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Maps, plates, 'Charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduitlon ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure ere filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right end top to bottom, as many framee as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre flimAs A des taux de rMuction diffArents. Lorsque ie document est trop grend pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichA, 11 est fiimA A partir de I'angle supArleur geuche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant Ie nombre d'imeges nAcesseire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent Ie mAthode. rata Blure. A J ax 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 '"^'■i N^ ^, W * IN ? ¥ i »RI '•Ty'"^'- ^^^^ SY NOI'SIS or NATURAL HISTORY. IIT X, A. MACALLl'M, raOVINCIAI. lf«»l*KI. itCHOOL. TOttOMrO. IN EXPLANATION OF "IHK /I THiiK';* VHAHT OF NATURAL HISTOKV. •i'i I SorAntfl: ■ I ;^'- fftlNTBD AT THB OFFICE OF TUB CHRISTIAN GUAllDfAK. 1857. im j4j(*!vM.i 1 SYNOPSIS Of NATURAL HISTORY, B7 A. MACALLUM provincijll modbl school, torovto. IX KXPLA.XATIOX OF THE AUTHOR'S CHART OP NATURAL HI3T0RV. %ttxaixtz: PRINTED FOU THE AUTHOR BY JOHX DONOGH, QUARDIAN STIAM PBINTIMO S 3 TA B L I S H M B N T. 1857. ( ' . I J ■ » J 1 -■ ', i" SYNOPSIS w N A. T XJ H A L HISTORY tV;c;. tt(!. »t6 miles in diameter. The pressure upon the earth is equal to five thousand millions of millions of tons ! The naked crust of our planet is e^ered with a carpet of plants and (lowers, unevenly woven, varied from the pole to the equator, here dense and there sparse, here luxurious, there stunted. The marvellous variety, both in form and organism, of the subjects of the vegetable kingdom, may be inferred from the fact, that already 100,000 difTerent species have been de- scribed : and every day increases the number. Among the stately forms of the tropics, the less hixuriant forests of the temperate zone, and the dwarfed productions of the arctic regions, where returning frosts nip the early blossoms of spring and prevent the autumnal seeds from ripening, there roam in all directions, countless numbers of other, higher, and more complex beings, adapted to a wider range of existence, and prepared to undergo chunge of clime, place or atmospheric temperature, to which plants are entire strangers. Animals and plants, in many ways, are insepar- ably connected. Both follow, with wonderful precision, the laws of their geographical distribution. And while the vegetable kingdom obtains its nourishment from the mineral, it in its turn yields the support, directly and indirectly, essential to the economy of animated creation. Great though the number of min^als, metals and earths may be, numerous as are the plants covering the crust of our planet, and varied and diversified though the animals now existing or whose remains are exhumed by geological research may be ; yet the simple or elementary substances — simple because nothing differing from themselves has been obtained from them — of which ocean, land, plants and animals are formed, number little more than three score. Viewing life in its simplest aspect as " the mutual exchange of re- latiors," we have in this the bond of union common to everything surrounding us. This is the life of a mineral, of a continent, of the world itself, in all their sympathies, antipathies, and elective affinities. And although an impassable chasm separates the mineral from the vegetable, and as impassable a gulf intervenes between the plant and the animal ; which is again equalled by the distance intermediate between the animal and man ; yet it is impossible to say where the inorganic ends and the organic begins, and equally difficult to assign their proper limits to the vegetable and animal creations. In plants, this life, common to everything, is subordinate to another principle of existence — vegetable life ; in the animal both are subservient to a still higher principle — animal life : finally, in mjan all are instrumental m furthering the requirements of spiritual life. How wonderful the combination ! Not more so, however, than that everything in the composition of minerals, plants, animals and man — all things physical around us — are referable to one or more of the few substances composing the crust of our planet aud the atmosphere which floats around it. I e been de- ; the stately temperate ions, where prevent the 19, countless japted to a change of plants are ire insepar- m, the laws I vegetable in its turn he economy f roin^als, overing the the animals sal research pie because m them — of imber little lange of rc- everything [lent, of the id elective larates the intervenes lied by the ; yet it is mic begins, i vegetable everything, etable life ; irinciple — thering the mbination ! iposition of round us — iposing the und it. MINERAL KINGDOM. A Mineral may be defmed as a substance having neither life, in its usual acceptation, motion nor feeling. The mineral de- partment of Nature consequently embraces all things destitute of these properties. The Classification of minerals depends entirely on the object aimed at, and will diiler with the standard assumed. It may refer to their comparative geologic age, their distribution, medicinal properties, basic characteristics, agricultural value, or their commercial importance. We have given the simplest, as it seems to us the most natural, but we are far from supposing it necessarily the best. The only characteristics upon which entire dependence may be placed are their structure and composition. Matter is known to us in three forms, solid, liquid, and aeriform. The gases constitute the first or lowest class, and throughout the whole Chart the ascending order is observed. The great importance of a knowledge of this earliest form of matter will appear from a few facts respecting the gas. Oxygen [o^vs sour, yivvixfiy to generate). It is the most active and ener- getic as well as the most widely distributed agent in nature. It forms one-iifth of the atmo.sphere, eight of every nine pounds of water, and is supposed to form fully one-half the ponderable matter of our globe. It is the most powerful supporter of com- bustion, and is essential to respiration in the animal economy. Its symbol is O, combining number 8, i.e., it like all other substances combines with other materials only in definite proportions by weight and measure or multiples thereof. Its affinity for almost all the elementary substances is strong. This gas weighs 1.11, being a little heavier than air. Water at ii'Z" Fah. for all solids and liquids, and atmospheric air for all gases are the stand- ards in detertnining their specific gravity. As every person has seen more or less of the next Class — the Non-Metal- lics, such as Sulphur, and Carbon or pure coal, they may be passed over without occupying much space, the object of this part of the chart being to present a convenient mode of see- ing the symbols, combining numbers, and specific gravities of the simple substances. Phos'pliorus (ipm light, ^tp-ji 1 carry) in union with Calcium and Oxygen constitutes the material of bones of ani- mals. The substances placed in the next class, Solid-Metalloids, (metal, and ti^os like,) are by many considered as much entitled to the term Metals as those placed in the fourth Class. Sodium and € IVitassitiin arr rfspectivcly tlin lia.sfs of tlife Snila niul ^otn^ll of • oimnpicr. TIk ir Miiibols Nu iind Ka are iVom tin; (Jcnnan Natriiini and Kalinin, llic naiiM's liy \sh'\r\\ llicy me kno\"n in lliat l;'.n'nia,"'e. So "reat is tlieir airniitv lor Oxvijen tliat when llnown on water tliey decompose it, Neizirif; the ()xyj;en and eanMnij the ifydrofien {'v'Sp water, yi^^xt.v to {jenerat*), the other element of water, to burst into llaine ; thujs alVordin;; a heautifid experiment if perforinetl in the daik. In the fourth Class an; nrran<;ed those substances iisualiy called pure metals, the most important of which are iron, |i,oId, silver, copper, tin, platinum and meicnry. The most prevalent of the elementary substances — those enterini; lar-relv into the rockv nuisses of our i>l(d)(' are oxygen, carbon, isulphur, almnirium, silicon, potassium, 'odium, calcium, maj^nesiuni. and iron. \'ery few of these simple bodir^ ar<' used by anininls directly. Thi; vej:jetable kini!,dom is the preat laboratory of ?Jalure, wherrin thi!se substances are pri'pared for aniirial tise. Almost all of them, if taken in their uncombined state, would be rank poison ; but in union with otiicrs ecpiidly destructive to animal life, they are not ordy immxious but hi^ihly «-onducive to health and comfort. Connrion salt itself, chloride of sodium, is a compound of the gas chlorine and the base sodimn, either of which taken separately would put an end to our existence. Masses of the same material are held together by honiooeneous. and those formed of two or more in;ireditiils by elective attractions. " The proportionate volume ami gravity of elementary molecules furnish another evidence of desi^fu in the beginning of the cre- ation. Suppose there had been no fixed proportion reoulating the union of oxygen and nitrogen, biit that they would mix with each other in any and in all proportions; then there could have been no adjustment of the lungs of animated beings to the at- mosphere. Proportion in the one was necessary, in order that there could be adaptation and adjustment in the other. So of other compounds which alTect other parts and processes of the animal economy. If there had been no delinite proportions, in which alone the elementary substances would compound them- selves, there could have been no adjustment of the organs of motion and life to the conditions of nature." Design is the impress of Creation. VEGETABLE K I N G D O Jkl . « ■ The department of Natural History denominated the^'egetabIe (I Totasli of lie (Jennnn inv*n ill tli.'it rlu-n lliiown <'aii>inij[ t\u*. • elf mint of <:x|)r'rimnit ^\v^vi\ tlioso 'iporfant of (I nu'iciirv. >se entcrinir ,<'n, carbon, ma<;np.siiiin. l>y jiniiiinis )()ratniT of mimnl list'. ?, would !)(• (nictive fo )inliirivc to 'odiiim, is a , citiipr of cxislcnci'. i'ncoiis. and ittrnotions. niolociile.s :)f tlio ne- repiilating ! mix with could have to the at- order that I r. 80 of s^^s of the •orlions, in II nd thom- organs of ii;n is the ^'eoetabie Kinsilotn, comprehends every thing that has life, but neither motion nor leeling— frum the lowljr mushroom, the fern and the mosf< to the towering oak, and the cedar of Lebanon — from the microscopic plant to the majestic Baobab with its diameter of thirty feet. In duration they are as remarkable, some nourishing for a few days, others for thousands of years. Tl»e 0/ea fragratts reserves its sweetness for the midnight hour, and the night-flowering Cereus turns night into day. It begins to expand its sweet-scented blossoms at twilight, it is full-blown at midnight, and closes with the dawn of the morning, never to open again. The variety of plants is also very great One hundred thoutiaiid distinct species have already been described, and every day acces'iions are made to that number. The adaptation of living structures to the va- rieties of soil and climate, and the relation of plupts to each other, render the study of Botany (/^or^vyj a plant) iritercsting to all, especially to the young ^ furnishing continued proofs of Divine goodness and wisdom. The laws by which the vegetable creation i:i regulated, are simple and easily comprehended. Economy of causes and exuberance of effects, — simplicity of laws and com- plexity of results, — order, harmony and benuty — are everywhere manifested in all branches of Natural History. How noiselessly do the flowers exhale their rich perfume, or the trees of the forest rear their majestic heads. }iyery plant has its place. Monopolies obtain not among them ; colours of every hue adorn them, not m^^rely for ornament but i'or use. Different shades of colour absorb varyuig degrees of heat. Different plants require diflerent degrees of heat to bring their seeds to perfection. Though latent heat is evolved by the various transmutations that take place in the interior of plants, — they, like animals, havuig a tendency to a temperature of their own, independent of external circumstances, — yet they leceive nearly all their heat from the same source, the sun. 