells,' where
 the worms continue inclofed for ten days more, during
 which time they undergo their different transformations.
    ' I immerfed,' fays Mr. Debraw,  « all the bees in war
 ' ter ; and, when they appeared to be in a fenfelefs ftate,
 ' I gently preffed every one of them between my fingers,
 * in order to diftinguifh thofe armed with ftings from
 * thofe that had none,  which laft I might  fufpect to  be
 c males.   Of thefe I found fixty-feven, exadly of thefiee
 ' of common bees, yielding a little whitifh liquor on being
 ' preffed between the fingers.  I killed every one, and re-
 4 placed the fwarm  in a glafs-hive, where they immediate-
 ' ly applied again to the work of making cells ; and, on the
 ' fourth or fifth day, very early in the morning, I had the
 ' pleafure to  fee the queen-bee depofiting her eggs in thefe
 ' cells, which fhe did by placing the pofterior part of  her
 ' body in each of them.  I continued to watch moft part n
 • of the enfuing days, but could difcover nothing of what
                                               61 had 
312        THE   PHILOSOPHY
• I had feen before.  The eggs, after the  fourth day, in-
* flead of changing in the manner  of caterpillars, were
' found in the fame ftate they were in the firft day.   The
* next day about noon, the whole fwarm forfookthe hive,
' probably becaufe the  animals perceived, that, without
* the affiftance  of males, they were unqualified to multi-
c ply their fpecies.'  To (how the neceflity of the eggs be-
ing fecundated by the male influence, Mr. Debraw relates
an experiment  ftill more decifive.
  ' I took,' fays he, ' the brood-comb, which, as I ob-
• ferved before, had not been  impregnated : I divided it
* into two parts; one I  placed under a glafs-bell, No. i.
e with honey-comb for the bees food ; I took care to leave
' a queen, but no drones, among the common bees I con-
{ fined in  it.   The other piece of brood-comb I placed
6 under another glafs-bell, No. 2. with a few drones, a
' queen, and a number of common bees proportioned to
c the fize of the glafs.  The refult was, that, in the glafs
' No. 1. no impregnation happened ; the eggs remained
' in the fame ftate they  were in when put into the glafs ;
c and, upon giving the bees their  liberty on  the feventh
e day, they all flew away, as was found to be the cafe in
c the former experiment: Whereas, in the glafs  No. 2.
c I faw, the very day after the bees had been put under
1 it,  the impregnation of the eggs by the drones in every
c cell containing eggs ;  the bees did not leave their hive
' on receiving their liberty ; and, in the courfe of twenty
1 days, every egg underwent all the above mentioned ne-
' ceffary changes, and formed a pretty numerous young
' colony, in which I was not a little flartled  to find  two
' queens.'
  The appearance of a new queen in a hive where there
was no large or royal cell, made  Mr. Debraw conjedure
that  the bees  are capable, by fome particular means, of
transforming  a common fubjed into a queen.  To afcer-
tain the truth of this conjedure, he provided himfelf with
four glafs-hives, into  each of which he put a piece of
brood-comb taken from  an  old  hive.  Thefe  pieces of
brood-comb contained eggs,  worms, and  nymphs.  In
each hive he  confined a  fufficient number  of common
                                                bees, 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     313
 bees, and fome drones or-males, but took' care (hat there
 fhould be no queen.
   ' The bees,' Mr. Debraw remarks, £ finding themfelves
 1 without a queen, made a  ftrange buzzing noife,  which
 * lafted near two days, at the end of which they.vfettled,
 'and' betook, themfelves to work.  On the fourth  day, I
 ' perceived in each hive the beginning of a royal cell, a
 * certain indication that one of the inclofed worms would foon
 ' be converted into a queen.  The conftrudion of the royal
 e cell being nearly accomplished, I ventured to  leave an
 ' opening for the bees to get out, and found that they re-
 ' turned as regularly as they do in  common  hives,  and
 ' fhewed no inclination to leave their habitation.  But, tc*
 c be brief, at the end  of twenty days, I obferved four
 * young queens among the new progeny/
   To thefe experiments of  Mr. Debraw, it was objeded,
 chat the queen-bee, befide the eggs which fhe depofits in
 the royal cells, might likewife  have laid royal or female
 eggs in the common cells ;  and that the pieces of brood-
 comb, fo fuccefsfully employed in his experiments for the
 produdion of a queen,  had always  happened  to contain
 one of thefe royal eggs, or rather one of the worms pro-
 ceeding from them.  But this objedion was  afterwards
 removed by many other accurate experiments, the refults
 of which  were uniformly the fame ;  and the objedors to
 Mr. Debraw's difcovery  candidly admit, that, when.the
 community ftands in need of  a queen, the working bees
 poffefs the power of raifing  a common  fubjed to  the
 throne ; and that every worm of the hive is capable, un-
 der a certain courfe of  management, of becoming the
 mother of a numerous  progeny.  This metamorphofis
 feems to  be chiefly accomplifhed by a peculiar nourifhr
 ment carefully adminiftered to the worm by the working-
 bees,  by which, and perhaps by other unknown means,
 the female organs, the germs of which previously exifted
 in the embryo,  are expanded,  and all thofe differences in
 form and fize, that fo remarkably diftinguifh the queen
from the working-bees, are produced.
  It is always a fortunate circumftance  when difcoveries^
which at firft feem calculated  folely  to gratify curiofity,
                       R r                       are 
3i4        THE   PHILOSOPHY
are capable of being turned to  the advantage of fociety.
Mr. Debraw, accordingly, has not failed to point out the
advantages that may be  derived from  his refearches into
the ceconomy and nature of bees.  By his difcovcry, we
are taught  an  eafv  mode  of multiplying,  without end,
iwarms, or new colonies, of thefe ufeful infects.   Befule
the great increafe of honey, if this difcovery v  r-  fuli:-
ciently attended to,  confiderable fums  annually cx^endid
in importing wax into this kingdom from the Creiitincnt
might be faved.  The practice of this  new art, Mr. Schi-
rach informs us, has already extended  itfelf thr >ugh Up-
per Lufatia, the Palatinate,  Bohemia, Bavaria, Silefia, and
Poland.  In fome  of thefe countries,  it has excited the
attention, and acquired the patronage, of government.
The Emprefs of Ruffia, who never lofes fight of a fingle
article by which the induftry, and, of  courfe,  the happi-
nefs, of her fubjeds can be augmented, has lent a proper
perfon to Klein Bautzen to be  inftruded  in the general
principles,  and to learn all the minutiae, of this new  and
important art.
   Wafps, like  the bees, affoclate  in great numbers,  and
conftrud, with much dexterity  and (kill, a common ha-
bitation.   There are many fpecies of wafps,  fome of
which unite into focieties, and  others  fpend their lives in
perfed folitude.   But, in this place, we fhall confine our
attention  to the operations of the common  affociating
wafp, an infed fo well  known, even  to children, that it
requires no defcription.   Though bees, as well as wafps,
are armed  with a fling,  yet the former may be regarded
as a placid and harmlefs race.   Bees  are continually oc-
cupied  with  their  own labours.  Their chief care is to
defend themfelves;  and they never  take nourifhment at
the expence of any other  animal.  Wafps, on the con-
trary,  are  ferocious animals, who live entirely on rapine
and  deftrudion.  They kill and devour every infed that
is inferior to them in strength.   But,  though warlike and
rapacious in their general manners, they are polifhed and
peaceable among themfelves.  To their young they dif-
cover  the  greateft  tendernefs  and  affedion.   For  their
protedion and conveniency no labour is (pared; and the
                                               habita- 
         OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    3;$

 habitations they conftrud do honour to their patience,
 addrefs, and fagacity. Their architedure, like that of the
 honey-bee, is Angular, and worthy of admiration;  but
 the materials employed furnifh neither  honey nor wax.
 Impelled by an inftindive love of posterity, they, with
 great labour, (kill, and affiduity, conftrud combs,  which
 are likewife compofed  of hexagonal or fix-fided cells.
 Though thefe cells are not made of wax, they are equally
 proper for the reception of eggs, and for affording con-
 venient  habitations to the worms  which proceed from
 them till their transformation into  wafps.
   In general, the cells of the wafps are formed of a kind
 of paper,  which, with great dexterity, is fabricated  by
 the animals themfelves.  The number of combs and cells
' in a wafp's neft is always proportioned to the number of
 individuals affociated.  Different fpecies choofe different
 fituations  for building their  nefts.  Some  expofe 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
 nefts  under ground.   The  hole which  leads to a wafp's
 neft is about  an inch in diameter. This hole is  a kind
 of gallery mined by the wafps, is feldom in a ftraight line,
 and varies in length from half a foot to two feet, accord-
 ing to the diftance of the neft from the furface  of the
 ground.   When expofed to view, the whole neft appears
 to be of a roundifh form, and fometimes about twelve or
 fourteen inches in diameter.   It is ftrongly fortified all
 round with walls or layers of paper, the furface of which
 is rough and irregular.  In rhefe walls,  or  rather in this
 external covering,  two holes are left for paffages to the
 combs.   The wafps uniformly enter the neft by one hole,
 and go  out by the other, which prevents any confufion
 or interruption to their common labours.
    We are now arrived at the gates of this fubterraneous
 city, which, though fmall, is extremely populous.  Upon
 removing the external  covering,  we  perceive that the
 whole interior part confifts of feveral ftoreys or floors of
 combs,  which are parallel to each other, and nearly in
 a  horizontal pofition.   Every  ftorey is compofed of  a
                                             numerous 
 ji6       THE  PHILOSOPHY

 numerous affemblage of hexagonal cells,  very regularly
 conftruded with a matter refemblingafh-colourcd paper.
 Thefe cells contain neither wax nor honey, but are iolely
 deftined for containing the  eggs, the worms which  are
 hatched from them, the nymphs, and the young wafps
 till they are able to fly.  Wafps nefts are not always com-
 pofed of an equal number  of combs.   They fometimes
 confift of fifteen,  and fometimes of eleven only.   The
 combs are of various diameters.  The firft, or uppermoft,
 is  often only two  inches in diameter, while thofe of the
 middle fometimes exceed a  foot.  The loweft  are alfo
 much fmaller than the  middle ones.  All thefe  combs,
 like ib many floors or ftoreys ranged parallelly above each
 other, afford lodging to prodigious numbers of inhabi-
 tants.  Reaumur computed, from the number of cells in
 a given portion of comb, that,  in a medium-fized neft,
 there were at leaft 10,000 cells- This calculation gives
 an idea of the aftonifhing prolific powers of thefe infeds,
 and of the vaft numbers of individuals produced in a
 fingle feafon from one neft ; for every cell ferves as a lodg-
 ing to no lefs than three generations.  Hence a mode-
 ratefy-fized neft gives birth  annually to  30,000 young
 wafps.
  The different ftoreys  of combs are always about  half
 an inch high, which leaves free paffages to the wafps from
one part of the neft to  another.  Thefe intervals are fo
fpacious,  that, in proportion to the bulk of  the animals,
 they may  be compared to great halls, or broad ftreets.
 Each, of the larger combs is fupported by about fifty pil-
 lars, which, at the fame  time, give folidity  to the  labrick,
 and gTeatly ornament the whole neft.  'fhe leffer combs
 are fupported by the fame ingenious contrivance.   Thefe
 pillars are coarfe, and of  a roundifh form.  Their bafes
 and capitals, however,  are much larger in diameter than
 towards the middle.   By the one end they  are attached
 to the fuperior comb,  and by the other to the inferior.
 Thus between two combs there is always a fpecies of ruftic
 colonade.  The wafps begin at the top  and build down-
ward.  The uppermoft .and fmalleft comb is  firft con-
ftruded.   It is attached to the fuperior part of the exter-
                                                 nal 
      OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      317

nal covering.  The fecond comb is  fixed to the bottom
of the firft ; and in this manner the animals proceed till
the whole operation is completed.  The connecting pillars
are compofed of the fame kind of paper as the reft of the
nefl.  To allow the  wafps entries into  the void fpaces,
roads are left between the combs and the external  enve-
lope or covering.
  Having given a general idea of this curious edifice* it
is next natural to inquire how the wafps build, and how
they  employ themfelves in their abodes.   But, as all
thefe myfteries are performed under the earth, it required
much induftry and attention to difcover  them.  By the
ingenuity and perfeverance of M. de Reaumur, however,
we are  smabled to explain fome  parts of their  internal
ceconomy and manners.  This indefatigable naturalift con-
trived to make wafps, like the  honey-bees, lodge  and
work in glafs-hives,.  In this operation he was greatly af-
fifted by the ardent affedion which thefe  animals have to
their offspring;  for he found, that, though the neft was
cut in different directions, and though it was expofed to
the light, the wafps never drferted it, nor relaxed in their
attention to their young.  When placed in a glafs-hive,
they are perfedly peaceable, and never attack theobferver,
if he calmly contemplates their operations; for, naturally,
they do not fling,  unlefs they are irritated.
  Immediately after a wafp's neft has been  tranfported
from its natural fituation, and covered with a glafs-hive,
the firft operation of the infeds is to  repair the  injuries
it has fuffered.  With wonderful adivity they carry off
all the earth and foreign bodies that may have acciden-
tally been conveyed into the hive.  Some of them occu-
py themfelves fixing the neft to the top and fides of the
hive by  pillars of paper  fimilar  to thofe which fupport
the different flories or ftrata of combs ;  others repair the
breaches it has fuftained; and others fortify it by aug-
menting confiderably  the thicknefs of its external cover.
This external envelope is an operation peculiar to wafps.
Its conftrudion requires  great labour; for it frequently
exceeds an inch and a half in thicknefs,  and is compofed
of a number of  ftrata or layers as thin as paper, between
                                                 each 
318        THE PHILOSOPHY

each of which there is a void fpace.  This cover is a kind
of box for inclofiuc; the combs, and defending them from
the rain which  occafionally penetrates  the earth.   For
this purpofe it is admirably adapted.  If it were  one  fo-
lid mafs, the contad of water would penetrate the whole,
and reach the combs.   But, to prevent  this  fatal effect,
the animals leave confiderable vacuities between  each
vaulted layer, which  are generally fifteen  or fixteen in
number.   By this ingenious piece of architecture, one or
two layers may be moillened with water, while.the others
are not in the leaft affeded.
  The materials  employed by wafps in the conftrudion
of their nefts are very different from  thofe made ufe of
by the honey-bee.  Inftead  of colleding  the  farina of
flowers, and digefting it into wax,  the  wafps gnaw with
their  two fangs, which are ftrong and ferrated, fmall
fibres of  wood from the fafhes of windows, the polls of
efpaliers, garden doors,  &c. but never  attempt growing
or green  timber.   Thefe fibres, which,  though very (len-
der, are often  a  line, or a twelfth  part of an inch  long.
After cutting a certain number of them, the animals col-
led them into minute bundles, tranfport them to their neft,
and, by means of a glutinous  fubftance furnifhed  from
their own bodies, form  them into a moift and  dudile
parte.  Of this fubftance, or papier mache,  they conftrud
the external cover, the partitions  of the neft, the hex-
agonal cells, and the folid columns which fupport the fe-
veral layers or ftories of combs.
  The conftruding of the neft occupies a comparatively-
fmall number of labourers.  The others are  differently
employed.   Here it is neceffary to remark, that  the  re-
publics of wafps, like thofe of the honey-bees, confift of
three kinds of flies, males, females, and neuters.  Like
the bees, alfo, the number of neuters far furpaffes  thofe
of both males  and females.  The greateft quantity of la-
bour is devolved upon the  neuters; but  they are not,
like the neuter bees,  the only workers ; fot there is no
part of their different operations which the females, at
certain times,  do not execute.  Neither do the males,
though their induftry is not comparable to  that of the
                                              neuters, 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      3i9
neuters, remain entirely idle.  They often occupy them-
felves in the interior part of the neil.  The greateft part
of the labour, however, is performed  by the neuters
They build  the neft, feed  the males, the  females, and
even the young.  But, while the neuters  are  employed
in theie different operations, the others are abroad- in
hunting parties.  Some attack with intrepidity live in-
feds, which  they fometimes carry entire  to  the  neft;
but tiicy generally tranfport the abdomen or belly  only.
Others pillage butchers flails, from  which they often ar-
rive  with a piece  of meat larger than the  half of their
own bodies.   Others refort to gardens,  and fuck the jui-
ces of fruits.  When they return to the neft, they diftri-
bute a part of their plunder to the females, to the males,
and even to fuch  neuters as have been ufefully occupied
at home..  As foon as a neuter enters the neft, it is fur-
rounded by  feveral wafps, to each of whom it freely gives
a portion of the food it has  brought.  Thofe who have
not been hunting for prey,  but  have been  fucking  the
juices of fruits, though they feem to return empty,  fail
not to regale their companions;  for, after their arrival,
they ftation  themfelves upon the  upper part of the neft,
and difcharge from their mouths two or three drops .of
a clear liquid, which are immediately fwallowed  by  the
domeftics.
   The neuter wafps, though the moft laborious, are the
fmalleft; but  they  are extremely adive and vivacious.
The females are much larger, heavier, and flower in their
movements.   The males are of an intermediate fize  be-
tween that of the females and neuters.   From  thefe dif-
ferences in fize, it is eafy to diftinguifh the different kinds
of thofe wafps which build their  nefts below the ground;
In the hive of the honey-bee, the number of females is
always extremely fmall;  but, in  a wafp's neft, there are
often more  than three  hundred females.   During  the
months of June, July, and Auguft, they  remain conltant-
ly in the neft, and are never feen abroad except in  the
beginning of  fpring,  and in the months  of September
and  Odober.   During the fummer, they are totally  oc-
cupied in laying their eggs and feeding their young.  In 
 3ao        THE  PHILOSOPHY

 this laft operation, they are aflifred by the other wafps ;
 for the females alone, though numerous, would be  iu-
 fuffjcknt for the  laborious talk.  A  wafp's  neft, when
 completed,  fometimes confifts of fixteen thoufand  eals,
 each of which contains  an e^g, a worm, or a nymph.
 The eggs are white, tranfparent, of  an oblong figure,
 and differ in fize, according to the kind of wafps which
 are to  proceed from them.  Some of them are no larger
 than the head of  a fmall pin.   They  are fo firmly glued
 to the  bottoms of the cells, that it is with difficulty they
 can be detached without breaking.  Eight days after the
 eggs are depofited in the cells, the worms are hatched,
 and are confiderably larger than the  eggs  which  gave
 birth to them.  Thefe worms demand the principal cares
 of the wafps who continue always in the neft.   They feed
 them,  as birds feed their young, by giving  them, from
 time to time, a mouthful of food.  It is aftonifhing to
 fee with what induftry and rapidity a female  runs along
 the cells of  a comb,  and distributes to each worm a por-
 tion of nutriment.  In proportion to the ages  and  con-
 ditions of the worms, they are fed with folid food, fuch
 as the bellies of infeds,  or with a liquid fubftance  dif-
 gorged by the mother.   When a worm is fo large as  to
 occupy its whole cell, it is then ready to be metamor-
 phofed into a nymph.  It  then  refufes all nourifhment,
 and ceafes to have any connedion with the wafps in  the
 neft.  It fhuts up  the mouth of its cell with a fine filken
 cover,  in the fame manner as the filk-worm and other
 caterpillars fpin their cods.  This operation is completed
 in three  or  four  hours, and the animal  remains in  the
 nymph ftate  nine or ten days, when, with its teeth, it de-
 stroys  the external cover  of  the cell, and comes forth
in the form of a winged infed, which  is either male, fe-
male, or neuter, according to the nature of the egg from
 which  it was hatched.  In a fhort time, the wafps newly
transformed  receive the food brought into the neft by the
 foragers in the fields.  What is ftill more curious, in the
 courfe of the firft day after their transformation, the young
wa1"ps have been obferved going to the fields, bringing in
proYi&pns, and diftributing them to the worms in the cells.
                                              A cell 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     321

A cell is no fooner abandoned  by a young wafp, than it
is cleaned,  trimmed, and  repaired by  an old  one,  and
rendered,  in  every refped, proper for  the reception of
another egg.
  As formerly mentioned, wafps of different fexes differ
greatly in fize.   The animals know how to conftrud ceils
proportioned to the dimenfions of the fly that  is to pro-
ceed from  the egg which  the  female depofits  in them.
The neuters are fix times fmaller  than  the females,  and
their cells are built nearly in the fame proportion.  Cells
are not only adapted for the reception of neuters, males,
and females, but it is remarkable that the cells of the neu-
ters are never intermixed with thofe  of the males or fe-
males.  A comb is entirely occupied with fmall cells fitted
for the  reception of neuter worms.  But male and female
cells are often found in the fame comb.  The  males and
females are of equal length, and, of courfe, require  cells
of an equal deepnefs.  But the cells of the males are nar-
rower than thofe of the females, becaufe the bodies of the
former are never fo thick  as thofe of the latter.
   This wonderful  affemblage  of combs, of the pillars
which fupport them, and of the external envelope, is an
edifice which requires  feveral months labour, and ferves
the animals one year only.  This  habitation, fo populous
in fummer, is almoft deferted in  winter, and abandoned
entirely in fpring ; for, in this laft  feafon,  not a fingle
wafp is to be found in  a neft of the preceding year.  It is
worthy of remark, that the firft combs of a neft are al-
ways accommodated for the  reception  of the  neuter or
working wafps.  The  city, of  which the foundation has
juft been  laid, requires a number  of workmen.  The
neuter  or working wafps  are accordingly  firft  produced.
A cell is no fooner half-completed than  an egg of a neuter
is depofited  in it by the female.   Of fourteen or fifteen
combs inclofed in a common cover, the four laft only are
 deftined for  the reception of  males and females.  Hence
it uniformly  happens,  that, before the  males and females
are capable of taking flight, every wafp's neft  is peopled
with feveral  thoufand  neuters or  workers.  But the neu-
ters, who are firft produced, are likewife the firft that pe-
                          S  s                     rifhj 
322
THE  PHILOSOPHY
rifh;  for not one of them furvives the termination even
of a mild winter.  It was remarked by the ancient Natu-
ralists, that fome wafps lived one year only,  and others
two.   To the former Ariftotle gives the appellation oi
operari.', which are our workers or  neuters, and  to  the
latter matrices, which are our female^.
  The female wafps are stronger, and fupport the rigours
of winter better, than the  males or neuters.   Before  the
end  of winter,  however,  feveral hundred females  die,
:md  not above  ten  or  a dozen in  each neft furvive
that  feafon.   Thefe few  females are deftined for  the
continuation  of the fpecies.   Each of them becomes  the
founder of a new republic.   When a queen-bee departs
from  a hive, in order to eftablifh a new one, fhe is always
accompanied with feveral thoufand industrious labourers,
ready to perform every neceffary operation.  But  the fe-
male wafp has not the aid of a fingle labourer ;  for all
the neuters are dead before the beginning of  the  fpring.
The female alone lays the  foundation of  a new republic.
She either finds or digs a hole under the earth, builds cells
f.-r the reception of her eggs, and  feeds the worms which
proceed from them.   Whenever any  of thefe  neuter
worms are transformed into flies, they immediately aflifl
their parent in augmenting the number of cells and combs,
and in feeding the young worms,  which are daily hatch-
ing from the eggs.  In a word, this  female wafp, which
in fpring was perfedly folitary,  without any proper habi-
tation, and had every operation to perform, has,  in  au>
tumn, feveral thoufands of her offspring  at her devotion,
and is furnifhed with a magnificent palace, or  rather city,
to proted her from the injuries of the weather and from
external enemies.
  With regard to the male wafps, it is uncertain whether
any of them furvive the winter.   But,  though not fo in-
dolent as the males of the honey-bee,  they can be of little
affiftance to the  female; for  they never  engage in  any
work  of importance, fuch as conftruding cells, or forti-
fying the external cover of the  neft.  They  are never
brought fcrth till towards  the end of  Augurt ; end their
fole occupation feems to be licet, of k^yin0 the neft clean :
                                                i'hey 
         OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     323
 They carry out every kind of filth, and the-carcafes of fuch
 of their companions as  happen to die.   In  performing
 this operation, two of them often join, and, as mention-
 ed in another place, when the load is too heavy, they cut
 off the head,  and tranfport the dead animal at two times.
   In the beginning of fpring, when the female wafp has
 built her  fubterraneous habitation, which is foon to be
 peopled with thoufands of  flies,  fhe has  no occafion for
 the males ; becaufe, in the month of September or Odo-
 ber,  fhe had been previoufly impregnated.  The males
 and females are produced at the  fame time, and they are
 nearly equal in number.  Like the male honey-bees, the
 male wafps are deftitute  of ftings,  but  the  females and
 neuters have ftings, the poifonous liquor of which, when
 introduced into any part  of the human body, excites in-
 flammation, and creates a confiderable degree of pain.
   The habitations and the ceconomy of the common ant
 are exceedingly curious.   But, as they are fo well knovyn,
 and fo obvious to infpedion  and examination,  we fhall
 not detain the reader  with a defcription  of them.  To
 fupply this defed,  we fhall give fome account of the truly
 wonderful operations of the termites,  which are generally
 called white-ants *, though they belong to  a  different ge-
 nus of infeds.  Thefe animals infeft Guinea, and all the
 tropical  regions,  where,  for  their depredations of pro-
 perty, they are greatly dreaded by the inhabitants;  from
 which circumftance they  have received the name of Fa-
 talis,  or Deftruclor.
   The following abridged account of the termites, and of
 the wonderful habitations they build, is  feleded from an
 excellent defcription of them  in a Letter from Mr. Henry
 Smeathman, of Clement's Inn, to Sir Jofeph Banks, which
 was publifhed in the Philofophical Tranfactions f, Though
 the nefts,  or  rather hills, conftruded  by the  termites,
 are mentioned by many travellers, their defcriptions and
 obfervations are by no means fo accurate  as thofe of the
                                             ingenious
  * In the windward parts of Africa, they are denominated bugga, buggs; in
 the Wefl-Indics, wood-ike, zuood-anis, or white-ants.  They are likewife called
piercers, eaters, or cutters, becaufe they cut almoft every thing in pieces.  S.
  t Vol. 71.  part. 1.  page 139.   S. 
3-4        THE   PHILOSOPHY
ingenious Mr. Smeathman.   Of thefe  infects  there are
feveral fpecies;  but  they all refemble each other in form,
and in their manner of living.  They differ, however, as
much as  birds,  in the ftile of their architecture,  and in
the felection of the materials of which  their nefts are
compofed.   Some build on the furface,  or partly above
and partly below the  ground, and others on  the trunks
or branches of  lofty trees.
  Before  defcribing the  nefts or hills, it is neceffary to
give fome idea  of the animals themfelves,  and of their
general oeconomy and manners.  We fhall confine our-
felves to  that fpecies  called  termites bellicofi,  or fighters,
becaufe  they are largeft,  and belt known on the  coaft of
Africa.
  The republic  of the termites bellicofi, like the other fpe-
cies of this genus, confifts of three ranks,  or orders of
infects:   i. The working  infeds, which Mr. Smeathman
diftinguifhes by the name of labourers; 2. The fighters,
or foldiers, which perform no  kind of labour;  and,  3.
The winged, or perfeel infecls, which are male  and fe-
male, and capable of multiplying the fpecies.   Thefe laft
Mr. Smeathman calls the  nobility or gentry;  becaufe  they
neither labour nor fight.   The nobility alone are capable
of being raifed  to the rank of kings and queens.   A few
weeks after their elevation to this ftate,  they emigrate,
in order  to eftablifh new  empires.
  In  a neft or hill, the  labourers, or working infects,
are always moft numerous: There are at leaft one  hun-
dred labourers to one of  the fighting infeds or foldiers.
When in this ftate,  they  are  about a fourth of an  inch
in length, which is rather fmaller than fome of our  ants.
From their figure,  and fondnefs for wood,  they are very
generally known by the name of wood-lice.
  The fecond order, or  foldiers, differ  in figure from
that of the labourers.  The former  have been fuppofed
to be  neuters, and  the latter males.  But, in fad,  they
are the feme infeds.  They have only undergone a change
of form, and made a nearer approach to the perfed ftate.
They  are now much larger, being half an inch in length,
and equal in fize to fifteen of the labourers.  The form 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     325

of the head is likewife greatly changed.   In the labourer
ftate, the mouth is  evidently  formed for gnawing or
holding bodies:  But, in the foldier ftate, the jaws being
fhaped like two  (harp awls a little jagged, are deftined
folely for piercing or wounding.  For thefe purpofes they
are very well calculated; for they are as hard as a crab's
claw* and placed iii a ftrong horny head, which is  of a
nut-brown colour, and larger than the whole body.
   The figure of the  third order, or that of the infed in
its perfect ftate,  is ftill more changed.   The head, the
thorax, and the abdomen, differ almoft entirely from the
fame parts in the labourers and  foldiers.  Befide, the
animals  are  now furnifhed with  four large, brownifh,
tranfparent wings, by which they are enabled, at the
proper feafon, to emigrate and to eftablifh new fettlements.
In the winged or perfed ftate, they have likewife acquired
the organs of generation,  and are greatly altered in their
fize as well as in their figure.  Their bodies now meafure
between fix and  feven 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 labourers,  or two foldiers*
Inftead of adive, industrious, and rapacious little animals,
when they arrive at their perfed ftate,  they become inno-
cent, helplefs, and daftardly.   Their numbers are great;
but their enemies are ftill more numerous.  They are
devoured by birds, by every fpecies of ants, by carnivorous
reptiles, and even by the  inhabitants of many parts of
Africa.  This laft fad is attefted  by Pifo,  Margraave,
De Laet, Konig, Moor, Sparman, and by  many other
travellers, as well as by Smeathman.   After fuch devas-
tation,  it is furprifing that a fingle  pair fhould efcape fo
many dangers.   ' Some, however,'  fays Mr. Smeathman,
' are fo fortunate; and being  found  by fome of the la-
' bouring infeds, that are continually running about the
' furface of the ground under their  covered galleries, are
' elected Kings and Queens of new ftates;  all thofe who are
* not fo elected and preferved certainly perifh.  The man-
6 ner in which thefe labourers proted the happy pair from
' their innumerable enemies, not only on the  day of the
' maffacre of almoft all their race, but for  a long time
                                               * after, 
126        THE  PHILOSOPHY
 after, will, I hope, juftify me in the  ufe  of the  term
 cleclum.  The little induftrious  creatures  immediately
 inclofe.them in a fmall chamber of clay fuitable to their
 fize, into which, at firft, they leave but one fmall en-
 trance,  large enough  for themfelves and the foldiers to
 go in and out, but much too little for  either of the
 royal pair to make ufe of; and  when  neceilir  obliges
 them to make more entrances, they are  never larger ;
 fo that, of courfe, the voluntary fubfecls charge them-
 felves with the tafk of providing for the offspring of
 their fovereigns, as well  as to work and  to fight for
 them, until they have raifed a progeny capable at lead
 of dividing the tafk with them.
 ' It is not till this, probably, that they  confummate
 their marriage, as  I  never  faw  a pair of them joined.
 The bufinefs of propagation, however, foon commences;
 and the labourers having conftruded a fmall wooden nur-
 fery, carry the eggs and  lodge them there as fall as they
 can obtain them from the queen.
 ' About this time a moft extraordinary change begins
 to take place in the queen, to which  I know nothing
 fimilar, except in the pulex penetrans  of  Linnaeus, the
 jigger of the Weft-Indies, and in the different fpecies
 of coccus, cochineal.  The abdomen of this female begins
 gradually to  extend and enlarge  to  fuch  an enormous
 fize, that an  old queen will have it increafed fo as to  be
 fifteen hundred or two  thou/and times the bulk of the reft
 of her  body, and twenty or thirty thou/and times the bulk
 of a labourer, as I have  found  by  carefully weighing
 and computing the different ftates.  The fkin between
 the fegments of the abdomen extends in every diredion;
 and at laft the fegments  are  removed to half an inch
 diftance from each other, though, at firft, the length of
 the whole abdomen is not half an inch.   I conjedure
 the animal is upwards of two years old when the abdo-
 men is increafed to three inches in length: I have fome-
 times found  them of  near twice  that fiae.   The abdo-
 men is now  of an irregular  oblong fhape, being con-
 traded by the mufcles of every fegment, and is become
 one vaft matrix full of eggs,  whiph make long circum-
                                          * volutions 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     317
* volutions through  an innumerable quantity  of very
* minute veffels that circulate round the- infide in a fer-
' pentine manner, which would exercife the ingenuity of
* a fkilful anatomift to diffed and develope. r This fingu-
' lar matrix is not more remarkable for  its amazing ex*
' tenfion and fize than  for  its peristaltic motion, which
£ refembles the undulating of waves, and continues incefc
' fantly  without any apparent effort of the animal; fo
' that one part  or other, alternately, is rifing and finking
c in perpetual fucceflion, and the matrix feems  never at
' reft, but is always protruding eggs to the amount (as  I
4 have frequently counted  in old queens)  of fixty in  a
1 minute, or  eighty thoufand and upward  in one day of
 1 twenty-four hours.    .
  ' Thefe eggs are inftantly taken from  her 'body by her
' attendants,  (of whom there always are, in the royal
c chamber and  the .galleries adjacent, a fuffieient number
* waiting)^ and carried to the nurferies, which, in a great
1 neft, may fome of them be four or five feet diftant in
' a ftraight line, and, confequently, much farther by their
 ' winding galleries.  Here, after they are hatched, the
' young  are  attended  and provided with every  thing
• neceffary until they are able to fhift for themfelves, and
' take their fhare of the labours  of the community.'
  We fhall now endeavour to give fome idea of the al-
molt incredible architedure and ceconomy of thefe won-
derful infeds.
  The nefts of the termites bellicofi, 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 often  elevated ten or twelve feet above the furface of
the  earth, and  are nearly of a conical figure.  Thefe
hills, inftead of being  rare phenomena, are fo frequent
in many places near Senegal, that, as defcribed with great
propriety by Monf.  Adanfon, their number, magnitude,
and clofenefs  of fituation,   make them appear like villa-
ges of the Negroes.  ' But,  of all the extraordinary things
' I obferved,' fays Monf. Adanfon, ' nothing (truck  me
• more than certain eminences, which,  by their  height
• and regularity, made me  take them, at a diiiance,  for
                                                 ' an 
 32«        THE   PHILOSOPHY

 * an affemblage of Negro huts, or a confiderable  village,
 ' and  yet they were only the nefts  of certain  infects.
 ' Thefe nefts are round pyramids, from eight to ten feet
 c high, upon nearly the fame bafe, with a fmooth furface
 c of rich clay, exceffively hard and well built *.'  Jobfon,
 in his  hiftory  of Gambia, tells us, that " the ant-hills
 4 are remarkable eaft up in thofe  parts by pifmires,  fome
 ' of them twenty foot in height, of compaffe to contayne
 ' a dozen of men,  with the heat  of the  fun baked into
 1 that  hardneffe, that we  ufed  to hide  ourfelves  in the
 1 ragged toppes of them, when we took up ftands to fhoot
 • at deere or wild beafts-f.'  Mr. Bofman remarks, in his
 defcription of Guinea,  that " the ants make nefts of the
 ' earth about twice the height of a man J.'
 . Each of thefe hills is compofed of an  exterior  and  an
 interior part.   The exterior cover is a  large  clay-(hell,
 which  is fhaped like a dome.  Its  ftrength and magnitude
 are fuffkient to inclofe  and proted the interior building
 from the injuries of the weather,  and to defend  its nu-
 merous inhabitants  from the attacks of natural or  acci-
 dental  enemies.  The external dome or cover is, there-
 fore, always much  ftronger than the internal building,
 which  is the habitation of the infeds, and is divided with
 wondetful  artifice and  regularity into a vaft number of  -
apartments for  the refidence and  accommodation  of the
king and queen, for the nurfing  of their progeny, and
for  magazines,  which are  always  well ftored with  pro-
 vifions.
  Thefe  hills make their firft appearance in the form of
 conical turrets, about a foot high.  In a fhort time, the
 infeds  ered, at a little diftance, other turrets, and go on
 increafing their number and widening their bales, till their
 underworks are covered with thefe turrets, which the ani-
 mals always raife higheft in  the middle of the hill,  and,
 by  filling up the  intervals between each turret,  collect
 them,  at laft, into one great dome.
  c The royal chamber,* Mr. Smeathman remarks, ' which
                                                  * i*
  * Adanfon*s Vo.;-p to Senegal, 8vo, pag. 153.—33?.  Voyage de Scot-/
 4*, pajr. 83.-99.  S-
  i Puichas'* Pilgrams, vol. 2. pag. J570.  S,
  % PaSe c76—493.  5. 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.
3*9
• is occupied  by the king and queen, appears to be, in
• the opinion of tfiis little people, of the moft confequence,
' and is always fituated as near the center of the interior
c building as poffible,  and generally about the height of
• the common furface  of the ground.  It is always nearly
' in the fhape of half  an egg, or an obtufe oval,  within,
* and may be fuppofed to reprefent a long  oven.  In the
' infant ftate of the colony, it is not above an inch, or
e thereabouts, in length ;  but in time will be increafed to
* fix or eight inches, or more, in the clear, being always
' in proportion  to the fize of the queen, who, increafing
* in bulk as in  age, at length requires a chamber of fuch
* dimenfions.'
   The entrances  into the royal  chamber will not admit
 any animal larger than the foldiers or labourers.  Hence
 the king and the queen, which laft, when full grown, is  a
 thbufand times the weight of a king,  can never  poffibly
 go out.  The royal chamber is  furrounded  by an innu-
 merable quantity of others, which are  of  different, fizes,
 figures, and dimenfions;  but all of them are arched either
 in a circular or an elliptical form. Thefe chambers either
 open into each other, or  have  communicating, paflages,
 which, being always clear, are evidently intended for the
 conveniency of the foldiers and attendants, of whom, as
 will foon appear, great  numbers are  neceffary.  Thefe
 apartments  are joined by the magazines and nurferies.
 The magazines are chambers of clay, and are at all times
 well ftored  with  provifions, which, to the naked eye,
 feem to confift of the rafpings of wood and  plants which
 the termites deftroy; but, when examined by the micro-.
 fcope,  they are found to  confift  chiefly of  the gums or
 infpiflated juices of plants, thrown together  in fmall irre*
 gular maffes.  Of thefe maffes, fome are finer than others,
 and refemble the fugar about preferved fruits; others re-
 femble the  tears  of  gum, one  being  quite tranfparent,
 another like amber, a third brown, and a fourth perfedly
 opaque.
   The magazines are always intermixed  with the nurfe-
 ries, which laft are buildings totally different from the reft
 of the apartments. They are compofed  entirely of wooden
                          T t                materials. 
33 3
THE  PHILOSOPHY
materials, which feem to be cemented with gums.  Mr.
Smeathman very properly gives them  the  appellation  of
nurfiries; becaufe  they  are  invariably occupied by  the
eggs, and the young ones, which firft appear in the fhape
oflabourers ; but they are as white as fnow.  Thefe build-
ings are exceedingly compad, and are divided  into  a
number of fmall  inegular-fhaped chambers, not one  of
which is half an inch wide.  They are placed all round,
and as near as poffible to the royal apartments.
   When a neft ot hillock is in the infant  ftate, the nur-
feries are clofe to the royal apartment.  But as, in procefs
of time, the body of the queen enlarges, it becomes ne-
ceffary, for her accommodation, to augment the dimenfi-
ons of her chamber.  She then, likewife,  lays a greater
number of eggs, and requires more attendants ;  of courfe,
it is neceffary that both the number and  dimenfions  of
the adjacent apartments  fhould be augmented.  For this
purpofe, the fmall firft-built nurferies are taken to pieces,
rebuilt a little farther off, made a fize larger, and their
number, at the fame time, is  increafed.  Thus the ani-
mals  are Continually employed in pulling down, repair-
ing, or rebuilding their apartments ;  and thefe operations
they  perform  with wonderful  fagacity, regularity, and
forefight.
   One remarkable circumftance regarding  the nurfcriV
muft not be omitted.  They are always (lightly overgrown
with a kind of mould, and plentifully fprinkled with white
globules about the  fize of a fmall pin's head.  Thefe glo-
bules, Mr. Smeathman at firft conjedored to be the eggs;
but, when examined by the microfcope, they evidently ap-
peared to be a fpecies of mufhroom, in fhape refembling
our eatable mufhroom when  young.  When entire, thev
are white like  fnow a  little melted and frozen again ;
and, when bruifed, they feem to be compofed of an infi-
nite number  of pellucid particles, approaching to oval
forms, and are with difficulty feparated from each other.
The mouldinefs feems likewife to confift of the fame kind
of fubftance *.                                   ,_
                                                The
 * *'r. Kortig, who examined the termites neAt in the F " T  riL inMifltni.
that thefe mufisroams are the food of the young infects. This fuppofitioft implies,
                                                  that 
         OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      331

  The  nurferies are inclofed in chambers of clay, like
thofe which contain the provifions ;  but they are  much
larger.   In the early ftate of the neft, they are not bigger
than an hatZel nut; but, in great hills,  they are  often as
large as a child's head of a year old.
  The  royal chamber  is fituated nearly on a level with
the furface of the ground, at an equal diftance  from all
the fides of the building, and directly under the apex of
the hill.  On all fides, both above and below, it is, fur-
rounded by  what are called the royal  apartments,  which
contain only labourers and foldiers, who can be intended
for no other purpofe than to continue in the neft either to
guard or ferve their common father and mother, on  whofe
fefety the happinefs, and, in the eftimation of the Negroes,
the exiftence, of the whole community depends.   Thefe
apartments compofe an intricate labyrinth,  which extends
a foot or more in diameter from the royal chamber  on
every fide. Here the nurferies and magazines of provifions
begin;  and, being feparated by fmall empty chambers and
galleries, which furround  them, and communicate with
each other, are continued on all fides to the outward fhell,
and reach up within  it two-thirds or three-fourths of its
height, leaving an open area in the middle under the dome,
which refembles the nave of an old cathedral.  This area
is  furrounded  by large  Gothic arches, which are feme-
times two or three feet high next the  front of the area,
but diminiffi  rapidly  as they recede, like the arches of
aifles in perfpedives,  and are foon loft among the innu-
merable chambers and nurferies behind them.  All thefe
chambers and  paffages are arched, and centribute mutu-
ally to  fupport one another.  The interior  building, or
affemblage of nurferies, chambers, and  paffages,  has a
flattifh roof,  without  any perforation.  By  this  contriv-
ance, if, by accident, water fhould penetrate the  external
dome, the apartments below are  preferved  from injury.
The area has alfo a flattifh floor, which  is fituated above
                                                   the
that the old ones have a method of providing for and promoting the growth of
the mufhroom ; ' a circumftance,' Mr. Smeathman remarks, ' which,  however
' ftrange to thofe unacquainted with the fagacity of thofe rnfefts, I will venture
' to fay, fioin many other extraordinary fails I have feen of them,  is cot very
• improbable.' S. 
33*        THE   PHILOSOPHY
the royal chamber.  It is  likewife water-proof, and fa
conftruded, that, if water gets admittance, it runs oft" by
fubterraneous paffages,  which are of an aftonifhing mag-
nitude.  ' I meafured one of them,' fays Mr. Smeathman,
' which was perfectly cylindrical, and thirteen  inches in
• diameter.'  Thefe fubterraneous paffages are thickly lin-
ed with the fame kind of clay of which the hill is  com-
pofed,  afccnd the internal part of the external fhell in a
fpiral form, and, winding round the whole building  up
to the top,  interfed and  communicate with each  other
at different heights.  From every part of thefe large gal-
leries a number of pipes, or fmaller galleries;, leading to
different parts of  the building, proceed.   There are like-
wife a  great many which lead downward, by Hoping  de-
fcents, three  and four feet  perpendicular  under ground,
among the gravel, from which the labouring termites fe-
led the finer parts, which, after being worked up in their
mouths to the confiftence of mortar,  become that folid
clay or ftone of which their  hills, and every apartment of
their buildings, except the nurferies, are compofed.  Other
galleries afcend and lead out  horizontally on every fide,
and  are carried under  ground, but near  the  furface, to
great diftances.   Suppofe the whole nefts within a hun-
dred yards of a houfe were completely deftroyed, the in-
habitants of thofe at a greater diftance will carry on their
fubterraneous galleries, and  invade the goods and merchan-
dizes contained in it by fap and mine, unlefs great  atten-
tion and circumfpedion are employed by the proprietor.
   Mr. Smeathman concludes his defcription of the habi-
tations of the termites bellicofi, with much modefty,  in the
following words: ' Thus. I have defcribea, as briefly as
' the fubjed would admit,  and I truft without exaggera-
' ration, thofe wonderful buildings, whofe fize, and ex-
' ternal form, have often been mentioned  by travellers,
8 but whofe interior, and molt curious parts  are fo little
* known, that I may venture to confider my account of
' them as  new, which is the only merit it has ; for they
' are conftruded upon fo different  a plan from any thing
6 elfe upon the earth, and  fo complicated, that I cannot
• find  words equal to the tafii.'
                                               When 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     335

  When a breach is made in one of the hills by an ax,
or other inftrument, the firft objed that attracts attention
is the behaviour of the foldiers, or fighting infeds.   Im-
mediately after  the  blow is given,  a  foldier comes out,
walks about the breach,  and feems to examine the nature
of the enemy,  or  the caufe of the attack.  He then goes
in to the hill, gives the alarm, and, in a fhort time,  large
bodies rufh out as fait as the breach will  permit.   It is
not eafy to defcribe the fury thefe fighting infeds difcover.
In their eagernefs to  repel  the enemy,  they frequently
tumbledown the fides of the hill, but recover themfelves
very quickly, and bite every thing they encounter.   This
biting, joined  to the ftriking of their  forceps  upon the
building,  makes  a  crackling or vibrating noife, which
is. fomewhat fhriller and  quicker than  the ticking of a
watch^ and may be heard at the diftance of three or four
feet.  While the  attack proceeds, they  are in the  moft
violent buftle and agitation.  If they get hold of any part
of a man's body, they  inftantly make a wound, which
discharges as much blood as is equal to their own weight.
When they  attack the leg, the ftain of blood upon the
flocking extends  more  than an inch in  width.   The^
make their hooked jaws  meet at the firft ftroke, and nevet
quit their hold, but fuffer themfelves to  be pulled  away
leg  by leg, and piece after piece, without the fmalleft at-
tempt to efeape.  On the other hand,  if a perfon  keeps
out of their reach, and gives them no farther difturbance,
in lefs than half an  hour they retire into the neft,  as if
they fuppofed the wonderful monfler that damaged  their
caftle had fled.   Before the whole foldiers  have  got in,
the labouring infeds are all in motion,  and haften toward
the breach, each of  them having a quantity of tempered
mortar in his mouth.   This mortar  they flick  upon the
breach as faft as they arrive, and perform  the  operation
with fo much difpatch and facility, that,  notwithftanding
the immenfity  of their numbers, they never flop or em-
barrafs one another.  During this fcene of apparent  hurry
and confufion,  the fpedator is agreeably furprifed  when
he perceives a  regular wall  gradually arifing and filling;
yp the chafm.   While the labourers are  thus employed;
                                              almolt 
334        THE  PHILOSOPHY
alme4 all the foldiers  remain within, except here and
there one, who faunters about among fix hundred or a
thousand J.abcHWers, but never touches the mortar.  One
foldifr, however, always takes his flation  clofe  to  the
wall that tl>e labourers  are building-  This fojdjer turns
himfelf feifufely on all  fides, and, at intervals fi£ a  im-
pute or two, raifes his head, beats upon the building with
his forceps*  and makes  the vibrating noife formerly men-
tioned.   A loud hifs inftantly ifTues from the infide of
the dome and all the fubterraneous caverns and paffages.
That this hifs proceeds from the  labourers  is apparent;
for, at every fignal of this kind,  they work with redoub-
led quicjtnefs and  alacrity.  A  renewal of the attack,
however, inftantly changes the  fcene.  «  On  the firft
f  ftroke,' Mr, Smeathman remarks, ' the labourers run
*  into the many pipes and galleries with which the build-
'  ing U perforated,  which they do fo quickly,  that they
*  feem to vanifh ; for in a few  feconds all are gone, and
*  the foldiers rufh out as numerous  and as  vindidive as
«  before. On finding no enemy, they return again leifurely
'  Into the hill, and, very foon after, the labourers  appear
«  loaded as at firft, as adive, and  as fedulous, with  fol-
*  diers here and there among  them, who act juft in  the
*  f»me manner, one or other  of them giving the fignal
'  to haften the bufinefs.   Thus the pleafure of feeing them
*  come out to fight  or to work, alternately, may be  ob-
<  tained  as often as curiofity excites, or time permits;
'  and it will certainly be found, that the one order never
'  attempts to fight,  or the other to  work, let the emer-
'  gency be ever fo  great.'
   It is exceedingly difficult to  explore the interior parts
of a neft or hilL  The apartments  which furround  the
royal chamber and the  nurferies,  and indeed the  whole
fabrick,  have fuch a dependence on each other, that  the
breaking of  one arch generally pulls down two or three.
There is another great obstacle to our refearches, namely,
the obftinacy of the ibldiers, who,  fays our author,  'fight
*  to the very laft, difputing every  inch of ground  fo well
*  as often to drive away the Negroes  who are without
* (hoes, and make white people bleed plentifully through
                                               ' their 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     jjj

' their stockings.   Neither can we let a building ftand fo
' as to get a view of the interior parts without intermp-
* tion ; for,  while the foldiers are defending the outworks,
' the labourers keep barricading all the way againft us,
c flopping up the  different galleries  and paffages  which
' lead  to the various apartments, particularly  the  royal
' chamber, all the entrances to which they fill up  fo art-
' fully as not to let it be diftinguifhable while it remains
' moift ;  and, externally, it  has no other appearance than
c that of a fhapelefs lump of  clay.  It is, however,  eafily
' found from its  fituation with  refped to the other parts
' of the  building, and by the crowds of labourers and
' foidiets which fufround it, who fhow their loyalty an$
' fidelity by dying under its walls.   The royal chamber,
' In a large neft, is capacious enough to hold many hun*
' dreds of the attendants,  befides the  royal pair; and you
' always  find it as full  of them  as it can hold.  Theffl
4 faithful fubjeds never abandon their charge even in the
6 laft  diftrefs; for, whenever I took  out the royal-Cham*
* ber, and as I  often  did,  pfeferved it in a large glafe
' bowl, all  the attendants continued runn»ng"in one di-
' redion rOund the king and queen  with the utmoft fo-
' licitude, fome of them flopping at the head of the latter j
' as if to give her fomething.   When they came  to the
* extremity  of the abdomen, they took the eggs- from- her,
' and carried them away, and piled them carefully together
' in fome part of the chamber,  or in the bowl under, ot
* behind arty pieces of  broken clay which lay  moft con-
' venient for the purpofe.'
   In  this chapter, I have* given a fuccind view of the fa-
gacity, dexterity,  and  architedonic powers, exhibited ift
the coflftrudioh of habitations by the different claffes of
animals.  But I am not without apprehenfions, that, in
my endeavours to avoid prolixity, I  may have, in fome
inftances, degenerated into obfcurity.  Enough, however,
I hope, has been faid,  either for the purpofes of admira*
tioh or of reafoning;  and, therefore* I (hall not antici-
pate the reftedions of my readers, but proceed to the next
fubject.
CHAP. 
33*        THE   PHILOSOPHY
CHAPTER    XIV.
              Of the Hoflilities of Animals.


  IN contemplating the fyftem of animation exhibited in
   this planet, the only one of  which we have any  ex-
tenfive knowledge, the mind is flruck, and even confound-
ed, with the  general fcene of havock  and  devaftation
which is perpetually, and every where, prefented to our
view.  There is not, perhaps, a fingle fpecies of anima-
ted beings, whofe exiftence  depends not, more or  lefs,
upon the death  and  deftrudion of others.   Every  ani-
mal,  when not prematurely deprived of life by thofe who
are hoftile to it, or by accident, enjoys a temporary  ex-
iftence, the duration of which  is longer or  fhorter ac-
cording to its nature, and the rank it  holds  in  the  cre-
ation ; and this exiftence univerfally terminates in death
and diffolution.   This is an eftablifhed law of Nature, to
which every animal is obliged to  fubmit.  But  this  ne-
ceffary and univerfal deprivation of individual life, though
great, is nothing when compared to the havock occafion-
ed by another law, which impels animals to kill and  de-
vour different fpecies, and fometimes their own.   In the
fyftem of Nature, death and diffolution feem  to be indif-
penfible for the fupport and continuation of  animal  life.
  But, though almoft  every animal,  in fome meafure,
depends  for its  exiftence on the  deftrudion of others,
there are fome fpecies in all the different tribes or claffes,
which are distinguished by the appellation of  carnivorous,
or rapacious, becaufe  they live chiefly, or entirely, on ani-
mal food.  In the profecution of this  fubject, therefore,
we fhall, in the firft place,  mention  fome examples  of
animal hoftility and rapacity ; and,  in the next place, en*
deavour to point out  fuch advantages as  refult from this
                                           apparently, 
         OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     337
 appatently-cruel institution of Nature.  On the laft branch
♦ of the fubjed, however,  the reader muft not exped to
 have every difficulty removed, and every question folved.
 Like all the other parts of the ceconomy of Nature, the
 neceflity, or even the  feeming cruelty  and injuftice, of
 allowing animals to prey upon one another, is a myflery
 which we can never be enabled completely to  unravel.
 But we are not entirely without hopes of fhowing feveral
 important utilities which refult from this almoft univerfal
 fcene o£ animal devastation.
   Of  all rapacious animals,  Man is  the  moft  univerfal
 deftroyer.   The deftrudion  of carnivorous quadrupeds,
 birds, and  infeds, is, in general,  limited to particular
 kinds,   But the rapacity of man has  hardly  any limita-
 tion.  His empire over the other animals which inhabit
 this globe is almoft univerfal.  He accordingly employs
 his power,  and fubdues or  devours  every  fpecies.  Of
 fome of the quadruped tribes, as the horfe, the dog, the
 cat, he.makes domeftic flaves ;  and though in this coun-
 try, none of thefe fpecies is ufed for food, he either ob-
 liges them to labour for him, or keeps  them as fources
 of pleafure and ajnufement.  From other quadrupeds, as
 the ox, the fheep, the goat,  and the  deer  kind, he de-
 rives innumerable advantages.  The ox kind in particu-
 lar,  after receiving the emoluments of their labour and
 fertility, he  rewards  with death, and then feeds  upon
 their carcafes.  Many other fpecies, though not common-
 ly ufed as food,  are daily  maffacred in  millions  for th*
 purpofes of commerce, luxury, and caprice.   Myriads of
 quadrupeds are annually deftroyed for the fake of theirfurs,
 their hides, their tufks, their odoriferous fecretions, he.
   Over the feathered tribes the dominion of man is not
 lefs extenfive.  There is not a fingle fpecies in the nu-
 merous and  diverfified clafs  of birds, which he either*
 does not, or may not, employ  for the nourifhment of
 his body. By his fagacity and addrefs he has been  ena-
 bled to domesticate many of the more prolific and delici-
 ous fpecies,  as turkies, geefe, and the various kinds of
poultry.  Thefe he multiplies without end,  and  devours
-vt pleafure.
                       U u                  Neither 
33*
THE  PHILOSOPHY
   Neither do the inhabitants of the waters efcape the ra-
pacity of man.  Rivers, lakes, and even the ocean itfelf,
feel the power of his empire, and  are  forced  to fupply
him with provifions.  Neither air nor water can defend
againft the ingenuity, the art, and the deftrudive induftry
of the human fpecies.   Man may be faid even  to have
domcfticated fome  fifhes.   In  artificial ponds, he  feeds
and  rears carp,  tench, perch,  trout, and other  fpecies,
and with them occafionally furnifhes his table.
   It might have been expected, that infects and reptiles,
fome of which have a moft difgufting afped, would not
have excited the human appetite.   But we learn from ex-
perience, that, in every region of the earth, many infeds
which inhabit both  the earth and the waters, are efteem-
ed as delicate articles of luxury.  1 even the viper,  though
its venom be deleterious,  efcapes  not the all-devouring
jaws of man.
   Thus man holds, and too often exercifes, a tyrannical
dominion over almoft the  whole brute creation,  not  be-
caufe he is the ftrongeft of all  animals, but  becaufe  his
intelled, though of a  fimilar  nature, is  vaftly fuperior
to that of the moft  fagacious of the lefj^favoured tribes.
He reigns over the other animals, becaufe, like them, he
is not only endowed with fentiment, but becaufe the pow-
ers of his mind are more extenfive.  He overcomes force
by ingenuity,  and fwiftnefs by art and perfevcring induf-
try.   But the empire of man over the brute creation is
not abfolute.  Some fpecies elude his power by the rapi-
dity of their flight, by the fwiftnefs of their courfe, by
the obfeurity of their  retreats, and  by the element in
which they live.  Others efcape him  by the minutenefs
of their bodies; and,  inftead of acknowledging their fo-
vereign, others boldly  attack  him with  open hoftility.
He is alfo infulted and  injured by  the  ftings of infeds,
and by the poifonous bites of ferpents.  In other refpeds,
man's  empire, though comparatively great, is very much
limited.  He has no influence on  the  univerfe,  on  the
motions and affedions of the heavenly bodies,  or on the
revolutions of the globe which he inhabits.  Neither has
he a general dominion  over animals, vegetables,  or mi-
"                                             ncraU. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY;     339

nerals.  His power reaches not  fpecies, but  is confined
to individuals.  Every order  of being moves  On in its
courfe,  perifhes, or is renewed, by the irrefiltible power
of Nature.  Even man himfelf, hurried along by the ge-
neral torrent of time and of  Nature,  cannot prolong his
esiftejice.  He is obliged to fubmit to the univerfal law;
and, like all other organized beings,  he is born, grows
to maturity, and dies.  Though man has been  enabled
to fubdue the  animal creation by the fuperior powers  of
his mind, his  empire,  like all other  empires,  could not
be firmly eftablifhed previous to the inftitution of pretty
numerous focieties.   Almoft  the whole of his power is
derived from fociety.   It matures his reafon,  gives exer-
tion to his genius, and unites his forces.   Before the for-
mation  of large focieties, man was perhaps the moft help-
lefs and the leaft formidable of  all animals.  Naked, and
deftitute of arms, to him the earth was only an immenfe
defart peopled  with  ftrong and rapacious monfters, by
whom he was often devoured.  Even long after this  pe-
riod, hiftory informs us, that the firft heroes were  de-
ftroyers of wild beafts.  But, after the human fpecies had
multiplied, and fpread over the earth,  and  when, by
means of fociet^and the arts, man was enabled to con-
quer a confiderable part of the  globe, he forced the wild
beafts gradually to retire to the defarts,   He cleared  the
earth of thofe  gigantic animals who,  perhaps, now no
longer exift, but whofe enormous bones are ftill found in
different regions, and are preferved in the cabinets of the
curious.  He  reduced the numbers of the voracious and
noxious fpecies.  He oppofed the powers and the dexte-
rity of one animal to thofe of another.  Some he fubdued
by addrefs,  and others by force.  In this manner he,  in
procefs  of tirruv-acquired to himfelf perfect fecurity, and
eftablifhed an  empire that has no other limits than inac-
ceflible  folitudes, burning fands, frozen  mountains, or
obfcure caverns,  which are occupied as retreats by a few
fpecies of ferocious animals.
   Next to man, the carnivorous quadrupeds are the moft
numerous and the moft  deftrudive.   Different parts  of
the earth are infefted with lions, tigers, panthers, ounces,
                                            leopards, 
 340        THE  PHILOSOPHY
 leopards, jaguars, couguars, lynxes, wild cats, dogs, jack-
 als, wolves, foxes, hyaenas, civets, genets, polecats, mar-
 tins, ferrets,  ermines, gluttons,  bats, &c.   Though all
 thefe, and many other tribes  of quadrupeds, live folely
 upon blood and carnage, yet  fome of them, as the tiger,
 the wolf,  the hyaena, and many other  inferior  fpecies,
 are much  more  rapacious and  destructive  than  others.
 The lion,  though furrounded  with prey, kills no more
 tb.-n he is able to confume.  But the tig r is grofsly  fe-
 rocious, and  cruel without neceflity.  Though fatiated
 with carnage, he perpetually thirfts for blood,  tlis reft-
 lefs fury has no intervals, except.when he is obliged to
 lie in ambufh for prey at the fides of lakes  or rivers, to
 which other animals refort for drink.  lie feizes and tears
 in pieces a frefh animal with equal rage as  he exerted in
 devouring the firft. He defolates every country that he in-
 habits,  and dreads neither theafpect nor the arms of man.
 He facrifices whole flocks of  domeftic animals, and  all
 the wild beafts which come within the reach of his  ter-
 rible claws.  He attacks  the young of the elephant and
 rhinoceros, and fometimes even ventures to brave the li-
 on.   His predominant inftind is a perpetual  rage, a blind
 and undiltinguifhing ferocity,  which often impel him  to
 devour  his own voting, and to tear their mother in pieces
 when fhe attempts to defend them.  He delights in blood,
 and gluts himfelf with it till he is intoxicated.  He tears
 the body for no  other purpofe than to plunge his head
 into it,  and to drink large draughts of blood, the fources
of which are generally exhaufted before his  thirft is  ap-
 pealed.  The tiger is perhaps the only animal  whofe fe-
 rocity is unconquerable.  Neither violence, restraint, nor
bribery, have any effed in foftening his temper.   With
 harfh or gentle treatment he   is  equally  irritated.   The
mild and conciliating influence of fociety makes  no im-
preffion on the obduracy  and incorrigiblenefs of  his dif-
pofition.  Time, inftead  of foftening the  ferocioufnefa
of his nature, only exafperates his rage.  He tears, with
equal wrath, the hand which  feeds  him, as that  which
is raifed to ftrike him.  He roars and grins  at the fight
of every living being.  Every  animated objed he regards
                                                  as 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     341
as a frefh prey, which he devours before hand with the
avidity of his eyes, menaces it with frightful groans, and
often fprings at it, without regarding his chains, which
only reftrain, but cannot calm his fury.
   In temperate  climates, the wolf feems to  exceed all
other animals in the ferocity and rapacioufnefs of his dif-
pofition.  When preffed with hunger, he braves every
danger.   He  attacks  all  thofe animals which are under
the protedion of man,  efpecially fuch  as  he can carry
off with  eafe, as lambs, kids,  and the fmaller kinds of
dogs.  When fuccefsful  in his expeditions, he  returns
often to the charge, till, after being chaced and wounded
by men^and dogs, he retires, during the day,  to his den.
In the night he again iffues forth, traverfes  the country,
roams round the  cottages, kills all the animals that have
been left without, digs the earth under the doors,  enters
with a terrible ferocity,  and puts every living creature to
death, before he choofes to depart, and carry off his prey.
When thefe inroads happen to be fruitlefs, he returns to
the woods, fearches about with avidity,  follows the track
and the fcent of  wild beafts,  and purfues them till they
fall a prey to his  rapacity.   In a word, when his hunger
is extreme,  he lofes all idea of fear, attacks women  and
children,  and fometimes  men ;  at laft  he  becomes  per-
fedly furious by exceflive exertions, and generally falls a
facrifice  to  pure rage and diftradion.   When feveral
wolves appear together,  it is not an affociation of peace,
but  of war.  It  is  attended with tumult  and dreadful
growlings, and indicates an attack upon fome of the lar-
ger animals, as   a flag,  an ox,  or a  formidable maftiff.
This depredatory  expedition is no fooner ended than they
feparate, and every individual returns in filence to his fo-
litude.  Wolves  are  fond of human flefh.   They  have
been known  to follow armies, to come  in troops to the
field of battle, where bodies  are carelefsly interred, to
tear them up, and to  devour them with an infatiable avi-
dity : And, when once accuftomed to human flefh, thefe
wolves ever after attack men,  prefer the fhepherd to the
flock, devour women, and carry  off children.   Whole
countries are fometimes obliged to arm, in order to de- 
 34?        THE  PHILOSOPHY
itroy the wolves.  It is a fortunate circumftance that thefe
dangerous and deftrudive animals have been long totally
extirpated from Great-Britain and her iflands.
  Neither are the feathered tribes exempted from the ge-
neral  law of devaftation.   But the number of birds of
prey,  properly fo called, is much lefs in proportion  than
that of carnivorous quadrupeds.   Birds of prey are  like-
wife weaker ; and, of courfe, the deftrudion  of animal
life they occafion is much more limited than the immenfe
devastations daily committed  by  rapacious  quadrupeds.
But, as if tyranny never  loft fight of its  rights, great
numbers of birds make prodigious depredations upon the
inhabitants of the waters.  A vaft tribe of birds frequent
the waters, and live folely upon fifhes.  In a certain fenfe,
every fpecies of bird may be faid to be a bird of prey ;
for almoft the whole of them devour flies, worms, and
other infeds, either for food to themfelves or their young.
Birds of prey, like carnivorous quadrupeds, are not fo
prolific as the milder and more inoffenfive kinds.  Moft of
them lay only a fmall number of eggs.  The great eagle
and the ofprey produce only  two  eggs in a feafon.  The
pigeon, it  may be faid,  lays no more.   But it fhould be
confidered, that the pigeon produces two eggs three, four,
or five times, from fpring to autumn.   All birds of  prey
exhibit an  obduracy and a ferocioufnefs of difpofition,
while the other kinds are mild, chearful, and  gentle, in
their  afped  and  manners.   Moft birds of prey expel
their offspring from the  neft,  and relinquifh them to  their
fate, before they are fufficiently able to provide for them-
felves.  This cruelty is the effed of perfonal want in the
mother.   When prey is fcanty, which often happens, fhe
in a manner starves  herfelf to fupport her young.  But,
when her hunger becomes exceffive, fhe forgets her pa-
rental  affedion,  strikes,  expels, and fometimes, in a pa-
roxyfm of fury  produced by want, kills her offspring.
An averfion to fociety is another effed of this natural and
acquired obduracy of temper.  Birds of prey, as well as
carnivorous quadrupeds, never affociate.  Like  robbers,
 they lead a folitary and wandering life.  Mutual attach-
 ment unites the male and the female ;  and, as  they are
                                                 both 
           OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     343
   both capable of providing for themfelves,  and can give
   mutual affiftance in making war againft other  animals,
   they never feparate, even after the feafon of love.  The
   fame pair are uniformly  found  in  the  fame place ; but
   they never affemble in flocks, nor even affociate in fami-
   lies.   The  larger kinds,  as the eagles, require a greater
   quantity of food, and, for that reafon,  never allow their
   own offspring, after they have become rivals, to approach
   the places which the parents frequent. But all thofe birds,
   and all  thofe quadrupeds, which  are nourifhed by the
   produdions of the earth, live in families, are fond of fo-
   ciety, and affemble in numerous flocks,  without quarrel-
   ling  or difturbing one another.
      Both the earth and the air furnifh examples of rapaci-
   ous animals.  In thefe elements, however, the number of
   carnivorous  animals is comparatively fmall.  But every
   inhabitant of the  waters depends for its exiftence upon
   rapine and deftrudion.   The life of every fifh,  from the
   fmalleft to the greateft, is  one continued fcene of hosti-
   lity, violence, and evafion.   Their appetite for food is al-
   moft infatiable.  It impels them to  encounter every dan-
   ger.   They are in continual motion; and the objed of all
   their movements is to devour other fifhes, or to avoid
   their own deftrudion.  Their defire for food is fo keen
   and  undiftinguifhing, that they greedily  fwallow every
   thing which has  the appearance of animation.  Thofe
   that have fmall mouths feed upon worms and the fpawn
   of other fifhes ; and  thofe  whofe mouths  are larger de-
   vour every animal, their own fpecies not excepted, that
   can pafs through their gullet.  To  avoid deftrudion, the
   fmaller fry retire to the fhallows,  where the larger kinds
   are unable to purfue them.   But, in the watery element,
   no fituation is abfolutely  fafe ; for, even in the  fhallows,
   the oyfter, the fcallop, and the  mufcle,  lie  in ambufh at
   the bottom, with their fhells open, and, when a fmall fifh
   comes into contad with  them,  they inftantly clofe their
   fhells upon him, and devour at leifure  their imprifoned
   prey.  Neither is the hunting or purfuit of fifhes confin-
<  ed to particular regions.   Shoals  of one fpecies follow,
   with unwearied ardour,  thofe  of another through vaft
                                                  trads 
 344        THE   PHILOSOPHY
 trads of the ocean.   The cod purfues the  whiting from
 the bank3 of Newfoundland to  the  fouthern  coafts of
 Spain.
   It is  a remarkable  circumftance in the hiftory of  ani-
 mated Nature, that carnivorous birds and quadrupeds are
 lefs prolific than  the  inoffenfive and  aflbciating  kinds ;
 but, on the contrary, that the inhabitants of the waters,
 who are all carnivorous,  are endowed with a moft afto-
 nifhing  fecundity.  All kinds of fillies, a few only except-
 ed, are oviparous. Notwithftanding the amazing destruc-
 tion of  their  eggs by the fmaller fry  that frequent  the
 fhorcs,  by aquatic  birds, and  by the larger fifhes,  the
 numbers which  efcape are fufficient to fupply the ocean
 with  inhabitants, and to afford nouriffnnent to  a very
 great portion of  the human race.   A  cod,  for  inftance,
 according to the  accurate computation of  Lewenhoeck,
 produces, from one roe,  above nine millions of eggs in
 a fingle feafon.   The flounder  lays annually above  one
 million, and the  mackarel more than five hundred thou-
 fand : An increafe fo great, if permitted to  arrive at ma-
 turity, that the ocean itfelf,  in a few centuries, would  not
 be fpacious enough to contain  its  animated produdions.
 This wonderful fertility anfwers two valuable purpofes.
 In the midft of numberlefs enemies it continues the ref-
 pedive fpecies, and furnifhes  to all a proper quantity of
 nourifhment.
  We have thus feen  that man, fome quadiupeds, fome
birds, and all  fifhes,  are carnivorous animals.  But this
 fyftem of carnage  defcends ftill lower.  Many of the infed
tribes derive their nourifhment from putrid carcafes, from
 the bodies of living animals, or from killing and devour-
 ing weaker fpecies.   How many flies are daily facrificed
by  fpiders, a moft voracious  and  a molt numerous tribe
of infeds ? In  return, fpiders  are  greedily  devoured  by
flies which are diftinguifhed by the name of ichneumons.
The number of thefe ichneumon flies  is inconceivable ;
 and, if  it were not for the prodigious havock they make
 upon caterpillars and other infeds, the fruits of the earth
would be entirely deftroyed.   Wafps  are extremely fond
 of animal food.  They frequent butchers flails, and beat
                                                  otf 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     345
off the flefh-fly,  and every other infed that reforts thither
for the purpofe of depofiting its eggs in the meat.  Butch-
ers take the advantage of this jealous warfare.  They en-
courage the wafps, and make centinels of them, by giving
them livers, which they prefer to more fibrous flefh, pro-
bably becaufe they can  cut  livers more eafily with their
teeth.
   The libella, dragon, or lady-fly,  is well known by the
beauty of its colours and the fymmetry of its form. For
thefe external qualities it has received  the appellation of
lady-fly.  Its difpofitions and its mode  of life, however,
are more ferocious and warlike than thofe of the Ama-
zones.  Like birds of prey, they hover about in the air,
for the fole purpofe of devouring almoft every fpecies
of winged  infed.   They, accordingly, frequent marfhy
grounds, pools of water, and the margins of rivers,  where
infeds moft abound.  Their appetite is fo grofs and vora-
cious, that they not only devour fmall  flies, but even the
large flefh-fly, moths, and  butterflies,  of every kind.
   It has been often faid, that no  animal fpontaneoufly
feeds upon its own fpecies.  This  remark has probably
been intended as an apology for, or at leaft a limitation
to, the general fyftem of carnage eftablifhed  by Nature.
But, trie obfervation, whatever might  have been its in-
tention, is  unhappily a  refult of ignorance; for fome
quadrupeds,  all  fifhes, and many infeds, make  no fuch
difcrimination.  The weaker are uniformly preyed upon
by the stronger.   Reaumur put twenty of thofe caterpil-
lars which  feed upon the   leaves of the oak into a vial.
Though he regularly fupplied them  with plenty of frefh
oak leaves,  he obferved that the number of dead ones
daily increafed.  Upon a more attentive examination into
the caufe of this mortality, he found,  that  the stronger
attacked with their teeth, killed, fucked out the vitals of
their weaker companions, and left nothing but the head,
feet, and empty fkins.  In  a few days, one only of the
twenty remained in life.
   Caterpillars have myriads of external enemies, as birds
of almoft every  kind, many of the  fmaller quadrupeds,
their own fpecies,  and numberlefs infeds.   But this vaft
                        X x                   fource 
346         THE  PHILOSOPHY
fource of devaftation is ftill augmented by what may be de-
nominated their internal enemies.  Many flies depofit their
eggs in the bodies of caterpillars.  From thefe eggs proceed
(mail maggots, which gradually devour the vitals of the a-
nimal in which they refide.  When about to be transform-
ed into chryfalids, they pierce the fkin  of  the caterpillar,
fpin  their pods,  and remain on the empty  fkin till they
affume the form  of flies,  and efcape into  the  air to per-
form the fame cruel office to another unfortunate reptile.
Every perfon muft recoiled to have feen the colewort or
cabbage caterpillar fluck upon old walls, or the windows
of country cottages, totally covered with thefe chryfalids,
which have the form of fmall maggots, and are ot a fine
yellow colour.   One of the moft formidable enemies of
the caterpillar is  a black worm, with fix cruftaceous legs.
It is  as long, and  thicker than an  ordinary  fized cater-
pillar.   In the  fore  part of  the  head  it has two curved
pincers, with which it quickly pierces the  belly of a ca-
terpillar,  and never  quits the prey till it  is entirely de-
voured.   The largeft caterpillar is not fufficient to nourifh
this  worm for a  fingle day;  for it daily kills and eats  fe-
veral of them.   Thefe gluttonous worms, when gorged
with food, become inadive, and almoft motionlefs.  When
in this fatiated condition, young worms of the fame fpe-
cies  attack  and devour  them.   Of all trees, the oak,
perhaps, noufifhes the greateft number of different cater-
pillars,  as well as  of different infeds.  Amongft others,
the  oak  is  inhabited by a large and beautiful  beetle.
This beetle frequents the oak, probably becaufe that tree
is inhabited by  the greateft  number of caterpillars.   It
marches from branch to  branch,  and,  when difpofed  for
food, attacks and  devours the firft caterpillar that comes
in its way.
  The pucerons, vine-fretters, or plant-lice,  are very in-
jurious  to trees and vegetables  of almoft every kind.
Their fpecies  are  fo numerous, and all of them are en-
dowed with fuch a wonderful fertility, that  we  fhould
exped to  fee the leaves,  the branches, and the Items of
every plant totally covered with them.  But this aftonifh-
ing fecundity, and the devaftation thefe fmall infects would
                                          unavoidably 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.
347
unavoidably produce among the vegetable tribes, is check-
ed by numberlefs enemies.  Myriads of infeds of different
claffes, of different "genera, and of different fpecies, feem
to be produced for no other  purpofe  but  to devour the
pucerons.   Some of thefe infeds are fo voracious, that,
notwithftanding the extreme prolific powers of the puce-
rons, we have reafon to be furprifed that their fpecies are
not entirely annihilated.  On every leaf inhabited by the
puceron we find worms of different kinds.  Thefe worms
feed not upon the leaves, but upon the pucerons,  whom
they devour with an almoft incredible rapacity.  Some
of thefe worms are  transformed into flies with two wings,
others into flies with four wings, and others into beetles.
While in the worm-state, one  of thefe gluttonous infeds
will fuck out the vitals of twenty  pucerons in a quarter
of an hour.  Reaumur fupplied a fingle worm with more
than a hundred pucerons, every one of which it devoured
in lefs than three hours.
   Befide the general fyftem of carnage produced by the
neceflity of one animal's feeding upon another, there are
other fources of deftrudion, which originate  from  very
different motives.  Man is not the only animal who wages
war with his own fpecies.   War among mankind, in cer-
tain accidental fituations of  fociety,  may be produdive,
to particular nations or communities, of beneficial effeds.
But every advantage derived by war to one nation is ac-
quired at the expence, and either the partial or the total
ruin, of another.  If univerfal peace could be completely
eftablifhed,  and  if the earth were cultivated to the higheft
perfedion, it  is not probable that the multiplication  of
the human fpecies would ever rife to fuch a degree as to
exceed the quantity  of provifions produced by agriculture,
and by the  breeding  of domeftic animals, neceffary for
their exiftence and  happinefs.  But, as long as men are
aduated  by ambition, by refentment,  and  by  many
other  hoftile paffions,  war and animofity, with all  their
train of bloodfhed and calamity,  will forever  continue
to  barrafs and perfecute the human kind.   Let us, how-
ever, be humble.  We cannot  unfold the myfteries  of
Nature; but we may admire her operations, and fubmit,
                                                 with 
34»        THE  PHILOSOPHY,
with a becoming refignation, to her irrefiftible decrees.
The man,  if fuch a man there be, whofe ftrength of mind
enables  him to obferve fledfaftly this conduct,  is  the
only real philofopher.
  As formerly remarked, man is not the only animal that
makes  war with his own fpecies.  Quadrupeds, birds,
fifhes, inftds,  independently of their appetite for  food,
occalionally fight and kill each other.   On this fubjed
we fhall confine ourfelves to a few examples derived from
the infed  tribes.
  A fociety or hive of bees confifts of a female, of males,
and of drones,  or neuters.   Thefe three kinds continue,
for fome time, in the molt perfed harmony,  and mutu-
ally proted and affift each other.  The neuters, or work-
ing bees,  difcover the  ftrongeft attachment and affection,
to the males, even  when in their worm ftate.   The neu-
ters are armed with a  deadly fling,  of which the males
are deftitute.   Both are equally produced by the fame
mother, and live in the fame family.  But, notwithftand-
ing their temporary affedion, there are times when  the
neuters  cruelly maffacre the males.  Among the laws of
polilhed republics, we find fome which are extremely
barbarous.  The  Lacedemonians  were  allowed to  kill
L'ch  of their children  as were produced in a defedive or
mjiraed ftate,  becaufe they would become a burden upon
the community.  The laws  of the Chinefe permit adions
equally inhuman.   We perhaps know not all the reafons
why  the neuter bees treatThe males with fo much cruelty.
There is a time, however, when the males become per-
fectly ufelefs to the community; and it is not incurious
to remark, that the general maffacre  never  commences
till this period arrives.   Whenever a ftranger-bee enters
a hive,  his temerity is uniformly punifhed with death.
But mortal comb  s are not infrequent between bees be-
longing to the fame hive.  Thefe combats  are moft  fre-
cuent in clear and wa.v.i weather.   Sometimes two com-
b; tc.iits  coii'iv.  out  of  the hive clofely fattened to  each
ether.  At other times the attack is made in the air.   But,
in wnattv.r way the battle begins, both combatants uni-
forr::<j co.iie to the ground  before it is terminated by the
                                               death 
        OF, NATURAL  HISTORY.     34$

death  of  one of the  parties.   When they reach the
ground, each individual, like a wreftler,  endeavours  to
gain the moft advantageous pofition for flinging  his ad-
verfary to death.  Sometimes, though  rarely, the fling
is left in the wound.  If this were generally the cafe,
every combat would prove fatal to two bees;  for the
victor could not long furvive the lofs of his fling. Thefe
battles fometimes continue  near  an hour  before  one  of
the flies is left expiring on the ground.
 • Befide thefe fingle combats, general adions are not un-
frequent, efpecially  in the fwarming feafon.   When two
fwarms, or colonies, happen to contend for the fame ha-
bitation, a general and bloody engagement  immediately
enfues.   Thefe engagements often continue for hours,
and never terminate without great  havock on both fides.
The lting U not the only weapon  employed in war  by
bees.  They are furnilhed with two ftrong fangs or teeth,
with which they cruelly tear each other.  Even  in gene-
ral engagements,  all the combats are fingle.  But, when
the great flaughter of the males is  committing, three  or
four neuters are not afhamed to attack a fingle fly.
   Every wafp's neft, about the beginning of Odober,
exhibits a Angular  and a cruel fcene.  At this feafon,
the  wafps ceafe to  bring nourifhment to their  young.
From affedionate mothers or nurfes, they at once become
barbarous ftepmothers.   They are worfe ; for they drag
the young worms from their cells, and carry them out
of the neft.  Being thus expofed to  the weather, and
deprived of nourifhment, every one of them unavoidably
perifhes.   This devaftation is not, like that of the honey-
bees, confined to the male-worms.  Here no worm, of
whatever denomination or  fex, efcapes the general and
undiflinguifhed maffacre.  Befide expofing the worms to
the weather,  the wafps kill them with their fangs.  This
fad feems to be a violation of parental affedion, one of
the ftrongefl principles in animal nature.  But the inten-
tions of Nature, though they  may often elude our re-
fearches, are never  wrong.  What appears to us cruel
and unnatural in  this inltindive devaftation committed
annually by the wafps, is perhaps an ad  of the  greateft
                                              mercy 
35°
THE  PHILOSOPHY
mercy and compaflion.   Wafps are not, like the honey-
bees,  endowed with the inftind of laying up a (lore of
prqvifions for winter fubfiftence.   If not prematurely de-
stroyed by their parents, the young muft  neceffarily die
a more cruel and lingering death,  occafioned by hunger.
Hence this feeminglv-harfti condud in the oeconomy of
wafps, inftead of affording an exception to the univerial
benevolence and wifdom of Nature, is, in reality, a mer-
ciful inflitution.  Befides,  as the multiplication of wafps
is prodigious, and  as they are a  noxious  race both to
man and other animals, and efpecially to many tribes of
infeds, if their increafe were  not checked by fuch  a
dreadful  carnage,  their depredations,  in  a few  years,
would annihilate other  fpecies, break  the chain of Na-
ture,  and even prove deltrudive to man and the  larger
animals.  .
  The fame inftindive  flaughter,  and • probably for the
fame reafons,  is made by the hornets.   Towards the end
of October, all the worms and nymphs are dragged out
of the neft and  killed.  The neuters and males fall daily
vidims to the cold  ; fo  that,  at the end of winter, a few
fertile females only remain to continue the fpecies.
  According to the adopted plan, we fhall finifh this fub-
ied with fome obfervations which  may have a tendency
to reconcile our minds  to a fyftem fo deflrudive to indi-
viduals of every fpecies, that humanity,  when not en-
lightened by a ray of philofophy,  is apt to revolt,  and to
brand Nature with cruelty and oppreflion.  Nature,  it
muft be confeffed, feems almoft indifferent to individuals,
who perifh every moment in millions, without any appa-
rent compundion.   But, with regard to fpecies of every
defcription, her uniform and uninterrupted attention to
the prefervation and continuation  of the great fyftem of
animation is confpicuous, and  merits admiration.   Life,
it fhould appear, cannot be fupported without the inter-
vention of death.   Through almoft the whole of animat-
ed Nature, as we have feen, nothing but rapine, and the
deftrudion  of  individuals,  prevail.    This  deftrudion,
however, has  its ufe. Every animal, after death, admini-
sters life and happinefs to a number of others.  In many
                                            animals, 
       OF  NATURAL   HISTORY.     351

animals, the powers of digeftion, and of aflimilation, are
confined to animal fubftances alone.  If deprived of ani-
mal food, fuch fpecies, it is evident, could not exift. The
chief force of  this obfervation, it is admitted, is applica-
ble folely to the carnivorous tribes, ftridly fo denominat-
ed.  But, from the- fads formerly enumerated, and from
the daily experience of every man, it is  apparent, that,
perhaps, no animal does or can exift  totally independent
of food that is or has been animated.   Sheep, oxen, and
all herbivorous animals, though not from choice, and even
without confcioufnefs, daily devour thoufands of infeds.
This may be one  reafon why  cattle of all kinds fatten fo
remarkably in rich paftures ;  for infeds are always moft
numerous where the herbage  is luxuriant.  Nature is fo
profufe in  her animated  produdions, that no. food can
be eat, and no fluid can be drunk, in which animal fub-
ftances, either in a living or dead ftate, are not to be
found.
   To this reafoning it may be objeded, Why has Nature
eftablifhed a fyftem fo cruel ?  Why did fhe render it ne-
ceffary that one animal could not live without the  de-
ftrudion of another ? To fuch queftions no  anfwer can
be either given or expeded.  No being,  except the Su-
preme, can unfold this myftery.  Perhaps it even exceeds
the limits of poflibility to eftablifh fuch an extended fyf-
tem of animation upon any other foundation.  From the
general  benevolence of the great Creator, we  are war-
ranted to conclude that this is really the cafe.   But it is
fruitlefs to dwell upon fubjeds which are infcrutable, and
far removed beyond the powers of human intelled.  We
fhall therefore defcend, and endeavour  to point out fome
advantages which refult  from this myfterious institution
of Nature.
   On this branch of the fubjed, the  reader will eafily
perceive that  much order or connedion is not to  be ex-
peded.
   The hostilities  of animals,  mankind not excepted, give
rife  to mutual improvement.   Animals improve, and dii-
cover a fuperiority of parts, in proportion to the number
of enemies they  have to attack or evade.  The weak, and
                                               confe- 
 352        THE  PHILOSOPHY
 consequent I v timid, are obliged to exert their  utmoft
 powers in inventing and practifin ; every poflible mode of
 efcape.  Pure inliind powerfully prompts  ; but much is
 learned by experience  and obferv;ei e.  Rapacious ani-
 mals, on  the contrary, bv frequent difappoiatmcnt, are
 obliged to provide againft the cunning  and a.:rtn. s  of
 their prey.  Herbivorous animals, as they have little dif-
 ficulty  in procuring food, are proportion-illy  ltupid;
 but they would  be ftill more ftupid, if they had no
.enemies to annoy them.  Man, if his attention  and ta»
 lents were not excited by the animofities of his own fpe-
 cies, by the attacks  of ferocious animals, and even by
 thofe of the infed tribes,  would be an indolent, an in-
 curious, a dirty, and an ignorant animal.   Thofe of the
 human race, accordingly, who procure their food with lit*
 tie or no induftry, as we learn from a multitude of travel-
 lers and voyagers, are perfedly indolent and brutiflily ftu-
 pid.  Timid animals never  ufe the arts  of defence, or
 provide  againft danger, except from  three caufes,  pure
 inftinct,  which  is implanted in their natures,  imitation,
 and experience.  By experience, timid animals are taught
 the arts of evafion.   Flight is inftindive;  but  the modi-
 fications of it are acquired by imitation and experience.
   Hostilities,  in fome inftances, feem to arife,  not from
 a natural antipathy of one fpecies to another, but from a
 fcarcity of food.  The celebrated Captain Cooke informs
 us, that,  in Staten-Ifland, birds of prey affemble promif-
 cuoufly with penguins and other birds, without the one
 offering any injury,  or the other difcovering the fmalleft
 fymptom of terror.   In that illand, the rapacious birds,
 perhaps, find plenty  of food from dead feals, fea-lions,
 and fifhes.
   A profufion of animal life feems to  be the general in-
 tention of Nature.   For this purpofe, when not modified
 or restrained by the  induftry and intelligence of man, (he
 uniformly covers the furface of the earth with trees and ve-
 getables of every kind, which fupply myriads of animated
 beings with food.   But the  greateft poflible extenfion of
 life would  ftill be wanting,  if animals did not prey upon
 each other.  If  all animals were to  live upon vegetables
                                                alone, 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     353

alone,  many  fpecies, and millions of individuals,  which
now enjoy life and happinefs, could have  no exiftence ;
for the produdions  of the earth would not be fufficient
to fupport them.  But, by  making animals  feed upon
each other, the fyftem of animation and  of happinefs is
extended to  the greateft poflible degree.  In this view,
Nature, inftead of being cruel and oppreflive, is  highly
generous and beneficent.
   To diminifh the  number  of noxious animals, and  to
augment that of ufeful vegetables, has been the uniform
fcope of human  induftry.  A few fpecies of animals on-
ly are of immediate utility to man.  Thefe he either cul-
tivates  with  care, or hunts  for his prey.   The ox, the
fheep,  the goat,  and other animals which are under his
peculiar protedion, he daily ufes for food.  This is not
cruelty.  He has a right to eat them: For, like Nature,
though he occafionally destroys domeftic animals, a timid
and docile race of beings, by his culture  and protedion
he gives life  and happinefs  to millions, which, without
his aid, could have no exiftence.  The number of indi-
viduals, among animals of this defcription, if they were
not cherifhed and defended by man, would be extremely
limited ; for, by the  mildnefs of their difpofitions, the
comparative weaknefs  of their  arms, and the univerfal
and ftrong appetite for them by rapacious  quadrupeds
and birds of prey, though the fpecies might, perhaps, be
continued, the number of individuals  would, of necef-
fity, be very fmall.
   There is a wonderful balance  in the fyftem of animal
deftrudion.   If  the general profufion of the animated
produdions  of Nature had  no other check than the va-
rious periods to which  their  lives, when not extinguifhed
by hoftilities of one kind or  another, are limited, the
whole would foon be annihilated by an univerfal famine,
and the earth, inftead  of every  where teeming with ani-
mals, would, unlefs repeopled by a new creation,  ex-
hibit nothing but a mute, a lifelefs, and an inadive fcene.
If even a fingle  fpecies were permitted to multiply with-
out  disturbance,  the food of other fpecies would  be ex-
.haufted, and, of courfe, a period would  be put to their
                       Y v                exiftence. 
 354        THE  P H 1 L O S O P II Y
 exiftence.  The  herbivorous and frugivorous  races, if*
 not  restrained  by the  carnivorous, would  foon increafe
 to a hurtful degree.   Carnivorous animals are the bar-
 riers fixed by  Nature  to noxious inundations  of  other
 kinds.  The carnivorous tribes may be compared  to the
 hoe  and the pruning hook,  which, by diminifhing  the
 number of plants when too clofe, or lopping off their lux-
 uriancies, make the others  grow to greater  perfection.
 To thofe fwarms of infeds  which cover the furface  of
 the earth,  are  oppofed  an army of birds, an  adive, a
 vigilant, and a  voracious race.   Hares,  rabbits,  mice,
 rats,  are expofed to the depredations of carnivorous qua-
 drupeds and birds.  The larger cattle, as the ox,  the deer,
 the  fheep,  &c. are not  exempted from  enemies:  And
 man, by the fuperiority of  his  mental powers, checks
 the multiplication  of the carnivorous tribes,  and main-
 tains the balance and empire of the animal fyftem.  Thofe
 fpecies which are endowed with uncommon fertility hate
 the greateft number of enemies.  The caterpillar, the puce-
 ron, and infeds in general, one of the moft prolific tribes of
 animals, are attacked and devoured by numerous hoftile
 bands.  No fpecies, however, is ever exhausted.  The ba-
 lance between gain and lofs is perpetually preferved.   The
 earth, the feas,  |he atmofphere, may be confidered as an
 immenfe and variegated pafture.   In this view, it is moft
judiciouffy  cultivated and flocked by the numerous ani-
 mated beings which it  is deftined to fupport.  Every
 animal and every vegetable furnifh fubfiftence to particular
 fpecies.  Thus, nothing of value is loft ; and every fpecies
 is abundantly fupplied with food.
  That the general balance of  animation  is conltantly
 preferved, we learn from daily experience.  The reader,
 however, I prefume, will not be difpleafed  to have fome
 examples of the modes employed by Nature to accomplifh
 this  effed fuggefted to him.
  After an  inundation of the Nile,  the  lower  parts  of
 Egypt are greatly  infefted  with ferpents,  frogs,  mice,
 and  Other vermin.  At  that period,  the  ftorks refort
 thither  in  immenfe multitudes, and devour  the  fer-
 peius, frogs, and mice, wMch, without this dreadful car.
                                               nage, 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     355
nage, would bejfejghly noxious to the  inhabitants.  Be-
lon, a moft ingenious and faithful French Naturalift, re-
marks,  that, in many places, the land could not be inha-
bited, if the florks did not deftroy the  amazing numbers
of mice which frequently appear  in Paleftine, and other
parts of the Eaft bordering upon  Egypt.  The Egyptian
vulture, fays Haffelquift, is  of fingular benefit to that
country.  It eats up all the dung and offals in  the towns,
and the carcafes of camels, horfes, affes, &c. in the fields,
which,  if not quickly devoured,  would, in  that warm
climate, by their putrefcency, be produdive of difeafe
and death to the inhabitants.  Putrid carcafes, in all coun-
tries, are both  offenfive  to  the  noftrils  and  hurtful to
health.  But Nature, by  various inftruments, foon  re-
moves the evil.   An animal  no  fooner dies,  than, in a
very fhort time, he* is confumed by bears, wolves, foxes,
dogs, and ravens.  In fituations where  thefe animals dare
not approach, as in the vicinity of towns and villages, a
dead horfe, in  a few days,  is devoured by  myriads of
maggots.  In the uncultivated parts of America, ferpents
and fnakes of different kinds abound.   After it was  dif-
covered that fwine greedily devoured ferpents, hogs were
 uniformly kept by  all new fettlers. Caterpillars are de-
 ftrudive to the  leaves and fruits  of plants.   Their num-
bers and varieties are immenfe.    But their devaftations
 are checked by many enemies.   Without a profufion of
 caterpillars, moft of the fmaller  birds, efpecially  when
 young, could not be fupported.   By devouring the ca-
 terpillars, thefe birds preferve the  fruits of the earth from
 total deftrudion.  Mr. Bradley,  in his General Treatife
 of Hufbandry and Gardening, has publifhed  a letter, in
 which  the author oppofes the common  opinion, that birds,
 and particularly fparrows, do much mifchief  in our gar-
 dens and fields.  The fad is admitted.   But the great uti-
 lity of  thefe birds is overlooked :  For  this author proves,
 that they are much more ufeful than noxious.   He fhows,
 that a  pair of fparrows, during the time they have their
 young to feed,  deftroy, every  week, 3360  caterpillars.
 This calculation he founded  upon adual obfervation.  He
 difcovered that the  two parents carried to the neft 40 ca-
                                              terpillars 
356
THE  PHILOSOPHY
 ter pi liars in an hour.   He then fuppofes, which Is a mo-
 derate fuppofition, that the fparrows enter the neft only i a
 hours each dav, which is a daily consumption of 480 ca-
 terpillars.  This fum, multiplied by 7, or the days in a
 week, gives 3360 caterpillars extirpated weekly from a gar-
 den.  The utility of thefe birds is not limited to this  cir-
 cumftance alone ; for they likewife fccol their young with
 butterflies, and other winged  infeds, each of which, if not
 deftroved in this manner, would  be the parent of feveral
 hundreds of caterpillars.  Thofe butterflies and caterpillars
 which are covered with hair are rejeded by fome birds, who
 prefer flies of a fmoother and fmalier kind.  But thefe hairy
 fpecies, it fhould  be confidered, are the food of the worms
 which are  transformed into thofe fmaller flies that afford
 nourifhment to the birds which reject the hairy caterpillars
 and  butterflies.
   Shell-fifhes are extremely prolific, and fo ftrongly for-
 tified by Nature, that their increafe, one fhould imagine,
 would foon augment to a degree  that might be hurtful to
 other fpecies.  ' Their noxious multiplication, however,
 is checked by  numberlefs enemies.   But their  mofl def-
 trudive enemy is the  trochus, which is  a kind of fea-
 fnail.  This animal is furnifhed with a ftrong, mufcular,
 hollow trunk, bordered at the extremity with a cartilage
 toothed like a faw.   Againft  this inftrument, which acts
 like  an augre, no fhell, however hard or thick, is a fuf-
 ficient defence.   Thefe animals,  called trochi,  fix them-
 felves upon an oyfter  or a mufcle, bore through the fhell
 with their  trunk, and devour their prey at their  leifure.
 The  animal attacked, if a bivalve, may open or mut its
 (hell; but  no efforts of this kind can be of any avail 5
 for the trochus remains immoveably fixed till it has com-
 pletely lucked  out the vitals  of its prey.   In this  cruel
 occupation the trochus often continues for days, and even
 weeks, before the life of the  animal attacked is felly ex-
 tinguifhed.  The operation of the trochus may be feen
 in the fhells of many oyfters, mufcles-, and other  fhell-
fifhes ; for  their fhells are often pierced with  a number
 of circular holes.
                                                 Th« 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     357
  The amazing ftrength of the whale, one fhould ima-
gine, would fecure it from the infults of every other ani-
mal.  But, befide the annual depredations made by man
upon the cetaceous  tribes,  they are  often attacked  and
killed by the fword-fifh.  The fnout of this comparatively-
fmall animal  is armed  with a long, hard, projedion of
bone, each edge of which is furnilhed with a number of
ftrong,  flat, and fharp  points, or teeth, fome of which,
efpecially near the fnout, are an inch and a half in length.
With this  inftrument the fword-fifh  boldly attacks the
whale.   I have often had the pleafure, fays Pere Labat *,
of feeing their combats. The whale has no other defence
but its tail, with which it endeavours to ftrike its antago-
nist.  But, as the fword-fifh is more adive and nimble
than  the whale,  he eafily  parries the blow by  fpringing
into the air,  and renewing the attack with  his faw-like
inftrument.  Whenever he  fucceeds,  the fea is  dyed red
with the blood iffuing from  the wound.   The fury of the
whale appears from the vehemence with which it lafhes
the waters, each ftroke refounding like  the report of  a
cannon.
   Many fmall birds, and  particularly the wren and the
tit-moufe, may be feen, during the winter-feafon, pecking
at the buds  and branches  of trees in our gardens.   To
thefe little animals Nature has entrusted the charge of pre-
venting the noxious multiplication of thofe worms which
feed upon  fruits.   Nature,  as far as we are able to  trace
her operations,  does nothing in vain, or without  fome
valuable intention.   No animals exift which are not ufe-
ful,  either by affording nourifhment to, or preventing the
hurtful increafe of, other fpecies.
   Upon the  whole, every animated being that inhabits
this globe  feems to be deftined by Nature, not for its own
individual exiftence and happinefs alone, but likewife for
the exiftence and happinefs of other animated beings.   A
circle of animation and  of deftrudion goes perpetually
round.  This is the ceconomy of Nature.  Different fpe-
cies of animals live by the mutual deftrudion of each
                                               other.
* Nouv.Yoyage, torn. 6. pag. 150. S. 
35*        THE   PHILOSOPHY
other.   Even among individual men, the ftrong too often
opprefs the weak; but, on the other  hand, the wife in-
struct the ignorant   Thefe are the bonds of fociety, and
the fources of improvement.
CHAPTER    XV.
             Of the Artifices of Animals.