'Ibe exact amount of caloric requisite for each plant is thus supplied, while God has so adapted our per- ception of the beautiful that the varied hues of plants no less than the blending colours of the *' bow of promise," increase our happiness and deepen our veneration. The language of the heart is *'' There's not a flower or shrub that grows, but shows its Maker God." Many curious phenomena are presented in the vegetable kingdom. The sunflower turns instinctively towards the sun : the barberry folds its stamens over the pistil, if the latter he pricked with a pin : the hedysarum gyrans, found only on the banks of the Ganges^ moves its leaves irithout any assignable cause : the mimosa or sensitive plant folds its leaflets when shaken or touched, as if it feared some harm : while the sun-dew and certain species of the piicher-plant are provided with an apparatus for killing insects, from which they are supposed to derive some nourishment. Irritability is unquestionably a property of plants. Poisons kill them, and they possess an excretory power. Plants can imbibe nothing unless in a state of solution. The wheat plant, for example, requires a great amount of sand in the construction of its incomparable stem. It can imbibe not a particle unless in a soluble state, and it has no power of its own to dissolve silex. Should a particle of potash be placed in the soil, it will dissolve any sand in its vicinity, i^oth may then be taken up by the4)lant : the sand being deposited in its place in the stem or leaves in its solid condition, the potash that held it in solution is liberated, being no longer necessary, and is thereupon- returned to the soil, again to dissolve more sand, be carried up by the ascending cur- rent of sap and again returned to the soil in endless succession. Many contend that plants are endowed with instinct, lower in kind perhaps than that of animals, but not less instructive. Plants send their roots in the direction of good soil. The bean will And a pole placed at a short distance from it, though it be shifted daily: if, after it has twined some distance up the prop, it be unwound and twined in the opposite direction, it will return to its original position or die in the attempt. If two plants grow near each other, neither of them being supported, one of them will alter the direction of its spiral and they will twine round each other : if a pan of water be placed near the stem of p young pumpkin, it will approach it and place one of its leaves on the water : if good soil be placed above the roots, though their natural tendency is down- ward, they will ascend to reach it. Other instances might be given, but these are sufficient to induce the enquiring mind to pursue this interesting department of study. The geographical distribution of plants is a subject of great importance. They are supposed to have had their origin in dis- tinct localities or districts, and afterwards to have spread in every direction, winds, birds, waves, and tides being laid under tribute to facilitate their dissemination throughout the climatic zones con- genial to each species. It is impossible to say where life is most abundant — whether on the continents or in the unfathomed depths of the ocean. I'he black glacier flea (Desoria glacialis) and 4 ■^ '"> {; 9 assignable ^hen shaken in-dew and n apparatus ierive some of plants, er. Plants vheat plant, onstruction le unless in solve silex. vill dissolve y the j)lant : eaves in its s liberated, to the soil, endins: cur- succession. ;t, lower in ire. Plants an will find lifted daily : »e unwound its original near each ill alter the other : if a ikin, it will good soil y is down- might be g mind to of great I'm in dis- d in every der tribute zones con- ife is most ned depths :ialis) and Podurellae — the latter of which in countless myriads may be seen at times on the snows of Canada — may be found in the crevices and tubular spaces of the northern glaciers : lichens and mosses are not unfrequently found flourishing ber.eath great quantities of snow. Plants alVect the atmosphere in a very peculiar manner. Animals by absorbing oxygen, causing it to unite with the carbon of the blood and form carbonic acid — a gas deleterious to ani- mals — render the air unfit for respiration. This mephitic air is a principal ingredient in the food of plants ; the other substances are water and ammonia^ together with the inor- ganic portion extracted from the soil. They imbibe these substances, and having decomposed them return the oxygen, that which animals want, to the air, and consolidate the carbon, water, and nitrogen into -wood, leaves, flowers and fruit. Thus we be- hold a reciprocal dependence existing between the animal and vegetable creations. The fonner by inspiration consume the oxygen of the air, the latter restore it by exhalation, and in their turn consume the carbonic acid exhaled by animals. " Few of the great cosmical phenomena have only one end to fulfil ; they are the ministers of the manifold designs of Providence." No person can attentively observe the flowers around us everywhere — those presents God has sent us — without becoming wiser and better as they lead us to love and reverence Him. No secondary causes intervene. They are pure and fresh from his band. On a lovely evening in May a person was reading his lavorite Plato, lie was sitting in the grass mixed with flowers, on the banks of the crystal Colorado of Texas. Dim in the distant west arose with smoky outlines, massy &nd irregular, the blue cones of an offshoot of the Rocky Mountains. He was perusing one of the strangest of his dreams. It laid fast hold on his fancy without exciting his faith. He wept to think it could not be true. At length he came to that startling passage, " God geometrizes." " Vain revery," he exclaims, casting the volume on the ground at his feet. It fell by a beautiful little flower that looked as fresh and bright as if it had just fallen from the rainbow. Pxe broke it from its silvery stem, and bep m to examine its structure. Its .stamens were five in number, its calyx had five parts, its delicate coral base had five parts expanding like the rays of an ordinary star-fish. Tttis combination of five in the same blossom appeared very singular. It had never occurred to him before. The last sentence he had read in the page of the pupil of Socrates was a2 10 ill !l' rioging in his ears, *' God geometrizes." There was the text written long centuries ago, and hero this little flower in the remote wilderness of the west furnished the commentary. Then suddenly passed before his eyes a faint flash of light— he felt his heart leap in his bosom. The enigma of the Universe was unfolded. Swift as thought he calculated the chances against the production of those three equations of five in only one flower by any prin- ciple df^void of reason to perceive number. He found one hun- dred and twenty-live chances to one against such a supposition. He extended the calculation to two flowers by squaring the sum first mentioned. The chances amounted to the large sum of 15,625. He cast his eyes around the forest ; the old woods were literally alive with those golden blossoms from which count- less bees and butterflies were sipping honey-dews. His feelings he could not describe. His soul oecame a tumult of radiant thoughts. He took his beloved Plato from the grass where he had thrown him in a fit of despair. Again and again be pressed him to his bosom as a mother would her darling child. He kissed al- ternately the book and the blossom, bedewing them both with tears of joy. In his wild enthusiasm, he called to the birds on the boughs, trilling their cheery farewell to departing day, " Sing on sunny birds, sing on sweet minstrels. Lo you and I have still a God ! " " If God so clothe the grass of the field which to-day is and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, oh ye of little faith ] " In the solar system the sun, all the primary and secondary planets revolve on their axes in the same plane, and in their orbits in the same direction. Had these matters been left to accident, the chances against this uniformity, though calculable, would have been inconceivably great. Laplace states them at four millions of millions to one. Arguments of a similar nature may be inferred from many of the objects around us. The number and constancy of our fingers and toes furnish an example. The argument is cumulative to any extent. Few things can interest the young more beneficially than the contemplation of God's handiwork in the temple of Nature. One oi' the reasons assigned for the study of mental philosophy is, that, go where you will, mind is always present — mind so wonder- fully endowed, that whether we roam over the barren heath, the sandy desert or the frozen north, or are shut up in a dungeon, it can appropriate mentally all that has been discovered in regions It as* the text I the remote len suddenly s heart leap IS unfolded. ; production jy any prin- d one hun- supposition. ing the sum rge sum of old woods rhich count- ^lis feelings of radiant here he had pressed him i kissed al- I both with birds on the , " Sing on have still a h to-day is more clothe secondary their orbita accident, vould have Dur millions be inferred ' constancy irgument is ly than the >f Nature, ilosophy is, so wonder- heath, the dungeon, it in regions I howerer distant, and can call into being within itself a world as free and imperishable as the spirit by which it has been conceived. Flowers, shrubs, fruits and plants, are all but omnipresent. Their contemplation is always conducive to delicacy of sentiment and amenity of manners. " When in the middle ages religious en-» thusiasm suddenly re-opened the sacred East to the nations of Europe, who were sinking into barbarism, our ancestors in return- ing to their homes brought with them gentler manners, acquired in those delightful valleys." In the Classification of vegetables two celebrated systems have obtained among naturalists— the Artificial and the Natural. The former wos originated by Linmeus, a Swede, born at Roeshult, 17u7. Based upon peculiarities of structure which are not con- stant even in ditTerent individuals of the same species, and which hav€ little or no connection with the Physiology of plants, it fre quently causes the most dissimilar specimens to be arranged in the same class. Its simplicity and the ease with which it may be acquired will always secure it a place in scientific research. Des- tined to be surpassed by its rival, it nevertheless forms an easy introduction to the latter method, which was greatly improved by Jussieu of Paris, and more recently by Dr. Lindley of Londpn. It is an attempt to place next each other plants having the greatest resemblance in structure, external and internal, properties and uses. Plants in the Artificial method are placed lik^ words in a diction- ary, not according to their meaning, but in accordance with their initial letter. The Natural places in juxtaposition those related in meaning — in family groups, like words derived from the same root; The ^ sexqal system of Linnaeus depends upon the number and relative position or degree of combination of the stamens and pistils. The Vegetable Kingdom is divided into Classes, these subdivided into Orders, these into Families, these into Genera, Species, Varieties and Individuals. CLASSES AND ORDERS OF THE LINN^AN SYSTEM. Classes. Class I. Stamens 1, Mo-nan'-dri-a (fxowy one, «»»jf , av^pos man — one stamen), examines : ginger, airow-root. TI. Stamens 2, Di-an'-dri-a ;S«'four), examples: inno- cence, dodder, holly. V. Stamens 5, Pen-tan'-dri-a (flri»r« five), examples: to- bacco, potato, flax, grape. VI. Stamens 6, Hex-an'-dri-a, (J| six), examples : rice, lily, tulip, sorrel. VII. Stamens 7, Hep-tan'-dri-a {iifroc seven), examples: horse-chestnut, wintergreen. VIII. Stamens 8, Oc-tan'-dri-a ('&kto eight jl, examples: fuchsia, buckwheat, cranberry. IX. Stamens 9, En-ne-an'-dri-a («%»!