  IT will be recolleded, that many instances of the dex-
   terity and artifices employed by  different animals in
various parts of their manners and ceconomy, have been
occafionally mentioned in feveral of  the  foregoing chap-
ters.  This circumftance, to avoid repetitions, will necef-
farily render the prefent chapter proportionally fhort.
  The artifices  pradifed by animals proceed from feve-
ral  motives, many of which are purely inftindive, and
others are acquired by experience and imitation.  Their
arts, in  general, are called  forth and  exerted by three
great and important caufes, the love of life, the defire
of multiplying and continuing the fpecies, and that ftrong
attachment which every animal has to its offspring.  Thefe
are the fources  from which all the movements, all  the
dexterity, and all the fagacity of animals originate.   The
principle of felf-prefervation is  inftindive,  and ftrongly
impreffed upon the minds of all animated beings.  It
gives rife to innumerable arts of attack and defence, and
not unfrequently to furprifing exertions of fagacity and
genius.   The fame remark is applicable to  the defire of
multiplication, and to parental affedion.   Upon this fub-
jed we fhall, as ufual, give fome examples  of animal ar-
tifice, which may both  amufe and inform fome readers.
   When a bear, or other rapacious animal, attacks cattle,
they inftantly join and form a phalanx for mutual defence.
In the fame circumftances, horfes rank up  in  lines*  and
                                                 beat 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     359

beat off the enemy with their heels. Pontoppidan tells us,
that the fmall Norwegian horfes, when attacked by bears,
inftead of ftriking  with their  hind-legs, rear, and, by
quick and repeated  ftrokes with their forefeet, either kill
the enemy, or oblige him to retire.  This  curious, and
generally fuccefsful defence, is frequently performed in
the woods, while a traveller is fitting on the horfe's back.
It has often  been remarked,  that troops of wild horfes*
when fleeping either in plains or in the foreft, have always
one of their number awake,  who ads as a centinel, and
gives  notice of  any approaching danger.
  Margraaf informs us, that  the monkeys in Brazil, while
they are fleeping on the trees, have uniformly a centinel
to warn them of the approach of the tiger or other rapa-
cious animals ;  and that, if ever  this  centinel is found
fleeping, his companions inftantly tear him  in pieces for
his negled of duty.  For the fame purpofe, when a troop
of  monkeys are committing depredations on the fruits of
a garden, a centinel is placed on an eminence, who, when
any perfon  appears,  makes  a  certain chattering  noife,
which the reft underftand to be a fignal for retreat, and
immediately fly off and make their efcape.
   The deer-kind are remarkable for the arts they employ
in order to  deceive the dogs.  With this view the flag
often returns twice or thrice upon his former fteps.  He
endeavours to raife hinds or  younger flags to follow him,
and to draw off  the  dogs from the immediate objed of
their purfuit.   If he fucceeds in this attempt, he then flies
off with redoubled fpeed, or fprings  off at a fide, and lies
down on his  belly to conceal himfelf.   When in this fitu-
ation, if by any means his foot is recovered by the dogs,
they purfue him with more advantage, becaufe he is now
confiderably fatigued.   Their ardour increafes in propor-
tion to his feeblenefs;  and the fcent becomes stronger as
he grows warm.  From thefe circumftances the dogs aug-
ment their cries and their fpeed; and, though  the flag
employs more  arts of efcape than formerly, as his fwift-
nefs  is diminifhed, his doublings and artifices become
gradually lefs effectual.  No other refource  is now left
him but to fly from the earth which  he treads, and go in-
                                                   to 
360        THE   PHILOSOPHY

to the waters, in order to cut off the fcent from the dogs,
when the huntfmen again endeavour to put  them on the
track of his foot.   After taking to the water,  the flag is
fo much exhausted that he is incapable of running much
farther, and is foon at bay, or, in other words, turns and
defends himfelf againft  the hounds,  In this fituation he
often wounds the dogs, and even the huntfmen, by blows
with his horns, till one of them cuts his hams to make him
fall,  and then puts a period to his life.   The fallow-deer
is more delicate,  lefs favage, and  approaches nearer  to
the domeftic ftate than the flag.  The  males, during the
rutting feafon, make a bellowing noife, but with a low and
interrupted voice.  They  are not fo furious as the (lag.
They never depart from their own country in queft of fe-
males ; but they bravely fight for  the poffeffion of their
miftreffes. They affociate in herds, which generally keep
together.  When great numbers  are  affembled  in one
park, they commonly form themfelves into two diftind
troops, which foon become hoftile, becaufe they are both
ambitious of poffefling the fame  part of the inclofure.
Each of thefe  troops has its  own  chief or leader, who
always marches foremoft,  and he is uniformly the oldest
and ftrongeft of the flock.  The others follow him; and
the whole draw up in order  of battle, to force the other
troop, who obferve the fame condud,  from the beft paf-
ture.   The regularity with which thefe combats are conr
duded is Angular. They make regular attacks, fight with
courage, and never think themfelves vanquifhed by one
check; for  the battle  is daily renewed till the weaker
are completely defeated, and  obliged  to remain in the
worft pafture.  They love elevated and hilly countries.
When hunted, they run not  straight out, like the flag,
but double, and endeavour to conceal themfelves from the
dogs by various  artifices, and by fubftituting  other ani-
mals in their place.  When  fatigued  and heated,  how.-
ever, they take the water ; but never attempt to crofs fuch
large rivers as the flag.  Thus, between the chace of the
fallow-deer and of the flag, there  is no  material  diffe-
rence.  Their  fagacity and  inflinds,  their  fhifts and
doublings, are the fame, only they are more  frequently
                                            pradifed 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    361
pradifed  by the fallow-deer.  As he runs not fo far be-
fore the dogs, and is  lefs enterprifing, he has oftener oc-
cafion to  change, to  fubftitute another in his  place,  ten
double,- return upon  his former tracks, &c. which ren-
ders the hunting of the fallow-deer more fubjed to incon-
veniencies than that of the flag.
   The  roe-deer is inferior  to the flag and  fallow-deer
both in ftrength  and  flature; but he  is  endowed  with
more gracefulnefs, courage, and vivacity.  His eyes are
more brilliant and animated.  His limbs are more  nim-
ble ;  his  movements  are  quicker, and  he bounds  with
equal vigour  and agility.  He  is  likewife more  crafty,
conceals himfelf  with greater addrefs,  and derives fupe-
rior refources from his inftinds.   Though he leaves be-
hind him a stronger fcent than the flag, which increafes the
ardour of the dogs, he knows how to  evade their  pur-
fuit, by the rapidity with which  he commences his flight,
and by his numerous  doublings.   He delays not his arts
of defence till his ftrength begins to fail him ;  for he no
fooner perceives that the firft efforts of a rapid flight have
been unfuccefsful, than he  repeatedly  returns upon his
former  fteps; and, after confounding,  by thefe oppofite
motions, the direction  he has taken,  after intermixing
the prefent with the paft emanations of  his body, he, by
a great  bound, rifes from the earth, and, retiring to a
fide, lies down flat on his belly.  In this immoveable fitua-
tion, he often allows the whole pack of  his deceived ene-
mies to pafs very near him.  The  roe-deer differs from
the flag in difpofition, manners,  and in almoft every na-
tural habit.   Inftead of affociating in herds, they live in
feparate families.   The two parents and the young go to-
gether, and  never mingle with strangers.  They are  con-
stant in  their amours,  and never  unfaithful like the  flag.
The females commonly produce two fawns,  the  one a
male and the other a female.  Thefe young animals,  who
are brought  up and nourifhed together,  acquire a mutual
affedion fo ftrong, that they never depart from each other.
This attachment is fomething more than love; for, though
always in company, they feel the rut but once a year, and
it continues  only fifteen  days.  At this period the father
                       Z z                    drives 
562        THE   P II I L O S O P If Y
drives off the fawns,  as  if he intended that they fhoulcf
yield their place to thofe which are to fuccced, in order
to form new  families for themfelves.  After the rutting
feafon, however,  is  paft. the fawns return to their mo-
ther, and continue  with her fome time longer ;  after
which  thev feparate  forever, and  remove to a  diftance
from the place of their nativity.   When about  to  bring
forth, the female feparates from the male ; and, to avoid
the wolf, her moft dangerous enemy, conceals herfelf in
the deepeft receffes of the foreft.  In a week or two  the
fawns are able to follow her. When threatened with dan-
ger,  fhe hides them in a  clofe thicket;  and, fo ftrong is
her parental affection, that, in order to preferve her  oft-
fpring from deftrudion, fhe prefents herfelf to be chaced.
  Hares poffefs not,  like rabbits, the art of digging re-
treats in the earth.  But  they neither want inftind fuffi-
cient for their own prefervation, nor fagacity  for  escap-
ing their enemies. They form  feats or nefts on the fur-
face of the ground, where they  watch,  with the moft vi-
gilant attention, the approach of any danger.  In order
to deceive, they conceal themfelves between clods of the
fame colour with that of their own hair. - When purfu-
ed, they firft  run with rapidity,  and then double, or re-
turn upon their former fteps.  From the place of start-
ing,  the females  run not fo far as the males;  but'they
double more frequently.  Hares hunted in the place where
they  were brought forth, feldom remove to a great dif-
tance from it, but return to their form ;  and, when chaced
two days fucceffivcly, on the fecond day they perform the
fame doublings they  had  pradifed the day before. When
hares run ftraight out to  a  great  diftance, it is a proof
thet they are  ftrangers, Male hares, efpecially during the
n )ft remarkable period of rutting, which is in the months
   i.-nuary, February, and  March, fometimes  perform
     ;e- of feveral miles in queft of mates; but, as foon
        .re darted by dogs, they fly back to the place of
       -tivity.  ' I have feen a hare,' Fouilloux remarks,
     gacious. that,  after hearing  the hunter's horn, he
  e rted  from his fe,rm, and, though at the diftance of a
  quarter of a league, wciil to  fwim in a pool, and  lay
                                              ' down 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      363
* down on the rufhes in the middle of it, without being
* chaced by the dogs.   I have feen a  hare, after running
' two hours before the dogs, pufh another from his feat,
* and take poffeffion of it.  I have feen others fwim over
* two or three ponds, the narrowest of which  was eighty
* paces broad.  I have feen others, after a two hours chace,
6 run into a fheep-fold and lie down among them.  I have
' feen others, when hard pufhed, run  in among a flock of
* fheep, and would not leave them.   I have feen others,
' after hearing the noife of the hounds, conceal themfelves
6 in the earth.  I have feen others run up one fide of a
6 hedge and return by the other, when there was nothing
' elfe between them  and  the dogs.   I have feen others,
* after running half an hour, mount an old wall, fix feet
6 high, and clap down in a hole covered with ivy.  Laflly,
' I have feen  others fwim over a river, of about eighty pa-
e ces  broad,  oftener  than twice, in  the  length  of  two
' hundred paces.'
  The fox  has, in all ages and nations, been celebrated
for craftinefs.and addrefs.  Acute and circumfped, faga-
cious and prudent, he diverfifies his condud,  and always
referves fome art for unforefeen accidents.  Though nim-
bler  than the wolf, he trufts not entirely to the fwiftnefs
of his courfe.  He knows how to enfure fafety,  by pro-
viding himfelf with an afylum, to which  he retires when
danger appears.  He  is not a vagabond, but lives in a  fet-
tled  habitation and in a domeftic ftate.  The choice of
fituation, the art of  making and rendering a houfe com-
 modious, and of concealing the avenues which lead to it,
imply a fuperior degree of fentiment and refledion. The
fox poffeffes  thefe qualities, and employs  them with dex-
terity and advantage.  He takes up his abode on the bor-
der of a wood,  and  in the  neighbourhood of cottages.
Here he liftens to the crowing of the  cocks and the noife
of the poultry.  He fcents them at a diftance.   He choofes
 his time with great judgment and difcretion. He conceals
 both his route and his defign.   He moves forward with
 caution, fometimes even  trailing his  body, and feldom
makes a fruitlefs expedition. When he leaps the wall, or
gets  in underneath it, he ravages the court-yard, puts all 
364        THE  PHILOSOPHY
the fowls to death, and then retires quietly u ith his prey,
which he either conceals under the herbage, or carries oft'
to his kennel.   In a fhort  time he returns for another,
which he carries off and hides in the  fame manner,  but
in a different place.  In this manner he proceeds,  till the
light  of the  fun, or fome movements perceived in the
houfe, admonifh him that it is time to retire to his  den.
He does much  mifchief to the bird-catchers.   Early  in
the morning he vifits their nets and their bird-lime, and
carries oft fucceflivelv all the birds that happen to be en-
tangled.  The young hares he hunts in the plains, feizes
old ones in their feats, digs out the rabbits in the warrens,
finds out the nefts  of partridges, quails, &c.  feizes  the
mothers on the eggs, and destroys a prodigious number
of game.  Dogs oi  all  kinds fpontaneoufly hunt the fox.
Though his  odour be ftrong, they  often  prefer him  to
the flag or the hare. When purfued he runs to his hole ;
and it is not uncommon to fend in terriers to detain him
till the hunters remove the earth above,  and either kill
or feize him alive.  The moft certain  method,  however,
of destroying a fox is to begin with fhutting up the hole,
to station  a man with a gun near the entrance, and then
to fearch about with the dogs.   When they fall in  with
him he immediately makes  for his hole.   But, when he
conies up to it, he is met with a difcharge from the  gun.
If the fhot miffes him,  he flies off full  fpeed, takes a wide
circuit,  and returns again to the hole, where he  is fired
upon  a fecond time ; but, when he difcovers that the en-
trance is fhut, he darts away ftraight  forward, with the
intention of never revifiting his former habitation..  He
is next purfued by the  hounds, whom he feldom fails to
iiatigue;  becaufe, with much cunning, he paffes through
the thickeft  part of the foreft, or places of the moft dif-
ficult  accefs, where the dogs are  hardly able to follow
him ;  and, when he takes to the plains, he runs straight
out, without either flopping ojlsioubling.   But the  moft
ciudual way of deftroy ing  foxes is to lay fnares baited
with live pigeons, fowls, &c.  The fox is an exceedingly
voracious animal.   Befide all kinds  of flefh and fifhes, he
devours, with equal avidity, eggs, milk, cheefe, fruits, and
                                              particu- 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      365
particularly grapes.  He  is fo extremely fond of honey,
that he attacks the nefts jof wild bees.  They at firft put
him to flight by number lefs ftings; but he retires for the
fole purpofe of rolling himfelf  on  the ground, and  of
crufhing  the bees.   He returns  to  the charge  fo often,
that he obliges them to abandon the hive, which he foon
uncovers, and devours  both  the honey  and the wax.
Some time before the female brings forth, fhe retires, and
feldom leaves her hole, where fhe prepares a bed for her
young.  When fhe perceives that her retreat is difcovered,
and that her young have  been  disturbed, fhe carries them
off,  one by  one, into a new habitation.   The fox fleeps
in a round form, like  the dog;  but,  when he only re-
pofes himfelf,  he lies on  his belly with his  hind-legs ex-
tended.  It  is in this fituation that he eyes the birds on
the hedges and trees.  The birds have fuch an antipathy
againft him, that they no fooner perceive him than they
fend forth fhrill cries to advertife their neighbours of the
enemy's approach.   The jays and blackbirds, in particu-
lar, follow the fox from tree to tree, fometimes two  or
three hundred  paces, often repeating  the watch-cries.
The Count de Buffon kept two young foxes, which, when
at  liberty,  attacked the poultry ; but, after they were
chained, they never attempted to touch a fingle fowl.  A
living hen was fixed near them  for whole nights ;  and,
though deftitute of  viduals for many hours, in fpite of
hunger and of  opportunity, they never forgot that they
were chained, and gave the hen no disturbance.
   In Kamtfchatka, the animals  called gluttons  employ a
Angular stratagem for killing the fallow-deer. They climb
up a tree, and carry with them a quantity of that fpecies
of mofs of  which the deer are very fond.   When a deer
approaches  near the tree, the  glutton throws down the
mofs.  If the  deer flops to  eat the mofs, the glutton in-
ftantly darts down upon its back, and, after fixing him-
felf firmly between the horns, tears out its eyes, which
torments the animal to fuch a degree, that, whether to put
an end to its torments,  or to get rid of its cruel enemy, it
strikes its head againft  the trees till it falls down dead.
The glutton divides the flefh of the deer into convenient
                                             portions, 
 366        THE  PHIL OSOP II Y
 portions, and conceals them in the earth to ferve for future
 provifions.  The gluttons  on  the  river Lena kill  horfes
 in the fame manner *.
   There are feveral fpecies  of rats in Kamtfchatka.  The
 moft remarkable kind is called  tegulchitch  by the natives.
 Thefe  rats  make neat and  fpacious nefts  uncjer ground.
 They are lined with turf, and divided into  different apart*
 ments, in which the rats depofit ftores of provifions for
 fupporting  them during the winter.  It is worth;,  oi re-
 mark, that the rats of this country never  tout h the pro-
 vifions laid up for  the winter,  except when  they cannot
 procure nourifhment any where elfe.  Thefe rats, like the
 Tartars,  change their habitations.  Sometimes they to-
 tally abandon Kamtfchatka for feveral  vers, and  their
 retreat greatly alarms the inhabitants, which they confider
 as a prefage of  a  rainy feafon, and of a bad year for
 hunting.  The  return  of  thefe  animals  is,  of courfe,
 looked upon as a  good  omen.   Whenever they appear,
 the happy news is  loon fpread over all parts of the coun-
 try.  They alw ays  take their departure in the fpring, when
 they affemble in  prodigious numbers, and  traverfe rivers,
 lakes,  and even  arms of the fea.  After they have made
 a long voyage, they frequently lie motionlefs on the fhore,
 as if they were dead.  ' When they recover their ftrength
 they recommence their march.  The inhabitants of Kamt-
 fchatka are very felicitous  for  the prefervation of thefe
 animals.  They  never  do the  rats  any injury, but give
 them every affiftance when they lie weakened and extend-
 ed on the ground.  They generally return to Kamtfchatka
 about  the month of Odober;  and they  are  fometimes
 met with in fuch prodigious numbers that travellers are
obliged to flop two hours till the whole troop paffes. The
 track of  ground they travel in a fingle fummer is not lefs
wonderful than the regularity they obferve in their march,
and that  inftindive impulfe which enables them to fore-
 fee, with certainty, the  changes of times and of feafons.
  With regard to Birds, their artifices are not lefs nume-
rous nor lefs furprifing than thofe of quadrupeds. The eagle
and hawk-kinds are remarkable  for the fharpnef* of their
                                                fight,
           * Gazette Literaire,  vol. i. pag. 481. S. 
      OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      36*
fight, and the arts they  employ in catching their  prey.
Their movements are rapid or flow, according to their in-
tentions, and  the fituation of  the animals  they wifh to
devour.   Rapacious  birds  uniformly  endeavour to rife
higher in the  air than their prey, that they may have an
opportunity of darting forcibly down upon  it with  their
pounces.  To counterad thefe artifices, Nature has  en-
dowed the fmaller and more innocent fpecies of birds with
many arts of defence.   When a hawk appears, the final!
birds, if they find it convenient, conceal  themfelves in
hedges or brufh-wood.   When deprived of this opportu-
nity,  they  often, in  great numbers, feem to  follow  the
hawk, and to expofe themfelves unneceffarily to danger,
while, in fad, by their numbers, their perpetual  chan-
ges of diredion, and their uniform endeavours to  rife
above him,  they perplex the hawk to fuch a degree, that
he is  unable to  fix upon a fingle objed ;  and,  after ex-
erting all his art and addrefs, he is frequently obliged to
relinquifh the purfuit. When in the extremity of danger,
and after  employing every other artifice in vain, fmall
birds have been  often known to fly to men for protedion.
This is  a plain indication that thefe animals, though they
in general  avoid the human  race,  are by no means fo
much afraid of man  as of rapacious birds.
  The ravens often  frequent  the fca-fhores  in queft of
food.  When they find  their inability to break the fhells
of mufcles, &c. to  accomplifh this purpofe  they  ufe  a
very ingenious ftratagem : They carry a mufcle, or other
fhell-fifh, high up in the air, and then dafh it down upon
a rock, by  which  means the fhell is broken, and they ob-
tain the end they had in view.
   The wood-pecker  is furnilhed with a very long and vo-
luble tongue. It feeds  upon ants and other fmall infeds.
Nature has endowed this  bird with a fingular  inftind.
It knows how to procure food without feeing  its prey.  It
attaches itfelf to the trunks or branches of decayed trees;
and,  wherever it perceives a hole or crevice,  it darts in
its  long tongue, and brings it out loaded with infeds of
different kinds.  * This operation is  certainly  inftindive;
but the inftind is aflifted by the inftrudion of the parents; 
368         THE  PHILOSOPHY

for the young are no fooner able to fly, than the parents,
by the force of example, teach them  to  refort to trees,
and to infert their tongues indifcriminately into every hole
or fiffure.
  Of the ceconomy of Fifhes,  as formerly remarked, our
knowledge  is extremely limited.   But, as the  oceah ex-
hibits a perpetual and a general fcene  of attack and de-
fence,  the arts of affault and of evafion muft,  of  courfe,
be exceedingly various.   P'or the prefervation of fome
fpecies of fifties, Nature has armed them  with ftrong and
(harp pikes.  Others,  as  the  perch-kind, are defended
with ftrong bony rays in their  fins.  Others, as the uni-
valve fhell-fifh,  retire into  their fhells  upon the approach
of danger.   The bivalves and multivalves, when attacked,
inftantly fhut their fhells, which, in general, is a fufficient
protedion to them.  Some univalves, as the limpet-kind,
attach themfelves fo firmly, by excluding the air, to rocks
and ftones, that,  unlefs quickly furprifed, no force  infe-
rior to that of breaking the fhell can remove them.  The
flying-fifh,  when  purfued,  darts out of  the water,  and
takes refuge in  the air,  in  which it is for fome time fup-
ported by the operation of  its large and pliable fins.  The
torpedo is furnifhed with a remarkable apparatus for felf-
prefervation : It repels every hoftile attempt by an eledri-
cal ftroke,  which confounds and intimidates its enemies.
Several fifhes,  and particularly  the  falmon-kind, when
about to generate, leave the ocean, afcend the rivers, de-
pofit their eggs in the fand, and, after making a  proper
nidus for their future progeny, return to the ocean from
whence they came.  Others, as the herring-kind,  though
they feldom go up rivers,  affemble in  myriads from all
quarters, and approach the fhores, or afcend arms of the
lea,  for the purpofe of propagating the fpecies, and che-
rifhjng their offspring.   When that operation is perform-
ed, they leave the coafts,  and difperfe in the ocean, till
the fame inftindive impulfe forces them to obferve a fimi-
lar condud  next feafon.   This  migration  of falmons,
herrings, and many other fifhes, from the  ocean  to the
rivers  or fhores,  is of infinite advantage  to mankind.
They fupply us occafionally, and  in  fome  countries, as
                                                Great 
        OF NATURAL  HISTORY.     369
Great-Britain, and particularly Scotland, with abundance
of nourifhing and luxurious food;  and,  if our fifheries
were once put upon a proper footing,  they  would foon
conftitute one of  the moft powerful incentives to induf-
try, and become a great and important fource of national
ftrength and profperity.
  The  infecl tribes, though comparatively  diminutive,
are not deficient in artifice and addrefs.   With much art
the fpider fpins his web.  It ferves him the.  double pur-
pofe of an habitation, and of a machine  for catching his
food.   With incredible patience and perfeverance he lies
in the center of  his web for days, and fometimes  for
weeks,  before art ill-fated fly happens  to be entangled.
One fpecies  of  fpider, which is fmall, of a blackifh co-
lour,  and frequents cottages or out-houfes, I have known
to live during the whole winter months  without almoft
the poflibility of receiving any nourifhment; for, during
that period, not a fly of  any kind could be difcovered in
the apartment.   If they had been in a  torpid ftate, like
fome  other  animals, the wonder of their furviving the
want  of food fo long would not have been fo great. But,
in the fevereft weather, and through the  whole courfe of
the winter,  they were perfedly adive and  lively.  Nei-
ther did they feem to be  in the leaft emaciated.
   The formica-leo, or ant-lion, is a fmall infed, fomewhat
refembling  a wood-loufe, but  larger.  Its head is flat,
and armed with two fine moveable crotchets, or  pincers.
It has fix legs,  and its body, which terminates in a point,
is compofed of a number of membranous rings.   In the
fand:, or in  finely pulverifed earth, this animal digs a hole
in the form of a  funnel, at the bottom of which it lies
in ambufh for its prey.   As it always walks backward, it
cannot purfue any inied.  To fupply this defed, it lays
a fnare for them,  and efpecially for the ant,  which is  its
favourite food.  It generally lies concealed under the fand
in the bottom of its funnel or trap, and  feldom  exhibits
more than the top of its head.   In digging a funnel, the
formica-leo  begins with tracing a circular furrow in  the
fand,  the circumference  of which determines the fize of
                        A a a                     the 
370        THE  PHILOSOPHY
the funnel, which is often an inch deep.   After the firft
furrow is made, the animal  traces a fecond, which  is al-
ways concentric with the firft.  It throws out the  fand,
as with a fhovel,  from the fucceflive furrows or  circles,
by means of its fquare flat head and  one of its  fore-legs.
It proceeds in this manner till it has completed its funnel,
which it does with furprifing promptitude and addrefs.
At the bottom of this artful fnare it lies  concealed and
immoveable-.  When an ant happens to  make  too  near
an approat.4 to the  margin of the funnel, the fides of
which are very fleep, the fine fand gives way, and the
unwary animal  tumbles down to the bottom.   The for-
mica-leo inftantly kills the ant,  buries  it under the  fand,
and fucks  out  its vitals.   It afterwards pufhes out the
empty ikin, repairs the diforder introduced into its fnare,
and again lies in ambufh for a frefh prey.
   We formerly took fome notice of that fpecies of fpi-
der which carries her eggs in a bag attached to her belly.
A fpider of t.his kind was thrown into the funnel  of a
formica-leo.  The latter inftantly feized the bag of  eggs,
and endeavoured to drag it under the fand.  The fpider,
from a ftrong love of offspring, allowed its own body to
be carried along with the bag.  But the flender  filk by
which it was fixed to the animal's belly broke,  and  a fe-
paration took place.   The fpider immediately feized the
bag with her pincers, and exerted all  her  efforts to re-
gain the object of her affedions.   But thefe efforts  were
ineffedual; for the formica-leo gradually funk  the bag
deeper and deeper in  the  fand.   The fpider,  however,
rather than quit her hold,  allowed herfelf to be buried
alive.  In a fhort time, the  obferver removed the  fand,
and took out the fpider.  She was perfedly unhurt; for
the formica-leo had not made any attack upon her.  But,
fp ftrong was her attachment to her eggs, that,  though
frequently  louched with a twig, fhe would not relinquish
the place which contained them *.
   When arrived at its full growth, the formica-leo'  gives
up the bufinefs  of an enfharing hunter.  He deferts his
                                               former
   * Ocuvres de Bcr:;n;., vc'. 4. f>30. °*j. 8vo edit. Auilcrdam 1-69.  S. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     371
former habitation, and  crawls  about for  fome time on
the furface  of the  earth.  He  at  laft retires under  the
ground, fpins a round filken pod, and is foon transformed
into a fly.
CHAPTER     XVI.
               Of the Society of Animals.


¥ 1 ""HE affociating principle, from which fo  many  ad-
 -*-  vantages are derived,  is not confined to the human
fpecies, but extends, in fome inltances, to every clafs of
animals.
  It is remarked by Buffon,  and  fome other authors,
that the ftate of Nature, which  had long occupied  the
attention and refearches of  philofophers, was rejeded by
them after the difcovery was made.   In the eftimation of
the authors alluded to,  the favage  ftate  is  the ftate  of
Nature.   The firft natural  condition of mankind is  the
union  of  a  male and  female.  Thefe  produce a family,
who, from  neceflity, or, in other words, from parental
and filial affedion, continue together, and aflift each other
in procuring food and  fhelter-   This  family,  like moft
families in eftablifhed civil focieties, feel their own weak-
nefs, and  their inability to fupply  their  wants without
more   powerful  refources  than  their  feeble  exertions.
When  this wandering and defenceiefs family accidentally
meet with another family in the fame condition, Nature,
it is faid,  teaches them to unite for mutual  fupport and
protedion.  The affociation of  two families may be con-
fidered as  the firft formation of a tribe or nation.  When
a number of tribes happen to unite, they only become
a larger or more numerous nation.  A fingle pair, it is
true, if placed in a fituation where plenty of food could
be procured without much  labourj might, in a fucceflion 
372         THE  PHILOSOPHY
of ages, produce any indefinite number.  This is precifely
the fituation in which Moles has placed our firft parents.
lie has added another circumftance highly favourable to
a fpeedy population.  Inftead  of the  prefent brevity of
human life,  he informs us, that men,  in the firft periods
of the world, lived and propagated feveral hundred years.
   In countries thinly peopled with favages, it is extremely
probable,  that focieties are formed  by the gradual union
of families and  tribes.   The  increafe of power arifing
from mutual alliltance, and a thoufand other comfortable
circumftances, foon contribute to cement more firmly the
affociated  members.   Some of the arts of  life, befide that
of hunting,  are occafionally difcovered either by accident
or by the  ingenuity of individuals.   In this manner, gra-
dual  advances are made  from  the favage to the civilized
condition  of mankind.  This is a very fhort view of the
origin of  fociety, which has been adopted  by  moft  au-
thors both ancient and  modern, though  many of them
have derived the affociating principle from very  different,
and even  from oppofite caufes* which  it is no part of our
plan either to enumerate  or to refute. Some wTiters, as A-
riftotle, and a few moderns, implicit followers of his opini-
ons,  deny  that man is naturally a gregarious or affociating
animal. To render this  notion confiftent with the adual
and univerfal ftate of the human race,  thefe authors  have
had recourfe to puerile conceits, and to questionable fads,
which it would be fruitlefs to relate.  Other writers, poffef-
fed of greater judgment and difcernment, and lefs warped
with vanity and hypothetical phantoms, have derived the
origin of  fociety from its real and  only  fource, Nature
herfelf.
   That the affociating principle is  inftindive, hardly re-
quires  a proof.   An appeal to the feelings of any human
being, and to the univerfal condition of mankind, is fuf-
ficient.  Thefe  feelings,  it may be faid, are acquired  by
education and habit.  By thefe caufes, it is true, our fe-
cial  feelings are ftrengthened and confirmed;  but  their
origin is  coeval with the exiftence of the  firft human
mind.   Let any man  attend to the eyes, the features, and
the geftures of a child  upon the  breaft,  when another
                                                child 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    373
child is prefented to it; both inftantly,  previous to the
poflibility of inftrudion or habit, exhibit the moft evident
expreflions of joy.   Their eyes fparkle, their features and
geftures demonstrate,  in the moft unequivocal manner, a
mutual attachment, and a  ftrong defire of approaching
each other, not with a hoftile intention, but with an ar-
dent affedion, which,  in that pure and  uncontaminated
ftate of our being, does honour to human nature. When
farther advanced,  children who are strangers to  each
other,  though their fecial appetite is equally ftrong, dif-
cover  a  mutual fhynefs of approach.  This  fhynefs,  or
modefty, however, is foon conquered by the more pow-
erful inftind of affociation.  They daily mingle and fport
together.   Their natural affedions, which, at that period,
are ftrong, and unbiaffed by thofe felfifh and vicious mo-
tives which too  often conceal and thwart the intentions
of Nature, create  warm  friendfhips that frequently con-
tinue during their lives,  and produce the moft beneficial
and cordial effeds.  When we thus fee with  our  eyes,
that the affociating principle appears at a period  much
more early than many of our  other inftincts, who will
liften to thofe writers who choofe to deny that man is,
naturally,  an affociating or gregarious animal ?
   With regard to the advantages we derive from affoci-
ation,  a volume would  not be fufficienf to enumerate
them.   Man, from the comparatively  great  number  of
inftinds with which his mind is  endowed, neceffarily
poffeffes a portion of the reafoning faculty highly fuperior
to that of any other animal.  He alone  enjoys the power
of communicating and exprefling his ideas by articulate
and artificial  language.  This inestimable prerogative is,
perhaps,  one of the greateft fecondary bonds of fociety,
and the  greateft  fource of improvement to the human
intelled.   Without artificial  language,  though Nature
has beftowed on every animal  a mode  of exprefling  its
wants and defires, its pleafures and pains, what an  hu-
miliating figure would the human fpecies exhibit, even
upon  the fuppofition that they did affociate ? But,  when
 language and affociation are conjoined,  the human intel-
led, in the progrefs of time, arrives at a high degree of
                                           perfedion. 
 374         THE  PHILOSOPH Y
 perfcdion.   Society gives rife to virtue, honour, govern-
 ment, fubordinaiion, arts, fcience, order,  happinefs.  All
 the individuals of a community condud themfelves upon
 a regulated  fyftem.  Under the influence of eftablilhed
 laws, kings and magistrates, by  the exercife of legal au-
 thority, encourage virtue, reprefs vice, and  diffufe, through
 the extent of their jurifdietions, the happy effeds of their
 adminiltration.   In focietv. as in a fertile  climate, human
 talents  germinate and are expanded ;  the  mechanical  iul
 liberal  arts  flourifh ; poets, orators, historians, philofo-
 phers,  [lawyers,  phyficians, and theologians,  are  pro-
 duced.   Thefe truths are pleafant;  and it  were to be
 wifhed  that no evils  accompanied them.   But, through
 the whole  extent of Nature, it  fhould appear,  from our
 limited views, that good and evil, pleafure and pain,  arc
 neceffary and perpetual concomitants.
   The  advantages of fociety arc immenfe  and invaluable.
 But the inconveniencies, hardfhips, injuftice, oppreflions,
 and cruelties, which too often originate from  it,  are great
 and lamentable.  Evien under the mildeft and belt regu-
 lated governments, aniinofities, jcaloufies,  avarice, fraud,
 and chicane, are unfortunately never removed  from our
 obfervation.  In abfoiute monarchies, and particularly in
 defpotic governments, the fcenes of private and of gene-
 ral calamity and diftrefs are often too dreadful to be def-
 cribed.   Notwithftanding ail  thefe diladvantages,  how-
 ever,  any government is preferable  to anarchy; and the
 comforts, pleafures, and improvements, we receive from
 affociating  with each other, overbalance  all the evils to
 which fociety gives  rife.
   From an attentive obfervation of the manners and ceco-
 nomy of animals, fociety has been diltinguifhed  into two
kinds,  which have  been  called  proper,  and  improper.—
 i. Proper Societies, comprehend all thofe animals  who not
only live together in numbers, but carry on certain ope-
rations which have a dired tendency to promote the wel-
fare and happinefs  of the  community.   2.  Improper Sc-
eiettes, include all thofe'animals who herd together,  and
love the company of each  other, without carrying on any
common operations.
                                              1. Pro- 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      375
   1. Proper Societies.—It is almoft needlefs to remark that
man holds the firft rank in animal affociations of this kind.
If men did not afliit each other, no operation of any mag-
nitude, or which could (how any great fuperiority of ta-
lents above thofe of the brute creation, could poffibly be
effeded.   A fingle  family, or even a few families united,
like other carnivorous  animals, might hunt their prey,
and procure a fufficient quantity  of  food.  They might,
like the bear, lodge in the cavities of trees;  they might
occupy natural caves in the rocks ; they might even build
huts with branches of trees and  with turf, and cement
thefe grofs materials with clay.  This loweft and  moft ab-
jed view of human nature  is not exaggerated.  It were
to  be wifhed that this grovelling  condition of mankind
 were fiditious, and that, in many regions of the  globe, it
 did not, at this moment, exift.  Thefe operations of men,
 when only acquainted with the mere  rudiments of fociety,
 indicate parts little fuperior to thofe of the brutes.  Man,
 even in his moft uninformed ftate, poffeffes the  inflinds,
 or the germs, of every fpecies of knowledge and of ge-
 nius.  But they muft be cherifhed, expanded, and brought
 gradually to perfedion.  It is by numerous and regularly-
 eftablifhed focieties alone that fuch glorious exhibitions of
 human intelled  can  be produced.   What is the hut of a
 favage when compared to the palace of a prince ? or what
 his canoe when  compared to a firft-rate fhip of war ? ^
    Next to the intelligence exhibited in human fociety,
  that of  the beavers is the moft confpicuous.  Their ope-
  rations  in  preparing, fafhioning, and  tranfportmg, the
  heavy materials for building their winter habitations, as
  formerly remarked*, are  truly altonifhing ; and, when
  we read their hiftory, we are apt to think that we are pe-
  rufing the hiftory  of man in a period of fociety not incon-
  fiderably advanced.   It is only by the united ftrength, and
  co-operation of numbers, that the  beavers could be en-
  abled to produce  fuch wonderful effeds ;  for,  in  a foli-
  tary ftate, as they  at prefent appear in fome northern parts
  of Europe, the beavers, like folitary favages, are timid and
  •ftunid animals.  They neither affociate, nor attempt to
    1                 '                        conftrud
                 * S:cabo\r, p.-gcaSt. &c.  S. 
376        THE  PHILOSOPHY
conftrud  villages, but content themfelves with  digging
holes in the earth.  Like men under the oppreflion  of
defpotic governments, the fpirit of the European beavers
is depreffed, and  their genius is extinguifhed  by terror,
and by a perpetual and neceilary attention to  individual
fafety.  The northern parts of Europe are now fo popu-
lous, and the animals there are fo perpetually hunted for
the fake of their furs, that they have no opportunity of
affociating;  of courfe, thefe  wonderful  marks of their
fagacity,  which they exhibit  in the remote and  uninha-
bited regions of North-America, are no longer to be found.
The fociety of beavers is a fociety of peace and of affec-
tion.  They never quarrel or  injure one another, but live
together in different numbers, according to the dimenfi-
ons of particular  cabins, in the moft perfed  harmony.
The principle of their union  is neither monarchical nor
defpotic :  For the inhabitants of the different cabins,  as
well as thofe of the whole village,  feem to acknowledge
no chief or leader whatever.   Their affociation prefents to
our obfervation a model of a pure  and  perfed republic,
the only bafis of which is mutual  and unequivocal at-
tachment.  They have no law but the law of love and of
parental affedion.  Humanity prompts us to wifh that it
were  poflible to eftablifh republics of this kind among
mankind.  But the difpofitions of men have little affinity
to thofe of the beavers.
  The hampfter, or German marmot, and  fome  other
quadrupeds of this kind, live in fociety,  and  affift each
other in digging and rendering commodious their fubter-
raneous habitations.  The operations  of the marmots
have already been defcribed ;  and the nature of their fo-
ciety, as they continue during the winter in a torpid ftate,
is either lefs known, or does not excite fo much  admira-
tion as that of the beavers.
  Pairing birds, in fome  meafure,  may be confidered as
forming proper focieties ; becaufe,  in general, the males
and females  mutually affift each  other in building nefts
and feeding  their young.   But this fociety, except in the
eagle-tribes, commonly  continues  no longer  than their
mutual offspring are fully able to provide for themfelves.
                                                None 
        OF NATURAL  HISTORY.      377

None of the feathered tribes, as  far as we know, unite
in bodies, in order to carry on any operation  common to
the whole.
   Neither do we learn  from hiftory that fifhes ever affo*
ciate for the purpofe of executing any common operation.
Many of them, as herrings, falmons, &c. affemble in mul-
titudes at particular feafons of the year ; but  this aflocia-
tion, to which they are impelled  by inftind, has no com-
mon objed; for each individual is ftimulated to  ad in
this manner by its own motives,  and no general effed is
produced by mutual exertions.
   In proper focieties, each individual not only attends to
his own prefervation  and  welfare, but all the members
co-operate in certain laborious offices which produce ma-
ny common advantages that could not otherwise be pro-
cured.  In fome focieties,  the general principle of  affoci-
ation and of mutual labour is purely inftindive, though, in
many cafes, individuals learn,  by obfervation and expe-
rience,  to modify or accommodate this general principle
according to particular  accidents  or circumftances; fome
examples of which have already  been given in the chap-,
ter upon inftind.
   The infed tribes furnifh  many inftances of proper  fo-
cieties.  The honey-bees not only labour in common with
aftonifliing affiduity and art, but their whole attention and
affedions feem to center in the perfon of the  queen or fo-
vereign of  the hive.  She is the  bafis of their affociation
and of all their operations.  When fhe dies by any acci-
dent, the whole community are inftantly in diforder.  All
their labours ceafe. No new cells are conftruded.  Nei-
ther honey nor wax are colleded.  Nothing  but  perfed
anarchy prevails,  till a  new queen or female  is obtained.
The government or fociety of bees is more of a monar-
chical than of a republican nature.  The whole members
of the ftate feem to refped and to be direded by a fingle
female.   This fad affords a  ftrong inftance of the force
and wifdom of Nature.  The female alone is  the mother
of the whole hive, however numerous.  Without her the
fpecies could not  be continued.   Nature, therefore, has
endowed the reft of the hive with a wonderful affedion
                      Bbb                      to 
37«
THE  PHILOSOPHY
 to tfieir common parent.  For the reception of her eggs,
 Nature impels them to conftrud cells, and to lay up ftores
 of provifions for winter fubfiftence. Thefe operations pro-
 ceed from pure inftindive impulfes.   But every inftind
 neceffarily fuppofes a degree of intelled, a fubftratum to
 be aded  upon, otherwise no impulfe could  be felt, and,
 of courfe, no adion nor mark of intelligence could poffi-
 bly be produced.
  That the intelligence, the government, and the fagacity
 of bees,  have  been frequently exaggerated, and as  fre-
 quently mifunderftood, no real  philofopher, or natural
 historian, will pretend to deny.   But  the late ingenious
 Count de Buffon, through the whole of his great work,
 betrays the ftrongeft inclination to deny that brutes, even
 thofe which are efteemed to be the moft fagacious, as the
 dog, the  elephant, &c. not to mention the inferior tribes,
 as birds,  fifhes, and infeds, are endowed with the fmalleft
 portion of mind or intelled, but that all  their move-
 ments, their expreffions, their defires, their arts, are folely
 the refults of mechanical impulfes.  The Count  is pecu-
 liarly fevere in his  declamations  againft the fagacity of
 the honey-bees, and  the  celebrators of their ceconomy
 and manners.   ' The genius of folitary bees,' he remarks,
 4 is valtly inferior to that of the gregarious  fpecies ;  and
 4 the talents of thofe which affociate in  fmall troops are
 4 lefs confpicuous than of thofe that affemble in numerous
 4 bodies.   Is not this alone fufficient to convince  us, that
 * the feeming genius of bees is nothing but a refult of pure
 1 mechanifm, a  combination of movements proportioned to
 4 numbers, an effed which appears to be complicated, only
 4 becaufe it depends on thoufands of individuals ?  It muft,
 4 therefore, be admitted, that bees, taken feparately, have
 4 lefs genius than the  dog, the monkey,  and moft other
 4 animals : It will likewife be admitted, that they have lefs
 4 docility, lefs  attachment, and lefs fentiment;  and that
 1 they  poffefs fewer qualities relative  to thofe of  the  hu-
 4 man  fpecies.   Hence we ought to  acknowledge, that
 ' their apparent intelligence proceeds folely from the mul-
 4 titude united.   This union, however,  prefuppofes not in-
' tellectual powers j for they unite not  from  moral views:
                                               ' They 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    379
' They find themfelves  together without their  content.
4 This fociety, therefore, is a phyfical affemblage ordain-
* ed by Nature, and has  no dependence on knowledge  or
' reafoning.  The mother bee produces at one time, and
4 in the  fame place, ten  thoufand  individuals,  which,
4 though they were much more ftupid than I have fup-
4 pofed them, would be obliged,  folely for the preferva-
4 tion of their exiftence, to arrange themfelves into fome
6 order.  As they all ad againft each other  with equal
4 forces, fuppofing their  firft movements to produce pain,
4 they would foon learn to diminifh this pain, or, in other
 4 words, to afford  mutual affiftance :  They, of courfe,
 4 would exhibit an air of  intelligence, and of concurring
 4 in the  accomplifhment of the fame end.  A fuperficial
 4 obferver would  inftantly afcribe to them views and ta-
 c lents which they by no means poffefs :  He would explain
 c every adion : Every operation would have its particular
 4 motive, and  prodigies of reafon would  arife without
. * number; for ten thoufand individuals produced at one
 4 time, and obliged to live together, muft all ad in  the
 4 very fame manner ; and, if endowed with feeling, they
 * muft acquire the  fame habits, affume that arrangement
 4 which is the leaft painful, or the moft eafy to themfelves,
 6 labour in their hive, return after leaving it,  &c.  Hence
 * the origin of the many wonderful talents afcribed to bees,
 4 fuch as their architedure,  their geometry,  their order,
 4 their forefight,  their  patriotifm, and, in a  word, their
 4 republic, the whole of which, as I have proved, has no
 4 exiftence but in the imagination of the obferver *.'
   That this mode of reafoning fhould have been ferioufly
 adopted by fo  great a literary charader as that of Count
 de Buffon, is  truly aftonifhing., The  fubftance of the
 argument is, that ten thoufand bees, or other gregarious
 infeds, when brought into exiftence at  the  fame time,
 and in the fame  place,  muft neceiTarily,  by the inconve-
 nience or pain arifing from mutual preffure, affume an
 arrangement, and  conftrud commodious and artful ha-
 bitations for the  whole community.  I hate polemical ar-
 gumentation ;  and philofophical  abfurdities are the moft*
                                              difficult
* Translation, vol. 3, page 285.  S. 
 380        THL  PHILOSOPHY
 diiMeult to refute.   If ten thoufand butterflies, or any
 other flies, whofe  inftindive  or mental powers  differed
 from thofe of the  bee, fhould be  brought forth at  the
 fame time, and in  the fame place, which might be eafily
 effected by colleding their chryfalids,  Would thefe ani-
 mals, from the inconveniencies or pain they might fuller
 by being crouded together, affume a proper arrangement,
 and build  habitations fuited to their mutual comfort and
 prefervation ? No.   If not  allowed  to  efcape from their
 prefent fituation, they would  furfocate  each other ; and,
 if any of them were permitted to get out of their prifon,
 inftead of returning, like the bees, they would avoid it
 with as much horror as a  perfon who had made his efcape
 from the Black Hole of Calcutta.   No  declamatory rea-
 foning, however fpecious, will ever change the nature of
 truth.  Without fome portion  of intelled,  or  what is
 fynonimous, of mental powers, How fhould the different
 kinds of bees in the fame hive be  induced  to perforin fo
 many different operations ? While fome are bufily  em-
 ployed at home  in the conftrudion of cells, others  are
 equally induftrious  in  the fields colleding materials  for
 carrying on the work.  They are no fooner relieved from
 their load by their companions and fellow-labourers in the
 hive, than they again repair to the fields, and,  with per-
 fevering induftry, fly from flower to flower till they have
 amaffed another  load of  materials, which  they immedi-
 ately tranfport to the hive.  In this laborious office they
 perfift for many hours every day when  the weather per-
 mits.  Will any man pretend to affert, that thefe, and
 many fimilar operations performed by bees,  are the refults
 of mechanical impulfes * ? Are bees, when  colleding ho-
 ney, and the farina of flowers,  at  great diftances  from
 the hive, compelled, by the mechanical preffure of mul-
 titudes, to  affume a certain arrangement, and all of them
 to ad in the fame manner ? Can any animal be poffeffed
 of more liberty, or  be  more  free from mechanical  re-
 straint,  than a bee while roaming  at large  in the fields ?
 Befides,  What fhould  force a bee, while  wallowing in
                                               luxury,
  * For feveral furious operations of bees, which it will be difficult to reconcile
with any principle! of nicchamfm, the reader may confult page 302,  &c.  S. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     381

luxury,  to return fo repeatedly  to  the  hive with 'no
other  view than to feed its companions, or to furnifh
them with materials for their work ? Here every idea of
mechanical impulfe  is utterly excluded.  That  bees, as
well as other animals, are actuated by motives, or  im-
pulfes, it is willingly allowed.  But thefe are not mecha-
nical impulfes.  They are the wife and irrefiltible impul-
fes of Nature upon their minds.  If bees did not affociate,
and  mutually affift one another in their  various opera-
tions,  the  fpecies would foon be anihilated.   Not one of
them,  it is probable, would furvive the firft winter.   But
Nature,  ever felicitous for the prefervation  of  her pro-
dudions, has  endowed their minds  with an  affociating
principle,  and with inftinds which  stimulate them to
perform all thofe wonderful operations that are neceffary
for the exiftence of individuals, and the continuation of
the fpecies.
   What are called the common caterpillars  afford  an in-
ftance of proper affociation.  About the middle of fum-
mer, a butterfly depofits from three to four hundred eggs
on the leaf of a tree, from each of which, in a few days,
a young caterpillar proceeds.  They are no fooner hatched
than they  begin  to  form a  common habitation.  They
fpin  filken threads, which they attach to one edge  of the
leaf, and extend them to  the other.  By this operation
they make the two edges of the leaf approach each  other,
and  form  a cavity  refembling a  hammock.  In a fhort
time, the concave leaf is completely roofed with a  cover-
ing of filk.  Under this tent the animals live together in
mutual friendship  and  harmony.   When not difpofed to
eat or to fpin, they retire to their tent.  It requires feveral
of thefe habitations to contain the whole.   According as
the animals increafe in fize,  the number of their tents is
augmented.  But thefe  are  only temporary and partial
lodgements, conftruded for mutual conveniency, till the
caterpillars are in a condition to build one more fpacious,
and  which will be fufficient to contain the whole.  After
gnawing one half of the fubftance of fuch leaves as hap-
pen  to be  near the end  of fome twig or fmall branch,
they begin their great work.  In conftruding this  new
                                               edifice 
3*2         THE   PHILOSOPHY

etUfice or neft, the caterpillars encrult a confiderable part
of the twig  with white filk.  In the fame  manner,  they
cover two or three of fuch leaves as are neareft to the
termination of the-twig.   They then fpin filken coverings
of greater dimenfions, in which they inclofe the two or
three leaves  together with the twig.   The neft is now fo
fpacious that it is able to  contain the  whole community,
even individual of which is  employed in  the  common
labour.  Thefe nefts are  too frequently feen, in autumn,
upon the fruit-trees of our gardens.   They are ftill more
expofed to obfervation in  w inter, when the leaves, which
formerly concealed many  of them, are fallen.  They con-
fift of large  bundles of white filk and withered leaves,
without anv regular or conltant form.  Some  of them
are flat, and others roundifh; but none of them are def-
titute of angles.   By different plain coverings, extended
from the oppofite fides of the leaves and of  the twig, the
internal part of the  neft is  divided into a number of dif-
ferent apartments.   To each of thefe apartments,  which
feem to be  very irregular,  there are  paffages by  which
the caterpillars  can either  go out in queft of food, or
retire in the evening, or  during rainy weather.   The
filken coverings, by repeated layers, become at laft fo thick
and  ftrong,  that.they refill all the attacks  of the wind,
and all the injuries of the air, during eight or nine months.
About the beginning of Odober, or  when  the froft firft
commences, the  whole community fhut themfelves up in
the neft.  During the winter they remain  immoveable,
and  feemingly dead.   But, when expofed  to  heat,  they
foon difcover fymptoms of  life,  and begin to  creep.  In
this country, they feldom go out of  the neft till the mid-
dle or end of April.  When they fhut themfelves up for
the winter,  they are very  fmall; but,  after they have
fed for  fome days in fpring upon the young and tender
leaves, they find the neft itfelf,  and  all the entrances to
it, too fmall for the increafed fize of their bodies.  To
remedy  this  inconveniency,  thefe difgufting  reptiles know
how  to enlarge both the neft and its paffages by additional
operations  accommodated  to their  prefent ftate.   Into
rhefenew lodgings they retire when they want to repofe,
                                                  to 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     3S3
to'fcreen themfelves from the injuries of the weather, or
to eaft their fkins.   In fihe,  after cafting their fkins feve-
ral times, the time of their difperfion arrives.  From the
beginning to near the  end of June,  they lead a folitary
life.   Their fecial difpofition is no longer felt.   Each of
them fpins a pod of coarfe brownifh  filk.  In a few daysf
they are changed into chryfalids; and, in eighteen or
twenty days more, they are  transformed into butterflies.
   Caterpillars of another fpecies, which Reaumur diftin-
guifhes by the appellation of the proceflionary caterpillar,
live in fociety till their transformation into flies.  Thefe
caterpillars are of the hairy  kind,  and are of a reddifh
colour.   They  inhabit the oak, and  feed upon its leaves.
When very young, they have no fixed or general  habi-
tation.   But, after they have acquired about one half of
their natural fize, they affemble together, and conftrud
a neft fufficient to  accommodate the  whole.  The  nefts:
of thefe  caterpillars are attached to the trunks of  the oak,
and  are fituated fometimes near the earth, and fometimes
feven or  eight feet above its furface.   They confift of dif-
ferent ftrata, or layers, of filk*  which are fpun by the
united labour of the whole community.  Their  figure is
neither ftriking nor uniform.   On the  part of  the oak
to which they are fixed they form a protuberance fimilar
to thofe knots which are feen upon trees.  This protube-
rance fometimes refembles  a  fegment of a circle, and
fometimes it  is three or four times longer than it is broad.
Some of thefe nefts are from eighteen to  twenty inches
long, and from five to fix inches wide.  About the mid-
dle of their  convexity, they often rife more  than four
inches above the furface of the tree.   Between the trunk
of the tree and the layers of filk a fingle hole is left, to
allow the animals to go out  in queft  of food, and to re-
tire into the  neft after they are fatiated.   Notwithftand-
ing the great bulk of thefe nefts, and though there are
often three or four of them upon the  fame tree, and never
elevated  above  the height of diftind vifion,  they are not
eafily perceived ; for the filk of which they are compofed
is cinereous, and refembles, in colour, thofe moffes withe
which the trunk of the oak is generally covered.
                                                 The 
 384        THE   PHILOSOPHY
   The inhabitants of a neft, which are numerous, march
 out,  about the fetting of the  fun, to forage,  under the
 condud of a chief or leader,  all whofe movements  they
 uniformly follow.   The  order they  obfervo is fingular.
 The firft rank  confifts of fingle animals,  the  fecond of
 two,  the third of three, the fourth of four, and feme-
 times more.   In this manner they proceed in queft of
 food with all the regularity of disciplined  troops.   The
 chief or leader has no marks of pre-eminence; for  any
 individual that happens firft to iffue from the neft, from
 that circumftance alone,  becomes the leader of an expe-
 dition.   After making a full repaft upon the neighbour-
 ing leaves, they return to the neft  in the  fame regular
 order;  and this pradice they continue during the whole
 period of their exiftence in the caterpillar  ftate.  It  was
 from this ftrange regularity of movement that Reaumur*
 with much propriety, denominated thefe animals proccfli-
 onary caterpillars.  When arrived at maturity, each in-
 dividual fpins a filken pod, is converted into a chryfalis,
 and afterwards affumes the form of a butterfly.   This laft
 transformation breaks all the bonds of thefr former affo-
 ciation, and the female flies depofit their  eggs, which,
 when hatched,  produce new colonies, who exhibit the
 fame ceconomy and  manners.
  There are feveral fpecies  of caterpillars  who are  real
republicans, and whofe difcipline, manners, and genius,
are equally diverfified as thofe of the inhabitants of dif-
ferent nations and climates.  Some, like particular fava-
ges, conftrud a kind of hammocks, in which  they take
their viduals, repofe, and fpend their lives till the period.
of their transformation.   Others, like the Arabs and Tar-
tars, conftrud and live in filken tents, and, after  con-
suming the neighbouring herbage, they leave their former
habitations, and encamp on frefh pafture.   Under thefe
tents they are not only proteded from the injuries of the
weather, but they repofe  in them when fick, or in a ftate
of inactivity.   They  go out  of their tents  at particular
times in queft of food, and often to confiderable diftan-
ces ;  but they  never  lofe their way back.   It is not  by
fight that they are directed with fo much certainty to their
                                             abodes. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    3^5
abodes.  Nature has furnifhed them with  another  guide
for regaining their habitations.  We pave our ftreets with
ftones; but the caterpillars cover  all their .roads  with
filken threads.  Thefe threads make white tracks, which
are often more than a  fixth of an inch wide.  It  is by
following thefe filken tracks, however complicated, that
the caterpillars never mifs their nefts.  If the road is broke
by a man's finger drawn along it, or by any  other  acci-
dent, the caterpillars are greatly embarraffed.  They flop
fuddcnly at the interrupted fpace, and exhibit every mark
of fear and of diffidence.   Here the march flops, till  an
individual, more bold or more impatient than his compa-
nions,  traverfes the gap.   In his paffage, he leaves behind
him a thread of filk,  which ferves as a bridge or conduc-
tor to the next that follows.  By the progreflion of num-
bers, each of  which fpins  a thread, the breach is foon
repaired.  We cannot fuppofe that  thefe  ftupid animals
cover their roads to prevent their wandering.   But they
never wander, becaufe their roads are covered with filk.
In this, as well as in many other inflances, 'Nature obli-
ges animals  to embrace the moft effedual  means of felf-
prefervation, and  even of conveniency,  without  their
perceiving the utility of their own operations.  The ca-
terpillars, whofe manners we have been defcribing, fpin
almoft continually, becaufe they are continually obliged
to evacuate a filky  matter, fecreted from  their food  by
veffels  deftined for  that purpofe, and included in  their
inteftines.   In obeying this call of, Nature, they effedu-
ally fecure their retreat to their nefts, and perhaps  their
exiftence. - It may be faid, that caterpillars  affociate for
no  other reafon but becaufe they are all produced at the
fame time from eggs depofited near  each  other.  But
many other fpecies of caterpillars,  who are  brought to
life in the very fame circumftances, never affociate or ad
in concert in the performance of any mutual labour.  The
filk-worms afford a  familiar example.  It is true, they
fpontaneoufly remain affembled in the fame place, which
is of great advantage to manufadure.   But the individu-
als  of  other fpecies difperfe immediately after birth, and
never re-unite. Spiders, when newly hatched, begin with
                        C c c                fpinning 
386        THE   PHILOSOPHY
fpinning a web in common ; but they foon terminate this
affociation bv devouring one another.
   As caterpillars do not engender till they arrive at the
butterfly ftate, their affociations have no refped to the
rearing or education of young.  Self-prefervation and in-
dividual conveniency are the only bonds of their union.
A perfed equality reigns among them,  without  any dif-
tindion of  fex, or even of fize.   Each takes his fliare of
the common labour :  and the whole fociety, which con-
stitutes but one family, is the genuine iffue of the  fame
mother.
   The  affociation  and  ceconomy of the common ants
merit fome attention.  With wonderful induftry and ac-
tivity they colled materials for the conftrudion  of their
neft.  They unite in  numbers, and  affift each  other in
excavating  the earth, and in tranfporting to  their  habi-
tation bits of ftraw, fmall pieces of wood, and other fub-
ftances of a fimilar kind, which  they employ in  lining
and fupporting their fubterraneous galleries.  The  form
of their neft or hill is fomewhat conical, and, of courfe,
the water, when it rains, runs eafily off, without pene-
trating their abode.   Under this hill there are many gal-
leries or paffages which  communicate  with each other,
and refemble the ftreets of a ftnall city.
   The ants not only affociate for the purpofe of conftrud-
ing a common habitation, but for cherifhing and proteding
their offspring.  Every perfon muft have often obferved,
when part of a neft is fuddenly expofed,  their  extreme fo-
licitude for the prefervation of their chryfalids or nymphs,
which often exceed the fize of the animals themfelves. With
amazing dexterity and quickness the ants  tranfport  their
nymphs into the fubterraneous galleries  of the neft, and
place  them beyond the  reach of any  common  danger.
The courage and fortitude  with which they defend  their
young is no lefs aftonifliing.   The body of an  ant was
cut through the middle, and, after fufferimg this  cruel
treatment, fo ftrong was its  parental affedion,  with its
head, and one half of the body,  it carried oft  eight or
ten nymphs.   They  go  to great  diftances in fearch of
                                          provifiom. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     387
provifions.  Their roads,  which are often winding and
involved, all terminate in the neft.
  The wifdom and forefight of the ants have been cele-
brated from the remotest antiquity.   It has been afferted
and believed, for near three thoufand years, that they lay
up magazines of provifions for the winter, and that they
even cut off the germ  of the grain  to  prevent it from
fhooting.  But the ancients were never famed for  accu-
rate refearches into the nature and operations of infeds.
Thefe fuppofed magazines could be of no ufe to the ants £
for, like the marmots and dormice,  they fleep during the
winter.   A very moderate degree of cold is  fufficient to
render them torpid.  In fad, it is now well  known that
they amafs no magazines of provifions. The grains which,
with fo much induftry and labour,  they carry to their
neft, are not intended  to  be  food to the animals, but,
like the bits of ftraw and wood, are employed  as  mate-
rials in the conftrudion of their habitation.
  2.  Improper Societies.—Many animals are gregarious,
though they unite not with a view to any joint operation,
fuch as conftruding common habitations, or  mutually
and indifcriminately nourifhing  and proteding the oft-
fpring produced by the whole fociety.  But, even among
animals of this defcription, there are motives or bonds
of affociation, and, in many instances, they mutually af-
fift and defend each other from hostile affaults.
  The ox is a gregarious  animal. When a herd of oxen
are palturing in a meadow, if a wolf makes his appear-
ance, they inftantly form themfelves in battle array, and
prefent their united horns to  the  enemy.  This warlike
difpofition often intimidates the wolf, and obliges him to
retire.
  In  winter, the hinds and  young  flags affociate, and
form herds, which are always more numerous in propor-
tion to the feverity of the  weather.  One bond of their fo-
ciety feems to be the advantage of mutual warmth deriv-
ed from each other's  bodies.  In fpring they difperfe,
and the hinds conceal themfelves in the  forefts, where
they bring forth their young.  The young flags, however,
                                             continue 
388        THE   PHILOSOPHY
continue together; they love to browfe in company; and
neceffitv alone forces them to  feparate.
  The Count de Buffon reprefents fheep as ftupid crea-
tures, Which are incapable of defending thcmfel?es againft
the attacks of any rapacious animal.  He maintains that
the race muft long ago have  been extinguilhed,  if man
had not taken them under his immediate protedion. But
Nature has  furnifhed every fpecies of animated beings
with weapons and arts of defence which are fufficient  lor
individual prefervation as well as the continuation of  the
kind.  Sheep are endowed with a ftrong affociating prin-
ciple.  When threatened with  an attack, like  foldiers,
they form a  line of battle,  and boldly  face  the  enemy.
In a natural ftate, the rams  constitute  one half of  the
flock.  They join together  and form the front.   When
prepared in this manner for repelling an affault,  no lion
or tiger can  refill their united impetuofity and force.
  A family of hogs, when  in a ftate of natural  liberty,
never feparate till the young  have  acquired ftrength fuf-
ficient to repel  the  wolf.  When a wolf threatens  an
attack, the whole family unite their forces, and  bravely
defend  each other.
  The wild  dogs of  Africa hunt in packs, and carry on
a perpetual  war againft other rapacious animals.  The
jackals of Afia and Africa likewife hunt in packs.  But,
though animals of this kind mutually affift each other in
Jrilling prey, individual advantage is  the chief, if  not
the  only, bond of this temporary union.
   Another kind of fociety is observable among domeftic
•animals. . Horfes and- oxen, when deprived of compani-
ons of their own fpecies, affociate, and difcover a vifible
attachment.  A dog and an ox, or a dog and a cow, when
placed in certain circumftances, though the fpecies  are
remote, and-even hoftile, acquire  a ftrong affection  for
each other.   The fame*kind of  affociation takes place
between.dogs and cat.,, between cats and birds,  &c.   If
domeftic animals had a ftrong averfion to one  another,
man could not derive fo many advantages  from them.
Horfes, oxen, fheep, &c  by browfing promifcuoufly to-
 *ether,eaugment and meliorate the common pafturc.   By
                                               living 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      3*9
living under the fame roof, and feeding in common, this
affociating principle is ftrengthened and modified by ha-
bit, which often commences immediately after birth.  A
fingle  horfe confined in  an enclofure, difcovers every
mark of uneafinefs.  He  becomes reftlefs, negleds his
food, and breaks through  every fence in order to join his
companions in a neighbouring field.  Oxen and cows will
not fatten in the fineft pafture, if they are  deprived of
fociety.
 .  From the fads and remarks contained in this chapter,
k feems to  be evident, that the principle of affociation
in man, as well as  in many other animals,  is purely in-
ftindive ; and  that this principle may be ftrengthened
and modified by  the numberlefs advantages derived from
 it, by imitation, by habit, and by  many other circum-
 ftances.
CHAPTER   XVII.
              Of the Docility of Animals.


    OF  all animals capable  of culture, man is the moft
     dudile.  By inftrudion, imitation, and habit, his
mind may be moulded into any form. It may be exalted
by fcience and art to a degree  of knowledge, of which
the vulgar  and  uninformed  have  not the moft  distant
conception.   The reverfe is melancholy.   When the hu-
man mind isi left to its own operations,  and deprived of
almoft every opportunity of fecial  information, it finks
fo low, that it is  nearly rivalled by the moft fagacious
brutes.  The natural  fuperiority of  man over the other
animals, as  formerly remarked, is a neceffary  refult of
the great number of inftinds with which his  mind is en-
dowed.  Thefe inftinds are gradually unfolded, and pro-
duce,  after  a mature age, reafon, abftradion, invention,
                                              fcience. 
 390        THE  PHILOSOPHY
 fcience.  To confirm  this truth,  it would be fruitleft to
 have recourfe to metaphyfical  arguments, which  gene-
 rally mislead and bewilder  human reafon.  A diligent
 attention to the actual operations  of Nature is  fufficient
 to convince any mind that is not warped and deceived by
 popular prejudice, the fetters of authorities, as they are
 called, whether ancient or modern, or by the vanity  of
 fupporting  preconceived opinions  and favourite  theories.
 Let any man reflect on  the  progrefs of children  from
 birth to manhood.   At firft, their  inftinds are limited
 to obfcure fenfations,  and to the  performance of a  few
 corporeal adions, to which they are prompted, or rather
 compelled,  by certain ftimulated impulfes  unneceffary to
 be mentioned.   In a few months,  their fenfations are per-
 ceived to be more diftind, their bodily adions are better
 direded, new  inftinds are unfolded, and they  affume a
 greater appearance of rationality and of mental capacity.
 When ftill farther advanced, and after they have  acquired
 fome ufe of language, and fome knowledge of natural ob-
jeds, they  begin to reafon;  but their reafonings are  fee-
 ble,  and often prepofterous.  In  this manner they uni-
 formly proceed in improvement till they are aduated by
 the laft inftind,  at  or near  the age of puberty.   After
 this  period, they reafon with fome degree of  perfpicuity
 and juflnef.  But,  though their whole inftinds are now
 unfolded and in adion,  every power of their minds re-
 quires, previous to its utmofl exertions, to be agitated and
 polifhed by an examination of a  thoufand natural and arti-
 ficial objects, by the experience  and obfervations of thofe
 with whom they affociate, by public or private instruction,
 by studying the writings of their predeceffors and cotem-
 poraries, and by their own reflections, till they arrive at
 the; age of thirty-five.  Previous to that period,  much
 learning may have been acquired,  much genius may have
 been exerted; but, before that time of life, judgment,
 abftradion, and the reafoning faculty, are not fully  ma-
 tured,  rhis progrefs is the genuine operation of Nature,
 and  the gradual  fource  of human fagacity and mental
 powers.  The fame progrefs is  to  be obferved  in the
 powers of  the body.   It  arrives, indeed, fooner at  per-
                                              fedion 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    391
fedion than the mind.   But, if the progrefs of the mind
greatly preceded that of the body,  what a miferable and
auk ward figure would human beings, at an early period
of their exiftence, exhibit ?  Adive and vigorous  minds*
ftimulated to command what the organs of their bodies
were unable  to obey, would produce peeviflinefs, anger,
regret, and every diflrefling paffion.
  The bodies of men, though not fo dudile as their minds,
are capable, when properly managed by early culture, of
wonderful exertions.  Men, accuftomed to live in polifh-
ed focieties, have little  or no idea of the  adivity, the
courage, the patience, and the  perfevering induftry, of
favages,  when (imply occupied in  hunting wild animals
for food  to themfelves and  their families.  The hunger,
the fatigue, the hardfhips,  which they not  only endure,
but defpife, with fortitude, would amaze and terrify the
imagination of any civilized European.
  Befide man, many other animals are capable of being
inftruded.   The ape-kind, and efpecially the larger fpe-
cies of them, imitate the adions of men without any in-
ftrudion.  This  imitation they  are  enabled to perform
with the greater exadnefs, on account of their ftrudure.
The orang-outang, a native of the  fouthern  regions of
Africa and India, is as tall and  as ftrong as a  man.  He
has no tail.  His face is  flat. His arms, hands, toes, and
nails, are perfedly fimilar to ours.   He walks conltantly
on end;  and the features of his vifege make a near ap-
proach to thofe  of  the  human  countenance.   He has a
beard on his chin,  and no  more hair on his  body than
men have when in a ftate of nature.  He knows how to
bear arms, to attack his enemies with ftones,  and to de-
fend  himfelf with a club.   Of  all  the apes, the orang-
outang, or wild man,  as he is called  by the Indians, has
the greateft refemblance to man, both in the ftrudure of
his body and in his manners. There are two fuppofed fpe-
cies of orang-outang, a larger and a fmaller. The latter has
been feveral times brought to Europe, and accurate de-
fcriptions have been given both of  his external and inter-
nal parts.  But,  with regard to  the  larger kind, who  is
faid to exceed the ordinary flature of man, we have no-
                                                thing 
 392        TH'E  PHILOSOPHY
fhing to rely ^on but the relations of travellers.  Bontius*
who was  chief phyfician in Batavia, affirms exprcMy,that
he faw, with admiration, feveral individuals of this fpecies
walking on  their two feet.  Among others, he remarked
a female, who feemed to have a fenfe of modefty, who
covered her face with her hands^ when  men  approached
her with  whom fhe  was unacquainted, who wept, gToan-
ed, and feemed to want nothing of humanity but the fa-
culty* of  fpeech *.   Many  other furprifing adions per-
formed by this animal are recorded by different voyagers,
which  it is  unnecefiary to repeat, efpecially as we have  a
fufficient  number of fads attested by unequivocal  evi-
dence.  The Count de  Buffon,  with  much probability,
confiders what are caHed the large and fmall orang-outangs
to be  the fame  fpecies of animals;  for  thofe hitherto
brought to Europe were very young, and had  not acquir-
ed one half  of their ftature.
  4 The orang-outang,' fays Buffon, 4 which I faw, walk-
' ed  always  on  two feet,  even when carrying things of
4 confiderable weight. His air  was  melancholy, his move-
' ments meafured, his difpofitions  gentle, and very diffe-
• rent from  thofe of other apes.  He had neither the im-
• patience of the  Barbary ape,  the malicioufnefs of the
* baboon, nor the extravagance of  the monkeys.   It may
' be alledged that he had the benefit of inftrudion ;  but
4 the apes, which I fhall compare with him, were educated
' in the fame manner.  Signs and words were alone fuffi-
' cient to make our orang-outang ad:  But  the baboon
4 required a  cudgel, and the other apes  a whip;  for none
4 of them would obey without blows.  I  have  feen  this
4 animal prefent his hand to condud the people who came
4 to vifit  him, and walk as gravely  along as if he had
4 formed  a  part of the  company.   I 'have feen him fit
4 down at table, unfold his towel, wipe his  lips, ufe  a
4 fpoon or a  fork to carry the viduals to his mouth, pour
* his liquor into a glafs, and make it touch  that of the
4 perfon iffho drank along with him.   Y\rhen invited to
4 drink tea,  he brought a cup and a faucer, placed them
• on the table, put  in fugar, poured out the tea, and al-
                                             4  lowed
            * Juc Bom. Hift. Nat. Ind.  cap.  j*.  S. 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     393
1 lowed it to cool before he drank it.  All thefe adions he
* performed without any other instigation than the figns
* or verbal orders of his mafter, and often of his own ac-
4 cord.  He did  no injury to any perfon.  He even ap-
* proached company with circumfpedion, and prefented
4 himfelf as if he wanted to  be  careffed.  He was very
4 fond of  dainties,  which every body gave him: And, as
c his breaft was difeafed, and he was amided with a teaz-
4 ing cough, this quantity of fweatmeats undoubtedly con-
4 tributed to  fhorten his life.  He lived one  fummer in
 4 Paris, and died in London  the  following winter.  He
 4 eat almoft every thing ; but preferred ripe and dried
 4 fruits to all other kinds of food.  He drank a littfe
 4 wine ;  but fpontaneoufly left it for milk,  tea, or other
 4 mild liquors *.'
   M. de la Broffe  purchafed  two orang-outangs  from a
 Negro, whofe age  exceeded not twelve months.   4 Thefe
 * animals,' he remarks,  ' have the inftind of fitting at
 4 table like men.  They eat every kind of food  without
 4 diftindion.  They ufe a knife, a' fork, or a fpoon, to cut
 c or lay hold of  what is  put upon their plate.  They drink
 4 wine and other liquors.  We carried them aboard.  At
 4 table, when they wanted any thing, they made them-
 4 felves be understood by the cabin-boy : And, when the
 4 boy refufed  to give them  what they  demanded,  they
 4 fometimes became enraged, feized him by the arm, bit,
 4 and threw him down.—The male was  feized with fick-
 4 nefs in  the  road.  He made himfelf be attended  as a
 4 human being.  He was even  twice bled  in the right
 4 arm : And, whenever he  found  himfelf afterwards in
 4 the fame condition, he held out his arm to be bled, as
 4 if he knew  that he had formerly received benefit from
 4 that operation.'
   We are informed by Francis Pyrard, 4 that, in the pro-
 4 vince of Sierra-Leona, there is a fpecies of animals cal-
 4  led baris (the  orang-outang), who are ftrong  and well
 4  limbed, and fo induftrious, that, when properly trained
 4 and fed, they work like  fervants ; that they generally
 '  walk on the two hind-feet ;  that they pound  any fub-
                        D d d                 * fiances
              * Buffon, vol. 8. page 86. Tranfl. S. 
w         THE  PHILOSOPHY

' ftances in a mortar ; that they go to bring water from
' the river in fmall pitchers, which they carry full on their
4 heads.  But, when they arrive at the door, if the pitch-
4 ers are not foon taken off, they allow them to fall ; and,
c when they perceive the pitcher  overturned and broken,
4 they weep and lament  *.'  With regard to the educa-
tion of thefe animals, the  teftimony  of Schoutton cor-
refponds with that of Pyrard.  4 They are taken,' fays
he, 4 with fnares, taught to walk on their hind-feet, and
4 to ufe their fore-feet as hands  in performing different
4 operations, as rinfing  glaffes, carrying drink round the
4 company, turning a fpit,' &c.f.  Ouat informs us, that
he 4 faw at Java a very  extraordinary ape.   It was a fe-
4 male.   She was very tall, and often walked ered on her
4 hind-feet.  On thefe occafions, fhe  concealed  with her
* hands the parts  which diftinguifh the  fex.—She made
4 her bed very neatly every day, lay  upon  her fide, and
4 covered herfelf with the bed-clothes.—When her head
4 ached,  fhe bound it up with her handkerchief;  and  it
4 was amufing to  fee her thus hooded in bed.   I could re-
4 late many other little articles which  appeared  to be ex-
4 tremely fingular.   But I  admired them not fo much as
4 the multitude;  becaufe,  as I knew  the defign of bring-
4 ing  her to Europe to be exhibited as a fhew, I  was in-
4 dined to think that fhe  had been taught many of thefe
c monkey tricks, which the people  confidered as being
4 natural to the animal.  She died in our fhip,  about the
4 latitude of the Cape of Good Hope.  The figure of this
4 ape had a very great refemblance to that of man J.'
   We have now  enumerated the principal fads regarding
this extraordinary  animal, which have been  related  by
voyagers of credit, and by thofe who have feen and ex-
amined him in Europe ; and fhall only remark, that, not-
withftanding the great fimilarity of his ftrudure and or-
gans to thofe of the human fi-ecies, his genius and talents
feem to be very limited.  The form of his body  enables
him to imitate every human  action.   But,  though he has
                                                  the
               s-                      j.
   * Voyages de Francois Pyr.rd, torn 2. page 331.  S.
   * Vov.ves de SdiOtitton, aux Inde* Orientales.   S,
   ; V >.°udf lt*:<. U Guat,  torn.2. p■•„■■ 96.   'i 
        OF NATURAL  HISTORY,     395

the organs of fpeech, he is deftitute of articulate language.
If, however, he were domesticated,  and proper pains be-
llowed for ioftruding him, he might unquestionably be
taught to articulate.  But, fuppofing this point to be ob-
tained,  if he remained incapable-of  reflection, <af he was
unable to comprehend the meaning of words, or to dif-
cover by his expreffions a degree of  intelled greatly fu-
perior to that  of the  brute  creation,  which I imagine
would be the cafe, he could never,  as fome authors have
held forth,  be exalted to the distinguished rank of human
beings.
   Of all quadrupeds, of whofe hiftory and manners we
have any proper knowledge, the elephant is moft remark-
able both for docility and understanding.  Though his
fize is enormous, and his members  rude and difpropor-
tioned,  which give him, at firft fight,  the afped of dul-
nefs and ftupidity,  his genius is great, and his fagacious
manners, and his fedate and colleded deportment, are
almoft incredible.  He is the largeft and ftrongeft  of all
terrestrial animals.   Though naturally brave, his  difpo-
fitions are mild and peaceable.   He  is an affociating ani-
mal,  and feldom appears alone in the forefts,  When in
danger, or  when they undertake a depredatory expedition
into cultivated fields, the  elephants affemble in troops.
The oldeft takes  the lead; the next in feniority brings up
the rear; and the young and the feeble occupy the center.
In the for efts and folitudes they move with lefs precaution;
 but never feparate fo far afunder as to render them inca-
pable of affording each other mutual affiftance when dan-
 ger approaches.  A troop of elephants constitutes a moft
 formidable  band.  Wherever they march, the foreft feems
 to fall before them.  They bear down the branches upon
 which they feed; and, if  they enter an inclofure, they
 foon deftroy all the labours of the  hufbandman.   Their
 invafions are the more tremendous, as there is hardly any
 means  of repelling them;  for, to attack a  troop, when
 thus united, would require a little army.  It is only when
 one or two elephants happen to linger behind the reft,
 that  the hunters dare  exert their  art and  ingenuity in
 making an  attack; for any attempt to difturb the troop
                                                would 
39$       THE   PHILOSOPHY
would certainly prove fatal  to the affailants.  When an
infult is offered, the elephants inftantly move forward
againil the offender,  tofs him in the air with their tulks,
and afterwards trample him to pieces under their feet, or
rather pillars  of  flefh and bone.   Let not the character
of this noble  and majeltic animal, however, be mifrepre-
fented.  With force and dignity he refents every affront;
but, when not difturbed by petulance or  adual injury,
he never fhows an hoftile intention either againft man or
anv other  animal.  Elephants live entirely on vegetables,
and have no thirft for blood.  Such  is  their fecial  and
generous  difpofition,  that,  when  an individual chances
to meet with  a luxurious fpot of pafture, he immediately
calls to his companions, and invites them  to  partake of
his good fortune.
   The elephant poffeffes all  the fenfes in perfedion: But,
in the fenfe of touching, he excels all the brute creation.
His trunk is  the  chief instrument of this fenfe.  In an
elephant of fourteen feet high, the trunk is about eight
feet long,  and five feet and an half in circumference at
the bale.  It  is a large  flefhy tube,  divided through its
whole extent  by  a feptum or partition.   It is  capable of
motion in every  diredion.  The  animal can  fhorten or
lengthen it at pleafure.   It anfwers  every  purpofe of  a
hand;  for it grafps large objeds with great force, and its
extremity  can lay hold of a fixpence, or even of a  pin.
The trunk of the elephant affords him the fame means of "i
addrefs as the ape.  It ferves the purpofes of  an arm and
a hand.  By  this inftrument,  the elephant conveys large
or fmall bodies to his mouth, places  them  on his back,
embraces  them fait, or throws them forcibly to a diftance.
In a ftate  of nature and perfed freedom, the  difpofitions
of  the  elephant  are  neither fanguinary nor ferocious.
They are gentle  creatures, and never exert their ftrength,
pr employ their weapons, but in defending themfelves or
protecting their companions.  Even when deprived of
ihe inftrudion of men,  they  poffefs  the fagacity  of the
beayer, the addrefs of the ape, and the  acutenefs  of the
dog.  To thefe mental talents are added the  advantages
of amazing bodily ftrength, and the experience and know^
                                               ledge 
        OF NATURAL  HISTORY.     397

ledge he acquires by living at leaft two centuries.  With
his trunk he tears up trees.  By a pum of his body he
makes a breach in a wall.  To this prodigious ftrength
he adds courage, prudence, and coolnefs of deportment.
As he never makes  an attack but when he receives an in-
jury,  he is univerfally beloved ; and all animals  refped,
becaufe none have any reafon to fear him.  In all ages,
men have entertained a veneration for this moft magnifi-
cent and fagacious of terreftrial creatures.  The ancients
regarded him as a miracle of Nature, and he is, in reality, •
one of her greateft efforts.  But they have greatly exagge-
rated his faculties.  Without hefitation, they have afcrib-
ed to him high  intelledual powers and moral  virtues.
Pliny, JElian, Plutarch,  and  other authors  of  a more
modern date,  have beftowed on the elephant not only ra-
tional manners,  but an innate religion, a kind  of daily
adoration of the fun and moon, the ufe  of ablution be-
fore worfhip, a fpirit of  divination, piety toward heaven
and their fellow-creatures, whom they affift at the approach
of death, and, after their deceafe, bedew them with tears,
and cover their bodies with earth.
   When tamed and inftruded  by man,  the  elephant is
foon rendered the mildeft  and  moft obedient of all do-
pieftic animals.   He loves his keeper, careffes him,  and
anticipates  his  commands.  He learns  to comprehend
figns, and even to  understand  the  expreflion of founds.
He diftinguifhes the tones of command, of anger,  and
of approbation,  and regulates his adions by  his  percep-
tions.  The voice of his mailer he never mistakes.   His
orders are executed with alacrity, but without any degree *
of precipitation.  His movements  are always meafured
and fedate, and his charader feems to  correfpond with
the gravity  of  his  mafs.  To accommodate thofe who
mount him, he readily learns to bend his  knees.  With
 his trunk he falutes his friends, ufes it for raifing burdens,
 and affifts in loading himfelf.   He loves to be  clothed,
 and feems to be proud of gaudy trappings.  In the fouth-
 ern regions, he is employed in drawing waggons,  ploughs,
 and chariots.   * I was eye^witnefs,' fays P. Philippe, 4 to
 4 the following fads.  At Goa, there are always feme ele-
                                              4 phantt 
 393       THE  PHILOSOPHY
 *■ phants employed in the  building of fhips.   1  one day
 * went to the fide of the river,  near  which a large (hip
 4 was building in the city of Goa, where there is a large
 4 area filled with beams for that purpofe.   Some men tie
 * the ends of  the heavieft beams with a rope, which  is
 4 handed to the elephant, who  carries it to  his  mouth,
 * and,  after twifting it round his  trunk, draws it,  with-
 * out any condudor, to the place where the (hip is build-
 * ing, though it had only once  been pointed out to him.
 * He fometimes drew beams fo large that more than twenty
 4 men would have been unable to move.  But, what fur-
 ' prifed me ftill more,  when other beams obftruded the
 4 road, he elevated the ends of  his own beams, that they
 * might run eafily over thofe which lay in his way.  Could
 4 the moft enlightened man do more*?'  When at work,
 the elephant  draws  equally, and, if properly managed,
 never turns reftive.  The man who conduds  the animal
 generally rides on his neck, and employs a hooked iron
 rod, or a bodkin, with which he pricks the head or fides
 of the ears, in order to pufh the creature forward,  or to
 make him  turn.  But words  are commonly fufficient.
 The attachment and affedion of the  elephant are fome-
 times fo ftrong and durable that he  has  been known to
 die of grief, when, in an unguarded paroxyfm  of rage,
 he had killed  his guide.
  Before the  invention of gun-powder, elephants  were
 employed  in  war by  the African and  Afiatic nations.
 * From time immemorial,' fays  Schouten,  4 the Kings of
 ■ Ceylon, of Pegu, and of Aracan, have ufed elephants
 ' in war.   Naked fabres were tied to their trunks, and
 6 on their  backs were fixed fmall wooden catties, which
 6 contained five or fix men armed with javelins, and other
 ' weapons f.'   The Greeks and Romans, however, foon
 became acquainted with the  nature  of thefe monftrous
 warriors.  They opened their ranks to let the animals pafs,
 and direded all their weapons,  not againft the elephants,
but their condudors.   Since fire has now become the ele-
 ment  of war, and  the chief inftrument of  deftrudion,
 elephants, who are terrified both  at the flame and noife,
                                             would
  ♦Voyage d'Oxicnt. p^r. 3*7. S.    + Voya;r dc Schouten, pag, 3c.  S, 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     39^
would be more dangerous than ufeful in our modern bat-
tles.   The Indian Kings, however, ftill arm elephants in
their wars.  In Cochin, and other parts of Malabar, all
the warriors  who fight not on foot are mounted on ele-
phants *.  The fame pradice obtains in  Tonquin, Siam,
and Pegu.  In  thefe  countries, the kings  and nobles at
public festivals are always preceded and  followed by nu-
merous trains of elephants, pompoufly adorned with pieces
of fhining metal,  and clothed with rich garments. Their
tufks are ornamented  with rings of gold and filver ; their
ears and cheeks are painted with various colours;  they
are crowned with garlands; and a number of fmall bells
are fixed to different parts of their bodies.   They delight
in gaudy attire;  for they are chearful  and carefling in
proportion to the number and  fplendour  of  their orna-
ments.   The Afiatics, who were very anciently civilized,
perceiving the fagacity and docility of the elephant,  edu-
cated him in a fyftematic manner, and modified his  dif-
pofitions according to their own manners, and the ufeful
labours in which his ftrength and dexterity could be em-
ployed.
   A domeftic elephant  performs  more labour than could
be accomplifhed by  fix  horfes;  but he  requires  much
care and a great  deal of food.  He is fubjed to be over-
heated, and muft be led to the water twice or thrice a-day.
He eafily learns to bathe himfelf.   With his trunk he
fucks up large quantities of water, carries it to his mouth,
drinks part of it, and, by elevating his trunk, makes the
remainder run over every part of his body.  To give feme
idea of the labour he performs, and  the  docility of his
difpofitions, it is worthy of remark, that, in India, all
the bales, facks,  and tuns, tranfported from one place to
another, are carried  by elephants.   They carry burdens.
on their bodies, their necks, their, tufks, and even in their
mouths, by giving them the end of a rope, which  they
hold fait with their teeth.  Uniting fagacity with ftrength,
they never break or injure any thing committed to their
charge.  From the. margins of the rivers, they put weighty
bundles into boats without wetting them,  lay them down
                                               gently
               * Thevenot, torn. 3. pag. s6i. S> 
THE  PHILOSOPHY
gently and arrange them where they ought to be placed.
When the goods are difpofed as their mailers dired, they
examine with their trunks whether the articles are pro-
perly (lowed ; and if a cafk or tun rolls,  they go fponta-
neoufly in queft of ftones to prop and render it firm.
   In trie elephant, the fenfe of fmelling is acute, and he
is paflionately fond of odoriferous flowers, which he col-
lects one by one,  forms them into a  nofegay,  and, after
gratifying his nofe,  conveys them to  his mouth.
   In India,  the domeftic  elephants, to whom the  ufe of
water  is as neceffary as  that  of air, are allowed  every
poflible conveniency for bathing themfelves.  The animal
goes into a river till the water reaches his belly.  He then
lies down on one fide, fills his trunk feveral  times, and
dexteroufly  throws  the water on fuch parts as  happen to
be uncovered.  The matter, after cleaning and currying
one fide, defires the animal to turn to the other, which
command he obeys with the greateft alacrity; and, when
both fides have been  properly cleaned, he comes out of
the river, and ftands fome time on the  bank to dry him-
felf.   The elephant,  though his mafs be enormous,  is an
excellent fwimmer; and, of courfe, he is of great ufe in
the paffage of rivers.   When  employed on  occafions of
this kind, he is often loaded with two  pieces of cannon
which admit three or four pound balls, befide great  quan-
tities of baggage  and  feveral  men fixed  to his ears and
tail.   When thus heavily loaded, he fpontaneoufly enters
the river and fwims  over with his trunk elevated in the
air for the benefit of refpiration.  He is  fond of  wine
and ardent fpirits.   By fhowing him a veffel  loaded with
any of thefe liquors, and promifing him it as the reward
of his  labours,  he is induced to exert the greateft efforts,
and to perform the moft painful talks.   The elephant, as
we are informed by M. de Buffy,  quoted  by  the Count
de Buffon, is employed in dragging artillery  over moun-
tains, and, on thefe occafions, his fagacity  and  docility
are confpicuous.  Horfes or oxen, when yoked to a can-
non, make all their exertions  to pull it up  a declivity.
But the elephant pufhes the breach forward w ith his front,
and, at each effort,  fupports the carriage with  Li;  knee,
                                               which 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     461
which he places againft  the  wheel.  He feems to under-
stand what his cornack, or condudor, fays to him.  When
his condudor wants him to  perform any painful labour,
he explains the nature of the operation, and gives the rea-
fons which fhould induce him to obey. If the elephant fhows
a reludance to the talk, the cornack promifes to give him
wine, arrack, or  any other article that he is fond of, and
then the animal exerts his  utmoft efforts.   But to break
any promife made to him is extremely dangerous. ^ Many
cornacks have fallen vidims to indifcretions of this kind.
4 At Dehan,' fays M. de Buffy,  ' an elephant, from re-
4 venge, killed his cornack.  The man's wife, who beheld
6 the dreadful fcene,  took her two children, and threw
4 them  at the feet of the enraged animal, faying,  Since
4 you have flain  my hu/band, take my life alfo, as  well as
4 that of my children.  The elephant inftantly flopped, re-
4 lented,  and, as  if flung  with  remorfe, took the eldeft
 4 boy in its trunk, placed him on its neck, adopted him
4 for its cornack, and would never allow any other perfon
 4 to mount it.'                                 .
   From the members of the Royal Academy of Sciences,
 we learn fome curious  fads with regard to the manners
 of the  Verfailles  elephant:   This elephant, they  remark,
 feemed to know  when  it was mocked,  and remembered
 the affront  till it had an opportunity of revenge.   A man
 deceived it, by  pretending to throw  fome food into its
 mouth.  The animal gave him fuch a blow with its trunk
 as knocked him  down, and broke two of his ribs.   A
 painter wanted to draw the animal in  an unufual attitude,
 with its trunk elevated, and its mouth open.  The paint-
 er's fervant, to  make it remain in  this pofition, threw
 fruits into  its mouth, but generally made only a feint ot
 throwing  them.   This condud enraged  the elephant;
  and as if it knew that the painter was the caufe os this
 teazing impertinence,  inftead of attacking the fervant, it
 eyed the mafter,  and fquirted at him from its trunk fuch
 a quantity of water as fpoiled the paper on which he was
 drawing.  This elephant commonly made lefs  uie: or its
  ftrength than its  addrefs.   It loofed,  with great eafe and
  coolnefs,  the buckle  of a large double leathern  ftrap,
                           E e e                   wlth 
402
THE  PHILOSOPHY
with which its  leg was fixed ;  and, as the fervants  hail
wrapped the buckle  round with a  fmall cord, and  tied
many  knots upon it, the creature,  with much delibera-
tion,  loofed the whole, without breaking either ftrap or
the cord.
   It is remarked by le P. Vincent  Marie,  that  the  ele-
phant, when in a domeftic ftate, is highly efteemed for
his gentlenels,  docility, and friendfhip  to his governor.
When deitined  to the immediate fervice of princes, he  is
fenfible of his good  fortune, and  maintains a gravity of
demeanour correfponding to the dignity of his fituation.
But if, on the contrarv, lefs honourable labours  are af-
figned to him,  he grows melancholy, frets, and evidently
difcovers that he is humbled and depreffed.  He is fond
of children, careffes  them,  and appears to difcern the in-
nocence of their manners.  The Dutch voyagers relate*,
that,  by  giving elephants what is agreeable to them, they
are foon rendered perfedly tame and  fubmiffive.  They
are fo fagacious, that they  may be  faid to be deftitute of
the ufe of language only.  They are  proud and ambiti-
ous ;  and they are fo grateful for  good ufage, that, as a
mark of  refped, they  bow their  heads in pafling  houfes
where they have been  hofpitably  received.  They allow
themfelves  to  be led and commanded  by  a child ;  but
they love to be  praifed and careffed.   When a wild ele-
phant is taken,  the hunters tie his feet, and one of them
accolts and falutes him, makes apologies for binding him,
proteils that no injury is intended, tells him, that, in his
former condition,  he frequently wanted food, but that,
that,  henceforward,  he fhall be well  treated,  and that
every promife fhall be performed to him.  This foothing
harangue is no fooner finifhed than  the elephant placidly
follows the hunter f.   From this fad, however,  we muft
not conclude that the elephant understands language, but
that,  like the  dog, he  has  a  ftrong  difcerning faculty.
He diuinguilhes elteem from contempt, friendfhip from
hatred, and many other emotions which are expreffed by
                                               human
  * Vovage c!-_ la C-^.p.^nir des Iad.s de Hollandc,  ram. 1. pa^. 41^. S
  t Voyage d'Osicru. du P. P!n ''['pr, p2». ^C«>. J>. 
        OF NATURAL  HISTORY.    403
human geftures and features.  For this reafon, the ele-
phant is more eafily tamed by mildnefs than by blows.^
  4 I have frequently remarked,' fays Edward Terry *, that
4 the elephant performs many adions which feem to proceed
6 more from reafon than from inftind.  He does every
4 thing which his matter commands.  If he wants to terrify
4 any perfon, he runs upon him with every  appearance of
4 fury, and, when he comes near, flops fhort, without doing
' the perfonthefmalleft injury. When the mafter choofes to
4 affront any man, he tells the elephant, who immediately
4 colleds  water and. mud with his  trunk, and  fquirts  it
4 upon the objed pointed out to him.  The Mogul keeps
4 fome elephants  who ferve  as executioners to criminals
4 condemned to death.   When the condudor  orders one
4 of thefe animals to defpatch the poor criminals quickly,
4 he tears them to pieces in a moment with his feet: But,
* if defired to torment them flowly, he breaks their bones
4 one after another, and makes them fuffer a punifhment
4 as cruel as that of the wheel.'
   Next to the  elephant, the dog feems to be the moft
docile quadruped.  A wild dog is a paflionate,  ferocious,
and fanguinary  animal.  But, after he  is  reduced to  a
domeftic  ftate, thefe  hoftile difpofitions are  fuppreffed,
and they are fucceeded by a warm  attachment, and  a
perpetual defire of pleafing.   The perceptions and natural
talents of the dog are acute.  When  thefe are aided by
inftrudion, the fagacity he  difcovers, and the adions he
is taught to perform, often  excite  our  wonder.  Thofe
animals  which man has taken under  his immediate pro-
tedion are taught to perform artificial  adions,  or have
their natural inftinds improved, by three  modes of in-
ftrudion, punifhment, reward, and imitation.   More duc-
tile in his nature than moft other  animals, the dog  not
only receives inftrudion with rapidity, but accommodates
his behaviour and deportment to the manners and habits
of thofe who command him.  He affumes the very tone
 of the family in which he refides.  Eager, at all tirnes,
to  pleafe  his mafter, or his friends, he furiouily repels
                                             beggars;
           * Terry's Voyage to the Eaft Indies, pag. l$. S. 
404
THE  PHILOSOPHY
 beggars;  becaufe he probably, from their drefs, conceives
 them to be either thieves, or competitor*  for food.
   Though every dog, as well as every man, is naturally
 a hunter, the dexterity of both is highly improved by ex-
 perience and inlteectuei.  The varieties of dogs,  by fre-
 quent intermixtures with thofe of different climates,  and
 perhaps with foxes and wolves, are fo great, and their in-
 ftincts are fo much diver fined,  that, even though  they
 produce with each other, we fhould be apt to regard them
 as different fpecies.   What a difference between the natu-
 ral difpofitions of the  fhepherd's dog, the fpaniel, and the
 grey-hound ? The fhepherd's dog, independently of all
 inftrudion,  feems to be endowed by  Nature  with an in-
 nate attachment to  the  prefervation of fheep and cattle.
 His docility  is likewife fo great, that  he not only learns
 to underftand the language  and commands of the fhep-
 herd, and obeys them with faithfulnefs and alacrity ;  but,
 when at diftances beyond the reach of his matter's voice,
 he often  flops,  looks back, and recognifes the approbati-
 on or difapprobation of  the fhepherd by the mere  waving
 of his hand.  He reigns at  the head  of a flock,  and is
 better heard than the  voice  of his mafter.   His vigilance
 and adivity produce order,  difcipline,  and fafetv.  Sheep
 and cattle arc peculiarly fubjeded  to his  management,
 whom he  prudently conduds and proteds, and never  em-
ploys force againft them, except for  the prefervation of
peace and good  order.  But, when the flock committed
to his charge is attacked by  the fox, the wolf, or other
rapacious  animals, he makes a full difplay of his courage
and fagacity.  In fituations of this kind, both his  natural
and acquired talents are exerted.  Three fhepherds dogs
are faid to be a  match for a bear, and four for a lion.
  Every perfon  knows the docility and  fagacity of fuch
dogs as are  employed in conduding  blind mendicants.
Johannes Faber, as quoted by Mr.  Ray, inforrns us, that
he knew a blind beggar who was led through the ftreets of
Rome by  a  middle-fized dog.   This dog, befide leading
his mafter in fuch a manner as to proted him from all
danger, learned  to diftinguifh  not only the ftreets,  but 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      405
the houfes where his mafter was accustomed  to  receive
alms twice or thrice a-week.  Whenever the animal came
to any of thefe ftreets, with which he was well acquainted,
he would not leave it till a call  had been made at every
houfe where his mafter was ufually fuccefsful in his petiti-
ons.  When the beggar began to afk alms, the dog, being
wearied, lay down  to reft; but the matter was no fooner
ferved or refufed, than the dog rofe  fpontaneoufly,  and,
without either order or fign, proceeded to the other hou-
fes where the beggar generally received fome gratuity.  I
obferved, fays  he, not without pleafure and furprife, that,
when a halfpenny was thrown  from a window, fuch was
the fagacity and attention of this dog, that he went about
in queft of it, lifted it from  the ground with his  mouth,
and put  it into his  matter's hat.  Even when bread was
thrown  down, the animal would not tafte it, unlefs he
received a portion of  it from  the hand of  his mafter.
Without any other  inftrudion than imitation, a  maftiff,
when accidentally fhut out from a houfe which  his matter
frequented, uniformly rung the bell for admittance. Dogs
can be taught to go to market with money, to repair to a
known  butcher, and to carry home the meat in fafety.
They can be taught to dance to mufic, and to fearch for
and find any thing that is loft *.
   There is a dog at prefent belonging to a grocer in Edin-
burgh, who has for fome time amufed and aftonifhed the
people in the neighbourhood.  A man who goes through
the ftreets ringing a bell and felling penny pies, happen-
ed one day to treat this dog with a pie.  The next  time
he  heard the pieman's bell, he ran to him with impetuo-
sity, feized him by  the coat, and would not fuffer him to
pafs. The  pieman, who understood what the  animal
wanted, fhowed him a penny,  and pointed to his mafter,
who flood in the ftreet-door, and faw what was going on.
The  dog immediately  fupplicated his mafter by many
humble geftures and looks.   The mafter put a penny in-
to the dog's mouth, which  he inftantly delivered to the
pieman, and received his pie.  This  traffick  between the
                                              pieman