« nine), examples: laurel, rhubarb, cinnamon, camphor. X. Stamens 10, De-can'-dri-a (5exa ten), examples: mahog- any, saxifrages. XI. Stamens 12 — 19, Do-de-can'-dri-a (SoJexa eleven), ex- amples : mignonette, euphorbia. XII. Stamens 20 or more, inserted into the calyx ; I-co-san'- dri-a (t*. «9 C S V) ,0 .1. , . A N I M A L K I N G D O M . Zoology (^wo» animal ; Xoyoc a discourse) is the science of ani- mals, or that branch of Natural History which teaches the nature, propensities, and instincts of animals ; their classification, geo- graphical distribution, and succession upon the earth. The origin, size, number, and classification of animals now claim our attention. 17 o o r' ve '3 ' i a 2 _ a> o a u a ■_ a. a a> w a "^ '3 S « ^ - « s J I °"« S i: 3 ^ 1.1" Ifl rt o o •5-3 -M « -§ ^ g i ^ «« t> s u u o *^ dj bo*= o JO 5 3 £" ^^^ 13-1 52 a c <« t-( j£ T3 *^ - « g s •- 2 o .55 ^ ..«» ice of ani- the nature, ition, geo- Phe origin, ' attention. { 2* Some persons have advocated the idea that all the higher animals, including man himself, have sprung from lower creatures, these from lower still, till we reach the limit of animated creation. There, however, they do not stop, but boldly athrm that these were pro- duced from vegetables, and these in their turn from the foam of the sea, the slime by its shore, or that they sprang out of the earth itself; that the whole phenomena of life is connected with the electric fluid, if not entirely dependent upon it. This hypothesis is based on the idea that any creature placed in favorable circum- stances will produce in the lapse of ages a progeny higher in or- ganization, more perfect in form ; in fine, superior to itself. Man, according to this hypothesis, is but a monkey removed by a series of developments from the initiaf type. But when were monkeys ever placed in more favorable circumstances than within the his- toric period of our planet ] Has a single case of actual develop- ment ever been witnessed ? Has it ever been affirmed to have taken place ? When a single instance of a higher animal produced from a lower on the development hypothesis shall be incontestibly proved, then, and not till then, may the advocates of this system consider they have some tangible basis on which to rest their notions, now at variance with reason, experience, and revelation. The truth seems to be that the seeds of species, whether by law or the direct fiat of God we say not, were produced with the conditions that were best adapted to develop and sustain the parents and progeny. Many of the geologic changes that occurred prior to the creation of man were destructive to whole races of beings, and the altered condition of things was not only not better for the previously existing species, but invariably the cause of their total extinction. Degeneracy in species, has marked the progress of our planet. New and higher orders always succceeded these ca- tastrophes, not by developments from previously existing animals, but by successive creations. Is not the whole process alluded to in the graphic description of IsraePs bard. Psalm civ., 29th and 30th verses : " Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled ; thou ta- kest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created : and thou renewest the face of the earth." The size of animals is almost as varied as their numbers are great. A few years ago the national debt of Great Britain was eight hundred millions pounds sterling ; the population of the globe was stated to be eight hundred millions of inhabitants, and it IS w, uas likewise asserted that the creatures in a single drop of water wero at l(;ast eij^lit hundreil millions. A alolmle of human blood if inaci^nilio.l 180,000 times would not exhibit an image larger than the accom|>anying iigure. 1^ i\lany of the animalcules are still smaller : 2000 of them placod togelhur would measure only the twelfth part of an inch. Ehi-inher;>; h;ts computed that a cubic inch contains the remains of !• 1,000,000,000 creatures ! The largest land animal is thi^ elophnnt, wein^hing some tons ; the smallest the white mouse, *• two of which just weigh one copper half-penny.^' In the ocean the largest is the wlnde, found not rarely to measure from ()0 to 100 feet. The largest binl is the ostrich, seven feet hi;^h, the smallest the humming bird. The condor, the giant of the vulture tribe measures Hi feet acro-is the wings, and is the largest bird that llios. It has been estimated that the number of species of animals now on the globe is about 2")0,0J0. \Ve may safely suppose the fossil species ei]iial to tho.se now lifting. This would give us one- half a million of species. What a hopeless task it would seem for any person to attain to any knowledge of such a multitude of beings. But though one man can do very little, the labour of many in dilfiirent countries and in all ages can accomplish a great deal. And hy transmitting the knowlodge acquired in one generation to that which succeeds, those following in the path of science start from the vantage ground attained by the labours of their prede- cessors. Besides by the division of animals into kingdoms and classes, like a country divided into provinces, counties, 6cc., each group in the animal department of nature is parcelled out into smaller divi^ious, and known by distinctive appellations. At first sight we may say that beasts walk on land, birds lly in the air, and fishes swim in the water. This is correct, but not sulUcientljr precise for the zoologist Is iha bat a bird because it flies ? or the whale a lish because it swims and lives in the sea t A judicious teacher will always seek by such queations to elicit the info/ /nation of his pupils by engaging them in such inquiries. The dill'erence between a bat and a uird is, the one is covered with fiu' and the other with feathers ; the one has a mouth with teeth, the other a horny beak ; the bat is born alive and suckled by its parent, the bird is hatched from an egg. Some years ago the question, whether a whale was or was not a fish, was discussed at full length in New York. A dealer in oil refused permission to the Government inspector of fish-oil to examine his stock, alleging- not I th •op of water man blood if i larger than ules are still ire only the . a cubic inch The largest smallest the liulf-pcnny/' ' to meatiure 1, seven feet giant of the i the largest of animals suppose the ,ive us one- ild aeem for multitude of •our of many great deal. ineration to :ience start heir prede- iSfdutns and , tk.c., each d out into At first he air, and sulTiciently it flies ] or sea ? A a elicil the liries. The vered with wiih teeth, kled by its s ago the scussed at mission to k, alleging 19 lie hud only whnle oil in his waruhousu, and thai as the whulc was not a fish he had no business with it. The Goveriuneiit brouijht it before the legal tiibuival. On the ont; side it was ar;>Uf d tiiat the whale was always spoken of as a li>ii, even by those t'n^a«;ed ill the trade, the U'.nw wliale-fi:^lK>ry iiri|)lying the sanu; idea ; that in books qf liii>,h authority, a st^ck of which '.>as produced iu evidence, the whide was always classed atnuiig fishes, and that wliide oil had uuilorinly been charged with duty as such. On tliH other side it was contMidtMl, that the lanji;uage of uneducated sudors shou!«l not bt; regarded as evidence ; that the classiiicalioii of old authors was bas(^d on a very imperfect knowledge of the structure of nnimils ; but if they wanted high antiquity they should go to the olihist writer on natural history, — Moses, wiio in his Kcord of tlic criMtion mentioned wiiales as distinct from fishes, — "And (rod created great whahis, and every living creature that nioveth, which the waters brought forth after their kind/' Fish hreathe by gills, the whale by lungs ; the former is cold-blooded, the latter warm-blooded. Tlie heart of the fish has two compart- monts. that of the whide four ; the young of the oae are brought forth alive and suckled, those of tlie otlier are produced from spawn ; the one attends to its young with alVectionate solicitude, the other knows nothing about thiMn. 'J'he dilVerences between thorn were numiTOUs, striking, and sulliciently dissimilar to have the creatures placed in separate classes, yet the Government gained the case. iJut at the viii-y next session of Congrei^s the Act was changed, so that all trouble, on that score, in future, would be avoided. Jt is obvious that structure, external and internal, must form the basis of classification. Ad organs must be taken into account beibre we can arrive at any true systematic arrangement, and the accuracy of this will altogether depend on the amount of our knowledge. Animals sliouUi be so arranged as to exhibit their true afiinities, and to embody the most comprehensive truths re- garding them yet elicited by the collective wisdom of the culti- vated men who have examined, with such splendid results, the domain of Zoology. There is no subject so pleasing to the youthful mind — so well calculated to drive away the whims and the phlegm from the fret- ting spirit, as one connected with natural history, — one which presents Nature in her lloral grandeur, her verdant luxuriance, and her woodland minstrelsy. Jiut apart from .the mere pleasure which this study yields, its importance as a mental exercise cannot r 20 be too highly estimated. - The perceptive faculties are called into active exercise to detect points of similarity and interest, and by the admirable harmony which pervades the whole field of study, the mind is trained to order, accuracy, and arranp^ement, and puri- fied by the relleclion that all these wonderful works proceed from the same Divine power whose providential care is manifested over all. Parents and tenchers should accustom those under their care to watch closely the habits and instincts of animals, to mark the dilTerences which subsist, the variety and the beauty everywhere presented ; for it is a duty as well as a privilege to study with the deepest interest the works which in so striking a manner display the wisdom, power, and goodness of Him in whom we live, and move, and have our being. A number of individuals having the same characteristics constitutes a variety, such as the five races of man, breeds of cattle, &c. A number of varieties col- lected together constitutes a species ; all the species of any kind of animals constitute a genus ; genera added together form a ( sub- family among birds ) family or tribe ; families or tribes united form an order, such as the rasores among birds, the carnivora among quadrupeds ; orders joined together constitute a class ; classes put together constitute a sub-kingdom ; sub-kingdoms again constitute a kingdom ; and kingdoms constitute the empire of Nature. The knowledge of these particulars re- specting animals may be called the alphabet of the science, while the grammar may be said to consist of such a knowledge of the divisions of the animated creation as will enable the student of nature to learn, from the namej much respecting the structure, habits, and character of any specimen under consideration, of which he would otherwise be ignorant. This may be illustrated by taking any creature — a bird, a cat, or a dog ; the last would thus be described by a naturalist. Let us suppose a large New- foundland dog. 1. In the individual animal no one is interested sfive its possessor. 2. All the Newfoundland dogs constitute the variety known by that name. 3. Then if every variety of dogs be collectively considered they will compose the species cants familia'ris. Linnaius could detect no characteristics to dis- tinguish them from the wolf, except the peculiar way in which the latter carried its tail. 4. It belongs to the genus Canis ( Lat. dog), distinguished from the other genera of the same tribe or family by a peculiar adaptation of the teeth to live partly on vegetable food. 5. It belongs to the family or tribe Can'idie r HI re called into erest, and by ield of study, !nt, and piiri- orks proceed is manifested e under their animals, to I the beauty ilege to study ing a manner horn we live, duals having as the five nrieties col- f any kind of irm a ( sub- :ribes united le carnivora utc a class ; ub-kingdoms ^•idtute the rticulars re- the science, nowledge of c student of e structure, deration, of e illustrated ! last would large New- is interested nstitute the iety of dogs Bcies ca'?iis ics to dis- 1 which the anis ( Lat. ne tribe or ! partly on )e Can'idae I (canis, dog ; tiiat like.) It is distinguished from the bear and bad ger tribes by walking on the end ofits toes instead of the sole of the foot. The former mode is termed Dig'-it-i-grade (digitus, a finger or toe ; and gradior, I walk), and the latter Plant'>i-grade (plantn, the sole of the foot ; and gradior, I walk). It is separ- ated from the Ferido* (felis a cat), which are also digitigrade, by the absence of the power to retract the claws, possessed by the cat kind. 6. It is one of the order Carniv'ora (caro, carnis, flesh ; and voro, I eat), characterized by its possessing claws, or nails, and three kinds of teeth — inci'sors, or cutting teel4i ; canine, or dog-teeth ; and molars, or grinders. In these respects it agrees with man and monkeys, whicn constitute the eleventh and twelfth orders of the class ; but it ditTers from them in not having a thumb o|>posable to the rest of the fingers, and in the adaptation of the teeth and general structure to preying on animal food. In these respects, again, it agrees «with the hedge-hog, mole, and other species of the order Insectiv'ora ; but it difl'ers from them in bar- ing the molar teeth raised into cutting edges instead of conical points, and in the great size of the canine teeth, by which it is adapted to devour the flesh of large animals rather than insects. 7. It belongs also to the class Mamtna'lia (mamma, breast), the members of which produce their young alive and nourish them afterwards by suckling ; they breathe air by lungs during the whole of their lives, and their blood maintains a fixed and elevated tem- perature ; they are generally covered with hair, live on land (ex- cept whales, &c.), and are altogether the most highly organized of the Vertebra'ta. All the preceding is included m saying, that an animal belongs to the class IVlammalia ; and this much may be communicated, very easily, to a person but slightly acquainted with natural history. 8. It is a member of the sub-kingdom. Vertebra'ta (vertere, to turn). Bv this it is known to possess a jointed back-bone, contain- ing the spmal marrow, and expanded at one end into the skull, the cavity of which contains the brain ; it has red blood, five senses, and not more than four legs or members. These are but a few of the particulars involved in the idea of Vertebra'ta, as distinguished from the other sub-kingdoms. 9. It belongs to the animal kingdom. It is, therefore, a being endowed with powers of sensation, of voluntary motion, and with a stomach for the reception and digestion of its food. I i. 22 10. It belcags to the Empire ot NaturCj because it exists. All things of a physical nature by which we are surrounded are em- braced in this term, Empire of Nature. The last term, Empire of Nature, incluc^'^s every thing by which we are surrounded. It embraces the three kingdoms, Mineral, Ve- getable and Animal. Of the first and second enough has already been said ; it remains to allude briefly to the last. Its divisions are the four Sub- kingdoms : FinsT, ra-di-a'-ta (radius, a ray) This sub-kingdom contains four an( rayed animals, star-fish. Sec. classes : First, In-fu-so'-ri-a finfundo, I pourin), containing the infusor^ animalculae, which are for the most part developed in infusions of decayed vegetable matter. rol-y-giis'-tri-ca (many stomachs). Ho- liP-er-a ('rota, a wheel , and fero, J carr)'), wheeled auimalcula,. SiccOiND Class, En-to-zo'-a (svt^j in, ^u:a, animals), internal parasites, tape-worm, common worm, &.c. " iSome get within him"". Third Class, Zo-o-phy'-ta (^^-^ov annual, and (pvrov a plant), contains the orders i, - , . . First, lly-droi'da (hydra, and st'^oi like) ; •Second, As-ter-oid'-a (aster, star; and «sel, cockle, • ovg a foot), liiijr the clio rthern seas, «8 and though not excfeding an inch in length, forma the greater part of the food of the whale, (Balaena mysticetus). Fifth, Gas-ter-o'-poda (yaa-Tr,^, stomach; wofy, a foot), stomach-leggdd creatures, such as snails, slugs, limnea and murex. Sixth, Ceph-a-lop'-o-da [KKpaXv, the head, i(ovs foot], head- footed creatures. All the species are marine, sexes distinct. Placed by many as tUe highes* of the Invertebrata, Cuttle-fish, nautilus, ammonites. About 5000 species of MoUusks have been described. THIHD, ab-tic-u-la'-ta (articuius, a joint), jointed creatures, numbering about 200,000 species. lis classes lire five in number : First, An-kel-la'-ta (anellus, a little ring), containing the orders: First, Suc-to'-ri-a (sugo, I suck), leeches ; Second, Ter-ri -cola (terra, tfie earth ; and colo, I cultivate), common earth worm (lumbricus) na'-ia-des (na'-ya-deez) &c. Third, Tu-bi'-cola (tubus; and colo, I inhabit or cultivate), the serpula, sabella, &c. Fourth, I)or-si-bran-chi-a'-ta (dorsum, back ; branchiae, gills), syllis nonilaris, &.c. Second Class, Ciu-RiP-ii-DA (cirrus; antipcs, a foot), con- taining two orders : ... * Firet, Sessile (sedeo, I sit), baKanus (an acorn) or acorn-shells. The coronula is found on the backs of whalei ; other species attach themselves to the backs of turtles. Second, Pe-dun-cu-la'-ta (pes, foot), barnacle, &c. Thikd Class, Crus-ta'-ce-a (crusta, a hard covering), a class of free articulate animals, with articulated limbs, a branchial respiration, and a dorsal ventricle or heart. It is subdivided into ten orders : First, Lim'-u-li (limus, oblique — jsidelong) or King crabs ; to which group the fossil Tri'-lo-bite (tris, three ; lobus a lobe) are sup- posed to belong. .?>}:;; ,- : . ; , Second, Os-tra'-po-da (oarpaxov a shell, vovs foot), the cypris. Third, Cope'poda, usually called One-eyed Cy'clops (monosculous) from their eyes beng united. Their fecundity is truly astonishing. Fourth, Phyllo'poda (f i;X^o» a leaf, wov, foot), gill or leaf-footed ; branchipus, artemia sahna, or brine-shrimp. fl;' 24 if Fifth, Clado'cera ; daphnia pulex or water flea is a common ex* ample. Sixth, Iso'poda (la-ot equal or alike, irovg foot), creatures having all their* feet alike, and adapted for motion and prehension ; ~ oniscus or wood-louse. Seventh, Laem-mo-dip'-oda (XaifAOs throat, irovs foot), cyamus, usually called the whale-louse because they always infest the cetacea as parasites. All the species are marine. Eighth, Am-phip'-o-da (a/A^ir on both sides, vovs foot), feet di- versely conformed. The sand-hopper is a well known British species. Ninth, Stom-a'-po-da (a-TOfjM a mouth, irovs a foot), scjuilla man* tis, &c. Tenth, Dec-a'-po-da (^ixa ten, irovr), including those creatures which have ten thoracic feet, crabs, lobsters, shrimps, &c. Fourth Class, In-sec '-ta, (in; and seco, I cut), embracing all those articulate animals having the body composed of three distinct parts, — the head, corslet or thorax, and abdomeA or body j the legs, six in number, with usually two or four wings attached to the thorax ; and along the sides of the abdomen minute punctures, called spiracles, by means of which respiration takes place. — Entomology (ivtoia-x. insects, Xoyos a discourse) is the science of insects. A person versed in this study is called an Entomologist, and is described as an individual who gives to insects long names and short lives, a place in science and a pin through the body. The insects are divided into the following orders : First, Co-le-op'-ter-a [koKsos sheath, wTffo» a wing], sheath- winged, wings four, the upper pair hard, sutures straight. Ex. stag-beetles, chafers. Second, Or-thop'-ter-a [o^floj straight, and «TTipo»], straight- winged. Ex. crickets, grasshoppers, &c. Third, Neu-rop'-ter-a [ysvpov a nerve, and wrifo*], nerve-winged, wings four, membranaceous, anus unarmed. Ex. dragon-flies, may-flies. y .... j.,> Fourth, Hy-men-op'-ter-a (*y/tx,*>» a membrane, and wrtfo*], mem- brane-winged, wings four, membranaceous, anus aculeate. Ex. bees, ants, saw-flies, &c. Fifth, Strep-sip'-ter-a [arpforos twisted, and wrifwj, twisted- winged, possessing rudimental elytra in the form of linear and spirally-twisted scales. • Ex. stylops, fiu;. ss^ \- common ex- urea having prehension ; 1), cyamus, s infest the • )t), feet di- lown British stjuilla man' St creatures ips, &c. labracing all bree distinct r body; the iched to the e punctures, es place. — * science of ntoinologist, long names rh the body. | ig], sheath- | res straight. | p], straight- |; rve-winged, | dragon-flies, | rc^o*^, roem- us aculeate. >»J, twisted- rm of linear 25 Sixth, Lep-i-dop'-ter-a [xtvis a scale, ani ir-rifov], wings four, covered with scales. Ex. butterflies, moths, &c. Seventh, He-mip'-ter-a ['i^xiavf half, and wTifox], wings four, the upper pair moderately hard attd incumbent Ex. cicada, water-scorpions, &c. Eighth, Dip'^-ter-a f Jo5 a beak], toucans ; toucan, toucanets. Third, Cu-cul -i-die [cuckoo], cuckoos. The • American species faithfully pair and take care of their young. 30 ^ Fourth, Pi'-ci-dce [picus, a woodpecker], woodpecker, wryneck. Sixth order, In-ces-so'-res [insessor, one who sits ; from in^tidco, to sit or rest in or upon], perchcrs, birds that pass much of their time when awake, and all of it when asleep, on the branches of trees, &c. It is divided into four families : First, Ten-u-i-ros'- tres [tenuis, slender or fine ; and rostrum, a beak], slender- beaked birds, humming-birds, hoopoes and creepers. To this family belong the humming-birds^ the smallest of birds. They are found from Cape Horn to Baffin^s Bay, and are almost cos- mopolite ii^ their migrations, though it is within the tropics they are most at home. Second, Fis-si-ros'-tres [fissio ; a cleaving, dividing], split-bills, so called from the formation of their beaks, which appear as if they had been slit up from their ordinary ter- mination to a point beyond the eyes, thus somewhat resembling the mouth of a frog, for the purpose of more easily securing their prey ; kifSgfisher, bee-eater, swallow, goat-sucker. Third, Den-ti-ros'-tres [dens,* a tooth], tooth-billed birds, nightingale, thrush, fly-catchers, shrike. Fourth, Con-i-ros'-tres, cone- shape beaked ; crow, starling, finches, crossbill, hornbill, jay, magpie, jackdaw. * f - - Seventh order, Ac-cip'-i-tres [accipiler, a hawk ; from ad to, and capio, I seize] ot Rapto'res [raptor, a robber ; from rapio, I rob, carry off by force], all birds of prey : they live by rapine, and hence are called raveners or rapacious birds. Their beaks are sharp-pointed, sharp-edged, curved and strong ; their legs are short, robust, with three toes before and one behind, armed with long, strong, crooked talons. The condor, whose wings when expanded measure sixteen feet, is the largest bird that flies. The eagle is called king of birds. In this order four families are found. First, Strig'-i-dae [strix, owl], owls ; hawk- owl, snowy-owl, burrowing-owl, seeps eared-owl, great eared- owl, and barn-owl. Second, Fal-con'-i-da; [falro, a falcon or