  * For thefe and many other instances of the fagacity and docility of the dog, the
reader may confult Synopfis Quadrupcdum a Joantie Jiaio, p. 6. &c  S. 
4o6
THE  PHILOSOPHY
pieman and the grocer's dog has been daily pradifed  for
months paft, and ftill continue;.
  Dogs, horfes, and  even hogs, by rewards  and punifit-
ments, and, I am afraid, ot;en by cruelty, may be taught
to perform adions, as we have frequently feen in public
exhibitions, which are truly aftonifliing.  But of thefe we
mult net enter into any detail.
  With regard to the horfe, the gcntlenefs of his difpofi-
tions, and the docility of his  temper,  are fo well and fo
univerfally known,  that it is  unnecefiary to  dwell long
upon the fubjed.   To give fome idea of what inftrudion
horfes receive when in a domeftic ftate, we fhall mention
fome traits of their form and manners  when under no re-
ftraints.   In South-America the horfes  have multiplied
prodigioufly, and, in that thinly-inhabited country, live in
perfect freedom.   They fly from the prefence of man.
They wander about in troops,  and devour,  in immenfe
meadows,  the produdions of a perpetual fpring.  Wild
hork-s are ftrongcr, lighter, and more  nervous, than  the
generality of thofe  which are kept in a domeftic ftate.
They  are  by no  means ferocious.  Though  fuperior in
ftrength to moft animals, they never  make an attack.—
When affaulted, however, they either  difdain the enemy,
or ftrike+iim dead with their heels.  They  affociate in
troops  from mutual attachment,  and neither make war
with other animals nor among themfelves.   As their ap-
petites are moderate, and they have few objeds to excite
envy or difcord, they live in perpetual peace.  Their man-
ners are gentle,  and their tempers fecial.   Their force
and ardour are rendered confpicuous only by  marks of
emulation. They  are anxious to be foremoft in the courfe,
to brave danger  in crofling a river, or in leaping a ditch
or precipice; and, it is faid, that thofe horfes which  are
moft adventurous and expert in thefe natural exercifes,
are, when domefticated, the  moft generous, mild,  and
tradable.
  Wild horfes are taken notice of by feveral of the  an-
cients.  Herodotus mentions white wild  horfes  on  the
banks of  the Hypanis, in Scythia.  He  likewife tells us,
that, in the northern part of Thrace, beyond the Danube,
                                                there 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      407
there were wild  horfes covered  all over with,hair five
inches in length.   The  wild horfes in America are  the
offspring of domeftic horfes originally tranfported thither
from Europe by the Spaniards.  The author of the hif-
tory of the Buccaneers* informs us, that troops of horfes,
fometimes confifting of 500, are  frequently met with  in
the ifland of St. Domingo;  that, when they fee a man,
they all flop ; and that one  of their number approaches
to a certain diftance, blows through his noftrils, takes
flight,  and is inftantly followed by the whole troop.  He
defcribes them as having grofs heads and limbs, and long
necks and ears.   The inhabitants tame them with eafe,
and then train them to labour.  In  order to take them,
gins of ropes are laid in the places where they are known
to frequent.  When caught by the neck, they foon stran-
gle themfelves, unlefs fome perfon arrive in time to dif-
entangle them.  They are tied to trees by the  body and
limbs, and are left in that fituation  two days without vic-
tuals or drink.  This treatment is generally fufficient  to
render them  more tradable, and they foon become  as
gentle as if they had never been wild.  Even when any
of thefe horfes, by  accident, regain  their liberty, they
never refume their favage ftate, but know their  matters,
and allow themfelves to be approached and retaken.
  From thefe, and  fimilar  fads, it may be concluded,
that the difpofitions of horfes are gentle, and  that they
are naturally difpofed to affociate  with man. After they
are tamed they never forfake the abodes of men.   On the
contrary, they are anxious to return to the ftable.  The
fweets of habit feem to fupply all  they have loft by slave-
ry.   When fatigued, the manfion  of repofe is  full  of
comfort.   They fmell it at confiderable diftances, can dif-
tinguifh it in the midit of populous  cities, and feem uni-
formly to prefer bondage to liberty.   By  fome attention
and addrefs colts are firft rendered tradable. When that
point is gained, by different modes  of management, the
docility of  the animal is improved,  and  they foon learn
to perform  with alacrity the  various labours afiigned  to
them.  The domeftication of the  horfe is perhaps the no-
                                                bleft
* L'Hift. dcs Avantcur. Flibufliers. t»m. l. pag. no. S. 
4o3        THE  PHILOSOPHY
bleft acquifition from the animal world  which has ever
been made by the genius,  the art,  and the induftry  of
man.  He is taught to partake of  the dangers and fatigue9
of war, and feems to enjoy the glory of  vidory.  He en-
counters death with ardour and  with magnanimity.  He
delights in the tumult  of arms,  and  attacks the enemy
with refolution and alacrity.  It  is not in perils and con-
flids alone that the horfe co-operates with the difpofitions
of his mafter.   He even feems to participate  of human
pleafures and amufements.   He delights  in the chace and
the tournament,  and his eyes fparkle with emulation  in
the courfe.  Though bold and intrepid, however, he does
not allow himfelf to be hurried on by  a furious ardour.
On proper occafions,  he  repreffes his  movements,  and
knows how to check the natural fire  of his  temper.  He
not only yields to the hand, but feems to confult the in-
clination,  of his rider.   Always obedient to the imprefli-
ons he receives,  he flies or flops, and regulates his moti-
ons folely  by the will of his mafter.
  Mr. Ray,  who wrote about the end of laft century, in-
forms us,  that he had feen a horfe who danced to mufic,
who, at the command of his mafter, affeded to be lame,
who fimulated death, lay motionlefs  with his  limbs ex-
tended,  and allowed himfelf to  be  dragged about, till
fome words were pronounced, when  he  inftantly  fprung
up on his feet *.   Fads of this kind would fcarcely re-
ceive credit, if every perfon were not now acquainted with
the wonderful docility of the  horfes educated by  Aftley,
and other  public exhibitors of horfemanfhip.  In exhibi-
tions of this kind, the docility and prompt obedience  of
the animals deferve more admiration than the dexterous
feats of the men.
  Animals of  the ox-kind, in a domeftic ftate, are dull
and phlegmatic.   Their fenfibility and talents feem to be
very limited.  But we  fhould not pronounce rafhly con-
cerning  the  genius and powers of animals  in a country
where their  education  is totally  neglected.  In all  the
fouthern provinces of Africa and Afia,   there are  many
wild bisons,  or bunched oxen, which are young and tam-
                                                 ed.
        * Rail Syroj)^ Animalium Qoadrupcdum, pag. io.  S. 
OF NATURAL  HISTORY.     409
ed.  They are foon taught  to  fubmit,  without refift-
ance, to  all kinds of domeltic labour.   They  become
fo tradable, that they are managed with as much eafe as
our horfes.  The voice of  their matter is alone fufficient
to make  them obey, and  to  dired their courfe. They
are fhod, curried, careffed, and fupplied abundantly with
the belt food.   When managed in this manner, thefe ani-
mals  appear to be  different  creatures  from  our oxen.
The  oxen of the Hottentots are favourite domeltics, com-
panions in amufements,  afliftants  in all laborious exer-
cifes, and participate the  habitation,  the  bed,  and  the
table of their  matters.   As their nature is improved by
the gentlenefs of their education,  by  the kind treatment
they receive,  and the perpetual attention  beftowed  on
them, they acquire fenfibility and intelligence, and per-
form adions which one would not exped from them.  The
Hottentots train their oxen to war.  In all their armies
there are confiderable troops  of thefe oxen, which are ea-
fily governed, and are let loofe by the chief when a pro-.
per opportunity occurs.  They inftantly dart with impetu-
ofity upon the enemy. They ftrike with their horns, kick,
overturn, and trample under their feet every thing that op-
pofes their fury.  They run ferocioufly into the ranks, which
they foon put  in the utmoft diforder, and thus pave the
way  for an eafy vidory  to their mailers*. ^ Thefe oxen
are likewife inftruded to guard the flocks, which they con-
dud with dexterity, and defend them from the attacks of
strangers, and of  rapacious animals.   They are taught to
diftinguifh friends from  enemies,  to  understand  fignals,
and  to obev the commands of their matter.   When paf-
turing,  at the fmalleft fignal from the keeper,  they bring
back and colled the wandering animals.  They attack all
ftrangers  with fury, which renders them a great fecurity
againft  robbers.  Thefe brackeleys,  as  they  are called,
know every inhabitant  of the  kraal, and difcover  the
fame marks of refped for all the men, women, and  chil-
dren, as  a  dog does for  thofe who  live in his  matter's
houfe. Thefe people may,  therefore, approach their cattle
with the greateft fafety.'  But if a ftranger, and particu-
                          F f f                   larly
          * Voyage de Cap, par Kolbe, torn. l. png. 16b.  S. 
4ro        THE  PHILOSOPHY

larlv an European, fhould ufe the fame freedom,  without
being accompanied with one  of  the Hottentots, his life
wov-ld be in imminent danger*.
    Dtwithftanding the  many furprifing adions which
d   ^nt quadrupeds may be taught  to perform, none of
t1    , though their organs  are much more perfed  than
t .ejfe of birds,  have ever been able to pronounce articu-
late founds.  But many birds, without much inftrudion,
learn  to pronounce words,  and even fentencts.   In par-
rots, the diftinguifhing accuracy of their ear, the acute-
nefs of their attention, and their ftrong inftindive propen-
fity to imitate founds of every kind,  have juttly procured
them univerfal admiration.   When in a ftate of domesti-
cation, the parrot learns to  pronounce the common ftreet
calls, befide many words and phrafes occafionally employ-
ed by the family in which he refides.  Tho' the limitation of
his mental powers does not permit him to learn any extent
of languge, or the proper ufe and meaning of words, he
not unfrequently difcovers the affociation between the ob-
jed and the found.  A woman every morning paffed the
window, where  a parrot's  cage  was fixed, calling fait.
The parrot foon learned to  imitate the call.  But, before
any found could be heard,  he no fooner  eaft his eye upon
the woman than he uttered her ufual call.  In  this and
many other fimilar cafes, the  objeds  and the founds are
evidently cohneded in the mind of  the animals.  How
far thefe affociations might  be carried by  a patient and
perfevering education, it is difficult to determine.  In this
manner, however, parrots might be  taught a confidera-
ble vocabulary of fubftantive  nouns,  or the proper names
of common objeds.  But his intelled,  it  is more  than
probable,  would  never reach the ufe of  the verb, and
other parts of fpeech.
   Befide parrots, jays,  kc. who learn to pronounce ar-
ticulate  founds, there is another race of  birds whofe  do-
cility  deferves to  be  mentioned.  Singing birds,  thofe
lively and  fpirited little animals, attempt  not to articulate.
But their mufical ears are as  delicate and difcerning as
their voices are melodious and delightful.  The  vivacity,
                                                  the
           * Vc>) .i^c dt Cap, pai Kolbe, pag. 307. S. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     4n
the extent of voice, and the imitative  powers of thefe
beautiful creatures,  have at all times excited the attention
and conciliated the affedions of mankind.  When domef-
ticated, thefe birds, befide their  natural notes, foon  ac-
quire the faculty of finging confiderable parts of artificial
tunes.  Thefe imitations  are effeds  of natural inttind.
But,  in exhibitions, I  have feen  linnets fimulate  death,
and remain perfedly tranquil and unmoved, when fmall
cannons were fired, within an inch of their bodies, from
a wooden fort.   Thefe little creatures have  even been
taught to lay hold of a match and fire the  cannons them-
felves.
  The docility and  fagacity of animals have always been
confidered as wonderful.  But this wonder is  partly  the
effed of inattention; for, though man is unqueftionably
the chief of the animal creation,  the  other animals, ac-
cording to the  number of inftinds,  or, which amounts
to the fame  thing, according to the mental powers with
which Nature has endowed them,  comparatively approach
to or recede from the fagacity and genius  of the human
fpecies.  The whole is a graduated fcale of intelligence.
A philofopher fhould, therefore, contemplate and admire
the whole, but fhould never  be furprifed  at any  partial
exhibitions of the general fcene  of intelled and anima-
tion.
   We fhall conclude this fubjed with a few remarks con-
cerning the  changes produced in animals by domestica-
tion.
   Climate and food are the  chief caufes which produce
changes in the magnitude, figure, colour, and conftitu-
tion,  of wild animals.  But, befide  thefe caufes, there
are others which have  an influence upon  animals when
reduced to a domeftic or unnatural ftate.   When at per-
fed liberty, animals feem to have feleded thofe particular
zones or regions of the globe which  are moft  confonant
to the nature and conftitution of each  particular tribe.
There they  fpontaneoufly remain, and never, like man,
difperfe themfelves  over the whole furface of  the earth.
But,  when obliged by  man, or by any great revolution of
Nature, to abandon their native foil, they undergo chan-
                                                  ges 
41 a         THE   PHILOSOPHY

ges fo great, that, to recognife and diftinguifh them, re-
courfe mint he he.d to the moft accurate examinaiion.  It
we add to climate and food,  thofe natural cau'cs ot alter-
ation in free animals, the empire of man over  luch  of
them as he has reduced to fervitude, the decree to which
tyianny degrades and disfigures Nature, will appear to  be
greatlv augmented.   The mouflon, the flock from which
our domeftic fheep have derived their origin, is compara-
tively a large animal.   He is as fleet as a ftag, armed with
herns and  iirong hoofs, and covered with coarfe  hair.
With thefe natural advantages, he dreads neither  the in-
clemency of the fi;y. nor the voracity of the wolf.  By
the hviitnefs oi  hes courfe, he not only efcapes  Irom his
uicrme--, '.ait. he is enabled to refill them by the tlreiigth
of his uoviv and the folidify of his arms.  How different
i-x Jis anim I from our  domeftic fheep, who  are timid,
weak,  mie  e.nahie to defend themfelves?  Without the
p'otedionot man, the whole race would foon be  extir-
pated by rapacious animals and by winter-florms.   In the
w.n.neft  climates of Africa  ami  of Afia, the  mouilon,
who is the  common parent oi' the fheep, appears to be lefs
degenerated than in any other region.   Though reduced
to .i domeftic itate, he has pvelerved his ftature and his
hair . uut the fize of his horns is diminiflied.   The fheep
of I^rtury, ie.eypt, Arabia,  Perfia, cvc. have undergone
greater  changes ; and,  in pioportion as they approach
toward either pole, they diininifh in fize, in ftrength, in
fwiftnefs,  and in courage.  L relation to man, they are
improved in fome articles, and vitiated in others.   Their
coarfe hair is converted into fine wool.  But,  with regard
to Nature, improvement and degeneration amount to the
fame thing; for both imply  an alteration of the  original
conieituticn.
   The  ox is  more influenced by nourifhment than any
other domeftic animal.  In countries where the pafture is
luxuriant,  the oxen acquire a prodigious  fize.  To the
oxen ot Ethiopia and fome provinces of Afia, the anci-
ents gave the  appellation of Bull-Elephants,  becaufe, in
thefe regions,  they approach to the magnitude of the ele-
phant.  This effed is chiefly produced by the abundance
                                                   of 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    413
of rich and fucculent herbage.  The Highlands of Scot-
land, and indeed every  high and northern country,  af-
ford ftriking  examples of the influence of food upon the
magnitude of cattle.   The oxen, as well as the horfes, in
the more northern parts of  Scotland, are extremely  di-
minutive ; but, when tranfported to richer pafture, their
fize is augmented, and the qualities of  their flefh are im-
proved.   The climate has  likewife a confiderable influ-
ence on the nature of the  ox.   In the northern regions
of both continents, he is covered with long foft hair.  He
has likewife a large bunch on his fhoulders;  and this de-
formity is common to the oxen of Afia, Africa, and A-
merica.   Thofe  of Europe  have no bunch.   The Euro-
pean oxen, however, feem to  be the primitive race, to
which the bunched kind afcend, by intermixture, in the
fecond or third generation.  The difference in their fize
is remarkably great.  The fmall zebu,  or bunched ox of
Arabia,  is not one tenth part  of  the  magnitude of the
./Ethiopian bull-elephant.
   The influence of food upon the  dog-kind feems not to
be great.  In all his  variations and degradations, he ap-
pears to follow the differences of climate. In the warm-
eft climates,  he  is naked ; in the northern regions, he is
covered  with a coarfe thick hair ; and he is adorned with
a fine filky robe, in Spain and Syria, where the mild tem-
perature of the air converts the hair of moft  quadrupeds
into a kind of filk.  Befide thefe external variations pro-
duced  by climate,  the dog undergoes other changes,
which proceed  from his fituation,  his  captivity, and the
nature of the intercourfe he holds with man.  His fize is
augmented or diminifhed by obliging the fmaller kinds to
unite together,  and by obferving the fame condud with
the larger individuals.  The fhortening the tail and ears
proceeds alfo from the hand of man. Dogs who have had
their ears and tails  cut for a few  generations,  tranfmit
thefe defeds, in a certain degree,   to  their  defcendents.
Pendulous ears, the moft certain  mark  of domeftic fer-
vitude and of fear, are almoft univerfal.  Of many races
of dogs, a few only have retained  the primitive ftate of
                                                their 
4*4
THE  PHILOSOPHY
their ears.  Ered ears are now confined to the wolf-dog,
the fhepherd's dog, and the dog of the North.
  The colour of animals is greatly variegated by domef-
tication.   The dog, the ox, the fheep, the goat, the horfe,
have affumed all kinds of colours, and even mixtures of
colours, in the fame individuals.  The hog has chang-
ed from black to white;  and white,  without the inter-
mixture of fpots, is generally accompanied with effential
imperfedions.   Men who are remarkably fair, and w hofe
hair is white, have generally a defed in  their  hearing,
and, at the fame time, weak and red eyes.   Quadrupeds
which are  entirely white have likewife red eyes and a dull-
nefs of hearing.   The variations from the original colour
are  moft remarkable in our domeftic  fowls.  In a brood
of chickens, though the eggs be laid by the fame hen, and
though the female be impregnated by the fame male, not
one of them has the fame colours with another.
  Domestication not only  changes the external appear-
ances of animals, but alters and  modifies  their natural
difpofitions.  The dog, for example,  when in a ftate of
liberty, is a rapacious quadruped,  and hunts and devours
the  weaker fpecies: But,  after he has fubmitted to the
dominion of man, he relinquifhes his natural ferocity, and
is converted into a mean, fervile, patient, and parafiti-
cal  Have.
CHAP. 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     415
o
CHAPTER     XVIil.


    Of the Characters of Animals.
    N this fubjed it never was intended to paint the chi-
     raders of every fpecies, even of the larger animals.
The reader will  eafily recoiled,  that, in many parts of
this work, much has already been faid with regard to the
tempers, difpofitions, and manners, of a great number of
animals.  Thefe we fhall not repeat, but proceed to fome
general remarks.
   On every animal Nature has imprinted a certain cha-
racter, which is indelibly fixed, and diftinguifhes the fpe-
cies.  This  charader we difcover by the adions, the air,
the countenance, the movements, and the whole external
appearance.  The courage of the lion, the ferocity of the
tiger, the voracioufnefs of the wolf, the pride of the cour-
fer, the dulnefs and indolence of the afs, the cunning and
addrefs of the fox, the affedion and docility of the dog,
the fubtlety and felfifhnefs of  the cat, the mildnefs of the
fheep, the timidity of the hare, the vivacity of the fquirrel,
are proper examples. Thefe  charaders, when underthe
influence of domeftication, may be modified by education,
of which rewards and punifhments are the chief inftruments
employed.   But the original  charader,  impreffed by the
hand of Nature, is never fully obliterated.  Thofe animals
which feem to have been deftined by Nature to live in per-
petual slavery under the dominion of man, have the mildeft
and moft gentle difpofitions.  It is pleafant, but,  at the
fame time, fomewhat contemptible, to fee a troop of oxen
guided by  the whip of a child.
   In the human fpecies, the variety of tempers, affedi-
ons, averfions, and studies, is  indifpenfibly  neceffary for
fupporting the fecial ftate, and carrying on the general
   rr    °                                    bufinefs 
 416        THE   PHILOSOPHY

 bufinefs of life.  Some minds are formed for fludy and
 deep refearch, and others for adion, courage, and the ex-
 ertion of bodily powers.  The fame variety in the difpofi-
 tions  and manners of the different tribes of animals is
 equally  neceffary for peopling the earth, and for fupply ing
 the reciprocal exigencies of its inhabitants.
   Befide the general fpecific charaders of animals,  indi-
 vidual charaders, efpecially among the human race, are
 ftrongly marked, and greatly variegated.  In every go-
 vernment, and particularly in commercial ftates,  human
 charaders, independently  of the original bias, or genius,
 ftamped by Nature on individual minds, are  often fo dif-
 guifed by  a  thoufand  artifices, that it  requires not  only
 time, but frequent interefting fcenes,  before a man can
 difcover the real charader even of an intimate compani-
 on.  Many men  affociate together in  the moft harmoni-
 ous manner, and  fhow every fymptom of friendfhip and
 attachment; but, when any of them happens to be dif-
 treffed,  and to require aid, all this apparent friendfhip in-
 ftantly vanifhes; the afped of the countenance, inftead of
 exhibiting fympathy and  cordiality, is converted into a
 cold referve, and the unfortunate former companion is
 firft fhunned, and then deferted.   This pidurc of human
 nature, we are ferry to remark, is too general; but, thank
 Heaven, it is not  univerfal; for  there always were, and
 ftill are, men of noble and generous minds, who  willing-
 ly facrifice part of their  own interest to that of their
 friends.
  With regard  to the charaders  of quadrupeds, befide
 the fpecific  difpofitions which  diftinguifh the different
 kinds, each  individual poffeffes  a  peculiar charader by
which it may be difcriminated from any other.   Thefe
 individual charaders may be difcovered not  only by the
afped, but by the adions, of animals.   Some dogs,  even
 of the fame race, are furly, churlifh, and   revengeful.
 Others are gay, frolickfome, and  friendly.  The  counte-
nances of men, which always indicate fome part  of their
original  and genuine  character, are as various as their
numbers.  Though lefs fubjed to general  obfervation,
Nature  has  marked the countenances  of every  animal,
                                                 even 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     417
even down to the infed tribes, with fome charaderiftic
strokes, which enable them to diftinguifh one another,
and even to eontrad particular attachments.   To us, the
fmall birds, fuch as fparrows and linnets, appear to be fo
perfedly fimilar, that, though we had an opportunity of
feeing great numbers of them colleded in one place,  it
would require much time and attention to be enabled to
make  particular diftindions.  After tliey have brought
up their young,  they affociate promifcuoufly in flocks;
but, when the genial fpring arrives, a  different fcene is
exhibited.   The flocks difappear.  Each male has feled-
ed, courted, and retired with a female to build a neft, to
hatch eggs, and to nourifh and fupport  their young.  If
Nature had not flamped  upon every individual a peculiar
mark, it would be impolTible that the immenfe multitudes
who pair, or join in matrimony, fhould be capable of dif-
tinguifhing and adhering faithfully to one  another.  A
ftiepherd, who has been long accuftomed to fuperintend a
numerous flock,  knows, by the countenances, and other
natural  or accidental  marks, every individual.   I knew
a fhepherd, who not only diftinguiflied every individual
of above two hundred fheep, but gave to each a particu-
 lar name.
   The charaders of quadrupeds, and even of fome birds,
 are indicated by obfcure refemblances between the linea-
 ments of their faces, and  thofe of  men  of  different fea-
 tures  and difpofitions.  Some men, in  the general ex-
 preflion of their  countenances, refemble  goats,  others
 fheep,  others  oxen, others fwine,  others  lions,  others
 dogs, others foxes, others owls, others hawks.^ ^ Even
 in particular races  of the fame fpecies, fimilarities  oi
 this  kind may be  traced.  I know fome  men who re-
 femble terriers, others greyhounds, others fpaniels, others
 the fhepherd's dog, others the lap-dog, &c.  Some  ot
 thefe refemblances may be regarded as fanciful, and per-
 haps they frequently are.  But, in general, when the refem-
 blance to  a particular animal is ftrongly marked in the
 human countenance, the difpofitions of  the man have a
 ftriking affinity to thofe of the'  animal. Men who re-
 femble  the  fox are uniformly cunning and  deceitful.
                        G rr o-                   Thofe 
418       THE  PHILOSOPHY
Thofe who rcfemble the ox are dull,  ftupid, and phleg-
matic.  Thofe who refemble the lion are bold, open, ge-
nerous, and witty.   Thofe who refemble the cat are cir-
cumfped, defigning,  and avaricious.  Thofe who refem-
ble the greyhound  are vigilant, adive, and fmart.  Thofe
who refemble the lap-dog are vain, prefumptuous, petu-
lant,  and lafcivious.   Thofe who refemble  the few are*
difguftful both  in their appearance and in their difpofiti-
ons.  Thofe who  refemble a crofs-made horfe are cru-
el,  unfeeling,  and highly  felfifh.  Thofe who refemble
the fpaniel, of whom  the  examples are numerous,  are
fawning, mean, and parafitical.   Thofe who refemble the
fheep are dull, timid, and inoffenfive.  Thofe who refem-
ble the goat are  fanciful, obstinate, and libidinous.  Thofe
who refemble a fine horfe are intrepid,  generous, trada-
ble, and good-humoured.  Thofe who refemble a  hawk
are quick, defultory,  and ingenious.   Thofe who refem-
ble the owl are  dark, defigning, and treacherous.  Thofe
Who refemble the bee are adive, ignorant, and induftri-
ous.  It is needlefs to multiply examples.  Every man's
recollection and obfervation will furnifh him with  nun>
berlefs coincidences between the fimilarities in ftrudure
and features to particular animals, and the form, difpofi-
tions, and manners, of the men who poffefs them.
  Comparifons  have been instituted, and analogies traced,
between the ftrudure,  afped, and difpofitions, of fome
 Jiuadrupeds and thofe of certain birds, which fhow auni-
 ormity in the general plan of Nature.   Among birds, as
well as  quadrupeds,  fome fpecies are carnivorous, and
others feed upon fruits, grain, and various kinds of herb-
age.  The eagfe» which is a noble and  a generous bird,
reprefents the lion.  The vulture, which is cruel and in-
fatiable, reprefents the tiger.  The kite, the buzzard, and
the raven, who  live chiefly  on  offals and carrion, repre-
fent the hyaena,  the wolf, and the jackal.   The falcon, the
iparrow-hawk, and  other birds employed in hunting, re-
prefent the dog, the fox, the lynx, &c.  The owl, who
fearche* !or her prey in the night, reprefents the cat.  The
heron and the cormorant, who feed upon fifhes, reprefent 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     415
the beaver and the otter.  Peacocks, hens,  and all other
birds which have a crop, or craw,  reprefent oxen, fheep,
goatsv and other ruminating animals.
CHAPTER    XIX.
             Of the Principle of Imitation.


  IMITATION neceffarily implies fome degree of intel-
   ligence.   All animals, particularly thofe of the more
perfed kinds, are endowed with the principle of imitati-
on.  The confequence is obvious,  that all animals poffefs
a certain portion of intelledual power.   In man, the prin-
ciple of imitation appears at a very early  period of his
exiftence.  In  the more advanced ftages  of  life, this
principle is fo interwoven with  other  motives  of ad-
ing and  thinking, that it is difficult  to diftinguifh it as
a feparate inftind, and equally difficult to conquer the
habits and prejudices to which it has given rife.  The lefs
a man  has cultivated his rational faculties,  the more
powerful is the principle of imitation over his adions and
his  habits of  thinking.  Moft women, of courfe, are
more influenced by the behaviour, the fafhions,  and the
opinions of thofe with whom they affociate than men.
From this almoft irrefiftible inftind, we fhould learn the
extreme danger of frequenting the company of the diffo-
hite and unprincipled ; for bad habits are foon acquired,
but very difficult to conquer.  It is a comfortable circum-
ftance, however, that if men, efpecially When young, are
fortunate enough to fall in with the fociety of the virtu-
ous and  intelligent,  the principle of imitation, fo bene-
volent is Nature, ads with  redoubled force.   If we at-
tend to our own feelings, we muft acknowledge, that, m
the acquifition of bad habits, there  is an evident force
upon our natural inclinations, but that, in virtuous affo-
 r                                           ciations, 
4ap        T y E  PHILOSOPHY
ciations, the mind acquitiees with pleafure, and feels no
restraint in complying with the:e\amples it perceives, nor
in acquiring the correfpondent habits.  We are prone to
evil;  but,  when not corrupted  by improper  imitations,
Nature has made us much more prone to good.
   Artificial language, which  we learn  entirely by imita-
tion,  diitinguifhes  us, more than any other circumftance,.
from  the brute creation.   The  proper ufe of it likewife
forms the chief difference between one man and another ;
for, by language, one man difcovers a fuperiority of know-
ledge and of genius, while ethers exprefs by it nothing
but borrowed or confufed ideas.  In  an ideot, or in a
parrot, it marks only the moll abjed  degree of ftupidity.
It fhows the incapacity  of either  to produce a regular
chain of thinking,  though both  of them be endowed with
organs  capable  of  exprefling what  paffes  within  their
minds.   Men whofe fenfes are delicate,  and whofe minds
are eaiily affeded, make the beft actors, and  the belt
mimics.   Children, accordingly,  are   extremely  alert
in imitating the adions, the  geftures,  and the  man-
ners,  of thofe with whom they  affociate.   They are dex-
terous in perceiving ridiculous  figures  and reprefentati-
ons, which they imitate with cafe and propriety.  Hence
we perceive, in the education  of children, the  infinite im-
portance of regulating the principle of imitation.
   The education of the inferior animals, though fhort,-is
always  fuccefsful.   By imitation, they foon  acquire all
the knowledge poffeffed by their parents.   They  not on-
ly derive experience from their own feelings, but, by imi-
tation, they learn and employ the  experience of others.
Young animals  model their adions entirely upon thofe of
the old.  They fee their feniors approach or fly when they
perceive particular objeds, hear particular founds, or fmell
certain odours.  At firft, they approach or fly without any
other determining principle but  that of imitation.  After-
wards, they approach or  fly  fpontaneoufly, becaufe they
have then acquired  the habit of approaching or flying,
whenever ^hey feel the  fame or  fimilar fenfations.  Many
inftinds, as terror  upon  hearing particular  founds, the
appearance of natural enemies,  the feledion of food, &c.
                                                 feem 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    421
feem to be partly the effeds of imitation.  It is remarked
by Ulloa,  that, in the year  1743, the dogs in Juan Fer-
nandes had loft the faculty of barking.  When affociated
with other dogs, it was  with  great  difficulty that they
again learned, by imitation, to  bark.  The caufe of thefe
dogs  lofing  the expreflion of  their ufual  language in a
domeftic ttate, it is not eafy to inveltigate.  Perhaps,  by
the aid of experience, and their own fagacity, they difco-
vered that barking warned their prey to efcape from dan-1
ger.  The jackals, however, who are  confidered  as  be-
longing to the dog-kind, not  only hunt in  packs, but,
during the chace,  make a loud and a hideous noife.  Mr.
White, in h«s Natural Hiftory of Selborne, a work which
contains much information, and difcovers  a good and be-
nevolent heart in the author, informs us,  that he had an
opportunity of feeing two dogs, a male  and a female;
which had been brought from Canton  in China.  Thefe
dogs,  which, in China, are fattened for eating, are about
the fize of an ordinary fpaniel, and are of a pale  yellow
colour.   4 When taken out into a field,' he remarks, 4 the
4 bitch fhowed  fome difpofition  for hunting, and  dwelt
4 on the fcent of a covey of partridges till fhe fprung them,
4 giving her  tongue all the time.   The  dogs in  South-
4 America are dumb ; but thefe bark much in a fhort thick
4 manner, like foxes ; and have a furly favage demeanour,
4 like  their  anceftors,  which  are not  domefticated,  but
4 bred up in  flies, where they  are fed for  the table with
4 rice-meal,  and ottier farinaceous  food.   Thefe dogs,
4 having  been taken on board  as foon  as  weaned, could
4 not have learned much from their  dam; yet  they  did
4 not  relifh  flefh when they came  to  England.  In  the
4 iflands of the  Pacific  Ocean, the dogs  are bred upon
4 vegetables, and  would not eat flefh when offered them
 4 by our  circumnavigators.'
   From  fads  of this kind,  of which a great number
might be mentioned, the following obfervations naturally
arife.   Thefe Chinefe dogs, though  defeended,  probably
 for many generations, from a race of anceftors who never
 had the leaft experience  or education in hunting, preferv-
 ed their  original inftind of feeming and purfuing game. 
422
THE  PHILOSOPHY
The dog is a grofsly carnivorous animal ; for he  prefers
carrion to any other kind of nourifhment;  yet  the  Chi-
hefe dogs difcovered no particular relifh for  the flefh  of
animals.   Thus it appears, that, by habits, acquired, not
by the individual, but by a train of anceftors,  both the
tafte and the conftitution of animals may be greatly al-
tered.  From the fame fads,  however, it is  equally evi-
dent, that Nature can hever be entirely conquered.  The
moment  the Chinefe dogs  firft  faw a field, they  both
fcented and  hunted game.  Imitation and habit feem  to
have greater effects upon the mode of living, feeding, and
the corporeal fabrick,  than upon the original inftinds  of
the mind.  Thefe dogs, even when they came to England
after a long  voyage, had not acquired  the habit of gree-
dily devouring, like other dogs, either frefh  meat or car-
rion ; but, on the firft opportunity afforded to them,  they
discovered an inclination to hunt.
CHAPTER       XX.
             Of the Migration  of Animals.


' I ^HE Hon. Dames Barrington,  in his Effay on the Pe-
 ■*■  ri&dkal Appearing  and Difappearing of certain Birds,
at different times ef the year *,  has, by  many  ingenious
arguments, as well as curious fads, rendered it extremely
probable, that no birds, however ftrong and fwift in their
flight,  can poffibly fly over fuch large trads of the ocean
as has been commonly fuppofed.  He  admits partial  mi-
grations, orflittings,  as he calls them, though he does  not
attempt to afcertain the diftances of thefe flirtings. With
regard to the fwallows, of which there are feveral fpecies
in Britain, fome naturalifts,  of whom  the Hon. Daines
Barrington is one,  are inclined  to think that they do  not
                                                leave
           * Phil. Trar.fact.  vol. 69. pag. 465, 8u.  S. 
       OF NATURAL  HISTORY.     423

leave  this ifland at the end of autumn, but that they lie
in a torpid ftate till the beginning of fummer in the
banks of rivers, the hollows of decayed trees, the receffes
of old buildings, the holes of land-banks, and in fimilar
fituations.  That fwallows, in the winter months, have
fometimes, though very rarely, been  found in a torpid
ftate, is unqueftionably true.   Neither is  the inference,
that,  if any of them can furvive the winter in that ftate,
the whole of them may fubfift, during the cold feafon,
in the fame condition, in the fmalleft  degree unnatural.
Still, however,  the  numbers of fwallows which appear
in this ifland, as well  as  in all parts  of Europe, during
the fummer  months,  are  fo very confiderable, that, if
the  great  body of them did not migrate to fome other
climate, they fhould be  much more frequently found in
a torpid ftate.  On  the  contrary, when a few  of them
are difcovered in that ftate, it is regarded as a wonder
even by the country people,  who have the greateft oppor-
tunities  of fturobling  upon fads  of  this kind.   When,
 accordingly,  a few fwallows  or martins are found torpid,
 in winter, and  have been revived by a gentle heat, the
 fad, and few fuch fads  there are, is carefully recorded
 as fingular in all the periodical publications of Europe.
   Mr. Pennant informs  us,  from undoubted authority,
 that fome quails, and other birds which are generally fup-
 pofed to leave this ifland in winter, retire to the fea-coafts,
 and pick up, their food among the fea-weeds *.    _
   4 Quails,' Mr. Pennant remarks, 4 are birds of paffage;
 4 fome entirely quitting our  ifland, others shifting their
 4 quarters.  A gentleman, to whom  this work lies under
 < great obligations,  has  affured us, that  thefe birds mi-
 « grate  out  of the neighbouring  inland  counties, into
 «the hundreds of Effex in Odober, and continue there
  4 all the winter:  If froft or  fnow drive  them out of the
  4 ftubbfe fields and marfhes, they retreat to the fea-lide,
  4 fhelter themfelves  among the weeds,  and live upon what
  4 they can pick up from the  alga, &c. between high and
  Mow water mark.   Our  friend remarks, that the time
* Brit. Zool. Vol. i. pag. aio. adcdit.Svo. S- 
424
THE  PHILOSOPHY
 * of their appearance in Effex coincides with that of their
 4 leaving the inland counties *.'
   A quail,  it muft be  allowed, feems to be  very  much
 unqualified  for a long migration; for its tail is fhort, the
 bird never rifes more than twenty or thirty feet from the
 ground, and it feldom  flies above three hundred yards at
 a  time.   Belon, however, an author of  great  fagacity
 and credit,  tells us, that, in his paffage from Rhodes to
 Alexandria, many quails, flying from north to fouth, were
 taken in his fhip.  From this circumftance, he  remarks,
 4 I am  perfuaded that they fhift places ; for formerly,
 4 when I failed out of  the Ifle of Zant to Morea, or Ne-
 4 gropont, in the fpring,  I obferved  quails  flying the con-
 4 trary way, at which time, alfo, a great many were taken
 4 in our fhip.' This traverfe they might be enabled to ac-
 complifh by  pafling from one ifland to another  in the Me-
 diterranean.
   Instances  of fwallows and fome other  birds alighting
 on the mads and cordage of veffels, at confiderable dif-
 tances from  any fhore,  are not  fo numerous as might be
 expeded. Neither have  they been often obferved  flying
over feas in  great flocks.   Mr.  Peter Collinfon, in a letter
printed in the Philofophical Tranfadions,  fays, 4 that Sir
4 Charles Wager had  frequently informed him, that, in
4 one of his  voyages home in the fpring, as he came into
6 foundings in our channel, a great  flock of fwallows al-
c moft covered his rigging ; that they were nearly fpent
6 and famifhed, and were only feathers and bones ; but,
4 being recruited by a night's reft, they took  their flight
4 in the morning.'
  M. Adanfon, in his voyage, informs us, that, about fifty
leagues from the coaft  of Senegal, four fwallows  fettled
upon the fhip, on the fixth day of  Odober; that thefe
birds were taken ; and  that he knew them to be the true
fwallow of Europe,  which  he  conjedures  were then re-
turning to the coaft of Africa.  The  Hon. Daines Bar-
rington, with more probability, fuppofes that thefe fwal-
lows, inftead of being on their paffage from Europe, were
                                                 only
          • Brit. Zool. Vol. i. pag. aio. ed. edit. 8vo. S. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    425
only  flitting  from  the  Cape  de Verde iflands to the
continent of Africa, a much fhorter flight, but to which
they feemed to be unequal,  as they were obliged,  from
fatigue, to light  upon the fhip, and fall into the hands of
the failors.
  Swallows,  Mr. Kalm remarks, appear in the Jerfies a-
bout  the beginning of April.   They  are, on  their firft
arrival, wet,  becaufe they have juft emerged from the fea
or lakes, at the bottom of which they  had remained in a
torpid ftate during the whole winter.   But, Mr. Kalm,
who wifhes to fupport the  torpidity of fwallows during
the winter, likewife informs us, that he himfelf met with
them at fea,  nine hundred  and  twenty miles  from any
land *.
   Thefe, and fimilar fads, the Hon. Dairies Barrington
endeavours to explain, by fuppofing that birds difcovered
in fuch fituations, inftead of attempting to crofs  large
branches of the  ocean, have been forcibly driven  from
fome coaft by florms, and that they would naturally  perch
upon the firft veffel which came within their view.
   In Britain, five fpecies of fwallows appear in fummer
and difappear in winter.   1. The houfe-fwallow makes
its appearance about twenty  days earlier than the martin,
or any other of  the fwallow-tribe.   They are often feen
about the 13th day of April.  They difappear about the
end of September.  A few days previous to their depar-
ture, they affemble in great  flocks on  the tops  of houfes,
churches, and trees, from whence  they are fuppofed to
take their flight. This unufual and temporary  affociatfen
of numbers indicates the impulfe of fome  common  in-
ftind by which  each individual is aduated.   The houfe-
fwallow is eafily diftinguiflied from the other  fpecies by
the  fuperior forkinefs of its tail,  and by a red fpot  on
the forehead, and under the  chin.  This fpecies builds in
chimneys, and makes its neft of clay, but leaves the top
quite open.  2.  The martin is inferior in fize  to the for-
mer, and its tail is much lefs forked.  The martins ap-
pear in Britain foon after the houfe-fwallow.  They build
under the eaves  of houfes:  The neft is compofed of the
                       H h h                    feme
* Voy. torn. 1. pag. 24.  S. 
 426        THE   PHILOSOPHY

 fame materials as thofe of the houfe-fwallow ; but it is cc^
 vered above, and a fmall hole only is left  in  the tide for
 the ingrefs and egrefs of the birds.  The martfns totally
 difappear about the beginning of October.  3. The fand-
 martin, or bank-martin, is by  much the  fmalleft  of the
 fwallow-kind that vilit Britain.   The land-martins arrive
 verv  foon after the houfe-fwallow, and  difappear about
 Michaelmas*  They   dig  confiderable holes  in  fand-pits
 and in the banks of  rivers, where they  build their nefts,
 which confift not of mud, like thofe of the former fpecies,
 but of graffes and feathers laid together in a very flovenly
 manner.   It is worthy of remark, that thefe birds do not
 employ the cavities they dig in fummer for winter-quar-
 ters ; fince fand-banks,  fo perforated, have been carefully
 fearched  in the winter,  and nothing  was found but emp-
 ty nefts*.  4. The fwift, or black martin of Willoughby,
 is the largeft of our fwallows, and is the lateft of  arriving
 in this country ; for the fwifts are feldom feen till the be-
 ginning of May, and commonly appear,  not in flocks, but
 in pairs.   Swifts, like the fand-martins, carry on the bu-
 finefs of  incubation in the dark.  They build in the cra-
 nies of catties, towers, and fteeples.   Straw and  feathers
 are the materials  they. ufe.   They difappear  very early ;
 for they are almoft never feen after the middle of Auguft.
 5. The goatfucker, which belongs to  the fwallow-tribe, is
 likewife a bird of paffage.   Like the other fwallows,  it
 feeds  upon winged infects.  But, inftead of purfuing its
 prey during the day,  it  flies only in the night, and feizes
 moths, and other nodurnal infects.   From this circum-
 ftance, it has not improperly received the appellation of
the noclurnal fwall'j-v.   The goatfucker flays only a fhort
time in Britain.   It appears not till about the end of May,
and retires in  the middle of Auguft.  It lays its eggs,
which are commonly  two, and fometimes three, on the
bare ground.
  To give catalogues of  the numerous birds of paffage
which frequent this ifland, as well as  other countries, and
to mark the times of  their arrival and departure, would
be deviating entirely from our plan.   For circumftances
                                                   of
        * Whiic'* N.iu:.! Hifiory of Sclborae, y.\. 177.  S. 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     427
of this kind, the curious may confult Catefby,  Klein,
Linnaei Amcenitates Academicae,  White,  &c  But, as
the periodical appearance and difappearance of the fwal-  •
low-tribe have given rife to different theories and opinions,
we fhall briefly relate thofe opinions, and conclude with
fome remarks on migration in general.
   Herodotus and Profper Alpinus mention one fpecies of
 fwallow which refides in Egypt during the whole year * ;
 and  Mr. Loten,  late  governor of Ceylon, affured Mr.
 Pennant,  that thofe of Java never remove.   If thefe be
 excepted,  all the  other  known kinds retreat or migrate
 periodically. Swallows migrate from almoft every climate.
 They remove from Norway f, from North-America J,
 from Kamtfchatka §, from the temperate parts of Europe,
 from Aleppo ||,  and from Jamaica %.
    Concerning the  periodical appearance  and difappear-
 ance of  fwallows,  there are three opinions adopted by
 different naturalifts.  The firft and moft probable is, that
 they remove from climate to climate at thofe particular
 feafons when winged infeds,  their natural food,  fails in
 one country or  diftrid and  abounds in  another,  where
 they likewife find  a  temperature  of  air better fuited  to
  their conftitutions.  In fupport of this opinion, we have
  the teflimonv,  as  formerly mentioned,  of Sir  Charles
  Wager, of M.  Adanfon,  and of many navigators.  It is
  equally true, however, that fome fpecies of fwallows have
  been occafionally found in a torpid ftate during winter.
  Mr  Collinfon gives the evidence  of three gentlemen who
  were  eye-witneffes to a  number  of fand-martins being
  drawn out of a cliff on the Rhine in the month of March
  1762**.  The Hon. Daines Barrington, in the year 1768,
  communicated  to Mr. Pennant, on the  authority of the
  late Lord Belhaven, the following fad :  4 That numbers
  4 of fwallows have been found in old dry walls, and in iand-
  < hills, near his Lordfhip's feat in Eaft-Lothian ; not once
                                                 4 only,
        * Profp. Alp. torn. 1. pag. 198.  S.
        f Pontopp. Hift. Norw. si. 98.  S-
        + Catetby's Carol, v. 1. pag. 51. App. 8.  5.
        ^ Hift. Kamtfchatka, pag. 162.  S.                   <
        || RuiTel's Alep. pag. 70.  S.
        f Phil.Tranf. No. 36.  S.
        » * Phslofoph. Tranfaa. vol. 53, pag.  101. art. 24.  a. 
428        THE  PHILOSOPHY