hawk], falcons, hawks, griffin, kites. Third, Aqui'-li-dse (aqui- la, eagle], all kinds of eagles. Fourth, Vul-tur'-i-dae [vultur, a vulture], vultures of every description. Of this powerful bird Humboldt says : " The condor, the giant of the vulture tribe, often soared over our heads above all the summits of the Andes, at an altitude higher than would be the Peak of Tener- iffe if piled on the snow-covered crests of the Pyrenees. The rapacity of this powerful bird attracts him to those regions, whence his far-seeing eye may discern the objects of his pur- suit, the soft-wooled vicunas, which, vvandering in herds, fre- \ 31 wryneck, m in»i(lco, :h of their -anches of a-u-i-ros'- , slender- To this Is. They Imost cos- spies they cleaving, leir beaks, linary ter- ■esembling uring their Third, ightingale, 'es, cone- nbill, jay, ad to, and m rapio, I by rapine, heir beaks their legs nd, armed ose wings bird that order four 'Is ; hawk- iat eared- L falcon or ■dae (aqui- fi [vultur, powerful le vulture lits of the of Tener- ;es. The ie regions, f his pur- erds, fre- quent, like the chamois, the mountain pastu^^s adjacent to the regions of perpetual snow." Fifth Class, Mam-ma'-li-a [mamma, breast], are distin guished from the other departments of the animal kingdom by a much greater development of brain and, consequently, a higher degree of intelligence ; while the exquisite perfection of the organs of sense, the structure and arrangement of the teeth, and the beautiful provision for the nourishment of their young, manifest the creative power of an Infinitely wise and Almighty Being. Some naturalist«» nose, xifoj a horn], hy'rax. Fourth, Su'idaa [sus, pig], swine or pig, hippopotamus ['iiriro; horse, ToTafxof river], babyrous'sa. Fifth, Probos'ctdie [ir^otSotrKts a trunk or proboscis], elephant and its extinct congeners. Seventh order, Ceta'cea [cetus, whale] : contains two families : First, Delphin'ida;, dolphin, porpoise, narwhal. Sec6nd, Balae'- nid;e [^x\ai¥x a whale], whale kind, whale, cach'alot. Eighth order, Chei-rop'-ter- a [x*'? hand, mpot wing], wing- handed, so called from the singular manner in which their fore- paws or hands are developed into wings. Five families of bats now claim our attention. First, Khinolophi'nae [[>iy nose] : nose- leaf complicated and membranous, only one joint in the fore- finger, wings broad and large ; horse-shoe bat. Second, Pbyl- iostom'inae f^vXAov a leaf, and o-to/ak mouth] : nasal appendage simple and fleshy, index-finger two joints ; vampire-bats. The wings measure between two and three feet across. Third, Vespertilion'idie [vespertilio, a bat] : destitute of nasal append- ages, and have one joint only in fore-finger ; bats of the tem- perate climates. Fourth, Noctilion'idrR : destitute of nasal ap- pendages, but have two joints on forefinger : almost exclusively confined to tropical climates. Fifth, Pteropi'me [wtj^ok a wing], «the omnivorous or frugivorous bats, widely diffused throughout warm climates. " The office of this group in the economy of nature, is evidently to assist birds in restraining the too rapid multiplication of insects, and to keep down the luxuriance of tropical vegetation." Ninth order, In-sec-tiv'-o-ra [insectus, an insect ; and voro, I de- vour], insect-eating animals. Four families distinguish these creatures. First, Tu-pai'-a-dje, tupaia or banx'ring. Second, Erinace'ada [erinaceus, a hedgehog], hedgehogs. Third, Sori'- cidx' [sorex soricis, field-mouse], shrew. Fourth, Tal'pidae [talpa, mole],*moles ; chrysochloris or cape-mole. ••t ; I 3j| Tenth order, Car-niv'-o-rn [caro, cariiis, flesh ; voro, I eat], ucsh- caters. It uinbraces the five following families: First, Tho'- ciduj fphoca, seoh, tlie Amphibia of (/uvier; seal, walrus, morse, sea-cow or »ea-iiorse, and elephant-Meal. Second, IJr'sidic (ursa, a bear), bears. racoon»t, coati-mon'di, kinkajou, badger», taxels or badgers of America, and the wolverine or glutton : the last four, bv many naturali&ts, are considered as a connecting link between the Ur'sidu; and Alustel'idse. This family forms the only true plantigrade Carnivora. Third, Mustel'idse (mus- tela, a weasel^) or weasel tribe ; also called Vermiform [worm- like], from the shape of the body : weasels, martens, sable [martes leucopus], polecat, stout, otter, ratel. The glutton and badger are placed by some naturalists in this Juimily. Fourth, Can'idffi [canis, dog], dugs of all descriptions, wolf : jackal, fox, hyena and civet, which latter two are placed by some - naturalists among the Fel'idae, and ichneu'mon. The domestica- tion of the dog is the greatest conquest achieved by man over tlie brute creation, as by his aid he can overcome all the rest. His sagacity, fidelity and devotion arc proverbial. He is suscepti- ble of very great improvement. Sir Walter Scott said he • could believe anything of a dog. Fifth, Fel'idoe [felis, a cat], cat, lion, tiger, ounce, jaguar, puma ocelot, lynx, Canada lynx, panther, leopard. These creatures, like the noble fal- cons, it is said, never eat the flesh of animals they have not themselves killed, except when tamed or confined. Eleventh order, Quad-ru'-ma-na (quatuor, four ; manus, hand), four-handed. Three orders of monkeys are distinctly marked out by naturalists. First, Lemur'idae (lemura, ghost], imm- keys of Madagas'car and parts of Africa and India. Second, Ce'bidae [xtj^os a mcnkey], pronounced Kebide; American monkey, spider monkey, and howling monkey. Third, Simi'ii- dx [simia, an ape], apes, chimpanzee, ourung-outang^ baboons, gibbon, kahau or proboscis monkey, ente>tus monkey, mandrill, monkeys of the old world generally. Twelfth order, Bi-ma'-na [bis, twice ; mai us, hand], two-handed, comprehends the whole Human family. Family, Homin'idn; [homo, man ; ti^oi like] : genus Homo, man. Species, sapiens [wise]. Varieties, negro, indiun, maiay, mongolian and Cauca- sian. Pickering, enumerates ehiven races of men, all of which he had seen. I. 500,000. 3. Etl Negro : number 55,000,000. 2. Australian, iopian, 5,000,000. 4>. Teliugan or Euht- Indian race, 60,000,000. .5. Negrillo : inhabit parts of Papua, I eat], .lesli- First, Pho'. ulriis, inorsn, nd, Ur'si«l;i' ou, badgers, or glutton : a connecting family forms el'idac (mus- orm [worm- irtcns, Hablu riie glutton this ^mily. ptions, wolf ced by some e domestica- nan over tliu e rest. His is suscepti- :ott said lie felis, a cat], nx, Canada e noble fal- ey have not inus, hand), ctly marlced host], inon- i. Second, ; American lird, Simi'a- ig« baboons, Yf mandrill, two-handed, Homin'ida) :ies, sapiens and cauca- ill of which Australian, A\ or Euht- ts of Papua, i 1 3.) Solomon's Islcfl, &.c. ; 3,000,000. ti. Papuan : parts of the same islands ; 3,000,000. 7. Malay race, 120,000,000. 8. Hot- tentot and Bushmen, .')00,000. 9. Mongolian, 300,000,000. 10. Abyssinian, 3,000,000 : and 11. Arabian race, 350,000,000. Population of globe, 900,000,000. Kome geographers place it as high as one thousand millions. * GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. While almost all animals are restricted to one particular local- ity, where alone they thrive and reach the full Jevelopment and perfection of their symmetry, man is free to roam throughout the wide extent of Nature's domain. His reasoning faculties enable him to accommodate himself to every varied circumstance. He is at home on the burning sands of the tropics, or amid the ever- lusting snows of the polar regions ; —in the dungeon's gloom, where no ray of sunlight ever pierces, or on the summit of some lofty mountain which raises its towering crest far above the re- , gion of perpetual congelation. At the poles vegetation is stunted. Lichens, mosses and other cryptog'amous plants constitute the flora of these inhospitable re- gions The animal kingdom, though better represented, is still inferior. The number of types is small, and marine animals pre- ponderate. Superior types receive a fuller development in the temperate zone. Phanerog'amous plants preponderate. A de- cided progress is everywhere visible. A striking change may everywhere be seen as we approach the torrid zone. The cryp- tog'ainous plants of the polar regions become arborescent. Gravies attain a height of seventy feet. A density elsewhere unknown marks the forest, while an exuberant profusion of the most bril- liant flowers adorn and variegate the mountain and the plain. In the animal kingdom Nature is equally lavish. Birds are arrayed in the most gorgeous plumage. The huge pachydermata attain their fullest development, while the ferocious inhabitants of the jungle display a vigour and strength excessively disproportioned to their size. The ourang-outang stands erect, and would seem to trench on man's domain. The negro looks upon him as a de- generate brother, too lazy to work. Man had his origin in the temperate zone. There civilization commenced, and in its western march it has spread to the north and to the south, but its highest achievements— its most splendid results have been within the zone which gave it birth. U| on careful analysis it will be found that the progress of whole conti- m 36 nents, in commerce and the industrial arts, in morals and inteflec" tual refinement; in science and civilization, and in the deyelopment of humanity in all its better phases, has been in some way con- nected with the square miles of surface which compose their ter- ritory, compared with their line cf coast The following table will show at a glance the comparative relation of each. Carl Ritter was the first »vho applied himself ta investigate " what are the fundamental conditions of the form of the surface of the globe most favorable to the progress of man and of human societies •/ and the table is based on his conclusions. Surface in Eng. sq. miles. Length ofeoast line. Miles of surface to one ofeoast Population. Do. tosq. mile. 68 h\ 26 n 6 Mean ele- vation ill! feet. Europe America Asia Africa Oceanica 3,P20,0t0 14,070,00* 16,072,000 11,570,000 4,100,000 19,780 43,300 32,000 16,20f 193 348 500 714 260,000,000 50,000,000 420,000,000 88,000,000 25,000,000 671 N.A. 74h S.A.1132 1151 Of the geographical distribution of the lower animals little needs be said. At the left side of the Chart are given the various regions into which it has been proposed to divide the earth's sur- face, and the animals predominating in each. But it were a mistake to suppose the species confined to the localities or latitudes indi- cated by this division. Many of them have a much wider rdnge. 'xfie animals wholly or for the most part peculiar to any region, climate, or country constitute the fauna thereof. Similar fauna may be found at great distances from each ether, while others in close proximity may differ widely. Parts of Europe and of the United States have fauna of the same character ; while those of the New-England States and Labrador differ materially. It not unfrequently happens that between the fauna and flora of places a direct connection may easily be traced. And wherever found, tiie instincts of animals invariably correspond with the physical char- acteristics of the countries they inhabit ; though we are by no means to view these as cause and effect. Their distribution as well as their organization are the sequences of laws superior to the im- press of surrounding circumstances and external influences, though these have a modifying effect. Thus we see that anterior to their creation the laws by which they are controlled were wisely de- signed by the Supreme Mind, who gave to each species, as to the ■s 1 37 nd intellec- evelopment le way con- Ef their ter- jwing table »acb. Carl r « what are of the ^lobe societies j^ Mean ele- vation in feet. 671 N. A. 74H S.A.1132 1151 Is little needs I the various ! earth's sur- ^ ere a mistake - 1 atitudes indi- | wider rdnge. | any region, ^ Similar fauna | bile others in I e and of the ^ rhile those of ally. It not a of places a 'er found, the ibysical char- j by no means on as well as lor to the im- jnces, though ;erior to their re wisely de- ies, as to the great sea, limits which they never pass. Througnout the whole, adaptation of means to ends is constantly perceptible. This part of the chart is but an approximation, as the smallness of space precludes the introduction of more minute subdivisions. He who would comprehend the plan upon which the Animal Kingdom has been arranged, must study the remains of extinct genera as well as those now walking the earth, — the one as the complement of the other, — and thus only can we have a correct idea of the sys- tem of Zoology. The following are the provinces into which the continental portions of our globe have been divided on the principle of the doctrine of specific centres of animals. In this division man is not included. First, the European region, comprehending Europe, the bor- ders of the Mediterranean, the north of Africa, and extending into Asia beyond the Ural Mountains and the Caspian Sea. The bear, fox, hare, rabbit, deer, are widely distributed. The mole, con- fined to the north of Europe, ranges eastward to the Himalayan range. Second, the African Fauna, singularly rich in generic forms, not met with in a living state in any other region. Chimpanzee, baboon, four-fingered monkeys (colobus), many camivora, the hip- popotamus, camel'opard, &c. The elephant, camel, lion and jackal are common to Asia. Third, South Africa : in the north of it are found the horse, ass ; in the south the quagga and the zebra, rhinoceros, hog, hyrax, the spring-bok, the gnu, &c. FouuTH, Madagascar, constituting a distinct zoological dis- trict. This is the home of the lemur, and the grave of the ex- tinct dodo. Fifth, India, containing a vast variety of peculiar forms, such as the sloth-bear, musk-deer, elephant, royal tiger, the long-armed ape and many others. Sixth, a portion of the Indian Archipelago, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, &c. Seventh, the Islands of Celebes, Amboina, Timor, and New Guinea; constituting a region allied to the Australian type, yet also showing an affinity to the Indian in such forms as the deer, weasel, pig. As we approach New Holland the marsupial type increases; tree-kangaroos and flying opossums, &c., are found in great num- bers. 38 Eighth, Australia, the region of the pouched atiimals, such as the kangaroos, wombats, flying opossums, kangaroo-rats, or'-ni- tho-rhynch'-us [opyiy, o^»«9of,a bird ; and ^wy;^of a beak]. Allied species of the opossum inhabit South America, Mexico, California) and one, the Virginian opossum, the United States. Ninth, North America. Tbnth, the West-Indian Islands ; and Elbvbnth, South America, the most distinct, except Austra* lia, of all the Provinces into which the Mammalia can be classed geographically. The prehensile-tailed quadrumana, the sloth, the true blood-sucking bats, or vampyres ; the capybara, the largest of the rodents ; and a host of other species, are exchisively char- acteristic of South America. ZOOLOGICAL ERAS. The diagram from Agassiz and Gould^s Principles of Zoology, at the top of the chart on the right side, affords a very compre- hensive view of the animals long since introduced, and many of them long s»rce extinct. The shape of the ray in which the name is placed, its com- mencement towards the centre, its expansion, contraction, and cessation, indicate whether the members were few or many, whether they increased or diminished in number ; and the outward erd shows the epoch when their being reached its termination. Tk.us the Ganoids were called into existence at tTie commencement of the lleign of Fishes — a very early period; increased in number towards the close of that age ; continued nearly stationary during tlie lleign of Reptiles, and have been waning ever since. The Ammonites began at the same time as the Ganoids, but became extinct at the close of the Reign of Reptiles. The blank space at the centre is intended to represent that portion of our cosmical history which elapsed before any organized beings were called into existence. It may be called the first age of our planet. The erus of organic creation are tlius described by the author of this sectional view of our earth's crust : We may distinguish four Ajges of Nature corresponding to the great geological divi- sions, namely : First, The Primary or Paleozoic Agr, comprising the Lower Silurian, the Upper Silurian, and the Devonian. During this age there were no air-breathinuf animals. The fishes were the masters of creation. We may, therefore, call it the Reign of Fishes. I I 39 J, such as 5, or -ni- . Allied 'alifornia; t Austra- [>e classed sloth, the he largest vely char- f Zoology, y compre- id many of 1, its cora- iction, and or many, he outward ermination. mencement in number nary during ince. The )ut became )lank space ur cosmical were called our planet, the author distinguifch ogical divi- n prising the Hn. During fishes were le lieign of Second, The Secondahy Age, comprising the Carbonifer- ous formation, the Trias, the Oolitic, and the Cretaceous forma- tions. This is the epoch. in which air-breathing animals first ap- pear. Reptiles predominate over th§ other classes, and we may therefore call it the Reign of Reptiles. Thikd, Thb Tertiary Age, comprising the Tertiary form- ations. During this age, terrestrial mammals, of great size, abounded. This is the Reign of Mammals. Fourth, The Modkrn Age, characterized by the appear- ance of the most perfect of all created beings. This is the Reign of Man. As a general result of the inquiries hitherto made, it may be stated that the Paleozoic animals belong, for the most part, to the lower divisions of the difi'erent classes. The Secondary Age dis- plays a greater variety of animals as well as plants. The fantastic forms of the Paleozoic Age disappear, and in their place, we see a greater symmetry of shape. Many of the most abundant types of i )rm< noclis have now disappeared : and the most significant chat actoristic of the Tertiary faunas is their great resemblance to those of the present epoch. The Modern epoch succeeds to, but is not a continuation of, the Tertiary Age. These two epochs are separated by a great geological event, traces of which we see everywhere around us. This was the cooling of the temperate zone so that the glaciers of the polar regions moved much farther to the south of their previous limits. It 'vas this ice, as it is sup- posed, either moving or floating alon» the ground, that polished and rounded the rocks scattered about upon the soil, called the erratics, hpulders, or grayheads. This is the Glacial or Drift period, to which the soil of Canada belongs. At the left of the chart are given the "jreat geologic periods — the Primary or Pa- leozoic [vxXxios " I'ient, ^wov animal], the Secondary or Mesozoic [/xSaroj middle, ;' . animal], the Tertiary or Cainozoic [xaivoj recent, ^wov aniiiKii j 5- their subdivisions — the various strata into which geologists fro*i. rliaracteristics essentially different in each, liave arranged and classified the stony leaves of this great book of nature, revealing truths hidden for ages, exhuming forms more strange and fantastic than those of an Arabian tale, over which extinction of species has long since drawn its oblivious veil, pre- senting to our gaze in panoramic disclosures the successive fauna and llora of our pre-human planet ; atTording us glimpses of the Creator*s foot^'eps and the manner in which, in the universal pro- fusion of life w M-ywhere distributed, he has prepared the earth as 40 the residence of man. Exceptions to the onward order of things, sparks from the anvil of creation, shards from the footsteps of the Creator, the results of general laws may, like the minute seeds in the ground never to be vivified, occasionally be met with ; but to many minds they are no disparagement to Infinite Wisdom. I have mentioned the most important animal and vegetable remains found imbedded in each stratum, so far as space would permit. The comparative thickness is necessarily more or less hypothetical, as the same rocks are seldom found of uniform thickness in dif- ferent localities. All the strata intervening between the Devonian and Silurian, and the Pliocene are absent in Canada. This is the reason why coal can never be found in this country. COMPARATIVE ELEVATION OF SUB-KINGDOMS. The diagram at the top of the geological strata, and inside of it, is intended to exhibit at • »>'ance the comparative elevation of the four great sub-kingdoms c '■mated creation. The chain of being does not ascend in a strai^ i unbroken line, but by a series of lines diverging from one another at a point near their upper extremity in the ascending order of nature. The lowest sub- kingdom embraces not only the aninials lowest in the scale of or- ganization, but the lowest of the low are found at the. lowest part of the line. And by a series of gradations, more or less orderly, more or less intricate and irregular, we ascend through each sub-kingdom, throughout the whole animal kingdom. It is worthy of notice that the lowest members of a higher order are truly lower in organization than the highest forms of the lower sub kingdom : thus, the star-fish, the highest member of the lowest sub-kingdom Radiata, is much higher in the scale of being than of he'll of the the uscidia communis or paps, the lowest member of The second sub-kingdom, Mollusca. Again, the leeches and earth-worms, members of a higher sub-kingdom, are less elaborately organized than the cunning, ferocious, and sharp-sighted cuttlefish, the highest of the Mollusks. Lastly, the spiders, the highest of the third sub-kingdom, are much more complex, and adapted to a higher sphere of existence than that worm-like fish, the hag or myxine [gastrobranchus caecus], and another fish called the lancelot [amphioxus lanceolatus]. Man, simply considered as an animul, crowns all : his form is unrivalled, his claims undisputed ; for in- stinct he has reason, and to the rang-e of his faculties no limits are assigned. EXPLANATION OP OTHER DIAGRAMS. In tho dingram just above the last one, man, whose zoological ! -^ ! .1 r of things, teps of the ite seeds in th ; but to /'isdom. I ble remains uld permit, [rpothetical, :ness in dif- e Devonian la. This try. [S. nd inside of elevation of ?he chain of by a series their upper lowest sub- scale of or- I. lowest part less orderly, »rough each It is worthy jr are truly ! lower sub the lowest being than the second sarth-worms, ly organized I, the highest of the third to a higher g or myxine the lancelot is an aniaiul, ited ; for in- ies no limits ss zoological 1$ f I I 41 position is indicated by a vertical line, is regarded as the perfee tion of animated creation : while the position of the lower ani- mals is pointed out by lines at greater or less angles, as they re- cede from or approach man in organization and intelligence : thus the class Mammalia is nearer than Aves or Birds, and the elev- enth or highest order of Mammals, Quadrumana, is much less re- mote than the Monotrem'ata, the first %r lowest order of the same class. The zoological position of a bird is given at the right- hand side, at the top : want of space prevents its being given for all birds. The same for a fly, also at the top. On the left-hand side, about the middle, this is repeated for a dog, and at the bot- tom will be found the generic terms used by naturalists in giving a description of animals. This description should be so compre- hensive as to include all, and so precise as to apply to each mem- ber of the series ; these objects, so desirable, are attained by this systematic arrangement, or natural system. MODE OF USING THE CHART. In the investigation of truth, two methods present themselves : first, the analytical {xva again, >^vu) I loose) method, or analysis, in which the whole is separated into its component parts ; in other