4 only, but from year to vear; and that, when they were
4 expofed to the warmth of a lire, they revived*.'  Thefe,
and other fads of the  fame kind,  feem to be uncontro-
vertible; and Mr. Pennant infers from them, that 4 we muft
4 divide our belief relating to thefe two fo different opini-
4 ons, and conclude, that  one part of the fwallow tribe
* migrate, and that others have their winter-quarters near
4 homef.'  But we fhould  rather incline to think, with
thofe naturalifts who fuppofe  that that the torpid fwallows
which are occafionally, though very rarely, difcovered in
the winter feafon,  have been obliged  to remain behind,
becaufe they  were  too young, weak, difeafed, or fuperan-
nuated,  to undertake a long  and fatiguing flight.   Still,
however, that the  torpidity of the  feathered tribes fhould
be folely confined  to the fwallows, is a very fingular fad
in the hiftory of nature.   Among  quadrupeds, there are
many fpecies who  lie in a dormant or torpid ftate during
winter.   But, if the fwallow be excepted,  not a fingle
fpecies of birus, notwithftanding the greet numbers which,
at ftated times,  appear and difappear  in every coiner of
the globe, has ever been difcovered  in that ftate.   rI his
circumftance alone,  though  we  cannot yet aicertain the
precife places to which different fpecies of birds  of paf-
fage refort,  is a moft convincing proof of migration in
general.
   It lias been afferted,  and even believed, by fome natu-
ralifts, that fwaiiows pafs the winter immerfed under the
ice, at the bottom  of lakes, or beneath the waters of the
fea.  Olaus Mae his, Archbiihop of Upfal, feems to have
been the firft who  adoptt.d this opinion.  He informs us,
that fwallows are found in great  clutters at the bottoms of
the northern  lakes, with mouth  to mouth, wing to wing,
foot to foot,  and  that in autumn they creep  down the
reeds to their fubterraneous  retreats ||. 4 That the good
4 Archbifhop/  Mr. Pennant  archly  remarks,  4 did not
4 want credulity in  other inftances, appears from this, that,
*  after having flocked the bottoms of the lakes with birds,
                                                  4 he
     * Pmnant's Brit'fh Zoology, vol. 2. pag.  050. 8vo. edit. S.
     t Ibid 251. S.
     5 Dcibam'i Phyf.-Theol. pag. 349.   S, 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    429

4 he ftores the clouds with mice,  which fometimes fall in
4 plentiful fhowers on Norway and the neighbouring coun-
4 tries !' Klein has endeavoured to fupport the notion that
fwollows lie under water during  the winter, and gives
the following account of their manner of retiring, which
he colleded from fome countrymen :  They afferted,  he
tells us, that  the fwallows fometimes affembled in num-
bers on a reed till it broke and funk them to the bottom:
That their immerfion was preceeded by a kind  of dirge,
which lafted more than a quarter of an hour :  That others
united,  laid hold of a ftraw with  their  bills, and plunged
down in fociety : That others, by cljnging together with
their feet, formed  a large mafs, and in this manner com-
mitted themfelves to  the deep f.
   Two reafons feem to render this  fuppofed fubmerfion
of fwallows impoffible.   In the firft place, no land-animal
can exift fo  long without fome degree of refpiration.
The otter,  the feal,  and water fowls of all kinds, when
 confined under the ice,  or entangled in nets,  foon perifh;
yet it is well  known, that animals of this kind  can  re-
 main much longer under water  than  thofe who are def-
titute  of that peculiar  ftrudure of the heart which is
 neceffary for any confiderable refidence beneath that  pe-
 netrating element.  Mr. John Hunter, in a letter to Mr.
 Pennant, informs  us, 4 That he  had diffeded many fwal-
 4 lows,  but found nothing  in them different from other
 4 birds  as  to the  organs of refpiration: That all  thofe
 4 animals which he had  diffeded of the  clafs  that fleep
 4 during winter, fuch as lizards, frogs, &c. had a very
 4 different conformation as to thofe organs : That all thofe
 4 animals,  he believes, do  breathe in their  torpid ftate;
 4 and, as far as  his  experience  reaches,  he  knows they
 4 do ;  and  that, therefore, he efteems it a very wild opi-
 4 nion, that terreftrial animals can remain any long time
 4 under water  without  drowning.'  Another argument
 againft their fubmerfion arifes from the fpecific gravity
 of the  animals  themfelves.  Of all birds,  the  fwallow
 tribes  are perhaps the lightest.   Their plumage,  and  the
 comparative  fmallnefs of their weight, indicate that Na-
                                                 ture
           t Klein Prod. Hift. Avium, pag. 205—206.  S. 
430        THE  PHILOSOPHY

ture deftined them to be almoft perpetually on the wing
in queft of food.   From this fpecific lightnefs, the  fub-
merfion of fwallows, and their  continuing for  months
under water, amount to  a phyfical  impoflibility.   Even
water-fowls, when they wilh  to dive, are obliged to rife
and plunge with confiderable  exertion, in  order to over-
come the refiftance of the water.   Klein's idea  of fwal-
lows employing reeds and straws as means  of fubmerfion
is rather ludicrous ; for thefe  light fubftances, inftead of
being proper  inftruments for ailitting them to reach the
bottom, would infallibly contribute to fupport them on
the furface, and prevent the very objed of their intention.
Befides, admitting the poflibility  of their reaching the
bottom of lakes and feas, and  fuppofing they could  exitt
for feveral months without refpiration, What would be
the confequence ? The w hole wrould foon be devoured by
otters,  feals,  and fifhes of various kinds.   Nature is al-
ways  anxious for the prefervation  of fpecies.   But,  if
the fwallow tribes were deftined to remain torpid, during
the winter months, at the bottom of lakes and feas, fhe
would act in oppofition to her  own intentions ;  for,  in a
feafon or two, the whole genus would be  annihilated.
   Mr. White of Selborne has  favoured us  with the fol-
lowing  information  concerning  the migration  of fwal-
lows : 4 If ever I law,' fays he,  4 any thing like actual
4 migration, it was laft Michaelmas day,  1768.   I was
1 travelling,  and out  early in the morning : At firft there
4 was a vaft fog ;  but,  by the  time  that I  was got feven
4 or eight miles from  home towards the  coaft, the fun
4 broke  out into a delicate warm day.   We were then on
4 a large heath or common,  and  I could difcern, as the
4 mid began to break away, great numbers of fwallows
' cluttering on the ftinted fhrubs and bufhes, as  if  they
4 had roofled there all night.   As foon as the air  became
4 clear and pleafant, they all were on the wing at once, and,
4 by a placid and eafy fl%ht, proceeded on fouthward to-
4 wards  the fea:  After this I did not fee any more flocks,
4 only now and then  a straggler.   When I ufed to rife in
4 a morning laft  autumn, and  fee the fwallows and  mar-
* tins cluttering on the chimneys and thatch of the neigh-
                                            4 bouring 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    43*
'.bouring cottages, I could  not help being touched with
4 fecret delight, mixed with  fome degree of mortification:
4 With delight, to obferve with how much  ardour and
4 punduality thofe poor little birds obeyed the ftrong im-
4 pulfe towards migration, or hiding, imprinted on their
4 minds by their great Creator; and with fome degree of
4 mortification, when I refleded,  that, after all our pains
4 and enquiries, we are yet not  quite certain to what
4 regions they do  migrate; and are ftill  farther embar-
4 raffed to find, that fome do not adually migrate at all*.'
   In  another part  of his work, Mr. White fays: 4 But
4 we muft not deny migration in general; becaufe migra-
4 tion certainly does fubfift in fome places, as my brother
4 in Andalufla has fully informed me.  Of the motions of
* thefe birds  he has ocular demonltration, for many weeks
4 together, both fpring and fall:  During which periods,
4 myriads of the fwallow-kind traverfe  the  Straits from
6 north to fouth,  and from  fouth to north,  according to
' the  feafon.   And thefe vaft migrations  confift not  only
< of hirudines (fwallows), but of  bee-birds, hoopoes,  oro-
4 pendulos,  or golden-thrujhes, he.  he. and alfo many of
4 our /oft-billed fummer birds of paffage;  and,  moreover,
4 of birds which  never leave us, fuch  as  all the various
4 forts of hawks and kites.   Old Belon, two hundred years
4 ago, gives  a curious account  of  the incredible armies of
4 hawks and kites, which he faw in the  fpring-time  tra-
4 verfing the Thracian Bofphorus  from  Afia  to Europe.
4 Befides the above mentioned, he remarks,  that the pro-
4 ceflion is fwelled  by whole  troops of  eagles and  vul-
4 tures "K
   Mr. White, likewife, with  much  propriety, remarks,
that our inquiries concerning the migration of birds have
been too much confined to the  fwallow tribes,  while little
attention has been paid to  the fhort-winged birds of paf-
fage, fuch as quails, red-ftarts, nightingales, white-throats,
black-caps,  &c.   All thefe, though feemingly ill qualified
for long flights,  difappear in the winter,  and not one  ot


   * White's Natural Hifiory of Selborne, pag. 64.-65. S.
   + Ibid. pag. 139.  S. 
432
THE  PHILOSOPHY
them, notwithftanding their immenfe numbers, has ever
been found in a torpid ftate.
  To mark the times of the arrival and departure of birds
of paffage in different countries,  and in different diftrids
of the fame countries,  and the probable motives arifing
from the ftate of the country w ith regard to heat and cold,
and to that of the food peculiar to each kind, would throw
much light upon the hiftory of migration.  To Mr. White
of Selborne we are obliged for the following lifts of birds
of paffage which he has obferved in his  neighbourhood.
Thefe lifts are arranged nearly in the order of time.

            Lift  of Summer Birds  of Paffage.
           Names.
 i.  Wryneck,
 2.  Smalleft willow-wren,
 3.  Houfe-fwallow,
 4.  Martin,
 5.  Sand-martin,
 6.  Black-cap,
 7.  Nightingale,
 8.  Cuckoo,
 9.  Middle willow-wren,
10.  White-throat,
11.  Red-ftart,
12.  Stone-curlew,
13.  Turtle-dove,
14.  Grafshopper lark,
15.  Swift.
16.  Lefs reed-fparrow,
17.  Land-rail,
18.  Largeft willow-wren,
19.  Goat-fucker, or  fern-
    owl,
       Ufually appear about
Middle of March.
March 23.
April 13.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Beginning of April.
Middle of April.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
End of March.

Middle of April.
April 27.
End of April.

Beginning of May.
20. Fly-catcher,
CMay  12.  This  is the lateft
£   fummer bird  of paffage.
  Moft foft-billed birds feed upon infeds, and  not on
grain or feeds ;  and, therefore,  they retire before winter.
                                                 But 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      433
But the following foft-billed birds, though they eat infeds,
remain with us during the whole year; fuch as  the red-
breaft  and wren, who frequent out-houfes and gardens
during the winter,  and eat fpiders, &c.;  the hedge-fpar-
row, who frequents finks for crumbs and other fweepings;
the white wagtail, the yellow wagtail, and the grey wag-
tail, who frequent fhallow rivulets near the fpring heads,
where the water feldom freezes, and  feed upon the aure-
lise of infeds ; the wheat-ear, feme of which are to be
feen during the winter, &c.

Lifl of Winter Birds of Paffage in the neighbourhood of Sel-
                         borne.

   i.  The ring-oufel *.   This bird appears about Michael-
mas week, and is a new  migration lately  difcovered by
Mr. White.                                 .    .  .
   2.  The red-wing f,  or wind-thrufh, appears in Britain
about  old Michaelmas.   They come in great flocks from
the frozen regions of the north.
   3.  Field-fare ||.   Thefe birds  vifit Britain in  immenfe
numbers about Michaelmas,  and depart about the end of
February, or  the beginning of March.  They pafs  the
fummer in the northern  parts of Europe, and likewife in
Lower Austria §.   They breed  in the largeft trees,  feed
on berries of all kinds f, but prefer thofe of the  juniper.
It is probable that the field-fares which migrate  into Bri-
tain come from Norway and the northern regions of Eu-
rope,  becaufe we find that they both breed and winter in
Pruflia, Austria**,  and the more temperate climates.
   4. The Royfton-crow |f, or hooded-crow of our coun-
tryman Sir Robert Sibbald, is likewife a bird of paffage.
It vifits us in the beginning of winter, and departs with
the wood-cocks.  They frequent the inland as well as the
maritime parts of Britain.  When near the coafts, they
feed upon crabs, mufcles, and  other fhell-fifhes. They
breed in Sweden, build their nefts in trees, and lay tour
                          I i i                    eg&'
   * Turdus torquatus.             + Turdus Uiacus.
   I Turdys pilaris.               % Kramer Elench. pag. 3".  £•
   SlLifin.Faun.Suec.fp.78. S.    ** Klein Hift. Artum. pag. »78.  S-
   ft Corvus Ccrnix. 
434         THE  P1I IL O S O P II Y
eggs *.   Thev  likewife  breed  in the fouthern parts of
Germany, and particularly on the banks of the Danube f.
  5.  The  wood-cock ||  appears  in  this  country  about
old  Michaelmas.  During the fummer,  wood-cocks in-
habit the  Alps§, Norway, Swedenf, and  the  north-
ern parts of Europe.   From thefe countries they retire as
foon as the  froft commences, which obliges them to mi-
grate into milder climates, where the foil  is  open,  and
r.io"«. adapted to their mode of feeding; for they  live on
worms, which  they  fearch for with their  lon,g bills in
foft  and moift grounds in  the  midft of woods.   Wood-
cocks, taking the advantage  of the night,  or of foggy
weather, arrive  here  in flocks: But they foon feparate  ;
and, before returning to their fummer quarters, they pair.
They fly and feed during  the night.  They begin  their
flight in the evening, and return to their retreats in  the
glades when day commences.   They depart from Britain
about the end of  February or the beginning  of March.
Some of th-jtii,  however, like the  straggling fwallows,
have been known to breed, and to remain here, during
 the  whole vear **.   It is likewife known that wood-cocks
migrate from France, Germany, and Italy, and that they
make choice of cold northern climates for  their fummer
relidence.   About the end of Odober they vifit Burgun-
dy,  but remain there four or five weeks only ; becaufe  it
 is a drv countrv,  and,  on the firft frofts, they  are obliged
 to retire for want of fuftenance.  In the winter they are
 found as far fouth as Smyrna, Aleppo ff, and  Barbary {{.
 They are even very common in Japan §§.
   6. The fnipe ||||.  Snipes are enrolled as birds of paffage
 by Mr. White, though he acknowledges that fome of them
 connantly breed in England.  4 In winter,'  Mr. Pennant
 remarks, 4 fnipes  are  very frequent in all  our marfhy
 4 and wet grounds, where they lie concealed in the ruffles,
                                                  4 &c.
   *  Linn. F<iun. Suec. fp. 88. S.   "r Kramer,  pag. 333.  S.
   | Scolopax Huftuola.           ^ Willoughby's Ornithology, pag. ago.  S.
   TM.de G  :'s and Dr. Wallerius's letters to Mr. Pennant.  S.
   ** Pennant's Britifh Zoology,  vol. 1. pag. 349. 8vo.  S.
   ++ RufTcl's lli!ioi\ o\ Aleppo, pag. 64. S.
   XX Ship's Tiav.i\ pag.  253.  S.
   '.-, Kaempfei's Hift. Japan, vol. 1. pag. 129.  S.
   f. Scolopax GaUinago. 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      435
* &c.  In the fummer they difperfe to different parts, and
4 are found in the midft of our higheft mountains as well
4 as our  low moors.  Their neft is made of dried grafs.
4 They lay four eggs of a dirty olive colour, marked with
4 dufky fpots.   Their young are fo often found in Eng-
4 land, that  we doubt  whether  they  ever entirely leave
4 this ifland *.'
   7. The jack-fnipe.   This bird,  which is very common
in Scotland, and frequents the banks of rivers and lakes,
is ranked by Mr. White as a winter bird of paffage, with-
out mentioning either the time of its arrival or departure ;
and Mr. Pennant is entirely filent on the fubjed f.
   8.  The wood-pigeon.   Mr. White, without  mention-
ing either the time of their appearing  or  difappearing,
tells us,  that 4 they feldom appear till late; nor  in fuch
 4 plenty  as formerly }.'
   9. The wild fwan ||.   During hard winters, this bird
 frequents  the coafts of Britain in large flocks;  but from
 any information we have been able to obtain, it does not
 breed in our ifland.  Martin in his Hiftory of the He-
 brides, or Weitern ifles §,  informs us,  that wild fwans
 arrive in great numbers  in Lingey, one of the Hebrides,
 in the month of Odober, and  remain there till  March,
 when they retire  more  northward to breed.  For this
 purpofe, the fv/ans, like  moft  other water-fowls, prefer
 fuch places  as are leaft frequented by mankind.   During
 fummer,  the lakes, marines,  and forefts of Lapland are
 filled with myriads of water-fowls.  In  that northern re-
 gion, fwans, geefe,  the  duck-tribe, gooianders, divers,
 &c. pafs the fummer; but in autumn  they return to us,
 and to other more hofpitable  fhores ^f.
    10. The wild goofe.  The wild geefe, it is  probable,
 breed in the retired regions of the north.  They arrive
 here, in the beginning of  winter, and frequently feed on
                                                    our
   * Pennant's Britifli Zoology, vol. 2. pag. 358. 8vo.  S.
   t White's Natural Hiftory of Selborne, pag. 117. and Pennant'* Britifli Zoo-
  logy, vol. 2. pag. 359. 8vo.  S.
   X White's Natural Hiftory of Selborne, pag. 117.  b.
   || Anas Cygnus ferus.
   ^ Defcription of the Weftern Ifles, pag.  71. S.
   H Linn.  Flora Lapponica, pag. 273.  Oeuvres dc Maupertuis, torn. 3. pag.
  141.  S. 
436        THE  PHILOSOPHY

our corn grounds.  They fly at a great heighth, and ob-
ferve regularity  in  their movements.   They  fometimes
form a straight line ; and, at others, they affume the fhape
of a wedge, which facilitates their progrefs through the
refifting air.
  With regard to the wild-duck, pochard, wigeon, and
teal, though Mr. White places  them in the lift of birds
of paffage, he does not mention either  the times of their
arrival or departure.  Though  it be probable that moft
of the duck-kind migrate, yet it is certain, that fome in-
dividuals of different fpecies of them breed in this coun-
try, and continue in it  during  the whole  year.  As  to
the duck-kind in general,  Mr.  Pennant remarks: 4 Of
4 the numerous fpecies  that form this  genus, we know
4 of no more than five that breed here.  The tame fiwan
4 and tame goofic,  the Shield duck, the eider duck, and  a
4 very fmall portion of the wild ducks.   The reft  contri-
4 bute to form that amazing multitude of water-fowl that
4 annually repair from molt parts of Europe to the woods
4 and lakes of Lapland,  and other Ardic regions #, there
' to perform the fundions of  incubation and nutrition in
c full fecurity.  They and their  young  quit their  retreat
4 in September,   and difperfe themfelves  over Europe.
4 With us they make their appearance  the  beginning of
4 Odober, circulate  firft round our  fhores,  and, when
4 compelled by  fevere  froft,  betake themfelves  to our
4 lakes and rivers |.'
  In winter, the bernacles, or brent-ducks,  appear in vaft
flocks  on  the north-weft coafts of  Britain.  They  are
very fhy and wild; but, when taken, they foon grow as
familiar as our domeftic ducks.  They leave  the  Britifh
fhores in February, and migrate  as far as Lapland,  Green-
land,  and even Spitfbergen {.
  The folan-geefe, or gannets, are likewife birds of paf-
fage.   They frequent the ifle of Ailfay, near the Frith of
Clyde ; the rocks adjacent to St. Kilda, the moft  remote
of the Hebrides; the Skelig ifles, off the coaft of Kerry ;
                                                 and
 * Co!left. Voyag. D^h Eaft India Company, 8vo, 1703. pag. 19. Clusit Lx«r
pag.  968. S.
 t Pennant's Britifli Zoology, vol. a. pag. 519 —520. S.
 X Linn. Amo.n. Acau. torn. 4. pag. $8#.  Barcnt's Voyage, : ■;. :q. 5> 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     437
and the Bafs-ifle in the Frith of Forth.   The multitudes
which frequent thefe places are prodigious.  To give an
idea of their numbers, the reader will not be difpleafed to
fee Dr. Harvey's fhort account of the Bafs.  c  There is a
4 fmall ifland in the Frith of Forth, called the Bafs-Ifiand,
4 which does not exceed  a mile in circumference.  The
4 furface of this  ifland,  during the months of May and
4 June, is fo entirely covered with nefts,  eggs,  and young
4 birds, that it is fearcely poflible to walk  without treading
4 on them.  The flocks of birds on the wing are fo prodi-
* gious, that they darken the air like clouds, and their
4 noife is fo great, that a man cannot without difficulty
4 hear his  neighbour's  voice.  If,  from, the top of the
4 precipice, you look down  upon the fea,  you will fee it
4 on every fide covered with infinite numbers  of birds  of
4 different kinds, fwimming about  and hunting for their
* prey.  When failing round the ifland,  if you furvey the
4 hanging cliffs, you will perceive, in every cragg,  or fif-
' fure of the rocks, innumerable birds of various kinds,
 4 more than the flars of heaven in a ferene night.  If you
« view the diftant flocks, either flying to or from the ifland,
 • you will imagine them to  be a vaft fwarm  of bees *.'
 The rocks of St. Kilda feem to be equally frequented by
 folan geefe ; for Martin,  in his defcription of the He-
 brides, informs  us, that  the  inhabitants of this  fmall
 ifland confume annually no lefs than 22,600 young birds
 of this fpecies,  befide an amazing number of  their  eggs.
 The folan geefe and their eggs  conftitute the chief food of
 thefe iflanders.   They preferve  both the  fowls and the
 eggs in fmall pyramidal ftone  buildings, which, to pro-
 ted the food from moiflure, they cover  with the afhes of
 turf.  The folan geefe  are birds of paffage.   Their firft
 appearance is in March, and they continue till Auguft or
 September.  But, in general,  the times  of their breeding
 and  departure feem to coincide  with the arrival of the
 herring, and the migration of that fifh  from  our  coafts.
 It is more than  probable that  thefe birds attend the her-
 rings and pilchards during  their whole  circuit round the
 Britifh iflands; for the appearance of the folan geefe  is
                                                always
            * Harvey de Gen«rat. Animal. Exercit. it. S. 
438         THE   PHILOSOP II Y
always efteemcd by the fifhermen as a certain prefage of
the approach of the  herrings or  pilchards.  In queft of
food, thefe birds migrate  as  far fouth as the mouth of
the Tagus ;  for they are frequently feen off Lifbon dur-
ing the month  of December.
  TIk crofs-beak, thecrofs-bill,and the filk-tail, are like-
wife enumerated by  Mr. White as birds of patTage.  4 But
* thefe,' fays he, 4 are only wanderers that appear occa-
4 fionil'v, and  are  not obfervant of any  regular  mi-
4 gration *.'
  The long-legged plover, and fanderling, vifit us in win-
ter only;  and it is worthy of remark, that every fpecies"
of the curlews, wood-cocks, fand-pipers, and plovers f,
which forfake us in the fpring, retire to Sweden, Poland,
Pruflia, Norway, and Lapland, both to feed and to breed.
They return to us as foon as the  young are able to  fly ;
becaufe the  frofts,  which fet in early in thefe countries,
totally deprive  them  of the  means of fubfiftence.   For
the fame reafon they  leave us in  fummer, as the drynefs
and  hardnefs of the ground prevent them from penetrat-
ing the earth with their bills  in  queft of worms, which
conftitute the natural food of thefe birds.
  From the fads which have been enumerated, and from
others of  a fimilar nature,  it is evident, that many birds,
both of the land and water kinds, migrate from one cli-
mate to another.  But, even in the fame climate and coun-
try,  birds occafionally perform partial migrations.  Dur-
ing hard winters, when the furface of the earth  is cover-
ed with fnow,  many  birds,  as larks, fnipes, &c. retire
from the inland parts of  the country to the fea-fhores,
where they pick up a feanty fubfiftence.   Others, as the
wren, the red-breaft,  and many  of the fmall birds,  or
fparrow-kind, refort to gardens,  and the  habitations of
men.  Their intention, it is  obvious, is to procure food
and fhelter.
   There are three principal objeds of migration : Food,
 temperature of air, and convenient fituations for breeding.
 Such birds as migrate to  great diftances are alone deno-
                                              minated
  « White's Natural Hiftory of Selborne, pi/. 118.  S.
  ■+ Linn. Amoen. Acad. torn.4. pag. 588. J.luude Avium Mi^rut.pjg. 187. S. 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      439
minated birds of paffage.  But all birds are, in fome mea-
fure,  birds of  paffage, though they do not migrate to pla-
ces fo remote from their former abodes.  At particular
times of the year, molt birds migrate from one  country
to another,  or from the  more inland diftrids toward the
fhores.   Thefe partial  migrations of fmall birds  are well
known to bird-catchers,  who make a livelihood by en-
fnaring them into their nets, and felling them.  The birds
fly, as the bird-catchers term it,  about  the  end of Sep-
tember, and during the months of Odober and  Novem-
ber.   There is  another, but lefs confiderable,  flight in
March.  Some begin their flight annually about  Michael-
mas ; others, as the wood-larks, fucceed, and  continue
their flight  till  the  middle of Odober ; but the green-
finch  does not migrate  till the froft obliges it to remove
in queft of  food and fhelter.   Thefe partial migrations,
or timings, are performed from day-break till noon.  An-
 other, but fmaller, flight commences at  two  o'clock, and
 continues till night approaches.   The times when parti-
 cular birds  migrate from one fituation to another are well
 known to the bird-catchers, who, by means of call-birds,
 nets, and other devices, feize  great numbers  of them,
 and, after accuftoming them for fome time to reftraint and
 slavery, fell them, for confiderable prices, to curious men
 and whimfical women.  A diligent attention to thefe par-
 tial migrations, and their motives, would foon unfold the
 caufes of thofe  of a more extenfive kind.
   Migration is generally fuppofed to be peculiar to the
 feathered tribes.  This  is a limited idea, which has ori-
 ginated  from inattention  to  the ceconomy  of nature.
 Birds migrate with a view to remedy the inconveniencies
 of their prefent fituation,  and to acquire a more commo-
 dious station with regard to  food, temperature, genera-
 tion, and fhelter.  From fimilar motives, men, fometimes
 in amazing  multitudes, have migrated from  north  to
 fcith, difplaced the native inhabitants, and  fixed estab-
 lishments in more comfortable climates  than thofe which
 they had relinquifhed.   Thefe, in their  turn, have fallen
 vidims to frefh  and barbarous emigrants. Among the in-
 habitants of the more northern nations,  as Norway, Swe-
/                                                  den, 
  440        THE   PHILOSOPHY

  den,  Scotland, he. notwithftanding a very ftrong attach-
  ment to their native countries, there feems to be a natural
  or inftindive propenfity to migrate.  Poverty, the rigour
  of climate,  curiofity, ambition, the falfe  reprefentations
  of interefted individuals, the oppreflion of feudal barons,
  and fimilar circumftances,  have of late given rife to great
  emigrations of the human  fpecies.  But, it is  worthy of
  remark, that the emigrations from fouth to north, except
  from  the love of conqueft in ambitious  nations, are fo
  rare,  that the inftind feems hardly to exift in thofe more
 fortunate climates.  Curiofity is a general inftindive prin-
 ciple, which operates  ftrongly in the youthful periods of
 life, and ftimulates every man to vifit places that are dif-
 tant from his ordinary refidence.   This innate defire is
 influenced by  the  relations of travellers,  and by  many
 other  incentives of a more interefted kind.  Without the
 principle of  migration, mankind, it is probable,  would
 never  have been fo univerfally diffufed over the furface of
 the earth.  It is counterbalanced,  however, by attachment
 to thofe countries which gave us  birth, a principle ftill
 more powerful and efficient.  Love  of  our  native coun-
 try is fo ftrong, that,  after  gratifying the migrating prin-
 ciple,  almoft every man feels a longing  defire to return.
   Savages, as long as  their flore  of food  remains  unex-
 haufted, continue in a liftlefs inadive ftate.  They exhauft
 many days fitting in perfed indolence,  and  feem not to
 be  prompted by any  motives of curiofity.  They have
 not a conception of a  man's  walking either for amufe-
 ment or exercife.  But, when their provifions  begin to
 fail, an aftonifliing reverfe takes place.   They then roufe
 as from a profound fleep.  In queft of wild beafts,  birds,
 and fifhes, they  migrate to  immenfe  diftances, exert the
 greateft  feats of adivity, and undergo  incredible hard-
 fhips and fatigue.  After acquiring a flore of provifions,
 they return to their wonted  haunts, and remain inadive
 till their food again begins to fail.
  Quadrupeds likewife perform  partial  migrations.  At
the approach  of  winter, the flag,  the rein-deer, and  the
roebuck, leave the tops of the  lofty mountains, and come
down to the plains  and copfes.  Their  chief objeds,  in
                                                thefe j 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     44*
thefe flittings, are food and fhelter.  When fummercom-
mences, they are harraffed with different fpecies of winged
infeds, and,  to avoid thefe enemies, they regain the fum-
mits of the mountains,  where the cold and  the heighth
of the fituation proted them from the attacks of the flies.
In Norway, and the more  northern  regions of Europe,
the oxen, during the winter, migrate to the  fhores of the
fea,  where they feed upon fea-plants and the bones of
fifties; and Pontoppidan remarks, that the  cattle  know-
by inftind when the tide retires,  and leave thefe articles
of food upon the fhore.  In Orkney and Shetland, the
fheep, in winter,  for the fame purpofes, uniformly  repair
to the fhore  at the ebbing of the tides.   Rats,  particu-
larly thofe of the  northern regions of Europe, appear,
from time to time,  in fuch myriads,  that the inhabitants
of Norway and Lapland imagine  the animals fall from
heaven.   The celebrated Linnseus, who paid great atten-
tion to the ceconomy of thefe migrating  rats, remarked,
that they appeared in Sweden periodically every eighteen
or twenty years.   When  about  to  migrate, they leave
their wonted abodes, and affemble together in numbers
 inconceivable. In the courfe of their journey, they make
 tracks  in the earth of two inches in depth; and thefe
 tracks fometimes occupy a breadth of feveral fathoms.
 What is  fingular, the rats, in  their  march, uniformly
 purfue a ftraight line, unlefs they are forced to turn afide
 hy fome unfurmountable obstacle.  If  they  meet with a
 rock, they firft try to pierce it, and, after discovering the
 attempt to be ineradicable, they go round  it, and then
 refume the ftraight line.   Even a lake does  not interrupt
 their paffage ; for  they either traverfe it in a ftraight line
 or perifh in  the attempt; and, if they meet with a banc
 or other veffel, they do not alter their diredion, but climb
 up the one fide of it and defcend by the other.
   Frogs,  immediately after their transformation from the
 tadpole ftate, leave the water,  and migrate to the mea-
 dow or  marfhy grounds in queft of infeds.  Ihe num-
 bers of  young frogs, which fuddenly make their appear-
 ance in the  plains, induced Rondeletius, and many other
 naturalifts,  to imagine that they were generated  m the
                          Kkk                 <J°ud3 
442         THE  PHILOSOPHY

clouds and fhowered down upon the earth.   But if,  like
the worthy and  intelligent Dr.  Derham, they  had exa-
mined the fituation of the place with regard to flagnating
waters, and attended to the nature and transformation of
the animal-, thev  would  foon have difcovered the  real
caufe of the phenomenon.
   Of  all  migrating animals, particular kinds of fillies
make the longeft journies, and in the greateft  numbers.
The multiplication of the fpecies, and  the  procuring oi
food, are the principal motives of the migration of fifhes.
The falmon, a fifh which makes  regular migrations,  fre-
quents the northern regions alone.  It is unknown in the
Mediterranean lea,  and in  the rivers which  fall  into  it
both from Europe and Africa.  It is found  in fome of
the rivers of France that empty themfelves into the oce-
an*.   Salmons are taken in the rivers of Kamtfchatka f,
and appear as far north as Greenland.   Salmons live both
in the ocean and in freth waters.  For the purpofe of de-
pofiting their lpawn, they quit the fea  in the month of
September, and afcend the rivers.   So ftrong is the  in-
ftinct of migrating, that they prefs up the  rivers  with
amazing keennefs, and fcarcely any obftacle  is  fufficient
to interrupt their progrefs.  They fpring, with great agi-
lity, over cataracts of feveral feet in heighth.  In  their
leans, they fpring ftraight up with a ftrong tremulous  mo-
tion,  and  do not, as has been vulgarly fuppofed, put their
tails in their mouths.  When they find a place which they
think proper for depofiting their eggs,  the  male and  fe-
male unite their labours in forming  a convenient recep-
tacle for the fpawn in the  fand, which is generally about
eighteen inches deep.  In this hole the female depofits her
eggs, and the male his milt, which  they are faid to cover
carefully with their tails ;  for, after fpawning, their tails
are deprived of fkin.  The eggs, when  not difturbed by
violent floods, lie buried in the fand till the  fpring,  and
they are hatched about the end of March.  The parents,
however,  after  this important office has  been  performed,
haften back to  the fea, in order to cleanfe  themfelves,
and to recover their urenuth.  Toward the end of March,
                                                  the
  * j\oad.zt. dt F!'j>iat. paq. i'„-.  S.    t Hift. Kamtfchatka, pag. 14■>.  S. 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.
443
the young fry begin to appear, and they gradually increafe
in fize till they acquire the length of four or five inches,
and are then called fmelts, or fmoults *.   About the begin-
ning of May,  all the confiderable rivers of  Scotland  are
full of falmon-fry.  After  this period,  they migrate to
the fea.  About the middle of June,  the earlielt  of the
fry begin  to  appear  again in the rivers.  At that time
they are from twelve to fixteen inches long, and  gradu-
ally augment, both in number and fize,  till  about the end
of July or the beginning of Auguft, when they weigh
from fix to nine pounds. ' This is  a very rapid growth.
But a gentleman of credit  at Warrington  informed  Mr.
Pennant of a growth ftill more rapid.   A falmon, weigh-
ing feventeen pounds and three quarters, was taken on the
feventh day of February.  It was  marked  on  the back,
fin,  and tail,  with fciffars, and then turned  into the river.
It was retaken on the 17th day of the  following month
of March, and then it weighed feventeen pounds and a
half.  The feafon for fifhing falmon in the  Tweed begins
on the 30th of November, and ends  on old Michaelmas
 day.  In that fingle river, it is computed that no lefs than
 208,000,  at a medium, are annually caught,  which, to-
 gether with the produds of many other rivers on  both
 fides of Scotland, not only afford a wholefome and  pala-
 table food to  the inhabitants,  but form no inconfiderable
 article of commerce.
   Herrings are likewife aduated  by the migrating  prin-
 ciple.  Thefe fifhes are chiefly confined to the northern and
 temperate regions of the?globe.  They frequent the higheft
 latitudes, and are fometimes found on the northern coalts ot
 France. They appear in vaft fhoals on the coaft of America,
 as far fouth as Carolina. In Chefapeak Bay there is an an-
 nual inundation of herrings; and Mr. Catefby  informs
 us  that  they cover  the fhores in fuch  amazing numbers
 as'to become offenfive  to the inhabitants.  The great win-
 ter rendezvous of the herrings  is within, or.near, the
 Ardic Circle, where they remain feveral months, and ac-
 quire ftrength after being  weakened by  the  ^"S^0*

   * Sec an account of the Salmon Fiftiery on the River Tweed, communicated
  to Mr. Pennant by Mr. Potts, Brit. Zool. vol. 3. pag. 241. 8vo. edit.  o. 
 444        THE  P II I L O S O P II Y
 'pawning,  and of a long migration.   In thefe feas,  infed
 food  is much  more abundant than in wanner latitudes.
 They begin their migration foethward in  the fpring, and
 appear off the Shetland iflands in the months of April and
 May.  Thefe, however, are only the forerunners ot the im-
 menfe fhoal which arrives in June. Their approach is recog-
 nifed by particular figns, fuch as the appearance of certain
 fifhes, the vaft number of birds, as gannets or folan geefe,
 which follow the fhoal to prey upon the herrings.  But,
 when the main body arrives,  its  breadth  and  depth  are
 fo great as  to  change the appearance of the ocean itfelf.
 The fhoal is generally divided into columns of five or fix
 miles in  length, and  three or four  in breadth.  Their
 progreffive  motion creates a kind of rippling or fmall un-
 dulations in  the water.   They  fometimes  fink and di!-
 appear for  ten or fifteen minutes, and then rife again to-
 ward the  furface.   When the fun  fhines, a variety  of
 fplendid and  beautiful colours are refleded from their
 bodies.   In their progrefs fouth ward,  the firft interrup-
 tion they meet with is from the Shetland iflands.  Here
 the fhoal divides into  two branches.   One branch tkirts
 the ealtern, and the other the weltern  fhores  of Great-
 Britain, and fill everv bay and creek with their numbers.
 Thofe which  proceed  to  the  weft from  Shetland, after
 viliting the Hebrides,  where the  great fifhery is  carried
 on, move on till they are again interrupted by the north
 of Ireland,  which obliges them to divide  a fecond time.
 One divifion takes to the well, where they  are  fcarcely
 perceived,  being foon loft in the immenfity of the Atlan-
 tic Ocean.   The other divifion goes  into the Irifh Sea,
 and affords nourifhment to many thoufands of the human
 race.  The chief objed of herrings migrating fouthward
 is to  depofit their  fpawn  in  warmer and more  fhallow
 feas than thofe of the  Frigid /one.   This inftind feems
 not to be prompted by a fcarcity of food ;  for, when they
 arrive upon our coalts, they are fat and  in fine condition ;
 but, when  returning  to  the  ocean,  they are weak and
emaciated.   They continue in perfedion from the end
of June to  the beginning of winter, when they begin to
depofit their fpawn.  The great flations of the  herring
                                             fifheriev 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    445
fiflieries are off the Shetland and the weltern iflands,  and
along the coaft of Norfolk.
  Befide falmons  and herrings, there are many fifties
which obferve  a  regular  migration, as mackarels, lam-
preys, pilchards,  he.   About  the  middle of July, the
pilchards, which  are a fpecies of herrings, though fmal-
ler,  appear in vaft fhoals  off the  coalts of  Cornwall.
When winter approaches, like the herrings, they retire
to the Ardic feas.  Though fo nearly  allied to the  her-
ring, it is not incurious  to  remark, that the  pilchards,
in their migration for  the purpofe  of  fpawning,  choofe
a  warmer  latitude ; for,  off the coalts  of Britain, the
great fhoals never appear farther north than the  county
of Cornwall  and the Scilly iflands.  Dr. Borlafe, in his
hiftory of Cornwall, gives the  following account  of the
pilchard fifliery :  4 It employs,'  fays he, 4 a great number
' of men on  the fea,  training them thereby to naval af-
4 fairs; employs  men, women, and children at land,  in
4 faking,  prefling,  waffling, and cleaning, in making
4 boats,  nets, ropes, calks,  and all the trades depending
4 on their conftrudion and  fale.  The poor is fed  with
4 the offals of the captures,  the land with' the refufe  of
4 the fifh and fait;  the merchant finds  the gains of com-
4 miflion and  honeft commerce, the fifherman the gains
4 of the fifh.    Ships are often freighted  hither with fait,
4 and into foreign  countries with the  fifh, carrying off,
4 at the fame  time, part of  our tin.  The ufual produce
4 of the number of hogfheads  exported each year, for
4 ten years, from  1747 to 1756 inclufive, from the four
4 ports of  Tawy, Falmouth, Penzance,  and St.  Ives,  it
' appears, that Tawy has exported yearly 1732 hogfheads;
4 Falmouth,  14631 hogfheads and two-thirds; Penzance
4 and Mounts-Bay, 12149 hogfheads and one-third; St.
4 Ives, 1282  hogfheads : In all amounting to 29,795 hogf-
4 heads.  Every hogfhead, for ten years laft paft, together
4 with the bounty allowed for  each hogfhead exported,
< and the oil made out of each hogfhead, has  amounted,
 4 one year with  another  at an average, to  the price ot
 4 one pound thirteen Shillings  and  three pence;  fo that 
446         1  H I   PHILOSOPHY

* the cafh paid for  pilchards exported  has, at  a medium,
4 annually amounted to  the fum of L.49,532: 10: o.'
  Of the land-crab there arc feveral  fpecies.  The mi-
gration of what is called the  violet land-crab deferves tome
notice.   It  inhabits the warmer regions of Europe : But
its particular refidence is in  the tropical climates of Afri-
ca and America.   Land-crabs  generally frequent  the
mountainous parts  of  the country,  which are, of couile,
moft remote from the fea.   They inhabit the  hollows of
old trees, the clefts of rocks, and holes which  they them-
felves dig in the earth.  They are extremely numerous.
In the  months  of April and May, they leave their retreats
in the  mountains, and march -in  millions to the fea-fhore.
At this period  the  whole ground is covered with  them ;
and a man  can hardly put down his foot without tread-
ing on them*1.  The objed  of their migration is to de-
pofit their fpawn on the fea-fhore.   In their progrefs to-
wards the fea,  like the northern rats, the land-crabs move
in a ftraight line.   Even when a houfe intervenes, inftead
of deviating, to the right or left, they attempt  to fcale the
walls.  But, when  they meet with a river, they are oblig-
ed to wind  along the courfe  of the ftream.  In their mi-
gration from the mountains,  they obferve the  greateft re-
gularity,  and commonly divide into three battalions,  or
bodies.   The  firft confifts of the  ftrongefl and boldefl
males,  who, like  pioneers,  march forward to clear the
route,  and  to  face the  greateft dangers.  The females,
who  form the main bodv, defcend from  the  mountains
in regular columns,  which are  fifty  paces broad, three
miles long, and fo clofe that they  almoft  entirely cover
the ground.  Three  or  four days  afterwards, the rear-
guard follows, which confifts of a itraggling undifciplin-
ed troop  of males and females.   They travel chiefly dur-
ing the night; but, if it rains by day (for moiflure facili-
tates theii  motion), they  proceed in their flow uniform
manner.  When the  fun  fhines, and the furface of the
ground is dry,  they make  an univerfal halt till the even-
ing, and  then refume  their march.   When alarmed with
                                             danger,
     *  Voyage aux Iu« Francoifcj, par Labat, torn. a. pag. aai.  S. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    447
danger, they run backward in a diforderly manner, and
hold up their nippers in a threatening pofture. They even
feem to intimidate their  enemies; for, when difturbed,
they make  a clattering noife with their  nippers.  But,
though they endeavour to render  themfelves formidable
to their enemies, they are cruel to each other.   When an
individual, by any accident, is fo maimed that he cannot
proceed, his companions immediately deVour  him,  and
then purfue their journey.  After a fatiguing and tedious
march, which fometimes continues three months before
they reach the fhore, they prepare themfelves for depofit-
ing their fpawn.  The eggs ftill remain in the bodies of
the animals, and are not excluded, as ufual to this genus,
under the tail.  To facilitate  the maturation  and exclu-
fion of the eggs, the land-crabs no fooner arrive  on the
fhore, than they approach to the margin  of the fea,  and
allow the waves to pafs  feveral times over their bodies.
They  immediately  retire to  the land ; the eggs, in the
mean time, come nearer to  maturity, and the  animals
once more go into the water, depofit  their eggs, and leave
the event to Nature.   The  bunches of fpawn are fome-
times as large as a hen's  egg  ; and it  is not incurious to
remark, that, at this very  period, numbers of fifhes of
different kinds are anxioufly waiting for this annual fupply
of food.   Whether the  painful migration of the land-
crabs, or the wonderful inftind of the fifhes which await
their arrival, in order to devour their fpawn, is the  molt
aftonifliing fad, we fhall leave to the confideration of
philofophers. The eggs which efcape thefe voracious fifh-
es are hatched under the  fand.  Soon  after, millions of mi-
nute crabs are feen leaving the fhore, and migrating flow-
ly toward  the  mountains.   Moft of the old ones, how-
ever,  remain in the flat  parts of the country till they re-
gain their ftrength.  They dig holes in the  earth, the
mouths of which they cover with leaves and mud. Here
 they throw  off their old fhells, remain quite naked, and
 almoft without motion for fix days, when they become
 fo fat that they  are efteemed delicious food.   When the
 new fhell has hardened, the animals, by anuinI,tin"Iv^
 impulfe, march back to thofe mountains which they had 
 448        THE   PHILOSOPHY

 formerly  deferted.   In Jamaica, where they are nume-
 rous, the land-crabs are regarded as great delicacies ;  and
 they are fo abundant, that the flaves are often fed t.111 ire-
 ly upQn them.
   The migrating principle is not confined to men, qua-
 drupeds, birds, and reptiles : It extends to many of the
 infecl-tribes.   Numberlefs inhabitants of the air pafs the
 firft flages of their exiftence in the waters.   There they
 remain  for longer or  fhorter  periods,  according to  the
 fpecies.  Previous to their transformation into chryfalids,
 they quit the waters, and come upon dry ground, where
 they undergo their amazing change.  Inftead  of active
 water-worms, they dig or find holes in the earth, where
 they are converted into chryfalids, or feemingly-inanimat-
 ed beings, and,  in a fhort time,  mount into the air in
 the form of winged infeds.   Similar migrations are to
 be obferved among land-infeds.   But  migration is  not
 confined to water-worms.   Many fpecies of caterpillars,
 which feed upon the leaves of trees, fhrubs, and other
 vegetables, when about to undergo their transformation,
 leave their  former abodes,  defcend from the trees,  and
 conceal  themfelves  in  the earth.   The  hiving  of bees,
 when numerous colonies remove in order to eftahlifh new
 fettlements,  is  another inftance of the  migration of in-
 fects.   Indeed, if we except bees, wafps, ants, and a  few
 others, moft infeds, whether they inhabit the air, the earth,
 or the waters, are perfed wanderers, having no fixed place
 of refidence.   Some  of them,  as the fpider-tribes, build
 temporary apartments; but, when difturbed,  they  mi-
 grate to another commodious place,  and ered new habi-
 tations.
  From the fads which have been enumerated,  it is  ap-
 parent,  that the principle of migration, or the  defire of
 changing fituations,  is not confined to particular birds,
 but extends through almoft  the  whole fyftem of anima-
tion.  Men,  quadrupeds, birds,  fifhes, reptiles, infects,
all afford ftriking examples  of the migrating principle.
 From the fame fads it is equally apparent, that the gene-
ral motives  for migrating are fimilar hi every clafs of ani-
mals.  Food, multiplication of fpecies, and a comfortable
                                              tempe- 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     449
temperature of  air, are evidently the chief caufes which
induce animals to remove from one place to another, or,
what amounts to the fame thing, from one climate to an-
other.   Partial  emigrations, or emigrations to fmall dif-
tances,  are prompted by  the  fame inftindive motives
which induce animals  of a  different ftrudure to under-
take long and fatiguing excurfions.  But, previous to ac-
tual migration,  what are the peculiar feelings of different
animals, and  what fhould stimulate them to proceed uni-
formly in the diredion that ultimately leads them to the
fituations moft  accommodated  to  their wants  and  their
conftitutions, are  myfteries, with regard to which,  like
every other part  of the ceconomy of Nature, it is the
duty of philofophers,  inftead of attempting to pufh their
inquiries beyond the bounds of human ability, to  obferve
a refpedable  filence.
CHAPTER    XXI.
   Of the Longevity and  Diffolution of Organifed Bodies.