words, the whole subject, whatever it may be, is first considered as a whole, and then decomposed for the special consideration of its parts. This is the method used in Algebra. The other method is the synthetic [aw together, TJ0*j,a» I place or set] or synthesis. In this method the elements in their isolated state are first exam- ined, carefully mastered, and then united for the purpose of con- templating them in their symmetry and united relations. Iliis i^ the method pursued in Geometry, in Grainmar, in History, &c. In using the Chart either method may be adopted. A genera! idea of the Empire of Nature may be given, then its subdivisions, then the further subdivisions of these, carefully mastering each suc- cessive step till all are well impressed on the mind. Or the lowest subdivisions may be first studied, and as one after another has been committed to memory, the whole should be grouped together ; so that at each successive step what we have passed over may be referred to the next higher group. Thus, suppose the families of Cud-chewing animals be under consideration ; after ihey had sep- arately been described — in number, size, habits, instincts, uses to man, modes of life, geographical distribution, ;8tc. — then the whole should be placed together and viewed in this new aspect, as joined by a common bond characteristic of the whole, though dif- 42 fering in many minor respects. When the families of ail the orders are thus gone over, the orders themselves are placed to- gether, thus forming a Class ; these in their turn constitute a Sub- kingdom ; these again Kingdoms, which in their turn united form the Empire of Nature. ♦ A rery good mode is the following : — In giving the family to which the being under consideration belongs, to make the pupils state the order, class, sub-kingdom, and kingdom, of which this particular family is a unit. Say, for example, the lesson is about the horse : describe as above, then give its zoological position — Family Equidu) (equus, horse ; tths" like), embracing all horse-like animals, horse, as^, zebra, &c.: Order Pachydermata ; mention other membors of the order : Class Mammalia, suck-giving ani- mals ; Sub-kjngdom Vertebrata, containing all creatures with a jointed back-bone ; Kingdom Animal, embracing all the creatures on earth ; and lastly Empire of Nature, as existing on earth : this would be the synthetic method. Or take the analytic : a horse belongs to the Empire of Nature, because it exists ; Animal Kingdom, because it has life, motion and feeling ; Sub-kingdom, Vertebrata, because it has a jointed back-bone ; Class, Mammalia, because it brings forth its young .alive, and afterwards supports them by suckling ; Order, Pacli^dermata, because it is a thick- skinned animal ; Family, E(iuidtL>, because it belongs to the horse kind : thus stating the reason at every step, completely mastering every inch of the space traversed ; thereby adding vigor to tl»« mind, and preparing it for new acquisitions in the boundless ocean of existence,i.in the illimitable domains of 'God. In giving instruction to children, the eye as well as the ear should be on the subject under consideration. *' The eye remem- bers." In Natural History the object itself, when practicable, should be placed before the pupils. Their conceptions will thus be more vivid, the impression more lasting, and the ideas more correct. In the study of Ornithology for example. The initial types may be collected, and one at least of each order in a class exhibited. These being all properly arranged and labelled, the interest in the study would be greatly enhanced. To teachers desirous of making the experiment, such collections could be fur- nished at a moderate sum. In teaching Natural History it will be found beneBtial, First, to describe the ajiimal ; Second, its habils, instincts and mode of life ; Third, geographical range of the spe- cies ; Fourth, zoological position ; Fifth, uses to man ; and Sixtli, the evidences it displays of the wisdom and goodness of God. n 43 of all the » placed to- itute a Sub- united form t e family to 5 the pupils ' which this son is about 1 position — ill horse-Iikc a ; mention :-g[ivinff ani- ures With a he creatures r on earth : analytic : a ists; Animal lub-kingdom, i, Mammalia, irds supports is a thick- to the horse ly mastering vigor to tlio ndless ocean as the ear eye remem- practicable, ions will thus } ideas more The initial ler in a class labelled, the To teachers jould be fur- AN OBJECT LESSON. In giving object lessons, — when a specimen of the animal to be described cannot be had, a picture of it should be placed before the class, that all the pupils may see it ; and also a map of the World, that the teacher Inay point to the place where such animal may be found in its greatest perfection. When the description has been given slowly and distinctly, so as to be understood by all, the teacher should then commence a series of questions on the , lesson, first in a general way to inspire courage, and then individ- • ually to secure accuracy. As a matter of course, the more clearly and methodically the lesson is enunciated, the more prompt and correct will be the answers given. With the teacher rests the prerogative of making even a dry theme interesting and fascin- ating. The following mode has been followed with advantage : — THE bHKEP. The Sheep is one of the most important of our domesticated animals. It is a quadruped, as you see, having four feet. It is a ruminant, or ruminating animal, because it chews the cud. It is about three feet, four inches long ; and six hands high ; varying in size and appearanc,c in the different countries to which it belongs. The sheep is covered with wool, a soft species of hair with* an imbricated surface. The face and legs are covered with hair. The hoofs are cloven, consisting of two longer and two shorter parts, the longer parts only touching the ground. The ears are usually erect, though in some cases pendulous, and are far back in the head. The pupil of the eye is somewhat in the form of a horizontal oblong, thus afl'ording a very good range of vision along the ground. The dental characteristics of the sheep, as of all ruminants, are thus expressed in Zoology : incisors '^, canine ^ 0) inolars ^ . Many consider the last inci&or on each side as truly Icanine. This would give the following division : incisors -^, ca- iiine I, molars |. Its age is determined by the incisor teeth. fVVhen two years old, two of the deciduous teeth give place to |)ennanent ones ; two more at the end of three years, and the ; |-cst at the end of the fourth year; after which the age. cannot be '.Accurately determined. The molars are crowned with two ridges ory it will be | M enamel, which aid in the process of mastication. The grass is id, its habils, tint by the front teeth of the lower jaw, pressed against the strong e of the spe- iljiuscular upper lip. Ijike all ruminants the sheep has four stom- ; and Sixth, iftclis, or perhaps four compartments in one stomach. The first of God. |nd largest, called the paunch or rumen, receives the food as it 44 "f is swallowed, and retains it till it is softened. It then passes into the second, called honey-comb , or reticulum, a term signifying u little net or bag. Here the* food remains until it sm ells and fer- ments. By the alternate dilatation and contraction of the stom- ach, the food is formed into small portions termed cuds, which are again taken back to the mouth to be remasticated at leisure, while the sheep is not grazing. The food thus remasticated passes into the third stomach, where it undergoes a still further comminution and then passes into the fourth stomach, where it undergoes com- plete maceration, and the chyle is extracted from the various matters which have been reduced into pulp in the other compart- ments. *2nd. Iliihits, m,ode of life, ^-c. The habits of the sheep are so well known geuerally, as to requir" very few remarks. JShee|) usually go in large flocks, under the care of shepherds, and de- pend for their protection on the fostering care of man. They arc tame, gentle and inolTensive in their di!>>position, and display less animation and sagacity than most other quadrupeds, although they are very discriminating in the selection of their food, and acutely susceptible of the approach of a storm. In such cases they seek the lee side of some hill or clift', where they may be secure from the biling blast. The great aim of the shepherd is to keep them from such shelter, when no proper pens or folds are near, as dur- ing snow-storms they are often buried by the drifting snow when they follow their natural instincts for preservation. Although a prey to almost every carnivorous aliimal, they will in case of at- tack, present to the enemy the united strengtli of the flock drawn up in a compact body, presenting towards every point a -deter- mined front which cannot be attacked without injury to the as- sailant. The following anecdote furnishes a beautiful proof of the maternal instinct of the sheep. A gentleman travelling, received a strong proof of sagacity in a sheep that came bleating piteously to meet him. When near, she redoubled her cries and looked up in his face, as if to ask his assistance. Alighting, he followed her: she led him to a cairn at a considerable distance from the road, where he found her lamb, wedged in between two large stones struggling with its legs uppermost. He extricated the little suf- ferer and placed it on the green-sward beside its dam ; and the mother poured forth her thanks in a long and continued bleat. A man was driving a flock of sheep across a bridge, when, by some means or other, one of tlie foremost, getting frightened, jumped over the side of the bridge, and, before they could be prevented, man mon herd He nest but witni togei resist to as as dc illust her 1 nativ acqu£ when patiei and s self I early bar, t and V the g back. for, whert in hei 3n variet range platea nortlu lia ; Tacifi food t 1st. '] the m of th( roam less t; Sheep resem c if) n passes into | many of the rest followed, and were drowned in the river. A monkey came down from a tree to !oint a -deter- ury to the as il proof of the" ling, received! 46 • abound on the prairies west of the Mississippi to the Pacific. It is highly probable that the goats of which Father Hennepin, a French Jesuit who travelled through the territory now called the Western States and wrote nearly two hundred years ago, speaks, are this species of sheep. 4th. The J3earded Sheep of Africa (O. Tragelaphos — rpxyos goat, and tM^ot stag ; goat-stag) : it inhabits the mountains of' Barbary, Egypt, &c. They have a mane hanging below the neck, and large locks of hair at the an- kles. Then, The Common Domestic Sheep (O. Aries— the ram), the Merino, the Saxon, and the Rambouillet. The best breeds in England are the South Down, the Cheviot, and theBakewell or Leicestershire * inferior to them in some respects are the Cots- wold or Lincolnshire sheep. The number of sheep in Great Britain is 40 millions, valued at ($6 25 each,) $250 millions; in the United States, 21,722,000, valued at ($1 50 each), $32,582,568; m Canada, 1,600,000, valued at (1 50 each), $2,400,000 ; in Canada West, 968,000, valuetrat($l 50 each), $1,452,032. The annual produce of wool in United States, 52,789,174 lbs.; in Canada, 4,130,740 lbs. ; in Canada West, 2,700,000 lbs. Average weight of fleece in United States, 2/^ lbs. ; in Canada, 2|-9 lbs. ; in Canada West, 2[^ lbs. The sheep in Canada and United States arc not indigen- ous, having been imported chiefly from Great Britain, France, and Spain. 4/A. Zioloffical position.