   IT is a law of Nature, though a melancholy  one,  that
   all organifed bodies fhould be diffolved.  The periods
of diffolution, however, are as various as the fpecies, and
the intentions of Nature in producing them.
   In the human kind, the  brevity of life is regarded as an
objed of regret.  One half of mankind die before they
arrive at eight years of  age.   From that early period to
eighty,  befide  the deftrudion  of war, and other acci-
dents', Nature kills them annually in millions.  Some in-
stances may be given of  men whofe lives were prolonged
beyond the ufual period  of human exiftence.  Such men.
are not  to  be  envied; nor fhould they be confidered as
favourites of Nature.  With refpect to maturity of judg-
ment, and a knowledge of the world, no man can be faid
                       L1I                      to 
45*        THE   PHILOSOPHY
to exift till he paffes thirtv years of age.   Give him thirty
or thirty-five more, and, in general,  both mind and body
are vilibly declined.  Thefe people, there!ore, who arrive
at an extraordinary age, may be faid to exift, but they do
not live.  All intelledual enjoyments and exertions, which
conftitute the  chief dignity and  happinefs  of man, are
gone.  There  are  exceptions ; but  thefe exceptions arc
confirmations of what we have advanced.   Mankind, in
the early ages of the world, have  been faid to live for fe-
veral centuries.   We mean not to  contradid the affcrtion.
But we muft remark, that, if ever  men lived fo  long, they
muft have  been very different, both in the ftrudure of
their bodies and in their manners, from thofe who now
exit.   From  infancy to manhood, there is  a gradual
growth or extenfion of our organs.  After this  period,
and when we advance  in years,  the  bones  harden,  the
mufcles  turn fliff, the cartilages are converted into bones,
the membranes into cartilages, the  ftomach and bowels
lofe their tone, and the whole fabrick, inftead of being
foft,  flexible, and obedient to the inclinations, or even the
commands, of  the mind,  becomes  rigid,  inadive,  and
feeble.   Thefe are  the  general and  progreffive caufes of
death, and  they are common  to  all animals.   There are
modes of living more favourable  to  health than  others.
But examples are not wanting of men who have  arrived
at an extreme old age,  without obferving either  tempe-
rance, or any of the other  modes of living which are ge-
nerally fuppofed to be favourable  to longevity.   Some
men, who lived temperately, and  even abflemioufly, have
reached  to great ages ; Others, who obferved the very op-
pofite condud,  who lived freely and often intemperately,
have had their exiftence equally prolonged.  But, in ge-
neral, notwithftanding  a  few  exceptions, temperance, a
placid and  chearful difpofition,  moderate  exercife,  and
proper exertions of mind, contribute,  in no uncommon
degree,  to the prolongation of life.
  A few examples of longevity  iu  the human  fpecies,
though no  general conclufions can be drawn from them,
may  not be incurious to the reader.  We fhall  not go
back to  a remote and obfcure antiquity, but confine our-
                                               felves 
        OF  NATURAL HISTORY.     451-
ferves to more modern times, when the modes of living
were nearly the fame as they are at prefent.
   On this  fubjed, the celebrated Lord Verulam, in his
Sylva Sylvarum*, gives the following  paffage, chiefly
translated from the feventh book  of Pliny's Natural Hif-
tory : 4 The year of our Lord feventy-fix, falling into the
4 time of Vefpafian,  is memorable;  in  which we fhall
4 find, as  it  were, a  kalendar of  long-lived men:  For
4 that year there was  a taxing, (now a taxing is the moft
4 authentical and trueft informer touching the ages of
4 men), and in that  part of Italy which  lieth  between
4 the Appennine mountains and the river Po, there were
4 found 124 perfons that either equalled or exceeded an
4 hundred  years of age, namely,
     4 Fifty-four     -     -      of  100  years each.
     4 Fifty-feven      -     -       no
     4 Two      -      -     -     125
     4 Four    -     -    -     -    130
     'Four      -      -     -       135  or x37
     4 Three    -     -     -     -   140
* Befide thefe, Parma, in particular, afforded five, whereof,
     4 Three were       -     -      120  years each.
     4 Two         -      -        13°
     4 One in Bruxelles       -      125
     4 One in Placentia     -     -   131
     4 One in Faventia   -    -      132
 4 A certain town, then called the VeUeiatium, fituate in
 ' the hills  about Placentia, afforded ten, whereof
     4 Six were       -      -       11 o years each.
      'Four       -       -    -     120
      4 One In Rimino, whofe name
        4 was Marcus Aponius     -   150.'
   The moft extraordinary inftance of longevity in Great
 Britain was  exhibited in the perfon  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  Parre,
 who was a native of Shropshire,  and died on the  16th
 day of November 1635, at the age of 152.
   1                                         Franci*
* Page 293. S. 
452        'I  H E  PH1LOSO P H Y
  Francis Confift, a native of Yorkfhire, aged 150, died
in January 1 768.
  Margaret 'eorfter, aged  136, and  her  daughter,  aged
i=4, were natives of Cumberland, and both alive in the
year 1771.
  William Evans, aged  145,  lived in Carnarvon, and
ftill exifted in  the year 1782.
  Dumiter Radaloy, aged  140,  lived in Ilarmenltead,
and died on the 16th day of January 1782.
  James  Bowels, aged 152, lived in Kilingworth, and
died on the 15th dav  of Auguft  1656.
  The Countefs of Defmond, in  Ireland,  faw her 140th
year.
  Mr. Eclefton,  a native of Ireland, lived to the age of
143, and died in the year  1691. ,
  John Mount, a native of Scotland, faw his 136th year,
anil died on the  27th  day  of February  1776.
  William Ellis of  Liverpool died on the  16th day of
Au; uft 1780,  at the age of  130.
  Colonel Thomas  Winfloe,  a native  of Ireland,  aged
146, died on  the 22d  day of Auguft 1766.
  John Taylor was born in Carrygill, in  the county  of
Cumberland.   He was bred a  miner.   His  father  died
when John was only four years of age.  Poverty obliged
him to be fet early to work.  During two years he drelled
lead ore for 2d. a-day.  The next three or four  years he
aflifted the miners in removing the ore and rubbifh to the
bank,  for which he received 4d. a-day.  At this period
there  happened a great folar  eclipfe, which was diftin-
guiflied in Scotland by the appellation of Mirk Monday *.
Thi-i event, which he  always repeated with  the  fame cir-
cumftances, is the chief rera from which  John's  age has
been computed.  After  labouring  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.
  Though the above modern examples  of extraordinary
longevity reft  chiefly on the authority of periodical pub-
                                            lications,
  * A'rrk, in the Scoiufh dialect, fignifics dark; and the eclipfe happened in tbe
yxv Uj2. S. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     453
lications, yet there is not a doubt, that,  in all countries,
and at all times, fome perfons of both fexes have arrived
at ages far  beyond the common  periods of human  life.
If the reader is defirous of feeing many instances of  lon-
gevity, he may confult Bacon's Hi/lory of Life and Death f,
Whitehurft's Inquiry into the Original State  and Formation
of the Earth ||, and Dr. Fothergill's Obfervations on Longe-
vity §.
   The general caufes of death have already been  menti-
oned.  But, in women,  the operation of thefe caufes  is
frequently  retarded.   In the female fex, the bones, the
cartilages,  the mufcles, as well as every other part of the
body,  are  fofter and  lefs folid than  thofe  of the men:
Neither are they generally fo much fubjeded to bodily ex-
ertions.  Their  conftituent  parts,  accordingly,  require
more time  in hardening  to that  degree  which occafions
death.  Women,  of  courfe,  ought  to live longer  than
men.  This reafoning is confirmed by the bills of mor-
tality ; for, upon  confulting them,  it appears, that,  after
women have paffed a certain time, jthey live much longer
than men who have reached the fame period.  The dura-
tion of the lives of animals may,  in  fome meafure,  be
eftimated by the time occupied in their growth.   An ani-
mal,  or even a plant, as we learh from experience, which
acquires maturity  in a fhort  time, perifhes  much  fooner
than thofe  which are longer in  arriving at that period.
In the human fpecies, when  individuals grow with un-
common rapidity, they generally die  young.   This cir-
cumftance  feems to have given rife to the  common  pro-
verbial expreflion, Soon  ripe foon rotten.   Man  grows  in
Itature till  he be fixteen or eighteen years  of age ;  but
the thicknefs of his body is not completely  unfolded be-
fore that of thirty.   Dogs acquire their full length in one
year ;  but  their growth in thicknefs is not finifhed till the
end of the fecond.   A man,  who continues to grow for
thirty years, may  live ninety or a hundred : But a  dog,
whofe growth terminates in two  or three years, lives only
                                                  ten

  + Sylva Sylvarum, pag. 273, &c.  S.
  || 2d. edit. pag. 165.  S.
  ^Annual Regifler,  Natural Hiflory divifion, pag. 61.  S* 
454       THE  PHILOSOPHY
ten or twelve years.  The fame obfervation is applicable
to moft animals.   Fifhes continue to grow  for  a great
number of years.   Some of them, accordingly, live dur-
ing feveral centuries; becaufe their bones and  cartilages
feldom acquire the denfity of thofe of other animals.  It
may,  therefore, be confidered as a general fad, that large
animals live longer than fmall  ones,  becaufe the former
require more  time to complete their growth.   Thus  the
caufes of our diffolution are inevitable; and  it is equally
impoffible to  retard that fatal  period, as to  change  the
eftablifhed  laws  of Nature.  When the conftitution is
found, life may, perhaps, by moderating the paffions, and
by temperance, be prolonged for a few  years.  But  the
varieties of climate, and of the modes  of living,  make
no material differences  with regard to the  period ot our
exiftence, which is nearly the fame in the European,  the
Negro,  the Afiatic, the American, the civilized man and
the favage, the rich and the poor, the  citizen and  the
peafant.  Neither does the difference of food, or of ac-
commodation, make any change on the  duration of life.
Men who are fed  on raw flefh  or  dried fifh,  on fago or
rice,  on caffada or roots, live as long as thofe who ufe
bread and prepared viduals.  If luxury and intemperance
be excepted,  nothing can alter thofe  laws  of mechanifm
which invariably determine  the  number  of our years.
Any little deferences which may be remarked in the term
of human life,  feem 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 furniffied  more examples  of
longevity than the plains of Holland, Flanders, Germany,
or Poland.   But, if we take a furvey of mankind, what-
ever be the climate they inhabit, or their mode of living,
there is fcarcely any difference in the duration of life.
When men are not cut off by accidental difeafes,  indivi-
duals may every where be found  who live  ninety  or  a
hundred years.   Our  anceftors,  with  few  exceptions,
never exceeded this period ; and, fince the days of David
King of the Jews, it has undergone no variation.  Befide
accidental difeafes, which are more frequent, as  well as
                                                more 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.    455
more dangerous,  in  the  latter  periods of life, old  men
are fubjeded to natural  infirmities that  originate folely
from a decay  of  the different  parts of the body.  The
mufcles lofe their tone, the head fhakes,  the hands trem-
ble, the limbs totter, the fenfibilitv of the nerves is blunt-
ed, the cavities of the veffels contrad, the fecretory or-
gans are obftruded, the  blood, the lymph, and the other
fluids, extravafate, and produce all thofe fymptoms  and
difeafes which are commonly afcribed to a vitiation of the
humours.  The natural  decay  of the folids, however, ap-
pears to be the original caufe of all thefe maladies.   It is
true, that a bad ftate of the fluids proceeds  from a de-
pravity in the organization  of  the folids.   But the effeds
refulting from a noxious change in the fluids produce the
moft alarming fymptoms.   When the  fluids flagnate,  or
if, by a relaxation of the veffels, an extravafation takes
place, they foon corrupt, and  corrode the weaker parts
 of the folids.  Hence the caufes  of diffolution gradually,
 but perpetually, multiply, our internal enemies grow more
 and more powerful, and at laft put a period to our exift-
 ence.
    With regard to Quadrupeds, the caufes of their diffolu-
 tion are precifely the fame  with  thofe which  deftroy the
 human  fpecies.  The times of their  growth bear,  like-
 wife, fome proportion to the duration of their  lives.  But,
 as we have already given a Table of  the ages at which
 different quadrupeds are capable of multiplying their fpe-
 cies, and of  the general duration of their lives, to avoid
 unnecefiary repetitions,  we muft refer the reader to page
 2C£j of this work.                             .
    Some Birds afford instances of  great longevity.  In
 this clafs of animals,  the duration of life is by no means
 proportioned to  the times of their growth.  Moft ot  them
 acquire their full dimenfions  in  a few  months, and  are
 capable of multiplying  the fpecies the firft fpring or fum-
 mer after they are hatched.   In proportion to the fize ot
 their bodies,  birds are much more vivacious,  and live
 longer  than either men  or quadrupeds.   Swans have been
 faid to  live three hundred years ; but, though mentioned
 bv refpedable writers,  the altertion is not lupported  by 
456        THE  PHILOSOPHY
any authentic evidence.  Mr. Willoughby, in his Orni-
thology*, remarks,  4 We have been affured by a friend
* of ours, a perfon of very good credit, that his father
' kept a goofe known to be fourfcore years of  age,  and
* as yet found and  lufty, and like  enough to have lived
4 manv years longer, had he not been forced to kill her
' for her mifchievoufnefs, worrying and deltroying the
4 young geefe and goflings.'  In another part of his valu-
able work,   Mr. Willoughby tells us,  4 that he has been
4 allured by  credible perfons, that a goofe will  live a hun-
• dred years and more f.'   In man and quadrupeds, the
duration of life bears fome proportion to the times of their
growth.  But,  in birds, their growth,  and their powers
of  reprodudion, are more  rapid,  though they live pro-
portionally   longer.  Some  fpecies of birds,  as all the
gallinaceous tribes, can make ufe of their limbs the mo-
ment they iffue  from the fhell; and, in  a month or five
weeks after, they can likewife employ their wings.   A
dung-hill cock has the capacity of engendering at the age
of  four months, but does not acquire his full growth  in
lefs than a year.  The fmaller birds are perfed in four  or
five months.   They grow more rapidly,  and produce
much fooner than quadrupeds,  and yet they live propor-
tionally  much longer.  In man and quadrupeds, the du-
ration of life is about fix or feven times more than that of
their growth.  According to this rule, a cock  or a  par-
rot, who arrive at their full growth and powers in one
year,  fhould not live above fix  or feven.  But Nature
knows none  of our rules. She accommodates her condud,
nor to our fhallow, and often prefumptuous, conclufions,
but to the prefervation of fpecies, and to the fupport and
general balance of the great fyftem of animated beings.
Ravens,  though capable  of providing for themfelves  in
lefs than  a  year,  fometimes have  their  lives  protraded
more than a century.  The Count  de Buffon informs us,
that, in feveral places in France, ravens have been known
to  ea ^ e  at this extraordinary age, and that, at all times,
and in all countries,  they  have been  efteemed  birds  of
great longevity;.                             , ^^
  •  Pa.;- i«. S.        + Ornithology, pa^e 8j6.  S.
  t  Hilt. Nat. di.5 Oifcaux,  torn 3. page j*.  bi. 
       'OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     457
  4 Eagles,' fays Mr. Pennant, 4 are remarkable for their
c longevity, and for their power of fuftaining a long abfti-
4 nence from food.  A golden eagle, which has now been
4 nine years in pofl'eflion of Owen Holland, Efq. of Conway,
4 lived thirty-two years with the gentleman who made
4 him a prefent of it; but what its age was when the lat-
4 ter received it from Ireland is unknown.  The fame bird
4 alfo furnifhes  a proof of the truth of the other remark,
4 having once,  through the negled of fervants,  endured
4 hunger for twenty-one  days,  without any fuftenance
4 whatfoever*.'  The pelican that was  kept  at  Mechlin
in Brabant during the reign of the Emperor Maximilian,
was  believed to be eighty years of age.   4  What is re-
4 ported of the age  of  eagles and ravens,' fays Mr. Wil-
loughby, 4  although it exceeds all belief, yet doth it evince
4 that  thofe birds are  very long-livedf.'  Pigeons  have
been known to live from twenty  to twenty-two  years.
Even the fmaller birds live very long in proportion to the
time of their growth and the fize of their bodies.  Lin-
nets, gold-finches,  &c. often live in cages fifteen, twenty,
and  even twenty-three years.
   Fifhes, whofe bones are more  cartilaginous than thofe
of men and quadrupeds,  are long of acquiring  their ut-
most growth, and many of them live to great ages.  Gef-
ner gives an  inftance of  a carp in Germany which he
knew to be one hundred years old J.  Buffon informs us,
that, in the Count Maurepa's ponds,  he had feen carps
of one hundred and fifty years of  age, and that the fad
was  attested in the molt fatisfadory manner.  He even
mentions one which he fuppofed to be two hundred years
old ||-   Two  methods  have been devifed for  afcertaining
the age of  fifhes,  namely,  by  the  circles of the  fcales,
and  by a tranfverfe fedion of the  back-bone.   When a
fcale of a fifh is examined by the microfcope, it is found
to confift of  a number of circles within one another, re-
fembling,  in fome meafure, thofe rings that appear on the
                       M m m              tranfverfe
  * Britifli Zoology, vol. 1. 8vo edit, page 123.  S.
  t Ornithology, pa. e 14. S.
  I G .fner de Pifc.  pn^e 312. S.
  T, Eponucs de la Nature, page 181. S. 
458        THE   PHILOSOPHY
tranfverfe fedions of trees, by which their ages are com-
puted.   In  the  fame manner,  the ages of fillies  may be
afcertained  by the number of circles on their fcales, rec-
koning for  each ring one year of the animal's  exiftence.
The ages of Button's carps were chiefly  determined by
the circles  on their fcales.  The age of fifhes  that want
fcales, as the fkate and ray-kind,  may be pretty  exadly
known bv  feparating  the joints of the back-bone, and
obferving ininutelv the number of rings which the furface
exhibits.   Both of thefe methods may be  liable to de-
ception ;  but they are the  only natural  ones which have
hitherto been discovered.   The  longevity of  fifhes has
been afcribed to  feveral caufes.   The element in which
they live is more  uniform,  and lefs fubjed to  accidental
changes than the  air of our atmofphere.   Their bones,
which are more of  a cartilaginous nature than thofe of
land-animals, admit of indefinite extenfion ;  of courfe,
their bodies,  inftead of fuffering the rigidity  of age at
an early period, which is the natural caufe of death, con-
tinue to grow much longer than  thofe of moft land-ani-
mals.
  As to  the  age  of Reptiles, probably  from the uninte-
refting nature of the animals,  we have very little infor-
mation.  But two letters of J.  Arfcott, Efq. of  Tehott in
Devonfliire, concerning the longevity of a  toad,  deferve
fome notice.  Thefe letters were  addrcfied to Dr. Milles,
Dean of  Exeter,  and by him communicated to Mr. Pen-
nant in the year 1768: 4  It would give  me the  greateft
4  pleafure,'  fays Mr. Arfcott, 4 to be able to inform you
4  of anv  particulars worthy Mr. Pennant's notice, con-
4  cerning the toad who lived fo many years  with  us, and
4  was fo great a favouri e.—It had frequented fome fteps
'  before the hall-door fome years  before my  acquaintance
4  commenced with it, and  had been admired by my fa-
:  ther for its  fize, (which  was of the largeft I ever met
4  with), who conflaniry paid it a  vifit every evening.   I
4  knew it myfelf above thirty  years,  and, by  conltantly
4  feeding it, brought it to be fo tame, that it always came
4  to the candle, and looked up, as if expecting to be ta-
4  ken up 2nd brought upon the table, where I always fed 
OF NATURAL  HISTORY.     459
' it with infeds of all forts.—You may imagine that a toad,
4 generally detefted, (although one of the moft inoffenfive
4 of  all animals), fo much taken notice of and  befriend-
* ed, excited the curiofity of all  comers to the houfe,
4 who all defired to fee it fed ; fo that  even  ladies  fo far
4 conquered the horrors inltilled into them by nurfes, as
4 to  defire to fee it *.'  In the fecond letter, Mr. Arfcott
remarks,  4 I cannot fay how long my father  had been ac-
4 quainted with the toad before I  knew it ;  but, w hen I
4 was firft acquainted  with it, he ufed to mention it as the
4 old toad I have known fo many years ;  I can anfwer for
4 thirty-fix years f.'—4 In refped to  its end, had  it not
4 been for a tame raven, I make no  doubt it would have
4 been now living, who,  one day,  feeing it  at the mouth
4 of  its hole, pulled it out, and, though I refcued i,t, pull-
4 ed  out one eye, and  hurt it fo, that, notwithftanding its
4 living a twelvemonth, it never enjoyed itfelf, and had a
4 difficulty in taking its food, miffing the mark  for want
* of  its eye.  Before that accident it had all the appear-
4 ance of perfed health \*
   Molt Infeds, efpecially after their laft transformation,
are fhort-lived.  But the fpecies are continually  fupported
by their wonderful fecundity. Thofe animals whofe parts
require a long time of hardening  and  expanding are en-
dowed with a proportional degree of longevity.   Infeds
grow,  and their bodies harden,  more quickly than thofe
of larger animals.  Many of them complete their growth
in a few weeks, and even in a few  days.  The duration of
 their exiftence is accordingly limited  to very  fhort periods.
 Some  fpecies of flies  lie in a torpid  ftate during the win-
 ter,  and revive when the heat of fpring  or fummer returns.
 The ephemeron-flies, of which  there  are leveral  kinds,
 feldom live above one day, or one hour, after their trans-
 formation.   But, to  continue the  fpecies,  Nature^ has
 taken care that  myriads of males and females  fliould be
 transformed nearlv at the  fame inftant.  Were it other-
 wife, the males and females could  have no opportunity ot
 meeting, and  the  fpecies would  foon  be  exungudhech

   * Pemnant's Britifh Zcology, vol. 3. pag. 323- s-    * lbid' P3^ 326" S'
   J Ibid. pag. 331.  S, 
460        THE  PI1 I LOSO PHY
Other kinds are transformed more irregularly, and live fe-
veral days.  Here the wifdom of Neiure is ccnfpicuous :
She nroiongues the exiftence of thefe animals for no other
purpofe but to allow the individuals of both fives to meet
wnd multiplv the fpecies.   Bees, and Hies of  all kinds,
after king long in water, and having every appearance
of dt-.ath, revive bv the application of a gentle heat, or by
covering their bodies  with afhes, chalk,  or fand, which
:ibforb the luperfluous moiflure from their jnuve.  Reau-
mur made manv experiments upon the rcvivifcence of
drowned bees.   He found, that,  after being immcrfcd in
water for nine hours, fome of them returned to life ;  but
he acknowledges  that many of them, in the fourth  part
of this time,  were actually dead, uird that neither heat,
nor the application of ablorbent powders, could reftore
them to life.   Analogical reafoning is  often deceitful, but
it frequently leads to ufeful truths.   As flics of all kinds,
after immerfam  in  water, and exhibiting every mark of
actual death,  can be rcltored to life bv covering their bo-
dies with any abforbent fubftance, without the affiftance
oi a heat fuperior to that of the  common atmofphere,
might not the ordinary methods employed for the reco-
very of drowned perfons be aflifted by the application of
warm afhes or chalk ?  The ftrudure of a fly and that of
a man, it is allowed, are very different.  But, in defperate
cafes,  when every other method fails, no fad fhould be
overlooked, and no analogv defpifed.
   Plants differ'as much in the periods of their exiftence
re; animals.  Many plants perifli yearly ;  others are bien-
siial,  triennial, £;c.   But, the longevity and  magnitude
of particular trees are prodigious.   We  are informed by
!*Ir. Evelyn, that in the bodies of fome  Englifh  oaks,
when cut tranfverfely, three, and even four hundred rings
i;f wood have been diftinguiflied. 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  exadly ascer-
tained*.   With  regard to the magnitude of  oaks,  fome
of them are huge maffes.   Dr. Hunter, in his Notes upon
Evelyn's  Svlva,  remarks, that none ' of the  oaks  men-
                                               4 tioncd
               * Sec Evelyn's Sylva, pag. $0$,  S. 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     461

6 tioned by Mr. Evelyn bear any proportion to one now
4 growing at Cowthorpe,  near Wetherby, upon an eftate
4 belonging to the Right  Hon. Lady Stourton.  The di-
4 mentions are almolt  incredible.   Within three  feet of
4 the furface, it meafures  fixteen  yards, and, clofe by
4 the ground, twenty-fix yards.   Its height, in its prefent
4 and ruinous ftate,  (1776), is about eighty-five feet, and
4 its principal limb extends fixteen yards from the bole.
 4 —When  compared to this,  all other trees are but chil-
 4 dren of the foreft *.'
   From the fads which have been enumerated, it appears,
 that all animals, as well as vegetables, have ftated periods
 of exiflence, and that their diffolution is  uniformly ac-
 complifhed by  a gradual hardening and deficcation of
 their conftituent parts.   No  art, no medicine, can retard
 the operations  of Nature.  It is, therefore, the  wifdom
 and the duty of every human being to fail down the ir-
 refiftible current of Nature with all poflible tranquillity
 and refignaticn.  Life, whether fhort or long,  whether
 fortunate or  unfortunate, when the fatal period  arrives,
 is of little confequence to the individual.  Society, know-
ledge, virtue,  and benevolence, are our only rational en-
 joyments,  and  ought to be cultivated with diligence. ^
    With  regard to animals in general, the adual  duration
 of their lives  is very  different.   But the comparative
 fhortnefs or  length of life, in particular animals, proba-
 bly depends on the quicknefs or flownefs of the ideas which
 pafs in their  minds, or of the impreflions made upon their
 fenfes.   A rapid fucceflion of ideas or impreflions makes
 time  feem proportionally long.  There is likewife a con-
 nedion between the quicknefs and flownefs of ideas, and
 the circulation of the blood.  A man whofe pulfe is flow
 and fluggifh, is generally dull and phlegmatic.   Raife
 the fame  man's pulfe with wine,  or any other exhilarat-
  ing ftimulus, and you immediately quicken his fenfations,
  as well as  the train of his ideas.  In all young animals,
  the circulation of blood is  much more rapid than  alter
  they have  acquired their full growth.  Young  animals,
  according, are frolickfome, vivacious, and happy.   But,
          0  '                                      when
* See Evelyn's Sylva, pag. 500. S. 
462        THE  PHILOSOPHY

when their growth is completed, the motion of the blood
is flower, and their manners, of courfe, are more fedatc,
gloomy, and penfive.  Another circumftance  merits  at-
tention.  The circulation of the blood is flower  or quicker
in proportion to the magnitude of animals.   In large
animals, fuch as man and quadrupeds,  the blood moves
flowly,  and the fucceflion of their ideas  is proportionally
flow.   In the more minute kinds,  as mice, fmall  birds,
fquirrels, he. the circulation is fo rapid that the pulfes of
their arteries cannot be counted.   Now, animals of this
defcription aftonifh  us with the quicknefs of their move-
ments, the vivacity of their manners, and the extreme
chearfulnefs of  their difpofitions.
   Reaumur, Condillac, and  many  other philofophers,
confider duration as a relative idea, depending  on a train
of conlcious perception and fentiment.   It is certain that
the natural meafure of time  depends folely on the fuc-
ceflion of our ideas.   Were it poffible for the mind to be
totally occupied with a fingle idea for a day, a week,  or
a month,  thefe  portions of time would appear  to  be no- m
thing more than fo many inftants.   Hence a philofopher
often lives as long in one day, as  a clown or a lavage*.
does in a week or a month fpent in mental inadivity and?^
wani of thought.
   This fubject fhall be concluded with a fingle remark:
If it be true, and we are certain that it is fo in part, that
animals of every fpecies, whatever be the real duration
of their lives, from a flow or  rapid  fucceflion of ideas,
and perhaps from the comparative intenfity of their en-
joyments, live equally long, and enjoy  an equal portion
of individual happinefs, it opens a wonderful view of the
great benevolence of Nature.  To ftore  every  portion of
this  globe with anim d life, She has  amply peopled  the
earth, the air,  and the waters.  The multifarious inha-
bitants of thefe elements, as to the adual duration of their
lives, are extremely  divcrfified.  But,  by variation  of
forms,  of magnitude, of rapidity  of ideas, of intenfity
of pleafures, and, perhaps, of many other circumftances,
She has conferred upon the whole nearly an equal portion
of happinefs.
                                             CHAP. 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.
4^3
C  II  A  P  T  E  R   XXII.
Of the Progreffive Scale or Chain of Beings in the Univerfe.


    TO men of obfervation and refledion,  it is apparent,
     that all the beings  on this earth,  whether animals
or vegetables, have a mutual  connedion  and a mutual
dependence on each other.  There is a graduated fcale
or chain of exiftence, not a link of which, however feem-
ingly infignificant, could be broken without affeding the
whole.   Superficial men, or,  which is  the fame  thing,
men who avoid the trouble of ferious thinking, wonder
at the defign of producing certain infeds and reptiles.
But they do not confider that the annihilation of any one
of  thefe fpecies, though fome  of them are inconvenient,
and even noxious to man, would  make a blank in Na-
ture, and  prove deltrudive to other fpecies, who feed
upon them.  Thefe, in their turn, would be the  caufe
of  destroying other fpecies, and the fyftem of devaftation
would gradually proceed, till  man himfelf would be ex-
tirpated, and leave this earth  deftitute of  all animation.
  In  the chain of animals, man  is unquestionably the
chief or capital link, and from him all  the  other  links
defcend by almoft imperceptible gradations.  As a highly-
rational animal, improved with fcience  and  arts,  he is,
in fome meafure, related to beings of a fuperior  order,
wherever they exift.  By contemplating the works of Na-
ture,  he even rifes to fome faint ideas of her great Au-
thor.   Why, it has  been afked, are not men endowed
with the capacity and powers of angels ?  beings of whom
we  have not even a conception.  With the fame  propri-
ety, it may be afked, ,Why have not beafts the  mental
powers of men ? Queftions of  this  kind  are the refults of
ignorance,  which is  always petulant and prefumptuous.
°                                             Every 
 464        THE   PHILOSOPHY
 Everv creature is  perfect,  according to its deftination.
 Raife or deprefs any order of beings, the whole fyftem,
 of courfe, will be deranged, and a new world would be
 neceffary to contain and fupport them.   Particular orders
 of beings fhould not be confidered feparately, but by the
 rank thev hold in the general fyftem.   From man to the
 minuteft animalcule which can be difcovered  by the mi-
 crofcope, the chafm feems to be  infinite : But that chafm
 is adually filled up with fentient beings, of which the
 lines  of difcrimination are almoft imperceptible.   All of
 them poffefs degrees of perfcdion or of excellence  pro-
 portioned to their  flation in the  univerfe.  Even among
 mankind, which is a particular fpecies, the fcale of intel-
 led is very extentive.  What a difference between an en-
 lightened philofopher and a brutal Hottentot? Still, how-
 ever,  Nature obferves, for the  wifeft purpofes,  her  uni-
 form  plan of gradation.   In the human fpecies, the de-
 grees of  intelligence are extremely varied.  Were all men
 philofophers, the bulinefs of life  could not be  executed,
 and neither focietv, nor even the fpecies, could long exift.
 Induftry,  various degrees of knowledge, different difpo-
 fitions, and different talents, are  great bonds of fociety.,
 The Gentoos, from certain political and religious inflitu--
 tions, have  formed their people into  different  cafts or
 ranks, out of which  their potlerity  can never emerge.
 To us, fuch inftitutions appear to be tyrannical,  and re-
 itramts on the natural liberty of man.   In fome  refpeels
 they are fo : But they feem to have beer, originally refults
 of wifdom and obfervation ; for,  independently of all po-
 litical inftitutions,  Nature herfelf has formed the human
 fpecies into cafts or ranks.  To fome  fhe gives fuperior
genius and mental abilities ;  and, even of thefe, the views,
the purfuics, and :he taftes,  are moft  wonderfully diver-
 11 h- a.
   In the  talents and qualities of quadruple's  of the fame
fpecies, there  are  often  remarkable  differences,  thefe
dieerences are confpicuous in the various races of horfes,
dogs,  &c.  Even among the fame races, fome  are bold,
fprightly,  and iagacioiio.  Other  are comparatively timid,
phlegmatic, ar.u dull.
                                                  Our 
        OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      465
  Our knowdedge of the chain of intelledual and corpo-
real beings is very imperfed ; but what we do know gives
us exalted ideas of that variety and progrefficis which
reign in the univerfe.   A thick  cloud prevents us from
recognifing the moft beautiful and magnificent parts of
this immenfe chain of being.  We fhall endeavour, how-
ever,  to point out  a few  of the ymore obvious links ot
that chain, which falls under our own limited obfervation.
  Man, even by his external qualities, ftands at the head
of this world.  His relations are more extennve, and his
form  more advantageous, than thofe of any other animal.
His intelledual powers, when improved  by fociety and
fcience, raife him fo high, that, if no degrees  of  excel-
lence exifted among his own fpecies, he  would leave  a
great void in the chain of being.  Were we  to confider
the charaders, the manners, and the genius of different
nations,  of different provinces  and towns, and  even of
the members of the fame family, we mould imagine that
the fpecies of men were as various as the  number  of in-
dividuals*  How many gradations may be traced between
a flupid Huron, or a Hottentot, and a profound philofo-
pher  ? Here fhe diftance,is immenfe;  but Nature has oc-
cupied the whole by almoft infinite shades of difcrimina-
tion.                       •     4
   In  defcending the fcale of animation,  the next step,  it
is humiliating to  remark, is  very fhort.  Man, in his
loweft condition, is evidently linked, both in the form of
his body and the capacity of his mind, to the large and
fmall orang-outangs.  Thefe again, by another flight gra-
dation, are conneded to the apes, who,  like the former,
have no tails.  It is wonderful that Linnaeus, and many
other naturalifts, fliould have  overlooked this  gradation
in the fcale of animals, and maintained, that the ifland of
Nicobar, and fome other parts  of the Eait-Indies, were
inhabited by tailed men.  Before thofe animals, whofe ex-
ternal figure has the greateft refemblance  to that of man,
are ornamented, or rather deformed, with tails, there are
feveral fhades of difcrimination.  The larger and fmaller
 orang-outangs, which are real brutes, have no tails. Nei-
                        N n n                   tilcv 
466         THE  PHILOSOPHY

ther are the numerous tribes of apes furnifhed with this
appendage.  Bet the believers in tailed men gravely  tell
us,  that "there is nothing furprifing in  this phenomenon,
becaufe a  tail is onlv a prolongation of the os coccygis,
which is the termination of the back-bone.   They confi-
der not, however, that,  inftead of accounting for  the
cxiftenee of taiLd  men,  they  do nothing  m^re than
iu'.titute a learned circumlocution for the fimple  word
tail.  It is  here  worthy of remark, that a  philofopher,
who has paid little attention to natural hiftory, is perpe-
tually liable to be deceived ;  and that a naturalift, I mean
a nomenclator,  without  philofophy,. though he may be
ufeful bv mechanically marking diftindions, is incapable
of enriching our  minds with general ideas.   A proper
mixture of the two is belt calculated  to produce  a real
philofopher.  From the orang-outangs and apes to  the
baboons, the interval is hardly perceptible.  The true
apes have no tails, and thofe of the baboons are very
fhort.   The monkeys, who form the next link, have long
tails, and  terminate  this  partial  chain of imitative ani-
mals,  which have fuch a deteftable refemblance to  the
human frame and manners.
  When examining the charaders  by which beings  are
diftinguifhable from each other, we perceive that fome of
them are more general, and include a greater variety than
others.  From this circumftance all our diftributions into
claffes, orders, genera, and fpecies,  are derived. Between
two claffes, or two genera, however, Nature  always  ex-
hibits intermediate produdions fo clofely allied, that it is
extremely difficult to afcertain to which of them they be-
long.   The  polypus, which  multiplies by fhoots, or by
fections, from its body,  conneds the animal to the vege-
table kingdom.   Thofe worms which lodge  in tubes com-
pofed of fand,  feem to link the infeds to the fhell and
cruftaceous animals.  Shell-animals and cruftaceous infeds
make alfo a near approach to each other.   Both of them
have their mufcles and inftruments  of  motion attached to
external inftead of internal bones.   From reptiles, the de-
grees of perfedion in animal life and  powers move for-
                                                ward 
       OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.      467
ward in a gradual but perceptible manner.  The number
of their organs of fenfe, and  the general  conformation
of their bodies, begin to have a greater  analogy to  the
ftrudure of thofe animals which we  are accuftomed  to
confider as belonging to the  more perfed kinds.  The
fnake,  by its form, its movements, and its mode of living,
is evidently conneded with the eel and the water-ferpent.
Like reptiles,  moft fifhes are covered with fcales, the co-
lours and variety of  which often enable us  to diftinguifli
one fpecies from another.  The forms of fifhes are  ex-
ceedingly various.   Some are long and  flender ; others
are broad and contraded.  Some fifhes are flat, others
cylindrical, triangular, fquare, circular, &c.  The fins of
fifhes,  from the medium in which they live, are analogous
to the wings of birds.   Like thofe of reptiles, the heads
of fifhes are immediately conneded to their bodies, with-
out  the intervention of  necks.   The  flying fillies, whofe
fins  refemble the  wings of bats, form one  link which
unites the fifhes to the feathered  tribes.  Aquatic birds
fucceed,  by a gentle gradation,  the flying fifties.
   In tracing the  gradations from fifhes to quadrupeds,
the  tranfition is almolt  imperceptible.  The fea-lion,  the
mode, all the cetaceous tribes,  the crocodile, the turtle,
the feals, have fuch  a refemblance, both in their external
and internal ftrudure, to terrestrial quadrupeds, that fome
naturalifts, in their methodical diftributions, have ranked
them under the fame clafs of animals.  The bats and ihe
flying fquirrels, who traverfe the air by means of mem-
branous  inftead of  feathered wings, evidently conned
quadrupeds with birds.  The oftrich, the cafibwary, and
the  dodo, who rather run than  fly, form another link be-
 tween the quadruped and the bird.
   All the fubftances we recognize on this earth may be
 divided into organifed  and animated, organifed and ina-
 nimated, and unorganifed, or brute,  matter.   The whole
 of thefe  poffefs degrees of perfedion, of excellence, or
 of relative utility, proportioned to their stations or ranks
 in the univerfe.   Change thefe ftations or ranks, and an-
 other world would be neceffary to contain  and fupport
                                                them. 
468     •   THE  PHILOSOP II Y
thtm.   Beings muft not  be contemplated individually,
but by their rank, and the relations they  have to the con-
ftituent parts of the general fyftem of Nature.  Certain
refults of their  natures we  confider  as  evils.   Deftroy
thei'e evil?, and vou annihilate the beings who complain
of them.   The  reciprocal adion of the folids and fluids
constitutes life, and rhe continuation of this adion is the
natural caufe of death.  Immortality on this earth, there-
fore, prefuppofes another fyltcm ; for our planet has  no
relation to immortal beings.  Every  animal, and every
plant,  rifes, by  gentle gradations,  from an embryo,  or
gelatinous ffate, to a certain degree of perfedion exactly
proportioned to their feveral  orders.  An affemblage of
all the orders of relative perfedion conftitutes  the abfo-
lute perfedion of the whole.   All the planets of this fyf-
tem gravitate toward the fun and toward each other.  Our
fyftem gravitates toward other fyftenis, and they to ours.
Thus  the whole univerfe is linked together by a gradual
and almoft imperceptible chain of exittences both animat>
ed and inanimated.   Were there no other argument  in
favour of  the unity of  df.ity, this uniformity of defign,
this graduated concatenation  of  beings,   which appears
not only from this chapter, but from many other parts of
the book, feems to be perfedly irrefragable.
  In contemplating Man, as at the head of thofe animals
with which we are acquainted, a thought occurred, that
no fentient being, whofe mental powers were greatly fupe-
rior, could poffibly  live and  be happy in  this world.  If
fuch a being really exifted, his mifery would be extreme.
With  fenfes more delicate  and refined ; with  perceptions
more acute and penetrating ; with a tafte  fo exquifite that
the objeds around him could by no  means  gratify it;
obliged to feed upon nourifhment toogrofs for his frame ;
he muft be born only to be miferable, and the continua-
tion of his exiftence would be utterly impoffible.  Even
in our prefent condition,  the famenefs and infipidity of
objeds and purfuits, the futility  of pleafure,  and the  in-
finite fources of excruciating  pain, are  fupported  with
great difficulty by cultivated and  refined minds.   Increafe
our fenfibilities,  continue the fame objeds and fituation,
                                                 and 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY.     469
and no man could bear to live.—Let man,  therefore, be
contented.   His ftation, in the univerfal fcale of Nature,
is  fixed by Wifdom.  Let him contemplate and admire
the works of his Creator;  let him fill up his  rank with
dignity,  and  confider every partial  evil as a caufe  or
an effed of general good.—This is the whole duty  0!
man.
THE  END. 
 
I       N       D       E        X.
ACTINIA.  See fea-nettle.
Air, neceffary to the exiftence of all animals and vegetables, 101.
  Air-cells in birds defcribed, 108.  Temporary inftruments fome-
  times provided for its admiffion into animal bodies, 106. Some
  animals can live long without it, 113.  Air is always impreg-
  nated with odorous particles, 151.  The medium of founds, 156.
Amphibious animals.  See animals.  Sketch of their ftrudure and
  difpofitions, 66.   The foramen  ovale of their hearts continue
  open during life, 67.
Analogy.  See animals and plants.  Analogy between birds and
  fifhes, no.  Sexes  of .plants founded on falfe analogies, 224.
  See fexes.
Animal heat.  An attempt to account for it, 103.
Animalcules.   Thofe obtained by infufions multiply by continued
  divifions and fubdivifions,  36.
Animals.   Difficulty of  diftinguifhing them  from plants, 10.
  See plants. All of them endowed with fenfation, 15.  Afketch
  of their ftrudure and organs, 21.  Analogies betweea animals
  and plants, originating  from  their ftrudure  and organs, ibid.
  -—from their growth and nourifhinent,  30.   The food of ani-
  mals compared with that of plants, 31.  Analogies from their
  diflemination and  decay, 35,  &c.  Some animals neither vivi-
  parous nor  oviparous,  37 ;  fome are both, 38 ;  and fome mul-
  tiply without impregnation, ibid.   Analogies between the eggs
  of animals and the feeds of plants, 39.  All animals fubjed to
  difeafes and death, 44.  Of the organs and general ftrudure of
  animals, 47.   Strudure  of man, ibid.  Of the  bones, ibid.
  Of the mufcular parts, 49.  Of the  lungs, 50.  Of the fto-
  mach and inftruments of digeftion, ibid.  Of the organs of ge-
  neration, 51.  Of the brain and nerves, 53.  Of the ftrudure
  of quadrupeds, 55.   The general ftrudure of quadrupeds has a
   great refemblance to that of man, 56.  Peculiarities in the ftruc-
   ture of carnivorous animals, 58 ; and of the herbivorous tribes,
   59.  Sketch of the ftrudure of amphibious animals, 66.  Sketch
   of the ftrudure of birds, 71.  Of the ftrudure of fifhes,  77.
                                                        The 
472                I   N  D   E   X.
  The comparative ftrength of animals depends not on ftruclure
  alone,  99.   Of their refpiration,  100.   Moft animals cap.shle
  of exprefling  their wants and defires, icb.  Of tli^ir motions,
  125, &c.   The notion that animals  are machines abfurJ,  146.
  Of the infancy of animals,  180.  Their general diffufion over
  the globe owing partlv to the diverfity of their appetites for food,
  201.   Of  the fexes of animals, 215.  Of the puberty of ani-
 "mals, 239.   AH animals undergo changes at the age of puber-
  ty,  241.  Their attachment to their young,  246.  This attach-
  ment ceafes,  in fome animals, as foon as the young can  pro-
  vide for themfelves, 250.  Many of  them marry or pair,  ibid.
  Advantages derived from the variety of feafons obferved  by dif-
  ferent animals,  253.   Table of their relative fecundity,  255.
  Of their transformations, 258.   All animals undergo changes,
  ibid.  Cruftaceous tribes annually caff their fhells,  261.  Of the
  habitations of animals,  279.  Operations  of animals referred
  by  fome authors to mechanical impulfes,  301. Of their  hof-
  ftilities, 336.  Man the  moft univerfal deftroyer of animal life,
  337.  Some animals devour  their own fpecies, 345.  Advan-
  tages derived from animals  preying  upon one  another,  350.
  Profufion af animal life feems to be a general intention of Nafcure,
  352.   There is a wonderful  balance  in the fyftem of  animal
  deftrudion and  multiplication, 353.  Reftraints againft noxious
  inundations of  particular fpecies, 354.  Animals not deftined
  for  individual exiftence alone, 357.   Of the artifices  of ani-
  mals, 358.   Of the fociety of  animals, 371.   Of gregarious
  animals who  carry on no common operation*, 387.  Different
  fpecies affociate, 388.   Of their docility, 389.   Animals of the
  ox-kind dull and  phlegmatic, 408.   Much  influenced by cli-
  mate and domeftication, 412, &c.  Of the charaders of  ani-
  mals, 415.   Of their principle of imitation, 419.   Of the mi-
  gration of animals, 422.  Of their longevity, 449,  &c.  Thofe
  which  grow quickly foon perifh, 453.  All animals perfed ac-
  cording to  their deltination, 464.
Ants.  Their ftrudure and manners, 93.  Wood-ants, their fur-
  prifing operations and manners.  See termites,   t  heir fociety,
  386.
Aphis.   See puceron.
Apterous infeds defcribed, 94.
Arabians confider the camel as a gift fcnt from heaven, 65.  Per-
  form journies of fifty leagues  in one day, 66.
Aranea.  See fpiders.
Arteries.  The  probable inftruments of nutrition and growth, 108.
Artifices. GenerJ fources of the artifices of animals, 358.  Arti-
  fices of cattle, horfes, and monkeys, 359.   Of the ihg, ibid.
  Of the fallow-deer, 360. Of the roebuck, 361.  Of the hare,
  362.  Of the  fox, 363.  Of the glutton, 365.   OftheKimt-
                                                    fchatb, 
                    I  N  D   E  X.                473
  fchatka rats, 366.   Of birds, ibid.   Of fifties, 368.  Of in-
  feds, 369.
Afheftos.  Its ftrudure makes no approach toward  organization,

Aurelise.  See chryfalids.