— The sheep belonpfs to the Empire of Nature, because it exists ; secondly, to the Animal Kingdom, because it is en- dowed with lilb, sensation, and the power of voluntary motion ; thirdly, Sub-kingdom, Vertebrata, becaui^e it has a jointed back-boue ; fourthly, Class, Mammalia, because it brings forth its young alive, and aftorvvai-Js suckles them ; fifthly, Order, lluminantia, the members of which chew their cud ; i:ixthly. Family, Capridic, because it is of the goat kind ; seventhly. Genus, Ovis, which embraces only the sheep kind ; eighthly, it belongs to the Species O. Aries, which includes all the domesticated sheep ; ninthly. Variety, Merino, a kind of Spanish sheep celebrated for the tine texture of its wool ; tenthly, it is an Individual of that Variciy. G. Ifses to man. — From the sheep man obtains a great portion of his aliment, and also the most essential part of his clothing. The flesh ut' the sheep is called mutton, the quality and flavour of which depend upon the particular breed. The largest breed of sheep in Britain is found on the banks of the Tees, in that fertile valley which separates Yorkshire from Durham. Some of them have been fed to weigh fifty pounds per quarter. Bigland mentions one as having weighed sixty two pounds and a half per quarter, and then supposed to be heaviest sheep ever slaughtered in Britain. The Dorsetshire sheep are remarked for their extraordinary fecundity, being capable of producing twic with is a Intl whi( sliee and of b( and are < marr wcigl pare I made into i to ros Wc r( priest of thi articl( part I the bi 1. Tl; which rated the Is mount Their They pound Westn 4. The and ft weighi penouj fleece ) to eig wooled arge, /. The wool fi mutton teen po chalky lave n( two to )oiinds ■at the; the Plerioo' he wo 4t Pacific. It Hennepin, a w called the ago, speaks, ep of Africa )at-stag): it liey have a lir at the an- s — the ram), 5 best breeds I Bakewrell or ire the Cots- * * ms, valued at 21,722,000, 1, 1,600,000, est, 968,000, i\ produce of a, 4,130,74.0 ight of fleece 'anada West, ; not indigeii- , France, and pire of Nature, cause it is ea- otion ; thirdl.Vi >oue ; fourthly, nd afterwards wblch chew le goat kind ; iad ; eighthly, domeslicttted celebrated for that Variety. portion of his The flesh of vhich depenii p in Britain is ich separates to weigh fifty »reighed sixty- ed to be the hire sheep are of producing twice A year. From this breed the tables of the opulent are supplied with early lamb at Christmas. In the north-west parts of Kngland there is a hardy, black-faced breed, the flesh of which is esteemed excellent. In the northern parts of Scotland there is a small-sized breed of sheep which is remarkable for the fineness of its mutton. The Leicestershire sheep is held in great esteem, in consequence of its fattening quickly and carrying the greatest weight of mutton on the smallest proportion of bone. The broad-tailed sheep, common in Persia, Syria, Barbary and Egypt, are remarkable chiefly for their large, heavy tails, which are esteemed a great delicacy, being of a substance between fat and marrow. The tails of these sheep are frequently a foot broad, and weigh from twenty to seventy pounds. From the skin of the sheep, leather, parchment, covers for books and other things are made; and glue is made from their hoofs and horns. Their entrails are manufactured into string3 for musical instruments, their bonea arc ground into dust to manure the soil, and butter and cheese can be made fromtheirrailk. We read in Joshua, vi. 6, of ram's horns boing used as trumpets by the priests who surrounded the walls of Jericho previous to the destruction of that city. The fleece of the sheep is, however, the most important article of utility to man. From ^le wool of the sheep the principal part of his clothing is made. The quality of the wool depends upon the breed of the sheep. The following are the varieties in Britain : — 1. The Zetland sheep. The finest fabrics are made of their wool, which forms a fine fur. 2. The Dunwooled sheep, at one time culti- vated extensively. Remnants oftheni still exist in Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man. 3. The Blaclnaced Heath-sheep, inhabiting heathy mountains. They have spiral horns. Their legs and faces are black. Tlieir wool is coarse, weighing from three to four pounds per fleece. They yield the most delicious mutton, weighing fro^ ten to sixteen pounds per quarter. They are to be found in Yorkshire, Cumbedand, Westmoreland, Argyleshire and the central Highlands of Scotland. 4. The Moorland-sheep of Devonshire. They have horns, white legs and faces, long wool, and are of a hardy constitution. Their wool weighs four pounds the fleece. 6. The Cheviot sheep, which are indi- penous to the Cheviot Mountains. Their wool is fine, A medium fleece weighs about three pounds. When fat they weigh frojji twelve to eighteen pounds per quarter. 0. The Horned Varieties of Fine- wooled sheep of Norfolk, Wiltshire and Dorset. These sheep have arge, spiral horns : their fleece weighs from two to four pounds. "i. The Ilyeland-sheepof Herefordshire, .white-faced and without horns; wool fine, weighing from one and a half to two pounds a fleece. Their mutton is delicate. They fatten easily, and weigh from twelve to six- teen pounds per quarter. 8. The South-Down breed, inhabiting the [chalky downs of Kngland and the sheltered lawns of Scotland. They ave no horns, their legs and faces are grey ; their wool is fine and from wo to three inches long, and weighing from two and a half to three ounds a fleece. Their mutton is excellent and highly flavored. When [at they weigh from fifteen to eighteen pounds per quarter. 9. The lerino sheep, supposed to have been brought originally from Africa. he wool of this breed is fin^r than that of any other sheep. 10. The I I \s DeroneiUlrc, Tloinnoy-MArsti,CM-l4incoln8hire and Old-Loicostor breodf Tho Dorondbtre-Notts yields a flcoco weighing ton pounds ; and, who frit, weighs twonty-two poundti pur quarter. The llumnoj-M.irsh broei are large aniniiUa, with white logs and facos, and yield a heavy fleece The Old Lincolnshire yield indlfTuront ninttun, but a flueue of ver heavy, long wool. The Old Leicester is a variety of the conrso, long wooled breeds. 11. Tho Ncw-Ljicestor and Improved Teoswatar, th great properties of which are their early maturity and disposition ti fatten, in which tlioy excel all other breeds. No country produces fine slieep than Great Britain. Vet suoh is the extent of thoir woolltM manufactures, that they import nearly as much as they grow. Upward of .340,0U0 persona are employed in these manufactories in Britaii alone ; and, when we take into account the families which are depend ent on these operatives, and the thousands of machinists and otho mechanics empUyed in making the machinery for these factories, an( tiie families which are dependent upon them, and the thousands o merchants, and clerks, and shopkeepers whoso businesi it is to suppi; tho public with the cloth after it has been manufactured, and the tailor and dress-makors whose decorative industry is so highly appreciated- when all these considerations, and miny more that might be suggested are taken into account, we may form some idea of the use of this quad ruped to man. 6. Proofs of Dlinne WisJom.^The adaptation of this creature to liv( in every part of our habitable globe, by undergoing changes, e-'iociallj in its woolly coat, corresponding with tho climatic zone it inhabits — u tho torrid zone, where hmit is not waf|od, it being covered with wool coarse as hair, but not loss valuable on that account; in tho frigid re gions its wool being mor«) like fur than its usual texture— ^its gonorii characteristics, its groat userutauss to m\n, in civili/ud no loss thai savage lifo— vll are indicativo of tho goodness and caro of Him, whosi wisdom is infinite, and all whoso operations tend to good and happiness The study of N vtural History, besides being advantaj;eous in othe rsspects, is well calculated to redoom us from low views conceruiaj the method and nature of Ood's govuniment, and show us that h1 thiags arc arranged and miintainod according to a vast, comprehonsiv plan ; the discovery of which is tlie objoct of thu sciuntific zoologist as the general principles upon which it is banod comprohund uot onl tho manifest conformity to it, but likewise tho apparent departure from it. In conclu^jion I would indulj^o the hopo that this attempt to presen to tho eye by moans of tho Chart, no a^ amended, improved and illus tratod, and this pamphlet, a complete syjtem of classification on tlil new plan, different from anything hithei to presented to the world- may promote the introduction, into our common schools, throifgh ni, fellow-labourers, our common-school teachers, for who.je benefit, con vouience and use both were prepared, of a study which ranks amooj tho noblest that can occuoy tho mind of min: — it gives a nearer vion of the character and attributes of tho Oroator, whose oi-.aipotence wisdom and love are so clearly manifested in his handiwork. ;■; .i. ;. ■■■:.?"-:• .; ■ THE » ND. ' -* "■■'''■^'■^' '-'^ ■Wffppf^ifp TOBOMTO, l2thJUM, 1866. I bAT6 carefully «x«iuined the Chart of Nataral HUtory prepared by I Mr. Maeallum of the Model School, and consider it well worthy of the fiiTourable opinion and support of all persons feelinf an interest in Education. Upon my rvcommendution, the Board of School Trustees of thii City have ordered twelve copies for the use of the Oomuon Schools under their charge. Tl>e ability shown Hy Mr. Macallom, iu the arrangement of the divisionH and sub-diTisions of the eubject in question, is caU-oIated to greutly Hi^aist the student in acquirinfc a eorrtct knowledge of tbe^ Animal Kingdom: and both as a very ingenious system of ii»parting a knowledge of Natural History to young people,] and as a highly creditable specimen of Canadian lithography, I cor- dially recommend Mr. Macalluro s Cba^^ to public favour. G. A. BARBER. Local Superintendent of Sehoole, City or Toronto. Toronto, June^ 1856. I have examined thu ^< Chart of Natural History " constructed by j Mr. Maeallum, Head Master of the Provincial Model School, and have DO hesitation in recommending it aH likely to be very useftil in convey- ing information on ibe subject, to young persons commencing the study < of Natural History. THOS. J. ROBERTSON, Head Matter Ptovmeial Normal School. TllEHOJY Mo MoRHiNO, ]1th June. Mt Dbar Sib, — Ou the recommeiidatioii of the Education Committee, the County Council voted £40, or so raucn thereof as may b^ required, to procure one copy of your Oliari of Natui.tl History for each Common i School within these United Counties. By resolution of the Council it is my duty to attend to their purchase and distributioc. ; There are, in the several Towudbips of the two Counties, 214 School Sections reported to the Council last year. Adding three each for the two villages of Yorkville and Brampton, we have 220 schools to supply. May I trouble you to see that the al ove number of Charts be reserved for our purpose ? and as soon as I can find time to visit the Education Office I will attend to the matter. Yours truly, JOSEPH HARTMAN. Toronto, June, 1866. Having carefully examined a Chart of Natural History, prepared by A. Maeallum, of the J rovincial Model School, I deem it well calculated to assist teachers in ir- parting a correct and systematic knowledge of that moat intere^ing subject even to young pupils. It is compiled irith accuracy, and executed with elegance. It cannot fail of proving a very useful addition to tha apparatui of any 8cbool>room. ., W. ORMIt TON. NTAI. M Jum, 1856. Dry prepared by I 11 worthy of the I an intertfit in School Trustees of the OoiDiiioD (r. Macallan), iu the tabject in luiriofr a eorre ct I very ingenious j young people,! )graphy, I cor- 1 ur. or Toronto. JunCf 1856. constructed byj hool, and have eftil in convey- ncing the study j JON, rmat School. , ]1th June. ion Committee, *y b« required, each Common; their purchase es, 214 School i each for the ools to supply, is be reserved the EdttcatioD aARTMAN. Juntf 1856. prepared by ell calculated knowledge of apparatus of j 1 •RMKiTON. I