                             B
Beavers.  Account of their manners and architedure, 281. Live
  peaceably in Society with each other,  284.   Lay up provifions
  for winter, ibid.
Bees.   The general ftrudure of the honey-bee, 93.  The mafon-
  bee fometimes moves in a retrograde diredion, 135.   Some of
  their inftinds enumerated, 139.   Wood-piercing bee makes a
  neft in old timber,  ibid.   When  pinched for room,  they aug-
  ment  the depth of their cells, 142.   Neft of the mafon-bee,
  293.  Ichneumon flies  deftrudive to  bees, 293.  Operations
  of wood-piercing bees, 296.  Of other folitary bees, 300.  Ope-
  rations and ceconomy of the honey-bee, 302.   The figure and
  mode of making their cells, 303.  Their cells are deftined to
  anfwer different purpofes, 304.  Their divifion of labour, 305.
  Their wax a refult of a digeftive procefs, ibid.  Eat the farina
  of flowers, ibid. 306.  Require a  warm habitation, 307.  Mend
  their hives with propolis, ibid.   Amafs great quantities of ho-
  ney, 308.  Occafionally feed on one another, ibid. Eggs of the
  female impregnated by the males  after they are depofited in the
  cells, 310.   Can transform a common fubjed into a  queen or
   female, 312.  May be multiplied  without end, 314.   The neu-
   ters maffacre  the males, 348.   Have frequent combats, 349.
  Their fociety of  a monarchical   nature, 377.  The Count de
   BufFon's mechanical  theory of the operations of bees examined,
   378, &c.
 Beetle tribe of infeds.   An account of  thqr form and  manners,
   88.   Many of them, when terrified,  fimulate death,  141.  Re-
   markable differences between fome of the males and females, 218.
 Beings fliould not be contemplated  individually, but by their rank,
   467.   None fuperior to man could exift in this world, 468.
 Birds.   Sketch of  their ftrudure,  71.   Their  form  adapted  to
   their mode of living, 72.  Of granivorous birds, 73.  Analo-
   gy between  them  and  herbivorous quadrupeds, 74.  Of car-
   nivorous birds,  75, 344-  Birds refpire by almoft every part of
   their bodies,  and even by the bones, 107.   One  ufe  of this
   ftrudure, 109.  Analogy between birds and fifhes, 113.  U nen
   not reftrained, uniformly build nefts  in the fame form,  and  of
   the  fame  materials, 140.  The great comminuting force  of
   fome of their ftomachs, 206.  Whether the fmall  ftones they
   fwallow affift the digeftion of their food,  208.   Among birds
   of prey, the females are larger,  stronger,  and more  beautiful,
                            O o o                       than 
474                I   N  D   E' X.
  than the males 220.   The reverfe takes  place among the gal-
  linaceous tribes,  ibid.   Many  of  them  pair,  249.  Changes
  il.ev undergo after being hatched, 257.   Of their nidificatinn,
  250,  252.   Of their  artifices,  366.   Some of them may be
  tr.ught articulation, 410.   Of their migration, 422, he.   Of
  their  longevity,  455.
Bilons.   See oxen.
Blatta.   See  cockroach,  89.
Blood.   Its circulation conneded with refpiration, 103.  Show-
  ers of it accounted for, 271.
Bones.   Birds breathe through them,  107.
Brackelevs, a fpecies of  the ox, which are taught by the Africans
  to perform wonderful adions, 408, he.
Brain.  Sec nerves.
Brain.  A fkort defcription of it,  53.   The fource  of all  fenfa-
  tion and motion,  126.   Suppofed to fecrete and distribute the
  nutritious matter of food,  192.
Breathing.  See refpiration.
Brutes.   See animals.
Bug.   Some  account of it, 90.
Butterflies.   Defcription  of them, 90.   Gave rife to  the notion
  of fhowers of. blood, 271.   Void drops of blood,  272.

                             C
Cabins.   See Beavers.
Camel and dromedary,  befide four ftomachs have a refervoir for
  holding water, 65.  Their manners and difpofitions, 66.
Camel-cricket.   Regarded as a facred animal, 89.
Carnivorous animals.   See animals.  Their ftrudure adapted to
  their difpofitions  58.   Are not fo apt to devour women as
  men,  217.   Man the moft rapacious of all animals  337.  Of
  carnivorous quadrupeds, 339.  Of carnivorous birds, 342.  Of
  carnivorous infeds, 344.   Advantages derived from animals
  preying upon one another,  350.  Carnivorous animals are the
  barrier;, againft noxious inundations of  other kinds,  354,
Caterpillars.  See infeds.  Their mode of  refpiring,  119.   Are
  of no fex,  218.   When they arrive at the age of puberty, 142.
  Of their transformations,  269.  Caft their  fkins, 262,  271.
  Theirditferi.nt modes of retiring previous  to their  transformati-
  on. A defcription of them,  263. The circulation of their blood
  changes its diredion, 264.   Their different modes of behav-
  ing when about to transform, 266.   Spinning of the filk-worm
  defcribed, 269. The flies exift in the bodies of the caterpillars,
  27j.   Some  of them devour their own  fpecies,  345.  Have
  numberlefs enemies ibid.  Without a  profufion of  them fmall
  birds could not be fupported, 354.   Common kind affociate,
  383.   iome of them are republicans, ibid.
                                                      Caufe. 
                    I   ft   D   E   X.                475
Caufe.  We mutt at laft have recourfc to a filial caufe, 302.
Cells.   See bees, and wafps. .  Air-cells in birds  defcribed, 107.
Chain.  Of the progreffive chain of being, 463.
Changes of form.   See transformations,
Characters of animals, 415.  How they may be modified, ibid.
  Individual charaders  often ftrongly marked, 416.
Chermes.    The  female  of  this infed  depofits her eggs in  the
  leaves of trees, and produce thofe protuberances called galls, 90.
Children.  See infants.  The gradual progrefs of their inftinds, 389.
Chryfalids.   A defcription of them, 262.
Cimex.   See bug.
Cinyps.  A fly whofe eggs produce galls in  the oak,  92.
Clear.linefs.  Its importance to health,  124.
Cock.  The game-cock a molt intrepid animal, 220.
Cockroach.  Some account of it, 89.
Colours.   The origin of the primary ones,  167.   A  mixture of
   them produces whitenefs, ibid.  Colour no fpecific charader
   of plan's, 232.  Colours of animals greatly variegated by do-
   meftication,  411.
Coleopterous infeds defcribed,  88.
Combs.  See bees, and wafps.
Crabs.  An account of the migration of land-crabs, 446.
Crows.  Experiments on their digeftive powers,  210.  Endea-
   vour to break grain before they fwallow it, 211.
Cruftaceous fifties eaft their fhells annually,  261.
Cuckoo makes no neft, and neither hatches nor feeds her young, 290.
Culex.   See gnat.
Cuttle-fifh.  Its ftrudure and  manners,  97.

                              D
 Death.   All animals and vegetables  fubjed to diffolution, 44.
   Life cannot be fupported without the intervention of death, 355.
   There is a wonderful balance in the fyftem of  animal  deftruc-
   tion and multiplication, 353.  The general caufes of death, 453.
 Deer.  Their artifices in efcaping the  dogs,  359.
 Deity neceffarily one, 468.
 Digeftion.   The organs of digeftion  defcribed, 50.   The  me-
   chanical and chemical theories of it, 205.  Viduals  diffolved
   by the  gaftric juice,  206.  Whether the fmall ftones fwallowed
   by birds affift their digeftion, 208.  Greatly affifted by chewing,
   or by comminution, 209.  Dr. Stevens's experiments upon di-
   geftion in man and other animals,  212.   After death, the  fto-
   mach is diffolved by its own gaftric  juice, 214.  Bees wax a
   refult of digeftion, 305.
 Dipterous infeds defcribed, 94.
 Docility  of animals,  389, he.
 Dog.  His fenfe of fmelling extremely acute, 153.   Wild dogS
                                                         hunt 
4;6                INDEX.
  hunt in packs, 388.  Next to the elephant, the dog is the molt
  docile animal, 4^3.  Accommodates his behaviour to the man-
  ners of thofe who command him, ibid.  Great differences  in
  their  natural difpofitions,  ibid.   Condud  blind  perfons with
  great fagacity, 404.  An extraordinary inftance of  their intel-
  ligent e,  405.  The influence  of climate  upon them, 413.
  F .trene.i in China for the  table, 421.
Domeftication.  Its effeds on different animals, 411.
Dragon-fly.  See libella.
Dromedary.   See came).
                             E
Eagles.  Their longevity, 457.
Ei rs.  See hearing and fenfes.  Mufical ear a gift of Nature, i$(J.
Education much influenced by the principle of imitation, 4^.
Eggs.   Analogies  between  them and the feeds of plants, 39.
  Egg of the fpider-fly as large as  the mother, 266.   Eggs  of
  fome infeds grow after they are laid,  267.  Several worms
  difcovered  in the fame egg, 268.  Eggs of bees impregnated
  after they are depofited in  the cells,  311.
Elephant.  His  ftrudure, 68.  His fagacity  and manners, 70.
  A more particular account of this animal,  395, &c.   A mild
  and obedient domeftic, 397.  Elephants were formerly employ-
  ed in war,  398.  Their fenfe of fmelling very acute, 400.  Re-
  vengeful  when affronted, 401  They are fenfible of good  for-
  tune, and maintain a  gravity of demeanour  correfponding  to
  the dignity of their fituation, 402.  They  allow themfelves to
  be commanded by a child, ibid.   More eafily tamed by mild-
  nefs than by blows, ibid.
Ephemeron-fly lives only one day  in its perfed ftate,  but conti-
  nues three years in the water  before  its transformation, 89,
  459.   The nymphs refpire by gills,  ir8.
Evils neceffary in this world, 468.
Expiration.  Sec refpiration.
Eyes.   No animal, except the infed tribes, has more  than two,
  83.   Defcription of the eye, 166.  Inverted pidures  on  the
  retina, 168.  Why feen  ftraight, ibid.  Why we fee fingle
  with two eyes, 171.  Vifion conveys no idea of diftance, ibid.
  Why near objeds appear  large, and diftant ones fmall, 172.
  Origin of  ghofts,  &c. ibid.

                             F
Fallow-deer.   His artifices  and manners,  359.
Farina.  See plants and fexes.  Farina of flowers the raw mate-
   rial of wax, 305.
Feelers of  infeds.   One  ufe of  them, 83.
Females.  See fexes, man,  and  males.    Among infeds, great
  differences between males  and females, 218, 219.  Female birds
                                                          of 
                    INDEX.                477
  of prey larger,  ftronger,  and more beautiful than the males,
  219.   The reverfe takes  place among gallinaceous birds, 220.
  Changes in body and mind produced by puberty, 239.  Arrive
  fooner at that period than males,. 240.
Fire-fly.  Emits a fhining light in the night, 89.
Fifties.   Sketch of their ftrudure,  77.   Much diverfified in fi-
  gure, 78.   Are endowed with the fenfe of hearing, 79. Their
  mode of refpiration, 112.   Analogy between  them and birds,
  113.   We are ignorant of the periods when they become  fit
  for multiplying, 242.   Cruftaceous kinds eaft their fkins annu-
  ally,  261.   The life of every fifh one continued fcene of hof-
  tility,  343.   Shell-fifties very prolific,  356.  Their artifices,
  368.   Of their migration, 442.   Their longevity, 457.
Flea.   A defcription of it, 95.  Undergoes a transformation like
  that of winged infeds,  ibid.
Flies.  See infeds.   An account of the phrygania or fpring-fly,
  92.  Of the dragon-fly, ibid.   Of  the cinyps, the eggs of
  which give  rife to the galls on oak leaves, ibid.  Gad-fly very
  troublefome to cattle, 94.   Of  the common fly, ibid.  Of the
  gnat, ibid.   Spider-fly as  large as the mother when it efcapes
  from the egg,  203.  Some dep6fit their eggs  in the leaves of
  plants, ibid.  Ichneumon  flies  deftrudive to  bees,  296; and
   other infeds, 348.
 Food of plants and  of animals compared, 30.   Man could not
   live upon herbage alone, 61.   Food neceffary for  the growth
   and expanfion of all organifed beings, 191.   See growth.  The
   general  ingredients of  food,  197.  Rein-deer, the  principal
   food of  the Laplanders,  ibid.  Animal food more ufed in pro-
   portion as people  recede from the Equator,  198.  The nature
   of man's food determined by the climate, 199.  Man defigned
   by Nature  to feed partly on animal and partly on vegetable fub-
   ftances, ibid.   Living long on  a particular fpecies  of food is
   apt to create difeafes,  200.  Diverfity of food ufed by different
   fpecies  one caufe of  the diffufion of animals over  the earth,
   201    Every animal furnifhed with proper inftruments for pro-
   curing food, 202.  Importance of feeding all young animals
   well, 204.  Infeds which feed upon carrion never attack live
   animals, ibid.   This fad eftablifhed  by  experiments, ibid.
   Spallanzani's experiments upon the digeftion of food by various
   animals, 206.                     ...         j  •„_
 Foramen ovale.   In amphibious animals it remains open during
   life, 67.
 Formica-leo.   Its artifices and manners,  309.
 Forms are perpetually changing,  276.   See transformations.
 Fox.  His artifices and manners,  363.
 Frogs.  Undergo great changes in their form, 261.
 Fulgora.   See fire-fly.                                     ~ 
478                INDEX.
                             G
 Gad-fly, extremely troublefome to cattle, both in  its caterpillar
   and fly ftate, 94.
 Gall-infects.  Defcription of their form and manners, 218.
 Galls.  See chermes.  The eggs of the cinvps give rife to thofe
   on oak leaves,  92.  How galls are formed, 267.
 Gaftric juice.  See  digeftion  and ftomach.  Its  folvent  power
   affifted by chewing, 209.  No dead animal fubftance can refift
   its power, 2rr ;  but it has no effed  upon live  animals, ibid.
   Diffolvcs the ftomach after death, 214.
 Generation.   See multiplication.
 Gentoos.  Live almoft entirely on vegetables, 197.   Their cafts"
   founded in nature,  464.
 Germs.  Examination of Bonnet's theory of them, 195.  See
   growth.
 Glow-worm.   See worms.
 Glutton.   His artifices and manners, 365.
 Gnat.  Account  of it, 92.
 Goat-fucker, a bird of paffage, 432.
 Goofe.   Its longevity, 456.
 Granivorous birds.   Sketch  of their ftrudure, ji.   Analogous
   to herbivorous  quadrupeds, 72.  Their gentle manners, ibid.
 Growth of animals and vegetables extremely analogous, 30, he.
   May be accelerated or  retarded by certain circumftances, 32.
   Button's  theory of growth, 191.  Nutrition fuppofed to be ef-
   feded by the brain and nerves, 192.   This  notion rendered
   improbable, ibid.  More probable that the nutritious particles
   of food are conveyed and applied by the arteries, 193.  Bon-
   net's theory of germs examined, 195.  Our limited concep-
   tions of  the nature of growth and nourifhment,  196.  All
   animals fuppofed to grow after  birth,  203.   The fpider-fly af-
   fords an exception, ibid.   Remarkable  rapidity  of  growth in
   fome worms, 205.   Animals, as well  as plants,  which quick-
   ly arrive at maturity, foon perifh, 453.
Gryllus.  Some account of it, 89.
Guiney-pig contrads a loofenefs when forced to eat coleworts
   for fome time, 201.

                           H
Habitations of animals. When not reftrained, animals uniformly
   build in the lame ftile, 279.  Habitations and manners of the Al-
  pine marmot, 280.  Of the beaver, 281, &c. Of the  mole, 2 86.
  Of birds, 287.   Defcription of the eagle's neft,  288.  Of the
   magpie's  neft, ibid.  Of the titmoufe's neft, 289.   Of penfiie
  nefts ibid.  Of the  neft of the tailor-bird, ibid.   Nefts of
  fmall birds, 291.  Of w?eer-fowls, *e,2,   Neft of the mafon-
                                                        bee, 
                    INDEX.                479
  bee,  293.  Of the wood-piercing bee,  296.  Of another fo-
  litary bee,  300.  Of the honey-bee, 302, &c.   Of the wafps,
  314.   Of the termites or wood-ants, 323.   Of the common
  caterpillar, 381.   Of the proceflionary caterpillar, 383.
Hares.   Their artifices in efcaping the dogs, 362.
Health promoted by moderate laughing, 105.
Hearing.  Fifhes endowed  with that fenfe, 79.  The inftruments
  and caufes  of  hearing,  156.   Why infants  hear  bluntly,  158.
  The pleafures derived from hearing,  159.   The "fource of ar-
  tificial language,  160.
Heat.   See animal heat.
Hemipterous infeds.   Of their form and manners, 89.
Herbivorous quadrupeds.   See animals.  Their form adapted  to
  their difpofitions,  55.
Hermaphrodites.  Some infeds are hermaphrodites, 221.  Many
  inftances of  hermaphrodites among horfes,  black  catde and
  fheep, ibid.
Herrings perform extenfive migrations, 443.
Hippobofca.   See horfe-fly.
Hogs affociate and defend each  other,  388.
Honey-bee.   See bees.
Horfe-fly.   Account of  k, 94.
Horfes.   When attacked by any rapacious animal,  rank up  in
   lines to  defend themfelves, 358.  One ads as a centinel, 359.
   Affociate with oxen, 388.  The gentlenefs  and docility of their
   difpofitions, 406. ' Notice of wild horfes,  ibid.  Naturally af-
   fociate with man, 408.   Their emulation  and warlike temper,
   ibid.  Their feats in exhibitions,  ibid.
Hoftilities of animals, 336.  Man the moft rapacious and  the
   moft univerfal deftroyer, 333.  Of rapacious quadrupeds, 349.
   Of  rapacious birds, 342.  Every fifh rapacious, 343.   Of ra-
   pacious infeds, 344.  Man not the only animal that  makes
   war  with  his own fpecies,  348.   Neuter bees maffacre  the
   males, ibid.   Bees frequently fight with each other, ibid.   In
   Odober,  wafps maffacre all their young, 349-  This feeming
   cruelty  is  perhaps  an  ad of mercy, ibid.   Hoftilities of ani-
   mals give rife to mutual improvement,  351.   There is a won-
   derful balance in the fyftem of animal deftrudion,  353.
 Hottentots.   Their mode of training and inftruding  oxen, 408.
 Hunter, Mr.  John.   His account of the refpiration of birds, 107.
   His defcription of  the free-martin, 221.
 Hymenopterous infeds.   Their form and manners, 92.

                               I
 Ichneumon flies.   See flies and bees.
 Imitation.   Its effeds upon animals as a principle, 419.
 Infancy.  See infants.                               Jat^cA. 
480                I   N  D   E   X.
Intellect.  The degrees of it extremely varied both among  men
  and other animals, 465.
Infants.  They understand language before they can fpeak,  147.
  Hear bluntly,  158.   Are fond of noife,  ibid.  Invent, at the
  age of nine or twelve months, an artificial language, 16r.  The
  condition of human infants confidered as mifcrable, 180.  7 his
  notion invalidated,  181.   Fond of motion, 182.   The  me-
  thods of managing them by favages, 183 ; and by northern na-
  tions, 184.  Are lefs affeded by cold than at any other period,
  185.  Their lives very precarious, ibid.   Caufes of their dif-
  eafes  and  mortality,  186.   Sleep,  for feveral weeks, almoft
  continually, ibid.  Their memory weak, and why,  187.  Du-
  ration of  infancy in  different animals,  188.   Infant  ftate  of
  birds  fhort, ibid.  Infancy of fifties, ibid.   Of  infeds, ibid.
  The ftrong attachment of parents to their young, 190.
Infeds.   A fketch  of their ftrudure, 22, 22.   A more enlarged
  view of it, 82.  Divifion of infeds from their wings, ibid.  Ufe of
  their feelers, 83.   Undergo three changes of form, 84.  Some of
  them endowed with the fenfe of fmelling, 85 ;  and fome probably
  with that of hearing, 86. Account of their"probofcis, 87.  Of the
  form and manners of the beetle tribe, 88.  Of  the form and man-
  ners of the hemiptcrous  tribe, 89.  Of the neuropterous infeds,
  91. Of hymenopterous infects, 92. Of dipterous infeds, 94. Of
  apterous infeds, ibid.  Of the refpiration of infeds,  113.  Exam-
  ples of their inftinds, 138. Infeds have few inftinds, 145. Thofe
  that feed upon carrion  never  attack live animals, 202. Great
  difference; between fome male and female infeds, 218.  Defcrip-
  tion of the form and  manners  of gall-infeds, ibid.  Infects fup-
  pofed to impregnate certain plants, 227.  Changes they  undergo
  before their age of puberty, 237.  Some  of them have a ftrong
  affedion to their young, 248.   Of their  transformations, 262.
  Lives of winged  infeds confifts of three principal  periods, 264.
  Their internal parts changed  after transformation, ibid.   The
  behaviour of different caterpillars when about to transform, 267.
  Their transformation is only  the throwing off temporary cov-
  erings, 270.   Nefts of various infeds defcribed, 293.  Some
  of them are rapacious,  345.   Thoufands of them  daily devour-
  ed by cattle, 351.  Infects afford many instances of affociation,
  377.  Some of them migrate, 441.   Are fhort lived, 459.
Infpiration.  See refpiration.
Inftind.  Reafons why it has been fo little underftood,  136.  Di-
  vifion of inftinds, 137.  Of pure inftinds, ibid.  Examples of
  it in the human  fpecies, ibid,  in the brute creation, 138.   Of
  inftinds which can accommodate themfelves to  peculiar cir-
  cumftances,  141.  Of inftinds which are improveable by ex-
  perience and obfervation, 143.  Superiority of man  arifes from
  his  great  number of inftinds, ibid.  Examples of modified,
                                                compounded, 
                     INDEX.                481
  compounded,  or extended inftinds, 144.  Inftind defined and
  explained,  145.   Infeds have few inftinds, ibid.  Inftind pre-
  fuppofes a degree of intelled, 378.  The  gradual  progrefs of
  inftinds in children, 389.   When  they begin to reafon with
  fome propriety, 390* The education of animals depends greatly
  on the principle of imitation, 420.
Irritability defcribed,  17.   Many plants  are endowed with this
  power, 18.

                              L
Lady-fly.  See  libella.
Language.  Moft animals can exprefs their wants and defires, 105,
   147,  161.  Artificial a  refult of natural language,  161.  The
   origin of  the great diverfity of  languages, ibid.   Articulate
   language peculiar to man, 373.
Laplanders,   Live chiefly on the rein-deer,  197.  Fond of bear'*
   flefh,  ibid.
Laughing defcribed,  105.   Not peculiar to man, ibid.
Le^s.  No animal, except the infed tribes, have :nore than four,
   83-
Libella.   A  defcription of it, 91.  Its nymph refpires water, 117.
   A rapacious animal,  345.
Life.   Our  ignorance of  its eflential chara&eriftics, 16.  Its du-
   ration longer or fhorter according to the fpecies, 44.  Life
   very precarious in infancy,  185.   Lives of winged infeds con-
   fift of three principal  periods, 264.   Life cannot be fupported
   without the intervention of death,  350.   A profufion of animal
   life feems  to be a general intention of Nature,  352.   Of  the
   duration of life in  man  and  other  animals, 449, &c.   Its du-
   ration a relative idea, 461.
Light.  Some of  its properties,  166.  Its refrangibihty,  167.
Lobfters eaft their fhells annually,  261.                       .
Longevity of animals,  449.    Some  remarkable instances of it in
   the human fpecies,  450 ;  of birds, 455 i of quadrupeds, ibid.
   of a  toad, 458; of infeds, 459 5  of  Plants>  4°°«
Loufe.  Its  ftructure and manners,  95.
Love   The fource  of many important advantages,  243.   Is a
   great incentive to  virtue,  ibid.  Bad  effeds of too early mar-
   Sages,  244; and of imprudent ones, .bid.   Love of offspring
   a  fource of great  pleafures, 245 ; remarkable instancesi of  its
   ftrength,  246', &c.  Marriage or  pairing frequently exhibited
   hi th?brute4cre.nion, 250.   Moft animals have feafons, 253.
Lumbricus.   See worms.
Lychnis dioica.   Dr. Hope's experiments upon that  p ant exa--
   mined, 231,  232.   Female lychnis ripened  feeds without  the
   poilibiiity of  fexue.l co.n.nixtuic,  233.

                            P p P                           « 
482                I   N  D   E   X.
                             M
Magpies.   Defcription of their nefts, 288.
M.ti■ s.   See fixes -nd  man.  Differences between  males and
  females,  218,  219.   Changes produced  by puberty,  239.  In
  pairing  anim.i!>, the males  and  females  produced arc nearly
  equal, 251.
Man.   Of his ftrudure and organs,  47.   from his. internal or-
  gans  he could not live  upon herbage alone,  61.   His fuperio-
  rity o\er the other animals demed folelv from his  mental fa-
  culties, 63, 99, 145.  He alone is endowed with the faculty
  of articulate fpeech,  373.  The moft inconfiftcnt of all ani-
  mal, 143.   His inftincts improveable  by obfervation and ex-
  perience,  ibid.  Defigned by Nature to live partly on animal
  and  partly on  vegetable  fubftances, 197.  His  texture  more
  firm  and  compact than  that of woman,  215.  See  women.
  Changes produced by puberty, 239.  After puberty, marriage
  is his natural ftate, 241.   A ftriking inftance of his parental
  affedion,  246.  Undergoes many changes in form after birth,
  259.   His mind undergoes changes  as  well as his body, ibid.
  The  moft rapacious of all  animals, 337.   Without fociety,
  his powers are limited, 339.  Not the only animal that makes
  war  with his own fpecies, 347. The moft dociie of all animals,
  389.   His body capable of great exertions, 390.   The refem-
  blance of  men to particular animals an indication of their dif-
  pofitions,  416.  Of man's longevity and diffolution, 449.  No
  being fuperior to him could exift in this world, 468.
Manners and difpofitions  of animals  conneded with their form
  and ftructure, 55,  88,  99.
Mantis. See camel-cricket.
Marmot, Alpine.  Defcription of  its architedure  and manners,
  28c.
Marriage, after the age  of puberty, is the  natural  ftate of  man,
  240.  Difadvantages of too early marriages, 244.  Bad effects
  of interefted and imprudent ones, ibid.   Arguments  in favour
  of monogamy, 250.
Martin.  Mr. Hunter's account of the free-martin, 221, he.
Martins are  birds of paffage, 432.
Mafon-bee.   See Ikc
Matter.  Its vis inertia,  126.
Mechanifm inadequate to account for animal adion, 301.
Medufa defcribed, 98.  Its motions, 134.
Memory of children is weak, and whv, 187.
Metamorphofes.  -St;e transformations.
Migration of animals 422.   Lifts of birds of  paffage,  with the
  t; nes of their arrival and departure,  432, he.  Partial migra-
  tions, 438.  Principal objeds uf migration,  Void. 448.   ivL-n
                                                        have 
                     I  N   D  E   X.                483
  have a principle of migration, 439.  Quadrupeds likewife per-
  form partial migrations, 440.  Migration of rats, 441 5  of frogs,
  ibid. ;  of fifhes, 442 ; of land-crabs, 446 ; of infeds, 448.
Millipes multiplies by fpontaneous feparation, 36.
Mind.  Its faculties  the chief fource of animal power, 99.  Minds
( of brutes poffeffed of original qualities, 146.  The loweft fpe-
  cies of animals are endowed with minds, 147.  The mind of
  man undergoes changes, 259.
Minerals, no analogy between them and vegetables, 20.
 Modefty, the great defence and ornament of women, 216.   Is not
   confined to the human fpecies, 217.
 Moles.  Defcription of their manners and operations, 286.
 Monkeys.   When  fleeping, one ads as a centinel,  359.
 Motacilla.   See titmoufe.
  Moths.  An account of them, 90.  Divided into two kinds,  the
   fphinx and phalaena, ibid.  All of them, when about to transform,
   fpin cods or clues of filk, 269.                           .  .
 Motion.   Spontaneous motion, 125.   By what inftruments  it is
   performed, 126.  Vital and involuntary motions,  127. Motions
   of  animals  proportioned  to their  weight  and ftrudure,  128.
   Motion gives animation and vivacity to the whole fcene ot Na-
   ture, ibid.   Deftrudive animals flower in their motions  than
   the weaker kinds, 129.  Progreffive motion of the mufcle,  130.
   Motions of  the  razor or  fpout-fifh, 131 ;  of the fcallop, 132 :
   of the oyfter, 133 ;  of the  fea-urchin, ibid. ;  of the medufa, or
   fea-nettle, 134.  Motion of the mafon-bee  fometimes retro-
    grade,  135.   The rate at  which found moves, 158.   Children
    derive great happinefs from motion, 182.
  Mouflon, the original flock of the fheep, 412.                 _
  Multiplication.  The hydra of Linn*us multiplies by  fending off
    fhoots from  its body, 35.  The bell-polypus multiplies by  fit-
    ting longitudinally, ibid. 5 and the  funnel-fhaped  polypus by
    fplitting tranfverfely, 36.   The dart-millepes likewife multiplies
    by fpontaneous  feparation, ibid.   Puceron multiplies without
    impregnation, 38.  A  profiifion of animal life one great inten-
    tion of Nature, 352.  Noxious multiplication restrained by va-
     rious caufes, 353.
  Mufca.    See flies.            .
  Mufcles.  Their progreffive motion defcribed, 130.
  Mufcles.   The inftruments of animal motion, 120.
  Mufical ears.   See ears.

                                N
  Nature  in the formation  of animals and .vegetables,  feems to
     havVadedupon the fame general  plan, 18    Her intentions in
     changing forms, 258.  If properly underftood, her intentions
     are nlve^r wrong, 349-  Seems to pay little attention to indm- 
484                I   N  D   E   X.
  duals,  but  uniformly  fupports the fpecies, 350.   Advantages
  deri\e  1 from her allowing animals to prey on one another, ibid.
  he.   It gives  rife to mutual improvement, 351.  A proiulum
  o; aniind  life feems to be a general intention of Nature, 352.
  There is a v.<>nder:ul balance  in the fyftem of animal destruc-
  tion, 353.  Nature obferves a uniform gradation of beings, 463.
Nerves.  A fhort defcription of them, 54.   The f urce of all fen-
  fation  and  motion, i?e\ 150.   Their papillae the immediate in-
  ftruments of fenfaeon, 164.
Nefts   See birds and habitations.   Penfile n-fts, 789.  Curious
  neft of the  tailor-bird, ibid.  Cuckoo mal:-sno.ie, 290.  Nefts
  of different birds 291.  Nefts of v..nou» infed.-, 293.  Wafp's
  neft defcribed, 314.  Neft> or hills of the termites, 323 j  of ca-
  terpillars, 381.
Nettle.   Sea-nettle's motions extremely flow, 134.
Neuropterous infeds.   Defcription of them, 91.
NiJification.  See birds.
Nole.   Defcription of that  organ,  150.
Nutrition.  See too 1, growth.
Nymphs,  A deftrijuion of them, 265.

                             O
Oak.  Account of a remarkable one, 460.
Ocean.  It produces the largeft animals now known, 79.
Odours.    1 "*ic reafon why they excite the fenfe of fmelling, 151.
   I he par tie I. s  of nitrous bodies extremely minute, ibid.
Oeltrus.  See gad-fly.
Orang-outang.   His form as well as his manners make the near-
   tit approach to thofe of man, 55.  Walks erect, 62.  An ac-
  count ofthe imitative powers of what is called the larger  and
  fmaller fpecies, 391.   Their manners, 392, &c.   Belong not to
   the humankind, 394.   Nearly allied to man, 391.
Organs.  Set animals, birds, quadrupeds, fishes, plants, and struc-
   ture.
Oftrich vindicated from unnaturality, 142.
Ox-eye.  See titmoufe.
Oxen dull and phlegmatic  animals,  but  capable of  inftrudion,
   407.  Much  changed by domeftication, 412.
O.iter.   Its motions defcribed,  133.   Is endowed with fome de-
   gree of intelligence,  ibid.

                             P.
Pairing.  See marriage.  Many animals pair, 250, &c.
Palm-tree.   Its mode of culture in Arabia no proof of the Hexes
   of  plants.   See fexes.
Palpi of inicet>  defcribed, 85.
Papiihe.   See nerves.
                                                      Papilio. 
                    INDEX.                 485
Papilio.   See butterfly.
Parental affedion.   See love.
Pediculus.  See loufe.
Pelican.  Her mode of fupplying her young with drink,  202.
Phalcena. v See moth.
Phryganae.   See flies.
Pies.  Their nefts very various, 288.
Pilchards.  See herrings.
Plants.  Difficulty of diftinguifhing them from animals, 10.  De-
   finitions  of  them by Jungius,  ibid.  ; by  Ludwig, ibid. ; by
   Linnaeus, ibid.   Examples of the motions  of plants,  12,  13.
   Their we.ole ftrudure may be confidered as a ftomach for re-
   ceiving their food, 15.   Many  of them  have the power of
   irritability,  17.   Between vegetables and minerals  there is
   hardly any analogy, 19, 20.  Analogies between animals and
   plants, originating from their ftrudure  and organs,   21,  30.
   Sketch of "the  ftrudure of plants, 25, he.  Their ceconomy
   and fundions are refults of a vafcular texture, 26.   Analogies
   arifing from their growth and nourifhment, 30,  34.   Food of
   plants and of animals compared, 31.   Analogies between the
   animal  and  vegetable derived from their diffemination and de-
   cay,  35, &c.   Analogies between the eggs of animals and the
   feeds of  plants,  39.  Some plants may be  confidered as vivi-
   parous, 41.   Plants have their feafons as well as animals, 43.
   Are all fubjed  to many difeafes  and at laft to individual diffo-
   lution,  44.   Of the fuppofed fexes of plants,  223.   See fexes.
   Pollen or farina of plants fuppofed to be analogous to the male
   organs of generation, 225.   New varieties of plants often pro-
   ceed  from accidental caufes,  233.   Plants, as well as animals,
   undergo  transformations, 274,  275.   See transformations.
   Thofe which grow quickly foon  periffi, 453.  Their longevity,
   460.
 Pollen,  See plants,  and fexes.                         #
 Polypus.   Defcription of its  ftrudure and mode of multiplying,
   23.  When cut to pieces in any diredion, each fedion becomes
   a perfed animal, 24.  One fpecies may be engrafted upon ano-
   ther, ibid.  Some polypi multiply by fplitting longitudinally,
   and others tranfverfelyi 35.   Conneds the  animal  to the ve-
   getable kingdom, 467.
 Probofcis of infeds defcribed,  87.
 Propolis, or bee-glue.   See bees.
 Puberty   This period of life arrives later, or more early, accord-
   ing to the difference of fpecies,  30.   Of the puberty of animals
   in general,  238.   Changes produced by it, 239.   Females ar-
   rive  fooner at that period  than males,  240.   All animals under -
    go changes at  the  age of puberty, 241.             _ 
486                  I  N   D  E   X.
Pucerons.   Some fpecies are both viviparous and oviparous  36.
   Can produce without impregnation, 37.  Differences between
   the males and females, 220.   Devoured by numberlefs enemies,
   346.
Pulex.  See flea.
                             a
Quadruped*.  Their  ftrudure,  55.   The fimilarity  of their
   ftrudure and organs to thofe of man, 56.  Of the carnivorous
   kinds, 58.  Of the herbivorous,  59.  Few quadrupeds  pair,
   254.   Undergo  changes  of  form after  birth,  260.   Their
   mental powers likewife change, ibid.  Some of them conftrud
   habitations, 280.   Of carnivorous  quadrupeds  339.  Their
   discriminating charaders,  416.  Some of them migrate, 4^0.
   Of their longevity,  456.
Quails.   Of their migration, 423.

                             R
Rapacious.  See carnivorous.
Rats of Kamtfchatka.   Their  artifices and  manners,  366.
Ravens.  Their mode of breaking fhell-fifhes,  368.   Their lon-
   gevity, 456.
Razor-fifh.   See fpout-fifh.
Rein-deer,  the chief food of the Laplanders, 197.
Refpiration.  Air neceilai v to the exiftence of all animal and ve-
   getable bodies,  101.  The mode  in which refpiration is car-
   ried on by man and  the larger land animals,  ibid.  Dr.  Craw-
   ford has rendered  it  probable that refpiration is the caufe of ani-
   mal heat, ibid.   Conneded with the circulation of the blood,
   »03.  Commences  inftantly after birth, and continues during
   hi",  104.   Of laughing,  105.   Of weeping,  106.  Many
   fecondary advantages derived from refpiration, ibid.  Birds re-
   fpire by the  bones, and almoft every part of the body,  as  well
   as by the lungs, 107.  Refpiration of fifties,  112.  Refpira-
   tion of  infeds, 113.
Retina.  External objeds painted on it  in  an  inverted  pofition,
   168.  Why objeds are feen ered notwithftanding the inverfion
   of the pidures, ibid. 169.   Why  vifion is fingle though a pic-
   ture is painted on each eye, 171.
Roebuck.   His artifices and manners, 362.

                              S
Saliva, a powerful folvent, 154.
Salmons.   Of their migrations, he.  442.
Scale.   Of the progreffive fcale of beings, 463, &c.
Scallop.  Its motions  defcribed,  132.
Scarabxi,  or the beetle-tribe of infeds, an account of them,  88.
                                                   Scorpion. 
                    INDEX.                487
Scorpion.  Account of it, 96.
Sea-nettle capable of being ingrafted, 44.
Seal.   Sketch of his manners, 66.
Seafons.   See love.
Seeds.  Analogies between them and the eggs of animals, 40.
Seeing.  See fenfes.
Senfation implies the  perception of pleafure and pain.   May be
 ■ fufpended without death, 28.  See fenfes.  Theory of fenfation,
   162.
Senfes.  Fifties endowed with the fenfe of hearing, 79.  Of the
  fenfes  in general,  149.  Of the fenfe of fmelling,  150.  Men,
  as well as brutes,  afiifted in the feledion of food by  the fenfe
  of  fmelling, 151.   Moft odours  produdive either of pleafure
  or  pain, ibid.   The fenfe of fmelling in fome animals remarka-
  bly acute,  153.  Of tafting,  154.  The organs of tafte  and
   fmelling affift each other,  ibid.  Senfe of tafting comparatively
   grofs, ibid.   Senfe  of hearing,  156.  The  pleafures derived
   from  it,  159.  Senfe  of touch,  162.   Senfe  of feeing, 165;
   conveys no idea of diftance,  171.  Errors of  vifion correded
   by touch,  ibid.  Of the fenfe of fmelling alone, 174;  of hear-
   ing alone, 175 ; of fmelling and hearing united, ibid.; of tafte
   alone, and united with fmelling and hearing,  176; of fight a-
   lone, ibid. ;  of fight united with fmell, hearing, and tafte, ibid.;
   of touching alone,  177 ; of touch united with fmelling, 179 ;
   of hearing, tafte, and touch united, ibid.   Of fight united with
   all the other fenfes, 180.
 Sepia.  See cuttle-fifh.
 Serpents eaft their fkins annually, 261.
 Sexes.  Of  the  fexes  of animals, 215.   Their intercourfe not al-
   ways  neceffary for multiplication,  218.   See multiplication.
   Caterpillars are of no fex, 218.   Among the larger animals,
   the difference of fize between  males and females is not confide-
   rable, ibid.;  but, among infeds, the difference often great, ibid.
   219.   Of the fuppofed fexes of plants, 223.   The arguments
   employed to fupport the fexes of plants are entirely analogical,
   ibid.   Thefe  analogies fhown to be  without foundation, 224.
   Some of them ridiculous, ibid.   The moft plaufible argument
   in fupport of  vegetable fexes derived from the culture  of the
   date-bearing palm, 226.   This  circumftance brings  no aid to
   the fexualift,  ibid.   Mylius's  experiment on  the Berlin palm
   imperfedand inconclufive, ibid. 227.  Sexuahfts have recourfe
   to the winds and to infeds for the impregnation of certain plants,
   227.   This  notion refuted, 228.  Argument from new vane-
   ties examined, 230.   Dr.  Hope's experiments on the lychnis
   dioica examined, 231.  Spallanzani's experiments on the fexes
   of plants, 235,-238.  Changes produced in animals by puber- 
488                 INDEX.
   t\, 239.   The male  bees  impregnate the eggs after they are
   depofited in the cells 311-
Shcep affociate, and defend each other, 388.  Their origin,  412*
Showers of blood accounted  for,  271.
Si!k-worms.  See worms and caterpillars.
Skeletons,  of all quadrupeds, uiun railed on their hind-legs, have
   a great refemblance to thofe of  man, 56.
Sleep, of plants, 14.
Smeathman.  His account of the termites or. wood-ants, 323.
Smelling.   See fenfes.
SnaiK.   Their mode  of refpiring, 120.
Society.  Not confined  to the human fpecies, 371.  Its origin.
   ibid.   The affociating principle is inftindive, 372.   its advan-
   tages,  ibid.  Gives rife to  many virtues and fources of happi-
   nefs, 373.  Its difadvantages, 374. Without affociation,  men
   could  perform no  extenfive operations,  375.   Society of the
   beaver-, ibid. ;  of pairing birds, 376;  of the honey-bees, 377;
   of the  common caterpillar, 381 ;  of the proceffionary caterpil-
   lars 383.  Some caterpillars are republicans, 384.   Society of
   ants, 386 ; of gregarious  animals who  carry on  no common
   operations, 387.
Sound.   Its medium and caufes, 156.  The celerity of its moti-
   on, 158.  Augmented by refledion, ibid. Its modifications ibid.
Spallanzani.  Account of  his  experiments  upon digeftion,  206.
   His experiments on the fexes of plants, 233.
Sparrows of great ufe by devouring numbers of caterpillars,  355.
Speech.  See language.
Sphinx.  Sec moth.
Spiders.  Their ftrudure and manners, 95.   When  terrified fi-
  mulate death, 141.    Their  attachment to their young,  247.
   Moft voracious animals, 344.  Some of them furvive the win-
   ter,  370.
Spider-fly.   See flies, and growth.
Spout-fii'h.   Its motions defcribed, 131.   Comes  above  the fand
   upon putting fi.lt upon the mouth of its habitation, 132.
Stag.   His artifices in efcaping the dogs,  359. Form herds,  387.
Stevens (DrJ. His experiments on digeftion performed by means
   of a German who was in the habit of fwallowing ftones,  212.
Stigmata of infeds defcribed,  and their ufes,  114.
Stomach.  Every part of vegetables may be  confidered as a  fto-
   mach,  15.  In carnivorous animals, the ftomach is  proportion-
  ally fmall, 58.  Its  juice diffolves all  kinds of viduals,  206.
  Its  great  comminuting  force in  certain birds, 207, he.   In
  man and  quadrupeds  the ftomach feems  not to ad upon its
  contents,  which are totally diffolved by the gaftric juice,  212.
   See gaftric juice.   After death, the gaftric juice diffolves the
   ftomach,  214.
                                                      Storks 
                    INDEX.                489
Storks clear Egypt of ferpents,  frogs, mice, he.  354.
Strudure and organs.  Their connection with manners  and dif-
  pofitions, 55,  58, 88.   Strudure  of quadrupeds  has a great
  refemblance to that of man, 56.  Strudure of birds, 71.  Struc-
  ture of  fifhes, 77.   Structure of infeds, 82.
Swallow.   A curious inftind of it, 140.   Swallow's nefts, 292.
  Of their migration and torpidity, 422,  &c.   Different opini-
  ons on this fubjed examined, 428.  Could not poffibly e:dd:
  under water,  429.
Swans.  Their longevity,  455.
Sword-fifh often kills the whale,  357.
                              T
Tadpole.    See frogs.
Tailed men have no exiftence,  466.
Tafte.   See fenfes.  The inftruments and caufes of  the fenfation
   of tafting, 154.   Tafte various in individuals of the fame fpe-
   cies, 155.
Tailor-bird.   Defcription of its wonderful neft,  289.
Termites.  Mr. Smeathman's defcription of their fingu'.ve ope-
   rations,  323.  Defcription  of thefe animals,  324.   Undergo
   great changes in form,  ibid, he.  Wonderful prolific  powers
   of  the females, 326.   Their nefts or hills defcribed,  327.   Of
   their royal chamber, 328.   Of  their nurferies 329.   Of then-
   magazines,  ibid.   Of their fubterraneous  paffages,  331.   Ot
   their warlike difpofitions, 333.  Repair their habitation?, ibid.
 Tiger.  His difpofitions are grofsly ferocious, 340.
 'Titmoufe.  Defcription of  its neft,  289.
 Toads.  Inftances of their being found alive.in the heart of trees
   and inclofed  in folid ftones,  122.  Their longevity,  458.   ^
 Tongue and palate, the principal inftruments of the  lent--  of tail-
   ing', 154-           ,.  ,
 'Touch.   See fenfes.
 Tracheae of infeds defcribed,  and their ufes,  114.
 Transformations.   Every "animal  undergoes  changes 258, &c.
   Transformation of frogs, 261.   Cruftaceous animals eaft their
   fhells annually, ibid.   Serpents annually eaft their f^ins, ibid.
   Of  the  transformations  of infeds, 262.  Transformation of
   the  filk-worm, ibid;  of other caterpillars ibid,   the  internal
   parts, as well as the external form, of  winged miecs  undergo
   cofifiderable changes, 266.  Spider-fly transformed mto a chry-
   falis before efcaping the belly of its mother, ibid,   l he behavi-
   our of different caterpillars  when about  to transform,  207.
   Transformation of infeds is only the  throwing  off ot tempo-
   rary coverings, 27c.  Plants, as v/ell as animals, undergo trans-
   formations, 274-   Intentions of Nature in changing for:nr, -/, •
  iVochus deftrovs numbers of fhell-rii:ic", 3^6.  ^
  Turk-v    ThcVreat comminuting force ot its ttO'iuch, 207.
                              Qq.q                         U 
   490                INDEX.

                               U
   Urchin.   Motions of the fea-urchin defcribed, 183.
                               V
   V.uu.m.   Sounds cannot be propagated through it, 157.
   Vegetables.   See plaits.
   V Lrir.es.   See worms.
   l'i> inertia defined,  126.
   Vifion.   See eyes and retina.
                              W
   War.   Man not the only animal that  makes  war with his own
     fpecies 347-                                    _   ,   r
   Wafps.   Solitary wafp digs holes in the land, where  fhe depofits
     her eggs, 14.^. Teed their young by difgorging like the pigeon,
     247.   Their  manners and operations, 314.  Their cells com-
     pofed of paper, 315.   Defcription of their neft, ibid.   Their
     manner of building,  317.  Republics of wafps confift of males,
     female, and neuters, 318.  Defcription of the different kinds,
     319.   Maffacre their youiv^, 349.
   V> ax.  Ikes wax a refult of a digestive procefs,  305.
   Weeping, how performed, and  its effeds,  105.  Not peculiar
     to man, ibid.
   Whales often killed by the  fword-fifh, 357.
^ Winds.   Snppofed  to impregnate certain plants,  227.  This no-
     tion refuted,  ibid. 258.
   Wings.   No animal,  except infeds, have more than  two, 84.
     Thofe of infeds made the foundation of a methodical diflribu-
     tion, 87.
   Wolf.  Hi*.- difpofitions are fierce and rapacious, 341.
   Women.    Their texture  more  lax  than  that  of  men,  215.
     'Their minds  are  likewife more timid, 216.  Social intercourfe
     with them foftens the  difpofitions of men,  ibid.   Modefty the
     great ornament  of  women,  ibid.   Carnivorous  quadrupeds
     not fo apt to devour women as men,  217.   See^multiplication
     and fexes.
   Wood-ant?.  See ants and termites.
   Woodpecker.   Some account of it,  367.
   Worms.    Account of thefe infects, 96.   Of the hair-worm,
     ibid.   Of  the earth-worm,  ibid.    Rat-tailed worms, their
     mode of  refpiring air, 116.  In  fome worms, the rapidity  of
     their growth  is  remarkable, 205.  Account of the  male and
     female  glow-worm,  219.   Silk-worms fpin pods  before their
     transformation into flies, 262.   See caterpillars.  Inftances of
     feveral  worms proceeding from one egg,   268.   The  manner
     in which the tilk-worms fpin their cord or clue, 269. 
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